Sermon Series: Ephesians
Sermon Title: “Paul Gives Thanks”
Pastor Chris O’Brien
Prayer Is Hard — Even for a Rabbi
So glad that many of you heard my friend Ralph Davis at our Reformation Sunday last year. Not all of you got to, but those of you that did — now when I refer to Ralph Davis, some of you go, oh yeah, I remember that guy. Ralph, in one of his books expounding Psalm 5, refers to this sort of eccentric but brilliant Scottish Presbyterian minister. He was known as Rabbi Duncan, which sounds kind of strange — why would you call a Presbyterian minister rabbi? Well, they did that affectionately, because he knew his Hebrew Bible so well that they called him rabbi. And that was his nickname.
At one point a pastor comes to him and invites him to preach. And he says something to the effect of, well, yeah, I would enjoy doing that, but can you handle the prayers? I can’t pray right now, but I would like to preach.
Now imagine if I did that today. Not because — like a few weeks ago I sounded like Miss Piggy (I had laryngitis and could barely talk), is what my elder Doug told me. I thought I sounded like Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse, but he thought Miss Piggy. Anyway, okay, that’s fair enough — I can’t pray on a day like that. But on normal days, can you imagine? I say, you know, I just can’t handle the prayers today, but I’ll preach. You might think, wow, that’s odd.
And it does sound odd. And yet, we don’t know exactly why, what was going on there in that situation. But I wonder — do you find that in your own experience, in your own life, sometimes? I can’t pray.
On the one hand, prayer can be simple and straightforward. We can teach little children we’re talking to God, we’re coming to God the Father through Christ his Son, and so forth. And yet, on the other hand, it can be so hard. As Ralph continues in that exposition, he says really, all of us — no matter where we are in the Christian life, whether we’ve just recently come to Christ, or maybe we’re still learning about Christ, or we’ve been a mature Christian for some time, or we seemingly are very mature in the faith — we never arrive at praying just so.
And so we really ought to have the attitude of the disciples in Luke 11, when they say to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Lord’s Prayer variety
And of course, Jesus did that. In Luke 11, when the disciples said that, what did Jesus do? He gave them the Lord’s Prayer. And if you look at any English translation other than the New King James and the Old King James, you’ll notice that the prayer in Luke 11 is shorter than the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. I’m so thankful God in his wisdom, Jesus in his ministry, didn’t pray the Lord’s Prayer exactly the same way every time.
Aren’t you glad we don’t sing the same three hymns every week? Imagine if I preached the same passage, the same sermon every week — you know, after about the seventh time, I think you’d be giving up. Well, that’s just one little example there that there’s variety in prayer. And it’s not simply about words and repeating words. Jesus gives us a basic guide.
Old Testament psalm book
But notice what else Jesus had already given us before he came into his ministry. He gave us the Old Testament psalm book, the Old Testament hymn book, which is composed of — I don’t know, I didn’t count them this week. I thought about doing it. I wouldn’t Google it. I told myself, no, I’m not gonna Google it, I’m gonna do it the old-fashioned way. And I just didn’t find it. But I’m guessing that at least two-thirds of the Psalter, if not four-fifths, is prayers along with being psalms. Some of them are not — Psalm 119 is, I don’t think, a prayer, although you can pray it. Psalm 1 is not necessarily a prayer, although you can pray it. But we have all these Old Testament examples of prayer. The Old Testament songbook, we have Nehemiah’s prayers, we have Daniel’s prayers, and so many others. So much is there that we can learn about praying by simply going to the source, going to the Bible to pray.
Prayer basics
I thought as we begin to look at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians — while I want to dig down, and that’s what we’re going to do today — I wanted us to get the big picture first. Remind ourselves what we’re doing when we’re praying. Quick little advice on the situation that we may find ourselves in more often than we want to admit: I don’t know how to pray.
Well, go back to the basics. Go to the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father, sovereign in the heavens, may your name be glorified, may your name be set apart as holy. That’s where you start. And that leads to all kinds of prayers of worship and praise and thanks. Your kingdom come, your will be done — you notice what Jesus does there, he puts the priority first in prayer on himself. Any of us make ourselves the center of attention, well, that’s sort of selfish, but God has every right to do so. He says that the priority in prayer is first and foremost his name, his glory, his kingdom.
And then we start also asking the Lord for our needs, our daily bread, our basic needs. But then our spiritual needs — forgive us our sins as we forgive others who sin against us, lead us not into temptation. We don’t only pray for forgiveness, as important as that is. We pray that God helps us through Christ and by the work of his indwelling Spirit to make us more like Christ, to avoid sin, to turn away from sin, to live a life of godliness. Well, there’s just the basics.
This isn’t spiritual filler
I think when we get to Paul’s prayers in his letters, he sort of assumes what Jesus has taught. He assumes we’re familiar with that. I think he assumes a lot of things, because he’s not really repetitious with his prayers in terms of what Jesus taught — not only in his Lord’s Prayer, but what he taught in that wonderful high priestly prayer in John 17, just hours before he went to the cross. There’s so much there for us to learn about prayer, but Paul doesn’t focus on those things.
What does Paul focus on? Well, again, we’ve got not just one prayer in Ephesians, we’ve got two, and the petitions are rich, and there’s so much there, and I’m looking forward to getting them. I’m looking forward to it, and we could have just raced over what we have in front of us right now. We could have just come on — isn’t this just some little filler to get Paul started? Isn’t this just his way to sort of get his spiritual juices flowing: “for this reason, because I’ve heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, love for all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks” — and now he gets down to business, let’s pray?
No, no, no. This isn’t spiritual filler. This isn’t, oh, let’s just say these kind of nice words before people start listening and paying attention. No, no. This is foundational to the way Paul prays.
Paul’s thirteen letters
Paul gives us 13 letters — he wrote more letters, we know, because he references a letter or two to the church at Corinth that was not preserved for us in the Bible. They’re lost, if you will — not the Gospel of Thomas, that’s a bunch of nonsense. You’ve heard about the Gospel of Thomas? Oh, that’s this book that wasn’t included in the Bible. Oh, really? I challenge you to read it this afternoon and then ask yourself a question: does that nonsense really need to be in the Bible? I think you’ll be able to answer pretty easily. And you can get that done before the Eagles play tonight. So that’s your homework.
What was I talking about? Oh, prayer, prayer. Of Paul’s 13 letters, he prays in 10 of them. I’m not gonna tell you why I think he doesn’t pray in the other three. I’ll tell you about one of them: the book of Galatians. When Paul writes the church of Galatia and they’re in danger of forsaking the faith, Paul doesn’t have time to pray. He just has time to fuss at them. And that’s what he does. Paul’s letters are characterized by prayer, and they are characterized by what we see in Ephesians 1:15.
Not just any thanksgiving
So now turn back to the scriptures — the fifth reading there is Colossians 1:3. And we’re gonna read just Colossians 1:3, the beginning of his letter to the Thessalonian church and his second Thessalonian church. These three, they’re all very similar, but they especially highlight the same kind of things Paul has said in Ephesians.
Listen to the way he starts his letter to the church at Colossae: “We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we’ve heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” And then his first letter to the church at Thessalonica: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus.”
And then Paul writes them again and says this: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as it is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of you for one another is increasing.”
So what is Paul doing in these three letters? And now back to Ephesians, the focus today — he’s giving thanks. It’s a thanksgiving, but it’s not an ordinary thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is so important, isn’t it? We focus on it once a year in our country, and I fear we only focus on it once a year in church.
I try to think, as I prepare our services throughout the year, that at least once — basically every quarter — we have a Thanksgiving emphasis in the order of service, if not in the preaching, because thanksgiving is so basic to the Christian life and to Christian worship. You really can’t separate giving thanks and giving praise to God. If you are not full of gratitude while you give him glory, something is wrong.
Like the one leper who came back
So giving thanks is so basic, so fundamental to the Christian life. We might fear that we’re like those nine lepers that after Jesus healed them, went on their way and never gave thanks, while the other one, the Samaritan, came back and gave thanks. I fear that sometimes we’re more like the nine than the one that came back. Shame on us.
God needs to work the work of grace in our hearts so that on the Lord’s Day, when we gather here — whether we’ve just gotten over COVID, whether we’re going through trials and tribulations that nobody in this room knows about, nor could they imagine what you’re going through — we gather on the Lord’s Day, Resurrection Day, to remember that Christ died for our sins and we’re forgiven.
And my dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if we can’t give thanks for that, even amidst our trials, oh, how we need to plead for grace. Oh, how we need to beg the Lord to break our hearts and remind us what really matters. Yeah, stuff in this world, in this fallen, rotten world, it’s a mess, and it gets really messy sometimes. But thanks be to God, I’m a son or daughter of the living God by faith in Christ. And Paul says nothing in all the world can separate us from the love of God in Christ.
Not the thanks of Philippians 4
And then you have Paul himself telling you the great benefit of giving thanks in Philippians 4. He says don’t be anxious, don’t worry. There’s a difference between genuine, good, godly concern about things and sinful worry, sinful anxiety. And Paul says don’t worry, but come to God with all kinds of prayers and supplications with thanksgiving. And God will bless that when you come in that way, remembering his past faithfulness, so that then you’ll have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in Christ Jesus. God will give you that grace to reassure you.
That’s a wonderful passage from Philippians 4, but that’s not the kind of thanks Paul is giving here. And it’s pretty bad when the preacher hasn’t planned his sermon in such a way that it’s five to eleven and he hasn’t even gotten to his main point. Oh, well, y’all keep working with me — one day I’ll figure this out.
Faith that shows itself in love
What is Paul doing here? How is his giving thanks here in Ephesians 1, and in Colossians, and the way he starts most of his letters — how is his thanksgiving different? What is he giving thanks for? Look at it again in Ephesians 1:15. Paul says, for this reason — here’s the reason I’m praying, okay, he can’t make it any simpler than that — because I’ve heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease. I do not quit. I continually give thanks to God.
Good kind of gossip
Paul goes all around the known world that he can get to during his ministry of some 30 or so years, and he plants these churches. And then there’s other churches he doesn’t plant, but he goes to minister to them, like Rome. And he ministers to them, maybe it’s a month, maybe it’s six months, maybe it’s like Corinth a year and a half, or maybe it’s like Ephesus, three years. But then he continues in ministry as he sends letters to them, and he doesn’t send those letters in a vacuum.
Christians are traveling back and forth. Like in this situation, Paul is in prison. People are bringing him word about the churches in Ephesus — how are they doing, how are they getting along — and they’re telling gossip. They’re rumoring to Paul. Except it’s not gossip at all. It’s not rumors at all in the bad sense of the word. We always think when you’re sharing stuff, it’s always bad — but no, no, no, good kind of stories. That’s what we’re to be telling.
They come to Paul and they say, oh, you just wouldn’t imagine how the church, or the churches, at Ephesus are doing. Their faith — they’re thriving in their faith, they’re growing in their faith in the Lord Jesus. And Paul says, how do you know? He says, well, it’s their love for all the saints. Remember, he called us saints at the beginning of the letter — that’s just holy ones, those set apart by God in Christ. That’s all of us.
Even if you came here today and forgot to use a Q-tip in your ears, or maybe you said something inappropriate at some point in time — if you’ve confessed your sins and you’re truly in Christ, and even if you haven’t confessed your sins and you need to, if you were in Christ, you’re a holy one. You’re a holy one in Christ.
Faith and love cannot be separated
And the rumor that came to Paul was: these folks, their faith is growing, you can tell, because of their love for all the saints. They love each other. Look at how that same thing is highlighted in Paul’s letter to the church of Colossae, back where we just read: “We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we’ve heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love that you have for all the saints.”
And then go down to 2 Thessalonians: “Paul keeps giving thanks for them because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of you for one another is increasing.” When Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica, he says to them, you know, y’all are doing a good job loving each other, but keep on doing it. Grow in that love. Never become content. Never become complacent.
Now there’s a foundational principle, a truth here, before we ever get to prayer and we ever get to giving thanks for people that live like this. It’s the most fundamental principle, or one of the most basic things about Christians. If you name the name of Christ, if you say — and I say — I’m trusting in Christ and Christ alone for my salvation, for my eternal destiny, how do you know that’s not just talk? You love the saints. You love the saints. You love the saints. It’s right there.
It’s like peanut butter and jelly, right? I know, it was a lame illustration, I was pressed to find one. Just as peanut butter and jelly go together — if you’ve ever eaten a peanut butter sandwich without the jelly, it just gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. Now, some of you out there are saying, I don’t like jelly. I don’t care. That’s my illustration, I tell it the way I want to. And I’m telling you, don’t eat peanut butter without jelly. Now, faith in Christ, genuine faith in Christ, and love for the saints go together, and they cannot be separated.
Rubbing shoulders with the saints
Which implies another thing: how are you gonna love people? How are you gonna love the saints if you never rubbed shoulders with them? Gotta be around them. And being here Sunday morning worship is the most important thing we do each week. And it ought to be the thing that we long to do. Oh, you know, this has been a rat race this week, but I get to — because God tells me to set aside all that other stuff today and focus on Jesus and his glory today. And I’m going to go do that.
Genuine believers, genuine thanks
But what is the way Paul says that we who claim the name of Christ show that we’re genuine? And it’s not just talk — we love each other. Now, brothers and sisters, I am so thankful that I am a part of a church that loves each other. As I look out in this room, I don’t have to look up for fear that somebody’s like, oh no, he looked at me — no, no, I’m looking at y’all. And I know you now, two and a half years. I may still call David Weller — I may still call him Bill, for Bill Andre. Okay. I hadn’t done it in what, a couple of weeks. But I know you, and I see your love for each other all the time.
A memorial service this Saturday
We’re going to have a memorial service this Saturday. We’re gonna give honor to a dear lady that lived her life serving Christ, and so we look forward to that. The thought — this is the thought that’ll never enter my mind, I’ll never think this — I wonder, are the ladies gonna come through this time? I wonder, boy, I hope they come through. The thought never enters my mind. This is what y’all love to do. You’re going to serve a family. Some of them you’ll know and you’ve seen in years past, others you’ll have never met — does it matter? You’re going to love them. You’re going to care for them.
Evidence of a genuine faith
So this prayer of thanks, while it’s so important for Paul to give thanks, he assumes something that I hope you assume too: that faithful Christians show their faith by the way they live, and in particular, the way they love each other.
Now, maybe you’re new and you’re still getting used to us — I’m not talking about you, I love you and I’m glad you’re here, but you still gotta get integrated, and you gotta learn all that, that’s cool. But if there’s anybody that’s been here for a long time — let’s say 12 years or longer, how’s that, okay — and you still feel like your hands are so warm because you’re always sitting on them, then you let me know if you’re struggling to figure out how do I show the congregation I love them. Don’t you worry, we’ll help you get that figured out. But I don’t think that’s the case for most of us.
Paul does this in almost every letter — gives thanks to God. Why? Because whether Paul started that church, or Apollos started it, or Peter or John, whoever — their faith and their love to the saints is evidence that they’re genuine believers. And that reminds Paul what he wrote to the church at Rome: the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
And so as I hear reports about the churches in different places loving each other, I’m not denying that we shouldn’t love the world — yes, we should. But the priority in the Bible is that we first love one another. And so Paul gives thanks to God because those folks are genuine believers. I can thank God that I pastor a church that’s full of genuine believers. And I’m never ashamed if somebody walks in the door that is without God and without hope in this world, because I don’t think this loving congregation is going to shame Jesus by what they say or what they do. So I’m thrilled for that.
The default of the world
Now, let me end this way. When was the last time — and see, I’ve been able to work on this for a week, you haven’t, because you didn’t know that this was gonna happen, but I’ve been thinking about this since probably Tuesday — when was the last time you thought about a brother or sister, or a couple, or a family in the church, and you rejoiced because you thought, man, that’s a genuine brother, that’s a genuine sister, it’s so evident in their life, let me give praise to God for that. The default of the world, and sometimes for the church, is to be critical. But the default for the Apostle Paul is to see the genuine believers out there and give thanks to God.
Leave room for giving thanks
This is worthy of adding an element to the way we pray. Do we need to petition God for all the things that are going on with people’s lives that are wrong — that they have COVID, they have the flu, they’re struggling with this chronic pain or this issue, they’re going through these financial setbacks, they’re going through this issue or that issue? Yes, all those things are fair game. All those things are good to pray for. Brothers and sisters, leave room for giving thanks to God for one another, that you’re truly in Christ.
Let’s pray. Oh, Father, we’ve barely scratched the surface of Paul’s prayer, and yet we’ve touched the nerve of Paul’s prayer life for the church. He gives thanks for genuine believers. May we learn more and more to do the same. We pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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