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This Sunday
October 15, 2017
Sermon Title:
"Immeasurably More"
"Ephesians: Spiritual Riches" series
Scripture:
Psalm 139:7-12
Eph. 3:14-22
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 October 12, 2017
Greetings in the name our Lord Jesus Christ!
This week is one of my favorite passages of the New Testament - obviously, since I quote from the end of it almost every single week! This verse was life-changing for me.
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)
Nearly 25 years ago, I sat in a hotel room in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, trying to figure out what to do with my life. It was my first time overseas. To go on the trip, I had begged and groveled - and even wrote a memo to my boss about why they should let me go. They finally said yes. During that short three-week time, I had experienced my first fish dinner with the eyeball still intact. I traveled through some of the areas hit hardest by the Ethiopian famine. I experienced my first pit latrine. I got violently ill after eating a sandwich with lettuce on it at the Hilton Hotel. And I completely fell in love with Africa.
Our staff in Ethiopia were some of the strongest Christians I had ever met. They had been through unimaginable hardship during the famine. They worked long hours every day, and just when I was about to fall over with fatigue at the end of the week, they were just warming up for their all-night prayer vigil every Friday night. I was ready to stay in Africa.
The problem was, World Vision didn't think I was qualified for a job in Africa. Every time I asked, they told me I should go into the Peace Corps to get experience. A Bachelor's degree and three weeks experience was not good enough. I didn't know what to do.
During the trip, I had been reading a book by Catherine Marshall (I wish I could remember the name of it!!). In it, she encouraged her readers to "pray your dreams." That sounds lovely, but I didn't even know what I should dream. So finally, I said to the Lord, "Father, I need you to dream for me!" I thought specifically about this verse in Ephesians - "immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine." It was like I dared God, "Okay, you say immeasurably more, so prove it!"
Just a few days later, I had a phone call from a friend who worked for World Vision in Mozambique. I asked how she was doing, and she told me that she had gotten sick and probably needed to go back to the States. The thought instantly flashed through my head, "Oh no, they're going to ask me to go to Mozambique!"
All day long, I flinched every time the phone rang. But they never called. We got in the car to drive back to the hotel. Just as they were opening the gate to the compound, someone came running out of the office. "There's a phone call from the States!"
Sure enough, they wanted me to go to Mozambique, for a "month or two or so," until they could find a permanent replacement for my friend. Literally 36-hours later, I was on a plane. I left everything behind - my apartment, my car, and my life in the US. I ended up living in Mozambique for most of the rest of the year. And that work gave me the experience I needed to have an incredible career traveling through four continents with World Vision.
Over the last 25 years, I have repeated that prayer several times to ask the Lord to dream for me. He always surprises me with the answers. The most recent time I prayed that, He brought me here!
What can you ask or imagine? God is the one who invented our imagination. He invites us to pray our dreams. And when we don't even know what to dream, he will dream for us.
What are your dreams--for your life, for your family, for this church, for this community, for the world? Lay down your dreams before the Lord and see how he answers them!
Many blessings,
Pastor Carolyn
PS - Yes, that photo is from my very first passport-my 23-yr-old self looking innocent and excited!
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