06PM February 5 Ephesians 3 14_21
February 5, 2006—Evening Worship
“The Glorious Grace of God” Series – Part 8
The Power in Praise
Instructions for Intercession on Behalf of Others
Ephesians 3:14-21
Intro: God is a miraculous God! He is still working wonders today! He still heals today! He still has all power & is the only One worthy of praise!
Did you know that when you pray to God you are praising Him? Did you know that when you pray to God you honor Him? Do you realize that God is able to do exceedingly & abundantly above all that we ask or think? Do you understand that there is power in praise as we intercede on behalf of others?
Just this week, I heard the story of a woman who happens to be the Aunt of one of my daughter’s friends. She had been diagnosed w/cancer on 2 other occasions. She had had the surgeries, the chemo & radiation treatments. & she had been cancer free for some time.
However, right before Christmas of last year, she was having an examination & her Dr. discovered that she had cancer in her lymph nodes. Further tests were done & the cancer was said to have been in all her lymph nodes & there was nothing they could do.
Naturally, she asked people to pray & she began searching for a Dr. willing to operate. She finally found one who said he would, but she would need to come in for initial testing. When she did, the Dr. told her that there was no cancer. He proceeded to do a P.E.T. scan of her entire body, only to discover that there was no sign of any cancer in her body at all!
Her Dr. could not explain why or how the cancer had disappeared, but she knew & so do you! God miraculously healed her! This woman was naturally thankful to her Lord, but also to the many people who had prayed for her.
God has the power & God does choose to heal those through whom He will receive the most glory! I don’t know why some are healed & some are not, but I do know that God uses the prayers of His people to accomplish what seems impossible!
In our text tonight, the Apostle Paul talks about that very thing. Let’s read Ephesians 3:14-21 & learn from instructions for intercession on behalf of others.
Ephesians 3 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven & earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened w/might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted & grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend w/all the saints what is the width & length & depth & height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled w/all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever & ever. Amen.
- By Paul’s example we learn…
1. How to pray for others. (vv. 14-16b)
- The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that we may come boldly to the throne of grace & there find help in time of need.
- & from our text tonight, Paul says we are to pray for others…
A. With Confidence. (v. 14) 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
- When we come to the throne of grace, we can come w/confidence b/c we are not only praying to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are praying to our heavenly Father.
- We have a personal relationship w/God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Therefore, we have His eye; His ear; His heart; His attention; His affection.
- When your child comes to you w/a request, you listen w/heart-felt affection.
- You want to be able to meet that need or fulfill that request.
- & God is listening to His children as we come before Him w/bowed knees & hearts seeking help!
- Think of it this way, if God was willing to send His Son Jesus to die in your place, don’t you think that He’s interested in you; in every aspect of your life?
- So come to the Lord’s throne of grace & make your petitions known.
- & do it w/the confidence that they will be heard & that God will answer according to His perfect will!
- Not only can we pray for others w/confidence, but Paul says we are to pray for others…
B. In Comfort. (v. 15) 15 from whom the whole family in heaven & earth is named
- You can take comfort in the truth that God is the Father of all who are in His family.
- He is not just the God & the Father of the living, but of the dead. By that I mean that all who are in heaven, those dear departed saints of God & all who are on earth who, love Him & are attempting to walk w/Him through His power.
- These are the ones whom God calls family.
- & notice that we are named after Him.
- Just as you are descendants of your fathers, we all are spiritual descendants of our heavenly Father.
- In the original the words tell us that every kind or sort of family in the heavenly places & on earth have One origin, one Maker, one Father.
- So not only are we to pray for others w/confidence, but in the comfort of the fact that we are all family & that God cares for each & for all w/the same level of concern.
- Therefore, we learn from the text that we are to pray for others…
C. With Compassion. (v. 16a-b) 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory
- There is nothing that God does not have! There is nothing God will ever lack!
- He has all things b/c He created all things & in Him all things consist!
- Now Paul begins to get personal in his prayers for the Ephesian believers.
- He is asking God to grant them those things which follow, according to the riches of His glory.
- The word translated ‘grant’ literally means “to supply, furnish, deliver, permit or to reward.”
- Paul is asking something for the Ephesians which he knows cannot be obtained by man. It’s not in man’s power to deliver these things.
- Therefore, they must be sought from God alone.
- & notice how Paul asks that God grant these items, according to the riches of His glory.
- IOW Paul says, “As You are mighty, grant them might; as You faithful, grant them faith; as You are love, grant them love; as You are gracious, grant them grace.
- IOW in proportion to the riches of Your character & glory, grant them these requests.
- This is your heavenly Father’s response to your earthly need. This is your heavenly Father’s actions toward your distress. This is your heavenly Father’s expression of love for you.
- IOW Paul asks God to give His best for His people for their good & His glory!
- But not only does Paul give us an example of how to pray for others but also…
2. What to pray for others. (vv. 16c-19)
- This is practical prayer instruction that anyone of us can & should us as we pray for others.
- This is what we need more than anything else. We need…
A. His Power. (v. 16c) “…to be strengthened w/might through His Spirit in the inner man….”
- We have what is called “Intercessory Prayer” at the beginning of each service.
- During those times we do pray of specific problems which people face.
- & there’s nothing wrong w/that, in fact, if you’re not already doing so in your personal prayer time, let me encourage you to begin to pray specifically for others needs.
- But Paul is more concerned w/the spiritual ability of others, than he is their physical needs.
- By example, he teaches us to pray 1st for their spiritual strength.
- The word ‘strengthened’ literally means, “to make strong, to cause to grow in strength or to increase in strength.”
- & the word ‘might’ in that same verse is the word from which we get our word dynamite.
- It speaks of inherent power; power that is w/in a person or thing. It speaks of the ability to exert power.
- So Paul says we are to pray that God would grant others the ability to increase in strength by the working of His Spirit in the inner man; that others would have whatever it takes to stand strong during difficult days & desperate times.
- This is so much more important than just praying for someone’s physical needs!
- This allows them to be strong soldiers in the army of the Lord!
- Pray for others to have His power & to experience…
B. His Presence. (v. 17a) “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith….”
- That seems terribly elementary for the Apostle Paul to even mention, doesn’t it?
- Christ does dwell in the hearts of all who place their faith in Him.
- So what does Paul mean here?
[Have you ever been in someone’s home to visit & felt as though you really were not welcome? Oh, they invited you in & maybe even gave you some sustenance, but you felt as though they really couldn’t wait for you to leave.]
- Paul’s desire here is that Christ could not only dwell in your heart but that He would feel at home in your heart.
[When our daughter Tiffany was going to check out Campbell University, we took her down the night before & spent the night in THE hotel in Dunn, NC. They claimed it was all new, but after we got in the room, we could see it was newly painted & it may have had new carpet—but the hotel was not new.
In fact, when Tiffany got in the shower to turn on the water, the knob on the faucet came off in her hand! & it looked like it had never been cleaned! So if I’m ever back in Dunn, NC looking for a hotel, I’m not going to be staying there!]
- Our text tells us that we should be praying for others to have a clean, new, fresh, open heart to the Lord Jesus so that He may feel at home in their heart, not like an unwanted guest!
- What do we pray for others? We pray for His power & His presence &…
C. His Perception. (vv. 17b-19a) “…that you, being rooted & grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend w/all the saints what is the width & length & depth & height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge….”
- Paul was praying that the Ephesians would be firmly established in the love of Christ.
- He was praying that they would be able to grasp the vast riches of His love.
- IOW he’s saying that you were planted in the love of Christ & laid in the firm foundation of His love, so that the knowledge of His love would be attainable to you.
- Paul is not trying to describe literal dimensions to the love of Christ, but is simply saying that through your interaction w/Christ & His love, you would be able to envision the extremes of His love.
- The extreme width which takes in all kinds of people.
- The extreme length to which He went to demonstrate His love.
- The extreme depth to which He came to redeem you.
- The extreme height to which He is exalted & will exalt all those who humble themselves to His love.
- If others could but gain Jesus’ perception of what love really is, they would gain great insight into their relationship w/God & others.
- We pray for His power, His presence, His perception &…
D. His Person. (v. 19b) “…that you may be filled w/all the fullness of God.”
- You may be asking yourself, “What’s the difference in praying for His presence & His person? In v. Paul asked “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith….” Is that not the same thing as praying to be filled w/all His fullness?”
- Here it means that you may have the richest measures of His Divine Presence; that you may partake of the entire enjoyment of God in the most abundant measure which He gives His favor on His people.
- Notice that it was to be w/all the fullness of God; not w/partial or limited measures of His gracious presence, but w/all of His fullness.
- We are to dwell w/God; walk w/God; live w/God; commune w/God; be like God.
- We are to become partakers of the Divine nature so that what others notice most about us is Him!
- That’s what our desire for others should be & that’s how we are to pray for others & what we are to pray for others.
- & finally we seen in Paul’s example…
3. Why we pray for others. (vv. 20-21)
- According to the last 2 verses of our text tonight, we pray for others so…
A. That God’s Grace may work in them. (v. 20) 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us
- As I said in the beginning of this message God is able; He has all power; God can do whatever God purposes to do!
- But what’s so amazing to me is that He chooses to work in mere human beings!
- He chooses to work in us & through us for His glory!
- He can do so much more than we can ever begin to comprehend! We can’t think of something so big that God could not do it!
- Now some – less than brilliant thinkers – have asked, “Can God create a rock so big that He can’t move it?”
- That’s what’s known in intellectual circles as the epistemological question. Epistemology is the study of the limits of knowledge.
- So let me give you a good, clear, simple definition of the epistemological question.
- It’s a stupid question! Why would God even try to create a rock so big He couldn’t move it? It’s a stupid question! & if anybody ever asks you that question, you have my permission to tell them it’s a stupid question!
- God can do more than anyone could ever dream up! In fact, God can do more than every human being of all time put together could ever dream up!
- & He chooses to do it according to the power that works in us! That’s His Holy Spirit – God Himself – doing what only He can do in you!
- & as He does, His work of grace is seen in those in whom He works & the world sees Jesus in them & will be drawn to Him!
- Our prayer is that God’s grace may work in others &…
B. That God’s Glory may be seen in them. (v. 21) 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever & ever. Amen.
- To God be the glory, great things He has done! So loved He the world that He gave us His Son!
- God loved the church, His children, & He gave His Son in exchange for each one of us!
- That’s how God is glorified in the church; when men & women & boys & girls see Jesus as the Savior & repent & believe in Jesus, God is glorified.
- & when God is glorified in His people, He is working through those people to accomplish His will.
- We ought to be praying that God’s glory could be seen in His people in His church!
- We ought to be praying that people would see what Jesus has done for us & come to faith in Him!
- We ought to be praying that as long as God tarries, His people would be so in tune w/Him that every step they take & every thing they do glorifies their Heavenly Father!
- I want to tell you tonight that I’m proud to be part of this church!
- I’m blessed to be part of what God is doing here!
- & I hope & pray that what I sense God doing here is just the beginning of the flames of a revival that could sweep this city!
- I firmly believe that the Bible is God’s word & if we teach it & stand on it w/o compromise, that God will honor that & people will come to faith in Christ!
- I firmly believe that as we share the gospel w/children in AWANA & SS; as we share the gospel w/teenagers in our YOUTH Ministry & SS; as we share the gospel w/adults of all ages in SS & WORSHIP – I firmly believe that they will respond!
- If we continue -- & don’t lose heart, God will be glorified in the church by the Lord Jesus for perpetual generations until Jesus comes again!
Conclusion: If we pray for others w/confidence & compassion, in the comfort of our relationship w/God; if we pray that others might know His power & experience His presence & understand w/His perception & enjoy His person; if we pray that God’s grace might work in others & His glory might be seen in others – I believe we will experience revival! & I believe we’ll see a spiritual awakening like we’ve never known before!
So, what are we waiting for? Do you believe that prayer works? Do you believe that God still works through the prayers of His people? Do you believe He’s still able to do far more that you could ever dream? Then what are we waiting for? Let’s seek the face of God daily for others & see what He will do through us!
Invitation: If you would come to faith in Christ tonight, come in repentance & ask God to forgive your sin & save you.
If you would come in repentance for your lack of intercession for others, come & ask God to bless others through you for His glory. Hymn 307 Just As I Am