Focusing on Truth – a study in Ephesians
Lesson Eight: “The Domino Effect-part 2”
Subtitle – “The Effects of ‘YES’ ”
Ephesians 1:17-20
Two words we hear all the time - yes, no. Yes, no. Each and every day we’re faced with dozens of decisions – things or people or places or events that we must say yes or no to.
*Yes, I’ll have chicken for dinner tonight. No, I won’t have beef.
*Yes, I’ll go to work this morning. No, I won’t stay even a minute after 5:00.
*Yes, I’ll call my sister today. No, I won’t have time to eat lunch with my brother.
Yes, no, Dozens of times a day. Big decisions, little decisions, major decisions, mundane decisions. It’s part of what makes our freedom so great, isn’t it? The choices that we have. We can walk into McDonalds or Bestbuy or Market Basket or Sears and we find thousands and thousands of products just waiting for us to say yes or no to them.
Saying YES or NO is something we learn when we’re very young - YES to chocolate cake. NO to lima beans. YES to playing video games. NO to washing the dishes. Yes and no are among the first words a child learns! And there is no question that they remember what NO means.
People in church know how to say YES and NO as well. YES, I will put money in the offering plate; no, I will not work in this area of service. YES, I will sing out, but NO, I will not clap my hands. We say YES and NO all the time, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.
As we move along in our study in Ephesians, I want to talk about what happens in our lives when we say YES to God. Last week, we talked about the spiritual domino effect that takes place in our lives when we obey God. The domino effect began with a compliment that Paul gave to the Ephesian church in verse 15 (sheet) – “Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you…” The Ephesian church was well-known by their faith in God and love for each other, and we said last week that faith and love are the ingredients for obedience – in other words, if you desire to be live obediently to God, you must demonstrate your faith and love. In turn, their obedience had a domino effect – it laid the groundwork for Paul to pray a wonderful prayer beginning with Paul’s asking for an expansion of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in verse 17.
Everything that Paul prayed in this prayer hinged upon the obedience of the Ephesians. And that’s where we get into our message today – the benefits that Paul prays for hinge upon our initially saying YES to God in obedience. And as Paul prays, he show us what could be if we would say YES and obey God in our lives – he shows us the effects of YES.
But even as we plunge forward, let’s face it, we don’t always say YES to God, and we don’t always live in obedience, do we? Our church (like every other church) is composed of people who are incredibly flawed and who like to live life their own way. But what would your life look like tomorrow if you began saying YES to God today and obey Him in a specific area (and ultimately every area) of your life?
Back in Ephesians, this church was composed of a bunch of people who said YES to God regularly. Today, I would love it if The Journey were to follow the example of this church and be a place of faith in God and love towards others. I challenge you to take a step of faith today and say YES to God, and watch what happens in your life. I want to share with you two effects of saying YES from Paul’s prayer:
1) Saying YES to God deepens my relationship with Him
Read verse 16-17 (on screen) When I say yes and live in obedience to God (vs. 15), and I pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to work in my life, God becomes more than something I read about in the Bible. He becomes more than a theory, God becomes more than a name, more than a deity to be revered. As I say YES to God, He becomes REAL, Someone that I know! Paul prays that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation will come and cause us to grow in our knowledge of God (the same term used in every translation).
Some people would read this and think that Paul is simply talking about knowing more about God – gaining more head knowledge. Gaining more knowledge about God is good - who He is, what He does, how much He loves us. Just being able to understand how God operates and what God has done in history are tremendous areas to grow in. What is one of the primary ways that we can grow in our knowledge of God? Reading the Bible – a chapter a day.
Paul cried out for this kind of head knowledge in Philippians 3:10 (sheet) when he exclaimed, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (NIV)…” But knowledge in and of itself isn’t what Paul is praying for the church in Eph. 1:17. The word Paul uses in his prayer is the word for knowledge that deals with experience and intimacy. Paul is praying that the church would grow in experiencing God – not just knowing about God, but experiencing Him.
For example, if you were to ask me if I know President Bush, I would tell you that, sure, I know him – not personally, but I know of Him. That’s head knowledge. But if someone were to ask me, “Hey, do you know Chuck Greene/Lee Thompson (or when people call me for references),” I would say “Yes, he’s a good friend of mine!” because I have spent time with him, and spent hours talking with him, and hanging out – that’s experiential knowledge.
You see, too many people know ABOUT God, but Paul prays that we would grow in our EXPERIENCE/EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE of God, our relationship with Him. And again, the only way that we can experience God is to live lives of obedience like the Ephesian Christians did. What are some ways that you can experience God?
• In the Bible, the Spirit will guide you and help you understand it as you read.
• At church, the worship will begin to mean more because you are living what the songs say.
• In your prayers, God will listen and answer.
• In your quiet times, you will hear His Spirit speaking to your heart.
• In your fellowship with others
• And there’s so much more. But it all hinges on you saying YES to the Lord in obedience.
But there is a second effect of saying YES to God:
2) Saying YES to God broadens my perspective of life
Look at verses 18-20 (on screen). After Paul prayed for the Ephesians to have a deeper experience of God, he prays for them to have one thing that will change their perspective – enlightenment. “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light”/”that the eyes of your heart may be opened.” Wait a minute – “flooded with light/enlightenment” – isn’t Paul talking to Christians? Why do we need “enlightenment”? Aren’t we the light of the world? I thought we already had the Light.
In verse 17, Paul prays that they would have the Spirit of understanding/revelation – what we saw last week as an enhancement of the Spirit’s ministry. The Ephesians were already Christians, so what Paul is asking here is for that Spirit of wisdom and revelation to REALLY open their eyes up to what life is all about. The word indicates that it was an action that started but continues on – you received the Light, now let it keep enlightening you.
We need to realize that we don’t know it all yet, and that God still has a lot more revealing of Himself to do, and that we would be more enlightened as time went along. When we invite Christ into our lives, the Spirit comes to live inside of us – we are enlightened. But so far as our experience of God is concerned, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Paul prays that they would continue in learning more about God – in other words, contrary to what you think, you don’t know all there is to know about God.
Some Christians don’t think they have anything more to learn. It reminds me of a little boy who was drawing a picture one day in Sunday school. As she walked by, the teacher looked over his shoulder and asked, “Johnny, what are you drawing a picture of?” “God,” Johnny said without looking up. “Don’t be silly, Johnny. Nobody knows what God looks like.” To which Johnny replied, “They will when I’m done drawing Him.”
We all have so much more to learn about God, and Paul prayed that through the Spirit’s enlightenment, our perspective would broaden in three ways:
• That we would understand why God called us – vs. 18 …”you can understand the wonderful future He has promised to those He called/the hope of His calling...” Paul refers back to the time when we invited Christ into our lives, and he reminds us that God called us/made us His own for a specific purpose – God doesn’t call people randomly – He called us to something and for something. “The wonderful future He has promised” isn’t referring to heaven, but rather to our future on earth after we become Christians.
So to what did God call us?
• To belong to Jesus Christ – Romans 1:6 – “You are among those who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ”
• To be holy – 2 Timothy 1:9 – “It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began…”
• To be free – Galatians 5:13 – “For you have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.”
• To live in peace – Colossians 3:15 – “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace.”
When you and I became Christians, God called us to a different future than what we would have produced. Our perspective changed.
• That we would realize what God has in store for us later – vs. 18 – “I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to His people.”
The effect of YES changing my perspective is that my future is filled with heaven. In heaven we will be in the presence of God in incredible glory and beauty. The Bible tells us in I Peter 1:4 (sheet), “For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” Our perspective on life changes when we understand the priceless inheritance that God has given to His people (that’s us) that has not yet been revealed. It goes infinitely beyond harps and clouds and angels – and we can barely imagine it.
• That we would understand the power we have now – vs. 19 – “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us…”
Our perspective was changed about the past when we looked back at God’s calling and what He called us to. We looked ahead to our inheritance in heaven that God has given to us. But our perspective is changed in the present when we realize that God has given us power to live right now. God did not just call us to be His children, tell us about heaven, and then leave us on our own. He has given us power to live life with confidence and victory. And Paul writes about two areas that we have power over because of Jesus Christ that we would not have otherwise:
1. read vs. 20 – We have power over death.
2. read vs. 21-22 – We have power over evil.
You are not doomed to live a powerless existence when you have Jesus Christ inside of you. Rather, because of Jesus Christ, you have the power of God living within you, and what Jesus Christ defeated, so do you! Read verses 22-23.
All of this hinges on your saying YES to God today. These are the effects of YES – a deeper relationship with God, a broader perspective about your life – power over death and evil.
Invitation: So what can happen in your life IF you say YES to God?
What is God revealing to you that you need to walk in?
• Baptism
• Church membership
• A specific area that you need to obey God and surrender in
