Latest / Chapel Talks / Prayer is where the action is | Ephesians 3 | Bishop Paul Williams

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Prayer is where the action is | Ephesians 3 | Bishop Paul Williams · Chapel Talks

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Let me first, though, pray for us. O gracious
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God, may the words of my mouth and may the thoughts
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of all our hearts be pleasing in your sight.
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Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Well,
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thank you, James, for your invitation to come
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back and to be with you. It's a few years ago
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since I was last here at Oak Hill. And I imagine
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that apart from staff that this completely new
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student body and look forward to meeting some
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of you over lunch and waiting for your questions
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after this service. The very first occasion I
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actually came to Oak Hill was 19, I think was
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1981. which when I was just 13, and I mentioned
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my mother earlier, as you'll realize a few years
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on from the time I spoke about when my... Faith
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became very personal and very real and alive.
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My mother responded to the need that we saw in
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front of us, sensing God's call to serve in some
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capacity, some way in an ordained ministry. At
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that time, women were able to be ordained deaconess.
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So my mother offered herself for ministry as
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a deaconess in the Church of England. And she
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refused to attend, resisted all attempts to move
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her on to training programs. in the southwest
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where we were living at that time. She insisted
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she wanted to train at Oak Hill and felt that
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would give her the best grounding that she would
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need for ministry. And so she brought us along.
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She trained on the part -time course that Oak
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Hill itself ran at that time, its staff taught
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on. And so she brought myself and my siblings
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at various times along to share in weekends.
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So my very first experience of kind of... challenging
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theology. I can vividly remember the place I
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was. I can even remember where I was in the room
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as the principal taught on hermeneutics, which
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for a 13 -year -old, there were some big words
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there. I was quite excited about the big words.
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I had very little idea quite what they might
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mean, but I knew it was good, and I'm sure it
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continues to be good, and that you are being
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strengthened and equipped for lifelong ministry
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as she was, and for which I personally am also
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very grateful. So it's good to be back a few
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years on and to share again with you at this
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very critical moment for the church in our nation,
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not just the Church of England. And I know many
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of you are not part of specifically the Church
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of England, but have a care for the Church of
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England. But I do believe that before us... This
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time, there are challenges, unique challenges
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that we face as we face into the culture in which
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we are seeking to proclaim the gospel. But we
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also have unique opportunities. And I hope you'll
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get a sense of that as I try to bring something
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of a kind of personal perspective as well that
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I hope will be reflected as we look and explore
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Ephesians 3 together. My text for this sermon
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is Ephesians 3, verse 20, and in particular,
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where Paul writes now to him who is able to do
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immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
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And my question is this. How do we nurture in
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ourselves and in others a healthy confidence
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in this truth? I think we need to examine it
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carefully if we're to avoid it simply being a
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favorite verse for the perennial optimists among
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us. People who can easily be given over to. the
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possibility of exaggeration while seeking to
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raise the expectation levels around them that
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might at times frustrate them. But sometimes
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we can find ourselves tipping over into trying
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to enlist people into our good cause or plan.
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Like an anxious senior minister, I've been one
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of those who, having set out the vision and the
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strategic priorities for the church over the
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next three years, concludes with a rallying prayer
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based on this verse. As if and hoping. that it
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might in some way eliminate or diminish the deflating
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effects of those who you fear are poised to jump
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in and ask the probing question or to offer their
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critical analysis that might push the well -worked
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plan off course. And so we say, remember, he
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who is able to do immeasurably more. We hope
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it will kind of somehow close off some of the
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debate. Well, there is an equally damaging risk.
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to the well -being of the church and it's not
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only in that sort of exaggeration the lack of
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reality that sometimes can impinge upon the anxiety
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of those who minister the gospel but also those
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who've been knocked back in Christian life and
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ministry managing a series of disappointments
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a sense of failure who may read this verse as
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containing truth that applies to others who are
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more blessed than us, or at least where the gospel
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is received more readily. Now, in my experience,
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the church really does need more people of bold
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faith and courage and imagination. And I would
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far rather have those than people who have learned
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to reduce or downsize their hopeful enthusiasm.
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Don't let that happen to you. I don't know how
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long you keep Christmas cards up in your home.
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Most people keep them up just perhaps to turn
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the corner into the new year. I received a Christmas
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card in Christmas, coming up to Christmas 2022.
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And it is still on the mantelpiece of our home
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as a kind of centerpiece. And it has on it just
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a simple etching of the nativity. There are shepherds
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gazing down upon the Christ child. And the words
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on the card are simply this. Nothing seems impossible
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anymore. Nothing seems impossible anymore. It
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arrived on a day and in a week when I was dealing
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with a complex set of issues, of conflicts, of
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setbacks in just about every sphere of life and
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work. I was longing for some respite from the
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challenges I was facing, but the encouragement
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I needed in the end didn't come from immediate
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resolutions to everything, but in the centering
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of my attention once again on the reason for
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the hope that we have and the confidence that
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we have in the God who has called us. Because
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of Jesus and his coming into the mess of our
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world as Savior and Lord to conquer the greatest
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enemy of sin and death, nothing should seem impossible
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anymore. For this is the head of the church,
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Christ Jesus himself. So I am very grateful to
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Mark Green at LICC for his Christmas card that
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year. It still has a special place. As followers
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of Jesus, as part of his church, we are meant
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to be a community filled with God's living hope.
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We should be the most creative and the most bold
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and hopeful organization on earth. But that is
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not easy when we also face the daily reality
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of a spiritual battle that never goes on pause.
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And the apostle will come on to that later in
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Ephesians. So how do we retain hopeful confidence
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in Christ while remaining vigilant in the battle
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for salt? Now, the substance of our confidence,
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I believe, is held out for us within this prayer
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of Paul. It's the centerpiece of his great epistle
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to the Ephesians. With some obvious qualifications,
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the first three chapters, as you may know, focus
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on doctrine and the last three on practical Christian
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living, the implications of that doctrine. Verses
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14 to 21 form the vital connection or the meeting
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point between the two parts. Now, in one of the
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older Bible commentaries by Bishop Handley Mool,
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published, in fact, 125 years ago, but as fresh
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as ever, he includes a very moving chapter in
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the center of his commentary. He sort of steps
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back from the detail of the commentary to reflect
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on this moment in the epistle. And he writes
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this. He says, we have, as it were, in this prayer,
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reached the top. of a mountain road. The place
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invites us to rest and also retrospect. We shall
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soon move on towards the plains and the cities.
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Let us sit still for a time under the quiet sky.
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and contemplate the everlasting hills among which
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we have ascended as they lift their heads heavenwards
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and pour their waters down the paths at our feet
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towards the scenes of human life and on he goes
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Sounds like Keswick James, actually, when I read
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that again. I mean, how do we nurture such confident,
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hopeful faith in God as his people and as his
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church? Well, the answer is simply this prayer.
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Simply this prayer. But here is the primary source
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of our confidence in expecting God to move him
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in power. This prayer is earnest and it's humble
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and it's far reaching in the scope of its vision.
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Paul begins, for this reason, I kneel before
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the father from whom every family in heaven and
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on earth derives its name. As you may know, bowing
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the knee is a sign not only of prayer, but specifically
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of reverence, of surrender, of humility before
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God. So here is where I let go of my need to
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prove myself as a bishop, as a minister of the
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gospel, as a husband, as a father, as a friend,
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as a follower of Christ. Here is where I no longer
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try to exert pressure on God to enlist him into
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my cause. This prayer... is about a response
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of the soul to all that Christ has done for us.
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That's the journey that Paul has been traveling
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through the landscape, the mountaintops of the
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gospel, the reality of our salvation. And so
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what could he do but kneel in humility and surrender
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before God and to plead with God on behalf of
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the church in prayer? So this prayer is about
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a response of the soul to all that Christ has
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done for us, seeking him above everything before
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the journey back down into the valley. You see,
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on the other side of this prayer is Paul begins
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to descend then towards the plains and the cities
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of practical Christian living. He says, I urge
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you to live a life worthy of the calling that
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you've received. Be completely humble and gentle.
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Be patient, bearing with one another in love.
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Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit
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and the bond of peace. We often finish at verse
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21. I think it's helpful in understanding the
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positioning of this prayer if we begin the journey
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then down that mountain into the valley of practical
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Christian living. Paul doesn't think it is going
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to be easy for the Ephesians. That's why he prays
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so intensely for them. And he does not believe
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that his prayer for them is going to keep them
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out of trouble. In fact, he reminds them in the
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very beginning of this journey back down the
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mountain that he is a prisoner for the Lord.
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Just remember what it has already cost me. So
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what sort of prayer will the summit of our salvation
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inspire in us when we take those moments as we
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do in this communion to look out and survey again?
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The reality, the wondrous reality of the gospel.
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Well, three things Paul prays for the Ephesians,
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which we should pray for ourselves consistently
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and above all, pray for others earnestly and
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with humility. For inner strength, for inner
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love and for inner growth transformation. So
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first of all, inner strength. Paul says, I pray
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that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen
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you with power through his spirit in your inner
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being. so that Christ may dwell in your heart
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through faith. Now, of course, they'd already
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received the Holy Spirit, but this is about seeking
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the continual indwelling of the Spirit of God.
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John Stott puts it like this. He said what Paul
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asks for here, for his readers, is that they
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may be fortified, braced, invigorated, that they
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may know the strength of the Spirit's inner reinforcement
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and may lay hold ever more firmly by faith of
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this divine strength this divine indwelling i
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love that phrase this the spirit's inner reinforcement
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i tend to find that if i try and put my own reinforcement
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in place it makes my heart heart impenetrable
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And we need to protect ourselves at times. And
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we will do that at times in a way that creates
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almost a sort of a concrete -like protection
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around our souls, our hearts, in a way that can
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make us difficult to connect with. And that includes
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connecting with God, pouring out our heart or
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soul to him in prayer, as Paul does here. So
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what Paul is praying for here is that the Spirit
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would bring that inner reinforcement. that we
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will know our protection inwardly to come through
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the Spirit that keeps our hearts soft towards
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one another. We're able to be completely humble,
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gentle, patient, bearing with one another in
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love. I certainly, I know I need that as I face
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the challenges of ministry day by day. Now, of
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course, this doesn't happen overnight. It is
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the inner resilience that the Holy Spirit brings,
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especially as we daily... seek to be filled and
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refilled with the strength of God through his
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spirit the reality that Christ is dwelling in
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us the word Paul uses here is not the the word
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dwell is not the word for someone stopping over
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as a temporary guest he could have used that
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word that's the word that's used most frequently
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in the new testament for dwelling what Paul is
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using here is a word that talks about a permanent
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residence because Christ dwells in you by faith.
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This is where our resilience comes from. Now,
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secondly, not only is Paul praying for inward
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strength, but also for inner love. He says, and
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I pray that you being rooted and established
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in love may have power together with all the
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Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long
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and high and deep is the love of Christ. Paul.
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deliberately mixes his metaphors here um one
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botanical the other architectural um and and
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he does that i think purposefully perhaps there's
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a you will know there's a rich theological seam
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in both these images of being rooted um and established
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in love and they run right through scripture
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these foundations these roots are given to us
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they're a gift from god and they're given to
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us notice first of all not primarily to prepare
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us for the work that god has has prepared in
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advance for us they're given to us for the purpose
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for which we were redeemed that we may know more
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and more of the love of god that we may know
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christ better as paul says in in ephesians 1.
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that we might live to his praise and his glory.
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And of course, then our work, our ministry flows
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out of that knowledge of his love, that feeding
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on and dwelling in and soaking in his love. And
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in the process, we become more loving people
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as we learn to receive God's love as a consistent
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part of our daily Walk with him. We need to soak
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in this ocean that the picture almost certainly
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that Paul has in mind here as he considers the
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expanse of God's love. We are meant to soak in
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that love and to allow it to go on transforming
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us, renewing our vision, our vision of Christ,
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but also renewing our commitment to then walk
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in his ways as we... daily go down that valley
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into the towns and the villages and the cities
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where we live out our faith. Which leads to a
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third prayer of Paul, and that is for inner transformation.
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He prays that we may know this love that surpasses
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knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure
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of all the fullness of God. Verse 19. Now Paul
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surely has in view here our final state of perfection.
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When one day God will complete the work he has
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begun in us, that glorious day that we look towards.
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But his promise here is also that God will continue
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now what he has started. He says elsewhere in
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2 Corinthians that though outwardly we're wasting
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away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by
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day. As we're being transformed into his image
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with ever increasing glory, which comes from
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the Lord, who is the spirit. You see, God is
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always building. God is always at work. Jesus
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reminded his disciples about in our gospel reading.
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My father is always. And God is always continuing
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his work in our lives and in his church. And
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he is building in the ruins. We often can be
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overwhelmed by the sight of the ruins around
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us, sometimes the ruins within the life or the
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ministry of the church, or the ruins in our society,
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our culture, but we're also maybe conscious of
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the ruins in our own lives as well. The things
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that we would dearly like to sort out or fix
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as though somehow once those ruins are sorted,
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we can then begin to move on. We have been as
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a family in Nottinghamshire for 10 years. We
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live in a house that was built in the ruins of
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a medieval palace. And it's a thousand year old
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ruin. And about a quarter of it has been restored
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into a modern, well, a hundred year old house,
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modern by Episcopal terms anyway. And but I look
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out. It struck me very early on as I start set
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out on the ministry as a bishop in Nottinghamshire
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with all the challenges around both in the church
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and the wider culture that I look out every morning
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as I begin the day on ruins. But actually noticing
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that those ruins didn't prevent a rebuilding
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work. And that is always how God works. In fact,
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we heard that described, the restoration work
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of God that was foreseen by the prophet Isaiah.
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God begins every day as we arise. God is continuing
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that work in us and in his church. And so sometimes
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we have to be reminded of that. This prayer reminds
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us of that when we may be overwhelmed by the
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ruins. And of course, that includes sometimes
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the things that fill us with despair when we
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see some of the ruins within our own lives. I
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think C .S. Lewis captures this brilliantly with
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an analogy that I'm sure some of you have heard
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from mere Christianity, where he says, imagine
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yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild
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that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand
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what he's doing. He's getting the drains right
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and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on.
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You knew that those jobs needed doing, and so
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you are not surprised. But presently, he starts
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knocking the house about in a way that hurts
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abominably and does not seem to make any sense.
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What on earth is he up to? The explanation is
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that he is building quite a different house from
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the one you thought of. Throwing out a new wing
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here, putting on an extra floor there, running
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up towers, making courtyards. You thought you
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were being made into a decent little cottage.
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But he is building a palace. He intends to come
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and live in it himself. Christ dwelling in us.
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So we should not be overwhelmed by the ruins
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that we may see, whatever form they take around
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us and even within us, because God is always
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working. And so Paul, in this prayer, pouring
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himself out to God earnestly, pleading with God
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on his knees before God, prays for inner strength,
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inner love and inner transformation. And I wonder,
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do you know any follower of Christ who would
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not want more of these things in their lives?
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The answer is no. We long for that inner strength,
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that inner love, the love that flows out of a
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heart that is being overwhelmed by the love of
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Christ and that continued transformation. And
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it's in answer to these prayers that we receive
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the confidence to go on boldly trusting God for
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more, for more than we could imagine. And so
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that's why I would urge you to give yourselves.
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to bolder prayers, so that you are able to engage
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with the vision and the purposes that God has
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for you and for his whole church. Whatever that
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may mean for each one of you in the days to come,
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and whatever that may cost. It's why John Wesley
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famously said, prayer is where the action is.
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Prayer is where the action is. The prayers of
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the New Testament and particularly the context
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in which this prayer sits within the narrative
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of Ephesians, I would encourage you, are prayers
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to take on, to soak in, even to learn by heart.
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Prayer is where the action is. The Diocese of
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Sutherland and Nottingham has a reputation that
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it's built up over time of being... one of the
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most strategic dioceses in the Church of England
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in terms of its planning and its focus on implementing
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a clear plan for the development of gospel ministry.
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I'm always quite pleased when I hear people reflecting
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on that, sometimes not with entirely flattering
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terms, but it depends who you're listening to.
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It's something of the reputation that we have
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gained. Partly on the back of the development
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of that, we had the encouragement only four months
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ago now, the further investment in those plans
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of £33 million of church commissioners' funding,
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which is entirely for the revitalisation and
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renewal of the church, with a vision of discipleship
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at the centre of it. And I was thrilled that
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the Church of England, the church commissioners
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wanted to release that funding that will just
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help us to go on accelerating and trusting God
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for more. But the reality is that I don't believe
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that the most strategic thing that we are engaged
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with as a diocese, the thing that I'm thankful
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for is the plan and the alignment around that.
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Now, the thing that I know is most strategic.
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to the health and well -being of the diocese
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going forward of every church within it is our
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commitment to earnest humble dependent prayer
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upon god and that is why the meetings for prayer
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are the most significant in the life of the diocese
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and certainly for me as a bishop every monday
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morning at eight o 'clock when we gather as a
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senior team to pray and to worship. That is all
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we do. And we try not to go straight into simply
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praying for the things that we hope will get
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fixed this week, or at least won't completely
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fall apart, but to focus our prayers with praise
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and adoration and thanksgiving. And I know that's
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really important to the health and the well -being
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spiritually of the team that I lead, but also
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the life of the diocese. And then the most significant,
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the diocesan day of prayer, which we have every
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month. And it's the one day which I won't allow
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other things, whatever form they take, national
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responsibilities, even some quite important commitments
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that I might be asked to respond to. It is that
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opportunity to give ourselves in a way that expresses
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the orientation of the diocese in its dependence
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on God, not on having a plan. that has been developed,
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I hope, in alignment with the gospel, but in
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depending upon God to pour out his power to continue
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to move because prayer is where the action is.
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And the health of the church at this time, not
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only the local church or the diocese, but the
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health of the church in our nation and around
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the world. We face extraordinary challenges,
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but also unique opportunities. I do believe,
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and some of you may have kind of have a sense
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of this as well, there is a shift in the spiritual
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culture. There is an openness that we are certainly
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encountering on the ground in local churches
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across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. People
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just bringing themselves into church for no reason
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apart from, I knew I needed to come here into
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this building today. Now, we're always encouraged
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when that happens. I think for a year or so,
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I thought, well, maybe we're just noticing what
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God has already been doing. But I'm clear now
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that this is a shift. And we're simply going
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to trust God for more. But not simply that people
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might be filling up our churches. That cannot
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be our strategy. But that people might not only
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come to a commitment in Christ, but... We're
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sharing a vision for lifelong discipleship. We
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can't keep people, as it were, suspended up there
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on that mountaintop. But we need that mountaintop
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vision that we might live out the life of faith
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in our world today as faithful disciples. D .L.
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Moody once said, if God is your partner, then
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make your plans big. If God is your partner,
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then make your plans big. But I believe that
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as we pray the scriptures into our lives daily
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and into the life of the church, we can avoid
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the danger that our plans are about making ourselves
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feel big, or at least better. But they're a reflection
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of the God who is calling us and who has a gospel
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that is salvation and good news for all who will
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respond. Now, of course, that big is not always
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big in the way that others see it. In God's eternal
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plan and purposes, some of the things that may
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seem small to us at the time are for greater
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purposes than we could ever possibly imagine
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and might ever know in this life. But we continue
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to give ourselves in surrender to the Lord. And
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so I simply want to urge you today, and as we
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come to the Lord's table in a moment, I urge
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you, do not lose heart. Anyone who may have woken
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up this morning feeling somewhat more despondent
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by the things that are before you, maybe the
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ruins around you, do not lose heart. And especially
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when the battle is raging fiercely. And when
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your body and your mind and your soul grow weary
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in the face of that. Let us make sure that we
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pause, as it were, with Handley Moll. We take
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that time to step back, to take in the view from
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the summit of all that Christ has done for us,
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and then to renew our confidence again in him,
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in Christ alone, who is able to do immeasurably
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more than all we ask or imagine, according to
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his power that is at work within us. To him be
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glory, in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
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all generations forever. And forever. Amen.