Use The Whole Package (Part 5): In The Plan

Pastor Rocklyn Clarke - Sunday August 16, 2009

© 2009 Life Church Ministries, Inc.

http://www.LifeChurchMinistries.org/

*
Notes
V Introduction
* Bible Reading 8/9 - 8/15: Ezra 8:21 - Neh 10:3; 1Corinthians 5:1 - 10:13; Psalm 31:16 - 34:10; Proverbs 21:1-13
> Review
> Storage
V New Material
> Preparation
V Use The Whole Package (Part 5): In The Plan
> Preparation - Ephesians 1:9-10
V Determine the Purpose of the Sermon
V I want believers who hear this message to:
* Align themselves under the headship of Jesus.
* Take their part in aligning the world under the headship of Jesus.
V Introduction
V We had another party for God this morning! Were you there?
* Did God enjoy your contribution to our worship today?
* There is no substitute for your individual experience with God!
* There is no substitute for your corporate experience with God!
* Would you turn down an invitation to a party for your parents?
* God is your Father - don't miss his party!
* Read the Passage Context - Ephesians 1:3-10
* Read the Passage - Ephesians 1:9-10
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
* Homiletical Idea
God gave you the whole package in his Son Jesus Christ!

God has let us in on a mystery: in Christ he will, with pleasure and in the fullness of time, line up everything in heaven and earth under Christ.
V What does this mean?
V Five Key Components:
* God plans to line up everything under Christ - this is his purpose.
* This will be achieved at the end of time.
* This plan is pleasing to God.
* This plan is itself based in Christ.
* This plan is a mystery that God has revealed to us.
V God plans to unite everything under Christ at the end of time.
* under one head - anakefalaiw Gk. anakephalaioo - "to bring to a head"; "to sum up"
* Every knee will bow - Philippians 2:3-11
* "everything under his feet" - Ephesians 1:15-23
V This plan is pleasing to God.
* Ultimately, it's about God's desire, not yours!
* The Father is pleased to give us the Kingdom - Luke 12:22-34
* This plan is itself based in Christ. - Ephesians 4:11-16
V Purpose and Means
V "purposed in Christ"
* "in Christ" - Christ is the means to the purpose.
* Those who are "in Christ" should align with God's purpose.
V "bring everything . . . under one head, even Christ"
* "under . . . Christ" - Christ is the key to the purpose.
* Purpose: to line up everything under Christ.
V Illustrations:
V Means and purpose are different
* 2008 Presidential campaigns of Obama and McCain - Each had the presidency as their purpose, but since neither was an incumbent neither could use the presidency as a means.
V Means and purpose are the same
* 2004 Presidential campaign of George W. Bush - His purpose was re-election as president and as an incumbent, he used his presidency as part of his means.
V You should be a part of God's plan to line up everything under Christ.
* You do this through being "in" Christ - via the relationship, not rules!
V What difference does it make? So What?
V Being let in on God's plan makes us responsible
V There are three ways you can be related to a plan:
* originate it
* implement it
* submit to it
V In the case of God’s plan, the following truths apply:
* Only God is the originator
* We will all submit to his plan eventually
* We can choose to participate in implementing the plan
V Three choices:
V Don't acknowledge Jesus as Lord now.
* You will bow the knee eventually - Philip
* Your destiny is the burning lake (along with Satan and demons)
V Acknowledge Jesus as Lord; never engage God's plan
* Burying your mina leads to humiliation! - Luke 19:11-27
V Acknowledge Jesus as Lord; actively engage God's plan
* Using your mina leads to reward! - Luke 19:11-27
* What are you going to do? Will you engage God's plan?
V How do I engage God's plan?
* Acknowledge the plan's purpose: aligning the world under Jesus.
* Align yourself under the headship of Jesus.
* Join the Father in aligning the world under the headship of Jesus.
V Align yourself under the headship of Jesus.
* Don't focus on following "the rules"!
V Embrace the relationship!
* Prayer
* The Word
V Pray - build your relationship with God!!!
* Set aside exclusive time with God every day!
V Prayer Pattern - Matthew 6:5-15
* Our Father in heaven - Pray to your Father in heave
V Hallowed be you name
* Open with worship
* Show respect, reverence God's name
* Tell God about himself.
V Your Kingdom come your will be done
* Ask God to reign and carry out his will
V On earth as it is in heaven
* Ask God to do this on the earth where it counts for us.
V Make this "exercise really effective" in connecting with God.
* Get specific and local!
* What do you already know about God's will?
* What does God want to happen in your situation?
* Ask for it to be done.
* Give us today our daily bread - Ask for today's needs.
V Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven . . .
* Pray for the forgiveness you need.
* Give the forgiveness that others need from you.
V Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one
* What's coming down the road? Ask God to intercept it.
V For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory.
* Close with worship
V Upcoming prayer workshop
* Coming soon!
* Sunday mornings at 9am
* Will last about 4 weeks.
* Teaching, prayer, questions and answers
V The Word
V How to get a handle on the Word - Navigators "Word Hand"
* Hear the Word.
* Read the Word.
* Study the Word.
* Memorize the Word.
* Meditate on the Word.
V How to use the Word.
V Speak the Word into your own life.
V Say what God says about you.
V Call things that are not as though they were. - Rom 4:17
* Abram (High Father) ----> Abraham (Father of multitude)
* Sarai (Princess) ----> Sarah (Princess of multitude)
* Revised Confession Of Faith including Eph 1:3-10 content
* Speak God's words after him like a baby imitating its parents.
V Confession
* It is not a "magic formula" for making things happen.
* It helps you recognize some of your unbiblical thinking.
* It helps you reprogram your mind.
* Do the Word (i.e. put the Word into practice).
V Join the Father in aligning the world under the headship of Jesus.
V Commit your resources (time, money, property,relationships).
V Parable of the Shrewd Manager: Luke 16:1-15
V Context
* Addressed to Pharisees and teachers of the law who criticized Jesus' association with "sinners".
* Parable of the lost sheep
* Parable of the lost coin
* Parable of the lost Son
V Key Concepts:
V Manager - oikodomeo Gk. oikodomeo
* The Pharisees were "managers" over Israel
* They multiplied the "debts" the people "owed" to God
* Luke 16:1-8 provides the natural example
V Luke 16:9-15 applies the example to the Kingdom
* worldly wealth: our assets and resources
* gain friends: win souls into God's Kingdom
* We must use our resources to win people for God
* If we do we will receive true riches in heaven
V The way the we use our resources has consequences:
* Faithfulness with little qualifies you for handling much
* Unfaithfulness with little disqualifies you for handling much
V If we faithfully use the resources we have to build the Kingdom, we have a basis for receiving more.
* It's not about the money!
* It's about what God values - people!
V Seize your opportunities
* Ask God to show you the opportunities around you.
* Ask God to give you opportunities to tell others about Jesus.
V Take a risk
* Let people ask you questions, then get them answers.
V Don't force doctrine on people; ask good questions:
V Luck
* What's the luckiest thing that ever happened to you?
* What will you do if your lottery ticket wins?
V Club
* What's the best night you ever had at the club?
* How's the music?
* Where do you see opportunities? When was the last time you grabbed an opportunity?
* I’m offering prime real estate in the Kingdom. This is a chance to build on it. Will you build with wood hay or stubble, or gold, silver, or precious stones? 1Corinthians 3:10-15
V Pick up a weapon and stand a post!
* Speak the Word into the circumstances around you!
* Carry the prayer burden for others!
* Serve in ministry!
* Make outreach a lifestyle!
V Conclusion
* Being let in on God's plan makes us responsible for what we know!
* How do I engage God's plan? Through letting him connect with us.
* Acknowledge God's purpose: aligning the world under Jesus.
* Align yourself under the Jesus' headship through prayer and the Word.
V Join the Father in aligning the world under the headship of Jesus.
* Commit your resources.
* Seize your opportunities.
* Grab a weapon and stand a post!
V Altar Call / Welcome Cards / Communion
* Welcome Cards - refer to script
* Benediction - Numbers 6:24-26
“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’
* Men's Prayer
V Discussion Questions / Topics (based on the indicated scriptures)
V Ephesians 1:3-10
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
V Discussion Questions / Topics:
* Prayer is one of the ways that we deepen our alignment with Christ. Describe the time you've spent in prayer this past week.
* God's Word (i.e. the Bible) is another channel for deepening our alignment with Christ. Describe the time you've spent with God's Word this past week.
* Discuss strategies that can help to improve your time in prayer and the Word.
V Luke 19:11-27
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
“‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
V Discussion Questions / Topics:
* Which of these servants were you most like this past week? Discuss.
* What is God saying to you through this passage?
* How can we help you in this area?
V Luke 16:1-15
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg — I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.
V Discussion Questions / Topics:
* Jesus taught that the people of this world are better at dealing with their own kind than we are. How well do you deal with unbelievers?
* Consider the unbelievers who know you. How has your life affected them? Will any of them be welcoming you into heaven? Discuss.
* Are you using your money to win people into God's Kingdom? Discuss.
V Witnessing Activities
* Gather ideas for a service project that your group can conduct.
V Scriptures For 08/16/2009 Life Church Sermon
Ephesians 1:3-10
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Ephesians 4:11-16
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Luke 19:11-27
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
“‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
Luke 16:1-15
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg — I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.