Paul ends Ephesians 3 with words which remind us that there is always so much more of God and His blessings to discover. He says, ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’ (Eph 3:20-21)

God is not worn out by giving us the blessings of strength, His presence and His love, as we sometimes feel when we have done things for other people! He is not sitting down in need of some replenishment because He is exhausted by being so generous towards us. He is able to do immeasurably more, even more, than this! His power is at work in us and He is able to pour out even more blessings. There is no limit to what God can do. There is no limit to the amazing blessings He is able to pour out on us. He is that never-ending fountain of life (Ps 36:9) and all our fountains are in Him. (Ps 87:7) There is never any water shortage in God, never any lack, any deficiency and we can ‘rise above the normal’ (‘Hero’, Kutless) because we are linked to the Almighty. There is no need to fear, no need to give up, no need to despair. Robert Browning got it right when he wrote, ‘God’s in his heaven – all’s right with the world!’ (Pippa’s Song) We may be surrounded by battles and in the thick of trouble, but God’s power and strength and presence and love will see us through.

The reason Paul can be so confident about the blessings of God is because He has a secure understanding of who God is. We really need this confidence in and understanding of God if we are to receive God’s blessings and be transformed as Paul prays. So often, our eyes are on our circumstances and on the difficulties we face, and that leaves us feeling weak and powerless. We are like the Israelites when they were facing Goliath. Goliath was about 3 metres tall – 9 feet 9 inches. (1 Sam 17:4) Scripture tells us, ‘He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armour of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.’ (1 Sam 17:5-7) He was an intimidating sight, and there’s no wonder Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified when they saw him and heard his roars. That is a symbol of how we often feel in life when we face circumstances beyond our control and situations which daunt and terrify us. We feel weak and helpless; the enemy seems huge and overpowering. But when David came along, he saw something different. He could see the giant just like everyone else could, but David’s vision of God was much bigger.

David had confidence in God’s ability to deliver him: ‘The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’ (1 Sam 17:37) So often, what distinguishes those who win victories in God and those who live in failure is not the person’s abilities or their own strengths but their confidence in God (see 1 Sam 17:45-47). David had a right view of God. He saw God as all-powerful. He saw God as almighty. He was not overwhelmed by the situation or terrified by the bluster of the giant because he was confident in God’s ‘glorious riches’, in His vast, unlimited power. We need to be people like David and Paul who focus more on who God is than on the many problems we face (see Ps 50:1-3, Ps 55:10, Ps 2:6).

Matt Redman reminds us, ‘A big view of God is a cure for so many of the things in life that would stand in our way or slow us down in ministry. When we really grasp the heights of who He is, and the depths of His heart for us, and the strength of His power in us, we can live a whole different kind of life. The way we view God will radically affect how our lives operate… We must see and believe Him as big enough, kind enough, real enough and strong enough to move in power in our everyday lives – no matter what we’re facing.’

We continued with the series ‘Battles & Blessings’ this morning, looking at some of the blessings Paul outlines in Ephesians 3:14-21. Paul reminds us that these blessings come from God’s ‘glorious riches’, reminding us to focus on who God is rather than on the circumstances and problems which so often overwhelm us.

The Blessing of Strength

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is that God ‘may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.’ (Eph 3:16) There are different kinds of strength (compare the physique of a sprinter like Usain Bolt with the wiry strength and stamina needed by a long-distance runner like Mo Farah, for example), but God wants to give us the strength to endure.

So often we can be like Elijah after the famous victory on Mount Carmel: discouraged, afraid, disheartened and ready to give up (see 1 Kings 19:1-18). God’s strength in us enables us to carry on (Gal 6:10, Ps 62:11-12, Is 40:31).

The Blessing of Christ’s Presence

Paul prays that the Ephesians will have strength and power ‘so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.’ (Eph 3:17) Ultimately, God’s presence in us is the energising force that gives us life. Paul, when writing to the Corinthians about the resurrection, says, ‘The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.’ (1 Cor 15:45) Jesus gives life to us. His presence within us by His Spirit gives us the power and the strength we need to face whatever life hurls at us, so that we can learn, like Paul, to be content whatever the circumstances (see Phil 4:11-13). We receive this blessing by faith, for there is often no visible sign of God’s presence (‘we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ (2 Cor 4:7)), but we live by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7) God has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5), so even if we face rejection from parents, spouses, family and friends (see Ps 27:10, 2 Sam 6:20-22, Ps 55:13-14, 1 Sam 30:6), we can lean on the promise of His presence with us and in us.

The Blessing of God’s Love

The third blessing available to us is the power to grasp something of God’s love, even though Paul admits this is a love that actually ‘surpasses knowledge.’ (Eph 3:17-19).There is nothing more important in life than learning to live in the fulness of God’s love. God is love. (1 Jn 4:8) There is no greater blessing than knowing we are loved with a love that is faithful, constant, never-ending and unfailing. Paul wants us to be rooted and established in love, because he knows that storms come and rock us. We need solid foundations, good roots, like a tree that can’t be uprooted even in a hurricane. The battles of life have a way of knocking us over and leaving us unsure about what God is really like and if His love really is as strong and dependable as we believe. It’s easy to believe in God’s love when the sun is shining and everything is going our way, but it can be truly difficult to believe God’s love is deep and high and long and wide when we are in the darkness. John says, ‘And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.’ (1 John 4:16) This is the truth we have to hold onto when the hurricanes and storms of life come and leave us feeling lost and bewildered. God’s love is limitless, perfect and never-ending.

The first group of three psalms in the Psalms of Ascent look at the problems faced on the journey, the help and protection God gives and the sense of joy on arrival in Jerusalem.

Ps 120 is an admission of need, almost a psalm of complaint. It starts in the place of distress (Ps 120:1), with the psalmist all too aware of the ‘lying lips and deceitful tongues’ all around him (Ps 120:2) and distressed by living among those who hate peace (Ps 120:5-7). We live in a world where it’s a constant battle to do good and we often feel like fish swimming against the tide. Being slandered and misrepresented and living in a society which condones (and often promotes) exploitation (Meshek and Kedar were cities which sold humans for profit, Ezek 27:13,21) is wearing and wearying, but it is only as we face these situations that our hearts are stirred towards God.

Ps 121 reassures that God is our help; it is a psalm of comfort and consolation. Life – whether seen as a literal or metaphorical pilgrimage – is full of pitfalls and traps (stumbling, tripping, heatstroke, perils at night), but God is beside us at all times; our help comes from Him. (Ps 121:2) In life, we are not guaranteed immunity from troubles (John 16:33), but we do have a God of protection and providence to help us.

Ps 122 is a psalm which rejoices in Jerusalem, the pilgrim’s destination, and which celebrates community. Collective joy and collective worship are crucial parts of the Christian journey and we need, like Moses, to encourage others to join with us in this experience (see Num 10:29). The pilgrimage always starts with a first step; without that collective ‘Let us go’ (Ps 122:1), we are often too prone to stay at home and worship in private. Gladness in collective worship and the importance of prayer are both highlighted in this psalm, which reminds us of the peace which God can bring (Ps 122:6-8).

The Psalms of Ascent remind us of the importance of place and song in worship. For devout Jews, Jerusalem signified the place where God dwelt, with the Temple the visible reminder of God’s presence among them (which is why the destruction of the first temple by Babylon and the second temple by the Romans was so devastating and resulted in an annual day of mourning (the Ninth of Av)). For Christians, a church building or cathedral is often the symbol of God’s presence, but we need to be reminded that nowadays God dwells in His people by His Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) rather than in any building (Paul reminded us that ‘the God who made the heavens and earth… does not live in temples built by human hands.’ Acts 17:24)

Nonetheless, places can have significant spiritual importance in our lives. Jesus talked of a place we can go to in order to pray (‘when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.’ Matt 6:6), even though we know we can pray anywhere. For many, there are places where God’s presence seems especially real (often in a beautiful outdoor place, for example) and there is (as Ps 122 makes plain) great joy in gathering with God’s people in a place set aside for worship to God. The Psalms of Ascent sing of this gathering with great gusto, but remind us also that the journey itself is important, not just the arrival.

Singing is an important part of worship, and again, we have to remember that the singing takes place on the journey as well as on our arrival. The benefits of singing are both physical (improving posture, breathing and muscle tension) and emotional (from the release of positive neurochemicals such as β-endorphin, dopamine and serotonin). Community singing is also hugely beneficial, as the upsurge in the popularity of choirs testify. Armies have long discovered the benefits of singing while marching in keeping groups together and any parent knows that singing on long journeys can be useful for distracting children from boredom! In worship, however, singing is primarily important in focussing our attention on God and allowing truth to penetrate our hearts and minds. The psalms are especially useful in fulfilling this task.

We are currently entering the holiday season in the UK and June has been unusually warm and sunny here. Holidays are generally associated with rest from work, an opportunity to visit somewhere different and time spent with families and friends. These days, travel is easy and so we can visit countries abroad with relative ease or we can explore the many beautiful parts of the UK, taking in the glorious scenery of beaches and the coast or the greenery of hills and glens. Most of us really enjoy the break from routine which holidays afford and value the time away from the daily grind.

Religious festivals provided Jews with an opportunity to rest from work and to spend time with families and friends, but there was also a pronounced emphasis on gathering to worship God and to remember all He has done for us. As the historical psalms have shown us, there is a constant need to remember God and His wonderful deeds (see Ps 78:7, 35), and the festivals provided this planned opportunity to take time out of our everyday routines:

• to focus attention on God
• to recall God’s work in history
• to rest/ refrain from work (since even God rested on the seventh day, rest is a definite requirement for successful, obedient living)
• to keep historical tradition alive
• to foster a sense of community and belonging
• to ensure regular reflection and celebration

Just as we look forward to an annual summer holiday, we need to take time out of our busy schedules to rest and to worship God. The weekly provision of this was the Sabbath (Ex 20:10); the festivals were the opportunity to take a week long break to gather with God’s people to worship and celebrate. Pilgrimages still feature in many Christian traditions (with journeys to special places such as Lourdes or Walsingham or the Holy Island, often places associated with the miraculous intervention of God in the past) and many Christian festivals (Spring Harvest, the One Event, the Keswick Convention, Greenbelt, the Big Church Day Out) also provide the opportunity to combine holidays with holy days. Wherever we go this summer or wherever we are, even if we have no opportunity to go away, we can still join with God’s people in worship and celebration.