The Church and A Prayer for Personal Development

I bow my knees before the Father, for 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.

And so on down to verse number 19.

Now we want to return to consider what we've been looking at recently, that is, the idea of a church that is healthy, that is able to carry out the mission of God and do the things that God has sent the church to do.

And in doing so, so far, we have looked at the church collectively as a community.

We have noticed in 2 Timothy the way in which the church is God's household and the pillar of truth.

We have noticed in John chapter 15 that the church is the vine.

John 15 · chapter mention

And we have noticed in 1 Peter 2 that the church is the temple.

And we saw from these illustrations of the church as a community the way in which a healthy church works because of the way in which it is designed

and because of the way in which people work and live and set themselves up within God's plan for his church.

But we know that the strength or the success of an organisation is dependent upon the individuals within it.

So I want to think this evening not so much about the church with regard to it being a community and a gathering of people,

but to think of the individuals that make up the church, to think of you and I as those who are Christians,

who have been called by God to serve in the church,

the importance of ourselves being healthy and ourselves having the right relationship with the Lord Jesus.

And as we go on, we can perhaps keep in our rear view mirror the whole picture of the church in Ephesus.

We read in Acts chapter 20 that Paul is warning the elders in the church at Ephesus that after he goes,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

that wolves are going to come in and they are going to create havoc.

We see here that he's trying to put them on the regard against the culture around them

and teaching them the doctrines of grace so that they may be able to stand.

We go to Revelation chapter 2 and we see the outcome.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

We see there that the church has lost its first love.

So if we want to think of a church or think of individuals within a church,

let's keep that picture in a rear view mirror, not just tonight, but every day that we live.

It's important to remember the way in which a church can decline.

Coming to this letter, Paul begins, this first half of the letter is all about teaching them the doctrines of grace.

And then he moves on to the more practical aspects of their Christian living and how, because of who they are,

the kind of people that they should be.

And as we read through these chapters into chapter 4,

we will recognize that there is the sense of their need to grow up and to develop

and to be the kind of people that they must be if they're going to stand in the midst of a culture that is constantly against them.

And looking at this prayer, we want to think of the church and a prayer for personal development.

We want to think, first of all, of the fact that there is a process.

There are steps to be taken to ensure that the Christians in the church in Ephesus,

that they are healthy and strong and able to serve God in this city.

And the process is one which focuses in particular on the Spirit of God and upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

And at the very center of what must happen in this process,

we see that Paul is speaking in verse number 16,

that according to the riches of his glory,

he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

Paul is reminding them that they are weak.

He is reminding them that in their inner passion,

where everything takes place,

where my thoughts are working,

where my decisions are made,

where I prose as the information that I receive,

and where there are the outcomes of the way in which I live my life,

in my inner being.

The invisible part of me that nobody sees but God alone,

but where everything does take place.

And because of the weakness of that part of their lives and of our lives,

he is praying that God will grant them to be strengthened with power by his Spirit.

And we may ask,

what kind of strengthening is Paul looking at?

We may think of a person who is weak,

and that person needs strengthening.

But I want us to think this evening,

not so much about a person,

but to use the illustration of a container or something that has limited capacity.

And it's designed for a limited amount of whatever it's going to contain.

And if this container or this box,

this utensil in any way,

if it is going to house or contain anything more than that,

a change needs to take place.

In other words,

this box,

this utensil,

it must be expanded,

it must be extended,

in order to accommodate something greater.

And that is that sense of the weakness that Paul is referring to here.

They need to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit,

who already dwells in their hearts,

to make them the children of God.

And they need to be strengthened in order to have an increased capacity

for a particular person to dwell within them.

And we see that becomes obvious in the following verse.

And wherever we are in life,

as the people of God,

this is something that we need,

because we are weak.

However far we have developed on our journey of faith,

we need to be,

go through this process under the Spirit of God

that increases our capacity for God himself.

And if we are going to develop in our faith,

that is the thing that must happen.

And how God does increase the capacity of our inner being

to house himself and to house the passion of Christ

may take place in different ways.

And Joni Eriksson,

Taddy,

she speaks of the way in which

her suffering increased her capacity for God.

So when he is praying for them

that they will have increased capacity for God,

when we pray for ourselves

and desire to have increased capacity for God,

we don't know how God will answer that prayer.

But he will because that is how God works.

That is the process that God uses

to ensure that you and I develop in our faith.

In the prophecy of Isaiah,

there's that sense in chapter 54

of enlarging your tent

and removing the pegs

and stretching them out further

so that the accommodation is greater.

Tonight, that's how you and I

will be healthy Christians.

That God stretches our inner being

in the spiritual way.

Stretches it in such a way

as to make space for more of Jesus.

And that's what he's saying here.

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.

And the focus of this part of the prayer is

that Christ will become

a permanent resident in their hearts.

And the suggestion is

that as Christians,

we can live and Christ Jesus

in the sense of our experience

he is an occasional visitor.

He does not live in our hearts

in the sense of our experience

and of walking with them.

And Paul is praying for them

that their hearts will be increased

in its capacity for the Lord Jesus

so that the passion of Christ

that comes periodically

and then that is ushered out the door

at different times in life,

that he actually comes

to dwell in their hearts.

And for me,

and I hope for you,

that is really meaningful.

Paul says in Galatians 2

that it is no longer he who lives

but Christ lives in me.

He is a permanent resident.

His heart is a place

where Christ dwells.

And we may ask ourselves this evening

when we try to gauge our health

as Christian people

who are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ,

we may ask ourselves

how much does Christ dwell in our hearts?

Is he nothing more than

an occasional visitor

that our paths cross

perhaps on the Lord's Day

or occasionally during the week

and other activities,

but for the rest of our time

that he is a distant friend?

You will know in your heart tonight

where the Lord Jesus is.

Is he always with you?

Or is it the case

when we come to gather together

for prayer

that suddenly we're alerted

to the fact

that Jesus is not

what I thought he was

and that he is absent

and that I move to cry out

for myself in the first place

that there will be this sense

of Jesus coming home to my heart

and to making his home in my heart

and giving to me that sense

of him being always before my eyes.

There is a process.

It's a process that we must all go through

and we notice here

that in version number 16

that he's praying

that God will grant you.

It's the gift of God.

It's what they need.

It's what they cannot bring to themselves.

It is what God has purposed

to give to them.

It is the gift of God.

They are steps

that God puts in our hearts

so that Christ will dwell

in our hearts.

Secondly,

because of the process

there is participation.

We actually take part

in the activity of God

in the activity of the Church of Christ.

We are part of the mission of God

and what God has sent his church to do.

And when we look at the participation

in this prayer

we see there are two aspects to it.

And the first of these is

that there is a sense of being empowered.

Once Jesus fills my heart

there's a sense of power.

not because of myself

but because of him.

And as soon as I sense

he's home with me

that's empowering.

And the empowering here is

in version number 17

that you being rooted

and grounded in love.

There is the kind of

horticultural picture

of being rooted.

There is the building picture

of being on the foundation.

it reminds us of the vine

and of the temple

in 1 Peter.

There is that sense

of being embedded.

Being embedded in the sense

that our life thrives

and being embedded

in the sense

of being steady

and being steadfast

and being on the foundation

so that we are immovable.

And it is being grounded

in the greatest place

of all

grounded

in love

in the love of God

in the love of Christ.

As soon as Jesus

comes home to me

then my heart is filled

with energy

because of the love

of Christ

and the love of God.

I'm filled with a sense

of wonder

at the God

who loved

because he loved

God

and for no other reason

than he purposed

to do so.

I'm filled with a sense

of wonder

that this is love

that God sent his son

into the world.

I'm filled with a sense

of wonder

that as Paul says

in Galatians 2

that

he loved me

and gave himself

for me.

It's to be empowered

with a sense

of the love of God

and to have

the strength

to comprehend

that

as we go into

version number 18.

It's having

the ability

to be

fully capable

of experiencing

all that the love

of God is

all that the love

of Christ is

to grasp it.

And we're going

to see that

it is impossible

to do so

because

it's an everlasting love.

but it is

the sense

of being empowered

to lay hold

of more

and more

of the love

of Christ.

And in

laying hold

of it

and grasping it

and having

the capability

of entering

into it

then there is

the participation

of experience.

to know

the love

of Christ

in version number 19

knowing something.

I can spend

my time

reading the greatest

doctrinal books

alongside of my Bible

and I can learn

so much

about what the Bible

is saying.

I can know it

in my head

but there's knowledge

that Paul is speaking

of.

it's a prayer

that's knowing

through experience.

It's something

that not only

do I process

in my mind

but it descends

into my heart.

It becomes

the controlling

influence

in my life.

Having the

capability

to experience

and then coming

to discover

what the love

of Christ

is like.

what the love

of God

is like.

How great

is

his love.

And we know

of course

that we

cannot

become

Christians

without

knowing

the love

of Christ.

But

our knowledge

can be so

limited

that we

can be

infants

on the ladder

of the development

of the children

of God

and remain

in that

infancy state

with regard

to our knowledge

of the love

of Christ

because

the pros

isn't working

because we're

hindering

the work

of God

and the work

of Christ.

Infants

in our knowledge

of the love

of God

in Jesus

Christ.

And

in this prayer

and because

of the

expansion

and because

of the

increased

capacity

for God

there is

the

increasing

awareness

and experience

of

the love

of God.

It's

Christian

experience

and the

Bible

shows to

us

in

different

places

that

God

is

speaking

to

his

people

because

they

are

not

producing

the

fruit

that

he

called

them

so

to do.

And

that

can be

so often

that the

kiss

in our

own

lives

that we

are not

producing

the fruit

that we

are not

basking

ourselves

by faith

in the

great

ocean

of the

redeeming

love of

God

in

Christ

and

sailing

on that

ocean

and

having

our

hearts

filled

with

a

growing

sense

of

wonder

and

it's a

question

for me

and I

think

it's a

question

for all

of us

that

as I

spend

each

day

how

much

is my

day

spent

experiencing

more

and more

of

the

love

of

Christ

that's

the

health

that

Paul

is

looking

for

in

the

Christians

in

Ephesus

it's

a

health

that

God

is

looking

for

in

the

hearts

and

lives

of

all

of

his

people

to

know

to

experience

the

love

of

Christ

that

surpasses

knowledge

there

are no

limits

of course

to

the

love

of

God

and

our

experience

of it

is

limited

only

by

our

capacity

and

God

increases

our

capacity

we will

never be

able

to

understand

it

all

but

there's

a

growing

sense

of

discovering

more

and

more

of

the

love

of

God

learning

to

appreciate

because

we're

learning

to

experience

and

we're

learning

to

wonder

more

and

learning

to

worship

more

so

there's

a

process

there

is

participation

and

finally

there

is

a

product

what

is

the

outcome

and

in

the

wonderful

words

that

we

have

in

verse

19

we

read

of

the

outcome

that

you

may

be

filled

with

all

the

fullness

of

God

that

it

goes

back

more

to

capacity

to

be

filled

completely

and

we

have

seen

in

the

past

looking

at

the

way

in

which

the

Old

Testament

the

priests

in

the

temple

their

hands

were

filled

to

equip

them

for

their

work

God

equipped

them

to

serve

in

the

temple

and

the

product

is

now

that

we

are

filled

we

are

equipped

we

have

the

capacity

to

receive

more

of

Christ

and

we

now

have

the

capacity

and

the

ability

to

serve

him

better

that's

the

product

that's

what

Paul

is

looking

for

in

Ephesus

that's

what

God

is

looking

for

in

us

what

are

we

to

be

filled

with

the

words

that

are

a

great

mystery

in

many

ways

that

we

are

to

be

filled

with

all

the

fullness

of

God

Paul

tells

the

church

in

Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

that

in

Christ

Jesus

the

fullness

of

God

is

pleased

to

dwell

if

Christ

is

dwelling

in

our

hearts

then

the

fullness

of

God

is

dwelling

in

our

hearts

we

we

we

are

filled

with

a

sense

of

who

God

is

and

who

Christ

is

but

the

filling

has

more

to

do

with

maturity

and

capacity

and

we

read

further

on

the

letter

and

we

see

in

chapter

4

the

way

in

which

Paul

is

speaking

of

the

need

to

attain

mature

manhood

and

the

stature

of

the

fullness

of

Christ

chapter

4

verse

13

it's

the

maturity

the

growing

up

into

adulthood

it's

growing

in

the

likeness

of

Christ

the

hands

filled

to

to

equip

to

be

equipped

to

serve

the

Lord

Jesus

and

walking

as

those

who

have

a

clean

bill

of

health

because

God's

process

is

working

God's

Son

is in

our

hearts

God's

love

fills

our

hearts

and

we

walk

on

life

with

a

sense

of

wonder

at

what

he

has

done

for

us

and

in

us

and

with

the

sense

of

wonder

at

what

he

will

yet

do

and

in

many

ways

the

product

should

inspire

us

to

pray

for

the

process

to

rescue

us

from

perhaps

our

slowness

and

perhaps

our

sloth

in

our

faith

to

rescue

us

from

that

to

pray

earnestly

!

for

ourselves

in the

first

place

to

pray

earnestly

for

each

other

that

all

of us

together

here

this

evening

would

have

an

increased

capacity

for

the

Lord

Jesus

would

have

an

increased

capacity

for

the

love

of

God

and

would

grow

up

from

being

infants

in

the

faith

where

we

all

begin

to

be

mature

and

there

were

giants

in the

faith

in

every

generation

of

the

church

and

perhaps

we

can

think

of

ourselves

of

those

around

us

in

past

generations

and

they

were

giants

in

the

faith

they

never

saw

themselves

as

giants

but

others

saw

them

as

giants

because

they

were

going

through

this

process

they

were

walking

with

the

Lord

the

Lord

was

in

their

hearts

and

that

spoke

for

itself

and

so

tonight

let's

reflect

on

this

prayer

let's

keep

in

our

rear view

mirror

the

whole

history

of

this

church

in

Ephesus

that

they

were

warned

and

that

ultimately

God

left

them

but

that

we

will

not

be

like

them

this

will

be

our

prayer

as

we

leave

the

seminary

this

evening

and

that

we

will

know

in

our

hearts

that

you

are

praying

for

the

person

next

to

you

that

I

am

praying

for

all

of

you

and

that

you

are

praying

for

all

of

us

for

this

product

to

be

evident

and

that

kind

of

healthy

christian

humanity

and

that

developing

faith

will

be

effective

and

will

show

itself

in

a

powerful

light

and

witness

in

our

congregation

in

our

community

in

our

town

and

wherever

we

go

as

people

of

God

may

God

grant

that

he

will

bless

us

in

such

a

way

so

we

conclude

by

singing

in

Psalm

91

may