Are You Who God is Looking For?

Ephesians 3:20–21 (NIV)

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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Introduction

In 1999 I enrolled in Bible College, leaving beautiful San Diego, CA behind me and enrolling in a school in the beautiful city of, wait for it, Stockton, CA.

Beautiful and Stockton, CA do not belong in the same sentence. The only reason you leave San Diego and go to Stockton is becuase God calls you to it. Otherwise, there is no other reason to go.

I remember when my parents dropped me off. My Mom determined to take me right back home with her. She saw the City and was like, “Oh no son, we can enroll you in Point Loma Nazarene and you can get just as much Bible college there…”

But I stayed and learned something very early in Bible College.

The Bible is better when you read it in context.

Can you all say context?

If you are wondering what that means, let me give you just a simple example of context.

Many times people will read a Bible verse and think that it means something. However, when you learn how to read the Bible in context, and you start to read the verse according to how the writer wanted you to read the verse, the meaning is so much better.

You need to understand, say it with me, context.

Transition

Ephesians 3:20-21 is one of those verses that we LOVE to read and we read it in isolation of context.

But we at Lighthouse Church, we don’t read the Bible like that. We read the Bible and we understand the Bible the way the writers wanted you to understand the Bible.

So, we’re going to dive into Ephesians 3 today.

The Pre-Text

Before we can get to Ephesians 3:20 and 21, we need to unpack Ephesians 4:14 through 19.

But before we can properly unpack Ephesians 3:14 through 19, we need to understand Ephesians 3, verses 1 through 13. In the interest of time, I won’t unpack these verses, but I want to give you the main emphasis.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is to show the church that they are God’s new family. His previous family was Israel. He had a covenant with Israel. They were His people and He was their God.

But in Christ Jesus, we have a new covenant. Can you say new covenant?

In this new covenant, the church is God’s family here on earth. This new family is not under law, but it is under grace. And because it is under grace, the new covenant has new terms.

What are some of these terms?

Male and female are equal. Sexism doesn’t exist in God’s new family.

Jew and Gentile are equal. Racism doesn’t exist in God’s new family.

There is no distinction from slaves and masters. Classism doesn’t exist.

In God’s family we are all equal. We are all sons and we are all daughters.

In God’s family, black and white can worship together. Republican and democrat can worship together. Rich and broke can worship together. God’s family is a multi-ethnic, multi-generational, life-giving community that stands together against the powers of darkness that is ripping out City apart.

That’s what Paul is telling us in Ephesians 3 verses 1 though 13.

But why is he saying this?

Because this was not happening in the church. The church was acting up. And here’s what you need to know… when the church starts to act up, the culture starts to act up.

People say as the culture goes, so goes the church. But I would say that as the church goes, so goes the culture.

When the church starts fighting, the world starts fighting.

When the church starts to divide, the world starts to divide.

But when the church starts to become who God always intended for us to become, then the church becomes an unstoppable force that moves the city.

It becomes unstoppable force that influences culture.

It becomes an unstoppable force that drives the darkness out of our city.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Upon this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

And all of this is a prelude to the text.

The Context

This is the reason Paul says:

Ephesians 3:14–17 (NIV)

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…

Pray First

Look at what Paul is saying… he is saying “I kneel before the Father…” Paul is praying for the church.

He knows that in order for the church to act the way it is supposed to act it must begin with prayer.

You see if the church is the family of God; his representatives here on earth, then the church needs to get on the same page and we get on the same page by speaking the same language and the language of the church is prayer.

A church is not driven by it’s values. Values are good, and they are needed.

A church is not driven by a vision. A vision is good, and it is needed.

A church is not driven by it’s mission statement, it’s strategy, or it’s structure. And hear me church, all of those things are necessary and needed.

The one thing that is needed to unite the church and to fuel the church is prayer. There is no substitute for prayer. A program does not replace prayer. Excellence in ministry does not replace prayer.

Prayer is not a thing it is the thing.

The city doesn’t need a cool church, a relevant church, or a hip church. The city needs a praying church.

When the church begins to pray it unites under a heavenly language and the schemes of heaven invade the earth as God’s children advance the Kingdom agenda.

This is why we are going to begin our year with 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. You see, some of you are entering into 2024 only thinking about how you can advance your bank account, how you can advance your career, or how you can advance your fitness. And there is nothing wrong with these goals. But let me ask you, how many of you have written down how you are going to advance God’s Kingdom here on earth? How many of you, on your vision board, have written down how you are going to make King Jesus known to your city? How many of you are willing to stop in all of your planning for the new year and ask the Lord, “now what would you have me to do for you?”

If you’ve not thought about that yet, it’s OK. That’s why I believe the Lord has put it in me to remind you to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

As a church we aren’t going to seek the Kingdom of God second, third, or with whatever we have left over.

No, we are going to seek first the Kingdom of God.

Let me ask you, if God answered all of your prayers, would the world change or just your world change?

As the people of God we have got to take the focus off of us and say, “Not my will be done, but your will be done.”

So we are going pray and we are going to fast. We are going to do this together as a family. We begin on sundown on January 7, and we’ll conclude our fast on Sunday, January 28. We have resources online, and we’ll continue to make our resources available to you all through our weekend emails as well. Stay connected with us. in 2024 you can become a person of prayer.

Strengthened with Power

Paul then goes on to pray, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit…”

Power through this Spirit.

He doesn’t say he’s going to strengthen your influence.

He’s not praying that he strengthen your bank account.

He’s not praying that he strengthen your career, or your academics, or your hobbies.

No, Paul is acknowledging that what the church needed then, and what the church needs now is power through his Spirit.

The power of the Spirit strengthens us to impact our city.

Can I just say right now that perhaps in the church’s attempt to win our city we might have lost our edge?

In the church’s attempt to influence culture, the church might be the one being influenced and not the culture.

We’ve so desired to not upset our city, that we’ve tried to tame a Lion.

What I am talking about is not a brash church that fights in political arenas, or an obnoxious church with passive aggressive tendencies to shame people into knowing Jesus.

That’s not what I am describing.

What I am describing is a church that does not fear the agenda of satan and the demonic stronghold in our city. I am describing a church that doesn’t see Sunday’s as a religious retreat, but as a spiritual advance where we are filled, and refilled with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can go into the dark places of our city and proclaim the name of Jesus.

We aren’t afraid to tell others about Jesus.

We won’t wait to pray for the sick on Sunday, we will lay hands on the sick wherever they are, and in the name of Jesus they will be healed.

Yes, we are the sheep of His pasture, but know this, when you walk out of these doors the Spirit of the Living God resides in you and you have the authority to preach, you have the authority to pray for the sick, you have the authority to cast out devils, you have the authority to speak up for the marginalized, to serve the under served, to feed those without food, to care for those who have been forgotten.

If the Spirit of God is living in you, then there needs to be identifiable markers in the way you live that resemble the way Jesus lived.

We can’t do this on our own, and that is why we must be filled with His spirit.

Rooted in Love

Now Paul gives us a condition as to how we are to wield the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Ephesians 3:17–19 (NIV)

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

The power of the Holy Spirit is to be rooted and established in love.

Paul had to address this more harshly to the Corinthian church when he told them you are gifted, but you do not have love. An entire chapter of Corinthians 13 is devoted to explaining to them that love must be at the center of it all. If love is not at the center of our community then we are in danger of becoming a dysfunctional family, and a dysfunctional family is not God’s family. God is not a dysfunctional God and he doesn’t make dysfunctional children, Satan does.

Oh but we worshipped! So did Lucifer, until pride was found in him.

When you worship your gifting more than you worship the one who gives us the gifts, you are not rooted in love and God wants no part of that.

We are rooted and we are established in love…

Limitless Love

And this takes us to the final part of Paul’s writing before he gives us his grand finale.

When you root yourself in the love of God, you’re going to start to see how wide, and how long, and how high, and how deep the love of Christ is.

You think you understand the love of God now?

No, let me tell you, you don’t truly know the love of God until you show the love of God.

When you start to show the love of God he is going to put you in front of people that you think are undeserving of God’s love. People you think God shouldn’t love. People who have a past.

And God is going to show you profound his love is.

God will show you his limitless love.

Now… (Conclusion)

And when we’ve done that, we get to our subject verses for today that I’m not even going to walk us through today…

Paul says this…”Now unto him who is able…”

That word “now” is a conjunction.

Let me take you all the way back to the 70’s and remind you of School House Rock and ask you, “Conjunction junction, what’s your function?”

We read verses 20 and 21 as a promise from God, and we dance and we celebrate because God is going to do more than we can ask, more than we can think or imagine… And he will… But not without verses 14 through 19 he wont.

The God who is able is looking for a person who is willing.

This statement here is wrestling me to the ground. God is not withholding anything from me, but it is my will that has not completely surrendered to him. It is me getting in my own way. He is able, but am I willing?

This leads me to our theme for 2024.

Open Door

There is an open door for us to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to the City of Vista. But it’s going to begin with prayer. We’re going to need to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And we need to be rooted in love. Prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit and rooted in love.

Can I give that some direction for us?

Prayer connects us upward.

The Holy Spirit fills us inward.

Rooted in love is manifested outward.

Upward, inward and outward.

These three words have been on mind and as we enter 2024 everything we do must be filtered through one of these expressions. Is it something that will drive us upward? Is this something that will build us inward? And is this something that will be felt outward?

If it doesn’t accomplish one of these things, we won’t do it. Because we’re trying to bring heaven to earth, and the God who is able is looking for a church that is willing.

Call

We are going to close this service with a call for every family to come forward and to pray together as a family before the year ends. I know some of you may do this later, but some of you won’t. So we’re going to give you a chance to do this now, while we still can.

There’s going to come a day when this house will be so full that there will be no room for us to come to an altar for prayer as an entire church.

But today, we’re going to end our year here together at this altar.