August 30, 2009, Paul's Benediction, Ephesians 6,21-24

August 30, 2009

Lesson: Ephesians 6.21-24

Sermon Title: Paul’s Benediction

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INTRODUCTION

Misunderstanding What He Said

When my husband, Mark, took his beat-up pickup truck to our insurance agent for a pre-insurance inspection, the teen-age receptionist was sent to look over the truck. Armed with a checklist and a few simple questions, she breezed through the chore. She asked, "What are the age and make of the vehicle?"

Mark replied, "It's a '65 Ford." Apologetic about its desperate condition, he added, "It's an old fossil."

Inside, the office assistant entered the data into her computer and frowned. "Is there a problem?" asked Mark.

"Mr. Evans, our computers have a lot of automotive data," she explained, "but it's never heard of a Ford Fossil."

I. Are you a fossil?

A. There are a lot of fossils in our world.

1. There are religious fossils.

a. They are the ones who hold on to what they originally learned.

b. They are rigid and not subject to change.

2. There are political fossils.

a. These are the people who will vote a straight ticket.

b. I am a Republican or a Democrat, don’t attempt to change me.

c. They are proud of their position even if it is nonproductive or even dangerous.

3. There are social fossils.

a. They have their views of how culture or society ought o be.

b. There moral values may or may not be valid.

II. What is needed is a new way of looking.

Old Friends

Amy and Jamie are old friends. They have both been married to their husbands for a long time. Amy is upset because she thinks her husband doesn't find her attractive anymore.

"As I get older he doesn't bother to look at me!" Amy cries.

"I'm so sorry for you, as I get older my husband says I get more beautiful every day." replies Jamie.

"Yes, but your husband's an antique dealer!"

III. This is better than the skin care commercial that has recently played on television.

A. Woman say only their age.

B. One woman says she is 71, when she looks fifty.

C. Are we obsessed with looks.

IV. What about health care?

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MAIN BODY:

I. Right now, health care is a huge issue.

A. President Obama in February of this year said:

"I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."

1. Teddy Roosevelt attempted to get a national helth care program established in 1912.

2. It has been attempted with little results a number of times since.

B. The number of un or under-insured grows.

1. The cost is extensive.

2. Something ought to be done.

C. Town hall meetings that feature our political leaders speaking about health care reform are turned into shouting matches.

1. Many people do not want a public option.

2. Feelings run high.

3. The opposition makes frightening statements.

D. We, seniors and juniors, are facing increasing expenses with no COLA in 2010.

1. We are being priced out of the market.

2. What may be done?

3. We will have to wait and see.

E. With the death of Senator Kennedy one of the great champions of health care reform, the issue may be put on the back burner once again.

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II. We are fortunate that there is an alternative because God is in the health care business.

A. God is concerned with our physical well-being, but he is more concerned with our spiritual well-being.

1. This is the underlying theme of the Letter to the Ephesians.

2. If you are skeptical read it.

B. The letter makes three separate presentations of the theme of God’s health care plan.

1. 1:3-14, a hymn in praise of God's plan;

a. Because of controversy over cosmic forces who were held to control the universe, Paul presents Christ's position as one of universal supremacy.

b. He is supreme over all cosmic forces and is the principle which makes sense of all creation.

c. He is the head and fullness with which was the goal of creation.1:15-2:lO, concentrating on Christ's position.

2. The Church is the Body of Christ in a new way.

a. Christ is the Head, the supreme authority and source of life

b. The Church is his completion, filled by him divine life.

3. 2:11-22 concentrating on the unity of all in the New Man.

a. As the new Adam he is the model and the power which binds renewed humanity, both Jew and gentile, into one.

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III. Paul wants us to know who you are before God through Christ, and live according to that identity. (1:1-6:24)

A. THE FOUNDATION: Know who your are before God through Christ. (1:1-3:21)

1. Paul greets the saints. (1:1-2)

2. Paul praises God for His preplanned spiritual blessings. (1:3-14)

3. Paul prays that we would understand these blessings. (1:15-23)

4. Paul teaches the individual's new position because of God's blessings. (2:1-10)

5. Paul teaches the group's new position because of God's blessings. (2:11-22)

6. Paul explains his own mission: to proclaim God's blessings. (3:1-13)

7. Paul prays that we would know God's blessings in our deepest being. (3:14-21)

B. THE APPLICATION: Live Christ-centered lives because of your new identity (4:1-6:24)

1. Paul urges unity based on the common foundation. (4:1-16)

2. Paul urges holiness based on the common foundation. (4:17-32)

3. Paul urges a walk in love, light, and wisdom based on the common foundation. (5:1-20)

4. Paul urges submission based on the common foundation. (5:21-6:9)

5. Paul urges steadfast warfare against spiritual forces based on the common foundation. (6:10-20)

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IV. Paul closes. (6:21-24) with a beautiful benediction.

A. In this benediction, Paul's heart goes out in well-wishing.

1. And what did he wish for his brethren at Ephesus?

2. No secondary favors, but the highest blessings from God the Father and his blessed Son.

a. Divine peace. " peace be to the brethren."

b. Where does this peace comes from-" From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

c. There is a peace that does not come from that source-a peace that comes from the devil, a moral stagnation of soul, something like the stillness of that murky atmosphere that nurses and forebode the thunder, the lightning, and the hurricane which spread devastation over sea and land.

3. The peace of God is:

a. Peace of an approving conscience.

b. Peace of conscious security.

c. Peace of accordant affections.

d. Peace of harmonious activities.

4. The Song writer catches the concept so very, very well

WONDERFUL PEACE, Warren D. Cornell, 1889

This song was written at a Methodist camp meeting near West Bend, Wisconsin.

1
Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.

Refrain