11/20/22 Ephesians 1:15-23 “Be Thankful”

15 Nov 11/20/22 Ephesians 1:15-23 “Be Thankful”

11/20/22    Ephesians 1:15-23        “Be Thankful”

The last couple of weeks we have been talking about a couple of tough topics, in my opinion.  Tithing is always a tough subject because we all seem to think that we give just the right amount even if it is next to nothing.  And everyone has their own opinion about what will happen in the end times.  Today we are going to change direction a little.  On Thursday we will be having Thanksgiving.  Most people think that this is a holiday started back in the times of the early settlers of this country.  I think we all know the story and it may or may not have happened the way history tells it.  But if we look back into the Old Testament, we find that the Jews have been celebrating this for centuries.  They called it the Feast of Booths.  But no matter what the history of Thanksgiving is, some years are better than others.  This year the crops were so-so in this area.  Maybe you had a very tragic year and you don’t feel like being that thankful.  Or maybe you had a bountiful year.  No matter what kind of year you have had, you should give thanks and you should give thanks to the one who is responsible for all life, Jesus Christ.  In today’s reading we have Paul talking about prayer, power and thanksgiving.  Let’s check and see how much of this we have in our lives.

A few years back, I had the honor and privilege of visiting a dear friend of mine who was in the last day of a battle with cancer and he died on the following day.  He was asleep most of the time I was there but when I told him I was there, he woke for about 10 seconds and he was very happy to see me.  Another of his friends was in the room and he told me that Pat had said he was ready to go home to Jesus.  Pat had saved this man’s life several years ago.  As a matter of fact, Pat was a great servant of the Lord.  He had been fighting this cancer for 3½ years and the battle was about over.  Although he was going through a very rough time and he was still very happy to see me.  I thought about this on the way back home.  He was happy to see his friends but he was even happier to be going home to Jesus.  I’m sure that he had many reasons not to go but we don’t have a choice in this situation.  I would guess he was very thankful to whoever led him to Christ.  He was missed by many people and I hope that many people will try to be more like him.

When Christians go home to Jesus, they are missed because of all the good they do.  Paul is writing this letter from jail in Rome.  We always like to gloss over the fact he was in jail.  After all, jail can’t be that bad.  I’m sure he had a color TV, a microwave oven and at least three-square meals a day.  I’m probably he had exercise equipment and a library to use.  Getting back to reality he didn’t have anything like our country club jails today.  I have always thought, and this is sad, that many of our homeless people try to get themselves put into jail for the winter so that they will have a place with shelter.

Anyway, Paul had it tough.  I’m not sure if this was his house arrest period or the time he was actually in the dungeon.  The dungeon would be cold, dark and full of rats and other vermin.  I told you a couple of weeks ago about the time he was chained to his jailer.  Can you imagine being chained to Paul?  It is no wonder that the jailer became a Christian as did many of his jailer friends.  Paul just didn’t give up.  He was fighting for Jesus all the time.  And here he is in one of these jails writing a letter to the Ephesians.  He isn’t thinking about himself but only others.  Wow!  What a testimony!

From this dark dungeon where life is nothing but misery, Paul is praying for the Ephesians that they may have wisdom and know Jesus better.  He is asking that all their eyes be opened so that they may know the full glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is praying that no matter what happens, they will keep the faith and continue down the Christian Road where they are already travelling.

Usually when we read about the various people like the Ephesians, the Colossians or the Corinthians, we read about people who are in trouble or they need an adjustment.  Generally, Paul is trying to help them out of some sort of problem that has come up.

This is how churches work.  Sometimes we don’t work so well so we have to reread what the Scriptures are trying to tell us.  We have to focus on who we are and, of course, we are all children of God.  This makes it so much easier.  Then we have to pray about our church.  Here we have Paul praying for a church that he is has started.  He wants the church to succeed in Ephesus so that Jesus will succeed there.

One of the things that I find out about, being a pastor, is that many people don’t feel the need for prayer.  If we pray for something once, that should be good enough.  After all, God hears all we have to say and pray so He shouldn’t have to hear it twice.  This is the wrong kind of thinking.  We are called to pray continuously.  We are to do this so that God can be in communication with us.  As a people of God, we need to be much more diligent about our prayer lives.

We should be praying for others.  I am so grateful to God that He had others pray for me.  I am thankful to all the people who prayed for me during my wayward years without Jesus.  I don’t know who did or if anyone did or if it was just my mom who prayed for me but I am very grateful for it.  Without that prayer I would have never found my way to Christ.  Don’t ever sell yourself short when it comes to prayer.

Just as a little sidebar here, I also think that we try to paint our Lord into a corner with our prayers.  Many times, we feel that what we want to pray about is just not important enough to bother the most powerful being of the universe.  I want to reassure you that there is nothing too small for God.  We all know that He made everything in the universe including the mountains and skies but also the gnats and flies.  Nothing is too small for God.

In the same way we feel that there are things that are too big for God.  We think it doesn’t do any good to pray for peace in the world.  We think that there is no way that prayer will help all the people who are hungry or homeless.  God can do anything and He can cure these things.  Many times, the trouble comes from the fact that we are not there to help Him.  We refuse to be His hands and feet.  Please remember that when you think that God isn’t answering your prayers it just might be that you are the one who isn’t being very obedient.

It is important to pray so that we can further the Kingdom of God.  We pray to Him because we know that He is powerful enough to handle it.  When I was a kid on the farm, I thought that the Allis Chalmers HD9 crawler was one of the most powerful tractors made.  After I left the farm, my dad got a 4-wheel drive tractor which was even more powerful.  When I look around today, I see some of the garden tractors today are the ones we used for the field work when I was young.  It’s amazing.

People also tell me that Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in the world.  I have to take their word for it because I have never been there.  I have heard that Victoria Falls in Africa is just as beautiful.  It has also been said that standing at the foot of Niagara Falls you will see the greatest amount of energy this country has in one place.  I can only imagine the insignificant feeling we would have standing next to such power.

But you know what?  The power of these tractors and these two great waterfalls are nothing compared to the power of Jesus.  Often times we find ourselves so caught up in the power and wonder of the things of this world that we forget that we have a power that makes all other pale in comparison right at our very fingertips.  We have the power of God.  We can have it all just for the asking.

We have talked about this power many times before in our little weekly talks.  But I would like us to look at this in a little different light today.  This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead.  If you really think about it, you all know about the power of God.  But it is really something to take your own Son and raise Him from the dead.  Then He took Him and placed Him on His throne in heaven at His right hand.  But He wasn’t done yet.  God gave all power and authority over everything everywhere to His raised Son, Jesus.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is power.  This is the power that makes Niagara Falls seem like a water faucet in your house.  This is the power that made the world in six days.  This is the power that loves you 24/7.  This is the power that Jesus wants you to tap into.

All you have to do is have a personal relationship with Jesus.  Ask Him into your heart forever.  Then it is very important that you obey what He says.  You begin this with reading your Bibles.  You begin this by praying.  I’m not talking about the prayers where you go to Jesus and ask and ask and ask.  I’m talking about the prayers where you go to Jesus to ask and listen.  Ask Him a question and then listen.

Also, I think that you should take a look at some of the early followers of Jesus to find out why you just don’t seem to have the power that they had in the olden days.  The disciples healed the lame, cured the sick and they even raised people from the dead.  I think they did this because of their unwavering faith in Jesus.  Over the centuries, I think our world has become more and more influenced by Satan.  It is now to the point where, in today’s world, even the most faithful people are still so surrounded by sin and debauchery that something rubs off on them.  It is almost impossible to be as faithful as the disciples were as we live in our modern world.

But you can come close.  Mother Teresa did great things in India in the name of Jesus Christ.  Think of all the people who have come to know Jesus Christ through the work of Billy Graham.  We might even have someone tuned in today that came to Christ at a Billy Graham crusade.  Or think of the faith that John Wesley had when he started the Methodist Church.  It can happen today but it takes faith.  This is the faith that Paul had in order that he could write these letters while in prison.  This is the faith that helped my friend Pat smile and be happy as he approached death.  This is the faith that you can all have.

However, I don’t want you to equate faith with blessings because I think that there are enough television pastors who do this.  But I also want you to know that you will not be blest like the people I have already mentioned unless you are faithful.  I’m asking you today to love Jesus.  I ask that you love Him with all you have and see how your life becomes.  All He wants to do is help you and love you.

Now I would like to go back to the beginning of the reading where Paul tells the Ephesians that he cannot stop thanking God for the Ephesians.  This is the way that I feel about you people online.  You have tuned in.  You have given me good feedback.  You have been patient with me.  I thank the Lord for you every day.

But you know what?  This ministry isn’t about me.  I praise the Lord for all the people you touch on a daily basis.  I praise the Lord for the children you have raised who try their best to walk in the ways of the Lord.  They are an inspiration to other young people in the community.  People from your community are still asking, “What is it that you have that we don’t?”  The answer is simple for us as you have Jesus Christ in your heart.  I praise the Lord that you want to share Him with everyone you meet.

Today, we have talked a bit about prayer, power and being thankful.  One thing I have noticed is that I’m not really thankful for electricity until we lose power.  I’m not thankful for running water until it doesn’t come out of the tap.  I’m not thankful for many things like clean, fresh air until I don’t have them.  Often times we aren’t thankful to God for all we have because without His love we would have nothing.

So next time you find that your clothes are too snug, be thankful for having enough to eat.  When you find that the person next to you on Sunday morning can only sing off key, be thankful that you can hear.  This winter when you have a huge heating bill be thankful you are warm.  Be thankful when you wake up early in the morning to an alarm clock because you are alive.

When you start to be thankful for anything and everything in this world, then you will be praising Jesus for all He has done because He has done all these things for you.  I pray for you folks daily and I pray that you will use the power that Jesus has given you.  Then I thank Him for who you are and what you do.  Jesus loves you more than anything in the world and you only have to look around to see it.  Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.