this situation to you, Lord, and it does break our hearts, but I know that your heart is broken over the elimination and the termination of hundreds of thousands of babies. And so we just commit that to you, and we know that it doesn't go unnoticed in heaven. And so, Lord, we pray that you would enable us, that you would give us wisdom, that you would give us that grace and that involvement, Lord, that sacrificial involvement in helping turn the tide. And Lord, just awaken your church that we might be on task and that we might share the gospel of Jesus Christ and even change the lives of many of the teenagers and their thinking, Lord, and many of the other individuals that are even older, Lord, in making these decisions. We do pray for the Supreme Court, Lord. We pray for your will to be done. We pray now, Lord, that you would speak to us through your word. And we thank you for this morning. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So what does the military do when one of the soldiers no longer believes in the mission, so much so that they don't obey an order? Well, that individual is court-martialed, right, and removed from duty. What do companies do when they find an employer no longer doing what they're paid to do? Well, most of them hand you one of these pink slips, and you're done. They see you on your way. What do coaches do when athletes fail to listen to the game plan? They do their own thing regarding their own, disregarding their teammates and their coaches. Well, they take them out. They set them aside, right? They set them down. What does a church do when members completely disregard the master's orders? When the great commission of Jesus Christ to go into the world making disciples of all nations goes unheeded. Well, what happens? Nothing. Most pastors are fearful of standing and stating such a challenge, to stand before the congregation and say, well, if you're here today and you have no intention of being obedient to the Great Commission, would you please leave? One reason pastors are afraid to announce that is they might lose their funding. But even a greater reason I believe many pastors do not make this challenge is because they have no intention of being obedient to the command either. It almost comes across as wishful thinking. I know that was a heavy introduction, but I'm convinced that whether we're a large church or a small church, matters less than the answer to these questions. Are we ready to have our lives changed? Conform to the image of Jesus Christ? And secondly, are we committed to seeing the lives of others transform for Christ? God commissioned this a long time ago, his people. And he issued this all the way back in Genesis chapter 12, verses two and three. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. And I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you." Wow. In other words, we are blessed so that we in turn would be a blessing. And I would go on to say, we are changed to help others change. Isn't that true? It's fundamental of who we are. We are world changers. By the grace bestowed on us by God, we are changed to help others change. God is calling us to be involved in his transformative work and the lives of others. God is calling us to be involved in his transformative work in the lives of others. You know, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul penned this letter to the church in Ephesus from prison to encourage others, to tell them who they are and to tell them what to expect. And that was change. Change that was gonna occur to them, change that was gonna result as they carried the message of Jesus Christ to a lost world. You know, each week it's my prayer that as you listen to the sermons on Ephesians, that there will be a burning question inside of you. And that question will be, how will this information change me today? You can stand up in a pulpit, you can give a lot of information, and people can receive information. I said, well, there's another book I got in my pocket. I kind of know the book of Ephesians now, and that's cool. That's not our intention. That's not my intention. I hope that's not the intention here at Oak Hill. We want to receive this information for transformation so that we're changed people. And so far, just in the beginning of this chapter, we've received so much information. And it's information for transformation. Isn't that rather remarkable? So far, we discovered that since we are believers, change is going to happen, since we put our faith in Jesus Christ. And we can believe this. you know, based on the information that we see in front of us, lives are truly changed. And so the lives around us are changed, and so we believe, well, God is at work in us, and he's at work in others, and I see that. We see that the person who penned this book, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, his life was completely changed, from the person of Saul to the person of Paul, and what a remarkable change in him. We received two inseparable gifts, grace and peace. Beautiful. And then we received every spiritual blessing. We were changed. God chose us to change us. Ephesians 1, 4 and 5. And then we see that we've been adopted by God himself. And how can you not be changed when God is your father? Everything that you need, he provides for us, he guides us, he directs us in life, and then he pours out his transforming grace on us. Scripture goes on to tell us in verses 11 through 14 that God is beautifully orchestrating this transformation. And God will, mark my word, God will accomplish his purpose. And not because I said so, but because he said so. And then the Holy Spirit is indwelling us. How can you not be different having the living God inside of you? On these 14 verses, I was able to see a side note in my Bible by Dr. Larry Richards, not Larry Richards on KDKA. I don't know what his comments would be. But Larry Richards, the teacher's Bible commentator, wrote this. What stunning truth. Somehow you and I, with all of God's people, have been the focus of God's concern from before the creation of the universe. What a thought, right? Each person of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, has been involved in bringing us the grace in which we now stand. In view of all this, there is no way that the Christian can see himself or herself as insignificant, unimportant, or ineffectual. The focused energies of God have been spent on our redemption because in Christ we are significant to him. We are important, and with God's spirit present in us, we have the power to live to the praise of his glory. Wow, pretty good comment from Larry Richard. And so, as we approach Ephesians, we have to ask ourselves, what is this relationship that Paul has with the Ephesians? How did that come about? How did they meet? And then you could turn to the book of Acts and you could see that, Acts chapter 19. We're having a wonderful time in the book of Acts in Sunday school. There's a lot of people in that class and it is wonderful to see the interaction there. We're learning what we need to become as a church by reading about the first church. We haven't reached Acts 19 yet, but we will. Acts chapter 19, I just wanna read these 10 verses. And it reveals how Paul even came about, how this relationship came about. While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and he arrived at Ephesus. Let me just interject here, he was on his way to Syria. And he decided to go on the inside route. And I don't think that was a coincidence. You know, it's one of those shortcuts that someone takes, and it's a God thing. It's a God-ordained appointment. And so he arrives at Ephesus. It's kind of like, you know, Jesus, when he took that shortcut through Samaria, disciples didn't want to go through. Nobody wants to go through Samaria. He goes through Samaria, and lo and behold, he meets the woman at the well, right? But that was a God-ordained appointment. Not only does she come to faith in Christ, but the whole village. She brings out the whole village. But anyhow, back to this. And I even have to add my dad in there. You know, the story I told last week about him coming to faith in Christ, working in a rectory as a repairman. and talking to that priest. God has these little shortcuts that people take, and they think, oh, I'm taking a shortcut, but they don't realize that these are God-ordained appointments that they're showing up for. And here's the Apostle Paul. He takes the road through the interior. He arrives at Ephesus, and there he finds some disciples. And he asked them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, we didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit. I just think that's, I don't know, never heard of them. And if Paul was on a horse, he would have fell off a second time. And Paul asked, if you're disciples then, what baptism did you receive? And they replied, John's baptism. And Paul said, John's baptism? John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. That's way back. And so, John was baptizing individuals so that they would repent from their sin and to get them ready to accept Jesus. I'm talking about the Holy Spirit here. You haven't even accepted Jesus yet. And so, you really need a serious upgrade. They're like way behind. And so Paul is basically saying, if you remember, John the Baptist said something, and they're probably like looking at each other thinking, well, let me tell you. He told the people to believe in the one who was coming after him, and that is Jesus. And on hearing this, it's like a light went on for them, and they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They come to faith in Christ. It doesn't stop there. And then Paul places his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues, and they prophesied. There was about 12 men. And then Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. He's still on the shortcut, by the way. It doesn't stop there. Unfortunately, some of them became obstinate. They refused to believe, and they publicly maligned the way. And the way was what they called the Christians back then as a group. And so Paul left them. He took the disciples with him, and he had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Verse 10, this went on for two years, this shortcut. And so all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of God. Once again, a God thing. It goes from here to there. He has a lot of people maligning the word or the way and he shuffles off and moves towards Asia and preaches there for two years. If you continue to read Acts chapter 19, we're not gonna get into that today, but you see all the miracles and all the craziness that happens even within that, and there's a challenging start. Again, all kinds of strange things, and the world is turned upside down, and now Paul is thrown in prison, and we're wondering about this relationship with the people in Ephesus, and he's thinking, how in the world are they doing in Ephesus? Because last time he did, some accepted, some threw him out. Some believed, and some maligned the way. And so I wonder how they're doing. So news gets back to him, and the news is wonderful. He's in prison, and he hears about the church in Ephesus, and he hears that they're on fire for God. And all of a sudden, it doesn't matter that he's in prison. I don't care. Things have gone great for the Lord. You see, this church, however, to the Apostle Paul, is just dear to his heart. Because he didn't share with them to put a little blurb in a newsletter. He didn't get together with a bunch of Ephesians and do a photo op or a drawing op back then. A bunch of little Ephesians all smiling, hey, Why did he go, and why did he share? He was carrying the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. And when you and I understand who we are, and what we have, and what we've been commissioned to do, wow weasel. So, turn again in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter one, and I'm gonna pick up in verse 15. Ephesians 115, for this reason, the apostle Paul writes, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. Let me just stop there for a moment because some people say, when can you get excited about the people that you want to see changed? Well, let me tell you, there's two things that come to mind. First of all, when you begin to hear about their faith in Jesus Christ, you can get excited. And you can get really excited, secondly, when you hear about how they love other believers and the love that they show for one another. And I know what you're thinking, there's that third part that they're going out and sharing with others, but unless these two things happen, a third thing's not gonna happen. But if they have faith in Jesus Christ, if you hear that, if you don't hear that they have faith in Christ, then you've got to keep working, right? You've got to keep sharing and encouraging them to come to Christ. Once they come to Christ, if you hear that they have love for other believers, that's quite a different thing. If you hear just critical remarks of people in the church, and they haven't really understood the grace then. You've got individuals like that. They see helping others as impractical. What am I going to get out of it? Well, we're not doing it for us to get anything out of. We're doing it to glorify God. Well, that's not my thing. Well, what is your thing? Working with the youth, working with children, you don't sing, you don't share, you don't share the gospel, you don't read the word, you don't come and pray together. Men and women, when you begin to hear that the people that that you've discipled, have a heart for God, and that they're showing love for other believers, you know that they are at the beginning of understanding why they have been blessed. They have been blessed to be a blessing. And so how to encourage others in Christ is what I want to talk about this morning, and actually just beginning to talk about in these few verses. How do we encourage others in Christ? Well, look at verse 16, and I'll put it up here. What does the Apostle Paul say under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? He says, what is it that Paul has communicated here? He says, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ever since I've heard what was going on, I haven't stopped thanking God for you. You know, Thanksgiving is a form of prayer. Not all prayer is supplication. You know, it's supplication, God, supply my needs, and Lord, I need this, I need that. And there's nothing wrong with that, by the way. We need God and we depend on him, and prayer is a way that we are able to meet our needs through our Almighty Father that provides for us. There's nothing wrong with that, but that's not the only kind of prayer. If you've been locked into that, remember, you can give prayers of thanksgiving. In my journal, that's half of what I pray. It's praising the Lord, thanking him, and it's a long list of things that I can thank God for. But what if you were in a relationship and somebody only spoke to you when they needed something? And I can understand some of you young mothers, maybe they're listening online or whatever, and you're thinking, well, that's the kind of relationship I have with my children. They only talk to me when they want something. They don't talk to me. I never say thanks or anything else. And that's a good point, because that's children. And so we have to get to a point where we mature and we are stopping children and not just asking, but we're also thanking. How wonderful to be thanking God for others. Not just thanking Him for things we receive. Now, this group is mature enough to thank God, and at least that's the Apostle Paul. He says, I'm thanking God for you growing in Christ. And how does God respond when he hears that his people are thanking him for people that are growing in him? Well, he blesses them with more people to grow in Christ. He's a good father. And don't forget this letter is to the church in Ephesus, so Paul is actually telling them what he's doing. I thank God for you continually, especially because of your faith in Christ and your love for the other saints. And how do you think the Ephesians responded to this? Yes, they were encouraged. They wanted to do it even more. They wanted to deepen their faith in the Lord. They wanted to show love for one another all the more. It's how we react, right? How do you react when you get a letter, an email, a text, or a call from somebody saying, I am so thankful to God for you? I see how you trust Christ, I see how you show love for other believers. Wouldn't that be encouraging to you to receive that kind of information from a brother or sister in Christ? And now he has the attention of the brothers and sisters in Christ, and they're thinking, because he's saying, I thank God for you and I am praying. Well, what is he praying? Wouldn't you be interested if somebody said to you, I pray for you every day? What's your question? What are you praying for me? That I might suffer more, that I might become more Christ-like? What is it that you're praying for me? Well, Paul tells them what he's praying for you. And I'll put it up here. I'm a little behind here, sorry. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better. And so how to encourage others in Christ, secondly, is to pray that they will have spiritual wisdom and revelation. Now, it's interesting, in the NIV, they take some liberty there, and they capitalize Spirit as if it were the Holy Spirit. There's no other translation that does that. And it could be a mute point anyhow. We need the Holy Spirit in order to do this anyhow. But the Greek words that are there, under the spirit of wisdom, is pneuma sophia. And you can kind of guess pneuma, like pneumonia, like breathing. That's the breath. That's the spirit. Spirit, Sophia, is wisdom, spiritual wisdom. He's praying that they would have spiritual wisdom and revelation. So what does that mean? This is such a great prayer. And it's such a great desire. And I think you can relate to this as a parent. You want your children to obey you. But you don't want them to obey you all their lives. You want them, you know, they're 18, 19 years old. You want them to begin to think independently. And you want them to have spiritual wisdom, wisdom from God. And they begin to make decisions. They don't have to call you, Dad, I don't know if I should rob this bank or not. Dad, I don't know if I should do, you know. What is the Lord telling you? And what is the Lord, how is he speaking to you? How is he giving you that, what spiritual wisdom are you gaining? And so it's a wonderful thing when you begin to see that. Our hearts break when we see our children going contrary to Christ's teaching. But if you could obtain one thing, wouldn't it be this? You would want your children to have spiritual wisdom. This wonderful Numa Sophia. And so, that on their own, they're not looking over their shoulder, they begin to understand what God wants them to do, and they do it. Now, why doesn't Paul just say, I want you to have Sophia, I want you to have wisdom? Could it be that he's trying to make a distinction here? There's a distinction between what is called worldly wisdom, which isn't wisdom at all, and spiritual wisdom, godly wisdom. Because there is a wisdom. I don't know if I would call it that. There's something out there within the world. And it's strange, because it's not wisdom at all. It's like, hey, if you can make the payment, then you can take the loan, right? Well, what's the loan amount? Don't worry about the loan amount. Can you make the monthly payment? You hear things like that. You're like, what? I mean, it's part of worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom says that there's safe sex before marriage. Really? Worldly wisdom says everything in moderation is fine. Everything? Somebody killed two or three people. All roads lead to heaven. That's not true. That's a lie. But that's a worldly statement. Looking with lust is OK as long as you don't touch. Well, did you know that lust leads to touching? An unborn child doesn't really quite look human yet, so it's not. Really. Do whatever makes you happy, honestly. The Bible is obsolete. Have you ever read it? No, but it has nothing to do with today. Since I can't figure out how God made the world, I say he didn't. That's great logic. And so we read in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 20 and 21, where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since the wisdom of the world, the world through its wisdom, did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." Now, that's even tough to read in the NIV. The message, which is not a translation but is a paraphrase, but I like the way this was worded, and I have to look up here to read it. So where can I find someone who's truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it as all pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all of its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb preaching of all things. to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation. Isn't it interesting that God would take his gospel and the preaching of his gospel and those who look to be foolish and place their faith in them were the wisest people and the people who through their great theological minds, construed something that wasn't the wisdom of God at all, and wasn't the way of God at all. And so God kind of flips the world on its head. Those who think they're wise are not, and those who just simply say, I don't know, I just want to place my faith in Jesus Christ, become the most wise people on earth. Proverbs 14, 12, and 16, 25, they both say the same thing. There is a way that seems right to a man, But in the end, it leads to death. That's the worldly thinking. I'm going to go down here and this is the right way. Well, there's a cliff at the end of this road. That's not true. I'm just going down here because it looks right to me. Well, man says what he thinks is correct, and so he holds on to it, and he convinces himself that it's true. You see this all the time, even in public debates. It's very strange. But man's wisdom is contrary to God's wisdom, and if man's wisdom is contrary to God's wisdom, then man's wisdom is actually sinful. It's an offense to God. And so James 1, verse 15 says, after desire, after the man gets his way, is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death. That's the direction. I don't want my children to have worldly wisdom. I want them to have spiritual wisdom. I don't want the people that I'm discipling to have worldly wisdom. I want them to have spiritual wisdom, God's wisdom, and revelation, it says here. And the Greek word for revelation, apocalypse, is an uncovering. It's looking at the deeper truths. And so I want the people that I'm discipling, the people that I am helping, I'm being used by God to help bring change into their life. I want them to have that pneuma sophia. I want them to have that spiritual wisdom, but I also want them to have Apocalypse. I want them to have a revelation that's deeper, to really understand the deeper truths of God, not being naive when it comes to the things of God. And so how do we encourage others in Christ? Well, I want to give thanks to God for them continually, and I want those individuals to know that I'm thanking God for them. Secondly, to pray for spiritual wisdom and revelation. And why is it that I want them to have spiritual wisdom and revelation? Why is Paul praying that they will have spiritual wisdom and revelation? Well, he answers that in the second part of Ephesians 117, so that they may know him better. Wow. And so that's the third prayer there. Pray that they would know God better. You see, it's our goal in sharing Christ. It's our goal in discipling others. Our goal in discipling others isn't just to have more people at Oak Hill. It's our goal in sharing Christ with others and sharing the message with others is not so we could just have more funding or that we can have little notches on our belt, how many people that we are discipling. Our goal is that people would know God and they would know him deeper and deeper. And it's part of our mission statement here. Our mission is to help people find and grow in Christ through biblical worship, discipleship, fellowship, and outreach. And it's not for our glory, but it's for the glory of God. And we'll never do it in our power. It's just impossible. It's only done in the power of the Holy Spirit. And how can we lead others to go deeper if we ourselves are not willing to go deeper? So I just close with some questions for us to think about. Who are you helping grow in Christ? Have anybody in mind, anyone that you're praying for, anyone you could say, hey, I am thanking God for you daily. I want you to have spiritual wisdom. I mean, is there anybody like that that's in your mind? Who are you pouring your life into? And a question I started with, do you have any intention of doing your small part in fulfilling the Great Commission? Whether it's working with a new believer, helping someone come to faith in Christ, starting a Bible study, you don't need a four-year degree to do this. You could start today. You simply need to find somebody who knows less than you and start encouraging them. Because God is calling. He's calling us to be part of his transformative work in others. We have to be willing. We have to be willing, first of all, for ourselves to go deeper, and then go to others and help them to go deeper. We're changed, but we also want to see other individuals change for Christ. Let's pray. Lord, you have blessed us immensely. Thank you so much for your word. Thank you, God, the Holy Spirit, for your presence and how you have completely changed our minds, our hearts, that we get beyond worldly thinking and we get to godly wisdom, spiritual wisdom. And I thank you for that. And I pray that it wouldn't stop with us, Lord, but now we would carry your message, your truth to a world in need. And so, Lord, whether it's a fellow student or a co-worker or a relative or a grandson or granddaughter that we're pouring our lives into, Lord, Use us as your vessels. And thank you again that we are blessed to be a blessing. And we pray this all in Jesus name.