Ephesians 1:15-23
A John Hopkins University medical researcher has just discovered what the Presbyterian Ministers’ Life Insurance Fund has known for more than two centuries: attending church is good for your health. The risk of fatal heart diseases is almost twice as high for the non-churchgoer than for men who attend once a week or more. This is according to a study made by Dr. George W. Comstock of the university’s Dept. of Epidemiology. The doctor also observed that the clean life associated with regular churchgoing appears to be statistically related to a lower incidence of other major diseases, adding that going to church is a vary favorable input.
What an advertising "hook"! We can tell the world that church is good for you, and be backed up by some scientific evidence. Would it have an effect on the attendance in our church? Most of you here today would love to see this church continue to grow. We would like to see her grow spiritually, and numerically.
You may wonder how you can make this church grow, what you can do. The thing is, many people feel like they are not capable of assisting when it comes to church growth. Many people feel unqualified.
Once there was a chief bosun’s mate in the US Marines. He was part of an elite special ops unit, and was often called on to execute missions far behind enemy lines. While planning such an operation one day, a senior officer of flag rank asked him why he was planning the op, he was only an enlisted man. The chief replied that in their unit every man had to be able to plan and execute an operation, even in the absence of officers.
The church is no different. We are called on to operate behind enemy lines each and every day, and every member of our unit must be able to carry on the mission even when they may find themselves alone.
This Chief went on to say that they planned a mission by first determining the outcome they wanted, then working back to the beginning. Sort of like starting a book at the last page, then reading the rest of it. This way they always had their goal in mind, and tailored the activities to match.
We too must set the goal in our mind, and start with the end. We must begin today seeing our church for what it is going to be come, not for what it is now! It all begins with prayer.
Prayer is our mission planning stage. The scriptures tell us, that without a vision the people will perish. We find that vision through prayer.
Pray for Perception (Ephesians 1:15-230
We must pray that our fellow team members will have a "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Vs. 17)
It is imperative that we operate with god’s wisdom and not our own. We must grasp the job that God is calling us to do (v 18) and the hope that we find there. Our own garments of thought are but filthy rags when arrayed against the finery of God’s exceeding riches.
We also must realize the power that we have through Christ. Verses 19-23 tell us how great the power of god is, he has ALL things under his feet. He is above all principalities, all governments, all things in heaven, and on earth. Everything that is named, or even those without a name are under the dominion of our Lord.
If we will pray for the perception necessary to clearly see these things, we will be laying the groundwork to see this church, as it will be in the future. We can see the results of God’s power even today. We have the ability through Christ to change things NOW.
WE MUST PRAY FOR POWER (Ephesians 3:14-210
Let’s look at Ephesians 3:14-21 for a moment. These verses tell us that once we have understood that this power is available, we must pray for it. I submit to you today that if South Peninsula Baptist is going to be a powerful weapon in God’s army, she must begin to pray for that power. We need to pray that God will infuse us with a power that is beyond worldly comprehension.
Dr. Carl Bates said "If God called his Holy Spirit out of the world, about 95 percent of what we are doing would go on and we would brag about it." He went on to say, "What are you doing that you can’t get done unless the power of God falls on your ministry?"
We need to alter our lives to the going where 100% of what we are doing couldn’t get done without the power of the Holy Spirit. Until we realize the power of the Holy Spirit, we will never grow to be an influence in this community.
We must let Christ "dwell in our hearts"; he must become the centerpiece of our lives. We need to allow him to have complete control over the decisions that we make, and the actions that we take. Only when we allow him total control will we be an influence.
Scripture tells us that they will know we are Christians by our love. Elizabeth Folkse, the Martyr, when facing her death said "Farewell, all the world! Farewell, faith; farewell, hope; and welcome, love!" Even at the end of her life, she recognized that if she lost everything else she had, no one could take her love away from her. We absolutely must learn to love one another.
God is sufficient, and if are focusing our thought on the future of our church, then we can utilize prayer to suppress the doubts we may feel today. We know that if God is in it, it will happen, no matter what may be happening today.
PRAY FOR PERFORMANCE (Philippians 1:1-11)
Now turn if you will to the book of Philippians. Christians are primed for action. This is not a passive prayer; it is a prayer calling us to action. We must pray proactively as they did in the early church if we are to be a positive influence.
A delegate to an international conference was discussing the British feat of conquering Mt. Everest. The British flag was planted there, as it well should be for such and accomplishment. This man asked his British companion, quite nastily "Was that another one of your typical British land grabs?" The British man replied politely, "I’m not qualified to give an official opinion, but I can say this: If you don’t like the flag flying there, by all means climb up there yourself and take t down."
The world doesn’t like Christians "flying the flag", but they don’t have the power to take it down. By the same token, if we as Christians don’t like the worldly "Flags" flying, then we must take action to remove them. It’s past time we stopped talking about what to do, and start doing it.
We must act upon the faithfulness of God. He believes in us, and we must perform today in such a manner as reflects that fact.
Finally we must PRAY FOR PERSEVERANCE (Colossians 1:9-14)
Oh how easy it would be if this were such a short journey but it is not. Paul reckons the Christian journey to a marathon, a long race. It is not the 100 yard dash. Any of us can endure something for a short while. Take this cold we are feeling this morning. As long as it’s gone in a day or two, it’s fine…but let it linger for a week or longer, and we Floridians start to think about moving south.
We need to pray for the power to "hang in there". We need to know His will. By knowing God’s will, we will have added incentive to hang in there. We must have motivation.
A newsman of the Chicago Daily Times saw an advertisement: "$5,000 reward for whoever can help me find the murder of Officer ____________" The reporter located the advertiser—an old woman living alone in a poor house. The story was that her son Joe was in prison, accused of killing a police officer. But he was innocent, and his mother got the reward money by scrubbing floors. For 11 years—8 hours a day, 6 days a week, she scrubbed floors. The reporter was able to prove that Tillie’s son was not at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder and the Supreme Court order him released in 1945. That evening at home, she baked him a cake, and watched him eat it. Crying with the joy and tears that only mothers can have. She persevered because she believed in her son.
Can we do no less for our God? We must be fruitful and endure. Begin with the ending in mind. Set the goal and stick to it. We must look forward to the ending.