Bible Text: Ephesians 1:3-14 | Pastor: Eric Danielson | Series: Advent 2019 | Christmas helps us remember the valuable blessings we have received from God and how we have gained access to all of them.

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Five Treasures
Ephesians 1:3-14

Here we are, just three days away from Christmas. For the past few weeks we’ve been looking at how awesome the gift of Jesus is. We’ve seen how incredible it is that God would give us the gift of his Son in spite of how rebellious we were – he didn’t wait for us to come to him, he took the initiative to send his Son to save us from our sin. We’ve also seen how astonishing it is that Jesus, the pre-existent Creator of the universe, by whom and for whom all things were made, and in whom all things hold together, would humble himself to such a lowly place to become one of us and then die on the cross to save us from our sins. What an incredible gift of amazing love and mercy! Now today we are going to reflect once again on how awesome the gift of Jesus is by looking at the overwhelming blessings we have received because of him.

When I was growing up, I loved watching the Indiana Jones movies. Indiana Jones was a treasure hunter who explored ancient ruins to find priceless artifacts. Those stories were made up, but this week I found a similar story that was actually true. I read about it in an article by BBC News.

(Picture) In southern India a lot of attention has been given to an ancient Hindu temple, built in the 16th century by the kings who ruled over the kingdom of Travancore. The people of Travancore worshipped the demon-god Vishnu and the kings would bring valuable offerings to this false god as part of their worship. These offerings were given year after year for hundreds of years and stored underneath the temple in a series of large vaults protected by layers of iron, wood, and concrete. (Picture) Eventually the Travancore kingdom was overtaken and is now part of modern-day India, but the temple remains with all of its vaults of treasure hidden underneath.

The temple and its mysterious treasure was owned by a royal trust and protected by the descendants of the Travancore royal family, and people knew the treasure was there, but had no idea how valuable it was because the vaults had been sealed from the public for over a century. But in 2011 a case was brought to the India Supreme Court accusing the guardians of looting the treasure and claiming that they were no longer able to provide the kind of security that such a treasure would require. So the Supreme Court ordered the state government to take control of the temple and then sent a team of seven people to assess the value of the objects stored in its vaults.

Those seven people descended into the vaults and discovered treasures beyond their wildest dreams. Six vaults were opened containing extremely valuable treasure (Picture): there were golden idols, golden elephants, golden statues wearing 18 foot diamond necklaces, countless bags of gold coins from around the world dating back to the 2nd century, ceremonial costumes including 66 pound solid gold coconut shells studded with rubies and emeralds, pure golden crowns studded with diamonds and other precious stones, countless gold rings, bracelets, and lockets, many encrusted with gems, loose diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones. The most impressive gems were the large diamonds, some of which were a hundred and ten carats—“the size of a large thumb.”

The estimated value of the treasure hidden in those vaults is a stunning $22 billion. That’s one of the most valuable treasures in the world. Vault after vault of priceless treasure that the state government now has access to by order of the India Supreme Court. It would be really handy if we could have access to just a tiny part of that treasure – think how helpful that would be! But we don’t. None of us are going to touch any of it. It won’t benefit any of us the least little bit. A valuable treasure is worth absolutely nothing unless you have access to it.

What I want to show you today are 5 more vaults of treasure that are far more valuable than the one I just described. But there’s a big difference with these that I’m about to show you. There is a way we can have access to them – unrestricted access. At the beginning of Ephesians, Paul tells his readers about these 5 vaults of infinitely valuable treasure. I want to show you each of these and then talk about how we can have access to them. The first vault is found in Ephesians 1:3-5.

Read Ephesians 1:3-4.
3 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 [in other words, he’s blessed us with treasures of infinite worth], 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

How valuable is it for you to be found holy and blameless before God? Let me help you a little bit. If you’re not found holy and blameless before God, you will die. And you won’t just die physically, you will also be subject to the judgment and wrath of a holy and just God for all eternity. If you were faced with the choice of having all the treasures in India, or being holy and blameless before God, which would you choose? I would choose the latter! And I think all of you would as well. No earthly treasure compares to this one!

But there’s a HUGE problem… None of us is holy and blameless before God. Two weeks ago we looked at Romans 3 where it says “None is righteous, no, not one… no one does good, not even one… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We have all failed to reach the standard of being holy and blameless before God. So as awesome as that treasure is, on our own we don’t have access to it.

The second vault of treasure can be seen in Ephesians 1:5-6.
In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

The second vault has the treasure of adoption. I want you to picture yourself as a little kid whose parents are dead and you’ve been sent to work in a factory for the rest of your life. It’s an iron factory so there’s a huge coal-burning furnace spewing smoke and soot into the air and you have to work in that loud, hot, dirty environment for 16 hours a day. When you’re done with your shift you’re given one small meal of gruel with just enough nutrients to keep you alive which you snarf down on your way to your dirty bunk where you fall asleep exhausted only to be awoken again 8 hours later to start your next shift. You’re surrounded by other children who behave more like animals than humans, trying to steal your food, push you out of your work station, and kick you out of your bunk. And all of this happens underneath the oversight of an evil plant manager who cares nothing about your life or survival; he just wants to get as much out of you as he can for a few years until you die.

If that was you, how valuable would it be for you to be adopted by a loving father and mother? Someone who rescues you from the pit of despair, loves you, cares for you, raises you, gives you purpose, dignity, and a place to belong… That treasure would be extremely valuable. And that’s the treasure God the Father wants to give everyone on earth. He sees us in our misery, plagued by the consequences of sin, hating and being hated by others, slaves to the prince of the power of the air. He wants to save us from our misery and adopt us as his children, but again, access has been denied because of our sin. Our sin has made us enemies of God and keeps us away from him – trapped in misery and brokenness. So as amazing as adoption is, on our own, we don’t have access to it.

The third treasure is in Ephesians 1:7-10.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This treasure is incredible. Imagine you’re sitting in prison on death row, awaiting your execution. You have broken the law so many times the state has just decided to end your life. You owe so much money in fines and restitution that you’ll never be able to pay it or work it off, so the death penalty is the only option they have left.

The Bible tells us that this is the condition every one of us is in because of our trespasses and sins against God. We have crossed the line countless times, committing trespasses, disobeying his perfect law on so many occasions it’s impossible to count or keep track. We are on death row because of our sin, awaiting God’s righteous judgment.

Wouldn’t it be absolutely stunning if you were on death row and you found out that someone had stepped in and paid all your fines, settled all the cases against you and completely cleared your record? Not only are you getting out of prison, but you also don’t have any record to cripple you the rest of your life. This is the treasure that God offers to us – full redemption and complete forgiveness. No need to pay off our debt to him – it’s completely paid. No more penalty for sin, a clean record before him. That would be awesome. The problem is, once again, because of our sin, we don’t have access to it. There’s nothing we can give him or come up with on our own that will earn redemption or forgiveness. So as incredible as it is, we don’t have access.

The fourth treasure is in Eph. 1:11-12.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Think back to the incredible blessing of adoption – when you’re adopted as a son or daughter, not only do you have a new family and a place to belong, but you also become eligible to receive an inheritance. Let’s say you’re the kid that’s been adopted out of that cruel and dirty factory. You’re overjoyed just by the fact that a man and woman want to rescue you and make you their son or daughter, but then you find out they’re not just extremely kind and compassionate, they’re also extremely rich. They’re actually king and queen of an oil-rich country – among the richest people on earth. They don’t just have a nice house; they have multiple luxury homes and palaces in the most beautiful places in the world – mountain chalet’s, beachfront condominiums, lakeside mansions. They don’t just have a car; they have a fleet of vehicles and private helicopters and airplanes. Anything you could ever need or want is yours – nothing is out of reach. And because you’re now their son or daughter, everything will one day be given to you.

That helps us begin to imagine how valuable the inheritance is that comes from God. Those whom he adopts as his sons and daughters will receive an inheritance of incalculable worth. Everything they would ever need or want will be theirs for all eternity. A paradise of dazzling beauty. Festive celebration, awe-inspiring experiences. Laughter, joy, rejoicing – no sadness, crying or pain. Along with perfect health, and strength, and a body that will never get sick or age. And most amazing of all, they will be in the very presence of God. Our minds can’t even imagine how glorious this inheritance will be!

But that inheritance only belongs to those who have been adopted by God, and like I said earlier, what we’ve done because of our sins against God is made ourselves his enemies. There’s nothing we can do on our own to change that. So again, the treasure of this inheritance is off the table – no access.

The final treasure is in Eph. 1:13-14.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

I remember when I was just a little kid my brother and I wandered into the thick woods and swamp near our house and got hopelessly lost. We got so turned around, we didn’t know what direction to go and we thought we’d never get out – we’d die in there. It was terrible. But in our moments of despair when we thought all hope was lost, we heard my dad’s voice. He had come looking for us and he found us, he comforted us, held our hands, walked with us and guided us back home. With his presence in our lives all fear was gone because we knew for sure we would reach our destination.

This final treasure is the incredible blessing of the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. With all the temptations, distractions, sufferings, and enemies in this world, we are like a kid hopelessly lost and in despair with no one to comfort, lead, or help them. No assurance of a happy ending, just doubt and fear. But the Holy Spirit completely changes all that. He comes to find us and light the way. He picks us up and carries us and never leaves. He comforts, fills, helps, protects, heals, teaches, strengthens and guides. He makes absolutely certain that a person will make it through all the twists, turns, and dangers of this life to make it to their destination and receive the incredible inheritance that’s waiting. He’s truly a treasure of infinite worth.

But the Holy Spirit can’t dwell in a house that’s contaminated by sin and that’s the only kind of house we can provide him. So as appealing and wonderful as this treasure is, we have no way to get access to it on our own.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record – all these incredible vaults of treasure, far more valuable – every one of them – than the hoard of treasure discovered under the temple in India, but completely worthless to us if we can’t have access to them. It doesn’t do us any good to know about these riches if we can’t have them. In fact it makes us more bitter to know they’re there and be denied of them. We get it, we’re sinful, we’ve ruined it, we’ve destroyed our chances of everlasting joy. Now why not just leave us alone to wallow in our misery? Why make it worse by telling us about all these treasures we can’t have?

It’s true that on our own we don’t have access, but there is another way… God in his love and mercy has made another way… And this is what that way looks like…

(Show picture of Jesus in a manger.)

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11).

God made a way by sending his Son to save us from our sins. This baby grew up and even though he was perfectly innocent, he was condemned to die. He suffered and died on the cross. And he did that all for us – to give us unrestricted access to all the treasure we’ve looked at.
• In him we have been made holy and blameless before God so that we can live forever in his presence.
• Through him we have adoption as sons and daughters so that we are no longer trapped in the misery of sin.
• In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of all our trespasses so that we can have complete freedom from condemnation.
• In him we have been given a glorious inheritance so that we can live with great hope and anticipation.
• And in him we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit so that we have a constant Helper who is the guarantee that we will obtain possession of our inheritance.

As we worship Jesus this Christmas, we worship the only one through whom we have access to all this incredibly valuable treasure. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It is through faith in him that the door to all this treasure is opened to us. Do you have faith in him?

Maybe you’re here today and you’re one who just comes to church on Christmas and Easter and maybe you have never put your faith in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son who died to pay the penalty for your sins. The invitation to embrace Christ and have access to all this treasure is open to you today. It is by grace that you are saved through faith. And today that salvation can come to you through Jesus.