Grace Haven Church

0:00 I want to bring a message on who we are in Christ Jesus.

0:04 Because when we understand who we are in Christ Jesus, it changes the way we see things.

0:11 It changes the reality, the way we see the reality and the challenges.

0:15 Because although those things are real in our physical world, there is a spiritual world that is even more real.

0:23 And we get to see it from his perspective.

0:26 It enables us to look at the life that we've had and the life we have now through his eyes.

0:33 Daryl Johnson, in his book that he writes about Ephesians, called Ephesians, which is very helpful, he describes it.

0:40 And you know, Mark and I recommend that you get this book and study it.

0:45 Get together, read together.

0:47 We've got a Sisterhood Running Club happening.

0:49 Let's get a Reading Club happening as well.

0:53 I thought there'd be a much bigger cheer for the Sisterhood Running Club.

0:56 Solvay, where are you?

0:57 Like, yay!

0:58 We've got a Sisterhood Running Club.

1:00 If you want to be part of, yeah.

1:02 I mean, I walk.

1:03 I do a walk.

1:04 I don't do a run.

1:05 But we meet together.

1:07 We eat mangoes and we exercise as well.

1:11 But in any case, Daryl Johnson, in this book, he calls this way of looking at things, this real world that we sense with our five senses and then the spiritual world, he calls it an alternative reality.

1:26 Because yes, there is the reality of the physical world, but there is a spiritual reality that is more powerful and significant.

1:35 And it has the ability to impact our everyday and how we live our lives in this real world that we connect with through our five senses.

1:44 And you know, the book of Ephesians in the Bible helps us to understand that in Christ, we can have a different alternative reality.

1:57 We can have a different reality.

1:59 We can have a reality that is rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus.

2:05 It helps us to actually see this unseen world as a real world.

2:11 Because sometimes, because it's invisible, we just don't connect with it.

2:15 We just don't realize the impact of it.

2:18 But as we read Ephesians, as we study the word, we get to realize and understand that this unseen world is a very, very real world.

2:28 And it reminds us that in Christ, there is more stability and security to our reality than we could ever imagine.

2:37 There is much more stability, whatever you're facing.

2:41 In Christ, there is more stability.

2:43 Whatever your challenges, in Christ, there is more security to your reality than what you see and what you think and what you feel.

2:52 Amen?

2:52 This is the beauty of knowing Jesus Christ.

2:56 So this means that in victory, you may be having a marvelous time right now.

3:01 Things may be going very well for you.

3:04 But you know, when you know who you are in Christ, you walk that celebration life knowing that you are in awe of the grace of God, knowing that you are humbled by His mercy and His kindness, knowing that you want to surrender even more to who He is.

3:21 And then if you are walking through life right now, and it seems like you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death, it will reassure you that you are not on your own.

3:30 You will be reassured and you will be anchored in peace and anchored in comfort as you navigate the complexities, the disappointments, the pain of living in a world that is flawed as a flawed person, ourself.

3:46 This is the beauty of knowing who we are in Christ, peace and victory.

3:51 And so that's what I want to encourage us through the word.

3:54 And I want to build on what was shared on Thursday at our community learning night.

3:58 Because that whole topic was the revelation of who we are in Christ.

4:03 I know on Thursday, if you weren't there, I really would encourage all of you to get the notes and again, to just get together with somebody and go through these notes deeply because there is so much richness.

4:16 It is profound, the word of God.

4:18 And if we just took Ephesians to just study and meditate on over this next wee while, I'm telling you it will change us from the inside out.

4:28 Transformation will come.

4:29 So I really, for those of you that couldn't be there, there was just so much gold and richness from the word of God that came.

4:35 And I really want to ask you to avail yourself of those notes because Mark, he went through the background and the context of the time in which this letter was written.

4:44 And the culture, what the people were facing, the challenges they were facing, the spirit of the age.

4:50 He literally went through all of these things.

4:52 We discovered that in Ephesians, really the first three chapters are about learning who we are in Christ Jesus and how we are alive in Christ and the awesomeness of that revelation.

5:06 And then from there, chapters four, five, and six, we can now walk out our salvation because we know who we are.

5:12 We know who we are first.

5:14 Amen?

5:15 Amen?

5:17 We know who we are.

5:19 And you know, from four to six, you know, we learn from the potential of who we are, how we can live and conduct ourselves and how the good news of the gospel empowers us through the Holy Spirit to live an overcoming victorious life despite what's going on in our lives.

5:37 And not in our own strength because I think we would all put our hands up to say, yes, it is impossible to live this kind of life without the ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit.

5:49 It starts with the Holy Spirit.

5:50 It continues with the Holy Spirit.

5:53 And what we saw in Ephesians is when Paul was writing Ephesians, he was writing it when he was in prison in Rome, awaiting his appeal to Caesar.

6:04 But you would never ever see doom and gloom in that portion of Scripture.

6:11 Those six chapters, there's no doom, there's no gloom, there's no woe is me because he had a different perspective.

6:17 He had a different set of glasses on.

6:20 He had that alternative reality that was way stronger than what he was experiencing in prison in Rome.

6:26 His letters were full.

6:28 If you read them, they're full of praise to God.

6:31 They're full of encouragement that would not only have encouraged his soul, but he was writing to those who were in Ephesus, encouraging them with what they were facing.

6:40 And that's what a revelation of who Jesus Christ is and a revelation of who we are in him will do for us.

6:47 Yes, there are circumstances.

6:49 He's in prison, he's in Rome, but first and foremost, he is in Christ Jesus.

6:53 And that's what comes across in this portion of Scripture.

6:57 He was just reminding those that were in challenges that there is an alternative reality.

7:05 And you know, in Ephesians, 36 times Paul mentions in Christ, with Christ or through Christ.

7:13 36 times, that's a lot of repetition.

7:17 In Christ, with Christ, through Christ.

7:19 And it reminded me of the portion of Scripture in John 15 where Jesus is talking to his disciples and saying that we were to remain in him.

7:28 To remain in him.

7:29 He said to them that they were to remain in him.

7:31 Verses one to 10, Jesus said, remain in me 10 times, 11 times actually.

7:38 He said it 11 times, remain in me.

7:41 So if Jesus Christ, the son of God is saying we need to remain in him, remain in Christ, and our dear apostle Paul is saying it 36 times in six chapters, I think as believers and followers of Christ, it would be due diligence for us to pay attention to that.

7:57 Would you agree?

7:58 Everybody say aye.

8:00 Right, well let's have a little chat about staying in Christ.

8:04 And I'm gonna start reading.

8:05 In Ephesians one, verses three to five in the Amplified Version, and this is what it says, and Father, I pray in the name of Jesus as I speak your word, that your anointing will go forth and it will minister to your people in Jesus' name.

8:18 It says, blessed and worthy of praise, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

8:32 Just as in his love, he chose us in Christ, actually selected us for himself as his own before the foundation of the world so that we would be holy.

8:45 That is consecrated, set apart for him, purpose driven, and blameless in his sight.

8:53 In love, he predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to himself as his own children through Jesus Christ in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of his will, amen.

9:13 Through Christ Jesus, we have been adopted into God's family, adopted.

9:20 And so I have been doing a little bit of reading on adoption this week in preparation for this message.

9:26 And I've got a few things here that I just wanna share that just, oh my gosh, might make you wanna do a little skip.

9:33 So adoption, first and foremost, it is a legal formal act.

9:38 It is bound by law, bound by law.

9:42 And in many countries across Europe, the adoption certificate, it actually replaces the birth certificate.

9:49 So the birth certificate is not destroyed, it is archived, it is sealed, it's put away, it is archived, but a new certificate is given with a new identity and with a new name.

10:02 The child takes on the name of the new parents.

10:07 I just thought, gosh, isn't that just so what God has done for us?

10:12 He has given us a new identity.

10:15 He's given us a new name.

10:17 The old has passed, now is the fresh.

10:19 It's the new, it's the new beginning.

10:21 Today is the first day of the rest of your life, it's the first day of the rest of your life.

10:25 It's a new day.

10:26 His mercies are new every morning, amen?

10:33 And I love this definition.

10:35 I mean, this is just what was on the website of an adoption agency, like adoption, the legal aspects of adoption.

10:40 And it says adoption is a lifelong commitment, a lifelong commitment.

10:45 God has been committed, he's committed to us.

10:48 I mean, we know that because Jesus left the splendour of heaven and came to earth to ransom us, to bring us into the family.

10:55 So adoption, it is a lifelong commitment, providing stability, security, and the same legal rights such as inheritance that a biological child would be entitled to.

11:09 And I just got to thinking, oh my gosh, Jesus, all that he has, all that rightly belongs to him, belongs to us.

11:21 This is simply marvellous.

11:26 Now you know, now you know why I say marvellous because I just don't know another word that could, it's just, say it simply.

11:44 You all like that word, don't you?

11:46 I mean, when we are adopted into the family of God, we're not visitors or guests or imposters.

11:55 We're a family member with an inheritance that was brought with the blood of Jesus Christ himself.

12:02 Amen?

12:04 You're not a guest.

12:05 You don't have to ring the doorbell and just wait.

12:09 Like Amelia came over last night.

12:11 She rang the doorbell and we just didn't hear it.

12:13 There's either music or the fan or whatever.

12:16 She had to call me.

12:18 She had to call me, say, I'm outside.

12:21 And then I went to let her in.

12:23 That's not the kind, actually we need to give Amelia a key for our house.

12:26 We'll give her a key for our house.

12:27 But can I just say we don't need a key to come into the presence of God because Jesus has opened the door for us.

12:36 We're not a guest.

12:37 We're not an imposter.

12:38 We're not a salesperson.

12:40 No, we are his sons and his daughters and he has given us the key.

12:44 In actual fact, the door is wide open and he is asking us to come in.

12:48 He's asking us to come in and to be with him, to fellowship with him, to eat, drink and share with him.

12:54 He's asking us to do that.

12:56 What a joy, what an honor, what a privilege it is to be called a child of God and to be in Christ.

13:04 Ephesians 2 verse 19 says, and so you are no longer called outcasts and wanderers but citizens with God's people, members of God's holy family and residents of his household.

13:21 You are no longer a slave to sin.

13:24 You are a child of God.

13:28 No longer a slave to sing that beautiful song that we sometimes sing.

13:33 I'm no longer a slave to sin.

13:38 I am a child of God.

13:41 Sing it again.

13:42 I'm no longer a slave to sin.

13:48 I am a child of God.

13:52 That's who you are.

13:53 That is who you are.

13:55 The theologian Jay Packer in his book, Knowing God, he says something so beautiful.

14:01 He says that adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers.

14:08 The highest privilege that the gospel offers.

14:12 And I just have been in awe studying this this week because we have been brought into a profound relationship.

14:24 So the relationship between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit has been one that has been existing forever.

14:31 It is the most intimate of relationships.

14:34 And what we see through Jesus Christ, he has invited us into that relationship.

14:41 So God who existed before the foundation of the world in a relationship that literally is central to the universe, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, they could have just been okay with themselves, but no, they chose to invite us into that relationship.

14:57 Not on the outskirts so we could watch it, but right in the relationship so we could be part of that connection and that relationship.

15:06 And I just think that is unreal.

15:09 That is unreal.

15:10 We are sons and daughters of the Father that Jesus loves and we are joint heirs with Christ whom God loves.

15:25 I have had to try and wrap my head around that this week.

15:30 And I wonder if you would do the same, would you remind yourself that you are a son and a daughter of the Father that Jesus loves and that you are joint heirs with Christ Jesus whom God loves.

15:45 And all of this has been made possible because of Jesus.

15:52 Ephesians 2 verse 13 says, but now, but now at this very moment in Christ Jesus, you who once were so very far away from God have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

16:08 We belong to God and he belongs to us.

16:12 And God is our Father because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

16:17 He's our Father.

16:19 And you know, throughout the book of Ephesians, Paul refers to God as Father quite often.

16:26 And that in itself is another message or another six, seven messages.

16:30 Because when you read Ephesians, whenever you read Paul saying Father, there is a context behind it and there is theology behind it and there's profoundness behind it.

16:41 But unless we're gonna be here till next Sunday, I will just summarize it for you.

16:46 And that is to say that it reinforces the theme of adoption that we see in Ephesians.

16:53 It reinforces the access that we have to God as our loving Heavenly Father, a Father who wants to have a relationship with us.

17:01 It reminds us that God is the Father of all who believe and how he can break down the barriers that would naturally be there.

17:11 Now, if you just look across this room, we are from many different countries, many different cultures, many different backgrounds.

17:18 And yet what has brought us together as we have sung praises to our Lord this afternoon?

17:23 It's been Jesus.

17:25 It's been Jesus.

17:27 It's been God himself.

17:28 He's brought us together.

17:29 Jesus has broken down the barriers.

17:31 And so we also see in referring to God as Father, that he is a Father who unites us.

17:38 He unites us.

17:40 We can get over our misunderstandings.

17:43 We can get over the things that are there to naturally build up a wall because of our Father.

17:50 Amen.

17:50 We have the same Father.

17:51 That's what I love when I say about Julie Galanti, that she's my sister from another mother.

17:57 And then somebody asked me if that was actually biological.

18:00 And I said, no, it's not biological, but we share the same Heavenly Father.

18:03 We share the same Heavenly Father.

18:06 And he's showing us as he calls God a Father, how loving and perfect and nurturing God is towards us.

18:15 The Father we can learn from, the Father we can trust, the Father we can approach confidently.

18:21 And so I also like to think of Paul just having fun calling God Father.

18:25 Because Paul started off hating the message of Jesus Christ.

18:29 He hated it with such a passion that he was about persecuting, throwing people into prison, killing followers of Christ.

18:35 But then he encountered Jesus and the scales dropped off his eyes.

18:39 He had this encounter, face-to -face encounter with God.

18:42 And he was radically changed.

18:45 He went from going in this direction to going in this direction, from going to persecuting people, to following Christ and actually spreading the message, writing so much of the New Testament that still blesses us today.

18:57 I think Paul had this revelation that there is no condemnation.

19:01 There is no condemnation.

19:04 And the Spirit of God will not condemn you.

19:06 The Spirit of God will convict you into who you are, reminding you who you are in Christ.

19:11 But the Spirit of God will not condemn you.

19:13 And I think Paul had this revelation and I think he probably had so much fun just saying, Father, Father, Abba Father, where are you at today?

19:23 Can you say that?

19:25 Can you call on God, not just as God Almighty, but can you call on Him as your Father?

19:31 Abba Father.

19:32 You know, I had a friend back in the day in the UK who had a challenging upbringing with her father, whom she called Father.

19:40 And so she found it really hard to actually pray, Dear Father.

19:45 So what she started to do, she would pray, Dear Daddy,

19:50 Heavenly Daddy.

19:52 And sometimes when we pray together, put a smile on my face because I would just say, Heavenly Daddy, Abba Father.

19:59 And do you know what happened as she kept saying, Daddy, Heavenly Daddy, the revelation of God as her Heavenly Father started to go from head knowledge into a heart and it brought such transformation in her relationship with God as a Heavenly Father.

20:13 Where are you today?

20:14 Maybe you too could start saying, Heavenly Daddy, Abba Father, and come into His presence, knowing that you are safe, you are secure, and you can be confident and bold.

20:28 Amen.

20:29 Amen.

20:30 We can live and address the living God as Abba Father.

20:34 In actual fact, in Matthew 6, 9, when the disciples said, how should we pray?

20:38 Jesus said, pray our Father.

20:42 Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

20:45 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

20:49 Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have trespassed against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

20:59 For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever, amen.

21:01 But it all starts with our Father.

21:05 And that's what God has in store for us.

21:07 That's how He wants us to approach Him because your salvation, your salvation through Christ has come because of His love for you, the Father's love for you.

21:18 And it has been sealed by the Holy Spirit,

21:24 reassuring you that you are now a child of God.

21:28 And that's what I just wanna bring some thoughts to as I bring this message to a conclusion.

21:35 But the Holy Spirit has sealed our salvation.

21:40 Ephesians 1, verses 13 says, in Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.

21:56 The Holy Spirit has sealed our salvation.

22:01 This is incredible.

22:03 You know, in the days of old, seals were used to stamp on letters and documents and contracts.

22:08 How many of you watch the movies, you know, where a seal's done, the king has put his signet on that wax and then it's been sent by horse and whatever to be delivered?

22:17 And a seal was put on so it wouldn't be opened and tampered with and altered.

22:22 And then also, animals and cattle would be branded with a seal.

22:28 And one of the reasons that would take place is that literally it would identify who the cattle belonged to.

22:35 But also, if the cattle was stolen, it could be retrieved and brought back.

22:40 Or if the cattle went wandering off, then it could be brought back to its rightful owner.

22:45 And there's actually different examples of seals in the Old Testament and the New Testament, which again, would take another few weeks to go through.

22:53 But go through them at your own leisure.

22:55 Just put seal and you would be able, there's so many different ways mention it.

23:00 There's so many different mentionings of seal in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

23:05 But you know what's interesting here is that this seal that we have, it's not done with a thing.

23:11 It's not done with wax and a signet ring.

23:14 It's not done with branding, like the cattle.

23:16 It's actually done with the Spirit of God Himself.

23:21 The Spirit of God has sealed your salvation.

23:24 His Spirit has come to dwell in your hearts.

23:28 And He's provided so much for each and every one.

23:30 He's described in John 14 verse 16 as the helper, the comforter, the advocate, the intercessor, the counselor, the strengthener, the standby, someone that would be with us forever.

23:43 That is who we have been sealed with.

23:46 And what I love about this word, the advocate, the advocate means a lawyer.

23:51 So the Holy Spirit is the lawyer.

23:53 When the enemy of our soul comes to tell us who we are, who He thinks we are, who you think you are, the Spirit of God comes to say, no, this is who you are.

24:02 There is no condemnation.

24:05 Your sins have been washed away.

24:08 Though they were red like crimson, they've been washed whiter than the snow.

24:11 When you feel fearful and anxious, the Spirit of God comes to say, you don't need to be fearful because perfect love, the love of God Himself will cast out that fear because you have a hope in Him, you have a future in Him.

24:24 It says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a power, love, and a sound mind.

24:29 And a sound mind, my dears, is a mind that is disciplined after the word of the Lord.

24:33 That is what a sound mind is.

24:37 And so we need to discipline ourselves to who we are in Christ Jesus.

24:43 And in this portion of scripture, in John 14, verse 18, Jesus continues and says, I will not leave you as orphans.

24:51 Again, reminding us that we are children of God.

24:55 He will never leave us.

24:56 It says here that the Holy Spirit will remain with you continually and will be in you.

25:03 We are in Christ.

25:05 The Spirit of God is in us.

25:06 Amen?

25:08 And the Holy Spirit, He will, as I just said, He will remind us of who we are in Christ and that we belong to God.

25:15 Romans 8, verses 15 to 17 says, the spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear.

25:25 The spirit that we have makes us God's chosen children.

25:30 And with that spirit, we cry out, Abba, Father.

25:34 And the Spirit Himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God's children.

25:42 Makes us sure that we are God's children.

25:47 And the other thing I want to say as the platform team come back up is that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.

25:56 The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth concerning all things.

26:01 So stay with me as gorgeous as they all are.

26:05 Just stay with me.

26:06 As I read John 16, verse 13.

26:10 And when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will speak, He will guide you into all the truth, full and complete truth.

26:19 What do you need to have revelation on right now?

26:23 What truth needs to be revealed?

26:26 If you would but make room for the Holy Spirit, He will reveal truth to you.

26:33 I'll start from the beginning, verse 13, but when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth, full and complete truth.

26:42 For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears from the Father, the message regarding the Son, and He will disclose to you what is to come in the future.

26:58 This is the Spirit of God.

27:02 And so, you know, as I bring this, go on then, let's do it, let's clap.

27:09 Let's praise God, let's praise God, come on.

27:18 As I bring this to a close, I just want to remind each and every one of us again, that God planned your salvation and adoption.

27:27 He planned it.

27:28 He loves you.

27:29 For God to love the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever will believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

27:38 God planned our salvation and adoption.

27:41 Jesus Christ accomplished it through His life, His death, His sacrifice on the cross, and has given us unlimited access to God, our Heavenly Father.

27:52 And then the Holy Spirit has sealed our salvation and gives every one of us hope for the future.

27:59 He comes alongside us to remind us of who we are in Christ and to help us live out our salvation.

28:07 And I just wonder, as we are leading up to Pentecost Sunday, I wonder if we would be more diligent and intentional about making room for the Holy Spirit in our lives.

28:21 We can't do it without Him.

28:23 Let's be His children who make room

28:28 and see the honor and the privilege of the relationship we are now in.

28:35 And I pray that whatever the season looks like for you right now, whatever it may seem, I pray that you'll get this revelation that there is an alternative, godly reality.

28:46 There is an alternative, godly perspective that will give you everything that you need for the days ahead.

28:54 And my prayer is that each and every one of us will be strengthened in our spirit, through His Spirit, to bring glory to His name, to actually honor Him, and to actually be the church that God has called us to be in this time, in this season, in Jesus' name.

29:13 Amen.

2026-05-13 - Secure In Christ - Joyce Wilkinson.

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