Our text shall be found in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3, which reads, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. and seeking God's blessing. We want to meditate upon these words in context this evening. The title is All Spiritual Blessings. All Spiritual Blessings. I'm sure it is the older generation that normally says to the younger generation, you don't know how well off you are compared to the former generation. Or they might say something, parents will say to their children, you don't know how well off you are. With all that you have, the life that you lead, the conveniences, the technology, the things that they themselves never had. And very often that their parents and the former generations would have said exactly the same to them. You don't know how well off you are. If you had lived in my day, then you would know what it is to like to live. Well, this can be said to Christians also. Christians really don't appreciate the blessings that belong to them because of their union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. That's the portion of every Christian. That is your inheritance. That is what belongs to you, Christian, tonight, regardless of your outward circumstances. Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings? Maybe not temporal blessings. Maybe not material blessings. But all spiritual blessings belong to all Christians. That is absolutely outstanding and amazing. And many, many Christians do not appreciate it, do not realize it, and do not live accordingly. It can be forgiven, for instance, when a child who is an heir to a fortune is not aware of it. Well, it's good for the child not to be aware of it. And if the child was aware of it, it probably wouldn't do them any good. But no doubt there will be some kind of trust set up that when a child gets to a certain age, whatever has been determined, they will find out exactly what belongs to them, what they've always had, what they've had from the moment they come out of the womb. That riches, whatever it is, was theirs. But when they were six months old, or two months old, or two years old, or five years old, it meant nothing to them. But now they've come to age, and now it's been revealed to them that there's a fortune that belongs to them. Their lives have changed. They come to realize what is theirs. And if they're wise and if they're sensible, they will make use of what was held in trust for them until that time of age. Well, Christian, you need to grasp more and more what is yours in Christ Jesus. Now, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesian Christians, it may be a group of congregations, we can't be certain. But Paul was in prison when he wrote this, and it would have been around AD 60 to AD 62 when he was in Rome. Now we know from the time that we went through the book of Acts that around AD 53, Paul first ministered to the Christians at Ephesus. We find that in Acts chapter 18. He didn't spend long with them on that occasion, but he was determined to come back. And he did, two years later, around A.D. 55 to 57. On his third missionary journey, Paul stayed with them for at least two years. And he had a wonderful, successful gospel mission. So that the Bible tells us the whole of Asia heard the gospel. The whole of Asia! Now that's not to tell us that Paul himself evangelized the whole of Asia. What probably happened is many people would come to Ephesus. It was a principal part of Asia and they would come and what would they hear? They would hear the Apostle Paul preaching and what happened when he preached? They were converted and then converted they would go back to wherever they came from and what did they do? They gossiped the gospel, and others were converted through their ministry also. And in that way, the Apostle Paul evangelized the whole of Asia, and he had a tremendous successful mission, an evangelistic outreach. Now he was writing to congregations that would have been about eight years, nine years old. And for us to fully appreciate what he is saying here to these congregations, we must realize that very few of them were influential people at all. Many of them would have been slaves. Many of them, with respect to them, were absolute nobodies. Nobody would take any notice about them. They could be used and they could be abused. If they were sick, the masters would probably not seek to find a doctor or some medicine to help them. If they couldn't work, throw them out. They are nobodies. No one concerns about them. Well, Paul was writing to these people. and these people had come out of idolatry and all kinds of sexual depravity but they heard the gospel and they believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ and as a result of believing they received the Holy Spirit that great seal of the gospel and as a result their lives were changed and although they may well still have been slaves they were Christian slaves and what's more They belong to Jesus Christ. And because they belong to Jesus Christ, This epistle was written to them in order that they might grasp more and more principally about Christ himself. This is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. And one thing they are to realize, the wonderful spiritual blessings in heavenly places that belong to these poor Christians. Well if it's true for them friends, it's true for the 21st century Christians today. This is our portion, this is what Jesus Christ has secured for us by his life and by his death and by his resurrection. Christ not only secured the eternal salvation of all who would believe upon him, But through him, the believer is the recipient of all spiritual blessings. Not just spiritual blessings, but all spiritual blessings. And all of these spiritual blessings belong to all Christians. And therefore, if you're a Christian, this belongs to you. This is your portion. This describes you. Well, we want to look at these things and we want to highlight what we find in these verses. Because many Christians live impoverished lives, because of unbelief and disobedience, What is true here, very often many Christians don't realise, and it doesn't materialise in their lives, it doesn't affect them, it doesn't transform them, because they don't live up to these things, and they don't appreciate these things, and they don't live out their Christian life in the light of what they possess. Let's see how we get on as we go through this verse, as we look at it in context. Some Christians live as if they possessed little or nothing. And when we talk about possessing little of nothing, we're talking about spiritual blessings. Many Christians might be rich as far as the world's goods are concerned. That may well be your portion tonight. You may well be rich. But also many Christians may have very little of these world's goods of temporal necessities and mercies. They might struggle week by week, they might live day after day, day by day, looking for money in order for them to live. That may well be your portion today. But we're not talking about these things. We're not talking about temporal blessings. We're not. We're talking about spiritual blessings. We're talking about these spiritual blessings that are in heavenly places that are there for all Christians. Yet, many Christians live impoverished lives because they don't recognize what is theirs in Christ. The Apostle Paul goes on later on, you might see it on another occasion in chapter 3 verse 8, he's talking about his ministry and he's talking about the wonder of his ministry and he's amazed, here he was a blasphemer, here he was a persecutor of the church, here he was an arch enemy of Christ and of Christians and what happened? the Lord Jesus Christ met him on the road to Damascus and this man's life was changed. Oh he had an encounter with the risen Christ and he was appointed into the gospel ministry and he was to be principally the apostle to the Gentiles. And as soon as he got that commission, friends, he held on to that commission and would not be diverted. He knew his mission. He knew that Jesus Christ had called him to go and to preach the gospel primarily to the Gentiles. And he went about it with gusto, with zeal, with enthusiasm. Wherever he could go, wherever he could get an audience, he would declare Christ and him crucified. And this is what he says about his ministry, "...and to me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." The unsearchable riches of Christ. Who was Christ? The Son of God who became the Son of Man. For he knew not where to lay his head, the Bible tells us. Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but Christ has nowhere to lay his head. He had no possessions, no possessions in this world, no temporal possessions whatsoever. Yet Paul tells us here that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. And that's the portion of everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus. Your balance may not balance, you may be in overdraft, you may have nothing of this world's goods, but if you're in Christ, you have the pearl of great price, you have the ultimate gift that God could give. Sometimes God lavishes temporal blessings on those who will never believe upon the Lord Jesus. It's a mystery, it's a wonder, is it not? Some of the richest men in this world are full of pride, full of money, but they don't have Christ. And you might be somewhat embarrassed and you might be somewhat jealous of those who have plenty of money. Oh Christian, you want to change your thinking. You want to appreciate what you have in Christ Jesus the Lord. You have eternal blessings, spiritual blessings. You have your sins forgiven. Do you know that Christian? You have your sins forgiven. No one else in the world can forgive your sins. No minister of the gospel, no priest, no pope can forgive your sins. Only Jesus Christ. He can and he has if you belong to him. Oh, you might not feel it. We must not rely upon our feelings. No, we must not. We must rely upon the word of God. We must take our theology from the Bible. And when we come to Christ and we cast our sins upon him, we are forgiven. As far as the east is from the west. How far is that? Can you mark it out? No you can't. But that's telling us that our sins are forgiven. And that belongs to every Christian. And do you know what? You could never calculate your sins. Never. You might have a poor opinion of yourself when you look at your life, and in one respect that's not a bad thing. You might be full of shame of the sins you've committed in the past, and that's not a bad thing. But you really don't know the depth of your sins. We sin every day. Every time we wake up, we sin during our sleep. We sin 24 hours a day. Oh, that's not me, minister. I don't do that. Yes, you do. How can we possibly defend ourselves? How can we say that is true? Jesus says, does he not? When he sums up the Ten Commandments, you're to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and you're to love your neighbor as yourself. That's not just for five minutes. That's not for five hours. That's all the days of your life. Have you ever done that? Never. You never love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. The reality is, the likelihood is, that you've loved yourself like that. When we have some idea and some comprehension of our own sinfulness, And then, and then, oh then, when we realize we are forgiven, you are forgiven, does this not make you feel rich? Does this not cause you, therefore, to appreciate this spiritual blessing that's yours? Even although you don't feel it, maybe you do feel it. But if you really felt it, oh, what a transformation it would be. But whether you feel it or not, it's true. And we're to be guided by the word of God, not by our feelings. And therefore, Christian, you are rich. You are rich indeed. Rich because that great chasm has been filled. It's been bridged. Christ has reconciled you to God. Do you realize how holy God is? Well, of course not. None of us can. We cannot understand it. Yet, through Christ we are reconciled to him. On Judgment Day, and we don't boast upon ourselves when we say this, but on Judgment Day you'll be able to stand before God in Christ uncondemned. Why? Because Christ has paid the price of your sins and you are forgiven. Others who may well outwardly have lived a better life than you've lived will be condemned. Why? Because they stand before King Jesus pleading their own righteousness and merits. This is something the Christian does not do and that's why we rejoice in his death. That's why we rejoice in the fact that he was condemned by God because he took our condemnation. That's why. And without His death, there would be no good news from any pulpit whatsoever. You are rich, sins forgiven, reconciled to God, you're at peace with God. What else? You have been adopted into His family. What a blessing! Once you were a child of the devil, once you behaved like your father. He's a murderer from the beginning, so were you. He was a liar from the beginning, so were you. But by the grace of God, you have been taken from that terrible family and placed into the family of God, accepted, embraced, welcomed, adopted. The new birth, you have a new nature. That new nature, it's a divine nature, and one day it will be supreme. At the moment The divine nature struggles and fights against the fallen human nature. The Christian is a complex person, do you not know that? But one day that victory will be overcome. The divine nature shall be supreme because the seed of God is in it and it cannot die. And you'll be like Jesus Christ. Imagine it, Christ living a perfect life. We cannot think, well we can think about it, but we cannot plumb the depths of it. Never a wrong thought, never a wrong word. Oh how we would like on many occasions to retract our words. We say something and instantly we know it's wrong, but the damage is done. Jesus never experienced that. Never ever committed a sinful act whatsoever. That's what you're heading for. That's going to be your experience. You're going to know this. This is one of the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ that belongs to every single Christian. not just apostles, not just the first century Ephesians. No, no, no. It's for us all. It's for all who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, friends, if these things are true, and believe you me, they are true, let us live accordingly. Let us live as people who are rich, not in pounds and pence, but in these glorious spiritual blessings that Christ has secured for us. Furthermore, many have very little power over sin. What is salvation? If I was to ask you, what is it to be saved? Well, you might say it's to be saved from hell. Well, that's true. That is true, but that's maybe jumping ahead. Salvation ultimately is to be saved from sin, from its guilt, from its power and ultimately from its presence. That's what salvation is and we must be saved from our sins before we will ever be saved from hell. So let's not jump ahead of ourselves. And this is what salvation is all about. We have power over sin. Sin, as we've said on many occasions, is the most powerful thing in the world next to God himself. But through the Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer, we have power over sin. Oh, it's still an enemy. It's still powerful. We're not going to get ahead of ourselves. We're not going to be proud. But we recognize that through the Holy Spirit, we have power over it. The story is told about a young convert. And after his conversion, the first Lord's Day after his conversion, he went to a church and there was a poster on the wall there. as you get in some churches and it was a poster from Romans chapter 6 verse 14 which reads, for sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the law but under grace and this text struck him immediately He took it as a command. We would take it maybe as an exhortation, something to stimulate us, but he took it as a command from God, for sin shall not have dominion over you. And he sought to live his life in the light of it, as a commandment. God is commanding us, sin shall not have dominion over you. And friends, that's true. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ, sin shall not have dominion over you. You have the Holy Spirit in you to lead you, to guide you, to keep you from temptation and to withhold you from temptation. Sin shall not have dominion over you. How is it in your Christian life? This is one of the spiritual blessings that Christ has secured for us. Are we having victory over sin? Yes, it can be a battle. It will be a battle. It will be a struggle. It will go on. It will not get any easier. And the sooner or the nearer you get to eternity, it will continue. It will not ease off. The devil keeps going. He does not give up. He walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And he loves to see Christians fall into sin. for sin shall not have dominion over you. It will not rule you. Once it did, in your days of unbelief, you were just carried away with the world, with the flesh and with the devil, but the new birth, your union with Christ, the reception of the Holy Spirit, for sin shall not have dominion over you. Live in the light of it, Christian. Live the glorious freedom of the Christian life. Be done with sin. Run from it. Flee from temptation. Don't put yourself in places where you are tempted. Know your own faults. Know your failings. Know your weaknesses. For sin shall not have dominion over you. Live in the light of it. Why is it, as we go on, why is it that believers have, or some believers, have so little power to witness? Why is it we find witnessing so hard? We acknowledge it, it is. Why is it? Jesus said to his disciples, before he was taken up to glory in front of them. What did he say? Acts again, chapter 1, verse 8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me. They were to be witnesses. And it was going to begin in Jerusalem. Jerusalem? The very place where they cried out, we will not have this man to reign over us. That very place where the Son of God was crucified, where the Pharisees and the scribes rejected him, and where they cried out, his blood be upon us and upon our children. you're going to be a witness there. You need power to do that. Who would possibly do that in of themselves? Well the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to preach in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. They were witnesses. Well we need to realize friends we are witnesses and maybe as witnesses we're not what we should be. And we need to grasp this is one of the spiritual blessings that Christ has secured for us that we might witness for Him. As I said, we are witnesses. Everyone's a witness. We might be a poor witness, or a mediocre witness, or a good witness, but we are a witness. If we take the name of the Lord Jesus Christ upon us, we are witnesses. But do we have the power to witness? It's a spiritual blessing that Christ has secured for us. And maybe we say, well, I don't have it. I'm frustrated. I don't have it. We are to cry out for it. It's there. It's like there's money in the bank. We need it. What must we do? We must go to the bank. We must go to the bank of faith. We must cry unto King Jesus that he would give us this gift whereby we might witness with power the power of the Holy Spirit. What other spiritual blessings do we notice then? Or maybe we should see the spiritual blessings that we lack, that we should have. Why is it that many Christians have very little joy in the Lord? Very little joy in the Lord. Philippians, Paul, Here, Ephesians, he was in prison. Wonderful letter here, full of encouragement, full of hope. That's what he was like. And no one suffered for the gospel like him. And he was able to say to the Philippians, rejoice in the Lord always. and in case you did not hear me he says figuratively and again I say rejoice. Paul was a rejoicing Christian. Paul was beaten, Paul was battered, Paul was shipwrecked, Paul was persecuted, everything that could possibly happen to him. He was stoned to death some would say. We know he was stoned But he recovered. And some would say actually that the stoning led to death, but he recovered. We can debate about it, we can argue about it later on, but the truth is, which no one can deny, that the Apostle Paul suffered for Christianity and for his allegiance to Christ. Yet, he was a joyful Christian. What did we sing there? Psalm 89 verse 16. They in thy name shall all the day rejoice exceeding me. Here we have it in the Old Testament And very often we look upon the Old Testament somewhat different from the New, and we shouldn't, but we do. What do we find? They in thy name shall all the day rejoice exceedingly. Christian, are you a rejoicing Christian? Oh, I've got too many trials, I've got too many tribulations, I've got too many problems. You are to rise above these things and you are to appreciate the spiritual blessings that are yours and these trials, these tribulations that come upon you are ultimately for your good and for your benefit. And yes we admit, we don't see that. But we're not to walk by sight, we are to walk by faith. And we are to realize this is truly a spiritual blessing that where we might have heartache, tribulations, disappointments, yet we know what it is to rejoice in the Lord. But you might well say to me, what about Isaiah? What about Isaiah 53? Does that not talk about the Messiah? Does that not apply to the Lord Jesus Christ? And yes it does. And what does Isaiah 53 verse 3 say? He is despised, talking about the Messiah. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. So he was. but he never lost his joy. Oh, let's be reverent about this. He wasn't a clown, no. He didn't laugh for worldly things, no. He didn't look for these kind of things, but he had a joy in the Lord that even all his trials could not take away, even although he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. What happened to him there at Lazarus' grave? We're told Jesus wept. He knew what it was like to be sorrowful. His tears were not crocodile tears, they were real tears. Oh, the Son of God, the Son of Man, crying, tears flowing from his eyes because of what had happened to his friend, even although he was going to be resurrected or brought to life again. Yet he cried, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, yet full of joy." Does that describe you, Christian? Well, that's a spiritual blessing, to be joyful, to rise above our trials, not to make light of them, not to run after them, not to seek them. But when God in his providence sends them, you are to remain joyful. Why? Because ultimately you believe in God who is sovereign, who knows what is best. Finally, briefly, surely another spiritual blessing is we should have peace Peace. Why is it that many Christians have little peace in believing? The Lord Jesus saw his disciples and before he was going to leave them on the way to Gethsemane and Golgotha, he comforts them. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Peace I leave with you. Well, what kind of peace? He goes on to tell them, my peace. Not any kind of peace. Not the peace the world gives. Not the peace that a friend can give. Not the peace that a parent can give. But my peace. The peace that belongs to the Lord Jesus. He imparts to his disciples, my peace I give unto you. In the world you will have tribulation, but I'm giving you my peace. And Christian, that's for you. You have the peace that Lord Jesus Christ gives to his disciples. That's a glorious spiritual blessing. While the world's in turmoil, while the world is searching after this and running after that, and being alarmed about this, the Christian has peace. Why has he got peace? Well, He's right with God. And when he's right with God, he will have peace. My peace. And Christ went on to secure that peace when he went to Calvary. That's yours. Well, In the light of these things and many others, friends, let us not live as paupers. We read of people who are millionaires or multi-millionaires. They live like paupers. And when they go the way of all the earth, their will is read. And people are amazed. Why? They wouldn't spend any money. Yet, They had millions in the bank, did them no good. Will you have spiritual blessings that are yours? That in heavenly places, they're yours for the taking by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us not live like paupers. And don't let our subjective feelings get in the way. Let us meditate upon these things and let us make them our portion. For Christ has secured them for his people. Amen. And may God bless his word to us. Let us pray together.