GOD IS ABLE...MORE THAN ABLE
Ephesians 3:14-20
Good morning everyone, glad that you have joined us in person or online,
If you would turn in your bibles to Ephesians 3:14-21, we will be there in just a minute.
Signs play a big part in our lives for direction, for instruction, and for information. But if you don’t read the sign, it is of no value to you. It may have value, but not for you because you did not take the time to read it. You can blame someone else for not getting that information… it was available but you choose to either not read it, read it later, or in most cases for signs on the road, you were distracted by something else and the sign got past you before you read it.
Illustration-
Back in the day, there was a song that stated- “long hair freaky people need not apply, so I stuck my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said you look like a fine upstanding young man and I think you’ll do, so I took off my hat and said imagine that that… me working for you…signs signs everywhere the sign.
You have to be old to remember that. But today there is a mem that said that this world is so messed up that “long haired freaky people can now apply…
We live in a different world and we live in different times…but we struggle all the same with life circumstances
Read Ephesians 3:14-20
We open this passage of Scripture the way we should find all Christians, We see Paul on his knees asking for God’s help.
To understand what is going on here...to find out why the Apostle Paul is on his knees, we need to go back to the beginning of the chapter. He is found stating that God has shown him the mysteries of the Gospel.
He is telling the readers that the mysteries of Christ was now being opened up to the Gentiles (Barbarians- anyone who was not Jewish) and that he was the chosen person that God would use to do that.
Chapter 3:8- Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me; to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Did you know that without the grace and anointing of the Holy Spirit...you cannot know the unsearchable riches of God?
That why the lord tells us in his word that “By grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works so that no one can boast.
(Eph.2:9)
In the third chapter of Ephesians, Paul is stating a fact that the mysteries of God have been revealed to the Gentiles.
It is through the church that God has chosen to do this.
It is through the Apostle Paul that the message of power through the Holy Spirit is relayed to the Ephesians and to the church universal.
You know that I have a heart for Evangelism, we see here an evangelism explosion...to include any Gentile with Jewish practice, had to be the hand of God on it.
We see Paul’s heart open up to God’s people and begin to share what God has shown him.
He is earnestly praying to God the Father for them. He has a humble and reverent position on his knee’s before God.
He is letting them know that “to know” God in the fullest extent, is to know him intimately.
What the apostle asks of God for these his friends, is a spiritual blessing.
This being the best blessings, and the most earnestly to be sought and prayed for by every one of us, both for us and for our friends.
He asks for spiritual strength for the work and duty to which they were called.
He asks God for specific things:
Prays that they would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit–verse 16
That they would be rooted and grounded in his love...verse 18
That the believer would be filled...to the fullness of God...verse 19
Our God is so big... So strong and so mighty!
If we would take God out of the box...we would see a breakthrough like never before.
He wants us to be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God!
No longer to do things in our own strength...but supernaturally be able to do things in the power of The Lord working in our lives.
Can you really understand how much the Lord loves you and me! Do you have any idea the depths that the Lord will go to be a part of our lives?
That God would want to be a part of our lives is amazing enough...
To love so much that He wants to fill us with His Spirit...To have a never ending supply of the Lord in our lives and to turn to him for a continuous filling, saturating our lives with His presence.
Prevenient Grace- The grace where the Lord went looking for us. We get it wrong...We think we found God. God has allowed us the privilege of finding him.
Here’s an observation!
God is able! God is definitely able to meet the needs of his people. (write it down)
He did not make or create one star...He has made a galaxy of stars.
He did not make just one bird...He made 1000's of kinds of birds
He did just make the sun...He made the sun to rise and He made it to set every night.
He exceeds all the expectations we can even imagine...
Illustration-
When I was a kid, I use to like to read comic books. That was before computers and Video
games. Long before VCR’S and DVD’S.
My favorites were Batman and Robin, Archie, and of course Superman!
I showed Debbie a tee-shirt I have that has a bunch of super heroes sitting in a circle and Jesus in the middle teaching them and the caption says…this is how I saved the world.
Something about super heroes and good guys- none like Jesus and what He has done for us.
But my favorite thing about the comic books was what was in the back of the book. It was the advertising ...all the cool stuff that you could buy...the decoder rings, Gadgets that let you look around corners, gum that made you teeth look black.
I remember saving for ex-ray glasses...you know the ones I mean ! Where you could look at the bones in your hand ! I pictured that I could see the bones of everything !
I sent away for them and it seemed like it took forever. Finally there was a package in the mail. I opened it very carefully because I did not want to break the fragile glasses that would allow me to see skeleton’s. “The advertising would not lie...”
I put the glasses on..the plastic ear braces barely went over my ear, I looked through the magical devise..I stared at my hand...I blinked...Nothing I must need more light, so I ran outside..nothing !, maybe it was to much light..I ran in the bathroom and turned the light out...nothing ! All I got was a green and red image of my hand...I could not see through my hand.
I was disappointed...my expectations were not meet. This was one of my first disappointments.
Kind of like Ralphy from the movie Christmas Story from 1983 where he wanted a decoder ring and when he got it to decode the message…the message was to drink more ovaltine.
Everyone say ahhhhh... We all face disappointments!
With the Lord we always get what He promises.
The great thing is He keeps his promise and does not promise anything that He will not do
He does that through the very things that Paul is praying for the Ephesians and the church universal today.
He will strengthen us
He loves us unconditionally
He continues to want to be a part of our lives by continuing to fill us with his Holy Spirit
4 things God desires for our life and the church.
Write these down...
He wants us to have Spiritual power...that He would grant...that you may be strengthened with power.
Power was the first provision for his disciples.
(Acts 1:8) “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”
So power is Paul’s first provision for the church.
God empowers his people… that is a fact Jack! You can take that to the bank!
He desires his people to be empowered with His Spirit to do what He has called each of us to do.
Paul is praying the people of God know the fullness of the Spirit.
To be sanctuaries, vessels used with the Lord’s power, presence, love, and His glory!
Possible Yes! When we allow His Spirit to flow in us and through us to a world that desperately needs Him.
God wants us strong on the Lord to be able to resist the temptations of the world-to infuse us with his sanctifying power and presence…into the inner man!
He wants the believer to have spiritual permanence , that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Christ may take up his permanent abode in your hearts.
Christ may live in your hearts by your faith.
He is not going to leave us or forsake us...He will be there for us.
That we would allow Him to take up residence in our lives.
The inner man that he talks about …
Human reason- he wants God’s people to understand and better discern what was right and wrong according to God’s principals and not our own selfish ways. Christ to give each of us wisdom to keep pure and safe.
Conscience- that we would become sensitive to the things of God. If we are not careful, you can become dulled by this world that wants to pull us away from the things of God.
God’s Will- most know what is right but we are not strong enough to do it- without Him, we are not strong enough to carry out the right intentions.
John Drinkwater-
“Knowledge we ask not, knowledge thou has lent. But Lord, the will-there lies our deepest need, grant us the power to build, above the high intent, the deed.”
The secret of strength is the presence of Christ in a believers life!
He wants the church to have spiritual provision. . Rooted and grounded in love.
He wants the church to have a deep root in the love of God.
The life source…the soil of God.
Having our roots so deeply implanted that we draw on the living waters that are available from Him only.
Psalm1:3- “He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields it fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”
He wants to church to have spiritual perception…May be strong to apprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ.
This is the greatest recorded prayer for the Christian Church except Jesus priestly prayer in John 17.
No greater or effective prayer has ever been prayed that was not motivated by a great pressing cause.
Clearly the cause that underlines the occasion of this prayer is the subject of the Salvation and unification of all men in the church, the body of Christ.
Equipping God’s people and the church to be all that God intended them to be.
Quote- Barclay expresses the cause for which Paul prays this prayer thus; “This world is disintegrated chaos: there is division and separation everywhere, between nation and nation; between man and man, within a man’s inner life”
If that is not enough...verse 20 is a verse that we should in still in our hearts.
That’s how we will close this morning-
20-“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever ! Amen
Our thinking verses God’s promises
we.......I can’t do it......................................God...You can do all things through Christ
I’m too tired...............................................Come to me, I will give you rest
.I can’t go on...............................................My grace is sufficient for you
It’s impossible............................................All things are possible with m I’m not able.................................................I am able!
