Bella Vista Church of Christ
Randall Caselman
June 17, 2001 a.m.
Knee-Deep & Swimming In God’s Blessings
Reading - Ezekiel 47.1-5 & John 10.9-11
We live in such abundance today that we have a tendency to take our greatest and most valued blessings for granted.
-The air that we breath...
-The water we drink... and food we eat...
-Our measure of health.
-The personal freedoms we enjoy.
You see... We have been so blessed, that we tend to forget how many blessing we really enjoy.
And... Spiritually speaking... We have the same problem. We have moved our attitude toward our material blessings into the church... Into the spiritual realm. In Christ... We have so many blessings that we tend to take them for granted also ... RIGHT.
Go with me to Ezekiel 47... The Old Testament prophet is caught up in a vision.
In this vision... He is taken to the Temple area and he sees water flowing out from under the door of God’s house... Water is flowing from under the threshold.
Then... Ezekiel is taken for a walk in this water.
-As he begins his walk... The water is only ankle deep.
-As he moves on... It becomes knee deep.
-Before he knows it... The water is up to his waist.
-Then he finds himself swimming... Over his head in this water.
Our reading says... A river that can’t be crossed... can’t be forded.
Ezekiel sees all blessings flowing out of God’s house... from His presence. As he begins to walk in God’s goodness, he finds that there is no end. Ezekiel concludes that God’s love... His grace... Goodness... His blessing toward us is a river. A river so vast that... It cannot be forded... It cannot be crossed.
Indeed!!... Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.
Like most Old Testament prophecies... This vision has a double meaning.
-First it speaks of that time when Israel will return from Babylonian exile to once again occupy the promise land and enjoy all its blessings... Blessings intended for them.
-Then the spiritual fulfillment is in the coming Kingdom... The church of Jesus Christ... And the abundant spiritual blessing to be found only IN CHRIST!!
The deeper meaning of the vision is that Jesus is the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision...
John 10.10 says...
-I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
-I have come that you might have life to its fullest, life at its best... life above the ordinary.
-I have come that you may walk knee-deep... And swimming in God’s river of blessings.
Ephesians 1.3 tells us that... All spiritual blessings are in Christ.
Romans 8.17 says... If we are children of God, then we are heirs, coheirs with Christ. Paul is saying... Whatever belongs to Jesus... Whatever rights and privileges... Whatever blessings Jesus enjoys... as God’s only begotten... are now ours as His children also.
You see church...
-When God gives... He gives abundantly
-When He blesses... He blesses completely.
-When He provides... He provides overwhelmingly.
Folk... There is not anything... NOT ANY THING that we really need... that our Father has not supplied... Trust Him!!! Trust Him!!
You see... The problem is not how much God is willing to give?... But... how little we’re willing to receive. God has prepared a banquet table... and He has invited us to be at His banquet.
But... Sometimes we insist on sitting on the floor... Catching only the scraps... When all along the meal was prepared for us.
Here we are strolling around ankle deep in blessings... When we could be swimming in them. The question becomes... How deep are we willing to wade in His blessings?... It is ours to decide... The blessings are ours to claim.
Remember the story that Bruce Wilkinson tells in his book... The Prayer of Jabez?
A man dies and goes to heaven. Peter is giving him the newcomer’s tour. They pass this huge warehouse... blocks long and several stories high. The man asked... What’s in there? Peter says... You don’t want to know. The man replies... Secrets in heaven, there’s not suppose to be any. He presses Peter, and so he is shown. The warehouse was filled with blessings that God had reserved for this man... But he had never asked for them. You see... They were his for the claiming.
FOLK... HOW DEEP ARE WE WILLING TO WADE?
Let’s talk about some of the in-Christ blessings that are ours to claim and enjoy.
First... With salvation... We need to claim the knowledge of it. Our greatest IN-CHRIST blessing is our eternal salvation... RIGHT?
-We are saved by grace through faith.
-We are children of God by faith… For as many as have been baptized INTO CHRIST have put on Christ, have been clothed with Christ.
-For as many as have been baptized INTO CHRIST have been baptized into His death, so that just as Christ was raised by the glory of the Father, so we are raised to walk a new life.
-In him... IN CHRIST... We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
-There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There should be no doubt that salvation is a blessing given to all those who are IN CHRIST?
My question then is... Why settle for salvation without knowing that we have that salvation. A significant part of the abundant life is wrapped up in the knowing:
-That we are right with God,
-That salvation is ours,
-And that we are heaven bound.
It is great to know Jesus died for us... So that we can be saved.
What is much greater is knowing... that because of our response to His death... we are saved.
John said... My little children... I write these thing that you could know you have eternal life.
As Christian people... We are not destined to die with our fingers crossed. This fear cheats us... robs us of the real joy of living... for Him... and in Him
Folk... As a child of God... Don’t take your salvation for granted... Nor be unsure of it.
We don’t have to wade in maybe we’re saved... maybe not.
Brother Randall... How can I know I am saved, when there is so much sin in my life?
The Lord did not promise heaven to the sinless... He promised it to the forgiven.
Listen to Paul… Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.
Paul says... I am the chief of sinners... And then we hear him say... I have fought the good fight, finished the course, kept the faith. Henceforth there is a crown of righteousness which the Lord will give; but not to me only, but to all who love his appearance.
-Are you sure of your salvation, Paul?... Yes.
-Are you still a sinner Paul?... Everyday I buffet my body to bring it under subjection... for I do the things I shouldn’t and the things I should, I do not.... O wretched man that I am... Who will deliver me?
-Are you in Christ?... Yes.
-Are you fighting the fight... keeping the faith?... YES.
-Are you striving to be God’s child?... YES.
-Are you walking in the light?... YES
There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ... For if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continues to cleanse us from all sin... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Don’t settle for salvation... without the peace of knowing you have it.
Secondly... We need to claim the joys of giving.
Jesus said... It is more blessed to give than receive.
He said... Give, and it will be given to you... Good measure... Pressed down... Shaken together... and running over... Will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
You see, most of us know only the joy of walking ankle deep... Or at the most waist deep in God’s blessing... WHEN... If we would learn to pass them on...We could swim in His goodness... In His blessings.
The differences between the sea of Galilee that is full of life with lush greenery along the shore, and the briny brown, lifeless nature of the Dead Sea is just this principle. The Sea of Galilee takes in water and passes it on to the Jordan Valley below; while the Dead Sea selfishly hoards, holds all the water it receives, and the settling salt kills everything.
Audience... The abundant life Jesus came to give us is only ours to the extent that we are willing to share with others. Selfishness is what keeps us in the wading pool of God’s blessings.
What are the five things that God has supplied all of us with?
-Time,
-Talent,
-Treasure,
-Truth,
-And Energy.
Now... What was Jesus’ promise again... Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Question!
-Do we have all the time we need to get everything done?
-Do we need more talent?
-How many do not want any more treasure?
-Anyone know all the truth from this book we want to know?
-Anyone here this morning... who need more energy?
NOW... How did Jesus say we could have more of these five things?
-Give of your TIME... And it will be given you....
-Give of your TALENT... And it will be given you..
-Give of your TREASURE... And it will be given you...
-Share the TRUTH you know... And God will reveal more from His word...
-Use your ENERGY in His service... And it will be returned to you in good measure... Pressed down... Shaken together... and running over.
Now church... Do we have faith enough to try Him?... To swim in this promised blessing?
We must learn to claim the joy of suffering.
In Acts chapter five... After the incident with Annanias and Sapphira... The Apostles were... Placed in prison... Brought before the Sandrehin court... And beaten. Upon their release... Luke says... They went on their way rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer for His name. James says... Count it all joy when you encounter various trials.
Jesus said... We are blessed when we are persecuted for the sake of being right.
Joy in suffering?... Is that possible?... Well... What could possibly be a joy in suffering?
-James tells us suffering brings perseverance... And perseverance brings maturity.
-Peter says... Trials refine... Remake... And remold us like gold in a refiner’s fire.
-We learn and grow in character.
-The Hebrews writer says... In suffering there is discipline and redirection.
-Suffering draws us closer to Him... Trials brings us to a greater dependence upon Him.
Ever been to the point in your life where you couldn’t help yourself?... And no one else could help you either... You just had to turn to God?
Church... There is a certain joy in knowing that the omnipotent... Sovereign God of the universe is our Father and that He is there walking with us... supplying us with all we need.
We must Never allow our desire for abundant luxury to rob us of the joy of suffering.
There is the joy of forgiveness.
I remember a brother at Center Street in Fayetteville who had a real problem with alcohol. He came before the church confessing his fault and asking prayers on his behalf. A few weeks later he was assigned to wait on the Lord’s table. Some in the church, including the preacher at the time, felt that this was inappropriate. The reason they gave was that he had a past. I remember a wise old Elder who reminded them that... All of us have a past.
-Peter had a past... He denied Jesus... Not once but three time to save his own pride. Would we allow him to wait on the Lord’s table?
-Paul had a past... He had folks arrested... jailed... beaten... and killed for their faith. Would you assign him to serve communion?
-All of those in the Corinthian church had a past. In fact... They probably had trouble finding anyone to serve communion.
It’s interesting to note what the Bible says God does with our past sins...
-They are forgiven...
-They are washed away...
-They are hurled into the sea...
-They are wiped out...
-They are remembered no more...
-They are removed as far as the east is from the west...
-They are purified...
-They are made whiter than snow.
The joy of Christianity is that we don’t have to live with the sins of our past.
The past is just that... The past.
Let me show you something else... Not only are our past sins forgiven, our present and future sins are also dealt with by the blood of Jesus.
Truth is... It’s not just my past sins that concern me... But the present ones... The ones that I know I am guilty of, even while I am in the middle of them. These are the sins that haunt me most.
But there is no reason to worry here either... for John tells us... If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continues to cleanse us... Continues to purify us from (WHAT?)... All sin... Is there any sin outside of ALL?
No... Not just the past... But our present failures are continually cleansed, if we are striving to be the people and person God has called us to be. God does not demand we live perfect lives. That’s the reason Jesus came... To cleanse us from ALL sin.
What a genuine JOY it is to be a Christian... To realize that ALL our sins are forgiven.
Another blessing we can claim is.. With joy of living we can have the peace of dying!
We don’t have to just settle for happiness in this life... We can actually look forward to the peace of dying.
Paul says... For me to live is Christ... And to die is gain.
Now that is living the abundant life... Life above the common... Above the ordinary... RIGHT?
Paul goes on to say... I am caught between two options:
-Stay here and work with you...
-Or go on and be with Jesus.
What a choice!!... What an option!... He wins either way.
But... This is one of the blessing of being IN CHRIST.
You see... IN CHRIST... Death is nothing more than a door ushering us into the presence of God in a very literal sense. Scripture tells us that if we are IN CHRIST... Then to be absent in the body is to be present with God.
NOW FOLK... That’s peace... Indeed... What a blessing to swim in.
These blessings we’ve talked about this morning are all available to everyone... But they only belong to those who are where?... IN CHRIST.
If you are not a child of God... If you are not IN CHRIST... Now is your opportunity.
God has providently supplied us with one more opportunity to become His child... By faith, repentance and New Testament baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of your sins.
Perhaps for the most of us... We just need to start claiming the many blessings that belong to us as heirs and joint heirs with Christ to God’s great and precious promises.
If you need to respond to this invitation, come as we stand and sing this song together.
