Three Special Truths

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18 and 19 are where we are today. And you choose your title. You can write down "Three Special Truths," or perhaps if you would like to write in, "Hope is in Him."

Perhaps by the end of the message you will gravitate to one or the other. But there are three special truths in the text today in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18 and 19. And I'd like for you to see that this text is talking about how you can know His hope and you can know His riches and you can know His power. And so by way of introduction I would like to say that there are things in this world that are more valuable than what is visible. Some things are way more valuable than what is visible. Now for example, these — what I'm talking about — one in particular would be something that you could see on somebody's face. You could see this most valuable thing in their face if they are lacking it. If a person is destitute, is desperate and without hope, you can see it in their face. And the desperation in their eyes. You can almost feel the agony of their heart. And so the hopelessness that exists around the world is because folks simply would be without Christ. And so today, hope is in Christ. Hope is in Jesus Christ. We hope in God. He is the object of our hope.

Underneath the divine inspiration of God, Paul is praying that the Ephesian church would have this kind of hope — that they would know this hope. Look with me in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18 and 19. My favorite two words in all the Bible are "so that." And so it starts off with verse 18: "So that you, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength." Let's pause for prayer. Father, this prayer that the Apostle Paul has been prayed for the Ephesian church, I pray as well for me and this dear congregation. I intercede, dear Jesus, for us that You would help us in this way to know these special truths, in Christ's name. Amen.

And so verse 18 starting out with "so that" — this favorite phrase of mine — indicates that all of the preceding information has been building up and it's almost like a dam that is holding back a lot of water and it just bursts forth. So that — so all of this preceding information now spills over onto you. Everything is there. In verse 17 it says that "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the full knowledge of Him." Okay, see how it's building up? So that the eyes of your heart, having been enlightened, you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of His glory, of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward you.

And so at this point you would say, what exactly is Paul praying for? Why is he doing it? For what purpose? What is at the very core of his prayer? If you pray for your children, there is a reason, a need, which has prompted you to pray for your children. There is something there that got you to your knees to pray, right? Well, what is it? Well, this gift of God's wisdom that's already been prayed for by His Spirit will then illuminate their hearts and minds and souls to a fuller knowledge of Him. But the last phrase in verse 17 — "knowledge of Him" — a full knowledge of Him. All of what has been said proceeding at this point is so that the Ephesian congregation would have a fuller knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is toward you, verse 18, "so that you" — the speaking from Paul to the Ephesians — "so that you, the Ephesian congregation," the saved ones who are in the church, worshiping and learning and listening to preaching and singing hymns and praying for one another and giving and doing outreach and discipling each other and just doing your absolute best to glorify Christ in a carnal society. "So that you, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened" — you've been saved — "so that you will know what is the hope that is in Christ." So that you, Ephesians, would know the riches that are in Christ. So that you would know of the glory of Christ, so that you would know the inheritance that is from Christ — and today we'll discover what inheritance is for Christ — and that you would also know the power from Him.

If you know of the Bible study method of arcing, then you would take the main idea of knowledge in Him and arc that over to the hope of His calling, arc that over to the riches of His glory and inheritance, and arc that over to the surpassing greatness of His power. You have those three points underneath that main idea, and that is what is driving the content of this prayer. These sub-ideas are underneath the main idea of knowing Him in a fuller way. The knowledge of Christ is being prayed for. Paul is praying for a fuller knowledge of Christ. God would continue to enlighten their hearts, to open their hearts and open their minds so that they could gain Christ in all of who He is. Illumination, this power, this understanding — not only is this simply to know Christ, but it is also what Paul has already prayed for: the wisdom to live these truths out. And so all of this information today stems from, in verse 17, a knowledge of Him — a knowledge of Him, a full knowledge of Him — and it is a gift to truly know Jesus Christ in this way. It is God gifting to you this information. He's giving you the ability to comprehend it and He's helping you to know it.

In verse 18 it says "so that you, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened." This is interesting because it's in the past tense in the legacy translation, and it refers to that divine donation of salvation — having been enlightened, having been saved. You were saved by grace through faith, plus nothing, by the way. And now that you have been saved, in the past tense — it's recognizing that in this verse those who are saved are the ones who have the ability to know hope, to know the riches, and to know the power.

Now, in the New American Standard, it's in the present tense, which is at first a bit dumbfounding for me, because it changes the meaning a little bit, because now you would presently be knowing of the hope and be knowing of the riches and be knowing of the power. Well, guess what works? It's not an either/or, it's a both/and. Amen? Amen. Both work in the text. Nevertheless, the result of enlightenment, or having had your eyes opened — the blind man can see, get it? — salvation. Your heart has now changed. Having been enlightened, what does that lead to? Well, it leads to a greater and greater appreciation of Christ and what He did, and then it will pull you down into a mode of prayer and adoration like the Apostle Paul is in right now. As he in chapter 1 has gone through the subject of soteriology and detailed it — perhaps like an ordo salutis that kind of helped you understand what is predestined and how you were saved by His sovereign grace — and now he's just overflowing, thinking about these glories, and he is in prayer. He's overflowing with prayer for the Ephesian church.

And so as we understand a fuller knowledge of God, you then too are moved to an appreciation of what God has done and then adoration. You're praying and you're thanking Him. In fact, you are steadily in that mode every single day. "Thank You, dear Jesus, for this, for that." You're thanking God for the things that are going on in your life, whether they hurt or whether they don't hurt. You know, God afflicts His people to help them, not to harm them. He helps us in all of these ways. And so the highest form of faith while you're hurting is to say, "Thank You, God, for helping me. I know I need this trial to mature my faith. Whatever You have intended for me is for my benefit. And I thank You for that." And so we are moved to adoration. We see that the scales of our eyes have been removed. We see morality clearly. This is a gift of God. Things in there in regards to morality — they're not cloudy. It's very clear. "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." We understand what is true and pure and holy. And when we get outside or we get a cloudy moral vision, our hearts ache and we thank the Lord for the clarity in that it prompts us to repent and run back to Him. And so our faith then — it's not foggy. It's clear. I know exactly who Christ is. I know exactly what I put my faith in, my hope and my trust in. It's Christ. Christ has been made brighter for me.

We can see now, especially these three special truths. Starting with number one: to know His hope. Three special truths in the text today. Number one is to know His hope. Hope then springs out of Christ's calling. Okay. Having hope is a privilege. It is an inner stability. Hope is inner power. Hope is from Christ calling you. It is connected to His calling. Verse 18 says, "So that you, the eyes of your heart, having been enlightened, will know what is the hope of His calling." Christ called you and you have been saved. So you have been divinely summoned by God and your soul has been saved by God's calling. This effectual calling is for those whom He predestined. He also called, and those whom He called He justified — this is Romans chapter 8 and verse 30. That is how it works.

To know what is the hope of His calling, here in verse 18, is incredibly important. To know the hope is incredibly important. It basically characterizes your countenance. It basically characterizes how you live. Do you know people who live in fear? Do you know people who are hopeless? Their countenance and their character, how they live, is drastically different than having hope in Christ, than having a confidence in the fact that Christ is coming again. No matter how bad things get in this world, I'm okay because Christ is coming again and He is in control. This hope is rooted in the calling. Christ has called you, He has saved you, and now your hope is rooted in Him.

Having hope in Christ, it stabilizes you no matter how rough the storms of life get. Having hope in Christ makes you emotionally stable. You may not feel like it, but you by faith act like it. You live out this stability, this inner stability. Your emotions on the inside may be going up and down but you stay the course. You continue in God's Word. This hope stabilizes us inwardly. So hope then is a stable emotion. It's the result of salvation and it's the result of you focusing on Christ, and it is a result of your faithfulness in the Word. Hope then is an inward stabilization that is rooted in Christ calling you and you being saved.

Hope is also a confident expectation. You just simply have this aura about you that not only is everything okay — no matter what things look like, my hope is not based upon whether the news is positive or negative, which mostly is negative. My hope is not based upon what I see, because that's just futile. My hope is based upon a confident expectation that Christ is coming again. And this is not new information. From times past in God's covenant with Israel, Israel had their hope based upon God's character in His covenant — that He would deliver them, that He would care for them, that He would provide for them. Zechariah chapter 9 verses 11 through 12 speak to this, and His covenant assures them and gives them hope and confidence. Even in a different part of the Old Testament when you have lamenting going on, while lamenting Israel is able to declare, "The Lord is my portion. There I will hope in Him." Lamentations chapter 3 verse 24. And so you see, your circumstances do not have to be perfect for you to have hope. Even through lamenting there is this wonderful prayer: "The Lord is my portion." Just like Psalm chapter 23 — "The Lord is my shepherd." Do you have that personal pronoun in your prayer life? "My Shepherd is my God." Well, here He is "my portion." He's my lot. He is my protector. He's my everything. "I will hope in Him" — Lamentations 3:24.

And so it's God's dependable character that we lean upon for the source of hope. Your hope is found in nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Psalm 40 verse 1 says, "I put all of my hope in the Lord." Psalm 40:1. All of my hope truly is in the Lord. Paul then declares that God is the hope for the Gentiles in Romans chapter 15 and verse 12. And so you see hope all over the Word of God. I want to say to you: to know God is to know hope. But if you do not know God you do not have hope. God is good and He is able, and our hope is rooted in His goodness and His abilities. If you hope in yourself there's one day that you'll let yourself down. I'm sure you know that already.

We're not dependable. We're not all-powerful. We're not capable, but God is. Thank the Lord for His stability that keeps me inwardly stable. And so emotional stability in our future in Christ — I would say, by the way, the text requires an enlightenment. It requires having had your eyes — the eyes of your heart — opened. If you have a hope in the future it's because that has been given to you. Your heart has been transformed from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. You've been made alive. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 18 it says, "So that you, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened." Do you see how this concept precedes these three special truths? You've been saved and now you can know this hope, because you know Jesus, you know hope.

Now the object of our faith being Christ, the benefits being these special truths — did you know that they did not have hope prior to that? Look with me in chapter 2 and verse 12, Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 12: "Remember that you were at that time without Christ." Oh, do you remember when you were without Christ? Paul is reminding the Ephesian church. "Remember when you were without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having" — what? — "no hope." No hope. "And without God in the world." B.C. — Before Christ — there's no hope. No hope at all. You would be like one of those whom you look at with pity today and say, "Wow, what hopelessness in their eyes." The reverberations of their heart, the expressions of their life, are hopelessness. There's an emptiness there. It is a clear sign that they are without Christ, and you have this hope within you to be able to give to them. It's an amazing thing to have this kind of hope. You've had your eyes opened. You've had your heart opened. You've been made alive.

Look in verse 5, chapter 2 verse 5: "Even when you were dead in your transgressions, it made alive together with Christ." You've been made alive. You didn't make yourself alive. You didn't birth yourself, right? And you didn't give yourself hope. Christ gave you this hope. And now from a very humble standpoint you say, "Wow, Lord, thank You for this gift of hope. Thank You for this gift of Yourself. Thank You for saving me. Thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You." All day, every day, is adoration unto Christ our King, because we have hope — no matter how bad things get, we have hope. No matter what it looks like in the Middle East, we have hope. No matter if what is going on in the Middle East comes to our land, we have hope. Our hope is steadfast in Christ.

Folks, if we do not make this connection today, when hardships hit your life you'll be rocked. But if you have apprehended this truth that your hope is in Christ, then no matter what happens — listen, has the wind been taken out of your sails before? My dad died when I was 24. The wind was taken out of my sails for eight months. I was a lost cause. This whom you see — that was not me then. But I had Christ, man. He was my rudder. He was my anchor, and I got through the most terrible time of my life in Christ. And if I had not had Christ, I guarantee you my life would be different today, because I remember the thoughts that I thought, I remember how I felt, I remember how unstable I could have been. But I had Christ in me, the hope of glory. I really believe that my life would be completely different had my dad passed when I did not have Christ. But I had Christ. Oh, I mean, I praise God. And so He made me alive. He has made me stable enough to be able to navigate this world.

Now we have got to apprehend that truth and live this out through wisdom. What's the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Wisdom is living out these truths. Don't forget these things. It's the reason why we have to read the Scriptures repetitiously. It's the reason why we have to continue in the Word. It's the reason why we have to encourage one another and stir one another up. It's the reason why I have to pray. It's the reason why we have to worship. It's the reason why we meet regularly in person, by the way. First, as for good churches that are creating I-campuses — I don't think that's biblical. You cannot fulfill Acts chapter 2 in the essentials of the local church online. I can't receive encouragement from you online. I need you — in person's presence. Corporate prayer, corporate worship, corporate preaching, corporate teaching of the Word, corporate giving, everything coming together in person. That's the design of the local church. You can't redesign what God has done.

This is important. This brings hope. All of this stuff adds up to "Christ in you, the hope of glory" — Colossians 1:27. That has got to be one of the most important verses for our daily living. You have hope because of Christ in you. You don't have hope because you've got money in the bank. You don't have hope because of anything else in this world. You have this special truth. The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 1:10, "On Him we have set our hope." You've set your hope on Him. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 2 says to "set your mind on things above" — you see how you think about the right things, you set your mind on things above and not on the things of the earth. Well, in the same manner as you control the thoughts in your mind and set your mind on thinking on the right things, you set your heart's motives on the right things. "On Him we have set our hope on Christ," and so you set your hope — you set your heart's emotions on His foundation.

Not on anything else in the world. If you think that you need something else other than Christ to provide for you stability or hope, I guarantee you that it can be taken away and your life can be rocked. But if your hope is in Christ and on Christ, if you have intentionally set your hope on Christ, then you're a stable person — you're ready.

So Christlessness equals hopelessness. But if you're full of Christ, guess what? You're full of hope. Dear friends, I pray that you are not Christless.

If you're saved and you are aloof from the Word of God and studying the Word of God, you're not dwelling upon the things of Christ. If you're not living in Him or walking in Him, there is a sense that hopelessness can creep in because you have perhaps not set yourself on Christ. In your life you're living outside of the blessings, and you need to return to Christ. And here he's saying to the Ephesian church, "You once did not have hope" — Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12. There's a time in your life where you didn't have that, but now it's been revealed to you. This mystery that was hidden has now been revealed to you, and Ephesians chapter 3 in verse 5 says, "which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it is now revealed" — this mystery of Christ, verse 4 — this mystery of Christ. This hope that we have has been made known to us, and this is rich, this is wonderful.

The future of Christians, you know, is already done. It's already prewritten. So we don't have a "hope so" faith — we have a "know so" faith. We know about our hope. We're not hoping as in a weak disposition. We are from a strong position in Christ, solidly hoping. We're not just flipping a penny into the fountain and making a wish. We're not giving this whole Christianity thing a try. This is our solid ground. This is where we come from and we know our hope. 1 John chapter 2 verse 3 is a "know so" faith. 1 John 2:3 says, "And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." You see how being obedient to the Word of God — His commandments — equals this stability. You have a "know so" faith when you are walking in Him, when you're walking in the Word, when you are in Christ. You can stand before pagan kings like Daniel did — unshakable, unmoving, unrelenting. You are solid in Christ.

And so what do we need more of? Christ. What do we need? More knowledge of Him. What do we need to stir one another up in? Christ. We don't need to waste our time with anything else. We need more of Jesus, more of Christ. We need to know and apprehend this full knowledge of Him. And so the question: why does your faith in the future really matter? Well, to answer that — your view of the future greatly affects how you live in the present. How you understand the future helps you to live today. It makes you either a pessimist or an optimist. When you wake up in the morning, are you negative, negative, negative? That is indicative of how much you know Christ and the hope that is inside of you as pertaining to the future glory that we're partaking in. And so a lot of times we have to change our thinking, thinking, and we have to set our hope upon Christ and we have to become that optimist, that one who is sharing the gospel, who knows we've been commissioned for Christ. And so our future understanding affects our present living. Hope lived out transforms you from a pessimist into an optimist. You would say to yourself, "Christ is coming again." You want a verse for that? Revelation chapter 22 and verse 20 — Revelation 22:20.

"Yes, I am coming quickly." Jesus says, "Yes, I'm coming quickly." This is optimistic. This is wonderful. And so Colossians 3:4 also says, "When Christ who is your life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory." When He's your life, you understand that this future glory is yours. And you're not like those who perhaps have a sporadic or random faith and hope — sometimes they're up and sometimes they're down. No, our hope is steadfast in Christ. Our minds and our emotions may go up and down, but our hope, our inner being, is Christ. Our hope knows that this universe has been created by God. But those who do not believe that this universe has been created by God have no true hope.

And so this very special truth is to know His hope. We're secure, stable, and even smiling through this hope in Christ. Philippians 4:4–5 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near." The Lord is near. This is a "know so" faith. It's not a flippant thing. It's an awesome thing. And so hopefulness comes from being full of Christ.

Hopefulness also leads — this is important, guys, listen — if you have hope in Christ, your hope is in Christ, then you are being led towards a purer and more holy life. Your hope is in Christ, you're in Christ, you're walking in Him. Those who have hope are being made more and more holy. That's the truth that's found in 1 John chapter 3 verse 3: "Everyone who hopes in Him purifies himself." If your hope is in Christ and you believe that He is coming again, you are purifying yourself because you know He's near. You know He's coming again. You're going to be face to face with Christ. And the last thing you want on your track record is a guilty conscience, is unconfessed sin. I'm preparing myself by purging evil, by doing everything that I can to become more and more like Him, in honor of Him, because I'm in Him. My hope is in Him. My hope is in Christ. And how can I be in Christ, living and walking and dwelling in Christ, and yet dabbling with sin? It is an impossibility. To have hope is to have holiness. You are walking and becoming more and more holy. But to hold sin in one hand and try to hold a Bible in another doesn't work. You're robbed of your hope. Hopelessness is an indication of sinfulness. If you've been robbed of your joy and robbed of your hope in Christ, it is oftentimes a stronghold of sin that needs to be broken through fasting and prayer and just flat out running from it.

And so those who have hope are being made more and more holy — 1 John chapter 3 verse 3: "Everyone who hopes in Him purifies himself."

Point number 2 is to know His riches. To know His riches. Not only are you going to know His hope, but you're going to know His riches. God's riches are Christ. God's riches are the salvation that comes in Christ, and what comes with Christ is His virtues. These riches — these incalculable riches — are first of all something that have belonged to God and that He has chosen to dispense to you.

That which is valuable has belonged to the Lord, and now He distributes and exercises these things toward mankind. These values, these riches that are spoken of in the text, back to Ephesians chapter 1 verse 18: "So that the eyes of your heart having been enlightened will know what is the hope of His calling," and now also, "what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." These riches — wow, God gives us a rich inheritance! That is "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Your rich inheritance is Christ in you. It wasn't you before Christ. You're really not worth a whole lot outside of Christ. I don't know what the human body is worth but it's really not a whole lot outside of Christ, and it's getting less and less valuable as the days go on. But here's an amazing truth about this idea of inheritance here. So Christ gives us a rich inheritance — Christ in us. We inherit Christ. Okay. But the mind-bender in this text is that Christ inherits us.

What in the world is that? Say what? Now I understand inheriting Christ. Oh wow. That is amazing. I mean, that is beautiful and that is overwhelming to think that Christ offers Himself to us. That shows a lot about Him. But the fact that Christ inherits us has boggled my ever-loving mind.

Turn to John chapter 17 in the high priestly prayer. Jesus acknowledges this in John chapter 17 and verse 2. Guys, I'm overwhelmed at this truth and I don't even know hardly what to do with it except to try and explain it to you as best as I possibly can. In John chapter 17 and verse 2: "Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh" — Jesus prays to the Heavenly Father — "that to all whom You have given Him" — "to all" — You being God, have given, being believers, Him being Christ — God gave Jesus believers. And Jesus acknowledges this truth not only in verse 2 but also — look with me in verse 6: "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world. They were Yours and You gave them to Me."

Believers are a gift from God to Jesus. Jesus inherits believers. And so not only do you have an inheritance which is Christ, but you are an inheritance for Christ. Does that not boggle your mind? To think — how is it and why is it that this is true? Back to Ephesians again, in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11, it's already been mentioned that "in Him we also have been made an inheritance." We've been made an inheritance. And so not only have we been made alive in Christ — you have been saved by His grace, His grace toward you saved you, you repented and believed, you're saved — but now also, in all of this, you have been made an inheritance. And so both here is true: we are an inheritance for Christ and we have received an inheritance that is Christ. That is incredible.

You know, not only does Ephesians talk about this wonderful truth of having an inheritance and being an inheritance, but it clarifies those who have no inheritance. Turn with me to Ephesians 5:5. It clarifies exactly who have no inheritance at all — they don't have Christ, nor have they been made an inheritance. I told you that when you have hope you're being made more and more holy. Is that true? It's very true. Ephesians 5:5: "For this you know with certainty, that no one sexually immoral or impure or greedy, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."

This here is very clear. For those who do not have an inheritance: if you are immoral in any way, you are not Christ's inheritance. If the characterization of your life is immorality, if you celebrate immorality, if you are known for immorality, if you are sexually immoral and are proud of it — you're outside of Christ. You have not been made into an inheritance for Christ. That is filthiness. Why would Christ want that? Why would God give that to Christ? Well, it doesn't make any sense.

The Psalmist knew who were God's inheritance — in Psalm 74, this word "inheritance" means possession, property, and even a heritage. That's beautiful. And so the truth is both yes and yes. Yes, we inherit Christ, and that is overwhelming enough to comprehend, but the fact that Christ inherits us — you have to ask the question why. The high value on us — who are we? We are filthy sinners and we still oftentimes reek of sin. How is it and why is it? Well, this is all about God. This is God's amazing grace that He places value upon you. It's not your intrinsic value, but He placed value on you and in you. And having been redeemed and presently being cleaned, He views us in Christ, united to Him, even resurrected from the dead. Doesn't it glorify God to take something that is filthy and dead and in the grave, to bring it to an acceptable offering under Christ, to glorify this? I mean, that's — that is literally an impossibility. He has taken something that was nothing and made it into something, to the point where it is wonderful.

And so Paul's deep and meaningful prayer, his intercessory prayer here for the Ephesian congregation, is that they would truly comprehend the rich meaning of the fact that they not only have inherited Christ but they are an inheritance for Christ. Doesn't that make you want to clean yourself up? Doesn't that make you want to live in a manner that is worthy of your calling? You've been called and saved — doesn't that make you want to polish up and clean yourself up and to become a beautiful bride for Christ? Doesn't that make you in awe of His majesty and say, "Wow, I see it is not about me. Ain't nothing beautiful about me but I want to be all that I can be for Your glory. I want to clean myself up, dear Jesus." And so do we get it? Do you apprehend this? You are rich in Christ. You're beautiful in Christ. Outside of Christ you're not rich, outside of Christ you're not beautiful — you're filthy. In Christ you are rich — unfathomable riches in Christ, unsearchable riches we have.

And so this second special truth — to know His riches — if you know it, then why perhaps do we play as if we are poor, play the old "poor me" game? Why then do we fall into the waste of the world? Why then? And I'm convinced that we don't all yet really truly get how rich we are in Christ. In the same prayer for the Apostle Paul, he prayed for the Ephesians to get it — to have a fuller knowledge of Christ, to know the hope and the riches of this glorious inheritance. We need to be praying for each other in this congregation the same way that Paul prayed for the Ephesian congregation, to know the hope and to know the riches.

And so I challenge us to make it a very specific point of prayer to open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1 and to look through this prayer in verse 18 and to pray specifically for one another to know the hope that is in Christ, to know the riches that are in Christ. Open your Bible and pray with your eyes and your heart wide open, very specifically, as you go through this verse, through this text. Pray. This is a divine prayer. This is a prayer that is anointed from on high. This is a prayer that is far beyond all of these little minuscule prayers that we pray — "Lord, help my pinky toe to stop hurting, Lord, help all the elements in my life, Lord, help me, help me, help me, help me." Get out, get it, get beyond yourself in prayer, and let's start praying for one another truly and embracing these things so that we all could have a full knowledge of Him — in verse 17, to know what is this hope of His calling and these riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. This is comprehended. This is deep and wonderful, and I pray that we would now begin a new chapter in our prayer lives.

Take the prayers that are in the Bible and pray them specifically. I challenge you to reform your prayer life. I challenge you to continue doing what you're doing in prayer, yes, but perhaps put this first. Put this objective first. Take and put it at the top of your prayer list and now start praying for one another in this way: number one, to know the hope of His calling, and number two, to know the riches of His inheritance. And special truth number three, you'll have to come back next week — to know His power. To know His power.

By way of conclusion I say to us: there is so much more to Christ than we know. There's a reason why Paul prayed for the Ephesian church to know Him more. And there's a reason why, in Philippians 3:10, he said that the climax of his aspirations, the goal of his life, his purpose statement, was to know Him — to know Him, to know Christ. You've got to think to yourself: Paul, at the very climax of his life, the very climax of his theological understanding, says, "I need to know Him more." And I think that is true for us too. And if we would go down this road together and pray for each other, we will be blessed beyond measure. In the remaining decades of our life we will continue to get better and better and better, sweeter and sweeter and sweeter.

And so I say to us: our problem is sin and the solution has always been Christ. It still is — whether you're saved or you're not saved. The problem is sin. The solution is Christ. And if you're not saved, God kindly offers salvation to those who would repent and believe. And He kindly offers His riches for our rags. All of what you have ever done — He takes that from you. He pays the punishment for all of your sin, your rags, your filthiness, your sin. He takes it on Him on the cross. In exchange for all of what we have ever done in the past, in exchange for all of what you are even doing now in your daily sins against Him, in exchange for all of the sin that you will ever commit for the rest of your life before our glorified bodies — in exchange for all of those filthy rags, He gives you His glorious riches. What a glorious exchange.

Have you ever given someone something that they did not deserve? We do not deserve what Christ has given us. Truly, truly a mind-bender. But if you would believe it by faith, Christ will give you His grace, His salvation. He will give you the faith that you need. You just need to confess Him as Lord and Savior. You need to confess that you're a sinner in need of a Savior. You need to confess that Christ died on the cross for your sin, for the punishment of your sin — He took it on. You confess that and you believe in your heart that He died and rose again for your sin, and you can be saved. That's the gospel. That's the glorious gospel. God in His kindness leads us to repentance. I want you to listen to Romans chapter 2 verse 4 as I close: "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and the forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"

This word "forbearance" means that God has suspended His wrath. God is being patient right now while filthy sinners continue to sin. God's forbearance is suspending His wrath, His punishment, until perhaps they would repent. And so don't think lightly of the offer of these riches — by God's kindness through His long-suffering and forbearance and patience.

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" — Romans 3:23 — "being justified as a gift by His grace through redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed, for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." You can be justified. You can be made righteous by your faith in Jesus. I pray that you would repent if you are not saved, and come to Christ. Come to Jesus. Be saved. The door is wide open for you to come to Jesus.

Let's pray together. Father, thank You for today's passage and helping us to be able to understand our hope is found in nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. I pray, Father, that we would never forget that when we feel hopeless we are drifting from You. But as we dive back into the Word of God You restore our hope, and our hope is grounded and founded upon You. And I pray as well, Lord, that You would help us to comprehend even more the rich inheritance — that which we have been made for You and that You gave to us. And even more so, dear Jesus, if anyone here has never repented of their sin, if they've never cried out to You and said, "God, I'm sorry, I know that I have sinned against You. You know that I've sinned against You. You know that I deserve hell. You know that I deserve damnation. You know that I deserve Your judgment and Your wrath. Forgive me, Father" — for anyone who has never cried out to You in sorrowfulness and said, "Forgive me, dear Jesus, a filthy sinner" — I pray that You would grant them repentance and draw them unto You today, dear Jesus. Let not this day go by before they drop to their knees and cry out to You in faith, that they confess You as Lord and Savior, that they believe in their heart that You died for them and rose again for their sin. I pray, Father, that You would continue to save souls here at this wonderful church, to see that they would be led into being baptized biblically. I pray, Father, that many would continue to join this dear church and to make this place a place where they learn about You and focus on serving You. And I pray, dear Jesus, as well, that they would be made into a disciple-maker who goes and makes disciples, who leads people to faith in Christ by evangelism and then disciples them personally by helping them to grow in their faith. And, Father, even beyond all of this, I pray that You would make us missional, that we would be focused on the nations as You are a God of the nations, not a God of a nation — You're the God of the nations. I pray, Father, that we would have Your heart for the nations. We would go and we would make disciples. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.