We have a tree in the back yard of the parsonage that needs to be taken down so I called Doyle to tell him that we need to get some bids on it. When he answered the phone I got completely serious and said “Doyle, I need you to call Steve Mcallister. I need to know how much insurance we have on the parsonage. That tree we need to take out fell over on the parsonage” Oh no he says. “Oh yeah. The largest branch went thru the roof, landed on the bathtub, and pushed it down thru the floor.” Oh you’re joking, he says. “Yeah I am”. It was really funny until Brandy told me “You’re going to get a call tonight that Doyle is in the hospital with heart failure.”
Our scripture today is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians. So many people don’t like the apostle Paul. Especially women when they read the scripture that says women should sit down and be quiet in church.
Instead of searching the scriptures and finding out what he is talking about and why he said that, many just dismiss Paul as a sexist pig who is the product of a patriarch system. We will get to that scripture another day. Actually…why did the Israelites wonder in the desert for 40 years? Because even then men would not ask for directions. :o)
Today though we are on Ephesians 3. Paul shows himself as the humble obedient follower of Jesus Christ who will do whatever it takes to spread the Good News and build the Kingdom of God. Paul understands what is important, and what his priority must be.
In verses 8-10 he says that his goal is to preach and write to the people about the riches and generosity of Christ. He must make known what God has been doing all this time. It’s that mystery thing we talked about a couple weeks ago. Remember the sugar cookies. Of course you do. I’ve been told that I cannot submit a recipe for the next church cookbook. That’s too bad.
Paul’s job is to preach Jesus Christ and to write letters of encouragement. If he were here today, he would pick up the phone and call us or send us email.
Then he encourages this congregation. He tells them “It’s because of churches like yours that the message is getting out. You are following Christ and his teachings.” The last thing Jesus said to do before he went up into heaven was to “GO OUT”. Go preach the good news. Tell them about your life in Christ.
There’s a great scene at the end of the film, “The Big Kahuna” where Danny DeVito’s character counsels a young co-worker about his overt mode of evangelism. He says, “It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep.
If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep.”
It pretty much sums it up huh. If you don’t agree, think of this. What do you do when a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon comes to your door? I know some of you will sit down with them and go thru scripture. But most of us will shut them out. Take the literature, shut the door, and throw it away.
Paul tells this church that they are doing so good, even the angels are talking about them. Don’t be discouraged by my hardships, he says. Don’t sulk or pity yourself when things are going bad.
REJOICE! God is with you. He will never leave you. You can come to God with freedom and confidence that he is there for you. Keep doing what you are doing. Make me proud. Make him proud.
Then Paul says what every good pastor says to his congregation. I’m praying for you. It’s been shown that prayer in the early church was not head bowed reverently, eyes closed, hands clasped together. No.
Prayer was standing up proud to be a Christian, arms open wide with eyes wide open. Anticipating the power of God to come down to invade your life. Boldly the Spirit comes and takes over as you concede more and more of your life.
That’s what prayer was and where the power comes from. But here Paul gets down on his knees.
I think it’s because it’s such a special prayer to him for others. He says “I’m praying that the Spirit of God will strengthen you.” This is not brute strength, but an inner strength.
In Isaiah 41 God says, “I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”. I was talking to a father the other day. He said they were talking in the car one day about God and how he could be there for everyone and his four year old said “yeah God has really big hands.” Profound truth from a young boy.
I told you the other day that I plan to transform the world. I can’t do it alone. But I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me. Think of this strength that Christ brings as “caffeine for the soul.”
The next part of Paul’s prayer for his congregation and for ours is that Christ would dwell in their hearts thru faith. Well what does that mean? We can look at John 14 starting at vs 23…Jesus says “whoever loves me will obey my teaching and we will go to the father and make a home with him in heaven.”
SO Paul says I pray that you will be so close to Christ that you will have no other desire than to do what he has commanded. When he died on the cross, our sins were forgiven because we are Christians. But this forgiveness does not give us a license to sin.
The response of this love you have now should be Lord God I want to lay my life down a living sacrifice which is holy and acceptable to you. There will be times that you fail, but he wants you to go and transform the world.
The third part of Paul’s prayer is (and I love this verse) that you are established in love…that’s the love of Christ…and you may have power…strength, transforming power.
Together with all the saints….did you hear that. There are no Lone Ranger Christians. We are here in all this together. We are here together to make a difference and go out as Christ told us to.
The church is like manure. If you pile it up behind the door, it stinks up the whole neighborhood, but if you spread it out, it enriches the entire world.
As we walk out those doors we will transform the world with the truth. So established in love, together with the saints, to grasp the wideness and vastness of God. My God is a big God.
I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said “God is bigger than any one religion”. The creator of that sticker is exactly right, but not the way he is thinking. All roads don’t lead to the same God, but kernels of the Truth can be found in those other religions.
In Acts 17, Paul is in Athens. He stood up and said You are very religious. I even found an inscription here “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”. Now what you worship as unknown, I will make known to you.
My God is a big God.
The last part of Paul’s prayer is that you will be filled with God overflowing. Think of a sponge. You dip it in the water and it soaks up the water until it’s overflowing. Be filled with the fullness and the transforming power of God.
God can do anything, far more than you could ever imagine in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
So Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and my prayer for you ………goes like this.
I pray that the Spirit of God will strengthen you and Christ will dwell in your hearts.
I pray that you can comprehend the wideness and vastness of God and see that he is a big God.
And I pray that you know the love of God. He will never leave you. He is always there.
People will fail you. You might come to church one day and see that everyone in this church is a broken vessel but they are being healed by the love of Jesus.
We all come from different stories, but the one thing that brings us together today is that we are all one church and there is one Lord, one Savior and that is Jesus Christ.
You can’t save anyone. You can’t convert anyone. You can show them the way to Christ and the Holy Spirit can convict and convert them.
If you’re here today and the path you are on has brought you to a place where you’re ready to give your life over to Christ, now is the time. Then this prayer we talked about today will be said for you also.
That power can be a part of you. I know it may sound weird, but you have to say “so long self” and hello Christ.
There is only room for one to be in control. If your ready to give control over to Christ and receive the power promised to all believers, come to the prayer rail during this last song. This is an open invitation. I’m ready to pray with you and God is waiting anxiously to take the next step with you.
Just a warning though. This is not the end of the journey, but the beginning of a new route on your sea of faith. If it’s your time, come forward as we sing this hymn………
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