Ephesians 3:14-21
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​For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 127:1   Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 

Go ahead.  Build your life.  Build your salvation.  Build your church.  But it won't matter.  Only God can give your life meaning.  Only God can bring salvation.  Only God can build His Church.

Go ahead.  Guard your stuff.  Make sure it is safe and that it will always be yours.  But it won't matter.  Everything you have will be gone one day.  Or it will still be here, but you will be gone.  Either way, it won't be yours any more.

If you trust God to build your life, and if you trust Him to give you all that He knows you need, you will have contentment.  He satisfies completely.

Matthew 16:18   And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus told Peter that he and the other apostles were the bedrock upon which He would build His church.  We love building our own churches, built upon our likes and comfort zones.

We build in order to be safe, comfortable and trouble free.  But when Jesus built His Church, He said "the gate of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Church built by Jesus is a dangerous place.  It is full of love, but also full of boldness and power.  He calls us to build with Him.  But the choice is ours.  Will we let Jesus build His Church through us, or will we build our church to suit our desires?

Matthew 4:1-4   Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

​Just as food is essential for physical life, living for Christ is the only way to spiritual life.  Jesus Himself said that He is not only the Way and the Truth, but the Life.

1 John 5:4    For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 

We overcome when we rely completely on Christ.  We have no power on our own to overcome anything, but He has already overcome.

John 16:33   I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

So trust Jesus to overcome whatever you are facing in your world today.  he has already overcome!

Colossians 2:14 (MSG)   When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. 

Linus of Peanuts fame quoted Luke chapter 2 and told Charlie Brown, "And that's the meaning of Christmas."  He got it right, but there is another question to ask.  Why did Jesus come?

He came to die.  He came to give you and I the greatest gift ever:  Himself.  He came so that we can live with Him forever.  Have you accepted this gift?  Have you asked Jesus to be the center of your life, forgiving your sin and giving you this new life?  If not, why not do it now?  He is inviting you to the greatest life you could ever know.  Accept the gift of Jesus today!

Jeremiah 17:7-8   “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Are your roots deep into Jesus?  He is the only One who is Life-giving!

Matthew 5:17-18   “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Every Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah came true in Jesus.  All of them, completely accurately, just as they foretold. Jesus was born, lived, suffered, died and rose again just as the Scriptures said He would.

We can trust the Bible to be true in every detail, because it has already proved to be true in miraculous ways.  We know that God is sovereign, and that everything throughout history and in our world is in His control.

So, can't you trust Him with your life, too?

Isaiah 55:8-9    For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Don't limit God by saying that He can't or doesn't work in a certain way.  He decides, and He does as He desires.  Trust Him to do what is right and good, but remember that He will do it in His way and in His time. 

In other words, remember this:  God is God.  And you and I?  We are not!

John 14:23   Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 

The proof that you love Jesus is in keeping His word.  if you love Him, you will live for Him.  Then you will know the Father's love.  What would it be like to have God the Father and Jesus Christ come and make their home with you?  Wouldn't you love to know?  You can.  Love Jesus, and keep His word by obeying Him, living for Him, and putting His will above your own desires.  

​Then, welcome home!