Preached in Markham Baptist Church, October 16, 2005

BECOME WHAT YOU ARE! PART 5: DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE

What gave Paul his confidence? What enabled him to do what he did? Scholars tell us that when Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians that he was probably in prison, indeed the letter suggests such an idea (Ephesians 3:1; Ephesians 4:1). He was probably in Rome in chains as he writes this. What gave him his confidence, his zeal, his ability to carry on in the Christian faith, what motivated him?

He didn’t have it easy by any means. In 2 Corinthians 6 we read a long list of hardships he faced because of his faith. Such a list makes our perceived hardships look like a walk in the park. The things we complain about in our Christian life, situations that threaten to take our faith away – I dare say they are nothing compared to what Paul endured. Thrashings, beatings with whips and rods, chased in the country, chased in the city. Left for dead, stoned! And he continued? He wrote to the Roman Christians, “I would like for you to help me to go on to Spain. I have run out of places in the East to preach. I have preached from Jerusalem to Bulgaria, I seek to move west.” (Romans 15:23-24)

What gave him such determination? What gave him the confidence to continue on in the face of such difficulties?

Some have suggested that he was prompted by his own guilt, for Luke says in the book of Acts that when Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem, those who actually did it laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul - Paul. And now years later every night when he lies down the image of Stephen walks across his pillow. It’s guilt, they say.

Some have said that it’s because he’s an adult convert. You know people who are converted later in life just run circles around the rest of us. Those of us who grew up in the arms of God have the tendency to be rather laid back and nothing strikes us as urgent, because we’ve always been there, kind of, sort of, a little bit, if we feel like it.

Some have said that he was an emotional fanatic. He was on a constant spiritual high so he was able to do so much more, than those of us who experience what seems to be more valleys than mountain top experiences.

And yet, none of these answers are adequate. There is only one answer for Paul’s determination, there is only one reason for Paul’s motivation – it is the answer he gives himself in another letter he writes to some Christian’s in Corinth – he says, “Christ’s love compels me.” (2 Corinthians 5:14). It is because of Christ’s love that he is able to endure hardship, it is because of Christ’s love that he ceaselessly preaches the reality of Christ. It is because of Christ’s love for him that he goes where Christ sends him and does what Christ calls him to do in spite of the difficulties and hardships. Christ’s love compels me.

Is it any wonder, then, that as we continue in our study of the book of Ephesians that we find Paul praying that the Christians there might grasp “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and know this love that surpasses knowledge?” It is any wonder that this is the content of his second prayer recorded in the book of Ephesians. For if a determined faith, if a faith that is going to go the distance, if a faith is going to be alive with service and self-sacrifice there must be in the heart of the believer a steadfast belief that Christ’s love is greater, stronger, and of much more worth than any material comfort, or attitude, or situation. Christ’s love compels us.

Christ’s love is the source of confidence in the Christian life. Let any difficulty come our way, and what is it compared to the love of Christ? Let any slander come our way and are we not able to endure it knowing that we have the favour of Christ Himself? Let any hardship or terror come our way and do we not have a firmer tread in life, a greater confidence to face such terrors knowing that even these cannot rob us of the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Doesn’t Christ’s love make us more than conquerors over trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Christ’s love compels us, it is the reason for confidence in the Christian life. Some people think that confidence is a disposition, an attitude that one needs to be born with. And I don’t think that’s true. If our confidence is gained through a knowledge of Christ’s love then it follows then that it is available to each one of us. It is the confidence to serve, to love my enemy, to forgive, to testify to God’s goodness in an apathetic, indifferent, and sometimes hostile culture. It is a confidence to stand against all that is evil and all that seeks to destroy humanity and the kingdom of God. It is a confidence that each of us need and can have for it is found in the love of Christ.

The Ephesians had every reason to lack confidence. We learn this in verse 13. Paul is in jail, and he needs to write to them to say don’t be discouraged because of my sufferings. His sufferings are for their glory, he’s in jail for proclaiming the reality of Christ, that Christ had come not only for the Jew but also for the Gentile and brought the two together under one head who is Christ. It is a great mystery Paul says in verse 1 through 13 that was hidden even from the angels and is only now being revealed through the church. So Paul is in jail.

“For this reason,” he says at verse 14. Now that can refer back to chapter 2 that speaks of how we are the dwelling place of God, and joined together into a holy temple in the Lord OR (and this is the way I am interpreting it this morning) it refers to verse 13. He says, “I pray that you may not lose heart because of my sufferings for Christ.” Then he prays this great prayer of encouragement. I pray that you may know the confidence that I have, the power, the energy that I have for Christ.

So how do I get this confidence? If confidence comes from knowing Christ’s love, how do I gain this confidence?

First, realize that it is yours to possess. It is the one of the riches that belong to you. This is what Paul is praying - that we would grasp the love of Christ. That means that it must be within our grasp, it must be available to us, it must be ours to possess.

It’s not something that you have to win, or gain, but it is something that you need to grasp. It is something you need to get a hold of. It seems like such a simple thing but there are many people who believe that they are shut out from the possibility of God’s love for them. They have committed some sin, or have experienced some horrendous event that makes them feel shut out from God’s love. Edwin Mewer, in a moment of cynicism once described God in this way, “God - three angry letters in a book.”

And you need to know how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ – it is available to you. But the question persists, How do I make it my own? How do I get this confidence?

After we realize that it is ours, I believe that this confidence comes to us through a life of prayerfulness.

Verse 14 and 15: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.”

That is, I pray that the Father, the one who started everything, the Father of all fathers, the one who started this whole idea of fatherhood, and knows understands what it means to be a father.

Verse 16: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power.”

I pray that our loving heavenly Father, would give you this confidence. Would strengthen you with power.

This confidence is gained through a life of prayerfulness. It is as we pray to Him that we have this confidence that God’s love for us is deep and strong and will not let us go. Think of the aspects of prayer.

It is as we give to Him our adoration – praise and glory, that we do so only because His love has touched our lives and enables us to praise Him.

It is as we give to Him our prayers of thanksgiving that we are made to realize that He provides for our every need.

It is as we offer Him our prayers of confession that we realize that it is out of love for us that He sent His son to die for us so that we may know forgiveness.

It is as we offer Him our prayers of petition that we realize that we can cast all our cares on Him for He cares for us.

Confidence comes to us as we grasp Christ’s love and Christ’s love is grasped through a life of prayerfulness.

Paul’s reference to kneeling here in verse 14 is interesting. If you read the letter carefully you discover that another theme that runs through this book is our spiritual posture in Christ. The first three chapters speak of how we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms and all the riches of Christ are ours. The last two and half chapters speak of walking in Christ (Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 5:15), Walk in love, walk in faith, walk in purity, walk in unity. And at the end of chapter 6 we read of standing. “Stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm …” (Ephesians 6:13,14a) But between sitting in the heavenlies and walking and standing here on earth is kneeling.

It is no mistake that Paul speaks of prayer right in the middle of his letter. It is through prayerfulness that we are able to take all that is ours in the heavenlies so that we can walk with confidence and stand firm against the devil’s schemes.

It is through prayerfulness. My friends, how is your prayer life? How is your quiet time? You need to be spending time with God in prayer if we are to live life with confidence.

Second, this confidence comes from a life of yieldedness. Verse 16 continues: “I pray that he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit.” This confidence in Christ’s love comes to us through the Spirit. It is a gift that His Holy Spirit brings to us as we yield our lives to Him. To be sure, we first yield our lives to Him because we know of His love, but isn’t it also true that as we continue to give our lives to Him and give to Him our minds, our hands, our feet, our time, our skills, our resources that we are further assured of God’s love for us?

It is in the midst of serving God, in the midst of yielding his life to God that Moses discovers that “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands.”(Exodus 34:6-7).

This confidence which we gain through the love of Christ is grasped through a life of yieldedness to God. Some of you may not have this confidence. You don’t know this power that Scripture speaks about - this power to serve the ungrateful, the power to forgive your enemy, the power to do what God has called you to do and perhaps it is because you have not yielded your life to Him. You are still wanting control of the situations and the decisions. But this confidence comes through yielding our lives to Him.

And notice that this confidence comes to us in our inner being. What is your inner being? It is your mind - where you think; it’s your heart - where you feel; it comes to your will. It’s your spirit. It’s where you relate to God. So this confidence comes to us not from the outside, but from the inside.

Sometimes we get the order wrong and we try to build confidence from the outside. If we are at work and we experience a crisis of confidence, we look for bigger sales numbers. Or we start to compare ourselves with other people, and if we could just get a few more people to praise us then we would have confidence.

But God says I will strengthen you from the inside out, as you yield your life to me, my Spirit will give you the confidence on the inside.

And what is the deep result of my yielding to myself to God? Verse 17: “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Paul is not talking about Christ initially coming to live in you. That’s already been settled. But that word dwell comes from two Greek words, the word for “down” and the word for “home”. Down home. The prayer is that as we yield to God, Christ would be able to settle down and be at home in our hearts, not just as a welcome guest but as a host, as Master of our hearts.

Jesus enters the house of our hearts the moment He saves us, but He wants to live there in comfort and satisfaction. He doesn’t want any of the rooms of your life shut from Him. He wants control of your work life, your relationships, your family, your finances. There can be no rooms marked, “Keep Out”. Then He is only a guest. He wants to fully dwell in our hearts as we yield our lives to Him.

How awesome it is that God wants to live in our lives. What confidence that gives us – it comes from a life of prayerfulness and yieldedness.

Confidence comes to us from the love of Christ and that love is grasped as we realize that it is ours, as we live a life of prayerfulness and yieldedness. And next, it comes to us as we live a life of rootedness.

The last part of verse 17: “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, my have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

Paul uses two words to speak of having a firm foundation. One from agriculture, “rooted”, and the other from architecture, “established”. The picture here is not trying to get God to love us more. It’s not trying to get God’s love in your life - it’s yours already. You are rooted and grounded in God’s love. Now that you are rooted in God’s love begin to realize the magnitude of God’s love for you in Christ. It is so vast and complete, in whatever spiritual direction we look we can see God’s love.

We can see God’s breadth reflected in God’s acceptance of Gentile and Jew equally in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-18). We can see love’s length in God’s choosing us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5) for a salvation that will last through all eternity. We can see love’s height in God’s having “Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3) and in His raising us up and seating us “with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). We can see love’s depth in God’s reaching down to the lowest levels of depravity to redeem those who are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). God’s love can reach any person in any sin, and it stretches from eternity past to eternity future.¹ It takes us into the very presence of God and seats us in Christ in the heavenly realms.

Now this remains to be said. This confidence comes from realizing Christ’s love for us – it is grasped by a life of prayerfulness, yieldedness and a life of rootedness – and we then have this confidence. We see we are able to do what we thought we could not do before, we are able to talk about Christ in a way we never knew before, we are able to forgive those who hurt us, and we are able to do what God calls us to do – but watch. This is not for your glory. This new confidence is not for your praise and adulation. It is for the praise and glory of God.

Verse 28: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

God is able to far more than we ask or imagine through us, not but pushing us around, but by working within us strengthening us with the love of Christ as we live a life of prayerfulness, yieldedness and rootedness. “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”

We get the confidence, but He gets the glory. So when people see you with the confidence to forgive those who hurt you, or serve others, or to give generously, or do what they thought was impossible – He gets the glory. He gets the praise, for it is by His love and because of His love that it is all possible.

As we end with silence, be thinking with me how wide and how deep and how long and how great God’s love is for you. Even pray, God stretch my understanding a tiny bit today.

ENDNOTES:

MacArthur, John, New Testament Commentary Ephesians, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986): 110.