That's good singing, good songs,
good hymns, wonderful promise we sang. First of all, the Lord
promised never to leave us nor forsake us. God's children are
never alone. If you will, let's open our Bibles
this evening to Ephesians chapter one. Ephesians chapter one, I want
to read The passage first, Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 15 through
the end of the chapter. Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers. That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of
your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the
hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us were to believe. according to the working of his
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion
and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also
in that which is to come. And I've put all things under
his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all. Tonight, we're looking at the
Apostle Paul's first prayer in his letter to the Ephesians.
There's a second prayer in chapter three, but tonight, this first
prayer that is recorded. And let us remember that God
used Paul in bringing the gospel to Ephesus. His first visit to
Ephesus is recorded in Acts chapter 18. And we are told there that
as his custom was, when he went into a city, a town, his custom
was to go to the synagogue if there was a synagogue in that
place. And there was one at Ephesus. And the scripture says he went
into the synagogue and reasoned. reasoned with the Jews. He reasoned
with them out of the scriptures we read in another place. Now
Ephesus was a city like most pagan cities at that time. Pagan cities which were wholly,
wholly given unto idolatry. We know that they especially
were given to the worship of Diana. the goddess Diana. And I sometimes think that none
of us have any idea of how benighted the world was, the condition
the world was in when the apostles went out from Jerusalem to preach
the gospel. When the gospel came to Thessalonica,
Those who brought it there were accused to the authorities of
those who have told, those men who have turned the world upside
down or come here. And it wasn't the apostles, but
it was rather the power of God, the Holy Spirit, as they went
forth in cities and towns preaching the gospel. And we know that
the prince of this world, Our Lord said that he was going to
be cast out, and he received a death blow. I'm speaking about
the devil, of course, the prince of this world. He received a
death blow at the cross. And as the gospel went forth,
Satan was no longer to hold the nations in bondage as he had
done, as he had been able to do over centuries. The world
was in such darkness, city after city, Gentile city. Here you
have the nation of Israel. They alone had the knowledge
of the true God and they had perverted even the knowledge
which they had, but at least they had the oracles of God.
They had the scriptures. The Gentiles world was without
the scriptures and paganism and idolatry was just the norm. And
yet, in just a few years, when you read church history, you
find out that in just a few years, many of those temples, big temples,
large temples that were dedicated to the worship of idols were
turned into places of worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
just amazing to read how the gospel went forth in such power
and demonstration of the spirit. in the days of the apostles and
shortly thereafter. Something similar happened, no
doubt, in the 16th century, the Reformation. And then there have
been times of awakenings in the world, and we know that in our
country there have been two great awakenings. And that's what we
need today, isn't it? That's what we would love to
see, God the Holy Ghost to come down upon upon his church in
this day and bless his word and there be an awakening and many,
many people brought into the kingdom of God. We know when
it's God's purpose to do that, it shall happen. It's certainly
not from lack of power on the part of God. He has the power. He's done it before. And we trust
and pray that we might even live to see that day come again when
many shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall live. Now, back to our text tonight,
let us remember it had been several years since the apostle Paul
first came to the city of Ephesus. And he couldn't stay very long.
He was on his way to Jerusalem and he was determined to be in
Jerusalem at a certain feast. So he didn't stay long. That's
recorded in Acts chapter 18. And then he came back in Acts
chapter 19 and he stayed longer this time, over two years, approximately
two and a half years. And then we know that when he,
as a prisoner, was going to Rome, being taken to Rome, the ship
upon which he was traveling landed at a certain place, and he called
for the elders of this church to come and meet him. And we
read about that in Acts chapter 20. But now, when Paul writes
this letter, he's a prisoner. He's in Rome. And as I said,
it's been several years since he had first come to Ephesus
preaching the gospel, several years since he had revisited
them, and I assume some time since he had met with the elders
of the church at Ephesus. Notice what he said. He had received
the very best news that any preacher ever receives. There he is in
prison, and someone brought him news, we're not told who, and
as I said, he received the very best news that any preacher ever
receives, and that is, notice in verse 15, wherefore I also,
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus. Well Paul, when
you preached the gospel there the first time, there were men
and women who had faith in Christ, And yes, when you return the
second time, and who can read that, that meeting of the apostle
and those elders of the church at Ephesus, he knew their faith
or had seen their faith, heard their faith. But now in prison,
he says, wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus, I said the best news any preacher ever hears that
they continued in the faith. that they, yes, had received
the gospel, had professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
they continued, and they were walking in the truth. The apostle John, in his second
letter, 2 John said this to the elect lady, I rejoice greatly. This is what causes a preacher
to rejoice. I rejoice greatly that I found
thy children walking in the truth. It's not just starting. It's
not just starting out. Yeah, we thank God for a person
who confesses Christ as their Lord and Savior and follows Him
in baptism. But it's not just starting out,
is it? It's persevering. It's walking in the faith. And that's what Paul says, since
I've, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love, not
only faith, But love, they always go together, don't they? Faith,
hope, and love. Those three cardinal graces always
accompany salvation. This news of their continued
faith in the Lord Jesus and their love unto all saints results
now in Paul praying. And there's two parts of the
message tonight. He said he continuously gave
thanks for them. Notice that in verse 16. Cease
not to give thanks for you. He never ceased, he said, to
thank the Lord for them. As we read that statement, when
we look at these prayers that are recorded, they're recorded
for our learning as all of the scripture is. But what should
we learn from this statement? I cease not to give thanks for
you. What should we learn from this
statement? I would just mention this. It's
easier, it seems, for men to complain than it is to give thanks. It just seems that our old nature
is molded in that direction, to complain, rather than to give
thanks. Men complain about the weather.
Men complain about their lot in this world, the providence
of God. Men complain about politics.
Men complain about the nation, and on and on and on and on. It just seems natural, and it
is, to a fallen man to complain. That may be expected of the men
of this world. Those who've remained in the
kingdom of darkness, what would they have to give thanks for?
But that should never be the case of you and I. Those of us
who've been born again, been called by the grace of God, that
should not be our model to complain. God's children, If nothing else
should be true about us, it should be that we are thankful, thankful
people. I want you to look in Colossians. Turn over just a page or two.
Colossians chapter one. We have a new nature and we have
every reason to be thankful. Every reason. There's not a day
goes by There's not a day goes by if we have been saved that
we do not have cause to give thanks. Notice here, Colossians 1 and
verse 12. Giving thanks unto the Father.
There it is. Giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us, qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who have delivered us from the power of
darkness. Do we really realize the power
of darkness, how that we were captives to Satan? And we did
not have the ability to release ourselves, to loose ourselves,
to deliver ourselves. giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins. There's no day in which God's
redeemed people do not have cause to be thankful. And Paul thanked
God for them, realizing that they were what they were by the
grace of God. These believers in Ephesus, I'm
sure they were like all believers. They had their problems, they
had their trials and afflictions, and they had difficulties, much
more so than we do today, no doubt. But Paul said, I cease
not to give thanks for you. And that begs this question to
you, to me. He thanked God for those believers. Do we thank God for each other
as we should? Do we pray and thank God for
brother so-and-so and sister so-and-so? Are we thankful? Do we thank God? Do we thank
God? that we have brothers and sisters
of like faith, that we're not here tonight solo by ourselves,
that we don't have to worship by ourselves alone. We do that,
of course, in our closets, but are we thankful that we have
brothers and sisters of like faith, that we can join together
and sing these hymns of praise and worship God, and we are of
one mind and of one spirit. We need to thank God. Thank God. Do we thank God for his preserving
grace? When we see others, and we have,
and we do, we see others who fall away, who once walked with
us and no longer do so. They did not persevere. And we pray for them and we trust
in God's time that he will restore them. But do we thank God for
those who are faithful, who are committed, who are dedicated
to the service of the Lord? I trust that we do. And if we
do, we ought to do so more. Thank God for each other and
for this place of fellowship that God has raised up here where
we may meet together and worship him. In Philippians, Paul wrote,
be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving. So we see the thanksgiving here.
He said, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving. Now let your requests be made
known unto God. So first, Paul gives thanks. He said, I cease not to give
thanks. Now the rest of this second part
of the message, he makes his requests known for them. Now, I've read over this prayer
many times in the last several weeks, and I believe that there
are three requests. There are three requests the
apostle makes unto God for these believers in the church at Ephesus. First of all, he requests that
they might increase in their knowledge of him. Notice that. Making mention of you in my prayers
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him. I see the Trinity there in that
verse, don't you? I see the blessed Trinity there. He prays to God the Father, the
Father of glory. And He prays that He might give
unto them the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, that they might know
Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation, that they might know Him, who is the
Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
wisdom of God. And in Him, or He at all, the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ
to us at our conversion. When a person is first saved,
when they're first converted, Christ is revealed unto them
as the Son of God. Remember that Ethiopian eunuch
that Philip was riding with, he wanted to be baptized and
Philip said, well, Thou mayest, if you believe, with all your
heart." Here was his confession of faith. I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. That's revealed unto us. Flesh
and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, Simon, but my Father
which is in heaven. So that's something that's revealed. by God the Holy Spirit in regeneration,
in our first coming to the Savior. But He continues to reveal unto
us the Lord Jesus Christ. We never come to the place, you
know, people are graduating at this time of year. They've completed
their studies and they graduate from high school or graduate
from college and different levels of education. But in the Christian
life, we never graduate while we're in this world. We never
come to the place where we say, well, I know, I've learned it.
I've completed the course and I know all there is to know.
We never come to that place. And we never will in this world. All spiritual light and knowledge
of Christ is given unto us. The apostle prays that God, the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, notice,
may give, may give unto you. It's his gift that he gives us
knowledge. The Holy Spirit reveals unto
us more and more. about him. John Gill made, I think, this
helpful comment on this increased knowledge of him. He said this
about this knowledge. He said, first of all, it's practical.
It's practical. This is what Paul is praying
for, for these believers, that they might be given the spirit
of wisdom and revelation And this knowledge that he's praying
that they be given, it's practical and it's experimental. And which is joined with love
to him. The more we know him, the more
we love him. I think it was John Calvin who
first said that, to know God is to love him. To love God is
to know him. And the more we know, the more
that he reveals unto us. It's practical knowledge, it's
experimental knowledge, and it is joined with love to him, faith
in him, and obedience to him. I was looking just a few minutes
ago at the words to this hymn written by a priest over a thousand
years ago. Jesus, the very thought of thee. The very thought of thee with
sweetness fills my breast. The very thought of the Lord
Jesus, God, manifest in the flesh, fills my breast with sweetness.
But sweeter for thy face to see, and in thy presence rest. Nor voice can sing, nor heart
can frame, nor can the memory find a sweeter sound than thy
blessed name, O Savior of mankind. O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek. To those who fall, how kind thou
art, how good to those who seek. But what to those who find, ah,
This, nor tongue nor pen can show. The love of Jesus, what
is it? None, but his loved ones know. Jesus, our only joy, be thou
as our prize, thou our prize will be. Jesus, be thou our glory
now and through eternity. It's not just knowing about,
Jesus isn't. The Apostle Paul in Philippians,
that I may know him. That's what he's praying for,
for these believers at Ephesus. And second, the second request,
he requests that they might know what is the hope of his calling.
In verse 18, that you may know what is the hope of his calling.
and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. This again speaks of an increase
of knowledge. All three of these requests,
increase of knowledge, of knowing him. Now, second, of knowing
what is the hope of his calling. Now, what is the hope of his
calling? Well, that's what we call heaven.
It's being with Christ. It is eternal happiness, which
those whom God calls are given. It's an inheritance. This is
the way Peter puts it in his first letter. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope. by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you." In this world,
we know very little, actually, we know very little of what God
has prepared for those who love Him, the riches of glory. Our dwelling there is called
a mansion. The city has streaks of gold,
but the real riches at present that we know about the hope of
his calling is more by negatives than by
positives. We know that it consists of no
more sin. No more sin. He gave himself
for us to deliver us from this present evil world. Paul says in Galatians 1. No
more sin. No more sorrow. No more tears. No more sickness. No more death. No more misunderstandings. we will be with him and be like
him, that we might know what is the hope of his calling. And
his third request, that they might know what is exceeding
greatness of his power to us who believe. You know, when you
think of the various terms in the New Testament, which are
used concerning man's salvation, it's called a new, new creation,
a creation. It's called a resurrection from
the dead. It's called a dispossessing of
the strong man. It's called the removal of the
heart of stone and the giving of a heart of flesh. It's called
the enmity that exists between God and man being slain. And all of those terms, and there's
others, but you just think of all of those terms, and they
all speak of the power, the power that is necessary to accomplish
them. Power like it took, the apostle
said, in raising the Lord Jesus from the dead and setting Him
at His own right hand. Setting Him above everything.
You know, Paul, He couldn't mention the Lord Jesus Christ in his
writings when he was writing a letter and he would mention
Christ. He couldn't mention Christ without
heaping praises on praises on praises upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He sat down on the right hand
of God being given all power both in heaven and in earth.
And you notice Paul is always careful, always careful to make
sure as best he can to make sure that everyone knows that there's
no one, there's nothing, anywhere, at any time that is not subject
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is under his feet,
everything. He's seated at the Father's right
hand, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The church that Jesus loved and
gave himself for, we see, is his body, his mystical body. And he is its head. And the body
only has one head. There's only one head of the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ is that head. And
we are all members of his body, his mystical body. Those who
are saved, Those who are washed in his precious blood and called
out of darkness to know him and to enjoy him forever. Well, I pray that the Lord would
bless these words and encourage all of us to pray. I know we
pray, but look at these prayers and that they might help us to
pray and make requests unto the Lord. And if nothing else tonight,
that we might give thanks for one another. God help us to be
thankful. Now let's sing a hymn and we'll
be dismissed.