Ephesians 1:15 – 23: I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[a] toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God[b] put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
OPEN THE EYES OF OUR HEARTS (May 24, 2020)
Text: Ephesians 1:15 -23
There is the story about a Biblical scholar who was at his friend’s house. His friend wanted to show off his telescope. At first, Nicholas Thomas Wright used his own binoculars to scan the horizon. He spotted a couple of ships going by. When he switched to his friend’s telescope he was amazed to those two ships and beyond. He could see the names on the sides of the two ships not to mention the people walking to and from the dock. He was able to see with sharper and clearer vision other military and commercial ships of varying sizes beyond those first two ships he spotted. Obviously, the telescope was much more powerful. (N. T. Wright. Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, pp. 14- 15). Paul spoke about the “eyes of the heart” being opened for all believers. How do we see God’s working in our lives? Do we have enough of God’s light in our lives to see His call on our lives? Do we have faith, and enlightenment, hope and power only as far as the eye can see?
FAITH
What does your faith mean to you amid the coronavirus crisis?
1) Lenses matter: When it comes to having faith, the lenses we use matter. We live in a world where people are bound by the limits of what they can see with their physical sight. “Author James W. Moore tells a wonderful story that appeared in an Atlanta newspaper some years back. A young mother was trying to get her young son to take some liquid medicine. The little fellow was being stubborn as only a child can. He closed his mouth as tightly as he could, shook his head furiously from side to side and even hit at the spoon with both hands. He was not going to take the medicine. The young mother tried everything. She pleaded, she begged, she threatened--all to no avail. Finally she couldn’t take it any longer. She threw down the spoon herself, and fled from the room. Reaching her bedroom she flung herself across the bed and broke down in tears of frustration and helplessness. >>>>>>>>> In a few minutes she heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. Curious about what was happening, she wiped the tears from her eyes and made her way in the direction of the mirth. She discovered that her mother had solved the problem. She had mixed orange juice with the medicine and put the concoction in a water pistol and was squirting into the mouth of her delighted grandson. (James w. Moore. Seizing the Moments. Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 2001, p. 47). Like this grandmother, God gives us a new way to look at things. Paul tells us that Christians learn to walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7).
2) Dust covers: Our enemy the devil, aka Satan, uses the dustcover effect on people that he has blinded to the truth.
Have you ever taken pictures with the old style camera only to discover you left the dust cap on? I knew of a man who did that while he was on vacation after he had used a whole role of film. He got mad and threw the lens cap in the bay. Paul describes the dust-cover effect like this: 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. (4) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Darkness hates the light which why Satan would prefer to keep people in the dark. Even the coronavirus cannot squelch the Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Does your faith help you to see beyond the horizon?
1) Limits: “The horizon is the line that forms the boundary between earth and sky. The English word ‘horizon’ came from the Greek word ‘horos,’ which means ‘limit.’ The horizon is the limit of one’s vision. Look at life’s many horizons. Look at the horizon Christopher Columbus faced. For centuries people in Europe looked out at the Atlantic Ocean and its western horizon. Some said there was nothing beyond that blue horizon. Spain showed that idea by its coat of arms. It pictured ‘the Pillars of Hercules’ (the landmasses of Europe and Africa that came close at the Strait of Gibraltar). Across the coat of arms were the words: ‘No More Beyond.’ Then, in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He ventured past that western horizon. When Columbus returned to Spain, the king changed the words on the coat of arms. From then on the words were: ‘More Beyond.’ (James w. Moore. Seizing the Moments. Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 2001, p. 47). Again we are reminded that Paul spoke about the “eyes of the heart” being opened for all believers. How do we see God’s working in our lives?
2) The resurrection and beyond: Jesus did not just resurrect from the dead that, but he also ascended back into heaven. Acts 1:9 -11: When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (NRSV). The ascension reminds us that we have a lot of work to do before Jesus comes back!
ENLIGHTENMENT
When it comes to faith, and hope do we get hung up on whether or not we are qualified?
1) Improvement potential: Jesus sees us not as we are but who we can become! When he was first called to be a disciple, Peter did not see that he was qualified. Rev. Gene Gregory (Pastor of River Life Church) summed it up like this: “Born Simon, called Peter. “Rockman.” Peter, this was a strange name given for the unstable son of Jonas who appeared to have in him nothing of the steadfastness of a rock. >>>>> Someone once noticed that Andrew Carnegie had a lot of millionaires working for him. When asked why this was he replied, “They weren’t millionaires when they started working for me. When you mine for gold, you don’t look for the dirt, you look for the gold.”” (Quoted from Sermoncentral.com). That is the way Jesus is with us, when all we could see was the dirt, Jesus looks for the gold in us!
2) Groomed by grace: It has been said that “Grace is God’s special favor freely given to undeserving people”. (Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quotebook. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997. P. 178). All of us who have been transformed by God’s grace understand that it is rooted in God’s unconditional love.
What are we doing with that qualification?
1) Focus of our calling: Did God call us to get wrapped in our own self-preservation? If self-preservation were the goal, then how could the church ever have grown and been fruitful with converts? It has been said that “The person who is wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle”. (John Trevor Davies. Lord of All . Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1951, p. 17).
2) Challenging questions: Taking Paul’s statements of affirmation within this text and turning them into questions can help us take a look at ourselves.
?What do people say about us when they hear about our faith?
?Does our faith cause people to give thanks to God (Ephesians 1:18)?
? Do they say that we are too wrapped up in ourselves that hinders our bearing fruit in leading others to Jesus Christ?
? Why would God give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation just to focus on ourselves (Ephesians 1:17)?
?Why would God fill us with His power unless God meant for us to help win new converts to Jesus Christ?
?Does our vision determine our outlook?
“The greatest calamity is to have eyes and not see”. Helen Keller
(Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quotebook. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997. P. 406).
It has been said that God does not call the qualified but He does qualify those whom He has called!
POWER
Why is Paul’s prayer of intercession so important?
Paul knew from his own experience how important prayer was for the opening of his eyes after his Damascus Road experience when he lost his sight (Acts 9:11).
1) Before and after: If you look at a Paul’s way of seeing things before he became a Christian, then you will see that Paul could physically see but spiritually he was blind. In Acts 9:8 we see that Paul went blind for three days which seems to echo the three days between Good Friday and Easter when Paul’s eyes were opened (Acts 9:18) and something like scales fell from his eyes.
2) Our transformation: The prayerless are powerless. “Peter Marshall once began a Senate session with this prayer, "O Lord, forgive us for thinking that prayer is a waste of time, and help us to see that without prayer our work is a waste of time." https://sermons.com/search/results?term=Easter%207&category=sermon&type=Year%20A&sermon_filters=Illustrations&page=1 In Paul’s prayer of intercession, He prays for the insight of that Body of Christ, in the church at Ephesus, asking that the eyes of their hearts will be opened so that they will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call to them.
Why is our calling so important?
1) Calling and service: Frederick Buechner once said, “The place God calls you to is the place your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet”. (Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quotebook. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997. P. 44). God calls us to salvation through Jesus Christ. The second part of our calling is when God dispatches us to service through reaching others with the Gospel. We can discern the call because we have a relationship with the Lord.
2) Wisdom and revelation: Again, we can ask “Why would God give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation just to focus on ourselves (Ephesians 1:17)? Why would God fill us with His power unless God meant for us to help win new converts to Jesus Christ?” 3) The Body of Christ: God is at work through the church to fill an empty world that is full of itself, with the salvation that only God can provide. Jesus Christ is the king above all kings because God the Father placed everything in heaven, on earth and under the earth, under the feet of Jesus Christ---God the son. John 3:16 is a reminder of the reach of God’s love to save all of us who live in a fallen world.
How fruitful are we in making new disciples? Membership in many Korean churches involves more than "walking the aisle." In fact, a lot of American Christians would be wanting for a church if the same standards were utilized here in the United States. The requirement for membership in many Korean churches is not only a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but a convert at your side as well. Not only must you believe in Christ, but you must lead someone else to the Savior before you can become a church member. Based upon our Korean brothers' standards, would you qualify for church membership? (Raymond McHenry. ed. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes And Other Notes. [quoted from: * "The Acts of a Growing Church," Rick Warren, Leadership Lifters 50]. Third Printing. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004). Even though this text does not mention the idea of being fruitful, it does seem to imply it. God is filling the church with the fullness of Christ so that the church can fill the world!
God is filling the church with the fullness of Christ so that the church can fill the world! Has the light of Christ opened your eyes---the eyes of your hearts to see your calling? How many disciples have we made for God’s kingdom? In every heart there is a throne. Is Jesus the king of yours? In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
