Ephesians 3:20

"God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." (Ephesians 3:20)

God is not just able to do beyond what we ask, but  abundantly beyond.  But that is no enough.  He is able to do far more abundantly beyond what we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.

 

I want to encourage you to pray in faith, asking God to do far beyond all that we can ask or think.

From Genesis to Revelation, we see God’s mighty power at work.  We can summarize it under four headings:

 

(1) God’s power is seen in creation.

God spoke the entire universe into existence out of nothing by His word alone! In Romans 1:20, Paul writes, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” The psalmist exclaimed (Ps. 33:6, 9), “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host…. For He

spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Or, as Jeremiah (32:17)  exaimed, “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Every day all
around us, we have evidence to remind us of God’s omnipotence.
(2) God’s power is seen in His judgments.

Throughout the Bible there are examples of God unleashing a small amount of His power to bring judgment on rebellious sinners. He brought the worldwide flood in Noah’s day. He confused the languages of the proud men at the tower of Babel. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone. He unleashed the ten plagues on Egypt and then destroyed the Egyptian army in the sea. On numerous occasions, God destroyed thousands of people in a short time, through plagues or warfare or natural disasters (Num. 16:25-35, 46-49; 25:9; Judges 7:22; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chron. 20:22-23; Ps. 18:12-15).

(3) God’s power is seen in His converting sinners

The apostle Paul is exhibit A, of course. He was persecuting the church with vengeance, when God stopped him in his tracks and changed him into the man who would preach to the Gentiles, whom he formerly detested. In our text, Paul refers to “the power that works within us.” That takes us back to Ephesians 1:19, where Paul said that the same power that raised Christ from the dead (the greatest display of power in human history) is what raised us from

spiritual death to life. In Ephesians 3:7, Paul refers to the working  of God’s power that converted him and made him a minister of the gospel to the Gentiles. In 3:16, he referred to God’s power through His Spirit that strengthens us in the inner man.

(4) God’s power is seen in His working when we are unable to do anything 

Abraham and Sarah were physically beyond the ability to conceive children. Even when they were younger, Sarah had been unable to conceive. When Sarah laughed at the idea that she would conceive, the Lord confronted her with the rhetorical question (Gen. 18:14), “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” In response to God’s promise, she did conceive Isaac. Later, when God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham obeyed because (Heb. 11:19), “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead….” Nothing is impossible for the Lord!

"Prayer provides power, poise, peace and purpose."

I Count All Things But Loss

"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philippians 3:8)

First, we must go hard after Christ in order to know him. Verses 7 and 8: "Whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Paul went hard after Christ, forsaking all the things people normally boast about; and he did it in order to know him. Notice verse 7 is past tense—probably referring to conversion ("I counted all loss"). But verse 8 is present tense: he continues to renounce everything that hinders his getting to know Christ.

Why? Because knowing Christ is a value that surpasses everything else. The evidence of conversion is whether you become a Christian Hedonist. Christian Hedonists always go hard after the highest value. They sell everything joyfully for the buried treasure and pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44–45). We must go hard after Christ, because not to means that we don't want to know him. And not to want to know Christ is an insult to his value and a sign of spiritual stupor or deadness in us. But when you go hard after Christ, to know him, the reward is your joy and his honor.

Paul prays for us in Ephesians 3:18–19 that we "may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." There is so much of Christ yet to be known! His wonders are inexhaustible to all eternity. You, who claim that he is your pearl of great price and your treasure chest of holy joy and yet who do not go hard after him to know him, are caught in a contradiction that cannot go on. You must go hard after Christ, or eventually surrender your claim to own him as the Lord of joy.

When a man falls in love, he is driven by an inner compulsion to know his beloved. And therefore he goes hard after her and spends time with her.

Second, we must go hard after Christ to confirm our justification. Justification refers to the wonderful act of God in which he forgives all our sins and imputes to us his own righteousness through our faith in Christ. Start with the second half of verse 8: "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." Notice: present tense, "I am counting all things as refuse"; I am forsaking them; I am pursuing Christ. Why? In order that I might gain Christ and share in God's righteousness.

"Watch your motive before God; have no other motive in prayer than to know Him." (O. Chambers)

Trust In The Lord - Reliance

Proverbs 3:5-6

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Rely on the wisdom and power of God and not of your own understanding only.

Instruction:
Prov 3:5 Trust the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

Promise:
Prov 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

You can never rely on God if your perception is limited only on what you can see. The Bible said: We do not look at the things that can be seen. We look at the things that cannot be seen. The things that can be seen will come to an end. But the things that cannot be seen will last forever. 2Cor 4:18 NLV

Relying and trusting God required the activation of our eyes of faith. The bible said: Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. Heb 11:1 GW

When we move our trust and dependence to God, we rest upon the unlimited, unmatched ability and strength of our Lord.  In doing so, we rest securely on the Almighty regardless of what difficulties we are facing.

We need to seek God not just when we think we need Him, bur rather in every avenue of our lives, we are to see the omnipresent God, leaning on Him, listening to that still small voice that gives us divine direction.


Rev Dr. Ronnie Ng