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To Know Him
Ephesians 1:15-23
! Introduction
One year my wife and I led a canoe trip for a camp in northern Manitoba.
There was no civilization for several miles and so when it got dark at night, since there were no yard lights to illuminate our camp site, it was dark.
One evening, we lost something in the campfire area after dark and even though we used our flashlights to try to find it, we couldn't see very well and it was very difficult to find.
The next morning, when the sun was shining, it was very easy to find and to see anything for it was well illuminated.
Sometimes we are so much in the dark about things.
For example, do you know what it says on these screens?
Right now you are in the dark about that.
Spiritually, the same thing is true.
We have such great gifts from God. Do you remember God’s gifts which we talked about yesterday?
Chosen, Adopted, Set Free, We Know His Secret Plan, Inheritance, Sealed With His Spirit.
It is amazing how often we do not see just how good God is or how blessed we are.
It is amazing that we do not know all of what it means to be a Christian.
Paul prays a very important prayer for the people of Ephesus in 1:15-23.
He prays that they will have their eyes opened to see.
He prays that they will see and know four things.
1. Know a personal relationship with God.
2. Know what it means to live in Christian hope
3. Know the wonder of what we will inherit.
4. Know His power working in us.
In other words, he prays that they will really know what it means to live a full Christian life.
This is my prayer for all of you.
I pray that you will come to know God better and to know all that he has done for you, is doing in you and will do for you.
My prayer is that all of us will know these four things.
Illustration.
Four boxes each with a reverse message which is revealed when a light within the box is turned on.
!
I. To Know Him Better 1:17
The first prayer, is a prayer to know God better.
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."
Switch on first light.
!! A. Knowledge
Do any of you know anyone famous?
How well do you know them?
Point out that it is a superficial knowing or if they do know someone well, point out the possibility and reason for such intimacy.
Sometimes we know God only in this way - we have heard of him but we do not really know him.
This prayer is a prayer to go beyond the superficial.
There is an excitement when a young man and woman first get to know each other.
It is the joy of first acquaintance.
When believers first come to the faith, they come to know God with the knowledge of first acquaintance.
This prayer is a prayer to go beyond first acquaintance.
When a couple has been together for 30 years in a growing, loving relationship, we can say that they know each other well.
It is this kind of knowledge of God which we need.
It is the knowledge of personal relationship.
It is a real, deep and full knowledge.
It is a dynamic and experiential knowledge.
It is the knowledge of close friendship.
!! B. Source of Knowledge
Do we know God in this way?
Do we desire to know God in this way?
How do we come to know God in this way?
The prayer indicates the source of such knowledge.
It is first of all through the unveiling ministry of the Holy Spirit.
God's Spirit will enlighten us to know Him personally if we are open to such enlightenment.
The other source is wisdom which is experiential knowledge.
As we walk with God, and apply his Word to our lives, and allow every experience in life to draw us closer to Him, we will come to know Him.
How great to know that we can come to know God and that God reveals himself to us.
!! C. Consequences
Why is it so important that we pray this prayer and that we come to know God better?
First of all it is important in order that we can have a relationship of friendship and intimacy with the creator of the ends of the earth.
What a privilege!
People like to have friendships with significant people, but usually find that they cannot get really close.
We have the privilege of being close to God.
Such a friendship is a great privilege.
Knowing God will also make a difference in the way we live.
We once spent some time with some American friends.
After we had been with them for a while, I noticed that I was starting to talk like them.
We often begin to imitate what we live with closely.
When we come to know God closely, we will begin to be like him.
When we know Him as a God of love, we will learn to live in love.
As we see Him as a holy God, we will live in holiness.
I pray that you will desire to know God better.
!
II.
To Know The Hope To Which He Has Called Us 1:18
A second prayer is to know the hope to which God has called us.
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..."
!! A. Hope
As Christians, we have been called to hope.
God has changed us from people who have no hope to people who are filled with hope.
Yet so often, we live without hope.
We live as if there is no hope.
What kind of a difference would it make if we knew, I mean really knew the hope to which we have been called?
What difference would it make if we really knew that we would not fail in becoming holy people?
What difference would it make if we knew that in whatever we do for God, we cannot fail?
There are some people today who say that as Christians we should always be healthy and always be wealthy.
This is a shallow and unfulfilling promise.
The hope to which God has called us is much better than that.
He has called us to joy when we are rich and when we are poor.
He has called us to peace when we are healthy and when we are sick.
Many Christian adults do not know that hope.
You are young and I want to challenge you to seek to know the hope to which he has called us as a daily, living experience.
!! B. Consequences
What difference does it make if we have a knowledge of things to come and a clear understanding of what we are going to?
It is a tremendous encouragement in a world which is full of fear and despair.
When people are wondering if the world will be destroyed by a nuclear bomb, or an earthquake, or war, we know that the future of the world is not in the hands of random forces.
"I know who holds the future and I know who holds my hand."
This encouragement permits us to live in hope and confidence.
Whatever happens in the world, whatever happens to us, we know where we are going.
Even though the path may be dark and bitter, we know the end to which we are headed a and so are able to face whatever comes with calmness.
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