Sermon for 7/25/21 ?? Minutes "Prayer for Strengthened Love!"

Boyd Thrash

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Ephesians 3:14–21

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Ephesians 3:14-21

This morning I'll be reading Ephesians chapter 3 verses 14 through 21.

And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Ephesians 3:14-21

My Wesleyan Bible Commentary says,,, it's not clear if this is Paul's way of continuing his prayer that he began in chapter 1 verse 15 or if it's a new prayer,,, but either way,,, it doesn't matter,,, it is Paul’s greatest recorded prayer for the Christian Church.

Ephesians 3:14–21 (HCSB)

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. 16 I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, 17 and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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Last Sunday we were in the Old Testament and we looked at the verses in 2 Samuel and the story about David wanting to build the temple for the Ark of the Covenant.

And,,, we learned that God told him “No”.

We can see from these verses that if God can tell David “No”,,, then He can tell us “No” as well.

David wasn’t able to see the way that God blessed him for wanting to do this,,, but he trusted God,,, and had faith that God knew better than he did,,, and continued to do the things that God truly wanted him to do,,, and allowed him to do.

But of course we are able to see “the rest of the story” and know how God was faithful to David and blessed him beyond anything that he could imagine.

And that should give us help when we are told “No” when we are praying,,, because God does know better,,, and we need to realize that,,, even if we feel disappointment at that time.

This morning,,, we will look at the prayer that Paul gave to the churches,,, a “prayer for strengthened love”,,, and see how these words can help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 14 says: 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father

Paul’s kneeling posture here in this verse means more than just the bending of the knee.

There is heartfelt feeling in this prayer that Paul is implying,,, and these words help us to see that from the picture that he paints in our mind as we read it.

Paul is praying for the church and the subject is the salvation and unification of all men in the church,,, which is,,, the body of Christ.

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Verse 15 says: 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

Every family refers to both Jews and Gentiles,,, in other words,,, everyone that accepts Jesus Christ as Savior.

And “is named” has special meaning because in the ancient Near East,,, naming something amounted to bringing it into existence, giving it identity, and exercising authority over it.

Since all creation derives its name from the Father, He is both its source and its ruler (compare Gen 1:1–5; Psa 147:4; Isa 40:26).

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Verse 16 says: 16 I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit,

My Bible Knowledge Commentary says that God,,, will grant us,,, according to the riches of His glory,,, and that phrase pertains to the glorious riches of His grace,,, as we can see from other verses in the Bible,,, like Ephesians 1:7, 18, 2:4, 7, 3:8.

And,,, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, is to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit,,, so that we will have the strength that we need,,,

And we see where we get that strength from in the next verse,,,

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Verses 17 through 19 say: 17 and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

So you see that we get our strength through our faith in Jesus Christ,,, who dwells in all believer’s hearts,,,

And Paul prays that Christ will be the center of our lives,,, being rooted,, like a tree that is close to a stream in a dry part of the country,,, and it’s roots are firmly planted deep enough to get the water from the stream,,, so we should be rooted,,, in Jesus Christ,,, so that we can continuously be watered by His flowing water of life.

and firmly established in love,,, so that we can enjoy the unbroken fellowship with Jesus,,, so that we,,, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love,

That means that Paul wants us to work towards perfection,,, and we do that by giving Jesus access to every part of our lives,,, in other words our innermost thoughts,,, actions,,, motives,,, and deeds.

Then that will guide us in the things that we do,,, the books that we read,,, the shows that we watch,,, our thoughts,,, all will be guided,,, by the Holy Spirit,,,

And the more that we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit,,, the more we will be like Jesus,,, and the more comfortable we will be,,, knowing that we have this immense enjoyment,,, knowing that Christ lives within us!

That’s what Paul is praying for us here,,, that we know,,, and understand,,, truly understand,,, the love that God has for us.

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Verse 20 says: 20 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—

This prayer closes,,, with a soul inspiring doxology,,, and the preceding requests have been vast,,, bold,,, and,,, seemingly,,, impossible.

But God is able to do more in this connection than we can ask or think.

We are given the power of the Holy Spirit,,, where it says,,, according to the power that works in us—,,, and it’s constantly at work in our lives,,, continuously seeking to produce the fruit of a Christlike character,,, rebuking us because of sin,,, guiding us in prayer,,, inspiring us in worship,,, directing us in service,,, all aspects of our life,,, so that the more we are yielded to Him,,, the greater will be His effectiveness in conforming us to Christ!

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Verse 21 says: 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Paul gave God the glory,,, which is to be shown,,, or demonstrated,,, in the church,,, where the miracle of love will occur,,, and in Jesus Christ,,, who made the union of Jewish and Gentile believer’s possible.

Praise to God for this accomplishment is to continue throughout eternity,,, forever,,, and,,, ever,,, amen.

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So we have these verses where Paul has prayed for the universal church,,, the church of all believer’s,,, so that we can know how God will help us,,, all through our “strengthened love”.

We obtain that “strengthened love” through the Holy Spirit residing in us and guiding us each and every day.

It’s the love of God that makes all things possible,,, and gives us everything that we need,,, so that we can accomplish the job that God has for us.

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So as we go our separate ways this week,,, hopefully we can remember this prayer from Paul,,, and the way that he prayed for the Christian church,,, and the love that God has for us,,, and the love that we,,, in turn,,, should have for each other.

All because of the “strengthened love” available to us,,, because of the help of the Holy Spirit,,, and God’s love,,, for us,,, today.

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Hymn: 337 - Oakdale

Hymn: 337 - Seminary

Benediction

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