Ephesians 3:14-21
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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,
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.
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.
Jonny Majors Quick Kick - He was talking about his playing days, recounting when — as the Vols' quarterback in 1956 — he called a quick kick on first-and-10 from his own 19-yard line against George Tech.
Pray audacious prayers.
Pray audacious prayers.
“If the veil of the world’s machinery were lifted off, how much we could find is done in answer to the prayers of God’s children.”
Robert Murray McCheyne
On This Day February 27 (Heart Palpitations)
“If the veil of the world’s machinery were lifted off, how much we could find is done in answer to the prayers of God’s children.”
Before we look at what he prayed for lets focus on how he prayed.
The Attitude of prayer
The Attitude of prayer
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
The normal biblical posture for praying was standing.
The ordinary Jewish attitude of prayer was standing, with the hands stretched out and the palms upwards.
William Barclay, ed., The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 128.
He is communicating that Not only what we pray matters but how we pray!
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
Christ teaches about the attitude of prayer.
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Aim of prayer
The Aim of prayer
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,
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.
Compare and contrast how Paul prayers for the church and how we often pray.
Prayer seeks to empower the people of God with the Spirit of God.
Prayer seeks to empower the people of God with the Spirit of God.
He prays for:
Spiritual vitality (16) - He asked that the spirit of God would give the church supernatural strength! Because we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood.
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,
10,000 Sermon Illustrations Car Problem
In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.
J. B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians 1:19–20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.
Spiritual strength and vitality is not something you can give yourself!
God is the source of our spiritual strength but prayer helps connect us to the source.
Illustrations Car Problem - Dr. Herbert Jackson
In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.
“How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.
God has all the spiritual power we need but prayer helps connect to that power.
2. Christ’s presence (17) - It is not a request that you would simply have Christ to save you. It means that Christ would be at home in your life and my life.
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
7
The emphasis is not that you might be saved. Obviously he is speaking to redeemed people. When he is speaking of Christ dwelling in their hearts the state of your life that makes your heart his home.
Illustration about our trip to Puerto Pico - we stayed in a dormitory of an old seminary. The lizards out numbered the people 10 to 1.
There wasn’t the level of comfort for me. I was staying there but it wasn’t home. It is possible Christ Christ to dwell in your heart but not feel at home there. That through the power and work of the spirit that Christ might feel right at home in your life.
Priority of Love (18-19) - Paul knows that the quintessential element in the church is love.
3. Priority of Love (18-19) - Paul knows that the quintessential element in the church is 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.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 3
Breadth … length … height … depth expresses the immeasurable dimensions of God’s riches in Christ.
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,
He wants us to know what surpasses knowledge.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
ministry without the priority of love is worthless useless pointless. RBC we can bulild buildings - and we need to, we can reach people and we need to, we can, grow our budget and we need to - but if we don’t have love as the gound and foundation of everthing we do - WE HAVE DONE NOTHING!
Pray that when we talk to each other and when we talk to others that we would be seasoned with love!
4. Fullness of God! - Paul’s pray is not just get them into heaven God.
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The goal of Paul is not simply to get his people into heaven - it is to get heaven into his people!
He wants the fullness of God for the people of God!
This is not keep me safe, bless the food, heal my body - This is praying heaven down into our hearts!
This is an invitation to pray audacious prayers.
Pray to an awesome God.
Pray to an awesome God.
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.
eph 3
Pray confidently
Pray confidently
Prayer matters because of the one we are praying to! — Don’t give yourselves to much credit! Prayer is effective because God is powerful!
HE IS ABLE!
Pray worshipfully
Pray worshipfully
To him be glory is the word Doxa - !
glory -to speak of something as being unusually fine and deserving honor.
It is where we get our english word doxology!
