I just ask you to take one there. We didn't put them in the bulletins just to save a few because we noticed that some people didn't want them, so that's okay. So, if you want one, there's plenty to go around. Also, the text is on the sermon notes, Unsearchable Riches Revealed that we're talking about today from Ephesians chapter 3, verses 7 through 9. This past Thursday, in our Bible study, we're going through the book of Revelation on Thursday evenings at 6 o'clock. I won't have one this Thursday, I'll be out of town this week, but we're looking at the book of Revelation, and we're in Revelation chapter 2, verses 8 through 11, and the church at Smyrna. If you've read that, you notice that the church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia are the two churches of whom the Lord Jesus Christ has nothing bad to say. Every other church, some are false, but Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia, he did not. One of the notes is in verse nine of Revelation chapter two, that the Lord Jesus Christ comes to them and says, I know your tribulation and your poverty. It was hard for me to go ahead and teach the rest of that text because that is so precious. He knows everything about us. Virtues bring greatly the church at Smyrna. Jesus who walks among the candlesticks, in other words he was right there, he's not somewhere distance, he's right there among them, and he says, I know your tribulation and your poverty. One thing I did was take exactly our Bible study to Exodus chapter 3 when God speaks to Moses and says, I've surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt. And I've heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters. And I know their sorrows." There's something special about that when I read that in preparation for the Thursday night Bible study, that Jesus says, I know your tribulation. I know your poverty. feels with us. Isn't it wonderful that we have a Savior who is our high priest, who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities? But the next words of Jesus are very interesting, and this is where we will launch into our subject this morning. When Jesus says, I know your tribulation and your poverty, And then he turns and says, but you are rich. We're looking at those riches today, the riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to what the Apostle Paul writes as he makes the wonderful treatise of the doctrine of salvation in Romans chapter one, verses one through chapter 11, verse 32. He comes to the conclusion of all the things they talked about, the great salvation that Jesus Christ has worked on our behalf. It's just a beautiful doctrinal statement. And then the next words out of Paul's pen go like this, oh, the depth. Oh, the depth of the riches and the knowledge and the wisdom of God. That's what we're looking at. The depth of the riches, or as Paul calls it, the unsearchable riches of Christ. It's outlined for us in the mystery that's unfolded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wow, let's pray. Father, thank you for this time in your word, how we need the power of your Holy Spirit. It's your word given by your spirit, and so as we unpack your word, oh, we need the help of Holy Spirit. Without you, Lord Jesus, we can do nothing. We are nothing. We have nothing. And so we rely upon your grace through the working of Holy Spirit to give us grace to understand, to grab hold of, and that it would take hold of our hearts and our minds by the power of the Spirit. Have mercy upon us, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. About mystery this morning, before we launch into this gospel and how beautiful it is, I want to just read to you a couple of scriptures from the book of Colossians on this subject when he says, the mystery that has been hidden from the ages, obviously, is the mystery that the Gentiles be brought in, all of us be brought in, but listen to how he expands that. Revealed to saints, this mystery is revealed, and that is revealed in the gospel, but he goes on to say, to them, God chose to make known a great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, now watch, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now, sometimes we talk about we're being in Christ, but the mystery is that Christ is also in us by the working of the Holy Spirit. Isn't that amazing? That's a mystery. It was a mystery that Jesus Christ would take on flesh. It's a mystery that we would be chosen in Christ. It's a mystery that God would descend on us with the working of Holy Spirit, and we would have hope because Christ dwells in us. That's amazing. It's a mystery. He goes on in Colossians 2 and says, that your hearts would be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of riches of assurance and understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are all hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And one more from Philippians chapter 4 verse 19. Many times we look at this as a promise that God will take care of our needs, and that's what he says. My God shall supply all of your needs, and I'll watch this, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. You see, we can't get away from the Lord Jesus Christ. There's the mystery that we are in Christ. He is in us. It's a mystery that the gospel goes to the Gentiles, including us. It's a mystery that we understand the gospel. It's a mystery that we would cling to the gospel and have this gospel. There's a blessing that God has opened your eyes and your ears to understand what Jesus Christ has done for us. So this morning, we're going to look at the gospel as we look at unpack Ephesians chapter 3 verses 7 through 9. And I've broken it down to three ways. We're going to talk about the gospel, the minister of the gospel, and the purpose of the gospel. So let me just read it to you right now from Ephesians 3 verses 7 through 9. You can follow along on your sermon notes page or in the Bible in front of you or if you have your copy of God's Word. Of this gospel, Paul writes and says, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. Though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. Let's just break it down. First of all, just those first few words of this gospel. Let's talk about the gospel. First of all, what gospel is he talking about? The Apostle Paul said in verse 6 of Ephesians 3, the mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the same body and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel. The blessing of the gospel went forward to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles believed and came into fellowship and came into the family of God and came unto the citizenships of heaven, as we pointed out in the past weeks. These are blessings that we are brought into the family of God and into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Ephesians chapter 1 that we obtained mercy, or obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we were the first to hope in Christ, the praise of His glory, and Him, now watch this, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That's a mystery in itself, is it not? Is it a mystery that we heard the gospel, that we received the gospel? Because he says in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they're spiritually discerned. Until the Holy Spirit does a work in us, we can't hear, we can't understand, we can't believe. But he says, the day that you believed, voila, the Holy Spirit also sealed you. You have that seal of God upon your life, and you have an inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians chapter 1, he says, what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead? And so Paul, when he looked at the gospel that he preached, He preached it to himself. Because notice in 1 Timothy 1, verse 15, he says, here's a faithful saying. This is the best thing you can ever understand, he says. This is a faithful saying. This is a true saying. That Christ Jesus came into the world to what? Save sinners. Paul says, of whom I'm the chief. That's the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Jews, Gentiles, the entire world is known as their sinners. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So there's not a stingy message. It's a message that goes forward. So what is the gospel that he would talk about? The gospel has several properties. First of all, in Romans 1, verse 15, he says, I'm eager to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for in it is the righteousness of God revealed. All right, let's just talk about that. First of all, the gospel is power. It's dynamite. It actually comes from the word that means dynamite, okay? It is dynamite. Do we need dynamite in our lives? We sure do because, naturally speaking, we have a hard and a stony heart that doesn't feel after God. It is really, really, really hard, okay? And the gospel comes to us in the power of the Spirit of God and breaks that stony heart up. And God replaces it with a heart of flesh. Isn't that amazing? He does a heart transplant. Have you ever seen anybody with a heart transplant? I'm not talking about a physical heart. I'm talking about a spiritual heart transplant. You ever see when people are going through that? Sometimes it's a painful thing because they see their sin in front of them and they don't like it. and they get freaked out. I don't like this message because it says we're sinners and there's no hope for you in yourself. And that's why the gospel points to the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, come to him, come to Jesus today. Do not delay, come to Jesus. When a person does that, they're just timid in this, they're coming to Jesus and they find relief. like the heart and stony heart is taken out. In the heart of flesh, they feel after God. So when you look at this, it's power of God, but it's also the righteousness of God is revealed. You know, there's one thing about it, we all have this tendency, it's kind of the default mode, that we all tend to want to fall back on our own righteousness. Sometimes God's people do that too. You know, why has this happened to me? Why has something happened? Maybe I haven't done enough. Maybe I messed up somewhere. It's like everything depends on my actions. Now, I'll grant you, sometimes when we start to fade away and start to drift away into backsliding, God will do something to catch our attention. It's called chastisement. It's not that he's beating us up. He's not an ogre. He's not an abusive parent. What is he doing? He's catching our attention to say, come on back, come on back. Okay, but sometimes people, what have I done? Sometimes people don't get that and we understand that our relationship with God is not based on our righteousness. It's a righteousness as described in Romans chapter four. There's a righteousness not of ourselves, but a righteousness of God and our believing in God. That's why it says Abraham believed God and was counted to him for righteousness sake. And so when we look at this, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he says, here's the message. He says, I delivered you of first importance what I received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried and raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. In Matthew chapter 1, verse 21, Joseph his name Jesus, now watch this, for he shall save his people from their sins. The gospel is the declaration that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and he did it. He has accomplished it. He was successful at that. That's why he is risen from the dead, because he paid the price satisfactorily. God accepted that sacrifice and raised him from the dead, declaring that he is indeed the Son of God. So in John 3 and verse 14, it says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. When the people of God got a little ornery and they complained, God sent serpents among them. I can't imagine what it was like. A serpent would bite them, and some would die, and some get really sick. And Moses, what are we going to do? He cried unto God, and God said, make a brazen serpent and put upon a pole. And if a person is bitten, if they will look at that brazen serpent on the pole, they'll be healed. So that was what they did. It says, just as Moses lifted up the serpent on the pole, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Where was he lifted up? On the cross. And as the minister of the gospel preaches the gospel to you, they're lifting up Jesus. They're lifting up Jesus and said, look to Him. Look to Him. Not me. The Word of God says, look to Jesus. Jesus is the answer. And that's why he says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him would have eternal or everlasting life. In John chapter 1, he says, he came to his own people, but his own people rejected him. But as many as who did receive him, to those who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God. The next verse says, they were born not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of blood. He says, they were born of God. And that's the same thing. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? You're born not because you decided that. You're born again not because mama decided that for you or because of your bloodline, but because God has changed your heart in order to hear the gospel and believe. So Jesus makes a statement in John 3 in verse 18 and says, whoever believes in him is not condemned. That's a past action. You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not condemned. Isn't that good news? There is therefore now what? No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. That's a message of assurance, of pardon, of assurance, of grace to those who believe in Jesus Christ. You are not condemned. But he says on the same hand, he says, whoever does not believe is condemned already because he's not believed in the name of the Son of God. So why the gospel? Why this gospel, Paul says? Well, his gospel is the gospel, as we read from Galatians chapter 3, the gospel that was preached to Abraham, that in him all the nations of the earth be blessed. In him, all the nations. It would go on to Jews and Gentiles. Not only the descendants of Abraham, but go on to all nations. Paul picks it up in Acts chapter 17 when he is preaching on Mars Hill to the Greeks and says, by the way, God has commanded all people everywhere to repent. Okay, it's time to repent. It's time to take serious these things, because he has fulfilled the day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he's given assurance by raising him from the dead. In other words, because of Jesus Christ being raised from the dead, be assured, he's also the judge. Whoa. Okay, that's why he says, according to his gospel in Romans chapter 2, on that day, according to my gospel, Paul says, God judges the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. This is found in the book of Revelation as the great white throne judgment, the standing before the Lamb. He says in Romans chapter 16, however, to those who are following this, he says, to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel. Why the gospel? Because it strengthens us. Several years ago, a friend of mine who's a minister of the gospel in the PCA had a family of the church decide to leave. And so he did a outgoing, I guess, interview. Why are you leaving? And the response was this. And he said, he almost had to pick him up off the floor. We hear too much gospel. Whoa. He said, I guess I'm guilty. They said, we'd like to go on to other things. So did the Galatians, didn't they? They wanted to go on to other things. You see, in the gospel is hidden all the mysteries of God. The more we unpack the gospel, the more we understand the gospel, not just intellectually, but with our hearts. We hold on to the gospel. We need the gospel. It's not just parking and running in and running out, you know, like fast food. It's like, let me park there and get what I can. There's assurance. There's evidence of God's judgment on the world. There's evidence of salvation through Jesus Christ. There's evidence of Jews and Gentiles being brought together before Jesus Christ. And it's all about Jesus Christ. And the more we preach the gospel, the more we unpack what Jesus is and who he is and what he's done for us. The more we have an appreciation of the mighty riches of God in Christ Jesus. Well, let's just notice, not only Paul says, of this gospel, and then he goes on in saying, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of His Spirit, or by His power. To me, though I am the least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let's just talk about the ministers of the gospel. particularly to Paul, but it does apply. Ministers are made, they're made by God. There used to be that real tendency in some country churches. Mama wants her son to be a minister of the gospel. Let me tell you, if you wish that on somebody that's not called, you put them in a very hard place. Or as they say in Kentucky, between a rock and a hard place, right? Okay, anyway, so here it is. Let's just look at it. Paul says, I was made a minister of the gospel. I was made, as he says, I was made a minister according to God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. In Romans chapter 1 he said he was set apart for the gospel. The object lesson of being set apart is what God told the tribe of Levi in the book of Numbers. It says, Is it a small thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to be nearer to himself to do the service of the tabernacle? Okay, so a minister has to understand that God plucks him out of where he is and says, I have a job for you. Now, we talk about a lot of times there's an inward call and an outward call. The inward call is very important for a man who thinks he's going to preach the gospel. It must be an inward call. In other words, as Jeremiah put it in Jeremiah 1 that Heath read earlier, now the word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you and appointed you to be a prophet to the nations." In the same way, a man who is called by God has been plucked out of where he is. God had a mark on him before he was even born and said, you are going to be a minister of the gospel. It is really hard because many times ministers will try to run from it and sometimes hide from that call. They don't want it because it's a hard life. It's not an easy life. It's not a life of many accolades. Many times people encourage you, that's wonderful, but there's a lot of burdens to bear. So there's inward call. Inward call, so much so that you're tested. And Jeremiah was tested. If you read the book of Jeremiah, that poor man went through a lot of time. I did look at that. You know, I've had some affliction and been suffered at the hands of many people in churches where I've preached before, like when I preached in the deep south and stood against racism and they turned against me and called me the Yankee preacher boy and ran me out of town. But when you look at Jeremiah, they didn't like his message and they said shut up. Okay, here he is preaching and they're telling him to shut up. They don't like what he's doing so they put him in stocks. Okay? They didn't like what he was doing, so they threw him in jail. They didn't like what he said there, so they lowered him down into a pit where they sunk in deep mire. I mean, that's Jeremiah's life. Okay, so in the midst of things, Jeremiah says, you know what? I'm not going to mention him again. I'm going to quit. So he did. He tried. Here's what he says. If I say I will not mention him or speak any more of his name, There is in my heart, as it were, a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I'm weary with holding it in, and I cannot. There's an inward call that says, you better do this, and you try to shut it up, it's going to shut you up, it's going to hit you in the mouth, and it's going to say, you get in there and fight, okay? But if that's not there, that's what, what's his name, Martin Lloyd Jones, famous preacher in England, in Wales, said, if you can do anything else, do it. If you're called to be a preacher, you can't do anything else. You won't want to do anything else. You get miserable doing anything else. You have to preach the gospel. I like what John MacArthur wrote about it. Listen to these words. It says, if any man in the ministry of the church whom God has not appointed is a usurper. Let me read that again. Any person in the ministry in the church whom God has not appointed is a usurper. No matter how seemingly good his intentions, he can do nothing but harm the work of the Lord and the Lord's people. No man should enter the ministry unless he is absolutely certain of God's calling. Our Presbyterians really ask the question, give me an evidence of your inward call and your outward call. And they want to know how God has called you, and if God has called you. Now, if you just say, well, I've been applying to everything else, and I can't find anything else, I guess I'll just be a minister. Sorry, next. Let's go on. OK. But if it's just a burning in your soul, you have to preach. That's good. But the outward call is, do other people recognize it? Do other people around you recognize that you have that call and that gift? Because ministers, no matter what, if they've been called to the ministry, they can't boast about it. Can't go around saying, yeah, buddy, I'm in the ministry. Okay? The Apostle Paul says, listen to this, I'm the least of all the saints. And this was grace given to me. Yeah, it all of a sudden put me in the fire, but it was grace that did it. Paul says, I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent opponent, but I received mercy. And this is a trustworthy saying, worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. In other words, I'm just a pile of nothingness. I'm a pile of nothingness. But look, he took nothing and he put me in the ministry. Isn't that amazing? And every minister should say that. I can't believe God has done this. And that's why Paul says when he's recounting in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the very fact that he is made an apostle. Part of the requirement for an apostle is that they are commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ, having seen the risen Savior. And he's talking about how Peter saw the risen Savior, 500 brothers at once had seen the risen Savior. And he goes on to talk about other people. Now he says, and he was, last of all, he was seen of me as one who was born out of due time. Basically, he was talking about the fact he considered himself just like a stillborn. In other words, he didn't think of that, it was very glamorous. Now, he says, but I am what I am by the grace of God. And His grace was not given to me in vain, for I worked harder than all of them. But it was that wasn't me, that was God's grace in me. So you see, there's no place for a minister to boast. Oh, I encourage you to encourage. Thank you for your encouragement. But a minister who believes that all the time, he'll go home thinking, maybe I am pretty good. You know, there was a minister I knew who was in this little county in Texas, and he was such a good minister that people just recognized he was gifted with wisdom about a lot of things, and people would come to him, ask him questions, and he would answer the questions according to the Bible, and they were good answers. And so then they were voting on this school board, a president of the school board, and they came to him and said, would you be the president of the school board? You just exude wisdom. He said, why would I give up the highest calling in the world to be the president of the school board? That would be a step down. Unfortunately, I knew and was a friend of a fellow by the name of Guy Hunt. who somehow, as a minister of the gospel, exudes some wisdom, was convinced to run for the governor of Alabama. And he ran. I think they just put him up there just to think that they would do something, and he won. And it was a thorn in the flesh for him. He didn't belong there. They found fault with him and tried to make, they ran him through the dirt. Made it sound like he was an evil man. I think it was because he didn't know what to do as far as that. Besides, why would he step down from being a minister of the gospel to even being a governor of Alabama? It's the highest calling a man can have, but it's full of trouble. But, here's the other point. He says, this grace given to me, this is the unsearchable riches of Christ. Know what a privilege it is, because he said, this grace was given to me to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let's talk about the unsearchable riches. Riches that were ours, guaranteed before the foundation of the world. You know, I get to preach this all the time. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without him, blamed before him in love. I get the privilege of preaching that to Presbyterians who like that doctrine, okay? I've tried to preach it to people that didn't like that doctrine and read that. Some lady came to me one That's not in my Bible. And I said, let me show you. And I asked for her Bible. And I looked, and she had pulled the first chapter of the book of Ephesians right out of her Bible. It's there. And I love preaching it, because let's just talk about, you have riches that were guaranteed to you before the foundation of the world. Is that good or what? Alright, but it goes even better. Ephesians chapter 2, it says, when we were dead in trespasses, He made us alive with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show His grace and His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. So eternity future is just an unfolding of the riches that are yours in Christ Jesus. Is that good? Now, put that together from, let's see, I'm gonna look at it like you look at it, from eternity past, you have riches, to eternity future, you have riches. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6. God said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That is when the new birth happens. Whoa, the light of God has come upon you. Whoa, what has he done? Shown the light, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Preaching the gospel does that to God's people. Man, that's beautiful. That is my privilege as a minister of the gospel. That's why, don't tell me to preach on dumb subjects. Preach Christ, Bob. We want to know about Jesus Christ. We want the gospel. And that's what Paul would say. Because, John chapter 17, verse 3, Jesus says, this is eternal life, that they might know you, the true and living God, and Jesus Christ, whom you've sent. That's eternal life. And that gets better and better all the time. That's why Paul would say, and quite frankly I would say this to any minister seeking to be in the ministry, our life of a minister is to set the example. And here's the example. Paul says, I count everything as loss. Everything is loss. For the suppressing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I suffer the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. that I may gain Christ. Is that your life? Every day of every week, every hour of every day, that you might know him, might enjoy him, walk with him, and he, Christ in you, is the hope of glory. Alright, one last point, and that is the purpose of the gospel is to bring to light everyone that is what is the plant of mystery hidden from the ages in God who created all things. Light through the gospel. It says in 2 Corinthians 8-10, I like to quote this all the time, that there's God who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his purpose and grace, given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But now, watch this, is made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Light! Life and immortality. Does that sound good to you? Life and immortality. Life. Jesus is life. He's the way, the truth, and the life. Everything's about Jesus. It's life. Life to the sinner. Life now, and immortality to come. In John chapter 8, Jesus says, I'm the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. In Psalm 119, verse 130 says, the unfolding of your words in parts understanding to the simple. The mystery that had been hidden from the ages is that the Gentiles and the Jews are brought in together. Revelation chapter 14 it says, the eternal Gospels proclaim those who dwell on the earth to every nation and tribe and language and people. Again from Galatians chapter 3, this was what the gospel was to Abraham, that all the nations should be blessed. And that's why when you talk about Jesus being the light in John chapter 1, he says the true light that gives light to everyone who's coming in the world. He made a mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ, the mystery of his will to bring people in. Isn't that good? Do you understand that if that was not done, you would not have the gospel, you would not have... But God ordained that this gospel upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ would be sent to the ends of the age and to the world by the power of the Spirit. God ordained that men would be called up to preach this eternal gospel. That God ordained that the Spirit of God would open your ears and your heart to the gospel and you would believe. Come to faith in Jesus Christ. Isn't that good? So here's what he says. A couple of words from Colossians. Because he's the master creator. who created all things. And he says in Colossians 1 and verse 15 that he, Christ, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. I don't know about you, but that pretty sums it up, doesn't it? Take Jesus Christ out. We don't even have creation. All right? Everything was created by him and for him. OK? It's his stuff. We got it. And he says, he's the head of the church, head of the body of the church, he's the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in all, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace through the blood of his cross. Sounds like a mystery that's been unfolded through Jesus Christ, and that's what the gospel declares. Look what Christ has done. Look at who he is. So in Colossians chapter 1 verse 26, he says, the hidden mystery for ages is now revealed to his saints. Do you understand? It's been revealed. If you understand it, it's been revealed, not because of your human intellect. I heard a podcast yesterday that Research shows, you got to really watch that, you know, because they can tweak that any way they want. But research shows that people with advanced degrees go to church more than people who don't. Huh. And I said, I wonder why that is. Put it this way. The advanced degree that you need, is to the school of Jesus Christ. That opens up all mystery. And that gives you a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. Yeah, you want to come to church because you want to know more about Jesus. You want to fellowship with other people because by doing that, you know more about Jesus. You want to participate in the Lord's Supper because, yes, there's grace there. You'll know more about the Lord Jesus Christ. You want more. When God touches your heart, you want more, not less. When you want less, there's something wrong, and you're backsliding. And God's going to have to catch your attention. And that's why we're praying for revival, that God would capture every one of us. Attention, attention. There was this lady down in Brazil where I used to go and preach all the time. And her name was Beth, and she was always trying to learn English. And so she would want to spend time with Jan. And she would grab Jan by the shoulders and say, attention. And sometimes, you know what, when we're just taking things lackadaisically, and we're kind of like the church at Ephesus. We've lost our first love, but we're hanging in there, kind of doing the same things. They were very busy, but Jesus said, I have one against you. Where's your passion? Where's your first love? You've lost it. Or the church at Laodicea, they thought they were increased with goods and hadn't needed nothing. And Jesus says, you're poor and blind and naked. You need some eye salve. OK. So, sometimes we get like that and God has to grab us and say, attention. That's called revival. And that's what we need. Because if we're praying for a great awakening, God's not going to do a great awakening until he has a church that revived where those people can go. We're praying for both, but oh, wouldn't it be a joy that the flame was burning bright in your life. If you think you've enjoined Jesus now when that flame is burning hot and you can't get enough of him, your joy will be out the door and up the moon." I don't know. Anyway, all right. Colossians 1, verse 26, the hidden mystery, hidden from the ages, been revealed to his saints. To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ for this I toil, struggling with all energy that he powerfully works within me. That's the life of a minister. That's the life of the people. God wants to bring you to maturity, grow up, being sanctified, growing up in Christ, because there's the fullness of joy in knowing him. Riches are revealed in the gospel. He takes poor, miserable knuckleheads like me puts them in a ministry and says, preach the word. As long as I preach the word, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. If I'm preaching the word, you'll be fed. If I'm preaching the word, it's going to point to Jesus, not to me. Oh, I love your encouragement. I thank you for your encouragement. But as long as I'm preaching the word, I can't take credit. It's his word. I just love preaching it. I love studying it. I love preaching it. I'll get off that. It's a mystery that's been revealed. And when he makes it plain to you in the preaching of the word, it's like you are out in orbit. Nobody can quite understand it. It's different. I conclude with 1 Corinthians 1, verses 30 and 31, which is my text next week for the sermon that I'm going to preach because it's Reformation Sunday. Listen to it. It's a hymn. Right there is the gospel. It's of Him, it's of God, that you are in Christ Jesus. Who of God is made wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption? And what's the conclusion? He that glories. Glory in the Lord. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for this time at your word and this time together looking at Ephesians chapter three. How I pray, Father, that you might use the words that are said today to draw every single one who listens to this message, whether here or online or wherever it is. Oh God, revive us. set our hearts on fire. Oh, we need you, but we thank you for this privilege. For what you have revealed to us, help us to walk accordingly in gratitude as we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I'd ask our brothers to come and