OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO LUKE 11:1 and EPHESIANS 1
1. In Luke’s gospel, LUKE records for us a time when the disciples had a important question.
a. They were struggling with an issue. They were unsure…
b. How are we supposed to pray? Read passage…
2. Prayer has been a topic of discussion for many years.
a. Why pray? How often? How do we? Why should we pray?
Three men were arguing over the proper posture for prayer. The first man said that you should be on your knees with head bowed in reverence to the Almighty. The second argued that you should stand with head raised looking into the heavens and speak into the face of God as a little child. The third spoke up and said "I know nothing about these positions, but I do know this: the finest praying I’ve ever done was hanging upside down off the side of my roof!”
3. Prayer has been called one of the highest forms of communication available to man.
a. Think about it for a moment, God listens & responds to our prayers.
b. The Creator & Sustainer of the universe is interested in you and me!
4. The Bible is full of prayers and this morning we turn our attention to a prayer of Paul.
a. He has two in this epistle and they both give us great insight into both prayer and the heart of the apostle.
b. You’ll notice that Paul always prayed for spiritual things.
c. While we might focus our prayers on the physical and material realm, Paul aimed his prayers at the heart!
Before we move into Paul’s prayer, let’s cover vv9-14 as Paul continues to highlight the Spirit’s wonderful blessings to us.
I. (1:9-12) Abundant Blessings
1. (9-10) So that we are one in Him.
a. Not only has He forgiven us, chosen us, predestined us, washed us, cleansed us and elevated us… BUT
b. He’s made known to us by grace what the BIG PICTURE is!
c. God is moving everything forward to the time with Jesus Christ will rule over ALL things in heaven and earth!
d. It’s all taking us to Jesus. He is the pre-eminent one.
2. (11-12) We have obtained an inheritance.
a. Our inheritance is in Him. He has all we will ever need.
b. Not our 401k, not job security, not homes, cars, money…
c. Oh that His glory would be seen through His church.
d. His church… you and me… are the light of this world.
II. (1:13-14) Spiritual Security
1. (13) Sealed by the Spirit…
a. They heard the word of truth.
b. Literally means ‘to hear with understanding’.
Romans 10.9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
NOTE: God has ordained the preaching and teaching of God’s Word as a means of saving souls…
· Now not everyone receives the word… but seeds are planted.
· Jesus shared a parable about a sower… - Matthew 13.3ff
NOTE: Four seeds fell on four different places.
· Wayside: Doesn’t understand it and the wicked one rips off.
· Stony Places: Hears and is excited, but tribulation/persecution.
· Thorns: receives it but the cares of this world deceitfulness of riches take it away.
· Good ground: Hears, understands and bears fruit.
NOTE: 75% of all the seed is doesn’t take root. That’s sad.
· But 25% does… it what a crop that seed produces.
APP: You and I are spiritual farmers. Some of us are watering, some are sowing, but God gives the increase.
1 Cor. 3.6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
Now, to those who received and embraced the Word… you and me…
· We were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise! Great Picture.
NOTE: You’ll remember that Ephesus was a large and busy seaport.
· A place where goods were crated and sealed for transport.
· The seal was a ball of wax placed upon the box. The owner would then set his signet seal in the wax marking it as his alone.
· Receiving port, the signet mark was used to identify the owner.
APP: We are in the hand of God and no one will take you out!
He knows what you’re going through. We’re in His hand.
· If he allows some wind then it will be windy.
· If he allows rain, then we’ll get wet…
· Know that whatever he allows… we’re sealed. We’re in His hand.
2. (14) The Holy Spirit is sort of like a down payment
a. I’m His purchased possession, redeemed by His blood.
b. The Spirit in my life is the guarantee of our inheritance.
Philippians 1.6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
c. One day SOON, the Lord will claim His goods…
d. All of this is to the praise of His glory…
Notice again the reasons of these wonderful spiritual blessings that continue to flow in and through our lives…
· 1:6, 12, 16 – to the praise of the glory of His grace. His purpose.
This is the background of Paul’s prayer… He has Jesus on His mind.
· It’s to His glory… to His name… to His attention.
Isa. 48.11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
APP: That’s where we get in trouble… we begin to take the glory, begin to draw attention away from God and onto ourselves.
NOTE: Our times in Bible Study are specifically designed to point you to Jesus Christ & the Word of His Grace.
· We don’t want anything to draw away your attention from Him.
· So we provide a children’s ministry so that our kids can be pointed to Jesus in a way that they can understand.
· We have those comfortable seats… JUST KIDDING.
· We have a quiet atmosphere so the teaching of God’s word can be heard & digested with minimal distractions.
· WHY? Because Jesus is the most important person in this room!
· We want to minimize anything that would diminish Him.
III. (1:15-23) Spiritual Strength
3. (15-16) I pray for you constantly!
a. Oh, how Marie and I appreciate your prayers.
b. We need them. We covet them. We thank you.
NOTE: Paul was a prayer warrior. He was often on his knees seeking the Lord’s favor on behalf of others.
APP: Great men and women of God have always been and continue to be…. men & women of prayer.
· You can look at the life of any person God has used mightily and you will see great prayer lives.
· In the Bible there was Moses, David, Elijah, Joshua, John...
· In recent years there was Spurgeon, Moody, George Mueller…
· Before us is another man of prayer… Paul the apostle.
NOTE: This is the first of two prayers Paul includes in this letter.
· His prayers are fantastic. They are inspired prayers.
APP: Prayer is one of those ministries that can reach around the world while you sit in your prayer closet.
· AND in your prayer life, you will always have to fight the enemy.
· He will whisper things like, why did you say that, or what a dumb thing to ask God, or God isn’t interested.
· Satan does that because he knows prayer’s power.
It’s been said that you can do more than pray after you pray, but you really can’t do anything until you pray!
NOW it’s interesting who Paul is praying for…
· The believers in Ephesus are saints, blessed abundantly, given great spiritual insight, full of faith and love…
· Because of all that I’ve heard about you… I pray for you!
Q: Have you ever noticed our tendency to pray for those that are hurting, down, & discouraged.
· The ones in the middle of a trial. The backsliders… etc.
· Now of course, that’s right & proper… we should be.
BUT Paul here is modeling something different…
· He’s praying for those that are strong in the Lord.
· He’s laying his life down for the believers who are doing great!
APP: Satan often saves his strongest weapons and attacks for those that are walking with the Lord, strong in Him, flowing in the Spirit.
· Have you ever thought about it that way?
· It’s pretty amazing but true…
· Yes, we need to pray for the hurting…
· BUT OH How see need to pray for the strong too!
· They are only a step away from failure and destruction!
· And they are under intense pressure and warfare.
NOTE: In Paul’s prayer we see balance… He is thankful and watchful. His thanksgiving leads to intercession.
· When we studied through the book of Acts, we came across a powerful prayer in the early church… Turn to Acts 4.
· Faced with threats and imprisonment, look at their prayer.
· Notice how many times they used the word YOU instead of us, we, or I.
· They didn’t pray selfishly but wanted more boldness to go out and do more for the kingdom of God, no matter the cost!
· The place was SHAKEN and they were FILLED with the Spirit!
· SO Paul thanks the Lord and then prays for the saints…
4. (17) Opened Eyes for great spiritual insight.
a. Paul’s first request is that you know the Lord better.
b. Not know more about the Lord or what others may think about Him… but more about Him!
John 17.3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
APP: We should never come to that place where we think we know all we ever need to know about God!
· It’s a sad (AND PRIDEFUL) day when that happens.
· Oh how we need more and more of Jesus everyday of our lives!
· Turn to Philippians 3:8-10
IN the original language, the word for knowledge in v17 is the word, EPIGNOSIS, literally a complete, full knowledge, like an expert’s.
· Paul wants us to be an expert in the things of God.
· That we would know Him, His character, His desires, His heart for the lost, His grief over sin…
· As we meditate in His Word, soaking in all the precious truths.
Luke 6.40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
5. (18) Know the hope of your calling.
a. That the… eyes of your understanding would be opened.
b. So many Christians live today with eyes that aren’t opened.
c. BUT It’s amazing what the eye can see in faith.
Hebrews 11.1-3 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
NOTE: A man or woman of faith always sees more than the present circumstances present…
THINK AGAIN of Paul’s situation… he’s in the deepest, darkest, smelliest prison… in pain, perhaps starving…
· YET he’s praising & praying.
NOW there are two areas of understanding…
#1 – Know the Hope of your calling.
#2 – Know the riches of His glory of His inheritance in us.
The Lord wants us to know the HOPE of our calling & the riches.
· If we only knew what the Lord has in store for us and how rich we really are in the things that matter most!
APP: I believe that as this knowledge expands, your desire to see others saved increases. That they would share in God’s riches!
· The material riches of this world become SO unimportant.
· Our lives will be that of Abraham, he was a stranger and a foreigner upon the earth.
Hebrews 11.9-10 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
APP: Now this hope is not just a calling to the future, but it’s also a break with the past…
· Your life is precious to the Lord & He has delivered you from things that have tugged & pulled you away from spiritual riches.
NOW notice that Paul says you are His inheritance!
· In other words, you are God’s inheritance.
· Paul is praying that we would know how valuable we are to God.
· God places a high value on you and on me!
· Let’s turn to Matthew 13:44ff
NOTE: Jesus came into the world to seek you, to find you…
· He found that pearl: YOU & he bought you with His own blood!
APP: I think that if and when we grasp this, we will begin to live according to His calling and His value upon us!
· SO many think and even say, “I’m no good. I can’t succeed at anything. I can’t do this or that.”
· But God is at work in your life. You are His gem…
· He loves you so much… oh that we might know…
6. (19-20) Know the exceeding greatness of His power.
a. (19) There is power from the Lord in our lives.
b. Oh that we would realize the power at our disposal.
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
NOTE: This isn’t a weird or goofy idea, but a very practical power in the Spirit to be His witnesses… to love people… to overcome sin and temptation… to grow in His grace and knowledge!
7. (21) Jesus is far above all principality and power.
a. Jesus is far above any and every name!
b. Not only in this age, BUT in the one to come!
8. (22-23) Put all things under His feet!
a. Jesus is the head of the Body, the church and He is in control.
b. There is not one renegade molecule outside of His control.
c. What’s in your life is no surprise to Him…
d. HE is on the throne and we have access to that throne!
e. Turn to Hebrews 4.15-16
