For this morning’s message in Ephesians, we’re looking at how Paul the apostle prayed for the church. I thought it would be helpful to link back to an older message on the basics of prayer, so here it is!

SHIFT: Prayer

Isn’t it great to know that God has already delivered to us EVERY spiritual blessing?? IN CHRIST, we have been given ALL that we ever will need.



Ephesians 1 describes these blessings very nicely… Among them, we are chosen, graced, redeemed, reconciled, destined, and sealed! I love the fact that in HIM, we have been given all we need, and in Him, we lack nothing.

It’s not like we have to hope or wish or pray or somehow earn every spiritual blessing. We HAVE BEEN GIVEN them ALL! Many Christians think that growing in Christ means earning more and more of these blessings over the course of their life. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Maturing as a Christian means GROWING INTO the blessings that I ALREADY HAVE in CHRIST!

Colossians 1:11-14 tells us that I have already been qualified, already been delivered, already been transferred, already been redeemed, and I’ve already been forgiven!

God doesn’t withhold his blessings for us. ALL are delivered freely in Christ.

If you’re reading ahead for this weekend’s service, we’re covering Ephesians 1:3-14. There is a LOT of information there… Some really deep theology. BUT don’t let that scare you. We’ll spend the next few weeks looking at this passage and we’ll look carefully at what God says to us there.

One of the things that strikes me about this next section is verse 13… “And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”




The words here literally say that “he put his seal on you” by giving you the Holy Spirit. I love the image here! A seal signified the ownership of the king. Anything bearing the king’s seal would carry all of the power and authority of the king himself. Also, anything bearing that seal would come under the full protection of all of the king’s resources. Whoever bore this seal was acting as the king’s representative on behalf of the king himself.

Verse 14 goes on to say that this same Holy Spirit that seals you and me promises that “he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.” We can rest assured that we are “marked…” We are “sealed” by God in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit! That seal forever binds US to HIM!

I am really thrilled to get started on this new series. This one will really be a challenge to us in very different ways than some others. Why? Three reasons… Ephesians contains:

• DEEP theology. We will cover the nature of our salvation, (it’s different than what you might think!) the blessings of our riches in Christ, and look at predestination vs. free will!
• PRACTICAL teaching. Paul (the author of Ephesians) takes that deep theology and works it into nearly every area of your life: your relationship with your spouse, your kids, your parents, your job, your individual life, and the way you do church.
• BATTLE prep. BECAUSE that deep theology is working into your practical life, you have an enemy that wants to stop you. SO Paul tells us exactly how we are to prepare to fight the good fight.

I have been away for the last few days praying, studying, and writing. I’m trying to be as prepared as possible for this very important series.

Are you ready? You need to be. Frankly, some of this stuff is pretty heavy, and will knock you down if you aren’t ready. So how can you be prepared?

1. Be praying.
2. Read ahead. Start this week in Ephesians 1 and read the whole chapter. I will be using the New Living Translation and the ESV during this series.
3. You Version. Get on their APP with your iPhone or your Android and let it READ Ephesians to you! It is awesome.
4. Life Group. This will get intense quick. I’m just sayin’. You will need to talk it out with close friends. There is no better format than LifeGroup. If you aren’t in one, we will link you up with a LifeGroup leader this Sunday morning. Just ask at the information desk!

I hope this helps! See you on Sunday!