"GOD IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE!"
TEXT: EPHESIANS 3:14-21
INTRODUCTION
TODAY WE ARE GOING TO PICK UP OUR STUDY IN EPHESIANS (WE LEFT OFF LAST WEEK TO TALK ABOUT THE COMING OF CHRIST). SO FAR WE HAVE STUDIED THE FIRST 2 CHAPTERS. IN OUR STUDY OF CHAPTER ONE WE UNCOVERED THE VAST RICHES THAT ARE OURS "IN CHRIST" AND WE TALKED ABOUT SOME ACTION STEPS WE CAN TAKE THAT WILL ENABLE US TO REALIZE THESE RICHES. AND IN CHAPTER 2 WE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT GOD’S INCREDIBLE ABILITY TO BRING ABOUT GREAT CHANGE IN THE LIFE’S OF HIS PEOPLE. WE SAW 2 BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES THAT PAUL PAINTED. BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES THAT ARE ACTUALLY PICTURES OF OURSELVES... THE FIRST PICTURE WAS BEFORE; DEAD IN SIN --- AFTER; ALIVE IN CHRIST >> THE SECOND PICTURE WAS BEFORE; ALIENS AND FOREIGNERS -- AFTER; FELLOW CITIZENS WITH CHRIST.
WE TALKED ABOUT HOW GOD HAS TAKEN US FROM THE GRAVE TO GLORY -- FROM BEING A DWELLING PLACE OF A CONDEMNED DEAD SPIRIT TO A DWELLING PLACE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD.... FROM BEING A CITIZEN ON A DYING PLANET TO A CITIZEN OF AN EVERLASTING KINGDOM.
THIS LETTER THAT PAUL WROTE FROM A ROMAN PRISON TO HIS FELLOW CHRISTIANS IN EPHESUS IS AN AWESOME LETTER!!! I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THE STUDY THUS FAR
AND I ENCOURAGE THOSE WHO CAN TO JOIN US ON WEDNESDAY’S TO DIG IN EVEN DEEPER INTO THIS LETTER FROM GOD.. OUR MISSION TODAY IS TO STUDY A PASSAGE IN CHAPTER 3 OF EPHESIANS, EPHESIANS 3:14-21; AND TOWARDS THE END OF THIS PASSAGE THERE IS A POWERFUL VERSE THAT MOST OF YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH.
THIS VERSE LITERALLY BURSTS FORTH FROM THE PAGE AND GLOWS WITH GREAT INTENSITY. IT IS A VERSE THAT IS AT THE SAME TIME EXCITING AND INTRIGUING...
PAUL WRITES IN EPHESIANS 3:20;
"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.."
MANY TIMES IN LIFE PEOPLE LET US DOWN -- THEY OFTEN DO LESS THAN WE EXPECTED....MUCH LESS THANA WHAT WE ASKED. AND THAT CAN BE DISCOURAGING
BUT GOD ACCORDING TO THIS VERSE, IS NOT ONLY ABLE BUT HE IS WILLING AND OFTEN EXCEEDS OUR EXPECTATIONS... GOD GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT WE ASK... HE IS ABLE TO SURPASS EVEN OUR IMAGINATIONS...
AND THE WORD OF GOD IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF GOD DOING JUST THAT.
HE WAS A YOUNG MAN WHO WE KNOW FOR WEARING A COAT OF MANY COLORS, JOSEPH THE SON OF JACOB. WE READ HIS STORY IN GENESIS 37-50. TOSSED INTO A PIT AND SOLD INTO SLAVERY BY JEALOUS BROTHERS. THROWN INTO JAIL FOR REFUSING THE ADVANCES OF HIS MASTER POTIPHAR’S WIFE. JOSEPH SPENT OVER 2 YEARS IN THAT PRISON CELL IN EGYPT. TRUSTING GOD AND PRAYING FOR HIS RELEASE. BUT NOT EVEN JOSEPH "THE DREAMER" COULD HAVE IMAGINED WHAT GOD HAD IN STORE FOR HIM. NOT ONLY WAS HE RELEASED FROM PRISON BUT PHARAOH HAD HIM RIDE IN CHARIOT, AS HIS SECOND IN COMMAND, AND MEN SHOUTED BEFORE HIM "MAKE WAY!" AS PHARAOH PLACED HIM IN CHARGE OF THE WHOLE LAND OF EGYPT.
GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN JOSEPH ASKED OR COULD HAVE IMAGINED..
THEY WERE JUST A NORMAL MAN AND WOMAN, THEY GOT MARRIED, SETTLED DOWN AND BEGAN TO RAISE A FAMILY. THEIR NAMES WERE JOCEBED AND AMRAM. THERE FIRST CHILD WAS A BOY THEY NAMED AARON, THEIR SECOND WAS A GIRL NAMED MIRIAM. AND THEN THEY HAD A THIRD CHILD A SON, AND THEY CALLED HIM MOSES. NOW MOSES WAS BORN DURING A VERY TROUBLING TIME. HIS PARENTS WERE SLAVES IN EGYPT AND AS IF THAT WASN’T BAD ENOUGH PHARAOH WHO FEARED THE GRETA INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HEBREWS PASSED A LAW THAT ALL MALE BABIES WERE TO BE THROWN INTO THE NILE RIVER AND DROWNED... AND BY FAITH MOSES PARENTS HID HIM FOR 3 MONTHS AFTER HE WAS BORN, BECAUSE THEY LOVED THEIR SON AND THEY WERE NOT AFRAID OF THE KINGS EDICT. BUT WHEN MOSES WAS 3 MONTHS OLD THEY COULD HIDE HIM NO LONGER.. AFRAID HIS CRIES WOULD BE HEARD, AND WOULD BRING THE EGYPTIANS, ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF AARON AND MIRIAM, MOSES PARENTS MADE A DIFFICULT DECISION THEY MADE A BASKET OUT OF PAPYRUS AND COATED IT WITH TAR AND PITCH AND PLACED THEIR 3 MONTH OLD SON IN THE BASKET AND FLOATED HIM DOWN THE NILE RIVER. WHAT DO YOU THINK THOSE 2 PARENTS WITH TERAS FLOWING DOWN THEIR CHEEKS STANDING ON THE GRASSY BANKS OF THE NILE PRAYED AS THEY WATCHED THAT BASKET FLOAT AWAY....? NO DOUBT PRAYING, "PLEASE GOD LET OUR SON BE SAFE.."
BUT NOT EVEN JOCHBED AND AARAM WHO BOTH HAD TREMENDOUS FAITH COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED WHAT GOD WOULD DO. MOSES WOULD BE FOUND A PAHAROAH’S DAUGHTER, RAISED IN PHARAOH’S HOUSEHOLD, HE WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THE PRIVILEGES OF ROYALTY... AND THE REAL KICKER WAS THAT JOCHEBED MOSES MOTHER WOULD BE HIRED BY PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER THAT VERY SAME DAY TO TAKE CARE OF MOSES... GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN MOSES PARENTS COULD HAVE ASKED OR IMAGINE...
HE WAS IN THE DESERT TENDING THE FLOCKS OF HIS FATHER IN-LAW JETHRO. MOSES HAD FLED EGYPT NEARLY 40 YEARS EARLIER. AND WHAT BROUGHT MOSES FROM THE PALACE OF PHARAOH TO THE DESSERTS SANDS OF MEDIAN WAS THAT WHEN MOSES WAS 40 YEARS OLD HE DECIDED TO VISIT HIS FELLOW ISRAELITES. AND HE SAW ONE OF THEN BEING MISTREATED BY AN EGYPTIAN, SO HE WENT TO HIS DEFENSE AND AVENGED HIM BY KILLING THE EGYPTIAN. MOSES THOUGHT THAT HIS OWN PEOPLE WOULD REALIZE THAT GOD WAS USING HIM TO RESCUE THEM, BUT THEY DID NOT. THE NEXT DAY MOSES CAME UPON 2 ISRAELITES WHO WERE FIGHTING. HE TIRED TO RECONCILE THEM BY SAYING, `MEN, YOU ARE BROTHERS; WHY DO YOU WANT TO HURT EACH OTHER?’ BUT THE MAN WHO WAS MISTREATING THE OTHER PUSHED MOSES ASIDE AND SAID, `WHO MADE YOU RULER AND JUDGE OVER US? DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY?’
WHEN MOSES HEARD THIS HE FLED INTO THE DESERT... LIVING FOR FORTY YEARS WITH THIS FAILED ATTEMPT AS THE DELIVER OF GOD’S PEOPLE, MOSES AT 80 YEARS OF AGE COULD NEVER HAD IMAGINED (REMEMBER HE BASICALLY TOLD GOD YOU HAVE THE WRONG GUY), MOSES COULD NEVER HAD IMAGINE WHAT GOD HAD IN STORE FOR HIM... THAT HE WOULD ONE DAY PREFORM POWERFUL MIRACLES, PART THE RED SEA DELIVER HIS PEOPLE AND BRING DOWN FROM MOUNT SINAI THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD...GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN MOSES ASKED OR IMAGINED!
FOR YEARS SHE HAD PRAYED FOR A CHILD... AND YEAR AFTER YEAR HANNAH’S WOMB WAS STILL EMPTY. SHE SPENT MANY NIGHTS CRYING AND OFTEN HER SADNESS EVEN PREVENTED HER FROM EATING. THEN ONE DAY SHE PRAYED TO GOD THAT IF HE WOULD ONLY LOOK UPON HER MISERY, AND NOT FORGET HER BUT GIVE HER A SON, THEN SHE WOULD DEDICATE THE CHILD TO THE LORD... AND GOD HEARD THE PRAYER OF THAT FAITHFUL WOMEN AND SHE DID HAVE A SON AND SHE NAMED HIM SAMUEL, HE BECAME A GREAT PROPHET FOR GOD -- IT WAS SAMUEL WHO ANOINTED THE FIRST 2 KINGS OF ISRAEL SAUL AND DAVID... BUT GOD DIDN’T STOP THERE, FOR HANNAH WAS TO HAVE OTHER CHILDREN BESIDES SAMUEL -- 6 MORE AS A MATTER OF FACT... HER SON SAMUEL RECORDS HER GREAT PRAYER OF THANKFULNESS IN THE 2ND CHAPTER OF HIS FIRST BOOK... GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN HANNAH ASKED OR COULD HAVE IMAGINED!
HE LIVED IN A TIME WHEN THE LAND OF GOD’S PEOPLE WAS OCCUPIED BY A FOREIGN INVADER. FOR 7 YEARS THESE INVADERS OPPRESSED THE ISRAELITES.... RUINING THEIR LAND AND DESTROYING THEIR CROPS, FORCING MANY TO SEEK SHELTER IN CAVES AND MOUNTAINS. GIDEON WAS HIDING UNDER GROUND IN A WINE PRESS THRESHING WHEAT. PROBABLY PRAYING THAT GOD WOULD ALLOW HIM TO THRESH THE WHEAT AND GET OUT OF THERE BEFORE THE ENEMY FOUND HIM.... BUT BEFORE GIDEON WOULD LEAVE THAT WINEPRESS ON THIS DAY.... HE WOULD BE CALLED BY GOD A MIGHTY WARRIOR AND CHOSEN BY HIM TO DELIVER ISRAEL FROM THIS OPPRESSOR... AND GIDEON WOULD SHORTLY WITH A MERE 300 MEN DEFEAT 10’S OF THOUSANDS OF THE ENEMY... GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN GIDEON ASKED OR IMAGINED....
GOD’S PEOPLE WERE IN CAPTIVITY IN PERSIA, FACING A TERRIBLE CRISIS, ETHER WAS QUEEN AND HER PEOPLE WERE FACING THE VERY REAL THREAT OF EXTINCTION AT THE HANDS OF THE 2ND IN COMMAND OF ALL OF PERSIA HAMAN. HAMAN HAD MANIPULATED THE KING INTO ISSUING A DEGREE THAT ON A CERTAIN DAY ALL JEWS WOULD BE KILLED AND THEIR PROPERTY CONFISCATED. AND A DARK CLOUD HUNG OVER GOD’S PEOPLE AS ETHER AND HER ATTENDANTS PRAYED AND FASTED FOR THREE DAYS AT THE PALACE AND HER UNCLE MORDECAI AND THE REST OF HER PEOPLE FASTED THROUGHOUT SUSA.
IT WAS A DARK & DESPERATE TIME AS GOD’S PEOPLE PRAYED FOR DELIVERANCE. BUT NOT EVEN THE FAITHFUL MORDECIA OR QUEEN ETHER COULD HAVE IMAGINED WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED NEXT... THE DAY AFTER THEIR PRAYING AND FASTING THINGS COMPLETELY TURNED AROUND.... THE DEGREE TO KILL THE JEWS WAS REVOKED, HAMAN THEIR EVIL ENEMY WAS KILLED AND MORDECAI WAS PROMOTED TO HAMAN’S POSITION AS 2ND IN COMMAND OF ALL OF PERSIA AND HE WAS GIVEN ALL OF HAMAN’S LAND AND POSSESSIONS. GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ESTHER AND MORDECAI ASKED OR IMAGINED!
HE WAS WELL EDUCATED, WELL RESPECTED, WEAL-THY AND HEADED OWN THE WRONG PATH. THEN ON A ROAD TO DAMASCUS ONE DAY THIS PROUD PHARISEE MEET THE RISEN LORD.... HE FELL TO HIS KNEES AND IN AN INSTANT IN THAT BRIGHT FLASH OF LIGHT, AS HE HEARD THE THUNDERING FORCE OF GOD THE SON.... SAUL KNEW HE WAS IN A HEAP OF TROUBLE -- HE KNEW THAT HE WAS WRONG --- HE KNEW HE HAD BEEN PERSECUTING CHRIST AND KILLING CHRISTIANS.... AND I AM CERTAIN THAT THE FURTHEST THING FROM THE MIND OF SAUL (SOON TO BECOME PAUL) WAS WHAT GOD HAD PLANNED FOR HIM... I AM CONFIDENT THAT EVEN TO BE FORGIVEN AND ESCAPE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT AT THAT MOMENT ON THE ROUGH AND ROCKY ROAD, SEEMED LIKE A BIT TO MUCH TO EVEN ASK FOR... BUT GOD NOT ONLY FORGAVE PAUL, HE MADE HIM AN APOSTLE -- PAUL WAS GIVEN THE MISSION OF TAKING THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST TO THE GENTILES....
HE WOULD BE GIVEN SUPERNATURAL POWERS AND A SUPERNATURAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WORD... HE WOULD LEAD THOUSANDS TO THE LORD IN HIS DAY AND MILLIONS OVER THE YEARS.... HE WOULD WRITE NEARLY HALF OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.... AND BE KNOWN AS PERHAPS THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN WHO EVER LIVED... A MAN WHO FOUGHT THE FIGHT, WHO FINISHED THE RACE -- WHO WAS FAITHFUL EVEN UNTO DEATH...
GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN PAUL ASKED OR IMAGINED!!!
ALL OF MANKIND WAS HOPELESSLY LOST IN SIN. ALL HAD SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT OF GOD’S GLORY. THERE WAS NO ONE RIGHTEOUS NOT EVEN ONE, "ALL" OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WAS AS FILTHY RAGS. "ALL" FACED THE PENALTY FOR THEIR SIN >> DEATH. WE HAD SINNED AGAINST AND PUT OURSELVES AT ODDS WITH THE HOLY GOD. AND THOUGH MANY A MAN PRAYED FOR SOMETHING NO ONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED WHAT GOD WOULD DO...
LISTEN TO THIS PASSAGE FROM 1 CORINTHIAN 2, IT’S VERSE 10 (THOUGH OFTEN MISAPPLIED TO HEAVEN -- IN IT’S CONTEXT IT IS CLEAR THAT WHAT IT IS TALKING ABOUT IS THE GOSPEL, THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST....IT IS A QUOTE FROM IS 64)
"NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD, NO MIND HAS CONCEIVED, WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.."
BEFORE CHRIST CAME, THOUGH GOD’S PEOPLE KNEW HE WAS COMING NO ONE COULD HAVE CONCEIVED OF ALL THE BLESSINGS HE WOULD BRING.... ADOPTION AS SONS, LIVING HOPE, THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE, TO BE CLOTHED IN CHRIST, TO HAVE THE INDWELLING OF GOD’S SPIRIT; TO BE ABLE TO ENTER THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD, TO HAVE GOD CLEAN UP OUR PAST AND GUARANTEED OUR FUTURE... IN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST GOD DOES IMMEASURABLE MORE THAN WE WOULD HAVE EVER ASK OR COULD EVEN HAVE IMAGINED.... WE LIKE THE PRODIGAL SON ON HIS RETURN WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT A GOOD DEAL TO BE CONSIDERED A SERVANT, BUT HE MADE US HIS CHILD!!!
GOD IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE!!!
AND HE IS THE SAME TODAY AS HE WAS YESTERDAY,
AND HE STILL DOES IMMEASURABLY MORE TODAY....
HE SAVES SOULS, RESTORES DREAMS, HEALS HURTS AND RENEWS HOPE.
AS I READ AND REFLECTED ON THIS VERSE FOR HOURS.... AS I LOOKED AND STUDIED THE CONTEXT... I WAS WANTING TO SEE IF I COULD UNCOVER THE SECRET TO GOD DOING IMMEASURABLY MORE IN OUR LIVES... IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN DO THAT CAN MAKE IT MORE LIKELY FOR GOD DO IMMEASURABLE MORE... THAT GREAT VERSE, "NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN WE ASK OR IMAGINE ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS A WORK WITHIN US..." DOES NOT STAND ALONE, IT HAS A CONTEXT... AND I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS CONTEXT HAS THE ANSWER TO THOSE QUESTIONS...
DO YOU WANT GOD TO DO IMMEASURABLE MORE IN YOUR LIFE?
WELL PAUL IN OUR TEXT SAYS GOD IS ABLE (AND O’ IS HE ABLE JUST ASK JOSEPH, JOCBED, AMRAM, MOSES, GIDEON, ESTHER, MORDECAI AND THE APOSTLE PAUL, OR ANY SAVED SINNER WHO DOES NOT TAKE HIS OR HER SALVATION LIGHTLY) THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER GOD IS ABLE -- HE IS ABLE....MORE THAN ABLE
GOD IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLE MORE ACCORDING TO WHAT?
ACCORDING TO "HIS POWER" THAT IS AT WORK IN US.
NOW, THAT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND, FOR YOU SEE; IT IS GOD’S POWER WORKING IN US THAT ENABLES GOD TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE....
AND SINCE THIS IS TRUE THE QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK IS, "IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO THAT WILL ENABLE GOD’S POWER TO BE WORKING IN US TO THE MAX.... WHAT CAN WE DO TO ENSURE THAT GOD’S POWER IS FREE TO DO IT’S IMMEASURABLY MORE THING IN OUR LIFE AND IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH?
LET’S JUMP BACK TO VERSE 12 -- TO BEGIN OUR SEARCH FOR THESE ANSWERS
"IN HIM AND THROUGH FAITH IN HIM WE MAY APPROACH GOD WITH FREEDOM AND CONFIDENCE...."
WHAT PAUL IS SAYING HERE IS THAT WE BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS CHRIST HAS DONE CAN NOW THROUGH PRAYER ENTER THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD....WE CAN GO INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES...
AND PAUL BEING A FORMER JEW, AND UNDERSTOOD THE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE PRIVILEGE THAT IT WAS FOR A PERSON TO BE ABLE TO BE IN GOD’S PRESENCE.. (ONLY THE HIGH PRIEST, AND ONLY ONCE A YEAR)....
UNDERSTANDING THIS PAUL DID NOT TAKE THIS PRIVILEGE OF APPROACHING GOD WITH FREEDOM AND CONFIDENCE LIGHTLY...
LOOK AT THE FIRST FEW WORDS OF VERSE 14;
FOR THIS REASON I KNEEL.....(LET ME GIVE YOU A STEVE PARAPHRASE)
SINCE THIS PRIVILEGE IS SO AWESOME -- I TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT I PRAY.... GOD SAYS THROUGH CHRIST I CAN APPROACH HIM IN FREEDOM AND WITH CONFIDENCE SO I DO AND I DO IT AS OFTEN AS I CAN.....
PAUL WAS A MAN OF PRAYER.... HE NOT ONLY BELIEVED IN THE CONCEPT OF PRAYER, HE BELIEVED IN THE REALITY OF PRAYER -- PAUL PRAYED....
O’ THAT WE WOULD BE LIKE PAUL AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A CHURCH... NOW I DON’T REALLY KNOW ABOUT OUR PRAYER LIFE AT ETCC AS INDIVIDUALS BUT I KNOW THAT CORPORATELY....OUR PRAYER LIFE NEEDS A LOT OF WORK... PRAYER MEETINGS ARE THE WORST ATTENDED MEETING IN THIS CHURCH...
(6 MONTH CHALLENGE -- 12 PEOPLE EACH -- LOOK OUT GOD WOULD DO SOMETHING GREAT >> WELL WE ONLY AVG. ABOUT 5.
WHEN WE HAVE A PRAYER MEETING ON A SUNDAY MORNING FOR THE SERVICES OF THAT DAY >>. ASKING THAT GOD BE GLORIFIED IN THEM... ASKING GOD FOR HEARTS TO BE TOUCHED AND LIVES CHANGED BY HIS WORD, AND ONLY 2 PEOPLE SHOW UP >>> DO WE REALLY BELIEVE IN PRAYER?
OR WHEN WE HAVE A PRAYER GROUP THAT MEETS 2 TIMES A MONTH, 24 DAYS A YEAR, A PRAYER GROUP WHOSE GOAL IS TO PRIMARILY PRAY FOR THE LOST AND THE OUT REACH OF THIS CHURCH AND WE AVG. ONLY 3-4 PEOPLE >>> DO WE REALLY BELIEVE IN PRAYER...?)
I AM SURE THAT ALL WILL AGREE THAT INDIVIDUAL PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL FOR US AS INDIVIDUALS AND I AM EQUALLY CONVINCED THAT CORPORATE PRAYER IS JUST AS ESSENTIAL FOR A CHURCH BODY...
WHEN YOU READ THE BOOK OF ACTS YOU A CHURCH WHO DESPITE PERSECUTION AND LACK OF MATERIAL RESOURCES EXPLODING WITH GROWTH, EXCITEMENT AND PRAISE -- AND WE READ IN ACTS 1:14;
"THEY ALL JOINED TOGETHER CONSTANTLY IN PRAYER..."
AND IN ACTS 2:42;
"THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO PRAYER...."
AND IN ACTS 4:23-31
DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN GROWTH, POWER, EXCITEMENT, AND PRAYER >>> YOU BE THERE IS!!!
WHEN THOSE IN THE EARLY CHURCH SAID TO ONE ANOTHER; "HEY WE ARE GOING INTO THE THRONE ROOM OF THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WE ARE GOING TO PRESENT OUR REQUESTS AND SEEK HIS HELP, MERCY AND GRACE -- DO YOU WANT TO COME...." THESE EARLIER BELIEVERS DIDN’T STAY HOME AND WATCH TV.... THEY GOT TOGETHER AND THEY PRAYED...
HEAR ME, UNTIL WE AS A CHURCH REALLY GET SERIOUS ABOUT CORPORATE PRAYER -- WE ARE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM....AND WE ARE NEGLECTING THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON AT OUR DISPOSAL >> AND WE WILL IN TURN NEVER EXPERIENCE THE GROWTH AND POWER THAT GOD DESIRES FOR US/FOR ALL OF HIS CHURCHES....
PRAYER IS AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IF GOD IS TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE IN US >> AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A CHURCH... WHY? BECAUSE IT IS THE CHANNEL THAT ALLOWS GOD’S POWER TO WORK WITHIN US.....
"I PRAY THAT OUT OF HIS GLORIOUS RICHES HE MAY STRENGTHEN YOU WITH POWER THOUGH HIS SPIRIT IN YOUR INNER BEING.....SO THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS...."
HERE IS WHAT WE NEED TO PRAY FOR OURSELVES AND FOR EACH OTHER... THAT GOD THROUGH HIS POWER AND SPIRIT WILL STRENGTHEN OUR INNER BEING...
WHAT IS OUR INNER BEING?
OUR INNER BEING IS THE NON MATERIAL PART OF WHO WE ARE >> OUR SPIRIT, OUR CONSCIENCE, OUR MIND AND EMOTIONS
AND ACCORDING TO PAUL WE CAN’T STRENGTHEN OUR BEING ON OUR OWN -- NO MATTER HOW MACHO AND INDEPENDENT WE THINK WE ARE... WE NEED GOD’S HELP, GOD’S POWER AND GOD’S SPIRIT TO ASSIST US....
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO STRENGTHEN OUR INNER BEING?
IT MEANS TO HELP OUR INNER BEING BE MORE LIKE CHRIST AND LESS LIKE THE WORLD............IT MEANS TO DISPLAY; "LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL..."
AND WHY DO WE WANT OUR INNER BEING STRENGTHEN "SO THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN OUR HEARTS....."
THE GREEKS HAD 2 WORDS FOR DWELL ONE WORD "PAROKEIO" MEANT TO DWELL TEMPOARLILY; THE OTHER WORD WHICH IS USED HERE IN VERSE 17 "CADUCA" MEANS TO DWELL PERMENATELY; TO SETTLE DOWN, TO FEEL AT HOME....
WE ARE TO PRAY FOR GOD’S HELP TO STRENGTHEN OUR INNER BEING SO THAT CHRIST WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE AND AT HOME IN US....
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU FELT UNCOMFORTABLE BEING... MOST OF WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE BEING IN AT A SKIN HEAD MEETING; A RELIGIOUS CULT MEETING; A BAR (ESPECIALLY A GAY BAR); WE WOULD FIND MUCH OF WHAT GOES ON AT THESE PLACES OFFENSIVE.... AND WE THEREFORE (IF WE WENT AT ALL) PROBABLY NOT STAY THERE TOO LONG...
WHEN I WAS IN THE NAVY WE OFTEN HAD BOAT PARTIES, WHERE ATTENDANCE WAS UNDERSTOOD TO BE MANDATORY... JUDY AND I WOULD GO BUT WE WOULDN’T STAY TOO LONG BECAUSE WITHIN AN HOUR OR SO PEOPLE WERE WASTED AND STARING ACTING LIKE IDIOTS...
FELLOW CHRISTIANS, HOW COMFORTABLE IS CHRIST LIVING IN YOU? DOES JESUS FIND ANY OF YOUR ATTITUDES, ACTIONS, THOUGHTS, PASSIONS AND DESIRES TO BE OFFENSIVE? DOES IT MAKE HIM WANT TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE...?
WE NEED TO PRAY FOR GOD TO HELP STRENGTHEN OUR INNER BEING SO THAT CHRIST CAN DWELL IN US PERMEANTLY, COMPLETELY -- WITH NO HIDDEN CORNERS IN OUR INNER BEING WHERE JESUS WOULD NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE BEING... AND HEAR ME WHEN CHRIST IS COMFORTABLE IN US THEN HE IS MUCH MORE ABLE TO USE HIS POWER TO WORK IMMEASURABLY MORE IN OUR LIVES....
AND IT TAKE FAITH TO DO THIS, TO PRAY? WHY? BECAUSE WE CAN’T SEE GOD, WE CAN’T SEE HIS THRONE? WE CAN’T SEE OUR PRAYERS RISING UP TO HIS THRONE ROOM... IF WE COULD GO INTO A PHYSICAL ROOM -- AND IF GOD WOULD APPEAR TO US IN A PHYSICAL FORM, DO YOU THINK WE WOULD BE MORE INCLINED TO PRAY...?
BROS & SIS, GOD CALLS US TO WALK BY FAITH NOT BY SIGHT...
THOUGH YOU CAN’T SEE HIS THRONE ROOM -- WHEN YOU ARE ON YOUR KNEES IT IS REAL.... THOUGH YOU CAN’T SEE GOD’S PRESENCE HE IS THERE... IT IS MORE REAL THEN THIS BUILDING WE ARE IN.
LOOK WHAT ELSE PAUL PRAYS FOR IN OUR TEXT;
"AND I PRAY THAT YOU BEING ROOTED AND ESTABLISHED IN LOVE (LOVE IS SO IMPORTANT) MAY HAVE THE POWER WITH `ALL’ THE SAINTS, TO GRASP HOW WIDE AND LONG AND DEEP IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST AND TO KNOW THIS LOVE THAT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE -- `THAT’ YOU MAY BE FILLED TO THE FULL MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD"
IN GENESIS CHAPTER 13 GOD SHOWED ABRAHAM THE PROMISE LAND -- AND HE TOLD HIM IN VERSE 17; "GO, WALK THROUGH THE LENGTH AND BREATH OF THE LAND, FOR I AM GIVING IT TO YOU...." >> GOD WANTED ABRAHAM TO SEE JUST HOW GREAT THIS LAND WAS...
PAUL SAYS WE NEED TO PRAY SO THAT WE CAN GRASP JUST HOW GREAT THIS PROMISE LAND OF GOD’S LOVE IS IN WHICH WE DWELL... "GRASP HOW WIDE AND LONG AND HIGH AND DEEP IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST..."
IT IS A LOVE THAT WE CAN NEVER FULLY COMPREHEND BUT IT’S WELL WORTH THE WALK TO TRY.... AND WHAT’S THE REASON FOR THIS PRAYER;
"THAT WE MAY BE FILLED TO MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD..."
GOD WANTS TO FILL US WITH HIS LOVE AND PRESNESE SO MUCH MORE THAN WE ARE...
HOW FULL IS THE FULLNESS OF GOD? FULL YOU CAN’T GET ANY FULLER THAN THAT... GOD WANTS US/HE WANTS YOU TO BE FILLED TO THE FULL MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.... TO BE ALL THAT GOD WANTS YOU TO BE IN HIM.... AND GOD HAS MUCH BIGGER PLANS FOR US THEN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE... HE WANTS TO DO SO MUCH MORE, IN AND THROUGH US BUT MANY TIMES WE HAVE SHUT THE DOOR....
PRAYER AND FAITH >>> HAVING OUR INNER MAN STRENGTHEN BY GOD SO THAT CHRIST CAN DWELL IN US FULLY, POWERFULLY AND COMFORTABLY... PRAYING TO GRASP & UNDERSTAND GOD’S LOVE >> TO WALK THE PROMISE LAND OF GOD’S LOVE SO THAT WE CAN BE FILLED TO THE MEASURE OF THE FULLNESS OF GOD...
THESE ARE KEYS TO GOD BEING ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE IN OUR LIVES....
AND WE BY LACK OF PRAYER AND FAITH SEVERELY LIMIT WHAT GOD CAN DO IN OUR LIVES INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A CHURCH....
NOW, DOES THIS MEAN THAT GOD’S IMMEASURABLY MORE WILL BE ALWAYS BE JUST WHAT WE WANT TO HAPPEN... NO BUT IT DOES MEAN THAT WE CAN APPROACH GOD WITH GREAT CONFIDENCE KNOWING THAT HE WILL DO WHAT IS BEST FOR US -- ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD & PERFECT WILL....
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I CAN IMAGINE SOME PRETTY AWESOME THINGS IN MY INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN WALK....AND IN THE WORK OF THE LORD’S CHURCH HERE AT EAST TAMPA....
I CAN IMAGINE A CHURCH WHERE 200+ LOST SINNERS ARE BROUGHT TO CHRIST EVERY YEAR; WHERE MARRIAGES ARE TURNED AROUND; CHILDREN AND TEENS IN DESPERATE SITUATIONS ARE GIVING NEW HOPE, WHERE THOSE TRAPPED IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE CAN FIND FREEDOM, WHERE POWERFUL PRAISE SERVICES BURST THROUGH THESE WALLS ECHOING THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD; WHERE MEN BY THE HUNDREDS COME TOGETHER TO BE GODLY MEN; WHERE WE ARE NO LONER THE CHURCH DOWN THE STREET FROM RYANS BUT WHERE RYANS IS THE CHURCH UP THE STREET FROM ETCC....
CAN YOU SEE THAT HAPPENING! DO YOU BELIEVE IT IS POSSIBLE! OR IS IT JUST CRAZY FAIRY TALE? A WILD EYED DREAMED BECAUSE YOU HAVE LOST FAITH IN GOD AND PRAYER?
PAUL SAYS THAT GOD IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN WE ASK OR IMAGINE....
BROTHERS AND SISTERS LET’S NO LONGER LIMIT GOD BY OUR LACK OF PRAYER AND LACK OF FAITH >>> I AM CONVINCED THAT IF WE THROUGH PRAYER AND FAITH >>> STRENGTHEN OUR INDIVIDUAL AND SPIRITUAL BEINGS >>> CHRIST WILL FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE HERE, HE WILL USE HIS POWER AND FILL US TO THE FULLNESS OF GOD...>>> AND WE BETTER LOOK OUT BECAUSE SOMETHING GRETA IS GOING TO HAPPEN...
ON EASTER WEEKEND 10 OF OUR LEADERS ARE GOING ON A RETREAT >> WE CHOSE THESE WEEKEND RESURRECTION WEEK BECAUSE IT IS OUR DESIRE, IT IS GOD’S DESIRE TO RESURRECT OUR LEADERSHIP AND RISE TO A NEW LEVEL... TO BECOME A PURPOSE DRIVEN, EATING, LIVING AND BREATHING CHURCH....
I PUT THE NAME OF THOSE LEADERS WHO ARE GOING IN THE BULLETIN >>> PRAY FOR THEM EVERY DAY.... PRAY THAT WE WILL BE CAUGHT ON FIRE BY GOD AND THAT FIRE WILL SPREAD....
GOD CAN DO IMMEASURABLY MORE IN OUR LIVES... HE HAS DONE IT IN THE PAST >>> HE IS DOING IT NOW >> HE CAN DO IT HERE.... HE WANTS TO DO IT HERE....HE WANTS TO DO IT IN YOUR LIFE...
I BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS A VISION FOR ETCC THAT FAR EXCEEDS ANYTHING ANYONE OF US COULD EVER IMAGINE... LET’S NO LONGER LIMIT GOD BY OUR LACK OF FAITH, LACK OF PRAYER, LACK OF COMMITMENT AND LACK OF VISION.. LET’S PRY LET’S STEP OUT IN FAITH AND LET’S GET READY FOR SOMETHING GREAT!
AND IF YOU THINK GOD DOES MEASURABLE MORE IN THIS LIFE -- WHAT UNTIL THE NEXT ONE.....
