Kneel Before the Father

This is the text we have been using to open our worship services. It’s beautiful and powerful.

Kneel Through Your Sorrows:

"For this reason I kneel before the Father." — Ephesians 3:14

Fight discouragement with prayer. Paul does not want them to be discouraged because of his sufferings.

Express the depth of your emotion by kneeling. Kneeling was not the usual position of prayer. The Jews generally stood when they prayed. But in times of great emotion they would kneel.

• Solomon knelt at the dedication of the Temple
• Stephen knelt at the time of his martyrdom
• Peter knelt beside the deathbed of Dorcas.
• Paul knelt at is farewell to the elders in Miletus
• Jesus knelt in his agony at Gethsemane
• You should kneel sometimes just to express to God and to yourself the depth of your emotion in prayer.

Take comfort in the Fatherhood of God.

• He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which means that he is wonderful, merciful, and kind. Jesus said in the Garden, “Father, if you are wiling, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Luke then recorded: “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him” (Luke 22:43). The Father immediately sent comfort to his Son just as he will immediately send comfort and strength for you when you pray.
• He is the Father in that all things have their origination in him: “who created all things” (Eph. 3:9).
• From whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name (Eph. 3:15). 
  • All groups that are father-led have their derivation in the Father of us all. 
  • Families suffer together and suffer because of each other. Families support one another in sorrowful times.
  • All fathers should be encouraged by this phrase. Your fatherhood is traced right back to God. When a father cries out for help, the Father in heaven hears and knows.

Be Strengthened in Your Inner Being:

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being." — Ephesians 3:16

Pray about the inner you. We spend a lot of time praying about physical things. We ask God for resources to pay our bills. We ask God for wisdom to know what to say. We ask God for healing when we get sick. 

• Remember to ask God for strength within.
• The health of your inner being is more important than any of the externals. When you receive courage, confidence, security, and faith you are equipped with what you truly need to deal with the difficulties of life.

Remember the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. He is your greatest resource. He is the source of all that God intends to give to you. 

• He will reveal to you the person and work of Jesus. He will exalt the Savior in your life.
• He will be to you the Comforter, Enabler, and Protector in your time of need.

Remember the glorious riches that Paul has already discussed. God has a storehouse that is full of all that you need to successfully pass through this time in your life.

• These are the boundless riches of Christ.
• These are the fruits of the Spirit. 

God is your source. He is the One who made you, knows your name, loves you, and cares for you.

God sees your heart. He can look into the inner you in a way that no one can look. He sees your need before you ask. He understands what you need even when you are not certain about what you need.

Stay Centered in Christ:

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." — Ephesians 3:17

This will take faith. You must trust in Christ and entrust yourself to him.

• Trusting him means that you are willing to let him run things in your life. You will obey the “law of Christ.” This is the law of love as Christ expressed it in the Great Commandment and in the New Commandment that he gave to his disciples.
• When the Son of Man comes, “will he find faith in the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

Your want Christ to dwell within you in a living way.

• You don’t want to evict him because you think you know better. Christ is Lord. When he lives with you and in you, he is in charge.
• You don’t want to send him on an errand so you can do what you want.

Christ needs to dwell in our hearts. 

• The heart is the true center of your personality.
• The heart is the control center of your being.

When Christ dwells in your emotions and your mind, you live a life that conforms to his emotions and mind. You are allowing the mind of Christ to be your mind, the heart of Christ to be your heart.

When Christ dwells in your heart, the law of love prevails in you.

• You will be rooted and established in love. 

Janet is the master and making roots grow. She takes cuttings from many plants, sets them in water, and watches those roots grow. Then she plants them and those stems that would have died for lack of grounding and nourishment are able to flourish because they are rooted.

Grounded is to “lay a foundation.” Ms. Faye is thinking about buying a house. I want her to make sure that the foundation is firm and secure. That is so important to ascertain in the swampy ground in which we live.

• When you are rooted and grounded in love, then you are able to see the great breadth and depth and height of the love of God. This is a love that surpasses understanding, as we know. Who can actually comprehend why God loves us so much? It is a true mystery.

Give All Glory to God:

"to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!" — Ephesians 3:21

He is the one who sustains and keeps us.

He is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). Think about the capacity of our Father in Heaven. He has abundant riches. He is full of love for us. His power exceeds anything we can even imagine.

To him belongs all glory.

• Giving glory to God is our eternal purpose in this world and in the world to come. In the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us (Eph. 2:7).
• Giving glory to God is the purpose of the church itself. We are here to acknowledge and praise our great God.
• This is why Worship is at the heart of our church. It is our central purpose and key function. 

Our new worship leader is coming, Ricky Draper. He is not perfect, but he will lead us in the worship of a perfect God. Rick is not the one we worship. We are to turn our attention to the Father in heaven as we sing. We sing to Him!