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April 2001, in the midst of Israeli-Arab conflict, a motorcade carrying the Security Service Chief of Gaza came under bullet fire from Israeli troops. The frightened security official called Yasir Arafat from his car for help.  Arafat, in turn called the U.S. Ambassador, who then called the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Colin Powell then phoned Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, who ordered the shooting to stop immediately – and it did. The Security Chief's connections eventually saved his life.

In a similar way, we have a divine connection to the ultimate power of the universe that can make a world of difference in any situation.

 

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, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)

 

These two verses conclude the first half of Ephesians. At the end of Ephesians 3, Paul offers a prayer for his readers, and then ends with this great doxology in which we learn three things:

 

1. GOD OVERWHELMS OUR MINDS

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…

 

Pick a number, any number – Did you pick a number larger than a million? If you didn't, why didn't you?

 

In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporated Google while still graduate students at Stanford University. According to Fortune Small Business magazine, internet users perform over 150 million searches a day on the Google internet search engine. The Google search engine can access over 2 billion pages in 74 different languages. One study recently showed that Google users used the search engine 13 million hours in one month. Compare that with Yahoo, which came in second with 5.4 million hours.

 

How did they get so big? I don't have the expertise to answer that question, but I can tell you that it began with their initial vision. The word googol is a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes. While most people are likely to pick a number like 14 or 98, Brin and Page decided to pick a googol—1 with 100 zeroes.

 

Jim Reese, chief operations engineer of Google says this about the company's founders: "It takes a lot of confidence and courage to go ahead and do that [be huge]. It's rare to find people who think on such a grand scale and are able to create a great product at the same time."

 

When we pray to God we need to begin thinking on a much grander scale. We are beginning to think in much bigger terms than ever before. We need to understand that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…”

 

Genesis 41:49 says that when Joseph became Prime Minister of Egypt, the seven years of plenty yielded grain. There was so much grain that it was like sand on the seashore and the people could not keep track of the amount.

 

The Queen of Sheba found Solomon’s Empire beyond anything she could have imagined. She said “I didn't believe it until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. Truly I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far greater than what I was told.” 1 Kings 10:7

 

Paul said about heaven, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

 

2. GOD OVERCOMES OUR WEAKNESSES           

 …according to the power that works within us…

 

The Bible says that God does exceedingly abundantly above what we’ve been asking for according to the power that works within us. And just what is that power working within us? It is the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Leonard Sweet, in his Soul Cafe newsletter, included this list of "Top 10 Liars' Lies":

10. We'll stay only five minutes.

9. This will be a short meeting.

8. I'll respect you in the morning.

7. The check is in the mail.

6. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.

5. This hurts me more than it hurts you.

4. Your money will be cheerfully refunded.

3. We service what we sell.

2. Your table will be ready in just a minute.

1. I'll start exercising tomorrow.

 

Can I share with you another Lie that people sometimes tell? It would go something like this – My faith in God never wavers. My belief is always strong. While in some ways I wish that were true, I know that it isn’t. Each and every one of us has moments of doubt – each and every one of us have prayed prayers and as soon as we were done praying thought it will never happen. Even the strongest among us have times when we are weak in our faith – the good news is that God is going to take care of us.

 

When it comes to the challenges of life, whether they concern our health, our finances, our families, or purchasing a new church building, we find that God does not only work according to our faith, but according to the power within us. In other words, God supplies the power that we don’t have, the faith that we don’t possess, and the abilities that we only dream of. God’s Spirit comes to us and gives us the assurance that while we cannot accomplish much on our own, God’s power can accomplish anything. Now the question I have for you today is this – do you go to God in your weakness and tap into His power, or do you simply give into your own limitations?

 

Once Jesus encountered a man whose son was overtaken by a demon and he wanted Jesus to heal him. The father said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity and help us.” Jesus replied, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes." Now the father’s response to this is probably the most honest statement ever uttered – "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" – Mark 9:24

 

He says, “I have some faith, but not nearly enough” – “I have some ability, but not as much as I should” – “I am strong, but I am also weak” – “Help me overcome my unbelief.” Now I’m hesitant to be this transparent with you for fear that you’ll misunderstand, but here goes: the longer I am a Christian the more I find myself uttering the words of this father here. Rather than saying, “My faith is growing stronger all the time” I say, “Father, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” It’s not a matter of having a faith that is not sure of who God is, it is a matter of coming to the realization that my faith, no matter what quantity I possess, is inadequate to the task God has called me to. In other words, I recognize that I can accomplish nothing on my own and that I absolutely must depend upon God’s power to see me through. Does that make sense to you?

 

Do you understand and accept the fact that we will not win 1,000 people to Christ, and that we will not plant churches in our area because we have faith that is 100% pure all the time? But rather we can win 1,000 people to Christ, and we can plant churches in this area …according to the power that works within us…? It comes down to this – is it going to be a “me” thing or a “God” thing? I think you’ll agree that it has to be a God thing, or it’s not worth doing. And God things are things that God can do in spite of our weakness.

 

3. GOD OVERHEARS OUR PRAISE                             

…to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen….

 

Paul is telling us here what our response should be to this God who does exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think and who does it according to the power that works in us. How do we respond to something as great as all this? What is our reaction? Surely we can’t sit back and do nothing at all? Can we? 

   

…to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

 

To God be the glory for healing my sickness – to God be the glory for granting me His mercy – to God be the glory for granting peace to my troubled soul – to God be the glory for friends – to God be the glory for a voice that can praise Him – to God be the glory for a church family that cares – to God be the glory for opportunities to witness – to God be the glory for my children – to God be the glory for our nation – to God be the glory for His promise of heaven – to God be the glory for the Church of His Son Jesus Christ.

 

There has to come that point in our lives, and in the life of the church where we just want to praise God for all that He has done, and continues to do, and for what He will do in the future. I believe that this is such a time, don’t you? I want you to notice the two places here that God says His glory will appear – it is in the Church and in His Son, Christ Jesus. Both the Son of God and His bride the church have the ability to bring glory to God the Father.

 

We aren’t coming to God and praising Him as individuals, but as His Church. And it is through, by, and in His church that God’s name will be magnified. Each of us individually find ourselves as part of the whole – none of us are here to work in opposition to each other, but in unity.  None of us are here to go forward on our own, but to move together, hand in hand, seeing God’s will accomplished before our eyes. None of us can make a difference by ourselves, but together with the Church and with Christ as our Head, we can change the world around us.

 

Today we have an opportunity to accomplish the three points in this message. Today God is more than willing to Overwhelm Our Minds, Overcome Our Weaknesses, and Overhear Our Praise.

 

It’s really up to us to decide if we’re going to let that happen or not. It all comes down to whether we are willing, ready, and able to allow God to work in our lives as individuals and as a church.

 

Are you ready?