Immeasurably More

Ephesians 3:20-21

I became a follower of Jesus in the spring of my second year of university and that summer worked as a lifeguard. Every day I bought a lottery ticket for the New Jersey state lottery and prayed that I would win. I did this all summer long.

In my daily devotions I read in my Bible: (John 10:10) “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Other translations say “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” (The Message) “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (ESV)

And I dreamed of the abundant life I could live if I won the lottery.

I read Matthew 21:22 where Jesus teaches: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer,” and I prayed with sincerity that I would win the lottery.

I read John 15:7–8 where Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” I read my Bible. I prayed. And I asked that I would win the lottery.

And I read Ephesians 3:20–21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. Maybe I would win the lottery twice.

Since that summer I have realized that God wants me to pray for things far more important than winning the lottery, but I have to confess there have been times over the years where I have been caught up in the fantasy of winning some lottery or sweepstakes. I have thought about how I would be incredibly generous with the millions of dollars I would win. So many in the Kingdom of God would benefit – but, of course, I would keep a few million for myself to feather my nest, make my life just a bit more comfortable.

As I reflect on this, I was trying to make a sales pitch to God that he would accept. Give me this little bit (OK a few million is more than a little bit) and I will do such wonderful things for your kingdom. This is an embarrassing confession, but I am a man living in the world.

We see the treasures of the world just in front of our eyes, within the grasp of our fingers. We can smell the aroma of success, taste the delights of luxurious living, hear the waves lapping against the yacht on our expensive vacations.

In contrast, the treasures of heaven are so far off. They are invisible to our senses. We hold on to the treasures of heaven by faith but we see the treasures of earth every day. There will come a day when we will cross over from this life to the next and leave all of life’s treasures behind, but that is far, far off in the future. So when we think or imagine, our minds and hearts go to the treasures of earth. We read Paul’s benediction in Ephesians 3 and think about God’s blessings on earth.

The health and wealth gospel takes these verses and interprets them in material, temporal terms. God’s purpose, these preachers tell us, is to make us healthy, give us jobs and promotions, help us to accumulate the treasures of earth. And if we are not healthy or wealthy, then that is because we do not have enough faith. The leaders of these churches are wealthy. They have private jets, mansions to live in, and they stay in luxury hotel suites when they travel. They instill greed in the hearts and minds of their followers who give their money but do not themselves live the wealthy lifestyle of their leaders.

The problem with the health and wealth gospel is that it takes a truth and then gives it a twist. God wants to bless us with good gifts, but they give a material twist to that truth. This is what the devil does. He takes a truth and gives it a twist.

In the Genesis story of the fall of man, the devil tells Eve that God wants she and Adam to be like God. This is true. We are made in God’s image. We are to become like Christ. But then the devil gives a twist and tells Eve that if she eats the fruit of the tree she will have wisdom like God and so it would be a good thing – but God wants her to make the choice herself. The devil has continued to use the same tactic over the ages, taking a truth of God and twisting it to lead people astray.

So let me lift up the truth of God wanting to give us good things and show how we can understand and be encouraged by Paul’s benediction that begins, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” without taking the health and wealth gospel twist.

Truth one: God delights in giving us good things.

It is true that God blesses us on earth. God created a beautifully sensual world for us to enjoy. And God created us with the ability to enjoy it. Not all creatures on earth see color. Not all creatures on earth have taste buds. Not all creatures on earth experience pleasure in sexual reproduction. Not all creatures on earth are able to reflect on the beauty of what we experience. Humans alone are able to see God in the work of his creation. (Psalm 19:1–2)
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.

Genesis tells us God created the world and all that is in it and then as he reflected on what he had created, (Genesis 1:31) “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

God stepped back from his canvas and decided he really liked what he had made. And then he presented what he had created as a gift to Adam and Eve and told them to populate the earth and enjoy what he had made.

I love giving a gift to Annie, or my daughters and sons-in-law, or my grandchildren. I love giving gifts to people I love and when I find a gift they like, it gives me great pleasure. A couple years ago at Christmas I gave my grandson an erector set with which you can build all kinds of vehicles and other fun creations. I was with him when he opened it and I can still feel the hug he gave me. He leaped into my arms and hugged me with all the strength he had. I think I had more fun giving him the gift than he did in receiving it.

Jesus taught in Matthew 7:9–11
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

God wants us to be healthy, to have good food to eat, to enjoy the fellowship of people who love each other, to have a good home to live in. The ninth of the Psalms of Ascent that were sung as Jews made their way up into Jerusalem for their annual feasts is a psalm of God’s blessing. (Psalm 128:1–4)
Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the Lord.

God wants us to be blessed so it is good for us to pray for these things. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

When we lack the things we need in this life, God wants us to pray for them and he wants to provide for us. Even after Judah provoked God to judgment and the Jews of Judah were taken away to Babylon, God’s desire for his chosen people was still to bless them. Through his prophet Jeremiah, God spoke: (Jeremiah 29:11–14)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

God grieves when we disobey. God grieves when we suffer. God’s love continually seeks after us, trying to help us choose to follow him and receive his blessings. God delights in blessing us.

The second truth is that God sees more clearly than we do what is best for us.

When a young child asks her parent if she can use the kitchen knife to cut something she is playing with outside, a good parent does not simply give the knife. A good parent knows that sharp knives are dangerous and will either say no or go outside to see what is being worked on. Perhaps the parent can make the cut, help the child make the cut, or suggest another, safer, way of making the cut.

Parents have more experience and can see further than children can see. Parents can see the consequences for actions that children do not have the experience to see.  In the same way, God sees what we cannot see.

We complain that God does not answer our prayers for things we are certain we need, but he sees into our future what we cannot see.

Ruth Graham, wife of Billy Graham wrote: “God has not always answered my prayers.  If he had, I would have married the wrong man –several times!”

If I had won the lottery that first summer of my life with Jesus, it could be that I would have gone in a different direction and missed out on all God wanted to bless me with over the years, including being pastor of RIC.

We see most clearly with the world’s eyes. So we make judgments in life based on what happens between our birth and our death. We decide what is good based on the reality of those years. We define success by how much of the world’s wealth, power, and fame is accumulated. Those who struggle to make a living are viewed as having a less successful life than those who have everything they need or want.

Yet, from God’s perspective, I believe that many of those who have all they want or need are the ones who are worse off. Why did Jesus spend so much time warning of the danger of wealth if was not something that works against faith? Faith grows in difficult times and those who struggle in life have more opportunity to grow in faith than those for whom life is easy.

We measure success with the world’s eyes but God sees our lives from the perspective of eternity. God sees what the consequences of our actions will be in his eternal kingdom. God knows what is unsafe for us to play with. God knows what we can handle and what we cannot handle.

So when we pray for God to give us immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, God will answer our prayer by giving us what is best for us and sometimes this means he will not give us what we want because he knows best what we need.

This leads to a third truth: What is best for us is defined by what is best for the advancement of God’s kingdom and preparing us for our place in it.

When we think and imagine what immeasurably great gift God could give us, whose kingdom is being advanced? When I have fantasized about winning some lottery or sweepstakes, I have had wonderfully generous plans of what to do with the money, but I have never fantasized without taking good care of myself. I have a great desire to life a comfortable life, without worrying about how much a vacation costs or whether the money in the bank will run out. I want to build my kingdom.

On the road to Damascus, Paul turned his back on his kingdom, on the life he could have lived as a leading Pharisee, and set out to work for God’s kingdom. Would Paul’s life have been more comfortable if he had continued as a Pharisee? Certainly. But if you asked Paul at the end of his life if following Jesus had been worth all he missed out on, what would he have said? (2 Timothy 4:7–8)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day

I sold my business the year before I came to Morocco and over the years have supported myself by using those resources. Five years ago I discovered that I had turned my back on my dream of where I wanted to live in my retirement years. I realized I had to give up on my dream of having a home on a lake. When I have reflected on this, I have never had any regrets. I would not trade any house on a lake in the northeast of the US for the years I have had in Morocco. If I could go back knowing what I know now, I would make the same decision without any hesitation.

There are many who have responded to God’s call and turned their back on what they could have accumulated of the world’s resources. There are many who have chosen to use their talents for the advancement of God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God is richer because of their obedience.

There are many who choose to use what God has blessed them with to finance the work others are doing. They partner with people in the same way as the church in Philippi partnered with Paul in his ministry. The kingdom of God is richer because of their heart for what God is doing in the world.

To turn your back on the world is not a completely selfless exercise because what we gain is far more than what we lose. The years I have been in Rabat have been the best years of my life. I have grown more in my faith than in any other period of my life. I believe God calls us to work with him so that we will grow. The work we do with Jesus advances the kingdom of God in our lives as well as others in the world.

God calls us to work with him to advance his kingdom, not ours, and when we do this, he works in us, preparing us for our eternal home in heaven.

This leads to a fourth truth: The material blessings we receive are designed to be used for God’s purposes.

Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:8 “8 And God is able to bless you abundantly,” but notice the context for this verse. (2 Corinthians 9:6–11)
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

In this letter, Paul is raising funds for the church in Jerusalem which was struggling because of a famine. In the course of his appeal, he makes the point that God blesses us so that we can be generous. God’s blessing of material wealth is not intended to help us establish our kingdom, build new silos to store our wealth, or accumulate more and more of the world’s treasures.

Remember that God wants what is best for us and what is best for us is to have our hearts set on his eternal kingdom. And when our heart is set on God’s eternal kingdom, our resources will be used to help advance that kingdom. We will be generous with what we have received.

When RIC has a financial shortfall, I am not inclined to preach sermons about why and how people can give more. I resist the schemes that are used to get people to give more. I preach Christ as Paul did when he came to Corinth. (1 Corinthians 2:1–2)
When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

When we grow in our love for Jesus, our money will follow our heart. God’s kingdom will become more important than our kingdom. He will become greater; we will become less.

I have a friend who earns large, huge, sums of money for his work. He could have retired and never had to work again many years ago, but he chooses to continue to work so that he can earn more money to give to the work of the advancement of the kingdom of God. His heart is given to Jesus and he lives a far simpler life than he could so the kingdom of God can advance.

With all this in mind, let’s look at the immeasurably more God can do.

Since this is Paul’s letter, we will start with him. The followers of Jesus in the early church feared Paul because he was persecuting them, arresting them and taking them to prison. He stood as witness when Stephen was stoned to death.

Did the early followers of Jesus pray that Paul’s heart would be turned to Jesus? When that is what happened and Paul came back from Damascus to Jerusalem, the believers did not want to meet with him and Barnabas had to convince them that Paul was truly a brother in Christ. Immeasurably more than all we can think or imagine.

Four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus, hoping that he would heal him and allow him to walk. They hoped and prayed for this miracle. But Jesus did immeasurable more than they could think or imagine and forgave this man his sins in addition to healing him.

Jairus (we know he was a follower of Jesus in the early church because his name is given in the account) came to Jesus with an urgent request. His daughter was dying and what Jairus wanted Jesus to do was to go to his house as quickly as possible so his daughter could be healed. But Jesus stopped to see who had touched his robe and had been healed. He gave new life to a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. As Jesus talked with this woman, Jairus must have been frantic. He didn’t want to order Jesus to keep going, but he realized that every minute of delay increased the chance of his daughter getting worse. Finally his worst fears were realized and a messenger came from his home to say his daughter had died. All hope was gone.

But Jesus reassured him, continued to his home, went into the room where the little girl lay and said to her, “Get up sweetie,” and she was raised from the dead.

Jesus did immeasurably more than Jairus could think or imagine.

God takes ordinary people and gives them spiritual gifts that allow them to do more than they could think or imagine. He lifts people from a life lost to sin and transforms them into saints. He gives hope to people who thought they were buried so far down they would never see the light of day. He creates beauty from the ashes of shame and defeat.

I want you to know and believe that God wants to bless you with what is best for you. God is at work, giving you good gifts because he loves you and delights in giving you what is best for you. The Holy Spirit has given you spiritual gifts and when you use these, you will experience the joy of being able to work with Jesus as he builds his kingdom.

Many of you are just beginning your adult life and you have no idea what God will be able to do with you if you give yourself fully to him.

I received an email this week from a woman who was in the junior high group (ages 12-14) at Park Street Church when I was in seminary and helping to lead that group. She talked about how influential those years were for her and thanked me. This is amazing because in those years I was embarrassed about speaking in front of people and did not think I had the gifting to be a youth leader or pastor. Just after beginning to date Annie, when I was in seminary, I spoke at an Easter Sunrise Service and stuttered and stammered my way through with a face bright red with embarrassment and was amazed afterwards that Annie still liked me.

God has done immeasurably more with my life than I could ever have thought or imagined.

If you think you don’t have much to offer, than fix your eyes on Jesus who wants to do great things through you. With Jesus you always have hope and a future. There will be difficulties, but Jesus has promised never to leave you or forsake you. Cling to Jesus and he will take you through the difficult times. Use your abilities and resources to build the kingdom of God and you will one day look back in amazement at what God has been able to do in and through you. Immeasurably more.