You Were Dead . . . But God!, Part 1

Fame and fortune our human pursuit, but they do nothing to secure our eternal destiny today from Chuck Swindoll.

We love you, mom, accomplishments, and we double wards and rewards for such and we put their names on plaques. We shaped blasts of unique individuals in the stalls and we can honorably revere them in. We see them all is very much alive, when in fact if there without Christ, they are good people on a pedestal. According to Chuck Swindoll. There are two words in Paul's letter to the Ephesians that determine our life's destiny affect Paul's communication pivots on these two small words and our eternal security as well. Today on Insight for living, our Bibles are open to Ephesians chapter 2. As we continue the series called becoming a people of grace in this passage Paul paints a morbid picture of our condition without God.

He said we are dead in our sin. Have you already identify the two life-giving words. Chuck titled today's message you were dead. But God if you haven't already done so, I invite you to turn in your New Testament to the letter to the Ephesians are your pages starting to look dogeared like mine are on notice that corners are starting to get a little worn as were reading it through every week and I hope your continuing in the discipline. It really does help you keep a handle on where we've been and where were going, I want to read the first will not really half of the chapter, but a portion of the first part of Ephesians chapter 2. It's hard to stop before verse 10 celeb Erie down through verse 10. Ephesians 214 and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, don't.

Don't miss that sentence because of the in between section. Let me read it verse four but God. Verse five made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them just to leave your Bible open there in your lap and bow with me for a few moments of prayer together for this morning's offering. Let's just quietly sit before the Lord, our father, we are grateful women and men today, we find ourselves open to what we have song and listening closely to what has been read for us are our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude for your intercepting us along the journey called existence and turning our existence into real living. Thank you for doing it for us rather than expecting us to merit your righteousness on our own or we would've been sunk forever lost and hopelessly unable to find our way back. In fact, lifeless. Did in our transgressions and sins powerless to change things as they were.

We found ourselves without hope.

But you came to our rescue and that's a major reason we find this intrinsic magnet from within ourselves to come back week after week, and even day after day to your word to meet with you and to talk with you and even more importantly to have you talk to us how mighty how magnificent, how excellent is your name. Therefore, in all the earth, and we therefore lift our voices in song ended, praise and thanksgiving and we also on a regular basis. Look for ways to express our gratitude for what you have done for us and we found one of those ways in returning to you from the wage we have earned in the savings we have kept the money you have. You have entrusted to us.

And since you own it. All Lord and we wouldn't be able to hold a job without the help you give us or the mental capacity you have gifted us with the capability of carrying on our work through the energy that you empower us with it's only right that we say in a special way today. Thank you and we do it with her gifts and the excellent name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and all God's people set I have a very unpopular message to present today being God's messenger boy frees me to deliver unpopular messages when he has them to be delivered isn't politically correct what I have to say today, and that's the part I like about it the most. I realized while I was flying this past week for several hours between California and Texas that life is made up of a lot of contrasts, isn't it. And while thinking that as we were 33,000 feet above sea level. It occurred to me that in the Scriptures.

There are numerous contrasts light and dark heaven and hell accept, reject, love, hate, faith works grace, law, spirit/freedom bondage life, death, and in almost every one of those contrasts. God alone makes the difference. Think of that between light and dark stamps. God between heaven and hell stands God between freedom and bondage certainly between life and death, but God while flying from California back to Texas. I was reading Kent Hughes in his fine exposition of the letter to the Ephesians, he tells a terrific story in it of about of a mountain trip he took where he went to the peak of Mount Whitney, I like reading about people who climb mountains.

I like climbing a mountain, so don't invite me please I have a theory that you can't fall off the earth, so I like staying real close to it right. It base level but he was there at those 14,495 feet at the peak of Mount Whitney. And it occurred to one of the friends who was a part of his party that only 80 miles southeast rest in the lowest part of these contiguous United States. Think of it from the highest almost 3 miles high to the lowest almost 300 feet below below sea level at the peak more often than not are snow and ice and blizzard conditions as the wind soars and roars across the Sierra Nevada's and as you stand there looking down you have this marvelous perspective on lakes of indigo and turquoise and colored dotted across the cascading landscape and in the streams are so pure and the air is so thin clear. From that vantage point.

Everything you look down on and if you travel those 80 miles in the distance you got to the to the hottest place, most often in these United States. The record stands at almost 135° in the shade for the body. If it does not take in water dehydrates quickly and you fall victim to's sun stroke and you can die certainly go unconscious and just a brief period of time from one peak to one Valley such contract appropriately. It is called death Valley death Valley and if you stay with the analogy of contrast and if you think of Mount Whitney and death Valley being so close you will be prepared for an appreciation of what the great apostle of grace rights in this continuing sweep of truth through the letter to the Ephesians. In fact, when you when you come to the very opening line.

If you are of this world and take your cues from the system.

You are immediately offended and being told that you were dead dead start there. But God go there, you were dead. Verse one we were dead. Verse five.

Not only were you Gentiles in Ephesus. Did we choose in Tarsus in Jerusalem and our homeland were dead, dead, and this was our strange way to put it our life.

We were like zombies in our lost estate.

We were dead, hopeless, helpless, entrenched, addicted distant, inescapably removed from any hope of ever reaching the peak of Whitney down in this valley of death. Now if you like outline so I hope this one doesn't complicate things.

I hope it clarifies verses 1 to 3. Answer the question what was life like verse four begins with the question or answering the question what did God do verse four. What did God do and then at the rest of verse four, down through verse seven. Why did he do it verses eight and nine packing it be what was life like verses 1 to 3.

What did God do verse four. Why did God do it for through seven. How can that be eight and nine. So what verse 10 that we will get very far into verse 10. If at all, but just as a little preview of coming attractions. I will tell you that because of verse 10 we know today that we who are in Christ or poetry in motion that order tweak your curiosity. The word workmanship. We are now his workmanship.

Foyer law is at the heart of it, from which we get our word program and we have become because of what God has done his poetry, his work of art. His masterpiece he is shaping us now having delivered us then from our did this but back to the offended offending message you were dead. What was life like you were dead dead verse one enslavement verse 2000 that isn't enough, condemned verse three. That's what life was like when I read did I think of the of powerless, unresponsive and capable devoid of life. Unable to change things.

Some of you are thinking will wait a minute mean it is pretty bleak what your painting that's that's the point. That's exactly the point is that I think a number of people on their own could climbed out of death Valley and probably a dead people don't climb unless of course you you read it differently unless your Bible reads and you were diseased because diseased people can be healed but it doesn't say that you were dysfunctional doesn't say that and you were disabled, doesn't say that and you were depressed and despairing, undisturbed doesn't say any of the above, it says let it say it did. My friend Ray Steadman tells the story of Roy, a friend of his who was invited by mortician who knew Christ and Roy had just come to Christ and was having some struggles with the doctrines of the faith and saw his friend the mortician brought Roy with him one evening to the mortuary and all alone. They walked in and he opened the casket and they look down on the body and he said go ahead Roy lead them to Christ. Not only is the dead, dead, lifeless, hopeless and lost. He isn't seeking and don't let anyone tell you you do because you don't have you and I live in our dead estate in the first century we wanted taken up a nail to drive into his hands. We would have put him on the cross, we would have said really is. Barabbas crucified him because dead people talk like that and think like that and don't ever try to convince herself otherwise or you'll miss the whole point of the delivering words but God which Dean Martin Lloyd Jones says really is the gospel in two words. But God let's analyze it a little closer.

You were did in your trespasses, which is the result of human powerlessness, trespasses, and you were dead in your sins, which is the result of human corruption. You missed the mark completely and totally no pun intended. This is a dead on accurate diagnosis of the human condition without Christ. This is it right on target. You say will wait a minute, wait a minute I mean I get along pretty well in life am able to hold a job, pass a physical with my position the time or every other year or so I I fairly healthy. I exercise somewhat regularly.

I eat well, I sleep well. I laugh, I cry. I make a living.

I'm I'm still learning I'm reading.

I'm growing on driving on in some cases going to school finishing an advanced degree. I'm going to concerts I'm taking vacations on getting married and were having children of doing the chores and responsibilities of life. I have a fairly good memory alive away your in human terms are alive but is this about human terms. You just x-rayed your makeup, humanly speaking, God isn't linked to that perspective. That's why humanism is such a great sense to humans. We love human accomplishments and we have awards and rewards for such and we put their names on plaques and we shaping blasts of unique individuals, and we we put them on pedestals and we we honor and reword fear them in.

We see them all is very much alive, when in fact if there without Christ, they are dead people on a pedestal told you it wasn't popular but I long since gave up the title of pastor feel good. My title is pastor tell truth I got a live with me tonight, not hoping you feel real good. After this, but hoping that I took the truth and didn't in any way take away from it. I think it says did not check the original and that word is the same. Translated did so I need to know what that means in verses two and three dead is explained in which refer back to transport trespasses and sins they were doing a spiritual x-ray of the anatomy of the human condition, not a earthly x-ray but a heavenly x-ray from God's perspective in your lost condition, you were dead in trespasses and sins in which in those trespasses and sins. Three things were true Markham down in your margin.

If you wish you were enslaved to the ways of the world. That's verse two you were obedient to satanic and demonic influences. That's verse two you were driven by base desires and uncontrolled indulgences. That's verse three. That's what it was like to be dead.

You were enslaved to the ways of the world see how it reads in those trespasses and sins without Christ. You formerly walked according to which establishes the standard of your life according to the course of this cosmos this world system were just getting started in this helpful study of Paul's letter to the Ephesians and Chuck Swindoll titled today's message you were dead. But God you're listening to Insight for living and to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org.

Just before we sign off today all of us at Insight for living, would like you to know that we are praying this series will inspire you to become God's agent of grace in a world that's craving to feel a touch of his kindness 2020 will go down in history as a year filled with uncertainty, fear, and even disrespect it's all the more reason to instill these biblical principles from Paul's letter to the Ephesians, so that we become a people of grace along these lines, Chuck handpicked a book for you to read that truly underscores the power of God's grace and troubling times. It's written by one of Chuck's colleagues in ministry. Pastor Philip to Corsi in a day when it's easy to feel fearful and overwhelmed, take cover offers a clear path to finding peace and God's protection before becoming a Pastor Philip served as a police officer in North Belfast, Ireland. As a result, Philip is able to address tough issues realistically while drawing courage from God's promises to purchase a copy of the book to cover go to Insight.org/store pastor to Corsi says he cut his teeth on Chuck Swindoll's preaching his teacher on the daily broadcast called know the truth, and Chuck said of his book, take cover. Your family needs. This you need this. Our country needs this, especially now if you're listening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8880 8F. Thanks for bearing in mind that these daily visits with Chuck are made possible through the generous gifts of listeners like you give a donation today. Call us listening in the US style. 1-800-772-8880 or you can give a donation online insight.or thanks for generously supporting nonprofit ministry at Insight for living ministries. Most of us have been heartbroken with civil unrest in the public square, eclipsing the urgent medical needs imposed by the global pandemic at Insight for living ministries. We believe there's never been a better time to extend God's grace to those in need. In this emotionally charged era were shouting matches were commonplace for people feel voiceless and overlooked in would you be among those who give generously so that we can spread the fragrance of God's grace to those desperate for a second chance.

We're looking to add more monthly companions to the team become a monthly companions today by calling us listening in the United States.

Call 1-800-772-8888 or go to Insight.org/monthly companions my friend more than ever Insight for living ministries is determined to serve as a lavish garden for people all around the world longer smell the aroma of God's matchless grace, a safe place where imperfect, sinful people. True and redeem to become a monthly companions, listening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888 or go to Insight.or/monthly. Join us again Monday, when Chuck Swindoll study called becoming a people of grace continues right here on Insight for living. The preceding message you were dead. But God was copyrighted in 2000 2001 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited