Amazing Prayer 4 - Grasping His Immense Love
Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21
may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ Ephesians 3:18 (NIV)
I. The Strength to grasp His love
A. Strength Rooted in His love
1. Continues the thought from last week.
2. Strength rooted/founded in His love
3. Only in His love can we begin to know it
B. We need Extra-Strength
1. Power=exceeding strength!
2. Like the strength of 1:19b,f
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, (Eph 1:19b-20)
3. Not ordinary strength! Extra-strength
C. Hold On to His love
1. Grasp=Seize, grasp firmly; lit.: take/hold down
2. Nothing passive here! Requires energy!
3. Can mean “to understand thoroughly”
II. Grasp His love Together
A. No one can grasp Completely
1. It’s too big to wrap our minds around!
2. At most we can explore a bit of His love
3. A little about a lot, or a lot about a little.
B. Together we grasp More
1. Lit.: ...power to grasp together with...
2. As we hear our stories, share our discoveries, we grasp more
3. What do you know of His love?
C. Not for a Few, but for All
1. Not just for “saints:” pastors, monks, nuns, “super-spiritual people”
2. How can we keep this to ourselves!!!
3. From children to the elderly: Grasp His love
III. His love is Boundless
A. His love Surrounds us
1. “His love is Deeper than that”
2. O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (v 1)
3. Our atmosphere
4. Bigger than the universe,
B. His love Upholds us
1. It is “deep and wide”
2. We sink our roots into it, build upon it.
C. His love draws us Onward
1. His love is “wide” – draws us outward
2. His love is “long” – draws us forward
3. His love is “high” – draws us heavenward
4. His love is “deep” – draws us heart-ward
The Bottom Line:
| We ask God for Strength to grasp More and More of His love. |
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