"Praising God for His Eternal construction" --Pastor Rob Love

This last week I attended a new church.  I had been getting at my mom for ages to make the switch, so I was really excited about it, though a bit nervous as well.  Let me tell, it was worth it.  Apparently the last few weeks they had been going through Ephesians 1. This week was Ephesians 1:5 "Praising God for His Eternal Construction".

Pastor Love started out with a statistic: 83% of Americans claim to be Christians. Yet, by looking around you, we know that is not true. There are many false Christians on Earth. And so Pastor Love proposed the question, could it Biblically be possible for 83% person of Americans to be Christians if we don't see the praise being given to God. Can we ourselves be Christians if we are not giving the praise to God? Ephesians 1:6 says, "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." So why have I been redeemed? To give praise to God! Surely what God has done will produce praise.

Next, Pastor Love had us turn to our Bibles to read Ephesians 1:5, the center of this weeks message.

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"

And of course we know that this verse leads into verse six. Therefore, let us praise God for adopting us to be his children. But what does predestination mean? There is much argument on this that I do not wish to get into right now. Pastor Love made to statements about it, though, that I found hard to argue. 1) It makes God's eternal selection certain. 2) What you're chosen to be will be so. Pretty simple, right?

Beyond the matter of predestination, what does it mean to be adopted?  According to Pastor Love, there were three main and definite things that came with adoption in the Roman culture that this passage was written in.

1. An adopted person lost all rights to his old family.  (Romans 6:4)
2. An adopted son has a new inheritence.  (I Peter 1:4-5)
3. An adopted person's previous life was eliminated from record. (John 1:12)

To me, the third point was the most important.  Pastor love further expounded on it, explaining just how much of your previous life was eliminated.  An important fact to notice was that all crimes comitted as that person disappeared.  You could have killed a man in your previous life before you were adopted, and it would still no longer matter.  Because Joe before adoption committed the murder, not the Joe afterwards.  And Joe before adoption no longer existed.

The next question was one we are all very familiar with.  How does adoption come to us?  How are we saved?  Well, this verse even tell us that!  By Jesus, of course!  Galatians 2:21 "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."


What I think troubles us more, though, is why does God adopt us?  We are not worthy of it, do not not deserve it, so why?  Ephesians 1:5b "...according to the good pleasure of his will."  So there's your answer.  God adopts us because he WANTS!


So here's the question of the day.  This is not a question about what God has done, but about what we should be doing now. How do we praise God? Simply say it! To praise is to express approval or admiration. Speak of his grace and mercy, of his power and might, of all the things he has done for you! (I Chronicles 29:9-11) Better yet, sing it! "IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH"  (Psalm 92:1)  Or play music to go with the singing! "Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound."  (Psalm 92:3)  How ever you do it, just simply give praise so that others mat see God's glory and come to Him!

And there you have it. Twenty-one words turned into a 634 word message. May God's light shine on you and through you, brightening up yours and others' day!