Sermons

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Praying Boldly
July 13, 2003
Pastor Dan Baumgartner
Second in a Series on Ephesians
Ephesians 1:15-23

Last week we began studying Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. We looked at two of the great words of the book, “Grace” and “Peace,” which were both Paul’s opening greeting…and two of the biggest themes in the book. And we sat and just soaked in what came after that greeting. Paul, in perhaps the longest sentence of all time…just blessed God for the blessings received in Christ: We are chosen, adopted as children, given grace, forgiven, connected with the Holy Spirit and given a sense that in some incredible way, God was working everything together…that he had a plan, of which Christ was the culmination. Paul blessed God, and we sat and soaked it all in.

This morning, we have perhaps the second longest sentence of all time…but now it comes in the form of a prayer. Paul prays for the church…he prays for us. Turn with me to Ephesians 1:15-23.

I have a good friend who says (with only part of his tongue in cheek) that there are two kinds of Christians: those who pray for parking spaces…and those who don’t! He says this to put forth his own opinion that God has more important prayers to deal with, more sobering topics…than whether to grant you a good parking space.
I’m thinking Paul might have been one who did NOT pray for parking spaces. Not that there’s anything bad about praying for small things, but Paul was bold enough to pray for heaven and earth to move…on our behalf.

I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

One of the temptations of this passage is to get so intrigued by the elevated language and the breadth and depth of Paul’s prayer…that we forget that he was about some of his main work: praying for people.

I never quit praying for you.

Why? Why do we even pray?

When I was younger, I thought prayer was sort of like handing an order to a short-order cook: request, cooked, finished. Now, I don’t understand it all, but I think that prayer is somehow cumulative…and I know that prayer changes things. As a pastor, I get the privilege of hearing a great number of faith stories…I often ask people, “How did you come to know the Lord?” And I don’t keep statistics on such things, but probably half the time I hear something like this: “I was a long way away from God…but you know, my grandmother prayed for me every single day of my life,” or “my parents never quit praying for me to know God.”

Our elders at Bethany meet once a month, and in recent months we have had the opportunity to pray for a number of people. The book of James says,

“If you are sick, then call the elders of the church, and anoint the sick with oil and pray for them”

and we’ve begun to do that…to hear a person’s story, to anoint, to pray. Prayer, in fact, has become a larger and larger part of what our elders do. Our elders pray for one another, for the ministries of our congregation, for the cares of the world, for the people of our church. They’ve prayed while walking around the neighborhood in pairs, they’ve walked through the whole church building, praying for what goes on in each room. They’ve prayed here in the sanctuary for our times of worship, that God’s Spirit would be here.

Prayer changes things. It’s an incredible privilege to know that someone is praying for you, as Paul is here. John Stott says,

“When someone argues with us, it may or may not persuade us. But when they PRAY for us…everything changes.”

We had a neighbor in Minneapolis, a single parent who was going through some very difficult times when we were there. She wasn’t a Christian. One night she came over, and tearfully told us what was going on…and Anne and I asked if we could pray for her. She began to cry. And we prayed. And it changed everything. It changed our relationship. She even began to pray with us.

Prayer is intimate, it is personal. And when you think about it…what a thing! To know that there is someone who goes before Almighty God our OUR behalf. To know that a friend of yours goes boldly before the God of the universe, and has the audacity to say,

“Lord, I know there are lots of other things going on in the world, but my friend is hurting and needs to know your presence…right now. Would you do that, Lord? Would you go and be with her?”

When I meet with couples for premarital counseling, at the end of each time together I lay hands on them and pray for them. I think it is far and away the most important thing I can do.

Paul says “I never quit praying for you.” And he prays boldly. But what does he pray?

I pray that the eyes of your heart be enlightened.

Remember that the heart is a comprehensive word in the Bible that involves our whole inward self: mind, emotions…our inner self. Paul is saying, “ I pray that your inward being might be open to God, that your heart might be soft so that God can teach you. I pray that you would be thirsty to know God.”

This week we started the Thursday night Bible studies for the summer. We read the story from the gospel of John about Nicodemus, the religious leader who snuck in at night to talk to Jesus. Nicodemus seemed like a man who was thirsty, who was ready and ripe for God to take to a new place in his life. The things Jesus was saying to him were new things, things like, “You must be born again!” He thought he knew all about God, he was a grown man who had studied and prayed and kept the law, he didn’t think there was anything else. And here Jesus comes and says “You have to be open to God in a way you haven’t been before!” He didn’t understand everything Jesus told him…but as we read it, we thought the eyes of his heart seemed open. The Bible never tells us if Nicodemus ever grasped exactly what Jesus wanted from him. But there are little hints later in the gospel…Nicodemus pops up again and defends Jesus in front of his religious leader peers. And, after Jesus is crucified, it is Nicodemus who goes to get Jesus’ body. I pray that as you come to know God better…the eyes of your heart will be enlightened SO THAT…you will know three things.

It’s interesting that these are not new things. In fact, the three things Paul longs for them to know and have embedded in their hearts are wrapped up in what we read last week. But maybe the Ephesians were like us. Maybe they were constantly on the lookout for something new, some new revelation, some exciting new idea, the latest innovation…but the three things Paul prays for are not new, he’s not asking for something additional on their behalf…he just prays for things he wants them to understand… “with the eyes of their heart.”

The first is HOPE…that you may know what is the HOPE to which he has called you: for Paul, that “hope” is not a questioning wish…it is something far more certain. It is something that not everyone has, but it is available to everyone. Hope is, as Colossians says,

• “appearing with Christ in glory,” (3:4)
• it is having “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (1:27)
• It is the saving activity of God, it is the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2).
• It is the “blessed hope” of seeing the final triumphant return of Christ at the end of time (Titus 2:13). It is the finish line at the end of the race, it is the reason that life, even the hard parts of life here and now can be lived…because this life is not the end of the story. And always, for Paul, always, always, always, it is connected to Jesus Christ. In HIM is salvation…we are saved FROM sin, and saved FOR God.

Paul says I LONG for you to understand, I PRAY God will show you more…about the hope you have been called to, about your salvation.

You hear the most interesting things about the end of life nowadays. People who are not Christians, who have no interest in God…will say to me after a memorial service, “Well, he’s going to heaven. He’s going to a better place.” And always I want to ask… “How do you know that?! On what basis can you say that!?” Most of the time there is no basis. It’s something you say, maybe coming from back in the days when our culture was steeped in Christian faith. It is so no longer.

Now, I am well aware that I don’t decide who goes to be with Jesus…it wasn’t on my job description the last time I looked. But it amazes me that people assume it is just what happens. They treat it as “hope” = wishful thinking. What Paul prays for is that with every part of our being…the eyes of our hearts open…we will know that our hope is the assurance, not wishful thinking, of eternal life in Christ. It will change how we live. It will change how we die. Paul prays it.

The SECOND thing Paul prays for us to know…are “the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” Normally when the scripture talks about God’s inheritance, it is the inheritance he HAS, not the one he gives. Most often it refers to God’s most prized possession. His people. God has called His people together, and somehow, someway…has deemed them the most precious of all things, His heritage. “Oh,” Paul prays, “that you might realize the riches of being part of God’s beloved family.”

Kind of an amazing thing, isn’t it? Some of us carry some heavy loads, some pretty big scars, real or imagined, from being associated with God’s people. The church of Christ, the followers of Jesus, are far from perfect. The newspapers zealously report petty infighting, fallen leaders, violent disagreements. The riches of his inheritance, his saints, his people? Yet it is what God has chosen. Chosen to love, to bless. Chosen to call together. And, remarkably, chosen to use in this world. The amazing fact is that God has chosen His people…sin-tainted, weak and easily distracted…to take the news of the blessings of Christ…to the whole world.

There’s an old, old story…it starts out like all the jokes that pastors get told all the time (You know: There’s a guy who arrives at the pearly gates of heaven and talks to St. Peter, the gatekeeper…usually there’s some connection to golf in the story!). But this story turns a different direction. It goes like this:

Jesus went back to heaven after his time on earth. Even in heaven he bore upon Him the marks of the suffering and the cross. The angels were talking to him, and Gabriel said: “Master, you must have suffered terribly for people down there.” “I did,” said Jesus. “And,” said Gabriel,” do they all know about how you loved them and what you did for them?” “O no,” said Jesus, “not yet. Just now only a few people in Palestine know.” “What have you done,” said Gabriel, “to let everyone know about it?” Jesus said “I have asked Peter and James and John and a few others to make it the business of their lives to tell others about me, and the others tell others, and yet others, until the farthest man on the widest circle knows about what I have done.” Gabriel looked very doubtful, for Gabriel knew well what poor stuff men were made of. “Yes,” he said, “but what if Peter and James and John grow tired? What if the people who come after them forget? What if away down the centuries people just don’t tell others about you? Have you made any other plans?” And Jesus answered: “I haven’t made any other plans. I’m counting on them."

He’s counting on YOU…God’s most prized possession, the one he takes as his own inheritance…is his people. You. Me. Oh, there’s lots wrong with the church. But when we see it work…it’s a beautiful thing. This week 10 people from this community quietly helped one of our Kenyan families move…airport runs, dump runs, cleaning for a whole weekend. This week a whole group of people heard about a housing need, and signed up to help on a moment’s notice. Last night, people stayed awake through the night to pray for brothers and sisters who have chronic physical problems. When I see these things, my heart leaps up and shouts, “This is how it’s supposed to work!”

The third thing Paul prays for us to know: what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. In the 1960’s much of Christianity in America had become people who were so cerebral and rational…that we had lost much of the wonder of God. We had reduced God’s power to a formula, and thereby lost the sense that God’s power was THE power of the universe. And along came the Charismatic Renewal, which challenged an awful lot of us. The movement of the Spirit spread like wildfire, here and around the world, and I believe that it was, in part, a recovery of the sense that God is powerful…here and now. Oh, that you might know God’s power, immeasurable. Healing services, physical manifestations of the spirit like speaking in tongues or prophesying, or discerning spiritual warfare. We argued, churches split apart…AND people were reminded that the wind of God was mighty and powerful. AND not totally explainable.

If the people of God have really been given the power of God…then the church could change the world. The thing we need to understand is that God seems to work most often in ways and with power that we don’t understand…and far beyond those charismatic gifts. God’s power is not the power of armies and tanks and political clout. It seems most often to be the power of forgiveness, the power of graciousness, the power of self-sacrifice, the power to change hearts. At least that’s what Jesus modeled out.

Dennis Bennett tells the story of the woman who came to see him years ago, her life a shambles: husband left, kids at home, about to lose the house, and her addiction to alcohol. After hearing the story, Dennis asked her:

“Have you asked Jesus to rescue you?”

And the woman sort of smirked and said,

“Oh, I’ve tried to be a good Christian, but I guess I’m not very good at it.”

But he asked again,

“But have you asked Jesus to come and rescue you? Because He has the power to do it.”

How do we know God really has this kind of power? Paul focuses all of his attention on the resurrection of Jesus. Not the cross, interestingly. If Paul had wanted to talk here about God’s love, he would have talked about the cross. But to talk about the power of God…he talks about resurrection. The resurrection says very simply that God can do anything. Anything. If God can raise a person from the dead, then anything can be done. Anything. If it was human sin that killed Jesus, then the resurrection says, “God’s power is greater than human sin.” And whatever it is you struggle with this morning… it is not beyond the scope of God’s power.

Let me pray for you, Paul says to the Ephesians…and to us.

“I pray you will know your hope, your salvation. I pray you understand the riches of the community God has placed you in, the one he called Beloved. I pray you will understand that God’s power is available to you, always greater than you think it is.”

Paul is not praying for parking spaces. He’s praying for