WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people, 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:10.859 Elation Church. Week number six in our series 00:00:10.859 --> 00:00:15.759 of powerful prayer. It almost ended last week, 00:00:15.779 --> 00:00:18.539 but it couldn't end last week. We have at least 00:00:18.539 --> 00:00:21.600 one more, maybe two more weeks before we finish 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:25.640 this series on powerful prayer. And for us to 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.339 say that there is a powerful prayer, that means 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:30.699 that there's probably a... prayer that's not 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:34.840 very powerful, right? How many of you have ever 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:40.539 prayed and your prayer wasn't answered? The Bible 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:42.259 says an effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:47.820 man avails much. And avails much means it produces 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:52.140 wonderful results. Hello? Somebody smile. Don't 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:57.000 frown at me when I'm preaching good. If we're 00:00:57.000 --> 00:00:59.740 praying powerful prayers, we can expect wonderful 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:04.459 results. I'm going to say it again until more 00:01:04.459 --> 00:01:09.680 than my son says amen. If we pray powerful prayers, 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.920 we can expect wonderful results. Thank you. I 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:16.420 was going to have to pull out my amen button 00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:19.540 again. Church gave me an amen button a couple 00:01:19.540 --> 00:01:22.760 of years for my birthday. It has them saying 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:24.900 amen on it. Sometimes I've got to press my own 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:28.400 amen button to get amen. But anyway, powerful 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:33.159 prayer. Let's have a quick recap. How many of 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:37.900 you know recaps are okay? Because I'm sure nobody 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:42.019 in this room, no one in this room, could give 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:43.579 me all this information off the top of their 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:48.480 head. Unless they've got one of them photogenic, 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.519 no it's not photogenic, photographic memories. 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:54.769 I was seeing if you were listening. Quick recap. 00:01:55.709 --> 00:01:58.189 Here we go. It's very quick. If you need more 00:01:58.189 --> 00:02:01.370 information on this, you got to go to the podcast 00:02:01.370 --> 00:02:03.890 or to the YouTube channel and listen to these 00:02:03.890 --> 00:02:07.069 sermons again. Because I'm going to try my best 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:09.569 not to re -preach every one of them, which is 00:02:09.569 --> 00:02:13.810 hard sometimes. We started with the Lord's Prayer. 00:02:15.210 --> 00:02:17.629 The disciples asked Jesus, teach us to pray. 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.960 And these are the things he said after they asked 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:25.000 him to teach them to pray. Here's what Jesus 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.520 said. When you pray, don't babble on and on as 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.460 the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:32.819 answered merely by repeating their words again 00:02:32.819 --> 00:02:36.919 and again. That tells us what powerful prayer 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:41.419 is not. Powerful prayer is not mindless, meaningless 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:46.840 repetition. Who's been guilty of that before? 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:51.199 We've got a memorized prayer, and you think it's 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:54.360 a good time to pray, so you just rip off that 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.080 memorized prayer, not even considering the words 00:02:57.080 --> 00:02:59.240 that you're saying. You just think you need to 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:04.340 pull off something spiritual, right? So, you 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:08.439 say, twinkle, twinkle, little star. Don't even 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:11.419 think about what you're talking about. So, powerful 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:16.219 prayer is not mindless, meaningless repetition. 00:03:18.269 --> 00:03:19.710 I'm going to go ahead and throw this out there. 00:03:19.770 --> 00:03:21.830 That can even be the Lord's Prayer, which is 00:03:21.830 --> 00:03:25.469 an amazing prayer. But if all you're doing is 00:03:25.469 --> 00:03:30.650 ripping it off to do something spiritual, don't 00:03:30.650 --> 00:03:37.150 even do it. Don't even do it. Jesus said, don't 00:03:37.150 --> 00:03:39.270 be like that. Everybody say, don't be like that. 00:03:40.090 --> 00:03:42.409 Don't be like that, for your Father knows exactly 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:46.400 what you need, even before you ask Him. This 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.280 tells us something else that powerful prayer 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:50.479 is not. Powerful prayer is not begging God to 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.960 do what you want him to do. I don't know how 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.099 many years of my life that I thought prayer was 00:03:57.099 --> 00:04:00.300 me figuring out what I wanted and then me begging 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:04.580 God to give me what I wanted. So I'm just like, 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.900 God, give me this, give me this, give me this, 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:08.840 give me this. I want you to do this. I want you 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:11.060 to do that. I want you to do this. And God, you 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:13.699 know, follow me around today. Be with me today. 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:21.720 That's all, folks. Or amen, whichever one you 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:27.519 want. That's it. So powerful prayer is not just 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:32.980 begging God for what you want Him to do. Powerful 00:04:32.980 --> 00:04:37.699 prayer is not talking at God. It's talking with 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:42.939 God. Everybody say, talking with God. We're in 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:45.319 a relationship with the living God, so we talk 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:51.620 with him. We don't just talk at him. What kind 00:04:51.620 --> 00:04:54.399 of communication and relationship would you have 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:57.779 with someone if all you did was talk at them 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:00.860 the whole time and never talk with them? Would 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:04.319 you have a relationship? Not a very good one. 00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:12.069 Jesus said, don't do those things. And then he 00:05:12.069 --> 00:05:16.629 said, pray like this. Pray like this. The Lord's 00:05:16.629 --> 00:05:21.470 Prayer is a model, a pattern, a guide for powerful 00:05:21.470 --> 00:05:25.930 prayer. It's not something to memorize and rip 00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:32.910 off. It's a model. It's a model. He said, start 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:35.709 out by saying, our Father in heaven, may your 00:05:35.709 --> 00:05:39.829 name be kept holy. When we looked at that, it 00:05:39.829 --> 00:05:44.680 was like. Father, you're the one who gives me 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:48.199 life. You're the one who gives me eternal life. 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:50.579 You're the one who provides me abundant life 00:05:50.579 --> 00:05:53.420 in your kingdom. God, you are the life giver. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:06:00.420 You are my father. And God, your name is special 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:07.899 to me. Your name is so special to me. And you 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:11.879 might even want to, you know, Remind yourself 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:17.360 and proclaim who he is in the request that you're 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:24.480 bringing to him. I need to say that again? If 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:28.160 his name is special to you, then you need to 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.899 remind yourself of his name, who he is, his identity, 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:37.300 right? His activity, the relationship that you 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:41.250 have with him, which was father. That's what 00:06:41.250 --> 00:06:46.110 I started with, but if you need peace, does anyone 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:49.110 need peace every once in a while? See, this is 00:06:49.110 --> 00:06:52.730 a beggar's prayer. Oh, God, I need peace. Please 00:06:52.730 --> 00:06:54.949 give me peace. God, I'm just so messed up. I'm 00:06:54.949 --> 00:06:57.610 torn up. I'm just going through this terrible 00:06:57.610 --> 00:06:59.689 time. God, please, please, please give me peace. 00:06:59.769 --> 00:07:06.389 Give me peace. That's a beggar's prayer. A beggar's 00:07:06.389 --> 00:07:11.910 prayer. A powerful prayer for peace would be 00:07:11.910 --> 00:07:13.810 like this. After we acknowledge him as father 00:07:13.810 --> 00:07:17.730 and the life giver and the one who, I mean, he's 00:07:17.730 --> 00:07:22.149 God, right? And he's daddy at the same time. 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:30.189 And then we say, God, you are Yahweh Shalom. 00:07:31.649 --> 00:07:35.430 His name is special to me. Who he is, what he 00:07:35.430 --> 00:07:38.939 does, it's special to me. Your name, God. is 00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:49.360 Yahweh Shalom. God, you are my peace. You see 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:53.139 how we're turning from a beggar's prayer to a 00:07:53.139 --> 00:08:03.120 powerful prayer? Hello? Jesus, you told me that 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:06.620 the peace you give me is different than the world's 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:12.120 peace. So the peace that I have in you is not 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:15.980 based on what's going on around me. It's based 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:17.860 on who you are and what you have made available 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:23.379 to me, what you have given me. That's a powerful 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:29.839 prayer. When his name becomes special to you. 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:35.690 May your kingdom come soon. May your will be 00:08:35.690 --> 00:08:39.529 done on earth as it is in heaven. How many of 00:08:39.529 --> 00:08:41.470 you can look around at the world today and see 00:08:41.470 --> 00:08:45.590 that the will of God is not being done in the 00:08:45.590 --> 00:08:50.730 earth? All a mess. Because if the will of God 00:08:50.730 --> 00:08:53.309 is being done in the earth, then heaven is going 00:08:53.309 --> 00:08:57.830 to be just like it is here. Who's expecting heaven 00:08:57.830 --> 00:09:03.450 to be a different place than here? Right? So, 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.940 When he says this, he's telling us to begin to 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:13.179 declare heavenly realities. The things of God 00:09:13.179 --> 00:09:17.100 that are going on in the heaven. And we're declaring 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:23.500 those things into our world, into our lives. 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:28.919 And we're seeing those things with our spiritual 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:31.720 eyes. Powerful prayer is declaring heavenly realities. 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:38.529 into our temporal, physical realm. Your kingdom 00:09:38.529 --> 00:09:46.110 come. Your will be done. Right? We're calling 00:09:46.110 --> 00:09:52.529 for the supernatural, wonderful things of heaven 00:09:52.529 --> 00:09:58.450 to come into our existence and into our lives. 00:09:58.850 --> 00:10:02.820 Your kingdom come. Your will be done. on earth 00:10:02.820 --> 00:10:07.080 as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:11.860 need. This is not begging God for provision. 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:18.019 It's appropriating. Because when we looked at 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:23.940 it in the Greek, it's like it didn't say it the 00:10:23.940 --> 00:10:25.740 same way as it did in this English translation. 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:29.559 So we found out that powerful prayer is based 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:32.950 on appropriating. Who we are and what we have 00:10:32.950 --> 00:10:39.409 in Christ. See, God has already promised. Look 00:10:39.409 --> 00:10:40.669 at the person beside you and tell them, God's 00:10:40.669 --> 00:10:46.149 already promised. God's already promised. Has 00:10:46.149 --> 00:10:49.570 he not promised to take care of you? Is he not 00:10:49.570 --> 00:10:52.809 a good shepherd? God, you are my good shepherd. 00:10:54.149 --> 00:11:00.379 That means I shall not want. Hello? Come on, 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.580 somebody. Your name is special to me, God. You 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:08.600 are my shepherd. You are Yahweh Jireh, my provider. 00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:13.340 You are El Shaddai. You are more than enough. 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:20.700 So powerful prayer is based on appropriating 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:24.600 who we are and what we have in Him. And quickly, 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.639 I want you to think of a debit card. You got 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:29.299 a debit card. There's money in your bank account. 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:31.019 You've got a debit card, but then you go out 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:33.500 to eat, and then you tap the machine, and all 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:37.639 of a sudden, bleep! Money that you've never seen 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.159 goes from somewhere that you don't even know 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:45.419 where it is, and it appears into the machines 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:50.840 at that restaurant. Think of it the same way 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:56.379 in declaring heavenly realities, right? In appropriating. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:00.379 What God has already promised. He's already promised 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:03.600 it. He's already given it to you. We're not beggars. 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:06.460 Look to the person beside you and tell them, 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:10.480 I'm not a beggar. I'm not a beggar. I'm the child 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:17.440 of the living God. I'm not a beggar. I had to 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:23.000 preach myself happy. Verse 12. And forgive us 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:29.360 our sins. As, everybody say as. When we looked 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:34.759 at this, this was powerful too. God, I want you 00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:40.440 to forgive me just like I forgive everybody else 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:48.419 who did me wrong. Hello? Hello? Do we want God 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:52.600 to forgive us like we forgive other people? You 00:12:52.600 --> 00:13:01.419 do? Hope you got a short list. Here's what that 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:05.419 reminds us. If we're living in unforgiveness 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:08.039 and bitterness, you know what? It will disconnect 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:12.159 our prayers from the power of effectiveness. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.539 So Jesus is saying, you better check your heart 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:19.860 when you come to me, talking to me, asking me 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:22.500 for something. You better check your heart. Because 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:24.679 if you're harboring all this bitterness and unforgiveness, 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:34.279 I can't help you. Because here's what he said. 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:40.440 He says, I've forgiven you. And his command, 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:44.899 not his suggestion, but his command is for us 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:48.460 to forgive everybody else just like he forgave 00:13:48.460 --> 00:14:00.159 us. Hallelujah. It's good preaching. Even if 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:04.059 it's challenging, it's good preaching. I don't 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:07.700 want just my ears to be tickled today. I don't 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:09.659 want my ears to be tickled every time I come. 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:14.100 I want to be challenged to come up higher, just 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:15.860 like God wants me to come up higher. I want to 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:21.659 be challenged to come up higher. And don't let 00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:25.990 us yield to temptation. But rescue us from the 00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:29.570 evil one. That was last week. Don't let us yield 00:14:29.570 --> 00:14:32.610 to temptation. Everybody say, God is not the 00:14:32.610 --> 00:14:39.629 tempter. God is the deliverer. He is the rescuer. 00:14:40.389 --> 00:14:45.029 Hello? So powerful prayer proclaims our victory 00:14:45.029 --> 00:14:48.710 over temptation and our deliverance from evil 00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:52.450 that we now have in Christ. Everybody say, in 00:14:52.450 --> 00:14:59.710 Christ. That's what we have in Christ. Since 00:14:59.710 --> 00:15:02.610 powerful prayer is declaring the realities of 00:15:02.610 --> 00:15:06.190 heaven and appropriating what is ours in Christ 00:15:06.190 --> 00:15:09.429 already, what we already have, how important 00:15:09.429 --> 00:15:12.409 is it for us to know what heavenly realities 00:15:12.409 --> 00:15:20.370 are? Is that important? How important is it for 00:15:20.370 --> 00:15:23.389 us to know? who we are in Christ, and what we 00:15:23.389 --> 00:15:26.450 have in Christ. If that's the only way we can 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:29.190 pray powerfully, then we need to know these things. 00:15:34.309 --> 00:15:38.889 Some of you are thinking too hard. You can go 00:15:38.889 --> 00:15:41.149 ahead and smile, and I can still see the smoke 00:15:41.149 --> 00:15:44.509 coming out of your ears. It's okay. It's okay. 00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:48.230 But I want to tell you this today. There's a 00:15:48.230 --> 00:15:51.049 big difference between simply knowing information, 00:15:51.330 --> 00:15:53.830 because we've handed out a little card that says 00:15:53.830 --> 00:15:55.889 who I am in Christ and what I have in Christ. 00:15:56.250 --> 00:15:59.470 So there's a big difference between simply being 00:15:59.470 --> 00:16:09.210 aware of the information and knowing. I'm going 00:16:09.210 --> 00:16:13.190 to say that again. There's a big difference. 00:16:14.429 --> 00:16:16.789 Between just being exposed to the information 00:16:16.789 --> 00:16:22.250 and even having a copy of the information and 00:16:22.250 --> 00:16:26.690 knowing it. Listen to me. The way we're going 00:16:26.690 --> 00:16:30.350 to know it is through relationship. The way we're 00:16:30.350 --> 00:16:33.129 going to know it is through revelation. The way 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:34.610 we're going to know it is through experience. 00:16:35.370 --> 00:16:38.470 That's how we're going to really know it. That's 00:16:38.470 --> 00:16:41.360 how we're going to be established in it. What 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.879 God has already done for us and already made 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:46.539 available to us and who we are in Christ, we 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:50.340 have to be established in it, not just know the 00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:58.659 facts about it. I mean, you can know the facts 00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:04.339 about salvation, but until the Holy Spirit causes 00:17:04.339 --> 00:17:09.980 it to come alive, you're not born again. Can 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:12.140 you agree with me, Jeff, from your testimony? 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:16.519 You knew all the information, didn't you? Did 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:18.380 I tell you anything that you'd never heard before? 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:25.180 But all of a sudden, it became revelation. Right? 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:35.059 That's it. It's like... And now you know by experience. 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:39.039 Now you know by relationship. But it started 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:47.019 out with revelation. Is everybody with me? Now 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:50.660 we talk about not walking by sight and walking 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:55.119 by faith a lot. Don't we? We sing about it. We 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:02.660 talk about it. Right? But guess what? Your spirit 00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:06.559 has senses too. What we're talking about when 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.799 we say I walk by faith and not by sight, we're 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:14.319 talking about our soulish sight senses. Our flesh 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:21.619 senses. But our spirit has senses too. So there's 00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:29.819 power in spiritual sight. Back to Jeff. All of 00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:32.339 a sudden, you had a revelation. You had a spiritual 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:39.130 sight. Of God's love for you. Of God's, Jesus' 00:18:39.329 --> 00:18:43.170 sacrifice on the cross for you. All of a sudden 00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:48.529 it went from knowing in your thoughts to knowing 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:51.849 in your spirit. You didn't see it with your eyes, 00:18:51.910 --> 00:18:58.670 you saw it with your spirit. So there's power 00:18:58.670 --> 00:19:03.170 in spiritual sight. Here's what we've got to 00:19:03.170 --> 00:19:07.970 get. We can understand these things when it comes 00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:11.170 to salvation, but then we just close the door 00:19:11.170 --> 00:19:13.170 on that and don't apply it to any other spiritual 00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:19.630 thing. Most of the time. Oh, had spiritual sight 00:19:19.630 --> 00:19:23.190 to become saved, the truth of God came alive 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:27.750 to a level that I received Him by faith. I received 00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:34.319 His grace gifts by faith. But then we think that 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:36.980 after that, we're just on our own until we get 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:42.079 to heaven one day. Just got to do the best we 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:47.640 can until we get to heaven one day. Look to the 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:51.440 person beside you and say, wrong. It works the 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:58.119 same way. Works the same way. So the power of 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:02.440 spiritual sight is revelation and insight. By 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:05.599 your spirit. We are a spirit. We have a soul. 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:11.640 We live in a body. Has anyone ever got up early 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:16.539 enough to see a sunrise? I've seen sunrises all 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:21.019 over the place. I like it when I prepare to get 00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:23.839 up for a sunrise instead of just can't sleep 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:26.200 and see the sunrise. You know, I'm so tired. 00:20:26.339 --> 00:20:29.259 I'm told the sun come up. No, but I have prepared. 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:32.839 to go see a sunrise. When we lived at Myrtle 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:35.940 Beach, we went out there a lot, especially every 00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:38.500 Easter Sunday morning. We had a sunrise service, 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:40.900 right? So we'd go set up sound and all this stuff 00:20:40.900 --> 00:20:44.220 before the sun even came up, in the pitch dark, 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:46.480 getting ready for people to come. We'd have 400 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:49.759 or 500 people come out for our Easter sunrise 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:52.519 service. And here's what I want you to think 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:58.859 about. I'm at the beach, and you know, I can't 00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:01.970 see much. There's some street lights around, 00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:06.390 so I can see a little bit, right? But as I'm 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:10.109 out there, my eyes begin to adjust. I can see 00:21:10.109 --> 00:21:12.690 a little bit more, but I still can't see a lot 00:21:12.690 --> 00:21:19.789 of detail, right? But as the sun comes up, all 00:21:19.789 --> 00:21:24.529 of a sudden, I begin to see more and more detail 00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:32.599 as the sun comes up. Are you with me? Instead 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:36.099 of just seeing like a block of sand and a block 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:40.579 of water, all of a sudden, I start seeing yesterday's 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:44.160 footprints in the sand. I start seeing shells 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:49.259 near the water. I start seeing waves. More and 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:53.099 more is revealed to me. Everybody say revealed. 00:21:53.700 --> 00:22:01.059 More and more is revealed to me. As more light 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:14.119 is shed on what I'm looking at. You know? I've 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:15.880 seen the same thing in the mountains. Have you 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:19.440 ever seen the sun rise in the mountains? You're 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.680 kind of up on a mountain and it's dark, you know? 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:27.970 And then all of a sudden, you begin to see. More 00:22:27.970 --> 00:22:32.970 and more and more. I'll never forget standing 00:22:32.970 --> 00:22:35.609 on the rim of the Grand Canyon. I wasn't there 00:22:35.609 --> 00:22:42.609 at daybreak, but as the light moved, has anyone 00:22:42.609 --> 00:22:44.309 ever been to the Grand Canyon and stood there 00:22:44.309 --> 00:22:47.049 and looked at it a while? Doesn't it look totally 00:22:47.049 --> 00:22:49.210 different? Like every 15 minutes, it's like, 00:22:49.309 --> 00:22:55.750 this is amazing. All these different colors are 00:22:55.750 --> 00:23:00.759 revealed. Right? All these different things that 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:03.599 you were standing there looking at the same thing. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:09.000 Hello, somebody. You're looking at the same thing, 00:23:09.099 --> 00:23:18.480 but more and more is revealed. If you knew where 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:22.900 I was going, you'd get happy. We're going back 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:31.329 to Ephesians 1. I've shared this in other sermons, 00:23:31.369 --> 00:23:35.650 very briefly in other sermons. I've shared about 00:23:35.650 --> 00:23:39.910 the importance of Ephesians 1, verses 15 through 00:23:39.910 --> 00:23:45.250 23. But I've never preached on it. We're just 00:23:45.250 --> 00:23:46.950 now getting to the preaching, by the way. All 00:23:46.950 --> 00:23:49.289 that was introduction and getting you ready. 00:23:52.430 --> 00:23:54.029 Look to the person beside you and tell them, 00:23:54.049 --> 00:24:00.410 listen fast. You've got to listen fast. This 00:24:00.410 --> 00:24:05.009 is Paul writing to the Christians in Ephesus. 00:24:05.490 --> 00:24:08.890 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith 00:24:08.890 --> 00:24:12.509 in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people 00:24:12.509 --> 00:24:16.750 everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for 00:24:16.750 --> 00:24:25.009 you. I pray for you constantly. Now what comes 00:24:25.009 --> 00:24:29.890 next is a powerful prayer. You can look at the 00:24:29.890 --> 00:24:32.190 Lord's Prayer, and you can look at this prayer, 00:24:32.410 --> 00:24:37.750 and you can see that Paul is praying for heavenly 00:24:37.750 --> 00:24:41.990 realities. He's praying that what they have and 00:24:41.990 --> 00:24:44.509 who they are in Christ will be appropriated to 00:24:44.509 --> 00:24:49.789 them, that they will have revelation from God, 00:24:49.890 --> 00:24:52.910 from the Holy Spirit, shining His light on it, 00:24:52.950 --> 00:24:55.490 so that they will know it more and more and more 00:24:55.490 --> 00:24:58.319 and more. And listen. Even if you know it a little 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:00.980 bit, there's always more. Look to the person 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:02.240 beside you and tell them there's always more. 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:07.099 Always more. Always more revelation is available. 00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:10.720 Always more. Just like looking at the Grand Canyon. 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:16.980 Always more. And this is a powerful prayer that 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:20.920 will help you and me pray more powerfully. Here's 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:24.660 this prayer. Pray for you constantly. Asking 00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:28.859 God. The glorious father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.960 To give you spiritual wisdom. Everybody say wisdom. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:37.359 And insight. Everybody say insight. Go ahead 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:41.420 and say revelation. Because in some versions 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:44.799 it's translated revelation. We'll look at the 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.759 Greek words in just a minute. Of what those two 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:53.259 words are. So I'm asking God. He's a glorious 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:56.230 father. Do you hear that his name is special 00:25:56.230 --> 00:25:59.849 to Paul? Glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:01.130 --> 00:26:05.289 To give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that 00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:10.369 you might grow in your knowledge of God. Look 00:26:10.369 --> 00:26:12.329 to the person beside you and tell them, you still 00:26:12.329 --> 00:26:18.089 have room to grow. Still have room to grow. No 00:26:18.089 --> 00:26:23.109 one has maxed it out. You have not maxed it out. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:28.700 We all have room to grow. Grow in our knowledge 00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:35.660 of God. See, Paul begins his prayer not focusing 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.099 on power or authority, even though we're getting 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:46.819 to that, but with relationship. God, let them 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:53.089 see. Let them see. Just like the prophet said 00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:55.089 to the servant when the servant was all messed 00:26:55.089 --> 00:26:58.509 up and torn up, they were surrounded, thought 00:26:58.509 --> 00:27:01.029 they were going to die. And the prophet said, 00:27:01.230 --> 00:27:04.470 we're not going to die. There's more with us 00:27:04.470 --> 00:27:08.230 than against us. And the servant went outside 00:27:08.230 --> 00:27:11.210 and he said, all I see is a bunch of cherries. 00:27:12.309 --> 00:27:15.690 All I see is a bunch of enemy army surrounding 00:27:15.690 --> 00:27:21.690 us. We're outnumbered, we're surrounded. And 00:27:21.690 --> 00:27:27.509 what did the prophet say? God, open his eyes. 00:27:28.950 --> 00:27:33.170 Open his eyes. Give him some revelation. You 00:27:33.170 --> 00:27:39.490 see, I've already got this. I know this. I am 00:27:39.490 --> 00:27:43.609 established in this, that there's more with me 00:27:43.609 --> 00:27:51.619 than against me. Open his eyes. And then he walked 00:27:51.619 --> 00:27:59.059 back outside and looked. He's like, there's angels 00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:04.900 and fire and chariots and whoo. I'm not scared 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:17.240 anymore. The goal of Revelation is not just information. 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:20.319 See, we can take revelation and try to turn it 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:25.420 into information. But the goal, the ultimate 00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:29.000 goal of revelation is the intimacy of knowing 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:32.579 God personally, the intimacy of knowing Him experientially. 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:38.599 That's the purpose. That's the bottom line. It's 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:42.839 not just to get what you want through this revelation. 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:49.480 It's about intimacy with God. That word wisdom, 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:52.880 Paul says, give them wisdom. That means give 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:57.319 them a divine perspective. Let them see what 00:28:57.319 --> 00:29:00.900 they're looking at like you see it. A divine 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:06.140 perspective. Boy, we need some divine perspective. 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:12.720 In our everyday lives, we need God's perspective. 00:29:15.630 --> 00:29:20.869 We need God's perspective. I need God's perspective. 00:29:21.809 --> 00:29:24.990 Because so many times I get in my own human brain, 00:29:25.130 --> 00:29:28.990 my carnal thinking, like we talked about at Life 00:29:28.990 --> 00:29:34.650 Group. I just get into my own brain, my own thoughts. 00:29:35.809 --> 00:29:39.490 And they become more powerful to me than the 00:29:39.490 --> 00:29:45.359 thoughts of the Spirit. What? what I have seen 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:53.960 with my spirit. This is so good. If it don't 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:56.660 bless you, it don't matter because it's already 00:29:56.660 --> 00:29:58.859 blessed me and it's blessing me again right now. 00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:08.119 But just like, just like the prophet, I'm praying 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:11.240 that you're seeing it too. I want you to see 00:30:11.240 --> 00:30:17.190 it. So wisdom is us having a divine perspective. 00:30:18.289 --> 00:30:21.089 Revelation, there's a Greek word for that, is 00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:28.369 a divine unveiling. Because here's the deal. 00:30:30.089 --> 00:30:38.230 Everything you need is already yours in Christ. 00:30:44.449 --> 00:30:49.529 And a lot of times we don't see it. We don't 00:30:49.529 --> 00:30:58.089 see it. God wants us to see it. He wants us to 00:30:58.089 --> 00:31:03.150 see it. He wants us to see his perspective on 00:31:03.150 --> 00:31:06.269 our everyday life. He wants us to see the divine 00:31:06.269 --> 00:31:12.500 unveiling, his unveiling, because... This is 00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:19.119 not going to just come to you just like... That 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:28.420 would be like it going from just before sunrise 00:31:28.420 --> 00:31:39.279 to noon in a split second. And that's not the 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:46.910 way it happens. Revelation comes, and then more 00:31:46.910 --> 00:31:50.690 revelation comes, and then more revelation comes, 00:31:50.890 --> 00:32:01.390 and there's no end. We need to go from here to 00:32:01.390 --> 00:32:09.210 here. Revelation is a divine unveiling in policy. 00:32:10.369 --> 00:32:15.380 God give them a divine unveiling. Let them see 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:19.900 it. Let them see what they're going through today. 00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:22.140 They were going through some serious issues. 00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:33.500 Let them see it from your perspective. Let who 00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:36.160 they are and what they have in Christ be unveiled 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:44.210 a little bit more for them. It's not that God 00:32:44.210 --> 00:32:46.170 is holding out, but we have to seek if we're 00:32:46.170 --> 00:32:49.869 going to find. I'll say that again. We're going 00:32:49.869 --> 00:32:52.410 to have to seek if we're going to find. We're 00:32:52.410 --> 00:33:03.509 not going to stumble over revelation. I'm going 00:33:03.509 --> 00:33:08.089 to have to listen to this again. Verse 18. I 00:33:08.089 --> 00:33:12.450 pray that your hearts... Everybody say spirit. 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:15.680 I pray that, it's not talking about the organ 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:17.500 that pumps your blood around your body. I pray 00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:22.420 that your hearts will be flooded with light so 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:28.140 that you can understand the covenant hope he 00:33:28.140 --> 00:33:30.819 has given. He's already given you covenant hope 00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:34.339 so that you can understand, so that you can take 00:33:34.339 --> 00:33:37.940 hold of the covenant hope he has given to those 00:33:37.940 --> 00:33:43.960 he called his holy people. Look to the person 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:45.900 beside you and tell them, I'm a holy people. 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:54.839 When your eyes are open to who God is, your heart 00:33:54.839 --> 00:33:59.079 becomes filled with hope in what God has promised 00:33:59.079 --> 00:34:02.539 and in what he has already made available to 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:10.159 us. Hope isn't wishful thinking. I've shared 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:14.539 this so many times. Word hope in the New Testament 00:34:14.539 --> 00:34:17.420 is not a wish, so hope, like I hope it don't 00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:24.619 rain tomorrow. The Greek word for hope is elpo, 00:34:24.699 --> 00:34:29.840 E -L -P -O, in the English rendering, in our 00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:33.420 phonetic, what is it, syroph, whatever, our alphabet. 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:39.300 It's elpo, E -L -P -O, and it means to expect 00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:45.539 with confidence. And to anticipate with pleasure. 00:34:47.780 --> 00:34:52.400 To expect with confidence and to anticipate with 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:57.360 pleasure. So the hope that we have in God is 00:34:57.360 --> 00:35:01.659 a confident hope. We can stand in confident expectation 00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:08.460 to receive what he has already made available 00:35:08.460 --> 00:35:14.300 to us. To step into who he has called us to be, 00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:18.619 who we are in him. It's a covenant expectation. 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:23.719 Go ahead and get happy about it. Look at the 00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:25.219 person beside you and say, go ahead and get happy 00:35:25.219 --> 00:35:27.519 about it. Because we're supposed to anticipate 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:34.699 the fulfillment. Anticipate, right? We can anticipate 00:35:34.699 --> 00:35:41.559 it with joy and expectation. With pleasure. The 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:46.619 definition says. So it's hope that keeps us steady 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:52.960 when life feels uncertain. Hope, the hope of 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:56.280 his calling reminds us of something. God didn't 00:35:56.280 --> 00:35:59.739 save us from something just to save us from something. 00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:02.960 We are called. We're the called out ones. He 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:09.570 called us to something. When you feel discouraged 00:36:09.570 --> 00:36:12.369 or forgotten, remind yourself, God called me. 00:36:13.030 --> 00:36:17.349 I belong to him. He's not finished with me. This 00:36:17.349 --> 00:36:19.429 story doesn't end today with what I'm facing 00:36:19.429 --> 00:36:22.190 today. It doesn't end today. My story isn't over. 00:36:24.250 --> 00:36:27.389 Because I have a confident expectation in what 00:36:27.389 --> 00:36:32.329 God has said. And what God has said is bigger 00:36:32.329 --> 00:36:39.590 than what I'm facing. That's the revelation that 00:36:39.590 --> 00:36:44.210 we need. That what God has said is bigger than 00:36:44.210 --> 00:36:51.969 what I'm facing today. Hebrews 6, 19. Hope is 00:36:51.969 --> 00:36:55.690 a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. 00:36:56.190 --> 00:37:01.590 It leads us through the curtain into God's inner 00:37:01.590 --> 00:37:09.469 sanctuary. You know what curtain he's talking 00:37:09.469 --> 00:37:12.829 about? He's not talking about your bedroom curtain. 00:37:16.090 --> 00:37:20.269 He's talking about the curtain from the tabernacle. 00:37:20.269 --> 00:37:24.489 It was the curtain that only the priest could 00:37:24.489 --> 00:37:26.909 go through once a year to offer the sacrifice. 00:37:27.590 --> 00:37:30.570 It was going into where what they called the 00:37:30.570 --> 00:37:34.170 Holy of Holies, where the ark, the manifested 00:37:34.170 --> 00:37:36.909 presence of God was during the Old Testament 00:37:36.909 --> 00:37:40.309 times. And you know what? I want you to get this 00:37:40.309 --> 00:37:45.510 picture. I want you to get this revelation. Your 00:37:45.510 --> 00:37:49.070 genuine hope, your biblical hope, not hope so 00:37:49.070 --> 00:37:52.469 hope, but your confident expectation in what 00:37:52.469 --> 00:37:55.829 God has given you and what God has provided for 00:37:55.829 --> 00:37:59.250 you and who you are, your confident hope in that, 00:37:59.369 --> 00:38:04.230 just imagine that there's a rope or a chain going 00:38:04.230 --> 00:38:08.539 from your spirit To the real, not just the symbol 00:38:08.539 --> 00:38:12.039 of the Holy of Holies, but the real Holy of Holies 00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:17.000 in heaven. And that's where you're tied off. 00:38:19.219 --> 00:38:26.780 You're not tied off to this earth. You're tied 00:38:26.780 --> 00:38:33.000 off to the very throne room of eternity in the 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:35.579 real Holy of Holies. That's where your hope is 00:38:35.579 --> 00:38:40.380 anchored. If it's just anchored in your mind, 00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:44.460 in your human mind, in your brain, then good 00:38:44.460 --> 00:38:53.340 luck. That's not where it's anchored. Hope is 00:38:53.340 --> 00:38:56.300 the anchor of your soul. I need to say spirit 00:38:56.300 --> 00:38:58.699 there. Not just your mind, will, and emotions, 00:38:58.780 --> 00:39:03.739 but your spirit. Hope is the anchor of your spirit. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:08.559 It anchors your spirit to the Holy of Holies, 00:39:08.619 --> 00:39:12.960 the real Holy of Holies in heaven. So hold on 00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:17.179 tightly to hope. Don't be quick to give up hope. 00:39:18.920 --> 00:39:25.320 Verse 18. Everybody say revelation. I've already 00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:27.219 read this, but it has another little part at 00:39:27.219 --> 00:39:29.539 the end of it. I pray that your hearts will be 00:39:29.539 --> 00:39:31.280 flooded with light so that you can understand 00:39:31.280 --> 00:39:33.960 the confident hope He has given to those He called. 00:39:34.380 --> 00:39:38.300 his holy people, who are his rich and glorious 00:39:38.300 --> 00:39:43.480 inheritance. Now, if you got different versions, 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:45.920 you can see different translations. We're going 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:48.920 to cover both of them because I believe they're 00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:52.960 both equally true. We have an inheritance in 00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:56.599 Christ. Talked about it. Life group this week. 00:39:56.659 --> 00:40:00.800 It's in Romans 8. Go look at it. We are joint 00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:07.940 heirs with Jesus. We are equal heirs with Jesus. 00:40:14.380 --> 00:40:19.360 Give us revelation, God. We are joint heirs with 00:40:19.360 --> 00:40:28.659 Christ. Everything that he has, we have. That's 00:40:28.659 --> 00:40:33.599 what it means to be a joint heir. Everything 00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:39.960 he has, we have. Just to go back to my old example, 00:40:40.059 --> 00:40:46.320 do you think Jesus has peace? Hello? Do you think 00:40:46.320 --> 00:40:49.039 Jesus ever stands to the Father in heaven and 00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:50.679 say, what are we going to do, God? What are we 00:40:50.679 --> 00:40:51.900 going to do, Father? What are we going to do? 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:55.639 It's chaos. I don't know. I don't think we're 00:40:55.639 --> 00:41:01.000 going to make it, Father. You think He ever gets 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:06.960 caught up in this loop? No. So if He has peace, 00:41:07.710 --> 00:41:14.309 then I have peace. If he has joy, I have joy. 00:41:16.309 --> 00:41:22.010 If he has love, I have love. Because everything 00:41:22.010 --> 00:41:26.550 he came to this earth to accomplish, he didn't 00:41:26.550 --> 00:41:32.030 accomplish it for himself. He already had it. 00:41:33.869 --> 00:41:40.400 He accomplished it for us. You can also see it 00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:47.300 this way. You are valuable. You're so valuable 00:41:47.300 --> 00:41:54.059 that God calls you his inheritance. He provides 00:41:54.059 --> 00:41:59.800 us an inheritance. An inheritance, you normally 00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:02.780 don't get that until somebody dies, right? I 00:42:02.780 --> 00:42:04.579 just want to remind you, Jesus died on the cross. 00:42:06.159 --> 00:42:10.670 So the inheritance is yours. Now. Not one day 00:42:10.670 --> 00:42:14.289 in glory. Hallelujah. It's your inheritance now. 00:42:16.630 --> 00:42:22.190 You are God's treasure. If God had a wallet, 00:42:22.289 --> 00:42:25.869 your picture would be in it. You're his treasure. 00:42:26.610 --> 00:42:29.170 The Bible says you are the apple of his eye. 00:42:32.969 --> 00:42:39.070 You are his prized possession. He purchased you 00:42:39.070 --> 00:42:41.989 at the greatest price that has ever been paid 00:42:41.989 --> 00:42:45.650 for anything in all of history. And that's the 00:42:45.650 --> 00:42:52.469 blood of Christ. That's what he thinks about 00:42:52.469 --> 00:42:57.070 your worth. He thinks you're worth the blood 00:42:57.070 --> 00:43:00.429 of Jesus. Because that's what he paid for you. 00:43:03.110 --> 00:43:06.570 So you are his inheritance. And we have an inheritance. 00:43:07.280 --> 00:43:14.739 At the same time, listen, we need to stop disqualifying 00:43:14.739 --> 00:43:22.239 ourselves. It's easy for us to do because if 00:43:22.239 --> 00:43:25.800 we mess up, we begin to disqualify ourselves. 00:43:27.659 --> 00:43:32.659 Oh, I'm disqualified from God's love. I'm disqualified 00:43:32.659 --> 00:43:36.110 from... What God has made of it, I'm disqualified 00:43:36.110 --> 00:43:40.309 from that because of what I've done. Listen, 00:43:40.489 --> 00:43:45.909 you are not a disappointment to God. He delights 00:43:45.909 --> 00:43:51.170 in you. And get this, you, everybody say, I am. 00:43:52.090 --> 00:43:56.489 You are a part of his eternal plan and pleasure. 00:44:01.630 --> 00:44:05.000 Verse 19. Look to the person beside you and say, 00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:10.980 listen faster. I also pray that you will understand. 00:44:11.659 --> 00:44:14.960 Everybody say revelation. Also pray that you 00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:19.659 will understand the incredible greatness of God's 00:44:19.659 --> 00:44:27.940 power for us. I can't tell you how many times 00:44:27.940 --> 00:44:31.619 I read this and I was thinking, I know God has... 00:44:32.780 --> 00:44:37.019 incredibly great power, right? How many of you 00:44:37.019 --> 00:44:39.420 think God is omnipotent? He is all powerful. 00:44:41.659 --> 00:44:43.760 Well, Paul is praying that they will understand 00:44:43.760 --> 00:44:48.699 the incredible greatness of God's power that 00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:57.900 is for us who believe in him. This power that 00:44:57.900 --> 00:44:59.599 he's talking about and that he's praying about. 00:45:00.159 --> 00:45:05.260 This power is the same mighty power that raised 00:45:05.260 --> 00:45:08.699 Christ from the dead and seated him in the place 00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:13.000 of honor at the right hand of God, honor at God's 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:23.739 right hand in the heavenly realms. And the Holy 00:45:23.739 --> 00:45:25.900 Spirit is telling us that that power is for us. 00:45:30.349 --> 00:45:32.550 Same power that raised Christ from the dead now 00:45:32.550 --> 00:45:38.849 lives in you. God's great power is for us who 00:45:38.849 --> 00:45:43.690 believe. It's not distant from us in heaven. 00:45:43.789 --> 00:45:48.590 No, it's for us. It's working in us. God wants 00:45:48.590 --> 00:45:53.849 to work his power through us. It's for us. The 00:45:53.849 --> 00:45:58.119 power isn't just potential energy. It's resurrection 00:45:58.119 --> 00:46:03.460 power. It's resurrection energy. Think of an 00:46:03.460 --> 00:46:07.420 outlet. You got outlets in your house. The power 00:46:07.420 --> 00:46:15.880 is always available. What am I saying? The incredibly 00:46:15.880 --> 00:46:18.699 great power of God that raised Christ from the 00:46:18.699 --> 00:46:26.389 dead is always available. And the more revelation 00:46:26.389 --> 00:46:34.909 we receive, the more we can see in our lives. 00:46:39.210 --> 00:46:41.429 Power is always available, but you have to plug 00:46:41.429 --> 00:46:47.070 into it. You have to draw from it. And you draw 00:46:47.070 --> 00:46:54.090 from it with powerful prayer. Many Christians 00:46:54.090 --> 00:46:58.409 live unplugged. They have access, but they have 00:46:58.409 --> 00:47:03.730 no awareness. They have no revelation. You got 00:47:03.730 --> 00:47:10.690 to seek to find. And when you get revelation 00:47:10.690 --> 00:47:16.230 of this, you can move to the point where in Christ 00:47:16.230 --> 00:47:18.849 you can be powerful instead of being pitiful. 00:47:30.409 --> 00:47:32.389 We need to start speaking this truth over our 00:47:32.389 --> 00:47:36.889 lives. The same power that raised Jesus is alive 00:47:36.889 --> 00:47:45.550 in me. Would anybody dare say that? Not just 00:47:45.550 --> 00:47:48.530 saying it like you found some new information, 00:47:48.849 --> 00:47:54.710 but saying it like I just got some revelation. 00:47:56.829 --> 00:47:59.650 Let's say it. One, two, three. The same power. 00:48:00.190 --> 00:48:04.510 That raised Jesus. Is alive in me. Let's say 00:48:04.510 --> 00:48:07.969 it again. The same power that raised Jesus. Is 00:48:07.969 --> 00:48:14.409 alive in me. And even. Listen. I'm not telling 00:48:14.409 --> 00:48:16.769 you to not put your words in agreement with God. 00:48:19.369 --> 00:48:21.809 Because if you will continue to put your words 00:48:21.809 --> 00:48:25.369 in agreement with God. Hearing and hearing and 00:48:25.369 --> 00:48:34.460 hearing. That's how you. search to find, and 00:48:34.460 --> 00:48:37.400 all of a sudden one day, it won't just be information 00:48:37.400 --> 00:48:45.500 anymore. You can know it. The first time you 00:48:45.500 --> 00:48:53.539 say it, it might just be information. But through 00:48:53.539 --> 00:48:57.780 saying it and through revelation, you can know 00:48:57.780 --> 00:49:02.570 it. See, we don't pray for more power. We pray 00:49:02.570 --> 00:49:05.050 for greater insight and revelation of the power 00:49:05.050 --> 00:49:10.909 already within us. God's in us. We're the temple 00:49:10.909 --> 00:49:14.650 of the Holy Spirit. All the power of God is in 00:49:14.650 --> 00:49:20.269 us. It's not out in heaven somewhere. He's connected 00:49:20.269 --> 00:49:26.650 with our spirit. And this is the power that will 00:49:26.650 --> 00:49:29.539 give you victory over all fear. Victory over 00:49:29.539 --> 00:49:32.739 all sin. Victory over all spiritual opposition. 00:49:34.900 --> 00:49:38.739 That same power that raised Christ from the dead. 00:49:39.159 --> 00:49:42.179 And Paul is praying for those Christians in Ephesus. 00:49:42.239 --> 00:49:46.420 He's saying, let them see it, God. Let them see 00:49:46.420 --> 00:49:53.059 it. Let them see it. Let them see it. They might 00:49:53.059 --> 00:49:59.289 have heard it before, but let them see it. Verse 00:49:59.289 --> 00:50:05.429 21. Now, everybody say Jesus. Now he is far above 00:50:05.429 --> 00:50:08.869 any ruler or authority or power or leader or 00:50:08.869 --> 00:50:13.710 anything else. Not only in this world, but also 00:50:13.710 --> 00:50:17.989 in the world to come. God has put all things. 00:50:18.130 --> 00:50:20.750 Everybody say all things. Even what you're dealing 00:50:20.750 --> 00:50:24.130 with. God has put all things under the authority 00:50:24.130 --> 00:50:30.360 of Christ. God has made Jesus head over all things 00:50:30.360 --> 00:50:38.679 for Jesus' benefit. No, you better be listening. 00:50:42.400 --> 00:50:46.320 God has done all that for the benefit of the 00:50:46.320 --> 00:50:52.420 church. For the benefit of the church. Church 00:50:52.420 --> 00:50:55.570 is not talking about a building. It's not talking 00:50:55.570 --> 00:50:58.570 about organization. It's talking about the called 00:50:58.570 --> 00:51:01.030 out ones. Look to the person beside you and tell 00:51:01.030 --> 00:51:06.130 them, I'm a called out one. So Jesus is far above 00:51:06.130 --> 00:51:12.710 everything in authority for my benefit. Give 00:51:12.710 --> 00:51:22.050 us revelation. Let us see it. And the church 00:51:22.050 --> 00:51:26.389 is his body. It is made full and complete by 00:51:26.389 --> 00:51:33.889 Christ who fills all things everywhere with himself. 00:51:35.989 --> 00:51:43.829 I'm telling you. This is a powerful prayer. How 00:51:43.829 --> 00:51:45.670 many of you would agree this is a powerful prayer? 00:51:47.010 --> 00:51:51.889 This is declaring revelation for heavenly realities. 00:51:54.440 --> 00:51:57.679 Christ is the head. We are his body. The body 00:51:57.679 --> 00:52:01.320 always takes direction and identity from the 00:52:01.320 --> 00:52:04.820 head. That's why we're Christians. We identify 00:52:04.820 --> 00:52:11.980 with Christ. We are in Christ. We are now the 00:52:11.980 --> 00:52:16.539 visible expression of the invisible Christ on 00:52:16.539 --> 00:52:21.500 earth. Jesus isn't walking around anymore. You're 00:52:21.500 --> 00:52:25.489 walking around. And the glory of God is in you. 00:52:26.030 --> 00:52:29.449 The power of God is in you. If you're in Christ, 00:52:29.550 --> 00:52:34.250 hello? And our calling is not just to receive 00:52:34.250 --> 00:52:38.889 revelation, just for me and my family and my 00:52:38.889 --> 00:52:47.550 church. It's not just about me, me, me, me. Our 00:52:47.550 --> 00:52:50.929 calling is not just to receive revelation, but 00:52:50.929 --> 00:52:56.019 also to reveal Christ. to the world. Look to 00:52:56.019 --> 00:52:57.420 the person beside you and tell them, let him 00:52:57.420 --> 00:53:09.719 out. Let him out. We're supposed to have a river 00:53:09.719 --> 00:53:18.260 of life flowing out of us. Let him out. Paul 00:53:18.260 --> 00:53:20.719 didn't pray for God to give the Ephesians something 00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:24.949 new. When I first looked at this prayer as a 00:53:24.949 --> 00:53:27.230 prayer, I was thinking, well, you know, Paul 00:53:27.230 --> 00:53:31.789 was praying for this stuff, this new stuff. But 00:53:31.789 --> 00:53:34.849 as I dug in this week to study, I found out that 00:53:34.849 --> 00:53:37.489 he wasn't praying for God to give the Ephesians 00:53:37.489 --> 00:53:41.489 something new. He's praying that they would see 00:53:41.489 --> 00:53:49.929 what was already theirs in Christ. There's nothing 00:53:49.929 --> 00:53:53.800 new. Just like, get this, just like it was already 00:53:53.800 --> 00:53:57.360 theirs, everything in that prayer is already 00:53:57.360 --> 00:54:08.639 yours. So, when we adopt this prayer, we're not 00:54:08.639 --> 00:54:12.119 praying for God to give us something new. We're 00:54:12.119 --> 00:54:15.000 asking God to give us wisdom, revelation, and 00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:18.420 insight to know what is already ours in Christ. 00:54:28.300 --> 00:54:33.579 the result will be a more powerful prayer life. 00:54:35.699 --> 00:54:37.980 Because the earnest prayer of a righteous person 00:54:37.980 --> 00:54:40.900 has great power and produces wonderful results. 00:54:43.300 --> 00:54:50.139 And if you pray powerful prayers, you can expect 00:54:50.139 --> 00:54:54.679 wonderful results. So if you're not getting wonderful 00:54:54.679 --> 00:55:00.170 results from your prayers, You might not be praying 00:55:00.170 --> 00:55:04.230 powerful prayers. You might just be begging for 00:55:04.230 --> 00:55:11.150 something that you want, something that you personally 00:55:11.150 --> 00:55:12.829 want. God, I'm just going to beg you for what 00:55:12.829 --> 00:55:20.510 I want. Here's my begging list, God. So, one 00:55:20.510 --> 00:55:24.429 more time. You don't have to take pictures of 00:55:24.429 --> 00:55:26.070 this. You can take a picture of it if you want 00:55:26.070 --> 00:55:30.880 to. How many people we got today, Robert? Did 00:55:30.880 --> 00:55:35.579 you count? Okay, so I got 40. I got 40 pieces 00:55:35.579 --> 00:55:40.400 of paper right back there on the table. It has 00:55:40.400 --> 00:55:44.400 the NLT version of Ephesians 1, 15 through 23. 00:55:44.579 --> 00:55:48.260 Then it has the DFV. It's Dean Forrest's version. 00:55:48.320 --> 00:55:55.260 Me converting this from a prayer that Paul prayed. 00:55:55.789 --> 00:55:59.510 for the Christians in Ephesus, to a prayer like 00:55:59.510 --> 00:56:04.190 I would pray, if I wanted to adopt this prayer 00:56:04.190 --> 00:56:07.269 and say these things for God and ask Him for 00:56:07.269 --> 00:56:10.650 revelation and insight and wisdom, I wrote it 00:56:10.650 --> 00:56:15.429 down as if I was praying it. But I'm going to 00:56:15.429 --> 00:56:23.289 remind you, even this could be mindless repetition. 00:56:27.239 --> 00:56:29.260 So I'm not telling you to just memorize it and 00:56:29.260 --> 00:56:32.019 pray it as fast as you can because you've got 00:56:32.019 --> 00:56:35.559 other stuff you've got to get to, right? You've 00:56:35.559 --> 00:56:37.639 got a TV show you've got to get to. You've got 00:56:37.639 --> 00:56:42.300 something else that you think is more important 00:56:42.300 --> 00:56:46.559 than seeking. You probably won't get any revelation. 00:56:53.019 --> 00:56:56.219 So, I want to share it with you. Here's the way 00:56:56.219 --> 00:56:58.659 I would pray this, and I would encourage you 00:56:58.659 --> 00:57:04.139 to pray this. Father, I ask you for spiritual 00:57:04.139 --> 00:57:09.139 wisdom. I ask you for revelation and insight 00:57:09.139 --> 00:57:15.239 so I can grow in my relationship with you and 00:57:15.239 --> 00:57:19.599 in my knowledge of you. God, I'm asking you for 00:57:19.599 --> 00:57:27.000 revelation. God, I pray that my heart, will be 00:57:27.000 --> 00:57:31.179 flooded with light. Just like those days when 00:57:31.179 --> 00:57:33.480 I was out on the beach and the sun came up and 00:57:33.480 --> 00:57:36.860 I began to see more clearly and I began to notice 00:57:36.860 --> 00:57:41.039 things. God, I pray that my heart will be flooded 00:57:41.039 --> 00:57:46.519 with that kind of light spiritually so that I 00:57:46.519 --> 00:57:49.739 can understand the covenant hope. God, I've got 00:57:49.739 --> 00:57:51.760 a taste of it, but God, I know there's more. 00:57:56.360 --> 00:58:00.239 Flood my heart with light, revelation, so I can 00:58:00.239 --> 00:58:04.639 understand more about this hope that you have 00:58:04.639 --> 00:58:14.059 given me. Father, I want to know. I want to understand. 00:58:14.960 --> 00:58:20.019 I want to take hold of the incredible power and 00:58:20.019 --> 00:58:24.860 authority you have made available to me in Christ. 00:58:28.110 --> 00:58:31.570 The same power, the same mighty power that raised 00:58:31.570 --> 00:58:34.789 Jesus from the dead and seated him in heavenly 00:58:34.789 --> 00:58:38.110 places. God, give me revelation that I am seated 00:58:38.110 --> 00:58:45.210 with Christ in heavenly places. Even though my 00:58:45.210 --> 00:58:56.400 body is still here on earth. Jesus. I'm dealing 00:58:56.400 --> 00:59:01.860 with some stuff today. But I know something. 00:59:02.519 --> 00:59:07.380 I know that you are far above every ruler, every 00:59:07.380 --> 00:59:11.440 authority, every power, every leader, and everything 00:59:11.440 --> 00:59:16.480 else. Here, now, but not only in this world, 00:59:16.539 --> 00:59:19.860 but also in the world to come. You have authority 00:59:19.860 --> 00:59:25.539 over all things. Even everything I'm dealing 00:59:25.539 --> 00:59:27.719 with, God, you have authority over all things. 00:59:27.820 --> 00:59:33.280 And you have that authority for my benefit. Because 00:59:33.280 --> 00:59:40.699 you love me. Jesus, you're the head. And I'm 00:59:40.699 --> 00:59:46.820 part of your body. Everything in this world is 00:59:46.820 --> 00:59:50.019 underneath your feet. This world is your footstool, 00:59:50.039 --> 00:59:55.190 Jesus. So since I'm in you and I'm part of your 00:59:55.190 --> 01:00:01.730 body, that means everything is under my feet 01:00:01.730 --> 01:00:10.130 too. Everything's under my feet too. Thank you, 01:00:10.130 --> 01:00:17.269 Jesus, for filling me and making me complete. 01:00:23.400 --> 01:00:32.860 Making me complete in you. Let it be. Let it 01:00:32.860 --> 01:00:41.400 be. Amen. I agree. Right? That's what amen means. 01:00:41.480 --> 01:00:42.900 It doesn't mean, okay, I'm finished praying. 01:00:43.000 --> 01:00:44.920 Now I'm going to go to something else. It means 01:00:44.920 --> 01:00:52.260 I agree. This online worship experience was brought 01:00:52.260 --> 01:00:54.780 to you by the friends and partners of Eulation 01:00:54.780 --> 01:00:55.199 Church.