WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.540 Bible. When someone finds it, can you say that? What is it, Debbie? 9-7-6 in the Pew Bible. 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:13.320 Is that right? We did this a couple weeks ago, and someone had a large print Bible, 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:19.760 and it was totally wrong. All right, the book of Ephesians chapter 1, and tonight we're going to 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:26.600 start a new section of this book in verse 15, and we're going to read through the end of the 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:32.500 chapter, but we're going to focus just on the first half. So, Ephesians chapter 1, we'll read verse 15 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:37.560 through 23, but just focus on the first half in our teaching tonight. Let me read this for us. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:43.620 For this reason, because I've heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 00:00:44.040 --> 00:00:50.780 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:56.040 Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. 00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:02.000 Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.719 you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:11.280 immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:15.700 might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him in his right hand in 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:20.760 the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:26.200 is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet, 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:32.399 and gave him his head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him 00:01:32.399 --> 00:01:35.859 who fills all in all. 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:43.799 So friends, have you ever thought about what it means to really know something? 00:01:46.459 --> 00:01:54.799 For the longest time, I knew that the older we get as humans, well, physically, our metabolism slows down. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:56.719 I knew that for a long, long time. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:08.419 However, now that I'm in my mid-30s, on the downward slide to 40, I'm starting to know that reality in a whole new way, 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.199 much more intimately than I did when I was a college student. 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:19.439 You know, so now I start to think twice before I consider that third or fourth or fifth slice of cold pizza 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:20.599 that's in the fridge, right? 00:02:22.859 --> 00:02:30.359 Or another example, I knew, I knew for the longest time that whales, those giant creatures that lived in the sea, 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:33.579 I knew for a long time that they were really, really big and really, really powerful. 00:02:33.699 --> 00:02:38.479 But then, one summer, Beth and I took a whale-watching boat tour off of Cape Cod, 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:43.860 and we got to see one of these giant creatures sort of swim under our boat 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:47.420 and then come crashing through the surface of the water just feet away. 00:02:48.140 --> 00:02:52.940 And in that moment, I sort of knew it in a totally different way. 00:02:55.600 --> 00:03:01.120 And I think this is helpful because, you see, there are kind of two ways, at least, that we can know something, right? 00:03:02.140 --> 00:03:04.540 On the one hand, we can sort of know of something. 00:03:04.640 --> 00:03:05.780 We can know about something. 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:08.880 We can have very true facts of something in our mind. 00:03:08.880 --> 00:03:12.420 In other words, we can know something kind of intellectually or notionally. 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:18.740 But on the other hand, we can know something experientially. 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:20.720 We can know it personally. 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:21.760 We can know it intimately. 00:03:22.160 --> 00:03:25.860 Not just with our heads, but deep down at the core of who we are, 00:03:25.920 --> 00:03:28.100 we can kind of know something in our hearts. 00:03:30.980 --> 00:03:35.040 So, in other words, we all know that there's a difference between knowing about something or someone 00:03:35.040 --> 00:03:39.160 and actually knowing something or someone. 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:47.519 Now, the text that we just read tonight from Paul's letter to the Ephesians is a prayer. 00:03:48.519 --> 00:03:51.159 It's a prayer for those to whom he's writing. 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:55.659 And after a prayer of thanksgiving to God in verses 15 through 16, 00:03:55.939 --> 00:03:58.879 he's thankful for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.039 He's thankful to God for that, that he sees them in his life. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:07.079 Paul then prays a petition to God on their behalf. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:11.840 He prays that God would give them knowledge. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:17.139 Paul prays for knowing. 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:29.659 And he prays that they would know God, not just in some notional, factual, intellectual kind of way, 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:35.120 but to really grasp the deep reality of who God is. 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:40.919 To really get deep down in their bones what God has done for us in Christ. 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:51.520 In other words, he prays that the eyes of their hearts would be lit up, enlightened by who God is and what he's done. 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:59.379 And tonight, I want to think about three things as we think about this knowledge that Paul prays for. 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:02.480 First, I want to think about why we need this kind of knowledge. 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:06.920 And then second, I want us to think about from this text how we get that kind of knowledge. 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:11.939 And then third, we'll sort of look at how Paul unpacks that kind of knowledge. 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:15.020 So first, why do we need that kind of knowledge? 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:21.580 If you look down at the kind of context of chapter 1, you'll remember that the first half of chapter 1, 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:27.759 in that first half of chapter 1, Paul has been rehearsing in the language of praise, 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:33.520 the incredible spiritual blessings that believers have in Christ, in union with him. 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:40.439 In other words, he's saying, here's what's true of all those who, as verse 13 puts it, if you look down at verse 13, 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:48.199 here's what's true of everyone who has heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Christ. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:50.479 Here's what's true of you. 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.979 You've been eternally chosen by the Father. 00:05:55.099 --> 00:05:57.519 You've been redeemed in time by the Son. 00:05:57.599 --> 00:06:00.779 You've been sealed by the Holy Spirit for an eternal inheritance. 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:06.959 That's true of all of you in Christ. 00:06:09.899 --> 00:06:19.159 But how many of us as Christians can know that, all that, but not really know that? 00:06:21.459 --> 00:06:23.899 We know these things are true in our minds. 00:06:24.459 --> 00:06:28.459 You know, if someone gave us a quiz and there were sort of multiple choices, we'd check the right box. 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:39.919 But, you know, so often it's as if the eyes of our hearts are still only half open to these realities. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:51.000 And your heart, by the way, in the Bible, the heart in the Bible, it's like the center of your being. 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.480 I keep pointing here. 00:06:53.399 --> 00:06:55.500 The heart is like the middle of who you are. 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:58.600 It's kind of like the control room of your whole self. 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:01.759 Your heart isn't just sort of your emotions or what you kind of like. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:09.040 No, in the Bible, the heart is what shapes and what motivates all your thinking and all your feeling and all your acting. 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.000 It's something behind them that's driving them. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:21.420 In other words, what's real or what's central or what's sort of alive in your heart is that's what's going to direct your life. 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:31.240 So if the eyes of your heart, as it were, if they're fixed on something, if they're fixed on something like human approval, what other people think of you, 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:36.980 if that's what your heart is drawn to, if that's what captures the deep gaze of your whole self, 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:44.800 then the things that you say and the things that you do and the things that you feel are going to be determined by what? 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:47.160 By what other people think of you. 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:49.280 By other people's opinion of you. 00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:57.040 So you'll end up saying things to get them to like you because that's what's driving your heart and that's what's going to control your words. 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:02.280 And you'll end up doing things so that they'll think well of you, so that they'll like you. 00:08:02.760 --> 00:08:05.040 Because in your heart, that's what's driving your actions. 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:13.180 But friends, what if the eyes of our hearts, for those of us who are people pleasers, 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:16.759 what if the eyes of our hearts were enlightened? 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:21.080 What if the lights came on for a moment? 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:31.519 So that we knew deep down that the Father of glory, as Paul says here, the Creator and King of all things, 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:39.539 what if we knew deep down that He actually chose us before the foundation of the world? 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:48.120 That He looked upon us in His Son and laid His eternal divine approval upon us in Christ. 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:58.259 For ordaining us from before the creation of the world to be adopted and brought into His family with the full rights as sons and daughters. 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:00.000 What if we knew that? 00:09:04.220 --> 00:09:09.299 You know, if you've been coming to Trinity, you know that, of course, right? 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:10.360 I put that in scare quotes. 00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:10.919 You know it. 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:12.419 You've heard it said. 00:09:12.779 --> 00:09:13.539 You've heard it taught. 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:17.099 Just a few weeks ago, Pastor Matt preached on verses 4 through 6. 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:19.259 You know this truth. 00:09:19.319 --> 00:09:20.360 At least you know about it. 00:09:22.419 --> 00:09:23.419 You know of it. 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:31.679 Maybe you've had a true notion in your mind, but maybe your heart hasn't grasped it yet. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.559 Hasn't become real to you personally. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:42.359 Perhaps the lights haven't quite come on to that truth of what's yours in Christ. 00:09:46.019 --> 00:09:47.379 Or think about guilt and shame. 00:09:48.819 --> 00:09:55.879 You know, how many of us Christians, even as Christians, how many of us live under the burden of feeling like we never measure up? 00:09:57.539 --> 00:10:01.399 How many of us feel like we always have to kind of keep people at arm's length? 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:06.539 How many of us feel that we're really a little too embarrassed to kind of build deep relationships? 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:13.019 Because we think that if people really got to know us, if they really spent time with us, if they really saw the true us, they wouldn't like what they'd see. 00:10:13.079 --> 00:10:14.100 They'd just reject us. 00:10:14.340 --> 00:10:17.360 And we know we'd screw it up anyway because that's all that we ever do. 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:22.879 And we keep beating ourselves up over our past sins and our past failures. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:28.840 But what if our hearts could see? 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:34.299 What if it's the center of what controls our thinking and our speaking and our acting and our feeling? 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:39.480 What if it could gaze into the light of what Jesus has done for us? 00:10:41.100 --> 00:10:45.600 What if it could really see that we have redemption through his blood? 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:47.740 The forgiveness of our trespasses? 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:58.700 Now, of course, everyone who's a Christian, even everyone who's sort of hung out with Christians for a while, would say, yeah, what's Christianity about? 00:10:58.899 --> 00:10:59.840 What's Christianity all about? 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:04.460 Well, it's about Jesus dying on the cross for your sins and being raised for your justification so you can be put right with God, of course. 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:08.779 And yet, don't we really struggle to know that? 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:11.419 To get it. 00:11:12.439 --> 00:11:15.120 To know it in a way that would actually erase our guilt and shame. 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:23.120 To know it in such a way that it would be the controlling reality of our lives so that we could befriend others and have relationships and know the freedom, the redemption. 00:11:23.339 --> 00:11:26.399 That's freedom language of having our sins forgiven. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:29.959 One more example. 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:40.220 In verse 11 of this great litany of praise, Paul writes that the God who chose us in Christ, the God who redeemed us in Christ, is also the God who works all things according to the counsel of his will. 00:11:41.900 --> 00:11:48.480 All things are under God's providential, loving, fatherly hand. 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:53.740 Now, again, many of us kind of know that, right? 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:56.080 We would say that, yes, God's in control. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:11.120 But if we really knew it, if the eyes of our hearts were really stunned by that reality, friend, wouldn't your anxieties and fears begin to lessen? 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.920 Wouldn't they start to unravel just a little bit? 00:12:15.060 --> 00:12:18.280 Yeah, you'd still fight with them, but wouldn't they start to lose their sting? 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:31.659 And would not our need to kind of feverishly control things and micromanage things and at times try to manipulate and control things around us and manage our image? 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:42.259 Our need for control of ourselves and the people around us, wouldn't our grasp on that start to let go if we knew that our heavenly father works all things according to the counsel of his will? 00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:59.500 Friend, I submit to you tonight that your and my greatest spiritual struggles, our biggest spiritual problems, the thing that hinders your growth in Christ more than anything else, 00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:17.519 the reason that you can't control your anger or your lust or your greed or your pride or your discouragement is because what you know to be true in your head hasn't yet become real in your heart in a live and continuous way. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:27.960 You see, friends, more often than not, what we need spiritually isn't new content. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:33.519 Something new in addition to what we've learned. 00:13:33.579 --> 00:13:37.120 Of course, we all have room to grow in our knowledge of the faith, right? 00:13:37.579 --> 00:13:39.179 We all have room to grow. 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:42.240 And learning is a good thing. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:48.340 But, you know, often what we need is to grasp more fully at the heart level what we already know to be true. 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:59.899 Jonathan Edwards, in a sermon called A Divine and Supernatural Light, once famously used this illustration. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:05.240 He said, you know, it's one thing to know that honey is sweet. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:10.980 It's another thing to actually taste its sweetness. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.480 You can look at honey. 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:19.080 You can hear the reports of the people around the table all saying, this is really good honey. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:23.460 My wife was just at a baby shower this weekend, and the favor was honey. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:25.820 And she brought it home, and we all opened it up. 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:29.000 We all ate it at dinner, and our kids love honey, so they were just gobbling it down. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:31.080 You can know it. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:37.399 You can believe that, yes, that sticky golden substance in that tiny little jar is sweet. 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:52.799 But when you actually take up the spoon and put it on your tongue, and when you taste it, friend, then you've come to grasp its sweetness at a whole new level. 00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:56.000 Suddenly you've entered into it. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:58.459 You're enjoying it. 00:14:59.079 --> 00:15:00.899 It's becoming a part of you. 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:15.079 And that means that the most urgent need of the church isn't better programs, and it's not the rigorous practice of spiritual disciplines, and it isn't better social justice initiatives. 00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:17.439 All those things are good and worthy pursuits. 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:19.220 Yes, we want to do all of them. 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:22.799 But, friends, those are all streams that flow out of a fountainhead. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:27.939 And the fountainhead, the thing that we really need more than anything else, is to know God. 00:15:29.319 --> 00:15:30.359 To know Him. 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:36.219 To actually taste the sweetness of our union with Christ. 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:41.099 To taste it, and to realize and comprehend and grasp the spiritual blessings that are ours in Him. 00:15:42.079 --> 00:15:45.959 Because that's the fountain out of which everything else flows. 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:53.680 And, you know, if you were to read this book of Ephesians straight through, you would start to see something kind of interesting. 00:15:54.600 --> 00:16:01.720 That chapters 1 through 3 almost become a giant prayer that we would know the love of Christ. 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:06.879 So that, in chapters 4 through 6, we can start living as if God really loves us. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:14.080 And let go of our old self and all of its broken ways that lead us into misery. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.240 And start living into our new self. 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:19.960 Created after the righteousness of God. 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:22.639 In His own image. 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:29.779 You know, the way the Puritans used to talk about this is that we can have a lot of light. 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:32.639 But not a lot of heat. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:38.919 And friends, sometimes I have that fear for us. 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:41.279 That we have a lot of light. 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:45.199 We have a lot of clear, biblical teaching. 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:48.679 We know many true things about God and Christ. 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:50.100 And we know where they come from in the Bible. 00:16:50.199 --> 00:16:50.899 And all that is good. 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:51.960 Light is good. 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:54.580 Light, that kind of truth, is a gift of God. 00:16:56.819 --> 00:16:58.419 But we can have that light. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.319 And still not have any heat. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:08.799 Still have no experiential, personal, transforming relationship with God. 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:17.859 And you know, this lack of heat doesn't just impact our personal growth. 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:22.019 And our own sort of personal change and growth in godliness. 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:24.220 It affects our mission too. 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:29.220 If the world around us hears spiritual words. 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:33.319 But doesn't see spiritual reality. 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:35.880 In our lives. 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:36.680 In our community. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:40.100 Friends, then they're going to look elsewhere. 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:44.920 Our friends and our neighbors and our colleagues will look somewhere else. 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:48.039 To fill the spiritual void in their lives. 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:51.200 Instead of looking to Christ. 00:17:52.639 --> 00:17:54.279 Who actually is the one. 00:17:54.899 --> 00:17:58.339 In whom there is spiritual substance and reality. 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:02.000 And in whom they'll find every spiritual blessing that they've been looking for. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.720 So we need this kind of knowledge. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.319 Not just so that we can change. 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:13.920 But so that our neighbors and our friends can start to see that Christ can change them too. 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:18.539 So how do we get it? 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:23.940 How do we go from knowing to knowing to really knowing? 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:25.140 How do we get it? 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:28.720 And Paul gives us a two-fold answer here in our text. 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:31.960 The first part of that answer is at the end of 17. 00:18:32.700 --> 00:18:35.220 In short, how do we get it? 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:37.660 Through the person of the Holy Spirit. 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:42.900 Paul prays that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:44.440 The Father of glory. 00:18:44.580 --> 00:18:47.400 That is the Father from whom all glory descends. 00:18:49.059 --> 00:18:50.420 I pray that this God. 00:18:50.600 --> 00:18:51.279 Your God. 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:52.620 The God of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:56.379 May give you the spirit of wisdom. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.099 And of revelation. 00:18:59.219 --> 00:19:00.539 In the knowledge of him. 00:19:00.719 --> 00:19:01.500 That is God. 00:19:03.179 --> 00:19:04.139 If you have an NIV. 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:05.759 It translates it I think pretty helpfully. 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:08.099 It says might give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation. 00:19:08.379 --> 00:19:11.339 So that you might know God better. 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:16.579 It is God the Holy Spirit. 00:19:16.699 --> 00:19:18.579 Who takes the truths that we know in our minds. 00:19:18.719 --> 00:19:19.879 And makes them real in our hearts. 00:19:20.679 --> 00:19:22.439 Let's explore this phrase a little bit. 00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:24.759 Sort of the spirit of wisdom and of revelation. 00:19:24.879 --> 00:19:26.359 What does Paul mean by that? 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:29.519 That is how he is describing the person of the Holy Spirit here. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:33.299 Now wisdom in Paul's letters often refers. 00:19:33.739 --> 00:19:37.779 Not merely to just a general understanding of how the world works. 00:19:37.859 --> 00:19:40.000 And how to kind of practically live well in the world. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:41.839 But more specifically in Paul. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.720 Wisdom often refers to the knowledge. 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:48.640 The insight into God's saving purposes in Christ. 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:50.660 That is real wisdom. 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:53.759 If you look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.140 You see Paul unpacking that truth. 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.920 That real wisdom is an understanding of what God has done in Christ. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.799 But you know you see it right here in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 8. 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:02.119 Look at there. 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:03.839 God lavished his grace on us. 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:05.359 He says in all wisdom. 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:06.359 There's that word. 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:09.299 And insight making known to us the mystery of his will. 00:20:09.399 --> 00:20:09.859 Which is what? 00:20:10.099 --> 00:20:11.599 To unite all things in Christ. 00:20:11.719 --> 00:20:13.619 This plan of redemption in Christ. 00:20:13.699 --> 00:20:14.439 So what is wisdom? 00:20:15.739 --> 00:20:16.799 Real wisdom from God. 00:20:16.879 --> 00:20:19.699 Real spiritual wisdom is to understand what God has done in Christ. 00:20:19.979 --> 00:20:21.019 Is doing in Christ. 00:20:21.179 --> 00:20:22.579 And will do in Christ. 00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:25.740 That's spiritual wisdom. 00:20:25.879 --> 00:20:27.319 And to know how to live in light of it. 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:30.659 It's similar with the word revelation here. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:31.159 Revelation. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:32.399 The spirit of wisdom and of revelation. 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:34.259 That word in general just means to uncover something. 00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:35.220 Or to unveil something. 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:35.480 Right? 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.439 But if you glance over a couple of chapters. 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:39.399 In Ephesians 3. 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:40.279 1 through 6. 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:42.859 Just kind of scan your eyes through that passage. 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:45.720 You see that Paul uses this word revelation repeatedly. 00:20:46.179 --> 00:20:47.679 In reference specifically. 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.919 To the mystery of Christ. 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:50.539 He calls it. 00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:53.440 This mystery of Christ has been revealed. 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:56.159 To the apostles and prophets through the spirit. 00:20:57.180 --> 00:20:58.519 Something they didn't know. 00:20:58.779 --> 00:20:59.740 In ages past. 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:01.000 But now it's been revealed. 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:05.099 You'll remember a couple weeks ago. 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:06.579 We looked at Ephesians 1.9. 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.960 And the mystery language here in Ephesians. 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:12.039 Doesn't mean it's something we don't know. 00:21:13.379 --> 00:21:15.720 Mystery for Paul here in Ephesians is a technical term. 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:17.299 It means something that was hidden. 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:19.180 Or partially known in the past. 00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:19.940 Under the old covenant. 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.000 But now has been fully revealed in the gospel. 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:24.279 That's the mystery of Christ. 00:21:24.360 --> 00:21:26.420 Something that God has torn open for us. 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:28.400 And surprised us all with. 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:34.720 So wisdom and revelation here are both terms. 00:21:35.320 --> 00:21:39.600 That refer to a deep grasp and understanding of what God has done in Christ. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.959 The spirit of wisdom and revelation. 00:21:41.959 --> 00:21:48.559 The spirit of wisdom and revelation is the Holy Spirit who comes and helps us to know God in that way. 00:21:48.959 --> 00:21:50.500 Through what he's done in Jesus. 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:59.940 So in order to move from knowing with our heads to really knowing in our hearts we need the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:02.320 That's why Paul prays. 00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:03.600 That's why Paul prays. 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:05.420 Father give them your spirit. 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:07.880 Give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation. 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:09.440 Which doesn't mean they don't have the spirit. 00:22:09.620 --> 00:22:09.779 Right? 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.299 Verse 13. 00:22:11.539 --> 00:22:13.700 Everyone at conversion is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. 00:22:13.860 --> 00:22:14.820 Sealed by the Holy Spirit. 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:17.200 Paul isn't praying that you'll get some kind of second blessing here. 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.019 Or that you'll get kind of more of the Holy Spirit. 00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:20.819 Because you only got half of it when you became a Christian. 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:21.160 No. 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:27.539 He's just saying I want the spirit to come and continue to impart his wisdom and his revelation. 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:35.099 There's an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to continue to unfold these things in our experiential knowledge. 00:22:38.379 --> 00:22:39.519 Let me put this another way. 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:44.879 We learn in verses 3 through 14 that it is God who gives the blessings of redemption. 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:45.259 Right? 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:49.599 They come from him by his grace to his glory. 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:50.319 He chooses. 00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:51.059 He redeems. 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:51.920 He seals. 00:22:53.140 --> 00:23:00.960 But in this prayer here we learn that it's God who also gives the heart knowledge of these blessings. 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:03.039 He gives the blessings themselves. 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:06.339 And he also gives the ability to really grasp them. 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:13.180 In other words, it's God who accomplishes it. 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:15.240 And it's God who applies it to our hearts. 00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:16.319 He brings the heat. 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:24.180 And that means we can't get this knowledge in any other way than from the Holy Spirit. 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:27.660 The Holy Spirit will use lots of means. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:32.359 But there are lots of things that we try to do in and of themselves to know God better that won't work. 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:35.960 Reading books of theology. 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:37.039 That's a great endeavor. 00:23:37.879 --> 00:23:43.319 Oh, that we would read more good, solid theology and grow in our understanding of these truths. 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:47.919 But, you know, reading theology alone isn't going to make the truth of God real to your heart. 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:55.439 Or serving and loving one another in the church and taking our full part in the fellowship of the saints. 00:23:55.939 --> 00:23:57.419 And loving and serving the world. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:59.859 We can pour out our lives in service just as Christ did. 00:23:59.899 --> 00:24:01.740 We can do all sorts of good works. 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:05.759 And as we'll see in chapter 2, good works are exactly what God has saved us to do. 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:11.480 But good works alone won't help us to really know God deep down like this. 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:15.860 We can try all those things. 00:24:15.860 --> 00:24:22.599 But without the Holy Spirit, it's to no avail. 00:24:24.120 --> 00:24:30.339 This sort of knowledge, the enlightening of the eyes of our hearts that will drive away all those false lords and false loves. 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:34.779 This sort of knowledge that makes Christ real and sweet to our hearts above all else. 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:39.619 It's a gift that comes from God through the working of His Holy Spirit. 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:47.379 And that brings us to the second part of our two-fold answer to how we get this sort of knowledge. 00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:47.899 Okay, great. 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:50.980 It's something that God gives to us through the Holy Spirit. 00:24:50.980 --> 00:25:02.039 If the enlightening of our eyes, of our hearts, is God's gift to give, then friends, don't you see? 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.839 That we must seek this gift above all in prayer. 00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:10.140 Prayer. 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:18.220 That's why this whole section of Ephesians in the rest of chapter 1 isn't a command. 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:25.000 Paul doesn't sort of finish describing how we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus and then say, 00:25:25.120 --> 00:25:27.500 Okay, idiots, open the eyes of your hearts. 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:28.600 Get it done. 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.220 Thou shalt know God experientially. 00:25:31.860 --> 00:25:32.620 That's not what he says. 00:25:34.819 --> 00:25:36.220 Instead, it's a prayer. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:39.579 He prays that God would do it. 00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:43.259 And that God would graciously give it to us. 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:51.079 Peter O'Brien, who wrote probably one of the best recent commentaries on the book of Ephesians, put it this way. 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:51.359 He says, 00:25:51.460 --> 00:26:00.440 Paul realizes that the Christian growth of his readers and his own missionary endeavors are wholly dependent on the living God 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:08.759 who gives generously to His children when we call upon Him in prayer. 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:14.059 Friends, this is how we started our service. 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:16.319 The beauty of the gospel is this. 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:19.500 That when sin had separated us from God, 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:24.019 and when sin had put us under the condemnation of death, 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:26.759 God sent His own Son. 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:29.059 He came in His own person, Jesus Christ, 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:31.660 to bear the penalty of our sin on the cross 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:34.259 and to rise again as our living Lord 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:37.680 so that now all who turn from sin 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:40.440 and place their trust in Christ are forgiven 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:46.080 and they have a permanent living advocate with God the Father forever, 00:26:46.300 --> 00:26:48.400 Jesus Christ the righteous one who is their Lord. 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:51.060 That is the gospel. 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:54.440 That God has forgiven our sins in Christ, 00:26:54.560 --> 00:26:56.040 not because of any works that we've done, 00:26:56.080 --> 00:26:58.680 but because of grace and has made us His children 00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:03.160 so that we can have unhindered access to the throne of God in prayer. 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:11.740 It is amazing what we do every single Sunday as we pray to God. 00:27:11.820 --> 00:27:17.880 It is a theological wonder what you do every single morning when you pray to God, 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.960 even if you wake up in the morning and just say, 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:21.039 Help God! 00:27:22.360 --> 00:27:23.840 Because your day is already overwhelming 00:27:23.840 --> 00:27:25.120 and your feet haven't even flipped the floor. 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:28.039 Don't you see what you're doing there, Christian? 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:32.399 You are doing something that is a theological and spiritual wonder. 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:38.339 You are going before the King and God of the whole universe 00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:43.440 who in ages past required people to go through endless rituals of cleansing 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:46.359 and go through endless sacrificial rites 00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:50.319 and to approach Him through series of barriers and doors 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:52.279 because our sin was so great 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:54.240 and because of what Jesus has done, 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:56.079 all that has been leveled. 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:59.759 So that now wherever we are, 00:28:00.139 --> 00:28:01.379 whenever we are, 00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:06.220 we can lift up the eyes of our hearts in faith to God and pray. 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:08.259 And He hears us. 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:12.759 And He doesn't just hear us begrudgingly 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:14.859 because we keep coming. 00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:16.419 No. 00:28:16.420 --> 00:28:20.300 He knows what we need even before we ask 00:28:20.300 --> 00:28:22.140 because He's our Father who loves us. 00:28:24.300 --> 00:28:25.860 When we come to Him in prayer, He says, 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:27.660 I was waiting for you to bring that. 00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:28.380 It's been a while. 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:29.580 Good. 00:28:29.820 --> 00:28:30.840 Let's talk about that. 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:38.519 And friends, what does that mean about the purpose of prayer? 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:39.940 What's it for? 00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:44.380 I like how John Calvin put it in the Institutes. 00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:46.940 This is kind of a long quote, but it's a good one. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:47.700 So stick with it. 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:48.779 He writes this. 00:28:48.860 --> 00:28:49.240 He says, 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:52.700 After we have been instructed by faith 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:55.799 to recognize that whatever we need 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.799 and whatever we lack is in God 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:59.799 and in our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:02.380 in whom the Father willed all the fullness 00:29:02.380 --> 00:29:03.980 of His bounty to abide, 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.160 so that we may draw from it 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:07.700 as from an ever-flowing stream. 00:29:09.099 --> 00:29:10.500 Once we realize all that, 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:13.620 it remains for us to seek in Him 00:29:13.619 --> 00:29:15.919 and in prayers to ask of Him 00:29:15.919 --> 00:29:18.819 what we have learned to be in Him. 00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:23.599 Otherwise, to know God as the master 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:25.839 and bestower of all good things 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:28.339 who invites us to request them of Him 00:29:28.339 --> 00:29:30.259 and still not to go to Him 00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:32.059 and not ask of Him, 00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:35.319 this would be as of little profit 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:38.119 as for a man to neglect a treasure 00:29:38.119 --> 00:29:40.239 buried and hidden in the earth 00:29:40.239 --> 00:29:43.059 after it had been pointed out to Him. 00:29:43.619 --> 00:29:47.559 It is therefore by the benefit of prayer 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:49.599 that we reach those riches 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:50.779 which are laid up for us 00:29:50.779 --> 00:29:51.659 with the Heavenly Father. 00:29:52.679 --> 00:29:56.599 It is true that we dig up by prayer 00:29:56.599 --> 00:29:59.259 the treasures that were pointed out 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:00.339 by the Lord's Gospel 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:03.119 and which our faith has gazed upon. 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:06.539 Do you see what Calvin is saying here? 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:08.459 He's saying, friends, 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:11.339 prayer is like a shovel 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:14.279 and there's the field of the Gospel 00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:16.579 and God says, go dig. 00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:18.679 Go find the treasures 00:30:18.679 --> 00:30:19.959 that I've laid up for you 00:30:19.959 --> 00:30:22.679 and here's your tool, prayer. 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:25.159 The gift that my blood has given you 00:30:25.159 --> 00:30:27.179 with untrammeled access to me, 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:27.839 go dig. 00:30:28.399 --> 00:30:29.359 Go find it. 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:33.159 So, friends, are you digging? 00:30:37.159 --> 00:30:39.039 Is your spiritual life cold tonight? 00:30:39.859 --> 00:30:41.559 Has your relationship to God 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:43.139 lost its sweetness to you? 00:30:44.139 --> 00:30:45.339 Maybe at one point you had 00:30:45.339 --> 00:30:46.259 this burning heart knowledge 00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:47.179 but now it seems it's sort of 00:30:47.179 --> 00:30:48.839 moved back up just into your mind. 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:53.659 Then, friends, we have to ask, 00:30:54.159 --> 00:30:56.839 am I digging up by prayer 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:59.579 the treasures God has given me in Christ? 00:31:00.919 --> 00:31:02.179 They are yours. 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:05.599 Now take the spade 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:07.839 and cut down into the earth 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:10.439 so that you can find them once again. 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:15.439 Maybe your experience of the church 00:31:15.439 --> 00:31:16.099 is mediocre. 00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:18.519 Maybe you're disappointed 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:19.939 by the vitality you see 00:31:19.939 --> 00:31:21.539 in your brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:24.459 You feel like as a community 00:31:24.459 --> 00:31:25.579 it's just gone cold. 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:29.279 Then, friends, start digging. 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:32.199 In our text tonight, 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:33.379 Paul's praying this prayer 00:31:33.379 --> 00:31:34.839 on behalf of his fellow Christians. 00:31:34.959 --> 00:31:36.319 He's praying it on their behalf 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:38.099 and we should too. 00:31:39.379 --> 00:31:41.679 So take this prayer of Paul's, friends, 00:31:41.919 --> 00:31:43.279 like a shovel in your hands 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:45.199 and start to hit the earth with it 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:46.580 for your friends 00:31:46.580 --> 00:31:48.500 and for your small group 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:49.900 and for your campus fellowship 00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:52.680 and for our church. 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:54.980 For the church members 00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:55.860 that you know by name, 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.100 pray this prayer for them. 00:31:57.640 --> 00:31:59.019 Pray it for the churches in New Haven. 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.519 Pray it for the body of Christ 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:02.380 across the globe. 00:32:05.960 --> 00:32:07.840 And that leads to pretty practical questions, 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:08.279 doesn't it? 00:32:08.279 --> 00:32:12.039 Do you have a time for prayer? 00:32:13.779 --> 00:32:16.399 Do you have a place for prayer? 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:20.220 Do you have a method for prayer? 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:24.639 You have set times that we eat, don't we? 00:32:26.399 --> 00:32:28.220 I bet you rarely miss 00:32:28.220 --> 00:32:29.740 one of your three meals a day. 00:32:31.059 --> 00:32:32.440 It might kind of move a little bit 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:33.000 this way and that, 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:34.259 but roughly you eat in the morning 00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:35.539 and you eat around lunchtime 00:32:35.539 --> 00:32:37.279 and you eat sometime in the evening. 00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:40.539 Do you have a set time for prayer? 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:43.299 Why not set one? 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:45.599 Because it feels inauthentic? 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:45.940 No. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:48.279 You plan the most important things 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:48.839 in your life. 00:32:49.059 --> 00:32:50.299 Why not set a time for prayer? 00:32:52.839 --> 00:32:54.200 How about a place for prayer? 00:32:54.460 --> 00:32:55.500 You have a place where you work, 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:57.399 your office, your desk, 00:32:57.700 --> 00:32:58.180 your car, 00:32:58.559 --> 00:32:59.980 wherever it is that you do your job. 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:03.819 Friends, Martin Luther once said 00:33:03.819 --> 00:33:05.799 that the work of a Christian 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:07.059 is to pray. 00:33:08.899 --> 00:33:10.119 Do you have a place for prayer? 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:12.579 A spot where you go 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:13.839 to do this work? 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:17.299 Do you have a method? 00:33:17.779 --> 00:33:18.399 You've got a method 00:33:18.399 --> 00:33:19.299 for physical exercise 00:33:19.299 --> 00:33:20.559 if you exercise, right? 00:33:21.019 --> 00:33:22.579 You do cardio three times a week, 00:33:22.879 --> 00:33:24.220 you do upper body twice a week, 00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:25.679 you do lower body twice a week 00:33:25.679 --> 00:33:26.019 or whatever, 00:33:26.139 --> 00:33:27.079 how many ever times a week. 00:33:28.819 --> 00:33:30.779 Why not think proactively 00:33:30.779 --> 00:33:32.619 about a method for prayer? 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:37.859 Friends, like anything worthwhile, 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:39.019 it's going to take some planning, 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:40.240 it's going to take some preparation, 00:33:40.399 --> 00:33:41.619 it's going to take a bit of sacrifice. 00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:42.059 But think, 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:43.419 if you're like me 00:33:43.419 --> 00:33:44.500 and you kind of never exercise, 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:45.659 sometimes I daydream. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:46.859 What would it be like 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:48.200 if I spent 30 minutes a day 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:49.439 actually exercising? 00:33:50.919 --> 00:33:52.039 What if I spent like 00:33:52.039 --> 00:33:53.740 five minutes a day 00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:54.839 working on my core? 00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:56.460 I would feel great. 00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:57.759 My lower back would stop hurting. 00:33:57.859 --> 00:33:58.879 I'd probably have a lot more energy. 00:33:58.980 --> 00:33:59.639 I'd feel awesome 00:33:59.639 --> 00:34:00.559 if I spent 30 minutes 00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:01.460 every day exercising. 00:34:01.460 --> 00:34:02.319 And that's probably true. 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:04.860 Friends, 00:34:04.900 --> 00:34:05.460 have you ever thought 00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:06.340 in your minds, 00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:08.519 what if you would spend 00:34:08.519 --> 00:34:09.460 30 minutes a day 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:10.619 in the spiritual exercise 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:11.139 of prayer? 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:14.519 Not as a labor, 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:15.480 not as something 00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:16.440 that you have to do, 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:17.679 but as a way of digging up 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:18.539 the riches 00:34:18.539 --> 00:34:19.619 of the gospel 00:34:19.619 --> 00:34:20.639 for you in Christ. 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:24.679 The first few days, 00:34:24.740 --> 00:34:25.300 it might seem like 00:34:25.300 --> 00:34:26.019 you aren't getting anywhere. 00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:28.059 The shovel's going to feel 00:34:28.059 --> 00:34:28.579 a little awkward 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:29.099 in your hands 00:34:29.099 --> 00:34:29.579 and you might get 00:34:29.579 --> 00:34:30.380 a callus or two 00:34:30.380 --> 00:34:31.259 because you're not used 00:34:31.259 --> 00:34:32.079 to swinging it around. 00:34:34.799 --> 00:34:35.460 But soon, 00:34:35.579 --> 00:34:35.920 the treasures 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:36.759 will start coming up. 00:34:39.319 --> 00:34:40.139 The Puritans used to say, 00:34:40.279 --> 00:34:42.400 pray until you pray. 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:45.339 And what they meant 00:34:45.339 --> 00:34:45.860 was that you need 00:34:45.860 --> 00:34:46.839 to keep at it 00:34:46.839 --> 00:34:48.860 until you really break through 00:34:48.860 --> 00:34:50.940 to talking with the living God. 00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:53.199 It takes a little effort 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:53.699 at first. 00:34:54.319 --> 00:34:55.139 It's like exercise. 00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:56.139 You got to get warmed up. 00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:59.359 But once you get warmed up 00:34:59.359 --> 00:35:00.559 and you hit your stride, 00:35:01.460 --> 00:35:03.359 then it really starts to feel 00:35:03.359 --> 00:35:04.799 like you're running. 00:35:05.539 --> 00:35:07.799 Pray until you pray. 00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:10.759 And friends, 00:35:10.819 --> 00:35:11.659 we know that God is faithful. 00:35:11.799 --> 00:35:12.400 Jesus once said 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:13.000 to His disciples, 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:13.980 if your earthly parents 00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:14.940 know how to give good gifts 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:15.579 to their children, 00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:17.599 how much more 00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:18.599 will your heavenly Father 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:19.659 give the Holy Spirit 00:35:19.659 --> 00:35:20.980 to them that ask? 00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:25.460 And we sometimes read that verse 00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:25.960 and we think, 00:35:26.699 --> 00:35:28.460 oh, just the Holy Spirit? 00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:29.380 Come on, Jesus, 00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:30.139 there's a lot of other stuff 00:35:30.139 --> 00:35:30.880 I need to ask for. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:32.360 No. 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:33.639 Don't you see? 00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:34.880 Don't you see 00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:35.880 what we've been talking about tonight? 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:37.940 That the gift of the Holy Spirit, 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:39.440 His ministry in our hearts, 00:35:39.720 --> 00:35:41.340 the Holy Spirit communicating 00:35:41.340 --> 00:35:42.760 all the blessings of Christ 00:35:42.760 --> 00:35:43.920 deep down into our souls, 00:35:44.300 --> 00:35:45.360 radically changing us, 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:46.079 liberating us, 00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:46.519 freeing us, 00:35:46.840 --> 00:35:47.900 opening the eyes of our hearts 00:35:47.900 --> 00:35:49.019 to really see them 00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:49.840 and know them 00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:50.500 and grasp them 00:35:50.500 --> 00:35:51.460 and to know God. 00:35:51.720 --> 00:35:52.860 What else do you want? 00:35:52.860 --> 00:35:53.800 And Jesus says, 00:35:54.120 --> 00:35:54.380 look, 00:35:54.680 --> 00:35:55.640 your heavenly parents, 00:35:55.800 --> 00:35:56.519 your earthly parents 00:35:56.519 --> 00:35:57.400 know how to give you good gifts. 00:35:57.700 --> 00:35:58.300 Don't you think 00:35:58.300 --> 00:35:58.960 the heavenly Father 00:35:58.960 --> 00:35:59.860 will delight 00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:01.579 to give you the Holy Spirit 00:36:01.579 --> 00:36:02.360 when you ask? 00:36:09.180 --> 00:36:09.900 So I was hoping 00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:10.820 to spend some time tonight 00:36:10.820 --> 00:36:12.420 unpacking verses 18 through 19. 00:36:13.059 --> 00:36:13.599 Some of you have been 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:14.200 looking at your watches 00:36:14.200 --> 00:36:14.559 and thinking, 00:36:14.680 --> 00:36:14.900 uh-oh, 00:36:14.980 --> 00:36:16.120 he still has a third point. 00:36:17.680 --> 00:36:18.660 But we run out of time, 00:36:18.700 --> 00:36:19.380 so I'm not going to do that. 00:36:19.380 --> 00:36:22.360 In the rest of our verses, 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:23.380 in verses 18 and 19, 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:24.640 which we were going to cover tonight, 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:27.740 Paul sort of starts unfolding 00:36:27.740 --> 00:36:30.160 how he thinks the Ephesians 00:36:30.160 --> 00:36:30.840 in particular 00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:32.180 need the eyes of their hearts opened. 00:36:34.380 --> 00:36:35.500 He wants them to understand 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:36.900 the hope that they have in God 00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:39.500 because they've been called by God. 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:42.200 And he wants them to understand 00:36:42.200 --> 00:36:44.000 the glory that they have 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:45.960 because they're God's inheritance. 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:48.500 And he wants them to understand 00:36:48.500 --> 00:36:49.740 the power that they have 00:36:49.740 --> 00:36:52.059 because they're united 00:36:52.059 --> 00:36:54.760 to the risen and reigning Lord Jesus 00:36:54.760 --> 00:36:56.559 whose name is above every name. 00:36:59.960 --> 00:37:01.840 So instead of us unpacking these tonight, 00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:03.840 here's what I want us to do. 00:37:04.920 --> 00:37:05.920 Why don't you this week 00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:08.099 take these three petitions 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:10.360 and use them in your own prayers. 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:12.619 Use them as tools 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:14.699 to begin praying for yourself 00:37:14.699 --> 00:37:16.239 and for your friends 00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:18.539 and for your fellow church members. 00:37:20.259 --> 00:37:21.199 And ask that the Holy Spirit 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:22.439 will take these words 00:37:22.439 --> 00:37:23.579 that the Spirit has inspired 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:25.000 and help you to start to grasp 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:25.939 what they really mean. 00:37:28.539 --> 00:37:29.480 And you'll start to see 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:30.539 that the Spirit begins 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:31.559 to unlock these things 00:37:31.559 --> 00:37:32.319 in your own heart 00:37:32.319 --> 00:37:34.359 because God's a good Father 00:37:34.359 --> 00:37:36.359 and He'll give the Holy Spirit 00:37:36.359 --> 00:37:37.000 when we ask. 00:37:38.419 --> 00:37:39.259 Let's pray together. 00:37:39.260 --> 00:37:46.100 Lord Jesus, 00:37:46.220 --> 00:37:47.840 we want to be a people 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:50.540 who don't just know about you 00:37:50.540 --> 00:37:51.420 but really know you. 00:37:52.500 --> 00:37:53.900 Thank you for the gift of your Spirit 00:37:53.900 --> 00:37:54.920 that makes that possible. 00:37:55.140 --> 00:37:55.360 Lord, 00:37:55.960 --> 00:37:57.100 we confess that 00:37:57.100 --> 00:37:59.360 prayer is often very hard 00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:01.840 and so many things 00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:03.040 drive it from our schedules 00:38:03.040 --> 00:38:04.140 and from our minds. 00:38:04.139 --> 00:38:06.339 and yet Lord, 00:38:06.420 --> 00:38:07.339 help us to remember 00:38:07.339 --> 00:38:09.420 that prayer is such 00:38:09.420 --> 00:38:10.679 a wonderful gift to us 00:38:10.679 --> 00:38:13.039 and that there are treasures 00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:14.559 untold to be had 00:38:14.559 --> 00:38:15.879 in unpacking 00:38:15.879 --> 00:38:16.799 the great salvation 00:38:16.799 --> 00:38:17.440 and redemption 00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:19.079 that we have in Jesus. 00:38:19.619 --> 00:38:20.019 Father, 00:38:20.420 --> 00:38:21.599 as we come to you in prayer. 00:38:21.739 --> 00:38:22.039 So Lord, 00:38:22.119 --> 00:38:23.259 I pray that you would meet 00:38:23.259 --> 00:38:24.219 the prayers of your people 00:38:24.219 --> 00:38:24.920 as you promised. 00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:26.879 Help us to grasp these things 00:38:26.879 --> 00:38:27.879 and so be changed 00:38:27.879 --> 00:38:28.799 into your likeness. 00:38:29.940 --> 00:38:31.539 We ask this in the name of Jesus. 00:38:32.019 --> 00:38:32.239 Amen. 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:32.339 Amen. 00:38:34.139 --> 00:38:35.859 Well, friends, 00:38:35.900 --> 00:38:36.400 we're going to close 00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:37.579 by singing some songs together. 00:38:37.699 --> 00:38:38.400 Let's use these songs 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:39.039 as an opportunity 00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:40.539 to continue in a spirit of prayer 00:38:40.539 --> 00:38:43.099 asking God to open up our hearts 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:44.219 to see these things afresh. 00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:45.319 Let's stand and let's pray. 00:38:45.379 --> 00:38:46.119 Let's sing together.