Survival is not enough. The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to thrive… to flourish…
The past ten years in Sumas I’ve told hundreds of people I’m proud they are survivors. The situations people make it through are astounding, sometime their own bad decisions, sometimes situations thrust upon them out of their control. I don’t know how I would make it through some of the living hell people are given…
The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to thrive… I first climbed Mt. Baker when I was 12. I wanted to say I did it. On one of the early climbs I put on sunscreen unevenly so I would have burn marks on my face so people would ask…. 2-3 trips a Summer. 4-5 years later I can still picture the aha moment when I realized what a privilege it was to be in such an amazing place. I found JOY in climbing Mt. Baker.
The past ten years in Sumas I’ve told hundreds of people I’m proud they are survivors. The situations people make it through are astounding, sometime their own bad decisions, sometimes situations thrust upon them out of their control. I don’t know how I would make it through some of the living hell people are given…
The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to thrive… I first climbed Mt. Baker when I was 12. I wanted to say I did it. On one of the early climbs I put on sunscreen unevenly so I would have burn marks on my face so people would ask…. 2-3 trips a Summer. 4-5 years later I can still picture the aha moment when I realized what a privilege it was to be in such an amazing place. I found JOY in climbing Mt. Baker.
God is calling you to thrive. The word thrive makes a great one word summary of today’s scripture. You were not meant to struggle forever making it through the week, the day. You were not meant for your world to feel like a weight. You were not meant to be hampered by anxiety, worry, and fear. You are meant to have life and to have it more abundantly. That is the promise of the eternal God. You are meant to point to the one hope, the one true source of joy, peace, and contentment. His name is Jesus.
Ephesians is about a fresh start… a recommitment to the Lord. Today’s message: a fresh start will come as people pray for you to thrive and your prayers for others will help them gain a divine perspective and come alive in Christ….
By the end of this message I want you to have one person to pray a daily prayer of thriving, and another person to pray for you…which will help you more to thrive? To be prayed for? Or to pray for another?
Today’s scripture…[Pass out the handout…] another long sentence. a prayer to thrive… Often our prayers are for financial needs, family issues, health concerns… all good. This is a prayer to thrive. Not to be restored to the status quo, not to find stability in a comfortable place, but to thrive… I had the honor of officiating at wedding of Ian and Rachel, my continued prayer is to thrive, not just find a nice life…. to thrive in their faith, marriage…. Shelly and Morgan, pray for Raymond to thrive… One of the great benedictions of scripture is Eph. 3:20-21. Michelle, end the service with it…
If you see prayer as a command, a duty, then prayer probably seems like a burden. Like going to a job you don’t like… prayer may even start that way …. But to thrive, the day must come when prayer is a privilege, an honor, like the aha moment when you gain awareness of the rich privilege of climbing a mountain. Those who are most free in Christ do nothing out of duty; the disciplines of faith are a privilege. I want more than to follow Christ out of guilt, duty, I want you to thrive, to live, to enjoy. I don’t want people to come to church because it’s a duty… I want/need a community of faith that loves being together, challenging one another, having high expectations, a community of love, acceptance and forgiveness from the heart with Jesus Christ at the center…
The desire for heartfelt prayer is birthed out of PRAISE. Last Sunday we spoke of PRAISE being the response to God’s amazing love for us. Our praise of God completes the relationship… that’s the very long sentence of Eph. 1:3-14. Look at how Eph. 1:15 begins: “For this reason…” When I am amazed by God I cannot help but PRAY. Praise turns into prayer. That’s why praising the Lord is such a natural part of prayer… The first thing Paul prays: thankfulness for others…. he begins with a declaration that he is so thankful for the Ephesians he is compelled to pray READ. Eph. 1:15-16. The blank on the hand-out about thanksgiving is NOT for you to fill out… it is for somebody unknown at this moment to fill in about you…. And you’ll do the same for another…
a fresh start comes as I pray for others… a fresh start begins as other pray for me… I am humbled by the thought that so many of you pray for me daily….
Paul continues his prayer for the Ephesians…. READ Eph. 1:17. :
The purpose: to know him better… i.e. to thrive…. Wherever you are in your faith, the goal is to grow, to know him more… one of the silly things I often say to Sally that isn’t really silly at all…. I love you 24 hours more today than yesterday…. As long as we are on this side of eternity, there is always more of Christ to know…
When you receive your prayer assignment for the week I hope you get somebody you don’t know so well…so you have lots to learn… May your prayer be for them to grow in their relationship with the Lord…. Cultivate a big vision for what God can do for them… Your prayers will be weak if secretly you don’t believe God can change some people’s lives...
Paul puts more meat on the bones of this prayer for how the person will learn to thrive…
I used to love houseplants… when I was young I paid a lot of attention… as the decades have rolled on I have become more and more neglectful. One by one I have given my wilting pathetic plants to Bianca… she pays attention, seems to have a knack for how much water and when… I am pretty sure she talks to them… she comes close to loving them… and they THRIVE. What’s it going to take for you and the person you pray for to Thrive? Paul outlines three desires for the Ephesians to see/know in their hearts in Eph. 1:18-21 READ.
The eyes of your heart be enlightened… emotions, thoughts, seen, unseen, wisdom revelation… confidence, knowledge….your spirit to be quickened by the Lord The people to whom Paul writes probably had a lot of problems… Our greatest prayers need to be more than asking God to tweek the details of our life….I’m not against praying for safety in our travels… but we need more. We need transformation… prayers for the Foothills… We need to be praying for a transformation of heart. Paul prays for the Ephesians to know these three things: .
The Hope of their calling. We live in a world that is becoming more and more hopeless. My prayer invitation is more than about praying for one person this week, I hope many/all of you adopt this prayer as a way of life… think about the problem young people in your life that don’t seem to be going nowhere… no hope. Pray that the Lord will give them HOPE…. To know the glorious future that is promised to us is what allows us to never give up… a divine perspective, the inside information.
The riches of his glorious inheritance that is ours is amazing…this is what God has already done… God created us, loved us, sent us Jesus Christ to die for our sins… he gave each of us a story, he molded us and shaped us…
Paul then goes into more length to describe the POWER that is ours today! We have a future in Christ that shapes us, and a past and than means POWER. As Christians, one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we are weak and helpless…
The power is from God… it is resurrection power of Christ, we are alive with him…. It is Exhaltation power… he ascended to heaven... READ Eph. 1:20.
Christ was raised above everything, even those forces that cause you so much trouble. Christ is Lord over all of them. And because that same power is at work in you, those forces cannot overcome you.
Some people struggle to see God as active in our lives. Our theology tells us he is active and we aren’t supposed to be skeptical… but it’s hard to deny our feelings. Like that old nagging thought that of course God can do anything, but will he for me… one person described the common skepticism of God’s activity this way: “It’s as if God is on one side of a large wall, and we’re on the other. We shout over the wall to tell him we’re hungry, and sometimes he’ll throw a loaf of bread over. But he isn’t really that active.”
I think Paul would say to many of us that our biggest problems is that we are blind to God’s power. You don’t see that that same power can assist you. You should never say that you cannot overcome any sin, whether it is an addiction to pornography, hatred for someone else, greed, drama. The power of God that works in you is stronger than all of those. No more excuses. No more despairing. You have the power of God working in you. God’s power is a present reality… when you pray for others pray that they will come to have hope, appreciation for what God has done, and recognize the divine power that is within…
One more point about this prayer… Richard Foster uses this prayer as an example of “authoritative prayer” [Prayer, pg. 238-239]… Foster says, “Ordinary forms of prayer proceed from earth to heaven. We are asking for forgiveness, or giving thanks, or seeking healing…. it is prayer upward. But authoritative prayer moves in the opposite direction. We are bringing the resources of heaven to bear upon a particular matter on earth. It is prayer downward… we are in effect praying from heaven to earth.” Listen to Eph. 1:22-23 READ….jump ahead a few verses and God really gets wild: READ Eph. 2:6. Not only has Jesus been place in a position of authority…. But so have we… authority. There are some things we don’t know exactly what God’s plan is for our lives, the course of our life, the daily details, the gains and losses of life. Those are prayers that need an attitude of being in God’s will…. But there are many things you already know God absolutely wants for each of us, all doing with our attitudes and character: e.g. the fruit of the spirit…to know us…and to thrive… pray with authority from heaven to earth. We know God wants us to thrive….
For those that are willing….write your name on the sheet of paper, they will be collected, flipped around, and then handed back out….
The Lord wants you to thrive…he wants the people in your life to thrive… It’s a privilege to pray for another person to thrive… that is the fresh start. And to have another person pray for you. Commit yourself to this prayer of authority to thrive ….Amen…
Ephesians is about a fresh start… a recommitment to the Lord. Today’s message: a fresh start will come as people pray for you to thrive and your prayers for others will help them gain a divine perspective and come alive in Christ….
By the end of this message I want you to have one person to pray a daily prayer of thriving, and another person to pray for you…which will help you more to thrive? To be prayed for? Or to pray for another?
Today’s scripture…[Pass out the handout…] another long sentence. a prayer to thrive… Often our prayers are for financial needs, family issues, health concerns… all good. This is a prayer to thrive. Not to be restored to the status quo, not to find stability in a comfortable place, but to thrive… I had the honor of officiating at wedding of Ian and Rachel, my continued prayer is to thrive, not just find a nice life…. to thrive in their faith, marriage…. Shelly and Morgan, pray for Raymond to thrive… One of the great benedictions of scripture is Eph. 3:20-21. Michelle, end the service with it…
If you see prayer as a command, a duty, then prayer probably seems like a burden. Like going to a job you don’t like… prayer may even start that way …. But to thrive, the day must come when prayer is a privilege, an honor, like the aha moment when you gain awareness of the rich privilege of climbing a mountain. Those who are most free in Christ do nothing out of duty; the disciplines of faith are a privilege. I want more than to follow Christ out of guilt, duty, I want you to thrive, to live, to enjoy. I don’t want people to come to church because it’s a duty… I want/need a community of faith that loves being together, challenging one another, having high expectations, a community of love, acceptance and forgiveness from the heart with Jesus Christ at the center…
The desire for heartfelt prayer is birthed out of PRAISE. Last Sunday we spoke of PRAISE being the response to God’s amazing love for us. Our praise of God completes the relationship… that’s the very long sentence of Eph. 1:3-14. Look at how Eph. 1:15 begins: “For this reason…” When I am amazed by God I cannot help but PRAY. Praise turns into prayer. That’s why praising the Lord is such a natural part of prayer… The first thing Paul prays: thankfulness for others…. he begins with a declaration that he is so thankful for the Ephesians he is compelled to pray READ. Eph. 1:15-16. The blank on the hand-out about thanksgiving is NOT for you to fill out… it is for somebody unknown at this moment to fill in about you…. And you’ll do the same for another…
a fresh start comes as I pray for others… a fresh start begins as other pray for me… I am humbled by the thought that so many of you pray for me daily….
Paul continues his prayer for the Ephesians…. READ Eph. 1:17. :
- A Spirit of Wisdom
- A Spirit of Revelation
- The purpose of knowing him better (i.e. THRIVE)
The purpose: to know him better… i.e. to thrive…. Wherever you are in your faith, the goal is to grow, to know him more… one of the silly things I often say to Sally that isn’t really silly at all…. I love you 24 hours more today than yesterday…. As long as we are on this side of eternity, there is always more of Christ to know…
When you receive your prayer assignment for the week I hope you get somebody you don’t know so well…so you have lots to learn… May your prayer be for them to grow in their relationship with the Lord…. Cultivate a big vision for what God can do for them… Your prayers will be weak if secretly you don’t believe God can change some people’s lives...
Paul puts more meat on the bones of this prayer for how the person will learn to thrive…
I used to love houseplants… when I was young I paid a lot of attention… as the decades have rolled on I have become more and more neglectful. One by one I have given my wilting pathetic plants to Bianca… she pays attention, seems to have a knack for how much water and when… I am pretty sure she talks to them… she comes close to loving them… and they THRIVE. What’s it going to take for you and the person you pray for to Thrive? Paul outlines three desires for the Ephesians to see/know in their hearts in Eph. 1:18-21 READ.
The eyes of your heart be enlightened… emotions, thoughts, seen, unseen, wisdom revelation… confidence, knowledge….your spirit to be quickened by the Lord The people to whom Paul writes probably had a lot of problems… Our greatest prayers need to be more than asking God to tweek the details of our life….I’m not against praying for safety in our travels… but we need more. We need transformation… prayers for the Foothills… We need to be praying for a transformation of heart. Paul prays for the Ephesians to know these three things: .
- The future: The hope of their calling.
- The Past: The riches of his glorious inheritance.
- The Present: His incomparably great power for us who believe.
The Hope of their calling. We live in a world that is becoming more and more hopeless. My prayer invitation is more than about praying for one person this week, I hope many/all of you adopt this prayer as a way of life… think about the problem young people in your life that don’t seem to be going nowhere… no hope. Pray that the Lord will give them HOPE…. To know the glorious future that is promised to us is what allows us to never give up… a divine perspective, the inside information.
The riches of his glorious inheritance that is ours is amazing…this is what God has already done… God created us, loved us, sent us Jesus Christ to die for our sins… he gave each of us a story, he molded us and shaped us…
Paul then goes into more length to describe the POWER that is ours today! We have a future in Christ that shapes us, and a past and than means POWER. As Christians, one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we are weak and helpless…
The power is from God… it is resurrection power of Christ, we are alive with him…. It is Exhaltation power… he ascended to heaven... READ Eph. 1:20.
Christ was raised above everything, even those forces that cause you so much trouble. Christ is Lord over all of them. And because that same power is at work in you, those forces cannot overcome you.
Some people struggle to see God as active in our lives. Our theology tells us he is active and we aren’t supposed to be skeptical… but it’s hard to deny our feelings. Like that old nagging thought that of course God can do anything, but will he for me… one person described the common skepticism of God’s activity this way: “It’s as if God is on one side of a large wall, and we’re on the other. We shout over the wall to tell him we’re hungry, and sometimes he’ll throw a loaf of bread over. But he isn’t really that active.”
I think Paul would say to many of us that our biggest problems is that we are blind to God’s power. You don’t see that that same power can assist you. You should never say that you cannot overcome any sin, whether it is an addiction to pornography, hatred for someone else, greed, drama. The power of God that works in you is stronger than all of those. No more excuses. No more despairing. You have the power of God working in you. God’s power is a present reality… when you pray for others pray that they will come to have hope, appreciation for what God has done, and recognize the divine power that is within…
One more point about this prayer… Richard Foster uses this prayer as an example of “authoritative prayer” [Prayer, pg. 238-239]… Foster says, “Ordinary forms of prayer proceed from earth to heaven. We are asking for forgiveness, or giving thanks, or seeking healing…. it is prayer upward. But authoritative prayer moves in the opposite direction. We are bringing the resources of heaven to bear upon a particular matter on earth. It is prayer downward… we are in effect praying from heaven to earth.” Listen to Eph. 1:22-23 READ….jump ahead a few verses and God really gets wild: READ Eph. 2:6. Not only has Jesus been place in a position of authority…. But so have we… authority. There are some things we don’t know exactly what God’s plan is for our lives, the course of our life, the daily details, the gains and losses of life. Those are prayers that need an attitude of being in God’s will…. But there are many things you already know God absolutely wants for each of us, all doing with our attitudes and character: e.g. the fruit of the spirit…to know us…and to thrive… pray with authority from heaven to earth. We know God wants us to thrive….
For those that are willing….write your name on the sheet of paper, they will be collected, flipped around, and then handed back out….
The Lord wants you to thrive…he wants the people in your life to thrive… It’s a privilege to pray for another person to thrive… that is the fresh start. And to have another person pray for you. Commit yourself to this prayer of authority to thrive ….Amen…
RSS Feed