Rooted in The Love of Jesus

Introduction

Open your Bibles to Ephesians 3:14-21

Attention

Illustration about dead trees in yard

When my wife and I first moved into our house, there were two trees in the front yard on either side of the yard.

They were young trees, probably only 9 or 10 feet tall, and we were excited at the shade they would provide our home in the years to come.

At first, these trees appeared to be wonderful.

But when that first spring came, before too long the leaves didn’t look very healthy and they fell off much sooner than all of the surrounding trees.

My wife and I thought maybe it wasn’t getting enough water or something?

So, we took extra time to water them. We made sure the mulch wasn’t piled to close to the trunk. And everything else a quick Google search told us.

Well, one day after a big storm came through, one of those two trees was completely toppled over in my front yard.

When I walked over to the tree, I knew immediately why it had fallen: the roots were brittle and dead.

I walked over to the other tree and lightly leaned up against the trunk, and sure enough, I heard the roots cracking and snapping beneath my feet.

These trees were goners.

At first, things only looked slightly bad on the outside. But the outside only revealed what was dead within.

We learned by experience that day, regardless of how a tree appeared, it could not survive when its roots were dry and brittle. The health of the tree comes from its roots.

So it is with people.

We all root our lives in something — it could be a relationship. It could be wealth. It could be our job. It could be an ability.

Regardless of what it is, all of us root our lives in something that we believe will sustain us and bring what we desire into our lives.

Need

But, as many of us know, this life presents us with a lot of opportunities to put our roots into something that leaves them dry and brittle.

Do you ever feel like life has taken everything that you have, and only demands more? Like no matter how much money you make, how many relationships you have, how nice your house is — your life doesn’t seem to be producing anything of real, lasting value?

As people, we recognize that our lives can appear so full, yet be so empty. Like that tree with dead roots that doesn’t produce healthy fruit, sometimes it feels like our lives are not producing what we wish they were.

Thankfully, God deals with this issue in His Word. Let’s look together at Ephesians 3

Read Ephesians 3:14-21

Text

Ephesians 3:14–21 KJV 1900

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Bridging Sentences

Ephesians 3:14-21 is the account of Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus.

This letter of Ephesians focuses much on unity and love, and by this time in the letter Paul has established the validity of the Gentiles receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ

In the first two verses of this passage, we find exactly what is taking place: Paul is praying, and he’s about to tell us what he’s praying for!

In the opening, Paul is telling these Christians that he prays for them! This would have been a very encouraging thing to hear.

Then in his prayer, he establishes right from the beginning that what he wants to happen in the lives of these Christians comes by the work of God in their lives.

So what is Paul praying for?

Text Idea: In this passage, Paul prays that the Christians at Ephesus would be deeply and firmly rooted in the love of Christ through God’s strength

Transition Statements:

We all want to experience true fulfillment in our lives. We want to know that the things we sink our roots into will actually produce something real!

Thankfully, God knows exactly what will produce a full and rich life, and that is being deeply rooted in the love of Jesus.

Sermon Idea: God gives us the strength to deeply root our lives in the love of Jesus.

Interrogative: This statement leaves us with a simple question: “Why does God strengthen believers to be deeply rooted in the love of Christ?”

In this passage, we will observe two results that come from believers being deeply rooted in the love of Christ.

PRAY

Rooted in The Love of Jesus — Ephesians 3:14-21

Let’s look at the first result of God rooting our lives in Christ’s love.

Division Statement 1: Our hearts will be captivated when they are rooted in the love of Jesus.

Ephesians 3:16–18 KJV 1900

16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

Explain

v. 16 — Everything that we can understand about the love of Christ is a result of God’s work in our hearts.

God, in his infinite riches of glory, has in Himself all of the strength and power that our needs could possibly demand.

As God strengthens us by His Spirit in our Inner Man, we become rooted and grounded in the love of Jesus.

As we become rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, we begin to understand the magnitude of Christ’s love.

v. 18 — From time to time, Paul will use a large list of items to emphasize a fact.

He does this in verse 18, using multiple words in a list to communicate the magnitude of Christ’s love.

Paul says to observe the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ.

It’s as if he’s saying “It’s wider than can imagine! It extends further than you can imagine! It’s deeper than you can imagine! It’s higher than you can imagine!”

Paul is teaching the church here that the love of Jesus is more amazing than they can imagine — and when we see that it captivates our hearts!

Illustrate

New York City is my favorite city on Earth.

Last year, we took our MCA Seniors and none of them had ever been to New York City. It was incredible!

You can spend a whole week in that city and still not see all of it. We got to spend one day there.

When you spend a whole day sight-seeing like that, it can be overwhelming

NYC is truly unlike any place close to Milford, OH. The scope of the city is staggering. The energy. The activity. It’s intense. It’s amazing!

Paul is using an architectural metaphor here (breadth, length, height, etc.), and this would have made complete sense to the group of people receiving this letter.

They lived in a city with great architecture.

It would be like if I took you to New York City and we toured the city while discussing the love of Jesus Christ.

As we walk up to the empire state building, look straight up in the air — the love of Jesus is higher than that

As we look out over the city from the top of the Rockefeller building — the love of Jesus extends further than that

As we walk into the center of Central Park (which feels like a city in itself!), it’s wider than the trees and grass that span as far as you can see

As we ride the ferry across the East River, we might look down into the water — the love of Jesus is deeper than that!

The love of Christ is, in every way, more than you can imagine!

Argue

If we can be amazed by buildings made by the hands of men, imagine how much more amazing our God, the Creator of the universe is!

Look what the Psalmist writes in Psalm 104

Psalm 104:23–31 KJV 1900

23 Man goeth forth unto his work And to his labour until the evening. 24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: The earth is full of thy riches. 25 So is this great and wide sea, Wherein are things creeping innumerable, Both small and great beasts. 26 There go the ships: There is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. 27 These wait all upon thee; That thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28 That thou givest them they gather: Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, And return to their dust. 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: And thou renewest the face of the earth. 31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: The Lord shall rejoice in his works.

The Psalmist here describes just how much more amazing God’s works are than man’s — and he gives example after example!

God is so much greater than anything we experience on this earth, and His love for us extends beyond anything we can see or comprehend in this world!

We allow ourselves to be captivated by things that are only for a moment (sports games, a great meal), and we will sacrifice everything to experience those things!

Are we not willing to sacrifice our time and energy to know more about a God who is infinitely more amazing, and eternally with us?!

Apply

It’s so easy for us to allow something other than the love of Christ to truly captivate our hearts.

When we begin to accept that God and His Word are boring and irrelevant to our lives, we begin to try to fill that void with something far less worthy.

Wealth

Status

Career

Stuff

Relationships

Self

“...when awe of God is absent, it is quickly replaced by our awe of ourselves.” — Paul David Tripp

When we begin to chase things that are less than the love of Jesus, we will continue to come up empty.

The more that we come up empty, the more we will sacrifice to try and find what we’re looking for.

And, when we land in this cycle of sacrifice and disappointment — we end up empty, discouraged, and exhausted.

God has so much more than that for His children!

We must guard our hearts from being truly captivated by anything other than Christ!

Misplaced Priorities

Why are we building our lives on things that don’t last, that are far less significant than the majesty of our God.

We must spend our time and energy becoming rooted in the love of Jesus — it is the only thing that lasts! (Rom. 8:39)

Parent relationships

Parents, what are we teaching our kids is important?

What are we telling them is magnificent?

With how we spend our time and energy, what are we telling them is worth sacrificing for?

We must teach our children to build their lives on the love of Jesus!

Life Pursuit

God strengthens us through His Spirit to root our lives in the love of Jesus, and that needs to be our life’s pursuit!

Philippians 3:14 KJV 1900

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Nothing is greater, He is the prize!

Transition to next division statement...

When we begin to see the love of Christ for what it truly is, it will captivate our hearts.

But it doesn’t stop there

When our hearts become captivated by the love of Christ, it begins to produce something!

Division Statement 2: Our lives will be fulfilled when they are rooted in the love of Jesus.

Ephesians 3:19–21 KJV 1900

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Explain

v. 19 — Paul then begins to speak to the fullness that we experience in Christ

He states that the love of Christ, which we have just seen is more than we can imagine, fulfills our life.

This passage teaches us that the love of Jesus passes the knowledge we can attain on this earth, and that it alone is what fills us with the fulness of God

Paul’s prayer concludes in this wish for believers: as God strengthens them through His spirit and they become rooted in the love of Christ, they would experience the fulness of God that passes anything else we can find on this earth

v. 20-21 — Then, just once more for good measure, he brings our attention to the fact that God can do infinitely more than we could even ask him for or think that we need — and He is worthy of glory for that alone!

Illustrate

Mankind has the desire to know all things.

My son is becoming more curious by the day! (Give examples)

From the very beginning of our days — at our core we seek to know!

Even when we grow up, though, we keep this pursuit.

Have you ever tried to decide which brand of a product to buy?

How many articles are you willing to read?

How many Amazon reviews from random strangers are you willing to skim?

How many posts are you willing to present to get opinions from friends.

I have found myself spending a ridiculous amount of trying to decide between variations of products that should be a no-brainer.

One of the most recent decision-rabbit-holes I have fallen down is beef jerky...

How many of you have ever been to Buccees?

Do you know how many kinds of beef jerky they have there?

Do you know how many flavors and types of beef jerky you can try? It’s crazy!

By the time I was done trying samples and trying to make a decision I was tired of beef jerky!

And inevitably, after I made a decision, as soon as I got in the car I worried if I made the wrong choice.

This is beef jerky people — come on!

There is an infinite amount of knowledge out there in the world, and we are convinced that we are just one idea away from finally learning the thing that will bring us peace.

Argue

We spend much of our life seeking to “know” — and many times we’re looking for “what else” we can know rather than “Who” we need to know better

We want to know who we are

We want to know why God put us here

We want to know what we are supposed to do

We want to know why God does what He does

We want to know why God does not do what He doesn’t

But what can man truly learn on his own?

Do we really think that a knowledge found on this earth can finally light the way for our lives?

A German philosopher said, “The best treasure that a man can attain unto in this world is true knowledge; even the knowledge of himself.”

Do we really believe that? The greatest treasure in the world is to know ourselves?

Look with me at what Romans 1:25 says:

Romans 1:25 KJV 1900

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

In Rom. 1:25, Paul describes this idea as one of the core issues with fallen man — the idea that we find in the creature what we can only find in the Creator!

Look with me at what 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 says:

1 Corinthians 2:14–16 KJV 1900

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

In 1 Cor. 2 Paul explains that the natural man can only understand natural things, but God intends for us to have a spiritual mind.

We cannot find the fulfillment we are looking for in a broken world.

We cannot find the answers from men who only know as much as we know.

The only thing that can truly fill our lives is a knowledge of our Creator, a knowledge that passes what we can understand on our own

Apply

We must stop looking within and to other men to provide us with the fulfillment that only comes in Jesus Christ.

Our lives will never be filled with all of the things we see around us!

No amount of knowledge or understanding found in this world will fill our hearts like the knowledge of our God will!

The things that God has in store for us (strength, love, knowledge, fulness) are not even comprehensible to us.

Therefore, we cannot be the ones who accomplish these purposes in our lives.

It must be God, in all of his infinitude, who brings about these purposes in our lives.

Believers must trust that the more they get to know the God that created them and loves them, the more He will fill their lives with satisfaction and purpose!

Dynamic Analogy Grid Application

This passage should cause all of us to come to this conclusion: “I must decide to look to God for the need of my heart and my family, surrender my pursuit of happiness to His desires, and He leads me into a life of true peace and fulfillment”

Transition to conclusion...

As the love of Christ begins to captivate our hearts and we begin to know Him more we will experience real fulfillment!

This is the joy of the Christian life — we can experience rich, full lives when we trust Jesus to be all that we need.

He is enough to amaze and captivate our hearts!

He is alone is the answer to every question of life!

There is no life, no purpose, no peace outside of Jesus Christ!

This is what it means to root our lives in the love of Jesus.

We are so trusting in his love and what it produces that we build our lives on it.

Conclusion

Reiteration

The expressed love that we see in the person of Jesus is the most captivating and fulfilling thing in the world!

When we begin to discover what the love of Jesus means for us, we will invest our lives into knowing and following Jesus more.

This will produce the joy and fulfillment that God desires us to experience!

Here is the reason that Christ’s love is so powerful:

When we understand how magnificent, holy, and perfect God is, and we understand how broken, sinful, and needy we are; we come to the conclusion that we are lost, and there is no way that a God like that could love someone like me.

But, the love of Christ changes that. Jesus stepped into this sinful world and entered into our messy lives. He didn’t push us away, He didn’t leave us condemned — He pursued us and redeemed us!

When we understand that kind of love and we root our hearts in it, we can finally navigate this crazy world with joy and peace!

This is why God strengthens us through His Spirit to root our lives in the love of Jesus! And it’s why it must to be our life’s pursuit!

Visualization

When we believe something is truly worth it, we will sacrifice for it!

We will invest our time, money, resources, and families into the things that we believe will fill our lives with purpose.

When invest our lives deeply understanding the love of Jesus, we will begin to experience the full life that God wants for us!

Our deepest and strongest desires as humans are only met through the unconditional and perfect love of our Creator and Savior.

When we believe that Jesus brings true fulfillment, we will make decisions—big and small—that root our lives in his love.

Action

What would your life look like if your actions reflected the belief that Jesus is the true source of fulfillment that you and your family can experience?

Teenager:

How would this change your dreams about the future?

How would this affect the friends that you choose?

How would it change the time you spend in the Bible?

Working Adult:

How would this change your career?

How would it change your testimony with your coworkers?

What would you be willing to sacrifice because of your faith?

Parents:

How would this change our homes?

What would we spend our time doing?

What sacrifices would we make?

What would be the central theme of our home?

It’s very easy for us to say on Sunday that we believe Christ and His truth are the only things worth rooting our lives in, but that becomes harder to do when “real life” hits again on Monday morning.

This doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the life that God has given us.

It doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy sports and food and games and vacations and live a full life!

It means the opposite!

It just means we will no longer be asking them to be our savior and our source of fulfillment!

We will keep our priorities right, our relationships healthy, our time balanced, when Christ sits on the throne of our heart

Christians:

We must decide to look to God for the needs of our hearts and the desires of our lives.

We must allow our beliefs about the love of Jesus to drive our decisions so that we can be full and satisfied in this life of following Jesus!