Who Do You Think You Are?

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book, A Man of God. But first here is his message, Who Do You Think You Are? We're in a series of messages on the life and legacy of the greatest Christian who ever lived in my view, the Apostle Paul.

And I know when we study great men like Paul, apostles, and leaders of the New Testament and Old Testament era, sometimes we can be intimidated thinking that, well, that was Paul and I'm not. But the fact is that God gave Paul and you and me everything that we need to live an abundant life for Christ. Begin finding your Bibles, the book of Ephesians chapter 1, and I'm looking here in verses 3 to 14 of Ephesians 1 at the longest sentence in the Bible. It's just a massive paragraph filled with the blessings of God describing, listen to this, our identity, our security, and our destiny in Christ.

It's all right here. To all who are in Christ, who are abundantly super blessed with all the blessings of God in Christ. The triune God, the fullness of the Godhead is present in this passage.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. We're told that we have been chosen, selected by the Father, that we have been redeemed, forgiven, saved by the Son, and that we have been secured, sealed by the Holy Spirit. We're going to look at each one of these as best we can in the time that we have today, and that we have been blessed by the Father through the Son or in the Son through the Holy Spirit.

Let me say that again. We have been blessed by the Father in the Son, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. And again and again and again from the Apostle Paul in the Word of God, we read this phrase, in Christ, in Christ, in Christ, in Christ, in Christ, in the Beloved. It's all about Jesus. The Christian faith is all about Him. That's because everything that we have in life and in the future life, the life to come, is in Him. That we have salvation in Christ, the forgiveness of sins in Christ, the blessings and favor of God in Christ, freedom in Christ, hope in Christ, love in Christ. Because everything that He is, listen to this, everything that He is, the great I am, I can say I am, if I am in Christ and Christ is in me. Paul said, I am what I am by the grace of God. So we have all things according to the Scripture pertaining to life and godliness. Sometimes we think, well I don't have enough faith.

Yes you do. You've been given all the faith you need in Jesus Christ. I don't have enough hope. You have hope in Christ. You just need to access that hope in Christ. You have all the love that you need. You say, I need more love.

No you don't. The love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And in Christ, you have all the love that you need.

Anything that you can imagine, any spiritual blessing that you need is in Christ, is all in Him. And Paul is so excited about that. He's so fired up about that, that he begins to praise God and what we have here in verses 3 to 14 is a hymn of praise. A hymn to the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he just pours out his praise. Let me remind you that this is Paul in prison, not in the praise service. And regardless of our circumstances in life, we can always pray through it and praise through it. Paul could have said, I'm a prisoner.

No, he said, I'm in Christ. You may think, well you know, I just don't have much and I've never been much. I'm a loser and so many people feel inadequate and insecure. What we're about to see in this passage today, that in Christ you never need to feel less than.

You never need to feel inadequate. You can know that every provision has been made that you are a child of the Most High God. That you are a child of God, the Heavenly Father. And everything that He has, He makes available to you. That ought to cause your heart to soar and praise to God like Paul. Because we have so much in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So get ready. We're going to unpack this passage in the few minutes that we have, but I'm going to read it first, beginning in verse 3, Ephesians 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed means to praise.

It's the word eulogy or eulogize. And so we are to bless the blessor. He's saying, praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

An important note here. Sometimes you hear that we all worship the same God. That whether it's the God of the Christians, the God of the Muslims, the God of the Jews, the God of the Hindus, the God of the religious world, whatever God you choose to worship, it's all the same God. We Christians worship the same God.

No. As followers of Jesus Christ, we worship, the God that we worship is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what sets the Christian faith apart. And frankly, it's where we take a lot of the heat and the flack from the world because we're viewed as bigots and those who are ostracizing others when in fact the Gospel message is for anyone and everyone who will come to Him. But the fact is all truth is narrow. Two plus two is four no matter how many times you may try to slice it.

Truth is truth and so truth is narrow. But He says to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Sometimes you think in the natural realm, you don't think you're blessed. You think, well I'm having a hard time and I'm sick and I don't have a job and I'm not blessed.

In the natural, it may appear that you are unblessed. But God says that you have been blessed by God with all spiritual blessings. Not when you get to heaven someday, but right now. And what we need to do is simply access. We have on deposit for us the eternal dividends of God Himself. The benefits, the blessings, the worth, the wealth of God. All spiritual blessings are yours in Christ right now. And what we need to do is possess our possessions.

We need to claim our inheritance. Too many of us are living beneath our blessings. We're living below God's standard of living for us. We're not accessing the incredible wealth and worth that we have in Christ.

And what is that? He starts with verse 4, 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 as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the 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 in earth.

In Him we have obtained the 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. Verse 13, in Him you also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, by the way, you need more than positive thinking. Now positive thinking is really good.

I like positive thinking a lot better than negative thinking. But this is more than a feel good passage. This is the word of truth. It's not what I say to myself about myself, it's what God says to me about me.

It's truth. And that's why the Scripture says the truth will set you free. So while it's good to think positively, it's even better to think positively biblically. The word of truth, the gospel of your salvation who believed in Him who were, now here's the work of the Holy Spirit, sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. So you see why we say that we have been saved by the Father, all these blessings come by the Father in the Son through the Holy Spirit. We have been selected by God the Father, we have been redeemed or saved by God the Son, we have been secured, sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Graced and highly favored. Our God is a good God who delights to give good things to His children. Every good and perfect gift comes down from above. Now, certainly every material blessing that we have comes from God, and we are so abundantly blessed. We've been given so much. And every blessing that we have financially and otherwise, certainly we give praise to God. But beyond the material blessing come the spiritual blessings in Christ, in Christ, in Christ, so that we never need to live feeling insecure or insignificant or inadequate. You're blessed. Take God at His word. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message.

Who do you think you are? June 30th is PowerPoint's financial year end, and we need your help. A generous friend has offered to match every gift given to PowerPoint this month. So any gift you give to PowerPoint will be doubled, allowing us to keep the hope of Jesus Christ coming your way and going out to millions more all over the world.

And when you give, we'll say thanks by sending you Dr. Graham's book, A Man of God. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131.

Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is Jack Graham.org. Now let's get back to today's message. Who do you think you are? He said you're blessed that you would be, look at this in verse 4, holy and blameless before Him. Holy and blameless before Him.

What? You're looking at a holy man. You say, well you don't look that holy to me.

Well, in the sight of God in Christ, when God views you and me, He sees us as holy. That's our position in Christ. We tell athletes, play your position.

Coach, don't we? Do your job. Don't worry about the next play or the play that just happened.

Just do your job right in front of you. Play your position. In Christ, we have a position and we are to play it, that is live it out and therefore our position in Christ motivates us to live this out. So you are not just a student or a teenager, you are a holy child of God, therefore that motivates you to live like God's child.

Because you already are. That's our position in Christ and therefore we are blameless before Him, that is no sin is laid to our charge. Can you imagine that? In the sight of God, so many of you think God is so angry with you that God can never forgive you, that God will never get over what you just did.

No, in the sight of God, because of the fact that you are in Christ, He sees you as pure and holy and blameless. A little girl was asked what she learned in Sunday school. She said, well the teacher asked, is there anything that God can't do? You know what I said mommy? I said, what did you say? She said, yes there's something God can't do.

What? He can't see my sin through the blood of Jesus. That's right. Because He chooses in Christ, He chooses in Christ to accept us and adopt us legally into His family. And fact is, He says that we are predestined to be like Christ. That we have been called and chosen by God before the foundation of the world.

Now, we can walk a little theological truth right here. Because when you study your Bible, you know there's an issue regarding what is predestination and what is election and the sovereignty of God. Especially as it relates to the humanity and the will of man and so on.

And so, a lot of people get really bent out of shape about this and there are theological systems that try to define this. But look, know this, that God did pick you out, He did choose you before the foundation of the world. Spurgeon used to say it's a good thing because that God chose me before I was born because He would have never chosen me after I was born. But before you were born, before there were stars in outer space, God set His love, His heart, His affection upon you in Christ. And He has called you and is calling you if you don't know Him, you're not here by chance or accident. He has brought you here by divine appointment to come to Him.

Maybe you're watching on television, listening on radio and you're in your car, you're in your home and you sense this strange drawing to Christ. That's God loving you. And we love Him because He first, what?

Loved us. He set His love upon us. And I do know this, when I read my Bible it's clear to me that while God has chosen me, this doesn't mean that God is cruel or capricious. He didn't stand before eternity and said, you saved, you lost, you lost, you saved, heaven bound, hell bound, you're kindling, you're not.

No. The Bible tells us that even in this passage that we have the responsibility to believe that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The last invitation of the Bible, God put it at the end of the word I think just to remind us that whosoever will may come. Anyone, the Spirit says come. The church, the bride of Christ says come.

And let anyone who is athirst come. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 1 John 2, 2 says that Jesus died for the sins of the world, not just for the sins of the elect, but for the sins of the whole world. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3, 9 that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Anyone who wants to be saved can be saved if you will believe in Christ. Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, God is in control.

Yes, God has chosen us. But at the same time, God has given us a will to respond and believe to Him. You say, well that's contrary.

I can't figure that out. And if you could, you'd be God Himself. I don't have to figure out His ways are higher than our ways. And the sovereign, divine sovereignty of God and the freedom of the will of man are not adversaries, they are allies.

And they're side by side in Scripture. You let God work out the details. But He says, you have been chosen. He says you have been accepted, adopted, and accepted into the family of God.

You see that verses 4 and 5, these are such rich words. If you had a wonderful, loving, caring father, you're blessed by that. Some of you had fathers that were angry, even abusive, maybe abandoned by your father. And you wonder, you know, does anyone want me? Does anyone care about me? You have a heavenly father who is a perfect father. Who loves you. Your father is God. God is your father. He's given you a father. He's given you a family. That's what all this talk was about the uniting together in Christ. We have this spiritual family, this destiny with Him, we have a future with Him, all in Christ. We've all seen children adopted with all the legal rights of the family.

That's what adoption is. We are sons and daughters of God. You have a Father who loves you and He pours out His blessings upon you. Well, we have been blessed by the Father. We've been blessed by the Son with forgiveness and redemption.

That's a word which describes being set free, redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. Paul is proclaiming the redemption of God and the forgiveness of sins. We say this over and over and over and over again because it's so difficult for us to get sometimes that all of our sins are forgiven in Christ. The Christian life is not just the forgiveness of your past sin to give you a brand new start to do your best. No, all of our sins are forgiven in Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us from every sin. So the blessing of salvation including blessings from God the Father, blessings from God the Son, I'm running out of time here but I'm telling you that you just can't stop praising God.

It will take eternity to praise Him enough for this salvation that has been provided in Christ, in Christ. And then the Holy Spirit, for He says we have the guarantee, the sealing of the Holy Spirit. If you go to buy a house or a piece of property you will get a stack of papers and you sign them, sign them, sign them, sign them, sign them. And then at the end someone gets a stamp, an official stamp of the state of Texas and puts the stamp on there to make it a legal document. That's the kind of legal terminology.

In fact Paul laces this passage with legal terminology. Adoption is one, the Holy Spirit being the guarantee, the seal as another. So the Holy Spirit seals and settles the salvation issue and the security of your life. It also means a brand mark.

It's like you would brand an animal, a cow, and you put the brand on it. The Holy Spirit is the seal, the Holy Spirit is the brand, the Holy Spirit is the security that we have in Christ. And God's Holy Spirit then, we are in His grip because we are signed, sealed, and already delivered. That's why we can say we are as good for heaven as if we had already been there 10 billion years.

Praise God is right. We are sure because we've been blessed with this identity, this significance, this security in Christ. And when we are in Christ, even Satan himself could not snatch us from the grip and say, well, what if I could fall through His fingers?

Don't you know that's impossible because you're a part of the body. In Christ, you're in His body. You are in Christ, in Christ, in Christ, by the Father, by the Son, by the Holy Spirit. And therefore, experience and enjoy your blessings. Don't live beneath your privileges, but as a holy, blameless child of God, praise Him with your life and with your lips and with your witness and never stop throughout all eternity.

You are a child of God. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, Who Do You Think You Are? PowerPoint is coming up on the end of our financial year, and we've got some exciting news to share with you today. Some friends have stepped forward with a $180,000 matching grant, which will double any gift you give this month to help PowerPoint finish this financial year strong. With more people than ever searching for what only Jesus can provide, your gift today is nothing short of vital to help ensure PowerPoint remains a beacon of hope in the year ahead.

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Our website again is JackGraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Well, I know predestination is a pretty big word and it's a bigger idea, and a lot of folks are confused about predestination. They think it's somehow unfair that God would choose people in salvation and others not to choose. But the message of predestination is not for those who haven't been saved, but it is a promise to those who are saved but are insecure about their future. Predestination is God saying, I know you may be concerned about whether or not you go to heaven or not, but let me reassure you, I chose you before the beginning of time, and therefore your salvation is guaranteed. Once you've come to faith in Jesus Christ, your eternal future is guaranteed.

You are secure in Christ. All of this is based on God's sovereignty. He began with a plan for his creation, for you and for me, and that means not just generally, but personally.

And that plan was in existence before the world began. And this should give you immeasurable, indescribable confidence that when you look at all this going on around your life and in your world, and wonder, is God really in control? You can know, yes, God absolutely is in control.

So when you think about predestination, think about a God who has a destiny for your life, and that God is working in you to bring you to himself. I want you to know how grateful I am for you. None of this would happen without the consistent support of listeners just like you. Through your gifts and prayers, PowerPoint broadcasts the gospel in over 800 cities and on TV in 113 countries. And that's why I'm asking for your special help today. Your support is vital to keep these biblical messages coming your way and going out strong to tell more people about the love of Jesus.

You can be sure that God will use your support to proclaim the gospel till the whole world hears. Thank you for your generosity. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's powerful book, A Man of God, as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how prayer invites God's peace into your life. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.