Much has taken place in CCBC in the past one year. Also, there was lack of clarity on the decision on CCBC s future until last Sunday. Even so, there are many challenges lying ahead for CCBC. At the moment, CCBC is without a pastor, will there be a pastor in the days to come; we face an uncertainty future at least with regards to where we are going to worship; how long more are we going to worship in this premise? More importantly, how is CCBC to disciple the youths, young adults and older adults? As a church, will we see revival, or are we going to continue in a spiritual state of slumber? These are questions that we have no answers or solutions to, and the road ahead is tough. It s only in God s Word that we find comfort and truth. Specifically, I want to share devotion taken from a passage of Scripture coming from Ephesians; a pastoral prayer by Paul that we find hope in, even as the Apostle hopes in God as he prays for the church that he wrote his letter to. I have preached 3 messages on Ephesians before back in 2015, but this morning I want to take a short, concise passage in Ephesians 3:14-21, just 8 verses. Purpose for Sermon 1. Despite our current realities, to encourage us with the truth of God s love, power, and His Spirit s work in our lives 2. Guide for us in how we should also pray to God, for His Will to be done in every individual and over CCBC Introduction to Ephesians Ephesians is one of the most beautiful books of the New Testament that state the truths about the Church as a glorious plan conceived by God from the very beginning, and unveiled through the coming of the Messiah. Background/ Context: Paul in prison in Rome, letter was sent to circulate to various congregations in the region of Ephesus. Paul's letter to the Ephesians is different compared to many of the other New Testament letters he wrote. Like Romans, Ephesians was not written so much to address problems in a particular church; more so, it was written to explain some of the great themes and doctrines of Christianity. BIG Idea of Ephesians The central theological theme of Ephesians is the Apostle Paul proclaiming the church as Christ's body (where God's presence is manifest). And the church is God's chosen instrument to extend the victory of Christ and to overcome evil. Summary of Ephesians Chapters 1 to 3 1. Chosen in Christ (Chapter 1) Ephesians 1:3-6: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the 1
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to son-ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Paul begins Ephesians with a declaration of praise, praise to God the Heavenly Father. Why praise? Because of the spiritual blessings that God has given to us. a) Blessing of relationship b) Blessing of redemption c) Blessing of sharing in God s plan of salvation d) Blessing of eternal inheritance Doctrine of pre-destination. You and I were chosen by God. You and I have no control over this choice. Makes it scary as we are used to needing to have control over our lives and future. But our being chosen by God is not because of our choice and doing, but God s. So that God is glorified. 2. Made Alive in Christ (Chapter 2) Ephesians 2:8-9: 4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast." 3. Brought Together in Christ Ephesians 3:6: This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:13-14: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. God has brought both Jews and Gentiles together through the work of Jesus Christ, to form the Church. Main Body 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. 2
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. Verse 14 (read v. 14) For this reason: what is this reason? Two possibilities: Reason that Christians in Ephesus might be discouraged by the present circumstances seeing Paul being imprisoned and Christians being persecuted. Reason that God has brought together both Jews and Gentiles through the finished work of Jesus Christ to form the church, which is the body of Christ. Kneel before the Father: Kneel is a posture of earnestness, a posture of humility. This is the posture we need to have, whether we are physically kneeing or not. The Father: recognition that God is our Heavenly Father. A relationship of the closest kind in all of heaven and earth. Speaks of an intimate relationship and an identity that is based on the Father having given us life. What verse 14 says about the essence of prayer: it is recognizing who we are before God, our identity as a child of Him. Coming before God in humility and earnestness. And coming before God in every circumstance. Verse 15 (read v.15) Paul s reflection on the greatness of our God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone belongs to Him, whether angels and those who have gone before us and are saved, or human beings who are still alive. We are one big family under the name of God the Father and of Jesus. Verse 16 (read v.16-17a) Here in this part of the prayer, Paul prays for each individual believer. Out of His glorious riches- more than able and more than willing Strengthen with power through His Spirit. Why did Paul pray for strengthening of the inner man for every believer? 1. Guard against discouraging circumstances lest our spiritual fervor dies away and we fall away. Or Ephesians 6 mentions about standing firm against the evil one 2. Paul recognizes that our spiritual strength and stamina comes not through man s effort, but a result of the Holy Spirit s enablement. Because inner strength cannot be manufactured by the person, but is given by Holy Spirit. 3. Jesus Christ will dwell in the believer s hearts through faith 3
Verse 17 What does it mean? Paul is talking about Christ being at home in our hearts. By this, Paul is not referring to Jesus coming into an unbeliever s heart to be His Savior. Remember that he is praying over the Ephesians who are already believers and saved by the blood of Christ. Paul is praying about having close fellowship with Christ. Jesus comes to live in our hearts by faith. Jesus comes to live in our hearts as we make Him Lord. Reference to Revelations 3:20, where our Lord Jesus Himself says that He is knocking at the door of every Christian s heart and waiting to come in and have intimate relationship with every soul if only the Christian would allow Christ to. This part of the prayer carries a similar meaning and intent. What happens when Christ dwells in the believer s heart? 1. The believer is surrendered and yielded to God. Jesus is number 1 and there is no other competition. 2. The believer desires to obey God and His Word The analogy of Jesus owning the house, not renting a room. He goes where he pleases and does what he wants with each room, compared with a tenant that does not have any rights other than a selected corner of the house. Such is the prayer by Paul for each believer. He prays for Gods power for every believer in Ephesus so that every of God s child or chosen one will be strengthened from the inside so that they will make Christ the owner and master over our hearts. Verse 17 (read v.17b-19) Here in this next part, Paul prays for the entire Ephesian Church. When Paul mentions being rooted and established in love, perhaps on his mind was the image of a large tree. A tree has roots that we cannot see most times, but the roots are most important as the nutrients all come from the roots, without which the tree cannot grow upwards and larger. In the same time, the Church cannot grow spiritually unless she is nourished by the vital nutrient of love. What is this love? It is the unconditional love of God. It is because of Love that we first came to know God. Because of God s love, then we have hope and we receive grace that Paul talked about in Ephesians 2. If for a moment God does not carry love for the Church, then we are doomed and condemned. Verse 18 But having first experienced this love through receiving the Gospel and experiencing salvation in Jesus, Paul knows it is not enough for the Church to stop there. But there is a great need for the Church to mature in her knowledge of God s love. That s why Paul prayed that the Christians in Ephesus would grow deeper in the experience of God s love. 4
To experience God s love in a way that is more than just information, or head knowledge. Paul simply admits that God s love is beyond anyone s ability to understand intellectually. In fact, he concedes that no one, even the wisest or most spiritually mature person, can completely comprehend the magnitude of God s love for mankind. But yet, Paul prays to God that the church at Ephesians may grow not in head knowledge, but in deeper experience of the love of God. And this is only possible again because of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. And when Paul prays about experiencing how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, he is not calculating the distance, because it simply is boundless and cannot be measured. Verse 19 And what does it mean in verse 19 to be filled with the measure of the fullness of Christ? It is as straightforward as the words go, that our hearts and lives will be filled with Jesus as much as possible. Just as Jesus Christ Himself embodies the fullness of God the Heavenly Father, so Paul s prayer for the Church is that we be filled as well with all the fullness of God s character as Christ is filled by the Heavenly Father: His glory, His love, His grace, His truth, His power, His perseverance, so on and so on the list can be endless. Paul was simply praying that the Church would become as Christ-like as God would fill Jesus Christ. This outcome would not be humanly possible, especially when even Christians still struggle with sin, with worldliness and with the weaknesses of the human nature. And that is why Paul ends his prayer by a declaration of praise and also a reminder about who God is and what He does that no men can do. Verse 20 (read v.20-21) These 2 verses are a doxology, a short hymn or song or praise. It marks the end of the first three chapters and transits to the next 3 chapters. I believe Paul penned down this part of his prayer for two reasons: 1. He truly praises God for the work He does in the life of every believer and in the Church, as he recounts all the spiritual blessings that he has mentioned from chapters 1 to 3. 2. He was reminding the Ephesian Church that what men may think of as impossible, that God is more than able to do. In fact, God does over and above what we can even imagine or conceive in our minds. That even if we think men will never be able to be fully surrendered or obedient to Christ, God alone is able to make it happen because His Spirit accomplishes it. Such is the power of God that Paul praises God and declares His glory! 5
Devotional Thought 1: God s love and power is consistent and endures even through changing circumstances of life Are there any truths about God that you glean from Paul s prayer this morning? - God s strengthening - God s Presence - God s love - God s Power That is the basis of our hope even as we may face discouragement or challenging situations at church. When we face up to challenging situations, it becomes so natural and human to doubt God s Presence and God s power. And in our church, we have faced plenty of individual and corporate challenges that allow discouragement and doubt to seep in: - When leaders struggle to lead or are not able to come together to work together - When human relationships break down, when two cannot communicate or agree with one another - When health problems take a toll - When there are so many things that occupy our mind and attention and we can t give more when asked for more time and commitment God s love for us endures through all these situations, and more. I am reminded of the beautiful hymn The Love of God, especially the chorus which speaks of the richness and purity of His unfailing love. When we are discouraged, may I encourage us to read back to Ephesians, especially the first 3 chapters. The fact that we are chosen in Christ, made alive in Him and then brought together to form one body of Christ should tell us that God is not done with us as a people of His but that He has more to do in and through this community of faith, despite whatever circumstances of life we are in. Perhaps over time we become indifferent towards God s love. We think we know enough about what God s love, that His love is shown to us on the Cross. We also think we know that God s power is infinite. But we have failed to reflect on the love of God for us in all situations at all times. And we also failed to depend on God s power and strength but try to do things (even good things) according to what our human ability. From this morning, we need to remember that God is not finished showing us His love and power, and He longs to pour out His love and power into our lives and every situation we face, and that it is a personal experience with the living God. We need to address the root issues facing our indifference to God s love. Is it because we have been distracted by things of this world that our affection and love is turned away from God towards these earthly things? May the Lord help us to embrace afresh His love and power, and in so doing, letting Him dwell richly in our hearts and being the Lord. 6
Devotional Thought 2: Prayers that glorify God are prayers that invite the Spirit to work in every believer and church. God does not give us what we want, but gives us what we need. And what we need can be seen very clearly in what Paul prayed: for every believer to be strengthened with God s power, for Jesus to dwell in every believer s heart; for the Church to experience more and more the reality of God s love and to attain the standard of the fullness of God as measured by the character of Christ. Prayers that God answers are prayers that open one s heart to the Spirit s work, as we see here in Paul s prayer. Not that we don t pray for changing circumstance, but God really wants to have our undivided hearts and to have His way in our hearts. I know many of you have been praying and committing the church to God. As CCBC continues and soldiers on with the little we have in terms of human resources and plenty of constraints, may I encourage us to pray for CCBC as Paul does, that God will strengthen our inner man, that God will dwell richly within this community of faith, that God s love will establish itself among the believers here, and that our hearts will be open to be molded into Christ-likeness. Without prayer, there can be no revival. And without the Holy Spirit working in our lives, there will be no true revival. 40 years ago, in Singapore, Billy Graham, the great American evangelist, came here to Singapore and over 3 days, held a mass rally at the then National Stadium. I was not born then of course but I believe some of you were witnesses of this. But this was a period of revival among the Singapore churches, as the local denominations had not worked together prior to this and there was not spiritual awakening in this Singapore for a long time. But Christians came together in unity to serve together (heard there was a choir of 4500 from different churches), become counsellors and also prayer warriors. It is truly a work of the Holy Spirit. And arising from this Crusade in 1978, many churches were born, many of the Christian leaders and pastors today came to receive Christ through those few days, and there saw a beginning of a movement of churches coming together from different denominations. Sharing this with us show that when the Holy Spirit moves in a church or among Christians, he does great things that ultimately result in His glory. And God s church or people is called to participate and be ready to join Him at where He is working. And there is no ingredient for lasting spiritual success unless there is an open invitation to the Holy Spirit to exercise His power in our lives. Conclusion Singapore celebrates the Bi-Centennial this year. Over the past 200 years, there have been situations where the very existence of Singapore as a free port and entity connected to the wider global political economic system was threatened. In 1824, the Dutch threatened to invade. In 1850, this tiny island was swamped with many competing secret societies and there was lawlessness and society almost became a state of anarchy. In 1942, the capture of Singapore by the Japanese and Singapore society overnight changed with people losing their freedom, property and lives. In 1965, 7
the threat to Singapore s future existence came as we were booted out of Malaysia. Yet through these threats to her existence, by the grace of God, Singapore survived and prospered. Just like our nation s history, the church is in God s Hands and He wields as He pleases. However, for us as His people, we need to be praying for the Holy Spirit to come visit the church to revive her for the glory of God to extend His kingdom. May we share the same attitude of Paul our prayer for CCBC, for strength and for love and power, so that we will see the dwelling of Christ in our hearts and we will work towards being filled with the fullness of the measure of God in our church life. 8