Grateful for God's Work in Others

Introduction: We love when God is working in our lives and we can feel it. We have peace and joy and motivation to keep pressing on.

It’s tough to consider when others you are struggling.

It’s a dangerous place to find yourself in when you are saying, “What about me?”

Sometimes God chooses to grow you in suffering. Sometimes, God chooses to grow you through mountain top experiences.

In either of these cases, we can become so focused on ourselves that we miss what God is doing in someone else’s life especially in how we are to pray for them.

In the good times and the bad, we are to always be looking outward.

I was reading in the Acts this week for my Bible reading plan. And the story in Acts 5 always amazes me. Peter and John were arrested for healing a man. They were beaten and bruised for the sake of the Gospel.

Acts 5:41 ESV

41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

Christians throughout history have gloried in their suffering and actually welcomed persecution as evidence that they were obedient to God’s plan.

Christians throughout history would get jealous that someone else suffered more for Jesus. Persecution was welcomed, because they saw that the more they were persecuted, the more the church grew and God’s kingdom expanded. Sounds crazy.

A martyrs dead was the most honorable way to go.

That’s very different than what we know today.

Transition to the Text: Please turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians 1:15:23. We’re continuing through Paul’s list of things that he and we should be grateful for.

Paul has shown that He’s grateful for salvation. Things that go along with salvation. And now Paul turns his attention outward to show that he is also grateful when God works in other people’s lives.

The Ephesian people had a special place in Paul’s heart. Paul never spent much time in one place. He was used to moving from place to place. That’s hard on man with a pastor’s heart. To knit your heart to theirs and then leave.

But God gave Paul 2 full years serving that church. They weren’t easy years as they were filled with opposition, but they were filled with love and community that Paul may not have been used to.

Eventually there came to time for Paul to leave. And he did. Eventually he finds himself imprisoned for sharing the Gospel. So he writes a letter to the church he loved so much. And lists all the things that he has to be grateful for.

By this time, the church at Ephesus is thriving! Sure they have some issues, but they have become the flagship church in Europe.

Is Paul jealous that he’s not a part of it? Perhaps that he didn’t get to lead it?

No because Paul is grateful even for what God is doing in other people!

Introduce:

Authentic Principle: Be GRATEFUL even when God is Working in OTHERS.

Read: Ephesians 1:15-23

Ephesians 1:15–23 ESV

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Transformational Principle:

1. Be GRATEFUL When Others Grow. (Ephesians 1:15-17)

Explanation: Paul starts out by praying for the Ephesian Christians. And to start, he says, I do not cease to give thanks for them. In his prayers, he remembers them.

I think we neglect the importance of remembering people. Relationships are hard. Or at least they are for me. I always admire people who have friends they’ve known their entire lives. Went to elementary school with. Grew up with. Who called your parents mom and dad and you did the same with theirs. Too often people come and go in our lives. And whether we want to or not, we forget them. We go to move to a new town or state. We get a new job or go to a new church. And we forget those people who at one time meant to much to us. Paul made it a point to remember them.

Additionally Paul desires that they grow in their relationship with God. He prays that God may give them the Spirit of Wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus. Even though Paul is no longer with them, he still desires their good. And even though they are continuing on without him, he still prays for their good.

He prays that God would given them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation.

Because even if Paul is no longer a part of it, the Kingdom is more important than us. We are part of something bigger that God is doing.

So Paul prays for them to grow in knowledge of Jesus. Even while he himself is in prison, he prays that God would work in them.

Illustration: It takes a lot of humility to pray for someone when you are struggling. Goes along with what he says to the Philippians:

Philippians 2:3 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Application: We need to remember people. And as we remember them we need to pray for them. That God would help them to grow in their relationship with others.

2. Be GRATEFUL when OTHERS would be Transformed. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Explanation: Now in one sense, most of the people he’s writing to have already been transformed. But at the same time, God is still transforming us. Paul continues to pray that their eyes would be enlightened. Paul has seen God work in the Ephesian church. And he wants God to continue to work in their lives even more than before. To my knowledge Paul never asks anyone to pray for his release. He asks them to pray that he would remain faithful.

But Paul says he prays that their eyes would be opened.

So much of our lives depends on our physical sight. Try walking in the dark. You walk hesitantly even when you think you know where everything is.

In the same way, we need spiritual eyes to see spiritual realities. So Paul continues to pray for them.

This requires transformation that continues beyond the now.

Initially when we come to know Jesus, our eyes are opened but we know that we are to live in daily transformation.

So what comes with enlightened eyes.

To know what is the hope to which people are called.

What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the Saints

What is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe

According to the working of his great might.

Sometimes it’s difficult to see what is going on.

First Paul reminds them to be hopeful. We have to remember that it was harder being a Christian in the first century than it is now. They were killed for their faith. And the church grew exponentially in those early years in spite of persecution. Hope is all around us if we open our eyes. Even Paul saw hope in the midst of his circumstances of being in prison. We even know that Paul didn’t stop sharing the gospel just because he was in jail. While he was in prison, even members of Caesar’s household became Christians.

2nd Paul reminds them of the inheritance that is to come. This of course goes back to what we talked about last week. We have an inheritance is obtained already. We wait to acquire it once we pass on into eternity. We need spiritual eyes to see beyond our present circumstances into eternity.

3rd God shows his immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. This shows that God cares about us who believe.

Illustration:

Application:

3. Be GRATEFUL that Jesus is king over every NATION. (Ephesians 1:20-23)

Explanation: When God raised Jesus from the dead, he broke down the barriers between God and all people. Specifically you no longer had to be a jew in order to have a relationship with God. In fact all our now bid come and see Jesus regardless of tongue, tribe and nation. But since then people have continued to exclude people based on things other than Jesus.

Every people tend to read their own story and culture into the the Bible.

For the Jewish people, they had reason to in the beginning because God’s story in the OT was about them. But what they failed to see was that God’s story involved more than just them. It involved gentiles and pagans. Even their enemies like Paul.

For early Christians the continued to struggle with this until God made it perfectly clear that no one is outside of God’s plan if they humbly come in repentance and faith in Jesus.

Today, still there is the danger that we will make it all about our culture and read our story into the Bible.

I read a story about a missionary that was in a south american culture. The people were putting on a Christmas pageant. In this particular play, the missionary noticed a lot more people in the traveling party than what the Bible says; it was a hole family affair. Grandparents and aunts and uncles.

And when it came time for Mary to give birth, Joseph wasn’t in the stable, he was outside joking with the men, while Mary was attended by all of the women.

When the missionary dared to suggest this isn’t what the Bible says happened, they laughed at the very idea that Josesph would deliver the baby and that Mary wouldn’t have been surrounded by her female relatives. Why? They had read their own cutlure into the story.

This is a pretty tame reading of culture into the story.

There are 2 separate groups of people who claim they are true Israel. There is a group that claims that after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 that the Jewish people travelled as far as Great Britain and traveled to the New World and became founders of the USA.

There is another group of people that claim they went south and are really the people of sub-saharan africa.

Both of these are wrong.

Illustration:

Application: We also need to be careful not to ready the US into Old Testament prophecies. Because they truth is, the USA isn’t in the Bible. And if it is, she will be judged based on her response to Jesus just like every other nature. There is only one king and it is at his feet that we will fall.

We also need to need to be careful not to read endtime prophecies into our own time period. No one knows when Jesus is coming back.

And no, we can’t help Him along.

As my grandmother used to say when we’d ask for the 50th time when so and so was going to get there. “Jesus will get here when he gets here.”

God will do everything in that generation. And maybe it’s not our own.

Response: Are you truly grateful for what God is doing in the lives of others?

Summation:

Authentic Principle: Be Thankful for God’s Work in Others

1. Be Thankful When Others Grow in Knowledge. (Ephesians 1:15-17)

2. Be thankful when God open eyes and hearts. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

3. Be Thankful that God gets all the credit. (Ephesians 1:20-23)

Response: Are you truly grateful for what God is doing in the lives of others?

Closing Illustration:

We are always comparing ourselves to others. In how we look. How successful we are. Blah blah blah.

Everything is a comparison.

But we need to learn not to compare ourselves.

I love what Jesus says to Peter when he tries to compare himself to John.

John 21:20–22 (ESV)

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them...

21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Our greatest goal in this life is to follow Jesus in whatever, he has called us to regardless of how he is working in someone else’s life. But let us not worry so much about ourselves that we don’t pray for others.

Let’s pray.

Week 13 of 2020-2021 Sermon Series: Authentic

Truly Grateful: Be Grateful for God’s Work in Others

Ephesians 1:15-23

Authentic Principle: Be GRATEFUL even when God is Working in OTHERS.

1. Be GRATEFUL When Others Grow. (Ephesians 1:15-17)

2. Be GRATEFUL when OTHERS are transformed. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

3. Be GRATEFUL that Jesus is king over every NATION. (Ephesians 1:20-23)

Response: Are you truly GRATEFUL for what God is doing in the lives of others?

Opening Discussion:

How do you respond when good things happen to other people? Do you rejoice? Or are you prone to jealousy?

Sermon:

What is Paul grateful for in the lives of those to whom he’s writing?

For what does Paul continually pray for the people at Ephesus? How does continual prayer show that Paul’s gratitude for them is sincere?

What does it mean to have the eyes of your hearts enlightened? What are effects of this enlightenment?

Why is it important to understand that the “immeasurable greatness of his power” is only toward those that believe?

What does it mean that Jesus is “above all rule and authority and power and dominion?” Why would this be encouraging to the Ephesian Church?

Application:

How can we better celebrate what God does in the lives of other people?

How often do you pray for God to work in the lives of others? What do you pray for? What about people that haven’t been as nice to you?

How do you respond when God opens people’s eyes, especially those we would have considered enemies beforehand?

How can we take comfort in knowing that Jesus is Lord over all?

What does it look like to live grateful for what God is doing in the lives of others?