Grasping what God has to Offer

Intro:

Ephesians 3:13–15 NKJV

13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Tonight, we will continue our study of [Praying with Paul]. The title of my message is, [Grasping what God has to Offer].

We have studied that fact THAT the Early Church prayed, but I want to focus on WHAT the Early Church prayed.

The fact is, we will never have an altar service with the Apostles Paul, Peter, James, or John. We will never get to have them lay their hands on us and pray for us.

We know they were people of prayer, but what did they pray?

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit preserved the prayers of these men and women of faith in Scripture.

In this study, I have challenged myself to go deeper. Instead of preaching through chapters or passages, I want to look at individual verses.

I believe the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us through the prayers the Paul prayed.

We will look at this passage for a few weeks and read that Paul prayed that the Church would be:

united by the Spirit

Indwelled with Christ

Filled with the fullness of God’s love

In Ephesians 3:15-19, Paul made six request toward God. One author, (R.L. Brandt) described these requests as steps on a staircase.

With each step, we are closer to an open door, leading us to closer to God.

I thought that example was thought-provoking. I remember going to the Empire State building in NYC. We went twice, once in the day and the other at night.

The building has 102 stories, and is 1250’ to the top. When we got on the elevator, I was shocked how fast we got to the top. In no time we could look over the NYC skyline. I can’t imagine how long it would have taken to climb 102 flights of stairs.

It almost seems that Christians want to take an Elevator to spiritual maturity. How quickly can we get to the top where we receive what God wants?

Maturing in Christ and grasping what God has to offer is not a quick process. It takes prayer and patience.

Paul did not provide a quick and easy process to grasping all God had has for us. Instead, he methodically and slowly prayed for the Church.

In fact, we read that he bowed on his knees. He took time to intercede for the Ephesians.

I wonder how the Church at Ephesus felt when they heard these words. Perhaps some of the older people remembered the last time they saw Paul in person.

Acts 20:36–38 NKJV

36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, 38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

It had been some time since they saw him face-to-face and they knew that they would never see him in person again, but Paul reminded them, I am still praying for you.

What did Paul pray, he wanted them to, [Grasp God’s Generosity], [Grasp God’s Glory], and [Grasp God’s Gift].

Let’s begin

1. Grasp God’s Generosity

Ephesians 3:16 NKJV

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Think of the word grant. Before we see what God wants to grant to us, we need to focus on the fact that God would even want to grant us anything.

In the original language grant means to give an object, to give something of value.

It also means to fulfill a request.

What would make the God of the universe want to grant us anything?

Why would He so willingly give us something of value?

Because He is a generous God. He gives what we do not deserve.

Paul understood God’s generosity as much as anyone. When we compare his past with his life at the time of writing to the Ephesians, it is obvious that God is a generous God.

On paper, Paul should have spent the rest of his life repaying God for how much strife and grief he caused the church before his conversion.

Paul was a conspirator of Stephe’s stoning.

Because of his constant threats against the church, many Christians left Jerusalem to flee his wrath.

God saved him as he was on the road to throw more Christians in jail.

But God was generous to him, willingly forgiving and using him in powerful ways.

We do not deserve anything from God. Anything He gives us is a result of generous and giving nature.

Paul bowed his knees in faith that God would generously answer his prayer for God’s people.

2. Grasp God’s Glory

Ephesians 3:16 NKJV

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Once again, Paul references God’s glory.

Why was this a common theme for Paul?

Let’s try to comprehend the depths of God’s glory.

Psalm 19:1 NKJV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

God’s glory is so great and it is limitless. His glory is seen in this earth, but not confined to the earth.

I remember learning in history class how an explorer would claim all the land in sight for a certain king or queen. Evidently the explorers did now know most of it belonged to the Choctaw tribe!

But at the end of the day, the land had limits.

God’s glory is different, it is without limits. Paul prayed that God would GRANT his petition. But before he made his request, he compared his desire with the riches of God’s glory.

In other words, because God’s glory is without measure, Paul longed for God’s to answer the cries of his heart, without measure.

He would not limit God by his understanding or vision. Instead, he appealed to the riches of the God of all glory on behalf of the Ephesians.

From his perspective, God has EVERYTHING, and because of His intense generosity, it will not inconvenience God to work on behalf of God’s people.

We should never limit God’s ability by comparing what He can do with what we can do.

I know I have been guilty of praying about something and viewing it from MY perspective. If I am not careful, I will unknowingly or accidentally attempt LIMIT God by my experience and understanding.

We must never forget, God can do ANYTHING and nothing is beyond His reach. Therefore, He can GRANT according to the riches of HIS glory when we truly grasp what He has to offer.

We grasp God’s generosity, glory, and ...

3. Grasp God’s Gift

Ephesians 3:16 NKJV

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Paul wanted God to strengthen the inner person through the Person of the Holy Spirit.

When I think of the Holy Spirit, one of the words that comes to my mind is gift.

Matthew 7:11 NKJV

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Luke 11:13 NKJV

13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Matthew makes the word gifts plural, and for good reason. There is so much God has to offer us, and each one is a gift.

But Luke replaces the word gifts with the word Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit truly is a gift.

Peter explained:

Acts 2:38 NKJV

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Why is the Holy Spirit a gift?

Among the many ways He is a gift, Paul specifically looks at the work the Spirit does on the inside. The Holy Spirit strengthens us internally.

When we have a relationship with the Father, through the Son, by the working of the Spirit, our lives receive supernatural strength.

Why does the inner man need to receive strength?

Let’s think of the inner man/woman.

\When we think of the inner person, we should think of the part of us, that no one knows.

The thoughts I never share with others

The feelings I have that I keep to myself

The hurts that I have that are private

The insecurities that I might mask

The questions I have that I cannot answer

The offenses I have picked up that I have a hard time laying down

Even as I say that out loud, I realize, the inner man needs a lot of work. Thankfully, I can come to the Lord and His will grant me, from the riches of His glory, strength from the Spirit.

Through the Spirit:

I can share my thoughts with the Lord and He will help me.

I can tell Him my feelings and He will listen

I can give Him my hurts and He will heal me

I can be my self, insecurities and all, and He will not judge me

I can ask my questions and He will answer

I can acknowledge my offenses and He will give me clarity

How does He do this? Through the Holy Spirit.

But let me add, we need the strength of the Spirit, EVERY DAY. If we do not walk with Him daily, the thoughts, feelings, hurts, insecurities, questions, or offensives will overwhelm us.

I look at that list and can see how God has helped me in every area. It has not happened instantly, but day-by-day, the Lord will make me more like Him.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

What a great gift— thank God for the Holy Spirit.

Close:

Grasping what God has to Offer is somewhat difficult because He has so much for us.

Prior to bowing down to pray, Paul referenced the tribulations that might cause people to lost heart. What is the remedy? God grants us His glory and strengthens us with the gift of the Spirit.

We have an answer to the discouragement and disheartening problems that plague us in everyday life.

Paul prayed with expectation that God would answer.

God does not solve every problem instantly. Through the process, He will help us through the Holy Spirit.

I want to explain that statement. There are times God comes and INSTANTLY heals, delivers, or sets free.

But I can say from experience, often times, it takes a while. God has allowed me to serve Vulcan Assembly of God for almost seven years.

I can say, and you can probably see, that over the past seven years, God has worked on me. I feel closer to Him. How does it happen, through the process of grasping what God has to offer.

He is generous

His glory is limitless

He will gift us the Holy Spirit