Family Blessings Pt. 7 :: Sealed with the Spirit

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Transcript

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Thanks for joining us today as you listen to a portion of the message recorded at Vine Life Church in Boulder, Colorado. If you'd like to connect with us further, you can visit us online at www.vinelife.com.

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But we are uh jumping in. This is kind of a final installment of the series we've been in for the last several weeks. We've called Family Blessings. And I love that Stacey was giving some language to this as well, even in the youth. This has been a theme that the Holy Spirit has uh brought up among the youth. Um the desire to return to this identity of the family of God. And uh, you know, it's one of those things where for years we've we sprinkle that language in church talk, right? And in sermons, and I've preached other sermons on that, but it's something that the Lord has to continue to develop over time. How many of you guys know we have to continue to simmer and and uh remain in the slow cooker of the kingdom of God to get the flavors really worked in? And and that's my thing, it's it's something that we've talked about, but it seems as if the Holy Spirit is just taking it deeper and deeper and deeper. This is what it means to participate in the fellowship of the Father and the Son and the Spirit, and then to have that expressed here on earth among the people of God. You guys know what I'm talking about? And so Ephesians 1 has been, it's this beautiful, um uh it's this beautiful introduction to an amazing letter, a paramount in all the scripture, the letter to the Ephesians is is one of, gosh, one of the high points, I believe, of all the New Testament. And and so we're gonna finish up a little movement in this letter today, but I just want to remind us as we're talking about family and the blessings of the Father, the spiritual blessings of Christ that the Father has given to the church. I mean, part of the reason why we have to keep going over this and going over this is these are things that we must rehearse. And so just as a dancer has to log hours in the studio rehearsing the moves and the balancing and the performance, just as a guitarist or a musician has to spend time behind closed doors, going over the chords and running scales, as kingdom people, as we walk in the Spirit of God, we in a like uh like manner have to rehearse the story of God. We have to rehearse our identity, we have to rehearse the gospel over our lives until it gets into our bones, until we're breathing and living from it. We're waking up with the first thoughts of this is what God has done, this is who God is, and then this is what he's done, and this is who I get to be today in light of what he has said about me. And so this is why we keep doing this, and this is why Paul, even in a lot of these letters, he's saying, I'm writing these things to remind you. So most of what we do in church is just reminding ourselves of what God has already done. And while there's new ways to express these things, I do believe that there's this permeation that the Lord is really after, especially in the day that we live in. And I'm more and more convinced of this, convinced that the day we live in is unlike any other. And even some are referring to the day we live in as a digital Babylon. Which I know is a very intense term that I'd love to unpack in a different message sometime, but we live in a day where you know we've only had our iPhones for about 12 years and they've totally revolutionized our lives. The amount of content we consume on a daily basis is unprecedented. Versus the amount of spiritual content that we're receiving both from the Lord and that we're that we're integrating into our lives. And it is, we're living in a day where there is a competition for the narrative arc of the day of what is the story that we are to believe. And we are just being pounded over and over and over again with messages that say that you are by yourself and you it's your job to figure out this life, that God is not really involved in your life, right? Authority cannot be trusted. And the list goes on and on and on, and that it's up to me to live my best life now. You do you, you live out your truth. I mean, these things are just competing for our head space and our heart space. And so part of our job for each other is to both to remain rooted in God's thoughts for us, and then to proclaim those to each other. Amen. And so that's why we're continuing to get into this stuff, and it's not unlike an operating system upgrade. I woke up this morning and my phone says, Your software has been updated. I was like, that's awesome. While I was sleeping, everything was just updated. And that's our prayer. When we come to God, when we come into the scripture, when we come into the family of God, there's Paul, he used that, he used the term renewing of our mind. That was pre-iPhone. They said renewing of the mind. These days, we get a software upgrade in the spirit, in the kingdom. And it happens to us. And I looked at the details, and it says, Your, your, your device is vulnerable. You are vulnerable to attackers. There are gaps and vulnerabilities in your device. You're vulnerable to attackers. I'm like, how awesome is that? I get to get a software upgrade. And I'm just praying this morning as we continue this conversation that come on, let's pray for an upgrade in our thinking. Let's pray an upgrade in our identity to shield us from any gaps and vulnerabilities we might have to the evil one. That God wants to cut those things off and solidify you and establish you in who you are as a son and daughter of God. Yes! I'll preach this to myself. I don't care. So we're gonna read, we're gonna read this passage again in Ephesians chapter 1. You can turn there, and I just want to remind us this is this is a holy, this is a sacred moment, the reading of the scripture together. I heard a story from a friend yesterday who he works with leaders in different countries all around the world, and he gathers with them, and he's recently gathered in another country with about 10 or so leaders from closed nations. And they can't, they literally can't do any of this. Their worship sounds like this.

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I love you, God. I love you, God, I love you, God.

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They literally can't even raise their voice. They can't let anybody know they're reading scripture, so they have to get in a car, four of them in a car, and one of them will read scripture from the back seat, while another one will lead them in hymns, and another one will be interceding while the fourth guy drives. And they do that because that's the only way they can do this. And so that when they read the word, there's this hungering, there's this respect, there's this, there's this sacredness, this holiness to the moment. These these aren't just toss-out words that you can download any second of the day. This is this is this is God's heart. This is the voice of the Holy Spirit of God speaking to us. Can we read these words with that kind of conviction this morning? Yeah, so blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of all of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us this mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. Amen. Amen. And so as we've talked and we kind of set it some context early on, you can look at this. It starts off that the Father has blessed us in Christ. This starts with the will and the purpose of the Father to establish something in his family. And all of us grew up in a family of some sort, okay? Probably a lot of different shapes and sizes and kinds, okay? But you grew up with a sense of what's normal. Everybody has a cultural family norm. This is how we behaved in the house, this is how we fought, this is how we treated each other, this is how dinner times were, this is how dinner times were not, right? This is what happened. So we grew up with the sense of, oh, this is how life works. And so, but in a similar way, when when our hearts say yes to Jesus and we actually turn to God, when we step into the family of God and we respond to his invitation to come into nearness with him, we begin a lifelong journey of being reparented into the family of Jesus. And for the rest of our lives, God is trying to teach us this is the new norm in the family of God. This is what's actually normal in the kingdom of God. And so a lot of these spiritual blessings are essentially the it's the bar of what we're shooting for. So when it says that, I've chosen you, I've adopted you, you have an inheritance, right? You have been lavished with love. You have received redemption and forgiveness of sins. These things we get to receive, and these are things that we get to extend. How awesome is it to be a part of a community where you feel chosen. When you look into each other's eyes and you feel a certain sense of chosenness. God, let it be so here. Let us see, look into each other's eyes and choose each other. Let us lavish your love upon each other. Let us, like we talked about last week, extend forgiveness without withholding it. Let us extend forgiveness and let us point each other to a greater inheritance and help each other seize this inheritance. And this last part that we're digging into just for a few minutes this morning. Woo, we're losing time quick. In him you also. So the first, in verse 12, it says that so that we were the first to hope in Christ might be the praise of the glory. So who were the first to hope in Christ? Who is he talking about? The Jews. Okay? So he says, so that we who are the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. Okay? So the gospel first went to the Jews, and then he moves it to the Gentiles. In 13, in him you also, so now he turns it to the Gentiles. In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth and the gospel of your salvation, you believed in him. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Okay, so there's something that happens when our hearts turn towards God. And so we know that there's such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the being overwhelmed, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That's a thing that happens in and of itself. But there's a there is a sealing of the Holy Spirit that happens the moment our hearts turn towards God and say, I trust you. I think you're the one. I think you're Him. You're the one my heart's been looking for. And there's something that happens in the moment that's miraculous. And the Holy Spirit rushes in and seals something in the name of Jesus. And this word seal is much similar to like a stamp of approval, like a wax stamp. You ever done the old school mailing deal where you get the wax kit and you do the letter and you drip the wax and you like stamp it on there? That's the kind of thing we're talking about. We're talking about something, a stamp that happens on our hearts for eternity. That's that's uh it's an authentication. It's a proof of the one who is doing who whose signature we are receiving. It's like going to a notary to get an official certification that something is legitimate. When we were sealed by the Holy Spirit, it was something that was that happened to us that cannot unhappen to us in the name of Jesus. That's such good news. And can I just speak that to your heart this morning? It doesn't matter. Like you can be the worst of the worst sinners. You could have responded to God at some point in your life and have run from him ever since. Your life could have taken a lot of turns. There's probably some things that you were not proud of, that you were actually carrying levels of shame and guilt in your life. But can I just remind you, the Father will not let you be snatched from his hand. The gospel is not fragile. And that's the thing. Sometimes I think in in our world, and as we're walking this out, sometimes we're we wonder, gosh, is this is this gonna hold? Is this gonna stick? Oh man, I don't know. Can I just remind you, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. There is something that has happened, authenticated in God, that you are sealed and you are marked by God for all of eternity. And that's what I love. Gordon Fee, in his book, Paul the Spirit and the People of God, he says it like this Paul sees the church as an end times community whose members live in the present as stamped with eternity. And I love that the sealing of the Holy Spirit, we've been given a spirit that is the presence of the future, the presence of what's to come. And that's really the kind of the next part of this particular passage. Not only are we sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, but verse 14 says the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. So Holy Spirit has been given to us. This is one of the blessings of the Father. This is part of what marks the family of God. That each of us, as we grow up in the family of God, know that we're sealed with the Spirit, held tight in the embrace of the Father. But then we also have been given a deposit. And this particular word says guarantee, but in other passages the word actually means a deposit. It's a signet. It's a it's a um it's it's something that happens that foreshadows what's to come. And it's not the only time Paul uses this particular language in 1 Corinthians 1.21, he says it like this. I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians 1.21. Sorry if that screws up the Bible on the screen, but just listen to me. It says this. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. A deposit on something, and it just took everything just to get the deposit, right? To get something that you really wanted. I think this is just a fascinating passage that what Paul is saying, that the Holy Spirit is simply a deposit of what's to come. Does it strike any of you as wild that the Holy Spirit is only a deposit of what's to come? Holy smokes! We've been given the Holy Spirit, but guess what? That's just a glimpse. That's just that's just a fraction of what's to come. But you've been given this part of an inheritance so that you can be filled with an imagination of your destiny. And I love that. I love that because we are we love to know what's coming. How many of you guys love to reminisce about the future and what the future is going to be like? I love this. And if we had a couple hours over coffee, I have theories, I have conspiracy theories, and then I have like a lot of hope too, you know. Um that would be a fun conversation, but I love talking about the future and where all this is going. And but in as a culture, we we just obsess over the future. Um, we like to know what's coming, we like to anticipate how it's gonna unfold. In fact, gosh, um one of the, you know, are you guys familiar with this movie Avengers Endgame? Anyone? Yeah, you can raise your hand, you're in church. It's all right. It's only like the biggest blockbuster movie ever in time. Um here's the thing the actual movie shattered box office records, but what's crazy is the trailer, the trailer shattered records. Okay, so the moment the movie, like they say we have a two-minute preview of what's coming in this movie, within 24 hours, 289 million people watch this thing. I just think it's crazy. Not only do they go see the movie, the anticipation of, oh, it's gonna be like, what's it gonna be like? Then you get nearly 300 million people all in one day flock to watch this little thing. What's gonna happen to them? What's it gonna be like, right? Because they're super invested in the story. I love, I love the fact that the Father has blessed us in Christ, sealed us in the Spirit, gave us the Spirit as a guarantee, as a foreshadowing, an imagination of the inheritance to come. The Holy Spirit is basically the movie trailer to the rest of our life with God. And you cannot live the Christian life effectively without the Holy Spirit. We can't do it because we won't have an imagination. The Holy Spirit has to do with reminding us of where it is all actually going. And I think if there's one, gosh, there's a lot of things, there's a lot of issues with our day, so I don't want to make just a blanket statement here. I think one thing that we struggle with is what I would call a narrative void. So many of us, it's easy to lose the plot as we're journeying through life. I see so much discouragement, I see so much anxiety. I even woke up this morning with a little bit of anxiety, and I don't even know why. And I had to confess that before the Lord and say, hey, this is actually happening in me. I'm not sure what that is. But I think sometimes what happens when we lose a sense of where all this is going, what is Jesus doing? Is all of this stuff actually going somewhere? It can actually produce a certain level of depression or discouragement and anxiety. And the thing, which is why I love that the Holy Spirit has been given to us to remind us of who God is, who we're becoming, and what God is doing to make all things new. In verse 10, it says he is reconciled, he's every everything is summed up in Christ in heaven and earth. And so he's pulling it all into himself. That is this giant story that we have just been born into. And I believe it's one of the best things about living life in the Spirit of God. He reminds us of where we're at in this story, and he's always giving us the next step. One of the interesting things about Ephesians 1 that was pointed out to me, was the parallels with another story in Scripture. And I want you to take some of these keywords and see if you can guess. What comes to mind? There's a parable that Jesus told. It's the story of the prodigal son. And it's a story, I would argue, is one of the most significant stories that Jesus ever shared that captured the essence of the human condition and what God was actually like in the midst of our condition. And what I love is reading this Ephesians 1 passage about the Father blessing us with Christ and adopting us into Himself and lavishing His love upon us and giving us the inheritance that we always wanted. And then sealing it with the promised Holy Spirit, who would be the guarantee, the deposit, the ring that would go on our finger, guaranteeing what's to come. And it's almost parallel to this story of the prodigal son, which you guys know. It's a story of a younger son who decided that he wanted his inheritance, and by asking for his inheritance, it was almost like saying, Father, I wish you were dead. And I think I can do better with what you have than than staying here. If I go somewhere else. And so he does that. And he comes to his senses ultimately when he realizes that his way is not producing life, and he comes back and the father receives him back in. And welcomes him in with a robe and a ring and a party. Right? And there was an older son who was watching this whole thing, and he never left. He'd actually did all the right things, and yet there was something still in his heart that he never received what was already his. And so the story ends with both sons having an equal invitation to come into the party. To receive the blessings of the Father here and now. He wanted all the blessings, but without the relationship. He thought that he could have all the blessings on his own terms. I think this is so easy to do. To try to receive what Christ has done, but to try to live it out and walk it out without him. I've got it. I'm just going to do it. But without this vibrant, robust, secret place with Jesus. And I believe that the heart of the Father to those of us who try to live the blessings and the inheritance without him is to say, come on in. This is so much better when you do this with me. How many of you guys know that living in the blessings of God without him does not actually end up producing life? It's all meant to be in the context. The inheritance is in the context of walking that out with the Father so he can show us how to enjoy his blessings. And that's a whole sermon in itself. His blessings actually have the potential to ruin us if we're not careful with them. That's how powerful they are. And so his invitation is listen, you think don't think you can do better on your own. Say with me. Let me show you your way around this inheritance. That's what the Holy Spirit wants for us. That's for those of us who just kind of go out and try to just, we're just gonna do the stuff. But we've kind of we forsake that the closeness and the nearness of God. The Holy Spirit's saying, come back in. Come back in. And this, but the same is true. And I think that the younger brother condition is very widespread. We love the thing to live the things of the kingdom without one without needing a king. I want to actually establish the things of the kingdom. Our culture loves to actually receive the gifts of the kingdom, but without needing an authority in their lives. So the Holy Spirit says, no, there's a good authority that you can trust. There's a father who's a king, and you can trust him. So that's an invitation. But the second invitation for the older son, there's many of us, and I've been an older son and a younger son, and I go back and forth every other day, right? As the Lord is teaching me to become a father. But the older son, we know, both ridicules the younger son, who's just kind of doing their thing. But the problem with the older son, and I think this is a hard thing in church life and walking with Jesus for a long time, it's easy to want the security of knowing that we have the inheritance and just that being enough for us. But without actually enjoying the blessings of that inheritance. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes it's comforting to know that we're in, and that's just enough. But how what a miserable life to have everything at the Father's disposal and never enjoy any of it. And never actually take advantage of everything that the Holy Spirit has opened up to us. And that's what the older son does. They just, it's, it's a religious duty, kind of a life is normal, but without ever taking advantage of what the Father has made possible. And so the Father's heart, for us here in the room that do that, like we know the blessings, but but rarely do we actually access them. He wants us to know how deep the water is and how good it feels. And I believe that there's an invitation even for us today. For those of you who might consider yourself an older brother, that God, the the Holy Spirit wants to reactivate that deposit inside of you to know all that's possible in Him. A new imagination for a hope in a future. In a second here, we're gonna we're gonna pray. And I want to read uh this rendition out of Ephesians chapter one. This is the message paraphrase and starting in verse 11. I love this. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, we had he had his eye on us, had designs on us for a glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed this message of your salvation, found yourselves home and free, signed and sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment of what's coming. A reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, appraising and glorious life. Come on, this is good. It's a signet, it's a sign to remind us of all that is coming. And I just, if I have one hope, I have one desire this morning, as I was praying, even coming in this morning, there is a sense that the Holy Spirit wanted to bring courage and comfort. But for some of some of us who have either lost the plot in our lives, in our calling, in our destiny, in our journey, it's got fuzzy. Or there has been a place, uh there's been a place of weariness where we feel like throwing in the towel, and maybe in certain parts of our life. Because we've been removed from what's coming, and we need that deposit of the Holy Spirit to reawaken us with an imagination of what God is doing. Courage to stay the course. That's the that's the phrase I specifically wrote. I believe that the Lord wants to minister courage to stay the course. And I'm just gonna trust that as I said that, something, if that's for you, you're gonna know that. That might mean staying the course in a marriage, it might mean seeing the course in your job, it might be staying the course and pursuing something that God has actually awoken in your life. But there's been maybe a temptation to jump off course because you don't see where it's going. But I just want to declare that over you the Holy Spirit is here to minister courage to your heart for faithfulness and resilience today. So here's let's do this. I want to have the Kynos students. I just feel like there is a deposit in you. Um, don't you guys love there's no junior Holy Spirit? And uh the deposit is a deposit, is a deposit is a deposit. So whenever your heart turns to the Lord, you got a deposit. And so I just had a sense, uh, if you guys are cool with this, for those of you who are interested in being a part of this, if you guys could just kind of line up on the sides, like in the front, maybe, maybe down front here, a few of you down front and a few of you over here. And this morning, I have a sense that the Holy Spirit wants to minister to reawaken that deposit in us, to remind us that we've been sealed in Christ, and and then to also give us a new imagination for the inheritance that we're coming until we fully acquire possession of it in the name of Jesus, to the praise of his glory. And we're just gonna ask these guys to pray over each and every one of us that something is reactivated and renewed in our hearts, and maybe that's never been an experience for you in the first place. It's okay, today can be your first time. So everybody is welcome to this. But I want uh you guys can come come on up, come on up if you're good with this. A few of you over here, a few of you right here, a few of you uh down over here in the front. And if you want a new, fresh, filling reminder, a ceiling, a confirmation, an injection of courage this morning, and whatever God has given to you. I just want to invite you, as we're kind of ending our time, I want to invite you to stand this morning across the room, and then spread out. We need you guys further down that way too, okay? Go further that way so we have some space. No, you're good right here. And come down front, just receive a quick prayer. They're not gonna take forever, but they're we're gonna believe that God is working something for his good in this place. So come on down and listen, we're gonna use this to end our time this morning officially. So, blessings to you if you're gonna head out. Thank you for being a part this morning. It's so good to have you here. We are gonna have our healing rooms available uh in the back as well. But before you leave, don't just rush out, get some prayer. And if after you get some prayer, go and hug somebody, have some conversations, enjoy the day. But listen, God is on the move, and the Holy Spirit is here to remind us to renew us in his purposes. Amen. All right, bless six to you guys, love you guys.