Untitled Sermon (8)

Paul’s Prayers for his Church at Ephesus:

I’m gonna call these two lessons: Prayers Paul prayed for his Church in Ephesus; In this weeks we’ll look at his first prayer for the church at Ephesus, a prayer for insight, and next week we’ll look at his second prayer for the church, a prayer for strength.

Considering the topic, I’m gonna start at what may seem an unusual place this morning. Let’s look first at Matthew 11:2–6 “2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight (Healing the blind was the miracle that he performed more than any other ) and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”” … The point that I wanna make is that John the Baptist wasn’t sure if this was actually Jesus. (An element of doubt )

This was John the Baptist who leapt in his mother’s womb before he was even born at the presence of Jesus. He foretold of Jesus coming and even baptized Him. And yet even John the Baptist of whom Jesus said; in Matthew 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Even John had to be reassured of Jesus's person and that He was the coming Lord, the Messiah.

A side note on the second part of verse 11. John was greater than the Old Testament prophets because he actually saw with his eyes and personally participated in the fulfillment of what they had only prophesied. But, even John was still under the old dispensation of the law, before the Cross. But now all believers after the Cross are greater still than the prophets and John the Baptist because they have been given the power to participate in the full understanding and experience of something John merely imagined —- the actual atoning work of Christ, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit ...

Now, let’s go to Matthew 28:16–20 “16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.(truth about Himself) 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,(the Holy Trinity) 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””(His promise that he will never leave me or forsake me) …

These were Jesus’s 11 disciples, who have been with him for the past three years, They have watched him be crucified and knew that he had risen from the dead, he had even told them where to meet him at, and with all of that some of them still doubted it was Him… This is the main focus I wanted to bring to light about their doubt. The Great Commission is also Jesus’s directions for the formation of the New Testament church “The Body of Christ”.

Another side note(squirrel), this time on the second-half of verse 20 where it says; And behold, “I am with you always to the end of the age.” This to his disciples,(as well as me and you) I think we can grasp and hold on to that as an ironclad guarantee of his presence and power that is to be manifest through us... Immanuel… translated “God with us” Matthew 1:23 ““Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (again which means, God with us).”

You might be saying; “Now what does all this have to do with Paul’s prayers for his church”… To begin with it reminds me that in Paul's prayer he begins by calling on divine power in v.17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory”... I need to remember that if John the Baptist and Jesus disciples had doubts about His Lordship and needed to be reminded so do I, and I need God’s help … A pointed question that I ask myself when I’m studying scripture and also when I'm going through my day is; “Do I really believe what I say or think I believe? Is it evident in my thoughts and actions?”.

We know that Paul was talking to the believers at Ephesus, Not evangelizing lost souls … Ephesians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:” and Ephesians 1:15 “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,”...

Now let’s look at how Paul begins his first prayer in Ephesians: Ephesians 1:15–23 “15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,...This is plenty of reason to be praying for one another because faith in the Lord and love toward the Saints is definitely going to draw attack from the devil and his demons, the realm of darkness. One of their most powerful tools is getting us to doubt and second guess the Spiritual truths relating to Jesus and our Salvation.

In verse 15 Paul brings out two core principles that pertain to the New Church, the Body of Christ. First, their faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul uses the identifying term Lord in relation to Jesus twice here, once in versus 15 and again in v.17. We like to think about Jesus as being our friend and our savior, but to consider him as being Lord sometimes seems a little radical. The “Ruler” of my life !?! I read a sentence that I want to share that made me stop and think, “Jesus becomes savior when he is accepted as Lord”. Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” … Granted none of us received Jesus Christ with a full understanding of all He is or all He requires as Lord of those he saves. Many of us come to Christ with only the barest idea of his sovereign deity or of what it means to belong to him and submit to him. But we are willing to submit, to give up all we have and to leave all (my claim to my rights to myself) and follow him.

Then secondly their love toward all the Saints. In the Old Testament Moses wrote in Leviticus 19:18; Love your neighbor as yourself, in the New Testament Jesus said Love your neighbor as I have loved you...big difference. John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (directions for the Church)

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,(Jesus)

The word used here for wisdom is Sophia, that is the wisdom of the deep things of God. Paul also asked God to give them the “revelation in the knowledge of Jesus.” For a Christian growth in knowledge and in grace is essential. Anyone of us who has decided to be one of Jesus's disciples knows that he dare not stop studying and learning.

Here’s a simple prayer we can pray that may sound something like this; “Heavenly Father please give me or _____ the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus”

18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,” that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” … we’ll come back to these blessings...

Eyes of our “hearts” what is Paul talking about here?

Ephesians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Understanding the Greatness of God’s Plan

In most modern cultures, the heart is thought of as the seat of emotions and feelings. But most ancients—Hebrews, Greeks, and many others—considered the heart (Greek

Paul then prays for their enlightenment, a deeper understanding, the opening our eyes, this is the miracle that Jesus performed more than any other when he was here on earth, so that the blind may see.

For me enlightenment usually looks like this; I learn a spiritual truth, something from scripture. Then I go through a series of events, usually failures which give me perceptions and questions that I need to seek Gods strength and guidance through. It’s usually a process that takes time and patience.

Another aspect of being enlightened or the illumination of our mind is that our problem is not lack of blessings, I think when Paul said; (v.18b “That you may know what is the hope to which he has called you what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the Saints” ) is outlined in verses 3-14 and through-out the entire New Testament, Let's go back and look at the, abundant blessings God lavishes on us through Jesus His Beloved. Ephesians 1:3–6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” ... In Jesus, His Beloved, we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses, Ephesians 1:7–10 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”... also in Him we have obtained an inheritance through Jesus, Ephesians 1:11–12 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”... then through Jesus we are blessed with the promised Holy Spirit , Ephesians 1:13–14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” ...

In this prayer I think we can see that “our primary need as Christians is for wisdom (reading our Bibles) and obedience(Willingness to seek and do God’s will ) so we can appropriate the abundance of blessings the Lord has already given, our problem it’s not lack of blessings but lack of insight and wisdom to understand and to use them properly and faithfully”. I think that in his prayer Paul is reminding us that it is imperative that the eye of our heart be constantly focused on our Lord and Savior Jesus ...

A simple prayer to say as we go through our day and face indecision, would be simply; “Dear Jesus, Holy Spirit, Please let your will, not mine, be done” I can pray this on my life or that of a brother or sister I know is struggling or just learning and growing.

19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”...

This part of Paul's prayer continues to remind me that I can never forget or doubt, that I/we need, and have access to Divine Power to remind me/us of our position in Christ, and His position in us And just as important Jesus's position in and relationship to God the Father and ours with Them... Our eyes must constantly be focused on Jesus. He is our spiritual health, He wills our place in the Church and our responsibility to the Church, the Body of Jesus. We also have a responsibility to each other, the members of Peace Fellowship. Just as Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus to give them the insight that they need to be an active part of His Church. Functioning in accordance with His will...We at peace fellowship need to be praying for each other.

This is the “Spiritual Realm” that we are a part of...This is the power that we have at our disposal, are we billionaires living like we’re homeless???

Next week we will study Paul’s prayer for spiritual strength in Ephesians 3:14–21