More Than We Can Imagine - Ephesians 3:14-21
I want to tell you about
four men. If you want to treat this as a
quiz, number a blank spot on your bulletin from one to four and you can attempt
to guess who they are.
The first was a college
drop out. He tried his hand as an
executive for a technology company. He
was fired. His first attempt as a
businessman failed. He was even forcibly
removed as the executive of a company he founded.
The second man was an
English teacher who tried his hand at writing.
However, when he had completed his first novel, it was rejected at least
thirty times.
The third man applied
three times to the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film,
and Television…and was rejected each time.
The fourth man “was fired
as a newspaper editor because ‘he lacked imagination and had no good
ideas.’ He had to close his first studio
because he could not pay his rent. He
was even told one of his ideas “would never work because…[it] would terrify
women.”
Do you think you know who
these men are?
The first brought us, for
better or worse, the iPod, iPhone, and iPad—Steve Jobs.
The second has now sold
more than 350 million copies of his more than 150 written works—Stephen King.
The third is now
considered one of the most influential filmmakers in history: bringing us
everything from Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan to Jaws, E.T., and Raiders of the Lost Ark, among others—Steven Spielberg.
The final gentleman, well
his idea that would terrify women has become one of the most beloved characters
of all time…the giant mouse on a movie screen, Mickey, along with numerous
animated and live-action movies, and the happiest—and very expensive—place on
earth—Disneyland, along with Disney World, and all things Disney, brought to us
courtesy of Walter Elias Disney. (Also,
notably the only non-Steve name on the list.)[i]
How many of you got all
four correct? I’ll give you a bonus
point if you can tell me which one was raised as a Methodist. It was Stephen King.
All four of
these—inventor, author, director, and animator—are men of imagination whose
imagination was shot down on numerous occasions. Their lives likely fragmented in some way by
their rejections and dismissals. Yet
they trusted in their gifts and refused to give up, and became some of the most
successful folks in their fields.
It was not a good time to
be a member of The Way, a follower of the one called Jesus. Just being connected with those who
worshipped the Christ, could get you killed.
From Nero to Domitian to Trajan, there was no love of Christians. Nero, needing a scapegoat for the fiery
destruction of most of Rome especially to get the heat off of himself, blamed
Christians for torching the city. Later
on, as his animosity toward Christians increased, he would use Christians for
entertainment—crucifying them, dressing them in furs and having dogs attack
them, or having them set ablaze to illuminate the night. Domitian, wanting to honor and maintain Roman
tradition, may have been angered by the Christians’ rejection of Roman gods and
goddesses and their refusal to participate in traditional Roman
activities. He continued to persecute
Christians, increasingly so toward the end of his reign. That persecution increased during the rule of
Trajan where Christians were put to death for being Christians because they refused
to worship the pagan gods and the emperor—thus, in many locations, leaving the
pagan temples empty and the pockets of those who sold sacrifices for those
temples with bare wallets.[ii]
Can you imagine being
part of the Church during this time? It
was a time when if you were found to follow Jesus, you might as well be dead
because, in all likelihood, you soon would be.
“Didn’t the people meet secretly in order to escape persecution?” At first, yes, but even secret gatherings
became illegal. Besides, for the true
follower of Christ, the worship of God was not limited to just those
gatherings, it was in how each follower lived out their lives. It would be noted by those in authority
whether or not you attended worship in the pagan temples or paid homage to the
emperor. A true disciple of Jesus would
not—they would refuse to enter those pagan places or bow to anyone other than
the One True God. The true member of The
Way would refuse to participate in any activities or traditions that would
compromise their faith because everything from athletics to the theatre was
laced with pagan worship. In addition,
there is still the command of Christ to His followers to take the Gospel to the
ends of the earth, making all disciples…a true follower of Jesus could not
simply be silent and watch the world go by, yet living out the Great Commission
was actually signing your own death warrant.
Imagine the hopelessness
that would set in. At first it had been
expected that Jesus would have returned within the lifetimes of those who
walked with Jesus. But it had not
happened. Now all the first generation
Christians had been put to death or were passing away. Now a fragmented second generation of
Christians made up the Church and were finding themselves under persecution. Jesus still had not returned. Persecution still reigned. The church would soon be no more.
And the author of
Ephesians writes as we hear again:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom
every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his
glory, he may rant that you may strengthened in your inner being with power
through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as
you are being rooted and grounded in love.
I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints,
what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of
Christ that surpasses all knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to
accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever, and ever. Amen.
The writer is telling the
churches who received this message, “I am on my knees praying for you. I want you to understand that God is with you
in the midst of all of this. Take heart,
have courage, stand strong because God’s Spirit is filling you and giving you
strength. Don’t despair, don’t think
this is the end. I know you can’t
imagine the Church surviving this, but remember, those closest to Jesus thought
that the end had come when He was upon the cross. The God we worship, the God who calls us
together, the God who commissioned each of us to take the Gospel into a world
that is persecuting us, is the same God who raised Christ from the dead. We may not be able to imagine a future for
God’s Church now, but we worship the God who is able to accomplish more than we
could ever ask for or imagine.”
That was the message that
the churches of Asia Minor received to give them courage in the midst of the
persecution they were facing under the Roman Empire. That is also the message that we, as
followers of Christ, are meant to hear today.
There are places where
Christians still face cruel torture and death sentences that harken back to the
conditions of the Roman Empire. Consider
the young mother in Sudan who is still sentenced to die because she is a
Christian, the pastor that has been imprisoned in Iran since 2011 and was
recently beaten by prison guards, the more than 200 Christian girls who were
kidnapped by Boko Haram and forced to recant their faith or who have been sold
into slavery, or the hundreds of Christians who have been killed in Nigeria and
Kenya over the last six months.
Things are different, yet
the same here, in our society. We may
not be facing a pack of dogs seeking to rip us apart as we are wearing animal
furs. We may not be turned into living
Roman candles to light up the night. We
may not be literally hung upon a cross. We
may not be facing firing squads, hangings, or the threat of kidnappings. However, the church is under attack.
There are the atheists
who want to suggest there is no God, who want to see God removed from anything
public, and who have started their own God-less church and time of
worship. There are the businesses of our
society who may not outright attack the church (although some companies
advertisements or entertainment belittle the faith in their depiction of
Christians of the faith), but simply suggest why spend your time worshipping
God when you could worship the goods in our store, the items on our brunch or
lunch menu, the players on our ball field, or the comfort of your couch because
we’ve worn you to a frazzle the last six days.
Laws and legislation are passed which affect the ability to practice our
faith in all aspects of our lives and livelihood.
It is easy for us to
become as discouraged and disheartened. It
would be easy to say that “nothing we’ve tried has worked, so why try anything
else”; or “that didn’t work the first time, so why try it again.” It would be easy to say, “we’re too small, we
can’t really make a difference”; or “we’re too old, we don’t have the energy”. It would be easy to give up, lock up, and
walk away depressed and without hope.
Yet to do so would be to
walk away from God and from His promises.
We cannot walk away from the Church without walking away from God—for
the Church is the Bride of Christ, and God is going to preserve His Bride, as
He has for all these years. We need to
remember the promises of God’s Word.
Christ said to Simon Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against
it.” He
said to Phillip and the other disciples, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who
believes in me will also do the works that I do, and in fact, will do greater
works than these, because I am going to the Father.” Then, as we heard this morning that, through
us, if we remain faithful to Him, God will do infinitely more than we can ever “ask
or imagine.” With those promises behind
us, let us keep the faith in the midst of all we face…because if Steve Jobs,
Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, and Walt Disney can achieve all that they
imagined relying on their own strength, just imagine what we can do relying
upon the strength of God…and know that God will achieve even more than that
through us!!!
In the Name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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