Introduction
Let me begin with a discipleship question: how will you follow Jesus in prayer and dependence on God this week?
Main Points
In this lesson shaped by Calvary Boise's teaching on Alive in Prayer, Christ invites us to receive truth with humility, practice repentance, and walk in faithful obedience.
Faith and Obedience
We're going to spend this week and then the following two weeks studying what it means to be alive in prayer to study what. It means to give all of our burdens and requests and our heart and to give everything over to the Lord in this process.
- Of prayer why do we do it how do we do it and when we do it what can we expect so we're going.
- To be answering those questions in the next couple of weeks let's start by reading chapter 1 of Ephesians starting in verse 15 this.
- Is a prayer that the Apostle Paul who pens this letter to a church in Ephesus is sending to them and praying for them.
- About their own spiritual growth and so this is what he says starting in verse 15 therefore I also after I heard of your.
Faith in Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints do not cease to give thanks for you making mention of you in. My prayers and now he's going to say here's what I'm praying for you here's what I want to see happen in your church.
Faith and Obedience
Specifics of what this church needs to be alive he says something very critical and it's for us this morning he says I don't. Cease to give thanks for you making mention in my prayer thanking God of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of Glory that he.
- May give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowing him better that's what it says in the ESV to know him better.
- You will have wisdom and Revelation and then through knowing the Lord better through seeking him first and Desiring to know him better if.
- You do that you will have those next three things revealed to you in wisdom and Revelation by seeking to know him better so.
- It starts with a desire to know God a desire to know him better and that is such a critical passage of scripture because.
This starts with some praise for this church he says listen I've heard of your faith I've heard of the way you love each. Other love of the Saints amazing Foundation now I'm praying that you would grow now I'm praying that you would go beyond faith in.
Faith and Obedience
A substance of who you really are there is the soul of who you are there is a who you are that will only. Be better if you know God and that is primarily who you are more than anything else the health of who you are is. Directly correlated to your healthy relationship with God and then everything else will follow so if you have set some things in mind for. This year 2019 what's it going to be what are you going to do with this new Fresh Start A blank slate for your. Life and you think about what you want to do better those are good and healthy desires to grow and do better but only. As much as you realize you're building on the foundation of your soul in the hands of God and other than that it's a. Waste of time your calendar year will continually turn you'll continually be thinking why isn't this working and when we think about all the. Ways we want to do better and some of you may have set some goals for this year or for your life they essentially. Break down into three categories there's essentially three things that you can think about in your new year or the new you or the. New Leaf that you can do to do better for your life if you just kind of take a survey of your friends group. Or what you're seeing as you scroll through the internet or the things you've done in the past essentially there's three things one. People typically want to get physically healthier have you noticed that it's December has turned a new Leaf it's over and December is an. Incredibly high calorie count of a month uh there's we had it here in this church I'm on staff of the church as you. Food and cookies and snacks and cakes uh almost in a way where we're borderlining sin it's just everywhere and so January comes you. Think okay now's my chance no more snacks like that it's going to be salads it's going to be veggies so some of you. Have thought that the second thing you think about doing better December has turned the leaf the presents were all bought some of them. Probably weren't budgeted for you bought a lot of food you spent a lot of time over the year putting everything into order and. Maybe you went over a little.
Family Discipleship
Ways so this year is going to be better than last year because you're going to get your finances in order right you're going. To do a little bit better you're going to budget better you're going to have things a little bit more organized and this is. The time to start you have a brand new leaf and then the third thing some of you may be thinking about I'm with. You in this category is I think how to improve just who I am as a human you want to learn something new this. Year talking to people it's like okay I've got a goal to read a book a week that's a lofty goal 52 books it's. All about learning though uh for me my wife is Colombian and uh this is we're planning a baby moon to go somewhere that's. Tropical and she and I have set it in our hearts to learn salsa together it's something new right how many salsa dancers do. We have I can I can I can I can guess there's not a lot as I survey the crowd here those three things. Are essentially what people think about when you think about how I can do better and learning something new it can take you down. All sorts of path be a better parent be a better husband be a better wife learn wisdom in your life and these are. The three things and they're Soul things because essentially what we just said is that people want to be healthy wealthy and wise they. Want to live a life that has health and you want to figure out a way to just live a wealth life that. Can take care of your bills and provide for your family and you want wisdom those are the core of who God has made. You to be and they're good things but they belong to God they belong to God in your life and so the core if. We really want those things to thrive in our life we are here for the actual thing that will fuel those or that will. Make those things just another calendar year of your life turning into pages but not making any progress the substance of all of that. Is to know God better to seek Him the Revelation and the wisdom that comes from knowing him and how do you do that. Well Paul says in this letter that he is.
Prayer and Dependence
Praying for that to happen he wants them to know God better and the revelation of the wisdom of who he is and that's. Something that has to be prayed for and so we can only take this conversation or this sermon or this study so far and. The real fruit of this will be between you and God in your life and we're going to look at this morning before we. Get into the nitty-gritty of those three things that we read that Paul is praying for a live church for the hope of glory. The inheritance of the riches of the saint and the knowledge of the power of the of the Lord who raised Christ from the. Dead those three things we're going to get into but before I just want to look at this and realize that any breakthrough that. You want in your life if you are someone who has turned a new leaf and you say yes I want to grow this. Year I want 2019 to be better than 2018 I want to be more mature this year I want to have a better understanding. Of what I believe and how to walk in it you're actually wanting to learn how to pray you're wanting to learn how to. Seek God and we are going to spend time hopefully drawing that out from the word because that is not an easy task and. Anytime you want to grow in anything whether you've got a resolution that falls into healthy wealthy or wise or whether you're really serious. About growing in your relation ship with Christ and the knowledge of who he is in your life and the substance of the being. That you are the core of your being you need three things to really grow and they're here in this prayer and they will. Be the three things that make or break every resolution in this Sanctuary Believers and non it will be what makes or breaks us. As an Alive Church that prays three things that actually turn into growth in your life breakthrough as the Bible calls it fruit tangible. Evidence that you are maturing like a fruit tree if you want to grow healthy wealthy or wise in relationship with Christ you have. To have knowledge you have to grow on a foundation of Truth otherwise you're not actually growing you're going in the wrong direction there. The it say the word says that the Lord founded the world.
Faith and Obedience
In wisdom and whatever category that you're improving or growing in or Desiring growth in you need to know what you're doing you need. To have knowledge of it the second thing is that you have to have a community if you really think about breakthrough and growth. It typically happens in tandem of other people around you growing with you and finally and this is the part where I'll lose some. Of you but this is the part that will make or break whether we are a Praying church or whether you are someone who. Is alive in Christ in a revelation and wisdom of who he is because you seek him if you want to grow anything a. Skill if you want to learn salsa you want to learn language you want to read books you have to do hard things growth. Does not happen easily the easy things of your life don't have a lot of room for growth really you've already got to kind. Of got them they come easy to you don't need to grow in them or struggle in them you need to be faithful. In them but what God is calling us to do to grow us and to stretch us he's usually calling us into a season. Where we have to learn how to trust him in our weakness we have to learn how to trust him in our failure trust. Him in difficult things trust him in things we don't fully understand and prayer is the is the front line of that prayer is. Extremely difficult so we're going to talk about those three things given to us in this prayer and kind of the model of what. Prayer infuses into a church and how are we break through how do we break through how do we grow it comes through knowledge. Community and it comes through hard things so the first thing is given to us we already read it comes through knowledge we'll read. Again in verse 17 that the Lord our the that the god of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of Glory may give you. The spirit of wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of him to know him better that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that. You may know what is the hope of his calling what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints and. What is the exceeding greatness of his power.
Faith and Obedience
See you can have faith in the doctrine and the understanding that God so loved the world that he sent his son to die. On your behalf you can put your faith in that and it can even give you that Spirit of love that God has but. If you really want to grow you have to know some things beyond that and the way that it that God is drawing you. Into a personal experience of him what is he calling you to do that is your purpose to know the hope of your calling. That does not come through a sermon that comes through you seeking the Lord and having a relationship with him because I can't tell. You your calling with the Lord and I can't Infuse into you the reality that God has a purpose and a plan for your. Life and how hopeful that is that is between you and God that requires us to be seeking him for that and it's true. With the other two The Inheritance that's waiting for us the weight of Glory that surpasses any difficulty will go through in this life. That comes through time spent with him and also the power to know that what God is capable of in your life you really. Won't learn that in a sanctuary and this is the danger of what we're doing I'm preaching on knowledge I'm telling you that you. Need to know that the deep understanding of what God has for your life for your purpose The Inheritance that is waiting for the. Saints the power that he has for you I'm telling you need to know it but now I'm going to tell you I can't. Teach it to you if I could I believe that the Apostle Paul would have been able to he was a theologian and a. Philosopher we see him in deep conversations in theology with scribes and Pharisees who were expert in religion we see him in deep conversations. With Athenian philosophers who UND he understood how to teach and break down Theology and yet when it comes to deep intimacy with God. It's not a teaching it's a prayer he doesn't say this is how you do it go here take these steps do it he. Says now I'm praying I'm hoping that you will experience this that the eyes of your understanding will be open through the power of. Prayer I cannot teach you a deep and.
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.