great well hello everybody hope your<\/p>\n
weeks have been well<\/p>\n
we're coming into our third and final<\/p>\n
week of our mini series that we began<\/p>\n
last year<\/p>\n
and we're looking at the book of<\/p>\n
Ephesians<\/p>\n
last week<\/p>\n
we looked at how Paul encouraged his<\/p>\n
friends<\/p>\n
they were discouraged we said because he<\/p>\n
was in prison he was suffering for<\/p>\n
Christ<\/p>\n
and then we looked at how Paul viewed<\/p>\n
suffering in order to help his friends<\/p>\n
be encouraged about why he was suffering<\/p>\n
we also saw last week that one of the<\/p>\n
things that Paul had said<\/p>\n
was that the church is how God chooses<\/p>\n
to reveal his manifold wisdom His<\/p>\n
Brilliant wisdom to the world<\/p>\n
and how in the church through the gospel<\/p>\n
people who would otherwise<\/p>\n
never get along are now able to<\/p>\n
his divisions are now torn down<\/p>\n
in and through the church we said and<\/p>\n
Paul says God is creating a new Humanity<\/p>\n
a new Society<\/p>\n
but one of the things that we had<\/p>\n
noticed<\/p>\n
about verses 1 to 13 was that Paul had<\/p>\n
gotten sidetracked we said Paul had<\/p>\n
gotten sidetracked he began with<\/p>\n
for this reason in verse 1 and then he<\/p>\n
went on to a completely different idea<\/p>\n
so now in our section today<\/p>\n
from verse 14 onwards he picks it up<\/p>\n
again he starts off by saying for this<\/p>\n
reason<\/p>\n
so we're looking at the rest of chapter<\/p>\n
3 today from verses 14 onwards<\/p>\n
and this section this is Paul's great<\/p>\n
prayer<\/p>\n
that he prays for the Ephesians<\/p>\n
and by extension he also Praises for us<\/p>\n
as well<\/p>\n
it's the highest point it's the peak of<\/p>\n
Ephesians and it's such a powerful<\/p>\n
what does Paul pray for us<\/p>\n
let's read the text<\/p>\n
next slide please<\/p>\n
all right Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14<\/p>\n
to 21 for this reason<\/p>\n
I kneel before the father from whom<\/p>\n
every family in heaven and on Earth<\/p>\n
derives its name I pray that out of his<\/p>\n
glorious riches he may strengthen you<\/p>\n
with powers through his spirit in your<\/p>\n
inner being so that Christ May dwell in<\/p>\n
your hearts through faith<\/p>\n
and I pray that you being rooted and<\/p>\n
established in love<\/p>\n
may have power together with all the<\/p>\n
Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and<\/p>\n
long and high and deep is the love of<\/p>\n
Christ and to know this love that<\/p>\n
surpasses knowledge<\/p>\n
that you may be filled to the measure of<\/p>\n
all the fullness of God<\/p>\n
now to him who is able to do<\/p>\n
immeasurably more then all we ask or<\/p>\n
imagine<\/p>\n
according to his power that is at work<\/p>\n
within us<\/p>\n
to him be glory in the church<\/p>\n
and in Christ Jesus throughout all<\/p>\n
generations<\/p>\n
forever and ever<\/p>\n
amen<\/p>\n
this is the word of God<\/p>\n
so when we look at anything anything<\/p>\n
that's ever been written anything with a<\/p>\n
story<\/p>\n
most of the time they involve these two<\/p>\n
themes that we see here<\/p>\n
love and Power<\/p>\n
the love of power has destroyed<\/p>\n
continents<\/p>\n
Empires Nations and people<\/p>\n
the power of love has driven otherwise<\/p>\n
weak people<\/p>\n
to do powerful things<\/p>\n
and it has also driven powerful people<\/p>\n
to do foolish things as well<\/p>\n
the forces that shape Our lives our<\/p>\n
homes<\/p>\n
our countries our politics<\/p>\n
even our even our world<\/p>\n
our love and Power<\/p>\n
these are the themes that run through<\/p>\n
this great prayer of Paul<\/p>\n
and for every single one of us here in<\/p>\n
this room<\/p>\n
Paul what Paul is asking for here is<\/p>\n
something<\/p>\n
so amazing<\/p>\n
and what he's asking God for is not just<\/p>\n
for super Christian<\/p>\n
it's not just for the super holy people<\/p>\n
who come to church every week and repent<\/p>\n
every day<\/p>\n
it is for every single person<\/p>\n
who counts Jesus as Lord<\/p>\n
every single one of us who say<\/p>\n
Jesus Is Our Lord<\/p>\n
and what Paul is telling us<\/p>\n
through this prayer what he's telling us<\/p>\n
is that there is something available<\/p>\n
that would make us all ashamed<\/p>\n
for expecting too little<\/p>\n
there is something available to us all<\/p>\n
that we are not seeking we're missing it<\/p>\n
in other words<\/p>\n
we're not seeking for what God wants<\/p>\n
we have far too low Ambitions our<\/p>\n
expectations are too low<\/p>\n
and we are content with far far far too<\/p>\n
little<\/p>\n
C.S Lewis he famously said that it's not<\/p>\n
that our desires are too strong<\/p>\n
but rather they're too weak<\/p>\n
he says we are half-hearted creatures<\/p>\n
fooling around with drink and sex and<\/p>\n
ambition when infinite Joy is offered us<\/p>\n
like an ignorant child who wants to go<\/p>\n
on making mud Plies mud pies in a slum<\/p>\n
because you cannot imagine what is meant<\/p>\n
by the offer of a holiday at the sea<\/p>\n
we are far too easily pleased<\/p>\n
what's he saying he's saying our<\/p>\n
Ambitions are too low<\/p>\n
we are too easily content<\/p>\n
we are not seeking we are not Desiring<\/p>\n
what God wants for us<\/p>\n
so the question is what is that what is<\/p>\n
that thing that God wants for us<\/p>\n
verse 16 Paul says<\/p>\n
I pray that out of his glorious riches<\/p>\n
he may strengthen you with power through<\/p>\n
his spirit in your inner being<\/p>\n
why does Paul pray this<\/p>\n
what does this mean how do we receive<\/p>\n
this<\/p>\n
these are all questions that come to<\/p>\n
mind so let's try answering them firstly<\/p>\n
so when we when we look at this prayer<\/p>\n
notice that three of the main things<\/p>\n
he's asking God for are one<\/p>\n
that Christ May dwell in their hearts<\/p>\n
through faith<\/p>\n
two that they may have power to grasp<\/p>\n
how much God loves them<\/p>\n
to know the love of Christ three that<\/p>\n
they may be filled to the measure<\/p>\n
of all the fullness of God<\/p>\n
those are the three things and now<\/p>\n
what's what's interesting about this<\/p>\n
is that the people that Paul are is<\/p>\n
praying for they're all Christians he's<\/p>\n
praying for Christians<\/p>\n
throughout the letter of Ephesians<\/p>\n
Paul has talked about being united with<\/p>\n
Christ right in united with others who<\/p>\n
already have Christ in them<\/p>\n
Paul also teaches in verse in chapter<\/p>\n
one<\/p>\n
that by being united with Christ<\/p>\n
they already have the fullness of God<\/p>\n
living inside of them<\/p>\n
in other places in the Bible Paul<\/p>\n
teaches and it's also common sense that<\/p>\n
you cannot be a Christian without<\/p>\n
knowing the love of Christ<\/p>\n
so in essence it seems like what Paul is<\/p>\n
praying for them the three things he's<\/p>\n
praying for them they already have it<\/p>\n
why is Paul asking God to give<\/p>\n
Christians things that they must surely<\/p>\n
have<\/p>\n
oh the answer is at one level they have<\/p>\n
these things at another level they don't<\/p>\n
know it<\/p>\n
they don't know what they have<\/p>\n
they haven't experienced it they aren't<\/p>\n
living by it they haven't grasped it<\/p>\n
there is a difference between having<\/p>\n
something being true of you<\/p>\n
and you actually living from it and<\/p>\n
drawing on its resources<\/p>\n
so if someone let's say someone very<\/p>\n
nice generous person deposits 10 million<\/p>\n
Baht into your bank account that'd be<\/p>\n
great wouldn't it<\/p>\n
so if that happens it's true if you're<\/p>\n
rich you are now rich in theory you're<\/p>\n
rich you have the money you have access<\/p>\n
to it so in principle you have 10<\/p>\n
million baht but if you don't use that<\/p>\n
money<\/p>\n
if you never go to the bank and draw it<\/p>\n
out<\/p>\n
if that money is not having an impact on<\/p>\n
how you are spending your life<\/p>\n
on the clothes that you wear<\/p>\n
on the food that you eat<\/p>\n
on the people you are helping<\/p>\n
if it is not impacting you at all<\/p>\n
you may be rich in status but you're not<\/p>\n
experiencing it it hasn't made a<\/p>\n
difference in your life you are rich but<\/p>\n
you're living like you're poor<\/p>\n
so it's one thing it's one thing to know<\/p>\n
the love of Christ it's one thing to<\/p>\n
know that Jesus gave his life for you<\/p>\n
and for me and to say yeah yeah I know<\/p>\n
he did all that<\/p>\n
that's one thing it's another thing to<\/p>\n
grasp<\/p>\n
how wide and long and high and deep is<\/p>\n
the love of Christ<\/p>\n
what Paul is saying when he prays for<\/p>\n
the Ephesians and when he prays this for<\/p>\n
us<\/p>\n
is that we would experience and live<\/p>\n
from what we already have<\/p>\n
was it would it touch us in our inner<\/p>\n
beings would we draw on it would it make<\/p>\n
a difference an actual difference in our<\/p>\n
lives<\/p>\n
it's very possible for Christians for us<\/p>\n
to live our lives with a high degree<\/p>\n
of inauthenticity<\/p>\n
in other words we live life with a lot<\/p>\n
of fakeness<\/p>\n
this is because the reason we do this is<\/p>\n
because we have failed to move the truth<\/p>\n
from our heads into our hearts<\/p>\n
we aren't experiencing it in our inner<\/p>\n
beings<\/p>\n
so it hasn't actually changed who we are<\/p>\n
and how we live<\/p>\n
so what this shows us what this shows us<\/p>\n
then is that Christianity is not just<\/p>\n
following the rules<\/p>\n
it is not just come to us we'll show you<\/p>\n
the right way to live in this world<\/p>\n
we'll tell you all the rules and now<\/p>\n
follow it<\/p>\n
this passage this Paul's prayer here<\/p>\n
gives us a Theology of Christian<\/p>\n
experience<\/p>\n
not just to know that there is a God but<\/p>\n
to experience God not just to know that<\/p>\n
there is a god of love but to experience<\/p>\n
God's love not just to know that there<\/p>\n
is fullness and Glory but to really<\/p>\n
experience God's fullness and God's<\/p>\n
glory<\/p>\n
so what's it what's it like to<\/p>\n
experience God there's a couple of<\/p>\n
famous examples throughout history and<\/p>\n
I'll quote a couple here<\/p>\n
so one Blaise Pascal<\/p>\n
he was a genius a mathematician who laid<\/p>\n
the groundwork for probability and<\/p>\n
statistics<\/p>\n
and when he had died<\/p>\n
they found that he had written<\/p>\n
in his diary of a time where he had<\/p>\n
experienced God<\/p>\n
some of us may know this he took this<\/p>\n
page that he wrote and because he would<\/p>\n
he want to he wanted to remember it<\/p>\n
he sewed it on the inside of his coat<\/p>\n
every time he got a new coat he would<\/p>\n
sew this note on the inside<\/p>\n
and what this note says it's pretty<\/p>\n
famous what it says is this is what he<\/p>\n
wrote<\/p>\n
in the year of Grace 1654<\/p>\n
Monday 23rd November Feast of Saint<\/p>\n
Clement<\/p>\n
from about half past 10 in the evening<\/p>\n
to about half an hour after midnight<\/p>\n
fire<\/p>\n
all capitals one line all by itself fire<\/p>\n
then it says God of Abraham God of Isaac<\/p>\n
God of Jacob not of the philosophers and<\/p>\n
Scholars certitude heartfelt joy peace<\/p>\n
God of Jesus Christ God of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
my God and your God joy joy joy tears of<\/p>\n
joy Jesus Christ Jesus Christ may I<\/p>\n
never be<\/p>\n
separated from him what happened Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ dwelled in his heart<\/p>\n
the reality<\/p>\n
Jesus became a reality he experienced<\/p>\n
the love of Christ another example a<\/p>\n
little bit less famous as of a minister<\/p>\n
who lived during the 1800s his name was<\/p>\n
Dwight Moody<\/p>\n
he wrote<\/p>\n
in his diary one day in the city of New<\/p>\n
York oh what a day I cannot describe it<\/p>\n
I seldom refer to it it is almost too<\/p>\n
sacred and experienced to name<\/p>\n
I can only say that God revealed himself<\/p>\n
to me and I had such an experience of<\/p>\n
his love that I had to ask him to stay<\/p>\n
his hand<\/p>\n
in both of these examples both of these<\/p>\n
men had been Christians they had<\/p>\n
believed in God<\/p>\n
but what they believed in their head<\/p>\n
moved into their hearts and they<\/p>\n
experienced the reality of how things<\/p>\n
actually are<\/p>\n
another way to put it is the objective<\/p>\n
reality of who they are in Christ came<\/p>\n
together with their subjective<\/p>\n
so these two examples they're they're<\/p>\n
pretty intense right<\/p>\n
let's not think that this can only<\/p>\n
happen to some people<\/p>\n
Paul would not be praying this for the<\/p>\n
Ephesians if it was incredibly rare and<\/p>\n
if they could never experience this<\/p>\n
Paul is praying what's he praying that<\/p>\n
by the spirit's power<\/p>\n
our hearts would be engaged and shaped<\/p>\n
by the truths of our faith that we<\/p>\n
believe in our minds<\/p>\n
this can come in many different degrees<\/p>\n
it can be mild and gentle<\/p>\n
to an explosive discovery<\/p>\n
these are moments where<\/p>\n
we sense the power of what we have been<\/p>\n
given in Christ<\/p>\n
so that our attitudes our feelings and<\/p>\n
our behavior all of that is changed<\/p>\n
now it doesn't happen every day<\/p>\n
but it can happen and it does happen can<\/p>\n
we think of times in our lives we have<\/p>\n
been so moved by God's word<\/p>\n
times in our lives where the truth of<\/p>\n
who we are in Christ has really begun to<\/p>\n
sink deep into our hearts can we think<\/p>\n
of those times<\/p>\n
I can think of a couple times in my life<\/p>\n
where this has happened<\/p>\n
it's not very often I wish it would<\/p>\n
happen more and more<\/p>\n
I'm sure<\/p>\n
this is not rare<\/p>\n
those of us who are Christians<\/p>\n
what have we settled for<\/p>\n
do we know anything like this do we say<\/p>\n
yes I know these truths I know Jesus<\/p>\n
lives in my heart do we know Christ's<\/p>\n
indwelling<\/p>\n
we are in him you are adopted into the<\/p>\n
father's family you have the very life<\/p>\n
of God living inside of you you are<\/p>\n
fully loved fully accepted in Christ you<\/p>\n
have immeasurable worth and value you<\/p>\n
know these things we know these things<\/p>\n
yet at another level we don't grasp them<\/p>\n
that's why Paul uses the word grasp<\/p>\n
we'll get into that in a little bit we<\/p>\n
don't grasp them<\/p>\n
we are still dogged<\/p>\n
by our bad habits our anxieties our<\/p>\n
boredom our discouragement our anger<\/p>\n
we may have many many problems that need<\/p>\n
to be faced and dealt with through<\/p>\n
different ways and yet the root of all<\/p>\n
of them<\/p>\n
is that we do not know who we are in<\/p>\n
Christ we are rich in Christ that we<\/p>\n
have been living poor<\/p>\n
when Paul prays for his friends what<\/p>\n
does he pray<\/p>\n
he doesn't pray for anything related to<\/p>\n
their circumstances he doesn't ask that<\/p>\n
they would be protected from war from<\/p>\n
disease from death<\/p>\n
they were being persecuted and killed<\/p>\n
during this time<\/p>\n
Paul doesn't pray for their<\/p>\n
circumstances what does he pray for<\/p>\n
he prays that they would deeply know the<\/p>\n
love of Christ and the reason he prays<\/p>\n
this is because if they have this if<\/p>\n
they grasp this<\/p>\n
they will be able to handle any<\/p>\n
circumstance<\/p>\n
that's the same of us all as well we<\/p>\n
grasp this it will give us the power to<\/p>\n
handle any circumstance<\/p>\n
okay so that's that's why Paul praised<\/p>\n
this prayer now let's look at what does<\/p>\n
this mean<\/p>\n
what does it mean the power through his<\/p>\n
spirit<\/p>\n
so Paul prays that the spirit would<\/p>\n
strengthen them with power in their<\/p>\n
inner being<\/p>\n
so that Christ would dwell in their<\/p>\n
hearts through faith and that they would<\/p>\n
grasp but God's love<\/p>\n
what's what's the spirit doing here<\/p>\n
the spirit is preparing our inner being<\/p>\n
so that we are able to grasp God's love<\/p>\n
the word grasp here Verse 18 grasp<\/p>\n
is more than just belief<\/p>\n
it means to seal to seize to lay lay<\/p>\n
hold of to see is to grab it<\/p>\n
Paul is not saying so that we can<\/p>\n
believe God's love<\/p>\n
he's saying so that we can get a hold of<\/p>\n
it<\/p>\n
and the spirit here is<\/p>\n
preparing our hearts so that we are able<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
in Tim Keller's book called prayer which<\/p>\n
is an amazing book by the way I would<\/p>\n
recommend reading it he uses this<\/p>\n
illustration to explain this concept<\/p>\n
so before the time of iPhones whenever<\/p>\n
you took a picture<\/p>\n
it used to be that we needed film<\/p>\n
so that our picture would come out on a<\/p>\n
sheet of paper so that we can see it<\/p>\n
today we have digital cameras we don't<\/p>\n
need film as much but back in those days<\/p>\n
we needed film<\/p>\n
now what is film film wasn't just any<\/p>\n
old paper<\/p>\n
it needed to be chemically treated so<\/p>\n
that it would be made sensitive to light<\/p>\n
so when you took a picture of it the<\/p>\n
camera opens the shutter opens in comes<\/p>\n
the light and the image is imprinted on<\/p>\n
the film<\/p>\n
the chemically treated film grasped the<\/p>\n
image and the film was permanently<\/p>\n
Changed by the image however<\/p>\n
if the chemicals did not make the film<\/p>\n
sensitive to the light<\/p>\n
when you take the picture the light<\/p>\n
comes in but it doesn't leave its mark<\/p>\n
on the film<\/p>\n
the film has not been prepared<\/p>\n
it is not sensitive enough to receive<\/p>\n
the image if the film has not been<\/p>\n
prepared the light makes no difference<\/p>\n
to the film<\/p>\n
so Paul prays that the spirit would be<\/p>\n
making our hearts our inner beings<\/p>\n
sensitive so that we can grasp God's<\/p>\n
love<\/p>\n
the spirit is preparing our hearts so<\/p>\n
that when the light of Christian truth<\/p>\n
comes in<\/p>\n
such as God is Holy we are saved by<\/p>\n
grace God loves us with an everlasting<\/p>\n
love when these truths come in we don't<\/p>\n
just respond with mental Ascent we don't<\/p>\n
just respond with emotion but that when<\/p>\n
these truths come in we are permanently<\/p>\n
changed our behaviors our feelings our<\/p>\n
thoughts they're all affected<\/p>\n
when we grasp<\/p>\n
particular truths about God the light<\/p>\n
comes in and changes us permanently<\/p>\n
here's another illustration to describe<\/p>\n
how do you know what the beach is like<\/p>\n
we're going on our retreat in a few<\/p>\n
weeks it's at the beach how do you know<\/p>\n
what the beach is like<\/p>\n
well there's two ways right one you<\/p>\n
could go online you could read books and<\/p>\n
articles about what people have written<\/p>\n
that describe the beach<\/p>\n
you could talk to people<\/p>\n
and believe them they'll say things like<\/p>\n
oh there's wind oh there's Sun there's<\/p>\n
sand your feet get wet it's really<\/p>\n
sticky it's fun to swim you can talk to<\/p>\n
all these people and believe what they<\/p>\n
say so then you'll know okay<\/p>\n
the beach has sand the sea is salt water<\/p>\n
there's wind there's Sun there's waves<\/p>\n
but<\/p>\n
when you move from believing what other<\/p>\n
people say about it to actually<\/p>\n
experiencing the beach for yourself and<\/p>\n
how good it can be<\/p>\n
you now know what it's like in a<\/p>\n
different way<\/p>\n
you have experienced it<\/p>\n
you feel the wind you actually feel the<\/p>\n
wind on your shoulders you feel the<\/p>\n
waves crashing on your body<\/p>\n
you feel the sand underneath you you<\/p>\n
feel the Cool Breeze<\/p>\n
before experiencing the beach<\/p>\n
you mentally knew what it was like<\/p>\n
but you didn't experientially know what<\/p>\n
it was like<\/p>\n
in the same way there is there is a<\/p>\n
difference<\/p>\n
between mentally believing in God's<\/p>\n
grace<\/p>\n
and having a sense in our hearts about<\/p>\n
how lovely and beautiful God and God's<\/p>\n
grace are<\/p>\n
we may say I believe in God I believe<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ died we may be absolutely<\/p>\n
sure of it and have no doubt we may say<\/p>\n
my family is Christian I grew up going<\/p>\n
to church I believe in God it's possible<\/p>\n
for us to say these things never<\/p>\n
actually tasting and experiencing the<\/p>\n
love of God in our hearts<\/p>\n
Paul says in verse 17<\/p>\n
so that Christ May dwell in your hearts<\/p>\n
through faith isn't this interesting<\/p>\n
if we are Christians<\/p>\n
Christ is already in our hearts<\/p>\n
but for Jesus to dwell in our hearts is<\/p>\n
through the power of the spirit Jesus<\/p>\n
becomes as real to us<\/p>\n
as the other people in our lives<\/p>\n
Christ becomes more real<\/p>\n
Jesus's approval Jesus is Love Jesus's<\/p>\n
opinion<\/p>\n
becomes more sweet and more important to<\/p>\n
us than that from anyone else<\/p>\n
right now we may say I know I know God<\/p>\n
loves me but this person's criticized me<\/p>\n
or this person is disappointed in me or<\/p>\n
I don't have this person's love<\/p>\n
and I'm devastated my world is torn<\/p>\n
apart I know God's God loves me but my<\/p>\n
world's torn apart why because we know<\/p>\n
the love of God we know it in our heads<\/p>\n
but we haven't grasped it yet it has not<\/p>\n
become the most important thing in our<\/p>\n
lives and until it does until it does we<\/p>\n
are living powerless lives we're not<\/p>\n
drawing on what we have in Christ Our<\/p>\n
now real quick this is not just talking<\/p>\n
about feeling<\/p>\n
it moves beyond that<\/p>\n
the reason Paul prays these things<\/p>\n
it's in verse 19 that you may be filled<\/p>\n
to the measure of all the fullness of<\/p>\n
God<\/p>\n
having the fullness of God<\/p>\n
is a completely new kind of life<\/p>\n
this is not just about knowing certain<\/p>\n
things in our mind and now feeling them<\/p>\n
in our emotions of course emotions are<\/p>\n
important but this goes beyond that<\/p>\n
because the reason it goes beyond that<\/p>\n
is because it is completely possible for<\/p>\n
us to have our feelings aroused it is<\/p>\n
possible for us to come to come to<\/p>\n
church listen to a worship song Cry be<\/p>\n
touched have our feelings moved<\/p>\n
but to not change the way we live our<\/p>\n
Paul says if we are rooted and<\/p>\n
established in love verse 17<\/p>\n
that is if the very Foundation of Our<\/p>\n
Lives<\/p>\n
if the love of God goes all the way down<\/p>\n
into our foundation of our life<\/p>\n
we believe in sense God's love in our<\/p>\n
hearts it will permanently change the<\/p>\n
way we live<\/p>\n
put differently<\/p>\n
the objective reality that God is<\/p>\n
building us<\/p>\n
so that we may be filled with the<\/p>\n
fullness of God the reality is that<\/p>\n
God's love is really real and it is wide<\/p>\n
it is long it's high and it's deep<\/p>\n
and in light of these things in light of<\/p>\n
God's love if we really believe it<\/p>\n
why wouldn't Our Lives be changed<\/p>\n
it would<\/p>\n
if we believed how things really are<\/p>\n
why would we be so proud<\/p>\n
why would we be so self-hating<\/p>\n
why would we worry<\/p>\n
why would we be so self-absorbed why<\/p>\n
would we be insecure we wouldn't<\/p>\n
be permanently changed<\/p>\n
which leads us to our<\/p>\n
final question<\/p>\n
how do we how do we receive this how do<\/p>\n
we receive what Paul is praying for<\/p>\n
first thing to notice<\/p>\n
is that it's a gift<\/p>\n
see Paul is he's praying for this<\/p>\n
which means that<\/p>\n
in order to get it you don't just follow<\/p>\n
a recipe in order to get the experience<\/p>\n
in fact there's a danger if we just want<\/p>\n
the experience<\/p>\n
because how would you feel if someone<\/p>\n
only loved you<\/p>\n
loved you not for who you are but for<\/p>\n
what you could give them<\/p>\n
that isn't love is it if we only seek<\/p>\n
after the experience but not God himself<\/p>\n
that's pretty dangerous<\/p>\n
Paul shows us by praying for it that<\/p>\n
it's a gift it is a gift given to us by<\/p>\n
the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n
and so just like Paul prays this prayer<\/p>\n
for the Ephesians and for us<\/p>\n
we can pray this prayer as well<\/p>\n
we may not expect it to be answered<\/p>\n
every day or even every year<\/p>\n
but it is something to pray it's a gift<\/p>\n
from God secondly notice Paul's posture<\/p>\n
when he prays<\/p>\n
he kneels before the father<\/p>\n
it's implied in here that there's an<\/p>\n
emphasis on obedience and Authority<\/p>\n
he's kneeling before the father and he's<\/p>\n
asking the father for this experience<\/p>\n
and when he does that in essence he's<\/p>\n
saying I submit to you I obey you I obey<\/p>\n
you unconditionally command me<\/p>\n
in other words I don't think we can say<\/p>\n
there's a part of my life where I know<\/p>\n
I'm not living how God wants me to live<\/p>\n
I keep sinning I know I shouldn't be but<\/p>\n
oh there I go again I keep doing it I'm<\/p>\n
willfully disobeying God<\/p>\n
I don't think we can say we can't say<\/p>\n
this and live this way and then expect<\/p>\n
God to fill us with his fullness and<\/p>\n
of course we're going to sin<\/p>\n
but there's a difference between<\/p>\n
trying to obey God and sinning<\/p>\n
and not not even caring about God being<\/p>\n
our King<\/p>\n
it's like trying to fill up a bucket and<\/p>\n
poking holes in it at the same time<\/p>\n
it will never be filled if we keep doing<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
something else that we've been talking<\/p>\n
about for the past two weeks is<\/p>\n
community<\/p>\n
it's no different here Paul says I want<\/p>\n
you to have power together with all the<\/p>\n
Lord's people<\/p>\n
see Paul specifically says this is with<\/p>\n
one another<\/p>\n
we do this in community<\/p>\n
better than we do individually<\/p>\n
we've talked about this last week the<\/p>\n
week before so I won't spend too much<\/p>\n
time on it but if we want to know God<\/p>\n
we need to be deeply involved in<\/p>\n
now one one last thing<\/p>\n
Paul says I pray that you would have<\/p>\n
power to grasp how wide<\/p>\n
and long and high and deep is the love<\/p>\n
of Christ<\/p>\n
if we want information to become<\/p>\n
sensation<\/p>\n
if we want to move what we know in our<\/p>\n
heads into our hearts<\/p>\n
we have to look at the story of Jesus<\/p>\n
the story of Jesus how wide how long how<\/p>\n
high how deep is the love of Christ<\/p>\n
the cross the gospel everything<\/p>\n
flows out of Jesus<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
back to his book in timko's book on<\/p>\n
prayer he speaks about the ancient<\/p>\n
practice ancient practice of meditating<\/p>\n
on scripture<\/p>\n
on how everything in the Bible is<\/p>\n
centered around Jesus the entire Bible<\/p>\n
comes to its Center in Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
and so if we are to read the Bible we<\/p>\n
read it through the lens of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
so let's try it think of how wide how<\/p>\n
wide is God's love<\/p>\n
how do you know how wide God's love is<\/p>\n
on the cross<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ said in John<\/p>\n
when I am lifted up<\/p>\n
I will draw all people to myself<\/p>\n
in John It also says for God so loved<\/p>\n
the world that he sent his one and only<\/p>\n
son how wide is God's love<\/p>\n
the point of the Gospel is that it does<\/p>\n
not matter what you have done it does<\/p>\n
not matter if you are at the very Gates<\/p>\n
of Hell<\/p>\n
it does not matter who you are if you<\/p>\n
are a murderer if you are a serial<\/p>\n
killer anyone can be saved<\/p>\n
God's love is wide<\/p>\n
if we just have the principle if we just<\/p>\n
have the principle God loves everybody<\/p>\n
that will not move us one bit<\/p>\n
we have to see Jesus Christ on the cross<\/p>\n
for us<\/p>\n
next how long is God's love<\/p>\n
again look at Jesus just above Ephesians<\/p>\n
chapter 3 it says the mystery of Christ<\/p>\n
which<\/p>\n
has now been revealed according to his<\/p>\n
eternal purpose<\/p>\n
Eternal purpose<\/p>\n
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our<\/p>\n
lord what does that mean it means that<\/p>\n
throughout<\/p>\n
eternity<\/p>\n
God had a plan<\/p>\n
he had a plan for this to happen<\/p>\n
throughout eternity throughout the<\/p>\n
foundation before the foundations of<\/p>\n
this world over the centuries over the<\/p>\n
ages Jesus Christ waited and waited and<\/p>\n
then he came he sacrificed his life for<\/p>\n
us and he planned on doing it before the<\/p>\n
foundations of the world<\/p>\n
he came and even though we were mean to<\/p>\n
him even though we misunderstood him<\/p>\n
even though he was scorned and lonely<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
relentlessly loved us<\/p>\n
he started before time he continues to<\/p>\n
love us he never gave up the lengths of<\/p>\n
God's love<\/p>\n
shown in Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
how deep is God's love let's move on to<\/p>\n
the how deep is God's love how do we<\/p>\n
know without Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
talking about<\/p>\n
how deep God's love is would just be an<\/p>\n
abstraction<\/p>\n
without Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
God could send us book after book and<\/p>\n
say I love you deeply and it would not<\/p>\n
mean anything to us it would not be a<\/p>\n
life-changing reality it could never get<\/p>\n
rid of the wounds that we feel when we<\/p>\n
think about people who have hurt us<\/p>\n
people who have said we have no Worth or<\/p>\n
value<\/p>\n
people whose words have cut us deeply<\/p>\n
but in Jesus Christ how deep is God's<\/p>\n
what were the depths that Jesus went in<\/p>\n
order to love in order to love us how<\/p>\n
deep did he go<\/p>\n
on the cross he said my God my God why<\/p>\n
have you forsaken me<\/p>\n
hell<\/p>\n
separation from God he was throwing<\/p>\n
to the deepest pit anyone has ever been<\/p>\n
and you did that voluntarily<\/p>\n
she went down and down she went to the<\/p>\n
depths<\/p>\n
in the gospel<\/p>\n
I did not expect this to happen<\/p>\n
in the gospel in the story of Jesus<\/p>\n
that's how we can see how deep God's<\/p>\n
love is for us<\/p>\n
that has the power to completely<\/p>\n
overripe<\/p>\n
finally how high is God's love First<\/p>\n
John 3 verse 2 it says beloved we do not<\/p>\n
know what we will be like<\/p>\n
but we know we will be like him<\/p>\n
because when we see him we'll see him as<\/p>\n
he is<\/p>\n
how high is God's love<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ is going to give us the<\/p>\n
same thing that fills his heart with joy<\/p>\n
from all eternity he is going to show us<\/p>\n
his glory he's going to give us his<\/p>\n
can you think of anything higher than<\/p>\n
that this is where Jesus's love is<\/p>\n
taking us<\/p>\n
it is Jesus Christ who died for you that<\/p>\n
shows you how wide and long and deep and<\/p>\n
wide God's love is<\/p>\n
it is the gospel it is looking at the<\/p>\n
whole world through the gospel<\/p>\n
alongside the spirit giving us power to<\/p>\n
grasp it<\/p>\n
and if these things happen we will<\/p>\n
encounter God this will change the way<\/p>\n
we see all of life and how we behave in<\/p>\n
this world the truth and Assurance of<\/p>\n
God's fatherly love<\/p>\n
Express for us in and through Jesus<\/p>\n
think about this think about this if we<\/p>\n
really really believed<\/p>\n
the depths of our being in our inner<\/p>\n
being inner person what we just read how<\/p>\n
would we be different<\/p>\n
ask God this question Lord<\/p>\n
how would I be different if I really<\/p>\n
believed and grasped how much you love<\/p>\n
me<\/p>\n
how would my emotions how would my will<\/p>\n
how would everything be different<\/p>\n
if I really rejoiced in this<\/p>\n
about you like I should how would I be<\/p>\n
different<\/p>\n
oftentimes as we do this the spirit of<\/p>\n
God will come down and show us these<\/p>\n
things it will happen<\/p>\n
believe this this is what he wants for<\/p>\n
us he wants us to know him he wants us<\/p>\n
to live from Power<\/p>\n
he wants us to know him this isn't just<\/p>\n
for the super Christian the super<\/p>\n
spiritual this is available for<\/p>\n
everybody here<\/p>\n
that's why Paul prays this prayer behold<\/p>\n
the love of God in Christ Jesus behold<\/p>\n
as Paul says<\/p>\n
immeasurably more than all we ask or<\/p>\n
imagine according to his power that is<\/p>\n
at work within us to him be glory in the<\/p>\n
church and in Christ Jesus throughout<\/p>\n
all generations forever and ever<\/p>\n
amen let's pray<\/p>\n
Lord we thank you<\/p>\n
Lord we thank you for just uh<\/p>\n
wonderful blessing Lord that it is to be<\/p>\n
your son and your daughter<\/p>\n
Lord we pray that you would help us<\/p>\n
through your Holy Spirit would you give<\/p>\n
us the power to grasp what we have in<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
or we pray that these truths would take<\/p>\n
root<\/p>\n
in the very depths of our being<\/p>\n
Lord so that we may live as you want us<\/p>\n
to live Lord so that we may be Salt and<\/p>\n
Light to our community and to our loved<\/p>\n
ones around us<\/p>\n
where we pray this with<\/p>\n
expectation Lord we pray this with<\/p>\n
thankfulness and gratitude as well in<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ's name we pray amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20230829","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R9Cfcx3i7w8","video_id":"R9Cfcx3i7w8","video_duration":"34:03","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=574"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":575,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574\/revisions\/575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}