6 DAYS TO PENTECOST

6 DAYS TO PENTECOST

TEXT:  EPHESIANS 3:14-21

¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

¹⁶ That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

²⁰ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

²¹ Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

KEY TEXT: Ephesians 3:19 “…that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God…”

REFLECTION: 

With Pentecost fast approaching, we turn to the Prayers of Christ and the First Christians for inspiration.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13)  Can God answer this prayer?

Jesus prayed for His disciples, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one.” (John 17:23) Can God answer this prayer?

The Apostle Paul prayed for the Thessalonian Christians, “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)  Can God answer this prayer?

And then the prayer that is our text today.  “I bow my knees unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may …know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19)  Can God answer this prayer?

“To be filled with God is a great thing;” writes one influential Christian, “To be filled with the fullness of God is still greater, but to be filled with ‘all the fullness of God,’ utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the understanding.”

Our Lord told his disciples that it was best (expedient) for Him to “go away.” His days on earth were numbered.  Then he explained. He, the Christ, was with them, but when the Comforter came, He, the blessed Holy Spirit, would be IN them!  (John 14:16-18).

What God fills with His Holy Spirit is cleansed.  He purges the heart so that sin no longer has dominion or authority where He abides.  What He begins He finishes!  Christ came to “destroy the works of the devil,” and by the Spirit of Christ (the name given the Holy Spirit in Romans 8) the work of full salvation is finished!  “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly…” (Titus 3:5,6)

In the context of these Scriptures, carefully read, and prayerfully seek:

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.        Charles Wesley

PRAYER: Our Father in Heaven, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost!    God, increase our faith. Weaken, No!  Take away the sin that besets us.  Deliver us from the confusion of man-made philosophies and the hindrances of personal prejudices. Lord, Perfect your love in our hearts.  Fill us with all the fullness of God.  And may thy light, wisdom, holiness, power, and glory saturate our souls today, and everyday.  In Jesus’ name, Amen. “Our Father, &c.”