Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Theme: Prayer
Title: The Power of Prayer
In this passage we see Paul praying for his readers. He begins with a prayer of Praise for their loyalty, faith and love, moving to a time of intercession for them to receive greater wisdom and revelation and ends on a note of thanksgiving for God's Power that has been revealed through Jesus our King and is available to us as Christ's Body.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world and from the Holy Spirit who brings New Life and seeks to restore us into the image of Jesus our King and Savior.
Is there any greater power on earth than the power of Prayer? How we answer that question will show how important prayer is for each one of us. Let me go ahead and give you the correct answer - Prayer is the greatest power on earth yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Prayer is the very means by which the LORD transforms us. Prayer is the deepest way we can show our love for the LORD and for one another. After all, what greater ministry, gift or service can we do for someone than to spend time with our LORD interceding for their salvation, their welfare and for them to be the recipient of God's blessings and favor ?
One of the greatest acts of love displayed in Old Testament is the sacrificial love that Queen Esther portrayed when she went in front of her husband the king of all Persia to plead for the salvation of her people, the Children of Israel. Esther puts her own life on the line to gain his audience to intercede for her people. The Bible tells us that Esther was led to take this action after spending three days and nights in prayer and fasting.
The Queen could have denied her heritage and save her own life while allowing the Children of Israel to be annihilated. She could have retreated to the safety of her palace. But her love for the LORD and her people was too great. She was willing to sacrifice her own future and personal safety for her people. Now, that's the power of prayer and love this morning.
We see a similar event occurring in the life of Moses. In Exodus 32 (32:30-33) and Dt. 9 (9:13-14) Moses is once again interceding for the Children of Israel after yet another time of great rebellion against the LORD. This time however there is a twist. The LORD promotes the idea of merely annihilating all the Children of Israel and starting a whole new people through the lineage of Moses. The Bible tells us that Moses stood in the gap for the Children of Israel interceding with the LORD to forgive His People and grant them mercy, grace and love.
Once again what an act of love and prayer. How would we respond if the LORD had given us that opportunity? The opportunity to begin all over again through our own family? To no longer be known as the Children of Abraham but to be known as the Children of Moses. That had to be quite a tempting offer. The Bible tells us that Moses' love for the Children of Israel was too great for such an act of selfishness. Instead, his love for them compelled him to intercessory prayer for their salvation.
Our passage this morning focuses on Paul's deep love for the Christians who lived around the area of Ephesus. It's a love that eight years earlier that had driven him to share the message of Jesus with them in the first place. It's a love that had compelled the Apostle to lay hands on them to receive the out pouring of the Holy Spirit. It's a love that had led the Apostle Paul to spend nearly three years teaching them and instructing in the ways of Jesus.
Now, some five years later the Apostle is sending them a letter. Because of his imprisonment, he is unable to come and teach them in person. So, he does the next best thing. He sends them a letter in hopes that what he includes in it will help them grow deeper in their life in Christ. He wants them to remember that salvation is by grace through faith alone and not through any human works or human striving. He wants to remind them what it means to live a life of Christ likeness. He wants to remind them how important it is for them to be unified in heart, mind and soul. He wants to remind them that together they can defeat the forces of evil. And he wants to remind them to help one another grow in love, patience, humility and gentleness.
Again, it is remarkable thing that Paul writes to his friends. After all, he is in prison for the sake of Christ and could have allowed his circumstances to get the best of him. All the Apostle would have had to do was to deny Christ and in a matter of days he would have been a free man. The Jews would have dropped their charges against him and he would no longer need to appeal to Caesar. He could have then returned to Jerusalem and lived out the rest of his life as a well to do Pharisee. One denial and his former life would have been restored.
But Paul would not deny Jesus. He would rather be in chains under the threat of death than deny the power of the Resurrection. Instead of hiding, Paul does what he can to promote the cause of Jesus. He sends as many letters as he can to share the message that God through Jesus has made a way for mankind to be rescued, redeemed and restored. He sends a letter to as many churches as he can to help them understand that in Jesus the New Age of Salvation has begun.
This morning, let's focus our hearts and minds on verses 15- 23 where Paul lifts up this amazing prayer for his readers. It is a prayer that begins with a note of praise, continues to a time of intercession and then ends on a high note of thanksgiving. It is a prayer that we need to receive this morning and one that we in turn need to pray for others. Again, it is a prayer that comes from a heart of Christ-centered agape love.
+ Paul begins his prayer with a note of praise ( v. 14-16)
Paul begins by praising the LORD for the loyalty, faith and love that the people of Ephesus and the surrounding area have been displaying. Even though Paul is some 1, 200 miles away in Rome he hearts still beats for his friends around Ephesus. No doubt, through people like Silas, Apollos, Timothy and others he has been hearing some fantastic reports of all that has been going on in the lives of the early Christians around Ephesus.
Paul has heard of their great faith and loyalty to Jesus. It was a faith and a loyalty that had been greatly tested inside and outside of the church. There had been those who had arisen inside the church who were doing their best to cause great confusion and discord. There were those who desired to split the church apart into Jewish and Gentile factions believing that Jews still should isolate themselves from Gentiles. There were those who wanted to deny that the power of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Ephesian Gentiles.
There were those outside of the Church who were disgusted with the Good News of Jesus. They did not believe that Jesus, some Jewish prophet could be God's Only Son. They did not believe that Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life. They did not believe in the power of the Resurrection nor in the power of the Infilling presence of the Holy Spirit. Instead, they sought a revival around the pagan worship of the gods and goddesses. They believed that it would only be through Diana, through Artemis, through Nike or one of the other gods that true salvation could be experienced.
There were also those who believed that Christianity and its beliefs were a serious threat to the Empire. They believed that those who followed Jesus believed that He was the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and not Caesar. They believed that if Christianity were allowed to spread it would ultimately destroy the Roman Empire. So, they wanted Rome to crush the Early Church and removed its threat. So, we see that the disciples of Jesus were facing tremendous trials that arose from both inside and outside the Church.
At any moment a disciple of Jesus could be attack by either a government official for treason or by a zealot disciple of one of the gods. Now, we can see why the Apostle is praising the LORD for his readers' loyalty and faith to the cause of Christ. In spite of all the inward and outward pressures they had keep remained solid. They had keep their first love towards Jesus. More than prosperity, social standing and even personal safety they had remained true to their faith in Jesus.
And not only had they remained true to their faith they had over and over again displayed their agape towards one another. While Paul does not go into great detail what all of this meant one can be assured that it including such things as:
- acts of charity (kindness) - bearing one another's burdens
- forgiving one another - intercessory prayer -living in peace
All of this causes us to contemplate the notion that if Paul were writing a letter to our church or to the churches in our area what would be the things that we are doing that would motivate him to praise God? Would he praise the LORD for our faith? Would he praise the LORD for our loyalty? Would he praise the LORD for the love that we share with one another and those around us? Would our acts of kindness, our time spent in intercessory prayer, our unified spirit and our ability to forgive be of such a measure that it would cause the Apostle to praise the LORD for how we are being imitators of Him?
It's something for us to take some time to think about isn't it?
+Paul goes from praise to praying for new wisdom, knowledge and revelation ( 17-18 )
How often today do you see those items on anyone's prayer list? How often do we put "wisdom, knowledge and revelation" on the top of our prayer lists? For the most part when you look at a church's prayer list there is name after name of someone who desires some type of physical healing. Physical healings lead the way.
Now, that's not wrong. In fact, the Apostle James tells us:
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the LORD." (James 5:13-14 ESV)
Therefore, our prayer lists should include those who are seeking some type of emotional and/or physical healing. We should encourage people who are seeking to be healed to be anointed and prayed over by their church leaders and friends. We should intercede for them and believe that healing is just as real today as it was in the time of the Early Church.
However, can you imagine going to a Church Service where the congregation would spend time praying for people to receive wisdom, knowledge and new revelations from the LORD? Can you image that being a priority? Can you imagine what would happen if we did?
Listen again to some words that we find written by the Apostle James. In chapter 3:17ff we read these words he writes concerning wisdom:
"But the wisdom from above is pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
WOW!
Both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle James have hit on a vital key. We humans can only see and understand a small portion of what the LORD desires for us to see and understand. Some of that of course is due to the Fall but much of it is dull to the dullness of our hearts and lives.
We need to understand this morning that in Christ and through His Holy Spirit there is a deep well of revelation, wisdom and knowledge at our disposal. But in order for us to receive it, we must allow the LORD to renew our hearts, our minds and souls. We must go to the LORD with open hearts and minds. We must go ready for the LORD to fill us anew with His Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul here is praying with a secure confidence that the LORD will increase his readers' wisdom and knowledge and will show them new revelations of His power and grace. Paul is assured in his own heart that the greatest need of these early Christians is not physical health nor monetary wealth or even personal safety. In Paul's heart and mind, the greatest need for his readers is for them to possess the wisdom and knowledge of the LORD. For Paul the greatest need for them is to be recipients of God's great revelations.
The Apostle here is reflecting the same attitude that we see being displayed by a young King Solomon back in 2 Chronicles 1:7-12. The story goes that the LORD came to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask whatever he wanted and the LORD would grant it to him. Solomon responds by praising the LORD for His great mercy and love. He then asks only that the LORD will grant him the wisdom and knowledge needed to be a faithful leader of God's People. The young King did not ask for great fame or fortune. He only desired that the LORD increase his ability to be a true and faithful servant.
The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY was so impressed with this young man's heart that not only was he granted great wisdom and revelation but great riches and fame as well. The Bible tells us that no king before or after King Solomon possessed more riches, more wisdom or was held in more esteem than him. The Bible tells us that the LORD granted all Solomon's requests and much much more.
All of this makes us wonder - what would happen if more churches and church leaders ask for an increase in godly wisdom, knowledge and revelation? I wonder what would happen if those requests were at the top of our prayer list for ourselves, our families and our Church? I wonder what bits of wisdom and knowledge the LORD would graciously share with us? I would want the Lord would want to reveal to us?
- Would we be able to more clearly see the heart of Jesus and therefore be compelled to reach out to those like the Woman at the Well (John 4)?
- Would we be able to counsel more intelligently like Hushai did for King David (2 Samuel 17)?
- Would we be able to see oncoming danger like the Prophet Elisha did and therefore was able to help his friends avoid disaster ( 2 Kings 6)?
- Would we be able to receive a deeper revelation that would enable us to be there for people like Philip was for the Ethiopian eunuch ( Acts 8)?
- Would we better know the leadings of the Holy Spirit ( Acts 13 )?
My sense is things would be a great deal better for us as individuals, for us as families and for us as the Church of Jesus Christ in general if we were to join the Apostle Paul in interceding for one another in the areas of wisdom, knowledge and revelation. One of the wonderful results of prayer is that "in prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God's thoughts after Him, to desire the things He desires, to love the things He loves." (Richard Foster - Celebration of Discipline)
Today, let us commit to praying for ourselves and others to be open to receive God's gifts of wisdom, knowledge and revelation. Let us go to the LORD in earnest so that we might be ever more holy and blameless.
+Paul ends his prayer with a note of thanksgiving for the Resurrection Power that has been given to all of them through the LORD Jesus Christ (v. 19 -23)
One of the interesting stories this year in Major League Baseball involves a young man by the name of Aaron Judge. By baseball standards he is a giant. Aaron stands 6' 7" tall and weighs more than 280 pounds and he can hit a baseball. In fact, he can hit a baseball a long way. Already this year he has hit the ball multiple times over 500 feet.
The other night in the All Star Home Run Derby he made hitting home runs look so easy. He won the event going away. So, how does he do it? Well, his size does help. But more than anything he swings from his core. He gets all his quickness and his strength from his core.
Having a strong core is essential for any athlete. If you have ever watch that show American Ninja's you know what I mean. They too have to have phenomenal strength, agility, quickness and tenacity. And as you look at those who make it to the top and who win you notice very quickly that they have a solid core.
That is to say, they have a complex series of muscles that provides their strength, stability and flexibility. Your core is more than you stomach muscles. Your core extends far beyond your stomach muscles and includes everything beside your arms and legs. Your core is incorporated in almost every movement you do with your body. The better your core the better athlete you are. The better your core the more you can do physically. All of your power comes from your core.
The core of the Christian Life is the power we receive through our Lord Jesus. It's the power that God used when he raised Jesus from the dead. It's the power that Jesus possess as ruler and authority over everything in heaven and on earth. It's the power that Jesus wants to offer His Church.
Jesus' power is the only power that can help us today. It is the power of the Resurrected Christ that comes through the infilling presence of His Holy Spirit. It is a power that is above all power. It's the power of Life and of the New Age.
Paul's hearers were well acquainted with the notion of power.
- All around them were signs of the power of the Roman Empire. Rome's Imperial Iron Fist made sure that everyone knew how they should behave and who they should fear. In a moment's notice one could be struck down or exiled by that power.
- His readers knew also of the supposed power of the gods and goddesses. Ephesus was filled with Pagan Temples that were to be the power stations of Artemis, Diana and Cesar.
+Artemis was suppose to possess the power of healing and regeneration. However, cross her and she could also bring about any number of plagues and diseases.
+Diana was suppose to possess the power to procreate and to grant political and financial power and position. However, cross her and she could make you infertile, destroy your political career and led you to bankruptcy.
+Caesar was suppose to be God on Earth along with being mankind's High Priest. Caesar was the one who grants life and liberty. However, fail to worship Caesar and one risked not only physical death but spiritual death as well.
Aside from these there were other temples dedicated to the worship of gods and goddesses like Nike, Heracles, Primpus, Dionysus and Bes. Each one of these gods or goddess were seen to have great power to either bring good or evil into a person's life.
The great danger with all the gods and goddesses was that you were never quite sure as to whether you had appeased them or not. They were capricious by nature. Even if you brought a great sacrifice you could never be assured that your sacrifice was warmly received. Also, your sacrifice could be counter minded by a sacrifice given by an enemy who wished to do you harm. Instead, of your sacrifice bringing blessing it would be considered null and void. You always had to make sure that you sacrifice weekly if not daily to make sure that you keep the gods appeased and warn off any curses or dangers.
The Apostle Paul counter acts all of that by speaking of the true power that one can experience in Christ Jesus. The One True God is not capricious. The One True God has made a way for all mankind to be rescued and redeemed. The One True God has raised His Son Jesus Christ from the Dead and now all power and authority both in heaven and on earth are in His hands. There is no power greater than God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Paul shared the Good News about Jesus and His Power. Jesus power is not a power to destroy nor a power to create chaos. Jesus' power is not a power to condemn, instead, it is a power to grant forgiveness and mercy, to bring about reconciliation and to bring about New Life in the New Age now and to come.
Jesus' power is the power of Agape Love which is able to cast out all fear. Jesus' power is the power of the Resurrection which can do the impossible. Jesus' power is the power of the New Age which grants us the power to fulfill the Great Commission. Jesus' power is the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit which can cleanse us of all sin, take away the penalty and power of sin and enable us to lead a life of genuine humanness. Jesus' power brings all people together under God's protection, provision and prosperity.
Paul tells us that King Jesus has us as His hands and feet. Paul tells us that King Jesus has us as His change agents. We are to be His Ambassadors of Light and Salt on our earth. We are to be His agents sharing the Good News of Salvation with everyone. We are to be His agents that are to turn our world upside down. We are to be His agents establishing God's Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven.
This morning, we do not need to fear or to shy away from the Good News. We do not need to hide in the shadows or believe that Evil has to or should win. We today no longer have to be enslaved to sin, it sin's addictions or live a life of oppression and depression. And because we don't have to others do not have to as well. Jesus has made a way for all people regardless of gender, culture or color.
Paul reminds us that when Jesus rose from the dead through the power given to Him by His Heavenly Father a whole New Age arrived. The Age of God being King has arrived. The Age of Salvation and the Power of the Holy Spirit has arrived. There is no limit therefore what God's People may do for Him and for our earth this morning.
Our Lord Jesus did not raise from the dead to lead a defeated Church. Our Lord Jesus did not raise from the dead for us to live lives of defeat and despair.
Instead, Jesus our Messiah and our King rules both in Heaven and here on Earth.
Have you ever heard of a man named Lewis E. Jones? He was once a classmate of the world famous evangelist Billy Sunday. He also attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois and for years worked for the YMCA in Iowa, Texas and California. His claim to fame centered around his God given ability to write Gospel music and lyrics. One of his most famous hymns was written right around the beginning of the 20th century entitled "There is Power in the Blood".
This morning as we close I would like for us to sing "There is Power in the Blood".
It is a song that shares the wonderful message that we can be free from a life of sin. It's a song that talks about having victory. It's a song that talks about experiencing a life transforming event. It's a song that talks about experiencing the power of the Resurrection.
This morning we have looked at this prayer that Paul prayed for his readers.
-It's a prayer of praise to the LORD for their faith, loyalty and love
-It's a prayer of intercession for them to receive divine wisdom, knowledge and new revelations
-It's a prayer of thanksgiving for the Resurrected Power Jesus has for each and every one us. A power that by the Holy Spirit will lead us to a life of be renewed into the image of Jesus.
As we sing this song our altars are open for any who would like to come and
+Receive Jesus as Your Savior and LORD - you would like to repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Savior and LORD.
+Renew your faith and loyalty to Jesus your King
+Pray for God's Wisdom, Knowledge and Revelation
+Pray for the Resurrected Power of Jesus to help you live a victorious life and help you bring about God's Kingdom here on earth.
+Pray for someone you love this morning - interceding for them as the Apostle does for those he loved in and around Ephesus
+Pray a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the LORD for all the Good Things that He has done in your life. You would like to come and give God praise and thanksgiving.
This morning, as we sing let us ask the Holy Spirit to led us and guide us . Let us be ready to receive the mercy, grace and blessings and favor God has for all of us.
Song and Open Altar
