1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:08,080 Church, please pray with me. Oh Lord, we are so thankful. 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,280 I'm so thankful to stand in the midst of your inheritance. 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,560 You've said that, that your inheritance, your glorious 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,920 inheritance is found in the Saints. 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,760 It's found in this local church where your authority has been 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:21,520 given. Your truth is preserved. 7 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,280 Your truth is preached. And what a privilege it is to 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,840 see coming out in time all of the plans that you foreordained 9 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,159 from all eternity that this is your church. 10 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,480 And as a one of the pastors here, Lord, I'm so thankful to 11 00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:40,600 see their faith increasing in you, their, their knowledge 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,080 increasing, their love for one another increasing to see all of 13 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,480 the fruit of all the good works that you've prepared for them an 14 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,760 eternity past. That they would go into these 15 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,360 crisis women's shelters and they would be in the prisons and they 16 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,280 would be with your orphans and your widows and that they would 17 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,160 be out with the homeless. Lord, and to hear the reports of 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,400 all that's happening. God, there's nothing to do but 19 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,400 to to give thanks. We're so incredibly grateful 20 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,440 that you've not left us alone in this world, but you've given us 21 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:10,920 a body and you've given us a family. 22 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,880 You've allowed us through adoption to be participants in 23 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:19,240 the divine life, God. And what a privilege it is to 24 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:20,800 stand here. Lord, we say, look, look where 25 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,560 we're standing. God, we're so grateful. 26 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,760 We ask all this in Jesus name, whose son we pray and in him we 27 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:32,760 thank and praise. Amen. 1st Corinthians 1415, also 28 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,920 written by the apostle Paul. Paul reasons out loud and he 29 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,280 sees reasoning. He says if I pray in a tongue, 30 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:43,920 he says my, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 31 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:46,880 So he's working out what, what am I to do? 32 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,760 And he's this. He says, if I pray with my 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,800 spirit, I will also pray with my mind. 34 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,440 I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. 35 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,440 There's a famous Puritan, you've heard of him, John Bunyan. 36 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,880 He wrote Pilgrim's Progress, one of the greatest Christian works 37 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,280 to ever come to us. That's where we get Little 38 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,880 Pilgrim's Progress, which was a lot of our, as parents, a lot of 39 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:08,680 our favorite books. He wrote another work whose 40 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:14,120 title is First Corinthians 1415. He calls it I Will Pray with the 41 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,440 Spirit and with the understanding, also a discourse 42 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,160 touching prayer. And it's extremely short. 43 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,000 You could read it in an hour. And what he's, what he's trying 44 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,320 to get in this is in the short pamphlet, he says, I want you to 45 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,320 know what it means to pray, what is true prayer. 46 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,720 And then he says, and I want you to know in this systematic 47 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,640 ordered list, what does it mean to pray with your spirit and 48 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:37,560 with your mind? What does it mean to pray with 49 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:39,880 your spirit and with your understanding? 50 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,480 And he asked the question that everyone of you ought to be able 51 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,560 to answer quickly and thoroughly. 52 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,240 It's what is prayer or to ask it the way he asks it, what is true 53 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,840 prayer? And we often know prayer more by 54 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,880 what it's not than what it is. You know, prayers not a, a 55 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,160 magical formula where we get God to do the things that we want 56 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:01,440 him to do. That's what it was in Ephesus. 57 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,680 That's not what it is for us. It's not bargaining with God to 58 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,640 get him to do something and we'll do something else. 59 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,000 It's not informing him of something that he doesn't know. 60 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,320 It's not a performance. It's not vain repetition like it 61 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,040 was to the 1st century Jews or even the Catholics today. 62 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,000 It's not self-centered. If it's not these things, then 63 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,920 to ask his question again, what is true prayer? 64 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:32,960 And Bunyan answers it this way. Prayer is a sincere, sensible 65 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,280 and affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God through 66 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,600 Christ and the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit 67 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,800 for such things as God has promised or according to the 68 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,600 Word, for the good of the church, with submission and 69 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,880 faith to the will of God. You all get it by the end of 70 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:54,000 this. I hope you will. 71 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,560 I want you to see this prayer of Bunyan. 72 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:57,840 We're going to say it over and over again. 73 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,720 He's going to lead us through Ephesians 115 to 18. 74 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,400 The progress of Ephesians 115 to 18 follows this prayer. 75 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:06,840 It teaches us what true prayer is. 76 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,080 And I hope this prayer will guide you so that you understand 77 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:10,880 our passage. And I hope by the end of it, as 78 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,680 we take these, these line by line, you will have a working 79 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,040 definition of prayer. You can internalize this. 80 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,560 You can take this, you can commit it to your memory. 81 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:21,959 We'll go through a line at a time. 82 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:25,240 First, we say prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate 83 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,520 pouring out of the heart or soul to God through Christ, and we're 84 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,080 going to see. Second, it's in the strength and 85 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,680 the assistance of the Holy Spirit. 3rd, it's for the things 86 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,040 that God has promised us or according to his Word. 4th, it's 87 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,800 for the good of the church. And 5th, it's with submission 88 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,040 and faith to the will of God. And we'll take it in those 89 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,000 chunks. But let's read our passage today 90 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,120 in Ephesians one beginning in verse 15. 91 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:56,520 Read with me, He says, for this reason, because I have heard of 92 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,040 your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love toward all 93 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,920 the Saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you. 94 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,680 And Paul is connecting theology to prayer in verse 15 when he 95 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:13,120 says for this reason, for this reason is is not pointing 96 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,320 forward. It's pointing back to all the 97 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,400 Trinitarian theology that you've just heard. 98 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,320 They didn't just come to faith. This began in the mind of God 99 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,120 the Father when he predestined the Saints for adoptions that 100 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,040 they might be his people and he would be their God. 101 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,120 And they were purchased in time by the eternal Son of God 102 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,360 through his death on the cross. He says I bought you, I redeemed 103 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:37,760 you and his Holy Spirit sealed them. 104 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,000 And it's in all of this fulfilled prophecy as the 105 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,440 prophet Joel said, as Ezekiel said, as Isaiah and Jeremiah 106 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,080 said, it's coming to pass. I'm, I'm hearing about it in 107 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,680 jail, the eternal workings of, of God in time, his promises 108 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:55,000 coming true, All these fireworks are going off. 109 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:56,960 And it, they, it was a gift of God. 110 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,080 It was in love that he first loved them and now they're 111 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,600 loving one another. And it's, it's an incredible 112 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,600 thing. And he says their faith and 113 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,560 their love are the living proof that God's decrees are true. 114 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,800 And he's hearing about their public reputation of their faith 115 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,800 and their fellowship. And he's hearing about it in 116 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,960 these little humble churches that he's planted. 117 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:18,880 And there's another firework that's going off in his mind. 118 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,160 He says, I see the, the horizontal or the vertical 119 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,040 dimensions and the horizontal dimensions. 120 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,600 He says, I see that you're, you have a love for God the Father 121 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,080 and that your faith in God the Father is increasing. 122 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:32,960 And he says because of that, you love your, the Lord, your God 123 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:34,480 with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your 124 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:36,120 mind, with all your strength. He says, and I hear that you 125 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,200 love your neighbor as well. Evidence of their regeneration. 126 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:43,480 This is what they were known for. 127 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,280 He says I heard, remember in Thessalonians. 128 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:48,280 He says I heard of it like the roar of a stadium, like you can 129 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:50,760 hear it from miles away. I heard it on Friday as I was 130 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:52,520 running around airport track. Everyone seemed to be having a 131 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,040 really good time at Shawnee High School in the football games. 132 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,000 Like man, I should be there. He says I heard about your faith 133 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,400 like that. He says it the same with these 134 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,600 Ephesians. I hear about it all the way here 135 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,600 under house arrest. I hear about your faith. 136 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,520 And he says it's faith. Verse 15, in All the Saints, not 137 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,560 just Jews, not just Gentiles, not just the rich, not just the 138 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,640 people that were like them, he says your love for all, for one 139 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,640 another. He says it's a city that's known 140 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,920 for diversity and the Spirit has bought unity through the 141 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,040 submission to Jesus Christ. And so remembering all of that 142 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,240 context, I go back to highlight Bunyan's definition of prayer. 143 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,520 He says that prayer is first sensible, which to him would 144 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,120 have meant guided by understanding and perceptive and 145 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,120 spiritually aware. And so when you see all of this 146 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,440 context, you read verses 3 to 14, you realize just how 147 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,880 perceptive and theological and spiritually aware the apostle 148 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,040 Paul was. His prayer, if anything, is 149 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,160 sensible, and he's praying here with his spirit and with his 150 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:54,960 mind. And you move on. 151 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,880 It says Paul's prayer is first affectionate, and you can see 152 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:00,440 that if you go again back to the book of Acts. 153 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,800 If you remember the goodbye that Paul had with the Ephesian 154 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,600 elders back in Acts 20, verse 36, he's leaving the church and 155 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,120 Luke records there was much weeping on the part of all. 156 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,400 They embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all 157 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,320 because they would never see his face again. 158 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,320 And so that's the kind of love that happened between the pastor 159 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,320 and his congregation. You can feel it dripping out of 160 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,840 the pages of Ephesians and you can feel it coming out of the 161 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,560 prayer. It's affectionate and it's 162 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,520 pastoral warmth. And he says also that his prayer 163 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,679 is sincere. And we say that he doesn't have 164 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,120 to write this letter again. There wasn't anything he was 165 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:36,520 correcting. There's no bad theology. 166 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,240 There's no he's writing to them because he's their pastor and he 167 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,600 loves them. He's he's writing them to to 168 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,000 encourage them. And he hears that they're still 169 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,640 believing and they're standing strong in the faith. 170 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,960 And so he writes in verse 16. I do not cease to give thanks 171 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,280 for you. Very helpful in a sermon on the 172 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,360 1st week of the month is to understand the word is 173 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,400 Eucharisto. I give thanks. 174 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,040 And that's an alternative name for our Lord's Supper. 175 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,480 We call it the Eucharist, which is this Greek word. 176 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,880 It means I give thanks. And there's a scholar named 177 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,200 Ledogre. He did a careful word of the 178 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,440 word, a careful study of the word Eucharisto to say what does 179 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:15,760 it mean in the 1st century? What did it mean to them? 180 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:19,600 And he said it means simply to thank, to give thanks or to 181 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,440 return thanks. And he says, quote, it always 182 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,360 signifies the outward expression in Word or deed of the interior 183 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,840 sentiment of gratitude for a favour received. 184 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,200 And so you see the internal affection and sincerity of the 185 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,040 Apostle Paul with his the the use of his mind, you feel the 186 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:39,600 heart with the affection and sincerity. 187 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:41,520 You see the mind and the sensibility. 188 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,880 And he puts all of these together with all of this rich 189 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:45,600 theology that's going around in his head. 190 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:49,160 And it out pours into this one glorious prayer for all the 191 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,840 Saints and we see that with Paul, all his prayers are done. 192 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,400 Verse 3, verse 17 to God the Father through Jesus Christ. 193 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,480 Jesus says we've been given access to the the Father through 194 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,680 the son. We pray John 15 through the son 195 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:05,680 so that our prayers may be complete. 196 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,160 All of this happening in our prayer before our eyes. 197 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,320 The the second point I want to bring you is is as Bunyan's 198 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:14,880 sentence increases and continues. 199 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,000 He says we do all of our praying in the strength and assistance 200 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,520 of the Holy Spirit. We do it by the power of the 201 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:24,160 Holy Spirit. Read verse 17 with me. 202 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,400 We're coming out of the introduction now into this, the 203 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:29,480 prayer itself. He says that the God of our Lord 204 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,720 Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit 205 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,520 of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. 206 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,680 And so verses 15 to 16 are kind of introducing the prayer. 207 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:41,720 He's teeing it up. When you come to verse 17, he 208 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:42,880 says this is the heart of the matter. 209 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,560 He really only has one thing he's praying for and you see it 210 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:49,960 in, in this verse, all of verses 15 to 22 for a prayer for one 211 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,840 thing. This is Paul's prayer for his 212 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,080 church, for these churches. It's the prayer for our church. 213 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,040 He says, I'm praying for spiritual deepening. 214 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,360 I want you to know God better. I want you to experientially 215 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,840 know God more intellectually, experientially spiritual 216 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:08,280 deepening. And he's going to elaborate in 217 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:10,800 verses 18 and on. I want you to know God better. 218 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,000 He's going to say, really? So you can know three things #1 219 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,040 the hope of your calling, it says #2 the glorious inheritance 220 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:24,120 of God in the Saints. And then third, the immeasurable 221 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,440 greatness of his power. So three things He wants you to 222 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:31,840 know, the hope of your calling, God's inheritance in his church, 223 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,880 and the immeasurable greatness of his power, which will be 224 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:36,560 that. That point alone will be the 225 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,360 subject of next week's sermon as we continue through this. 226 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,360 But but how do we come to know these things? 227 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:48,360 How do you know God more? Paul 17 verse 17 Paul prays that 228 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,320 the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may 229 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,400 give you the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation. 230 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,920 You know, through the strength and the assistance of God's Holy 231 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,160 Spirit. That's how you come to know God 232 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,680 more. And this is significant because 233 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:06,640 they already have the Holy Spirit. 234 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,840 And so this means Paul's not praying for them to receive the 235 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:12,800 Spirit for the first time, but he's praying for special 236 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,000 manifestations of the Holy Spirit. 237 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,120 So we pray that we would be filled with the Spirit. 238 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:19,640 We've been filled with the Spirit once when we were 239 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,160 baptized with the Spirit. But now we pray, Lord, fill us 240 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,640 with your spirit. It's something that only he can 241 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:25,240 do. It's a passive commandment. 242 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,760 And Ephesians be being filled with the Spirit. 243 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,040 So we're praying for special manifestations of the Spirit 244 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,600 that he might search the deep things of God and make them 245 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,800 known to us. And nearly every scholar that I 246 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,160 read this week has said the spirit of revelation here in 247 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:40,800 this passage is capital S spirit. 248 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,360 You're in ASB will have it as a lowercase S, but they argue it's 249 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:46,680 it's capital S, it's the Holy Spirit. 250 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:51,160 And those that's that argue that this is a capital S spirit are 251 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,240 arguing that he's teaching essentially the same thing that 252 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,840 we already read in First Corinthians 2IN verses 10 to 16. 253 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,720 It says the Spirit searches the deep things of God and makes 254 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,640 them known to you. Hear this again. 255 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,040 Now he says, Quote these things God has revealed to us through 256 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:07,920 the Spirit. For the Spirit searches 257 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:10,080 everything, even the depths of God. 258 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,120 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of 259 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,560 that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the 260 00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:18,360 thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 261 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:20,480 Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the 262 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,800 Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things 263 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,560 freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not 264 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:29,640 taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, 265 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,480 interpreting spiritual truth to those who are spiritual. 266 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,880 So Paul's praying a very deep and bold prayer to these local 267 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,680 congregations. He's praying that they would 268 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,480 give, that God would give the Holy Spirit's insight and 269 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,200 disclosure in the sphere or area of the knowledge of God himself. 270 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,520 He's praying to God saying, deepen our understanding of you, 271 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,160 teach us to know you. And he prays in the power of the 272 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,520 Holy Spirit for the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the 273 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,000 Ephesians Saints so that they can know God more and more 274 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,800 deeply. Third Point, as we continue 275 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,000 down, what are we to pray for? How are we to pray? 276 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:10,240 What is true prayer? We pray for such things as God 277 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,040 has promised or according to his word. 278 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,320 If you look at verse 18, Paul says we've been given very great 279 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,120 and precious promises and he calls him in verse 18, riches. 280 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:25,880 You have been given riches. And the word is plutos. 281 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,520 It translates abundance or riches or wealth. 282 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,160 You've been given wealth. I want to give you a much 283 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,680 shorter definition of prayer that you can remember alongside 284 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,720 John Bunyan's, and you're going to remember this a lot easier. 285 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,080 There's another famous theologian in church history. 286 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,600 His name is John Calvin. He says this is his description 287 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,440 of prayer. Prayer is digging up treasure. 288 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,280 Prayer is digging up treasure, he says in his book, Book 3, 289 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,600 Chapter 20 of the Institute's. It is thereby the benefit of 290 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,880 prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us 291 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,840 with the Heavenly Father, for we dig up the treasures that were 292 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,200 pointed out by the Lord's gospel in which our faith has gazed 293 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:03,280 upon. That's so beautiful. 294 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:07,200 I'm going to read it again. It's therefore by the benefit of 295 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,920 prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us 296 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,800 with the heavenly Father, for we dig up the treasures that were 297 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,120 pointed out by the Lord's gospel of which our faith has gazed 298 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:17,720 upon. So what Paul's doing is Paul's 299 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,720 praying to a congregation or to congregations of of churches 300 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,320 that he says have received every spiritual blessing in the 301 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:27,760 heavenly places. You have received everything in 302 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,520 Christ. You are rich, you are wealthy, 303 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,680 you have an overabundance. And now he prays that they may 304 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:36,600 have more. And we say, is this selfish that 305 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,080 to those who have everything, he would pray that we would abound 306 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,240 still more and more. And we say, is it selfish or is 307 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,280 this the very will of God for his church? 308 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,280 You go to Jeremiah 923 to 24 a verse I hope you all will 309 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:50,040 memorize. It's been incredible. 310 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,400 One of the most foundational verses for me and my life and my 311 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,440 ministry. He goes through and he says all 312 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,480 the things we're not allowed to boast in, and then one thing we 313 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,240 get to boast. And he says we can't. 314 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:00,520 We can't boast in riches. Let not the rich man glory in 315 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:02,400 his riches. Let not the wise man glory in 316 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,200 his wisdom. Let not the strongman glory in 317 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,000 his strength, or boast in his strength. 318 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,640 But let him who boast, boast in this that he understands and 319 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,760 knows me. For I am the Lord, exercising 320 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:15,400 loving kindness, righteousness, and justice in the earth. 321 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,840 For in these things I delight, says the Lord, we boast. 322 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,160 The one thing we're given to boast in is that we know God 323 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,600 deeply. Hosea 6/6 He says I desire 324 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:27,800 knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 325 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,320 So he's telling the church rather than all your external 326 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,520 rituals, rather than than giving all of your money or rather than 327 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,360 doing all the external things and washing the feet of orphans. 328 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,520 He said I want you to know me because doctrine is morally 329 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:41,960 transformative. That will come. 330 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,760 You need to know me, Paul. To the Philippians, I count 331 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,800 everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing 332 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,400 Christ Jesus my Lord, that I may know the power of His 333 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,280 resurrection. Colossians 19 to 10. 334 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,680 Another prayer. We have not ceased to pray for 335 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,000 you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His 336 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,560 will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding increasing in 337 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:10,200 the knowledge of God. So, so to Calvin, prayer was was 338 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,800 digging up treasure. The promises of God are are 339 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,560 objectively true, but he says this is you've been given these 340 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,800 things, but you bring them down. You pray them down in your 341 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,319 conversations with God, you pray down his benefits. 342 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,119 You pray according to the blessings that he's promised you 343 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,760 in Christ. And John Bunyan said the same. 344 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,080 He says you have to pray for such things as God has promised 345 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,840 or according to his word. You don't get to pray for just 346 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:34,920 anything and everything you want. 347 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,120 You pray according to his promises. 348 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,160 You pray consistent with his word, and we pray those things 349 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,680 that God has promised us. Paul says we are to know God, 350 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,080 and we were promised that we might know him. 351 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,040 And so Paul's praying to uncover the treasure for this church, 352 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,880 which brings another amazing reality. 353 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,480 Paul's not praying for his own treasure. 354 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,480 This is intercessory prayer. So he's not digging up his own 355 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,640 treasures. He's praying on behalf of local 356 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,800 churches, digging up their treasure for them. 357 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:09,560 And so you can search your own heart and say, what? 358 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,000 What am I praying for when I pray? 359 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,360 Is it for the good of the church, or is it for the good of 360 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,520 me, myself and I? And are you digging up treasures 361 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:20,360 for others? Are you praying consistent with 362 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:23,920 the promises of God, or are you praying for whatever your heart 363 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,120 desires? Paul's digging up treasure on 364 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,520 behalf of his network of local churches. 365 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,560 And there's one treasure that Paul is interested in above all, 366 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,080 one promise that he's trying to bring down. 367 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,120 He says, I want you to know God more. 368 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,000 I want you to be deepened spiritually to know God better. 369 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,520 Spurgeon says in all of this, in this knowledge of of God and his 370 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,840 immensity, He says there's a bomb for every wound, there's 371 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,680 quiet us for every grief, there's treatment for every sore 372 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,720 that he says as application. Therefore go and plunge yourself 373 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,440 in the Godheads deepest sea, get lost in his immensity and you 374 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,320 will come forth as from a bed of rest, refreshed and 375 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:02,680 reinvigorated. I know nothing which can so 376 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,840 comfort the soul, so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and 377 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,040 grief. So speak peace to the wind of 378 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,160 trial as a devout musing upon the subject of God. 379 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:17,000 So prayer is for such things as God has promised or according to 380 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,760 his word. And fourthly, he says your 381 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:21,720 prayers must be for the good of the church. 382 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,320 You pray for the good of the church. 383 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,160 And we've already seen him praying in verse 17. 384 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:28,880 We've already seen this. He's praying for their for their 385 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,600 knowledge and their deepening of the wisdom of God. 386 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,560 And you look to verse 18. You can read it with me. 387 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:38,000 He says, I pray that you all that you is plural, that you all 388 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,240 may know. What is the hope to which he has 389 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,200 called you? What are the riches of his 390 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,560 glorious inheritance in the Saints? 391 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:46,000 And again, we're going to we're going to look at this more 392 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,160 deeply next week. What are the three things he 393 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,360 wants them to know? The hope of your calling, the 394 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,680 riches of his glorious inheritance and the immeasurable 395 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,680 greatness of his powers. There's a commentator named 396 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,800 Folks who writes in his commentary on Ephesians. 397 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:06,440 He says it's an amazing thought. The fellowship of Christians is 398 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,800 the sphere in which the inheritance of God is found. 399 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,520 You all are sitting among God's inheritance right now, he says, 400 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,600 just as it is also true that it is in and through his church 401 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,080 that the truth of God's purpose becomes known and declared. 402 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,480 It's at that point we stop and we say what an amazing assembly 403 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,200 this is. This is where God has put his 404 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,480 authority in this world. He's put it in this local body, 405 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,040 in all of his local bodies. This is where we guard truth. 406 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,280 This is where we preserve and proclaim truth. 407 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,120 This is where God's inheritance is found. 408 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,760 And so when he prays that we would know the hope of Our 409 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,880 Calling, he's saying, I if, if you would know the hope of your 410 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:46,520 calling, you would know that your inheritance is secure and 411 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,320 it would be fueled for you to weather any storm in this life 412 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:52,960 because you know your inheritance is coming. 413 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:54,600 It's been promised by his Holy Spirit. 414 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,320 And by knowing the riches of God's glorious inheritance, he's 415 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,080 saying that you have value regardless how much you value 416 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:06,560 yourself, which I think if you ask most of us, we don't value 417 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:10,080 ourselves a whole lot. But you say in God's eyes, you 418 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,200 are his inheritance, you are his riches, and you go back. 419 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,080 This has been the teaching from the very beginning. 420 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:17,560 You go all the way back to Moses. 421 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,120 He's saying I will be their people, they will be my people 422 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:23,000 and I will be their God over and over. 423 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,000 This is the point of creation. We were supposed to be his 424 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,720 people. He's supposed to be our God. 425 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:31,120 And through Christ, these promises and this plan is coming 426 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:33,720 back. It comes in and Deuteronomy 10/9 427 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,760 where it says that the Levites, so you remember, they didn't get 428 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:37,960 land, they didn't get a special inheritance. 429 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:39,800 And why? Because God was their 430 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,800 inheritance, he says I'm a better inheritance to them than 431 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:44,520 anything they can get in this world. 432 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,640 And you come to Deuteronomy 32, nine, it says the Lord's 433 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,920 portion, the Lord's inheritance is his people. 434 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,200 Jacob is his allotted inheritance. 435 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:59,720 And so Jesus has bought, purchased, redeemed the church 436 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,400 that we might be. We, we have immeasurable value 437 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,120 in the eyes of God. We are his inheritance and he is 438 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:07,480 ours. We are his people. 439 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,360 He is our God. And Paul, what he's doing in 440 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,240 verse 18 with these words, as he's focusing them on their new 441 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,600 identity in Jesus Christ, it's his glorious inheritance in the 442 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:21,120 Saints, and he's orienting them. He's focusing them on their new 443 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:25,640 identity and he's orienting them toward their future hope and 444 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,760 their inheritance. And you'll see that all of his 445 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:32,240 prayers, like Jesus before him, all of his prayers are for the 446 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,840 good of the church. Everything is oriented toward 447 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:36,800 the Saints, and Jesus said the same. 448 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,440 You go back to his high priestly prayer in John 17. 449 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:42,120 Jesus prayed for the church. He prayed for its unity, it's 450 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:44,960 perseverance, it's holiness, it's glory. 451 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:46,880 Paul's modeling his prayers on Jesus. 452 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,200 We're modeling our prayers on Jesus and the apostle Paul. 453 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,600 And finally, to complete our definition of prayer, we pray 454 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,840 fifthly with submission and faith to the will of God. 455 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,400 And so we above all people in redemptive history of all 456 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,720 people, we are to be those who submit to the will of God, 457 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,360 because this is this is the things angels long to look at 458 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:13,200 verse 9 Paul said that the insight that God has for all 459 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,960 eternity been planning to make fully known to his Saints. 460 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:20,920 He has made known in time according to his purposes, which 461 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,240 he set forth in Christ. At the end of our passage in 462 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,360 verse 18, he says, the eyes of your heart have already been 463 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,560 enlightened. It's it's, it's already 464 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:29,960 happened. Your eyes have been opened. 465 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:31,600 You've been enlightened to spiritual truth. 466 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:35,880 The mystery of God from all time has been revealed to you. 467 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:40,960 And now the responsibility for you is to submit in faith to 468 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,240 that will. And this is what it means when 469 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,600 we call him Lord. I begin every prayer with the 470 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,080 word Lord, and that's it's submitting at the beginning 471 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,920 saying not my will Lord, but your I submit your will. 472 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,560 I submit to you in faith. You are my Lord. 473 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,320 I bow the knee to you and you look back to verse 17 again, you 474 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,880 see a dependence on and a submission to God the Father. 475 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:07,280 Paul's praying demonstrates that when he prays that he may impart 476 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,080 wisdom. So Paul is praying to God for 477 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,800 things that only God can do. When we pray for spiritual 478 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,520 deepening, we're praying to God for something that we could 479 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,280 never do on our own. When we pray for spiritual 480 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:20,560 Deeping, when we pray for conversion, saying Lord change 481 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,720 their heart, that's something that only He can do. 482 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,840 Jeremiah said it this way. Can the Ethiopian change his 483 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,840 skin? Can the leopard change his 484 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,080 spots? Neither can you do good who are 485 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:37,120 accustomed to doing evil. Only God can make You Beautiful 486 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:39,240 and moral and righteous and good. 487 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,720 Only God can impart wisdom. Verse 18 and he's done it. 488 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,880 You have had the eyes of your heart enlightened. 489 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:48,720 Your heart of stone has been taken away and you've been given 490 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,120 a heart of flesh. Your soul has been flooded with 491 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:52,360 light. When you pray to God, do you 492 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,440 pray to him to do things that only he can do? 493 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,760 Is there a submission to him? Is there a deference to him? 494 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,320 We say that the eyes of your heart are enlightened. 495 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:04,960 There's, there's literally been a, an enlightenment in your 496 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,160 soul. The the light has been shown in. 497 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,400 And what's the opposite of being enlightened? 498 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,240 It's what you were before. It's where the world stands now. 499 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:16,920 They don't have morally transforming doctrine. 500 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,880 They're they're deaf, they're in ignorance, they're in sin, 501 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:22,360 they're in darkness, they're in despair. 502 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:26,280 Ephesians 5/8 For at one time you were darkness, but now you 503 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,360 are light, and the Lord walk therefore as children of light. 504 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,480 Matthew 1315 For this people's hearts have grown dull, with 505 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,680 their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed. 506 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,240 Romans 121 They have become futile, and their thinking and 507 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,200 their foolish hearts were darkened. 508 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,040 But Church, not so with you. You have been enlightened. 509 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,960 Acts 2618 Your eyes have been opened, that you have turned 510 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,400 from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, that you 511 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,720 may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those who are 512 00:25:55,720 --> 00:26:00,600 sanctified by faith in Christ. Matthew 1316 God calls you 513 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,120 blessed. He says blessed are your eyes. 514 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,880 We could say it this way, blessed are your eyes for they 515 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,920 see. Blessed are your ears for they 516 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:11,000 hear. For truly I say to you, many 517 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,560 prophets and righteous people long to see what you see, and 518 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,880 could not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear 519 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,000 it. So you have made been made known 520 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,440 the will of God, and now He says His will for you is to know Him 521 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,040 more deeply. But to do this, you submit to 522 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,280 Christ by submitting to His Word, submitting to His will, 523 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,480 knowing spiritual deepening is possible for you. 524 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,480 We pray this, this is my prayer for you, that you would know God 525 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,240 more. And you pray with anticipation 526 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,600 because it's actually possible. It's, it's coming and you're 527 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,680 promised inheritance. The Spirit's guaranteeing that 528 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,320 your inheritance, it's coming, it's promised. 529 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:46,920 You pray for it, you pray it down. 530 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,160 And these come to us. All of these things come to us 531 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,320 in prayer. And so I ask again, is this how 532 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,240 you pray when you pray? Do you pray for the good of the 533 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,640 church, or do you pray for the good of yourself? 534 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,160 And when you pray, are you praying for His promises, or are 535 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:06,320 you praying for your desires? And what is true prayer? 536 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,000 We'll wrap it up by remembering these words one more time, 537 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,520 bringing it all together. What is true prayer? 538 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:16,960 Prayer is a sincere, sensible and affectionate pouring out the 539 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,320 heart or soul to God through Christ and the strength and 540 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,280 assistance of the Holy Spirit for such things as God has 541 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,040 promised or according to His Word, for the good of the 542 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:29,720 church, with submission and faith to the will of God. 543 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:35,040 I invite the deacons to come down as we take this Lord's 544 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,240 Supper in unity and as you come, I want to pray, and I pray that 545 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,080 as I pray, you will pray with me in your spirit and in your mind. 546 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:46,320 Lord, we pray the same thing that Paul prayed for for his 547 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:47,720 local churches, for this local body. 548 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,240 Lord, I pray that this congregation would know you more 549 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,480 deeply. And we pray through Jesus Christ 550 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:56,760 who bought us, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, who alone 551 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:00,800 knows the deep things of God. And we pray, Lord Spirit, 552 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,040 impress these truths on us so that we can know new things of 553 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,000 God, Give us new framework, help us to understand things that we 554 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,440 never even thought of before. Lord, expand our understanding, 555 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,920 teach us and make us confident in the hope that is Our Calling 556 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:15,680 and in the immeasurable greatness of your power. 557 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,720 And to see our own value, especially, Lord, when we don't, 558 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,840 when we see no value in ourselves and we see no value in 559 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:24,320 the the humility in this humble little local church. 560 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:26,760 Lord, impress on us what our true value is. 561 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,600 Teach us to know you better. And Lord, make our faith 562 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,400 increase me our love increase. We ask all this in your Son's 563 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:35,160 name. Amen. 564 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,480 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 565 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,520 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 566 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:46,640 our website at www.heritage Shawnee dot. 567 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:46,840 Org.