Ephesians 1:15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
The Apostle Paul’s prayer for the believers at the church in Ephesus is a prayer for them to know that what God is doing through their lives has great meaning and purpose. That meaning and purpose is centered around their continued faith in the Lord and their growing faith in the boldness to proclaim that message. Many “believers” fall short in sharing their faith due to embarrassment and that is a dangerous thing. Jesus had something to say about denying him before men in Matthew 10:33 where He says, 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. What is the importance of sharing this message with others? We actually carry hope around in our heart and that heart is bursting with abundant LIFE that cannot be contained. The believers in Ephesus showed evidence of having this real faith and Paul could not bless them enough for what he was hearing about the church there. verse 15-16 15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; Basically Paul is “pumped” about what God is doing in the Ephesian fellowship and he compounds the whole thing by telling them he is praying for them to have a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. (verse 17)
This spirit of wisdom is a necessary ingredient in all believers lives and it takes us to a whole new realm of thinking that drives our faith to new levels of sharing the message of Christ. We can see that Paul was wanting that to happen and he was fanning the flames of revival. How does this work for those of us who are trying to share the gospel? It is the straw that breaks the devil’s back. An empowered, wisdom induced group of believers can make a huge difference for the cause of Christ and that difference will be seen in ongoing revival. Did I just say “ongoing revival?” Yes. Cause when we truly “get it” the “it” is an eternal wisdom that increases our faith exponentially in every area. I have stood before groups of Christians and given a rousing speech that challenges them to step out and get going and see blank stares and their eyes saying, “what in the world are you talking about?”
To know that you know is a driving realization of pure truth about our identity and our purpose here on the earth. This realization is an all out assault by believers with the truth of the gospel on the earth we live on. We begin to step out as never before and begin a process that furthers the steps of the early disciples. We actually become “fishers of men.” The same call Jesus made to Peter, John, and other fishermen becomes the call for each of us. Our jobs become mission fields for sharing the gospel and the lines at Wal Mart take on a whole new look as we take every opportunity to share the message of Christ from hearts on fire!! I went to a Christian concert a few years ago and while standing in line I saw a guy walking up and down the line sharing that Jesus is alive, to the embarrassment of some. In my heart, I thought “that is awesome!” In reality I was kind of jealous of his fervor and it took me a good 30 minutes to reason myself away from doing the same thing. I actually had to snuff out the conviction in my heart at that time to keep from shouting out that Jesus is alive and all who come to Him find life.
When you Know That You Know a light comes on and that light shows each of us just how Jesus wants us to live for Him. We quit avoiding very convicting scriptures about sharing the message of Christ and we begin to have a ground swell of boldness come into our life. All conversations come around to eternity and the hope of Christ. All purpose and direction is centered on sharing the message of hope with others. When this happens some so-called Christians will doubt the sincerity of the message and may laugh at the effort, but their opinions matter not. Back to Paul. Paul was all out….. ALL OUT! Look at what he wrote the church in Philippi in 3: 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. Now, that is all out. All else is counted as rubbish when matched against the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
So Do You Know That You Know? I hope you do and I hope you are found sharing the message of Christ wherever you go. It is a great message and there are people everywhere who need the chance to receive Jesus, but they need to hear it from you or someone committed to Christ. Time to fish and the bait is the gospel message and those who get hooked find eternal life and forgiveness of sins. Here is a good word from The Word! Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Learn it and share it.
The Pilgrimage continues……
David Warren
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