" And you He hath quickened, who were dead in trespass and sins Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Among also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and, we by nature, the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Chris, (by grace are ye saved. and hath raised us up together, and made us ist together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."

This scripture listed above has so much richness in it, there is not room or time to spend here, expounding on all of it's richness but, I would like to share some personal things and comment on " 3 common looks".

Sometimes I look at my wife and she thinks I am mad about something when really I am not mad or upset about anything.

Question:
Have any of you been in that boat with your spouses? Here are 3 common looks that I wish to comment on.

I. We look at the Past---to make us humble and see where we have came from:

A. In our text, in verses 1-3, Paul shows the past of every Christian. This is why I often say, "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future". When we look back at our pasts, we do not see a pretty picture. I shared my past a few weeks ago in a message I posted here entitled "Modern Day Prodigal". Few commented on it so I wonder just how many read it but, regardless, it was not a pretty picture.

1. We were, at one time, all dead in trespass and sins
2. We all walked in the course of this world. Why? Because we are born with a sinful nature.
a. We live for whatever we can get.--Lust of the flesh
b. We live for whatever we can look at.--lust of the eyes.
c. We live for whatever we can attain and brag about--the Pride of Life.

I John 2: 15-17 says this:
" love not the world, or the things that are in the world, If a man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but, is of the world. And,. the world passeth away and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of the Father, abideth forever.

Now, I have had a lot of people ask me "what is God's will for my life"? How do I know what God's will is?
Let's look at John 6 verse 50 for a moment. God's main will for your life is to BELIEVE ON JESUS!!!!
Notice I said BELIEVE ON NOT BELIEVE IN. There is a big difference in believing in and believing on Jesus,

When we believe ON Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us and He guides and leads us in our lives.

In our past, we were captives of Satan, 1. Lust. 2, Greed, 3.many other sins of the flesh.

II. The Present of the Christian: vs-4-6

We have a 3 letter word there that is a blessing in itself. The little word "BUT". Notice, it says BUT God is rich in mercy. God is rich in everything folks. He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, He owns all the Money in this world and He is rich in mercy and grace. Oh, and by the way, God expenses do not rely on you.
If you don't place anything in the offering plate, they won't cut off his lights in Heaven!!!!!!! What we give is to show our love for Him and what He as done for us. This is our way of furthering His Kingdom here on earth, till His return.

Point: His Spirit enters us when we believe on and accept Christ as our Saviour.
His love changes us from within
His Blood washed us from our sin
His Peace comforts us

All these things are ours because of His riches, love and mercy towards us as believers.

III. The Future of Every Christian: vs-7

The best is yet to come folks, Anything you can imagine on this earth has no comparison as to what God has prepared for those that are His. "Eye has not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, what God has in store for those that love Him"

God's Grace is unlimited. It was not used up when you or I got saved. It is limitless. When we got saved, this was only the beginning of His Grace that He has shown toward us and it is ongoing throughout our lives.

Our Past, Our Present, and Our Future should motivate us to be more faithful at serving Christ and the work of His Church.

If we stop and think for a minute, we do some very strange things as Christians.
a. Shoe Sales
b, Car Deals
c. clothing sales
d. Jewelry sales

We share these things with our friends, where we got a "good deal" yet, all these "good deals" still cost us.
Jesus purchased, for us, our salvation by giving His own life for us. It cost us nothing but, cost Him everything and we do not share His "Good News" with our friends and neighbors, like we do these sales .

Shame on us who call ourselves Christians. Why are we not as enthusiastic about Sharing Christ with others? All these other things are merely temporal things that will rust out, rot out or, wear out and Eternal Live is Eternal, never ending throughout Eternity and we fail miserably at telling others what Christ has done for us!!!!!!!!!

Consider these things in the coming week and Have a good week.

Oldbiker