Please remain standing for the reading of God's word. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter three. If you're using a pew Bible, this is found on page 977. Ephesians chapter three. For context, we will begin in verse one. For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you. How this mystery was made known to me by revelation as I've written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations and has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Verse 7. Of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me by the working of His power. To me, 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. So that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, that this was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Please be seated. Last week, we looked at Paul's testimony, Paul's testimony that while he was on the Damascus road, God's saving grace confronted him and saved him. That Jesus Christ himself appeared shining brighter than the noonday sun. And in so doing, the Lord made Paul a saint as well as his chosen instrument in carrying the gospel to the Gentiles. So in today's verses, we see Paul clearly defined his calling and his meek outlook on his new life. His meek outlook on his new life. In verses 7 through 9, we have Paul's calling was a work of God's power. Paul's calling was a work of God's power. See, the Lord made Paul a minister. Paul did not make himself one. The Lord made Paul a minister. Paul did not make himself one. His gift, his calling, was due to God's grace. God's power did not respond to Paul's obedience. Paul obeyed because God granted grace. So was there something special about Paul? Was he the man fit for the job according to worldly standards? Was he taller, more handsome, stronger and brighter than the rest? Was he even trained as a child in the ways of the Lord? Absolutely not. The same thing that was special about Paul is what is special about those of us in this room who are currently saints, that before the foundation of the world, God predestined us to be conformed to the image of Christ that he set us apart. That's the only thing special. If you flip back with me to Ephesians chapter one, beginning in verse three, He said, 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. Why? Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. he predestined us. It's not in our goodness he predestined us, in God's love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. Why? It was according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has blessed us in the beloved. Ephesians 2.8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. So what happened to Paul? Was that a special event? Absolutely. But it was no more special than all of us who are saints in this room. Right. I mean, the day that the Lord saved you by his grace, was that not a marvelous and wonderful day? I mean, do you see the life change that happened in Paul's life? He was once a murderer. He once brought people out of their own houses. He got signed permission from kings to travel to foreign lands and to drag them out. He was known to the world as a man who brought people to prison, had them chained and brought them to their slaughter. And now God says, I have saved you by grace and you are my chosen instrument to the Gentiles. Dear friends, that was us one day. One day, not too long ago, that was us. One day, not too long ago, we lived for ourselves. We followed the course of this world. We hated God with every ounce of our being. See, what happened to Paul, it was a special event, but it was no less of a miracle of when God saved us. Paul was dead in his sins, an enemy of God who persecuted God. We were dead in our sins. We persecuted God. There was nothing attractive about Paul. There was nothing attractive about us. There was nothing attractive about me. Well, Paul declared in chapter 1 of Ephesians, he is now expanding upon with his personal testimony. He taught the truth and now he declares with his personal testimony, I am no different. You want application? Look at my life. Some might accuse me of talking so much about sin and so much about grace, but if you're in this room and you've been born again, sin and grace is something you never stopped talking about. You never stopped talking about it. Because you understand and talking about sin and talking about grace, you were talking about the beautiful love of God. That's why you can never stop talking about it. To talk about these two doctrines is to talk about the great love of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the gospel is good news because as sinners, that is what we need. And it's the only thing that we need is good news. We need good news. Look at with me at verse seven. Paul says, of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. So Paul is declaring that the gospel that saved him is also the gospel that commissioned him to be the minister. So this word grace is not referring to his salvation, but to his ministry. And the word minister here does not mean pastor or elder. The word minister here means servant. It means servant. So Paul is saying, look, I am now a servant of Jesus Christ because of God's grace. And not just that, God did not just save me, God is also sending me. So this good news of Jesus made me a servant, a servant who serves the gospel to others. God has granted me grace to serve him. So the gospel that saved Paul also made Paul a minister. And I love the words of Paul here. Paul did not see this as a duty, did he? What did he see it as? A grace! Hey, guess what? The grace that has saved me, it's not that I have to talk to people about Jesus. It's the grace that saved me. I get to talk to people about Jesus. It's what I get to do. And as a pastor this morning, I can tell you I failed this week in that. I was talking to a brother in the back, Sean, earlier, and I had a bad day this past weekend. I was full of anger and two Mormons walked up to my yard right before I was about to mow. Perfect opportunity to point them to Jesus and I didn't take it. Didn't take it. I mean, I failed. But you know what? By God's grace, I have today. And if I wake up tomorrow, I'll have tomorrow. Paul did not see this as his duty, he saw it as a grace. He understood the gospel. It is telling the work of Christ, the proclamation of the blood of Jesus that covers sins, the story of a holy God providing a way for sinners to be saved, the only story of eternal hope. God saved Paul and God sent Paul. He was a chosen instrument for the Gentiles, but all whom God saves, he sins. All the saints of God are to think as Paul did and to live as he lived. What would happen if our greatest treasure all the time was truly Jesus Christ? I started thinking about that this past week. And the Lord said, Maybe. Maybe our prayers would consist of these words, possibly. Lord, you mean the gospel that saved me? You were giving me the privilege, the grace of being a mouthpiece to others? Oh, Lord, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The gospel that saved me? You have also chosen me to share with others? Why has this been lost in the church? Why is this not an expectation of every church member in every church? It was in the New Testament, but why has it been lost now? And the answer? People truly do not love the gospel because they truly do not understand the gospel. If the gospel was fully proclaimed in the majority of churches and among its members, it would be known as a gift of God's grace, as Paul called it. Evangelism will not be seen as a duty, but as a great grace, a delight, a privilege. Look at verse 7. He says, of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of His power. So salvation happens because salvation is given by the working of God's power. Now there is no doubt, if you've been in this church long enough, we've talked a lot about election, a lot about predestination, the truth that God is sovereign over all things, including salvation. But let's talk about another aspect within the proclamation of the gospel. Paul was not a very creative man. Newsflash, I'm not either. I'm not very creative. I'm pretty sure the most creative thing I've ever done was propose, ask my wife to marry me. That was it. That's as far as it's gone. But praise be to God that being creative is not a qualification to follow Jesus. Paul knew the gospel and what did he do? He proclaimed it. And this is what we must remember, the gospel is the power of God into salvation for everyone who believes, not our words, the gospel. Faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ, not our words, the gospel. We should want people to believe. We should call people to repent and believe. If we want salvation to come in our families, in this church, in ULIS, in our communities, we must know the Word of God and proclaim the Word of God. To put it bluntly, to be a faithful servant, we must know the Word of God. For far too long, The cry from individuals in the church has been, that's the job of the pastor. No, dear saint, that's the job of everyone who's been born again. It is your job and my job to know the word of God if we call ourselves a Christian. It is our job because that affects everything. It affects what you do day in and day out. It affects if you pray or you don't pray. It affects the job that you're going to pick. It affects what you do in your free time. It affects if you point your children to Christ or you just say that you do. To be a faithful servant, we must know the word of God. And you know what that means? That means asking lots of questions. You're gonna have lots of questions. Guess what? So do I. There's lots of questions I ask every week. That's how you build a sermon. You write, you look at the passage you're discussing, you write down every single question you can come up with, and you answer it as you go through studying God's Word. Because the best commentary on Scripture is Scripture. So you look at God's Word entirety. Listen to these words from Timothy as he charged That's Paul charged Timothy, 2 Timothy 4, 1. He says, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and they will wander off into myths. Look, we see this all the time. It's not just what is said from the pulpits, or it's not just said who the pastor is of the churches, it's also other secular organizations, or other organizations who claim to be Christian, who are leading people astray. See, Paul charged Timothy, a fellow elder, to preach the Word. This is what must be preached for salvation to come and for sanctification to occur. This is our foundation. This alone is a power of God that brings about everlasting change. See the outlet of God, the strongest power in this world, the power of the almighty, the one who spoke everything into existence by the word of this power. This power comes when the gospel of God is proclaimed. See, anytime someone stands up and they proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and one is saved, the only reason that someone is saved is because the gospel has been preached and the Holy Spirit has saved. That is what happens. And because Paul understands sin and God's grace, what does he live like? How does he live? He is a meek man. He is a very meek man. We have nothing to boast in and of ourselves. Look at verse 8 in our main text. Verse 8, going back to Ephesians chapter 3. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things." See, Paul is humble. He is not a prideful man. He does not think much of himself. He thinks much of Christ, and he thinks much of the gospel. Paul does not just visit the foot of the cross once a week. Paul abided there. See, the Lord Jesus was Paul's refuge and his strength as Jesus is to be our refuge and our strength. See, Paul acknowledged here that God's grace was given to him for two purposes, two purposes. Purpose one, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. And purpose two, to bring to light for everyone the mystery of God who created all things and has been hidden for ages. So let's discuss purpose one. to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Notice what Paul says. He did not say that as saints, we are in the business of making converts. Paul, I want you to go to these Gentiles, and this is what I want you to do. I want you to preach Jesus once and walk away. I want you to go there, talk about Jesus, pack up your bags, leave, go there, talk about Jesus, pack up your bags, leave. What did he say? Preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul declares that we are to go and make disciples, not converts. We are to preach the unsearchable riches, the unfathomable riches of Jesus. See, many of us in this room, we love completing tasks, don't we? How many of y'all make a list and mark through it? That's me. I make my list. Blaine, you need to start making lists. So you make your list. You cross through it. That's what I do. I love doing that. We set goals and we love meeting those goals. There is great satisfaction, pride, and getting things accomplished. And let's be honest, a hard day's work at work and a hard day's work at home, it's biblical. It's what we're supposed to be doing. But I love the words here that Paul uttered, the unfathomable riches of Christ. I remember studying systematic theology in seminary. In fact, it was my favorite class. You had systematic theology one and systematic theology two. In a year's time, we tackled this thick book with multiple scripture references on every page. I flipped through it again this morning. It's 1,167 pages of small print with scripture all over it, front and back of every page. We walked through that in a year's time. Three hours of lecture and debates every week, twice. Late night studying every night for at least four hours a night because I wasn't the brightest person in the class. Conversation after conversation, question after question, paper after paper, exams, exams, exams. I learned a lot. And many of my beliefs were challenged that eventually brought about a great change in what I believe concerning the Lord today. But there is something that you need to know. A seminary degree does not mean that a person knows God or that he knows enough. I remember when I graduated, I walked across the stage after they announced Cassie Marcus Lewis. And I remember going to a party and there was a man who gave me a gift. And I unwrapped the gift a little bit later. And inside the book, he said this, he said, Casey, remember, you're a master of nothing. You're a master of nothing. And at the time, to me, it was really annoying. But looking back, it was probably the best thing I ever heard. This man was telling me, you may have your master's degree. You may have gone to seminary, but you better remain meek. You are not the master. You only know the master by God's grace. And did you know that we don't have enough time in this world to grasp all the riches of Christ in this life? Look what he said. He said, go to the Gentiles and do what? Preach the unsearchable, unfathomable riches of Christ. So when you and I get bored with our walk with Jesus, trust me, it's not Jesus who's boring. It's us. This Christian walk cannot be lived without knowing the greatness of Jesus and remaining a student of His great love. A student of great love. You hear me often talk about Winnie, a 96-year-old widow in our church whom I love to go and visit. Do you know why she still prays? Do you know why she still talks about Jesus? Because she still reads. She still meets with God. So when she asked me for a large print Bible, what do you think I bought her? A large print Bible. She still knows at 96, I have much to learn. Paul was sent to preach to the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ. because it's not just at salvation that we should be overwhelmed with the Lord. It is every day we should be overwhelmed with God's great, amazing grace. And believe me, there are days when our blood in our bodies, we feel so lukewarm, but by God's grace and the Holy Spirit, he brings us back and gives us the truth that we are overwhelmed once again. the unsearchable riches of Christ, His grace, His love, His mercy, heaven, His coming to earth, God putting on flesh, God dying for sinners. I mean, what king dies for the enemy? God saving sinners. God making His children servants in His great kingdom. God protecting His servants. What king gets off his throne and goes to war for his servants and instructs his servants, just rest in me. God's grace is unsearchable. His glory is unfathomable. His holiness. His everlasting reign, His everlasting kingdom, His judgment and His return that is coming soon. See, the riches of Christ are unfathomable and we have more than enough in the Word of God to occupy our mind, our thoughts and our obedience for this life. But preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles was only part of Paul's mission. As if that wasn't enough, look at verse 9. and to bring to light for everyone what is a plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things." Paul's mission was also to bring to light for everyone the mystery of God who created all things. He was to light up the lives of others with this mystery of God that had been hidden for ages. This verse is so rich. This verse informs us, I believe, one of the greatest things that God has a plan. He knows exactly what he's doing and how it's going to be done. God did not just start everything by the word of his power. He also knew the end and he is working all things for his glory and our good. God has a plan. God has a plan. You know why that's good? Because there are many times we don't understand the plan. There are many times as sinful creatures, yes, we have God's will and we have access to that, but we do, and we know, and we know different things. We know that God is going to work all things together for good, for those who love Him, who've been called according to His purpose. But we're gonna see things in this life that are extremely painful and they hurt very much, but we can rest in the truth that God has a plan. I said earlier, Paul was a very meek man. Any aspect, an aspect of meekness is just what we need as creatures who've been saved. What is meekness? Well, we accept God's dealing with us as good, with no disputing or resisting, knowing that God is purifying us. That's an aspect of meekness. We rely upon God and not our own strength. We trust in His goodness and His control over all situations. We do not occupy our lives with self, but we occupy our lives with the Holy Spirit. We remain humble and we submit to the Lord. That is meekness. And this is what the Lord said about the one who is meek in Matthew 5, 5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. See, this is the third line from the Sermon on the Mount, and this comes with the understanding that the meek person is saved because the meek person is poor in spirit. Well, what's it mean to be poor in spirit? They know they need God every second. That if left alone, they know they are helpless and hopeless, so they are needy, needy and hungry for the Lord. See, God has a plan. Paul's in prison. He's in chains. He knows God has a plan. He's suffering, he knows God has a plan. The one who create all things has a plan and his plan to bring the mystery to the Gentiles, that was Paul's, as well as inform others of God's plan. And God not only had a plan for Paul, God has a plan for us. His saints who have the indwelling Holy Spirit are to pick up the mantle and finish the mission. To take the light of God into the darkness and proclaim it. Look at verse 10 of Ephesians 3. So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This is according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him. So I ask you, not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory." See, the church is to administer the manifold wisdom of God. The church is to administer the manifold wisdom of God. The church. Not the one who has the gift of evangelism. Not the pastor. Not someone we pay. The church is to administer the manifold wisdom of God. The manifold wisdom of God will be administered by the church. All who are saved, Jew and Gentile, getting into the context here, will be part in administering the manifold wisdom of God, not only to humanity, but it says here, also to the heavenly beings. All the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms will learn of God's manifold wisdom that was hidden for ages by the proclamation of his saints. What a joy. God saves sinners by his grace, sends them to proclaim grace, and heavenly angels and fallen angels see and hear the manifold wisdom of God. One commentator said this, fallen authorities are terrified of God's powerful grace, while the heavenly authorities stand in awe. They stand in awe. And this is part of God's plan. This has happened, is happening, and will happen all according to the eternal purposes that He established in Jesus Christ. Christ is our foundation. Christ is our cornerstone. He has broken down the wall of hostility. And in Christ, we have boldness. Look at verse 12. It says, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him. So we have boldness. In Christ, we have access, access with confidence. We have boldness, access with confidence. Why? Through our faith in Christ. Our faith in Christ is needed every second and every day. Our faith in Christ is needed in every valley, every darkness, every battle, every situation, every struggle, every decision, every sunlight. Faith in Christ is needed every time we read God's Word. Faith in Christ is needed every time we share the gospel. Faith in Christ is needed every time we pray, each and every time, step by step, each breath, each day. See, in this walk of faith, we are not to lose heart. Just as Paul instructed them to not be discouraged with his suffering, we must not be discouraged in our suffering or the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ because God has a plan. And one of the largest things that I think that I've begun to learn over this last year is this truth. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, When we abandon the basics, there's not a person in here that will not lose heart. We will lose heart. And when we're not looking at Jesus, guess who we're gonna look at? Us. And guess what happens after a long period of time of looking at us? We get depressed. You'll get depressed. That's exactly what happens. Your life will be consumed with trying to buy everything this world has to offer. You'll try to be consumed with going on and improving yourself. But the only way for you to find abundant life is to look to Jesus. That's the only thing. Faith in Christ is needed. We are not to lose heart. And we go through trials and tribulations and struggles, know that God has a plan. He is sovereign. You may not like His plan. You're not called to always like His plan. You're called to rest in Him. He is good all the time. He is working all things for our good and His glory. And all the suffering of His saints, all the pain, all the trials, God gets all the glory and He will get all the honor. This is the great God that we serve. This is God's great plan. So do not be discouraged, dear saint. Have faith in Christ. He is working His plan. Remain meek. Remain a faithful servant to the Lord. The Lord has made you a servant if you're His saint. Serve Him. That is to be your life. And anything outside of that, it's not worth living for. Your job, you have it to point people to Jesus, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength with your job. That's why you have neighbors. When visitors come to your door, don't do as I did and turn them away. Redeem the time. Point them to Jesus. You have a family. Don't abandon your family. Don't do that. If you're a husband, you have a wife for a reason. You have children by God's grace. Point them to Jesus above all the things that you do. See, the Lord made Paul a servant. And if we're a saint in this room, we are also his servants. And believe me, we need to all improve in our serving. We have much to do, much to learn, but let's not waste this time. The Lord has made us a servant, let's serve him.