Have you noticed that one of the hardest things in this life to do is keep good news a secret?
Illus: Benjamin said, “Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
Illus: Walter Winchell said, “I usually get my stuff from people who promised somebody else that they would keep it secret.”
Illus: This reminds me of the story of a Rabbi who was getting a hair cut one day. When the barber was finished cutting his hair, the rabbi reached into his pocket to pay the barber. The barber said, “Aren’t you the Rabbi from down the street?” He replied, “Why yes, I am.”
The barber smiled and told him there would be no charge for the hair cut. The next morning, when the barber arrived at his shop there was a thank you note with a big bottle of wine at the entrance of the barber shop.
The next day the barber was cutting a priest’s hair. As he finished, the priest reached into his pocket to pay for the haircut when the barber asked, “Aren’t you the priest from the church around the corner?” The priest replied, “Yes, I am.” The barber then said, “Then your hair cut is free.”
The next morning, at the entrance of the barber shop, there was a thank you note with a big bottle of wine.
The next day a Baptist preacher went in for a hair cut. When the barber finished the cut, the Baptist preacher reached into his pocket for money to pay when the barber asked, “Aren’t you the Baptist preacher from down town?” The Baptist preacher said, “Yes, I am.” The barber then told him that his hair cut was free.
The next morning, when the barber arrived, there was at the barbershop door - SIX MORE BAPTIST PREACHERS!
Good news is hard to keep quiet.
Illus: I hate it when someone says, “I have good news to tell you, but I want you to promise me you will not tell anyone...okay?”
Listen, it takes every fiber in our bodies to keep good news a secret. It is pure torture to know good news and not be able to share it with someone else.
The apostle Paul knew the Lord intimately. He knew the Lord like few men ever knew Him, and in the book of Ephesians he did EVERYTHING he could to share with the Christians in Ephesus what they had IN CHRIST!
Paul knew the Lord intimately and he was certainly qualified to teach others.
So that we also might get to know the Lord intimately, let us look at several things from this passage in this message, and in the following message. First, let us look at...
I. THIS CHURCH’S POSITION.
Look at verses 15-16. We read, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.” In verse 15 Paul shows us two things having to do with the church at Ephesus.
A. Look at his awareness. “...after I heard...” Paul had heard about this PARTICULAR church.
He said, in verse 15, “Wherefore I also, AFTER I HEARD of YOUR FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS, and LOVE UNTO ALL THE SAINTS.”
IS THAT IMPORTANT? Yes it is, because, if you recall I told you at the beginning of this series that since Ephesus is not mentioned in some of the ancient manuscripts that some Bible scholars believed this letter was sent as a “circular letter, to be read to all the churches in that region.
Since no two churches are the same, it appears that he is addressing a PARTICULAR CHURCH in verse 15, which many believe to be the Ephesian church. In verse 15, Paul lets us know he is AWARE of this PARTICULAR CHURCH.
Verse 15 tells something else relating to this church.
B. Look at his acknowledgment. That is, he ACKNOWLEDGES two things he had HEARD ABOUT THEM.
Look at verse 15 again. We read, “Wherefore I also, AFTER I HEARD of YOUR FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS, and LOVE UNTO ALL THE SAINTS.”
Notice, first he talks about their...
1. Faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul ACKNOWLEDGES they had FAITH, but notice he wrote who they had faith in. THEIR FAITH WAS IN THE LORD JESUS. “...AFTER I HEARD of YOUR FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS...”
You see, today the problem is not that the world and church people do not have faith. The problem is that they have faith in the wrong things. That is, many of them attend church, not because they are TRUSTING IN THE LORD FOR SALVATION, but for other reasons.
Illus: If you stood out in front of Wal-Mart and asked people why they had come there, some would say:
- “I came to buy a birthday gift.”
- “I came to buy an anniversary gift.”
- “I came to buy something on sale.”
As you stood there and asked people why they came they would give you hundreds of reasons why they had come. And, everyone would probably be telling the truth.
However, if you stood in front of a large church where hundreds attended and asked them why they came to church, most would say, “We came to worship the Lord.” Why? Because that is why they should be there, and it would sound un-sacred and un-spiritual to say anything other than that. But, the fact is, that is not the reason many attend church.
Illus: A lady, who professed to be saved, visited a church and said she was looking for a church where the Word of God was preached. That church had a reputation for the preaching of God’s Word, but after she attended a few Sundays she did not come back. The pastor, concerned, paid her a visit and was surprised to find she had joined a very liberal church, but she would give him no particular reason. Later someone from the church she had visited asked why she chose to join the other church. She replied, “Well, they have bingo every week, and I love to play bingo!”
Illus: People like that remind me of the story of the two fellows in an airplane that was about to crash. Both had lived worldly lives and knew nothing about trusting in the Lord.
One said, “Joe, we are going to die in a few minutes. I guess we ought to do something religious in these last few minutes before we crash. Do you know of anything religious to say before we die?”
Joe said, “No, not really, but I used to live next door to a Catholic church and at night I would lay in bed with my window up in the summer time and I could hear them saying things.” The first man said, “Look we are about to crash in about 30 seconds, can you remember anything they said in those religious services?”
Joe looked up, trying real hard to remember. With only 15 seconds before they crashed, he said, “They said, ‘B-10, I-4, N-25...’” but before he could get b-i-n-g-o out, they crashed.
People attend church for all kinds of reasons, and many times it is for wrong reasons.
Paul ACKNOWLEDGED that the Christians at the church at Ephesus came for the right reason. They had their faith IN THE LORD JESUS! Also, he wanted us to know something else about the Ephesian Christians. In verse 15 he shows their...
2. Love for all the saints. Look again at verse 15. We read, “Wherefore I also, AFTER I HEARD of YOUR FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS, and LOVE UNTO ALL THE SAINTS.”
Notice how Paul connects OUR FAITH IN CHRIST to OUR LOVE FOR ALL THE SAINTS. That is, we WHO TRULY KNOW THE LORD have placed our faith IN HIM; WE CAN NOT LOVE HIM WITHOUT LOVING HIS CHILDREN.
Now that is interesting because we run across people who profess to be saved, yet they DO NOT love the other saints, or some LOVE SOME of the saints, BUT NOT ALL of them.
Illus: God’s Word says, John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
What about all these people who claim to be saved, but who hate other Christians? It is simple, God’s Word tells us they are not His disciples.
You can tell His disciples by their, “LOVE UNTO ALL THE SAINTS.” They will say, “I do not believe you have to go to church to worship God.” Listen, I have something better than that. If you have truly placed your faith IN CHRIST, and love Him, then WHY WOULD YOU NOT LOVE HIS CHILDREN AND WANT TO WORSHIP GOD WITH THEM?
People who do not love God would rather do anything than go to church and worship with God’s people, even if it means they have to sit home in a room, alone. YET THEY CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS.”
Most of these will say, “I do not like being around people.” Yet when they want something at Wal-Mart they do not use that as an excuse not to go to the store.
There is something wrong with a person if he does not want to be around his family...SOMETHING IS DESPERATELY WRONG.
Listen, if your love is VERTICAL (toward God), it will also be HORIZONTAL (love for all the saints). So, if you claim to have FAITH IN CHRIST, but do not love the saints, you need to take a second look at your faith. Why? Because it is not of God.
We are kidding ourselves if we say we know Him and do not love God and the saints.
This was a PARTICULAR church that PAUL was AWARE OF and HE ACKNOWLEDGED THEIR FAITH IN THE LORD and the LOVE THEY HAD FOR EACH OTHER.
These were genuine Christians and Paul said, verse 16, that he did not cease to give thanks for them and make mention of them in his prayers. However, they were like so many of today’s Christians. They did not know what they had IN CHRIST.
In the last few verses of this chapter, Paul shows the church of Ephesus at least two things. First,
II. THIS CHURCH’S PROVISION.
Look at verses 17-18. We read (prayers), “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”
One of the great needs of the church today is to get to know the God of the Bible.
Illus: We have young fellows all over this nation riding on their bicycles (Mormons), ringing doorbells, asking for a few minutes of people’s time to tell them about their religion.
Listen, the last thing people need to hear about is another kind of religion. What people need to hear about is CHRIST!
There is no religion on the face of the earth that has ever saved a person. CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR!
The Lord Jesus said, “I AM THE WAY.”
WHO IS THIS GOD THAT PAUL SAYS THEY SHOULD GET TO KNOW?
Paul shows us two things God would do for us. Look at verse 17. We read, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION in the knowledge of him.”
He tells us WHO GOD IS! He states, “...the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory...” Then he tells us more.
HOW DO WE COME TO KNOW GOD AS INTIMATELY AS PAUL DID?
Look at the last part of verse 17 again. We read, “...may give unto you THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM and REVELATION in the knowledge of him.” Paul mentions two things:
A. The spirit of wisdom. Wisdom is different from knowledge. Knowledge is something we have stored in our minds. Wisdom tells us how to take that knowledge and do something constructive with it.
In other words, it is not enough to just know about God. We must have the Spirit of Wisdom to show us how to use the knowledge we possess.
This is the first step in getting to know the God of the Bible.
Illus: This is why we have to send missionaries to the foreign lands to share with those people the knowledge of this gospel. This is why it is written in Romans 10:14-15, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
The lost people of the world can not be saved until they gain knowledge of the gospel. But, after many get saved, they still never come to know the Lord INTIMATELY. Why? Because they do not go to the next step, which is...
B. The spirit of revelation. Look at I Cor. 2:9-12. We read, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; THAT WE MIGHT KNOW THE THINGS THAT ARE FREELY GIVEN TO US OF GOD.”
The word “REVELATION” is translated from the Greek word, “apokalupseos,” which means: “To manifest, reveal, or unveil.
Have you ever wished that someone you knew, who had attended church all their life and had heard about God, but did not “know” God, would grow in their spiritual knowledge? You would give anything if you could get them past church membership, baptism, and even communion, and they would REALLY GET TO KNOW THE LORD.”
Illus: You want them to be like the lady in this well-known illustration. Her husband had died several years earlier and a friend of hers was trying to get her out into the social world again. All she would do was stay home and read books, but she finally consented to go out on a “blind” date. She was nervous because she had never been on a blind date in her life. However, when the time came, she was pleasantly surprised when she met the man. Since they did not know each other they both tried to find an interest they had in common to talk about.
He asked her, “What do you enjoy doing for relaxation?” She said, “I enjoy reading.” The man said, “That is interesting, I also like to read. Are you reading a book now?” She said, “Yes, I am reading one now, but to be honest with you I am not getting much out of it.” The man asked, “What is the name of the book?” She said, “This may shock you, but the author’s name is the same as yours.” She told him the name of the book and he said, “That does not shock me, because, I am the author.” The lady was very embarrassed. She went home, after enjoying her evening with the gentleman, and she picked up the book and began reading it again. But this time it was different. This time it seemed that every page was a joy to her heart. What made the difference? SHE HAD MET THE AUTHOR!
There are many people who have no interest in reading God’s word. They think it is boring. Why? Because they have never met the author. Listen, they will never know Him until He is unveiled in their hearts by the SPIRIT OF REVELATION.
Our churches are filled with people who desperately need THE SPIRIT OF REVELATION to enlighten them as to what they have IN CHRIST! Look at verse 18. We read, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” If we are going to KNOW HIM, we have to have THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION. God PROVIDES that WISDOM and REVELATION that the church needs.
Conclusion/Summary:
(#1 of Eph. 1:15-23)
I. THIS CHURCH’S POSITION.
A. Look at his awareness.
B. Look at his acknowledgment.
II. THIS CHURCH’S PROVISION.
A. The Spirit of Wisdom.
B. The Spirit of Revelation.
(#2 of Eph. 1:15-23)
III. THIS CHURCH’S POWER
A. Exceeding power.
B. Exemplifying power.
C. Enduring power.
D. Exalting power.
