It is amazing how dependent our culture is on electricity.
Electricity was discovered to be able to be conducted through an substance by 17th-century German physicist Otto von Guericke, who observed conduction in a linen thread.
It was until 1878 British scientist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan invented the modern light bulb, which uses carbon filaments in evacuated glass bulbs.
Then a year later Thomas Edison independently discovered the same device a year later in his work on the development of the electrical infrastructure.
And before that time, there was no electrical lighting.
- There were no sound systems.
- There were no computers.
- There was no television.
- There was no telephone.
- There was no air conditioning in the summer.
- There is no electric heat in the winter.
Now, our society must have electricity to operate.
Through these 400 years we have grown in our understanding of how to harness the power of electricity.
We have learned to control it. We have 60 W bulbs and then we have those three way bulbs.
We run power for tiny circuits and ships our computers. And we have millions of watts of power through big city power plants.
In the same way that we have learned about electricity, Paul’s concern for the Ephesians and for each of us is that we grow in the understanding, the spiritual wisdom, and the knowledge of God.
Turn with me to Ephesians chapter one verse 15-17; as I read from the New Living Translation.
15Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, 16I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. (Eph 1:15-17, NLT)
Before we go any deeper, let us pray.
We are in the beginning stages of a series of sermons on the letter from the Apostle Pau to the Ephesians.
In our passage this morning, Paul says that he prays for God to give us spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we might grow in our knowledge of God.
He wants us to grow in how to gain wisdom and understanding.
That is what we need today.
In a world, this spiritually and therefore morally bankrupt, we need spiritual wisdom and understanding.
In that, we need a fresh understanding of what is sin. This understanding comes from a spiritual mind set.
One that our cultural does not have.
The Bible says that
- adultery is sin,
- murder is sin,
- lying is sin,
- cheating on taxes or tests is sin,
- stealing: taking something that isn’t yours is sin—
- and the list can go on and on.
But our culture is drifting away from the laws of God. We need to learn how to gain wisdom and understanding.
And Paul’s prayer for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding—is shown through light and power.
Paul first puts our attention on light.
Look with me at Verse 18:
18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light (Eph 1:18a, NLT)
Paul prays for the Ephesians to be flooded with light. What does it means to be “flooded with light”?
When you are flooded with light you are full or flooded with Christ. Jesus said in John 8:12:
12Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12, NLT)
And we are to be flooded with this light. Our whole lives should be lit by the light of Christ. Therefore, we will not stumble. We stumble because in sin, our light is snuffed out.
Proverbs 13:9 says
9The life of the godly is full of light and joy, but the sinner’s light is snuffed out. (Prov 13:9, NLT)
So, we are to be flooded with light so that we do not stumble. And we continue to walk in the light of the Lord. Isaiah 2:5 says:
5Come, people of Israel, let us walk in the light of the Lord! (Is 2:5, NLT)
Monica and I were able to attend a Chihuahuas baseball game this summer. The new stadium is absolutely beautiful!
It is amazing to me how the designers of the stadium designed the lighting around the stadium to resemble daylight. The lights are so bright that you can see perfectly. There is no darkness until you walk outside the stadium.
And that is how our lives should be as well.
Our lives should be so bright with the light of Christ that it repels darkness.
Our lives should reflect God’s light so in the midst of darkness, in this world of sin, we can clearly see the way with out stumbling.
How do you flood your life with light?
First of all we need to accept Christ into our life.
You need to realize that without Christ we are all in darkness. We are all sinners. That is our nature and our choice.
The payment for this sin is death, which is eternal separation from Christ—which means Eternal darkness.
But Christ paid the penalty for us. He died on the cross as the sky turned dark and as the earth shook to pay that penalty for us. But we must accept it.
You must accept it. Or be eternal condemned to darkness, death and hell.
Then, to walk in the light we also need to keep the generator running.
Many of us survive on the dim glow of batteries. They get charged from time to time but the light dims after awhile. We need to keep the generator running.
We do this by continually, daily coming before Christ in fellowship with him. We do this through prayer and Bible reading.
Setting aside a moment for your personal devotional time can keep that fellowship in tact. There are many days that you will feel as if your prayers are hitting the ceiling but they are not. You must continue daily and persistent.
And Paul prays that the Ephesians will be flooded with Light.
Why is it important to be flooded? V18b
18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. (Eph 1:18b, NLT)
We first need to be flooded so you can understand the future. What is the future? What wonderful future is he talking about?
Revelation 21:1-6
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband.
3I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.? 4He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”
5And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! (Rev 21: 1-6, NLT)
This is the future that we need to understand!
In all the trials of life, as we suffer for our faith, it is these visions of the wonderful future that will encourage us. We can be encouraged to know that Christ is returning. And this future is close at hand. We can be encouraged to know that he is coming back and we can endure.
When we suffer, we are to look to the future. Where non of the suffering will take place.
When we are flooded with light, we are looking to the expectation of Christ coming home, resting in the great inheritance, and living in power.
And that is Paul’s second prayer.
V19
19I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. (Eph 1:19, NLT)
We see here that we are to understand the power for us who believe in him.
Jesus was very forward in telling us that there is power.
Acts 1.8 says,
8But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NLT)
You shall receive power. That power is to tell people about Him everywhere.
The power to proclaim. And with this power we can boldly go out into the world and declare.
God is powerful. And we should not cower behind our doubt. We have received power to proclaim the good news to the ends of the earth, and we should not hesitate or be ashamed.
What is an example of this power?
Look at V19-20
19I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. (Eph 19-20, NLT)
This power had authority over death. If we have this power what more can we have? There is no power greater.
And then Christ had power over authority. Christ was placed at the right hand be the same power that we have been given.
Jesus Christ was made ruler over all things. And all of this power belongs to Christ
v21-23
21Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. 22And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. 23And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence. (Eph 1:21-23, NLT)
Christ has the authority over all things and Christ fills the church with his presence and that same power.
We need to take advantage of this power.
If we are obedient, we can make a difference in this sinful world through our witness, through our prayers, through our giving, through our love for those around us.
It is not time for us to sit back. It is time for us to get in the fight. We have a great power behind us. We need to begin to take a stand.
The first stand we need to take is in our personal walk with Christ. What is the next step for you to take?
Christian, your next step may be to begin a devotional time,
or your next step may need to begin sharing your faith more,
or your next step may be to go on a mission trip.
But we all need to take the next step towards growing in our Christian walk and begin experiencing this power that is promised.
Do you have power in your life? Or do you feel defenseless to this world? The Bible says God wants us to have power in our lives.
And the Bible says that when God wants us to have the light in our lives. But you can only have power and light if you have Christ.
Do you have Christ today? We talk about our eternal destiny, our hope. But without Christ you cannot have that eternal life.
All of us are condemned to hell. We are sinners.
And the wages of sin is death. But Christ paid the penalty for us. And if we accept him we can have that eternal life.
And along with eternal life we can have that power and light.
We have talked this morning about electricity.
Electricity is a form of energy associated with moving electrons and protons.
Electricity can also be defined as Electric current used or regarded as a source of power. And that power produces light.
This morning we can each take the next step in our Christian walk and become dependent on the electricity of Christ.
Let us Pray.
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This sermon was originally preached at the Crossroads Chapel service at Sage Hall. Fort Bliss, Texas on 21 September 2014.
All Scriptures marked NLT: New Living Translation,Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.