Praying Through
Ephesians 3:13-19
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
24 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 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 – last week
4.
That We would know and
experience 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 – To be Loved by Jesus Christ (John 3:16)
A.
Everyone talks about the love
of God. Most people you and I know, believe that God loves us.
B.
But what does that mean? And
How MUCH does God love us? Does it have limits, and how can a person experience
something so vast and infinite?
C.
There is absolutely no reason
why this world should be loved, and yet it is!
D.
The biggest thing this world
is missing, that I was missing for the first 17 years of my life was GREAT love
1.
My parents loved me
2.
I had some awesome friends
3.
But I did not know the love of
Christ!
4.
That knowledge began on the 15th
June, 1980!
III.
Message
A.
The Prayer
– To Know and Comprehend the Love of Christ
1.
To Actually experience it
2.
To understand it
3.
To Enjoy it day after day
4.
To know that it is there, and
will
5.
To rest in it even when it
doesn’t feel like it is there sometimes
B.
The Meaning
- What Kind of Love is This?
1.
Four-year-old Martha, hugging
a doll in each of her little arms, looked up at her mother and said, "Mamma, I
love them and love them and love them, but they never love me back." —Jeanette
W. Lockerbie
2.
Those who love deeply never
grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.
3.
Love is not what you do but
what you are
4.
Love may not make the world go
around, but it sure makes the trip worth-while.
5.
What it is NOT
a.
Not one of appreciation
1)
There was nothing in the
character of man that could allow God to love them. We are wicked through and
through!
2)
God does not look down at
mankind and say, “Wow! Look at all the great things mankind has done!”
3)
There is absolutely nothing
that man has ever done, or ever could do that would make God appreciate us being
here!
4)
You and I love people out of
appreciation – they are being very good to us – but God does not!
b.
Not a feeling
1)
Most times when we discuss
love, we are talking about a feeling
2)
It is wired into us to love –
it is natural to love as feelings come
3)
But that is only emotional
love, not great love (Eph 2:4). It is only a “fondness”, a “liking”, a “soft
spot” – not love!
4)
Feelings change faster than
the weather!!!
c.
Not pity or sympathy
1)
No one likes pity
2)
Pitiful love is a kind of love
that looks down upon a person and says, “
3)
God does not have an
“understanding” kind of love that “understands” (wink, wink) our actions, and
our sins, and just overlooks judgment because He loves us. No! then God would be
more wicked than we are!
6.
What it IS
a.
A Choice
– a committed choice (Deut 7:7-11)
b.
A Love of Enemies, NOT of
Friends (Eph 1:2-5; Rom 5:8)
1)
It was not for a single
Christian, that God gave his Son, it was for sinners, for rebels, for thieves,
for murderers, for harlots, for adulterers, for haters and drunkards; it was
BECAUSE people were sinners that God gave his Son.
2)
It was not for good but for
bad people, not for the righteous but for the wicked that God gave his Son.
3)
Imagine of a parent, who has
an only child, one who has never offended them, who is loved more than life
itself - imagine if that parent could give up that child for the good of his
enemies.
4)
Imagine allowing people to
abuse him, do everything to injure him that they possibly could do, placing that
son in the hands of hate and wrath, and allowing them to do as they wished to
that most loved son!
5)
That is what God did.
6)
Imagine, with your son on one
side and your enemies on the other, how hard it would be to love those enemies,
and freely give up your son!
7)
What if you knew that these
enemies must perish for ever or you must give up your son! What if that reality
hit YOU like it hit God?!
8)
Jesus was willing to die for
us, but God had to choose
9)
Now maybe we can understand
the intense nature of the love of God that over-ruled the instinctive clinging
to his Son, and gave him up for the good of the world!
10)
God knew what it would cost –
He knew that his Son must pass through trials, afflictions, through
persecutions, through poverty, through great agony. God saw Christ mocked and
pierced when on the cross, and saw him in the agonies of death, and heard his
horrible cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
11)
God’s great love overcame all
these obstacles and freely gave Christ up for us all, that we might not perish
but have everlasting life.
12)
THAT is real love!
c.
A Holy Love
1)
It hated sin.
2)
God’s love of sinners had to
remain pure and untarnished
3)
God
4)
The majority of people love
sin – full stop. Rarely do people love other people more than they love their
sin. And almost none love godliness and purity more than self!
5)
God loves the world, but hates
the sin in this world
d.
A Strong Love
– capable of handling any sin
1)
There is no sin or failure
that God cannot handle
2)
God’s love cannot change based
on our sin – simply because he loves us, and NOT our efforts, or our
accomplishments
e.
A Merciful Love
1)
He does not have expectations
for us to earn His love
2)
He just gives it
3)
And he gives it based on his
choice to save us (Luke 18:13,14)
f.
A Very BIG Love
C.
The View of Such Love.
1.
We are prayed for by the
apostle
2.
Paul gives some measurements…
a.
Breadth - Width
b.
Length
c.
Height
d.
Depth
3.
Let’s talk About “Size” for a
minute
a.
Size of our world –
incomprehensible unless you can take a ride on a rocket into space, and SEE it
for yourself
b.
Size of our solar system –
travelling at the fastest speed any rocket has ever gone, it would take a crew
20 years to travel to the edge of our solar system
c.
Size of our galaxy
d.
Size of our universe
e.
Only one word – VAST!
f.
We are asked to attempt to
comprehend, to know, to experience a love that is greater than any ocean,
planet, galaxy, or than the entire universe
4.
This love is BIG (Rom 8:38,39)
D.
Examples of Such Love
1.
Job struggled with two
dimensions (Job 23:8,9)
2.
David grasped three dimensions
(Psalm 139:7-9)
3.
4.
Experienced by
a.
John (John 13:23) “Now there
was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
b.
c.
Lepers, blind, lame, dying,
troubled, lonely, demon possessed, sinners, harlots, publicans
d.
Rich Man (Mk 10:17,21)
e.
Martha, Mary and Lazarus (John
11:5) “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”
E.
How to Experience Such Love.
1.
Consciously
- We are
2.
Crumble
– there is no love experienced by a hard heart
a.
The reason why God loved men
was not because they deserved love--for they deserved only judgment and
condemnation.
b.
None of us have any right to
demand his love – for then it would not be love
c.
We all deserve hell
d.
But as broken, humbled, guilty
sinners, we are finally open to receive such great love
e.
Repentance!
3.
The Cross
– you cannot ever experience God’s love except through the cross. Not through
religion, or traditions, or through feelings, or through people, or pilgrimages.
It must be only via the reality of the cross in your place! Salvation
4.
Through Correction
(Hebrews 12:6)
a.
Quit complaining about
troubles and trials
b.
The Lord loves you enough to
perfect you through troubles
5.
Lastly, through Captivity
(Psalm 68:18)
a.
Strange word – great truth
b.
We who were captive to sin,
and to death by sin, need to be totally captivated, and engulfed in the love of
Christ
c.
When a person wants to know
the greatest love in a relationship, they do not dabble in the relationship,
they become committed to that one other person – they become captive to the
other person (1Cor 7:4)
d.
So much love is missed in our
relationship with Christ because we are not allowing HIM to take over, and take
us captive
e.
So that we are from that
moment on, different, peculiar, changed, because of Christ’s great love
IV.
Conclusion – Oh That We
All Might Know and Experience That Great Love!
A.
Paul prayed for us this
morning – to know and experience the love of Christ!
B.
There is absolutely no reason
why this world should be loved, and yet it is!
C.
Everyone talks about the love
of God. Most people you and I know, believe that God loves us. But what does
that mean? And How MUCH does God love us? Does it have limits, and how can a
person experience something so vast and infinite?
D.
The biggest thing this world
is missing, that I was missing for the first 17 years of my life was GREAT love
E.
What Kind of Love is This?
So great Love, the Love of Christ
1.
Not one of appreciation, or
based on a feeling, or our of pity or sympathy
2.
But A Choice – a committed
choice to love Enemies, Sinners with a Holy Love that hates our sin, but will
sacrifice His life to save ours!
3.
It is a Strong Love that is
capable of handling any sin and it is a love that offers abundant mercy towards
we who can offer nothing!
4.
Truly, Christ’s love is a Very
BIG Love indeed!
5.
The vastness of such love that
we are asked to comprehend, to know, to experience is greater than any ocean,
planet, galaxy, or the entire universe
F.
Examples of Such Love
are what the Bible is all about!
1.
Job struggled with two
dimensions (Job 23:8,9)
2.
David grasped three dimensions
(Psalm 139:7-9)
3.
G.
How to Experience Such Love.
1.
Consciously
- We are
2.
Crumble
– there is no love experienced by a hard heart. Repentance!
3.
The Cross
– you cannot ever experience God’s love except through the cross. Not through
religion, or traditions, or through feelings, or through people, or pilgrimages.
It must be only via the reality of the cross in your place! Salvation
4.
Through Correction
(Hebrews 12:6)
5.
Lastly, through Captivity
(Psalm 68:18)
H.
Doesn’t anybody want to
experience such love?
I.
It comes free for the asking!
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |