Pray for Knowing God Better (Eph 1:15-19a)

Pray for Knowing God Better: Ephesians 1:15-19a Pray & Intro: (One of my favorite things about the Bible is that it is at once theological and anthropological – reveals God and man in relationship to God) – Paul’s heart shines brightly – what an example he is to us of faith in Christ and love toward the saints of God  From Praise to thanksgiving and interceding… -- Let’s listen in (eavesdrop, if you will) to Paul’s prayer and expression of his prayer to those he loves in Christ in and around Ephesus – From praising God for blessing us in Christ to praying that we may grasp the fullness of that blessing. Read Passage – Explain, Connect, Apply: the prayer’s motivation, purpose, & content I. From praising God to thanking him for his work in his people A. For this reason – by virtue of the truths expressed in praise (vv. 3-14), particularly applied to those he addresses (v.13)… is the reason (I thank God & pray for you like this) 1. (looking back) Blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing – Predestined us for adoption, redeemed us through his blood, forgave our trespasses, lavished us with grace, revealed mystery of God’s plan for the fullness of time, with the Holy Spirit as a promise and down payment of our inheritance (or completion of his possession of us) 2. You will notice multiple connections from the praise to the prayer (and even to the later completion of this prayer in ch. 3) [past, present, future aspects – also activity of Father, Son, Spirit] – knowledge revealed (by the Father of the Son through the Spirit), sure hope and inheritance secured, riches in Christ, Lordship of Christ, and more. B. Also hearing of your faith and love – faith in the Lord Jesus and love toward all the saints 1. Faith – saving faith and growing faith 2. Love – the outworking of their saving and growing faith (I didn’t just hear you were a football player – I saw you wearing the getup and crushing people.) a. John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” b. 1 Cor. 13:1-3 If (I should be the beez neez of churchy gifting/talent, of churchy faith to pray big prayers, of churchy give away all my stuff ‘til it hurts)… but I don’t love… then (I’m a useless rusted wrench or a snare drum with an X cut in it’s face – “I am nothing” and “I gain nothing.”) C. Giving thanks for you and remembering you in my prayers 1. Rejoicing at the faith and love of others – at the spiritual success and growth of others  My favorite athletes (to hear talk) and my favorite people to work with and serve beside are those who humbly praise others with all sincerity and are thankful for the blessings others receive. – Do preachers need this reminder? [Tozer quote.] 2. Actively remembering – making remembrance of you in my petitions to God  Prayer is relational… in its thanksgiving to God and interceding with God, in it’s insight into relational blessings in Christ (with God and shared among the saints)—in its personal and corporate relation to Christ. D. Pray out of gratitude to God for his work in people.  How should we pray for those we love, who fill us with gratitude in Christ? II. Paul’s prayer is for God to give increasing Knowledge of Him A. Why is this a prayer? B/c spiritual things are made known to us by the Holy Spirit of God (And just as the blessings are from God, so comes the insight to see it and wisdom to live in accordance to that sight.) B. Why is this the prayer? – Knowledge here spans beyond intellectual to experiential – an intimate exchange – a thorough/deep growing personal relationship knowledge 1. How well do you know MadBum (Madison Bumgarner)? Donald Trump?  Again, in the case of God, intimate relationship knowledge does not come without revelation from the Father through the Son by His Spirit. 2. When will you have exhausted the depths of knowing the character of God?  Those marked by faith and love have a great start… but we don’t stop there. We keep pursuing Christ. Php. 3:12-17! – For all you old married folks out there, hopefully you see this truth: The minute you stop pursuing your spouse to know him or her better, you grow more distant, not closer. 3. One way to summarize the Christian life: to know God and make him known. So, to not pray this and pursue this is like planning to become a great swimmer without ever getting in the water—planning to marry a girl that you will never talk to. C. Pray for God to give growth in intimate knowledge of Him. III. Enlightening the eyes of your hearts to know (three ways): [heart – spiritual center of man; enlightened eyes – improved vision in the following areas] A. Hope (of his calling) 1. The hope of salvation. He initiated it, he has secured it, he will complete it. 2. The hope of Christian growth and spiritual blessing. 3. The hope is also in understanding his calling. – Follow me: a call “to Christ and holiness, to freedom and peace, to suffering and glory.” (Stott) In other words, it’s a call to give up your life entirely and live his life in you. Paul’s prayer is that you understand the hope of that calling. (beauty, joy, security, etc.) B. Riches (of glorious inheritance) – either “our inheritance” or “his possession” – changes the meaning, but the application of it is the same – having received a glimpse of the end 1. True glory and abundant riches are found in gaining God himself. (the treasure) 2. The riches of joy in God. In ever-increasing measure. C. Immeasurable greatness (of his power) – Paul piles on superlatives and various power words for God’s mighty, energetic, working strength beyond human comprehending.  How does one know what he cannot fully know? (ie. Depth, space) D. Pray for enlightened hearts to see and live according to the hope of his calling, riches of glory, and power of knowing Christ. IV. (Put it back together & personalize it) How does this study improve your eyesight? What about your prayers? How will you change your prayer habits this week and moving forward? A. I wonder how often we read God’s word and feel like we’ve got nothing to show for it b/c we don’t pray with open hearts that God will use time of devoting our hearts daily to him to progressively draw us into deeper knowledge and closer fellowship with him? B. Or how often we spend our energy critiquing our Bible teachers (or every doctrine we can sniff out to disagree with) instead of praying for God to give spiritual insight to break the selfishness in our hearts and give us pure hearts that are motivated by and functioning by his calling, his glory, and his power? C. I wonder how often we live in fear and insecurity because we aren’t praying to grow in greater knowledge of the one who holds our lives and our very souls? (illust. of man cautiously and fearfully crossing frozen lake) D. Do you long to know God more? Do you desire to grow in greater intimacy with Him? Pray as Paul prays for your heart. And it isn’t the only thing you can do for others to help them grow in the Lord, but it is the best thing and the first priority: pray. Further application: Prayer Priority • What place of priority does prayer have in your life? (describe how you know what level of priority it has) • What would it take for you to feel motivated to see prayer as of primary importance? (ie. see the depth of his mercy & grace and & blessing; see my dependence upon Him) Thanking God • What’s the connection between the truth you understand and the way you express gratitude? • How would you grade yourself as a person who expresses thankfulness to God and others in your daily life? (Try to think of times in the last week or month that you singled out a conversation [with God or an individual] expressly for the purpose of saying thank you.) Knowing God • How do you react to the fact that God has made himself known to you? • This is a tough question: How can we come to see the value of knowing God above all other “treasures”? 11/1/15 POWER – the exercise of the mighty strength of God for us who believe • What evidence is there in your life that you have experienced the saving power of God? (Do you desire to live a godly life? Do you want to do the will of God more than your own, to submit to Jesus as your Master?) (What would you tell someone who’s living a worldly life when he says, “Well, I’m going to heaven b/c I believe in Jesus?”) • Can you think of ways in which God has strengthened you in his power in times of difficulty or doubt? (giving you courage, peace, hope, etc.) • Do you pray for the power of God to produce growth in your life to make you better reflect the heart and character of Jesus? (Do you believe that God’s power can change you?) • In what way or ways do you think God is empowering you for service to him? (Do have an idea whether your spiritual gifting lies in serving or in speaking? What opportunities has God given you?) • What are some areas where you need to pray for God’s powerful protection against the sinful desires of your own heart? (or areas of weakness where Satan’s forces would tempt you to evil)