Ephesians 3

Good morning church. Let's stand and worship. Let's thank the Lord for all He's done. Thank you Lord for freedom. Oh, we thank you Jesus. I'm taking off the heaviness. I'm dancing out of my regrets. I'm throwing caution to the wind. No, I am not ashamed to praise like this. Some will say it's foolishness. But I say it's worth the risk. I can't forget what Jesus did. No, I am not ashamed to praise like this. Where are those chains I wanted? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. My sin is gone, I can't heal it. I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. I'll sing, I'll dance, cause I give it. I'm free, I'm free. Thank God I'm free. Yeah. I found a prayer that never cracks. No other love is good past this. And I don't care what anyone says. I'll never be ashamed to praise like this. Where are those chains I wanted? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. My sin is gone, I can't heal it.

I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. I'll sing, I'll dance, cause I give it. I'm free, I'm free. Thank God I'm free. You took the cross and you broke your body. I shed your blood. Now the sinner can't sing. My debt is paid and my record is linked. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. You took the cross and you broke your body. You shed your blood. Now the sinner can't sing. My debt is paid and my record is linked. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. You took the cross. You took the cross and you broke your body. I'm alive. You shed your blood. Now the sinner can't sing. My debt is paid and my record is linked. I couldn't do it. So you did it for me. Only God can do it. So you did it for me. Only God can do it. So you did it for me. Only God can do it. So you did it for me.

Only God can do it. So you did it for me. Where are those chains that once held me? I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. My sin is gone. I'll get it back. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. Look at what I've done. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. I'll sing. I'll dance. Cause I'm here. I'm free. I'm free. Thank God I'm free. I'm free. You took the cross and you broke your body. You shed your blood. Now the sinner can't take it. My debt is paid and my record is clean. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. You took the cross and you broke your body. You shed your blood on Calvary. And I didn't know the sin.

I didn't know. My debt is paid and my record is clean. I couldn't do it, no. I couldn't do it, no. Only kick Jesus. Only kick Jesus. Only God can do it. Only God can do it. Only God can do it. Yeah, yeah. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back, no. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. Thank you. The Highest Throne Gathered at the highest throne Welcome by a melody An anthem I have always known A song that's always been in me All glory and all honor Dominion and power to you A million angels fall Face down on the floor All to echo holy is the Lord My heart can't help but sing

With all of heaven roar Forever echo holy is the Lord Oh, oh, oh Forever echo holy is the Lord Memorized by every heart Written in eternity Every lift of voice upon it Dreaming the symphony All glory and all honor Dominion and power to you Oh, oh, oh Always to be wondered Who loves you more than But you A million angels fall Face down on the floor All to echo holy is the Lord My heart can't help but sing With all of heaven roar Forever echo holy is the Lord Oh, oh, oh Forever echo holy is the Lord Oh, oh, oh Forever echo holy is the Lord Yeah You're worth so worthy Lord So worthy, so worthy Worthy, worthy are you God Standing at the end of time There before the throne of grace

Majesty before my eyes I let it take my breath away A million angels fall Face down on the floor All to echo holy is the Lord My heart can't help but sing With all of heaven roar Forever echo holy A million angels fall Face down on the floor All to echo holy is the Lord My heart can't help but sing With all of heaven roar Forever echo holy is the Lord Oh, oh, oh Forever echo holy is the Lord Oh, oh, oh Forever echo holy is the Lord So holy, holy God You're worthy, so worthy Lord We thank you God, you are so worthy Father so worthy Lord we thank you we thank you for giving us the voices to praise you God we thank you you you call us you call us even one more we're far from you father we step away and you still call for us we thank you for that father God I thank you Jesus I thank you I just pray over this congregation Lord we ask that you you speak through you speak through your word father and we thank you for that we thank you Jesus for all that you do in Jesus mighty name amen good morning Revolution Church what better place to be than in the presence of the Lord amen I don't know about you all but sitting at his feet is my safe place there's calm and peace from the rest of the stuff that goes on I want to

welcome our online community as well as our brothers and sisters in the correctional facilities I know you hear us talk about that every week we're in over 800 prisons as well as we've got five local jails and I just want to speak to them really quick that if you haven't been told recently you've not been forsaken God still sees you and God still has plans for you in the mighty name of Jesus amen man and if you're in this room and this is your very first time we want to say welcome we are so glad that you're here we have these lovely connect cards and the seat backs right in front of you you wouldn't mind filling one out we've got some folks in the back of the sanctuary that would love to have a conversation with you get you connected get you plugged in I don't know if you've heard we've got a lot of stuff going on here at this church we have vacation Bible school happening I think it's next week is it not okay I've got one individual excited yes ma'am all right how many of y'all are signed up come on now yes all right well I'm gonna tell y'all for the rest of you that didn't raise your hand we still need your help they have more positions and more needs and I believe God's calling you I'm gonna tell y'all pray about it I know what God's gonna say hey listen in in in a few days this campus is gonna be filled with like hundreds of children and if you think about it they're the future leaders and aren't they worth being invested in and they need you to show them the love of Jesus amen okay let's try that again they need you to show them the love of Jesus amen yes let's get excited about that y'all helping serve our children isn't a burden it's a privilege is it not yes all right so really quick also the tap tags that are on the back of the chairs you can actually sign up for vacation Bible school that way right and you don't have to do anything you just literally open your phone and put it up against that tap tag and I'll be honest I'm not very techie so it took me a minute to figure that out and then it'll take you right to the page also we all know it takes funds to do ministry and we're about to feed several hundred children will you help us will you partner with us there's several ways that you can give the tap tag is one we've got the buckets in the back of the

room as well as we've got the church app and our website so please let's partner and do contribute to the great things that God is calling this church to do really quick I want to share a story so I grew up by the beach when I was growing up within 15 minutes I could be to like six different beaches so I learned some things one of the things I learned was how to body surf anybody here about no or heard of body surfing yeah it likes like you surf without the board right so I thought I was all that in a bag of chips really I was naive anyway so fast forward I'm a middle-aged lady and I go to Hawaii I go to visit some friends can I tell you the waves in Hawaii are a little different okay so anyways I'm at the beach and I'm thinking how many have heard that when a wave is about to kick up that if you time it right you can actually dive into the wave go beneath it and come out on the other side and then it breaks behind you anyone ever done that before yes all right so I'm not the only one so I go to Hawaii middle-aged lady I've already had three children I'm thinking I got this there's a wave coming and I'm gonna dive into the wave and and get past it and it's gonna break behind me no no that's not how that played out so this wave yeah it did the thing and it broke right on top of me and smashed me into the ground spun me around I had no idea which way was up sideways whatever and then it had the audacity to spit me out onto the shoreline in front of all the people visualize that from I mean middle-aged woman rolling literally up onto the shoreline anyways so here's the deal I don't give up quite that easily so I'm like you know what we're going to do this again We're gonna do it right. So I jump up, my ego's a bit wounded, and I go back out and I swim out and I think, all right, here's another wave, all right, we're gonna do it right this time. And I dive into the wave, I'm thinking I'm gonna go under it, and do you know what that wave did to me?

It broke right on top of me again. Smashed me to the ground. I'm disoriented, I don't know which way is up or down. And then quickly I realize, hold on, this isn't gonna last forever. If I open my eyes and I see the light, if I see the sun, I know that's the direction I need to go in, amen? How many of us have been in the waves of life and we get disoriented and we get tossed around and we don't know which way is up or down? And I'm talking about relapse, addiction, shame, embarrassment, fear, anxiety. You hear me? What if we come to our senses and realize, you know what, I don't need to panic because God's got me, right? I'm gonna pause because this season isn't gonna last forever. I'm gonna open my eyes and I'm gonna fix them on the S-O-N. Y'all hear me? Because here's the deal, even when we're confused and we don't know where we're at, God's not lost sight of us, He still sees us. And so those are the moments we get to stand on our faith and we get to exercise that muscle and be still and know that He is God, amen? Let's pray. Lord, I just thank you for this time. I thank you for every single person in this room,

Father God, we thank you for the privilege and the honor to worship you, Father. We know that you have a message for us today. So have your way with us, transform our minds, Lord God. May we leave here better versions of ourselves than when we entered this building, Father God. We love you, we praise you, and we pray all of these things in Jesus' name. And the church said, amen. Good morning, Revolution Family. I'm Lisa, this is my husband, Charlie, and we would love to welcome you to our Sunday service. Lisa, we're especially excited about our first time visitors today. We'd like to extend a special welcome to you. And so we'd love to connect with you as well. So please meet us at the Connect table after the church service. We have a gift for you there, and we wanna get to know you as well, and just answer any questions you have about our church, our church family. And Lisa, if anyone here today decides to make Jesus the Lord of their life, we wanna know about that and celebrate that with you. If you make that decision, then we can meet you at the New Believers table in the church today. We have a Bible for you there. We'll be there to answer questions that you have

and celebrate that with you as well, Lisa. Absolutely. We also have the Men's Ministry, Sons and Brothers on June 20th in the pavilion from 8.30 to 10.30. So we're excited about this ministry. Lisa, it is a powerful ministry for men of God to come together, lift each other up, and as the scripture says, iron sharpens iron. So we're excited about that. Absolutely. And also remember, volunteer sign up for Vacation Bible School is still here and available for you. Bible School will be from June the 15th through the 19th. Please go to the website, sign up. We want everybody to be involved in such a wonderful program. Yep, absolutely. Also, if you have children that are the age of two to eighth grade and you're interested in a faith-based Christian education, RCA, Revolution Christian Academy, is opening registration and it will be open until August the 3rd. Go to the website, Revolution Christian Academy website for more information. And finally, we have a baptism again down at the river, June 28th at 3.30. So check it out, go down there.

And if you've never been baptized before, you can put that on the Connect card. You can ask questions at the Connect table after the service. Check out the website, Church Center app. QR code below will be on there as well. Go down there, get baptized if you've not. And if you have before, go down there and support. It is a powerful event, Lisa, and it is exciting to be part of as well. It is, there's something special about being baptized in nature, for sure. You know, there's a lot going on here at Revolution. And right now, we just want you to take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the rest of the service. Good morning, Revolution. How are you today? It is good to be in God's house, amen? I'm Pastor David, and it's my privilege to bring the word to you today, and it is exciting. We are working our way through the book of Ephesians, and what an incredible book Ephesians is. There is so much theology there, foundational, absolute truths. And then next Sunday. Pastor Pacer and Miss Connie have been away on vacation. They're going to be back, and he wants you to know that he's excited to be back next Sunday and share chapter four in the book of Ephesians. Chapter four is when Ephesians turns to practical application. Ephesians is an absolutely wonderful book. It's a book that I would encourage each and every one of you to study.

Along with Ephesians, I would encourage you at the same time to spend some time in Colossians. Colossians and Ephesians are companion books. Paul wrote both of those books while he was incarcerated in Rome, waiting trial before Nero. He was under house arrest. He was chained, literally chained, constantly to a Peturian guard. History tells us that the Romans had to change the Peturian guards out on a regular basis because if they spent too much time with Paul, they were converting to Christianity. He had a captive audience. They were listening to him pray. They were there when he was writing these letters. They were there when guests and visitors would come to him, and he would be talking to them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. So if they spent very much time there, they were becoming believers. How many of you know that should be that way in all of our lives? If folks spend time around us, we should be leading them to the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of the reasons that I encourage you to spend time in both Colossians and Ephesians, there are 55 passages in those two books that are identical to each other. Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, and his primary message to the church at Colossae was the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. It's in Colossians where he said, in him the fullness of the Godhead dwelled bodily. And there is other passages there where Paul talked about that everything we need is in Jesus Christ. The message that Paul was sending to the book that we have here as the book of Ephesians was a message that was shared among all the churches in Asia, and the message there was that Jesus Christ was God's instrument of reconciliation to man, that the church was Christ's instrument of reconciliation of man to God, and that the church has a responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Do you know whose job it is to tell people about Jesus and redemption through His finished work of the cross?

It's our job. It's not just the pastor's job, it's believers' job. It's the church's responsibility to share the good news of Jesus Christ. I believe that we need to be aware of that and have that in our hearts and in our minds. Ephesians chapter 3 is broken into two distinct sections. The first 13 verses of Ephesians 3 make up the first section, and verse number 1 starts with this phrase, for this cause. Verse number 14 begins the second section of Ephesians chapter 3, and it begins with the same phrase, for this cause. Paul is really saying, there's a reason behind what I'm about to say to you. There's a purpose behind that, and in the first 13 verses of Ephesians chapter 3, Paul uses the word grace three times. The word that we have translated into English in grace is used in a variety of ways in the Scripture. The word that we have for grace means the blessing of God. It means the favor of God. It means the gift of God. I want you to know, God has challenged me on a personal level recently to further and more largely embrace the grace of God in my life, in my life personally. How many of you know that sometimes it's easier for us to believe for God to do something special in someone else's life than it is for us to believe that God wants to do that in our life? There are a couple things that we need to be incredibly thankful for. One is the mercy of God. How many of you appreciate the mercy of God? The Bible says the mercy of God is renewed every morning. I'm glad that God has fresh mercy for us every day, because a lot of us need fresh mercy every day. Can you say amen to that? Do we have any golfers in the house?

Anybody in the house here play golf? We got a couple hands up. there. What's a mulligan? Well, you might not even play golf, you probably know what a mulligan is. Mulligan's a do-over. Do you know what mercy is? Mercy is a God-given do-over. Mercy is when God says, I'm going to wipe the slate clean, I'm not going to hold that against you anymore. But let me tell you something, grace is a whole nother level. Paul the Apostle understood that God had given him mercy, but that God had also given him grace. God had also given him blessing. God had also deposited a gift in his life that God had put his favor upon him. Let me describe it this way. I know that some of you take the speed limit to the limit. Anybody here in the house take the speed limit to the limit. My wife has, see her hands up, she's being honest before God. I want to tell you, I'm afraid to ride with her sometimes. Her philosophy is, I'm going to pass every car on the road, you know, and she honestly believes, she believes this before God, that it doesn't really mean 65, it means 75, maybe 80, I mean, you know, 75. She believes 10 over, you know, pray for her right now, just stretch your hand out that way and pray for her. Well, put it, let's imagine it like this. You're driving down 411, you're heading down toward Etowah, and you got that lead foot working. Come on. You know, you're supposed to be going about 55, and you're going 65, maybe 75, and you're just thanking God for the beautiful day. You look up in your mirror, and there's those flashing lights, and you go, oh Lord. I mean, I know some of you've had that happen. Your heart just sinks, doesn't it? You know, and you pull over, and you look back there, and it's a Tennessee State trooper. Oh, he comes up, you roll your window down, he says, let me tell you why I pulled you over. You were going 20 miles an hour over the speed limit. What do you say? Sir, you're right. I apologize, I have no excuse. He stands there for a second, and he looks at you, and he said, I'll tell you what, I'm gonna let you off with a warning. I want just to slow it down. That's mercy right there. That's mercy right there. How many know the next time you see those lights, you're gonna be going, Lord, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy. That's mercy right there. All right, you're

driving down 411, heading toward Etowah, you're making time. You look up, and you see those flashing lights. You pull over, that trooper gets out of his car, he walks up there, and he said, I'm gonna tell you, you were going 20 miles an hour over the limit. Yes, sir, I was. I have no excuse. He looks at you, and he says, you see that gas station across the street? Yes, I do. He said, I want you to pull over there. I'm gonna fill your tank up with gas. I'm gonna tell them to change your oil. As a matter of fact, about a mile down the road, there's a tire store. I'm gonna tell them to put four brand-new tires on your vehicle, and I'm gonna pay for it. That's grace right there. That's grace. Let me tell you, that's what God has done for us. God didn't just wipe the slate clean. God deposited within us. God filled up our tank. God has changed our oil. Somebody say amen to that. God's put new tires on our vehicle. Paul the Apostle understood that God had graced him, that God had put something special in him, that God had given him a gift of revelation and understanding. That's what Ephesians chapter 3 is about. It starts out in verse number 1, for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles, surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you. That is the mystery made known to me by revelation that I've already written briefly. In reading this, then you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations, as it has been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy Apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles, everybody say Gentiles, say it a little louder, Gentiles, that through Through this gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel. Members together of one body and sharing together in the promise in Christ Jesus, I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of His power. Verse number 1, Paul starts out like this. He introduces himself. Where is he? He's incarcerated.

He's in chains. He's in Rome. He's awaiting trial. And how does he introduce himself? He says, I'm a prisoner, not of Rome. I'm a prisoner, not of Nero. He said, I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He said, Jesus Christ is in charge of my life. You see, this is the man who wrote Romans 828. And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. Paul didn't consider his life controlled by Rome. He considered his life controlled by the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ. This is the man who also from that time of incarceration wrote Philippians, Philemon, Colossians. And in Philippians chapter number 1, verse number 21, he said, for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain. What was he really saying? God's in control of my life. If it's God's will, I'm going to go be with Him. But if it's God's will, I'm going to be right here because my life is under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse number 2, he said that God has given me the administration of this gift for the Gentiles. God gave him a gift that he might share that gift with others. There's a message in that for us. Do you know when God gives you something, He doesn't give it to you just so you can have more? When God blesses you, He didn't just bless you so you can be blessed. God blesses us, God pours into our lives so we can be a blessing to others. He said, God gave this to me so that I can give it to you. God didn't give this revelation to Paul so he could go around saying, I've got a revelation from God. God gave him that message so that he could share that revelation and the Gentiles could come to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 3, 4, and 5, Paul tells us what this mystery is.

A mystery is something that was once hidden, but it's now revealed. He tells us what this mystery is. You see, Paul didn't say, I've come up with a new idea. How many of you know sometimes we as Christians and sometimes we as churches think that every once in a while we need a new idea? We need a new plan. We need a new way of doing things. He didn't come up with a new plan. He received a divine revelation. God deposited this truth into his heart. And what was that divine revelation? Verse number 6 tells us exactly what it was. It was good news of the gospels for the Gentiles. For generations past, if you were not of the nation of Israel, if you were not of the tribe of Israel, you were alienated from God. How many of you know that? Pretty much every one of us in this room today and many of you watching this broadcast right now were alienated from God under the old covenants. We couldn't go to Jerusalem and worship in the temple. We couldn't go and offer our sacrifices unto God and then be accepted. We were heathens. We were aliens. We were foreigners. We were looked down on. But Paul said, I've got good news. God has grafted the Gentiles into Israel. Amen. Give God praise today. We were once afar off, but now we've been drawn near. We were once on the outside, but now we've been invited on the inside. We are heirs of God. Do you know to be an heir, you need to be part of the family. When they get ready to read the will and talk about who gets what, it's not going to do any good for a bunch of strangers to show up.

You need to be part of the family. Come on, are you with me? We've been grafted into the family. We're part of the body of Christ. We are heirs to the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. Down through the years, several times I've had people ask me, do you believe it's proper for us as Gentile believers to appropriate the promises that God made to Israel to our lives? Well, I'll give you my simple answer. Yes. And I'll tell you why. Because the promises that God made to Israel in the Old Covenant identify to us the character of God. They identify the heart of God. God's character hasn't changed. God's heart hasn't changed. When God said to Israel, when God said to Jeremiah, I know the plans that I have for you, plans to bless you, plans to prosper you, plans for a life, plans for a future, that's our promise today. Yes, we can appropriate that into our lives. Why? Because we've been grafted in. That's what Paul the Apostle says. We're now part of that. We are sharers in the promises of Jesus Christ. And then in verse 8 he says this, Although I am less than the least of all of God's people, this grace was given to me, to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent, everyone say intent.

His intent was that now through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to rulers and authorities in heavenly realms according to His eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you therefore not to be discouraged because of my suffering for you, which are your glory. Verse number 8, Paul gives this revelation and he makes it known. He's given this revelation. You know when God uses you in a wonderful way, when God works through your life, and I know many of you have experienced this, God uses you to lead someone to Christ. God uses you to speak wisdom into somebody's life. God uses you to speak a word of encouragement into somebody's life. I can tell you my experience, it's not something to become proud about. It's an incredibly humbling thing. When you think that the Lord God Almighty would choose to speak through you, when you think that the Lord God Almighty would choose to use you, I'm telling you for me, it's an incredibly humbling thing to stand before God's people and share the word of God. Why? Because I know me, I know I am not qualified. I know that, you know, I was not chosen. You don't find in my yearbook most likely to succeed. It might have said most likely to become a plumber. And if you're a plumber, I didn't mean any offense in that. God bless you right there. We all need a good plumber, amen?

Plumbing is important. I don't even know why I said that. I shouldn't have said that. If I could take it back, I'd take it back. But I want to tell you something. Paul didn't become proud. He said, I'm the least of the least. Because he knew where he'd come from. He knew who he used to be. You see, he was a hater of Christians. When he met Jesus Christ on Damascus Road, he had papers right there in hand to kill Christians. He knew where he had come from. You see, some of us know where we've come from. We know the mistakes we've made. We know the choices we've made. We know the sin that we have fallen into. But God has redeemed us. And God has rescued us. And God has forgiven us. And for that, we are humble before the God. And that's where Paul's position was on this. He was humble before the Lord. Verse number 10 and 11, I want to share with you something that is my personal opinion. And I hope I don't offend anybody in saying this. I believe in verses 10 and 11, God, through Paul, shares God's intent and God's eternal purpose. I happen to believe that the Gentile church was not an afterthought with God. I don't believe that the Gentile church was a plan that God came up with because the Jews didn't accept Jesus as the Messiah. I believe that it was in the heart of God.

from the very beginning that all mankind would be reconciled to God and come into the saving knowledge of the kingdom of God. I believe that. Somebody say amen if you agree with that. Talks about God's intent, God's eternal purpose. And then in verse number 12 it says, through Christ Jesus, God is approachable. Do you know God used to just dwell in one little spot? And only one man once a year on the day of atonement could go into the presence of God. The high priest, the most religious man, most spiritual man in the whole nation, one day, once a year, could go into the holy presence of God in the holy of holies at the temple or the tabernacle in the wilderness, whichever one it was. And then he didn't just go in there, he had to go through all sorts of ritual cleansings. He had bells around the bottom of his garment so people on the other side of the veil could know if he was still moving in there. Because if he went in with any uncleanness in his life, he'd just fall over dead. Anybody else could go in there and get him because as soon as they went in, they'd fall over dead too. You'd just be piling them up. What did they do? They tied a rope around his leg. Can you imagine? He's going to go into God's holy presence one time, once a year, the high priest, and he's got a rope tied around his leg just in case there is any sin in his life, he falls dead and they have to drag him out. Well I'm so thankful today that you and I, every one of us, every man, woman, boy and girl in this room has access into the holy presence of God. We once were aliens, we once were far off, but now we can go right into God's presence. I'm telling you right now we can go before the throne of grace with boldness because the veil has been torn from top to bottom. It's been thrown open.

We have access unto God. Paul said that Gentiles, through Jesus Christ, have access into the presence of God. Verse number 14, he starts with that same phrase again, for this reason I kneel before the Father for whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Verse number 14, Paul the Apostle says, in the New International Version, which I had them put up on the screen, he says, I kneel. I kneel. The King James Version says, I bow my knee. Neither one of those are really strong enough because Paul is not saying I take a knee. He's saying I lay prostate before the Lord. I lay my whole body out before God. What's he really saying? I surrender my whole self to God. I don't just take a knee as a symbol of reverence. I lay before God my entire being. He said I kneel prostate before the Lord Jesus Christ, and then he uses a term here that he hasn't used anywhere else in chapter 3 in referencing God. He's talked about God as God, Jehovah. He's talked about him as Lord. But here in this verse, he references God as our Father. It's a much more intimate term. It's a personal term. Do you know what Jesus Christ did? Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross. He took our sins. He was buried and he rose again that you and I could have a personal relationship with God that we could know God as our Father. When I was six weeks old, my father died in an automobile accident.

My mother spent months in the hospital. I was in the vehicle with him and miraculously didn't have a broken bone or really hardly even a scratch. So for about 10 years, I didn't have a dad. My mom eventually remarried and she married this great man. When I was 13 years old, he adopted me and I took his name. Prior to that, my name was Bill David Ray Wissner. On a few days after my 13th birthday, I became Bill David Ray Morgan. We went out and celebrated. We didn't we didn't grow up with a whole lot You know we weren't a wealthy family You know big big big night out was McDonald's for us that was you know that's big night out Well that that night when we left the lawyers office. We went and got a steak This is the first time I could ever remember going out and having a steak And we're on our way home in the Dairy Queen had like these half-gallon milkshakes I I Remember getting one of those I remember not making it home with it It didn't quite stay with me, but my life was changed that day Because I had a father I Had a dad man who chose to love me Man who wasn't required to love me Obligated to love me, but a man who chose to love me. You've got a father Who loves you? unconditionally He loves you by choice God wants you to know him in that personal intimate way and Then he goes on to say That God would strengthen you by the Spirit in your inner being in the culture of that day in the writing of this letter When inner being was referenced it really meant three things

It meant your reason your conscience and your will Paul's prayer was that you will be strengthened in your reason. What does that mean that you would better understand right and wrong? I Think it would be a really good thing for us to pray Paul's prayer today That we as believers would be strengthened in our reason Let me tell you something we better hold on to the biblical standards of what's right and what's wrong The world has tried to flip us on our heads and tell us that wrong is right and right is wrong But I want to tell you something God's Word is not changed and Paul said I'm praying that you'll be Strengthened by the Spirit in your inner being so you'll better know what's right and what's wrong We need that today. Amen He Said I'm praying that your conscience will be tender and alerts You know, there's an old saying that many of us have heard probably most of our lives. Let your conscience be your guide That's not biblical Because the conscience can't be molded a conscience can be trained What we need to say is let my conscience be guided by the Holy Spirit Let my conscience be sensitive to the Holy Spirit Let my conscience be tender to the will of the Holy Spirit There's a beautiful verse in Ephesians chapter 4 that pastor may get to next week chapter 32 that says be kind one to another Tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake have forgiven you I love that little phrase in there where he says be tender-hearted Tender-hearted Do you know what we need? We need our hearts soft toward God We need our hearts soft toward each other There's too many hard-hearted people running around in the world today I'm gonna take it a step further. There's too many hard-hearted people sitting in church on Sunday mornings God Give us a soft heart Give us a tender heart and then lastly the inner being has to do with your will Not just knowing more about right and wrong, but the strength to do what is right Could we make that a daily prayer in our lives God?

Give me the strength by the Holy Spirit to do what I know is right How many days go by that, you know what you ought to be doing, but you're not doing it How many days go by that? You know, I need to stop doing that, but you haven't stopped it God Strengthening us in our inner being that we may have the strength to do what's right and to stop doing what is wrong verse number 18 through 21 the last section of this Says may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ and To know that love that surpasses knowledge That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine According to his power that is with work within us to him be glory in the church And in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever Amen verse number He says, I pray that you could grasp how high the love of God is. I pray that you could grasp how deep the love of God is. I pray that you could grasp how wide the love of God is. In 2005, three friends of mine and myself made a motorcycle trip from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming. It was two weeks of the most beautiful scenery I've ever beheld. Every day was an exciting adventure to see the creation of God. One of the highlights of the trip is we went to the summit at Beartooth Pass. Beartooth Pass is a peak right on the Montana-Wyoming border. It's 11,000 feet high. I don't know if you've ever been on a motorcycle 11,000 feet, but I'm telling you, they don't run very good at 11,000 feet. We kicked out our kickstands, climbed off of those bikes, and I took maybe two or three steps, and I saw something I'd never seen before in all my life standing on planet Earth. It felt to me like I could see forever.

I'm looking down on top of mountain peaks that are 7,000, 8,000 feet tall. I'm looking down on them. I can see to the east. I can see to the west. I can see vastness in every direction. In that moment, I was reminded of this passage, how vast God's love is, how high God's love is, how deep God's love is, how wide God's love is. You know, God doesn't have that love for somebody else. He has it for you, for every one of you. God's love for you is beyond measure. Sometimes we fear that if people really know us, they won't love us or they won't like us. Well, God really knows you, and He still loves you. He still loves you beyond measure. He still loves you unconditionally. Paul prays that you may know the depth of God's love, that you may know Him in verse number 19, that you'd have the knowledge of Him. In Philippians chapter 3, verse number 10, Paul said as he wrote that book from this same time of incarceration, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. God doesn't want us to just have information about Him. God wants us to know Him. God wants us to have an intimate, personal connection with Him. If you don't have that today, God desires to have that with you. Can you imagine that God wants to be your friend, that God wants to walk with you, that God, the creator of the universe, wants to have personal conversations with you? Paul says, I pray that you would know Him. Then verse number 20, he said, Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or think. Can I tell you something today? We serve a great God.

We serve a God that nothing is too difficult for. In Jeremiah, the Lord said this Himself, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too difficult for me? The answer is no. Whatever you are facing today, whatever is before you, God is more than able. I'm looking back there. I'm all out of time. I've got to wrap this up. I wish, I so wish I had another 20 minutes. I'd like to share testimony after testimony after testimony where God showed up in unimaginable ways, where God showed up in unexplainable ways. One of my dearest friends in all the world, 20 years ago, I'm standing with him and the doctor in the hospital room, he's on the bed, and the doctor saying, there's nothing else that can be done. You probably only have a few days. And the doctor walked out of the room. And my friend laying in that bed, he motioned me over. He could barely speak. He motioned me over and he said, God spoke to me. I am not going to die. That was 20 years ago. He's alive today. We serve a God. God who is able, there is nothing too difficult for him. Amen. And then in verse number 21, let me wrap this up. He said, and he will be glorified in the church. In the church. He will be glorified in the church. What are you saying?

I'm saying the church is here to stay. The world may hate the church. Unbelievers may hate the church. Atheists may hate the church. But the church is not going anywhere. Let me say it in Tennessee, the church ain't going nowhere. I was talking to a friend the other day and we're about the same age. And he said, man, the years are just rolling by, aren't they? And I said, yeah, the fact of the matter is I've had to come to terms with the fact that I'm in the fourth quarter. You know, football games, they do that. You know what I mean? One quarter to go. I said that in the first service this morning. Somebody over here says, two minute warning. I rebuke that in the name of Jesus. Said, I do not receive that. I rebuke that. We just rolled into the fourth quarter. But here's what I know. When God calls me home and when God calls some of the rest of us home, the church is still gonna be here. And the church is still gonna be declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is still gonna be telling the world that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

and that no man comes to the Father except through Him. The church is still gonna be opening its doors for people to come and receive Jesus. To Him be glory forever and ever in the church. I'm gonna ask you to stand with me, please. Would the prayer team, would you come forward? If you're here in this service today and you don't know Him as Lord and Savior, let me invite you today to become part of the church. Let me invite you today to become an heir of God. Let me invite you today to become a sharer in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or if you're here today and you got a big need or a little need, we serve a God of big needs and little needs, there is nothing too difficult for Him. Father, I pray that you'll take your word today, that it'll find good soil and hearts and it'll produce much fruit. In Jesus' name, amen. I love you, Friend. Let's pray. Let's pray. All right. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ At all night and day ♪ ♪ Knowing the great I Am lives in me ♪ ♪ How should I? You are Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ And that you will hear with me ♪ ♪ Your name is great and greatly to be praised ♪ ♪ Your name is great and greatly to be praised ♪

♪ Your name is great and greatly to be praised ♪ ♪ At all night and all evening ♪ ♪ Knowing the great I Am lives in me ♪ ♪ How should I? You are Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ And that you will hear with me ♪ ♪ Your name, your name is great and greatly to be praised ♪ It's great, it's great and greatly to be praised. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. You are, You are the only one who's worthy. You are the Lord, yes. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. Your name is great and greatly to be praised. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh. So worthy, worthy, worthy, worthy. Forever, Yahweh. You are worthy of our praise, You are. Forever, Yahweh. The King of kings, the Lord of lords. Forever, Yahweh. You're worthy, worthy, worthy, worthy. Forever, Yahweh. The one and only one who's worthy. Forever, Yahweh. You are, You are, You are, You are. Forever, Yahweh. Worthy You are, worthy You are. Worthy You will be forever, Yahweh.

Worthy You are. Worthy you are, worthy you will be, forever your way You are worthy, worthy, worthy, worthy, forever your way It's who you are, most high, forever your way He is worthy in this room today, forever your way Lord, we just thank you for consistently showing up in this room. Lord, what started as a little church at a local high school, Lord, you've made a place that houses thousands. Where your glory is welcome, where your honor is welcome, Lord, we are strictly here to praise you. You are worthy of every song we sing, every word we say, Lord. Every thought that is spoken, God, I just pray that you direct our hearts and direct our minds towards more of you. Lord, we just want to serve you. We want to flourish your kingdom. So, Lord, whatever that looks like, over the days, over the weeks, over the months, Lord, just equip our hearts and equip our minds, Father. We thank you for allowing us to gather in a place such as this, where we're safe to praise your name. But, Lord, I pray that we don't forget. We don't forget that it is a privilege to do this. It is an honor to be able to say your name aloud. Jesus, you are the most high and the most worthy and the only one holy enough to praise in this room. Lord, we just love you, and I pray that as we go out, Lord, that you would just equip us with boldness. Let us see you in everything that we do and everything that we are, Lord. Continue to grow and flourish our hearts, Jesus. You are so, so worthy in this room, and, Lord, we just thank you and we praise you for a place such as this and a day such as this, Lord.

Jesus, you are so, so worthy, and we just love you, and I just pray that as we have this service today, as we sing today, as we hang out with our family today, Lord, that you would just be in the midst of it all. Let nothing that we do be without you. In Jesus' name we say, amen.