A Prayer for the Saints Pt 2

You're saying, it's all good. It's all good. It's all good. Good morning. Y'all stand and as we get started this morning, we want to welcome you to Calvary Chapel this morning. And those of you who are joining us online, we welcome you. And we, would you join me as we pray? Father, we thank you for this opportunity to gather together this morning. First day of the week, to worship in song, to study your word, to fellowship with you and one

another. Oh, Father, would you move by your Holy Spirit in each of our hearts? May we be yielded to you. May we by faith sing as unto you. Let the feelings be what they may. But you are God, and we thank you. I'm together this morning to worship in song, and we thank you that whatever the giants may be in our lives, at this moment, we're going to worship in song. And we thank you

for that. And we thank you for that. And we thank you for that. And we thank you for that. And we thank you that at this time, you are greater, you're bigger, you're better, you're stronger, and you're greater, Lord. And we can trust you. That it all, that's said and done, and all that we go through are in control. And we can trust you. And we thank you. A wonderful inheritance. We thank you,

Lord. We are, we are a child of God. We're in this world, Lord, not of it. Our citizenship is not. Oh, as we're living here, Lord, give us the strength. You is nothing, Lord. Just in the You're a pleasure. You're doing a work. You do it supernaturally in natural ways. As we go about our day alive, as you move, you put us in positions. And as we obey, recognizing that we missed the mark, we transgress.

We go with a lot. Those of us who know you on that day, we're with you. And so if there be any out there listening, well, we don't know Jesus. We want to let you know he loves you. So much that he died for you on that cross, and he rose from the dead, and he ascended up in intercession for us. So, Father, as we continue our service, would you be glorified? Would you bless our fellowship time?

And as Pastor Ryan comes up and teaches your word by your Holy Spirit, anoint him to bring forth your word with your power. In Jesus' name, amen. Lord bless you all. Let's have some fellowship.

Good morning. If you could begin the process of finding your seats. We'll get ready to get started and go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. We're glad that you're here this morning. Over on the left-hand side of your bulletin, as always, are the things that are going on throughout the week. So if you could check into those and figure out some places to get plugged into. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, a couple of things to pay attention to. Just a reminder that our baptism, potluck, and family swim night is tonight from 5 to 8

out at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Prairie View Christian Camp. Bring a chair and bring something, bring a dish to share with everybody if you're able to. And have a great time out there. Men's Breakfast, fellas, is coming up this Saturday at 8 o'clock down at the other end of the hallway. So hopefully we can see you guys there. And then a reminder that our Grief Share group begins at the end of August.

If you're interested, you can get signed up there. And then one thing that is not in your bulletin that my wife asked me to announce is that we are needing a little bit of help in the two- and three-year-old classroom. Some of our kids that we're helping in there are, well, they've gone away to college. And so we're needing a little bit of extra help in there.

So if you're interested, you can talk to me after the service today, or you can talk with my wife. That would be great. All right, if you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. And for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 13. Psalm 13. Looking at the New American Standard for the Responsible. Responsive reading, so we all sound the same.

If you need a copy of a New American Standard, there should be one around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 13, if you are able, please stand.

I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 13 for the choir director, a psalm of David. How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul? Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God.

Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death. And my enemy will say, I have overcome him. And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted in your loving kindness. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord. Because he has dealt bountifully with me. Father, what a beautiful thing to know that you consider and answer.

And Lord, that you deal bountifully with us. And so, Lord, I pray that as we spend some time looking at another prayer in the scriptures today, in the book of Ephesians, that you would open the eyes of our understanding. Lord, that you would grant to us that spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of you. And that we would continue to grow deeper in that understanding.

Move by the power of your Holy Spirit. We pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, chapter 3.

Ephesians, chapter 3.

The title of this morning's message is A Prayer for the Saints, Part 2. You may remember that at the end of chapter 1, after he had gone over with us all of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ Jesus, he then prayed that we would have that deeper understanding of those things. The eyes of our understanding would be enlightened. That we would have the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him.

That we might be able to know the mighty power that works in us. That same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. Well, as we come to the end of chapter 3, he's going to pray again because of some of the things that he's told us. As a matter of fact, he started this prayer at the beginning of chapter 3. But at the beginning of chapter 3, he got distracted talking about his ministry.

About the stewardship of the mystery. That God had given to him. That mystery that was ultimately his ministry. That great mystery of the fact that God always intended for Jew and Gentile to be within the same family of God through the same grace of God because of the same blood of Jesus Christ. And so now, he picks it up again in verse 14 of chapter 3. And this is what it says.

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 to 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.

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 the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Now before he actually gets into what his supplication or what his prayer, what his requests actually are for the Lord, he says, for these Ephesian people, he starts off with a little bit of an introduction.

And his introduction that he gives to his prayer is ultimately him realizing who God is. Him understanding the nature of God. And so I want to point these things out to you before we actually get into the prayer itself. Paul starts off by saying in verse 14, for this reason. Now anytime you read something along those lines in scripture that says for this reason,

you should automatically ask yourself a question. The question is you should ask, is for what reason? Well, that's a statement that brings to our remembrance everything that was said in the last chapter and a half. So for this reason, meaning for the reason of the fact that we have been made alive in Christ, we who had been dead in trespasses and sins, we have been made alive in Christ.

And so for this reason, he's going to pray for us. But not only that, not only have we been made alive in Christ, but in Christ we have been brought near. We were at one point in time far off, strangers, aliens, without Messiah, without God, without hope. But now through Jesus Christ, he's brought us near. And so for this reason, because we have been made alive

and because we have been brought near, he's going to offer this prayer. He says, for this reason, I bow my knees before the Father. Now there's a couple of interesting things that he points out to us here. The thing that he points out that I first of all want you to take note of is, the position that he takes in prayer. Paul says, I bow my knees. We're given the indication that perhaps Paul,

a frequent position that he took in prayer was actually to get down on his knees and pray. Now, lest we turn this into the formula for prayer, we should think about different positions that we see people in throughout scripture in prayer. Sometimes we see people standing in prayer. Sometimes we see hands lifted in prayer. Sometimes we see, we see people on their knees in prayer.

The shortest prayer in the Bible, Peter's sinking in the water. So there's lots of different positions that you can be in physically in prayer. I think what's more important is the position of your heart in prayer. You see, the position of our heart in prayer is a position of humility. And humility is that absolute, complete, and total dependence and surrender to God.

But oftentimes in order to have the right heart position, you need to have the right heart position. It helps us to have the right physical position. And while you don't have to be on your knees in prayer, there's also nothing wrong with getting down on your knees in prayer. I actually, for myself, have found, and I thought about this, because I haven't done this for a really long time, full disclosure.

I thought, you know, it would probably be a good idea every now and then in my own little prayer closet to do that. Perhaps the focus would be even greater. Perhaps the focus would be even deeper because oftentimes, if our physical position matches our heart position, it keeps our hearts and minds in the right focus. But what's most important is that in your heart, you bow your knees to the Father, and if necessary, do so physically as well.

Paul says, for this reason, I bow my knees. And then the next thing he points out is that he bows his knees before the Father. I don't know why, but the Holy Spirit really led me to talk about this for just a few minutes. Because I think it's kind of an important thing to pay attention to. Because what Paul points out here is something that's a little bit life-changing,

a little bit earth-shattering for the Jewish mindset. And that's that he could go directly to the Father. Because that direct access to the Father is something that is only true because of the blood of Jesus Christ. It's something that's only true for the New Testament believer who really has the distinct understanding of the access that we now have before the Father.

And I want to point out, I want to point this out to you out of three scriptures. Now, I don't want you to necessarily turn there, but over in the margin of your Bible or somewhere you might write these three scriptures down. The first one is Leviticus chapter 16, verse 2. Leviticus chapter 16, verse 2. Because in Leviticus chapter 16, verse 2, God starts telling them about the day of atonement.

And what Leviticus chapter 16, verse 2 says is this, Moses, tell Aaron that he and his sons cannot come behind the curtain, into the most holy place where the Ark of the Covenant is any time they want. They must come one day a year. And on that one day, there has to be a blood sacrifice. Now, why is that important? Well, because the Ark of the Covenant was the visible representation of God amongst the people.

The cloud of God settled down upon the Ark of the Covenant. And that was the, if you will, presence of the Father. And so essentially what we're told in Leviticus chapter 16 is you cannot come directly into the presence of the Father any time you want to. And this was for the high priest, not just the average person. You can't come any time you want to. Why?

Because God is holy and we are not. And while the blood of bulls and goats was enough to cover and satiate the wrath of God upon sin for another year, it was not enough to do away with sin. Now, that was true of the nation of Israel for their entire history. Nobody could come into the direct presence of God except for the high priest once a year with a sacrifice.

But then in Matthew chapter 27, verse 51, something fascinating happens. You see, in Matthew chapter 27 is the story of the crucifixion. And after the story of the crucifixion, after Jesus was crucified, the very last thing that he declared from the cross is it is finished or paid in full. And when he declared, it is finished, paid in full, two crazy things happened.

Number one, there was an earthquake, an earthquake that shook the entire city, including the temple. Number two, this is what it says in Matthew chapter 27, verse 51. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. That veil separated the most holy place where the Ark of the Covenant was, the place where only the high priest could come in. And then,

only once a year with a blood sacrifice, that veil was torn in two from top to bottom, indicating that there is now direct access to God. And now we are told in Hebrews, and I do want you to turn here. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19. Go to your right. If you hit revelation, you've gone too far. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19. Starting in verse 19, it says this.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he inaugurated for us through the veil, that is his flesh. And since we have a great high priest, that's Jesus over the house of God, let us draw near in full assurance of faith with a sincere heart, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies, our bodies washed with pure water. Since we have confidence to enter the, what? The most holy place.

How do we have confidence to enter the most holy place? Through the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can now draw near. Why do I point all of this out? Because brothers and sisters, if you're a born again believer in Jesus Christ, it needs you to understand something. Every time you bow your knees in prayer, you do not have to go through anyone else. You can go directly to the throne,

to the throne room of God. And you can speak directly to the creator of the heavens and the earth. I think sometimes the reason why we take prayer for granted is because we do not understand the access that we have to God. He says, back to Ephesians chapter three, he says, for this reason, I bow my knees before the father. And then he goes on to describe the father a little bit.

He says, I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Now, that verse has kind of messed with me a little bit this week because I'm like, okay, so you hear people say this a lot. Aren't we all God's children? I mean, really, aren't we all God's kids? Who are you to say that you're better than me because aren't we all God's kids?

And so I've always kind of fought against that statement because we're not. God doesn't have grandkids. God only has kids. In order to be one of his kids, you have to be born again. That's what Jesus told us in John chapter three, right? If you ever want to see eternal life, you must be born again. The only way to the father is through the son. And so this verse has kind of messed with me a little bit.

What does it mean that from the father, every family in heaven and on earth derives its name? Well, the more I studied it, the more I began to understand something. It's true in both a general sense and it's true in a specific sense. In a general sense, God is the creator and sustainer of all things. God is the creator and sustainer of all things. Therefore, where do we all find our source in life?

Well, it's from God. Therefore, the father that we bow our knee to and go directly to in prayer is the creator of all and the sustainer of all. Now, that should do something to you and your understanding of the way that you come to God in prayer because you are not coming to a God that is weak. You are not coming to a God who can't help. You are not coming to a God who cannot save.

You are coming to a God who is both the creator and the sustainer of all things. As a matter of fact, if you looked at Hebrews chapter one, you would find out that he holds the worlds in motion through the word of his mouth. But then in a specific sense, as believers, in Jesus Christ, he is both the author and the finisher of our faith. So the entire world has been created by him, but your life is being sustained by him because he is not only your creator and sustainer, but if you're a born again believer, he is the author and the finisher of your faith.

The one we are fully dependent upon. And that is exactly why we bow our knee to the father because he is the one that we are, we are completely and fully dependent upon. Amen. Now let's get into what he prays. It says, 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 picking up in verse 16,

grant to 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 that you may be strengthened with power through his spirit 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 to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge and that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now, the first thing that he does is he tells us where our source comes from. He says that he would grant to you according to the riches of his glory. According to the riches of his glory or in accordance to and in proportion with the riches of his glory.

So what Paul's about to pray, he wants to let us know how deep the well is that he's about to draw water from. He wants us to know how deep the wealth is that he's writing a check from. He wants us to understand the depth of the power of the God that he is seeking in prayer. What he is praying for them is not according to a weak and beggarly God, but it's according to the riches of his glory.

The expansive riches of his glory. And so we see the source from which this prayer is going to be answered. That's the riches of the glory of God. Now, I now see four requests that Paul makes here. Depending on who you read, some will say he makes six requests. It all depends on how you outline. I see four. Okay, so if you say there's six, I'll be like, you're right.

We could probably get a whole lot more out of it than that. But there's four main things that Paul is going to pray for the people. Number one, that they would be strengthened in the inner man. That they would be strengthened in the inner man. He says 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 let's define some words there. Let's first of all define the word strengthen. The word strengthen means to be energized or to grow strong. He says, I want to see your inner man energized with the power of the Holy Spirit. But the second question you should ask is, what's the inner man? What's the inner man that's being spoken of here? Well, the inner man is our inmost being and personality.

It's the very core of who you are. Therefore, he wants the very core of who you are to be. He wants you to be energized with something. He wants you to be energized with power. That word power means strength or ability. And that power can only come through the Holy Spirit, the only agent that can strengthen us. Now, I read a quote in a commentary. It was from Believer's Bible Commentary, and I thought it was great.

They said, This ability is the ability to be mature, stable, and intelligent Christians. Now, I thought that was a great statement because that's exactly the point that Paul is trying to get across here. Oftentimes, when we think about being strengthened with God's power, what do we think of? Well, we think of some mighty feat that we might be able to do, right?

When I was a kid, there was a group that came through town. I can't remember the name of the group, but it was some sort of evangelistic group, and they had this strong guys, right? And so they would tear phone books, and they would break boards, and they would do all this kind of stuff, and they would pray that they could be strengthened with the power of God's might to do these things. And while that's true, God can strengthen you to do all those kinds of things, that's not the main way that God wants to strengthen you because your ability to tear a phone book has nothing to do with whether or not you are mature as a believer in Jesus Christ.

Your ability to perform miracles, which is the other thing that we tend to think of when we think of being strengthened with God's might. May I be strengthened with God's might so that I can perform all things, all of the miracles, and do all of the amazing things so that people can go, wow, God's so cool. Look at the miracles that he did. You know what? Miracles are okay,

but they still don't change people's lives. You know what changes people's lives? The power of the gospel. How does the power of the gospel work? Through mature, stable Christians. You see, God's greatest desire for us as believers in Jesus Christ is that we would become mature in our faith. That we would become stable in our faith. Because a mature, stable Christian, listen,

is what society is built upon. It's where good laws come from. It's where strong churches come from. It's where strong families come from. It's where strong fathers and mothers and husbands and wives come from. It comes from being a mature, stable Christian. And brothers and sisters, what we need in our churches right now and what we need in our world right now are Christians who are mature and stable in their faith, not those who are tossed with every wind of doctrine, not those who are tossed about with the next book that's going to come out to tell us the brand new theology somebody just came up with, not with the next new idea, not with the next new mega church, not with the next new wave that's going to come through.

But a mature, stable Christian. And the only way that we can be that is if God strengthens us with the power of his Holy Spirit in our inner man, in the very core of who we are. I don't know how much you all have been paying attention to what's going on in the world right now, but I think half of Maui burned down. And that is a tragic, tragic thing. I've been kind of following that because I know something.

I know some people in Maui, a guy that pastors Calvary Chapel, Central Maui. His name is Sean Hausman. He was the assistant dean of men when I was in the Bible College. I had multiple conversations with him. I messaged him the other day, said, hey, man, what can we do for you guys? Took him a long time to get back with me because he's so busy. Because if I understand correctly, he's one of the chaplains on the island for the police and fire department, which you can only imagine what's going on.

I said, how can a Calvary in Kansas help you guys? He said, I don't even know yet. I don't even know yet. We don't know what this is going to look like. We don't know what recovery here looks like yet. The greatest need today was ice. And so we took people bags of ice. That's what we did all day long. And you know what's going to be true? Real ministry is going to take place there.

Because there are men and women of God. Who have been trained to be strong, mature Christians. Who are stable, mature Christians. And we need to be praying for our brothers and sisters in Maui. That they would be strengthened with the power of God's Holy Spirit in their inner man. To be strong, stable, mature Christians. Who, listen, don't lose their head just because there's a tragedy.

Jesus described this kind of Christian when he told the Sermon on the Mount. Do you remember? Do you remember the Sermon on the Mount? Do you remember the very last thing that Jesus said about the Sermon on the Mount? He said, He who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a man. A man who builds his house on a strong, solid foundation.

The winds blew. The storm came and beat against that house. But that house stood. Because it had a strong foundation. Whoever hears these words of mine and does not do them, I will liken him to a man who has. I will liken him to a man who has built his house upon the sand. The same storm blows. The same winds beat. But the house is destroyed. And great is its destruction.

Why? Because it had no foundation. It had not been strengthened in the inner man. With the truth of who God is. He says, I pray for you, brothers and sisters, that you would be strengthened in the inner man with the power of the Holy Spirit. Number two. That Christ would dwell in your heart through faith. That Christ would dwell in your heart through faith.

Now, I want us to all understand something. The moment that you put your faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus comes to live inside of you. That's a promise that he makes. I saw somebody try to challenge this the other day on an Instagram post. And they're like, Whoever said Jesus makes his home inside? I'm like, well, Jesus did. People don't read the Bible. That's why they're not strong, mature Christians, right?

He promised that he and the Father would dwell in us. And so through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But there's a difference between Jesus living in us and Jesus dwelling in us. You see, that word dwell in the Greek means this. To finally settle down and make yourself at home. To finally settle. To finally settle down and make yourself at home.

I did a wedding for a couple earlier this year. And they had a house, but they didn't have any furniture in the house. They were, they had sleeping bags, blow up mattresses and lawn chairs because they were waiting for their furniture to come in. And then their furniture came in and they said, Oh my gosh, it's so amazing. We can finally make this place our home.

You see, there's a difference between living in a house and making a house your home, right? And so Jesus comes and makes his home inside. He dwells inside of us, lives inside of us the moment that we're saved. But Paul's prayer is that Christ would dwell in our house through faith, that he would finally settle down and make our heart his home. Now, fellas, what's the first thing that happens when you move into a new house?

What's the first thing that happens when you move into a new house? What's your wife say? We've got to paint these walls, right? We got to tear that wallpaper down. We got to paint these walls. Maybe those carpets have to come up. Maybe those carpets have to be clean. We need to put some new curtains in here. And then you look at your wife and you say, So what do you want me to do?

And then she hands you a paintbrush and sends you on your way, right? Because she is now making that house her home. How does she do it? Well, she does it by putting, by putting her own touch on it, by painting the walls the color that she thinks looks best, by arranging the furniture the way that she thinks looks best, by changing rooms around to make them look the way that she thinks looks best, right?

And we're just involved in the process. Listen, that's exactly the way Christ wants to be in our heart. He wants to come in and make himself at home. How does he do that? He starts changing things. Only what do we sometimes do in our hearts with Christ? We say, not that room. You can't have that room. You see, that room has been there my entire life. And I don't want anybody to change it.

I don't want anybody to move that furniture. I don't want anybody to paint those walls. I don't want anybody to do anything with that room. Because quite frankly, I've grown really accustomed to what that room looks like. And Jesus says, But if I'm going to really dwell in your heart, I got to get in all the rooms. That's what Paul prays for the believers. He says that Christ would finally settle down and make himself at home in your heart.

And brothers and sisters, the only way that we can do that is through faith. You may notice something about this prayer. This is what I would call a prayer that builds. In other words, each part builds on the other. If the Holy Spirit comes in and empowers me, what does he empower me to do? If I am strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit, in the inner man, what am I strengthened to do?

I am given the strength by faith to open up every part of my heart to the Lord. So that he will come in and identify the areas of my life that need changed. To identify the areas of my life that need healed. What does that look like? He starts pointing out the areas of anger that I have in my life that need dealt with. He starts pointing out the areas of gossip that I have in my life that need dealt with.

He starts pointing out the areas of unforgiveness in my life that need dealt with. Of bitterness that I have held on to for far too long now. He starts pointing out the areas. He starts pointing out the pornographic rooms in my heart that need to be dealt with. He starts pointing out the things in my life that have to change. The racist. Yeah, that's right.

I said it. The racist rooms in my heart that need dealt with. The parts of my heart that still need to be dealt with. The parts of my heart that still don't like other people because of the things that they do or say. Or because they look different from me. He gets into all those rooms in my heart. So that he can change them the way that he wants to. But the only way I can let him do that is if I am strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit in the inner man.

To give him access to all of that. To give him access to all of those rooms. Because I don't have the power in and of myself. I will always go back to my favorite quote from Andrew Murray's book, Absolute Surrender. Lord, I need you to make me. Willing. To be willing. To be surrendered. To you. And it always requires. The power of the Holy Spirit in my life.

But he wants to come in. And he wants to make himself at home. And how does he do that? He does it through faith. And through faith I said, Lord, I'm going to trust that you know what you're doing. Here. Have you ever prayed a dangerous prayer? And said, Lord, do with me what you want to do. And mean it. It's the most dangerous prayer you can pray. And I highly recommend it.

But I promise it will require faith on your part. Because in the midst of it, you're going to have to say, Lord. I'm going to have to believe. That you know what you're doing. Because this is not what I would choose. This is not the way that I would choose to do it. But he wants to make his home. In our heart. So. Number one, that we would be strengthened in the inner man.

Number two, that Christ would dwell. In our heart through faith. Number three. And this he's going to camp out on for a little while. That we would know the love of Christ. That you would know the love of Christ. Notice what he says. So that. Forgive me. Oh, yeah. We'll start in 17. 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. All the saints. What is the breadth. And the length. And the height. And the depth. To know the love of Christ. Which surpasses. Knowledge. That you may be filled up. To all. The fullness. Of God. He starts off by saying that you being rooted. And grounded. In faith. It is both something that you are through the whole power of the Holy Spirit.

And something that you are praying to become. By the power of the Holy Spirit. It's kind of in that sort of a tense in the Greek. That you being rooted. And grounded. The word rooted. Means securely settled. It's an agricultural term. That speaks of roots going down deep. The second word that's used is the word grounded. It means deeply founded. It is a construction term.

And it speaks of having a solid foundation. That you being rooted. Securely grounded. And grounded. Securely founded. In the love of Christ. That's what the love of Christ would be in your life. That you would be both rooted. And grounded in it. How does that take place? When you are strengthened. By the power of the Holy Spirit in the inner man. And Christ begins to make himself at home.

In your heart. You are then rooted. And grounded. In love. And he goes on from there to say. That you being rooted and grounded in love. May be able to comprehend. With all the saints. The height. And the breadth. And the width. And the depth. That word comprehend is kind of interesting. That word comprehend means. To apprehend. To lay hold of. To understand.

Or to grasp the full implication. It speaks more. More of the intellect. And so the first thing he prays. Is that we might have the ability. To comprehend. To understand. Or to grasp the full implication. Of something. And what we want to be able to grasp. The full implication of. Is the height. And the depth. And the width. And the length. And we know from the next verse.

That it's the love of God. So the first thing that he asks. Is in this understanding of the love of God. Is that we would have. A mind that can understand it. Do you know why we have to pray. That we can have a mind that can understand it. Because when Adam sinned. It passed all of that sin nature down to us. And do you know what sin is. At it's very core. Sin is selfishness.

Do you know what selfishness is. At it's very core. Putting self first. Do you know what the very opposite. Of love is. Selfishness. Because at the very core of love. Is putting others first. At the very core of selfishness. Is putting self first. Therefore selfishness. Sin my nature. And love. Are at two opposite ends of the spectrum. Therefore our brains.

Can't take in. The love of Jesus Christ. Because it is so foreign. To our understanding. It is so foreign to anything. That we know. That we need to have the power. Of the Holy Spirit. Give us the ability. To comprehend. To lay hold of the love of God. To lay hold of the love of Jesus Christ. Because it is so far beyond our understanding. That is why most people.

Live with the thought. How can God love me. How can God love me. You don't know what I have done. You don't know what I have been through. You don't know the things. That have taken place in my life. How can God love me. Let me tell you brother. And sister. If that is you. And you are going. How can God love me. You need to pray that God. Would grant you. By the power of his Holy Spirit.

The ability to comprehend. The height. The width. And the depth. And the length of God's love. Because it is higher than you can imagine. It is longer than you can imagine. It is wider than you can imagine. And it is deeper than you can imagine. When we were kids. We used to sing this song. Perhaps you remember it. Deep and wide. And then for some reason. You would take out words.

And you would go. I don't know why we took the words out of that thing. You know how I think that sidebar. You know how I think this song came about. There was a Sunday school teacher. And the pastor went a little bit long. And she had to figure out some way to keep the kids going. And she knew this song deep and wide. And she is like how do we make this song go longer.

Let's take words out of it. And just go hmm. And see if the kids can keep up with it. That is how I think that song came about. That is not why I told this song. Why do we sing this song deep and wide. Because there is a fountain flowing deep and wide. What is the fountain that is flowing deep and wide. The love of God. And it flows deep. And it flows wide.

We need the power of the Holy Spirit. To give us the ability to comprehend. To apprehend. To lay hold of. To gain the full implication. Of God's love. One of the things that got me the most. When I first started walking with Jesus. After I came out of my time of prayer. Of rebellion in high school. Was that God could still love me. And as a matter of fact. The first book that I read.

Was the book of Romans. And I didn't understand anything. Until I got to Romans chapter 8. And it said nothing can separate you. From the love of God. Which is in Christ Jesus. Neither height. Nor depth. Interesting words that are used there. Nor principalities. Nor powers. Nor things present. Nor things to come. Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Which is in Christ Jesus. And I was like. That makes sense. I don't get it. But I understand what he's saying there. I don't know why Jesus would love me that much. But he does. And I got to tell you. The thing that just keeps hitting me. The longer that I walk with Jesus. Is that Jesus loves me. I think I've told you before. The story of Alan Redpath. Great theologian.

Sat down with a group of seminary students. One time. And one of the students asked him. What is the greatest truth. That you have learned in God's word. And they were just waiting for some epic theological answer. He looked at him and he said. Jesus loves me this night now. For the Bible tells me so. Of all the study he did. He came back to this one central theme.

And that's the love of Jesus Christ. Because he began to comprehend. To apprehend. To lay hold of. Intellectually. The love of Jesus Christ. So. Not only that. He says not only you who've been rooted. And grounded in love. That you be able to comprehend. The love of Jesus Christ. That is higher and deeper. And wider and longer than anything you can imagine.

But. Verse 19. And to know the love of Christ. Which surpasses knowledge. That you might know. That word in the Greek is. Which means experiential knowledge. Experiential knowledge. You see. It's one thing to know it in theory. And it's an important thing to know it in theory. But eventually. You have to learn it through. Experience. You see I could take. And show you a lot of cool things in God's word.

That I've studied. But the things that are always going to stick out to me the most. And the things that I will preach the most powerfully. Are the ones I've learned by experience. That's why if I had to get up here. And teach. Psalm 23 today without any notes or any preparation. I could do it. You know why? Because the experience that I went through with God.

In Psalm 23 is so indelibly printed upon my heart. That no one can ever change it. I have several sermons like that. And it's not because I studied it. It's because I know it. It's because God wrote it on my heart. And I don't know it because somebody told me. And I don't know it because I read it in a book. And I don't know it because I studied it. I know it because I read it in a book.

And I don't know it because I lived it. And I can tell you experientially it's true.

That's what Paul prays for us. And the Ephesian believers. Not only that you would comprehend it intellectually. Not only that you would apprehend it intellectually. And that your mind would be able to wrap itself around the truth of God's love. But that in the very core of who you are. Written indelibly upon your heart. To where no one can ever change it. You would know the love of Christ.

And brothers and sisters. The only way that you can know the love of Christ. Is if he reveals it to you. Because again. Our hearts can just only take in so much. And now that we know that the love of Christ is. Higher, deeper, wider, and longer than anything that we can ever imagine. How do you plumb the depths of that? You don't. Every day is a new adventure.

Sometimes in really big ways. Sometimes in really small ways. But it's been fascinating. Fascinating to watch. How God shows us how much he loves us. It's so many different areas of life. To where sometimes you just sit back and you go. That is just because God loves me. That is just because God loves me so much. I'll never forget fresh out of Bible college.

I know I've told this story before. But it is what it is. My wife always reassures me. Nobody memorizes my sermons. So fresh out of Bible college. Had gone through some hard things. I just needed to get a job. I just needed to get a job. I just needed to start making money. So I ended up applying. I went to this job search place. Where they put me in a computer and said.

Here, look for jobs. And I was like. That's the least help I've ever received in my entire life. So I start scrolling through jobs. Groundskeeper. I like to mow. So I clicked on it. Sure enough. Wasn't very far away. I was in an old folks home. That I now affectionately refer to as the Wrinkle Ranch. Lakeview Village. And. And so I went there. And they interviewed me.

And they basically hired me that day. So I go to work. And you know what I did every day? I mowed lawns. Now for those of you that know me. You know that. That's the greatest thing I could ever imagine doing. And I'll never forget telling my aunt. My Aunt Jean. Her husband pastors the church over in. Over in Wellington. Remember telling her about that and saying.

And her telling me. Isn't it just like God. To show you how much he loves you. By giving you a job that he knew. You would love. And that's why I love people like Aunt Jean. Because I hadn't even thought about it. As soon as she said it. I was like. You're right. That is the love of God. And now I know it a little bit more. Experientially. He says that you might know the love of Jesus Christ.

And then he describes it as something. That you might know the love of Christ. That surpasses. Knowledge. Knowledge. Friends we call that an oxymoron. Right. Because how can you know something that surpasses knowledge. Well I think there's two ways we look at this word knowledge. Number one. We understand that this is a little bit of a different word for knowledge.

And it carries with it a little bit more of the idea. Of a head knowledge. Because the love of Jesus Christ. That we can know experientially. Will always go beyond what our mind can take in. What our mind can conceive. Because our minds can only do so much. And then we experience it. And we're like. Oh. It's even better. It's even better than I thought it was going to be.

It's even more amazing than I thought it would be. Because. It surpasses. All knowledge. But not only that. No matter how much experiential knowledge you have of the love of Jesus Christ. It means that. You will never have all. Of the experiential knowledge. Of the love of Jesus Christ. Because it just keeps getting better. Because he just keeps showing. You more.

I read an article one time in Calvary Chapel magazine. And Chuck Smith was over in Israel baptizing people in the Jordan River. And there was this guy that came up and talked to him. This is what the whole article was about. There was a band when I was in high school. Actually I think they're touring again maybe. There was a band when I was in high school called Korn.

Very hardcore band. And I think it was the bass player. I think it was the bass player. It might have been the lead guitar player. For Korn got saved. Named Brian Head Welch. Well this guy who is just. Looks like the scariest human being you've ever been around. But loves Jesus with all of his heart. Comes up to Chuck Smith. In this article they did an interview with the two of them.

And he came up to Chuck and he said. I have never been so blown away. By anything. As much as I am by the love of Jesus Christ. Is it always this good? Or does this high go away? And Chuck looked at him and said. I've walked with God for a really long time now. And I'm here to tell you. It gets better every year. Because I learn more about the love of Jesus.

Christ every year. And I thought what a perfect picture. Of what he's talking about right here. That it goes beyond knowledge. Because here you have a young man. Who just gave his life to Jesus. Getting baptized in the Jordan River. And you have Chuck Smith. Who's probably walked with Jesus by 50 years. Or for 50 years by this point in time. And the one says.

The love of Jesus Christ is more than I can imagine. As a brand new believer. And the guy that's walked with God and pastored for over 50 years. Says you're right. And you just learned. You just learned more every single day. Because his love. Surpasses knowledge. So he's prayed three things so far. Number one. That we would be strengthened in the inner man.

Number two. That Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith. Number three. That we would know the love of Christ. And then number four. Filled up to all the fullness. Of God. That you may be filled up. To all the fullness of God. That word filled up means filled up. To the measure. You ever tried to fill a cup too far. Stop right there. Filled up to the measure.

That's exactly what he's talking about here. I want to read this to you out of the Amplified Bible. Because I thought they just put it in the most perfect way possible. It says. That you may have. The richest experience. Of God's presence. In your lives. Completely filled. And flooded with God. Himself. Isn't that great? That we would have the richest experience of God in our lives.

As we are completely filled. And flooded with God. Himself. Completely filled up. To the full measure. With God. Now. He's going to close out with what I'm going to call. A doxology. And I'm calling it a doxology. Because everybody else calls it the doxology. So this is what it says. Look at verse 20. 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 the glory in the church. And in Christ Jesus. To all generations. Forever. And ever. Amen. So let's break this couple of verses down. Let's break this doxology down. Shall we? Now to him who is able. I want us to understand something about God. Because it's important after you've prayed something. That Paul just prayed for us.

That we understand beyond a shadow of a doubt. That God is able. That he's able to handle anything that comes our way. That he's able to handle any requests that we bring to him. That he is able to do. Everything that we ask. But not only is he able. To do what we ask. But I want you to notice what it says. Now to him who is able to do. Far more abundantly.

Beyond all. That we ask or think. To do beyond all things. Over and above all things. That we ask or think. Now. I want you to think about the wildest. Like man I would love for this to happen. God's able to do more. We have to understand something though. Usually. The wildest things that we think about happening. Have to do with. Winning the mega millions right?

And winning that. Three billion dollars or whatever. It is right. That's what we think. God's able to do exceedingly abundantly. Above all that we can ask or think. And as that one famous pastor has said. You can't have your best life now. Right? You can have that house now. You just need to believe that God can do exceedingly abundantly. Above all you've ever asked or thought.

That's not what that verse is talking about. Is God able to take care of us? Yes. And does he bless us more than we can ever imagine? You live in the United States of America right now. He's already done it. Because the plenty that we. You live with. Is so amazing. Ask people that have gone to some of these other countries. We don't even understand how good we have it here.

But what he's talking about here. Has less to do with physical things. And has more to do with spiritual things. Because. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly. Above all that we could ever ask or think. That means that God is able to blow your mind. With the truth that he can reveal to you. With him coming in and dwelling in your heart. Through faith. With.

Him revealing the love of Jesus Christ to you. With him filling you. To the fullness with himself. He's able to do beyond anything. That you could ever ask or think. And sometimes. And I'm guilty of this. Sometimes my God is too small. Sometimes I think God is too small. I'm like oh well. God's never going to do that. Because of fill in the blank here. And I just know that sometimes I need to make sure I realize.

That I serve a really big God. Who does really big things. Right. Sometimes I watch movies like Jesus Revolution. And I'm like. Is it going to happen again. Could it happen in Ark City. Probably not where Ark City. Why not Ark City. Right. Chuck when he was teaching on this told the story of. Of. Of Jonathan. Jonathan was Saul's son. Jonathan and David were best friends back in the Old Testament.

And Jonathan and his armor bearer got up early one morning. They'd been at war with the Philistines. And Jonathan looked at his armor bearer and he said. What do you think. I think God could deliver with two people. As well as he could with an army. Hey let's just see if God doesn't want to do something awesome today. Okay let's talk a little trash to the Philistines.

And if they say we're coming to get you. We'll know it's not God. But if they say come up and get you some. I'm paraphrasing mildly here. But the idea is there. Come up and get you some. Then we'll know that God is in this. And we'll start attacking. And I'll be doggone if they didn't say come get you some. And you know what. They did.

Our God is not too small. No. He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think. Why? Because it's according to the power that works within us. And the power that works within us. We were already told in Ephesians is what? The same power that raised Christ from the dead. The last thing that I'll point out to you is this. To him be the glory.

In the church. And in Christ. To all generations forever and ever. Amen. Why does he do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ever ask or think? Why does he do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ever ask or think? So that he can receive the glory. Brothers and sisters. We have to understand something about our prayer life. About our ministry life. About our Christian life.

It has one goal and one goal only. To bring glory. To the God who created us. Because grace brings more glory than we can ever imagine. Amen. Let's all stand.

And if you'd bow with me. Father we come before you. And Lord. Lord I thank you. For being the God who allows us direct access to you. Because of the blood of Jesus Christ. And right now for this congregation that's here. Or anybody listening online right now. I want to pray Lord. Strengthen us. By the power of your Holy Spirit in the inner man. Lord I pray that you would come and dwell in our hearts through faith.

Lord that you'd make yourself at home. Clear out the rooms that need cleared out. Make our hearts look like you want them to look. Father would you give us. Not only the ability to comprehend your love. But Lord that experiential knowledge of your love. That surpasses anything that we can ever imagine. And Lord would you fill us. To all the fullness of you.

And Father we will praise you for the fact that you are able to do. Beyond anything. That we can imagine. In Jesus name. Amen. Be blessed.