East Baptist Church – Denison, TX

Shouting Ground

Ephesians 1:1-6 (NASB) ¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love ⁵ He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 

What in life brings you into a celebrating spirit or moves you to shouting ground? We celebrate graduations, promotions, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, the birth of a child, and sometimes even our favorite team winning a championship. We throw parties, decorate rooms, take pictures, laugh, cry, applaud, and rejoice. But if you have lived long enough, you have learned something about every earthly celebration: the music eventually stops, the cake gets eaten, the flowers begin to fade, and the applause ultimately goes away. 

But we also know that life has a way of hitting us and then reality sets in. One phone call from the doctor can interrupt the celebration. One unexpected loss can replace laughter with tears. One difficult season can make yesterday’s victory feel like defeat. What I am trying to say is that life can change between sunrise and sunset. 

Many of us are scared to death of death. I tell you often, “That until you settle your eternal destination you can’t live life here to its fullest blessing.” 

That is exactly where Paul begins the book of Ephesians. Paul is not writing from a palace. He is writing from a prison. His hands and feet are chained, his freedom is gone, and his future is to say the least, uncertain. Yet before Paul gives an instruction, corrects a problem, discusses Christian living, or addresses spiritual warfare, he breaks out in praise, he steps up on Shouting Ground: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” 

Christian Bro. Paul is teaching us how to move to Shouting Ground. Before you focus on what is happening around you, remember what God has already done for you. If Christ is in you and you in Christ you are richer than you realize, more loved than you know, and more secure than you feel. You possess more than this world could ever give and more than death could ever take away.

The first reason that we have to step onto Shouting Ground is BECAUSE GOD CHOSE US. ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Jesus) The Word of God wants us to understand that salvation did not begin with us reaching up for God. It began with God reaching down for us. We sometimes say, “I found the Lord,” but the Lord was never lost. We were lost. We were wandering in sin, blinded to truth, and moving in the wrong direction. Yet God, rich in mercy, came looking for us in the Beloved, who is Jesus the Christ. 

What a humble blessing: to know that God did not choose us because we were smarter, stronger, more religious, or more deserving. Grace is not God rewarding good people. Grace is God rescuing guilty people. We were not worthy of being chosen; God was gracious enough to choose sinners in Christ. Let Grace lead you to Shouting Ground. 

God chose us “to be holy and blameless in His sight.” God did not choose us merely to get us into heaven. He chose us so that heaven could begin transforming us while we are still on earth. Salvation is not just about changing our destination; it is about changing our disposition (the way we think that leads to a new action). Election is not permission to live carelessly-it is a calling to live differently. ⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

Second, wWe find our Shouting Ground because God Adopted us: Ephesians 1:5 (NASB) ⁵ He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, God did not choose us and leave us standing at a distance. Through Jesus Christ, He brought us into His family. Salvation is more than having our record cleared, escaping judgment, or receiving entrance into Heaven. God gives us a new relationship, a new identity, a new home, and a new family. He becomes our Father, and we become His children.

Because we have been adopted, we have access. We do not approach God as frightened strangers but as beloved children. We pray, “Our Father.” We bring Him our needs, fears, questions, and failures. Prayer is not begging an unwilling God to notice us. Prayer is a child speaking to a Father who already cares. 

The huge, horrible tragedy is that some Christians have been adopted but still live like spiritual orphans. An orphan mindset says, “Nobody is coming for me.” An adopted mindset says, “My Father knows what I need.” An orphan mindset says, “I must compete for love.” An adopted mindset says, “I am already loved.” An orphan mindset says, “If I fail, I will be rejected.” An adopted mindset says, “When I fail, I can return to my Father.”

Third, we have something to shout about because God adopted us. But Paul is not finished. Verse 6 reveals another blessing for every wounded and rejected heart: GOD ACCEPTED US. Ephesians 1:6 (NASB) ⁶to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 

Paul now reaches the summit of his praise. He declares that God has “made us accepted in the Beloved.” Those may be some of the sweetest words in all of Scripture, because every human heart longs to know, “Do I matter? Do I belong? Does anybody see value in me?” The answer of our Scripture for today is a SHOUTING GROUND, YES and YES.