Messages From Pleasant City Church

The new spiritual realities that have been provided for you (1:3-14) can only be realized when you discover the true crisis of your soul and then receive the cure provided by Christ. In the passage today Paul is describing the act and process of salvation or as he puts it being “in Christ.”

Once we understand: 1) that our identity is Christ-based, 2) that we are “in Him” (meaning we are living in the new spiritual realities Christ has provided) then we can begin to pursue the life He has for us.

When we begin to understand who we are “in Christ” then we begin to know our true identity, our privileges, and our purpose.

Most scholars agree that excluding the book of Romans; the letter to the Ephesians is the most detailed written presentation of Christian Theology of all of the epistles.

Many scholars have written that Ephesians 1:3-14 are some of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible. They clearly describe who we are “in Christ” and the new identity in which we can now live.

Christianity in its very essence is a resurrection religion. (Matthew 28:1-10) If there is no resurrection there is no salvation. (1 Corinthians 15:1-7) The resurrection provides forgiveness, freedom and victory for those who follow Jesus.

The brutality of Jesus’ last hours was horrific. It was a scene that was predicted in the OT, recorded in the gospels, and explained in the epistles to bring salvation to mankind.

The last days of Jesus has been described as the week of passion. The word passion not only means strong emotion or strong desire; it also means extreme suffering and distress. Jesus’ anguish would extent into the night before the cross in the garden of Gethsemane.

God’s desire is for your next move to be one of faithful consistency in making disciples.

God’s desire for your Next move is to Spiritually Reproduce.

Every single person, including YOU, begins their spiritual Life as a spiritual Infant, but you don’t have to stay there. God’s desire is for your next move to be one of maturing. Will you stay at What’s Now or move to What’s Next?

Every single person on earth can be found in a Spiritual Stage of life. The forward progression through these stages is called Discipleship. Before you can go to what’s Next you must know where you are Now.

Reasons you do not forgive: the one who hurt you does not deserve forgiveness; the one who hurt you has not suffered enough; and lastly, to forgive them will make you feel vulnerable.

Hurt is hurt; but its impact and depth are determined by the closeness of the relationship with the offender.

“Life is not fair” is a common theme in the present day but how can it be fair? We live in a fallen world around fallen people. But there is One who can make sense of it all because He is sovereign. He has the power to orchestrate the events of our life even in a fallen world. This is clearly seen in the life of Joseph as his prison experience led to victory.

Doing the right thing does not necessarily guarantee good short-term outcomes. This principle is clearly seen in this part of Joseph’s life. However, Joseph stood firm, overcame temptation and trusted that God was providentially directing his life through his trials.

Like many, Joseph had to overcome the reality of a dysfunctional family. Dysfunction in a home is a consequence of a practice or behavioral pattern that undermines the stability of an individual or family. Just as Joseph, one can overcome the effects of a dysfunctional home by realizing and then changing the destructive patterns that create the dysfunction.