Praise God, welcome back. And we’re so glad again to be here with you today. What a great, great, great day this is. And you know, Kanye, I’ve heard so many stories lately and people talking about what’s going on in their life. You know, they have graduations. Oh, yes, it is May-cember. And as you know here in Nashville, this is the bridesmaid capital of the world. Of the world. And so everybody’s talking about the weddings that are coming and their friends and their daughters and cousins and everybody’s doing a wedding. And I was grinning today as we were out working with some people today and everybody around us was talking about it.
What wedding they’re going to. There’s a lot going on. Yes, but it’s all good. Yes, it is. What a great time of the year to sow into other people and to bless them and just to love them. Yes. And one of the ways we love God, I don’t know if you’ve ever thought of it this way, but one of the ways we love God is by sowing into Him. When we give offerings of any kind, our time, our talent, our treasure. Yes. When we give that to God, we’re blessing Him. We’re loving Him and He rejoices in that. And He wants to make sure we get a harvest back, a return on that.
It’s true. So He blesses it and it comes back in abundance. Man, what a great, great Father God we have. Hallelujah. What a great, great, great kingdom He has created for all of us. Yes. And Jesus Christ came and gave Himself to Christ Himself so we could all have eternal life. It’s true. I’m preaching and we haven’t even got there yet. It’s offering time. All right. It’s not your turn yet. But as I’ve said before, Christ gave the ultimate sacrifice. Yes. And we’re going to talk about that here coming up in a week or so. And so we just want to encourage you as you give today, know this, God is excited for you and He’s looking forward to blessing you in abundance.
There are several ways you can give today. You can text to give. Toby has a code there at the bottom of the screen for us. You can go to our website, emergeinternationalchurch.org and there are several ways there you can give also. And we want to thank you again for partnering with us as we pray that Jesus Christ will go forth into the world. Amen. So Sister Konya, would you pray over our offering today? I would be honored. Father, thank you. Thank you, thank you. That we are privileged to come to you with our tithes and our offerings. And with that privilege, we have the confident expectation that whatever we give to you, Lord, you multiply back to us a hundredfold.
Lord, we thank you for that, that that is in your word. Lord, please receive these offerings that we give. Do with them, Lord, what only you can do. And thank you, Lord, for allowing us to participate in the things of heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Let’s get into the word. Now it’s your turn. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been studying what it means to be in Christ. Also, that can be referred to as being in Him. Paul did a really great job of giving us insight into our place of being in Christ in the first three chapters of Ephesians. So a few weeks ago, we began by working our way through Ephesians chapter 1 and then we studied the first half of chapter 2 and we learned there that in Him, we have been made alive by His rich mercy, great love, and free grace.
We also saw that we’ve been restored to our position in Christ with all the power and authority and rights and privileges of that position. A couple of weeks ago, we continued our study through Ephesians 2 and part of chapter 3. And so today, we will finish our journey through chapter 3. Are you ready to get started? Alright, let’s go. Ephesians 3.16 in the Amplified Classic it declares this. May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit Himself in dwelling your innermost being and personality.
Praise God. So Paul is praying over the Ephesians here, but he’s praying over the body really, the body of Christ. And he’s saying, may He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory. And that word grant there means of one’s own accord to give to someone something to their advantage. To supply and furnish them. To bestow upon them. And so Paul is praying, God I just ask you to freely give out of your goodness out of your glory the blessing of who you are just freely give, supply, furnish bestow upon the church. Praise God. And he’s going, he says God I desire you to do this out of your rich treasury.
Not just out of your treasury. Not just out of some goods or supplies you got laying around. Just out of your rich treasury. And that word rich treasury there, that phrase means that with which one is enriched. It means wealth, abundance, fullness. So Paul is asking God I pray that out of your rich treasury you bring a blessing that enriches the body of Christ, that brings wealth abundance out of the fullness of your wealth and abundance bless us Paul is asking God that we be furnished and enriched praise God with the fullness of his glory think about that we, and we’re going to see this as we move forward, but we can partake in and be a part of the fullness of God’s glory and that’s where these next few verses are going let me read this again it gets so big in me may he grant you out of the rich treasury of his glory the rich treasury of his glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power so let’s look at that so his glory is the rich treasury of his glory his glory is the kingly majesty wow the kingly majesty of God our supreme ruler and the kingly majesty of Jesus our Messiah it is the condition or the relationship with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth God brought him back into his glory and seated him in his right hand and then Paul said earlier in chapter 2 Ephesians 2 6 that we have joint seating with him there in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Father so he’s saying Father God I pray that out of the rich treasury of your glory those who are in Christ be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power hallelujah from the power and authority of the throne of God all good things flow and from there Paul is saying Father God strengthen them and reinforce them from the rich treasury of your glory to be strengthened and reinforced is to be made strong to increase in strength to grow strong we should be growing stronger and increasing in strength in the Lord and his word and the Holy Spirit every day as we yield ourselves to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit we will be strengthened and reinforced and made strong Hallelujah.
with mighty power with mighty power power consisting in resting upon armies forces host victorious power overcoming power God I pray that you make me strong strengthen me and make me strong today with your mighty power that same power that rests upon armies and forces your host the overcoming victorious power of God that wins battles and overcomes the enemy working against us and I pray God that power that you bless them with that you strengthen them with that you enrich them with you do it in their inner man the internal man that is connected to our mind our will our emotions it’s a place where the Holy Spirit can speak to us and influence us and direct us, transform us into that powerful victorious child of God who is overcoming standing our ground here in the earth standing in our victory Hallelujah.
glory to God that’s what he’s praying for that’s what he’s praying for that out of the rich treasury of your glory that we be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit himself see the Holy Spirit is God indwelling us living in us comforting us directing us empowering us indwelling our inner most being and personality so our inner most being is our spirit man and our personality would be our soul our mind will emotions that’s where our personality flows from is out of the spirit and soul and so the Holy Spirit is indwelling us and so when we surrender ourselves to the Lord every day and seek him and surrender ourselves to the direction of the Holy Spirit hallelujah we are empowered we are empowered to go forth the inner man by the Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity the Holy Spirit who is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son the power of God resident within believers we have the power of God within us because we are in Christ by the Holy Spirit we have that power in us and it can become active and strong and work in our behalf as we stand in confidence and faith and boldly come before the throne of God he is indwelling our inner most being and personality our soul the Holy Spirit works in us to activate the power of knowing standing in faith and confidence knowing knowing knowing that God has overcome God is for me God is with me standing in that place of seeing our desire come forth standing in that place of confidence and boldly and deciding and acting on the word of God God’s word is true God is faithful to his word and we will stand on his word Hallelujah.
it’s that place where Paul was talking about in Romans 12 to don’t be conformed to the world be transformed be transformed by the word by the spirit of God Hallelujah. the Holy Spirit will work in us and through us and with us and forth to transform us into a child of God as we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit he will direct us he will order our footsteps in alignment with God’s purpose in alignment with God’s purpose and plan for us he brings us into alignment with our Father God praise God you become into alignment with the Lord nothing stops you hallelujah and this all is available to us because we are in Christ we are in him Praise God.
hallelujah thank you Lord then in Ephesians 3 17 here in the Amplified Paul says may Christ through your faith actually dwell settle down abide make his permanent home in your heart may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love that’s important there being rooted deeply in love and founded securely on love Jesus told the disciples in John chapter 14 he said you are in me and I am in you but I am in the Father and the Father is in me so we are in Christ in the Father and the Father is in Christ and in us and we’re all there together the greatest example I know of this if you take a jug of water and that represents God’s fullness and you drop a sponge in it you are in it but everything in that water is in you if you take that sponge out and squeeze it the water just comes flowing out dripping out of the sponge but you got to stay in him for all the fullness to flow through you Hallelujah.
as we fully surrender ourselves to him he lives, he dwells he makes his permanent home in our hearts and we are forever hosting him Christ is fully in us and we are fully in Christ so I said this was important to be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love being rooted deeply in love is to know him intimately it means to be fixed, established to be thoroughly grounded in him because he is love love here in this passage in the Greek is the word agape agape is more than a feeling it’s a choice God chose to love us even when we didn’t love him he chose us and we talked about this before as it says in Ephesians chapter 1 before the foundation of the world he chose us 1 Peter 2 9 we are chosen generation God’s own special people he treasures us he loves us agape again means to choose it’s not driven by feelings and emotions it’s driven by choice you are mine I love you we call this the God kind of love doesn’t matter what comes or goes God loves you to be founded on love means a foundation is laid and you’re building on it founded is to be fixed established, stable on a foundation of God’s love for us so Paul is saying here in Christ you can know the essence the fullness of who he is the apostle John said it this way in 1 John 4.8 in the Amplified he who does not love does not become acquainted with God never did know him why?
for God is love God is love love is not just something God does it is who he is God is love that is his nature that is his essence and so if we love him, we know him and we walk in love so going back to Ephesians here chapter 3 Paul goes on to say in verse 18 that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints God’s devoted people the experience of that love what is the breadth and length and height and depth of it Wow. so I want to go back to verse 17 here for a minute may Christ through faith actually dwell settle down, abide make his permanent home in your heart may you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on his love and then 18 that you may have the power and to be strong to apprehend and grasp so when we fully know God and Christ makes his home abode dwelling in us we say Lord come live in me and we yield ourselves to him it releases the power and we are strengthened to apprehend and grasp with all saints God’s devoted people the experience of God’s love the experience of the fullness of who God is the breadth and length and height and depth of it all of God’s love you know it now this is something we just keep we don’t do it once you keep doing this every day you keep growing in it every day you keep experiencing it every day you keep seeing it every day being in Christ gives all we need gives us all we need to experience the breadth and length and the height and depth of who God is Hallelujah.
it is knowing him like you’ve never known him he is new every day he is new every morning Hallelujah. Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 3 19 amplified here that you may really come that you may really come to know practically through experience this just didn’t have knowledge this isn’t something we talk about or think about or read about or study that you may really come to know practically through experience for yourself not what somebody else has experienced or told you for yourself that you through experience for yourself know the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge God goes way beyond mere knowledge without experience you can read about it and study it and talk about it all day long but when you truly truly truly experience it it goes so far beyond you can’t find the words to really describe it so Paul is saying here in verse 19 that you may really come to know practically through experience for yourselves the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience that you may be filled through all your being spirit soul body head to toe be filled through all your being unto all the fullness of God because we’re in Christ we have the right and the privilege to live and walk in all the fullness of God all the days of our life praise God and he goes on to say be filled through all your being unto all the fullness of God and may have the richest measure of the divine presence think about that he’s saying here we can have the richest measure of the divine presence because we’re in Christ and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself think about that I’m going back to my vision of my sponge in the water you’re wholly filled and flooded saturated overflowing with God himself I want to get up every day and live like that I want to get up every day and walk like that Father God I just want the richest measure of your divine presence today and I want to be filled and flooded with you and everybody sees it what is going on with you what is what is that on you something different here yeah I’m filled and flooded with God today you want some it’s overflowing you want some by knowing God this deeply we become filled with all the fullness of God Wow.
God wants us walking in his fullness saturated surrounded covered wrapped in who he is he wants us to have the richest measure of his divine presence the richest measure the fullness which can’t be measured because it is far beyond it is limitless that is hard for us to even comprehend and conceive when we know Christ is deeply we become fully filled and flooded with God and that is our right as children of God Jesus said I taught on this a month or two ago Jesus said in John 1 16 this is from the Amplified for out of his fullness his abundance we have all received all had a share and we were all supplied with one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift that comes out of his fullness praise God think about that grace one grace after another spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift God is a giving God a loving God a God who wants to pour himself out on you to pour himself out through you to pour himself out in you and with you and for you Praise God.
that is the heart of our Father God and that’s what being in Christ means it means we have access to the fullness of God by being in Christ we have free access daily Wow. Paul goes on to address us here in Ephesians 3 this is one of my favorite verses in scripture it’s a life verse God’s used with me but I’ve taught on this several times but he goes on to say here in Ephesians 3 20 and 21 Amplified now to him now to him by and consequence of the action of his power his power is active the action of his power that is at work within us his power is actively at work in you right now is able to carry out his purpose and do super abundantly far over and above all that we dare ask or think so God’s active power is working in you right now to carry out his purpose all we have to do is yield to it and say yes Lord here I am I surrender all to you Lord and then Paul goes on to say and when we do that he will do super abundantly far over and above think about that now super abundantly far over and above all that we dare ask or think Wow.
I remember back in COVID kids are home from college and everything’s noisy in the house and so I told my wife I told Kanye one morning I said hey I’m going in our bedroom closet and pray just so you know and it’s quiet in there and so I went in our bedroom closet and I closed the door and I turned around and the Lord said to me before I could even get started he goes you’re not thinking big enough I dare you he said this to me I dare you to ask me for something big to believe me for something big even right here in the middle of COVID I dare you oh wow thank you Lord he said come on let’s go Wow.
so he is able to carry out his purpose do super abundantly far over and above all that we dare ask or think and then it goes on to say this infinitely beyond think about that infinitely beyond so God you want me you’re telling me you can do beyond infinitely well infinitely means without end no end it can’t be measured it is infinite and you’re saying you’re going to do infinitely beyond what I dare ask or think I remember back in the day when the movie toy story came out and my oldest daughter was 8 or 9 then 10 maybe but she loved that movie so every night I would go in to tuck her in and we would pray and talk and then she would say I love you daddy and I said I love you too and she goes I love you three and I’d say well I love you four and she goes I love you more and I says I love you to infinity and she would say I love you to infinity and beyond and I went Jesse I love you beyond beyond and I got that from this verse because to go infinitely beyond is going beyond beyond and Jesus said if you will believe in me if you will seek me if you will walk with me if you will be in Christ I can work my purpose in you and take you beyond what you could ever ask or think, exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we dare ask or think.
Hallelujah. And then Paul finishes this out in verse 21 saying, to Him be glory in the church, praise God, by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Being in Christ means His power is at work within us right now, doing super abundantly far over and above all we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our largest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes. That’s who we are in Christ. That’s what being in Him gives us access to. Praise God. Let’s stand together and let’s pray. Father, thank you for reminding us today of everything that is ours because we are in You, and You are in us.
Thank You for the fullness of Your glory, Your love, and Your power at work in us right now. We receive it, Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
