Prayer for the church
Eph 1:15-23
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your 6understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality 7and 8power and 9might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Paul had a passion for the church. He wanted the church to become everything that it was supposed to be. When he wrote the church in Ephesus we read of his passion for them and the prayers that he prayed for them. Paul had been blessed with great revelation of Christ and the church. He had so much wisdom and insight from the revelations given to him that God had to give him a thorn in the flesh in order to keep him from getting to puffed up with knowledge. Paul was an academic type person, he had studied to be a rabbi which was no small task. It required years of hard work, memorizing and analyzing the scriptures. Yet Paul saw the limitations of human knowledge when the Holy Spirit revealed the truth to him. Truth from God comes by revelation from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been sent to each believer to be the one who leads us into the knowledge of the truth. Unless God by the Holy Spirit sheds his light we will continue to walk in darkness. This is the condition of the people in the world today. They are walking in great darkness. The minds have been darkened and they do not have knowledge of the truth. Once we come to faith in Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit we enter into a new realm of relationship with God in which he imparts his wisdom and revelation and insight to us through the Holy Spirit. We get insider information, information give to us directly from God through the Holy Spirit. God desires to communicate his plans and thoughts to us. Paul prayed that this would become a reality in the church, the daily download so to speak of God’s wisdom and revelation to us who believe. This is something available to all believers. You do not have to pass and IQ test to qualify for this revelation to be given to you by God. It is something God does by his Holy Spirit who works in every believer. The simple minded as well a genius can both receive revelation, wisdom and understanding from God. We need to pray for one another that God give us the knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment and revelation so we can do what he needs us to do.
Paul prayed that the church would know the hope of God’s calling. What is God’s calling for the church and for the individual members of his body of believers? The hope is that one day we will be like Christ, that we will be as he is and that we will join him in reigning over the universe. God has a great future for us and this time on earth is simply a foretaste of what God has planned for us for eternity. We are destined for greatness and will be given positions of rule in the future reign of Christ. The battles we face on earth, the progress we make on overcoming the enemy and establishing the rule of Christ are things that are serving to prepare us for the future calling that God has for us. We get to be the bride of Christ. We will be forever married to Jesus, nothing will ever separate us from the intimate relationship that he will have with us. When a couple is engaged to be married they look forward to their wedding day when their lives will be joined together as one. God designed it that way and there is great joy and love that will come from this united relationship. We are able to experience this joy and love on earth but it is nothing compared to what we have to look forward to when we are united with Christ at our wedding with him. I know Katie is doing the countdown to her wedding day. She is looking forward to all the plans coming together for her wedding but more than that the joining of her life with Abner. We should have this same joy and expectation in our lives when we think about being married to Christ for all eternity.
Paul got excited about the inheritance that was waiting for him to enjoy but I think that we can also note that God is excited about you and I being his inheritance. God is a family man. He wants a big family. He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. He wants children and a lot of them. I remember a pastor who served at a church I attended who every Sunday almost mentioned to his son and daughter-in-law who were also on the staff of the church that he was really looking forward to having grandchildren. It is natural for parents to want children and children are a blessing from the Lord and they are his inheritance. We are God’s special people who are of incalculable value to him. We are his treasure. Jesus told the story of the man who found the pearl in a field and sold all he had to buy the field so he could have the pearl. In the eyes of God we are that pearl of great price and value. We are worth everything that God had to do and the price he paid to purchase us and claim us as his own. We are the ones he sacrificed his Son for so we could be in right relationship with him and become part of his family. God is excited about sharing the future with each one of us. He is looking forward to your arrival in heaven and has an inheritance for each one of us. No one will be left out, no one will be slighted and receive less than they deserve. I read a story this week from a book written by Steve Harrison called, “Consuming Love.” Steve was given a revelation of heaven and I want to read what he wrote as an encouragement to all of us. (Page 66-68) One day each of us will be in the presence of Jesus and we will enjoy his friendship and rule together with him.
Paul was also in awe of God’s power and this was part of his prayer for the church as well. He wanted the church to understand the exceeding greatness of God’s power to us who believe. The greatest demonstration of God’ power was the resurrection of Christ from the dead. This feat took more power that the creation of the world or any other miracle God did. When God raised Christ from the dead he was making a declaration to all the powers and rulers in the heavens that his power was much greater than any power they may have. This was his moment over every force that tried to hinder his plan of salvation. The demonic powers know that their days are numbered and that their power will soon be completely destroyed. Jesus has been exalted to the position of power at the right hand of God and all things are subject to him. We are living in the period of time where this has not come to completion but we know that it will because every power and principality will bow to his rule and acknowledge that he is Lord. This power of the resurrection of Christ is the power that is available to you and I because we are part of Christ’s body. The church is now working with Christ to destroy all the works of the enemy. God is releasing his supernatural power through the church. He is displaying his wisdom to the world through the church. Paul understood the purpose of the church and the power available to it because Christ is the head of the church. As its head he directs it and he releases his power through the church to accomplish his purposes. We are entering into what I believe are going to be some of the most exciting times for the church. God is doing awesome things in the earth today through his church as he manifests his power. As the work of the enemy gets stronger on the earth I believe God is going to demonstrate his power in greater measure. I want to see the resurrection power of God demonstrated in my life. I want to experience his power completely destroying the work of the enemy and all the destruction and havoc he has caused in the earth. God has given us weapons to use today to destroy the enemy and we need to use them and realize the power that they have. Let me briefly remind us of some of the weapons that are at our disposal.
1. Prayer of Agreement
2. The Name of Jesus
3. Binding a Loosing the enemy.
4. Fasting
5. Living Holy Lives
6. Preaching the gospel
7. Spiritual gifts
8. Serving the physical needs of people
9. Giving
God’s power is released when we engage in these activities and the works of the enemy are destroyed. As his church we need to be committed to unity and community. The church is God’s solution to defeating the enemy and you and I are an integral part of his plan. Let’s remember why we are here but also be encouraged by what we have waiting for us.
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