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Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might (dunamis force specifically miraculous power ability, abundance, might strength, violence, mighty wonderful work) by his Spirit in the inner man;
Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts (kardeeah thoughts feeling will) by faith; that ye, being rooted (stable) and grounded (settled) in love,
Eph 3:18 May be able (ex-is-khoo'-o to have full strength, that is, be entirely competent) to comprehend (kat-al-am-ban'-o to take eagerly, that is, seize, possess, apprehend, attain, find, obtain, perceive, over- take.) with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth (surpasses goes beyond) knowledge, ( gno'-sis - knowledge, science) that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly (per-is-sos' in the sense of beyond); superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); by implication excessive; - above, more abundantly, advantage, exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, superfluous, vehement) above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh (active operative) in us,
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
-he saves to the uttermost
-he wants us to have abundant life
-
Lamentations 3:22-23 -- Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
10. God is Able to do MORE>>>>His Ability is --- Incredible, Outrageous, and Extravagant. He exceeds the Expectation…You Get more than what you expect…God is Faithful. God is Able..
· God didn’t make just a single drop of water He made Oceans of water
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· God didn’t create just 1 star – God made Galaxies
· God didn’t just make a single kind of bird – God created 1,000s kinds of birds
· God didn’t just make a hill – God made the Rockie Mountains
· God didn’t just make the Sun – God Sunsets and Sunrises….
· He Exceeds all the Expectations…
· He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all we ask or imagine – Above and Beyond all…He Exceeds the Expectations with Excellence – He’s God.
11. There are No Limits to His Love
· No Boundaries to His Blessing
· No Fences withholding His Faithfulness
· No Lines drawn separating us from His Salavation
· No GuardRails against His Grace
· No Containers holding His Compassion
· No Restrictions to Experiencing His Righteousness
12. If God is able to do all that – what can He do with your Life?
· What can He do with your Heart? With your Hands? With your Talents? With your Gifts?
· What can He do With Your Family? With your Friends? With you at School? With you at work?
· What can He do with your Future? With your Potential? With your Love?
· What can He do with your Challenges? With your Weakness? With your Problems? With your Disappointments?
· God is Able to do far more and abundantly beyond ALL we ask or think..
· 1 Corinthinas 2:9 -- as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"- NIV
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13. By the way – I am Glad that God is not limited to what I ask or think – because there are times when my askin’ is lackin’ and my thinkin’ is stinkin’.
. Another Surprise – God’s Power – God’s “Able to do immeasurably more power!” His “FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL I can ask or think” Power? Guess where this Power is. Guess where this Power works.
2. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
3. This word - translated power, if transliterated into English, would be our word for dynamite. Dynamite Power. Explosive Energy. Awesome Ability. There is Tremendous power given and at work within us. God’s Power in us.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
The second prayer in this epistle (verses 14-21) is addressed to the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The petitions of the prayer are five: 1.
To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. 2. That
Christ may dwell in your heart. 3. To comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth and length and depth and height. 4. To know the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge. 5. To be filled with all the fullness of God. The
Holy Spirit who gave this prayer wants God's people to know more of Christ,
to feed on Him and by knowing the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
to be filled unto all the fullness of God. Think of the dimensions of this
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love! We are to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and
length and depth and height. But who can know all this? It will take
eternity to comprehend it all. Look at the outstretched arms of the blessed
One on the cross! Here we behold the breadth. "Come unto Me all"--that is
the breadth of His love. The length is from eternity to eternity. The first
chapter told us of the fact that before the foundation of the world He
thought of us. He loved us before we ever existed. His love has no
beginning and no end. it is an eternal love with which He loveth us.
And the depth! How deep, oh! how deep did He go down! The manger? The
boyhood days in Nazareth? The manhood when He had not where to lay His
head? The life that spent and was spent? Ah! the depths are far deeper. Let
the hours of darkness give the answer, when He descended into the deep,
dark waters of judgment and God's face was hidden from Him. Shall we ever
know the depths of His love?
The height takes us into the heaven of heavens. Look into an opened
heaven! See the glory-light! Behold there on that throne, there sits, not
an angel, but a man! "We see Jesus who was made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor." And into
that glory He has taken us. His love could never stop short of that. Where
He is there the objects of His love shall ever be with Him. "The glory Thou
hast given me I have given them." Oh! the breadth, the length, the depth,
the height!
"To know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge." We are to know
something which passeth knowledge. It is a paradox. We know that love, and
the more we know it the more it passeth our knowledge. Shall we ever know
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fully the love that passeth knowledge? This ever must be our blessed
occupation to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. And what
are the consequences? "That ye may be filled unto (not with) all the
fullness of God." In the measure in which we know the love of Christ and
comprehend the dimensions of this love, in the measure in which we have
Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith and are rooted and grounded in love,
in that measure shall we be filled unto all the fullness of God.
The blessed doxology ends this wonderful section of God's highest
revelation. "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him
be glory in the church, in Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end, Amen." What assurance and what encouragement to pray. Let us ask much
in spiritual things and He will do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think.
1 John 4:13
13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
John says that we can know, not assume, not wish for, not hope for, not long for, but rather know and then rely on the love of God.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14
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And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
So we are not left with mystical website to connect with the divine, but a real flesh and blood personality. His name is Jesus!
This very Jesus said:
John 14:6-9
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
There is a way to approach God, draw close, to intimacy, to have your prayers heard and answered and based on historically reliable record, on a real person, not just a ghost or a mystical satellite.
Rom 5:5-11
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
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7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Apparently, today many still don’t feel God’s presence, even though almost every church provides a time of worship for its congregation.
There is a sense of reality that is found in surveys done by the George Barna group among regular church-going adults:
Ø One third do not experience God’s presence.
Ø Half of all regular church-going adults admit that they have not experienced God’s presence at any time during the past year.
Ø The younger the adult, the more likely they are to state God is a distant impersonal reality for them.
I really believe it breaks the heart of God that his people do not come near him and experience him. Church is NOT supposed to be DEAD!
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The scripture, “draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you”! We have to have confidence that God will keep His word to cleanse us, when we trust Him.
Draw near to God by faith in His Word; He will draw near to you.
2. ATTRITION: Allowing God’s power present in you to weaken the control of sin.
By faith you come to God and as you come to God, allow some room for God’s Spirit to maneuver in your lives. I believe that’s what James calls his readers to sensitivity about our sin and shortcomings. “Wash your hands, you sinners”
Recognize that just like our laundry, we get dirt and grime on us; we need to clean it up. We also take care of our bodies too, take shower or bath. Or else clothes and body will stink! It’s just that simple!
In biblical thinking, the term “hands” has the connotation of actions. Even today we say, “I wash my hands clean of this” to declare we are innocent of wrongdoing.
If you want to gain more power and presence of God it is possible, but as we approach God with confidence but our actions, behavior, conduct must become clean as well.
We need to become sensitive to God’s Spirit telling us what to clean up in our lives. We cannot live like the devil everyday and come Sunday expect God to show up.
The power of sin kind of like forest fires … feed it by behaving according to it’s desires and it grows bigger and brighter and consumes you!
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3. Attraction:
The power of sin has a drawing force of attraction. It entices, its feel good for a season!
When James says “purify your hearts, you hypocrites."
“Purifying your hearts" refers to refining our motives, attitudes, and our very thoughts that are against what God wants for us.
Ø Sin blinds us.
Ø Sin burdens us with worry, guilt, & fear.
Ø Sin hardens our hearts.
Ø Sin deceives us.
Ø Sin separates us from God.
So much of Christian life is trivialize to just mean stopping bad behavior, so rules galore are set up to stop sin. The problem is there aren’t enough rules to stop sin; it’s too massive of a problem. We MUST HAVE THE POWER OF GOD!
Turning to God and changing from those actions or attitudes that God despises requires you to allow God to deepen His work in you, by examining our thoughts and feelings.
We will break down those barriers to feeling God’s presence and power in our life when we give up and simply admit our hearts are totally evil.
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There is an old rhetorical question that asks, "If you feel distant from God, who moved?" The answer is "you". You see, God doesn’t move. He doesn’t come and go. He doesn’t show up for a while and then disappear.
Ps 121:3
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Ps 139:7-10
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
James’ advice is to "come near" to God and have “clean hands” and “pure hearts”. How can we do it practically?
Here are 5 action points for getting God’s power in your life.
1. Claim His Promises. Throughout the Bible, God promises that He will never leave or abandon us. Hebrews 13:5 records, "God has said, ’Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’"
Matthew 28:20 records this promise from Jesus, "I will be with you always, even until the end." These are promises for us to claim, to hold on to, to place our trust in, to make it our own.
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2. Operate on Faith. Feelings follow decisions of the will to operate by faith. Instead of getting depressed or discouraged, make the decision to live by actually trusting that God’s power is active and available in your life.
Basically, operate on the assurance that His presence is in your life rather than assuming it isn’t. Since He is there make steps of faith and enter into His Presence by faith, not by feeling, claiming His promises.
The writer of Psalm 63 also struggled with feeling separated from God. What did he do when feeling separated from God? He chose to worship. Worship can bring you face-to-face with God.
3. Repentance by dependence.
In other words, trust God to constantly work in you. Don’t just listen to your heart!
Jer 17:9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
4. Empty Yourself Into Ministry.
There are a couple of very important biblical principles at work here.
First, we can only receive after we give. Jesus taught, "Give, and it will be given to you" [Luke 6:38]. It is only when we give of ourselves on God’s
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behalf that we create space for Him to fill us. Basically, it is the same concept as a sponge. A sponge can only absorb so much. It needs to be wrung out so that it can receive more.
Second, God attaches a very special promise of His presence being with those who give according to His will. Feeling God’s presence is linked with our giving of ourselves in ministering to others.
In Matthew 25, Jesus taught this same concept about Himself. When describing what it means to be a faithful follower of His, He says, "’For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
Then these righteous ones will reply, ’Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’…’I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" [25:35-40].
We touch God, as we touch others!
Do you want to feel more of God’s power in your life? Give more of yourself in ministry. Adjust your schedule.
Ø What does your daily schedule look like?
Ø Do you even have any room for meeting with God?
Ø Are you even making the attempt to spend time daily with God by reading the Bible or praying?
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If you really want to feel God’s power in your life, make some time for Him each day.
5. Recall God’s Activity.
Eph 2:12-13
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Recall, remember, from memory. We have to understand it has always been the grace of God that has brought us near to Him.
It is in His presence where we feel more of God’s power in our life. We need everyday to keep this remembrance, it’s all because of the precious and wonderful favor of God that we can draw near and have Him draw near to us.
