Elevate Your Expectations: God's Immeasurable Power and Love

Aug 09, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Roots Deeper Than the Storm

When life’s winds threaten to upend us, stability comes not from visible effort but unseen roots. Paul’s prayer for inner strength through the Spirit reminds us that resilience isn’t about gritting our teeth but sinking deeper into divine nourishment. Like a tree anchored by hidden roots, our capacity to endure grows when we depend on Christ’s power, not our own striving. Storms test what’s beneath the surface. True strength flows from surrender to the Spirit who renews us inwardly, even when circumstances crumble. [34:34]

“That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
(Ephesians 3:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you relying on willpower instead of inviting the Spirit’s strength? How might embracing weakness today create space for Christ’s power to anchor you?

Day 2: Foundations When the Ground Shakes

Buildings don’t celebrate their foundations until the ground shifts. Paul’s metaphor of being “grounded in love” points to the cross as our unshakable base. Unlike emotional highs or fleeting experiences, Christ’s historical sacrifice secures us. When life feels unstable, we don’t need better tactics—we need to remember what’s already been poured into our foundation. Cracks in our peace often reveal where we’ve built on lesser things. [35:31]

“…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth…”
(Ephesians 3:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: What current “shift” in your life exposes where you’ve been standing on something other than Christ’s love? How does the cross redefine stability for you today?

Day 3: Love’s Four-Dimensional Shape

God’s love isn’t a flat concept but a cross-shaped reality stretching beyond human measurement. Paul’s prayer to grasp love’s breadth, length, height, and depth mirrors the crucifixion’s cosmic scope. Early Christians saw this as a map—every direction leads back to Calvary. Our limited vision reduces love to a transaction; God’s love is an ever-expanding frontier to explore, not conquer. [38:12]

“…to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:19, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you tried to “manage” God’s love instead of letting it disrupt your boundaries? What would it look like to follow one dimension of His love into unknown territory this week?

Day 4: Gas Tank Fullness for the Long Road

Paul distinguishes between Thanksgiving fullness (stuffed and stuck) and gas tank fullness (fueled for movement). Being filled with God’s fullness isn’t about spiritual gluttony but receiving capacity for the journey ahead. Like a vehicle meant for roads, not driveways, we’re filled to participate in God’s mission. The Spirit’s fuel isn’t for hoarding—it’s for going further than we’d dare alone. [39:35]

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…”
(Ephesians 3:20, ESV)

Reflection: What “road” have you avoided because you assumed your tank was empty? How might today’s challenges be an invitation to test your fuel gauge in Christ?

Day 5: Asking Beyond the Dashboard Prayers

We often treat God like an Uber driver—making small talk and requesting convenient drop-offs. Paul’s doxology shatters this smallness: God works beyond our dashboard prayers and GPS agendas. His “immeasurably more” isn’t about granting wishes but expanding our vision of His glory. Bold prayers aren’t about manipulating outcomes but aligning our asks with His infinite character. [40:38]

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21, ESV)

Reflection: What prayer have you reduced to “small and safe” to avoid disappointment? How might rephrasing it to focus on God’s glory, not your comfort, change your expectation?

Sermon Summary

At the start of Elevate, the call is not to settle for a smaller life than what God has made available in Christ. A broken-down van on the way to the rodeo becomes a picture of expectations. The Uber driver was expected to make small talk, get the family to the destination, and disappear. God often gets treated that way too, as if his job is to answer prayers, make life smooth sailing, and get his people where they already decided to go.

Paul in Ephesians 3 pushes against that small view of God. Paul writes from prison, chained to a guard and facing an uncertain future, yet his prayer is not mainly for escape. Paul bows his knees before the Father and asks that the church would step into what already belongs to it in Christ. The prayer becomes a staircase into the power of God.

Paul first asks that God’s people would be strengthened with power through the Spirit in the inner being. The strength does not come from gritting teeth, trying harder, or lasting longer by human effort. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead supplies strength through the years, not just strength for the moment.

Paul then says that God’s people are rooted and grounded in love. The roots of a tree and the foundation of a building are mostly unseen, but they matter when the storm comes and when the building starts to shake. Christ’s love, displayed on the cross and sealed in his death and resurrection, is the ground that holds the people of God together when life is unsteady.

Paul stretches the mind with the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love. That love is not a checkbox that someone reaches and moves on from. Christ’s love has no edge, no limit, no place where it cannot reach, and the shape of that love looks like the cross.

Paul finally prays that God’s people would be filled with all the fullness of God. That fullness is not Thanksgiving-full, where everything stops on the couch. That fullness is gas-tank-full, ready for the road ahead. Paul’s doxology lifts the church even higher: God is able to do far more abundantly, immeasurably more, infinitely more than all that can be asked or imagined. The God called Father is not an Uber driver with a limited route, but an unfailing fountain that keeps pouring out, giving strength, love, presence, and power for whatever comes next.

Key Takeaways

1. God is not an Uber driver The Uber image exposes a small and transactional view of God. God is not merely there to make life smooth, answer on demand, and deliver people to the destination already chosen for themselves. The Father may answer differently because his timeline and destination are bigger than the request placed before him. [28:13]
2. The Spirit supplies inner strength Paul’s prison prayer does not begin with escape, but with strength in the inner being. The Spirit gives power that is deeper than willpower, thicker than emotional resolve, and steadier than circumstances. Outward life may waste away, but inward life can be renewed by the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. [32:23]
3. Christ’s love holds steady foundations The tree’s roots and the building’s foundation stay mostly hidden until the storm comes or the walls start shifting. Christ’s love works like that hidden strength, holding God’s people when life becomes shaky and unstable. That love is not based on a mood or a moment, but on the cross and resurrection as a fixed point in history. [34:11]
4. God’s love has no edge Paul reaches for every direction, breadth, length, height, and depth, because Christ’s love cannot be measured to its end. The love of God is not a box to check, but a reality to keep exploring over a lifetime. The cross itself displays a love stretching in every direction, reaching places no one thought grace could reach. [36:46]
5. Fullness means ready to go Paul’s picture of fullness is not spiritual overstuffing that leaves someone stuck on the couch. The fullness of God is more like a full gas tank, supplying what is needed for the road ahead. God gives strength, love, and presence so that his people can move forward into whatever comes next with confidence in him.

## [38:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[26:24] - Introducing Elevate
[27:11] - The Uber Driver Story
[28:59] - Small Expectations of God
[29:47] - Paul Writes From Prison
[31:32] - A Prayer Before the Father
[32:23] - Strength Through the Spirit
[34:11] - Rooted and Grounded in Love
[36:46] - The Dimensions of Christ’s Love
[38:38] - Filled With the Fullness of God
[40:38] - God Is Able to Do More
[42:34] - Praying Bigger, Bolder Prayers
[43:53] - The Unfailing Fountain
[45:50] - The Prayer Afraid to Pray

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ephesians 3:14-21
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength 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 knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” [31:32]

2 Corinthians 4:16
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” [33:25]

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [41:08]

Observation questions

In Ephesians 3, what are the main things Paul asks God to give his people, and what order do those requests seem to follow? [32:23]
What pictures are used to describe stability in love, and what does each picture highlight: roots in a tree and a foundation in a building? [34:11]
How is Christ’s love described in Ephesians 3, and what are the different directions Paul names to help people picture it? [36:46]
What contrast is made between being “Thanksgiving-full” and being “gas-tank-full,” and how does that help explain “the fullness of God”? [38:38]

Interpretation questions

Paul writes from prison, yet he prays first for inner strength instead of quick escape. What does that suggest about what God may be most concerned to do in his people during hard circumstances? [32:45]
If believers are rooted and grounded in Christ’s love rather than their own emotions or performance, how might that change the way they endure shaky seasons? [35:54]
Paul says believers are to know the love of Christ that “surpasses knowledge.” How can something be truly known and still never be fully exhausted or mastered? [36:46]
God is able to do far more than people ask or imagine. How does Isaiah 55:8-9 help explain why God’s answers may sometimes feel different from what was expected? [41:08]

Application questions

God is not an Uber driver whose job is to support a plan already made. Where is there a real temptation right now to treat God that way—to ask for help getting to a destination already chosen without asking whether his destination is different? [28:37]
The Spirit gives strength in the inner being, not just a burst of willpower for a hard moment. Where is strength running low right now: in patience, hope, endurance, faith, or joy? What would it look like to ask for Spirit-given strength there? [33:49]
Roots and foundations usually stay hidden until the storm comes. What has a recent storm revealed about what life is resting on? Where does Christ’s love feel like a real foundation, and where does that foundation need to go deeper? [34:34]
Christ’s love has no edge and reaches farther than people expect. Is there any place in life that still feels untouched by that love—past shame, family pain, fear about the future, or something else? What makes that area hard to bring into the light? [37:38]
The fullness of God is like a full gas tank for the road ahead. What is the “road ahead” this week or this season that feels demanding? How might remembering God’s fullness change the way that road is faced? [39:11]
God is able to do far more abundantly than all that is asked or imagined. What prayer has been kept small and safe because asking for more feels risky or disappointing? What might a bolder prayer sound like there? [42:34]
God is an unfailing fountain who keeps pouring out. When life feels unsteady, what helps the heart remember that God is not running dry? What practices, Scriptures, or conversations help keep that truth in view? [43:53]

Sermon Clips

57s

#ElevateExpectations

“``And that is what it means to elevate our expectations, Not to limit God to what we think is possible, but rather to say, I'm gonna make this big and bold prayer and trust that God is gonna show up in an amazing and powerful way so that he gets the glory, not just for my benefit. Because us, we sometimes like to think that God is our Uber driver, and he's there for us to get us to the destination that we think is best. When in reality, as Martin Luther describes this, is that he is like an unfailing fountain. And the more that it pours out, the more it keeps flowing. And he is a God who wants nothing more from us than for us to ask him for much and great things.”

52s

#ImmeasurablyMore

“Sometimes we stop short. But but here's what Paul's doing, he is taking us up to another top step that really never ends. But but here's what he's doing, he's he's effectively saying this, he is able. He is able to do what we ask. He is able to do what we ask or think. He is able to do all that we ask or think. He is able to do more than all we ask or think. He is able to do much more than all we ask or think. He is able to do very much more, immeasurably more, infinitely more than all we ask or think.”

48s

#FullTankFaith

“Because he is a God who loves his children, who has supplied us with everything that we need, the strength to keep going, the love to stand on that reminds us that no matter how shaky or unsteady this world is, that I am secure and loved by a God whose love for us, it has no end. So that in his love, powered by his strength, I may experience his fullness and his greatness through a fountain that never runs dry, that I have a full tank ready for whatever comes my way.”

42s

#PrayBoldly

“would be, what prayer have you been afraid of praying? What circumstance do you think is not capable of being turned around? And pray according to who he is, not according to what you can think of to ask. Because he has already given us everything we need and it comes to us through Jesus who has poured out for us, who continues to supply us with his strength, his love, so that we can face with full tanks.”

53s

#GasTankFaith

“Now, there's two types of fool. There's Thanksgiving fool, where you eat way too much food and you can't move, and you just have nothing to do but to sink into the couch and just sit there for hours until you come back to your senses. That's not the fool that Paul was talking about here, because that fool is a finish line. But what Paul is talking about is the other kind of fool, the gas tank fool, where you pull into the gas station and you fill up the gas tank, and now you're ready to go. Because it would be kind of silly to fill up your gas tank and just let the car sit in the driveway, but rather it's the gas tank full that says that you'll be filled to the fullness that you have what you need, you have what you have to go the road ahead.”

46s

#BoundlessLove

“Because at the end of the day, God's love is not a checkbox that you get to and you say, I'm good, But rather, it's something that you get to explore and experience in amazing and beautiful ways because there is nowhere that his love can't or don't reach. And just something to think about is that the early Christians, as they read this passage, you'll notice that it kind of makes the shape of a cross. The height, the depth, the width is kind of going in all four directions displayed on the cross.”

34s

#ChristsLoveOnTheCross

“And the love that he's talking about is not our love, but it's Christ's love that's displayed for us on a cross that was buried and raised on the third day. That is the ground that we are sunk into, that we are standing on as children of God. It's not based on an experience or an emotional moment, but rather it is rooted in a moment in history that forever changed the world.”

52s

#RootedAndGrounded

“The trees don't fall over on good days, but rather it's in those tough days, if the roots aren't strong enough that they fall down. But then he also uses the image of a foundation of a building. And I don't know about you, but I've never walked into a building and said, wow, this foundation is amazing and beautiful. I don't even notice or think about the foundation until there's cracks in it, or the building starts shaking, or the door starts shifting, and then you're like, oh man, we've got foundation problems. But Paul was saying that ultimately, are rooted and grounded, that you are held together, that you are able to stand in the shakiness because you are rooted and connected and grounded in love.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Mt. Olive Austin This sermon · AI assistant

How does the Spirit strengthen our inner being?

What does rooted and grounded in love mean?

What does fullness of God practically look like?