Prayer for the Church

intro

2 Corinthians 11:22–28 ESV

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Paul went through a list of real struggles and afflictions

But I want to turn your eyes to the last verse

The other real afflictions and struggles were there but not daily

Paul says one thing was a burden on him daily- the condition of the churches

Paul loved the church and we see that love clearly seen here and in the book of Ephesians, especially in our text today

One the greatest acts of love we can do on behalf of our fellow church members, is pray

Paul does just that

Vs14- “For this reason”- again we see this same phrase as in verse 1

-Pauls attitude of prayer is driven by the joy of mystery of the Gospel as we saw last

-That Gods plan all along was to include the nations in his family and that God would allow Paul and the church to be apart of his sovereign plan

“Bow my knees before the Father”

-most Jews typically stood to pray but what we see here is a display of love, humility, and fervent prayer

Luke 22:41- Jesus kneels to pray in the garden of Gethsemane

Acts 7:60- Stephen falls to his to his knees as prays that God would not hold his countrymens sin upon them

We the same example from Paul when he was with the Ephesians earlier as told them of his leaving

Acts 20:36 ESV

And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

Pauls example displays his hearfelt love for the Ephesians

But what cannot be overlooked is the word “before”

Its an intimate time- Pauls words point us to a face to face time in prayer

May we never forget that is exactly what we are doing when we pray

Nothing less than in the very present of God

Paul lifts the people he loves to that very place

Vs15- God is not only the father of the church- Jew and Gentile- but he is the Father of fathers

Reminds me of the first two catechisms we learned

Who made me? God made Me

What else did God make? God made all things

This very God is the one Paul goes before on behalf of the Ephesians

What does Paul pray for?

Strengthened by the power of the HS according to Gods glory

“This is not the “when the going gets tough the tough get going” kind of power. This is not self-discipline or the power of positive thinking. This is not mental renewing, or self-talk, or getting a grip on yourself, or turning over a new leaf. This is a fundamental work of God from his Spirit to our spirit.”

Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, pp. 130–131). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

But this prayer is based according to Gods riches of his glory

His glory is unending therefore so is his ability to empower his people.

Its interesting Paul speaks of the inner being here

For the majority of the last couple chapters- he has been addressing the church- Jew and Gentile

But the church is more than a collective group- it is individuals

Paul prays that the God of abundant power would strengthen each individual believer

vs17- So that each believer grows in faith in Christ and that their hearts will be Christ home

This is more than resident faith that comes with salvation. This is Christ’s being at home in one’s heart.

Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 131). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

This is the burden of Pauls heart for the Ephesians

May we pray like this for one another, for our children and spouses

2. Built upon love so we can enjoy the love of Christ

Big trees with little roots do not last long or mature

Neither do professing believers whose lives are not rooted in Jesus

John 13:34–35 ESV

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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

R Kent Hughes quoted Dr Barnhouse stated

Ephesians—The Mystery of the Body of Christ A Prayer for Love (vv. 17b-19a)

He said, “Love is the key. Joy is love singing. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love’s touch. Goodness is love’s character. Faithfulness is love’s habit. Gentleness is love’s self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins.” There are no fruits of the Spirit without love!

Pauls continue onward in this into vs18

I love my bride. I love her more today than I did when we first started dating in high school.

There are things that I have learned about recently that lets me understand her better and also our relationship better

As my love grows for her, so does the strength of our relationship

Paul wants the church to be in grounded in love for Christ and his word, which turn produces a stronger relationship in Christ

As our love for him grows, so we begin to understand just how far God has gone to redeem his people

But this was interesting to me because he say so “we may have strength to comprehend”

Just as it is God who redeems the inner man and is God that equips us to understand his love for us

As we ground our life in Him, He continues to enable us to grow together deeper and richer in his love

The key word is together

Just as some aspect of our Christian life are individually lived out, to come to full measure of Gods love- its necessary to do so in a local church

Many will claim I dont have to go to church to be a Christian and that is true

We said last week you dont have to go home to be married but if you dont go home often- your relationship will be in jeopardy

I think what the HS is getting at through Paul is that there are some aspect of Christian living that we cannot experience without active involvement in the local church

You cant be held accountable - 1 Cor 5

You cant serve alongside - James 2

You cant encourage the saints to good works- Hebrews 10

In these actions and there are others as well- is the only place you will experience these aspects of love of God

In these, as we live,cry, serve, love, care, rebuke, minister to one another- we begin to grasp the and comprehend the vast love of God for us

of which vs19- says is beyond all our knowledge

How are we to comprehend that which is beyond our understanding

R Kent Hughes said- For those who have not experienced this love, no words will suffice. For those who have experienced it, no words will quite do.

We cant find the bottom of the well but as we grow together inside the local church, we begin to experience the deep love of God in its fullness for us

Which leads to the third point of prayer

3. That they may be filled with the fullness of God

We have limits as to what we can do or hold

Illustration I read: If I go to the ocean and fill a jar with water, it is filled with the fullness of the ocean

Not exactly, because it cannot contain all the ocean

But in Christ

Colossians 1:19 ESV

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

So if we are in Christ the fullness of God dwells in us

The more we grow in Him, the more we grow in the fullness of him

The more we grow in His fullness, the less we fill our lives with other things that take space but never satisfy

This is Pauls prayer for the church

This is what Christian Maturity looks like

To be renewed/transformed on the inside as Romans 12 says

To grounded in the love of Christ as John 13 calls us to

To walk faithfully with a church so you get to experience all the love that God has so allowed for us as Hebrews 10 commands us

To grow evermore in the fullness of God

Pauls closes his prayer in Vs 20-21 by reminding us that Gods power is limitless

As Paul and ourselves pray- not only can answer prayers according to His will but can do exceedingly more than we can imagine

Vs 22- May God continue to be glorified by the church and in Christ forever and ever amen