From the Gut or From the Scriptures

Text: Ephesians 1:15-23

Introduction:

  1. Illus. Climactic scene in "Miracle on the 34th Street" (new version), the lawyer who is defending Kris Kringle sends a dollar bill to the judge with the words "In God We Trust" circled. Previously, the judge had told the lawyer that he would like to rule in favor of his client, but that he didn’t know how he could based on the law. Then, after seeing this bill, the judge gets a flash of inspiration and makes a speech ruling in favor of Kris Kringle. In the speech he remarks that belief is good, even if it cannot be proven. Just as we cannot prove God, yet we trust in Him, so too we can believe in Santa Claus, since this belief creates happiness in those who do believe. (Note: his premise that you cannot prove God is erroneous). Thus, the important thing about belief is not whether it is true or false, but whether it produces "good" or "joy" to those who exercise it. It is not truth that matters, but how one feels that matters. If belief makes you feel good or creates good in you then belief is good.
  2. Illus. P. 84 Charismatic Chaos quote
  3. Paul had just reminded us that we are to live "to the praise of His glory."
  4. "For this reason" he elicits the following prayer
    1. 1 or 2 prayers
    2. emphasis of this prayer is spiritual, not material
    3. it deals with character development
  1. Ultimate Goal is Spiritual Understanding

Big Idea: God wants us to be spiritually minded and spiritually enlightened. Decisions need to be based on what IS right, not what FEELS right. Don’t go from the gut, don’t "follow your heart," but obey and follow the Scriptures.

Illustration: Michael Medved contrast of Casablanca and the English Patient. In Casablanca, the main character follows duty in spite of his heart’s desire. In The English Patient, the main character follows his heart, not his duty.

  1. Request #1: Give a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
    1. Wisdom: Big Questions of Life
      1. Philosophy, until the 18th century, always held to the concept of objective truth
      2. As each succeeding philosophical school rejected the previous ways, existentialism came in vogue
      3. Thus, it was concluded that there was not absolute truth, you must create or make your own truth out of your existence
      4. God, however, wants us to have wisdom and to know the truth. He wants us to understand the big picture and to know the answers to the BIG QUESTIONS: Who am I? Why am I here? Is there a God?
    2. Revelation
      1. Def. Truth you can only know as a result of God revealing it to you
      2. Types of revelation
        1. Natural
          1. Conscience
          2. Nature
        2. Supernatural
          1. Scripture
          2. Jesus Himself
        3. Revelation is Christ-centered, not event centered
          1. Revealing who a person is
          2. A by-product of this is that some events are also predicted
          3. What God ultimately wants us to know is Himself, not the events of the future
          4. Illus. The book of Revelation is primarily the revelation of a person, Jesus Christ, not of the events of the tribulation.
        4. Revelation is complete
          1. Some say, "God revealed to me…"
          2. This is not biblical
          3. P. 67 Charismatic Chaos
          4. P. 56-57 Charismatic Chaos
  2. Request #2: Enlightenment
    1. Contrast "heart" and "bowels"
      1. Greek words used
        1. Kardia: mind, intellect, will
        2. Splaxnon: bowels, emotions
      2. 2 Cor. 6:11-13
        1. his "heart" (kardia) is open wide…but they are restrained in your affections (splaxnon)
        2. Paul was giving them the truth but their emotions were getting in the way
          1. They were typical nineties people, following their heart, not what was objectively right
          2. Emotions, like the heart, are deceitful
          3. Don’t allow your emotions to override what you know to be objectively true from the Scriptures
    2. Paul wants them to know three things
      1. Hope of His Calling
        1. Called to be holy (1 Pet. 1:15)
        2. Called to be pure (1 Thess. 4:7)
      2. Riches of His glory
        1. His glory, not ours
        2. Illus. William Randolph Hearst

          3. He learned of some artwork that he desperately wanted and sent his men to look for them so that he could purchase them. When they finished their search they told him that he already owned the works in question. He had the wealth, but didn’t know it just as Christians have all of their spiritual resources and don’t utilize them

        3. We have all that we need. We don’t have to "get" more (2 Pet. 1:3)
        4. Inheritance
        5. Two views
          1. We are his inheritance
          2. We have an inheritance
      3. Surpassing greatness of His power
        1. Two Illus. of His power
          1. Raised Christ (resurrection)
          2. Seated Christ (ascension) "Christ’s position"
            1. Right hand of God
            2. Above all power
            3. Above all from every age
            4. Head of the Church
            5. Filling of the church
        2. Omnipotence

Conclusion:

  1. Illus. Heinrich Schleimann at age 7 saw a picture of Troy in flames. He thought that maybe there was some truth behind the epics of Homer (Iliad and Odyssey). In 1873 he uncovered the city of Troy after believing Homer wrote based on history.
  2. We need to appropriate TRUTHS of Scripture and act on them, not act on our feelings and intuitions