Praying Through
Ephesians 3:13-19
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
17 August, 2008 AM
I.
Introduction (Ephesians
3:14; 2Cor 8:9)
A.
The theme this month is
Bow the Knee as Disciples – The need to become like our Master – like
Jesus. There is much for us to learn!
B.
There are some spiritual
building blocks that are needed to make us more like Him
1.
They are not financial, or
physical, but spiritual in nature
2.
Jesus walked this earth with
only the clothes on His back, and yet lived the greatest, more rewarding life
imaginable – so much so that countless millions throughout history have
unashamedly decided to follow Him, and have never regretted it for 1 minute!
C.
That is what a disciple is – a
follower, a copy of the life of Jesus Christ!
D.
Discipleship begins with
change
1.
From physical emphasis, to
spiritual
2.
Not to the outer man, but in
the inner man!
E.
The apostle Paul prays for
five things in the live of every believer that would revolutionise their lives
if they were allowed to take effect
1.
For Strength in the Inner Man
2.
That Christ would dwell in our
hearts by faith
3.
That We would be rooted &
grounded in love
4.
That We would comprehend the
love of Christ
5.
That We would be filled with
the fullness of God!
F.
Each prayer is a step for us
to bring us to spiritual maturity
G.
He is praying for to not miss
the most important parts of our Christianity
1.
Not with our health, or our
accomplishments
2.
But with our relationship with
Jesus Christ
3.
Every one of the five requests
build on each other – necessary for the next request to come true, with the
greatest accomplishment being full of the fullness of God! What a thought! We
will have to save that thought for the last Sunday in this series!
II.
Background –
Rooted and Grounded
(Ephesians 3:17)
A.
Grounded is a builder’s term –
attached to the foundation, but more than just attached, it means to become part
of the foundation. Not just resting on it, but firmly attached, and
B.
Rooted goes a little further
and describes not only stability but also where we get our strength
1.
Roots supply the nutrients
that are in the ground to the leaves
2.
The deeper the roots, the
stronger the plant, and the healthier the plant
C.
It is TOO easy to be
superficial these days – only Christians on the surface – shallow. Not much real
persecution going on, so people pass off saying they are believers, but their
life shows otherwise
1.
No time in the Bible
2.
3.
No changes from the old man to
the new life – abandoning the old sins and habit – they instead just act like
nothing matters
4.
No commitment to promises, to
church, to family, to their work, etc
D.
We need depth, and stability
in every area of life. Problems and troubles are way too strong and hard for
fakers! That’s why Bible preaching churches are not full today – because this is
not entertainment, it’s the truth!
E.
Let me talk to you this
morning about getting some serious depth to our Christianity!
III.
Message
A.
The Prayer
(Eph 3:14-17) - Here, the prayer is for Christians to be rooted and grounded in
love
1.
Stability of life. This is the
best life, no need for drugs, or drink to get you through the stress!
a.
The first prayer request was
for Strength of life – in the inner man
b.
Then Paul prayed for us to
have Saturation – that Jesus would be all in all!
c.
Now, he prayed for Stability
of life – steadiness, consistency, rock solid
2.
Well grounded, well trained in
three big areas:
a.
Grounded and rooted in the
word of God – learning the facts/truths of Scripture (2Tim 2:15)
b.
Grounded and rooted in
faith – ability to obey what doesn’t always make sense - not live just by
sight (
c.
Grounded and rooted in love
(Eph 3:17) – this is where we are today. THE most sought after stability, and
the most important goal
3.
Examples:
a.
Every good doctor, mechanic,
plumber, carpenter needs to be well grounded in their profession – not just full
of zeal, but also full of knowledge. And not just full of knowledge, but full of
love too!
1)
No one likes a plumber to come
to their house who hates their job
2)
No one like a plumber who is
excited about their job, but know nothing about what they are doing
3)
No one likes a plumber who
loves what they do, and does it well, but has no love for the people he is
trying to help
4)
It takes all three!
b.
The same goes with Christians!
1)
There are those that hate the
spiritual life – only want the disco, the friends, the movies and entertainment
2)
There are those that love
their Bible, but never read it and study it, and learn it inside and out
3)
Then, there are those that not
only love their Bible, but also know it inside and out, but they could care less
about their families, and about a whole world going to hell
4)
Finally, there are those who
love their Bible, love the Lord Jesus, know their Bible, and they love people
around them, no matter what they do to them, and how they mistreat them!
5)
THAT is Biblical Christianity!
4.
The Natural Concept of Love
a.
Lust
b.
Selfishness
c.
Brute animal instinct
d.
Look at almost every film
e.
Listen to almost every song on
the radio
f.
It is basically about forced
rape and self gratification – period!
5.
The Christian Concept of Love
a.
Charity – Bible word meaning
to
b.
Selflessness – think of the
other first
c.
Learned spiritual responses –
doesn’t come naturally, but must be learned
B.
The Problems.
1.
No Root (Matthew 13:3-6) – no
depth in God’s word, much less in our relationship with its Author!
a.
We have little experience with
real, lasting love
1)
We have experienced feelings
of love
2)
We have “fallen in love” and
then “fallen back out” or been kicked out
3)
We have known heart ache for
love
4)
But so few experiences are
real and lasting
5)
And so people give up on this
concept of “love”
b.
Love is not just a feeling or
an emotion (1Cor 13:8). It is a fact that does not change, ever! It is a choice
made that
c.
Since the world knows very
little about real love, all they know to write and sing about is lust, and
feelings, and emotions, and hurt, and tragedy, and sorrow! Funny isn’t it?
d.
God knows love (1John 4:8),
and He wants His children to know and experience that real love that out lasts
the feelings, and the performance of the other person!
2.
Loads of Sin (Matthew 24:12)
a.
There is not a person alive
who doesn’t crave real love – it’s just that most have no clue how to find it
and experience it
1)
Millions and billions of
people will live and die having
2)
They will hope for it, dream
of it, yearn for it, only to be abused, hurt, and stomped on by a selfish, dark
world
b.
When we substitute lust, and
possessions for people and love, we make less and less room in our hearts for
real, lasting love
c.
Marriage problems are sin
problems
d.
Relationship problems between
us and even our enemies is a sin problem on our part – not just THEIR part
e.
The more that sin dominates
our hearts, the less love we have, and the less love we experience
f.
THAT’S WHY, the more
forgiveness we get, the more love we experience (we will see this better in a
few minutes)
C.
The Picture
– God’s Love is Described as…
1.
Everlasting (Jer 31:3) – never
ends, committed
2.
Extreme (John 3:16) – more
than any other kind of love ever experienced
3.
Transforming (Ephesians 2:1-8)
– from sinner to saint
4.
Inseparable (Rom 8:35-39) –
nothing can come between God’s love and His children
5.
Sacrificial (John 15:13) –
such a high price
6.
Freely Given (Romans 5:8) –
WHAT? How can this be? And yet it is!
7.
THAT is Perfect Love!
a.
Now you know why Paul asks the
question in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great
salvation?”
b.
To know and be grounded upon
that kind of love, and to have our hearts rooted IN such kind of love could only
transform us! There is no way it wouldn’t!
D.
The Plan
- How to experience the love of God
1.
Forgiveness
– plain and simple (Luke 7:36-50)
a.
Quit thinking you are not so
bad! No wonder you never experience love
b.
Quit thinking that you are TOO
bad (1Tim 1:15)
c.
Quit holding onto your
forgiveness – start forgiving people who have hurt you in the same amount that
God has forgiven you, and the only thing left of love
d.
If you are bitter, and angry,
and hard because of what people have done to you, then it is not God’s fault!
AND it is not the other person’s fault. Christ forgives YOU, and He will help
you forgive too!
e.
If you find it hard forgiving,
then it is probably because you yourself have not been forgiven of so great a
list of sins!
2.
Loving God’s words
(Psalm 119:165) – not just knowing them, but falling in love with these words of
eternal life!
a.
These are not just words on a
page - they are the words of eternal life
b.
THEY are the source of
understanding the heart of God – not just the mind of God, or the will of God,
etc!
c.
Everybody talks about “the
love of God” but they have it all twisted
1)
That God doesn’t mind
homosexuality
2)
That God wouldn’t send anyone
to hell
3)
That God will understand when
we sin – oh he understands perfectly, so much so that He came and personally
died on the cross because of our sinfulness and selfishness!
d.
Hey! God’s words tell us
exactly what is love, and what God loves, and how God proved His love – ON THE
CROSS, not in our pocketbook!
e.
You will
3.
In the Trials
– Allow that God knows what He is doing, and just stay very close to Him in
prayer, and confidence (Rom 5:1-5).
a.
The love of God is not about
success, and accomplishment, but about comfort, and strength in the tough times.
b.
Quit running from the hurt,
and the troubles.
c.
Quit blaming everyone for what
God is trying to do in your life
IV.
Conclusion
A.
The
1.
That process that changes us
to become more like Jesus is called Discipleship
2.
Begins with a change – on the
inside – salvation
3.
To be rooted and grounded in
love means to be more than shallow Christians, or Christians in name only, but
in substance and root!
4.
There are some spiritual
building blocks that are needed to make us more like Jesus
B.
There are two big problems
with our concept of love
1.
No root – no depth of
commitment
2.
Too much sin – no washing or
cleansing from our wicked lifestyles and way of thinking – so there is little to
no room for God’s love, and instead we are full of adultery, and lust, and
selfish thoughts!
C.
Perfect Love has been shown to
the whole world through the life and especially by the cruel death of Jesus
Christ on the cross!
D.
If you want to experience True
Love, Real Love
1.
Then you need to get forgiven
– perfectly forgiven
2.
Then you need to plant
yourself into God’s words
3.
Lastly, you need to see your
way through every storm by trusting your loving heavenly father to get you
through!
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |