WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:03.830 like this, which we call our sixth anniversary. 00:00:05.290 --> 00:00:07.990 It's proper for us to have these kinds of annual 00:00:07.990 --> 00:00:11.169 events. In the Old Testament, you see, God established 00:00:11.169 --> 00:00:15.509 certain days on the calendar each year for his 00:00:15.509 --> 00:00:19.170 people to remember his work in their midst, to 00:00:19.170 --> 00:00:22.730 rejoice in his blessing, and to remind them of 00:00:22.730 --> 00:00:27.219 his faithfulness. We are in that sense no better 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:30.219 than they in that we also need to have regular 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.460 reminders of what God has done in the past because 00:00:33.460 --> 00:00:38.700 we easily forget. What God has done previously 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:42.340 can soon become ancient history to us even though 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:45.659 it's only a few years away and we lose a grasp 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:48.899 on it. So I think it's good for us to remind 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:52.780 ourselves every year what God has done in this 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:57.460 brief period of time. I suppose that many of 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:00.759 us go back and isolate certain incidents or events 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:04.739 over these six years which have proven to us 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:08.640 personally and to us as a church God's blessing, 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:13.140 God's faithfulness in providing, God's leading. 00:01:17.219 --> 00:01:19.280 It would be good if we had time this morning 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:22.099 to select a few of those and have you share them, 00:01:22.140 --> 00:01:27.840 but we can't do that. Just to illustrate what 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:29.719 I'm talking about, how important it is for us 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:33.159 to keep these kinds of things before us, I wonder 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:36.680 how many of you did not ever worship with us 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.500 in the original building on this site. In other 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:42.120 words, you came either during our year at Northwestern 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:44.219 College when we met there, or you've come since 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:47.079 we've been back here in this facility. So you 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.879 did not worship with us in the original building 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.959 that was here at Hamlin and County Road B -2. 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:58.549 Would you lift your hand? That's probably half 00:01:58.549 --> 00:02:03.730 of the congregation this morning. One of the 00:02:03.730 --> 00:02:05.689 things about an annual day like this is that 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:09.270 it allows the newer people to Grace Church Roseville 00:02:09.270 --> 00:02:12.750 to understand a little bit of our history. And 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:16.090 in that way, God is honored because God has done 00:02:16.090 --> 00:02:20.349 an amazing thing for us folks in these six years. 00:02:22.090 --> 00:02:24.610 Grace Church Roseville, I think, can be summarized 00:02:24.610 --> 00:02:27.849 in a phrase that We have used some. We haven't 00:02:27.849 --> 00:02:31.750 used a great deal yet. But it's the phrase that 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:34.830 says, teaching the word, reaching the world. 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:38.889 It seems to me that that's a good summation of 00:02:38.889 --> 00:02:41.889 what we're all about. We are in the first place 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:44.689 a Bible -teaching church. That is an emphasis 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:48.009 throughout our ministry. We are a church that 00:02:48.009 --> 00:02:51.550 is as committed to the inerrancy of Scripture 00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:57.509 as a church can be. We believe that because the 00:02:57.509 --> 00:03:00.509 Bible is inerrant, it therefore is authoritative 00:03:00.509 --> 00:03:08.050 in our lives. It is God's good news to us. It 00:03:08.050 --> 00:03:10.969 is God's communication to us, God's will for 00:03:10.969 --> 00:03:14.270 us, and therefore we emphasize the teaching of 00:03:14.270 --> 00:03:17.650 the Word of God. And then reaching the world. 00:03:18.469 --> 00:03:22.189 We as a church are committed to outreach. That 00:03:22.189 --> 00:03:25.479 is going to be... stepped up a little bit this 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:29.840 year in 1987 as we planned some specific events 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.319 that are going to allow all of you who will to 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:34.580 get involved in helping us to reach out to our 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:38.719 community in an organized way. But of course 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:40.719 we emphasize the fact that all of us all the 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:43.020 time are reaching out to people, building bridges 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:45.939 into lives for the sake of the gospel, that we 00:03:45.939 --> 00:03:47.759 might share with people the good news of the 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:50.620 Lord Jesus Christ. We are a church strongly committed 00:03:50.620 --> 00:03:55.080 to missions. Frankly, there are not many churches 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:57.919 that have grown as quickly as we have and have 00:03:57.919 --> 00:03:59.979 had the financial pressures that come with that, 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:03.759 as we have, that have also given to missions 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.159 as we have. It may not be as much as some of 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:09.819 us would like to see, but it's well above the 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:12.439 average for a church that has our kind of a history 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:16.180 to it. We're committed to missions. We believe 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:18.540 the gospel needs to get to every creature, that 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:21.139 every person needs to hear the good news of Jesus 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:24.829 Christ. and have the opportunity to believe on 00:04:24.829 --> 00:04:28.389 the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. So I think 00:04:28.389 --> 00:04:30.449 that that phrase is a good summation of what 00:04:30.449 --> 00:04:32.629 we're all about as a church, teaching the word 00:04:32.629 --> 00:04:37.329 and reaching the world. A local church will rise 00:04:37.329 --> 00:04:41.670 no higher than its weakest member. That's why 00:04:41.670 --> 00:04:43.689 it's so important for all of us to be faithful 00:04:43.689 --> 00:04:46.149 to the Lord Jesus Christ and to this work that 00:04:46.149 --> 00:04:49.490 he has established. Where we will be a year from 00:04:49.490 --> 00:04:53.079 now or six years from now, Where we will be in 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:55.600 the year 2000, as we're thinking in this Project 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:01.240 2000, depends upon our response to God. It depends 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:04.079 upon our faithfulness. They say it depends upon 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:06.600 God's faithfulness. Yes, of course it does, ultimately. 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:11.579 But God uses people in his purposes. He uses 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:14.720 us. And so it is our commitment and faithfulness 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:17.060 to this work of God that determines the measure 00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:21.699 of blessing that God will bestow upon us. in 00:05:21.699 --> 00:05:24.439 the years ahead. So may we be a faithful people, 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.259 and a people who are faithful channels of the 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:31.300 blessing that God desires to give. Let's turn 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:33.939 together into the Word of God, to the third chapter 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:36.199 of Ephesians, to the text that we've already 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:41.160 read in our responsive reading. Most important, 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:44.819 most loving act which you can do for another 00:05:44.819 --> 00:05:48.660 person, for your spouse, for family, for your 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:52.800 church, is to pray for them. Because you see, 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:55.920 prayer is not the last resort. It's the first 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:00.480 resource. Through prayer, you cooperate with 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:05.759 God in realizing his purpose in your life and 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:08.000 in the lives of others as you pray for them. 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:11.519 Here in Ephesians chapter 3, at the end of the 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.500 chapter, we have recorded for us a second prayer 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:18.439 of the Apostle Paul for the Ephesian church. 00:06:19.209 --> 00:06:22.209 he paused to pray for the readers of his letter. 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:27.329 One might ask, why did Paul, as he was dictating 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:31.990 this, take up precious space on a limited scroll 00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:37.930 to record a prayer? Well, in the first place, 00:06:37.949 --> 00:06:40.050 I think he did it because he wanted the Ephesians 00:06:40.050 --> 00:06:43.949 to know his heart for them. If you want to know 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:46.829 the heart of another person, spend some time 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:50.759 with that person in prayer. Because in prayer, 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.560 the heart becomes transparent. Paul wanted the 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.959 Ephesian people to know his heart. Thus he recorded 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:03.540 for them his prayer. Secondly, I believe he recorded 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:05.899 it because he wanted them to follow his example. 00:07:06.579 --> 00:07:10.139 He wanted them to know how to pray for themselves 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:15.519 and for the other churches. Thirdly, and overarching 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.720 the other two reasons, Paul recorded this prayer 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.100 because he was led of the Spirit of God to do 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:24.220 so. He was inspired of the Spirit of the Lord 00:07:24.220 --> 00:07:27.759 to write these words, and the Spirit of God laid 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:31.680 it upon his heart to pray as he prayed. It is 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:33.879 interesting that because his prayer is a part 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:37.939 of the eternal word of God, Paul prayed not only 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:40.759 for the Ephesians, but he prays for us today 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:45.480 in this generation 1 ,900 years later. So we 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.240 have the blessing of having an apostolic prayer 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:54.160 for us recorded in these verses. Paul teaches 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:59.240 us to pray intelligently and spiritually. In 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:01.879 other words, to pray with the mind of God himself. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:06.819 He knew what you and I must realize, and that 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:09.899 is that studying doctrine, understanding the 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:13.339 mysteries of the Bible, outlining its chapters, 00:08:14.080 --> 00:08:17.560 memorizing passages or even books, that these 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:21.420 things are not in themselves sufficient to make 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:25.779 us men and women of God. They are good things, 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:29.959 and we ought to be doing them, but by themselves 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:33.159 they do not make us spiritual people, mature 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:38.940 people, or people of God. It goes beyond those 00:08:38.940 --> 00:08:42.100 mechanics. to the point of applying those things 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:45.820 in our lives. Our need, and Paul knew this, that's 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:47.980 why he prayed the way he did, our need is to 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:51.720 realize in our daily living what we know in our 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:55.000 minds. The difference between these two is the 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.480 difference between knowing the mechanics of an 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:02.039 automobile and driving an automobile. They're 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.299 entirely two different things. There are many 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:08.200 people who are caught up in the mechanics. of 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:10.919 studying the Bible, learning doctrine, memorizing 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:14.980 scripture. And those things are fine, but it 00:09:14.980 --> 00:09:17.980 must go beyond that to knowing how to drive the 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:21.820 thing. There has to be an application of those 00:09:21.820 --> 00:09:24.960 things to the life that makes a difference in 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:27.299 the way that we live. And that is what Paul prays 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:31.659 about. This is the doctrinal half of the book 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:33.860 of Ephesians that we've been studying in chapters 00:09:33.860 --> 00:09:38.529 1 through 3. Back in chapter 1, Paul begins by 00:09:38.529 --> 00:09:42.110 telling us that we have been blessed with every 00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:45.730 spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And 00:09:45.730 --> 00:09:48.230 then he begins to enumerate those blessings. 00:09:49.669 --> 00:09:52.850 And now he concludes this doctrinal portion by 00:09:52.850 --> 00:09:56.409 praying once more. And his prayer is that we 00:09:56.409 --> 00:09:59.230 might experience all of the fullness that God 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:03.009 has for us. He begins by telling us what God 00:10:03.009 --> 00:10:06.529 has. And now he prays that we might experience 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:11.009 that fullness. And so after laying out what is 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:15.429 true about us in these verses, the apostle asks 00:10:15.429 --> 00:10:19.529 God to make these things real in our lives, to 00:10:19.529 --> 00:10:23.809 enable us to enter into these blessings that 00:10:23.809 --> 00:10:28.590 are ours in Christ. Studying Paul's prayer will 00:10:28.590 --> 00:10:31.870 enlighten us how to pray better. to pray more 00:10:31.870 --> 00:10:35.769 effectively, pray more in the will of God. But 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:39.529 it will also enable us to take another step toward 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:43.090 becoming what God has called us to be in Jesus 00:10:43.090 --> 00:10:47.350 Christ. I want you to notice with me the elements 00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:51.450 of prayer in Paul's words as he begins to explain 00:10:51.450 --> 00:10:55.610 and to pray in verse 14. Notice with me first 00:10:55.610 --> 00:10:58.649 this element, the prompting which Paul answers. 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:03.659 He says, for this reason, I bow my knees before 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:07.600 the Father. For this reason, there was a prompting 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.980 in the heart of Paul to pray at this point. Now 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:16.059 all of us initiate prayer, hopefully frequently. 00:11:17.820 --> 00:11:22.820 But I wonder if we are as skilled at responding 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:30.379 to prayer when God prompts us to pray. We pray 00:11:30.379 --> 00:11:35.080 when we're ready to pray, but are we ready to 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:38.440 pray when God wants us to pray? That's my point 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:42.720 here. Is there a spontaneity in our praying, 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:45.879 or to say it a different way, is there an availability 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:51.659 in our praying? What is it that motivates us 00:11:51.659 --> 00:11:54.899 to pray? Is it that it's that set time of the 00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:58.470 day? when we have scheduled ourselves to pray? 00:11:58.629 --> 00:12:04.070 Nothing wrong with that. Or is it that an arranged 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:06.990 prayer meeting is about to begin, therefore we 00:12:06.990 --> 00:12:11.090 pray? Nothing wrong with that either. But it 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:13.409 seems to me that Paul goes a bit beyond that 00:12:13.409 --> 00:12:16.870 as he is writing in the flow of this epistle, 00:12:16.950 --> 00:12:21.950 because his heart is so in sync with God's mind 00:12:21.950 --> 00:12:27.940 and heart. that he responded spontaneously to 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:31.940 the burden that was there. He was available to 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:35.299 pray right then when this burden came on him. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.799 And the burden was the burden of spiritual truth. 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:42.740 That was his motive for praying, it seems to 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:46.480 me, because he has just explained to us the great 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:52.269 mystery, the mystery of Christ. That is that 00:12:52.269 --> 00:12:56.389 the Jew and Gentile are one through faith in 00:12:56.389 --> 00:13:02.509 Christ, one body which has equal access to God. 00:13:03.350 --> 00:13:07.149 And it is as his heart is filled with this truth 00:13:07.149 --> 00:13:09.990 that he is burdened to pray and he immediately 00:13:09.990 --> 00:13:13.370 begins to pray. He says, for this reason I bow 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:18.070 my knees. The lesson here is this. You and I 00:13:18.070 --> 00:13:20.850 should not just pray for the things which are, 00:13:21.049 --> 00:13:26.850 but also for the things that could be. Because 00:13:26.850 --> 00:13:30.169 Paul is burdened that the people in Ephesus and 00:13:30.169 --> 00:13:36.450 you and me today enter into the potential of 00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:39.649 the spiritual truth that he has just explained 00:13:39.649 --> 00:13:44.029 to us. Often our prayers focus on the things 00:13:44.029 --> 00:13:48.759 that are. God, we pray for Aunt Susie's liver 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:51.919 to be made well. There's nothing wrong with praying 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:55.659 for Aunt Susie's liver, I suppose. Lord, I pray 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:58.259 for a safe trip for so -and -so to that destination. 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:01.580 Nothing wrong with praying for that. That's good 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:05.220 to pray for that. But we pray so much for those 00:14:05.220 --> 00:14:08.360 things that are instead of praying for the things 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:13.279 that might be entering into potential praying. 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.740 Paul said, folks, here is the truth about you. 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:22.779 And now I bow my knees to the Father, and for 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:26.740 this reason I pray that you might enter into 00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:31.120 this thing and experience in your lives what 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:34.860 God has given you in Christ. Pray for the things 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:41.809 that could be. Pray potential prayers. Notice 00:14:41.809 --> 00:14:44.470 with me, secondly, not only the prompting which 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:47.490 Paul answers, but the posture that he assumes. 00:14:47.929 --> 00:14:51.950 He says, for this reason I bow my knees. There 00:14:51.950 --> 00:14:54.549 is no single command in Scripture that I know 00:14:54.549 --> 00:14:58.870 of that gives a correct posture for prayer. In 00:14:58.870 --> 00:15:00.750 fact, the Bible records a number of different 00:15:00.750 --> 00:15:03.889 postures in praying. For example, Solomon stood 00:15:03.889 --> 00:15:08.129 to pray, 1 Kings chapter 8. He is recorded there 00:15:08.129 --> 00:15:12.240 standing up and praying to God. Our Lord Jesus 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:14.399 went into the garden of Gethsemane, and there 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:18.600 he fell on his face. He laid prostrate upon the 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.679 ground. It's proper to pray that way. Daniel 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:25.799 kneeled, as Paul suggests he was doing here. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.179 He knelt and prayed to God. In the scriptures 00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:32.840 we see that there are times when eyes are lifted 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:36.159 up in prayer. There are times when hands are 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:39.899 raised in prayer. No, that is not a charismatic 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:44.399 phenomenon. That is a biblical posture in praying, 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.480 and there is nothing wrong with that, although 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:49.539 it's often associated with that particular movement 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:52.899 today. There is no command in Scripture that 00:15:52.899 --> 00:15:56.399 says that prayer should be done this way. There 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:59.679 are many examples to us. But how do we know how 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:02.200 we should pray? Well, I think there are a couple 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:04.039 of guidelines that can show us. First of all, 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:07.620 what's pragmatic? If one is driving a car and 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:09.399 wants to pray, that's not the time to kneel. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:13.620 We have to look at what's pragmatic. It may be 00:16:13.620 --> 00:16:16.860 that we're in a public meeting. That may not 00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:21.700 be the time to stand up and pray. And then I 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:23.779 think a second question is, what expresses the 00:16:23.779 --> 00:16:26.860 spirit of the prayer? What is the sentiment of 00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:31.080 the heart as one prays? It may be that one is 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:34.669 so desperately burdened about a situation. that 00:16:34.669 --> 00:16:37.250 all he can do is fall on his face before God 00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:41.570 as Jesus did in Gethsemane. There may be other 00:16:41.570 --> 00:16:44.129 times when one wants to enter into a reverent 00:16:44.129 --> 00:16:48.309 time of worship and he kneels in prayer to show 00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:51.190 that submission to God. I think the sentiment 00:16:51.190 --> 00:16:53.789 of the heart, the spirit of the prayer can be 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:57.350 involved in guiding us as to how to pray. On 00:16:57.350 --> 00:16:59.389 Wednesday night in our prayer meetings, we have 00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:03.509 some who kneel. We have others who sit. And by 00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:07.750 the way, In 1 Chronicles chapter 17, David is 00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:12.230 recorded as having sat down to pray. So even 00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:14.410 a sitting position is recorded in the Bible as 00:17:14.410 --> 00:17:17.890 appropriate for prayer. The important thing about 00:17:17.890 --> 00:17:20.150 it is that the heart must be in communion with 00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:23.470 God, and the will of the person praying must 00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:27.910 be surrendered to the will of God. And sometimes 00:17:27.910 --> 00:17:32.099 that can be... evidenced in the posture that 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:34.960 one assumes. In Paul's case, it was true. He 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:39.220 says, I bow my knees. Thirdly, notice with me 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:41.440 this element, the person whom Paul addresses. 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:47.900 He says, I bow my knees before the Father. Please 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:51.559 note that in Scripture, prayer, generally speaking, 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:58.039 is addressed to God the Father through God the 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:05.180 Son. in God the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying that 00:18:05.180 --> 00:18:08.339 prayer to the Lord Jesus or prayer to the Holy 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:11.619 Spirit are wrong in themselves. There are some 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:13.700 who are very strict on that point, and I think 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:17.740 they go to the extreme on it. But generally speaking, 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:21.200 that is the order of our praying. It is to be 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.839 addressed to God the Father. The Lord Jesus gives 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:28.740 us that example. In John chapter 17, as he prays 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:33.180 his high priestly prayer, six times he addresses 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:38.559 God as Father. He speaks to the Father. In his 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.799 example, he tells us to pray that way. Secondly, 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:45.059 in his command, he tells us to pray that way. 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.279 Luke chapter 11, verse 2. When you pray, say, 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:55.329 Our Father, who art in heaven. And thirdly, the 00:18:55.329 --> 00:18:57.890 Lord Jesus in his promise tells us to address 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:01.789 the Father. For in John 16, 23, he says, if you 00:19:01.789 --> 00:19:06.890 ask the Father anything, he will give it to you 00:19:06.890 --> 00:19:13.509 in my name. A broad promise. But Jesus says there, 00:19:13.569 --> 00:19:18.190 don't ask me, ask the Father in my name. And 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:20.809 so in his example, in his command, and in his 00:19:20.809 --> 00:19:23.859 promise, our Lord gives us. That's instruction, 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:27.380 to pray to the Father. Notice that he says, I 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:30.440 bow my knees before the Father from whom every 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:34.240 family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:39.640 Verse 15 has been interpreted about as many ways 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:42.920 as any verse in the book of Ephesians. What does 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:47.160 he mean by every family in heaven and earth? 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.799 Well, it seems to me that a better rendering 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.630 of this at least from the context, would be what 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:57.230 I think the King James Version has, and that 00:19:57.230 --> 00:20:01.329 is from whom the whole family in heaven and on 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:04.450 earth derives its name. Because Paul has been 00:20:04.450 --> 00:20:08.750 talking here about unity, not individual families, 00:20:08.990 --> 00:20:11.769 as every family might connote, but he's been 00:20:11.769 --> 00:20:14.769 talking about the unity of Jew and Gentile, the 00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:17.960 oneness of the body. And so it seems to me that 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:20.420 this word, which can go either direction, should 00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:24.799 probably be translated the whole family. That 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:27.539 is, those who are in heaven and on earth. And 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:32.240 let's face it, today the family, the family of 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.539 God in this age, the church, is divided. There 00:20:35.539 --> 00:20:37.900 are those saints who are in heaven, in glory, 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.019 and there are those of us who yet remain on the 00:20:41.019 --> 00:20:44.759 earth. But whether we be in heaven or on the 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:47.720 earth, he tells us that we derive our name from 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:52.180 the Father. What does that mean, that we derive 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:56.700 our name from him? Well, it seems to me that 00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:00.240 the word name or the idea, the concept in name 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:04.819 is identity. You and I are called by a name, 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:11.059 and that name gives us a personal identity. So 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:14.539 what he's saying here is that we derive our identity, 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:19.779 our character, maybe we can say even our existence 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:25.440 as a family from the Father. For he is the one 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.799 who is calling us out to the fellowship of his 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:34.660 Son. He is the one who by his Spirit is causing 00:21:34.660 --> 00:21:38.359 us to be born again to a living hope so that 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:42.339 we are a part of his living family. family. And 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:45.380 so it is from him that we derive our identity, 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:49.920 our existence. Paul addresses the Father, as 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:52.700 all of us should, generally speaking, in our 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:57.019 praying. A fourth element needs to come to our 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:59.819 attention, and that is the petitions which Paul 00:21:59.819 --> 00:22:04.440 advances. Verses 15 through 19. This is the real 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:09.819 heart now of Paul's prayer. Notice that he relates 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:13.640 in his praying to each person of the Trinity. 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:17.980 In verse 16, he speaks about the power of the 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:24.700 Spirit. In verse 19, he speaks about the love 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:30.720 of Christ the Son. And in verse 19, he speaks 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:35.750 about the fullness of God the Father. And so 00:22:35.750 --> 00:22:38.670 once again we see a Trinitarian formula used 00:22:38.670 --> 00:22:41.430 in the book of Ephesians, and that has happened 00:22:41.430 --> 00:22:44.609 several times, and we have noted some of those. 00:22:45.950 --> 00:22:50.170 Notice the petitions that Paul asks. These can 00:22:50.170 --> 00:22:53.490 be divided two, maybe three different ways, but 00:22:53.490 --> 00:22:56.609 it seems to me that they fall out very naturally 00:22:56.609 --> 00:23:02.670 in three petitions. The first one is found beginning 00:23:02.670 --> 00:23:05.529 in verse 16, where he petitions that we might 00:23:05.529 --> 00:23:11.490 be strengthened with the Spirit's power. The 00:23:11.490 --> 00:23:16.329 second one is found in verse 18 especially, where 00:23:16.329 --> 00:23:19.930 he says he prays that we might comprehend Christ's 00:23:19.930 --> 00:23:23.910 love. And then the third one is found in verse 00:23:23.910 --> 00:23:26.809 19, where he prays that we might be filled up 00:23:26.809 --> 00:23:31.799 with the Father's love. fullness. Let's take 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:34.640 a look at those three requests that Paul advances 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:40.759 to God, these petitions. To be strengthened with 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:44.440 the Spirit's power, literally says in the original 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:49.380 language, by power to become mighty through the 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:54.019 Spirit. That's what Paul prays. Do you want to 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:57.920 pray for another person in a Bible way? Do you 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:01.059 want to pray a Bible prayer for yourself? Then 00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:04.720 here is an excellent place to start. Pray that 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:09.480 you might be strengthened, made mighty with the 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:13.799 Spirit's power. That power, of course, resides 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:17.640 within us already. But what Paul is pointing 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:21.460 out here is that that power needs to be appropriated. 00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:27.059 It needs to be accessed. for application to our 00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:31.799 lives. Now he has spoken about power before this, 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:35.019 especially in chapter 1 at the end of his prayer. 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:38.740 But now he introduces a particular application 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:42.180 of it, and that is the power that we can have 00:24:42.180 --> 00:24:46.079 in our own walk with God. This is his first mention 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:48.920 of that specific theme, although he would mention 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:53.240 it again in this epistle. He prays that we might 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:57.400 be made mighty, by power through the Spirit. 00:24:58.519 --> 00:25:01.660 He says that that is something that occurs in 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:06.440 the, notice this, the inner man. What is that 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:11.099 inner man? Obviously, he is contrasting it to 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:16.140 the outer man. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:21.059 says, though the outward man perishes, that's 00:25:21.059 --> 00:25:25.109 our body. Our bodies are on the downhill slide. 00:25:26.269 --> 00:25:28.910 We don't have to think a lot about that to find 00:25:28.910 --> 00:25:33.950 that true, do we? Though the outward man is decaying, 00:25:33.950 --> 00:25:39.109 yet he says the inward man is renewed day by 00:25:39.109 --> 00:25:46.549 day. The inner man is the real us. It's the you 00:25:46.549 --> 00:25:50.869 that lives in that body that's sitting there 00:25:50.869 --> 00:25:56.839 before me. It is the you that is described as 00:25:56.839 --> 00:26:02.220 the Spirit. Paul is focusing particularly on 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.240 that part of you that is regenerated by the act 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:10.200 of the Holy Spirit. It is that part of you that 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:13.900 is eternal. It is that part of you that is not 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:18.359 dependent upon the decaying outward body. It 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:21.400 is that part that can be renewed day by day. 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:27.059 Now in that part of you, says Paul, I pray that 00:26:27.059 --> 00:26:32.140 ye may be made mighty by the Spirit's power. 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:41.680 You need that, and so do I. Even our Savior needed 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:49.279 this. It says in Luke chapter 4, verse 1, as 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:53.359 he faced his temptation, That he was filled with 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:57.839 the Holy Spirit. And a very similar phrase is 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.319 used later on in the same chapter in verse 14, 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:05.880 when he began his public ministry. Our Lord Jesus, 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:12.039 here upon the earth, ministered in the power 00:27:12.039 --> 00:27:15.359 of the Holy Spirit and not his own strength. 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:20.380 If our Savior needed the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:27:21.230 --> 00:27:24.789 to live and to serve God in this world. How much 00:27:24.789 --> 00:27:30.650 more do you and I need that same power? And notice 00:27:30.650 --> 00:27:34.690 that there is no lack of that supply. He says, 00:27:34.710 --> 00:27:37.150 I pray that he would grant you according to the 00:27:37.150 --> 00:27:41.269 riches of his glory to know that mighty power. 00:27:43.670 --> 00:27:46.210 I care not what the challenge may be in your 00:27:46.210 --> 00:27:50.160 life. Perhaps it is a personal struggle you have 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:54.599 or a public ministry that you're facing. Whatever 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.960 that need is, there is power in the Holy Spirit 00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:02.660 to enable you. That need can be met. You can 00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:07.180 be made mighty through the Holy Spirit's power 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:13.180 in the inner man to accomplish God's will. Now 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:14.819 it's interesting to notice what he says will 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:17.509 be the result of this. That's the first part 00:28:17.509 --> 00:28:21.250 of verse 17. He says, I pray that you may be 00:28:21.250 --> 00:28:24.210 made mighty through his spirit in the inner man, 00:28:24.410 --> 00:28:29.329 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through 00:28:29.329 --> 00:28:32.869 faith. You say, well, I thought Christ already 00:28:32.869 --> 00:28:37.470 dwelt in my heart. Well, of course he does, in 00:28:37.470 --> 00:28:41.930 one sense. Colossians 1 .27 says, Christ in you, 00:28:41.990 --> 00:28:44.930 the hope of glory. That's part of the mystery. 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:49.119 That Paul unfolded in the New Testament. The 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:51.799 personal indwelling of Jesus Christ in every 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:55.299 believer. And he said in Galatians 2 .20, that 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:58.220 verse that many of us can quote, Christ lives 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:03.640 in me. And so yes, Jesus Christ in that sense 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:07.799 does indeed indwell the believer. But the word 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:10.779 that Paul uses here for dwell means to settle 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:15.400 down. to make it a permanent habitation, or the 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:20.299 idea is that Christ may be at home in your life. 00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:25.940 The suggestion is that the Lord Jesus, while 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:30.799 he may indwell us, may also, in fact, be made 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:37.059 restless, be made to feel uncomfortable in our 00:29:37.059 --> 00:29:42.589 lives. Warren Worsby calls this an ever -deepening 00:29:42.589 --> 00:29:47.369 fellowship, this indwelling. Ironside called 00:29:47.369 --> 00:29:51.849 it enthronement. He says what Paul is praying 00:29:51.849 --> 00:29:55.250 is that the Lord Jesus Christ may settle down 00:29:55.250 --> 00:29:59.430 on the throne of your heart and be in control 00:29:59.430 --> 00:30:03.190 of your life. I rather like that particular emphasis. 00:30:06.369 --> 00:30:11.680 I want to ask you, As each of us must ask ourselves, 00:30:11.940 --> 00:30:18.759 is the Lord Jesus Christ at home in you? Surely 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:23.759 he dwells there. If you are a believer in the 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:26.059 Lord Jesus, if you're a child of God, but the 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:35.079 point is, does he live there in comfort? It is 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:38.359 only as he is placed in that position of control, 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:43.720 authority, and enthronement that he's made to 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:48.640 feel at home. Paul says, I pray that you may 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:53.279 know the mighty power of the Holy Spirit so that 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:56.000 Christ will be at home in your life. You know 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.319 what a suggestion is? That if I do not walk in 00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:02.000 the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, if I do 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.130 not enter into that truth, Jesus Christ cannot 00:31:05.130 --> 00:31:14.069 feel at home in my life. It is only as I enter 00:31:14.069 --> 00:31:18.269 into the truth that he prays for here, as I begin 00:31:18.269 --> 00:31:23.789 to experience the mighty strength and might that 00:31:23.789 --> 00:31:26.650 comes through the Holy Spirit empowering me, 00:31:26.710 --> 00:31:30.190 it is only then that the Lord Jesus is able to 00:31:30.190 --> 00:31:34.279 relax, as it were, and be at home. in this vessel 00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:38.200 where he lives, which he purchased with his own 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:42.599 precious blood. And notice that this is something 00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:50.299 that happens through faith. He says that Christ 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:53.859 may settle down and be at home in your hearts 00:31:53.859 --> 00:32:00.019 through faith. This is an act of obedience, an 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:04.359 act of dependence. And we say, Lord Jesus, be 00:32:04.359 --> 00:32:12.839 at home. And we say, Holy Spirit, fill me. Empower 00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:19.039 me. Make me to know your mighty power so that 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:26.319 the Lord Jesus will be at home in me. Paul prays 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:28.099 to the Father that we might know that truth. 00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:31.539 The summary of it is this, that the believer 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:34.960 might be made mighty in his inner man by the 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:39.000 Spirit's working so that faith's active obedience 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:42.859 will make Christ be completely at home in him. 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:47.740 The second petition that he offers up is found 00:32:47.740 --> 00:32:49.960 beginning in the last part of verse 17 where 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:52.099 he says that you, being rooted and grounded in 00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:56.640 love, may be able to comprehend. Now skip down 00:32:56.640 --> 00:33:01.019 to verse 19. And to know. The love of Christ. 00:33:01.940 --> 00:33:05.759 That is his second request. It focuses on the 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:09.619 Lord Jesus, and it has to do with his love. He 00:33:09.619 --> 00:33:15.140 prays that we might know and comprehend that 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:18.660 love which is incomprehensible and unlimited. 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:24.680 That seems paradoxical, doesn't it? And indeed 00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:28.740 it is to our human thinking. But Paul prays that 00:33:28.740 --> 00:33:32.039 we might enter into and appropriate the love 00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:36.259 of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no geometric 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:39.839 measurement that can measure or define or set 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:44.200 the boundaries of the love of Christ. Yet he 00:33:44.200 --> 00:33:46.660 speaks here about the breadth and length and 00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:50.599 height and depth. The love of the Lord Jesus 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:53.519 Christ has such breadth that it embraces all 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:58.250 peoples of the world. There is no race, there 00:33:58.250 --> 00:34:01.970 is no language group, there is no nationality 00:34:01.970 --> 00:34:05.309 that is outside the embrace of his arms and his 00:34:05.309 --> 00:34:13.210 love. The love of Christ has such length that 00:34:13.210 --> 00:34:17.309 it reaches from eternity past in the act of election 00:34:17.309 --> 00:34:22.050 unto the ages to come and eternity future in 00:34:22.050 --> 00:34:27.679 glory. The love of Christ has such height that 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.659 it brings the sinner who believes up to the very 00:34:31.659 --> 00:34:36.539 throne of God and seats him with Christ. The 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:40.420 love of Christ has such depth that it stoops 00:34:40.420 --> 00:34:45.139 to the lowest place to reach the most unlovely 00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:53.360 amongst mankind. It is said that Napoleon's soldiers, 00:34:54.519 --> 00:34:59.300 entered a castle in Spain and went down into 00:34:59.300 --> 00:35:02.280 the dungeon. And there they went into a room 00:35:02.280 --> 00:35:06.619 that had not been entered for many years. They 00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:11.539 found there what had been a prisoner. The flesh, 00:35:11.579 --> 00:35:16.360 the clothing, long before had left, gone, decayed. 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:20.780 But there were his bones, what was left of them. 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:29.449 And there was... A chain around the ankle. On 00:35:29.449 --> 00:35:33.449 the stone wall above the head of the prisoner 00:35:33.449 --> 00:35:38.610 was scratched out with a piece of sharp metal 00:35:38.610 --> 00:35:44.769 that was there, a cross. And there were four 00:35:44.769 --> 00:35:49.949 Spanish words around the cross. Height, depth, 00:35:50.230 --> 00:35:59.880 length, and breadth. Whether Paul had the shape 00:35:59.880 --> 00:36:02.340 of the cross in mind as he talked about these 00:36:02.340 --> 00:36:06.619 four dimensions. That man who had died in the 00:36:06.619 --> 00:36:11.320 Spanish Inquisition for his faith in Jesus Christ 00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:18.500 certainly applied that truth to the cross. The 00:36:18.500 --> 00:36:20.820 apostle says that we have been rooted in that 00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:25.619 love as living organisms. We have already been 00:36:25.619 --> 00:36:29.849 grounded in it. We are a living temple. It provides, 00:36:30.090 --> 00:36:33.409 Christ's love provides the stability of a foundation 00:36:33.409 --> 00:36:37.409 for us. But he prays that we go beyond that, 00:36:37.489 --> 00:36:41.530 that we go into the depths of Christ's love, 00:36:41.610 --> 00:36:44.809 that we be made able to comprehend. That is, 00:36:44.809 --> 00:36:49.110 that God make us strong enough to grasp the extent 00:36:49.110 --> 00:36:56.139 of Christ's loving purpose in saving us. Beloved, 00:36:56.139 --> 00:36:58.400 if only we could understand the love of Jesus 00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:03.019 Christ for us, it would humble us and break our 00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:08.039 hearts. It would cure those struggles with his 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:11.960 lordship that we have. It would bring under his 00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:16.260 control those areas of life where we rebel. If 00:37:16.260 --> 00:37:20.679 only we could enter in to this love, Paul prays 00:37:20.679 --> 00:37:24.380 we might know. The summary of this prayer is 00:37:24.380 --> 00:37:28.239 that the believer might, by the Holy Spirit's 00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:32.079 work, be made capable of discerning and assimilating 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:36.699 the magnitude of Christ's love for him. Then 00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:41.099 the third request is found in verse 19. We praise 00:37:41.099 --> 00:37:46.320 that you may be filled up to all the fullness 00:37:46.320 --> 00:37:51.579 of God. Notice that he is not praying here that 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:56.300 we might be filled with deity as God is. He is 00:37:56.300 --> 00:38:00.619 not praying that we may become gods. But he is 00:38:00.619 --> 00:38:03.699 praying, as one commentator, I think, accurately 00:38:03.699 --> 00:38:06.960 put it, that we might be filled to the fullness 00:38:06.960 --> 00:38:12.320 God requires. In other words, what he is praying 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:15.300 for in these words in verse 19 is that we might 00:38:15.300 --> 00:38:18.929 be brought to spiritual maturity. in the Father, 00:38:19.130 --> 00:38:25.449 that we might be completed, that we might grow 00:38:25.449 --> 00:38:32.210 unto perfection. In Colossians 2 and verse 10, 00:38:32.409 --> 00:38:36.429 it says that we are right now positionally complete 00:38:36.429 --> 00:38:39.050 in Jesus Christ. There is nothing that we lack. 00:38:39.690 --> 00:38:43.050 We do not need a second work of grace. We do 00:38:43.050 --> 00:38:46.019 not need a second blessing. We do not need a 00:38:46.019 --> 00:38:50.340 so -called baptism of the Holy Spirit. Everything 00:38:50.340 --> 00:38:54.380 that we shall ever need is already ours in Jesus 00:38:54.380 --> 00:38:58.099 Christ. He says, and you have been made complete 00:38:58.099 --> 00:39:03.880 in him. But now Paul uses a very similar word. 00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:06.320 He prays that you might be filled up to this 00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:10.980 completion. You see his point? It is that we 00:39:10.980 --> 00:39:14.340 might be brought into the experience. of our 00:39:14.340 --> 00:39:17.860 completion in Christ. That we might grow, that 00:39:17.860 --> 00:39:24.420 we might mature. It is unfortunate when we measure 00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:28.760 our spiritual growth and maturity against others. 00:39:30.199 --> 00:39:32.340 Because, you know, we can always find somebody 00:39:32.340 --> 00:39:35.280 else who's a little lower than us. And that makes 00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:39.940 us feel pretty good. What the Apostle is telling 00:39:39.940 --> 00:39:42.650 us here is that our real measurement is Christ 00:39:42.650 --> 00:39:48.329 -likeness. He says, I pray that you may mature 00:39:48.329 --> 00:39:51.750 to the point of being just like the Lord Jesus 00:39:51.750 --> 00:40:00.389 Christ, the fullness of God. As you measure yourself 00:40:00.389 --> 00:40:06.210 against that standard, how mature are you? The 00:40:06.210 --> 00:40:08.489 summary of this prayer is that the believer might 00:40:08.489 --> 00:40:11.760 experience nothing less than the fullness of 00:40:11.760 --> 00:40:16.260 maturity and the completion that God has created 00:40:16.260 --> 00:40:21.320 him to know. Folks, do you see that petitions 00:40:21.320 --> 00:40:27.340 like these teach us how better to pray? And they 00:40:27.340 --> 00:40:31.159 also challenge us toward knowing in our own lives 00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:35.039 the fullness of blessing that God has called 00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:39.389 us to experience as his children. For it is possible 00:40:39.389 --> 00:40:44.849 for us to be children of the King and yet to 00:40:44.849 --> 00:40:50.730 live as beggars. It is possible for you and for 00:40:50.730 --> 00:40:54.610 me to possess in Jesus Christ the very riches 00:40:54.610 --> 00:40:59.090 of God, and we do, but to live in this world 00:40:59.090 --> 00:41:06.190 defeated, impoverished, and foolishly. That is 00:41:06.190 --> 00:41:10.219 a great tragedy. There's a tragedy that is nearly 00:41:10.219 --> 00:41:16.099 as great as the loss of one's eternal soul. I 00:41:16.099 --> 00:41:17.960 would hasten to say that there is nothing so 00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:21.679 great a tragedy as that. To go into eternity 00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:25.739 without Jesus Christ and to spend that eternity 00:41:25.739 --> 00:41:28.179 separated from God in the suffering of hell, 00:41:28.340 --> 00:41:33.360 there is no greater tragedy in the universe than 00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:39.719 for that to befall a human soul. But I tell you 00:41:39.719 --> 00:41:45.579 this, close behind it is the tragedy I'm talking 00:41:45.579 --> 00:41:50.219 about here. It is the tragedy of knowing Christ 00:41:50.219 --> 00:41:57.239 and to live out one's days on earth beneath his 00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:02.519 potential blessing. That is a catastrophic loss 00:42:02.519 --> 00:42:06.300 that can never be reclaimed because we have only 00:42:06.300 --> 00:42:10.820 one shot at life. We only pass through this day 00:42:10.820 --> 00:42:13.099 one time and then forever it becomes history 00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:18.500 to us. To know the Lord Jesus Christ and to possess 00:42:18.500 --> 00:42:22.960 all that we do in him and to spend our days wastefully, 00:42:23.019 --> 00:42:30.199 unyielded to his lordship. To fail to come into 00:42:30.199 --> 00:42:32.820 the fullness of purpose and blessing that God 00:42:32.820 --> 00:42:36.320 has for us in this life, in this world, not to 00:42:36.320 --> 00:42:39.840 speak of heaven. That is a great catastrophe. 00:42:41.659 --> 00:42:44.579 I want to encourage you today to let God answer 00:42:44.579 --> 00:42:48.679 this prayer of Paul for you. Let God answer that 00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:53.380 prayer in your life. To do it, God will not overrule 00:42:53.380 --> 00:42:59.679 your will. He will not. But he will work in your 00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:04.039 will. He will work to bring you to a place of 00:43:04.039 --> 00:43:07.889 surrender and obedience. Are you at that place 00:43:07.889 --> 00:43:12.309 today? Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life? 00:43:13.170 --> 00:43:15.889 Do you know the love that Christ has for you? 00:43:17.309 --> 00:43:21.510 Do you know spiritual maturity, the power of 00:43:21.510 --> 00:43:30.190 the Holy Spirit? Would you bow with me? My friend, 00:43:30.230 --> 00:43:33.469 those are what God has provided. Christ's love, 00:43:33.730 --> 00:43:38.369 the power of the Spirit, Spiritual maturity and 00:43:38.369 --> 00:43:42.670 completion in the fullness of God. Are you moving 00:43:42.670 --> 00:43:47.630 that way? Or is your life stuck? Have you tripped 00:43:47.630 --> 00:43:51.730 over some rut? Are you stuck in a crevice of 00:43:51.730 --> 00:43:56.710 sin? If you don't feel that you're moving in 00:43:56.710 --> 00:44:00.289 that direction of experiencing more of what God 00:44:00.289 --> 00:44:03.250 has provided for you in Christ, will you make 00:44:03.250 --> 00:44:09.199 this day? March 1, 1987, a day of new beginning 00:44:09.199 --> 00:44:14.679 for you. Will you tell the Lord right now to 00:44:14.679 --> 00:44:16.900 fulfill this prayer in your life, whatever the 00:44:16.900 --> 00:44:31.489 cost? Our Heavenly Father, in our hearts, we 00:44:31.489 --> 00:44:36.610 lift up this petition of Paul, and we pray that 00:44:36.610 --> 00:44:41.190 you will find it being fulfilled in our lives 00:44:41.190 --> 00:44:47.110 by your gracious work. And to the extent that 00:44:47.110 --> 00:44:49.789 we have checked you here and stopped you there, 00:44:49.949 --> 00:44:53.869 bring us to awareness of that and conviction, 00:44:54.170 --> 00:44:58.130 so that we may confess it and walk in obedience. 00:44:59.789 --> 00:45:02.989 I pray for every brother, every sister in this 00:45:02.989 --> 00:45:07.329 room, as I pray for myself, that we might know 00:45:07.329 --> 00:45:15.110 the strength of the Holy Spirit's power, that 00:45:15.110 --> 00:45:19.829 we might know the love of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:45:19.829 --> 00:45:24.389 for us, and that we might be filled up to the 00:45:24.389 --> 00:45:33.380 fullness of God. In Jesus' name, amen. Would 00:45:33.380 --> 00:45:38.519 you stand together with me, please? There's a 00:45:38.519 --> 00:45:40.619 chorus that we often sing, but it's a chorus 00:45:40.619 --> 00:45:44.579 that has great meaning. Think of the words as 00:45:44.579 --> 00:45:47.440 we sing and declare the lordship of our Savior. 00:45:47.960 --> 00:45:49.900 He is Lord.