Immeasurably More
Notes
Transcript
Do it again
Do it again
Again, I want to remind you about the resources that are available for this season of of prayer as we pray our way through Pentecost Sunday. I hope that you are enjoying these resources as much as I am, but I also hope that you are going beyond the resources and spending the time in prayer.
Today’s scripture in our devotional is from Ephesians 3:20-21, but I want us to read the context of those powerful verses.
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
What makes a church a great church? As we have come to the end of a church year and have begun another, all of the churches across our district have turned in reports that evaluate how things are going in those churches. We measure all kinds of things, like Sunday morning attendance, amount of money raised, and number of baptisms. We have this idea that these outward measurements are how we can tell how a church is doing. We sometimes measure by the quality of the music or the quality of the preaching.
Francis Chan once wrote: “Years ago, my friend from India drove me to a speaking engagement in Dallas. When he heard the music and saw the lights, he said “You Americans are funny. You won’t show up unless there’s a good speaker or band. In India, people get excited just to pray.”
That ought to convict us to the core. Prayer is the lifeblood of the church. I have said from the moment I arrived here that prayer is the key to us becoming the church that God would have us be. I still believe it with my entire being!
He is a God of glorious riches. When we pray, we are talking to the God of the universe, the one that created it all. The theme running through Ephesians continues here. There is no nation, clan, or family—no person—who is beyond the love of God.
He has riches beyond our imagination, glorious riches! Paul outlines the way he is in prayer for the churches in Ephesus.
He may strengthen you with power in your inner being.
You could say Paul’s hope is that they would be taken over by Christ. He prays that they will be strengthened in their inner being—from the inside out—by the power of God’s Spirit.
That you may be rooted and established in love.
You may have power to grasp how long and high and wide and deep is the love of Christ.
That you would know this love that surpasses knowledge.
There is an interesting play on words here - how can you know that which surpasses knowledge?
The love of God is not something that you learn with your mind, it is something that you learn through experience.
That you might be filled to the measure of the fullness of God.
In Feasting on the Word, the writer describes this filling in an interesting way: “The issue is letting Christ in to change us. Having Christ dwell in our hearts is akin to having a new person move into your household. If they’re just visiting, it is all rather easy; you simply offer hospitality and try to practice good manners. But if someone moves in to stay, everything changes. At first you might try to hold on to your familiar patterns and routines, and the new member may work hard to accommodate you and stay out of the way. But eventually they make their mark. Conversations change. Relationships realign. Household tasks increase and responsibilities shift. So it is when Christ moves in to the hearts of Christians. This isn’t merely tweaking old patterns; everything changes.”
He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.
There is a real struggle going on in the church today across the USA & Canada. It is why the Church of the Nazarene in our region have called us to this special season of prayer.
There are three specific areas for which we need to be deeply in prayer for our church.
Spiritually - we need to be praying that God would pour out His Spirit on us!! On the Day of Pentecost the disciples of Jesus, along with other followers had been together in the Upper Room praying and seeking God. On that day, the Holy Spirit came in a miraculous way and entered the room in which they were meeting. They were filled with power from God, and they exited the room to proclaim the good news about Jesus to the world waiting outside. I say, Lord, do it again! We need an outpouring of His Spirit like we have never experienced before. His Spirit will give us a boldness and a power that will spill out of this place into the places where we gather and do life outside of this building. So, God, we ask you to do it again!
Numerically - On the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came upon the people who were Jesus’ followers, the result was a massive influx of people. Now, I am not expecting 3,000 new followers of Jesus to join us, but I am praying that God would awaken a movement that will draw people in. We need to pray as if it all depended on God and work as if it all depends on us.
Financially - This past church year was a difficult one financially. We have had to make some drastic cuts, and we are looking for ways to increase our revenue. I know that part of this struggle is related to the numerical struggle that I just talked about. I don’t like to talk about finances, but the reality is that we need to have an income in order to pay the bills. I get it - life has gotten really expensive, and for most people the inflation rate has put a real squeeze on our finances. It has for the church as well. God has a plan for financially supporting His church - it is called tithes and offerings. If every person here in person and watching our services online would return the tithe that belongs to God, then I believe that our financial struggles would be over. The question is, do you trust Him enough to give the first 10% of your gain to Him? I promise you that He will bless you and He will bless the church if you will. I also believe that some of us can do more, so I am asking you to pray about what God would have you give.
I wonder - do we truly believe that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine? I have a pretty vivid imagination sometimes. I can imagine some pretty good things. Do we really believe that He can do more than we can ask or imagine? Do we believe He can do that in the 3 areas that I mentioned?
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.