LGC - Rooted & Fruitful Part 6

Rooted & Fruitful (Part 6)

Speaker: Tay Leng Seng

INTRODUCTION

This week we continue our series on Ephesians, Rooted and Fruitful. When we think about famous missionaries or preachers, sometimes we are tempted to believe that they have some empowerment not available to us regular believers. But this is not biblical! God wants all of us to be filled with His power, as we discover in Ephesians 1:19-23.

In our last instalment, we learned that Paul wanted us to know the hope to which we have been called, the riches of His glorious inheritance in us, and this week we learn that he wants us to know “His incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19 NIV). What we need is to know, grow and flow in the power of God.

DISCUSSION

Share with your group a time when you experienced God’s power personally.
Read Ephesians 1:19-23. These verses sit in the context of Ephesians 1:15-23 which celebrates the value of our salvation in Christ. Paul’s prayers for the believers of Ephesus not only include praise for their success, but an appeal for their growth. As believers, we are not only followers of Jesus, but also recipients of His blessings and power. With that, Paul’s challenge to the church is, how do we live as citizens of heaven in a world whose citizens do not acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Paul’s answer is to know God’s power by experience.

a. What do you learn about God’s power from this passage?

b. What is the difference in knowing about God’s power intellectually versus experientially?

c. Do you agree or disagree with this statement, “Many Christians do not know “His incomparably great power” – or they only know it from a distance.” Why?

d. Which is a more certain evidence of God’s power: Performing miracles or a godly life (see Matthew 7:21-23)?
The speaker shared that in order to receive God’s power, we need to humbly submit to the headship of Christ (Ephesians 1:22).

a. How do the following verses help you understand what it means to submit to Christ?

i) John 14:15
ii) John 15:4
iii) Romans 12:4-5
iv) Ephesians 4:4-5
v) Galatians 3:27

b. In what area of your life do you find it difficult to submit to Christ’s headship? How can your group pray for you?
The speaker also said that in order to receive God’s power, we must hunger for Christ daily. In Matthew 5:6 (NIV), Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Where do you look for nourishment? What awakens you? How can you be more intentional in seeking God daily?

WHAT WILL YOU DO

In Matthew 10, Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. He gave them the power to drive out demons and heal the sick. His parting words in 10:8b were, “Freely you have received, freely you give”. God has given us so much. And He delights to empower us daily to do His work. Let us choose to obey the still small voice, and experience the move of His power in and through us. Let us submit to Him and hunger for Him, allowing Him to fill us. At Christ’s death, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). We have full access to God the Father through the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. But we need to enter!

MEMORY VERSE

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV)