A Prayer for Enlightenment
Pastor Don Carpenter
Greater Vision / Ephesians 1:15–17
Malcolm, a man with a terrible temper, was playing a round of golf with his pastor. After leaving three straight putts on the edge of the cup, Malcolm exploded. “I missed!” he screamed. “How could I miss?” With that he heaved his putter into a nearby lake, kicked a wheel on the golf cart and drove his fist into a nearby tree.
Pastor was shocked. “I have never seen such a terrible display of anger,” he said to the poor man. “Don’t you know that God doesn’t like it when we are angry? I have heard that there are angels whose one assignment is to search out people who express their anger so ferociously and to send lightning bolts from heaven to burn them to a crisp.”
Malcolm was embarrassed. Heeding the warning of Pastor, on the next few holes, he managed to control himself. However, on the last three holes his putting failed him again. When the last putt veered off to the right just in front of the hole, Malcolm went crazy. “I missed!” he screamed. “How could I miss?” He broke his club across his knee and threw it as far as he could, he kicked up several large clumps of dirt on the edge of the green, and once more drove his fist into a nearby tree.
Suddenly the sky grew dark as an ominous cloud passed over. There was a clap of thunder and an awesome burst of lightning-and the pastor was burned to a crisp!
An eerie silence filled the golf course. All that could be heard was a quiet voice from heaven: “I missed! How could I miss?”’
Contributed by David Lansdown
Often when we think of our relationship with God, we imagine ourselves constantly disappointing and angering our Savior to the point where we just may have to dodge lightening bolts on the golf course. The Apostle Paul was obsessed with believers truly understanding the depth of the love Jesus has for His own. There is four different passages where Paul from prison, prays for the believers he once helped come to Christ and grow as a body of believers. Each time, he did not pray for their prosperity or even their deliverance, but their spiritual enlightenment. Tonight we will launch a three week series studying one of these passages. We will see that there is more to learn once we have trusted Jesus as Savior… we are to dive deeper into the wisdom, revelation, and knowledge of Jesus Christ Himself.
Only True Believers Can Receive Deeper Enlightenment.
Ephesians 1:15–16 KJV
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Romans 1:8 KJV
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 KJV
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
John 13:34–35 KJV
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
True Christians love Christ and they also love their neighbours. More than that, they know that they cannot show their love to Christ in any other way than by showing their love to their neighbours. However orthodox a church is, however pure its theology, and however noble its worship and its liturgy, it is not a true church in the real sense of the term unless it is characterized by love for other people. There are churches which seldom make any public pronouncement which is not based on censorious criticism. They may be orthodox, but they are not Christian. The true Church is marked by a double love—love for Christ and love for others.1
1 Barclay, W. (2002). The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (pp. 101–102). Westminster John Knox Pres
The Holy Spirit Is The Source of Spiritual Enlightenment.
Isaiah 11:2 KJV
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
John 14:25–26 KJV
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:12–14 KJV
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Enlightenment Comes to the Heart of A Believer
Ephesians 1:17 KJV
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Psalm 119:18 KJV
Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
The Wisdom of Christ
Colossians 1:9 KJV
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Colossians 2:3 KJV
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
James 3:17–18 KJV
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Revelation of Christ
John 1:14 KJV
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
1 Corinthians 2:10 KJV
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
The Knowledge of Christ
Matthew 11:28–30 KJV
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
“The Father wants us to be filled only with His Christ. Will you let Him deal so thoroughly in His love, until you are consumed with Him, having to continually depend upon Him, instead of anything of yourself? For God to take you deeper into Himself, He must expose all in you that is not of Himself. I hope that, as He shines in you, you will take Him as Grace, to deal completely, so He may possess you wholly, and bring you into His fullness in your lifetime.” Dr Yu Martyred in China 1956
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 2:26 PM February 23, 2022.