A Prayer for Spiritual Power

i want you to open your bible to the third chapter of ephesians this morning as you know we are working our way through ephesians in a rather staccato fashion we seem to be being interrupted periodically but for this morning i want to draw your attention to chapter 3 and in particular the text is verses 14 through 21. ephesians chapter 3 verses 14 through 21 this is paul's prayer for the sanctification of believers this is a very significant portion of scripture for that very reason listen as i read starting in verse 14 for this reason i bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man so that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of god now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us to him be glory in the church and in christ jesus to all generations forever and ever amen this is a glorious portion of scripture and very very instructive you will notice how it ends it ends for glory in the church to be given to christ jesus the glory that comes to christ through his church is because of verse 20 that those who belong to christ those in whom he dwells will be able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us i remember as a seminary student mulling often over that verse and wondering how it could even be true how is it possible that the lord could do all that we ask or think and beyond that beyond all that we ask or think and then abundantly beyond all that we ask or think and then far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think this is hyperbole in some ways unparalleled in the new testament the message here is that there is immense spiritual power working in us that is what it says it works within us it works within us as the church for the glory of christ jesus to all generations forever and ever and yet most of us as believers wouldn't see that reality in our lives and lay claim to it i don't know that any of us would say yes it's true god has done far more abundantly beyond all that i can ask or think according to the power that works within me it seems almost like hyperbole it seems too far beyond us too grand too great too much how can we have such a life it was that very question based on this verse that plagued me when i came out of seminary because i could ask a lot of things of the lord i could think of a lot of things and i was trying to understand how the lord could do everything that i could ask or think all that i ask or think beyond all abundantly beyond all far more abundantly beyond all i could ask or think and i wondered how is that even possible and here i am all these many many years since those musings about ephesians 3 20 when i was very young and i have to say to you i have seen that verse fulfilled in my life for a long time i've seen the lord do far more abundantly beyond all that i could ever ask or think it is incomprehensible to me what the lord has done and i'm not talking about in an earthly sense you see some of it but i am talking in the heavenly sense because this power is for the purpose of glory in the church that means the glorified church to glorify christ in eternity so the real story of your life and my life is kept in heaven isn't it we're not going to know what the fulfillment of this truth is until we get to glory we tend to think that we fall far short not that the lord doesn't do amazing things through our faithfulness through our spiritual gifts through the life of the spirit that we live through our efforts at sharing the gospel evangelizing living a christ-honoring life we we can see that we can see it in close friends we can see it in our families and our children the people we influence but the full measure of the power unleashed in the life of a believer will never be known until we reach eternity we are told that we need to be living our lives with a heavenly focus setting our affections on things above and not on things on the earth as we saw in chapter two we really are aliens and strangers in this world we are citizens of heaven we belong to the household of god we we live in the heavenlies as we saw last time in ephesians so heaven is keeping the real record that's why paul says it's a small thing what you say about me even if i know nothing against myself here and am i not justified i can't evaluate my life until the time when the lord evaluates my life then will every man have praise from god so the reality about the impact of our life eternally is laid up in heaven with the rest of our inheritance and someday we'll find out the truth about that whether it's meager or whether it's much but your life as a believer is potentially empowered for eternal impact literally beyond what you could imagine but how do you get to that point because that's really the end of the passage and we have to go back to see how to reach that sort of final point of divine usefulness there are five steps in this text they are powerful powerful steps that take us to the point of a powerful life that has eternal impact now we all know that we have received the holy spirit acts 1 8 and that we have power jesus said that you shall receive power after the holy spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me so we know that at the same time it's not visible how powered we are how spirit-powered we are how divinely energized we are because uh john writes in first john 3 2 it doesn't yet appear what we shall be it's not manifest to the world they don't see us this way they don't understand that we have living in us the god of the universe father son and spirit and that we have this immense power to affect people's lives everlastingly but that is exactly what this is saying but but it doesn't appear yet it's not manifest it's not visible for the world to see but we are called to live the kind of life whatever this world thinks of the impact that leaves an impact on eternity and that's what this passage is about now remember last time we talked about verse 8 in particular that we have at our disposal unfathomable riches in christ we looked at that from a number of angles the riches that are ours in christ chapter one verse three we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies we live in the heavenlies we are not creatures of the earth we're creatures of heaven we have been given all the treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge and revelation we have been given everything we need for life and godliness and paul is talking about all that we have in chapter one two and three he's laying out all our riches in chapter one you remember he went down a litany of the things that are ours by way of the divine grace that god has bestowed on us in christ and because we have all of this and because deposited to our account are the unfathomable riches of christ he comes down to verse 12 in this third chapter and says we have boldness and confident access through faith in him everything in the divine treasury everything that god has delineated to be given to his children is available to us and we have access writer of hebrew says we can even come boldly before the throne and that's why in verse 13 paul says i don't want you to lose heart at my tribulation on your behalf for even that is for your glory no matter when things go bad in life even that works out for the glory of the saints in heaven so paul has been laying out our riches and we we looked with some detail at that last time now in verse 14 he prays that we will go down the pathway to access those riches he started the prayer back in verse 1 didn't he for this reason i paul and then he stopped and said you don't know enough and so from verse 2 to 13 he added to our understanding of divine revelation and now he's back where he started verse 14 for this reason i bow my knees before the father what is the reason what is the reason it's laid out in a series of purpose clauses tied to the word that for this reason i am bowing my knees before the father implying prayer in order that and then he goes through a sequence that leads to final power and eternal glory you know we're the only people in the world who have any kind of eternal impact in the good sense evil people have an eternal impact in the hellish sense but nobody has an eternal impact in the heavenly sense except a believer in jesus christ one who is enabled by the holy spirit one who is part of the kingdom of heaven one who is empowered by god our lives matter everlastingly paul is stunned by this even ask the rhetorical question to the corinthians who is adequate for these things whose life can matter that much but yours does and you have at your disposal and you have access with boldness to all that is necessary to live a life that is so powered by god that you will find yourself doing far more abundantly above all than that you can ask or think with the power that is working in you it's hard for us really to see that power at work because we struggle so much with the flesh isn't it and because we don't have some kind of out of body experience when supernatural power is operating in our lives we had we don't have any way to know that there is a divine power in operation as if there was some feeling or some sense or some way to experience the flow of that power we know the power operates when we see the result of it not when we feel it because we don't but your life should be a life that has an impact it should be an impact that exceeds what you would ever have imagined for yourself that is accessible to you because you have all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and all the unfathomable riches of christ available to you so paul prays that we would be able to access that so what this prayer is is a prayer for sanctification one of the doctrines that i'm concerned about and have been for many many years is the doctrine of sanctification doctrine of divine sovereignty is popular the doctrine of justification is popular the waiting and hoping for glorification is popular but sanctification isn't quite so popular but sanctification is where we live and move and have our being in between our justification and our glorification and it is the very issue that concerned paul and it concerned him so much that he prayed and he didn't just pray verse 14 for this reason i bow my knees before the father why is he bowing down why is he kneeling down is that a commanded posture for prayer no it's it's never commanded in scripture in fact abraham stood before the lord in genesis chapter 18 when he prayed for sodom and in first chronicle 17 david sat before the lord when he prayed about the future of his kingdom and jesus actually in the garden of gethsemane fell on his face so there were a lot of postures and those are just some examples of prayer postures the most common custom for jews was to pray standing with their hands uplifted as if to symbolize receiving blessing from god but occasionally you find someone kneeling like paul in ezra for example chapter 9 ezra kneels in the confession very emotional confession of the sins of israel in daniel chapter 6 daniel kneels as he pours out his prayer to god in supplication in acts chapter 20 the elders who are meeting with paul are weeping and they're kneeling as they pray together with him and these are prayers of deep emotion and passion in psalm 95 verse 6 we read let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the lord our maker kneeling was reserved for those times of deep emotion passion and worship so paul is in that posture he is profoundly concerned and about what is he concerned the sanctification of his people as he says in galatians 4 19 he's in birth pains until christ is fully formed in you this is a pastoral concern for the sanctification of the people a pastor who has no concern for that or has a minimum concern for the sanctification of his people is unfaithful unqualified and has to some degree prostituted his calling because that is our calling to be the instrument that god uses with the word and the spirit to bring about the sanctification of the church that's what paul prays for and he's praying to the father obviously god the one who created every family in heaven and earth and they all are from him but in particular he's thinking about the family of the redeemed god has created all that is to say there's only one god so there's only one god to pray for if every family in heaven and on earth derived its name from the father because he is their creator then there is no other god so he comes to the one true god who is the source of every family and particularly the family of the redeemed god's special family identified in chapter 2 in verse 19 as god's household so his prayer is on behalf of the household of god speaking of the one family of god made up of jew and gentile the one family of god and about what does he pray he prays concerning their sanctification it is a very bold prayer as it should be because it's consistent with the will of god notice what he says in verse 16 that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory we'll stop there we talked about that that's been his theme the riches of his glory he mentions that in chapter 1 as we saw in chapter 3 verse 8 again the unfathomable riches of christ so on the basis of that according to the available riches of divine glory he prays for god to grant us his petition what is this that he prays for what is it that he wants to draw down out of these treasures these unsearchable riches all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in christ what is he wanting to bring down into the believer's life well the end is in verse 20 power power to do far more abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that works in us he wants the church to be powerful with divine power and so his prayer lays out five aspects of this and they are sequential they're in progression that will show as you look at the use of the word that which is the purpose clause so he's praying first of all that god would grant you verse 16 according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man so let's start with this inner strength first thing he prays for is inner strength inner strength sanctification starts at this point before anything gets to the outside it starts on the inside this is a progressive of sanctification as you know but even an understanding of its dynamics has a certain progression to it as well and it starts with being strengthened with might in the inner man this is a critical beginning point you have no hope of maximizing your power on the outside unless your life on the inside is strong it's the inner strength that starts everything in the direction of a powerful life a weak inner man results in sin transgressions frustration strain disappointment despair ineffectiveness it doesn't matter what you try to be on the outside what you are on the inside is what you really are you can't hide that from god what you really are is what you are on the inside in the dark when nobody's watching that's what you are and you have to ask the question in your most innermost being are you under the strong continual influence of the holy spirit we work hard on the outer man we take care of that and we show whatever version of the outer man we want people to see but the inner man is the issue and that was paul's focus in second corinthians chapter four there is a particular verse verse 16 that i think sums this up very well he says we do not lose heart but though our outer man is decaying yet our inner man is being renewed day by day our outer man is decaying our inner man is being renewed day by day that they go in an inverse order i mean we all know about the outer man decaying we all understand that the older we get the fewer mirrors are hung in our homes we get it all suffer the increasing reality of physical weakness as we age but while you are getting physically weaker you should be getting spiritually stronger that's the inverse reality think about it for a young person a young person has all kinds of physical stamina physical strength but a young person struggles immensely to be victorious over temptation and sin because while they are strong physically they are weak spiritually but as you grow older and as you get weaker physically paul says in second corinthians 4 16 your inner person is getting stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger the inner man who you are in the inside paul's inner man was strong said to the corinthians in uh second corinthians chapter one they were criticizing him and he said this chapter 1 verse 12 our proud confidence is this the testimony of our conscience that voice that inner voice that in holiness and godly sincerity not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of god we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially toward you he is saying on the inside whatever you may think about me i have conducted my life in holiness and godly sincerity in the grace of god you may criticize me on the outside but my conscience is not condemning me on the inside that's why the battle has to be one and it's it's not easy and it is progressive i mean i've noticed in just living my own life that as i have grown older and become relatively weaker physically i have consistently become stronger spiritually and this is what the spirit of god does is we draw down the resources of heaven look at romans chapter 7 and see a little bit about paul and his facing that reality in chapter 7 he discusses what it's like to to face the sin that is in you down in verse 14 of romans 7 he says i know that the law is spiritual i know that but i am of flesh sold into bondage to sin for what i'm doing i don't understand i'm not practicing what i would like to do but i'm doing the very thing i hate but if i do the very thing i do not want to do i agree with the law confessing the law is good so now no longer am i the one doing but sin which dwells in me so i'm having this battle with what i want and with what sin wants and i know that in my flesh verse 18 nothing good dwells for the willing is present in me but the doing of the good is not for the good that i want i do not do but i practice the very evil i do not want i'm if i'm doing the very thing i do not want i'm no longer the one doing it but sin which dwells in me so i find then the principle that evil is present in me the one who wants to do good that's uh that's the battle that is the battle there there's a war going on inside with the with the inner man verse 22 i joyfully concur with the law of god the inner man loves the word of god but i see a different law or a different influence in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members wretched man that i am who will set me free from the body of this death thanks be to god through jesus christ our lord so then on the one hand i myself with my mind i'm serving the law of god but on the other with my flesh the lofts and this is the battle and when you're young the the battle rage is very hot because while you have temporal physical strength you are weak spiritually as you begin paul didn't leave us there with that dilemma in chapter 8 he opens up the answer to this go down to verse 9. however he says you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you but if anyone doesn't have the spirit of christ he doesn't belong to him if christ is in you though the body is dead because of sin yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness now in verse 13 if you're living according to the flesh you must die but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the flesh you will live and that is true of christians we are all verse 14 being led by the spirit of god because we are the sons of god so paul says look the battle is won by the power of the spirit in the inner person the key is to be filled with the spirit dominated by the holy spirit what does that mean well it paralleled to colossians 3 16 let the word of christ dwell in you richly so when your mind your inner person your mind and therefore your meditations are dominated by the word of god that is how the spirit of god controls you it's not something mystical it's something not subjective but objective it's that your mind is filled with divine truth and when your mind is filled with divine truth the spirit is directing through that truth and galatians 5 22 says the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control and then he goes on to say now to those who belong to christ jesus we have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live by the spirit let us also walk by the spirit let us not become boastful challenging one another envying one another so we live in the spirit let's walk in the spirit and when we're under the control of the spirit our life is marked by love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control humility and there's a lack of confrontational anger and an absence of envy and at that point the spirit of god is controlling your inner man that's what it means to be filled with the spirit so paul prays for the inner man that's where it all starts where your sanctification has to start it's not just a question of coming and hearing a sermon it's not just a question of occasionally reading a good book it's a question of the domination of your thoughts by divine truth divine truth when i was young in the faith i i thought the impulses were strong enough that maybe i would never conquer them that some spiritual goals would never be reached but as i yielded a little each day and was refreshed day by day in the word the inner man was being revitalized and strengthened and strengthened and i was building spiritual muscle until there was spiritual strength even in the midst of physical weakness in fact paul says when i'm weak then i'm strong so sanctification begins on the inside of the believer it begins on the inside let's just say inner strength it's being dominated on the inside with holy truth holy thoughts holy desires ambitions aspirations longings you are what you are on the inside the rest is just putting on some outer cloak and sanctification would be making you on the inside everything that would make you christ-like on the outside but if you put on a show on the outside without a strong inner man that's what hypocrisy is you are what you are on the inside so it all starts with inner strength secondly the indwelling christ let's say inner strength and indwelling christ go to verse 17. so that again here is one of the reasons he's praying that god would grant you inner strength through the spirit so that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith now this isn't talking about salvation because you already have the holy spirit you already have the inner strength what does this mean well take the word dwell katoi it's made up of two words to live in a home in qatar down it means to settle down in a home the way to understand this is if your life is strengthened with power by his spirit in the inner man christ can settle down in your heart i guess the question is is jesus comfortable in you could you say that about yourself that christ could settle down and live in your heart and not be disappointed christ could know everything about you on the inside and be comfortable an illustration of that might be to go to the old testament and remember that abraham had a visit from heaven it was god and two angels god was going to bless abram with a son so the lord came down and came into abram's home into his tent with two angels and he ate and talked with abram they felt very much at home abraham was a man of faith a man of obedience lot on the other hand lived in sodom and god had a message for a lot but god didn't go to lot's house he sent two angels the lord didn't go to sodom that was not a place where he would be comfortable a number of years ago there was a book called my heart christ's home written by robert munger and it tells the fictional story about christ visiting someone's heart like visiting their home and in the the little book there is a library and the library in in the the home which is the heart is the control room it's the brain it's where the information is stored and when christ comes into this library he finds evil things trash worldly things and demands that it be replaced with his word and then there's a dining room in the human heart and that this is the room for appetites and desires and it talks about what it is that you long for what it is that you desire and he finds riches and prestige and earthly commodities and he says you have to exchange that for the heavenly bread that satisfies the will of the father then he comes to the living room where the activity and socialization goes on and that's all the wrong people and all the wrong relationships and there's the absence of genuine true fellowship so much so that the lord feels like a stranger not a welcome guest and says you've got to clean up the living room then he goes to the workshop and finds the workbench with all the tools and all that's being made is toys and he says you need to use your tools to make things that last you need to use your tools for the kingdom and so he cleans out the workshop so he cleans out the library and the dining room and the living room and the workshop in the in the little book and then he he has a foul smell coming from somewhere and he finds a closet where this the source of the peculiar odor originates and he finds in there something dead and something rotten and it's the secret closet where all the secret sins are kept and he says to the man open the closet to which he initially responds look you have everything else leave that alone and the writer says that the man was angry how much do you want i gave you everything else but the point of the book is only when he gets it all can he settle down and be at home the lordship of christ extends to every part of your life so when you are yielding to the holy spirit and strengthened by the spirit and your inner man the spirit controls your life the result is you are christ-centered you are clean and christ settles down into every dimension of your life and he's at home and you become christ-like you become christ-like john 14 23 jesus said i'll make my abode with you and my father will make his abode with you the lord himself wants to settle down and be at home in your heart in some hearts you can't really settle down he's busy opening up all the closets and revealing all the [Music] wickedness so the path of sanctification starts with inner strength by the spirit being filled by the spirit walking in the spirit being controlled by the spirit it then moves to the indwelling christ when your life is in in the spirit in full commitment christ settles down in your heart and then you begin to manifest christ's likeness and that leads to another purpose for paul's prayer another that another purpose clause verse 17 that you being rooted and grounded in love now you might think that this would say that you be grooted and rooted and grounded in truth but the goal of our instruction is always love and what the lord wants to accomplish in sanctification is love so let's call it incomprehensible love you go from inner strength to the indwelling christ to incomprehensible love you literally become rooted and grounded in love in other words it's not something on the fringe it's not something isolated it's not something occasional you are literally the foundation of your life is love the root system of your life if you see it as a building its foundation is love if you see it as a tree its root system is love what controls you when christ is at home in your heart and you are manifesting his virtue you'll be a person who is known for love his love will flow through you at every point and this will be the truest representation of who you are and that's consistent with what our lord said the world will know you're my disciples if you have love for one another a love that is deep and secure unwavering unchanging this is the love of romans 5 5 that god has shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit and this love is so glorious that paul has to add to it verse 18 that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of christ which surpasses knowledge one thing about love you can't understand it by a definition you can only understand it by what by an experience if if i have to explain it you ain't got it that's simple and paul is saying here when your life is rooted and grounded in love you will be able to comprehend the fullness of that love of christ which surpasses knowledge it's not a love that anyone can understand except a believer who is literally christ-like and if you don't have that love then you're nothing but a noisy gong and a clanging symbol the thing about love is you have to experience it to comprehend it now comprehend is a very strong word catalan bono it means to seize it means to take possession of so when you live in the love of christ you literally comprehend that love in all dimensions it doesn't show up once in a while it doesn't show up for certain people it's it's it's not a sometimes love and other times there's hate or other times there's bitterness or other times there's jealousy or other times there's envy no it's a dominant love it's it's rooted in the life of one in whom christ is settled down and at home and it is understood by that person experientially so that they can comprehend it in all its dimensions and that's the point of breadth and length and height and depth the limitlessness of love you get around a person with inner strength you get around a person with the indwelling christ get around a person with incomprehensible love and you will feel that love could we define what he means by breadth yes chapter 2 [Music] it is broad enough to include jew and gentile right jew and gentile can we define length yes we saw that it encompasses jew and gentile in chapter 2 verses 11 to 18. but what about its length well we found that in chapter 1 verse 4 where it talked about us being chosen before the foundation of the world and chapter 2 verse 7 where it says that in the ages to come he will show the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness toward us in christ so the breadth of love it includes jew and gentile the length of love from eternity to eternity what about the depth of love well that's chapter two verse one you are dead in your trespasses and sin you were walking according to the course of the world the prince of the power of the air spirit working the sons of disobedience you indulged the flesh and the mind lusts were children of wrath but god being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in transgressions made us alive together with christ that's the depth of love it reaches to the depth of sin the breath of love is jew and gentile are one the length of love is from eternity to eternity the depth of love it reaches to the deepest pit of sin and what about the height of love that's chapter two verse six he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in christ jesus it takes us all the way to heaven so we understand the fullness of the love of god that creates of all of us one body that determines our eternity from eternity past to eternity future that reaches down to rescue us no matter how deep the pit of sin and ultimately enthrones us in heaven your life will be marked by love and that love will be manifest that's part of the fruit of the spirits where it starts love inner strength indwelling christ incomprehensible love leads to a fourth feature in this progression verse 19 that you may be filled up to all the fullness of god that's just staggering that you may be filled up to all the fullness of god this is another purpose clause the word that in order that so we're just this happens in order that this happens in order that this happens and this it's all sequential filled up to all the fullness of god what would that look like godliness wouldn't it godliness he's been talking about being filled with the spirit in verse 16 filled with christ in verse 17 and now filled with the fullness of god in colossians chapter 2 verse 9 we read concerning christ for in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form so all the fullness of god dwells in christ and then verse 10 in him you have been made complete so what should characterize our lives the things that characterize the holy spirit the fruit of the spirit what should characterize our lives the things that characterize christ particularly his limitless love what should characterize our lives godliness in other words all of those communicable attributes of god become visible in some lesser way in us not talking about omniscience omnipresence omnipotence or immutability those incommunicable eternal attributes of god but all those attributes of god that can be summed up in love joy peace gentleness goodness faith meekness self-control wisdom knowledge mercy compassion you know those this is real spirituality you walk in the spirit you love like christ and you act like god that's sanctification that's sanctification now you're not going to be god but you begin to manifest the characteristics that are true in their perfection of god you are doing what paul said to titus and titus 2 10 you're adorning the doctrine of god by your life somebody could actually look at your life and see something of what god is like look at your life and see something of what christ is like look at your life and see something of what the spirit is like inner strength leads to indwelling christ leads to incomprehensible love which should dominate our lives which results in infinite fullness and that's godliness and then you come to number five internal power after all of this now verse 20 you're ready to hear to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us when when we've gone down the pathway so far we have reached the point where the power that is in us is working in us internal power let's call it internal power and again you know most of us feel we would fall far short of that and we all do fall short of what we should be but each of us based upon the truths of this passage can see things happening in our lives that are only explained by the presence of god listen to what jesus said in john 14 12. truly i say to you he who believes in me the works that i do he will do also and greater works than these he will do because i go to the father what greater works than christ not greater and kind but greater an extent christ went to the father and said it's better that i go to the father and send the spirit because when the spirit comes you'll be empowered christ said to the disciples i have been with you i will be in you the internal power of god is in the believer super abundant power the kind of power that i think isaiah wrote about back in the wonderful words of familiar 40th chapter of isaiah verse 28 to 31 [Music] do you not know have you not heard the everlasting god the lord the creator of the ends of the earth doesn't become weary or tired his understanding is inscrutable he gives strength to the weary and to him who lacks might he increases power though youths grow weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly yet those who wait for the lord will gain new strength they will mount up with wings like eagles they will run and not get tired they will walk and not become weary this is spiritual strength what power colossians 1 29 as we saw last week paul said that's the power that works in me for this purpose i labor to make every man complete in christ striving according to his power which mightily works within me he experienced that power and as i said you can see it in some measure in the influence of your life in this world but the fullness of it awaits the revelation of heaven you're to live like this why so that verse 21 can be a reality that to him to the lord himself would be glory in the church if we're going to bring glory to him in the church this is how we have to live sad to say the visible church is far off from this there's glory for him in the church if the church is sanctified so the end of it is to him be the glory in the church and in christ jesus to all generations forever and ever amen through the church to demonstrate the unfathomable riches of christ as we saw last time to the holy angels and the eternal saints but until then to demonstrate to the world in the church the glory of christ to generation after generation after generation that's the kind of life you can live and again you won't know the fullness of its fruitfulness until you reach heaven our father we thank you for the instruction of your word we thank you for its clarity its divine supernatural simplicity we thank you that you have granted to us all the things that pertain to life and godliness all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and we have confidence in accessing these unsearchable unfathomable riches in christ i pray that you will move us inexorably down the path of sanctification to the place where our lives have power power that allows us to [Music] accomplish far more abundantly all that we can ask or think i pray for this congregation that they might be spirit filled that they might radiate the love of christ and that they may be filled with all the fullness that belongs to you oh god so that they are powerful in their evangelistic testimony in their living example in the fellowship of the saints in the use of their spiritual gifts in their wisdom and understanding so that it may be evident to all that you are the power behind these lives lord we thank you that this is possible because you saved us by going to the cross and dying in our place now as we come to your table we ask that you would show us christ again the crucified one it would have been enough for him to die in our place and take our punishment and give us forgiveness in everlasting life and he did that but he did that so that he could live in us and live through us and earn for us an eternal reward which in the end would be to his glory we're overwhelmed by the reality of this plan from eternity to eternity but we want to stop for a moment and go back to the cross because it is about the cross the son of man has come to seek and save that which is lost come to die that we might live so may we remember the sacrifice that he provided for us and may it motivate our sanctification to show our loving gratitude to him amen

Channel: Grace to You

Views: 62,455

Keywords: John MacArthur, Bible, Preaching, Christianity, Expository, Exposition, Sermon, Jesus, Christ, Grace to You

Id: 0QpZy0O2fg0

Length: 57min 32sec (3452 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 15 2021