An “Open Contract” with God
An “Open Contract” with God
Ephesians 1:16-23
Intro: I hope to convince you to say yes to God today before you even know what He wants you to do or any details.
If you won’t and try to play it safe you may miss the adventure of a lifetime! For example: Russ (here last week) in 2015 I was given opportunity to go to Israel. I believe a man was to travel with me. I prayed and ask and then during soaking one night here at GT HS had me ask Russ. Will you go to Israel? Ask God. He did and said HS told him yes to commit but he did not have finances. All we had was God said to say yes. Next finances came. There in Israel God spoke to Russ that he would be back and spend a year! How? Financially? Job?
Came home and he kept working on how for a year. Eventually arranged to leave his work and use what money he had even through he did not have enough for a year in Israel. One snag after another and today he is involved working with a solid ministry and the bonus is he got the wife of his dreams. All this because He said yes without knowing the details of how he would be able to do it.
We did similar thing in packing up and going to Bible College. Not enough money – just a yes to God’s strange call w/o understanding.
At end of this message I hope you will say yes to God before you know what He is asking you to do. If you don’t say yes now you may miss the adventure or a lifetime.
Ephesians is a letter written by Paul to a church in a city of Ephesus. In it he is explaining how we “In Christ” people are to rule with Christ in the Kingdom of God. Watchman Nee book “Sit, walk, stand”.
Sit with Christ– place of resting in identity with Christ’s accomplishments. Walk in Christ is the daily application, and standing in Christ is the maturity of dealing with all kind of spiritual opposition.
Paul started this church and as a church father prays for them like they were his children. In fact, two of his prayers are in Ephesians that reveal the Father heart of God for His children.
Eph. 1:16-19 KJV.
This prayer request is that we God’s people would realize, grasp, understand, and utilize some things God has already given us. What are they?
1. That God would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in deep intimate knowledge of Him.
2. That we understand the hope God is calling us to; that is the rich inheritance He has for us.
3. That we might know His unlimited great power in and for us as demonstrated by Christ’s resurrection.
Life here on earth is all about us getting to know Him (God). Not just about Him but firsthand experience in knowing Him yourself.
You can spend your whole life chasing career, money, the good life. But at some point you will have to face the reality that all those good things you have will never fill the place that the Creator designed in your heart for Him.
Once you’ve tasted the Lord then you are forever ruined for the ordinary life. Life without God is meaningless! What’s the point? The creature was created by the Creator and Paul’s first part of this prayer is that we might know God intimately.
“And this is Eternal Life, that we might know You, the only true and real God, and likewise to know Jesus Christ as the Messiah, Whom You sent. . . that we might have Jesus’ joy and gladness filling our hearts.” John 17:3, 13, 23 KJV/Amp
The relationship between the Father and the Son is most amazing. There is no competition, no stair step down like Father, Son, then HS.
This kind of relationship does not just happen because you show up. It comes to those with hunger who say, “there’s got to be more than this.” He put an on going hunger for more of Him in you.
You have to make time for love making with God. If you wait till the end of your day to spend time with God, you will be too tired for love making. The problem is we get distracted with other things. We have an Americanized Xnty that is lukewarm at best. We think a Christian is anyone who believes in Jesus. Do we really know Him? This is our primary purpose in life!
The devil knows the Bible better than most Xns. Other people may know the Bible better than you. Does that mean they are closer to god than you? No. You should know the author of the Bible because He is your ABBA and you’re His son. Passion will drive you to do things others won’t do.
1. Pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in deep intimate knowledge of Him.
Be careful what you ask for! He will see to this.
This sets the stage for everything else in your life. Jesus is not just an addition to your life – He is your Life = oneness with Him.
2. Pray that we understand the hope God is calling us to; that is the rich inheritance He has for us.
God’s hopes are hidden or else it could not be hope. Hope that is seen is not hope. His hope is not hidden from us but for us. The hope of His calling is an ever unrolling of a scroll with our name on it.
An inheritance is what you get when someone dies and leaves it for you. For us Jesus has died and given us a rich inheritance. Some of it we get now and some reserved for later depending on how well we steward the first part of our inheritance.
The first part of our inheritance Jesus has for us is that we are no longer orphans without a Father. We are welcomed into the family of God to be a son via a spiritual re-birth of Holy Spirit.
Have you been born from above? If so you have HS as a down payment or guarantee of your inheritance in heaven, showing you’re are a Son of God.
Galatians 3 tells us the Law (commandments) was like a school teacher that brought us to the realization of faith in God’s grace for salvation.
Galatians 4 talks about HS is now our Tutor or Governor while we are still a minor or child. Time on earth is about us maturing to become mature sons of God so we can receive the rest of our inheritance when we leave this world. God’s hope is our maturity in the Spirit-led and directed life now.
“For all who are LED by the Spirit of God are the (mature) Sons of God.” Romans 8:14
Receiving your full inheritance is not just going to heaven, that is your home. It has to do with how you are stewarding your life now in your present circumstances to be mature enough to be led by the Spirit rather than by circumstances, feelings or flesh.
The Father has been generous in giving us the HS as the down payment in good faith as the first part of our inheritance. We have His life living in us now.
The question heaven has for us is this:
What are you doing with your inheritance?
Are you wasting it on yourself like the Prodigal son? Are you using it for yourself alone? What are you doing with the gifts, abilities, talents God has given you to use?
In Matthew 25 Jesus teaches 3 parables and all tie together as one message. Parable of ten virgins – 5 were ready for the Bridegroom and 5 ran out of oil because they were not expecting Him to return so soon.
Parable of talents: Master gave servants talents or gifts: Gave one 5, another 2, another 1. HE went away and when he retuned expected profit. The unprofitable servant was the only one cast to outer darkness. Parable of sheep and goats divided when Son of Man returns. His sheep on rt hand He says, “Come inherit the kingdom prepared for you … for I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was in prison. Then the righteous shall say Lord when did we see you in this way? When you did this …
This is not so much randomly giving help to a homeless person, but it could be. The point is this, you laid down your life so HE can do the things through you that He wants done!
What will you do with your inheritance?
Pray that we understand the hope God is calling us to; that is the rich inheritance He has for us.
If you will learn to let the HS lead you instead of you leading– He will take you places you never dreamed. He will arrange divine appointments with people you never could have made happen. He will give you encounters you would have never imagined.
January 10th this year Pam and I felt like God was asking us for Pam not to go to work for now and lay that down and focus on getting things organized at church, visiting people, and whatever other things He would lead us to do. We said yes without knowing any details. He unfolds each day and sets our agenda and we follow.
When we give up some things we want or want to do we don’t lose.
Do you think the little boy that gave up his lunch to Jesus to feed the multitude, went away hungry?
Pray to have intimate personal revelation of Jesus.
Pray to know His plans/His inheritance for you.
Pray to know the unlimited greatness of His power in us and for us which He demonstrated when He raised Christ from the dead.
Know His Person
Know His Plans
Know His Power
ConcL: ill. Joined MC with plan to be military police. Ended up going in “open contract”. But it was the best thing – got me where God had man share gospel and I got saved and everything changed.
I am saying to you. Go to God with “open contract”. For the next month, 3 months, 6 months I will do whatever You tell me. I will lay aside my goals, plans, agenda and be open contract. Try this for one month or 3 before you make a lifetime commitment. This is measurable.