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October 5, 2020 7:05 am
Today from Chuck Swindoll since we were dead we needed life and he made us alive since we were in the valley of death. We needed to be raised up. He did since we were powerless and corrupt and hopelessly condemned in that realm of bondage we needed a new position. He provided he did it all inside for living Chuck Swindoll gave us a picture of what it's like to be at the threshold of God's kingdom but not a member of Mount Whitney and death Valley two iconic locations in California are polar opposites in both temperature and elevation.
And yet there within 80 miles of each other in similar fashion. The contrast between heaven and hell is striking fact the ascension from hell to heaven is impossible were it not for the work of God were looking at Ephesians 2 title this message, you were dead.
But God 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 contrast light and dark heaven and hell accept reject grace, law, spirit/freedom bondage life, death, and in almost every one of those contrasts.
God alone makes the difference.
Think of that, but God 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.
If you like outlines. 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 the rest of verse four, down through verse seven. Why did he do it versus item I'm packing it be what was life like verses 1 to 3.
What did God do verse four.
Why did God do it four through seven. How can that be eight and nine.
So what verse 10 that we won't 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 auto 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 offending message you were dead. What was life like you were dead dead verse one enslavement verse 200,000 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. 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 it.
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 release 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. 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. In verses two and three.
Did is explained in which refer back to 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, 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 basic 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 cause Moss. This world system pause there the lost think alike because the work of the loss think like a world things the lost take their cues from the world system. They read their favorite newspapers and their favorite magazines, and they watch their favorite media to get there directions for life. They shape their opinion based on a world controlled system and its ever changing fashions, no matter how outrageous allow me to go to some outrageous yet acceptable fashions body piercing you talk to anyone on the phone that has their tongue pierced the funny sound.
I will tell you spiked hair tattoos.
Tattoos are in, even for women are never what I was a kid of a woman at a tattoo. She never what will normally she would never want anybody to know what and brash bright blinding unmixed colors that don't fit together.
Gothic black is another with hood faces painted white with eyes painted black heavy chains, maxi skirts, mini skirts, shaved heads.
One athlete shaves his all athletes now think to be different. I'm going to shave my head in the hall speak of independence and freedom.
And I think to myself, and I am my own boss, and yet they were the baggy pants or the tight pants with yellow ragged hymns or no, no, bottom, I do know what else to were used to. Which brings up today exposed underwear. That's a new look is an exposed bras and panties exposed to clothing that was once covered our in recent past. No underwear and Doc Martin shoes and that dozen or two dozen other things. And if you think I'm making it up. You haven't had an argument with you teenager lately about what they're going to wear to school a problem that stuff. That stuff didn't bother me in the least I could talk to a person and go right to the soul. Thank God he was a time when I couldn't get past the external stuff. I remember being at Knotts Berry Farm 191 afternoon with our family and was standing in the men's room washing my hands and a fellow walked in with no shirt and he had a big safety pin and he grabbed a part of his flesh and he snapped it closed in. I thought well it that mostly fun bloods running running down to his waist. He goes over to the toilet not here it flesh and he's dropped is here in the toilet and and he gets up and he did a swirling, I found out my kids told me that's what happened in the they walked out feeling great blood running off his chest and his hair washed in the toilet and what is his and he's his own guy.
He's thinking for himself guarantee you he didn't think of that somebody else taught him to do that and now he's got a safety pin in his chest and these he's happy because he's his own man. The fact is, he's walking according to the course of this world are those are extremes I could take it to the business realm and show you the greed and the competition of the business world where, to hell with family and wife and and and and children. Let's get on with this business.
That's another part of the course of this world and we walked according to it when we take our cues from the world and we really do believe that they aren't people in our way towards success and you know that.
And I've seen enslaved to the ways of the world.
Eugene Peterson renders verse two you were mired in that old stagnant life you let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living tell you how to live, you fill your lungs with polluted unbelief and then exhaled disobedience isn't that fine paraphrase is sucked in the corruption and you breathed it out, it became oxygen for your brain group think, is not a dime's were the difference between the culture and refined well educated and highly successful businessman on Wall Street and the struggling kid trying to find his way at age 16 or 17 lost in the embrace. The system walked according to the course of this world, this age I own this age according to the prince of the power of the air. If you think the first part of verse two is discouraging.
Look at this would a print sounds like somebody like to follow but look at how is described. He's the prince of the power of the air powers asked to see we get outward exercise from it. It is often rendered authority. Let's use that. He's the prince of the authority of the lower heavens, the lower air. The dark, sinister world dominated by Satan and his demonic host.
Yes, we believe in a literal Satan and literal demon know we cannot see them. Yes, we since their influence so that nothing is too outrageous. No lie is to brash to come out of the closet and announce his treatment. Manipulating minds and controlling wills so that primarily the evil influences saying truth is alive, lies our truth and you hear it enough in all the different garb of today's message across everywhere from the talk shows on television all the way to the lifestyle of the rich and famous. It's there, eat it up.
I obey their urgings. I modeled their cravings by March to their cadence because I am dead and I am among the ranks of the sons of disobedience. You know what men and women. When you see truth is we are beginning to see it in this letter your discernment grows, 50, 75% you see you see right through it and verse three.
Among them, the sons of disobedience.
We to all love it that Paul doesn't remove himself from those who were once dead. We formerly lived in the epi-through media of our desires word means just generally feelings, emotions, desires, some good some bad, some wicked, some impressive but we were driven by our emotions. If we felt like it would did it, I was listening in my vehicle the other day to music station and for some reason the disc jockey plugged in an oldie, and I listened again to the words of you light up my life, remember when you couldn't get away from that song back a few years ago, every station every place you turn, you could hear her singing your light up my life and while driving, I suddenly had a chill go up my back when I heard that that one line.
It can't be wrong.
If it feels so right that's being driven by your desires. What a lie. Sometimes it just feels right for me to grab a guy by the throat and hold him with his jugular pulsating to get air to his brain just feels right to punch him in the kisser. It just feels right. But it's wrong. It's wrong unless you're a zombie, living dead person who lives in the desires of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of my we were condemned children of wrath is a you know Chuck you have I got it. No, not enough. I'm not through yet. I mention Kent Hughes earlier. Let me let me repeat a story includes in his book I have in my file. A photograph of the corpse of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, father of utilitarianism. The photo shows his body sitting in a chair dressed and hatted in early 19th century gentlemen's where the whole thing is a result of his dark humor, for when he died he gave orders that his entire estate be given to the University College Hospital in London on the condition that his body be preserved and placed in attendance at all.
The hospital board meeting.
This is duly carried out in every year. To this day. Bentham is wheeled up to the board table and the chairman says Jeremy Bentham present but not voting. This of course is a great joke on his utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham will never raise his hand in response he will never submit a motion because he has been dead for nearly 160 years, and I will tell you every board meeting for the table is surrounded by the unregenerate is filled with Jeremy and but you can't tell by looking because they're still talking and voting in deciding and even sharing their wisdom. According to this world, mesmerized by groupthink captured by today's culture driven from desires with in that know no boundaries, even to the point of having affairs, one after another, knowing it will ultimately be to the detriment of family and home driven because it feels so good but did live: thinking it will get them past the jaws of physical death and their awful reality hits, but God is great to words or what we are flat out. We can't breathe on a breath of spiritual air. We can't grasp a line of spiritual direction and he the subject of verse before he rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead alive. If you haven't done it yet, take your panel your pencil circle the word of God drawing arrow down to verse five, made us alive connect that to raised us up and then connected to seated us and you got it from God, seeing us in our deadness, made us alive, raised us up seated us in the heavenly's and in each case observed.
The companion is with Christ.
With him, with him. He made us alive with Christ, he raised us up with Christ. He seated us as Christ has been seated. And there you find the core of positional truth for the believer, which is one of the misnomer's of Christian truth today. Tragically, most have never ever been instructed in their position in Christ. No wonder we live as though were still zombies dominated by the evil one.
Listening to the desires of the flesh, and following the cravings of our mind.
No no no thousand times no. But God set us free. Charles Wesley, one of his lingering 8000 hymns.
He left in the legacy of his life included in the fourth stanza of one of the great hands along my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in an natures knight line. I defused the quickening Ray. I woke the dungeon flame with light my chains fell off. My heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed the what Hillis theology I want to screen almost do every time I sing it and can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior blocked dungeon training center dead in trespasses and sins locked in a prison I could never escape from buying I defused the quickening Ray will the dungeon, playing with light. My chains fell off. My heart was free sing it Wesley sing it.
Give us more songs like that men and women songs to say the songs of Zion.
He's describing what happens thanks to the words but God since we were dead we needed life and he made us alive since we were in the valley of death. We needed to be raised up. He did that since we were powerless and corrupt and hopelessly condemned in that realm of bondage we needed a new position.
He provided that he did it all. Another of Wesley's hands.
Another fourth stanza he breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free his blood to make the foulest clean is blood available for me the for you and you and you did made alive it's impossible to overstate the magnitude of this good news though dead in our sins. God made us alive together with Christ you're listening to Insight for living in the Bible teaching the pastor and author Chuck Swindoll were just getting started in an in-depth study of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Chuck titled the series becoming a people of grace. To learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org was someone who listens to Insight for living on a regular basis. You'll be glad to learn the Chuck wrote a comprehensive commentary on Ephesians your listening patterns are good evidence that you want to learn more about the Bible.
To that end would encourage you to add Chuck's commentary on Ephesians to your collection of Bible study tools affect this particular volume includes Galatians as well is more than 300 pages in length and the format is laid out in a manner you'd expect from Chuck clear, practical, and with helpful illustrations and ideas for personal application. So to purchase windows living inside commentary on Galatians and Ephesians colors. Your listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to Insight.org/store. Grace is a major theme in Paul's letter to the Ephesians and it's a motivating theme it Insight for living as well. In fact, we've given our financial partners, a name that celebrates this gift from God.
Monthly companions. Those who give month by month to Insight for living ministries of the ministry all their own, bringing God's message of grace to every country in the world vision 195 to become a monthly companion right now. One time donation colors if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 that's 1-800-772-8888 also give online insight.or uplifting series called becoming 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.
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