Ephesians: Destined to Win In Christ! Part 1 – Lawson and Aaron Perdue – 12/02/2024

Praise the Lord, friends. I’m so glad that you tuned into the broadcast today. I’m here sharing today with my son Aaron, and we are sharing from the book of Ephesians. We’re talking about the fact that we are destined to win in Christ, and we’re gonna be sharing the foundational aspects in this broadcast, Seven things that we have in Christ. Stay tuned. Blessings. Friends, it’s so good to have you today, and I’m glad to have Aaron. And we’re sharing on the book of Ephesians. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible, one of my favorite teachings. And actually, Paul has tremendous revelation on the subject of Ephesians. It’s really talking about the victorious church and the fact that we are destined to win in Christ.

Hmm, that’s awesome. I remember about eight years ago, I moved back here to Colorado Springs to become a pastor here at the church. And I remember I was at your house, and I was looking at your Bible, and as I was kind of thumbing through your Bible, I noticed a few books in the Bible were about ready to fall out because you’ve read them so much and you had so many notes written on ’em. But Ephesians was one of those books, and I think you probably have it memorized almost word for word. So there’s a lot of just great revelation in the book of Ephesians. And you know, too many believers really have a victim mentality, a defeated mentality. Even a lot of Christian worship music kind of comes from a place of defeat and struggle and constant hardship. And people need to get the revelation that Paul had that we’re victorious in Christ. They need to understand their position in Christ.

Right, and really the first three chapters, Paul is talking about our new position, our new possession. The key verses Ephesians 2:6, where it says, “We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” And we begin from a position of victory. And then the next two chapters, chapter four and chapter five, kind of talk about walking it out in this world. And in the last chapter of Ephesians, chapter six, Paul talks about standing against the devil. Now, most churches actually, and most people, believers turn it around, and they think we have to stand against the devil so we can walk this thing out so we can gain a position of victory, but we actually begin from a position of victory, and we’re victorious and we’re seated. And then we walk this out, and then we stand against the devil.

And I think this reality of who you are in Christ, if you get a revelation of that, if it becomes just embedded in your mentality, in your identity and who you are, that’s what’s gonna really change things in your life. You know, a lot of believers today are trying to find different ways to influence and have impact and, you know, really make a difference in the world. And even people come to our church and say, “You gotta do this. You gotta, you know, do all these things to make an impact.” But I was thinking about just, you know, your ministry, you’ve been pastoring for over 30 years. And me and my brothers, I have two younger brothers, we’re all very successful in different fields. I have a doctorate in classical music, was successful in that. I’m a, you know, great minister now. My middle brother Andrew, he’s a multimillionaire. He’s an engineer in the oil and gas industry. My youngest brother went to Princeton. He’s now the COO, the number two person of all of Burger King. But what you taught us was who we are in Christ. You taught us just to really identify with what we have in Christ, and have that mentality that we’re blessed because Jesus lives in us and He is living through us. And that will help you be successful no matter what you do. That’ll help you make an impact, whether it’s in business or whether it’s in education, or whether it’s in the government or in ministry, or in your family. That’s really what’s gonna have the greatest impact. So I just love it. This is really a foundational thing that you really teach that’s part of your ministry, and it’s been going on for decades. And people who really get ahold of it, people who really let it seep in and get a revelation of it, it makes a difference in their life. They realize what they have in Christ. They realize who they are in Christ, and then their position and their possession.

Right, and when you understand it, it changes your life. So, you know, Paul really begins talking about that, and the first three chapters talk about that. He begins with talking about who we are and what we have. So we’ll begin right here. Ephesians chapter one, verse one and verse two, he says, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the saints who are at Ephesus, to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” So, you know, he’s an apostle by the will of God. He’s writing to the church, and if you’re born again, you are a saint. You’ve been sanctified by the blood of Jesus. He says, “And to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace and peace from God in the Lord Jesus.”

And I like this, you know, Paul’s letters are written to local churches. They’re written to believers who are connected at a local church. They’re written to pastors of local churches. So I really think it’s important for believers today to really connect with other believers in the local church setting, to connect with pastors, to connect with all the fivefold ministry gifts. But God still, you know, that’s His system for us as believers to keep growing. It’s to grow as a body of believers. And Paul writes letters to local churches. He ministered at local churches. He planted local churches. He raised up pastors. So I love that this is written to a church or groups of churches there in Ephesus that he was connected with.

Right, so he begins then in verse three and really talks about a number of things that we have in our new position, in our new possession in Christ, in verses three through verse seven. So he says in verse three, “Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” So the number one thing he says here is that we are blessed. So we’re not trying to get the blessing. We already are blessed. And he says, “We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” He says, “With every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

And again, like, there’s a lot of people who have kind of a cursed mentality, or they think they have a curse upon them because something their parents did or something generational. There’s still teachings like that out today. But you see here that we are blessed. If you are in Christ Jesus, you are completely blessed. There’s no curse on your life.

Amen. And I talk about that really in verse seven. That we’re forgiven for every sin and redeemed from every curse. But it goes along. You know, Paul’s one of the, you know, great leaders in the church. Peter is a great leader. Peter says the same thing in 2 Peter 1:3. He says, “According as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to glory and virtue.” So we have everything pertaining to life and godliness. Again, we’re not trying to get it. We’ve already received that in Christ. And if you come at life from a blessed mentality, it just changes, you know, the way it changes our perspective and it changes how we receive from God.

I remember when I was in college, I went to school for many years. I went to Carnegie Mellon University for my bachelor’s degree and then Rice University for my master’s and doctorate. And I would try to connect with other believers on campus, and I would go to different bible studies, you know, with other students, other believers. But I’d actually try to avoid prayer meetings sometimes, because people’s real theology comes out when they pray. And a lot of people, when they pray, they pray from a lack mentality. They’re, like, praying from I’m a sinner mentality, from a lack mentality. They’re trying to get these things. They’re not really coming at it from a blessed mentality, from thanking God for what He’s already given them, that they already everything they need, that they have every spiritual blessing. They’re just, you know, looking at things in a completely carnal manner. You know, but we need to look at things in the spirit. You know, you need to see things with your spiritual eyes and look at what we have in Christ, in the heavenly places in Christ.

Lawson Amen.

So we shouldn’t have a lack of mentality. We should have an abundance mentality.

Right, and inevitably, I think one of the most powerful ways that we can pray, and Paul prays four prayers in his letters. And in Paul’s prayers, there’s not a sense ever of lack. There’s not a sense of need. There’s not a sense of, you know, defeat. But he prays from a sense of victory. This is who God is, this is who Christ is, this is what He’s called to us to do. And this is what He’s given us so that we can accomplish what He called us to do. Now we’ll be talking about those prayers later, you know, this week and then probably into next week. And two of them are Ephesians, one here in Ephesians three, one are Ephesians one, then one in Ephesians three. There’s one also in Colossians one and Philippians one. But he goes on, and I like this, he says, “He’s given us all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” He uses this term in Christ over 130 times in his letters. And if we get a revelation of who we are in Christ, it completely changes how we live our life.

Amen. I love that. And I said, I love this next verse in verse four. He says, “Just as He chose us.” You know, we’re chosen. A lot of people have this rejected mentality. You know, they just feel constantly rejected. They’re just kind of hurt and go around and hurting other people because they haven’t been able to get past that just feeling of rejection. But you’re chosen.

Amen.

You know, and there’s too much of that orphan spirit in the church today. We’re not orphans, we’re sons and daughters, and we’re part of God’s family.

Amen.

So you need to realize that you’re chosen. And it says that, “You were chosen in Him.” Again, another in Him, in Christ scripture there that we’re chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.

Right, and you know, Paul also writes about that in his letter to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter one, and said that, you know, basically God chose us before the foundation of the world, and, you know, called us before the foundation of the world. And that’s kind of one of those wow scriptures. And Jesus said this in John 15:16, speaking to His disciples, “You have not chosen me, but I’ve chosen you and I’ve ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He would give it to you.”

Yeah, I love it. You know, talking about just before the foundation of the world, and I know in verse five it talks about being predestined. You know, here in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you see this just great sense of purpose, this great sense of destiny. You know, I studied actually sermon writing, sermons that have been preached throughout American history. And around the time of the American Revolution, the most popular topic for pastors to preach on was providence, destiny. There’s even a town called Providence. And I was reading about George Washington. He just had this sense that nothing, that he was indestructible. He’d been shot at in previous wars. And like, he just had this sense from God that he was indestructible.

Amen.

That he was gonna, you know, plant our country.

Amen, and thank God we do have a purpose that comes from God. And if you understand who you are in Christ, it’ll help you fulfill it. We’re gonna come right back after a short break and be continuing to share with you from this book of Ephesians. Hi, friends. We’ve been teaching from the book of Ephesians. And I’ve just written a new book from the book of Ephesians that I’ve wanted to do for years, “Destined to Win,” breakthrough revelation from the book of Ephesians. You’ll wanna get this book, and we’re gonna offer this book actually free to anyone who calls in and becomes a new partner this week. Blessings. If you’re really operating in faith, two things are gonna be happening. Number one, you’re gonna get joyful. And number two, you’re gonna get thankful. And you’re gonna start seeing what you have instead of what you don’t have. You’re gonna quit complaining. You’re gonna quit whining, you’re gonna quit acting like a victim. As you have received Christ, Jesus the Lord, so walk you and Him rooted, built up, established in the faith as you’ve been taught, abounding there in with thanks giving. Friends, it’s so good to have you back. We’re sharing from Ephesians, again, destined to win. And we’ve been in chapter one talking about our new position and our new possession. In the first half of the broadcast we talked about we’re blessed, and we need to understand as believers that we are blessed by the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. But not only are we blessed, it goes on and says that we’re chosen in Christ. And we talked about a couple aspects of this. In fact, Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter one, that God chose us before the foundation of the world, which is kind of an amazing thing. And you were talking about having a sense of providence, you know, in our life. And you know, I know some things that I’ve done, I know that God’s called me to do them, and I know because God has called me to do those things, I’ve been successful in those areas. And I think some Christians try to just go out there and do something and, you know, get God to bless it. But it works better to figure out what God really has appointed us, anointed us, you know, to do. We’re all blessed, right? But when we understand that it changes how we approach it.

Well, and a lot of what you do in life, it comes down to just the basic foundation of your relationship with God. You know, a lot of people, you know, really struggle to find what they’re supposed to do. They want to know what their calling is. Your first calling is that you’re called by God to be in a relationship with Him.

Right.

You know? And that’s really foundational. If you don’t really have that just at a foundational level in your heart, you’re gonna struggle with whatever you do. You know, if it might be to be a business leader or be in ministry or in your family and your marriage, if you don’t really have that firm foundation that you’re called just to be in relationship with God, that He’s desired you, that He’s chosen you, He’s always had a plan for you even before you were born, you’ll struggle with these other secondary callings.

Right, and you know, really, when you think about ministry, ministry really begins with ministry to the Lord. A lot of times when people think about ministry, they think about the world. But when you study ministry in the Bible, ministry begins with a ministry to the Lord. In the Old Testament, the priests were called, first of all to minister to the Lord. And we are priests in the new covenant. We’re a kingdom of priests. The Bible actually talks about that in the Book of Peter, talks about that in Revelation chapter one. And so our first ministry is to minister to the Lord, then to minister to one another, like you were talking in the first part of the broadcast in the body of Christ, and then to minister to the world. But it doesn’t matter really, whether you’re called to be a banker or an attorney, or a police officer, or a teacher, or a welder or a farmer. We are all called as believers to minister to the Lord. And, so-

Several weeks ago, actually, someone emailed the church with a question. A woman emailed the church because she really felt like she was supposed to minister, but she just said her husband didn’t really want to go to church, wasn’t really on the same page as her. And she knew she was supposed to minister to him, right? But she felt like she was failing as a wife and just, like, failing, you know, with this ministry call. But our secretaries forwarded me the email. They weren’t sure how to respond to her. And I told her just what you were saying, that our first ministry is to minister to the Lord, to have our relationship with God. And, you know, and when the Bible talks about ministry, more times than others, it’s talking about ministering to the Lord.

So as we look at this, it says, “We’re blessed and then we’re chosen,” again in Him. He uses this term in Him again in verse four. He says, “Before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless.” So, you know, not only are we blessed, are we chosen, but as believers, we’re holy. And holy means to be sanctified or separated unto the Lord and we’re blameless. And I like Paul’s aspect about that. In fact, when we believe on Jesus, we’re made the righteousness of God in Christ. We’re given the righteousness of Jesus and we’re blameless. Paul also talks about this in Colossians chapter one, and he says this in verse 21 and verse 22. He says, “You who were sometimes alienated,” so we were separated from God, “And enemies in your mind by wicked works has He now reconciled.” So He restored us to right relationship. He says this, “In the body of His flesh through death to present you.” This is how Jesus presents you to the Father, “holy and un-blameable and un-reprovable in His sight.” If you continue in the faith. So when you believe on Jesus, you’re made holy. You’re un-blameable and you’re un-reprovable. And a lot of believers don’t have that mentality. And when you begin to understand that, again, this will change how you pray, right? Because you’re praying from a sense of who you are in Christ. And it’s not your personal worthiness, but it’s what Jesus has done for us.

Yeah, and I think a lot of people, you know, teach about prayer and try to understand prayer. And, you know, even Jesus’s own disciples, you know, the one thing that they asked Jesus to teach them was teach us how to pray. You know, they could have said, “Teach us how to walk on water. Teach us how to, you know, raise the dead.” But they said, “Teach us how to pray.” They saw something was different about how He prayed versus how other, you know, religious leaders at the time prayed, and He said, “Our Father,” just starting with that position. You know, He understood His position in that prayer relationship. So when you pray, you know, you have to understand your position that you’re chosen, right? You know, you’re a son, you’re a daughter of God.

And you’re holy and blameless. You know, the Bible actually says this in Romans 8:1. It says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walked not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Now, there’s different aspects of that. But, you know, there is no condemnation. And when you study also 1 John chapter three, at the end of the chapter, John says, right, “That if our heart doesn’t condemn us, then we have confidence towards God.” And so when you understand that you’re, right, first of all, blessed, you’re chosen, you’re holy and blameless, it changes how you approach God. And it changes how you pray to God and receive from God.

That’s awesome. Yeah. I think just understanding that position you have, that really, that changes a lot of things.

Right, in verse five, he goes on to say this, “Having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will.” So I like to say that we’re predestined to succeed. Thank God. You know, God didn’t make any failures. God didn’t make any flops. God predestined us all, right? And I cannot find a place in the scripture where anyone is predestined to damnation, only to salvation. So I believe that God made the first choice in Christ on the cross. But then we have to make a secondary choice to believe on Jesus, because God’s not gonna force us to be saved. He’s not gonna force us. We’ve gotta, you know, the scripture says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” But when God made that first choice in Christ on the cross for humanity to be saved, and then when we believe on Jesus, we enter into that salvation by faith in Christ.

I love that just phrase about the good pleasure of His will. You know, Jesus has a will for you. You know, just like you would write a will or someone in your family would write a will for that will to be enacted, someone has to die.

Lawson Right.

You know? So Jesus has a will, and was enacted when He died on the cross, but Jesus was risen again, so He could be the executor of that will, you know? If you make a will, you assign someone to be the executor of that will. So when you pass, they’re the ones that make sure the stuff goes to the right people. So Jesus has a will. It had to be enacted by His death on the cross. But because He was resurrected, He can actually be the executor of His own will.

Right, and when you look just a little bit farther, it says, “We’re predestined of the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to the good pleasure of His will.” When he talks about the good pleasure of His will in the Greek, it’s . And there’s two aspects of the will of God. First of all, there’s the general overall will of God for every person. And that is God will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy chapter two talks about that. But secondly, there’s a very specific will for our own lives. And we get to know that will through a personal relationship, again, with God through Christ. And so all of these things, we’re blessed, we’re chosen, we’re holy, we’re blameless, we’re predestined to succeed. And then I love verse six and verse seven. And he says this, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He made us accepted in the beloved.” We are accepted in the beloved. But when you look at this term to the praise of the glory of His grace, and he uses it a few times here in Ephesians, it really means when God looks at us as believers, He sees us in our full potential through the grace of God in Christ. So God doesn’t see our shortcomings. He’s seeing us in our full potential in Christ. And then it says, when we come to rest in that, wherein, when we come to rest in that position in grace, that we are accepted in the beloved. And so we’re accepted on the basis of grace. We’re accepted on the basis of what Jesus has done. And God looks at us through Christ in our full potential. And then he says accepted. That’s marvelous when you understand it.

Yeah, and you can come together with boldness. You know, I think about how Jesus, you know, when He entered the throne room after He gave his life on the cross, He didn’t come in timidly. I’m sure He came running in, you know? He knew that’s His rightful place in the presence of the Father. That’s the same way we can come to the Father as well. Not timidly, but just running with full assurance, full boldness.

Amen. Finally, he says this in verse seven. He says, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” So I like to say this, and when you study the Greek, it brings this out. We are redeemed from every curse and forgiven for every sin. So if you begin to understand these principles, it changes how you approach God and how you receive from God. I’m blessed, I’m chosen, I’m holy and blameless. I’m predestined to succeed. I’m accepted in the beloved. I’m redeemed from every curse, and I’m forgiven for every sin.

I love in that seventh verse there, we see the blood and we see grace. You know, when you hear preaching about the blood, it’s talking about God’s grace, the riches of His grace.

Amen.

And when you hear great preaching on grace, you know you’re talking about the blood of Jesus.

Amen.

And it’s covered everything. It’s more than enough.

I just wanna encourage you today, if you need prayer, if you want to become a partner, if you wanna receive product, just give us a call today. We have hundreds actually of free product on our website at charischristiancenter.com. And just give us a call. We have trained prayer ministers waiting to receive your call today. God bless you. Thanks so much for being with us. Blessings.

Narrator When Jesus saved you, your destiny changed completely. He radically transformed us and brought us from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and from defeat to victory. Discover these life changing truths in Pastor Lawson’s eight part teaching “Destined to Win,” a $40 value yours free today. Download ’em now at charischristiancenter.com.

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