Deep and Wide
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJV)
 This is the last chapter on the wealth that we have in Christ.
 In chapter 2 and 3 Paul’s focus has been on the gentiles who were
once far off and now through Christ have been brought near.
 Thank God for that, amen gentiles.
 Last week Paul was blown away by the calling on his life to bring the
gospel to the gentiles. He was a man who persecuted the church and
was doing all that he could to destroy the church and is now not only a
part of the church but bringing the gospel to a people he stayed far
from, the gentiles.
 He’s part of a great new movement of God. A door that was not open
has now not only opened up but Paul gets to be a part of it.
 It moves him to finish up the wealth chapters with praise. Notice…
Vs. 14 – “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ…”
 I bow my knees.
 He drops in a humble position, a place of humility.
It can hurt to get on the knees.
Especially at Wildwood, there’s no carpet here.
 The knee thing is done in a few places in scripture.
David in writing about worship…
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our
Maker.” Psalm 95:6 (NKJV)
When Peter prayed for Tabitha…
“But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the
body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw
Peter she sat up.” Acts 9:40 (NKJV)
Copyright © 2014 Chris Fraley
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Jesus on the Mount of Olives…
“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt
down and prayed…” Luke 22:41 (NKJV)
 It’s a position of humility. It’s a place of surrender.
 Why does Paul drop to his knees?
 He’s blown away that he get’s to be a part of God’s plan, to bring the
gospel to gentiles and it moves him to praise. It moves him to
worship; it even moves him to intercession.
There is nothing in scripture that demands us to pray on our knees. But I do
believe there will be times in our life that we will be prompted to get on our
knees, just as there will be times that we will be prompted to lift our hands in
prayer and often in worship. There might even be times where you got to
move a little bit in worship. Your feet are going to move. I have seen some
of you moving, not a lot of room, so be careful of your neighbor. Last week I
was so blessed, there was an elderly lady probably in her 70’s or 80’s that
was making her way into worship. She was slow and her family around her
was helping. When they got her to her seat they sat down a blanket, got it
ready for her to sit and I thought that’s what she would do. Nope, she started
working it clapping her hands, moving her feet and just enjoying Jesus,
responding to His grace.
 Now, notice who Paul directs his praise and ultimately his prayer too
in verse 14, “…to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
 It’s a prayer to the Father who is presented here as the project
manager of the cross that would include the gentiles.
 It was planned by the Father and carried out by Jesus Christ, His only
begotten Son.
 Peter said it well in his sermon at Pentecost.
“‘Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God
to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your
midst, as you yourselves also know—‘Him, being delivered by the
determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless
hands, have crucified, and put to death; ‘whom God raised up, having loosed
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the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”
Acts 2:22-24 (NKJV)
 He was delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of
God. It was not a mistake; it was also not an afterthought.
 It was the Father’s master plan and Jesus carried it out perfectly.
 And now there is access for all who would come to Him.
 The Jew and the gentile, that’s why Paul goes on to say in verse 15…
Vs. 15 – “…from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named…”
 Paul is praying for unity. It’s what he speaks about in chapter 4.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the
calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with
longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
you all.” Ephesians 4:1-6 (NKJV)
 Eight times in 6 verses he uses the word one. I think he is trying to get
a point across.
 We are one, we may be many, we may be from different backgrounds,
different colors, different sizes, but in Christ we are all one.
 It’s Paul’s heart that unity be at the forefront.
“BEHOLD, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together
in unity!” Psalms 133:1 (NKJV)
 In other words it looks good on us. Division never looks good, it
never sounds good, it’s when we dwell in unity that we look good to
one another, but most of all heaven.
 Notice the second thing Paul prays for the church…
Vs. 16 – “That he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…”
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 He prays for church to be strengthened.
 And the way this happens best is when our inner man is at the lead,
not the outer man.
 Why not the outer man? Because it’s perishing, it’s a tent.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing,
yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16
(NKJV)
 Wildwood, what’s perishing? The outward man.
 Now, there is nothing wrong with taking care of our outward man,
that being the body, so that we have a quality of life while we are
here.
 Paul told Timothy…
“For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things,
having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” 1
Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)
 There is some profit, you may have a better quality of life today and
even down the road as you eat right and exercise.
 But if that’s where you get your identity, you’re in trouble.
Make sure you’re working out your spiritual muscles. Having a time with
the Lord each day in His word, seeking Him in prayer, worshiping Him in
song and memorizing scripture.
 When Samuel went out to anoint a new king over Israel, Jesse lined
up his boys but he forgot the most important one, the one who had a
heart for the Lord. He lined up the one’s who looked the part
outwardly; the one’s who looked presidential.
 But God rejected them because it did not impress Him. God was
looking for a man who had a heart like His.
 He was interested in the inner man…
“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his
physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as
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man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at
the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)
 The Lord is more interested in strengthening your inner man, that
which is eternal, than He is your perishing tent.
 Notice the next thing He prays for…
Vs. 17 – “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that
you, being rooted and grounded in love…”
 When Jesus speaks to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, He is
speaking to believers when He says…
“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens
the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Revelations 3:20 (NKJV)
 Notice His heart in all this.
 “I want to come and dine with you, to have fellowship with you.”
 Only you and I can open the door to our hearts, He doesn’t break it
down, He knocks.
 Now, this word dwell in verse 17 implies a permanent home. Jesus
wants to live in your heart permanently; he is not interested in just
visiting.
When Wendi and I were on vacation we stayed in a few hotels, each one was
a bit different. They do their best to make you feel at home, the
complimentary soaps and shampoos and what not. But usually the bed is not
as comfortable as yours back home and you don’t want to think about how
many people have been in that room or in that bed, it will freak you out and
everything cost, sometimes even the water. You’re a visitor, you’re passing
through, and that’s not your home. Home is a permanent place; it’s your
place where the bed and the fridge are yours. It’s where you and your family
dwell, where you feel at home.
 That’s the Lord’s desire for us. To live in our lives permanently, He
wants’ to dwell, not visit.
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 Is He treated like a visitor passing through in your hearts or does He
have His rightful place at home in every room of your heart? The
garage, the TV room, the computer room?
 Now, as the Lord settles down into our hearts Paul takes it a bit
further and prays that we would be rooted and grounded in love.
 It’s a reminder that our spiritual life is liken to a tree that is planted
and that takes root and eventually bears fruit.
“He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its
fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does
shall prosper.” Psalms 1:3 (NKJV)
 Notice, he is planted by the rivers of water. What’s the water?
 Verse 2 tells us…
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day
and night.” Psalms 1:2 (NKJV)
 As he meditates in the word day and night the water of the word
wash’s and nourishes him and his root’s grow deep and eventually
bears fruit in season.
 We see this picture in other places in scripture, “…for those of us that
like the olive tree…”
“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of
God forever and ever.” Psalms 52:8 (NKJV)
 For those of you that are into the palm tree, or the cedar tree…
“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon.” Psalms 92:12 (NKJV)
 Root’s keep us nourished, they also keep us grounded, that’s Paul’s
prayer for the church of Ephesus. That’s my prayer for Wildwood,
that you would not only let the Lord settle into every area of your
heart, but that your roots would sink deep and be nourished by the
water of His word.
 Paul will go on to pray in verse 18…
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Vs. 18 – “…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the
width and length and depth and height…”
 Notice, Paul understood that being rooted and grounded was
something that we all must do individually, but he also saw it on the
context of the church. Verse 18 “…with all the saints…”
 We are not only to grow individually, having our root’s sink deep, but
also as a community of believers, letting our roots stretch wide to
include everyone.
 Notice Paul says to know, “…the width, length, depth, and the
height…” of His love.
It’s like that song we learned as a kid, “deep and wide, deep and wide,
there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.”
 And it’s at Calvary that we find it flowing into our lives…
“To come to any understanding of the dimensions of God's love, we must
come to the cross. The cross pointed in four ways, essentially in every
direction, because…” - David Guzik
1.
2.
3.
4.
God's love is wide enough to include every person.
God's love is long enough to last through all eternity.
God's love is deep enough to reach the worst sinner.
God's love is high enough to take us to heaven.
 And that’s why Paul prays for them to know the love of God.
Notice…
Vs. 19 – “…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you
may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
 Paul wanted them to truly experience the love of God, in it’s fullness,
flowing over us, in us, and from us, as an overflowing cup.
 And then Paul is coming to a close and it’s as if he knows how we can
attain all this. How can we know the love of God in its fullness? Is it
possible? Notice whose going to help…
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Vs. 20 – “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…”
 How do we stay unified? How can I keep the Lord at home in my
heart? How do I sink my roots deep into the water of the word?
 That’s a lot of work, that’s a heavy task. But then there is verse 20…
 In other words all the power that you need to make all this happen and
more is living in the believer.
 It’s a work of the Spirit of God in us. Our part is to yield to His Spirit
within us.
 And that power is exceeding, abundantly, above all.
 There is no greater power.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by
Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All
things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things,
and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:15-17 (NKJV)
 Paul would even remind us, “…above all that what we ask or think…”
 In other words, you think it He can go higher, you ask it He can go
bigger, there are no limitations.
Do you approach the father this way? Realizing that He is more than able?
When we are struggling with our finances, our health, our relationships, our
college tuition, our career, whatever it is. If he is in it He has ordained it. He
is able. A few years back the Lord spoke to my heart in one of my nights of
prayer. We were in the small offices downtown, I was praying for lost, the
unsaved in our area, asking the Lord to move in their hearts, get them to
church so we could have a shot of sharing the gospel with them. As I was
praying I started to think about all those that would not make their way to
Wildwood for whatever reason and I started to ask the Lord, “How can we
reach them?” It was then I believed the Lord spoke to my heart, that one day
we would have a radio station, that we could send out the gospel through the
air waves into our community. My first thought was how would that
happen? How could we ever afford it? Then the Lord spoke to my heart, “I
will make it happen. You just keep walking with Me, you just stay faithful to
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Me. About a year ago an opportunity for a radio station came up. We
applied, as did three others. We just prayed that if it was God’s will He
would make it happen. If we got the station then we would see that as a sign
He was in it. I have good news Wildwood, this last week we were awarded
that station, 102.9.
 Now we are praying that God would provide the means by which we
can get it up and running and get the gospel into every car, every
house, and eventually into every life here in this valley.
 It’s a great way to end the wealth. Before we get into the walk, being
mindful that He is more than able.
 That’s why Paul finishes with verse 21…
Vs. 21 – “…to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
 Great way to end His prayer, Lord be glorified.
Copyright © 2014 Chris Fraley
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