Sermon preached by Pastor Larry C. Brincefield on 12/15/04 at Belleview Church of the Nazarene
Title: A Glimpse of the Pastor’s Heart
Text: Ephesians 1:17-19a
Introduction
1. Last week, we looked at what warms a Pastor’s heart…
Paul had spent about 3 years with the Ephesian Church…
And as he is writing this letter, we see that what warms Paul’s heart…
Is the same thing that has warmed pastors’ hearts down through the centuries…
hearing about their people’s faith, out in the community…
and hearing about their people’s love one for another…
2. Paul’s heart is so warmed by what he has heard…
that commentators agree that this is perhaps what motivated Paul to write them….
And as we continue our study in Ephesians tonight…
Paul gives us another glimpse of a Pastor’s heart.
Read Text: Ephesians 1:17-19a
Body
1. A Pastor Prays for His People to have Wisdom
A. As we get a glimpse of Paul’s heart…
We see that he prays for the people…
He prays that the Ephesian Christians will have wisdom…
Obviously, he is not hoping that they will all go to college and get an education…
To increase their IQ…
Instead he is talking about their SQ…
Their SPIRITUAL quotient.
Spiritual wisdom doesn’t come through the same channels that worldly wisdom does…
Not that we can’t benefit spiritually when we go to a college or university…
Particularly one of our Christian colleges or universities…
B. But the education comes about through increased knowledge about God…
And how do we know more about God?...
Through Scripture reading…
Prayer…
Hearing the teachings of the Bible in a public worship service…
Things like that help our wisdom to grow.
Show me a Christian who doesn’t like to read the Bible…
Or spend time in prayer…
Or make his/her way into the House of the Lord for worship…
And I will show you a “Christian” who isn’t much of a Christian!
So Paul makes it a point to pray that God will give them a spirit of wisdom….
And God will answer that prayer as we endeavor to apply ourselves to that end.
2. A Pastor Prays for His People to have revelation from God
A. As we grow closer to the Lord…
As our spiritual wisdom increases…
God reveals new truth to us.
We learn more about Him…
About His nature…
About His will…
About His ways…
B. We open our hearts…
And through various methods…
Like those we’ve just mentioned…
God reveals new and wonderful things to us.
C. And God checks out what we do with that fresh revelation…
He’s got His eye on you!
He wants to see your level of obedience to new revelation of God’s will…
He wants to see your level of desire to serve Him in new and better ways…
He wants to see if you will be faithful over this new truth.
And when we show ourselves responsible…
And “revelation worthy”…
He will be more inclined to continue to reveal new and wonderful things about Himself…
D. Remember the parable of the talents?
That principle is at work in God’s revealing things to His people…
If they are faithful with the revelation that God gives them…
He will give them more.
E. Paul tells them that the reason he is praying this way for them…
Is for the sole purpose of knowing God better.
Increased wisdom and revelation aren’t given to us…
So we can become more important in religious circles…
The only reason Paul is praying for them is…
Because of his love for the people…
He wants them to have a closer relationship with God.
3. A Pastor Prays for His People to Know the Hope We Have in Heaven
A. In verse 18, Paul says, “ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints”
Paul prays that their spiritual vision…
The “eyes of their heart”…
Will be so focused so that they can see and know the hope of heaven.
If our vision is sharpened…
Then we tend to act and behave based on that vision…
Instead of our earthly vision.
B. There’s a chorus that says, “open the eyes of my heart Lord, open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you. To see you high and lifted up”
If we truly have eyes to see that this world is not the end…
And we have this hope of heaven…
And we begin to live our lives with that knowledge…
And it will affect our decision making…
It will affect our stewardship…
It will affect how we go about our business…
And it will affect how we interact with lost people.
4. A Pastor Prays for His People to Know the Power of God Working in Their Lives
A. Finally, Paul prays God’s incredibly great power will be at work in the lives of the Christians in the Church at Ephesus.
As we gain spiritual wisdom…
And as God reveals more and more truth to us…
And as we live our lives as though this world is not the end…
That there is something far better in store for the Christian…
And that knowledge begins to affect how we behave and act and interact…
Then, we will also begin to see God’s incredibly great power at work in our lives on a daily basis.
Conclusion
1. Some people will never get to see the great workings of God…
Because they don’t know Him very well…
They don’t learn more of Him…
They don’t increase in spiritual wisdom…
And they don’t develop their spiritual vision to see the Hand of God at work all around them…
2. But, if we will apply ourselves to knowing God better…
If we will make that our main focus…
If we will strive to know God and to do what He wants…
Then, we will see God’s incredibly great power working in our lives.
3. Paul prayed for the Christians at Ephesus…
And I want assure you that I am praying for you…
I pray that you will draw closer to the Lord…
I pray that you will remain faithful…
I pray that God will bless you and make Himself seem so real to you.
