Mary's Favorite - Pt 3

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:16-21 ESV).

There are three specific parts to the apostle’s prayer: hope, riches, and power. Don’t miss how specific Paul's prayer is. He doesn't simply say, "Lord, bless the Ephesians this morning." We all know what it is to drop blanket prayers on people and expect that to take care of the situation. But Paul knows these people better than that. He knows that there is a danger that they could lose their vision; they could sink into indifference; they could lose sight of their hope. Yes, they have sound doctrine, but there is a danger that they could fall short of the deep, vibrant experience of knowing Christ. So Paul prays that God will enlighten their hearts so that they may know the hope of God's calling, the riches of their inheritance, and the power of God. Today we look more specifically at hope. So much of the time we see hope as a “maybe.” We just hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train! For the believer, nothing could be further from the truth than that. The word hope is part of the great triad found in the Scriptures: "faith, hope and love." Hope always concerns the future. The Ephesians were in danger of losing their hope for the future. Many of us know that feeling. We all await the return of the Lord, but we don't really get very excited about it. Listen to the words of Martin Luther as he describes the concept of our hope: Paul describes this faith in most significant words, namely, when we cry Abba! Father! For in the spirit of fear it is not possible to cry, for we can scarcely open our mouth or mumble. But faith expands the heart, the emotions, and the voice, but fear tightens up all these things and restricts them, as our own experience amply testifies. Fear does not say Abba, but rather it hates and flees from the Father as from an enemy and mutters against Him as a tyrant. Cry Abba today. Your Father has given his only Son to secure your hope!