Warren Wiersbe wrote: "On January 6, 1822, the wife of a poor German pastor had a son, never dreaming that he would one day achieve world renown and great wealth. When Heinrich Schliemann was seven years old, a picture of ancient Troy in flames captured his imagination. Contrary to what many people believed, Heinrich argued that Homer's great poems, the Illiad and the Odyssey, were bases on historic facts and he set out to prove it. In 1873, he uncovered the ancient site of Troy, along with some fabulous treasure which he smuggled out of the country... Schliemann became a famous, wealthy man because he dared to believe an ancient record and act upon his faith."

Have you discovered the riches that are available to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ? Are you acting upon your faith? As Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus he expressed his gratitude for the faith and love, remembering them in his prayers. Moving to the next verses Paul continues a prayer that the eyes of his readers would be opened to the wealth of spiritual realities. I want us to take a few moments this morning to focus on knowing these four realities.

I. To know God.

Paul prayed that the God of Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give his readers a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I believe that Paul is talking about knowing God in a personal, experiential, and intellectual manner. Clearly, he is NOT referring to merely knowing about God. Knowing some facts concerning God may assist us in knowing God better, but this alone is not sufficient.

Do you know God, through Jesus Christ as your personal savior? If this is true you should long to know God better and better. Thinking about this two songs came to mind. One called "The Greatest Thing," repeats this sentence: The greatest thing in all my life, is knowing you. Another which may be more familiar is the hymn, Break Thou, the Bread of Life. Listen to a few words from this hymn. "Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord. My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word." Certainly there are others that express this desire.

II. To know God's hope.

Paul prayed that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened. so that they might know the hope of Christ's calling. Hope is a word which is used differently by different folks. A lazy student, who has not completed his assignment, may hope to pass a class while another student who has studied diligently may hope to get a good grade. An observer might comment that the lazy student has no hope.

In the New Testament hope is not limited to one's feelings or expectations. It is not like a child hoping for a certain gift for her birthday. New Testament hope refers to certainty, assurance for the future. Paul links this hope to our calling as Christians. He knew that God called him and he reminded Timothy that the believer has a holy calling. Peter wrote about this saying that we have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Paul and Peter both make it clear that God calls us by His grace, not because we are deserving of such a high and holy calling. However, it is because of this calling that we are people of hope. Are we an answer to this prayer that we know the hope of our calling?

III. To know God's riches.

Recall the story with which I began my message this morning. Heinrich Schliemann believed an ancient record concerning Troy and acted upon his faith." As a result he became famous and wealthy.

As we started to look at spiritual riches a few weeks ago we can think of them as a wealthy inheritance that belongs to those who act on their faith. It is possible that this is what Paul had in mind in this prayer to know God's riches. While you and I who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ do have a wonderful inheritance in Christ I think this pray may instead be referring to God's inheritance in you and me!

For some, it is hard to believe what great riches we have through faith in Jesus Christ. However, not only is Christ our inheritance, we are His inheritance. Can you imagine that God looks upon us as part of HIS great wealth? Wow! What a mind boggling thought! We are not a poor inheritance, but a gloriously rich one.

IV. To know God's power.

The final request of Paul's prayer that I want us to consider for a moment this morning is to know God's power. Kenneth Wuest translated verses 19 and 20 in this way. "And what is the super abounding greatness of His inherent power to us who are believing ones as measured in the operative energy of the manifested strength of His might, which was operative in the Christ when He raised Him out from among the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places." To express this power Paul used a number of Greek words. Dunamis is the natural ability, the word from which we get dynamite, dynamo and dynamic. Energeia is the word for working, for being operative as in energy. Another is kratos for mighty and is used in democratic, autocratic. As if that is not enough, ischus is finally used to speak of power. This must be why Francis Foulkes wrote, "Once again he expresses this in the strongest terms that language can find, both by speaking of its surpassing magnitude, and by using all the synonyms possible."

Do you know God's power? It is available and needed for all Christians to live faithful, fruitful lives, enjoying and sharing the wealth of God with a desperately poor and needy world. Enemies, including powerful evil spirits will defeat us if we try to stand in our own power. We must know God's power in order to be victorious.

Conclusion

What a wealthy prayer! To know God, To know God's hope, To know God's riches, and To know God's power.

Perhaps you have heard of a newspaper publisher, named William Randolph Hearst, who died some years ago. Hearst invested much of his fortune collecting art treasures from around the world. On one occasion he found a description of some valuable art items that he felt he must own. He sent his agent abroad to find these things. Months later his agent finally reported that he found the treasures. They were not abroad. They were in his own warehouse. He had been searching for treasures that he already owned.

If you are in Christ, you already have the requests of this wealthy prayer available to you. These treasures are in God's warehouse, available for you and for me.

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