v. 7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

In Him we have forgiveness...

v. 8
which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

...which He made abound...

v. 9
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

...according to His good pleasure...

v. 10
that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.

...that He might gather together.

v. 11
in Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Yes, it is we who obtain the inheritance, but it is according to the counsel of His will.

v. 12
that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Why are we redeemed? To the praise of His glory!

v. 13
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Ok, finally something we do. We trust. But is there any glory in trusting? And how did we come to trust? We heard the gospel. And how did we hear the gospel? God sent it to us. And what is our guarantee that we will be glorified? Is it us? No, it is by the Holy Spirit.

v. 14
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Why are we redeemed again? To the praise of His glory.

Do you see it? Do you see that God’s love for us is not such that He is making much of us, it’s such that He’s adopting us into His kingdom that we might make much of Him, the very thing we were created to do?

Why is it so important that we understand this? Because life is hard, and we are fragile people. If you expect God to express His love to you by making much of you, what will you do when suffering comes, and it will come. Will you throw up your arms in despair and say, “God doesn’t love me!” or, “I gave my life to Him and this is how He treats me!”?

I notice that the older I get, the more vulnerable I become...to suffering. You get married, you’re more vulnerable. Start having children, more vulnerable still. The more you have, the more you hold dear, the more subject you are to being hurt, bad. When you think of the suffering that Christians have endured historically, and today in most parts of the world, it makes you tremble. It makes me tremble.

There is a book, a devastating book, Jesus Freaks, by Voice of the Martyrs. I revisited it while preparing for this message, as a reminder of how many Christians have lived and brutally died (or worse) for their faith.

One particularly chilling account centers on a Soviet pastor who was arrested, tortured and imprisoned for his allegiance to Christ. When he still refused to denounce his Savior, they began torturing members of his congregation. One man from the church was brought in to have his eyes gouged out, and his tongue cut off while his pastor watched in agony. When the pastor still would not curse Christ, they killed the church member before the pastor’s very eyes. I ask you, was God making much of that pastor, at that moment? Was he exalting him and making everything go well for him? No.

It is a simple fact that the more you love people, and the more people you love, the more vulnerable you become. That does not mean that we should cease loving, but we had better know what the love of God really is or our faith will never survive. If we domesticate the attributes of God into something more palatable to our finite human minds, we will quickly find that we are left with a god that scarcely resembles the sovereign being found in Scripture, and a god that can offer no assurance in the times of greatest peril.

There is a worship song which has become popular recently. I know of at least a few artists who perform it, and it is on a CD I have. It’s lyrics read:

Above all powers, above all kings - Above all nature and all created things - Above all wisdom and all the ways of man - You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones - Above all wonders the world has ever known - Above all wealth and treasure of the earth - There’s no way to measure what You’re worth
 
Crucified laid behind a stone - You lived to die rejected and alone - Like a rose trampled on the ground - You took the fall and thought of me — Above all

This song starts out very well, but the last phrase, “You took the fall and thought of me...above all”!? That is a serious, and I would argue, heinous claim. If God thinks of me above all else, above His own glory, He is hateful. Why? Because I was made to be satisfied in His glory, not my own. And this is precisely why the gospel of self-esteem is so dangerous. When the trials come, such faith will crumble. If all you know of God’s love is His making much of you, then your faith is as good as dead. You will have no hope, no security, no stronghold to the loss of home, job, liberty, spouse, or family.

If man is uppermost in God’s affections then human suffering cannot be reconciled. But, if God is uppermost in God’s affections...and if He does all to the praise of His glory...and if we can only be satisfied in His glory, and if our suffering magnifies His glory, then may we suffer with joy, knowing that we are well loved, even if we lose our head.

Let's pray.