A Prayer For Knowledge Pt. 1

Intro

Sydney trainer Harry Telford was a keen student of thoroughbred bloodlines and spent countless hours poring over pedigree charts. He believed he had found a future champion in a colt that was shortly due to sell in New Zealand. The colt was listed for the Trentham Sales in 1927.

Harry Telford, however, was in a financial mess. He talked an American businessman living in Sydney, David J. Davis, into buying the horse. Harry’s brother, Hugh, a resident of New Zealand, was telegraphed to bid up to 190 guineas (US $154).

Lot Number 41 sold for 160 guineas (US $130). Back in Sydney, Telford thought the purchase price was great news. That was until he clapped eyes on the ’bargain’ being crated from ship to shore in Sydney Harbour. The big, gangly beast looked anything but a champion. Warts covered its face and there was an awkwardness to it that did not inspire confidence.

Real problems came when Davis saw his purchase. He was furious and wanted nothing to do with it. Telford and Davis struck a deal: if Telford covered the cost of training the horse, he could keep two–thirds of the winnings—if there were any.

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- Here you have a man who didn’t realise what he had

- He had, arguably, the greatest racehorse in living memory – the horse’s name was Phar Lap

- His heart was 6.2 kilograms, about ½ as big again as that of a typical horse

- Phar Lap won so many races in Australia that they handicapped him out of contention

- He was taken overseas & he won the richest horse-race in America

- He was such a threat that he was poisoned soon after

- I guess David Davis was thinking: “If I only knew what I had”

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- In this passage today, the apostle Paul expresses his desire for the church to be filled with an understanding of what we have in Christ

- He sees this as so important that he does not cease to pray that the Holy Spirit would fill God’s people with wisdom & revelation in their knowledge of God

Q. Why is this so important?

- Would David Davis had offered the trainer 2/3rds of the winnings if he knew what he had?

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- The important aspect here is that sound knowledge plays a vital role when it comes to the choices we make

Eph 2:10 ..... we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (walk in what? - good works).

- There is a link between what we know of God & how we live our lives now, in the present

- We are created to perform good works

- If you are not into good works, then what are you missing

1. True Knowledge of God leads to Right Choices

- This is an interesting topic & one I could spend a long time on

- Not only have I experienced a lack of knowledge in the past (& know how misinformed I was), but I also see a general disdain toward knowledge in the modern church

- Lidie Edmunds in the 19th C. wrote the hymn called “No Other Plea”

The chorus goes like this...

I need no other argument,

I need no other plea;

It is enough that Jesus died,

And that He died for me.

- That is a good starting point for our faith, but if that’s still the extent of our knowledge after many years of being a believer, it certainly falls short of what God wants for us.

Q. If we don’t have knowledge of God, how will we make right choices?

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- Paul prays for the church at Ephesus to receive the Spirit of wisdom & revelation in the knowledge of Him (God)

- He is not praying that they will receive the Holy Spirit (they already have the Holy Spirit – just talked about the Spirit being a deposit), but that they will be enlightened by the Spirit in wisdom & revelation

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- There are many voices calling for you to believe either this or that

- Here are some example questions for you...

Q. Is obeying God, legalism?

Q. Can I be saved though living continually in a sinful relationship?

Q. Can people put curses on me?

Q. Can the devil take control of me?

Q. Should I discriminate against false teachers by not accepting them as Christians

- The answers all call for knowledge & wisdom

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- Wisdom is not the same as knowledge, although, it is not far from it

Pr 1:1-4 ..... 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,