Thank you.
This morning to pray for me because I'm reminded of what it says in 2 Corinthians where Paul, he says,
we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the glory may be of God and not of us.
And then later, Paul says a very interesting thing in relationship. He says, we are the aroma of life and death.
To those who are believing, we are the aroma of life. And to those who are dying, we are the aroma of death.
And then he says something. He says, and who is sufficient for these things?
I want you to turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3.
And we are in the process of looking at the prayer that Paul prays from Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14 through 21.
I think it is perhaps if I were to choose one sermon that I could preach, I would have to decide in advance who was I preaching to.
If I were preaching to unbelievers, I would tell you that I would probably preach John 3.16.
If I only had one opportunity, it would be to preach John 3.16.
If I had one sermon to do for those who were believers, I would want to go to Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14 through 21.
I cannot think of a richer, more precious, more valuable, more significant passage of Scripture.
Now, given that pastors speak in hyperbole, bear with me, because all Scripture, what does it say?
Is profitable that the man of God may be completely furnished unto all good works.
And so, it's a hard thing to be able to say, and I confess it, that this is the one significant passage.
I don't mean to say that, but it is so rich to us.
Earlier this week, I was reading a book called To Tell the Truth by Will Metzger.
And it's a good book.
I wouldn't call it easy reading.
But Will was talking about the fact that he had been invited to go to a group, a college group,
and a large gathering of young people.
And at the very beginning of his series, and he was actually preaching at a retreat for a number of sessions.
And so, to start things off, he asked the question,
So, how many of you here this morning have confidence in your eternal destiny?
Now, we use that kind of question in evangelism, don't we?
If you were to die tonight, and God were to say,
Why should I let you into heaven?
What would you say?
We use something on the same flavor.
And he was amazed when, after he asked that question about how many of you have confidence in your eternal destiny,
all of those young people, it was a Christian gathering,
all of those young people raised their hands and said,
I've got confidence.
Well, then he asked a subsequent question.
He said,
And so, do you know what he did?
Beloved,
conversion that is genuine,
produces in us a growing affection for Christ,
and a desire to grow in godliness.
And where those two elements are deficient,
there is either a good cause for questioning an individual's birth certificate,
or there is good cause to question where in the process of spiritual growth is that believer.
I speak to you this morning as people who know Christ.
I make that assumption,
though I would believe there are some that are among us today that may have grown up in a Christian home.
You know all the vocabulary.
You got through Awana.
You know the verses.
You probably got a Timothy award.
But the truth of the matter is,
is that there is no affection for the Lord Jesus Christ,
or even a sense of the importance of growing in that.
And there's a large indifference to the matter of obedience.
You may not be saved.
Or this morning's message has direct application to your heart,
and it would be my plea and my prayer
that the Word of God would affect you,
and lead to change that is worthy.
Let me read the passage that we're going to be looking at there in verse 18 and 19.
Here is Paul.
Remember he says in verse 14,
For this cause I bow my knees.
He says, I'm going to pray.
This is what I'm going to pray for.
Works his way through.
And then in verse 18 and 19,
we actually come to the substance of what he is praying for.
And he says this.
He says that you may have strength to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
So let me begin by recognizing here that what we find in Paul's text is,
first of all, that it's important to have a purpose for prayer.
And when people pray, we do for a reason.
Listen, there's something we need.
There's something that is on our heart.
Often when I am in ministry,
one of the things that I remind myself of what it says in James chapter 1,
it says,
If any man lack what?
Wisdom, let him ask of God.
And later on in James, it says,
You have not because you asked not.
And so we recognize that when we pray,
our prayers reflect what we believe is supremely important
or important to us at the moment.
And so there are times when in our prayer life,
we are just crying out and asking God for things that are a burden to our soul.
Other times we're just expressive and thankful.
And let me tell you that I think there is Bible illustration in the fact
that the starting place for most of our prayers in our relationship should be with,
Lord, I cannot tell you how thankful I am that you are my God and Savior
and that I, by your grace, have come into relationship with you.
And I am abundantly blessed.
I have more than I deserve.
And so as we look here at Paul's prayer,
we find that here is the apostle asking for what he believes
is absolutely most essential in the lives of those that he dearly loves.
His goal, in this case,
is for the believer to grasp the love of Christ
and to be filled with all the fullness of God.
And I made the statement last week that over and over again in pastoral ministry,
I found myself in various times comforting those who have been afflicted
or encouraging those who have been oppressed by the heartaches of life,
dealing with discouragement and despair,
brokenness, and at the heart of what I have often found myself desperately wishing I could do,
is I could put a pill in front of them and say,
take this, it will solve your problem.
We are a culture that depends very heavily on pills.
And so I would love to have a capsule that said,
love of Christ, take two, see me in the morning.
You know, it would work.
And Paul is praying and he says,
listen, I want these people that I love to grasp the love of Christ
and be filled with all the fullness of God.
I want us to recognize that here he is praying to grasp a profound thing.
As we unfold our text this morning,
we're going to see that Paul's prayer comes down to a request
that each believer would be able to comprehend
the richness of the love of Christ.
And so there are several things that draw our attention as we think about this.
And I want you to kind of put your mind into gear and follow along with me here.
For one thing, comprehending the love of Christ,
and that's what Paul is interested in,
involves more than just reciting a few verses from a children's song.
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible told me so, right?
And we've got that one down.
Or Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.
What are they?
Red and yellow, black and white, they are...
Comprehending the love of Christ is more than understanding the words of a song
or reciting them.
The word that Paul uses here when he talks about comprehending
is a word that means to have a grip on something and understand it.
At the heart of our faith, and I want you to recognize this,
is the truth that God has revealed Himself to us,
and He wants us to understand who He is and what He's told us.
I want you to turn back in your Bible just for a moment to a passage in Deuteronomy
where that truth becomes undeniably clear.
Deuteronomy chapter 30, if you would go there just for a moment.
Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 11 through 14.
I'm going to skip from 11 to 14.
So let's just go to Deuteronomy chapter 30.
And in verse 11 it says,
For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you,
neither is it far off.
We are going to preach this summer in the evening services
during the time that we do not have small group.
Pastor Saul and I are going to play tag team.
That's not like WWF or whatever else,
but we're going to tag team,
and we're going to preach on some theological truths.
One of them has to do with the clarity that God has
in communicating His Word to us.
We're going to talk about the Scriptures and God's intention
that it's understandable.
And so as you look at this passage,
here is Moses speaking to his children at the end of his life,
and he says,
Listen, let me tell you something about this book that you have.
It's not too hard.
It's not so complicated that you can't get it.
And then look at verse 14.
But the Word is very near you.
It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it.
I want you to recognize that God's intention is for us to understand His Word.
His desire and His delight is that we comprehend His Word
and that it makes a difference in our life.
Having said that, I want you to recognize that it does take work.
It does take work.
And I think about a passage over in Job,
and I want you to go there as well if you would.
Job chapter 42 verse 5.
Job is a very interesting book that deals with the matter of human suffering.
And most of us, when we're going through suffering,
and I can tell you that every one of us will,
things are not going to go the way you want.
And you're going to find yourself asking the question on occasion,
Why me, Lord?
What have I ever done?
Right?
I mean, it's a great song.
But, you know, we're going to ask ourselves,
So what did I do?
I've been reading through the book of John repeatedly,
and I found myself again at that passage where,
Remember the man who was born blind,
and the disciples say to him,
All right, all right.
So who sinned?
Did he sin?
Or did his parents sin so this happened to him?
You see, we often think that things happen to us
just because of things we've done
or things that other people have done, etc.
And here is Job going through all this suffering.
Things aren't going well,
and he finds himself not only dealing with his suffering,
but he has good friends who show up,
and what do his good friends tell him?
You had it coming to you.
Now, that's a real good friend, isn't it?
You know, if you'd been a little better guy,
and the day list and bad things don't happen
unless you're a bad dude,
and so suffer, bud, and learn from it.
And at the end of the day,
God shows up on the scene.
Does God explain to Job why he's suffering?
What's the answer?
Nope.
Let me say that again slowly.
Nope.
And we come to Job chapter 42, verse 5.
I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now mine eye sees you.
Remember, the point that I wanted to make
is that God's Word is there for us to understand,
but I've got to tell you that it does take some work.
And the idea that it's just like,
we can all lie around and spend our days in carelessness
and want and pleasure
and think that we're going to understand the Word.
It doesn't work that way.
And so here we find Job going through the process of suffering,
and then he's crying out to God,
what am I doing?
What do I need to learn?
And God says, hey, let me tell you who I am.
And all that he does, really, is reveal his creative power.
That's what he does.
By the way, were you there when I did thus and so,
or thus and so, and thus and so?
And Job finally comes to the point of saying,
you know what, I get it.
You're awesome.
You're wonderful.
Now, in more specific terms to our lesson today,
God wants us to grasp the scope of his love
and its incredible value.
At the heart of what we find the Apostle Paul praying,
and by the way, when the Apostle Paul penned these words,
because we understand from our grasp of the doctrine of Scripture,
these words were not something that Paul thought up on his own.
Why do we have these Scriptures?
All Scripture is given to us by inspiration.
The Spirit of God instructed Paul to write these words,
and they give to us some indication of what God has in mind.
And here is Paul praying,
I want you believers to understand the scope of the love of God
and its incredible value.
And so as we look at these four words that we find here in the passage,
I want to make an appeal to you that they were not designed for speed reading,
nor were they designed for speed thinking.
There in verse 18 it says,
that you would comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length
and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ.
Each word is important.
And the Spirit of God intends for each of these words to be meditated upon
and given careful consideration
and allow the depth and the beauty of what is expressed in these words
to then encourage us in understanding the scope and breadth,
the depth, the beauty,
of the all-surpassing love of Christ for us.
Let's think about the four things that he says.
He says, I want you to understand the breadth of the love of Christ.
What is the breadth of His love?
Turn over in your Bible, if you would, just for a moment,
over to a passage in Revelation chapter 5, verse 9,
and I want you to stop and think what eternity is going to be like,
and one of the settings or scenes that you and I are going to enjoy.
Revelation chapter 5, verse 9.
And they sang a new song.
By the way, sidebar, my hearing is going,
so one of the things that if you see me doing it occasionally,
don't think I've gone off,
just understand that probably at the point I need hearing aids,
they're all shot out,
but I like to, embarrassing thing to do,
but I like to cup my ears, my ears with my hands.
Do you know what that does?
That kind of amplifies the beauty of hearing people sing,
and there's something about listening to the people of Christ
sing the glory of Christ.
It is just beautiful.
And here is John.
He says,
And they sang a new song,
saying,
Do you understand how broad His love is?
The other day I was filling out a form,
actually,
at the Social Security Administration,
or whatever it was,
and I had to identify my ethnicity.
And now they have one little box,
refused.
Well, I thought,
Oh, don't be that way,
so I checked off white.
You know?
And I think,
You know,
every tribe and nation,
do you realize that?
One of the things that I take pleasure in
when I pray for our different missionaries,
I was praying for Mark Furman this morning
and his ministry in China and India.
I like,
I find pleasure,
as I grow in understanding the scope of ministry,
I find pleasure in praying for people around the world.
It reminds me,
They're all over the place.
They're in China.
They're in Japan.
They're in Africa.
They're in India.
They're in America.
They're in Ecuador.
All over the world,
there are people who,
by the grace of God,
have come to be part of the family of God,
and that's the breadth of His love.
I want you to think with me now
about the length of His love.
And in Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 3,
it says this,
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
When did God start loving you?
You know,
when I look at myself in the mirror,
I got to tell you,
I'm not like that,
I'm not what I ought to be,
but I'm not like that wicked witch
or whatever woman
who has looked at herself in the mirror
and said,
Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all, right?
I don't do that.
But,
I look at myself and think,
jeez.
You know,
and here's the truth.
I was sitting down here this morning,
sitting right there,
meditating and praying about the sermon,
and I found myself struggling
with that age-old battle
that takes place in my life.
And the remedy
was to remind myself
of the unfailing,
unconditional,
never-changing love of Christ.
And do you know what the Scripture says?
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
I can tell when people
are not convinced
of that significance.
Do you know what's a giveaway?
When people are not convinced
of the everlasting,
absolute,
certain love of Christ,
they're self-consumed,
they're unhappy,
they're insecure,
and they're pretty irritable
with other people.
Do you know why?
Because the false god
that they worship
invariably is insecure.
And here is Paul saying,
I want you to understand
the length.
How far does his love go?
It started from everlasting.
And over there
in Revelation chapter 13,
verse 8,
and again in 17,
verse 8,
we find a very similar statement
in which John speaks
about the fact
that our names were written
in the book of life
before what?
Help me here.
When was your name
written in the book?
Was it when you decided
to trust in Jesus?
Is that when it was written?
No.
It was written before the what?
The foundation of the world.
Beloved,
I take comfort
in knowing that.
I like the fact,
and this morning
as I was listening
to the songs
that we were singing together,
I was just kind of
matching up
some of the scriptures
that bear on those passages.
And let me tell you
what it does for me.
It amplifies my appreciation
for the music
that we sing.
And I was thinking
about what it says
that he has his hand
and on his hand
is my name.
My name.
And someday, beloved,
we are going to meet
the one who has loved us
from eternity past.
And that's going to be
pretty good, isn't it?
That's going to be something
that is going to lift up
our hearts and,
oh man,
I can't tell you
how sweet that day
is going to be.
I remember the last time
I traveled to India,
I was gone for
who knows how long
it seemed like
an incredibly long time.
And I remember
getting off the,
as I was,
this is something
that happens in my heart.
When my body starts
turning towards coming home,
guess what happens
to my thinking?
It kind of zeros in
down on my honey.
Okay?
And I was over there
in Bangalore
and when I walked
into the airport,
I was thinking,
I am going home
to see Judith.
And the closer I got,
guess what?
the more focused
my thinking was.
Beloved,
the day is coming
when we are going
to see Jesus
and can I tell you something?
If your heart
does not long
for the day
that you will see Him,
I would ask you
a question,
what's happened?
Or maybe you don't know Him.
I want you to recognize
there's another statement
that Paul makes there.
He talks about the height.
There in the passage,
He says that you would
understand the breadth
and the length
and then He says height.
And I stop and recognize
that that is a reference
to the exaltation,
the height to which
He has lifted us.
I'm awestruck
when I stop
and consider
that His love
has rescued
wounded,
rebellious,
bitter enemies
of the cross
and He has made
those same people
His own.
And you know what?
His love
will bring us home
to glory
and to perfect union
with Him.
I think about a passage
and there are many
that would bear
on this subject,
but turn over
in your Bible
to John chapter 17
verse 24 and 26.
This is Jesus
in His high priestly prayer
as He prays
for believers
and here's what He says
in verse 24.
He says,
Listen,
Father,
I desire that they also
whom You have given Me
may be with Me
where I am.
Yeah,
I love Jesus,
but I don't really care
to be around Him.
Huh?
No.
Jesus says,
I love them,
I want them
to be where I am.
To see My glory
that You have given Me
because,
listen to this,
because You loved Me
before the foundation
of the world.
Do you see the connectedness
between this whole issue?
Jesus wants us
to have communion
and intimacy,
but the heart of it,
He says,
it's because You've loved Me.
Then look at verse 26.
I made known to them
Your name
and I will continue
to make it known.
Now follow the remainder
of the verse
because it is poignant
that the love
with which You have loved Me
may be in them
and I in them.
Jesus is praying
before the cross
and He says,
listen,
here's what I'm asking
that You would do
for these
dear,
dear
disciples
and those
who follow
in belief
in the centuries
to come.
that the love
with which You
have loved Me
may be
in them.
Oh, Jesus,
I would like
to win the lottery.
Pfft!
Oh, Jesus,
I would like
better health.
Oh, Jesus,
I need different
neighbors.
Oh, Jesus,
no,
that the love
with which You
have loved Me
may be in them.
Let's go to
one other piece
and I have
to tell you
that I've asked
myself over
and over again
this week,
why was this
last?
The depth.
I think the
matter of height
and depth
stand close
together
and give us
some
depth
of thinking
that deserves
attention.
I can't
help but think
I appreciate
Pastor Ken
mentioning the
man who
recited Isaiah
chapter 53
and I have
in my notes
I have referenced
Isaiah chapter 53
where it talks
about the Lord
Jesus and His
suffering for us.
And I'm reminded
of what Jesus
did in order
to save you
and to save me.
It is the most
incredible,
the most
unbelievable thing
of all of
human history
that God
would send
His own
Son
to take
upon Himself
human flesh
to die
in our place
and to rise
again
so that
those who
believe in Him
might have
an intimate
relationship
with the
Lord of glory.
I think
back over
to Philippians
chapter 2
and you
remember
where Paul
is writing
to the church
at Philippi
and he is
dealing with
the struggle
that church
is having
with attitudes
and relationships
with one another
and he says
let this mind
be in you
which was also
in Christ Jesus.
In other words
hey, hey, hey
think the way
Jesus thought
and having
said that
he says
alright
let me help you
with that
let me talk
about what
Jesus did
he had
every right
to view
himself as
co-equal
with the
Father
rightfully so
and yet
he willingly
humbled himself
and took upon
himself
human form
and not only
that but he
obeyed the
Father and was
willing to go
to the cross
for you
that's depth
now I want
to tell you
that these
four dimensions
of his love
are designed
to serve
as prompters
and the deeper
you think
about his love
the more blessed
you are going
to be
let me say
that again
slowly
and I don't
have it on
a header
over the board
but let me
just say this
these four
dimensions
you have them
there in front
of you
it speaks
about his
breadth
and length
and width
and depth
and I want
you to
height and depth
and I want
you to understand
that these
four are
prompters
they're designed
to help you
think carefully
and accurately
about the subject
of the love
of Christ
see it's one
thing to memorize
the little song
and sing it
I appreciate
Tim Bauer
bailing me out
last week
when we
I found myself
wanting the words
to a song
and Tim
kindly recited
them
his love
never gives up
right
you know
never walks
out on me
his love
never fails
and here
when Paul
says
hey listen
I want you
to think
about
the breadth
of his love
the intention
is that we
massage that
a little bit
and squeeze it
and figure out
what it means
to us
personally
in the frame
of scripture
let me say
this carefully
to think about
it
and not think
about it
in the frame
of scripture
is at best
very dangerous
now why would
I say
that
I don't
know
should
pastor
say
such a
thing
apart
from the
counsel
and instruction
of the word
of God
my thinking
is very
flawed
would you
agree with
that
the heart
is deceitful
what
and desperately
wicked
who can
know it
left to
my own
devices
I go
left of
center
every time
I can't
tell you
how often
the scriptures
help me
think
properly
so I want
you to
recognize
that these
verses
are given
to us
to help
us think
carefully
and it's
not just
a matter
of singing
Jesus
loves me
this
I know
it's
going
further
than that
you can
sing
that song
until the
cows come
home
and be
very
fruitless
as a
believer
do you
understand
that
it's
another
thing
I would
encourage
you to
do this
it's
another
thing
to
memorize
Ephesians
chapter 3
verse 14
through 19
but I've
had people
come in
and sit
in my
office
and they
have
accomplished
my
counseling
assignment
and they
have
memorized
the
passage
and they
rattled
it
off
but they
are
still
self
consumed
and
unhappy
do you
know what
every good
Jew would
do
morning and
evening
as you
might
know
they would
recite
the
Shema
hear
O Israel
the Lord
our God
the Lord
is one
and you
shall love
the Lord
your God
with all
your heart
they said
it in the
morning
and by the
way
if you
want to
go on
the web
it's
always
entertaining
to kind
of say
so what
was that
like
and there's
actually
rabbinical
instruction
on when
to say
the Shema
to get
the most
value
from your
obedience
in fact
if you
say it
after sunrise
it's a good
thing but it
doesn't count
as many
points as
if you
say it
before sunrise
and if
you really
want to
die as
a good
good Jew
you need
to have
the very
last thing
you say
being the
Shema
hear
oh
Israel
the Lord
our God
the Lord
is one
people don't
go to heaven
because they
say the
Shema
nor do they
go to heaven
because they
know
Ephesians
chapter 3
verse 14
through 19
by heart
what the
father wants
us to do
is to
meditate
upon this
Bible truth
with the
enabling of
the spirit
of God
and be
affected by
it
so
let me
play it
out for
you in
practical
terms
grasping
his love
takes the
spirit's
power
and
persistent
effort
there's
no
accident
for the
reason
that Paul
prays
as he
does
and I
want to
kind of
spell
something
out for
you here
a little
bit
in our
study of
Ephesians
we commented
on the
fact at
the very
beginning
that the
first three
chapters
are
informative
of the
glory of
Christ
in our
redemption
and the
wonderful work
of God
in saving
us
the last
three chapters
are about
our behavior
okay
and it's
very important
to recognize
that in
scripture
as it should
be in
parenting
we talk
about who
God is
and what
he's done
for us
before we
talk about
how we
should behave
towards him
and so
as we
look at
this passage
in
Ephesians
we're
at the
point
the pivot
point
and the
pivot
point
in particular
is understanding
comprehending
the love
of Christ
because
out of
that
will flow
all of
our
obedience
and the
fruitful
joy that
comes with
it
so it
makes
sense
then to
pray that
Paul would
ask for
the Spirit's
help and
you should
do the
same
I would
encourage
you
let me
have you
look up
just for a
minute
look at
me
please
you should
pray
regularly
you should
pray
regularly
that the
Spirit of
God would
help you
grow in
understanding
the love
of Christ
I'm not
going to
ask you
to raise
your hand
and say
when did
you pray
that last
but I
would move
that up
your prayer
list
I have
a natural
deficiency
to
understanding
the love
of Christ
and let me
tell you
something
understanding
the love
of Christ
is the
genesis
of loving
Christ
do you
follow that
it's the
way it
happens
you understand
the love
of Christ
and that
nurtures
and stimulates
and encourages
you to grow
in your love
for Christ
now you're
sitting there
with a heart
that's stone
clothed
towards Jesus
one of two
things is
going on
you don't
know him
or you've
allowed the
world and
the issues
of life
to creep
in and
rob you
of the
supremacy
of the
joy
of loving
the lover
of your
soul
and the
starting point
is prayer
it also
makes sense
to not only
pray
but to spend
more time
in the word
I am
flummoxed
that's a new
word for you
to look up
I suppose
flummoxed
I'm kind
of stumped
okay
at the
many people
who tell me
that they
love Jesus
but they
never crack
the book
and read
about him
or find
out what
he has
to say
or care
about being
with him
in prayer
what kind
of relationship
do you have
with someone
else that you
really don't
care about
talking with
or listening
to
you're fooling
yourself
let me
close off
by
mashing
the
accelerator
to the
floor
comprehending
his love
leads to
his fullness
Ephesians
chapter 3
verse 19
it says
and to know
the love
of Christ
so how can
you know
something that
surpasses
knowledge
it's saying
hey
it's out
there
wrap your
arms around
it
know the
love of
Christ
that surpasses
knowledge
that you
may be
filled
with all
the fullness
of God
that is
just kind
of like
that is
it's like
putting it
all together
so what do
you want
in life
I want
the fullness
of God
well what do
you really
want
I want
the fullness
of God
what would
you be
willing to
sacrifice
anything and
everything for
I will
sacrifice
for the
fullness
of God
let me say
in relationship
that
one
grasping
his love
is the
fruit of
faith
there's some
of you sitting
here that
really don't
know
how deep
and how
wonderful
the love
of Christ
is
and you
have been
slogging
your way
through
life
you know
what
John said
in 1st John
chapter 4
verse 7
he says
love is of
God
so where
does it
come from
that you
miserable
broken
ruined
sinner
should come
to begin
to love
God
it is
the work
of the
spirit
that's
gotten
a hold
of your
life
and is
drawing
you
into
relationship
and is
giving
you
that
desire
secondly
fully
grasping
his love
gives us
his fullness
I wish
for time
I had
more time
we'll deal
with it
another point
so this
morning
I speak
to you
this here
in this
place
recognizing
that
one of
two things
is true
you may
be here
and you
do not
know
Christ
now
you may
know all
the rules
you may
even know
the vocabulary
but you
have never
had an
interest
and an
affection
for the
Lord of
glory
who occupies
the praises
of eternity
and I
gotta tell
you
love
for
Christ
comes
through
his
grace
and this
morning
as you
stand
or sit
here
I would
appeal
to you
if there
is a
lack
of
interest
in
Christ
and
no
affection
for
him
you
should
turn
over
the birth
certificate
and say
yes
when
did I
really
come
to know
Christ
and where
is the
evidence
of his
grace
today
may be
the day
also
that you
as a
believer
need to
rededicate
yourself
to growing
in his
love
and how
are you
going to
do that
well
we don't
rededicate
ourselves
to anything
that we
are fully
persuaded
that we're
doing pretty
well at
do you
follow what
I'm
saying
but if
you're
sitting
here
and
your
love
has
grown
cold
then I
would
plead
with you
that with
humility
and
brokenness
you
begin
praying
Lord
now listen
I think
what we
say in
prayer
is pretty
important
Lord
I want
you to
do
whatever
you
think
necessary
to
encourage
me
to
persistently
grow
in my
love
for
you
I
want
to
grow
in
love
I'm
going to
pray
for
that
I
don't
care
what
the
cost
let's
close
in
prayer
precious
father
this
morning
our
hearts
revel
in
the
glory
of
Christ
we
look
forward
to
the
day
that
we
are
going
to
see
the
lover
of
our
soul
and
be
satisfied
and
I
have
no
doubt
that
there
are
some
here
this
morning
that
do
not
know
Christ
and
there
are
others
here
whose
lives
and
hearts
have
grown
cold
it's
been
years
since
they've
really
had
warm
affections
for
the
Lord
Jesus
they're
unhappy
they're
discontent
they're
embittered
they're
disobedient
and
Christ
bids
them
pray
to have
that love
rekindled
by the
spirit
of
God
that
their
obedience
would
be
willing
that
their
walk
would
be
holy
there
are
some
here
today
that
do
not
know
Christ
and
this
morning
father
I
would
plead
with
you
that
in
your
grace
you
would
draw
them
to
the
cross
and
we
ask
this
for
the
glory
of
Christ
amen
let's
stand
together
as
we
close
in
singing
and
I'm
going
to
ask
that
if
you're
!
here
this
!
morning
we
will
glory
in
my
Redeemer
whose
priceless
blood
has
ransomed
me
mine
was
the
sin
that
drove
the
bitterness
and
hung
him
on
that
judgment
tree
I
will
glory
in
my
Redeemer
who
crushed
the
power
of
sin
death
my
holy
Savior
before
the
holy
child
the
lamb
who
is
my
righteous
man
the
lamb
who
is
my
righteous
man
I
will
glory
in
my
Redeemer
my
life
be
bought
my
love
he
owes
I
have
no
longings
for
another
I'm
satisfied
with
him
alone
I
will
glory
in
my
Redeemer
His
faithfulness
my
standing
place
though
close
on
I
lead
and
rush
upon
me
my
feet
are
firm
held
by
His
grace
my
burden
are
firm
held
by
His
grace
I
will
glory
in
my
Redeemer
who
carries
me
on
eagles
way
He
crowns
my
life
with
loving
kindness