Ephesians 3:14-21 (A Church with High Expectations)

I’m tired, your tired, we are tired of being tired.

The United States is experiencing what experts have termed a “Great Exhaustion,” with unprecedented levels of tiredness, fatigue, and burnout affecting millions of American’s across all demographics and sectors. 37% of American adults do not get anywhere close to 7 hours of sleep, and research indicates that American’s spend approximately 1,460 hours a year feeling tired. So about 4 hours per day. In 2022 CDC study found that 13.5% of adults felt tired or exhausted most days or every day.

In economic terms this is a $136 Billion dollar problem in health related problems. The parallel to the physical fatigue is the unprecedented wave of psychological burnout. Recent research shows about 45% of the U.S workforce reports experiencing burnout, throughout their career.

These stats are so concerning for the overall health of the American workforce, for sure, but they expose an issue with our society, an issue with the church in general, but mainly an issue with our hearts.

Consider Paul’s words in verse 14 and 15

Ephesians 3:14–15

ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

Paul again starts off with the wording, for this reason, he’s calling us to remember last weeks sermon. God has called His church together as a family, with the purpose of declaring His glory to the nations. This purpose, or our mission is make know Jesus’ name to all of the nations. We are called to be lights in the darkness, ambassadors of love, and proclaimers of the work that Jesus has done in our lives. We have been tasked to continue the ministry that Jesus started over a 1000 years ago.

Here is the dirty little secret, you and I, the church can’t complete the mission in our own strength. You see, Paul takes Jesus’ own words into account when he counts the cost of following Jesus, as seen in John 15:5

John 15:5

ESV

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

and a bit further down in John 15:10-14

John 15:10–14

ESV

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

So in Jesus’ own words he says that we cannot go out on the mission and be fruitful if we do not abide in him. Which is why Paul starts out his prayer for Spiritual strength on his knees before the Father, humble, and expecting that God will do exactly what He promises, that is to pour out His love on us, so that we can love others. That God will in his perfect sovereignty, provide strength and power through the Holy Spirit. This does not happen though if we approach the mission of God without God himself.

There is a reality that we have to face today as a church, City on a Hill, locally and the broader church as a whole. If we continue to live life at the frenetic pace of culture, we will struggle to feel the love of God, we will struggle to hear the voice of God, and we will struggle on the mission of God because in our flesh we are not living at the pace of God. We will continue to operate in a burnt out manner, desperately looking for reprieve anywhere we can find it, and the issue with this type of burnout is that it’s not just physical. It’s psychological, emotional, and spiritual. Our whole inner being, as Paul puts it in v16 is getting crushed under the weight of the way that we are living our lives.

The good news today is that the Bible already has a solution to our problem. It’s almost as if God himself knew the state of humanity in His omnipotence.

If you remember in Genesis, God created the entire world in 6 days and He rested on the 7th.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

In the book of Exodus, God commands that His people keep the Sabbath,

Exodus 20:8–11

[8] “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10] but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [11] For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (ESV)

In the New Testament the book of Hebrews gives us another glimpse at why we should rest.

Hebrews 4:8–11

[8] For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. [9] So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, [10] for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

[11] Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (ESV)

Considering these passages, the Bible makes clear about how we enter rest with the Lord. We practice the discipline of Sabbath, a time that we spend intentionally with God himself. A time that we slow the pace of our lives down to match the pace that God himself created.

For those who don’t know what Sabbath is, Sabbath is 16 waking hours that are deliberately set apart for worship. In the past, we have framed this as time that fills you up, and I want to offer a word of caution. If our hearts are not “striving to enter the Sabbath-Rest” we will fill our days with things that might feel like they are filling but are not actually filling, they are entertaining, or allowing us to disassociate from the world. This is not sabbath. Sabbath is a time dedicated to worship and allowing God to fill you up, not culture.

And when we practice Sabbath, we start to tap into the power that Paul describes in verse 16.

Ephesians 3:14–16

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (ESV)

And notice what that power brings, strength in our most inner being, or the depths of our souls. Sabbath in itself is not going to bring us super natural strength, in our most inner being, in our souls. It will help with our physical exhaustion, it may help with our mental fatigue, but in-order to get to the point where we are super naturally transformed from chronically over stressed, over planned, over committed, and slaves to the pace of culture, we need to experience what Paul describes as Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith.

Ephesians 3:17–19

[17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (ESV)

Sabbath gives us time to rest with and in Christ. Sabbath affords us the opportunity to slow down, to put our theology into action, trusting that the Lord is sovereign, and that He is in control. Sabbath allows for us to put down the dopamine candy machines that we call our cell phones, tablets, and TVs. Sabbath allows for us to be counter-cultural in a day that is consecrated to the Lord. Sabbath is an invitation to meet with God to, as Paul puts it, comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, and an opportunity to be filled with all the fullness of God.

And yes, I know the objections. I don’t have time, I want my kids to get an experience, we have too much going on, we need to get to practice, I haven’t caught up on the latest netflix show, what about my friends and mission! I hear that, but I want to point out a few things.

First, when it comes to our kids, our first mission is to our family and we are discipling them all the time. If you are wondering how you got to the point of burn-out you need to look no further than your own story, your family of origin and I’m sure that you can see why you keep the pace that you do. Our kids are watching us, constantly moving, constantly needing to be entertained, constantly trying to keep up with the next family. Are our kids watching us, as the book of Hebrew writes, striving to enter into the rest of Sabbath? Striving to be filled with all of the fullness of God? Or are they seeing something different? It is something to consider and to pray about.

As for the objection, I have too much going on. It’s simple, without a time that is dedicated to resting in Jesus, we will continue to remain frustrated with a church that lacks the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We will be frustrated in how we love our family and our friends. We will struggle to see the transformational power in our lives. We will struggle being the church.

One the other hand Paul writes,

Ephesians 3:20–21

[20] Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)

When we exercise our faith and trust in the Lord, when we break the bondage of the frenetic pace of culture, when we learn to say no to good things, for the best thing, we will start to see Jesus do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think through us. The exhaustion of ministry gets exchanged for the power of Christ. Our inner being becomes rooted and grounded in Jesus’ love, because we have experienced it over and over, week after week, month after month, year after year and His glory starts to shine through us, through His church. For generations to come, until He returns. This doesn’t happen by accident, this happens by a conscious choice to slow down and rest in the one who brings true rest. Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen