Paul on His Knees . . . Again, Part 2

Are you given to discouragement your living room surrounded myself. Me, myself and your life is now submerged underneath the needs that have come from the horizontal beyond the horizontal. You'll never make it into any phase of the life God's plan for global pandemic blossomed earlier this year continues to threaten her health and welfare. To this day, and for many of us were getting a little stir crazy waiting for the crisis to pass, losing heart is another way to say today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll's teaching from Ephesians chapter 3 we find it uplifting. Prayer is especially relevant for our times. It was offered by the apostle Paul behalf of his friends in Ephesus who were deeply discouraged and losing heart check title. Today's message from Paul on his knees again analyze discouragement and show you how complete Paul answers all when we are discouraged for things happen. I vandalized this in my own life and I think I speak for you. Something happens physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually 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 your 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 mine. We forget, 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. 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.

By the way, it's a great prayer to pray for yourself and your discouraged 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. Physically, we can lose energy so we need strength. Pray for emotionally we can lose touch with reality.

Haven't had that happen, nobody cares. This is the end. Someone said if this is the first day of the rest of my life I'm in for a dismal future.

Those little sayings don't work because you don't feel loved and you don't feel lovely you don't feel wanted.

You don't feel needed to happen if you reared your family and you now back to the empty nest in there going on. They don't need you like to use to know. Look at his prayer that you, being rooted and grounded in love, rooted is a botanical term grounded is an architectural turn, just as you would find in a tree. The deep roots that give it stability and in great structures affiance solid foundation that give it stability. So love does that for all of us, so his prayer is that you would be rooted and grounded in the soil of love and in the foundation of love next silver when you don't feel loved. That's why it's an emotional thing. You can't go by your feelings. Some days you don't feel loved to come married. Some days I don't feel married 9 AM. I don't feel like I want to cooperate with this plan were sometimes Cynthia feels that way but done. We were not married, doesn't mean we don't go with it. It means we don't feel like time you don't feel like being a great parent. Don't feel like you mean that much to God when you discourage you especially like that present.

I pray that the grounded rooted MEA may be able to comprehend with all the saints. I love this verse.

What is the bread and the length and depth and the height of the cross. When I read those were the bread and the wit the depth and the high broad enough to cover whomever long enough to go beyond any barrier deep enough to touch any need any sin in the herd high enough to take us all the way to glory. It's all there, and it's all surrounding us in his love them so mentally, he prays that we would be reminded of that will comprehend with with all the saints, and will no verse 19 a love that surpasses knowledge in an interesting way to put it.

It's beyond knowledge is not just something you're reading the book and say oh I memorize that and it's now reality now not like you have to get it. Louis Armstrong was once asked if you would please explain Jackson. He wiped his mouth with a familiar handkerchief and puffed his cheeks and said man up. I got explain it going God you can get it.

We refer to some people, or they just don't get it. Remember, it's not that they don't have the knowledge is is they don't comprehend what they're have a clue. Our kids tell they don't have a clue. He says I pray that they will understand your love that surpasses knowledge member.

The great hymn over the deep, deep love of Jesus.

Listen to these words fast, unmeasured, boundless, free rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me, underneath me, all around me is the current of I love leading onward leaving home word to my glorious rest above, I pray that they don't grasp that kind of deep love of Jesus I pray that for you.

I pray that for you. I want that for you who feel the most distance from God.

I want you to understand the one who knows you the best actually love you the most you can do anything to make him love you less if you never produced another thing of value in your life. It would not affect his love for you. One boat great thought, you can relax in the setting like it's the most comfortable place in the world to be interesting. We don't all become slops as a result of thinking like to we become incredibly productive because setting where we are surrounded by this boundless and unmeasured and vast and free love of God.

We step up prays that that might become a reality.

Spiritually, we would lose intimacy or my favorite words. When I think of true worship you gone through the motions. Haven't you words been more perfunctory reefs on the songs you said the words are you taught the class or you've gone through the course or whatever and it's like Jan times with this over and other times you have drunk at the fountain who have we learned that the soul thirst to satisfy exhaust the spring the waters free.

All other streams are dry. John Owen, the great commentator says we are never near were Christ and when we find ourselves lost in holy amazement at his unspeakable that's that's that's why I think some of the best moments are in solitude, but how he puts it, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Playroom to the whole S of God as all of you know my family and I lived for over 20 years of 45 minute drive from the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.

As we were rearing our family while the children were small.

We had a friend who provided us with the for a number of years with the department to stay in down in Laguna Beach. One of my favorite spots in Southern California weren't many people there as it was a great time to kick back his parents and the watch the kids play in the surf and make sand castles and hang out with get a sandwich. We go to kids loved it because in this little apartment you pushing me which didn't mean basement admit each, so they say. Let's go to the beach so we go down to kids and it will swim suits and sand all over and I remember on one occasion Arlo Colleen.

She was about six or seven. She's playing at the beach with her brother and her sister in heaven such a great hand to we started on our way home we finished the day in station wagon full of sand the backseat and the kids were asleep. Finally got home and I didn't know it but she had taken a quart jar of seawater. Put the lid on it was carried home with her and so when I tucked her in.

That night I noticed it was sitting there on her dresser and I said sweetheart what to. She said well I just wanted to bring the ocean home with me. Daddy we smile, but that little jar was filled with the fullness of the Pacific course not all the Pacific you can't contain. But the essence of the Pacific was in that quart jar and I pray that you will have the essence of God watching over you and when you do. There is an intimacy not even known in the husband-wife relationship deep unmeasured Baptists will agree prayer like this deserves a grand benediction.

This one has one. This is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible, not my favorite don't have a favorite people always want me to sign this and put my favorite verse down so I sighed and put I don't have one like which is your favorite child. Well, some days I want to cut the lips level I and the other day on his absolutely mad about him so I don't have a favorite child. I love them all their different and in this one looks great versus in fact, he began by bowing his knee to the father and he comes back to the father not to him. Notice the object of the whole thing is the father. The names all began to dissipate the significance of the of the agenda horizontally against afraid when the father is is an emphasis to him to him.

You've almost gotta read this prayer coming this benediction backwards to appreciate the way he writes it as do that to him who is able to do more than we think. That's a lot right there. Let's add another to him who is able to do far more than we can think that's not enough.

To him who is able to do far more than we could ask or think that were involved in this him who was able to do the maximum because he is the God now stands ready to hear what we have to say able to do far more than we could ask or think. I'm now able to do far more beyond all that we could ask or think. And if that isn't enough, far more abundantly beyond all we could hear good Chuck you are super irrigating advert no dishes full of every possible preposition in advert we can think of these superlatives are running off the page because it is impossible to contain and implement God so you live with a quart jar size and you wish for the fullness of him. In essence, as you bring to him these needs and please observe the benediction includes according to the power that works within us, what powers that verse 16 power through his Spirit in the interim. It is the dynamic that is at work within us, and in the process of going through these things that dynamic kicks in and takes us beyond whatever may be the hangup or the hardship of the current need care what you would name it isn't beyond all that you could ask for. Think are far more abundantly beyond all he could. If that isn't enough, he comes to his favorite word in the first three chapters in that's glory and we saw it in chapter 1, you remember, we gotta go look at it again three times chapter 1 verse six he speaks of our being set apart predestined adopted as sons verse six to the praise of the glory of his grace. Verse 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. Verse 14 was given as a pledge of our inheritance. That's the spirit with a view to the redemption of God's own possessions to the praise of his glory. Verse 21 chapter 3. To him be the glory and the charge of course in the church. Why not the church why the church is the only place where two warring parties that cannot get along, anywhere else can handle it.

Jew and Gentile.

All the peace treaties they can sign all the hopes that we can build all the dreams we may desire will not work but in the church converted to converted Gentile in the church we can witness the glory of God at work and for this he says we give him praise to him be the glory in the church and of course in Christ Jesus because he is the source he is the one who makes the union between the two otherwise warring parties possible to all generations, forever and ever, literally, onto all the generations of the age to the agents FF Bruce renders it from one age supervening upon another into remotest infinity don't even try to write that down just here it one age supervening upon another into remotest infinity as far as far as far as you can even imagine. And multiple light years beyond that in either direction may the glory be to him forever and ever.

And the people at Ephesus must've said at this point, wouldn't you think. So let's hear it in man and man Eugene Peterson renders the last verse. Glory to God in the church, glory to God in the Messiah glory down all the generations glory through all the millennia. Oh yes hey man this is driven like a cheerleader standing on the right are you giving to discouragement, then you missed Ephesians 314 to 21 you missed the whole reason it was written.

You're living in a realm surrounded by self. Me myself and I your life is now submerged underneath the needs that have come from the horizontal beyond the horizontal. You'll never make it into any phase of the life God's plan for this whole third chapter is designed to turn the arrow from the horizontal to vertical linking you with him in such power and confidence. Nothing can dissuade are you given to discouragement.

I have three suggestions from what we have read first claim his strength.

It's not your strength. It's here as you run out of strength. That's why you're discouraged or you're discouraged and therefore have run out of strength, claim history, second remember your loved is a great country-western song and I can't remember who sings it, but the good, the great line and it is this singer finishes is that the greatest thing in life is to have been loved by you at said makes a great romantic line but I turn it vertically and I say Lord the greatest thing on earth is to know you, you love me, you know all these rotten things about me.

You know all the stuff that is filled my mind. You know the depth of my depravity and you love you know all the scars you know all the stuff you love you can't stay discouraged when you call that my claim is strict. Remember, your loved seek usefulness seek his fullness is an old legendary story that goes something like this. The devil wants decided to go out of business is just a mad yell hallelujah is right, so he offered his tools for sale. They were attractively displayed trickery, hatred, malice, deceit, rage, sensuality, and an assortment of other sharp tools, each marked with a price with sitting in the center was a wedge shaped well-worn tool priced higher than all of the others.

What is that as the potential buyer that is discouragement. Is it so costly because it can do my evil work. Best of all with it. I can make the lives of many folks seem of no value.

I can make them just lie down and give up and become useless. And never realize I'm the one using it on its bow together close her eyes to where you are right now and I'm I couldn't possibly know the details of your life. But I know this is not that great because this earth really shoots us a crooked stick you're not probably getting what you deserve. You're not appreciated. As you should be maybe right there in your own home.

You're going through a difficult difficult discouraging time. You may have discovered that your mate has had an affair, and you're now having to work your way through it. You may be the one having done so, you may be living in the backwash of the ugly divorce one of your own children may have told you to get out of their life.

Whatever that old sharp tool of the enemy is at work clean-cut strength.

Remember, your loved seek his fullness.

The essence of God available to you if you've never come to the person of Christ. Personally this is the moment what in the world are you waiting for your surrounded by people who were just like you are right now and they realized they needed to comprehend what they had never had a clue about before Christ died to save people like you by giving your heart to him. You could become a part of his forever family.

Lord we need your kind of strength because ours is shallow and superficial ended usually is conditional.

We need the reminder of your love because we are by nature prone to wander prone to leave the God we once loved.

And certainly we need the fullness that only you can provide of yourself. We ask for those things. We pray that through Christ our Lord. We might know personally what it is to be enveloped in the deep, deep love of Jesus – boundless, unmeasurable free in his name for living Bible teaching of pastor and author Chuck Swindoll today. Chuck is presented a message called Paul on his knees again to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insideworld.org. It's been encouraging to focus our attention on a book like Ephesians during a season in world history. This marked my fear and anger 2020 will be forever remembered as the year of the global pandemic devastating hurricanes and wildfires, and social unrest in our major cities. So how much better to give ourselves to the one who makes us complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God what to that end, Chuck handpicked a book that he found both uplifting and helpful on his short list for recommended reading is this inspirational book from pastor and radio Bible teacher Philip to Corsi before entering the ministry. Philip served on the police force in Belfast, Northern Ireland during intense political upheaval is book to cover was written for our times. Chuck said your family needs this.

You need this. Our country needs this, especially now to purchase a copy of to cover finding peace and God's protection. Call us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/store. In closing, let me say a word of thanks to our monthly companions and all those who give generously.

You're accomplishing far more than you'll ever know because your gift not only allows us to provide these daily visits with Chuck, a small portion is multiplied overseas in our ongoing pursuit of vision 195 vision 195 is our stated mission to reach 195 countries of the world with God's amazing grace to become a monthly companions colors listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/monthly companions or to give a one time donation today go to insight.org tomorrow. Chuck Swindoll continues to study and Ephesians is called becoming a people great 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