Untitled Sermon

1st Person Narrative Paul

Ephesians 1:15-23

As I await the coming of the dawn, I am gripped with an anxiety that has left me questioning is all this all worth it? Don’t get me wrong I have been driven by such conviction by the calling of my Lord, the risen Savior, Jesus Christ from the day of my first encounter with Him on that dusty road to Damascus until these final waning moments of my life. I have been reduced to a man who is bound by the stocks of prison guards, chained as though I have committed a crime worthy of capital punishment and mocked by centurions who are wise in their own eyes. They have not perceived the glorious light that I have. They have not encountered or beheld the countenance of His glorious appearance, nor have they been driven by the excitement that is accompanied by the invitation into a relationship with the Eternal One. Even though I have known of that glory, I am still haunted by the doubt and the question of whether or not this has all been worth it. I recount all the times that I have been imprisoned, flogged, and been exposed to the ugly face of death again and again. Has it really been worth it? Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked and besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. And what has all this gained me? Tonight I sit alone in a cold, dark, damp prison cell on the eve of my execution. And my only company is the question…has it all been worth it?

Maybe you too, have the same questions disturbing you, but under different circumstances. You who have been called out of the darkness and into His wonderful light. You who have been predestined according to His purposes. You have been adopted as His sons and daughters. You who have received redemption, the forgiveness of your sins. You who have been lavished by the grace of God Almighty. You who have been informed concerning future events of this groaning world and have been granted the ability to obtain the inheritance through the sealing and securing ministry of God’s Holy Spirit of promise. Who, himself is given as a pledge, a down payment if you will to the glory that will be revealed in us who believe. Maybe you wonder at times if it has all been worth it? You see as long as we are here, we are encompassed by our infirmities, and actively partake in a world of sin and we yield to the sinful nature that is still at work within us. we shall always be distressed by such a question. Maybe you, like myself, need to have the enlightening operation of the Holy Spirit reveal to you the ability that you have at your disposal to know God intimately in and through your circumstances. It is my desire for you, much like it was for those whom I have shed tears for in Ephesus, that you should know of that splendor. It is my desire that you should know of that splendor and the privilege that comes from knowing the Risen Savior in a precious way. My hope and prayer for you is in accordance with the one I prayed for the Ephesians three year ago. It is one of knowledge. The knowledge that is granted to those who have been visited by the cleansing blood of Christ. The knowledge that you are really being led by the loving hand of the father. I pray that you might ever have an increasingly great spiritual knowledge and understanding of the one whom has called you, the one who is Eternal.

I remember that city, the great city of Ephesus. I remember how I was embraced by the call of God on my life to conduct three years of fruitful ministry there. I remember when I first came and how during the first three months of my tenure ministry in the local synagogue was unhindered and profitable. Out of the 36 months that I spent in that city, those first three months were the most exciting. It is a wonderful experience to know that you are in the center of God’s will for your life. There is such a peace that surpasses all understanding when you are walking in obedience with the Lord and so it was upon my arrival in Ephesus. Many Jews and Gentiles became very interested in my teachings concerning the risen Savior. However, my teachings eventually offended the local synagogue authorities to the point were they no longer allowed me to teach there. They wanted me to change my message, but I was under no compulsion to do so, for “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Those who were controlled by their disbelief and who were speaking evil against the notion that a relationship with God is available to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, forced me out of the synagogue. However, my conviction to preach and teach was not kindled. In fact my persecution raised interest in my message. Many people wanted to hear about this controversial message and so we began to meet in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. The turn out was amazing considering the fact that we had to meet during the heat of the day. I had to worked as a tentmaker mornings and evenings, the only time I had to teach was between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The meeting time was an open forum for debates and lectures. I did this for two years. God worked mightily through me.

Even during the cool of the day, there were occasions where the sweat of my brow became so overwhelming that I had to wipe it with my handkerchiefs and toward the end of the day I would regard those pieces of sweat drenched cloths, as refuge and I would throw them away. But God worked so mightily that there were occasions that the Ephesians, and even some who opposed my message, would gather the sweat laden handkerchiefs and applied to the sores and hurts of various sick and possessed people and remarkably the sick became well and the possessed attained freedom. Yes indeed God worked mightily through me.

I remember the time when the Seven sons of Sceva and a Jewish high priest attempted to invoke the power of the name of Jesus upon a demon possessed man. Upon doing this, the evil spirit spoke to them saying, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Yes God was working mightily through me.

In fact many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

And how could I forget Demetirus, the silversmith. He was the most skilled in the entire city. His level of skill and craftsmanship could not be matched by any of the 250,000 inhabitants of Ephesus. Not only was he tremendously skilled but he was well known and well respected. He was the type of person who could tell a crowd to jump and they would respond how high? Demetrius made his living by selling silver shines of the goddess Artemis. The entire city prided itself on the designation of her temple and if I weren’t so enlightened by the truth of the Gospel so would have I. It was a magnificent temple. It was supported by 127 columns each reaching a height of 60 feet and it was adorned and decoration by sculptures chiseled out of stone. It was indeed a magnificent sight to behold and Demetirus felt threatened by my message. You see if the Ephesians began to believe that there is only one God and that it is through Jesus Christ that we can have redemption from our sin and blessings in this life, his business would crash and his standing in the community would dwindle. He organized a revolt to my message and soon what seemed like the entire city participated in the revolt that lead us to a local theater that sat 24,000 people. For two hours straight, the riotous crowd chanted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” I was being mocked and tormented by this chant, however things got worse when the city clerk quieted the crowd down and began to mock my message publicly, he announced, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which came from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.” And with those words, he concluded that my message was not even worth getting upset about. Needless to say, after that occasion it was hard to conduct ministry in that city any longer. Soon after I gathered those who did believe my message and made known to them that the Lord was leading me from this place and that I had to obey the voice of the Lord. And so I left behind a remnant of believers in Ephesus that I loved dearly. I left not knowing if I would ever see them again, and I was prepared to carry their burdens in my heart throughout the course of my upcoming travels. To my surprise, the Lord did direct my path back to Ephesus a few short months later and it was then I declared to them for the final time in person that, “both Jews and Greeks must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus.” And it was at that time I disclosed to them that I would never see them again. We wept and after the accompanied me to the ship, I sailed away.

My heart longs for the Ephesians. I wish that I could see their face again and that I could go back to those first three months were there was an err of excitement about the Gospel of Christ. It is my desire that I continue on for the sake of those who do not know of Christ and the power of His resurrection, but yet at the same time I desire to be at home with Christ…you see for me to live is Christ, but to die is to gain. And by this time tomorrow, the breath of life will no longer support this lifeless body. I will have been poured out like a drink offering…and the hour of death will have swept me away.

Tonight, I remember my first imprisonment. When I was placed under house arrest in Rome. I was in a place of confinement. It was there that I finally had the opportunity to contemplate the full significance of a relationship with God and I began to formulate in my mind pictures of how that relationship with the Father might affect us, who are His children. God’s children who are constrained to the daily pressures of living on this earth, where the accuser of the brethren, the adversary roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Who is constantly attempting to entice, deceive and lure the children of God into sin. It was there I pondered how knowing God makes everything that we go through in this life worth it. It was there that I penned the words of the prayer of my heart for the Ephesians and the words of that prayer have frequented my intercession for all the saints living in this broken world.

You see, prior to my prayer I had heard reports of how well the Ephesians were doing at following in my footsteps as I followed Christ. I heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and the love that they had for the saints and I was filled with gladness. You see, a relationship with God places upon the believer not only the demand to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to have an abounding love for all the saints. I have on numerous occasions remarked to the Corinthians that they need to “examine themselves to see if they were in the faith” because “what good is it for a man to say that he has faith, or that he has certain unusual gifts from the Spirit if he is lacking in love.” The Lord’s brother, John, challenged his readers in this way, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” You see our faith in the Lord has to lead us to loving other people. You are not a follower of Christ because you say you are or because your parents were. No, you are a follower of Christ if you pass the two tests of faith and love. You must have the faith to believe that the death of Christ was enough to atone for your sin that has separated you from the Father. And that results in a natural outworking of love for all the saints. Not just the ones in your social group, not just the ones who are interested in the same things that you are interested in, not just those who look like you, smell like you, or act like you, rather your love has to be for all the saints. Love is not picking or choosing, it is an act of the will. And I was told that the Ephesians were passing these two tests exceedingly. It was on there behalf that I offered up my prayer.

Above all I wanted the Ephesians to know their God. I wanted God to enlighten their understanding and reveal glorious truths about Himself to their hearts, so that they might know Him better. You would think that a people who have received so much blessing from the Lord would not need prayer, but my prayer for them was one of urgency. Even after I had heard how well they were doing in the faith, the Lord pressed upon my heart the critical assignment of praying for them. I began to understand the reason why the Lord had burdened my heart in this way. It was because I began to realize how much more is open and available to them and it was my desire as it still is to this day, that they know more fully the endless riches of God’s grace extended towards them in Christ. I reasoned that a broader knowledge of God could change their way of life in every conceivable way. At that point in time I was anxious for them. I wanted them to catch a glimpse of glorious mountaintop views that a better knowledge of God could bring to their lives. Through this prayer I wanted the Ephesians believers to have a very strong and powerful knowledge of their relationship with God. Not just some casual cursory acquaintance. Not a superficial knowledge. I wanted them to have an exact, certain, experimental knowledge. I wanted them to realize that they could know God in this manner while they were still here on this earth.

Among the Ephesian believers there were various types of people. There were the educated and uneducated, slaves and those who were free. People suppressed by their ignorance and those who were to be considered normal, but that makes no difference at all. This knowledge of God that I wanted for them to apprehend is a precise, exact experimental knowledge. I did not want them to know just a number of things about God, but rather I wanted them to know God. I wanted them to have this existential moment with God where they would begin to realize that they can relate with Him every moment of their lives. You see a knowledge of God is not just a theory or a notion, or something that is just abstract and academic; I wanted them to see that knowledge of God is personal and real and that it is defined by the word “relationship.”

My desire was for them to realize His presence among them. I wanted them to experience what I had experienced on that road to Damascus. It was my desire that they have the confidence of Jacob who, when encountered by the realness of the Almighty, declared, “Surely the Lord is in this place this is none other than the house of God.” Communion, intimacy, partnership, fellowship…that is what I mean by knowing God better, that is what I desired for the Ephesians…this is also available to you. This relationship gives you a sense of privilege and wonder, a sense of praise and glory. This type of knowledge of God leaves you wanting more. It leaves you with an attitude like that of Job who, when experienced the hard times of life, wanted to know where to find God. He had not lost his theoretical knowledge of God; he did not cease to know about the attributes of God nor about the works of God. That was not what Job was seeking. He had experienced fellowship and communion with God. That is what he meant when he exclaimed that, “I have heard of you with my ear, but now I see you with my eyes.” It is the knowledge that Moses had when he beseeched the Lord to “show me your glory.” It is the same knowledge that Isaiah, son of Amoz saw after the death of King Uzziah, he declared, “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple…and the angels were shouting to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” You see he sensed it, he felt it. He had a true knowledge of God.

I realize that man’s mind is too small and limited to plumb the depths of the glorious nature of God. But none-the-less with that goal in mind, that is what I prayed for the Ephesians. My question for you is “Do you have a soul thirst for God and his presence? Do you now bask in the sunshine of his face? It was my desire through my prayer that the Holy Spirit of God would impart to them the understanding that they would need in order to know God better.

Over these past three years I have often wondered how different life would be in Ephesus is they really began to know God. I have wondered how different life would be if they understood the hope that is involved in their calling. All men are called to repent, but the calling that has been placed upon the lives of those who believe is special. We have been called into a special relationship with God that brings a glorious hope. This calling is hopeful because it is accompanied by an assurance. The assurance is realized by those who have been called according to his purpose. For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified and if God is for us, who can be against us? I have found that there is such great joy to be found in the calling of God. And nothing can give you more assurance of your calling than your knowledge of the character of God. The glorious truth that God can never change nor lie ought to bless our hearts. Our calling and election are sure because Christ said that He would never leave nor forsake us. I prayed for the Ephesians to know the hope of their calling, that God would continue to do a good work in them and that He would carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Even as I await my execution tomorrow, I am comforted by this calling. No matter how hard life situations become, hope can be celebrated because we have received a special call from God. Do you know this hope that has been revealed to us by the enlightening of the Holy Spirit? Seek it! You are meant to rejoice because of it. You are meant to have a steadfast hope that nothing can shake.

Not only have we received a special call from God that gives us such wonderful hope, but we also have received what I termed to the Ephesians years ago as the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. The only way to know of such a glorious inheritance is once again only to be revealed by the Holy Spirit of God who imparts to the human heart wisdom and understanding. Even Isaiah had this amazing truth revealed to him when he prophesied that, “Eyes have not seen and ears have not heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” It is beyond comprehension as to what our inheritance will look like. But all the same I prayed and continue to do so that the children of God might know and have cause to be energized by this inheritance. My desire is that by faith they might have an occasional glimpse of the inheritance itself. And stand as it were with Moses on the top of Mount Nebo and look into the promised land of our inheritance, but all the while knowing that we will surely partake in its content and blessings. You see the possession has been purchased for us by the blood of Christ; we are already heirs but we are still left in this world. The giving of the Spirit is but an earnest to tide us over until the full glory can be revealed. It is merely a foretaste, until we enter into this purchased possession, our final redemption. The greatest benefactors that this world has ever know, have been the men who have emphasized most of all the importance of seeing the unseen. Who fix their eyes not so much on this world as they do on the next. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It was by faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death. It was by faith, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence, Noah prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. It was by Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place, which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. And such a glorious future is ours, who live by faith. We must press on in this world of sin. I admit things are sometimes trying and difficult, but that is path in which we have chosen to walk. This life that we are living in the Son of God is always realistic. I do not advocate that all is well and that nothing is wrong and to just put on a happy face and say that there are not problems. May it never be! Rather we groan within ourselves longing for the time when our light and momentary troubles will have achieved for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. For I consider that our present sufferings are not to be found worthy of comparison to the glory that will be revealed in us. But in the meantime, we groan, even as I am tonight, to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. I desire that was what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. This is our hope, but who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. When I prayed this to the Lord I was not asking that the Ephesians become simpletons, but rather that they would be encouraged to press on for that which Christ Jesus has called them to. Is there anything more encouraging? Is there anything more stimulating? The more I know of the riches of the inheritance of the saints the more I am encouraged to forsake the sin that so easily entangles and to mortify the flesh and to fix my eyes upon the Jesus, the author and the perfector of my faith. Even Jesus recognized the reward of living according to the fathers will. He was looking to the joy that was set before him, not the cross for he scorned its shame, but rather he saw through the means to the end and what his death would accomplish for a sin ravaged humanity…and with that thought in mind he became obedient to death, enduring the cross upon which he was to die. With our inheritance in mind we ought to set our minds on things above and not on this earth. Our Lord himself taught his disciples to no store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. The Lord also taught his first disciples that their hearts ought not to be troubled but rather to trust in God because in the Father’s house there were many rooms…and that the Lord Himself is going to prepare a place for them and for us who believe. I guess what I am trying to explain is that my first attempt to describe this glory would be the first second I begin to detract from it. I saw only a shadow of what our inheritance shall look like on that Damascus road because as John would say, “what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him face to face.” You see our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious one. As we live on in this present body, we are prone to illness, old age, and so on…but not there. We shall receive an incorruptible, undefiled, inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. It is kept in heaven for you and me who believe. There will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no sin, and no separation, nothing that makes us neither unhappy nor depressed. That is the concept of “the riches of the glory of his inheritance.” We ought to live in the light of such an inheritance

My final prayer request to the Lord for the Ephesians was that they would know the exceedingly great power that was currently at work within them. It was my goal to make the Ephesians see and realize, the greatness of God’s power in them and all those who believe. The results of such a realization would have profound, life changing ramifications on their lives. There fears would be relinquished and they would have a new confidence and assurance in their every day lives. They would be able to walk upright and truly know that they can live an obedient life centered on the will of God. And when times of doubt would come, as they always do, when questions of am I really fit for such an inheritance…or do I really deserve it…even if Christ died for me? The power of God that is at work within the human soul will makes its claims known above all others. The voice of the power of God will compete with nothing. It raises its mighty voice and thunders, “I am the power that rose the Son from the dead, I am the power that has seated him at the right hand of the Father, I am the power that has given the Christ the title far above all rule and authority and dominion. And I am the power that has placed all things in subjection under his feet. I am the power…the power that is at work in you.”

This power surpasses all human levels of understanding and comprehension. It is the manifested power of the Almighty God. It is the working energy that overcomes and prevails against all foes. It is an energy, a power that is in action, that is accompanied by an irresistible force, which comes from the ocean of God’s might. This is the power that gives orders to the morning, and shows the dawn its place. This is the power that determines which way the lightning is dispersed, and cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm. This is the power that is at work within you to will and to act according to his good purpose. We have been made available to the power of God to change us. We have all been summoned to walk in a manner worthy of our calling and to this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. You see the making of a Christian is the result of the manifestation of the might of God exerting itself. It is my desire that the Ephesians grasp this. Have you realized that this is true of you? Do you realize that you are what you are because this eternal might of God that has been working energetically in you? My prayer for the Ephesians and for you is not that you have more power, but that God would grant you the ability to recognize that power that is at work within you already. That power has the ability to continue to change you. That power had the ability in the past to make all things new and to make a scarlet sin stricken heart appear as white as snow, it had the ability to make you into a new creation.

You know all this reminiscing has helped ease my heart. The anxieties I felt a few moments ago are still real, but now more tolerable. Through this recollection my own confidence has been strengthened. By this time tomorrow I will no longer need the Spirit’s help to enlighten my understanding about my inheritance. I will not longer waver in the hope of my calling in life. And no longer will I dread the sin that so easily entangles, nor this troubling thorn in my side. By this time tomorrow all will be well with me. For even now I see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; but tomorrow I shall see him face to face. Now I know in part; but tomorrow I shall know fully. Yes on the cusp of my execution, I am gripped with an anxiety that has left me questioning is all this all worth it? I leave you with this perspective, “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”