So we're going to read from the book of Ephesians and chapter 1, Paul's letter to the Ephesians and chapter 1. Ephesians in chapter 1. I'll read the whole chapter for us. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, wherein he has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence, having been known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. that in the dispensation of the fullness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance. being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the words of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, make a mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us all who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Amen. Amen. Well, I'll start by asking a question. Anyone who knows anything about my preaching, I always start by asking a question. I think it's always important to wake us up, to wake our minds up, and to think carefully upon something. That question is, do you ever pray? Do you ever pray? Some people say that they're Christians and they never pray. Some people say that they're Christians and they only pray formally. They only maybe say the Lord's Prayer or something else, a Book of Common Prayer or something like that. Do you ever pray? Do you pray without Ceasing. Are you constantly in an attitude of prayer towards God? Even before you've come along this evening, have you prayed? Are you going to pray during the sermon that the Lord will bless the preacher and strengthen the preacher as he preaches with power this evening? That's me, by the way, obviously. And are you also going to pray that the Lord will keep you alert and awake to be able to listen to the preaching of his word? Have you ever started your Christian life with prayer by saying something like, Lord, be merciful to me? A sinner? Have you ever done that? Ever come to a point in your life where you've just dropped to your knees before God and said, Lord, have mercy upon me. That's where we come into the Christian life, isn't it? When we first recognise that we're sinners. When we first see that God has provided the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who dies upon the cross for all of those who repent and turn to Him and believe on Him. Have you recognised Him as Saviour? Have you repented from your sin and asked Him, to save you from your sin. If so, then you are saved. You are the person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. I can't say any more to you than the Apostle Paul said when he said, What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. When you are saved from your sin, there will be evidence you will love God, you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul. And when there is times when you don't feel like you love God with all your heart and mind and soul, it will make you feel sad. You will feel sad because you are moving away from the Lord. Not just that, you will love the lost. You'll absolutely love those who are lost. You'll want to reach the lost. You'll want to tell them the gospel. You'll want to tell them about their sin. You'll want to tell them about the Savior. So you'll love the Lord. You will love the lost. And you will love the Lord's people. You will love to fellowship. with other Christians, whether it's a mid-week meeting at a Bible study, whether it's a prayer meeting, whether it's the preaching of the words, whether it's going down to people's houses, visiting them, whatever the case may be, you will love the Lord's people, you will love fellowship. The pastor whose ministry I was saved under, a fellow called Hillis Fleming, who's a Northern Irish preacher, said there is no ship Like the fellowship no ship like the fellowship if you're a christian You will know that you will have a desire in your heart to fellowship and you will have a desire in your heart To pray you will want to pray all of the time There was a young boy who went out to have something to eat with his dad and he went to McDonald's. Some of you have ever been to McDonald's or the restaurants are available. He went out to McDonald's with his dad and just before he ate, he bowed his head. And as he lifted his head back up, his dad said, what were you doing then, Johnny? He said, I was praying. He said, what did you pray? What did you pray for? He said, I don't know. It was a silent prayer. It's kids for you, isn't it? We know, we know what we should pray for. We know that we should pray. We see this in verses 17 to 19. The Apostle Paul is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. All scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable. The Apostle Paul is writing under inspiration and he is praying. The Apostle Paul is Praying he says in verse 16. I cease not to give thanks to you make a mention of you in my prayers What is it that the apostle paul prays for and for the church at ephesus? And what is it that the apostle paul prays for even for us all scripture is written for our learning and for our Admonition so that the man of god might be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. This is written For us, what has God got to say to us through His word? What does Paul want for them and for us? Firstly, he wanted them to know God personally. That's the first thing the apostle Paul wants, that they might know God personally. Verse 17, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. That he might give unto you. That's personal, isn't it? That he wants them to know something about God. personally and that he wants them to know God personally. So what does the Apostle Paul pray that the Ephesians and us, of course, may have, that we might have? Well, firstly, there's a relationship with God. The Apostle Paul wants the Ephesians to have a genuine relationship with God. How's your relationship with God? How is your day by day walk and relationship with God? Verse 17, it tells us here, doesn't it, in these verses, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Not just knowledge about Him, but the actual knowledge of Him, that we might know Him. It tells us in Philippians chapter 3 verse 10, that I might know Him. That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection. That's what Paul wants here for the church at Ephesus, that they might know Him. It's the most important thing in the world that we might know God, that we might have the knowledge of Him. A knowledge of God, not just an education, but an edification that we might be fed by the words as we get to know more about God. It is so Importance, so important that we get to know God on a daily basis, through His word, that it's not just a wisdom in the mind, but it's actually in the heart that we have a real and genuine relationship with God. It's more important than money. It's more important than power. It's more important than status, status and being known by people. I was saying to somebody this afternoon when I was chatting, when they built the Tower of Babel, what does it say about it? When they realised that God was going to come and break down that tower, it says, quick, let us make a name. Let us make a name. They wanted to make a name for themselves. That's what our society is obsessed by today. Everything's a selfie. Everything's putting themselves on Instagram. Everything's getting a YouTube channel. Everyone's trying to make a name, a name for themselves. It is not enough for an individual that their name is written in heaven. They want their name on the internet. They want everybody to know who they are. Well, the problem with that is, is everybody knows who you are, then everybody looks at everything that you do and everybody is analyzing, are they really a Christian? Are they a good Christian? Are they a bad Christian? It is more important to know God and be in a relationship with God than it is to make a name for yourselves and be popular, popular amongst people. We read in John chapter 17 verse 3 that it is eternal life. It is eternal life to know God through Jesus Christ. So if you have a relationship with God, it has got to be through Christ. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. The Lord Jesus Christ said we must come to God by Christ. There is only one mediator between God and man. And it's not a pope, it is not a priest, it is not a cardinal, it is not a pastor, it is Christ, the one mediator between God and man. So the first thing the Apostle Paul wants, in coming to know God personally, is that they might have a relationship with God. Also, that there might be a reception, a reception. It says that the God of our Lord Jesus, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you. He's going to give us something. What is it that God gives us? What does God give us when He tells us that He might give unto you? The spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. God is a giving God. He gives to his people. God shall supply all of our needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Our God is a giving God. Our God has given us salvation. Our God has saved the souls of his people. He came, the Lord Jesus Christ came. to save His people from their sins. Not in their sins, but from their sins, came to save His people from their sins. He gives us salvation. He gives us wisdom. He gives us knowledge. He gives us grace. The Christian is saved by grace. through faith, and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Our God is a given God, and we are a people who receive the goodness of God, the wisdom of God, that he might give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that we might know him. We don't deserve it. It's a gift from God. It is not deserved. And mercy is something that God gives us that we don't deserve. What we actually deserve is the punishment of God, the wrath of God to be poured out upon us. But our God is a merciful God and He doesn't give us that wrath when we come to Him through Christ, believing on Him as Lord and Saviour. We don't receive the wrath. of god we receive the blessing of god that he might give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of Him we see as i say we don't deserve we can't earn it we can't buy it we can't work for it it is not of works or we would boast we can't even bargain for it we can't say for god you know what i've put thousands of pounds in the collection over the years so you have got to Accept me into glory. And Lord, I might put a few more quid in the collection before I die. So you must allow me into heavenly places. Not at all. We can't bargain for it. I say Ephesians 2, 8, it is for by grace ye are saved. And for those who know God personally, he gives us the spirit of wisdom and revelation. So how about you? Do you know God personally? Do you have a personal relationship with God? Do you know God personally? More importantly, does He know you? The Lord Jesus Christ will one day say to some people, depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. A person might go to Buckingham Palace and say, I want to have an invitation with the Queen, an appointment with the Queen, and they say, does the Queen know who you are? And you might say, no, not really, but I know who the Queen is, or I know who the King is, or I know who the Prince is, or whatever the case may be. And you might show her a note, a five-pound note with a picture of the King on, or a picture of the Queen, whoever is in power at that time. And they say, but does she know you? That's the important thing. And if you don't know God and God doesn't know you, then you're left out in the cold, aren't you really? Or left out in the heat. Do you know God personally? Not about God, not that you've got an education in theology or whatever it is, but actually know Him. Failure to know God leads to hell, and you can only know God through Christ. It leads to hell, an eternal separation from God. So the apostles' prayer is that they might know God personally. Also, secondly, that they might know God properly. That they might know God properly. Verse 18 tells us this, that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened or understand them being enlightened, there is a serious lack of knowledge of God in this day and age in which we live. Doctrinally, people don't know the right teaching of the Bible. They don't know God and his doctrine. Hosea chapter 4 and verse 6 says that my people perish through lack of knowledge. My people are destroyed through lack of knowledge, there is a serious lack of knowledge about God in this day and age. God wants the Ephesians and us to be what? To be what? Firstly, they're enlightened, that we might be enlightened, the eyes of our understanding being enlightened. So God wants us firstly to be enlightened with a wisdom, a knowledge, a revelation of Christ that our eyes might be opened and that the opening of our eyes might work to our heart, that we might know more about Him. The Ephesians are saved, but it's not to stop there. It is not to stop with the Ephesians just getting saved. It is far, far more to the Christian life than a person just becoming a Christian. That's it. Some people think, especially in this day and age, I'm a Christian now and that's it. It stops there. I don't have to go anywhere. I don't have to do anything. I don't have to go to church. Well, that is a lie from the devil. Of course, we have to congregate together. The very word church is the fact that we're called out and we are joined together as a congregation. Of course, we must meet together. The churches, lively stones, lively bricks built up as a habitation of God. We are a body made up of fingers and arms and hands and eyes. We are a flock of sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ goes and takes and gets that lost. Sheep and he brings them back to the 99 in the fold. Of course, we are a community together And we must be together at all times But we are destroyed through a lack of knowledge. We must keep Learning and we must keep learning together Tells us in Hebrews chapter 6. I was just chatting about this to someone a little bit earlier therefore Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptism and the laying on of hands of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment. Let us go on. Christians are those who go on, and go on, and go on, and are built up in our most holy faith. We don't just stay stagnant. The Christian life is a walk. We walk, and when you walk, what does a person do? They take one step, and another step, and another, and they grow on. They don't just feed on milk. They end up eventually feeding on milk. We must grow up. We must keep We don't just stay babies in Christ, we go on, we are saved, we are baptised, we are added to the church. The Bible tells us at Pentecost they were saved, baptised, added to the church, we witness We work for God, we go out in service to God, we maybe preach in the open air, or give out tracts, or do whatever it is that we can do for Christ. We don't just sit in the house and stay there stagnant, that they might be... enlightened Paul wanted them and us to feed on strong meat, to leave aside from the milk and go on to feed on meat. There's a serious lack of doctrine today, serious lack of teaching. You go to most churches, they have not got a clue about the doctrines of grace. They know absolutely not, and about the absolute total depravity of the heart, of man. They know nothing about our God who unconditionally elects sinners, who elect us not because of any good in us, not because of anything that we have done, but because of himself. Absolutely unconditionally. They know nothing about the limited atonement of God. They'll be telling you that God loves everybody and God has died for everybody and everybody can be saved and everybody is going to heaven. They've got this universal idea. of salvation, they never like the idea that there are people who may be going to hell. They don't like that at all. They know nothing about the limited atonement that Christ has died to save His people from their sins. Husbands, Love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. He is the good shepherd of the sheep who lays down his life for his sheep. They know not of the irresistible grace of God. They think that they can just resist God, that the call of God comes and they'll go, you wait there God, until my good time. And they think that they can just resist the power of God. Who are thou, O man? The Bible tells us. Who is man who thinks as a speck of dust that he can possibly resist God? It is absolutely irresistible. People will tell you that you can become a Christian, and then you can stop being a Christian, and then become a Christian again, and stop being a Christian as if you've got the elastic of your braces stuck in the door of the church, and you're in and out, and in and out of salvation. That is not True, He is able to keep that which we committed unto Him against that day. The Lord Jesus said that we're in the palm of His hand and none can pluck us out, not even ourselves. And the Father is greater than all. We're in His hand and none can pluck us out. of his hand and he is able to present us faultless before his throne with exceeding great joy. God is able, God is able, he preserves his people and we persevere unto the end. You try telling those things to your average church that you go into, they'd be like, What? They haven't got a clue. They've got no assurance of salvation. They think that they can be lost the next day, even though they're saved today. They don't know who Christ has died for. They don't give God the glory for the things that he does, that we might know him properly, that we might be enlightened and have that wisdom and knowledge and revelation and have our eyes open to who our God really is. It helps us to worship God properly when we know God properly. So he wants them to be enlightened. He also wants them to be encouraged that you may know. So it's an assurance of salvation that you may know that the church at Ephesus might Know that they are believers with a full assurance. You know that you can know for definite that you are saved. Do you know the Apostle Paul once said, Christ in me, my hope of glory. He knew. He knew that he was saved. He knew that there was a crown laid up for him. He knew when he had finished the race, when he had kept the race, finished the race and kept the course. He knew where he was going for definite. You can know for definite that you are saved, that is not more encouraging than having an assurance of salvation. Remember, I'll mention Hillis Fleming again, I don't know why he keeps coming to mind, but Hillis Fleming, who is the preacher, who is preaching when me and Liz become Christians, once said to me, are you saved, Eddie? So I talked to him about how my life had changed. I would call upon God and everything was different now and things were completely different in my life. I said, but I still don't really know that I'm saved. He said, did you call upon the name of the Lord and ask him to forgive you and have mercy upon you? I said, I did. I got on my knees in my bedroom on the 4th of December in 1994, 6th of December, I think it was. And I called out and said, Lord, Give me this born-again thing. I don't know what it is, but I've read I need it. So give me this born-again thing. Forgive me of my sins and everything's been different since then. He said, why do you think you're not saved then? I said, I'm not really sure whether God was listening to me. And Hillis Flemons said, you might want to switch the camera off at this point. I mentioned this in a chat not so long ago. Hillis said to me, go home. Get on your knees again and swear at God. And I said, I can't do that. I can't go home and swear at God. He said, why? He's not listening, is he? And immediately, that's it. I just took God at his word immediately. If thou shalt ask, thou shalt. Receive call upon the name of the Lord and thou shall Be saved it is an absolute Guarantee and that is real encouragement, isn't it that we might know that we might actually know the power of God in our lives that we might know that we are saved have you called upon the name of the Lord and Being saved so Paul wanted them to know that they were saved and to know more about God So, how about you? How about you? If you are saved, are you growing? Are you knowing more about God? Are you sowing seeds into people's lives? Are you telling them the gospel? Are you growing? Have you got this knowledge of doctrine? Are you Christ-like in your life? Are you really wanting to feed on meat and know more and more and more? about God. There is so much that we can learn about God. There was an old Scottish preacher, a great reformed man who went into the ministry in his early 20s and when he was dying on his deathbed and his late 80s, somebody was asking him about his life, and said to him, are you ever ashamed of anything you've done in your life? And he said, yeah, I'm ashamed that when I first went into the ministry in my early 20s, and I was reading through the scripture, I thought to myself, will there ever be enough information in this one book to last me in a ministry if I'm going to be a pastor for 10 or 20 years. He said, I'm now in my late 80s, and I am ashamed that I have not plumbed the depths of the Word of God, that I am not as knowledgeable in the Scriptures as I should be. And this man had studied and studied the Scriptures for over 60 years. We cannot plumb the depths of scripture. Do you really desire to know God better? Then you will know him in his words. Get to know him in his words. Don't be listening for charismatic chaos and voices and tongues and all this type of stuff. Read God's words. And as somebody famously said, and if you want to hear God audibly, then read it out loud. If you want to hear God speaking to you, read it out loud. Do you want to be Christ-like in your life? Do you have a love for Christians? Do you have a love for the lost? Do you know for sure that you are a Christian? Are you absolutely certain tonight that you are saved and that you are going to glory? Examine yourself to see if you be in the faith. So the apostle Paul wanted them to know God personally. He wanted them to know God properly. He also wanted them to know God's purposes. To know God's purposes. the end of that verse says that you might know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints that you might know what firstly his calling that you might know his calling what is the hope of his calling Do you see it's not our calling? Do you see it's not an altar call? Do you realize at the end of tonight, I'm not gonna say, right, who wants to be saved? Put your hands up, come to the front, say this little sinner's prayer with me like Billy Graham did, leading lots and lots of people into a false assurance, saying, come down here and say a little sinner's prayer, and I'll send you off with the priest. I'll send you back to Rome, or I'll send you to a synagogue or whatever it is. No, no, no, it is not. It is His calling. It is not an altar call. It is an effectual call and an effective call because it is from God, because salvation is of the Lord. We have hope. when we realize that God has called us unto eternal life. And we have heard that call, and we have responded as Christians, because we've heard it through the word. And Jesus said, Hear my voice guaranteed, that's the type of calling it is, that we are called through the word that pleases God by the foolishness of preaching to save those that would believe. We've been born again by the word of God that is able to save our soul, the effectual word of God. God calls us one by one. as his sheep, that we might receive an inheritance. We hear the call, we respond to it, because Jesus says, my sheep will hear my voice and will follow me. It's effectual, isn't it? So he wants us to know God's purpose. His calling, that God is going to call us because God has predestined us to eternal life. Also, what else about God's purposes? Well, His children. We are the children. of God, we are His inheritance. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 9, 1 Samuel chapter 10 verse 1, Psalm 94 verse 14, Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 16 call us God's inheritance. Some people might say if they're dispensationalist or New Covenant theology or whatever, that's the Jews, that's the Jews that it is talking about, that's God's people that it is talking about. There's only one way to be saved. There's only ever been one way to be saved, and it is by grace. A person is saved by grace through faith. You have to read through Hebrews 11, and you see all that great hall of Christians who were saved by faith, by faith, by faith, by faith. We are His inheritance. All over the Old Testament, His people are called His inheritance. When we are saved, we are His children. The Father has given to the Son a people, and all that the Father has given to me, the Lord Jesus Christ said, shall come to me. And of all those that come, He will lose none. He will lose none. We are His inheritance. He loves us. We are the inheritance of God, the gift God you're able to say to someone I am that people say to you don't think you think that you're God's gift You'll be able to say it now as a Christian. I am God's gift. I have been given by the father to the son we are God's gift to his son So how about you? How about you? Do you know the hope of His calling? Do you know the hope of this calling? Have you been called to faith in Him? Have you recognised your sin? Have you felt that sin within you? Again, I've been chatting about a couple of things today. One thing, if you ever have a person who is a homosexual, or whatever the case may be, and they come up to you and they say, I was born that way. Maybe they've been listening to some pop songs that say things like, baby, you were born this way. And they say, I was born this way. You'll be able to say to them, me too, me too. I was born a sinner as well. And within my heart is every evil conceivable before I'm a Christian. Every single seed of every single sin is in the human heart. It is evil. Continually, the Bible says, you'll be able to say to them, yeah, yeah, yeah, me too, I sympathise with you. I sympathise with you. My sin was different. I went down this road and I ended up getting into terrorism, or drunkenness, or drug addiction, or lust, or whatever the case may be. So I understand where you're coming from. I was born that way. as a sinner, and maybe you'll be able to witness it. Maybe if a person turns around, as I was saying to someone earlier, that I'm transgender because I'm trapped in the wrong body. I just don't feel right in this body. I just don't feel comfortable in this body. As a man, I really want to be a woman. You can say, I sympathise with you. I sympathise with you, because what that is, is your soul. What they're doing is they're acknowledging that they are an individual in a body, and there's something wrong with that body that they are trapped inside. They say, I can sympathize with you because I have been trapped in this body of death, and in this flesh dwells no good thing. But the answer is not to change your gender and become a woman. The trouble is you've been born sinful with this sinful flesh. The answer is, You need to be born again. That's what Jesus said. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. It's an issue with your birth. Not that you were born in the wrong body. You were born in a body of sin. There is the problem. And you need to be converted. It's only then that you'll have contentment. It's only then that you'll be right with God. It's only then that you'll say, do you know what? I don't need. I don't need to change my gender. We know a young girl, me and Liz, who lives down in Leicester, and she started to transition, and she'd become a boy. She caught all that air, and she was wearing boys' clothes. And then she'd come across the gospel. She'd come across the gospel, somebody gave her a tract, and she was convicted of a sin, and ended up in a lovely little church in Leicester, and got saved. And she's realized that the answer to her problem was not What she was born in answer was she needed to be born again. And she's transitioned back, whatever that means. She's always been a girl, but she'd actually recognised my problem is not my gender. The problem is... I wasn't saved. I wasn't saved. So have you felt this sin in your flesh, in your body? Have you turned to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you turned to Him? Have you heard His words? Have you listened to His words? Have you seen that Christ saves? Sinners that Jesus Christ is merciful and gracious and loving and kind and he will save all who come Unto him and as many as receive him it gives the power to be called the sons of God So have you been to Jesus for the cleanse and power? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb as the old hymn says have you seen that you are a child of God once you are saved his inheritance and God's gift. So he wants them to know God personally. He wants them to know God properly. He wants them to know God's purposes. God's purposes, his calling, his children. Lastly, he wants them to know God's power. He wants them to know the power of God. That's what he wants. Verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us wards who believe according to the working of His mighty power. Not our mighty power. We've got no power whatsoever. We are just dust. That's all we are. God knows our frame. We are just dust. His power. What is the exceeding greatness of His power to us Ward, who's this us? Well, it's the Ephesians, isn't it? It tells us, doesn't it? The apostle Paul, by the will of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints, which are at Ephesus. It is towards the saints that are at Ephesus. Some people will say to you, who are of an Arminian persuasion, I don't know who persuaded them, but they're of this persuasion that God desires that everybody Get saved. They'll say to you things like, God is long-suffering, long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to a knowledge of the truth. You say, wait there a minute. Who's that talking to? Read the verse again. That God is long-suffering to us-ward. That's what this verse is saying here, isn't it? That what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward. who believe God is long-suffering to us, ward. Let's not give all this stuff away to people who are not interested in God. He is long-suffering to us, ward. And he's not willing that any of us should perish. That's the context of the verse. Not willing that any should perish, but all should come to a knowledge of the truth. That's why God's not wiping the world out now. There are still elect people out there who are not yet saved. God was able to say to the Apostle Paul, go down into the city for I have many people in this place. No, I hope, go down, I hope that some people will ask me into their heart, I hope. that there are some people there who are going to become Christians. I desperately want them to because I'm not willing that any should perish. I just hope to. No, no, no. Go down into the city for I have many people in this place. God knows those who are his. We can have an absolute confidence when we preach the gospel that we know that God's people will, will respond to the gospel because the sheep hear his voice and will follow Him. God is so powerful to us. Lord, He wants us to know the power of God. So what's this great power of God? The word is dunamis, which is dynamite, where we get our English word dynamos. How powerful is our God? Where is it? It is to us, to us. What is this power? It is resurrection power, that you might know Him and the power of His resurrection. This power gives life to the dead. Life to the dead. You'll have heard it said a million times when the Lord Jesus went into the cemetery and he cried out, Lazarus! Come forth. He had to specifically say Lazarus, otherwise everybody would have picked themselves up and come forth. That is the power of God and the power of the resurrection to us. He gives life from the dead to us. You who were dead in your trespasses and sins. There it is in verse 1, chapter 2. And you have he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. See, it's not to you. It is to us, Ward. I cannot say this enough. Somebody said to me once, why do you love the King James Bible so much? And I said, well, it is for at least 3,993 reasons. Do you want me to tell you them all? It is the word, ye. Y, E, two little letters, ye. It means use. It's a Scouse word. It means use. It is a plural word, not a singular word. We wonder why the church is in such a mess. It's full of individuals. It's full of loose cannons. It's full of people with their felt needs going along to church to say, what can this do for me in my life? It's not me. It's ye in the scriptures. We must remember that we are corporate. It is to us, to us, Lord. We are a body. We are not individuals. It is to us. It is the power of God to believe that we were once in our sins, dead in sins and trespasses, but he has quickened us. together, as Quicken does, together with Christ. It is the power to believe on Him. It is the power to receive Him. It's the power to live for Him. And it's even the power to die for Him. We don't know where society is going. Things can turn around in a day in this nation. We saw it with COVID. Everybody happily going along with their life. The next minute, we're all locked down in our houses for 12 or 18 months or whatever the case can be. Just like that, overnight. Who could have believed it? We came out of COVID. The national health system was broke. The national health system we've always been used to Gone. Where's it gone? Overnight, things can change. We live for Christ now, but we may die for Christ one day. I remember when I was a taxi driver for years, I picked up a policeman. And we were having a little chat, and he was telling me how much wages he gets. And I said, that's good wages. He said, you know what I do? He said, about 93% of the time, I just sit in the office doing a load of paperwork. The paperwork is horrendous in the police force. I said, That's not bad money for just sitting in the office, basically being a secretary and pushing the pen. He said, no, no, no, I don't get paid that money for what I do. I get paid that money for what I potentially might have to do one day. I might have to turn up to a car crash and some children are being killed and I've got to take them out the car or whatever it is. I may turn up and the mayors are seeing or whatever. He said, I'm paid for what I might have to Well, we live for Christ now, we know what we do, we pray, we read scriptures, we turn up at church, but we might have to die for Christ one day. Have you ever thought of that? As I mentioned this morning, the invasion into our country of all these fighting age young men one day. They may walk into the churches and behead people or kill them. They're doing it in other countries all over the world. The Christians are being persecuted and being killed in other nations. One day, we might not just have to live for Christ, we might have to die for Christ. How can we do that? Well, that we might know this power, what is the exceeding greatness, the power of God to us wards who believe according to the working of his mighty power to live for him, maybe to die for him. Where is this power? It is in Christ Jesus, verse 20, which he wrote in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places. That is where all this power is. It is in Christ. Everything is in Christ. He is all and in all the scriptures tells us, do you know that the only way we can get to God is through his righteousness? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his Righteousness, to know that we have to have the perfection of Christ. Be ye perfect. The Bible tells us it's like, how can I do that? Well, you need the perfection of Christ. Be ye holy. We need the holiness of Christ. We are saved by faith, through faith in Christ. But where does that faith come from? Can I pat myself on the back and say, well, I have faith? And other people don't have faith. I exercised my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look it up again in the King James Bible, if not in all your other modern versions. It is called the faith of Christ. Not just faith in Christ, but the faith of Christ. Christ, it is a gift from God. We need the faith of Christ. This is in Christ Jesus. This is Jesus' power, Jesus' perfection, Jesus' righteousness, Jesus' faith. Everything that we have, everything that we need is in Christ Jesus. Jesus, there is no other way. That's why we were chosen in Christ, before the foundation of the world. He must receive all of the glory. He has the preeminence in all things. And at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. And every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This power is in Christ. All things were made by him. He sustains all things. He has the preeminence and he has the power to save. It is him who has the power to save. Somebody said to him, none can forgive sins, but God. only so he said so that you might believe then take up your bed and walk jesus christ is god manifested in the flesh he has the power to save and the power to condemn matthew 28 verse 18 all power is given to him So to know God's power is to know Jesus. We must know Jesus and the power of His resurrection. So how about you? Do you know this power? Do you know this power in your life that has raised you from the dead? This power of the resurrection? Have you been raised from the dead spiritually? Do you know that you have, if you want power, then Jesus has it. It is His power and it is power in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who cleanses us from all sin. All sin, all God's gifts are in Christ Jesus. So let me finish. The Apostle Paul has a desire that the Ephesians and us might know God personally, know God personally, understand God properly, appreciate His purposes and see His power, the power to resurrect us from the dead. Where do we see this power best? At the cross. At the cross. This is where we see the power of God, the Creator of the world, the sinless, spotless Son of God who gave His life for me. upon the cross. This is where we see the power of God. This is where we see the long-suffering and the patience and the meekness and the gentleness and the kindness of God. This is where we see the love of God. This is where we see the wrath of God and the justice of God and the power of God when he takes his son's life, but he's able to raise it up again. Nobody has been able to take it from him. He lays down his life that he might raise it up again. He took my sins. He bore my shame. He took all of my pain upon the cross. He endured the cross, but despised the shame. One thing I absolutely hate, and I think it's an absolute shame, is when you look at a Roman Catholic crucifix, and it's got some fella, whoever he is, hanging in a nappy on a cross. Not at all. The Lord Jesus Christ had his beard plucked from his face. Can you imagine how horrible and horrendous that would have been? So obviously his beard plucked from his face. We read in the book of Psalms he was stripped naked. He didn't just have some loincloth on or anything like that. He was stripped naked and that's why the Bible tells us he endured the cross but he despised The shame, the maker-creator of the whole of the world, hanging in shame before his creation, made the song of the drunkards, dogs barking, them casting lots for his clothes, not caring less, not the slightest bit bothered, that the Lord of glory was hanging upon the cross. Here we see the power of God. There we see the patience and restraining power of God, that He didn't just call for legions of angels to come down from heaven and destroy everybody in sight and end this world for the way we treated our God. The power of God is only seen upon the cross, so that we can know Him personally so that we might know our God personally. It doesn't get any more personal than dying does it for individuals who he loves so that I can live for him and maybe one day have the privilege even of dying as a martyr, dying as a martyr for the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for all of those who have their faith in him who will one day pour his faith, which he gives us as a gift, in him, because it's the only place that the faith of Christ fits, is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So, it's the same desire for me, for you as a church in Holywell, exactly the same thing, and it is this. that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us wards who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in the world in that which is to come and have put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Amen. Amen. Amen.