May You Be Filled with the Fullness of God
Scripture Texts: Ephesians 3:14-19
In the quiet, inner recesses of your heart do you deep down think God is generally pleased with you or generally displeased with you? Do you think you have disappointed God so many times, His is angry with you?
Most Christians go through life under a load of guilt and fear, a cloud of oppression, of God’s displeasure. We can never be good enough to get God to be pleased with us.
Many Christians struggle with an assurance God really loves them. In fact, it would be a safe bet to say half of you here struggle with knowing that God really, really loves you, and that He takes delight in you, and that when He thinks of you, He rejoices over you with singing.
There is no experience better than knowing the love of Christ in this life and there is no experience that will better prepare you to face and deal with everything this life dishes out, than to know the love of Christ that is better than life itself.
This morning we are standing on the threshold of a new year. Every year at this time I have preached sermons urging, admonishing, encouraging us to renew our desire and commitment to seek God, to pray and to read God’s Word.
For the past three years I have used the prayers of Paul to encourage us to pray, and I have used those prayers to pray for you and for my family. We can pray them with the confidence in knowing they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. This year we are making Ephesians 3:14-19 our prayer for the year, we have made a prayer card for you to keep in your Bible and pray throughout the year. It is also the memory verse for this month.
I am committing to praying this prayer for each of you and for our whole church family and I am asking you to join me. We all know John 3:16. It tells us how to become a Christian. We should make Ephesians 3:14-19 just as familiar, it tells us how to live as Christians. Make this prayer part of your family prayer, make sure your kids know it. Keep this prayer card around, use it a meals, family devotions, memorize it.