Christians pray! They can’t help themselves!

So there's two parts to the reading today.

The first is the whole of Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

And then we'll jump to Ephesians 3 verses 14 to 21.

Ephesians 3:14–21

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus,

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ,

according to the purpose of his will,

to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace,

which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight,

making known to us the mystery of his will,

according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

as a plan for the fullness of time,

to unite all things in him,

things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance,

having been predestined according to the purpose of him

who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

so that we who were the first to hope in Christ

might be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation,

and believed in him,

were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance

until we acquire possession of it,

to the praise of his glory.

For this reason,

because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus

and your love toward all the saints,

I do not cease to give thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers,

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory,

may give you the spirit of wisdom

and of revelation in the knowledge of him,

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,

that you may know

what is the hope to which he has called you,

what are the riches of his glorious inheritance

in the saints,

and what is the immeasurable greatness

of his power toward us who believe,

according to the working of his great might,

that he worked in Christ

when he raised him from the dead

and seated him at his right hand

in the heavenly places,

far above all rule and authority

and power and dominion

and above every name that is named,

not only in this age,

but also in the one to come.

And he put all things under his feet

and gave him as head over all things

to the church,

which is his body,

the fullness of him

who fills all in all.

And then we're jumping forward to,

I'll double check that I get this right,

chapter 3, 14 to 21.

For this reason,

I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven

and on earth is named,

that according to the riches of his glory,

he may grant you to be strengthened with power

through his spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts

through faith,

that you being rooted and grounded in love

may have strength to comprehend

with all the saints

what is the breadth and length

and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ

that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled

with all the fullness of God.

Now to him

who is able to do

far more abundantly

than all that we ask or think,

according to the power at work within us,

to him be glory

in the church

and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations

forever and ever.

Amen.

Well, I first want to thank Dave and the elders

for allowing me this great privilege

of preaching this morning.

As I was musing upon the subject

and musing upon things,

I realised that

the Apostle Paul

was banished to the Isle of Patmos

for preaching the Gospel

when he was 90.

And here I am

past his age

and thankfully

I'm not banished yet.

So let's pray.

Father, we're grateful indeed

for the privilege

not only for me to preach the word

but for us to hear your word read

so clearly.

And we realise that

your word will accomplish

its purposes today

despite the weaknesses

of the preacher.

But Father, we pray now

that you would give us ears to hear

and hearts to believe

and to realise that

we have a great God and Saviour,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

According to Miss Congeniality,

Sandra Bullock

and all the rest of the contestants

in that beauty contest,

we should all be aiming for

nobody's watched the movie.

That's tough.

That's in the first

just congeniality.

They all end up with world peace.

They want people to pray for world peace.

In the movie,

Robin Hood,

while Kevin Costas

sword fighting the villains

trying to rescue a little boy up a tree,

his Muslim mate

is behind the wall

with his prayer mat down,

praying.

People pray

because God

has put

eternity

in their hearts.

We see that

in Ecclesiastes 3.11.

My parents

were heavily involved

in a Christian church

and would be regarded

as very religious.

Religious people

pray.

As a child,

I was taught to pray.

As I knelt

next to my bed

each night,

I would kneel down

and pray,

gentle Jesus,

meek and mild,

look upon

a little child,

pity my simplicity,

suffer thee

to come to me.

I learnt

the Lord's prayer.

I might have been

10 or 11

when there was a murder

in a house two doors

from where I lived

at Cook's Hill.

And after that,

before I jumped into bed,

I would check the wardrobe,

see that no one was in it,

check under the bed,

lock the window,

jump into bed

and start to pray,

Our Father,

deliver me from evil

for yours is the power.

Amen.

Amen.

World War II

was raging.

My eldest brother,

Jack,

was in PNG

fighting Japanese.

We were all

greatly affected

by this war.

Jack's wife

and two little girls

came from Tamas

to stay

in the bedroom

that my brother

and I occupied.

I had to get out

in a little veranda

and I don't know

where my brother

ended up.

Everything was rationed.

Nerves were on edge.

My father said to me

one day,

I would be happy

to drop an atom bomb

on the Japanese

if it would end the war.

But in the midst

of misery,

there were the greedy,

sadistic,

warmongers

who profited

from the misery

of others.

I learnt

the Apostles' Creed

and to pray

about that.

The war ended

and people tried

to get their lives

together,

many of them

without their loved ones.

But we soon

became insensitive

to the horrors

of war.

Our minds

and loves

were diverted

to monopoly.

Winning is everything.

Sending everyone

broke

was a great joy.

Or we might

be distracted

by the radio series

like the never-ending

Blue Hills

or Dad and Dave.

I think when I was

caught in June,

Blue Hills

was up to

5,000-something-odd

episodes.

Movies like

The Wizard of Oz

singing in the rain.

Feel-good things

took our mind

off problems.

And here we are

after 80 years

of relief

from major wars

and the fact

that we can kill

in our computer games.

Others wonder

if there are any more

people left

in mid-summer.

But

we're happy

to hear

Arnie say

I'm back.

We like to watch

the equaliser,

the sentinel,

Jack Reacher

and the fact

that the Avengers

and Marvel characters

are around

to protect the world.

Compared to many

other countries,

we live in luxury.

Even with eternity

in our hearts,

we get caught up

in a fantasy world.

world.

But I'm sure

if you watch

the news

or listen

to the radio,

those living

in Israel

or Gaza,

Ukraine

and other

war-torn areas,

the millions

starving

around the world

and others

persecuted,

they don't see

this world,

this world

that we live

as a fantasy.

leaders

throughout the world

often call

their people

to pray

in times

of tragedy.

They'll say

pray for him

or her

or it,

whoever

or whatever

you look to

to answer

your prayers.

Religious

people pray

because deep

down

they know

there's more

to life

than this

world.

whether

they know

it or not,

they can't

escape the

fact that

eternity

is in

their hearts.

They know

right from

wrong.

And you

might be

thinking,

what a

mickmash

of things

I've

presented.

But isn't

that the

real world

that we

live in?

So the

first thing

we wanted

to know

was religious

people pray

but the

second thing

is

Christians

pray.

They can't

help

themselves.

I was

nearly 25

when June

and I

married.

Taking

her to

hospital

to have

our baby

was a real

trial when

you didn't

have a car

and the

hospital was

several

kilometres

away.

You get

your mate

next door

to drive

the car

and when

you got

to the

maternity

ward you

would hand

June's

suitcase to

the nurse

and she

will say

well you

go home

and we'll

let you

know what

happens.

And you

baby cries

and you

young

parents

witness

witness

their

first

breath

and

their

first

cry

and you

were

happy.

After

that you

count the

fingers and

toes I

know and

all those

sort of

things.

But it

was that

first

breath

the child

was alive

and it

was making

its presence

felt.

Babies

cry.

cry.

They

can't help

themselves.

And there

are different

types of

cries.

I've been

here with

some of

you young

parents and

we're in the

middle of a

conversation and

there'll be a

cry amongst a

dozen other

cries and you

say I think

that's my baby

I'll have to

go.

You know

their cries.

You know

they cry for

all sorts of

reasons.

Get attention.

Pick me up.

Cry because

they're hungry.

Cry before

they're frightened.

Cry because

something's hurting

them but you

know their

cries.

You know

they're alive

and they're

well.

But as it

is with a

new baby

so it is

with a

newborn

Christian.

When

nearly

29

God

brought me

to my

knees in

the lounge

room.

He convicted

me of my

sin against

his holy

holiness and

showed me

that his

son Jesus

Christ died

on the cross

for me to

take away my

sins.

On the third

day he rose

again to make

me right with

himself.

Having breathed

into me new

life I

prayed Lord

save me.

That was

64 years ago

this month.

Consider the

apostle Paul who

was Saul of

Tarsus on the

road to

Damascus and

the Lord

meets him and

he's knocked

off his

horse as it

were and

here he is

and the

Lord speaks

to him why

are you

persecuting me

Saul and

he says

Lord who

are you?

What would

you have me

to do?

He's blind for

a few days and

then he goes

to him.

You can see

this in the

Damascus named

Ananias and

to him the

Lord said to

him in a

vision Ananias

and he said

here I am

Lord.

So the

Lord said to

him arise and

go to the

street called

Straight and

inquire of the

house of

Judas for one

called Saul of

Tarsus for

behold he is

praying.

Paul prayed

because he

was a

newborn babe

in Christ.

Very

religious

person now

a Christian

and he

can't himself

help himself

but pray.

In fact if

you read his

epistles you

find he's

constantly saying

that and I

think Emma

brought out

something when

she was playing

the guitar with

the kids.

he says in

1 Thessalonians

5.17

pray without

ceasing.

In chapter 5

verse 25

brethren pray

for us.

In Ephesians

6.18 when

he's describing

the Christian

armour and

talking about

the helmet of

salvation,

the sword,

the spirit,

etc.

And then he

said praying

always with

all prayer and

supplication in

the spirit.

Brethren

Christians pray.

they just

can't help

themselves.

The elders

suggested that

I speak on

Ephesians 3

the passage that

Liz just read

for us,

verses 14

through 21

and especially

thinking about

the verses

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

width and

length and

depth and

height to

know the

love of

Christ which

passes knowledge

that we

may be filled

with all the

fullness of

God.

Verse 14

says,

for this

reason I

bow my

knees,

says the

apostle.

He was

praying this

for the

people.

What a

great prayer

for you and

I to pray

for the

brethren.

how can

we pray

them if

we don't

know them?

So a

good exercise

for you in

the next

week or so

is to learn

every name

of the

people that

come here

week by

week and

pray for

them that

they may

know this

great thing

what is the

length and

breadth and

depth and

height to

know the

love of

Christ which

passes knowledge

that they

may be filled

with all the

fullness of

God.

What a

great prayer.

prayer to

pray for

the church.

We can

pray for

the elders

too can't

we?

We can

pray especially

for the

preachers and

this is what

Paul wanted

when you read

in 1 Corinthians

2 1 to 5

and he says

I brethren

when I came

to you I

did not come

in excellence

of speech

or of

wisdom

declaring to

you the

mystery of

God for

I determined

to know

nothing among

you except

Jesus Christ

and him

crucified.

I was with

you in weakness

and in fear

and in much

trembling and

my speech and

my preaching

were not

persuasive words

of human

wisdom but

in the

demonstration of

the spirit and

power that

your faith should

not be in the

wisdom of men

but in the

power of God.

and anybody

that preaches

regularly knows

that after

you've done

all your

preparation

and all

your study

you condense

things down

to what you

think is

manageable

and you

put this

black typing

on white

paper

that's all

it is

and we

need

we need

the power

of God

and that's

what Paul's

praying

to the

Corinthians

he said

I want to

come to you

in a

demonstration

of power

and the

spirit

we need

to pray

for our

preachers

that the

Holy Spirit

will so

fill them

and we'll

be so

moved

I was

telling the

people at

St Andrews

Presbyterian

the last

week or

two

there was

a liberal

Presbyterian

church

we never

heard the

gospel as

you hear

every week

here but

one man

in 22

years impressed

me

I was an

unbeliever

but this

was a

Welshman

and Gareth

is not

here this

morning for

him to

cheer but

this Welshman

all I remember

was sitting in

the choir and

looking at him

with a little

bit of dribble

coming out of

the side of

his mouth

but he was

leaning over

the pulpit

which is quite

high at

St Andrews

running his

fingers through

his ears

and he

really wanted

people to

believe the

word that he

was bringing

he was

earnest and

he was

sincere

we want to

see that

with our

preachers

we want to

know that

they've spent

that time in

prayer themselves

praying for

each one of

you we want

to know that

they have a

love for you

in such a

way that

their heart's

desire is that

you might be

saved

so Christians

can't help

themselves from

praying and

we pray for

all sorts of

things don't

we they're the

minor things

that seem so

big at the

time where's

my glasses

where'd I leave

the keys and

like me yesterday

where'd I park

the car

and the kids

did I leave

my towel and

sandals at the

beach or in the

change room

mum will kill

me if I've

lost them

again

what's that

person name

I'm talking

to

I just

finished my

assignment

very happy

with it

and then I

wiped it

where did it

go

and then of

course there

are the bigger

things aren't

there

the bigger

things that

cause us real

concern

the Christian

child is

frightened in the

dark and

cries out for

mum and dad

to come and

the parents

come and

they hold

their hand and

they take

turns in

praying over

her and

singing to

her the

23rd Psalm

until she

falls asleep

there's a

teenager

standing at

the bus

stop after

school and

here the

seniors come

and cover

him with

spittle

he's

humiliated

and he

goes home

and he

and of

course he's

crying and

he tells his

parents what

happened but

he has to

pray for

grace to

recover and

to forgive

the

perpetrators

what about

the children

watching their

parents going

through that

divorce and

wondering what

will happen to

them now and

if they too when

they marry will

this be their

problem

what about the

young people who

feel they've

missed the boat

and will never be

married and have

a family of

their own

on their knees

praying earnestly

that they will

understand and

accept Romans

8 28

all things work

together for good

to those who

love the Lord

for those who

are called

according to

his purpose

or the young

married young

woman whose

young mother

has just had a

miscarriage

has just lost a

baby she has

carried for nine

months needing

the God of all

comfort who

embrace her

what about the

father who's

going through a

mental torment

so tormented

that he can't go

home to his wife

and children

every day after

work he has to

find a solitary

place he has to

get down on his

knees and crawl

around that

building and pray

that he might his

mind might be

clear that he

might be fit

enough to go

home to his

wife and

children

what about the

two elders

with the church

disintegrating

around them

and they fall

on their knees

and plead

Lord close us

or use us

and many I

know have been

feeling that we

have been in the

wilderness

wilderness and

we need that

assurance of the

strength of the

rescuer when

we're in this

deep trouble

I love that

parting song of

Solomon 8 5

where it says

who is this

coming up from

the wilderness

leaning upon her

beloved

and brethren if

you've ever been in

that position you

know what I'm

talking about you

know what it's

like to feel that

you're in the

wilderness and

you look to

Christ and you

plead with

Christ and you

find yourself

leaning on his

arm as he

brings you out

of the

wilderness

but I believe

there is an

all important

spiritual lesson

why Christians

can't help

themselves and

they must pray

and I think if

you look at

Ephesians 1

that Liz read

to us

you'll see it

I believe that

once God

opened your

heart to

assimilate the

immensity of

what he's telling

us here

you will rejoice

with joy

unspeakable

I remember

reading it once

when I couldn't

finish reading

I was so

overcome by it

you'll realise

in verse 3

that union

with Christ

as Henry

Mayen says

union with

Christ has

made you

the believer

an inhabitant

of two

worlds

spiritual

spiritually

you have

already been

raised and

seated in

heavenly places

in Christ

as we see in

chapter 2

verse 6

as a

Christian

you'll know

indeed

what the

triune God

has had to

do willingly

to make you

one of his

own

to make you

a member

of his

forever family

because you're

learning to

understand who

your heavenly

father is

and that you

have access

to him

through his

son

as verse 6

says in

that chapter

1 of

Ephesians

he raised

us up

and made

us acceptable

in the

beloved

and you

have been

blessed with

every spiritual

blessing in

heavenly places

as it says

in verse 3

all these

blessings

every spiritual

blessing

I don't

think I

can

comprehend

that

I don't

think we

will ever

get to

the length

and depth

and breadth

and height

of these

blessings

and this

love of

Christ

towards his

people

they're

yours

they're

mine

if you're

a Christian

today

and as

you lay

hold of

them

and the

enormity

of what

God has

done for

you

who as

it says

in chapter

2 verse

1

who are

dead

in

trespass

and sin

and verse

3

children

are wroth

even as

others

you'll

rejoice

that in

time and

space

he butted

into your

life and

made you

one of

his own

for all

eternity

but the

amazing

thing

above that

I think

is when

you read

these

threefold

work of

the

triune

God

in this

chapter

the work

of the

father

verses

3

through

6

he's

blessed

us

with

every

spiritual

blessing

in

heavenly

places

in

Christ

just

as

he

chose

us

in

him

when

before

the

foundation

of the

world

that we

should be

holy and

without

blame

before

him

in

love

having

predestined

us

to the

adoption

of

sons

by

Jesus

Christ

to

himself

according

to

his

good

pleasure

and

then we

have this

work of

the

son

the

seven

in

him

we

have

redemption

through

his

blood

the

forgiveness

of sins

according

to the

riches

of his

grace

which

he

made

to

abound

towards

us

in

all

wisdom

and

prudence

having

made

known

to

us

the

misery

of

his

will

according

to

his

good

pleasure

which

he

purposed

in

himself

that

in

the

dispensation

of

the

fullness

of

time

he

might

gather

together

in

one

all

things

in

Christ

both

which

are

in

heaven

and

which

are

on

earth

in

him

in

him

we

have

obtained

an

inheritance

being

predestined

according

to

the

purpose

of

him

who

works

all

things

in

the

work

of

the

Holy

Spirit

in

verses

13

and

14

in

him

you

also

trusted

after

you

heard

the

word

of

truth

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

in

him

also

having

believed

you

were

sealed

with

the

Holy

Spirit

of

promise

who

is

the

guarantee

of

an

inheritance

until

the

redemption

of

the

purchased

possession

and

then

if

you

notice

I

left

out

those

three

parts

verse

six

to

the

praise

of

the

glory

of

his

grace

verse

12

to

the

praise

of

his

glory

and

verse

14

to

the

praise

of

his

glory

no

wonder

after

writing

that

inspired

by

God

to

show

him

these

great

things

he

falls

on

his

knees

and

verse

15

Paul

says

therefore

I

also

after

I

heard

of

your

faith

in

the

Lord

Jesus

and

your

love

for

all

the

saints

do

not

cease

to

give

thanks

for

you

making

mention

of

you

in

my

prayers

that

the

God

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

Father

of

glory

would

give

you

the

spirit

of

wisdom

and

revelation

and

the

knowledge

of

him

the

eyes

of

your

understanding

be

enlightened

that

you

may

know

what

is

the

greatness

of

his

power

to

us

who

believe

according

to the

working

of

his

mighty

power

which

he

worked

in

Christ

when

he

raised

him

from

the

dead

and

seated

him

in

heavenly

places

Paul

wants

us

to

know

inspired

by

God

God

wants

us

to

know

this

power

that it

took

to

make

you

and I

a

Christian

if

you're

a

Christian

today

and the

word

there

the

power

is

this

word

which

is

dynamite

it's

not

taking

the

good

bits

of

you

and

making

you

a

little

bit

better

there

has

to

be

a

new

creation

a

new

creature

and

it

takes

the

same

power

that

raised

Christ

from

the

dead

to

make

you

a

Christian

and

God

wants

you

to

know

this

he

wants

you

to

embrace

this

he

wants

you

to

give

him

all

the

glory

and

the

praise

he

doesn't

want

anyone

to

say

well

well

you

know

I

took

the

first

step

and

God

did

the

rest

God

will

not

share

his

glory

with

another

he

wants

you

to

embrace

this

total

work

the

only

reason

why

we

are

here

today

and

many

of

us

professing

to

know

Christ

because

he

first

loved

us

we

would

never

have

loved

him

first

he

loved

us

first

he

moved

towards

us

and

even

from

all

eternity

oh

I

love

that

saved

from

all

eternity

every

Christian

that

ever

will

be

saved

or

has

been

saved

will

be

in

glory

forever

with

the

Lord

praising

him

and

glorifying

him

and

giving

him

all

the

honour

that's

due

to him

without

any

presence

of

sin

oh

that's

something

to look

forward

to

isn't

it

I

don't

know

about

you

but