What we're just saying about a man of sorrows and all that Jesus did as that man of sorrows to produce a people for himself.
!
And what purpose or mission does that drive them to accomplish?
Well, that's where we're kind of working our way through the book of Acts, just getting started.
And we're going to get an up-close look at what the man of sorrows produces.
What does his death and resurrection accomplish for a people?
And what mission does he put them on?
What changes in their life?
What fundamentally is different about them?
And one of the ways we want to try to do that through the next several weeks, we started last week,
and we're going to continue this week and the next couple of weeks,
is not just put the word in front of you, but sometimes I benefit from practical life examples.
And we'd like to put some practical life examples in front of you.
Last week, we saw the story of the Manuelers, a family in our church.
Andy is a deacon in our church.
Angela, of course, is his wife and they're children.
And they shared with us a little bit of the beginning of that journey.
And we're going to see this continuing journey over the next several weeks.
And today, we're going to see how a praying family becomes a family who builds relationships.
So let's see that this morning, and we'll pick it up from there.
As a family, our mission is to know him and make him known.
After much deliberation and prayer, we decided to homeschool our children through fourth grade
and then send them to public school.
One reason was to give us opportunities to build relationships and point people to Christ.
Whatever schooling method is chosen, the key piece is staying highly involved.
When we stay involved in our kids' schooling, even at a public school, lots of opportunities arise to build relationships.
As I attend my children's sports practices and games, I've been able to build relationships with parents and even several of the players.
We've often been able to build relationships with some of the teachers,
even through asking questions about assignments that we're not comfortable with and asking for alternate assignments.
We've gotten good feedback that they appreciate that, and we have been able to share why these things are important to us.
So I can't be a room mom. I need to find other ways to connect.
It was a difficult season for connecting with teachers and parents because God decided it was also time to give us two more gifts of Nathan and Joanna.
But I have been able to meet teachers at open house, band concerts, and other school events.
I have met some other parents at sports games, concerts, and events that parents are invited to,
such as parents' night and classroom debate competitions.
We had quickly developed a good relationship with one of Caleb's teachers,
and she allowed him to bring his new baby brother to class shortly after Nathan was born.
That was a special connection moment, and now that teacher has her own newborn son.
Two years ago, the Lord allowed me the opportunity to fill a need and accompany high school band students who perform instrumental solos.
This has been a special connection point for me as I now have accompanied some of the same students two years in a row,
and will get a third chance this school year.
When I first went to a public school in fifth grade, I slowly started to get to know the kids in my class
and was able to keep relationships with them all the way through high school.
This gave me relationships and friendships that I was able to build into over the years.
I also attempted to host a Bible study with a few friends, invited many of them to youth events and Sunday services,
and was once even called different by a friend and took it as a compliment,
since I am called to be in the world but not of it.
I also was in two bands and played on a soccer team, so that gave me opportunities to connect with a wider demographic.
While I don't have connection with many of my school friends anymore,
I can pray that God is continuing to grow and work with the seeds that I was able to plant throughout those years.
I've played four different sports, been in two bands, two choirs, and a couple more extracurricular activities throughout my public school career.
And through those, I've been able to meet and get to know a lot of kids that I've been able to make connections with,
and a few deep friendships.
And in everything that I'm doing, I'm striving to be different for Jesus.
And many have recognized the unique friendliness to kindness and joy that points to Jesus and has allowed for conversations to start.
Even though we're not in public school yet to make new friends and point them to Jesus,
we've been able to play sports and make friends to that.
So why do we put these in front of you?
Well, we put these videos in front of you not to say, well, this is how you should do it.
This is the way it goes.
This is the formula that works.
But to give you some examples,
these are just a few examples of how God has done that in the lives of the Manwellers,
how God has used their receptive hearts to work in the flow of the community that he has put them into,
and to try to maximize those relationships in order to have gospel opportunities.
This is what God wants all of us to be involved in.
And the other one of the goals of putting this in front of you is to show how easy it can be.
You don't have to have the gift of evangelism.
You don't have to be gifted in terms of apologetics.
You just have to be a person who is willing to be available,
praying for opportunities, building relationships,
and seeking for God to open up doors so that you can walk through them and have a gospel witness.
So I trust that as we work through these,
that you see this as an example out of many that God can use to stimulate your hearts
and to lead you to very good things.
I love this book of Acts for a lot of reasons.
Maybe one of the biggest reasons why I appreciate the book of Acts
is because it is a story about how Jesus takes a group of nobodies,
a group of misfits,
and he's able to use them in a way that changes the world.
As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul, in his ministry,
the indictment against him is,
hey, these are the guys that are turning the world upside down.
Well, how did God do that?
And that's why we're moving through this book of Acts to see
how does God use a dysfunctional people?
How does God use a group of misfits to turn the world upside down?
Do you realize that God will build his church?
As a matter of fact, we find that in the Scripture
where Jesus says,
I will build my church,
and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
God is in the church building business.
And the incredible part about all of this
is that God wants to use you,
and he wants to use me
to accomplish this objective.
And we're going to look
and begin to look
in the Word of God today
to see how God will do that.
How will God do that for you?
How will God do that for me?
How will God use us
to turn the world upside down?
Because God is building his church.
It is an unstoppable church.
It is an unrivaled,
unrivaled work
that God is doing
through his Spirit
and through his people.
He wants to use you.
He wants to use me.
So we're going to see
how God will turn this world upside down
using a group of misfits
as we turn in our Bibles to Acts chapter 1.
Begin this journey with me.
Acts chapter 1,
beginning in verse 1.
I'm going to read the first three verses,
and we're going to begin to see
this mission strategy
of how Christ, the risen Lord,
is preparing a people for himself,
preparing a church for himself.
And here we are in this series,
Becoming the Church.
Well, what does the church look like,
and how does the church become?
Well, the church will become,
and we'll see this morning,
the church becomes,
as the church will follow,
the directives of the church builder,
Jesus Christ himself.
If you're using the Pew Bible,
you can find it on page 909,
and follow along with me
as I read Acts chapter 1,
verses 1 to 3.
It says,
In the first book, O Theophilus,
I have dealt with all that Jesus
began to do and to teach
until the day when he was taken up
after he had given commands
through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
after his suffering by many proofs,
appearing to them during 40 days,
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
We're going to see
four different characteristics,
four different qualities
of these individuals
who God will use
to build this church.
And the first is this,
recognizing that you have
a trustworthy witness.
You have a trustworthy witness.
I love how Luke puts this here
in verse 3,
speaking about this life
and ministry of Christ.
And notice this word here,
this phrase in verse 3,
and Jesus presented him alive,
excuse me,
he presented himself to them
after his sufferings
by many proofs.
By many proofs.
As we begin this series,
I'm blown away by the mercy of God
to set before us proofs,
evidences,
things that you can substantiate,
ways in which you can bolster
your confidence
and know that what you believe
about Jesus
and about his life
and about his teaching
has backing.
You can substantiate it.
It's been given to us
in a way that has been validated
and demonstrates its integrity.
Right here at the start,
there are these three verses.
We get a sense of the wonder
of God's amazing grace.
You have a gracious God.
A gracious God.
He's given you
a trustworthy witness.
And maybe it's not
abundantly obvious
because of how much
we've taken this witness
for granted.
But God has given his witness
to us through his word.
Notice this in verse 1.
It says,
In the first book,
O Theophilus,
I have dealt with all the things
that Jesus began to do
and to,
what church?
To teach.
You see,
we have a God
who has revealed himself.
He's revealed himself
through his son
whom he sent
as the very word of God.
The word of God
became flesh.
He dwelt among us.
He did not have to.
He did not have to come.
He did not have to
dwell with us.
Broken humanity.
Who does that?
What deity do you know
that wants to mix it up
with corruption?
And God sent his son Jesus
to come in human flesh,
to robe himself in limitation,
in humanity,
and to speak,
and to teach,
and to reveal.
The word of God
came to us.
We just need to pause
for a moment
and marvel
at the grace of God
in this trustworthy witness.
God did not just
present himself in words.
He could have just
sent a message,
which he did
through the prophets,
but he sent himself.
God came
in the flesh
to speak
and to do
and to love
and to show compassion
and to demonstrate example
and to put up
with very
wayward
and foolish
disciples.
How many times
does Jesus
confront the disciples
by confronting
their,
oh foolish ones
and slow
in heart
to believe.
That's not just
the disciples,
by the way.
That's you and me.
The fact is
that Jesus,
he didn't just
come into time
and space
and speak words
to people
in a first century,
but by God's grace,
he communicated
those words
and those words
are captured
for us.
Those words
of Jesus
captured
for you
and for me.
Gracious words.
Life-giving words.
Words that
you can read.
You don't have to
hear about.
Not just this
verbal testimony.
Oh, there was
some God
in the first century
who happened
to say some things.
No, we have
those words
captured.
They're for you.
You can read them.
You can enjoy them.
You can test them
for yourself.
The gracious
word of God,
the testimony
that he's given,
the witness
that's confirmed.
You can have it.
It's in your possession.
We have access
to it.
And so,
we enjoy
this trustworthy,
accessible word.
And notice
what Luke says here
in verse 1.
It says,
In the first book,
O Theophilus,
I have dealt
with all the things
that Jesus began
to do and to teach.
And so,
what we're reading
in the book of Acts
is just volume 2
of a two-volume set.
And so,
if we want to
just briefly
go back
to volume 1,
the gospel of Luke,
we can see something
about the credibility
of this witness.
I would just
invite you
to just turn back
for a moment
to Luke chapter 1.
Luke 1,
1 to 4.
And I just want to
spend a couple
of moments here
to help you understand
the significance
of this trustworthy word.
It says,
Inasmuch as many
have undertaken
to compile a narrative
of the things
that have been accomplished
among us,
just as those
who from the beginning
were eyewitnesses
and ministers
of the word
have delivered them
to us,
it seemed good
to me also,
having followed
all things closely
for some time past,
to write
an orderly
account for you.
most excellent
Theophilus,
that you may have
certainty
concerning the things
that you have been taught.
I want to draw attention
to the trustworthiness
of this word.
Notice how he puts
that in verse 4.
I want you to understand
that the things
that you may have
certainty
concerning the things
you've been taught.
The purpose
for this writing
is certainty.
It's a trustworthy word.
That God cares about
you being able
to evaluate
and examine
this word for yourself
to evaluate
its trustworthiness,
to see its credibility.
What a gracious God
you have.
Gracious God.
And he's come
and he's allowed
this orderly account
to be written.
And so he compiles
this narrative,
this life story
of Jesus.
And this account
that we've been given
helps us to understand
it's not just
some fictitious story
that's been written down,
but the fact that he uses
this word account
helps us to understand
that whatever Luke
is writing
is captured in history.
It's verifiable.
It's anchored.
It's subject to scrutiny.
Notice all the times,
just briefly here,
where Luke is not afraid
for you to fact check
his work.
Luke chapter 1,
verse 5.
In the days of Herod,
king of Judah.
Luke 1, 26.
In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel
was sent from God
to a city of Galilee
named Nazareth.
Luke chapter 2,
verses 1 and 2.
In those days,
a decree went out
from Caesar Augustus
that all the world
should be registered.
This was the first registration
when Quirinius
was governor over Syria.
And we could go on.
Luke is not afraid
of fact checking.
Luke is not afraid
for you to go to the source
and to see whether or not
what he's writing
is credible
and verifiable.
Because Luke
and our Savior
cares about bolstering
and supporting
your faith.
He wants to lead you to faith.
He wants you to lead you
to confidence.
He wants you to know
that you have
a trustworthy witness.
What a gracious God.
So we have
not just an accurate,
well-ordered account,
but we have
these eyewitnesses.
Eyewitnesses
that we find
throughout the testimony
of Scripture.
We don't have time
this morning
to talk about them all,
but at least a couple
of them
are Matthew
and Mark
who Luke
and the Apostle Paul
and others
spent time with.
And Matthew
was one of the
twelve apostles.
He was there
through the whole duration
of Jesus' life
and ministry.
Mark,
who had been learning
from the Apostle Peter,
was capturing this story
from Peter's perspective.
and you have
this witness,
these eyewitnesses.
Mary,
who treasured
and pondered
all of these things
in her heart.
She's certainly
one of these witnesses.
We find her
in Acts chapter 1.
She's there
with the 120 believers
and her testimony
is certainly part
of this narrative
that's being recorded
for us.
God cares about
witnesses.
He cares about
credibility.
Why did God
do it this way?
Well, God did it
this way because
He wanted you
to have a trustworthy
witness
so that you could
believe it.
It wasn't just
to know it.
It wasn't just
to affirm it.
It was to believe it.
It was to read it
for yourself
and treasure it
for yourself
so that you could
fundamentally believe
the words
that God has given
to you.
God is after faith.
He's after your heart.
He's after your
allegiance.
He wants your
devotion.
He wants you
not just to believe.
He wants that
belief to lead
to action.
He wants it to lead
to confident,
bold testimony.
You have a trustworthy
Savior,
a trustworthy witness.
You can believe it.
Second,
we have a risen Savior.
We see that in
verse 3.
It says,
He was presented
or He presented
Himself alive
to them
after His suffering
by many proofs,
appearing to them
during 40 days.
Now,
the truth
of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ,
I want you
and I think you
already understand,
this is fundamental
for your faith.
You cannot be
a believer,
you cannot be
a follower
of Jesus Christ
unless you not only
know about the resurrection,
but you believe it
in your heart.
Romans 10,
9 and 10
says this,
because if you
confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised Him
from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart
one believes
and is justified
and with the mouth
one confesses
and is saved.
If you're going to
have a relationship
with Jesus,
if you're going to be
part of this group
of believers
who's going to
change the world
someday,
this is fundamental
to your life.
This is fundamental
to your association
with Him.
your faith
is contingent
upon believing
the right things
and believing
especially
in this risen Lord.
He is alive.
And so what does
God graciously do
for us?
He not only
raises Jesus
from the dead,
but He gives
this undeniable
confirmation
of His resurrection.
We have these
proofs
that God
graciously gives
to the disciples
and then subsequently
every single one
of us
to confirm
the reality
of that work.
He does this
in order to move
a people
or to make
a people
for Himself.
He wants
your heart.
He wants
your allegiance.
He wants you
to believe
and worship Him.
and that believing
is not
ambiguous.
That believing
is very specific.
You have to believe
the right things
about Jesus.
And so God
gives this proof,
this confirmation,
this unmistakable
testimony of Himself,
this period of time
between the resurrection
and between His ascension.
And we find here
40 days.
40 days
of this
interaction.
It wasn't
continuous
time with Jesus
but this
interactive time
where Jesus
seems to be
coming in
and out
of the vicinity
where these
disciples are.
And initially
we see
these resurrection
appearances
there in Jerusalem
that Jesus
appears to Mary Magdalene
in the Garden
of Gethsemane.
He appears
to the women
who were also
there in that area.
He appears
to two disciples
on the road
to Emmaus
in Luke chapter 24.
He appears
to Simon Peter
individually
in Luke 24, 34.
He appears
to gathered
disciples
without Thomas
being present.
And then He appears
to the 11
with Thomas
present.
He appears
then
to 500.
He appears
to Paul
who says
this untimely
follower of His,
Jesus
unmistakably
appeared
for the
whole point
of bolstering
faith
in resurrection.
You see
the disciples
and the women
that they will
initially make
their way
out of Jerusalem
and Christ
will command
them to go
to Galilee.
And you're like
why Galilee
of all places?
What's in Galilee?
Why wouldn't
they have just
stayed in Jerusalem?
And while we
don't really have
the full answer
to that
there is this
time
that's
transpiring
and so
God
allows them
to go back
to Galilee
which was
kind of
their home
turf
as it were.
This was
kind of
where the
mission
was all
born.
And Jesus
through
this time
this interactive
time
He's helping
to establish
a group
of individuals
a group
of disciples
who are going
to be committed
to Him
in every way.
It was in Galilee
that Jesus
would meet
them.
He meets
them by
the Sea
of Galilee
as they're
fishing.
You remember
the story?
They're out
fishing and
they've been
fishing all
night and
they haven't
caught a
thing.
And then all
of a sudden
someone shouts
hey cast
your nets
on the other
side.
In this
massive
hall.
This
towards the
end of
Jesus'
ministry
to them
during this
ascension
or this
resurrection
period of
40 days
and they'd
had a
previous
witness
that Jesus
did very
early on
in the
ministry
where the
exact same
thing
happened.
And Jesus
confirming
once again
I've called
you to be
disciples of
mine.
I've called
you to be
fishers of
men.
And now
it's time
to do it.
And Jesus
has mentioned
to them
He's mentioned
them on the
mountain
that He
was there
and yet
even in
His appearance
in His
speaking
to them
there was
some doubt
that was
happening in
their hearts.
Through all
of this
period of
time
these 40
days
so many
things that
Christ was
reinforcing
for this
group of
misfit
disciples
it helped
them understand
this uncontested
proof that
Jesus was
in fact
resurrected
from the
grave.
It also
helped to
transform
this
devastated
group of
disciples
into
eyewitnesses.
We see
this account
throughout
the book
of Acts
where in
Acts 1
verse 8
we're going
to get
to there
in a week
or two
what does
Jesus say
to these
disciples
and you
will be
witnesses
in Jerusalem
in Judea
in Samaria
his goal
was to
turn them
into those
who would
witness
the very
things that
he had
done.
Of course
Jesus is
interested in
helping to
restore
broken
disciples.
He does
that there
in Galilee
as he's
beating with
Peter by
the sea of
Galilee.
Peter who
had denied
Jesus on
three occasions
now Jesus
asks this
question
Peter do
you love
me?
Peter says
Lord I
love you.
He says
again Peter
do you
love me?
And Peter's
beginning to
wonder did
you not hear
my first
reply?
Yes I
love you.
And then
one more
time Peter
do you
love me?
Lord you
know I
love you.
Just reaffirming
and reestablishing
in this
process of
restoring Peter
back to
functionality.
Back to
a place
of usefulness.
God desires
to do that
for us.
You know
you have a
risen Savior.
You have a
risen Savior.
Are you
living like
it?
Do you
see the
life of
your Savior?
Is that
life resident
in you?
I'm reminded
of the hymn
that some of
you may know.
It says I
serve a
risen Savior.
He's in the
world today.
I know that
he's living
whatever men
may say.
I see
his hand
of mercy.
I hear
his voice
of cheer.
And just
the time
I need
him
he's always
near.
He lives.
Christ
Jesus
lives today.
He walks
with me.
He talks
with me.
A long
life's
narrow way.
He lives.
Salvation
to impart.
You ask
me how
I know
he lives.
He lives
within my
heart.
Is the
living
Savior
resident
in your
heart today?
Are you
walking with
him?
Talking
with him?
Is it
clear in
your
expressions
of life
that you
are living
for the
living
Savior?
Third,
you have a
kingdom
message.
You have a
kingdom
message.
Notice
!
Jesus
speaking
after
essentially
all the
programmatic
things that
are essential
to usher
in this
kingdom
life
has
happened.
And here
is Jesus
and we
see now
this
emergence
of a
church
that will
be taking
place at
the beginning
of Acts
chapter 1
and we ask
ourselves the
question,
wait a
second,
I thought
we were
having a
program
with the
Jews.
What
happened
here?
What is
this new
body,
this new
group of
individuals?
What's the
deal with
this church?
Has God
changed his
mind?
And the
answer is
no,
he hasn't
changed his
mind.
There's still
a kingdom
message.
It's been
reinforced.
The use of
the kingdom
in the
gospels
is prolific.
57 times
the gospel
of Matthew
uses the
word
kingdom.
21 times
in Mark,
46 times
in Luke.
It's obvious
that we
don't have
time to
address all
the breadth
of the
use of
the kingdom
of God
that is
talked about
through the
gospels.
And you
might wonder,
has God
changed his
mind?
And the
answer is
no,
because in
40 days
of his
ministry
to the
disciples
after the
resurrection,
what is he
talking about?
He's still
talking about
the kingdom.
Why?
Because that
program hasn't
changed.
That message
has not
changed.
Just a
couple of
examples.
Luke 4
42,
and when
it was day,
he departed
and went into
a desolate
place,
speaking of
Jesus,
and the
people sought
him and
came to
him and
would have
kept him
from leaving
them,
but he
said to
them,
I must
preach the
good news
of the
kingdom of
God to
the others,
to the
other towns
as well,
for I
was sent
for this
purpose,
and he
was preaching
in the
synagogues
of Judea.
This was
the heart
and soul
of Jesus'
ministry,
to teach
and preach
about the
kingdom.
Well,
what does
that kingdom
message entail?
What is that
kingdom message
about?
Well,
it's a message
about how
Jesus is
the authority,
Jesus is
sovereign,
Jesus is
in charge.
It's a message
that we all
need,
and how
did that
come about?
Well,
it came about
because of
the work
that Jesus
accomplished
on the
cross,
his death,
his resurrection,
in claiming
victory over
sin once
and for all.
He put
sin to
death.
He allowed
us to
enjoy the
benefits of
forgiveness
and life
with him
through his
son,
Jesus Christ.
And so
the bondage
that Adam
and Eve
welcomed us
into because
of their
sin,
because of
them rejecting
the authority
of God
by saying,
no,
we're going
to become
gods of
our own,
making,
we're going
to do
what we
want to
do,
we're going
to step
outside the
bounds of
what we've
been told
to do
in terms
of this
delegated
authority
that had
been handed
to them,
let us make
man in
our own
image.
That's what
God built
into the
design that
God had
made
humanity
was to
exercise
this dominion.
Let them
have
dominion
over the
fish of
the sea,
the birds
of the air,
and all
the creeping
things that
creep on
the earth.
That's what
we were
designed to
do,
but what
Adam and
Eve decide
instead is
we're going
to push
against this
one directive,
don't eat
of the tree
in the midst
of the garden,
on the day
you eat of
it you will
surely die,
and they
say,
no,
we're going
to be
like gods
and we're
going to
do this
anyway.
And so
Jesus came
to fundamentally
change that.
He came
to reestablish
His authority,
reestablish what
that righteous
delegated authority
looks like,
that Jesus
submitted to
the Father,
not my will
but yours
be done,
He becomes
this second
Adam so
that now we
as a humanity
can enjoy the
benefits of
being in this
new Adam
through faith
and forgiveness
of sins.
I love
how Abraham
Kuyper
so famously
puts this,
he says,
there is not
a square inch
in the whole
domain of
our human
existence over
which Christ
who is sovereign
over all does
not cry,
mine.
Christ is
king.
we preach
His
message.
Have you
submitted
your life
to the
kingship
of Christ?
You see,
because
we have
a kingdom
message,
we have the
joy of
proclaiming
that message.
What a
privilege.
And finally,
finally we have
a promised
power.
we have a
promised
power,
we see
that in
verses 4
and 5.
It says,
and while
staying with
them,
He ordered
them not
to depart
from Jerusalem
but to
wait for
the promise
of the
Father,
which He
said,
you heard
from me,
for John
baptized with
water,
but you
will be
baptized with
the Holy
Spirit not
many days
from now.
We're going
to be
developing
this strain
of thought
for the
next several
weeks.
There's a
lot to
understand,
but the
joy of
this message
that the
disciples are
receiving is
that they're
not going to
be working
to carry out
this unstoppable
mission on
their own
power.
Not their
power,
God's
power,
promised
power,
Holy Spirit
power.
And so what
do they need
to do?
Well,
they need to
go and
wait.
Wait for
God to
allow them
to enjoy
the benefits
of that
power.
And how
does
benefits of
that power
happen?
Well,
it happens
one way.
It happens
as you
wait and
pray.
You're
praying for
God to
produce power
in your
life through
His Holy
Spirit.
And those
who have
bent the
knee to
Jesus Christ,
bowed the
knee in
faith to
Him,
asking for
forgiveness
of sin,
and believing
in the
resurrection,
His death,
His
resurrection,
there is
a promised
power.
The Holy
Spirit is
guaranteed for
those who
believe.
What's
really
interesting is
we have
access to
all this
power.
And yet,
the Apostle
Paul wants,
he wants
the church
especially to
understand how
little they
access the
power that
God has
given to
them.
How many
times have
you heard
yourself say,
or heard
others say,
I just
can't help
myself.
I've said
it.
You feel
in bondage
to your
sin?
You feel
like you
just can't
get out
of the
rut?
You feel
like all
the things
that are
happening
around you
are inescapable?
You feel
bound by
certain
patterns in
your life?
You haven't
accessed the
power of the
Spirit to
set yourself
free and
enjoy the
benefits of
a life with
God that
is full of
power?
Look at how
the Apostle
Paul prays
in Ephesians.
Ephesians
chapter 3.
And I'll
close with
this before
we move to
our time of
communion.
This is
amazing.
What a
promise.
Paul says,
for this
reason I
bow my
knees before
the Father
from whom
every family
in heaven
and on
earth is
named.
That according
to the riches
of his glory
he may grant
you to be
strengthened
with power
through his
spirit in
your inner
being.
Now just
pause for a
moment.
Paul is
praying for
the church
because they
have power
available but
they're not
using it.
They're not
enjoying it.
They're not
experiencing it.
And my
guess is that
everyone in
this room has
struggled with
that at some
point or the
other and may be
struggling with
that even
now.
You feel
powerless.
Well God
has granted
power through
his spirit that
we can enjoy.
And not just
any kind of
power.
Strengthened
with power.
This is
dynamite kind
of power.
This is
unstoppable
power.
And it goes
on.
So that
Christ may
dwell in
your hearts
through faith
that you
being rooted
and grounded
in love
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 that
you may be
filled with
the fullness
of God.
Now that's
power.
Power to be
absolutely transformed
from the inside
out from all
of the stuff
in your life
that you're
embarrassed about
ashamed about
and rightly
so.
But the power
of the spirit
wants to come
and to resolve
that in you.
He wants to
fundamentally
transform us.
And here's
what happens
when we pray
that prayer.
Ephesians
chapter 3
this is the
next few
verses
verse 20
says
now
to him
who is
able
to do
exceedingly
abundantly
above
all
that we
ask or
think.
I'm going to
read that
again because
my guess is
we don't
believe this.
To him
who is
able
to do
exceedingly
abundantly
above all
that we
ask or
think
according to
the power
that works
in us.
Holy Spirit
power
working in
your life
to accomplish
purposes.
To him
be the glory
in the church
by Christ
Jesus
to all
generations
forever
and ever.
Amen.
Holy Spirit
power
you and I
both have
access to.
It happens
as we submit
to God's
program
and pray
for him
to do
his work.
Oh may
God help
us to
enjoy the
benefits
of his
power.
Let me
pray.
Lord thank
you for
your program.
This
unstoppable
program.
This very
simple
program as
it relates
to
understanding
at least
how it's
supposed to
work.
Oh Father
I pray that
you'd forgive
us.
Not only
for getting
in the way
of your
pattern
your design
for how
things are
supposed to
happen
but
Lord
I dare
say
we not
just
get in
the way
but we
absolutely
oppose
your plan
because we
want something
different.
So humble
us Lord
forgive us
may we
enjoy the
benefits
of your
program and
may we
see a
world that
is absolutely
blown away
by the
wonder of
our God.
Thank you
for this
time now
of communion
just the
reminder that
it is for
us of
how this
is possible.
It's possible
through Jesus
through his
death his
resurrection we
praise you
in Jesus name
amen.
Amen.