"God's Immeasurable Strength within Believers- Eph 3:20-21"

Good morning. Here at Dillingham Moravian Church, our goal is to help us all

learn the Word of God so that we can grow as disciples of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ together.

My name is Pastor Simon, and welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church.

Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, we thank you for the mercy and love that you

have bestowed upon us in Jesus.

Thank you that we can be your children, that we can have you and your Son,

Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, living in and dwelling in us as believers in Christ.

Thank you that we have the strength to follow you by your grace.

Lord, we thank you, Lord. Teach us, guide us into your will,

and may you be glorified in and through us all. In your precious son's name,

Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Our family are Star Wars fans, and our boys especially love The Mandalorian.

Rogu, the little green baby Yoda creature, is a special favorite with them.

The main actor that plays Mando, The Mandalorian, is Pedro Pascal.

Now, I had not heard of Pascal before seeing The Mandalorian,

but now I like his acting, and his role in The Mandalorian has made him super famous.

I share this little family story with you because the purpose of Christ living

and working in us and through us as Christ's church is so that God may be glorified

or made famous through us.

Here at Dillingham Raven Church, we have been studying Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

The focus of Paul's letter is the unity of God displayed through the church of Christ.

Over the last couple of weeks in Ephesians 3, we were studying Paul's prayer

for the Ephesians where we learned that God grants his people his gifts out

of God's unfathomable riches that come from his glory.

It is essential for us to remember that the focus of Paul's prayer for the Ephesians

was for the believers to be filled with all the fullness of God.

But to be filled with the overflowing fullness of God, a person must know and

learn the infinite love of Christ.

And to know and learn the unfathomable love of Christ, one must be saved by

God, have Christ living in us by the incalculable power of God,

be rooted and founded in the love of Christ, and be strengthened with power

as we live within godly Christian community.

Today we're going to again read the whole of Paul's prayer in Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

3, but our focus will be on the benediction of the prayer in verses 20-21.

Paul prayed in Ephesians 3, verse 14-21, For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

Ephesians 3:14–21

for whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that He would give 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 firmly

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.

And here's where we are today. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly

beyond all that we ask or understand 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.

There are three main overarching truths that I want to bring to your attention today.

The first truth that God through Paul is teaching us in our target passage is

that as children of the Most High God, God is able to accomplish more than what

we can ask for or even imagine to ask for.

A couple of years ago, we bought a piece of property here in Dillingham that

we're slowly developing and camping on.

However, since we do not yet have power on our land, this winter I bought a

generator to provide power for the well and for my tools and also to provide

power for the parsonage if the electricity goes out. And for those of us living.

In our region of Alaska, we know that that is a definite possibility.

The gas power generator generates energy from gas to power electrical equipment.

My point with using this illustration is that as humans, we need machines or tools to create power.

But that is not the case with God. God is power himself.

Paul's benediction in Ephesians 3, verse 20 begins like this.

Ephesians 3:20

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we can ask or understand.

In verse 20, the word that Paul used for able meant to be able to have power

by virtue of one's own ability and resources.

The amazing thing about this word is that no human can be described by this

word able because no human being is the source and creator of power and energy.

God is the only one with all the power to be able in all things.

Paul prayed that the Ephesian disciples of Christ be strengthened with power

by God so that Christ dwelt within them through faith.

I want you to understand that Paul was writing to believers in Christ.

The Christ believer is one who has responded through faith to the grace of Christ

on the cross and has been born again in Christ.

And the result is Christ dwells with the believer.

Once a person is in Christ and he in them, his power is completely unmeasurable

and unstoppable on behalf of those whom Christ dwells in.

I want to impress upon us that there is real power in prayer.

Isaiah in Isaiah 64, verse 4, proclaimed about the Lord.

Isaiah 64:4

Since ancient times no one has perceived, or no one has heard,

no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, meaning that there

is no other gods beside God.

Here it is, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

What's so amazing about what Paul was praying in Ephesians chapter 3 is that

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

God has the power to not only give

what we ask in prayer, but also what we cannot even imagine to ask for.

In Romans chapter 8, verse 26 to 27, Paul wrote, Likewise, the Spirit helps

Romans 8:26–27

us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought.

But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to His purpose.

It blows my mind that God is answering our need even before we ask for it.

And it's quite possible that we do not even know we need a specific need or

can even understand what our need is while God is answering that prayer.

God knows what is going on in our hearts, in our minds.

He knows our situations better than we do because He is either orchestrating

or allowing our circumstances to happen for His sovereign purposes.

Even before we think of what we need or even know what we need,

the Spirit is interceding for those needs.

Now, I want you to notice something. In Romans 8, the word intercedes referred

to a defense attorney who defends us in the court of law.

This court is God's court, and God is the judge.

The Holy Spirit helps or intercedes on our behalf where we cannot help ourselves.

In this case, it's not for salvation because Christ is the one who intercedes

for us on our behalf for that.

The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf so that God's will is carried out in our lives.

Paul taught that this intercession is only for those who love God,

who have been called according to His purpose.

Back in Ephesians 3, verse 20, what was Paul's prayer?

Ephesians 3:20

That we, by faith, would know and live in the unfathomable love of Christ as

we live a life of faith so that Christ would fill us up to the overflowing with Himself.

As we know Christ's love and live in His love, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

The Spirit intercession is only for the saints, believers in Christ who have

been called according to God's good purpose.

Even as a pastor, there are situations where I do not know what to pray for.

From visiting and counseling those who are grieving their loved ones who have

died tragically, for people who are struggling with long-term pain and health concerns,

for those who are having relationship struggles with deep-seated issues on both

sides, and they just don't want to obey the Lord.

To be honest with you, sometimes the only way I know how to pray for them is,

May your will be done, O Lord.

That is the prayer that never fails because no matter what happens,

God's will is always done.

And all of God's power and might is bent upon carrying out His will in our lives,

even when we do not know what that is.

I want to encourage you all today that no matter how hard or challenging the

situation you're in, now or in the future.

God knows what you really need, not necessarily what you think you need.

And he's doing more than we can even think to ask God for.

The second foundational truth from Paul's benediction in Ephesians chapter 3

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

is that God's power is at work within us who are in Christ's church.

Last year here in Dillingham, JJC Construction finished up the paving project in Nurka subdivision.

While the construction crew was hard at work, the flaggers were on both sides of the construction.

They stopped traffic to keep people safe. And when it was safe for the traffic

to pass, the flaggers let us go on our ways.

In many places that I have lived, I have seen many construction crews not working

too hard when I pass, but the crews out here in Dillingham are always working.

My point with using this example is that similar to construction crews hard

at work during a short summer season, God, at an infinitely higher rate,

is always working in the hearts of his children.

Paul went on, Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20, Now to him who is able to do far

Ephesians 3:20

more abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, and here's what we're looking

at now, according to the power that works within us.

Paul stated that God is able to do beyond what we can imagine to pray for,

and his great and mighty power is at work within us.

The word that Paul used for power is the same word that he used in the previous

verse for able. The word is dunamis, which is the word that we get the name dynamo from.

A dynamo is a machine by which mechanical energy is changed into electrical energy.

Not only is Christ living in us and Christ himself is power and his power within

us continually produces power that works in us.

The word for work here meant to function, to do what something is used for,

perform as expected when operating.

I want you to notice that Christ's energy-producing power performs and functions

as it's designed to by God,

meaning that Christ's almighty power functions in and through us to carry out

what God wants done in and through us.

Christ's power will not work to carry out what we want done or to make us into

the people we want to be. No.

One of the crucial tasks of Christ living in us is that as we surrender to Christ's

will, the Holy Spirit transforms us into Christ's likeness so that we obey the Father in all things.

God is working in you, and he's

working in me. If you are a believer in Christ, God is at work in you.

God is at work in you in times of loss and trial and testing.

He's working in you even in times of spiritual failure. Psalm 23 promises that

the Lord is our shepherd and he will restore our souls.

When we feel like God should not love us, God loves us more than we can imagine.

God is working in us to restore us and grow us in his likeness.

I want to exhort all of us this morning to wait for God by trusting in Christ

and surrendering to his work in our lives as Christ lives in us and becomes

so large in us that we become nothing and Christ becomes everything. thing.

We do not know the impact of what our surrender to Christ working in us will be.

But I will say that the more that we abandon our own self and our own wants

and embrace what God is doing in us, God's impact through us is exceptionally long-reaching.

We may not understand in this lifetime, but God always works in those who abide in Christ's love.

We, you and I, must believe in God's transforming work in us and through us

Hudson Taylor was one of the pioneers of missionary work throughout China As

he founded the mission's organization,

China Inland Mission Which is now Operation Mobilization Which serves all around the world for Christ.

After a period of spiritual struggle while serving and leading in China,

Hudson Taylor discovered the truth of abiding in Christ from John 15.

In a letter to his sister, Taylor described his experience with this truth from

God's Word. But how to get faith straightened?

Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the faithful one.

As I read, I saw it all. If we believe not, he abideth faithful.

I looked to Jesus, and I saw, and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed,

that he had said, I will never leave you.

Ah, there is rest, I thought. I have striven in vain to rest in him.

I'll strive no more, for he has not promised, or has he not promised to abide

with me, never to leave me, never to fail me?

And dearie, he never will. But this was not all he showed me, nor one half.

I share this quote with you because it was when Hudson learned to abide in Christ

or to surrender to God abiding in him that everything changed in the ministry in China.

By God working through Hudson in his 51 years of ministry in China,

over 800 missionaries came to China.

125 schools were established, 18,000 individuals became Christians,

300 mission stations employing 500 local workers in addition to missionaries

from other countries were established in all 18 provinces of China.

The essential question for us to ask is what is the reason for God working in

us, using our prayers, interceding for us, and us being filled with the overwhelming fullness of God?

This question leads us to the last point I want you to see. The central purpose

for all God's work in our lives is so that God the Father is glorified in the

church and in Christ Jesus forever.

Let's continue on in Ephesians 3, verse 21.

Ephesians 3:21

To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Paul finishes his benediction with the overriding purpose for Christ dwelling

in us, for knowing the love of Christ and God working in us is so that God will be glorified.

The word that Paul used for glory meant to honor as enhancement or recognition

of status or performance, fame, recognition, renown, honor, and prestige.

I want you to notice where God being glorified takes place.

God is glorified in the church and in Christ Jesus as Christ lives in us.

Peter in 1 Peter 4, verse 10-11 proclaimed, As each one has received a gift,

1 Peter 4:10–11

employ in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Whoever speaks as one speaks the oracles of God, whoever serves as one serving

by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things, here it is.

God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen.

This is the purpose of all life everywhere, that God be honored for who He is

as Yahweh Lord and praised for His creations, especially in and through His

new creation, the church of Jesus Christ,

which includes all of us who have surrendered to the love and lordship of Christ.

It is also crucial that we understand that God being glorified in us as part

of the church includes every thought, emotion that we have, every action that

we do as Christ works at transforming us as his disciples from within us.

God also is made more famous as Christ is working through disciples of Christ to those around them.

Key takeaway that we can learn from Paul's benediction is that God the Father

is glorified or made famous in how God answers prayer and how Christ's power works in us.

Throughout human history, we human beings have always glorified or honored famous

people, whether it be Olympic athletes, sports players.

Authors, or actors like Pedro Pascal from The Mandalorian, or even politicians.

The more recognition they get for their achievements, the more they are honored and given fame.

We remember their names and details that are given of their lives.

We give them honor and make them more famous when we talk about them and chat

about them on social media.

We also do this in the church about famous preachers and mastery workers.

The difference is that for those in the church, we hope, it is Christ being

honored and Christ being glorified for what God has been doing in the lives

of these men and women who are faithful to Him.

Our purpose as a church which belongs solely to Christ is to give glory to God.

We are Christ's mouthpiece and we serve by His strength and by His life in us.

As Christ lives and works through the faithful church of Christ,

God's reputation is made more famous and more honored.

As we talk and share about Christ's love and live faithfully to Christ by loving

God and our neighbors, God is made more famous and more honored.

This is crucial. Please listen to this. When Christ is honored and made famous,

the Father is recognized and honored and revered in His holiness,

in us, but also around us.

Moreover, as we surrender to Christ's power that is working in us,

God is not also not only honored by what Christ is doing in the church.

God the Father is made famous for all generations.

So, what is God teaching us this morning? We've been taught by God through Paul's

prayer that God has the power to answer not only what we ask for in prayer,

but also what we cannot even imagine to ask for.

Secondly, God's almighty and immeasurable power is at work within us as part of Christ's church.

And lastly, the reason for God's power being displayed through answering prayer

and Christ working in us so that God may be glorified through His church and through Christ.

I want to encourage you today by reminding us that God's power at work in the

lives of the Christ-believing church is absolutely immeasurable.

God doesn't need anything or anyone else to generate power for Him because He

is the source of all power and life.

God Almighty is the absolutely most powerful being in the universe and beyond the universe.

That power is at work

in the life of Christ's church in you and in

me do we you and I really believe this

truth do we really trust Christ and his promises so that God is being made more

famous through our lives let's pray heavenly father we thank you for the love

that you've shown us in sending your son, Jesus Christ.

That through his death and resurrection, we have now been brought into relationship

with you, that you have given us your love.

Help us, O Lord, to live in that love. Help us, O Lord, to believe that you,

your son, Jesus Christ, is living and dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit.

May we believe that your power is working in us. when we believe and trust that

you love us so, so much more than we can possibly imagine without your grace.

And so, Lord, we thank you and we trust you and you help us to trust you more.

In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this blessing from From Romans 11, verse 33,

Romans 11:33

O the depths and riches and wisdom of the knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments, and how inscrutable are His ways!

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.