God’s Love

 

Scripture Text

Eph. 3:14-19

Intro: In this passage of scripture the apostle Paul said when he thought of the wisdom and scope of God’s love, in His plan of salvation, he bowed his knees in prayer to God for the Ephesians that they would be able to comprehend and experience this great love that God had for them and all Christians everywhere.

 I. Paul prayed for inner strength. Ephesians 3:14-16 (NLT)¹⁴  When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, ¹⁵  the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹⁶  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. a. Paul’s first request is for strength and might in the inner man, the strength and power of God's Spirit, for His presence and might in their lives. Believer’s must be strengthened with spiritual power and might in order to break loose from the sins of the flesh, and focus upon the richness of the eternal love of God which He has poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. [Romans 5:5]

2: Paul prayed for Christ to rule and reign in their hearts. Ephesians 3:17 (NLT) ¹⁷  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Paul prayed that by faith, our [belief] that Christ would be at home and would live in a permanent sense within the believer. Paul prayed that the believer would be aware and conscious of Christ within his heart and that Christ has taken up residence within him. He prayed for Christ to control and guide their life—continually. In [v:17b] When Christ rules and reigns in our hearts, we become rooted and grounded in His love, just like a tree planted by streams of running water! We become fruitful and productive and we will prosper in Christ’s love! When Christ is ruling and reigning in our hearts we will be able to understand the scope of God’s love.  Ephesians 3:18 (NLT) ¹⁸  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. The width of God’s love. It’s boundless. A scientific report said the observable universe is 93 billion light years wide and growing. The unobservable universe is 23 trillion light years in diameter. God’s love encompasses the entire observable and unobservable universe and beyond. It’s wide enough to all forgive all of mankind’s sin. It covers every experience of mankind. The length of God’s love. It’s endless! It reaches from eternity past covering our lifetime in the presence and reaches to eternity future. God’s love will never run out! It has No end! The depth of God’s love. God’s love is fathomless. God’s love reaches to the lowest hurting soul, to the depths of sin and shame. The height of God’s love. God’s love reaches to the highest heavens. Solomon said in 1 Kings 8:27 (NKJV)  But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. Paul prayed for all Christians to know the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)¹⁹  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. That passes all human knowledge! Paul prayed in verse:18 that believers might “understand” the greatness of Christ’s love. Here he prayed that they might experience it. Paul also recognized that Christ’s love is so great that people will never fully understand it. Believers cannot rationally explain Christ’s love; they can only know it by experiencing it. This knowledge requires a continuous growing experience.  A key to growing in love for God is to be aware of what He has done, is doing, and will do for us, and to remain grateful for it.  Thess. 3:5  Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. As we grow in Christ’s love and get to know Him better, we will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (v:19b)This “fullness” means that there is nothing lacking in our relationship to the Father. God pours his love and power into believers, making us complete for this life and preparing us for the life to come. This “fullness” of life and power is expressed only in Christ’s love. We need not look anywhere else. The ultimate goal is for believers to become Christ like individuals, filled so totally with Christs’ love that He is seen in us as we share His love with others. Apostle Paul Closes praising God! Ephesians 3:20-21 (NLT2) ²⁰  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Invitation: Have you experienced God’s loving salvation of your soul? If not the bible says that now is the accepted time and today is the day of salvation. Let the Spirit of God speak to your heart right now about where you stand with God. Confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins against God and ask Him to save your soul before its eternally to late!

Hearing the Spirit

                                     Scripture Text

 John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

I. The command to hear the Spirit. Revelation 2:29 (NKJV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Can you hear what the Spirit is saying to you? Our spiritual ear must be tuned to God just like a radio must be tuned to a certain station. The older radios had to be fine tuned with the radio dial because there was a lot of squeaking and static if it wasn't right on the station and it would fade in and out. We must fine tune our spiritual ear to what God is saying by His Spirit. Many voices speak to us everyday. There are a lot of voices out there trying to get our attention. Radio, TV, Internet, Facebook, Fake news, newspaper articles, government leaders. No matter when you try to tune in, you’re sure to hear the doom and gloom of the world, brought to you by none other than Satan himself through those that are deceived and believe his lies. And if that isn’t enough, if you aren’t giving heed to the voices of the world, your friends may tell you that you’re burying your head in the sand, that you need to listen to what’s going on in the world, so you can be informed. We don't need to be informed by the world. We need to be informed by the One who made the world and all that is in it. So How do we fine tune to the Spirit's voice above all the others?

II. Hear the Spirit through daily reading and studying of the bible. Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) ¹³  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. There must be a wholehearted sincere determination to seek to hear the Spirit's voice. John 16:12-14 (NKJV) ¹²  I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. God reveals Himself and His ways through the bible. Hearing the Spirit means We must read and study God's holy word. The bible is the standard for what Christians believe. As you feed on the Word, your spirit and soul become one with the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you from the word. You will begin to reason and act as the bible says because the Holy Spirit loves to speak to those seeking God and who love His Word. In studying the Bible, you will learn to recognize the voice of God as compared to the voice of the world and the voice of the devil. The devil and the world lures us with lust, envy, love of money, pride, power, sexual perversions and other like stuff. The devil's lies have infiltrated the church because of it's refusal to hear the voice of God's Spirit. Government leaders glorify abortion and homosexuality. They aren't reading and studying God's word. They aren't listening to the Holy Spirit. The voice of the devil tells you that you don’t need God's word, make your own rules. The devil will tell you that God doesn’t love you or have any desire toward you whatsoever. The devil and the world tell you to “do your own thing”, please yourself, fulfill your desires and lusts, get ahead, and never mind how many you hurt along the way. The world and it's programs appeal to your flesh. The devil always appeals to the flesh. God appeals to the spirit of man. The voice of the Spirit speaks to us today. 1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV) ¹⁵  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶  For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.                                                                                                                      a. Hear the Spirit through prayer. To get to really know someone there must be communication. Prayer is simply talking to the heavenly Father. He is concerned about the things going on in the world and what's on your heart. The Spirit speaks to us how to handle our problems and worries whatever they may be. Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. As you pray the Spirit speaks peace to your heart that you can't understand and He promises to guard your heart and mind from anxieties, worry and fear.         b. Hear the Spirit through regular church attendance. Hebrews 10:24-25 ²⁴ Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. We hear the Spirit's voice today encouraging us to meet together to stir up love and promote works done for the good of others. You will hear the voice of the Spirit in every S.S. Class and church service when you come with your heart in the right place and open to a move of the Spirit in your life. Every time we meet the Spirit is working to draw us closer to God. Some people withdraw from church when trouble hits. They refuse to listen to the Spirit and it invites disaster, like a soldier in battle who lags behind the rest of his platoon and becomes an easy target for the devil. The devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. We hear today the voice of the Spirit telling us that the day of Christ's return is at hand. Christians must live as if the Lord will come back at any moment. Christ must not find us lax in our devotion and preparation. In conclusion I pray you will take this message seriously and make every effort to seek God so you can hear His Spirit speak to you each day. Revelation 2:29 (NKJV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Invitation: The bible says in Romans 8:16 (NKJV) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of His? If not now is the right time to make sure of your eternal destination. You may not get another chance. Confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save your soul from hell and give you eternal life.