Ephesians (Program #15) – The Hope of God’s Calling and the Riches of the Glory of God’s Inheritance in the Saints

Hope can be a tremendous thing. If a person has hope, then their ability to withstand hardship and suffering is immeasurably enhanced. And as Christians, we above all people should live a life that is full of hope and therefore equipped to handle whatever may come our way. Paul, the apostle, experienced many hardships and knew much about hope; and in his letter to the Ephesians he opens up his earnest prayer to God on behalf of all the believers. One of the items that he prayed for strongly was that we all would see clearly and truthfully what is the hope of our calling. Where hope is a wonderful thing but our hope needs to be founded in truth and in the reality that the Bible conveys and not in something fanciful or simply according to the popular thought of the day.

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Joshua (Program #11) – The Destruction of All the Nations

The last chapter in the book of Ephesians gives us the clear speaking in all of the New Testament regarding spiritual warfare. Listen to a few verses from chapter 6,  “Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Throughout the ages these verses have aspired powerful sermons, stirring hymns, indeed of incredible faith and courage by the saints. But an enlighten study of the Old Testament provides us with even more of the details of how the forces of darkness are raged against God’s people, to frustrate and limit their pursuit and enjoyment of Christ. Among these portions are the middle chapters in the book of Joshua.  We will considered the warfare of the children of Israel and how their experience can be very meaningful in understanding much of what we go through in our Christian life.

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Ephesians (Program #14) – A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation and the Eyes of Our Heart

Ephesians is a book filled with marvelous spiritual facts, it reveals the mystery of the will of God. Yet to many people even Christians, Ephesians is a closed book; though they read it and understand the words, they do not gain the vision that is conveyed in this book. That’s because to see spiritual truth in reality is different from mere mental comprehension. That’s why the apostle prayed so earnestly in the first chapter that the readers would have all the necessary tools to see and enter into the vision that he is presenting in his letter. Listen as he prays in verse 17 & 18, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him. The eyes of your heart having been enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”

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Joshua (Program #10) – The Allotment of the Land (2)

When the children of Israel entered the good land, the land was apportioned to them according to their tribes. Each tribe received a different piece, some larger than others yet each one according to their condition and situation.

Bible interpreters long agrees that the good land is a type of Christ and Israel certainly typifies us, the Church.   So how is it that the Christ you receive may be in a sense bigger, more extensive than the one I have?   Well, it seems to be a paradox particularly in the light of the scripture clearly tells us in Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes, even forever.”  Well, we will see today that the Christ we experience matches our situation, our condition and our capacity.

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Ephesians (Program #13) – The Pledge of Our Inheritance

In ancient times when one purchased a piece of land, upon payment of an initial deposit, the seller would then give the buyer a bit of the ground as a pledge or guarantee that the property was in fact the very same parcel agreed upon. The apostle Paul picks up this custom to help illustrate one of the important functions or aspects of the Holy Spirit in God’s plan or economy. In Ephesians 1, Paul referring to the Holy Spirit says in verse 14, that the Spirit is actually the pledge of our inheritance. We will explore just what it is that we get when we receive this pledge.

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Joshua (Program #9) – The Allotment of the Land (1)

We all know the story of Jacob, of course he had 12 sons, each one very different. These 12 sons then became the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel and the good land of Canaan was eventually apportioned to these tribes, the descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons.

The account of how these parcels were passed on to the various tribes of Israel may seems to us to be a meaningless bit of history as God’s New Testament people, yet it is recorded in the book of Joshua and as we will see today it helps to convey a very meaningful and very experiential aspect of our own enjoyment of Christ.

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Ephesians (Program #12) – Sealed with the Holy Spirit

Of the three in the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is the most mysterious and the least known. Yet the Bible tells us that the Spirit functions in many definite ways. For example, it is the Spirit that broods over us before we’re saved; it’s the Spirit that convicts us, bringing us to salvation; the Spirit gives life; the Spirit also teaches and guides us into all the reality. But Ephesians gives us at least two additional functions of the Spirit in 1:13-14 “In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.” These verses tell us that the Spirit seals us and also that the Spirit becomes the pledge of our inheritance.  The sealing and pledging Spirit is our subject today and in the next program on this life study from Ephesians.

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Joshua (Program #8) – The Destruction of Ai

After the wonderful victory at Jericho where the walls of the city crumbled before them upon their shout, the children of Israel then turned their attention to the city of Ai. No doubt full of expectation that this city would be delivered into their hands with equal ease.  But the record in the book of Joshua reveals that just the opposite happened. This time against a much less fierce opponent, the children of Israel were routed. Why such a change?  If the Lord had been with them to such an extent at Jericho what’s the reason that He abandon them now?

Well, the answers do not just tell us something about the history of Israel, they also tell us a lot of about our own history with God.

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Ephesians (Program #11) – The New Testament Believers to the Praise of God’s Glory

Three times in the first chapter of Ephesians, the apostle Paul uses an expression like “to the praise of His glory”. The first time in verse 6, the praise is offered by us – the believers – as the issue of our sonship. The second mention, however, in verse 12 also deals with our sonship but the praise is not offered by us but rather it is the angels even the creation itself that joins in praise to God because of what He has accomplished in us – His sons. Now, not just sons in name and position but sons of God in life and nature.

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Joshua (Program #7) – The Destruction of Jericho

Remember the story of Jericho, for 6 days the children of Israel bearing the ark borne by the priests marched around the fortified city of Jericho.  No doubt as the inhabitants watched from the top of the city wall and sure wondered at the strange behavior of these occupying force.

And then on the 7th day after the priests blew the trumpet and the people shouted and they came about when the people heard the sound of the trumpets that “the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat. And the people went up into the city, each straight ahead, and they captured the city.  And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city with the edge of the sword: both men and women, young and old, and oxen and sheep and donkeys. And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, Go to the house of the harlot, and bring out from there the woman and all that belongs to her, as you swore to her. And the young men who had been spies went and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all that belonged to her; all her family they brought out and set outside the camp of Israel. And they burned the city with fire and all that was in it;” more…

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