Paul on His Knees . . . Again, Part 1

Bowing on our knees is not a physical gesture. Most of us exercise very often, as will discovered today's message from our teacher kneeling to pray as a Christian tradition that dates back to the first century.

It's a symbol of humility that represents our lowly position before God today on Insight for living.

Chuck Swindoll invites us to follow along in Ephesians chapter 3 refunded eloquent prayer that begins in a horizontal posture of reverence followed by vertical expressions or praise check title. Today's message Paul on his knees again. It was the martyred missionary Jim Elliott, who once wrote in his journal the same two advances on his knees, never retreat wise words. All of us have discovered that the as we go through times of real discouragement. There's nothing like prayer to pull us out of that nosedive. Well, working to find Paul literally on his knees as we turned together to the third chapter of Ephesians, he is under house arrest and he has a Roman soldier trained to him during this time, nevertheless, is filled with the joy of the Lord.

But in his heart he is entertaining some deep concerns about his friends in Ephesus. Those believers who were falling into discouragement over his being under arrest and so Paul decided to deal with that on his knees.

He wanted none of that kind of discouragement on their part and so he prayed on their behalf that they would be filled with the love of Christ, they would be strengthened by his spirit rather than succumbing to discouragement over to read about that when we turn together to this third chapter of Ephesians. I want to begin our reading at verse 13. As you follow along.

Therefore I ask you not to lose hard at my tribulations on your behalf for they are your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. To search the Scripture text window. Be sure to download his searching the Scripture study going to Insight world.org/studies and on the message titled Paul on his knees again.

Let's pray we love you Lord and we're learning to live with you each day.

Just a little better thank you for meeting us where we are in for understanding us in all our ways depths and heights mainly depths wins and losses send often losses encouraging and discouraging times and frequently discouraging, and for not writing us out of the book of her erasing us from your plan, but for stepping up again and again catching us as we were running away. Thank you father for bringing us back again and again thank you for the grace of our Lord Jesus, who, though infinitely rich for our sakes became poor and we threw his poverty might become infinitely rich, like he, thank you for the excitement of where were going and you made that happen. Thank you for pulling us together from all different walks of life and all over the globe and putting us here on this Sunday morning. Thank you for what's carried us through from start to finish your amazing grace.

Because of that we give and we pray in Jesus name. And everybody said well what you do when you lose heart.

That's the biblical words those the biblical words for being discouraged, losing heart. You've all been there, haven't we all the windows out of our sales we have our morale dropped to a low even though we were once really high and encouraged. Maybe somebody said something that was unfair or just downright ugly and you would been doing so well and then wouldn't you know it just a matter of a brief period of time in your and you begin to tunnel just want to give up discouragement does that to us.

I found a great sense of humor helps your discouragement. I find it often among parents of young children.

Yummy. Let's face it, parenting is a tough assignment and all the parents said all right now since it's so tough. Some of you take it far too seriously. Or maybe this will help I'm sure these things were written by a mother who had a very difficult set of situations in her home but she didn't let it discourage her. She calls it things I've learned from my children a king-size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 square-foot home 4 inches deep. Just another one.

If you spray hairspray on dust bunnies and run over them with rollerblades.

They can ignite. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan. The motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape.

It is however to red paint on all four walls of a 20 x 20' room. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on when using the ceiling fan is about. You have to throw the ball up a few times before you go to a ceiling fan can hit a baseball along the way. The next one.

She also learned from her children. The glass in windows, even double paying doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan when you hear the toilet flush and the words oh it's already too late.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox make smoke and lots of it. A six-year-old can start a fire with a flint, even though a 36-year-old man says it can't be done except in the movies magnifying glass can start a fire even on an overcast day. Certain Legos will pass through the entire digestive tract superglue is for ever learn this, no matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool. You still cannot walk on water. VCRs do not eject peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Even though the TV commercials so that they do garbage bags do not make good parachutes marbles in the gas tank make lots of noise when you're driving on the skip that limit this cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

It will however make cats dizzy cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy. Let's face it, discouragement is not a laughing matter even over have a little fun with it. Boy if you ever had your wings taken out your sales.

You know what I'm talking about. You can be stored along, things are great and all of a sudden you wonder view the same person member Elijah that magnificent experience on Mount Carmel and Eddie drove me you know we we drove the land free of the worshipers of Baylon I surround and within a matter of hours. He's under a juniper tree asking that God take his life because we believe it's the same guy hours only hours different between Mount Carmel and down near the southernmost region of the wilderness of Judea down and bear Sheba.

He's saying, Lord, take my life. It is worth it.

I can do one you're not shocked if you're if you're a person who understands depression.

John RW Stott said the Christian's chief occupational hazards are depression and discouragement I think is right, but you do how you handle it when you go. Did you know that the words lose heart from income to owe the Greek word for losing heart is only found six times in five of them in Paul's letters one here in Ephesians 313 one over Galatians 61.

The second Thessalonians 32 in second Corinthians 4 and in Jesus one-time uses are Luke uses it quoting Jesus you got a pray and not lose heart.

So pray is the added know it's really tough is when your discouragement is brought on by something you caused in somebody else's life detracted. When you do something that causes another person to suffer for that's the situation here we find in second in Ephesians 3. These people in Ephesus were Gentiles. Paul was under arrest because he had stood in defense of the Gentiles, saying if they come to Christ they are on the same level as the Jew who was converted to Christ and on that same level there in the same family room. He winds up in the under arrest. Waiting for trial before the Roman Emperor of all things.

Jews were behind it read for yourself asked 2122 2328. He's there because they wanted him killed. How would you feel if you were Gentiles living in Ephesus and you you found out that Paul was under arrest because you stood in your defense you feel badly. I mean, verse 13. He asks them not to lose heart. At his tribulation on their behalf. And so for this reason, verse 14 about money.

For this reason, I think it's because there discourage so we praise follows the Lord's direction, I would pray and not not lose heart defects is on downline need you know that's unusual for the Jew to bow the knee ever visit Israel and you go to the Wailing Wall. You will not seem Jews on their knees. You'll see them standing. Most of them with her hands outstretched. That's the way they prayed for centuries some time they will sit to pray often in first century, times the rabbi would sit to teach. He taught the sermon about city Matthew 51, he taught the parable of the sower and the seed sitting in a boat Mark 41 he reclined at the table for the entire discourse quality. The upper room discourse. John 13 to 60. He sat only in intense situations bow or fall prostrate before God.

Jesus fell on his face in the garden to pray get 70 Paul kneels before the Lord in acts 20 as he says goodbye to the Ephesian elders, verse 36 Daniel Boutin bowels meals I should say he kneels before the Lord.

Daniel 610, three times a day in the intensity of his situation with with the ruler. So in intense situations he's bowing to Paul. I think literally got on his knees. You know just a little comment here before we go any further. Your posture and prayer is not nearly as important as the act itself. I often pray what I'm driving.

I II frequently pray just before a difficult encounter with an individual usually. My prayers are shorter and to the point sometime. I push my chair back from my desk and I kneel, I don't know what calls for that except I feel this intense need. I guess the best word to bring before the Lord some situation I can't handle it. And this is this is his posture. I bow my knees before the father. Remember this little equation you prayed to God through Christ in the spirit. This is a day of ultra-familiarity with the Trinity and caution us against that you don't pray to Jesus, you pray to God the father you pray through Christ and in his name. You pray in the spirit. When the Lord taught them to pray, say, our father who art in heaven, pray to the father through the Lord Jesus in the spirit so we praying to the father and in a wonderful title from whom I think a better rendering, rather than every family is the whole family, meaning the family of Gentile and Jew that's been the whole point.

Up until now.

In the letter. Remember, I pray to the father before whom or from whom the whole family in heaven and earth derives its name that he would.

And the prayer begins the petition to analyze discouragement in and show you how remarkably Paul answers all four of them. When we are discouraged for things happen and analyze this in my own life and I think I speak for you.

Something happens physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, physically, in each case we lose something we lose energy physically, usually are not very productive when you are discouraged, you lose inner motivation physically, emotionally, we lose reality we lose touch with reality.

We don't feel like loved, cared for, even known by God. If our discouragement is great enough mentally we lose our memory, we lose our memory things we once knew so well we don't call to mind. We forget, we lose our memory spiritually would lose intimacy physically, emotionally, mentally, physically, and therefore we lose heart, which is the Bible's favorite word for the inner person. The core of our interbeing's who we are. That's what will live on even when we die.

It's some call it the personality. I simply call it the interbeing interesting in Paul's prayer. All four are addressed in this order we lose our physical strength and so, not surprisingly, the very first thing he prays for his friends in Ephesus is that he would grant. He is the father would grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit, knowing that physically they were lacking to not miss dynamic power it's translated here. He prays that they will be granted. According to the riches of God's glory, to be strengthened. The word means fortified brace invigorated, I pray that your spirit will be lifted up your inner spirit will be reinvigorated that it will be braced by the Juneau mists of God, by the way, it's a great prayer to pray for yourself and your discourage or two for your friend or one of your kids or one of your parents when they are. I pray that God would grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your heart.

I thought Christ lived in my heart if I'm a Christian. He does but he may not necessarily be completely at home there. This word cutter or capital from two words that mean to dwell down to be embedded.

Riley renders this to be completely at home there.

You can have Christ, but he is kept out of some rooms of your life if you will, when he really is at home deeply in your life. Cut down deep, deep within your being you are strengthened. I love the words of an Morrow Lindbergh and her gift from this e-book I want first of all to be at peace with myself. I want to singleness of high purity of intention. A central core to my life. She's describing the inner man I want a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can. I want. In fact, to borrow from the language of the states to live in grace as much of the time as possible by grace I mean inner harmony essentially spiritual, which is translated into outward harmony I'm seeking. Perhaps what Socrates asked for in the prayer from the Phaedrus. He said maybe outward and inward me as one. That's what Paul prays for them.

I pray that the piece that's available to you from the from the father but the power of the spirit through the indwelling Christ may become an out working experience in your life. I'll tell you when that starts discouragement begins to fade. If you ever wonder when to pray for your pastor. Pray for your pastor on Monday, more than you pray for him on Sunday.

Mondays are a lot harder than Sunday.

Sundays are invigorating, delightful things. We look forward to. But when Mondays, sorted down the to his field after a big day easily get discouraged.

Your mind plays tricks on you and your your adversary works against you can lose heart. He says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith through for physically, we can lose energy so we need strict pray for the emotionally we can lose touch with reality. Haven't had that happen, nobody cares. This is the end. Look at his prayer that you, being rooted and grounded in love emotional appeal to God apostle Paul behalf of the believers in Ephesus you're listening to Chuck Swindoll at Insight for living today's message in Ephesians 3 is called Paul on his knees again to learn more about this ministry.

Visit us online@insightworld.org now in order to fully understand what drove Paul to his knees. It's important to respect the time in which it was written and the cultural issues that Paul referenced and to help you dig deeper on your own remind you the check is written and in-depth commentary that includes this attention to historical detail. Unlike many commentaries that are somewhat technical and academic Chuck's book includes additional features that make this resource very practical and even fun to read. It's called Swindoll's living insights commentary on Galatians and Ephesians.

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Call 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insights or/and tomorrow Chuck Swindoll continues his encouraging message about Paul's prayer for the Ephesians right here on Insight for living.

The preceding message Paul on his knees again was copyrighted in 2000 2001 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited