WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.120 Well, if you keep your Bible there, it'd be great 00:00:02.120 --> 00:00:06.219 to have it open at Ephesians 1. And let's pray. 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:09.160 Let's ask God for help as we dig into His Word 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:14.380 now. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you that 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:17.019 you speak to us. We thank you that you love us 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:19.839 and you care for us. And please, Father, help 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:23.620 us to see how good it is to know you. And we 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:29.239 ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I want you 00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:32.659 to imagine you were walking along the beach at 00:00:32.659 --> 00:00:36.640 Yorkies knob and As you're walking along, you 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.259 know, it's a beautiful day. The Sun is out. It's 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:42.740 beaming down It's just warming your face. There's 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:45.399 that nice little breeze coming in It's beautiful 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.159 and you're walking along and as you walk along 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:51.840 you notice something glistening in the sand You 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.219 go over and you have a look and you dig around 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:57.479 and you see it's one of these like old timey 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.579 lamps and there's some writing on it that you 00:01:00.579 --> 00:01:03.299 can't make out so you you take your sleeve and 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:07.159 you try and rub it and all of a sudden a genie 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:11.159 pops out and this genie does the whole usual 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:13.859 spiel you've got your three wishes don't kill 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:16.680 anyone you know can't make anyone fall in love 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:21.180 with you all that make your first wish what are 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:23.969 you wishing for? Now, I should say, you can't 00:01:23.969 --> 00:01:27.890 do more wishes. He said that in the spiel. But 00:01:27.890 --> 00:01:29.370 what are you wishing for? A never -ending pack 00:01:29.370 --> 00:01:34.170 of Tim Tams? World peace? What are you wishing 00:01:34.170 --> 00:01:38.269 for? What do you want? It's funny, I think in 00:01:38.269 --> 00:01:39.909 movies and things like that, you often see this 00:01:39.909 --> 00:01:44.250 common trope of someone finds a genie and they 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:46.629 get their wishes and the genie ends up being 00:01:46.629 --> 00:01:49.129 quite naughty and twisting the wishes, don't 00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:52.469 they? And so you get these people where they... 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:54.340 They didn't really know what they should be asking 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:57.219 for. And so they wish for things, but it ends 00:01:57.219 --> 00:02:00.920 up biting them in the end. It actually reminds 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:02.879 me a bit of that show. Do you remember that show? 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.079 I think they made a movie of it as well. Let's 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.039 see if... Oh no, that's not working. That's okay. 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:13.479 It's a show called Fantasy Island. And people 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.780 go to this mysterious island where any wish can 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:21.129 be granted. But the wish doesn't go the way people 00:02:21.129 --> 00:02:24.889 expect It actually ends really badly and there's 00:02:24.889 --> 00:02:27.889 this like running theme through the show of be 00:02:27.889 --> 00:02:31.789 careful what you wish for Because what you want 00:02:31.789 --> 00:02:36.830 isn't always what's best for you. I Think we 00:02:36.830 --> 00:02:39.909 often run into a similar problem when we pray 00:02:39.909 --> 00:02:44.569 Now don't mishear me. God is a good father. He 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.879 gives us what's best for us He's not like a sneaky 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:52.099 genie or some mysterious island. And prayers 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:54.900 aren't wishes either. They're requests to God. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:59.939 They're not magical commands. Yet when we pray, 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.120 and many of us here pray about many different 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:06.780 things, I think we don't always pray what's truly 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:11.919 best for us and for others. And because we don't, 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:15.300 I think it robs us of joy. peace and security 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:19.099 that could be ours. It often means our hearts 00:03:19.099 --> 00:03:22.699 start longing for things, shallow things that 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:26.280 aren't really good for us. And so there's a sense 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:28.879 in which I want to say to you today, be careful 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:33.060 what you pray for. Be careful what you pray for. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.400 Do you know what you and others really need? 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.979 Do you know what's really best for you? Is that 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:43.909 your heart's desire? Does What's best for you, 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:47.750 dominate your prayers. You know, if you're there 00:03:47.750 --> 00:03:51.229 at growth group and someone says, you know, I'd 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:52.990 like prayer for this and this, what's the best 00:03:52.990 --> 00:03:56.629 thing you can pray for them? What's the best 00:03:56.629 --> 00:03:58.710 thing you can pray for yourself or your family? 00:04:00.150 --> 00:04:02.449 Well, today I want to show you what that higher 00:04:02.449 --> 00:04:05.669 thing is. And I want to tell you upfront, it's 00:04:05.669 --> 00:04:09.069 not a never ending pack of Tim Tams. What is 00:04:09.069 --> 00:04:11.169 it? What's the best thing you can pray for yourself 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:16.189 or someone else? Above all else, pray that we'd 00:04:16.189 --> 00:04:20.709 know God better. Above all else, pray that we'd 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:22.810 know God better. If you've got your Bible there, 00:04:22.990 --> 00:04:26.689 come with me to verses 15 to 17. Here's what 00:04:26.689 --> 00:04:31.019 Paul says to the Ephesians. for this reason is 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:33.620 linking it back to the thing we looked at last 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:36.600 week, all the blessings, spiritual blessings 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:38.899 we have in Christ. For this reason, ever since 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:40.899 I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:43.800 all your love for all God's people, a sign that 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:46.740 they're truly converted, I have not stopped giving 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:50.100 thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 00:04:50.569 --> 00:04:53.490 So he's consistent in his prayers. He's thankful 00:04:53.490 --> 00:04:55.649 in his prayers. But what's he pray for them? 00:04:56.069 --> 00:04:58.910 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus 00:04:58.910 --> 00:05:01.750 Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the 00:05:01.750 --> 00:05:04.610 Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, it's Trinitarian, 00:05:05.610 --> 00:05:11.529 so that you may know Him better. It's all about 00:05:11.529 --> 00:05:15.990 knowing God better. Last week I talked about, 00:05:16.350 --> 00:05:19.420 actually not last week is it? Last fortnight, 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.000 because we had family camp last week. Last fortnight 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.220 I talked about the worst year of my life, and 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:28.019 if you didn't hear that one you can jump online 00:05:28.019 --> 00:05:31.240 and listen to it. My wife got burned out, my 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:34.319 dad got prostate cancer, we had 13 people in 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.899 our small country church leave, you know, I got 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:39.120 chicken pox, my grandparents died, there was 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:40.639 a whole bunch of things that all happened in 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.639 this one horrible year. What do you pray for 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.250 when things like that happen? Well, yeah, I prayed 00:05:49.250 --> 00:05:52.769 for my wife's recovery, but it was a good thing 00:05:52.769 --> 00:05:54.490 I was preaching through this at the time because 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.730 I went, I need to pray that her and I would know 00:05:57.730 --> 00:06:02.230 God better. My dad got prostate cancer. I prayed 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:05.509 for his healing, but you know what? I wanted 00:06:05.509 --> 00:06:09.269 to pray that he would come to know God because 00:06:09.269 --> 00:06:12.769 he doesn't. Oh yeah, it'd be good to pray for 00:06:12.769 --> 00:06:16.089 those 13 people who left and that God would bring 00:06:16.089 --> 00:06:18.839 more people, but you know what? The best thing 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.019 I could pray at that time was that we'd lean 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:26.019 on God more as a church. Knowing God better is 00:06:26.019 --> 00:06:30.860 the best thing you can pray for. Now I know that 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:33.579 sounds really simple and basic but actually there's 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:36.680 some real depth to it and that's what we see 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:38.839 in this passage. There's three aspects to pray 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:40.899 about if we're going to pray that we know God 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:44.860 better. Pray that we know God better, so pray 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:48.939 that you know God's plan for us. Pray that you'd 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:53.439 know God's passion for us, His love. And pray 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:58.199 that you'd know God's power in us. And as I said, 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.160 this passage is connected by last week's passage 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:04.120 for this reason, and these blessings, these things 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:06.740 we're praying are actually they mirror the three 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:10.439 blessings that we looked at last week. So really, 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:12.800 if you go over and pray the passage we looked 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:15.740 at last week, you're kind of doing this already. 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:19.610 But let's have a look. Let's pray that we'd see 00:07:19.610 --> 00:07:23.170 what we have in Christ clearly. Let's look at 00:07:23.170 --> 00:07:26.110 the first one. Pray that we'd know God better, 00:07:26.129 --> 00:07:30.050 that we'd know God's plan for us. Have a look 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:43.269 with me at verse 18. And there's two elements 00:07:43.269 --> 00:07:47.110 here. There's calling and hope. and those two 00:07:47.110 --> 00:07:50.850 have been put together. And it's saying all of 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:54.509 time, all of history is in our Father's hands. 00:07:56.069 --> 00:07:59.449 If you're one of God's adopted children, God 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:05.569 chose you for glory. And God not only knows the 00:08:05.569 --> 00:08:10.149 future, He determines it. Isn't that a comfort? 00:08:10.850 --> 00:08:15.129 He's in total control of the future. The outcome 00:08:15.129 --> 00:08:19.069 is certain. So you can know that you're chosen. 00:08:19.149 --> 00:08:21.509 You can know that it's all going to plan. You 00:08:21.509 --> 00:08:23.970 can know that the hope is going to be glorious 00:08:23.970 --> 00:08:26.569 because it's going to be an unimaginable ending. 00:08:28.870 --> 00:08:33.250 God will get you there. When you see that, when 00:08:33.250 --> 00:08:36.350 the eyes of our hearts see these truths, wow, 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:42.000 it brings such joy and calm. And so Paul's praying 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:45.700 they know where they're headed. Know the hope 00:08:45.700 --> 00:08:48.240 to which God has called you. Look forward to 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:51.460 the future that awaits you when you get to glory. 00:08:52.179 --> 00:08:54.940 But know that God's the one who's getting you 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:57.460 there. He's holding onto you tighter than you're 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:00.960 holding onto Him. And it's nothing you've done, 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:05.179 it's by His gracious choice that you will get 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:11.539 there. When we pray this, Our assurance in God's 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:16.080 love and grace, our confidence that we are secure 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.860 because of what Jesus has done for us and in 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.919 God's election, it grows massively. It makes 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:28.779 us so calm and joyful. Which is good because 00:09:28.779 --> 00:09:33.500 some days I feel like C -3PO. You know C -3PO 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:36.529 from Star Wars? Do you remember what he's like? 00:09:36.730 --> 00:09:38.750 He's sort of jittery and he's going around and 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:41.110 he's always calculating the odds that something 00:09:41.110 --> 00:09:43.330 horrible is going to happen. He's constantly 00:09:43.330 --> 00:09:47.450 anxious and stressed and worried. And you know 00:09:47.450 --> 00:09:50.309 what? C -3PO actually survives through all the 00:09:50.309 --> 00:09:57.789 movies. And the good guys win. Imagine if C -3PO, 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:01.870 if his character could go speak to the creator, 00:10:02.570 --> 00:10:06.330 to George Lucas. and read the script of what's 00:10:06.330 --> 00:10:12.350 going on. I reckon he'd become a different person, 00:10:12.549 --> 00:10:19.230 don't you? He'd be Chilpio. He'd be so different. 00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:23.549 Now here's the thing, Christians get that. That's 00:10:23.549 --> 00:10:27.049 what you get if you're a Christian. You have 00:10:27.049 --> 00:10:31.470 the script for the universe. You know the Creator. 00:10:32.330 --> 00:10:34.909 We know where it's all going. There's a plan 00:10:34.909 --> 00:10:37.730 to everything. It's all going to be united in 00:10:37.730 --> 00:10:41.490 the Lord Jesus. We know we are lovingly called 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:44.269 and chosen according to God's plan. We know that 00:10:44.269 --> 00:10:47.549 God will turn our hope into a reality when Jesus 00:10:47.549 --> 00:10:52.090 returns. Remembering there is a plan and that 00:10:52.090 --> 00:10:55.730 God is making it happen gives us security, excitement, 00:10:55.929 --> 00:10:59.799 joy and peace. And the cross, when we look at 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:02.440 the cross and go, wow, I've seen God work out 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:05.740 his plan before, you know, he was so in control 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:07.960 that people who murdered his son, he was using 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:10.220 that for the salvation of the world. Okay, I 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:13.259 know God's pretty good at executing plans. I've 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:18.799 got confidence he's gonna pull it off. Think 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.639 of those times where you feel like C -3PO. Where 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:25.700 you're worried about yourself, you're worried 00:11:25.700 --> 00:11:27.820 about your family, you're worried about others. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:39.299 What can you do? Pray. Pray. Pray that they know 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:44.700 God better. Father, help me to know you better. 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.539 Help me to see the bigger picture. Give me a 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:50.879 new perspective. Help me to see that even though 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:53.539 things are tough right now, even though I'm waiting 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:56.299 on those test results, even though work is hard 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:59.600 and, Lord, you know what my boss is like, Father, 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:05.580 help me to see that you've called me, that one 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:07.600 day I'm going to stand before you on the last 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.039 day, holy and blameless because of Jesus. Help 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:14.659 me to see that I'm your child and have been adopted 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:17.379 by you. Help me to see that heaven is going to 00:12:17.379 --> 00:12:19.940 be better than anything I could ever imagine. 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:27.059 Amen. I need to pray more prayers like that. 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:31.559 That lift me above my circumstances and help 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:36.940 me see reality. We need to pray that we know 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:41.740 God's plan for us. But that's not all we need 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:46.299 to pray. We need to pray that we know God's passion 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:51.700 for us, his deep love for us. Take a look again 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:55.340 at verse 18 with me. I pray that the eyes of 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:57.440 your heart may be enlightened in order that you 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.820 may know the hope to which he has called you, 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:04.240 the riches of his glorious inheritance in his 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.700 holy people. Now, for all the Greek boffins out 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:11.980 there, there's a great debate about what's going 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:15.360 on here. Is the inheritance something we get 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:20.639 from God, or is it something we are? Are we the 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:25.320 inheritance that God gets? And I think, if you 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:26.860 put a gun to my head, I'd say it's the second 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:30.590 one, but biblically both are true. But the reason 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:32.570 I'd say it's probably the second one is especially 00:13:32.570 --> 00:13:35.009 because in the Old Testament, that's how it talks 00:13:35.009 --> 00:13:38.610 about it. Here's one example. Moses bowed to 00:13:38.610 --> 00:13:40.450 the ground at once and worshipped, Lord, he said, 00:13:40.490 --> 00:13:43.009 if I've found favour in your eyes, then let the 00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:46.269 Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff necked 00:13:46.269 --> 00:13:49.870 people, forgive our wickedness and our sin and 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:55.389 take us as your inheritance. But look, either 00:13:55.389 --> 00:13:59.659 way, both are true. God gives us an inheritance. 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:03.100 We get the new heavens and the new earth. But 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:07.179 also we are an inheritance to God. And so we're 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:11.259 precious to God. Both God gives us riches and 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:16.899 we are riches to Him. You are unimaginably precious 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:23.360 to God. He treasures you dearly. The other day 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.220 Laura and I went away for our 16th wedding anniversary. 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:29.639 I wasn't really looking forward to it. I'd rather 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:33.120 be golfing. So I booked the cheapest, nastiest 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:36.320 hotel I could find. I picked up some corn things 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.100 from Kohl's for our dinner. And I watched golf 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:42.220 videos the whole time. Because, you know, who 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:46.340 cares? No, no, that's true, by the way. Just 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:50.019 so you can breathe now, yeah? Laura is so precious 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:54.029 to me. So I was looking forward to our night 00:14:54.029 --> 00:14:57.029 away for weeks. I found the best hotel and dinner 00:14:57.029 --> 00:14:59.730 that I could afford. I planned little surprises. 00:14:59.970 --> 00:15:04.250 I tried to make it really special. Because Laura 00:15:04.250 --> 00:15:07.389 is very special to me, just so you know sweetheart. 00:15:08.769 --> 00:15:12.149 So, she's feeling embarrassed now. But it's a 00:15:12.149 --> 00:15:15.549 joy to be with her. And that's what it's like 00:15:15.549 --> 00:15:19.769 for God with his people. Not because they deserve 00:15:19.769 --> 00:15:23.639 it. but because He's so gracious and loving and 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.500 He sets His love on them and He goes, I love 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:28.600 them and I want to treasure them. I treasure 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:32.580 them so much that I would send my Son to bear 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:36.700 my wrath, my holy righteous anger, so that I 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:41.399 can spend eternity with them. That's how much 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.639 God loves you. It's incredible how much He loves 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:52.620 you. Now, what's the payoff of that? Well, some 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:55.559 of us here struggle with low self -esteem and 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:59.600 low self -worth. What would the secular world 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:04.340 say? They'd say, just tell yourself, you are 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:07.860 enough. And you know what? That's half right. 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:12.500 But the problem is, there are days where I don't 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:17.700 feel like I'm enough. Where I fail. where I'm 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:23.019 rejected, where I'm weak. And here's the thing, 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:29.200 when I look at the cross, when I see what Jesus 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:34.919 gave me, when I didn't deserve it, when I see 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:42.179 myself as God now sees me, I can say, I am enough. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:47.679 Why? Not because I'm enough in myself. but because 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:54.840 the cross was enough. I'm loved. God deeply cares 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:59.600 for me so much that he gave his own son for me. 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:03.879 Jesus was willing to pay hell on the cross so 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:09.380 that I wouldn't have to for eternity. It's a 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:14.119 wonderful thing seeing how loved you are. So 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:17.240 if you want to build your self -worth, can I 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:18.859 suggest there's lots of things you can do, but 00:17:18.859 --> 00:17:22.019 the best way you can do that is to look at the 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:26.240 cross and to pray that you'd see how precious 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:32.700 you are. Do it daily. Pray, Father, thank you 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:36.059 so much that you sent Jesus to die for me. Thank 00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:38.519 you that I am your treasured possession. Thank 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:42.099 you that I've got eternal life awaiting me. Thank 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:45.680 you that you were willing to send your son and 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:49.460 experience that horrible wrath so that I wouldn't 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:53.599 have to. Help me to see how precious I am to 00:17:53.599 --> 00:18:00.079 you. Amen. It's an amazing thing to see how loved 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:04.180 you are. Do you pray that, that you would see 00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:09.460 it? Have you seen it? But there's one more aspect 00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:12.900 we need to see as well. We not only need to see 00:18:12.900 --> 00:18:16.359 God's passion for us, but we need to know God's 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:20.380 power in us and pray that we know God's power 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:41.349 in us. Look again at verses 18 and 19. There 00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:46.049 is a great power at work in the lives of believers. 00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:54.529 I don't see it. Can you? Is it under the chair 00:18:54.529 --> 00:18:57.950 somewhere? You can have a look if you like. Well, 00:18:57.950 --> 00:19:01.009 it can't be working, can it? Because, I mean, 00:19:01.269 --> 00:19:03.410 Paul who's writing this, he's writing and he's 00:19:03.410 --> 00:19:06.509 in chains. Is there really a great power going 00:19:06.509 --> 00:19:13.299 on? Well, verse 19 and 20 reveal more about this 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:17.779 power. That power is the same as the mighty strength 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:21.000 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.420 and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:28.720 realms. Okay, so it's the same as the mighty 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.500 strength at the resurrection. This is resurrection 00:19:31.500 --> 00:19:35.970 power. This is not everyday sort of power. And 00:19:35.970 --> 00:19:38.750 the rest of the letter shows us that this power 00:19:38.750 --> 00:19:44.269 is not just for us, but it's in us. It's that 00:19:44.269 --> 00:19:47.430 God is giving us a spiritual resurrection now 00:19:47.430 --> 00:19:50.390 that will one day become a physical resurrection. 00:19:52.250 --> 00:19:54.210 I mean, Ephesians 2 is great on this where it 00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.069 talks about we were dead in our sins and trespasses 00:19:57.069 --> 00:20:00.430 and He made us alive in Christ and He seated 00:20:00.430 --> 00:20:04.769 us in the heavenly realms with Him. We have had 00:20:04.769 --> 00:20:07.869 a spiritual resurrection if you believe in Jesus 00:20:07.869 --> 00:20:14.650 And the point of verses 21 to 23 is don't underestimate 00:20:14.650 --> 00:20:18.730 this power It's that Jesus is far above all rule 00:20:18.730 --> 00:20:21.109 and authority power and dominion every name that 00:20:21.109 --> 00:20:24.049 is invoked You know God place all things under 00:20:24.049 --> 00:20:28.180 his feet. He's head over the church. I mean It's 00:20:28.180 --> 00:20:30.839 just trying to lift our eyes and see the greatness 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.180 and glory of Jesus. He's stronger than armies 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:37.420 and politicians He's stronger than Satan because 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:40.200 the spirit who raised Jesus to be resurrected 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:45.779 Lord of all He's at work in you who believe He's 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:48.680 made you spiritually alive, and he's making you 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:53.779 more like Christ So don't don't doubt that don't 00:20:53.779 --> 00:20:57.500 don't lose heart See the power that's at work 00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:01.460 in you. He will get you to glory. Nothing, nothing 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:10.400 can overcome God's power. When I was a kid, I 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:14.779 played AFL. Don't hold that against me. But one 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:17.480 week, we played this team in our comp. And I 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:20.539 don't know what happened. Maybe they were like 00:21:20.539 --> 00:21:23.200 under 12s and we were under 14s and there was 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.400 a schedule. I don't know. But what happened was 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:33.220 we won 397 to 2. It was a slaughter. I kicked 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:36.839 five goals. I'm not very good and I was not even 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:40.000 the top goal scorer. I think there was one guy 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:42.259 who kicked like 13 on the day. It was pretty 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:46.400 epic. It was so brutal. It got so bad at half 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:49.339 time they put other kids, like put kids from 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:52.819 our team on the other team and that was still 00:21:52.819 --> 00:21:56.500 the score line. I mean, I can't think of anything 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:59.240 that's so completely one -sided other than that 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:02.579 game. There was no way we were going to lose. 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:05.940 And the thing is, when we turned up to the game, 00:22:06.019 --> 00:22:08.279 we didn't know it would go like this, but as 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:12.710 we played, it was awesome. We were all convinced 00:22:12.710 --> 00:22:14.390 we weren't going to lose, and do you know what 00:22:14.390 --> 00:22:16.529 it meant? It meant we were all going, yeah, let's 00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:19.690 play bolder, let's be more confident, let's try 00:22:19.690 --> 00:22:22.089 some things, you know, and we played better and 00:22:22.089 --> 00:22:23.829 better and better because we knew we couldn't 00:22:23.829 --> 00:22:27.650 lose, and we had a lot of fun doing it. Well, 00:22:27.650 --> 00:22:29.349 you know what? It's the same with Christians. 00:22:31.390 --> 00:22:34.609 I mean, I think it's so easy to get discouraged 00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:38.759 and lose heart during the Christian life. I mean, 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:41.059 think about what Christians face in the Christian 00:22:41.059 --> 00:22:44.279 life. There's suffering, persecution, fears, 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:47.859 doubts, divisions, discouragements. There's temptations, 00:22:48.059 --> 00:22:52.079 false teachers, our sinful nature, ruts and sinful 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:54.799 habits that we have that feel unbeatable at times. 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:57.460 We might have a difficult marriage. We might 00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:59.839 be struggling with singleness. We might have 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:03.549 kids and... Workplaces that are difficult. And 00:23:03.549 --> 00:23:06.190 hey, not to mention there's Satan and his forces 00:23:06.190 --> 00:23:10.170 and his schemes. And you know what? Sometimes 00:23:10.170 --> 00:23:16.509 it feels like too much. Until we see the power 00:23:16.509 --> 00:23:20.130 that's working toward us and in us and for us 00:23:20.130 --> 00:23:24.910 in Jesus. I think sometimes the Christian life 00:23:24.910 --> 00:23:28.970 feels like we're on that other team that's losing. 00:23:29.089 --> 00:23:31.839 Actually it's not. It's that we're on the team 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:37.420 that can't lose. Because God is for us. He's 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:41.299 risen Christ over everything. He's at work in 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:44.859 us. It's one -sided, all right, but it's His 00:23:44.859 --> 00:23:51.079 side that's 397. It's bold. It's so good, isn't 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:54.019 it? When you see this, you become bold and joyful, 00:23:54.019 --> 00:24:00.720 and you want to try things and take risks. Yet, 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:04.019 I know my heart easily loses sight of all this. 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:09.480 And that's why we've got to pray. Pray in every 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:13.660 circumstance, constantly. Pray that God's Spirit 00:24:13.660 --> 00:24:17.799 might impress the reality of God's power on my 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:21.259 heart. That He'd give me the strength to know 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:24.740 Christ's love for me and to trust that He will 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:31.369 be victorious. And we need to rely on that. Look 00:24:31.369 --> 00:24:34.809 to that so that we joyfully obey and resist temptation. 00:24:36.769 --> 00:24:40.170 So that when we're hurt, we maintain Christian 00:24:40.170 --> 00:24:44.529 unity. The unity that Christ created in his death. 00:24:46.349 --> 00:24:50.329 You know, Satan's real power, his real weapon 00:24:50.329 --> 00:24:55.250 is actually just lies, isn't it? When Christians 00:24:55.250 --> 00:25:00.910 believe the lies that they're losing, that Satan's 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:04.769 winning. That's when the Christian life becomes 00:25:04.769 --> 00:25:11.630 a struggle. But prayer opens our eyes. It helps 00:25:11.630 --> 00:25:17.670 us see reality. So, can I encourage you, pray 00:25:17.670 --> 00:25:20.849 on your own, that you'd know God better, that 00:25:20.849 --> 00:25:24.690 you'd know His power at work in you. Not only 00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:27.799 just on your own though. Come along to Revive 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:30.539 prayer meeting on Friday morning, 7 o 'clock 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:34.960 at 119 Camarunga Road. Come pray with us there. 00:25:35.140 --> 00:25:38.299 Come pray at the boiler room at 8 .30 every Sunday 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:41.160 here at church and pray together with others 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:44.460 that we'd see God's power so that it changes 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:52.460 our lives. Alright, let's sum up. What should 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:55.059 we pray for? What's the best thing to pray for? 00:25:55.709 --> 00:25:57.930 Well, I mean, like always, there's lots of good 00:25:57.930 --> 00:26:02.009 things to pray for. But I hope you've seen today 00:26:02.009 --> 00:26:05.589 that each of those things should always be tied 00:26:05.589 --> 00:26:11.170 to the greatest thing, knowing God better. Above 00:26:11.170 --> 00:26:17.210 all else, pray that we'd know God better. And 00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:20.680 there were three things we looked at. To pray 00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:23.160 pray that we know God better how by praying that 00:26:23.160 --> 00:26:25.619 we know God's plan for us by praying that we 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:28.900 know God's Passion his love for us and pray that 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:34.559 we know God's power in us So that's what we looked 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:36.980 at but let's get real what's this mean for us 00:26:36.980 --> 00:26:42.519 here today Well, there are some of us here who 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:46.230 don't yet know God And we are so glad you're 00:26:46.230 --> 00:26:48.390 here, if that's you. So glad you've turned up 00:26:48.390 --> 00:26:52.930 to church today. Can I encourage you to pray? 00:26:54.250 --> 00:26:58.049 Pray that you'd want to know God. Pray that God 00:26:58.049 --> 00:27:01.730 would reveal Himself to you. Pray that He'd show 00:27:01.730 --> 00:27:08.190 you whether He's true or not. Ask Him. Ask Him 00:27:08.190 --> 00:27:12.549 to show you how wonderful it is to be His child. 00:27:14.029 --> 00:27:16.970 If you're not sure how to do this or if you want 00:27:16.970 --> 00:27:19.150 to talk more with someone, come up the front. 00:27:19.470 --> 00:27:21.210 I think we've got Steve up here this morning 00:27:21.210 --> 00:27:24.490 who can pray with people. So please come and 00:27:24.490 --> 00:27:26.970 pray with Steve or come find me and I'd love 00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:31.990 to pray with you too. But if you're hearing you're 00:27:31.990 --> 00:27:37.390 a Christian, I hope this will be a shot in the 00:27:37.390 --> 00:27:41.250 arm for your prayer life. I hope that you'll 00:27:41.250 --> 00:27:45.900 try praying like this for a month or two. Just 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:47.980 try and get in the routine and the rhythm of 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:51.380 it. Pray that we'd know God better. Link your 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:53.839 other prayers to this and see what happens in 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:57.619 your heart. And maybe you need a reminder, maybe 00:27:57.619 --> 00:27:59.619 you need to set something in your phone. Yep, 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:01.759 what am I doing? Oh yeah, I'm going to pray that 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:05.470 I'd know God better. Maybe you need to tell a 00:28:05.470 --> 00:28:08.690 friend, hey, can we meet up just every month 00:28:08.690 --> 00:28:11.369 and check in on me? How are you going with your 00:28:11.369 --> 00:28:13.690 prayer life? How are you going? Yeah, cool. I'm 00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:15.670 praying that I'd know God better. And have you 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:17.869 found that? And just talk about it with another 00:28:17.869 --> 00:28:22.190 Christian from church here. But find ways to 00:28:22.190 --> 00:28:27.730 make sure that you pray to know God better. And 00:28:27.730 --> 00:28:33.119 here's the thing. If we do that, I reckon God 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:37.319 will do amazing things through our prayers. I 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:40.920 actually reckon he'd do things better than we 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:44.980 could imagine or wish for. Yes, be careful what 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:47.680 you pray for, but if we are, I think God's gonna 00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:49.859 do things far better than we could have ever 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:55.000 expected. So linking my prayers to knowing God, 00:28:55.859 --> 00:29:00.359 that's awesome. And I say that as someone who's 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:04.509 gone through it. that awful year in Broken Hill, 00:29:05.009 --> 00:29:07.490 and I happened to just be preaching on this, 00:29:08.470 --> 00:29:12.150 it helped me cope in one of the darkest seasons 00:29:12.150 --> 00:29:16.130 of my life. It was so good for me and for others 00:29:16.130 --> 00:29:19.690 around me to be praying that myself and them 00:29:19.690 --> 00:29:24.910 would know God better. Will you pray like that? 00:29:26.089 --> 00:29:31.480 Let's pray now. Gracious Heavenly Father, we 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:34.880 thank you so much that through the death of the 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:40.480 Lord Jesus we are able to be your treasured possession. 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:45.079 We thank you so much that you've chosen us and 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:48.779 elected us to be your children if we trust in 00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:52.279 you. We thank you so much that we know that you're 00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:55.039 in control and that you're holding on to us tighter 00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:58.480 than we're holding on to you. And we thank you 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.759 that you've given us your spirit who's opened 00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:05.460 our eyes to see how great and glorious you are. 00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:07.779 We thank you that your spirit gives us great 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:11.160 assurance that we will not be overcome because 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:16.960 you are with us. Please help us to be people 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:21.079 who know you better and to be people who constantly 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:25.500 pray that we'd know you better. And we ask this 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:27.609 in Jesus' name. Amen.