Paul's Prayer for the Ephesian "Saints"
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So excited to preach this message this morning… Open with me to .
Holy Spirit has placed this on my heart in very real way!
So excited to preach this message this morning… Open with me to .
Paper on your pews… take one and pass it down… Please, please, please hear me and my heart here…
1st… scripture from the sermon… receive so many texts each week about “what scripture was that from Sunday?”
From now on… each scripture that i use, should say “that i plan to use” will be on that paper for you to take home.
Each week there will also be a “main point/challenge” on that paper… we will discuss what and why at the end.
Each week there will also be a “main point/challenge” on that paper… we will discuss what and why at the end.
So let’s get into it this morning....
Many of Paul’s letters are focused on church problems, controversy, leadership, leadership problems…
NOT ephesians… one of/maybe the most rich books of the Bible for spiritual truths, spiritual enlightenment.
So so so good.... Paul wrote this book from Prison to the church at Ephesus… but because of the deep spiritual truth’s and implications we know that Paul knew/meant for this book to be circulated for all believer to grab hold of and nourish themselves.
Church at Ephesus… relatively young church… hostile environment…
So what’s the purpose of the writing?
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
Encouragement, Growth, Insight
Should be what we want for our own spiritual life and the spiritual lives of those around us.
Important to go back and read VERSES 1-2
To the who??? SAINTS… believers… those in Christ.... the church…
Saying.... pray that you have your eyes opened, know him more, enlightened, know the hope, understand the power.
Church people… he’s saying “i thank God that you’re a believer, but there’s room for growth”
Can i tell you this morning, that i’m so thankful you are a part of the family of God, I’m so thankful that you’re part of the SFA family.... BUT… THERE. IS. ROOM. FOR. GROWTH..... AMEN???
Let’s go back now to verses 1-2, read them again, and add verses 3-5.
Verse 3....
Blessed us, IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS, with every spiritual blessing…
Verse 4
CHOSE US… Chose us…
Verse 5
Predestined… to be what… adopted????
Predestined…chosen… get into some real good theology here…
“destined”- to have a particular fate… “Hogs are destined to go 4-8”
“pre”- before
“predestined”- to decide beforehand.
Now… given this scripture… “chosen” & “predestined” along with the fact that we know God is OMNISCIENT… ALL KNOWING!
Group of people who have taken this and “determined” incorrectly… God chooses Heaven and Hell before you’re even born… before world was created… that he has determined who will spend eternity with him in his presence and who will be condemned and banished from his presence…
I want to show you what’s wrong with this belief and theology… for a reason… because the TRUE meaning behind this Word and scripture is so so so encouraging and powerful.
VERSE 4-5
“Predestined” means the outcome is determined in advance by divine will or decision.
PREDESTINED- outcome determined in advance by divine will… divine decision…
So look at these scriptures with me…
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Will that NO ONE is Lost… but that EVERYONE is saved.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 timothy
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
So obvious that the blood of Jesus, death on the cross, sacrifice, love, mercy, grace, is for EVERYONE!!!! Not just a chosen few…
But now let’s take it a step further…
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
so the Word of God is CRYSTAL CLEAR… that Jesus died for everyone… that the father desires for EVERYONE to come to him....
But… that in order to come to him… you must choose him… you must accept him.... serve him.
Free will since we were first created…
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
From DAY ONE… adam and eve had the choice… CHOOSE LIFE.... or CHOOSE DEATH… Word of God gave them the direction and guidance needed.
Today… we choose life or choose death… Word of God/Gospel/Message of salvation gives us the direction and guidance.
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Why will we have to give an account??? because it’s OUR OWN CHOICE how we live, walk, talk… we must give an account because we have free will.
So… go back to our Verses in …
Verse 3-4
Chosen… who??? Saints...
Predestined… who??? Saints…
Lord “chooses” those who “choose” JESUS!!
Chosen and predestined here are two seperate thoughts and acts…
Those who are chosen… chosen by choosing Christ… are predestined to receive the spiritual blessings that God pours out.
God “predetermined” that whoever CHOSE his son would receive adoption, redemption, forgiveness, Grace, power, worth, authority.
Determined to Spiritually bless those who are chosen.
Now… LISTEN TO ME… PTL moment right here guys…
Before you were even formed in your mother’s womb… he knew you… chose you… and predestined you to walk in his Grace, power, authority, and blessings!
In spite of the failures he knew you would have… omniscient… ALL KNOWING… he knew you would rebel, he knew you would fail, he knew you would mess up, be dirty, say the wrong thing, think the wrong thing, act the wrong way…
In his love… he CHOSE you anyway… Predestined you ANYWAY!!
VERSE 7-11
VERSE 7-11
VERSE 13-14
VERSE 13-14
WOW!! Installment, deposit, guaranteeing what he’s promised!! Finished work! He will finish what he starts!
Remember at the beginning… We discussed the why of this letter… be encouraged, grow, and gain insight.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
WOW!!!
So after reminding the church people, saints, at Ephesus who they are… chosen, predestined, redeemed, forgiven, full of grace, marked with a seal, full of the Spirit…
he then says let me tell you what i’m praying for… even though you are the saints, church, believers, chosen, predestined… there is room for more.
“FOR THIS REASON.....”
pointing back… to what he’s said up to this point… pointing back to what God has done for us..
Now… praying that they would come to the realization of everything that’s available.
Prayer.... relying on the Lord to do something that you can’t do on your own. Not praying for something that he or the people can do on their own… he’s calling out to God… praying for help from heaven in 4 different areas..
Verse 17
Wisdom and revelation… for what??? KNOW HIM BETTER.
Knowing God… word used here is “yadah” in the Hebrew… it actually stands for the intimacy between a husband and wife in marriage.
Wisdom and revelation that you’ll know about God… facts… what the Word says…
But also… know him on a personal, friendship, family, loving level. Encounters…interactions…
We must know ABOUT God and we must KNOW God. Know him better…
Revelation.... disclose something previously unknown…
Pray… for you.... you pray for me… we pray for each other… this church… that God/Holy Spirit will give us spiritual wisdom and revelation each day, each week, something we didn’t know… reveal something we weren’t sure of… with the purpose of knowing him more, better, more personal.
maybe this morning… the revelation for you is that God created you, chose you, predestined you to be in a personal saving relationship with him… someone this morning.
Verse 18
enlightened… opened… given light… to be able to see… see what??? HOPE!!!
enlightened… reveal… give light… put light in…
enlightened means to place light where there was darkness so that you can see…
even in the midst of a dark world… even in the pressures of life… when life is hard… when life is tough… MAY WE BE ABLE TO SEE… SPIRITUAL EYES… SEE THE HOPE OF JESUS… WHAT HE HAS DONE… WHAT HE HAS PROMISED.
Biblical Hope isn’t a wish.. it’s something we know… truth that we stand on.
Hope.. eyes.. fixed on Jesus…
Working for the good of those who love him. Hope. Heaven. Hope.
verse 18
eyes opened to your worth… huh???
“his” glorious inheritance in the saints… who’s inheritance???? God’s.... in the saints…
God’s inheritance… YOU… what? I love, love, love, love this… the more i study this the more im convinced that Paul is writing here that God is EXCITED about receiving you into his sonship, family, heaven… his inheritance, his reward for the blood and death of his son is you…
Wow!! So many people believe the lie that they’re worthless… no worth in life… messed up… too dirty…
Paul is praying.... i pray that you realize that you’re worth… God is pursuing you, excited about you, you are his inheritance…
Word we are called Sons, Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, Family.
In life you get what you paid for… God gave the ultimate price for you.... because you’re so valuable and loved by him.
He values you so much… wants to be in a relationship with you so much…
Verse 19-20
eyes opened… enlightened… given light… to be able to see what??? POWER!!!!
To be able to see and understand what??? AUTHORITY!!!
I place the power and authority in the same sentence.. put them together…
Jesus is the most powerful person in the universe, no words to describe his great power…
along with that power is the authority.... seated on the most high throne… above everything… everything is placed under his feet. You have that power… authority living inside you… supporting you… having your back.
The same power that defeated death… the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives inside of you.
We don’t have to walk around in slavery to sin, to this world, we don’t have to walk around defeated! We have the Power of Christ and the authority of the throne with us.
Verse 1…
apostle… called, commissioned, sent, and supported!! YES!! He understands!!
Paper… scriptures… also.. what Paul prayed… not a specific prayer… just specific topics…
I have a deep desire.. .for this… for SFA… me… us.. pray it… for all of us.. each other… youth… kids… adults… leadership.
wisdom and revelation - to know him better.
enlightenment/eyes opened - to the HOPE found in Christ.
You are God’s glorious inheritance - your worth and value.
understand/see/enlightened - to God’s great power and authority.
CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE!!!
CAN WE PRAY THIS OVER EACH OTHER… EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. FROM KIDS TO ADULTS.