[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Today we arrive at our final message in going through each chapter of the book of Ephesians, Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. Next week I am going to do a special episode on predestination, so that's all the way back from Ephesians chapter 1, so we still will have that after this. But today is the final message. We're going to be going through Ephesians chapter 6 and verses 18 through 24. And that'll wrap up our chapter by chapter study of Ephesians.

       Without further ado, let's go ahead and dive into the text. So Ephesians chapter 6. Of course, we talked about the armor of God last week. We wrap that up. We're going to pick up in verse 18. And Paul has pretty much gone through all the armor. And now he's going to sort of shift gears. Verse 18, Paul says, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (ESV).

       Basically, let's tackle first of all, what Paul might mean by saying praying in the Spirit. He just doesn't come out and say, “Well, let's pray. Let’s make sure we're on top of that task.” It's “praying in the Spirit.” And he had just talked about, we pointed out that it's actually the Bible, the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, which was the last piece of armor, if you will, that we talked about. And he continues that theme with praying at all times in the Spirit. When I was pondering that, I thought, “Well, to me, that means that whatever it is we're spending our time praying about, we want to make sure that that is aligned with what God would want,” right? We don't want to be praying for things that are either obviously not God's will because they violate his word, or things that are overly selfish, things that are normally in our interest, and we're going to get into that other side of the coin in a second. We don't want to be focusing things just on ourselves and not others. Obviously, there's different kinds of prayer. There's our regular prayer that we say every day, hopefully, where we follow a certain pattern. Personally, the pattern that I follow in my life on a daily basis is the Lord's Prayer from Matthew chapter 6, or some folks call it the Disciples Prayer. And that is a step-by-step process, a formula that I personally use to pray. But you can come up with your own formula if you don't want to do that. I just do that because I figure, well, Jesus put it in the Sermon on the Mount, which is pretty foundational to our Christian faith. That's probably obviously a good spot to work from. But some people come up with other models, right? So then there's also the prayer that we pray when we have a great need, right?

       We might set a time, a certain amount of time to pray when things aren't going well in a particular situation and we do concentrated effort for that thing. It could also be that a group of people from the church is going on a missions trip or something of that nature. And we might set aside a time to pray for that specific endeavor. Just things like that. And then some people incorporate fasting into their prayers. That's a whole other thing. And I'm not going to get into that today. Some prayer, speaking from a time standpoint, some prayer is short term. And then some prayers long-term, right? We have things that we're praying sometimes over many years for God to hopefully be able to accomplish like we want. So to believe in Jesus, to come into saving faith in Jesus. Almost all of us, almost surely all of us have people we're praying for in that regard. We have that, and then we have personal requests. Maybe we're praying for a spouse. We're praying for that over and over. Maybe we're stuck in a job we don't particularly care for, and we've been there a couple years, and so we're praying over and over to try to get a door of opportunity to do something else or whatever it is. So those are just some more long-term things that we pray for.

       And if we look at, and a lot of us know this particular verse, but if we look at Luke chapter 18 and verse 1, tapping over there, Jesus said, “And he told them,” this is the disciples, “a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (ESV). Then he goes and talks about this judge, that neither feared God nor respected man, and so on and so forth, is a story that he makes up. And we're not going to get into the story, But the point is that sometimes we have to pray over many years for something. And the most common Evangelical explanation for that, and it's even beyond Evangelical Christianity, in a lot of sects of Christianity, the explanation will be that God is waiting for us to grow or is giving us this trial to test us. And I would say that usually that's not the case. I would not sign off on that explanation. Interestingly enough, I just heard my own personal pastor at my church just say it this past Sunday. He said that, in effect.

       And I thought, “I think that's too simplistic of any answer.” I think oftentimes the problems are that Satan is prohibiting something from happening. Or it could even be that God has to wait for a natural door of opportunity. we can remember Paul praying elsewhere, asking for prayer, that there would be a door of opportunity, right? So God, in the same vein, oftentimes has to wait for the time to be right to accomplish what he wants to accomplish in the natural flow of the earth's events. God usually in our day and age does not disrupt the earth's events. Sometimes he can and does, but he usually doesn't take that mode-ology. He will work with the natural course, and sometimes that takes time. God has to arrange circumstances. Sometimes he's doing that, and Satan, or just a person's free will choice, or whatever it is, disrupts that. And so God has to start laying a foundation elsewhere. It can be complex sometimes for God to accomplish certain things in our lives. So I would not point a finger at yourself in the mirror and say, “Well, I don't have what I want because I'm just too immature. I'm not grown up enough in the faith.” I mean, we can think of fellow brothers and sisters that may already have what we want, and we're more mature than they are, say, even in that area of what they want, right?

       On the surface, it seems like a wise comment to say, “Oh, God’s making us grow.” But when you really start to evaluate it, it falls apart a little bit. So we need to be thinking more deeply about these matters. But anyway, I'm bringing this roundabout back to say this is why we are always to pray and not give up, as Jesus says in Luke chapter 18 and verse 1. Because as time goes by, circumstances change, doors of opportunity open, God can then act in certain situations where he could not have acted before. That includes God doing things, oftentimes through his angelic means to accomplish things. And that's why if you just pray today and give up because you didn't get it today, well, five years from now, there might be a door of opportunity. But because you quit praying, we don't quite understand why it is, but the prayer needs to be in place on a time basis at the right time, if you will, for the lines to connect and for God to be able to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. We don't really know the ins and outs of why that is, but it appears to be the way it is.

       Another thing we can point out back in Ephesians chapter 6, we are to keep alert in our prayer with all perseverance. Again, Paul is emphasizing what I just discussed. And that is that prayer is time-based. So it matters that we're praying repeatedly. It matters the timing of our prayers. By keeping alert, we're alert to changes and circumstances that may allow us to pray something else or pray for something specific that then is what God needs to accomplish the task in part because he needs that prayer at the right time. Again, why that is, we don't really know why that is, but it's just the way it works. We're supposed to be sensitive, if you will, to changing situations in our lives and in other people's lives to which we can then pray what? We can pray more effectively for a given situation. We have that, and then perseverance is time-based. That means over a long period of time, and notice perseverance is getting no, no, no, or nothing happening, if you will, and then all of a sudden, because we persevered and continued to pray, voila, the answer shows up. God accomplishes what he wanted to accomplish all along.

       Paul wraps up verse 18 in saying, “making supplication for all the saints.” It's not just people within our specific church body that we're supposed to be praying for, but we want to be praying for those in other church bodies, those Christians that we know around the world, and perhaps even those we don't know, but we know of them that they are Christian, whether they be famous or whatever the logic is behind why we know of these Christians or a specific situation. But we don't want to be just selfishly cutting off all prayer to our own individual church. I do think our prayers can be more effective, if you will, if we have a standing in what we are praying for, I think they pack a little more punch, if you will, if we do have a direct connection in some way to what we're praying for. But just something to keep in mind.

       Let's go ahead and go to verse 19 now. Paul says, continuing the theme of prayer, “and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (ESV).

       Paul himself was desiring the church at Ephesus' prayers. He wanted their prayers, and that was for effectiveness. And it's interesting because he's showing us that God's spirit is the One whom he wants the words to be given him that are the correct words. And that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit can make church leaders and missionaries like Paul say the right things at the right time. But notice the prayer needed to be present beforehand. It's not that everything a leader says is definitely from God. The prayer that went in beforehand helps to aid that leader to be more effective, if you will. It's a one plus one equals two. And again, it just shows the importance of prayer.

       And Paul wants boldness in the words that he's speaking. And perhaps that's because Paul was a boring speaker, maybe, or maybe he just felt he was too timid in the way he spoke or too just not energetic enough. Maybe that's a better way to put it. And he wanted that boldness. And then he talks about the mystery of the gospel. And that's interesting because we touched on that when we were going through Ephesians chapter 3. And there's several mysteries that Paul talks about in his letters in the New Testament. I think we would say there's seven-ish mysteries that he talks about. One of those mysteries that he already talked about in Ephesians was that the Gentiles are fellow heirs. Remember, it's not just the Israelites, so that's in Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 6. Another mystery we brought up back there, which is probably the most famous one, is The Rapture of the Church. One place Paul talked about that was 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

       A couple more we could (I’m not going to name all of them), but a couple more we could bring up is in Colossians and the sister letter to this letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul brought up in chapter 1 and verse 27 that Christ dwells in us. That's Christ dwelling in us, not just the Holy Spirit. So that's different. That's interesting. We don't hear that one discussed much. We do remember like during the Great Commission, like in Matthew chapter 28, he said, and lo, I will be with you always, even unto the end of the world. Well, we remember that. Well, Paul seems to confirm that that's not just representative of Christ being with us and the Holy Spirit's person, but that he's actually with us. Wow. That's something we could really chew on and think a lot about and try to get more out of that. But also in Colossians, Paul talked about how the gospel itself is a mystery. That's Colossians chapter 4 and verse 3. So there's other mysteries beyond the four that I just mentioned, but I just wanted to get a taste of that, or a little more than a taste, but I don't want to take up a great deal of time diving into that.

       But let's go ahead and go to verse 20. Paul says, “for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (ESV).

       So Paul and his companions were ambassadors. We remember that phrase for we are ambassadors of Christ. What is an ambassador? Well, an ambassador is a representative from another country that represents that country who's on mission or assignment with a message, usually. We're familiar with that from our governmental setup here in the United States. We know how ambassadors work that go to other countries, and that's what Paul and his companions were because they were missionaries sharing the gospel, right? Because really they weren't of this world, just as we are not of this world, just as Jesus himself said, my kingdom is not of this world. So Paul is an ambassador. He’s representing this message that really is otherworldly because what we're called to do is to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins through his death and resurrection. And that causes us, when we believe, to become born again.

       We become born again and we're no longer of this world at that point. So an ambassador on a big level. And that's the thing. It kind of hiddenly or sort of, you got to think about it for a second, but it shows us that when we become born again, we're no longer of this world. Or that which we believe in is not controlled by the forces of evil, those spiritual forces of evil that Paul already talked about when we went through the armor of God. Of course, Paul brings up the fact that he's in chains. He's mentioned that a couple times already in our letter, and he's in his first imprisonment, and that's the price he's paying, And he still wants to be able to speak that message boldly, despite his circumstances. That's really something that you can kind of see why he would pray for that boldness. Because if you're in jail or in prison, you might be tempted to kind of dial it back, right? Because look what it's gotten me. Well, he's praying for even more boldness. So pretty incredible.

       Now we're moving into the closing section of the letter. We're at verses 21 through 24. This will conclude the letter. So Paul, verse 21 says, “So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything” (ESV).

       We learn that there's this brother named Tychicus who's in Rome with Paul. And he's also mentioned several other times in the New Testament. I've got Acts chapter 20 in verses 4 through 6, and then Titus chapter 3 and verse 12, and then 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2. That would be right at the end of Paul's life. If we look at Acts chapter 20, this is Tychicus accompanying Paul's return through Macedonia. We can see him with the group of brothers there. would have been right before Paul was arrested. And then if we look at Titus chapter 3 and verse 12, Paul is saying he's going to send Tychicus to Titus, possibly, or Artemis. So he mentions him there. And then, of course, at the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:12. He says he sent Tychicus to Ephesus in verse 12. Obviously, there seems to be a strong connection with Tychicus and the Ephesian church since Paul sent him back there at the end. But what's interesting is he calls this brother, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord. That's a pretty cool praise, a couple praises to get there from Paul. I think we would all love to have that said about us. Obviously, Paul wants the church in Ephesus to know how he's doing. That's important. Again, we don't just want our interests to be about ourselves, but we want to have interests with others. We're going to talk about that in a second.

       Verse 22: “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts” (ESV).

       Obviously, just as a sense of fellowship, Paul wants the brothers and sisters to know what's been going on with him in detail, that he's not going to spend a bunch of time writing out in the form of ink. But he also wants them to know that so that they can pray effectively, right? That has to do with prayer, and it's also for encouragement. It's so that the brothers and sisters can see God's work and realize, if they don't already, that God's doing a lot. He's active. He's answering prayer, so on and so forth. It's encouraging to them. And we can look at Philippians chapter 2 and verse 4, which is what I just brought up a second ago. Paul says, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Again, we don't want to just be focused on our church. No other churches matter. No other brothers and sisters matter. We want to look past that, more into the Universal Church. Then if we jump down here in Philippians chapter 2 and look at verse 21, Paul says, “For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” (ESV). We want to be careful not to be one of those people that's only caring about ourselves. We want to be interested in those around us and even beyond that.

       Back in Ephesians chapter 6, let's go to verse 23. “Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV).

       And that's the idea. That is, Paul mentions a tripod: peace, love, and faith. Probably our most favorite tripod that he could mention. He wants there to be peace within the body of Christ, within the believers at Ephesus. And he wants everything to be done in love. This is paralleling with Colossians. So Colossians chapter 3. We remember there, specifically in verse 14, Paul told those believers, "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Then in verse 15, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (ESV). We want that peace within the body. We want everything to be done with love, not selfishness, not solely our personal interests. I mean, it's impossible not to have some personal interests, just as Paul mentioned a minute ago. But we want to be concerned for others.

       And the third leg of the tripod is faith. So love with faith. And that is really to simplify that. That's thinking positive. That's being optimistic. That's thinking that our prayers are going to have an impact. They're going to make a difference. And that's why we pray, right? It's a selfless act because we're trying to be a blessing to others. We're trying to petition God, if you will, to work on others' behalf, not just our own behalf. It's really a fun, cool thing that we get to do. I mean, when you think about the implications of our prayers, I mean, it's pretty amazing. And so Paul says this kind of blessing, if you will, in verse 23, “from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It's almost like he declares a blessing. It's a special blessing that he wants them to have.

       If we go to verse 24 now, our final verse, he says, “Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible” (ESV).

       Wow. We don't want to forget grace, right? We all need that grace. Why? Because we're not perfect, right? We don't really need to defend that. Grace is for God to fill in where we lack. And it also allows us to do things that perhaps in the natural order of things, we might not be able to accomplish. like I talked about earlier on in this message, how God can enable leaders to say the right things at the right times. The glory for that belongs to God. He works through leaders. He works through all of us to a degree within the church to accomplish things that perhaps we couldn't do without the Holy Spirit's enabling. That's grace. That's a form of grace. And he talks about our love for the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ. Loving Jesus, we could say, is becoming like Jesus. And so it's not just doing the commandments. We remember that Jesus told the disciples and John, if you love me, you will obey my commandments, you will do my commandments. And sure, that's more of a basic form of it. But if we're really loving Christ, our characters are changing from the inside out so much so that eventually we just do good. because that's who we are. That's who we have become. It's not just doing things from fleshly effort or even from the Holy Spirit's grace, but it's doing things because that's who we've sculpted our own personal characters or spirits to be like, like Jesus. It's who we are now. That's what we want.

       And it's love incorruptible because we don't give up, right? We don't try Christianity for a little while and then throw in the towel. We love Jesus to the end. We embrace that challenge, that desire, that whatever you want to call it, to change our own selves from the inside out to be like Jesus so that we're not acting in sinful ways and even doing sin because that's part of our character, but because we've put those things to death, right? and we're cultivating, we're growing that inner character change so that when we get older in the faith, we just are who we are because we've spent so much time fellowshipping with God, putting to death sin within us, within our flesh, so on and so forth, acting in righteous manners so that we've become that person. That's just our quick, natural reaction to a given situation is to do the right thing naturally at that point. That's not giving up. That's love incorruptible. If we're finding in our life that we don't really want to do the right thing, we don't really want to follow Jesus or act like Jesus would act, we don't have that desire within us, we might want to question our relationship with God. We might want to go to God in prayer about that and say, “You know, hey, maybe I've been following religion. Maybe I've been legalistic. Maybe I've just been going through the motions, doing this, that, and the other because it's what I'm supposed to do rather than it's what I want to do because my heart is changing over time through that ongoing process of sanctification.” So that's something to definitely consider.

       And we don't want to be calling ourselves a Christian and yet living in non-Christian ways and worldly ways. That's bad. That's hypocritical. That's not what we want to be doing. So I would encourage anyone that finds themselves in those shoes today to go to God in prayer about that because you don't want to be living a double life. You want to feel it on the inside. You want to do it because you really want to do it. That's what God wants from us. He doesn't want us to do it because he's standing up there with his hands on his hips, just staring at us, demanding that we do the right thing or he's going to get us. That's not what God wants. That's not love, and that's not a pure, righteous heart before God.

       Of course, anyone out there today who says, I don't even know God, I don't have a relationship with God, anyone out there today can come to know God through Jesus Christ, through believing in his death, his burial, his resurrection, that he rose from the dead, that he died for our sins so that any of us who believe in him can be totally forgiven of our sins, can be indwelled by the Holy Spirit that I've been talking about, and can have a new life, a literal born-again spirit. It can be literally born again on the inside. It's incredible stuff in the spiritual realm, and it's available to anybody today who will go to God in prayer and tell him that you want that. So that wraps up our study on the book of Ephesians.

       Like I said, next week there will be a message on predestination, since that is probably the most complex theological thing that we talked about. We will have that to finally finish us off. But remember to pray, remember to be honest. No matter what shoes you find yourself in today, God loves honesty. And he will listen to anyone out there who goes to him today in prayer and honesty. He's not going to get you. He's on our side, and he wants all to come into personal relationship with him through his son, Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful thing.

- Daniel Litton