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Tuesday Oct 27, 2020
Tuesday Oct 27, 2020
Trials’ Four Purposes
Various Passages October 25
I. Introduction:
A. Proper diagnosis is foundational to a proper solution!
1. Often we go to the doctor knowing something is wrong but just not sure what
it is.
2. So they put us through a series of tests to see if they can find the exact source
of the problem.
3. Once the finger is on the exact problem a proper solution can be applied that
can help significantly!
B. Trials are just like medical issues - proper diagnosis is foundational to a proper
solution!
1. When you do not know what is going on it can become a real battle for the
mind as we speculate of all kinds of possibilities
2. Then the devil puts all of this on steroids and your mind is swirling all
around.
3. Then you start to wonder if maybe there is some sin in my life that has
brought this on. Then we need to regain our balance again by remembering
that Joseph and Job were two of God’s finest servants and they went through
some of the toughest trials!
C. My hope for this series is that we will see our own situation through the lens of
God’s Word and that the Spirit of God will put his finger on what is going on in
us so the speculation can die down and we can move forward with greater
understanding, peace and solutions to apply!
1. There is always a larger story of what God is doing than what meets the eye!
2. My hope is we can see our trials as if we were standing on heaven’s shores
looking down on our situation with God explaining them to us from His
perspective!
D. As I looked at many passages regarding trials these were four major purposes that
seemed to surface for me!
1. So I want to introduce you to all four of these purposes I saw in an overview
fashion this morning and we will come back and look at each one in more
detail in weeks to come.
• The four primary purposes I saw for trials were testing, refinement, for the benefit of
others and praise and glory to God! Let’s start with
II. Testing
A. Turn in your Bibles to James 1:2-4. This is the first passage that God used in my
life to give me encouragement and perspective about the trials I was going
through.
1. It talks about considering it all joy when trials are piling on us all at once.
2. We can consider them all joy because of what we know about them.
3. First, in this passage he tells us specifically what is being tested by our trials.
4. Watch for this as I read v2-3a.
B. Bottom line at the root of every trial is this simple test – are we going to trust God
with this or are we going to try to fix it ourselves?
1. Are we going to trust God with the kind of faith we saw in the three men
going into the furnace? A faith that trusts God no matter what the outcome is
a faith that will continue to trust and worship Him whether or not He gives
me what I want!
2. And it is a faith that endures
a) Read 3b
b) Endure simply has two elements to it, time and pain. It is the ability to
continue over time even when it hurts
c) So this is not a microwave faith but rather a faith that continues to trust
God as the painful trial continue!
• And as we continue to trust God as our trial continues that leads us into the second
purpose of trials
III. Refinement
A. Refinement is simply the removal of unwanted substances in something. In this
case I define it as the removal of sin and the world, devil and flesh that are still
hanging onto us as believers
B. Note the result or outcome of this testing of our faith when we endure in faith.
1. Read 3-4
2. Perfect and complete simply means mature in every area of our life
3. The outcome of this testing of our faith is the development of our inner life:
our character and spiritual life!
C. Trials becomes the fire that God uses to burn away the dross in our life so what
will be left is the pure gold of the life of Jesus in us!
1. As the heat of trials are turned up in our life the dross of the world, devil and
the flesh comes to the surface of our lives and God deals with it!
D. Job is a great example of this, a good man whom God made even better through
his trials!
1. He used trials to burn away the legalism in him and caused him to find God
in a much deeper way, a way that moved him from hearing about God with
his ears to now seeing God with his eyes and repenting of his sin!
E. Read Job 23:10
• The third purpose of trials I saw was they are for the …
IV. Benefit of others
A. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 1:3f
B. This is a passage about comfort. About God comforting us in our trials so we can
comfort others when they are in trials with the same comfort we experienced from
God. Bottom line Paul was saying all the trials he was going through was for
their sake and their comfort.
1. Watch for this as I read this
C. I have been so challenged by a brother who recently found out he has cancer and
when he told us how we can pray for him one of his primary requests was so that
God would use this in his life to minister to others both those who know Jesus and
those who do not!
1. It is one thing when you read it on the pages of the Bible; it is another when
this is a reality in the heart of someone you know! That is the grace of God
D. As we consider that trials are for the benefit of others, we cannot forget the words
of Joseph to his brothers who deeply wronged him and severely mistreated him.
Read Genesis 50:20
• The final purpose of trials we will look at today is that they are used to bring about …
V. Praise and glory
A. Turn to 1 Peter 1. We have preached on this passage on a few occasions on
Easter Sunday.
1. It talks about how we have been born again through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ to obtain an inheritance reserved in heaven for you.
2. Watch for what he says about trials as he tells that they greatly rejoice in this
inheritance to which they are looking forward!
3. Read v6
4. Did you catch it? This trial is refining our faith and the result of that is when
Jesus returns it will result in praise, glory, and honor.
B. It does not specify here who gets the praise, glory and honor. I believe it will be
both Jesus and the believer:
1. Praise - the believer will be praised with the words “well done thou good and
faithful servant”
2. Glory - Romans 8:17 tells us we suffer with Jesus so we may also be glorified
with Him
3. Honor –James 1: 12 talks about the crown of life for those who persevere
under trial!
C. Listen to 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
VI. Conclusion
A. So if you are here today and are going through deep trials but not sure why or
what to do about them listen to:
1. James 1:5
a) “but” connects it with the trials above it
b) Read
2. So this is specifically how we respond to trials when we do not know what is
going on or how to respond to them – ask God for wisdom
B. Pray for those in that situation
Wednesday Oct 21, 2020
Wednesday Oct 21, 2020
He is Still in the Fire: Intro - Persecution
Various Passages October 18, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. Today starts a series that I always wanted to do because of the impact that these
truths have had on my personal life in shaping me into who I am today and in
getting me through some of the toughest times of my life!
1. It is a series that I actually thought about doing next summer but it seemed to
me the timing should be now in light of what has happened in 2020 in so
many people’s lives!
2. It is a series about trials and we are calling it “He is Still in the Fire!”
3. We are at a good breaking point in Ephesians to step aside and do a sidebar
series. But we will pick back up in Ephesians after this series and the
Christmas series!
B. 2020 has been a very difficult year for many of us.
1. I personally feel it has been my second toughest year of ministry in my 35
years of ministry!
2. Many in our body have experienced various different trials this year that have
been deep and personal to them: health issues, death of spouse or family
member, financial struggles from loss of job or cut backs, relational struggles
with mates, family or friends, emotional struggles with depression, isolation
and Covid fatigue, abuse is on the rise this year both verbal and physical!
The list can go on
C. My desire with this series is twofold:
1. Help us gain God’s perspective on our trials!
2. Secondly, I am hoping God would speak to many of us personally regarding
what He may be doing in our lives at this time through the trials we are going
through so we can have specific wisdom on what we need in order to
navigate our trials.
• I want to start our series this morning regarding the idea of
II. Religious persecution
A. Religious persecution simply means suffering for your beliefs in Jesus and His
word!
B. I start here for three reasons:
1. First, we are living in a culture where the pressure against us for our spiritual
beliefs has been growing ever since I was a child.
a) In my lifetime, I have seen our culture move from sharing many of the
values we embrace as Christians, to accepting them as one of many
possible values to now where many believe our values are the core
problems in our culture, and they must be deconstructed.
b) So with this progression in my lifetime, “Where do you think things will
be 10 to 20 years from now”?
(1) I believe that we are slowly but steadily moving in a direction
where Christians here in the United States will need to believe in
Jesus at a greater cost than we know today.
2. The second reason I start here is because what we learn about responding to
persecution is foundational to the way we respond to any trial we may face!
3. Third, in Acts 19 we learn that there was great spiritual pressure upon the
Ephesus church as the worship of Diana was central to the spiritual and
commercial life of that city.
a) Also, the Roman emperors who ruled at that time believed they were
gods and demanded that the subjects of the kingdom worship them.
C. The good news is this – it appears that even until the book of Revelation where
Jesus had a special letter for them they remained faithful and suffered for Him in
the face of this spiritual pressure against them.
• So the question I want to ask today is this:
III. What does it take to be faithful in persecutions?
A. Turn to Daniel 3.
1. At that time, the king had set up emperor worship and if you did not worship
him, you would be killed instantly!
2. King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a large image of himself and called all the
leaders of his kingdom together! Listen to what was said: read 3:4-6.
3. As a result, all of the people that were there fell down and worshipped the
statue expect for three young Jewish men whose Babylonian names assigned
to them were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego!
B. Listen to how the king responded: read 13-15
C. The way these men responded is what it will take to be faithful when we are faced
with persecution for our beliefs, and actually it is what it will take for us to be
faithful when we are faced with any trial so we do not miss the benefits those
trials have for us.
1. Listen v16-18
2. There is a faith here that is greater than name it claim it faith.
a) It is a faith that says I am going to trust God and continue to worship
Him whether or not He gives me what I want and that for which I am
trusting Him!
b) It is a faith that trusts God and His sovereignty no matter what the
outcome is and not a faith that says if I trust Him then I will get me out
of these circumstances!
c) It is the kind of faith that pleases God!
3. Listen to Hebrews 11 the way he closes this great chapter on faith – read
Hebrews 11:32-39
D. Listen to what happened –
1. Read Daniel 3:19-27
2. God walked in the fire with them and protected them
E. That is the point of this whole series that God promises to still be in the fire with
us in our trials. We need to trust Him no matter what the outcome is, no matter
how He chooses to deal with us and glorify Himself through our trials!
• This week I want to encourage you to do two things:
IV. Application
A. Start to trust Jesus with the little trials in your life because that is where the
spiritual muscle of faith grows. If we can be faithful in the little trials, we will be
faithful in the big trials. But if we are unfaithful in the little things, we will never
be faithful when the big trials come.
B. If you have never offered up your entire life as a living sacrifice to Jesus, willing
to die to obey Him, yes even obey Him to the point of death make today the day!
1. Read Rev 12:11
a) We love to claim the blood and bring the Word of God against Satan, but
if we are not willing to obey to the point of death, then Satan has a place
to get to us!
b) Where ever we are unwilling to die for Jesus is something that Satan can
use to keep us from living fully for Jesus!
2. Bottom line to make it through any trial it goes back to the basics of trust and
obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey!
3. Simply if there is anything we are hanging onto that is the thing Satan can use
to destroy us!
C. Listen to this, as it is still true! Isaiah 43:1-2
D. The reality is that He is there in your fire right now! Would you recognize that,
acknowledge Him and trust Him with a faith that will trust and worship and obey
Him no matter what the outcomes are!
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Paul’s Preaching Ministry
Ephesians 3:1-11 October 4, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. Moraine Valley Church, did you know someone is watching us right now?
1. Note I did say church – which means that those who are watching are not so
much watching what we do as individuals but what we do corporately, how
we do church together
2. And they are not watching to be entertained but to learn!
B. Moraine Valley Church – the way we relate to one another and the way we
operate as a church has a much larger purpose and much more important part of
God’s eternal purposes than we could ever imagine!
C. Turn to Ephesians 3 where we will pick up on this portion of our study of
Ephesians that we are calling “This is us.” Today we will learn a bit more about
us together corporately as a church rather than who we are individually.
D. Joel taught us a few weeks ago God’s solution to the deep tensions between the
Jews and Gentiles was not to fix some of the laws but to create a whole new thing
called the church, a place where Jews and Gentiles are equal, the very dwelling
place of God.
E. Now Paul picks up on this idea and continues by telling us that he specifically had
a ministry to the Gentiles to preach to them about this new way of relating with
God, rather than through the Mosaic Law with Jews, it is now through Jesus
Christ with all peoples, the church!
• Let’s start by looking at
II. The content of Paul’s preaching
A. He starts by telling us that what he preached was a mystery, biblically a mystery
is not something that is mysterious but rather something that was not known in the
Old Testament times before Christ came.
1. Note as I read this section Paul says he already wrote to them about this
mystery – I believe that was a reference to chapter 2, what Joel taught us 2
weeks ago and when we consider that it helps us understand the heart of
Paul’s message
2. Read v1-5
B. Then in verse 6, he reveals what that mystery is!
1. Read v6
2. The message that Paul preached is that the Jews and the Gentiles now are
members of a new group - the one new man, the church, the body of Christ -
with equal status and equal privileges and equal responsibilities!
3. Specifically that they are:
a) Fellow heirs of all of God’s promises
b) Fellow members of the body of Christ
c) Fellow partakers in the promise in the Messiah Jesus Christ
C. This was revolutionary truth to the Gentiles and the Jews of that day –the Old
Testament told them
1. That the Gentiles would be blessed by God (Genesis 12)
2. That the Gentiles would bless God (Psalm 73)
3. That they would be saved by the Messiah (Hosea 1:10, Amos 9:11ff)
4. Even that they would receive the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29)
5. However, no place in the Old Testament were they told that God would
create a completely new vehicle for the Jews and Gentiles, the church where
they are fully equal and equally blessed! That is what was new and
revolutionary to both the Gentile and Jew.
6. That was the mystery that was not known before but now has been revealed
D. Then in verse 8, he tells us about two major categories that he talked about when
he preached about this.
1. Read v8
a) First, the unfathomable riches of Christ – unfathomable means it is
impossible to understand. Simply the riches that God had for the
Gentiles were so great that man can not completely wrap his mind
around them even with the best of preaching
2. Listen to the second thing he focused upon – read v9 (note “and” at start of
verse 9 – indicates the second thing he preaches about)
a) Simply how this new man, the church made up of Jews and Gentiles are
to manage their affairs as they walk together and serve the lord together.
b) That is what administration means – simply how you manage your
affairs! Paul preached to them about how the church is supposed to
operate
• Then finally we see
III. The purpose of this preaching ministry of Paul’s
A. Watch for it as I read v10
1. Note “so that” at the beginning – here he is going to reveal to us the purpose
of why he is preaching on these things!
2. Read v10
3. Did you catch it?
B. The purpose of his preaching was so that the many sided and diverse wisdom of
God may be made known through the church.
1. God is using His church to display His wisdom.
2. The way we operate as a church, the way we manage our affairs as a church
is meant to display God’s wisdom.
3. We find out in God’s word the heart of what Paul had to say about how God
wants His affairs managed in the church. The Bible is God’s constitution for
the church.
a) Simply MVC do we run our affairs according to how the Bible says we
should or do we take our lead from some other authority or expert we
look to like: self-help books, the business world, physiological world, the
political world, what other churches are doing what church experts are
saying?
b) That question must be asked regarding our: preaching, worship,
leadership, the way we structure our ministry, roles and relationships
among genders, relationships between one another – especially those
who are different than us
4. Regarding leaders in the kingdom Jesus said this: read Matthew 20:25-26
a) Key words “it is not that way among you”
b) In God’s church, the way He does things is different than the world does.
It is not that way among you applies to so many areas of the church life
and the Christian life.
c) God defines for us the unique ways His people and church operate in His
operations manual called the Bible!
C. All of this matters deeply and eternally because of who God is displaying this
wisdom through the church to
1. Read v10c
2. To the angels –
a) Did you catch that?
b) Let it sink in!
IV. Communion
A. This morning God is using MVC as we meet together and also the way we meet
throughout the week, whether here in the building or outside in our personal
mission fields, as an opportunity to be an object lesson to teach His angels of His
great wisdom on how people who are different from one another (racially, gender
wise, financially, looks, etc.) relate to one another and to God!
B. So as you go to communion this morning and remember that Jesus shed His blood
for the church ask yourself this question, “What are the angels learning from me
if I am the one they are watching at MVC today or this week?”
1. What are they learning?
a) The importance of regularly worshiping with the rest of MVC?
b) The way you honor God with your giving?
c) Your commitment to serve others in the body and in your sphere of
influence?
d) Your partnering with others in the church for each other’s spiritual
welfare?
e) The way husbands love their wives and lead their families in the ways of
the Lord?
C. All of these are important things for the church in God’s operation manual
1. Are you taking your lead from His manual in these areas and what are the
angels learning as they are watching you and me?
2. Meditate on this before Josh leads us in taking communion together.
D. Josh, lead us in prayer for communion when you feel the time is right!
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Saved by Grace for Works
Ephesians 2:8-10 September 13, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. It was the first day of training camp. The year was 1961. Thirty-eight members of
the Green Bay Packers football team arrived to start a brand new season. The
previous season ended horribly for the Packers as they squandered away a lead
late in the fourth quarter to lose the NFL championship to the Philadelphia Eagles.
1. To open up the camp the coach, Vince Lombardi, stood up holding a football
and said this, “Gentlemen, this is a football!”
2. Lombardi’s methodical coverage of the fundamentals continued throughout
training camp. Each player reviewed how to block and tackle. Max McGee,
the Pro Bowl receiver for the Packers said, “Uh, coach, could you slow down
a little? You are going too fast for us!”
3. Six months later the Packers won the NFL championship 37-0
4. The Packers won five championships over a seven year period
5. This is an iconic story of the importance of fundamentals!
6. Knowing well the fundamentals, the basics, the ABCs of anything is
foundational to doing that thing successfully.
B. Today we are going to look at the fundamentals, the basics, the ABCs of our
salvation. The better we know that and the deeper it is engrained in our hearts the
more successful we will be in the Christian life.
1. Why is that? – Because the same way you are saved is the same way you
walk in the Christian life.
2. So if you get this one right, then your foundation will be right for your entire
Christian walk. If this fundamental is off your entire Christian walk will be
off.
C. So let me start with this: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Bible!”
1. Billy Graham said this, “God wanted to speak to us in words we could
understand–and the Bible contains those words.”
2. It is called the Word of God because that is what it is. It is not man’s words
or thoughts but it is God’s words and thoughts!
• So this morning turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:8 where we will see what God
says about another fundamental of the faith. That we are…
II. Saved by grace and not by works
A. To be saved means to be delivered from danger or suffering just like a fireman
saves a person out of a burning building
1. We learned last week in Ephesians 2:3 that before we knew Jesus we were
children heading for wrath, just like the rest of the world.
a) Read v3c
b) So mankind because of their sin is heading towards an eternity of God’s
wrath.
2. Then the most important three-letter word you will ever read, tells us about
the most important intervention that ever took place in mankind.
a) Read v4a
b) The word but introduces for us a total change of direction from what we
learned about ourselves in v1-3
c) It all happened not just because of the love of God but because of the
great love of God.
d) Listen as I read v3c-5
B. At the end here, there is a little parenthetical statement that is like a side bar that
departs slightly from the theme to further amplify or explain something regarding
it!
1. That little phrase, the fundamental we are going to look at this morning is this
(by grace you have been saved)
2. He picks up on the same idea and develops it further in v8-9. Read v8a
C. We are going to learn in this passage just how a person is saved and we will see
that our salvation is based upon grace (that simply means a gift that God gives us
that Jesus paid for with His life) it does not come from us or anything we can do.
1. Watch for all of this as I read v 8-9
D. Let me point out a few things in v8-9.
1. By grace you are saved – grace means gift! So to be saved is to receive a
gift from God.
2. Through faith – this is the way that a person receives this gift. Faith, belief,
trust and rely are all synonyms of each other when it comes to the Bible.
a) Just like I am believing, trusting, relying upon and having faith right now
that this stool will support the entire weight of my body
b) So biblical faith is when I am believing, trusting, relying upon and
having faith that what Jesus did on the cross paid for my personal sins
and not just the sins of the world and His resurrection gives me a brand
new life that is eternal
3. Then we see that this whole salvation through faith thing does not come from
yourself but it is a gift God gives us. It does not come from any good, moral,
or religious work we can do. reread 8b-9a
4. Finally, he says so that no one can boast.
a) One of the best explanations I ever heard on this came from my mother.
b) When I first came to Christ, I so badly wanted to share the gospel with
my parents. They backed me off very quickly by telling me this is just a
fad and if I am still walking with Jesus in twenty years then they will
listen to me.
c) Fast-forward twenty years later I reminded them of the conversation and
asked them if I could share the gospel with them. They said yes.
d) Both of my parents declared that day their trust in Christ. To seal the
fact that they understood this I asked my mom. Why do you think it
says, “so that no one may boast”?
e) She said if our salvation was based on anything we could do then we all
would brag about what we did to be saved, but since there is nothing we
can do but accept God’s gift by faith, then there is nothing we can brag
about! Bingo! Right on!
E. Opportunity to trust Jesus
1. How would you answer the question of boasting regarding your salvation?
2. If you were sitting around a table and people were talking about why they
should go to heaven – would your answer have anything to do with you and
what you have done either morally or religiously? Or would it be the
admission I have nothing to brag about except Jesus and what He has done
for me when He died to pay for my sins and rose from the dead to give me
eternal life!
3. If you and what you have done is your answer then you need to transfer your
trust and your bragging from yourself to Jesus and what He has done for you!
F. The start of the next verse he explains this idea that it does not come from
anything we do just a bit further!
1. Read v9 -10a – for/why because …
2. It is not our works that make us new creatures in Christ! We are not the
creator of this new life but the new creation! We are not the producer of it
but the product.
• Then he continues on in the rest of this verse to say that while we are not saved by
any good works we can do but that we are …
III. Saved for good works
A. Verses 8-10a go through great pains to let us know that our works have nothing to
do with why we are saved, but v10b makes it clear that we have been saved for
good works.
1. Read v9-10b.
B. So those of us that are saved feel like we just need to get out there and start doing
good works so our light will shine before a lost world. So we can do what we
were saved to do. So let’s brainstorm as a church, come up with the best ideas
and start doing them!
1. Watch for this in the text as I read v10
2. Did you see there the need to get out there and just start doing good works?
Reread v10b-c
C. God has already prepared beforehand for you and me, for us as a church; good
works that He wants us to do. We need to focus upon and walk in the very works
God has for us
1. Listen to what Jesus said about his own works, John 5:36
2. John 17:4
a) Jesus said He accomplished/completed the work the Father gave Him to
do!
b) This is true even though there were people who were not healed, saved
or helped! He helped some but not all!
c) He did the things God gave Him to do, He did not just go out and do, but
rather only did the things the Father had given Him to do
3. This should relieve guilt about not doing enough in a world full of pain and
restore the joy and excitement of seeing what good works God has prepared
for me and us to do!
4. That is why like Jesus we need to come to the Father in prayer daily so we do
not operate on our best ideas about what we should be doing but rather the
will of God!
D. Story of Beth
1. I remember a number of years ago praying specifically that God would show
me in the next five days any good works He had prepared for me
2. By the fourth day, a Saturday, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I
expected someone to have a flat tire or something like that. I had helped my
wife whose arm was hurting her that week and thought that maybe this is it.
3. Late Saturday afternoon I had to leave a family birthday party to go home
and prepare for my sermon the next day. As I got out of the car and headed
for the door the neighbor girl, yelled to me, “Mr. Peglow, can I talk to you?”
“Sure, come on over.”
4. We sat on our front stairs as she shared with me the deep hurt and confusion
she felt because of her difficult family situation.
5. I realized at that moment this was the work God had prepared for me, as I
was able to be Jesus to her by sharing love and encouragement with her even
though I had no answers to her hard questions about why her mom and dad
would abandon her at a very young age!
6. Eventually this young girl moved in with us and lived with us for two years!
7. This was clearly a work that God had prepared for me and for every one of us
in our family as we shared our house and life with her.
IV. Closing challenge
A. I want to challenge you to pray as an individual, family, and as small group
simply … “God show me/us the good work you have prepared for me this week.
B. Prayer -
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Surpassing Great Power
Ephesians 1:19-23 August 30, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. Difficult times and trials are used by God to not only build character but also to
reveal character.
1. Read Deuteronomy 8:2
2. This verse connects with where we have been living in 2020 with so many
big things hitting us one after another
a) Start with the closing down of everything from Covid 19 and the
changes, stresses and disruptions that it has brought in our lives,
communities and our church.
b) How about all the racial tensions and discussions that have happened
since George Floyd was killed!
c) How about all the tension and division in our culture because of deep
political differences and toxic statements thrown out from both sides of
the aisle to further their political agenda
d) Moms and young families can relate to this one – schools shut down and
go remote and now you need to be the teacher as you have your children
24/7
3. So what have you learned about yourself during this time: are you happy with
what you have seen in your heart and responses? Maybe to get a more
accurate read we ought to ask the people around us what they have seen and
experienced from us.
a) People are feeling Covid fatigue, some are emotionally exhausted, others
are feeling depressed, anxious, fearful, angry, impatient because of the
changes and demands this time has put on us!
b) The racial tensions and discussions are bringing responses to your heart
as a believer that may surprise you to see that you are more prejudiced
than you thought, more fleshly than spiritual.
(1) I was challenged personally by a question that Roy Patterson raised
when he asked, “Do you see the looters as uncaged animals that
need to be caged or as sheep without a shepherd?” Wow – guilty
as charged Pastor Peglow – Jesus give me your heart!
4. Add on top of this our own personal struggles, weakness and sins as we just
seek to live daily life as many of us move into this fall tired and exhausted
already!
B. I take this as a time of golden opportunity not only to talk to others about Jesus
but also to grow ourselves as things that have been hidden deep within our hearts
have come to a surface in a way we can no longer deny them or hide them!
1. Along with all these things comes the thoughts that I do not have enough, I
am inadequate, I do not have the strength, I am too weak, and I do not have
the ability to deal with the things I am facing!
2. Ephesians 1 is going to teach us this morning that those thoughts are
absolutely untrue! You have more power available to you, you have more
spiritual ability available to you than you ever thought, or you will ever need
to face these things that you wrestle with now or you will face in the future!
• Turn to the end of Ephesians 1.
II. Ephesians 1:19-23
A. The first thing we need to understand is the root idea behind the word “power.”
1. The first thing that comes to our minds is strength
2. But the key idea of power is ability – the ability to do something.
3. The word power and ability are synonymous and can be substituted for one
another
B. We learned last week that the key words in these verses are: “is” and “according
to”
1. Is means that God’s power is available for us believers right now
2. According to means that this power of God, which surpasses greatness and is
like, is in harmony with, and is consistent with the same power that was
operating in Jesus!
3. Watch for all this as I read.
C. He says this power towards us is the same power that God used at three major
events in Jesus life:
1. When He raised Jesus from the dead,
2. When He ascended Jesus from the earth to sit at the right hand of His throne
where everything and everyone in heaven and earth were put into submission
to Him!
a) Note the words “far above” that is not a phrase of geography but of
rulership, authority, power, and dominion. That the rule, authority,
power and dominion of Jesus is far greater, infinitely far greater than any
rule, authority, power or dominion of anyone in heaven or earth, past,
present and future!
3. Finally when God gave Jesus as head over all things regarding the church!
D. I love the two-sided coin of God’s power here.
1. On one side to raise the dead means He can bring something to life within me
that has died, produce within me something that has not been there,
2. But on the other side when Jesus was seated in power and authority far above
every other power and authority the result of that is that everything else is
brought into submission under Him. So this is the power/ability within me to
overcome the power/ability to break down, power/ability to destroy!
E. We see in Romans 8 the power/ability of the Holy Spirit, the powerful person
who lives in us both filling us with the resurrected life of Jesus and breaking
down the deeds of our flesh
1. Read Romans 8:11 - power to produce life
2. Read Romans 8:13 – the power to break down and destroy
• Note in the Scripture the different …
III. Areas of life where this power/ability works
A. Our first thought when we think of God’s power/ability operating is miracles!
Miracles of healing the sick or control over nature.
1. But my great need is a miracle of the heart to produce things in me that I do
not have and cannot produce for myself and to break down things in my life
that I do have that need to be dismantled. Things that only hurt me and
others and keep me from being a blessing to others and bringing glory to God
B. Some different areas of our life that Scripture says about God’s power/ability to
us
1. Acts 1:8 – tells me that God will give me the power/ability to tell others
about Jesus Christ. Power to overcome fear and produce boldness when
speaking of Jesus to the lost!
2. Colossians 1:29 - tells us His power/ability works mightily within us to give
us what we need to disciple and build up other believers
3. Colossians 1:11-12 – listen – steadfast and patient and joyfully giving thanks
4. We will learn in Ephesians 3 that it actually takes God’s power/ability to be
able to comprehend God’s love
5. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but
are divinely powerful/able for the destruction of fortresses, especially toxic
thoughts and lies that are in our minds
• So
IV. How can I experience this power?
A. Brothers and sisters what do you need God’s power/ability for today?
1. Seniors – you know more than anyone that growing old is not for sissies! A
lot of pain and losses both physically and emotionally in this stage of life!
2. Husbands and wives – living that close and that long with someone sure
reveals a lot we need and a lot we need to get rid of.
3. Moms and dads – living that close and that long with kids reveals our need
for self-control, grace towards the children, patience, more patience, more
patience and yes even more patience!
a) Coming into these times already on overload means, you need God’s
power/ability to do these and even find joy in parenting and delighting in
your children!
4. Ministry – I know of fewer things that raise up more of my sense of
inadequacies than when God calls me to do something for Him in both
witnessing to the lost and helping another believer grow in Christ likeness.
5. Character traits – almost all of us deal with deep hurts, hang-ups and habits
that hamper us and hurt others where we need God’s power/ability to walk
with our own flaws and weaknesses!
B. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9 the heart of the truth is that God’s power is perfected, it
comes to fruition, and it is realized in weakness and difficulties and distresses!
1. Now most of us try hard to resist, to get rid, to fix, or even deny our
weaknesses, difficulties or distresses, which only produces further weakness
and frustration!
2. Paul shows us here that the way to experience God’s power in these things is
twofold:
a) Boast about your weaknesses! Yes, face just how weak you are and
admit that before God and man. You can even brag before God just how
weak you are.
b) Be content with the weakness and difficulties that come into your life.
Accept them and rely upon God to express His power either to take care
of the difficulty or to fill you with the contentment and everything you
need to walk through this time!
C. Galatians 2:19 Christ in me and live by faith in the Son of God – depend on one
who lives in me and not myself
D. So I
1. Face my weaknesses and difficulties head on and admit, even brag to God of
my inability to fix these things
2. Then I place my faith in the indwelling Christ to live out His life and power
within and through me! I walk through the day moment by moment aware of
and rely upon both of these truths!
3. This prayer has become my daily prayer of declaration before God: I am
depending upon another person, one who is bigger, stronger, smarter and
able, who has resources I do not have, who can do things I cannot do! I yield
to the indwelling spirit of Christ and declare that all must come from Him!
E. Since all of this is found in the context of Paul’s prayer for the church of Ephesus
rather than his teaching them, we need once again to end this sermon with prayer.
Dave Parro
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Prayer to Know More of Jesus and These Blessings
Ephesians 1:15-23 August 16, 2020
I. Introduction:
A. We live in a day and age where out of the sincerity of our hearts to live out God’s
truth and not just study it the first question we ask ourselves is, ”What do I need
to do with this truth?”
1. We have been learning some of the most amazing truths in the Bible over the
past number of months, blessing upon blessing that God has given to us in
Jesus Christ!
2. This morning Paul answers for us the first thing we need to do with these
truths, and what he does with them may surprise many of us. Actually too
often, we skip over this crucial first step in the process as we rush to put
God’s Word into practice in our lives.
B. We find the answer to this starting in v15 of chapter 1 as he says, “for this reason”
1. Simply he is connecting what follows with what has gone before. He tells us
the very reason he is going to do what he does next is because of all these
blessings in Christ we just learned about in v3-14.
2. Just like v3-14 was all one long sentence closely tying it all together so v15-
23 is also just one sentence closely tying it all together.
C. Before I read, let me tell you what the heart of this section says so you can watch
for it as I read – simply he prays for them to know more of Jesus and these
blessings!
1. The structure to the prayer is as follows:
a) V17 he prays that God would give them a fuller, more practical and more
intimate knowledge of Jesus
b) In v18 -19a he prays that God would enlighten our hearts to fully see and
grasp three specific blessing God gives us – His calling, His inheritance
and His power
c) Then in v 19b-23 he shows us three ways in which His power towards us
right now is manifested and in agreement with the power that was
manifested in Jesus when He was resurrected, when He was ascended
into heaven and seated at God’s right hand and finally when He gave
Him as head over all things pertaining to the church!
2. Watch for these as I read
D. Paul’s first response to all these amazing blessings, the first thing he does is to
pray! Pray that we would know more of Jesus the one whom all these blessings
are in and that we would know more of the blessings themselves!
• Before I jump into the text I just want to say a few things about
II. Prayer in general
A. We have learned before that prayer is the means to receiving in God’s kingdom.
1. Often as a last resort we say to people in tough times, when there is nothing
else we can do we say, “All I can do is pray!”
2. Actually prayer should be the first thing we do and the best thing we can do
as prayer allows us to put one hand on the person and their situation and the
other hand on God and bring the two together!
3. Prayer is the first thing that Paul does with these amazing life-changing
truths! It really is the first thing we should do
B. We have been talking lately in staff about the restarting of our ministries here at
MVC in this unique day of restrictions and MVC scattered all over the place.
1. As we look at the way that Jesus did ministry we have been reminded how
Jesus started His ministry and daily met with the Father in prayer.
2. Jesus said He did nothing of Himself; His teachings and words were not His
own, His works were not His own, His will was not His own but they all
were from and initiated by the Father.
3. If we do not go to the Father first and regularly in prayer then at best we will
be working out of our best ideas or copying and pasting what others are doing
rather than hearing directly in a life changing and empowering way what God
wants us to do.
4. What we learn from this passage is that God does not want His truths from
the Bible just to go from our heads to our feet and hands but rather from our
heads, through our hearts where it is anointed by the Spirit then out through
our hands and feet!
C. Finally, we see in this passage that Paul prays God’s word and truth.
1. So often, we will read God’s word when we end with our prayer time, when
we begin to pray for our needs, friends, and ministry but never breathe a
prayer about what we just learned in God’s word.
2. It is like sitting at the breakfast table with Kim and she talks to me about
something on her heart she wants me to know then I respond by telling her
about what happened in the ballgame yesterday! There is no connection and
no two way conversation
3. Here Paul is praying about what we just learned in God’s word – to know
more about Jesus, the one in whom are all these blessings and to know more
of the blessings themselves in a life changing way!
4. This is the prayer we all should be praying for each other and ourselves in
these days.
• So the rest of today my goal is simply to introduce you to this prayer and then the
next two weeks we will look into it more specifically. In v17 Paul prays that we
would
III.Know more of Jesus
A. The key word here is knowledge – it is the Greek word “epignosis” which
indicates a personal, intimate, and progressively growing knowledge of Jesus!
B. As I reread this verse note three things:
1. This is something that God gives, something that originates with God, not
something we work out by our efforts
2. He wants them to know more in a practical way – that is what wisdom and
revelation basically means
3. Then finally that growing, practical knowledge is in the particular area it is
in. The area of a personal, experiential and intimate relationship with Jesus
4. Read
C. This same idea is pictured and the same word is used in Matthew 16 for us to get
a picture of what this is like.
1. Context, Jesus had been on the scene and doing amazing miracles and saying
things that amazed some and angered others.
2. Those whom He angered said He was from the Devil and those who were
amazed knew He was someone very special as they thought he was John the
Baptist raised from the dead or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other
prophets raised from the dead.
3. Then Jesus said this to Peter
a) Read Matthew 16:15-17
4. Like we see in this passage a growing more intimate, experiential and
practical knowledge of Jesus is not something that comes from man’s efforts,
observations, or even being around Jesus, like so many of them were.
Rather it is a supernatural revelation – an unfolding to us by God where God
discloses this to us in the core of our being!
D. This is not just head knowledge or even just Bible knowledge about Jesus but it is
the truths of the Bible coming to life within my heart by the power of the Holy
Spirit!
1. This is not just reading, studying, memorizing and knowing the big idea the
twenty third psalm that teaches us that God, specifically Jesus, is our personal
shepherd but rather it is the daily experience in the grind of real life on the
streets where we experience Jesus shepherding us through every situation we
face.
2. It is not just knowing about Jesus in my head but rather knowing Jesus deep
within the core of my being in a life giving, life changing way!
• The second part of this prayer is that we would
IV.Know more of these blessings
A. The key word here is know – it is the Greek word “oida” which indicates an I see
something and I get the significance of what that is. It is the knowing from
observation but knowing in such a way that you grasp the significance of what
you know!
B. Let me reread v18-19a
C. Again, we see these are things he does not just want us to have head knowledge
about but he wants it to go to the core of our being, so they flow out of our lives
as naturally as blood flows out of our hearts! When the Bible speaks of the heart
it is speaking basically of the inner person, that part of us that lies deep within us,
the immaterial part of our lives
1. In the Bible, it speaks of the heart as a place where we imagine, think and
reason, a place where we have desires, affections and grief, a place where our
conscience and will is, a place where faith resides.
2. Here it talks about the heart having eyes – figuratively speaking that means
the ability to see.
D. But like everyone who sees we need to have light to see – so his prayer is that the
eyes of our hearts would be enlightened. That the Holy Spirit would shine light
down in our hearts so we can see and know these wonderful blessings that God
gives us!
V. Application
A. So everything that follows are works of God deep within our hearts that come in
the context of prayer so that God’s Word would become a living reality in and
through us!
B. So from the core of our beings we would know and experience deeply the hope
that comes from His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us.
Close in prayer – John Hurley