Eyes of your Heart Enlightened

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:01

Well, Beloved, if you would turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1, and we're going to be reading this morning verses 15 to 23.

00:21

Our message will be in verses 15 to 18. Please stand for the reading of God's Word.

00:29

Ephesians chapter 1, starting in verse 15. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the

00:37

Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the

00:46

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which

00:59

He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might, that He worked in Christ when

01:15

He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

01:32

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head all things to the church, which is

01:39

His body, the fullness of Him, who fills all in all. You may be seated.

01:51

Father, we come before you this morning again asking that you would, in Jesus' name, grant us wisdom and a spirit of revelation so that we may see you clearly this morning and all that you have bestowed on us to learn and to receive.

02:10

May you give your saints ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to receive, that which you have laid before us.

02:18

In Jesus' name, amen. Now again, today's text is going to be mainly in Ephesians 1, 15 -18.

02:28

And before I begin with the preaching of the word, I'd like to make a very simple boast, and it's that I think of myself generally as a pretty good driver.

02:41

I pride myself on that, in that I've been driving since I was 16, and I've driven across this great nation, now coast to coast.

02:50

I've driven in two countries, from mountains to prairies and blizzards and snowstorms, even in a hurricane

02:58

I drove once. Yet things kind of change a little bit in my driving when it's dark out, when it's night.

03:09

The reason being is I have very poor eyesight. These glasses aren't simply for show.

03:15

They have indeed a function. It's because I am pretty blind without them. One of the things that I have is astigmatism, and so at nighttime all the lights just look like just super blown out.

03:30

I can't see things very well. And so I tend to try to stay away from long distance driving at nighttime because my vision isn't very strong at night, especially in driving in unfamiliar places.

03:47

You see, without proper eyesight at night, one can get into a car and then get into an accident and could even perish.

03:59

Again, sight is an important and precious thing. Without it, we may not have a proper direction for where we are going.

04:08

Even more important, however, is spiritual sight. For without it, one can perish eternally.

04:17

This morning we will be discussing the importance of spiritual sight that has eternal life in view.

04:24

So again, examine Ephesians 1 .15 with me. Paul says,

04:30

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,

04:38

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

04:48

If you're following along in today's teaching and insert, Christians in Ephesus were known for their what?

04:55

What did Paul say that these Christians in Ephesus were known for? It was their faith.

05:03

It was their faith. Their faith particularly in Jesus. Notice again what the text says,

05:10

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints.

05:18

So not only were the Christians in Ephesus known for their faith, unwavering commitment to the

05:24

Lord Jesus, they were also known for their love for the people of God, namely the saints who are in Jesus Christ.

05:34

As a side note in this text, one thing that we learn from this text is that the doctrine of Rome and their view of saints is not in accordance with Holy Scripture.

05:47

All those who are in Christ Jesus are called to be saints. You, my dear brother and sister, are saints, meaning that you have been sanctified, washed, made new, made whole in the person of Jesus Christ.

06:06

You are, though you may still contend with the old man with the sinful nature, though you may sin even, the

06:13

Bible teaches that you, in the way that God views you, you are a saint.

06:20

You've been called. You've been washed. You've been made clean. You've been sanctified by the

06:27

Spirit of our God. All those in Jesus are saints.

06:32

There are two inseparable realities for those who have such a grand inheritance such as ours.

06:41

Number one, again, is faith in Jesus. And the second is love for the brotherhood.

06:47

You cannot have one and not have the other. You know, there's an error in our

06:56

Christian culture, within Christendom, that you've maybe realized, and it's becoming more and more popular, and it's the idea of the lone

07:06

Christian. A lone Christian is one who says, I believe in Jesus.

07:12

I love Jesus. I worship Jesus. I follow Jesus, but I just don't follow church.

07:19

I don't go to a church. I don't belong to a church. It's just me and Jesus. That's called the lone

07:25

Christian. And one of the pitfalls, and I guess one of the things that makes it so attractive, is that, especially in the early 2000s and 2010s, there was a huge movement within Christendom that said, relationship over religion.

07:43

Did you remember that? Did you hear some of that? Relationship over religion. That's a real nice catchphrase that looks really good on a car bumper, but has no theological weight or truth to it.

07:57

Ours is a true religion. That which we practice, that which we preach, that which we've committed our lives to, and in part is, we're not only putting our faith in Jesus, we are also loving the brotherhood, loving the saints, loving the people of God.

08:21

And though, again, don't be confused, only faith in Christ can lead you into a life -saving relationship and a right standing before God the

08:30

Father. God saves you, and He brings you into His family, and that is the

08:38

Christian church. There is no such thing in Scripture as a lone

08:43

Christian. Again, those who would say I have a personal relationship with Jesus, but not with the church.

08:52

Oftentimes, Christians will use that phrase. It's a personal relationship to try to get people to back off a bit.

09:02

And what they really mean by that is that mine is a private faith, not a public one.

09:08

Now friends, does the Scripture teach that ours is a silent or backdoor faith?

09:19

One that's hidden underneath a basket? By no means. Our faith isn't just personal, it is also public.

09:29

For if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised

09:35

Jesus from the dead, we will be saved and have entrance into this grand family of God. Paul again in Ephesians 115 is demonstrating for this reason,

09:44

I have heard of your faith, giving a high recommendation to the church in Ephesus, and your love toward all the saints.

09:53

Faith in Jesus and love for the brotherhood go hand in hand. You cannot say you love

10:00

Jesus while you hate His church, while you hate His bride. Remember this, dear brother and sister, that the church is

10:10

God's most prized possession. It is His possession. And we know it's

10:17

His most prized possession. Why? Because He purchased it with His own blood.

10:24

Jesus purchased for Himself a new people of every tribe, nation, and tongue.

10:31

Not for us to disparage it. Not for us to forsake it. But for us to walk ever so closely with it.

10:39

And to glorify God in Her midst. You see, our Christianity is a

10:45

Christianity that is marked by true conversion with faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

10:54

Again, I'm emphasizing this passage quite a bit this morning, but it says in v. 15 again, because I've heard of your faith in the

11:02

Lord Jesus, giving us this title, this magnificent title of Jesus, prefacing it with Lord in the

11:10

Greek kurios. Oftentimes, the Greek New Testament writers will take this great title kurios,

11:17

Lord, and identifying it with the God of the Old Testament, Yahweh. So often, for instance, in Romans 10, chapter 10, verse 13, quoting from Joel 2 .32,

11:30

the New Testament writer Paul uses the Greek word kurios to describe Yahweh, and here often throughout the

11:37

New Testament narrative, Jesus Christ is given this awesome title of Lord.

11:43

Ours is a faith that stresses and is in fact built upon the premise of the

11:50

Lordship of Jesus Christ. A couple years ago as well, there was a great debate within the church about what often is called

11:57

Lordship salvation. And there are those who are sometimes of a Baptist persuasion that were saying and teaching that one could receive

12:07

Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord. John MacArthur took quite a bit of books to write on this topic, refuting it, saying that of course, when you receive

12:21

Jesus, you receive Him holy as He is. You don't receive

12:26

Him in part. You don't receive Him just as Savior. You receive Him as Lord and Savior.

12:33

Because there's this false notion that's oftentimes proclaimed from pulpits that you can make

12:42

Jesus Lord. That all you have to do is make Jesus Lord of your life, and everything will be alright.

12:51

Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is Lord. He's not waiting for you to enthrone

12:59

Him. He is enthroned. He is sitting at the right hand of majesty, even now as we speak and as we worship.

13:08

No one makes Him Lord other than God the Father, who made Him both

13:13

Lord and Christ. Jesus Christ is not a little

13:19

Lord that must be exalted by one's confession or profession, but rather He is

13:27

Lord of all and richly blesses those who will call on His name. Jesus Christ is indeed

13:35

Lord. And this Lordship of Jesus is central to Paul's writing here in Ephesians 1 and throughout the whole narrative of his epistle.

13:45

Something that is coming out just powerfully is the Lordship of Jesus.

13:52

And the Lordship of Jesus also helps us to understand the love that we ought to have for the

13:58

Christian brotherhood. Because if Jesus Christ is truly Lord of your hearts and of all the saints, then we have in our possession a common faith, a common hope, a common inheritance.

14:16

We're members of the same household. And as a result of being members of the same household, you've got to get to learn to live with each other and even more importantly, to love each other.

14:28

It's very difficult to live in a house where there's no love or there's always adversity and struggles because of interpersonal conflicts.

14:39

But brothers and sisters, we are called to love one another. It is in fact a mark of true

14:46

Christianity that we love one another. Our Christianity is not a loveless faith.

14:53

It's predicated on the greatest act of love in human history, which is when God demonstrated

14:58

His love by providing a ransom sacrifice for our sins through His own

15:04

Son, Jesus Christ. This love changes our very nature and status.

15:12

And God by His Spirit is enabling us to fulfill the law and the prophets by loving

15:17

God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus says on these two things, the whole law and prophets hang upon.

15:26

We can fulfill God's law by having God's Spirit in our hearts and having the mind of Christ towards the people of God.

15:38

If you have not come to know this love, you are still blind and need to be enlightened in the eyes of your heart.

15:49

If you do not love the Christian brotherhood, you are blind to love and the lordship of Christ who purchased the church, who loved the church.

16:02

Now, is the church perfect? By no means. No church is perfect. Often times, people will go from church to church trying to find the perfect church.

16:12

And I did that too when I was a teenager. When I was about 18, 19 years old, I really wanted more out of my faith and I just kept going from church to church looking for the perfect church.

16:23

Now, guess what I found? Well, I'll tell you what I didn't find. I didn't find a perfect church.

16:31

I didn't find any church that had just the right music that I wanted or just the right preacher or just the right kind of messages.

16:39

It didn't exist. It wasn't there. And even when I became a church planner in Canada and I wanted to build the perfect church, guess what?

16:50

Often times, people would come up to me and say, Pastor, I really don't like the way we did this or that. In my mind,

16:55

I thought, this is perfect. What do you mean you don't like it? And what I meant is that it was perfect for me.

17:03

But it wasn't perfect for everyone else. And so, brothers and sisters, recognize and know this truth.

17:09

The church is not perfect. Why? Because you are imperfect.

17:16

I am imperfect. But we worship a perfect, sufficient, almighty

17:22

Savior in Jesus. And if our eyes are fixed upon the Savior, we will find all the perfection that we need because the perfection that we truly seek and desire is not in oneself, but in one's

17:40

King. And so, do not be blind to the love and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

17:47

Know that although the church is imperfect, we can have the same heart for the church that Christ has for it as well.

17:57

Notice again what it says in verse 16 now. Paul says, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

18:10

The next part of our inserts, Paul did not cease giving thanks for the ministry and committed to remember them in his prayers.

18:24

Paul is giving an excellent report to the Ephesian church here. Isn't it wonderful?

18:30

Wouldn't you love to get a letter from one of the apostles saying, man, you guys are just doing so great.

18:38

You guys are so awesome. God is doing such amazing, miraculous things in your midst because you profess

18:46

Jesus as Lord and you're preaching the Gospel and you're loving the brotherhood. I would love to get such a report.

18:54

You know, later on in the book of Revelation, Jesus gives us another report on the church in Ephesus.

19:02

And you know that He praises. It's the only church of the seven churches in Asia Minor that Jesus actually praises.

19:10

But He also has one thing against them. Do you remember what that was?

19:17

The one thing that He held against the church in Ephesus was that they had lost the love they had at first.

19:25

They had lost that love, that desire. Now what happens often is that in churches, when a church starts and it's fresh, it's new,

19:36

God is doing amazing, wonderful things in the midst of the people, it becomes institutionalized and it goes from a movement to an institution.

19:46

And when it becomes an institution, sometimes it loses that shine of being a new movement.

19:53

And so, what do we do in that regard? Well, let me offer this suggestion.

20:01

I believe that one of the reasons why the church in Ephesus lost the love they had at first was because they began to take their eyes off the prize.

20:13

And that prize being the upward call in Christ Jesus. The call to make disciples and the call to love

20:22

God with all your heart, soul, and mind. We have to continue to love our

20:30

Creator and our neighbors and not to lose that fervent spirit, that desire to love the

20:41

Lord and His people. And though Paul gives this excellent report to the

20:46

Ephesian church, he's also lavishing much praise on them and connecting their faithfulness to the very promises of God and His sovereign decree and the outworking of His will.

21:01

Paul in verses 3 -10 is going into eternity past in God's work of predestination to remind the believers in Ephesus that their work of obedience was ordained of heaven.

21:17

He's also doing this. He's now thanking God and praising

21:22

Him for their faithfulness and steadfastness to the Gospel. You see, when we see

21:28

God at work, it should cause us to rejoice. It should cause us to be glad.

21:34

It should cause us to be thankful for all that He is doing in our midst.

21:42

And we can't forget that we have to rejoice also with brothers who are under persecution, who are under heavy hand of opposition.

21:52

We have to rejoice with the people of God. We also have to mourn with the people of God.

22:00

We also have to remember the people of God. So here's a call for us.

22:08

Are we remembering the saints? Are we remembering not just the people of God in our midst that we get to see week in and week out, but are we also remembering those who are under heavy persecution, who are suffering great harm because of the tragedies and atrocities that are happening around the world?

22:31

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I'm so focused on the local ministry of the church that I forget to lift up the brothers and sisters around the world.

22:42

Which is why I'm so thankful that here at this church we take the time to devote to prayer.

22:48

After our Sunday service, we get to come together and we also pray and we lift up our leaders around the world.

22:55

We lift up the saints around the world. This is an important practice for us as we devote more time to prayer on the

23:02

Lord's Day. Now what's interesting as well is that Thanksgiving in Scripture is often associated with prayers.

23:11

As we give God the glory and petition for his will to be continually done in our midst, prayer is, in our culture, often mocked, isn't it?

23:21

Think of a time when maybe there's a mass shooting or an earthquake or a natural disaster of some sort and the secular world begins to mock when people offer prayers and they say, what good are your prayers?

23:36

Your prayers are no good here. They're not going to help. They're not going to change anything. They're not going to do anything. That's how the world feels about prayer.

23:44

But how do you feel about prayer? Is prayer something that will be our first instinct to go to in times of trouble and also in times of great joy and success?

23:57

You see, though, prayer is often mocked in our culture when disasters hit and the reason why is because people think that prayer is a cop -out for an action.

24:08

And sometimes it is. Sometimes it's easier just to say, I'll pray than actually do something.

24:15

But in a New Testament sense, prayer is actually an action. Prayer is action.

24:24

What do we mean by that? Well, prayer is action because the Bible says, in James 5 verse 16, that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

24:39

The prayer of the righteous has great power to change things. First and foremost, understand this, dear saint, that prayer is not for you to simply petition

24:52

God and ask Him for things. He's God the Father, not God the genie.

24:59

Prayer is not the magic lamp that we rub to get our wishes fulfilled. Instead, prayer is the mechanism by which we have a communion with the holy

25:09

God of creation where He is attuning our hearts to be more aligned to His.

25:17

So that our actions become aligned to His actions. Our will becomes aligned to His will.

25:24

Our mind becomes aligned to His mind. That is the power of prayer.

25:30

And prayer, when it is effective, leads us to action. Because how can it be that we see maybe a brother or sister in need and simply say to them,

25:43

I'll pray for you without clothing them, without helping them?

25:49

That's James' whole argument in James chapter 1 and 2, talking about true religion.

25:54

And true religion isn't one that just goes into the closet and prays for someone and then doesn't do anything about it.

26:01

Again, prayer is meant to move our hearts closer to God's heart. So that we desire and do that which

26:09

God desires and wills for us to do. Because again,

26:14

James chapter 5 verse 16 reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

26:21

You see, most people are not seeing life with true eyes. They're not seeing the world as it truly is.

26:29

Thus, when they observe prayer, when the world observes prayer, they see nothing significant or impressive.

26:36

But those with eyes of faith can rest assured that prayer and thanksgiving to the Creator can change everything.

26:44

Can change everything. Let me give you a testimony, a witness. You know that sometimes when difficulty arises or even temptation arises, it can be a hard thing to pray.

26:57

It can be difficult to pray in those moments. But there's never been a time in my life where I took the time and devoted it to prayer in those moments of temptation or those moments of great distress where I did not receive strength from on high.

27:17

There's not a single time when I asked God to give me strength that He didn't give me strength.

27:23

There hasn't been a single time where I have prayed for grace and God didn't give me grace.

27:29

There hasn't been a single time where I didn't petition the Lord to save me from a circumcised situation that He didn't save me.

27:36

Because this God that we serve is so good. He's merciful. And every time that we approach

27:42

Him in Jesus' name, it'd be according to His good counsel and will, He will give us the petition of our hearts.

27:51

Psalm 37 4 teaches and tells us to trust in the

27:57

Lord. That He will give us the desire of our hearts. And if your desire is

28:03

Christ, He will richly give you that blessing and that desire.

28:12

So may your hearts and your eyes be truly open to see the glories and the majesty and the greatness of Christ.

28:23

The problem is not that all we do is pray in response to things, but often is that we do not pray enough.

28:35

Again, prayer is God's mechanism of preparing us for kingdom work. Prayer helps us to see with true eyes.

28:43

It helps position and incline us toward heaven. And in prayer, we can receive a heart that is rightly positioned toward God and His will for our lives.

28:55

Notice what Paul goes on to say in verse 17 of Ephesians 1. After just saying that he does not cease to give thanks for the saints and remembering them in his prayers, he goes on to say in verse 17 that the

29:08

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation of Him.

29:19

I love that. Don't you? Notice what Paul, I'm going to read it again, that the

29:25

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

29:38

So rich, so powerful is this text. Now what is Paul trying to get at here?

29:44

What is he trying to remind the church in Ephesus of? Well, here's what

29:50

I believe he is trying to point their attention to. If you're following along in the teaching and the inserts,

29:56

I want you to write this in there. It is only in the

30:01

Trinity that we can receive wisdom and revelation.

30:09

Notice the persons of the Trinity at work in the text. The God of our

30:15

Lord Jesus Christ, that being the Father of glory, and you see the person of the

30:20

Lord Jesus Christ petitioned here, that they may give you the spirit of wisdom.

30:27

The spirit being the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity. And out of the

30:34

Trinity flows this wisdom and this spirit of revelation.

30:44

It is in fellowship, communion, prayer, and worship of the one true and trium

30:50

God that all wisdom and revelation is found. Again, we've identified the persons of the

30:57

Godhead here in this text. And what is it that Paul is trying to teach us by means of invoking the

31:04

Godhead? It is that by the finished work of the Lord Jesus, that the Father of glory gives us the spirit in order not to be like the world doing what is right in their own eyes, but to receive the fear and the wisdom of the

31:19

Lord, which is the beginning of knowledge. It is only in the Blessed and Holy Trinity that you and I can have a true biblical wisdom.

31:30

That is to say that we can see the world as it rightfully is, not as I would have it.

31:36

That we would see things from God's heavenly perspective, and not simply from our own.

31:44

And that we would receive the spirit of revelation. Now, what does that mean? The spirit of revelation?

31:50

Or the revelation of the knowledge of Him, as it says here in the text.

31:57

Well, here's what that doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that God is going to give you some type of private, personal revelation that's not in the

32:08

Word. This is the revelation that Paul is unraveling in the whole first chapter of Ephesians.

32:16

Which is what? The mystery of his plan for the ages.

32:23

This grand plan that God, that Paul is unraveling in his first chapter to the church in Ephesus is the revelation that he wants the church in Ephesus to receive, to know that this is

32:40

God's great plan. Not just for the nations and for the world, but for you also.

32:48

And that as the church, the church plays a huge role in the outworking of his plan and the dispensation of time.

32:57

This is a grand plan that God has for his people.

33:04

God, again, is the fount. He's the wellspring of all wisdom and revelation.

33:09

There are many gurus, false prophets and teachers who claim that they can bring you some form of hidden knowledge.

33:18

Or they can give you, or they have new revelation. And that they want to impart this knowledge to you as revelation long lost or forgotten.

33:29

And again, we know that that's not what the text is referring to here. Instead, what the text is referring to as it refers to revelation, it is

33:40

God's impartation of his knowledge through the revealed word of God. That is to say that God will never speak a word that contradicts his word.

33:51

That contradicts the scriptures. Why? Because this is the authority.

33:59

Again, we earlier in our sermon or I think it was maybe in the

34:05

Bible study this morning, we talked about the spirit of prophecy and how did prophecy come apart?

34:12

It was not by human will or private interpretation. That's not how prophecy works.

34:19

That's not how revelation works. God is the revealer of himself through Holy Scripture.

34:28

And the scriptures are sufficient for all revelation for the people of God.

34:34

I want you, if you can, turn to 2 Peter chapter 1 and I want you to look at verse 3.

34:54

2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

35:12

What I want you to recognize from this text from 2 Peter is this. God has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

35:23

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you do not need to go and seek new revelation, new teachings, new gurus.

35:33

All that God has given is sufficient even for you and me even in this age.

35:42

God is sufficient in providing for us through his divine power all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

35:53

I want you, if you're still there in 2 Peter, to go to the same chapter, chapter 1. But now in verse 20 and 21.

36:03

Knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the

36:16

Holy Spirit. Where does revelation come from? Where does prophecy come from?

36:22

It comes from God. And he's already revealed to us his great plan for humanity's future in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

36:33

I want you to know this, that any doctrine or message that claims any revelation outside of what he has revealed in Holy Scripture is a departure from the faith and denies the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ, in whom

36:49

Paul says are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

36:56

And when you again received Christ, you received all of him. And he gave you in turn all that you need for life, pertaining to life and godliness.

37:11

You see, the error of looking for revelation outside of Scripture is that we deny against the sufficiency of Scripture and the sufficiency of Christ.

37:22

I want you to know this morning that Jesus is enough. His word is enough.

37:31

May you receive that. The Christian message that we proclaim from this pulpit is not

37:37

Jesus and. It's Jesus. He is enough. He is sufficient.

37:43

He is the one to whom you must look to for salvation, for strength, longevity. He is everything that you need.

37:53

He's a fount of wisdom and revelation and a fount of knowledge that could never be exhausted.

38:00

He is truly all and in all. What a blessed Savior we worship.

38:08

Paul again in Ephesians chapter 1, our main text. Paul in Ephesians 1 verse 18.

38:16

He goes on to say, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you and what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

38:34

If you're following along in the teaching again, God alone can enlighten the eyes of the heart.

38:41

Now that's a strange phrase, isn't it? The eyes of the heart. What is meant by that?

38:48

Well elsewhere in Scripture, if you can turn quickly to Matthew chapter 6. In Matthew the 6th chapter in verses 22 and 23 of the

39:07

Lord Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount teaches us this. That the eye is the lamp of the body.

39:17

So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

39:28

And if then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.

39:34

The eye is an important element to the human experience.

39:41

It's an important element also theologically, metaphysically as it talks about the eyes of the heart being again, the means by which you receive information, light and truths.

39:59

And so that's why there's a little song that you probably heard when you were younger or you teach your kids.

40:06

Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little hands what you take or feel.

40:15

I forget the way the song goes but if you know the song. Be careful little eyes what you see.

40:22

Why? Because what we see with our eyes then goes down to the heart.

40:29

And this is why people get addicted to things like pornography. It's because when they see something with their eyes and they put it into their hearts it becomes a desire.

40:43

It doesn't just become an idea, it's now a desire. And so friends, beware with what it is that you receive into your eyes and especially the eyes of your heart.

40:57

Be careful with what it is that you are allowing into your life and instead recognize that what the apostle

41:05

Paul is saying to the church in Ephesus, having the eyes of your heart enlightened.

41:13

Don't take in darkness the works of darkness, the works of the flesh, desiring that which the world desires, being like the world, but instead desire that which

41:24

God desires. Desire the light, the illumination that comes from his word and in fellowship with his people.

41:34

Be careful little eyes what you see. Again, Paul's prayer for the believers in Ephesus is that their eyes should be enlightened, that is, to receive spiritual illumination and sight so that by it they could see with true eyes of faith.

41:53

And to know what it is to have an assurance of what they see, the hope to which they have been called to in Christ.

42:03

Paul goes on to say again in verse 18, he says, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, they may know what is the hope to which he has called you.

42:12

What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? There's this idea again of inheritance, we talked about this several weeks ago as we were talking about the inheritance that believers have in Jesus.

42:27

And he uses this as a basis, this idea of an inheritance, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

42:35

To demonstrate the necessity of having true eyes of faith, being enlightened by the revelation of the knowledge of him, so that you may know, have a certainty and assurance of the hope to which you have been called to.

42:52

Brothers and sisters, you can have an assurance, a blessed assurance. An assurance that you and I have eternal life, that we've been made new, that we've been washed, cleaned under the blood of Jesus.

43:07

And that assurance is for you and I who received this enlightenment of the eyes of our hearts, and those of us who have received the riches of Christ's glorious inheritance in the saints.

43:24

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he is focusing heavily on the believer's identity in Christ and in his universal plan for the ages.

43:34

Paul is highlighting the need for Christians to discern who they are in Jesus.

43:40

So the question that I pose to you this morning is, do you have true eyes of faith?

43:48

Have your eyes been enlightened by the truth and light of the gospel, to know who you truly are in him?

43:56

To know that you are of tremendous worth, O ye of little faith.

44:02

That you are of tremendous value to the king and his kingdom. That all of your trials, all of your struggles, all of the temptations that you've had to deal with in life are not meaningless.

44:14

You have not suffered in vain. You have not been alone in this journey called life.

44:21

But instead, God has given you everything that you need in his

44:27

Word and in himself. May you know the sufficiency and lordship of Jesus through this.

44:35

That your identity is marked in his identity. That you who are in Christ, you must find all of your hope, all of your identity, all of your trust in the one who saved you.

44:53

Paul wants the saints to be enlightened to see the greatness of the glory of God's plan which we have the privilege of partaking in.

45:04

Again, Paul is highlighting the need for Christians to discern who they are in Jesus and the hope they have for a glorious future with him.

45:11

I want you to know this, when the Christian life is not an easy life but it is an eschatological life.

45:18

What do I mean by that? We as Christians, we are able to withhold certain pleasures of this world in order to receive even greater pleasures and privileges in the world to come.

45:33

Ours is an eschatological expectation that we know though things in the world may get worse, we ultimately hope for a better future.

45:42

We can see with true eyes of faith to look beyond all the circumstances and the difficulties of life, the geopolitical nature of life and know that though things in this world may get worse, things in the world to come are only going to get better.

45:59

Amen? And so we have a hope. We have a expectation of a blessed plan and future.

46:09

And this is exactly what Paul is trying to build his foundation on in the first verses 3 -10 as he opens up this grand discourse on the sovereignty of God saying again in verse 10 of Ephesians 1, as a plan here's the plan brothers and sisters for the fullness of time to unite all things in him in Christ.

46:29

The things in heaven and the things on earth. This is the hope, the eschatological expectation that we all have that one day all things will be united under Christ and Christ will be head and Lord of all.

46:43

Amen? What a great hope for the future we have.

46:49

Paul is asking God to enlighten them to the glorious truths of election, predestination, adoption, redemption and the future glory of inheritance.

47:01

Paul isn't just praying that they figure it out. He's actually laying it out plainly for them in his letter.

47:09

It isn't some secret or unspoken or individualized revelation he is wanting them to receive.

47:16

Rather he is praying that the spirit would enable them to see with eyes fully enlightened the truth that he is boldly proclaiming.

47:27

And as I close this message today, I want to address this. If you are struggling today with your spiritual vision, if you are struggling with your spiritual sight, know that Jesus is the only prescription that saves.

47:43

Jesus is the only one who can cure you of spiritual blindness. He can help you see as things truly are.

47:54

Throughout scripture and the gospel narratives, Jesus often heals the blind and gives them sight to see.

48:03

The same Jesus who was able to heal the blind is in our midst today.

48:10

And He is inside of you if you've confessed Him and repented of your sins and believed on Him. And He can be in you if you have not done that.

48:19

If you repent today and put your trust in the Savior. The Bible clearly calls us to repentance.

48:30

If you've not come to Jesus and received the enlightenment of the hope that He gives, call on His name today, confessing your sins in offense to our glorious Father, asking for forgiveness by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross.

48:43

Scripture teaches that the sinner who repents and forsakes his way will find mercy. But if you're a believer today and you're still struggling with your heart's eye, look to Christ who is your sufficiency, your strength, your longevity, and the length of your days.

49:03

Confess Him today as enough. Because He is enough. Just again as Jesus throughout the gospels opened the eyes of the blind so they could see, so He stands ready to open the eyes of our hearts to see the riches and the glory to which

49:19

He has called you in through the hope of the gospel. May you receive the enlightenment of the

49:27

Spirit of Christ and may you be filled with Him in every way. Let me pray.

49:33

Lord, we are so thankful that You have given us such a rich inheritance in Christ, such a hope for the future, a hope that does not disappoint, but a hope that will bring us home to glory.

49:49

Lord Jesus, may You give us this spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the accurate knowledge of You so that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope to which

50:07

You have called us to and what are the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the name of the

50:15

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.