This Sunday we will not be saying the Lord’s Prayer during the service. I strongly believe the Lord’s prayer is a pattern, an order, for prayer. I have preached on this. The sermon is below:

Introduction:

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take.” That may be the prayer that you learned when you were a child. When I was in preschool I learned: “God is great, God is good, God we thank you for this food, Amen.” We might have learned these prayers because we grew up in homes, or had extended family to teach us to pray. Others may not have had that privilege:

In the passage that we are going to look at Jesus teaches the disciples to pray.

Jesus teaches the disciples a meaningful order for prayer.

Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6:9-13 and read this passage with me.

Read passage:

This passage is also found in Luke 11.

In Luke 11:1 it says that Jesus was praying in a certain place and then the disciples asked Him to teach them to pray.

Actions speak louder than words. The disciples saw Jesus’ actions. They saw Jesus praying often and they saw the miracles that He did. In Luke 9:28ff they saw the transformation. In Luke 9:12ff they saw Jesus feed 5000. In Luke 8:40ff and 49-56 they saw Jesus heal Jairus’ daughter. In Luke 8:43ff they saw Jesus heal a woman with an issue of blood simply because she touched His garment. In Luke 8:22ff they saw Jesus still the sea. In Luke 4:31ff they saw, or heard about, Jesus casting out demons in Capernaum.  They had also seen Jesus praying a lot: in Mark 1:35 after Jesus had healed many people He retreated to a secluded place to pray. The disciples likely connected prayer with the miracles. So, they ask Jesus to teach them to pray.

• The question is: in the context of Jesus’ life, is the passage in Luke the same as the passage in Matthew? That is possible. It is also possible that Jesus taught this more than one time. This was important to Jesus.

Now let’s look at the passage

• Notice in verse 9 that Jesus says, “Pray then in this way.” This is important. Jesus didn’t say pray these words. No, Jesus was giving a pattern, an order for our prayers.
  • In order for us to grasp the significance of this we must look at the verses preceding this passage.
  • Jesus started teaching about prayer in verse 5. Notice in verse 7 Jesus said do not use “’meaningless’ repetition as the gentiles do.” The key word is “meaningless.”
    • There is nothing wrong with reciting this prayer occasionally in corporate worship, but we must be very careful of meaningless repetition. That is exactly what Jesus was going against He taught them this order for prayer.
    • Greek prayers piled up as many titles of the deity addressed as possible, hoping to secure his or her attention. Pagan prayers typically reminded the deity of favors done or sacrifices offered, attempting to get a response from the god on contractual grounds.^[1]
    • Jesus doesn’t condemn long prayers but wants meaningful verbiage.[2]
    • What I want you to know is that Jesus taught the disciples a meaningful order for prayer.
• Jesus teaches His disciples to start prayer with worship.
  • Prayer is meaningful when we start prayer with worship.
  • In the Greek “be Holy” is the same word. This is a verb and it is in the imperative mood. Or, some say it is the optative mood.
    • The optative mood is rare in the New Testament which expresses “a wish.”
    • The mood that normally expresses a command, intention, exhortation, or polite request. The imperative mood is therefore not an expression of reality but possibility and volition
    • When we are praying as Jesus taught us to pray we are not simply saying “Lord, Your name is Holy.” We are saying, “Let Your name be holy.” There is a simple difference. The difference is that we are asking God’s name to be revered as holy. The name of the Lord is who He is. This is a polite request, or a wish. We are asking God’s name to be set apart, sanctified, sacred. This is worship as we are ascribing to God what He is. He is holy.
    • In verse 10 we continue in worship. We are praying for God’s Kingdom to come. In verse 10 I see the focus on God. I notice a repeated personal pronoun “you,” or “your” in the English.  Do we realize what we are saying when we use this prayer. This is a powerful line. God’s Kingdom= submission.
      • “Your Kingdom come.”
      • “Your will be done.” (second person)
      • this means that our prayers must not be about us but about God. The only part about us is:
        • Forgiveness
        • Daily bread
        • Delivery from evil
        • Lead us not into temptation
        • but the prayer starts with worship by giving God credit for who He is and the prayer starts with asking that His will be done.
    • In this prayer we are praying for the God’s Kingdom to come about. This is a strong prayer. We are praying for His Reign.
    • This means that we must submit to His rule!
    • am I ready for the Kingdom to come? Do I mean this request?
    • God reigns in Heaven, we are asking God’s reign and will to come about on earth (Heb 1:3; 8:1; 1Peter 3:22).
    • So, meaningful prayer starts with worship. Meaningful prayer ascribes to God the attributes that He has and we request that He maintains His holiness. Meaningful prayer asks for the Lord’s will not my own. Meaningful prayer asks for His kingdom to come about. Meaningful prayer implies submission to His will and kingdom.
• Verse 11 shows us the second category of meaningful prayer. Meaningful prayer includes requests for our daily needs. Give us this day our daily bread.
  • Richard Foster who wrote Celebration of Disciplines which we are studying in Christian Discipleship Training, says that this shows that we are allowed to make personal request in our prayers. If we need a babysitter today, pray for that. If we need help shoveling snow, pray for that. But we pray for what we need, not what we want.
    • We may have many needs. We could also request for other people’s needs.

A mentor of mine was laid off from work back in the 1970’s. One Sunday they were on their way to church and it was their day to tithe. His wife asked him if they should tithe their last few dollars. He (Dave) said, “yes, that is the Lord’s money.” They went to church and gave that money in the offering plate. They didn’t tell anyone about their needs. The next day was their daughter’s birthday. That night the wife, Sharon, made a list of what they could use to make a birthday cake. The next day all of the items on the list were at their front door.

• It is good to ask for our daily needs. God could have dropped those items from Heaven, or He might have led someone to drop them off during the night. God answers prayer.
• Phil 4:6-9 says to pray with petition and thanksgiving.

• 4543 Prayer Meeting of 53 Hours
• Five men were entrapped in a deserted zinc mine in Salem, Kentucky, by falling rocks. They had nothing to eat. They were in utter darkness. One of the men could have saved himself had he not run back to warn the others.
• When the entombed men discovered that they could not escape, they began to pray and sing. Their prayer and praise service lasted for fifty-three hours! Then they were rescued. Later one of the men testified, “We lay there from Friday morning till Sunday morning. We prayed “without ceasing.” When the rescuers reached us, we were still praying!”
• When the men were brought up out of the mine, on the caps of each one were scrawled these words: “If we are dead when you find us, we are all saved!”
• —Walter B. Knight
• ^[3]
  • This may also be able to be translated: “give us this day our bread for tomorrow.” According to Dr. Stamps, a professor of worship Theology, this had the idea of a servant during the New Testament times receiving bread for the following day from the master. The master would leave this under his bed early in the morning. This was not discovered until the 19^th century.
  • So, meaningful prayer includes the request for needs.
• Verse 12 shows us that a meaningful order of prayer includes a request for forgiveness. Notice that this request implies that we have forgiven others. Richard Foster says that we always must give in order to be able to receive. He says, “It is simply that by the very nature of the created order we must give in order to receive. I cannot, for instance, receive love if I do not give love. People may try to offer me love, but if resentment and vindictiveness fill my heart, their offers will roll off me like water off a duck’s back. If my fists are clenched and my arms folded tightly around myself, I cannot hold anything.”[4]
  • So, we forgive others and we receive God’s forgiveness.
• In verse 13 Jesus shows that a meaningful order for prayer includes a request not to be lead into temptation and deliverance from evil.
  •  God does not tempt (James 1:13).
  • But god will test us. Richard Foster says this in praying this we are saying: “Lord, may there be nothing in me that will force you to put me to the test in order to reveal what is in my heart.”[5] The Lord can also intervene so that satan doesn’t tempt us.
  • Deliver us from evil is deliverance from the devil.

So, that is it. That is a meaningful pattern of prayer as opposed to the meaningless repetitions that the others were praying.

• We must start prayer with worship
• We must move on to request for our needs
• We must then request forgiveness
• We then request deliverance from evil and that the Lord keeps us from the test or temptation.

In 1Cor 13 the Apostle Paul was writing and he said, “When I was a child I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. This meaningful order of prayer calls us to put away childish repetitions, such as: Now I lay me down to sleep, we now pray to God in a meaningful order.

This meaningful order of prayer  implies that prayer is very important. Remember, Jesus taught the disciples to pray and Jesus modeled a prayer life.

“Stonewall Jackson,” says E. M. Bounds in Purpose in Prayer, “was a man of prayer.” Said he, “I have so fixed the habit of prayer in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God’s blessing, never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer under the seal, never take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward, never change my classes in the lecture-room without a minute’s petition for the cadets who go out and for those who come in.”

—Aquilla Webb

^[6]

I hope you have read something of Alcorn’s The Grace and Truth Paradox. Here are some quotes that stood out to me in chapter 2.

• “Our churches try to make sinners comfortable. How? They never talk about sin. Never offend anyone. They replace truth with tolerance, lowering the bar so everyone can jump over it and we can all feel good about ourselves.” (page 20)

I find that quote interestingly true. If you are replying, what do you think about that? Do you agree or disagree? What is wrong with this, if it is true?

Alcorn also writes:

• Something’s wrong if all unbelievers hate us.
• Something’s wrong if all unbelievers love us.
• John 15:20: they persecuted Jesus. (page 20)
• When we offend everybody, it’s because we’ve taken on the truth mantle without grace. When we offend nobody, it’s because we’ve watered down the truth in the name of grace. (page 20)

The church Alcorn pastored was picketed for their stance on abortion, so the church served donuts to the picketers. This is grace and truth. They stood on truth but gave gifts. (page 24)

“On the morning we were picketed, some street preachers with signs shouting hell and damnation showed up to take on the abortion activists. Their message contained truth, but their approach lacked grace. One of the street preachers barged between my daughter and me and a few of the Lesbian Avengers just as we finally had an opportunity to talk with them. The door of witnessing was slammed in our faces…by Christian brothers. We tried to reason with the street preachers, After all, this was our church, and we didn’t want them screaming at our ‘guests’—even if they were screaming the truth. Most cooperated, but a few decided we were waffling on truth and it was an abomination for us to offer doughnuts to people who needed to be rebuked.

• The following Sunday two street preachers picketed our church, scolding us for our “pathetic” attempts at doughnuts and coffee evangelism.
• So after twenty-one unpicketed years, our church was picketed two weeks in a row.” (page 25)

Do you agree that this is an example of “grace and truth”? Please post comments.

A Facebook questions was asked:

A question for “Ask the Pastor”
Do you think that the books we read, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, and the people we hang with can influence our lives in negative ways, even if we think they are just creative outlets?

short answer first:

1 Thess 5:21 states:

²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good,

In that passage Paul is writing about prophesies and telling the people to test the prophesies. There certainly must be a place for creative outlets. But every writer and movie producer certainly has their own worldview and that worldview does come through in their writings and movies. I have thought if God is too pure to look upon sin and sin is against God, should I be entertained by sin? I know that I am guilty as I have been entertained by the Office and Big Bang Theory. I have been entertained by violent shows such as 24 (a new favorite), and movies like Braveheart. Certainly friendship of the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). In Romans 12:1-2 and Paul exhorts us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world. In John 17 Jesus says that we are in the world but not of the world.

So, I think there is a line which is different for all where something is corrupting them and wrong to watch or listen to. However, some things are so filthy that no one should take part in them. Ephesians 6:12 states: “It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” Examples may be pornography. On another note there are shows like the Simpsons that may be humorous but show extreme disrespect for parents. This violates the Ten Commandments (Ex 20), kids watch this and copy it.

Below I am posting a sermon I preached on the Challenge of the Media. It has several quotes about the media’s effect on people. I also can allow anyone to barrow a DVD message by Dr. Bill Brown, President of Cedarville University, he speaks a lot about worldview.

Introduction:

The media world affects us all in many ways.  media greatly affects our kids. But I think that media effects us all in mnay ways. Actually, I think it creeps up on us and we don’t even notice it. But how does the media effect us? Is the media all bad? What is the media?

When I say media I am talking about television, movies, video games, cell phones, music, and anything else that is used for entertainment. I would like to say that the media is not all bad. The media is not even half bad. The media is not bad at all. However, there is something that is bad and that is the abuse of the media.

The media causes us to think or dwell on things. They know that we do and we know that. If it wouldn’t cause us to think or dwell on things there would be no point in watching television. There would be no point in listening to music, or playing video games. If it didn’t work there would be no point in advertising. Think about it, a comedy is to bring humor. It takes our minds off of day to day living and makes us feel good.

Now let’s look at what the Bible says about the media. Let’s look at Philippians 4:8

8     Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.^[1]

1. When gauging whether media intake is right or wrong we know we should think on:
   1. Whatever is true:
      1.                                                               i.      I don’t think that this means that it is wrong to be entertained by a story that is fiction. But I don’t think we shouldn’t be entertained by gossip. This more applies to the news and magazines and such. I think we must also be careful about being entertained by something that gives is a false idea of the spiritual world.
   2. Example: “Sociologist s conducted a survey of 104 of Hollywood’s elite, asking the most influential writers and producers a number of idealogical questions. The findings showed:
      1. 93 percent seldom or never go to worship services;
      2. 97 percent believe in a woman’s right to abort;
      3. 16 percent agree that adultery is wrong;
      4. 99 percent believe that television should be ‘more critical’ of Judeo-Christian values” Luce, Ron. Battle Cry For a Generation. Cook Communication Ministries, Colorado Springs, CO. 2005. Page 38
      5.                                                             ii.      That will come out in the media we take in. We must be careful of it.
   3. We must think on whatever is honorable: This means we should think on that that is dignified, that that is worthy of respect. Apply this to today
      1.                                                               i.      Is the extreme sexual content in the movies and video games worthy of respect?
      2.                                                             ii.      Even back in the 60’s John Wayne was against nudity and sex in movies. John Wayne said, “No one in any of my pictures will ever be served drinks by a girl with no top to her dress.”
   4. We must think on whatever is right. This means that it is right with God’ standards.
      1.                                                               i.      Why should we be entertained by sin?
      2.                                                             ii.      God saved us from that sin. Christ dies for that sin.
         1. What about extreme violence: “In November 2002, an Ohio girl was beaten to death by a 15 year old boy with one of the posts from the victim’s bed. (investigators later discovered that the boy’s favorite way to kill in the video game Grand Theft Auto was to use a baseball bat.) The boy then stole her car, as players do in the game. Witnesses say the murderer played the game for hours, turning into a ‘zombie’ when he played.” Luce, Ron. Battle Cry For a Generation. Cook Communication Ministries, Colorado Springs, CO. 2005. Page 49
         2. “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Rated M for mature: Intense violence or language; may include mature sexual themes. Players become gangsters, getting their kicks by stealing cars. They can relieve the tension of killing other players’ characters by hiring prostitutes to have sex with them in their cars. The sex is off screen, but conveyed by ecstatic moaning, the car’s rocking, and the vibration of the game pad.” Luce, Ron. Battle Cry For a Generation. Cook Communication Ministries, Colorado Springs, CO. 2005. Page 41
         3. A 1984 evaluation of the increase in rape rates in various countries bears close correlation to the liberalizing of restrictions on pornography.
         4. There is a connection between how we are entertained and what we do.
   5. We must think on things that are pure. Pure means without sin.
   6. We must think on things that are lovely. This means things that promote peace rather than conflict.
   7. We must think on whatever is of good repute. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy.
2. What do we do if nothing meets these qualifications?
   1. There are many Christians with children who don’t own a television
      1. Look at Romans 12:1-2: Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
   2. We as Christians are not only watching things that include sin we are being conformed to the world. Christ saved us from the world.
   3. Do you ever wonder why you think bad thoughts? Do you ever wonder why you say bad things? Do you wonder why you cannot hear from God? There is no such thing as instant godliness. We will think, say, and do things that are not right if that is what we are meditating on. We will not hear from God if we are too distracted by the world.
3. There is also a problem with too much media
   1. “Young people average 16 to 17 hours per week watching television. If we add video games and video movie, we find that teenagers spend as many as 35-55 hours a week in front of a screen.” Luce, Ron. Battle Cry For a Generation. Cook Communication Ministries, Colorado Springs, CO. 2005. Page 45

Closing:

Media is here to help us with life. It is not here to take our lives away. But that is what is happening. We as a country are going to have grave consequences if we don’t put a limit on our media intake. We are going to have grave consequences if we don’t put a limit on our children’s media intake. In 2Cor 10:5 Paul says that he holds every thought captive. In 1Thess 5:21 Paul says to test everything. Everything is sending us a message. We must test them. In the youth ministry we will be studying the effects of the media over the next 4 weeks. As you enter this new year, I want to challenge you whether you may need to change the quality and or the amount of media that you intake.

This month’s memory verse has been Matthew 28:19-20. Below, I have posted a sermon which I preached on this passage. I preached it has part of a student ministries service on June 29, 2008. This was following a mission trip to Harlan, Kentucky through Adventures in Missions (A.I.M.). Harlan, KY is part of Appalachia. Below is the sermon. Feel free to post questions or comments:

Outline:

Intro:

The youth group just got back from Appalachia as you know by now and we had a lot of awesome, God given experiences. You have heard about a lot of them by now. One thing that I really liked about this trip is the focus on discipleship. The group that we went on this mission trip with was called AIM and that stands for Adventures in Missions. AIM requires every group that goes on one of their mission trips to go through what they call Missions101. Missions 101 is 7 weeks of missions training. In that training we read a lot of Scripture, we spend time in prayer, we spend time in listening prayer which is prayer where we actually spend quiet time waiting for God to respond, we study the area we are going to, we talk about dress codes and packing list, but during the first week we talk about why we go on a mission trip. That is what I want to talk about now. Why? Who cares? Why do missions? Turn in your Bibles to Mathew 28:18-20 and we will also reference Acts 1:8.

Let’s read Mathew 28:18-20

1. First , Jesus tells them all authority on Heaven and on earth has been given to Him.
   1. Jesus didn’t say some authority He said all authority
   2. One of the cool things about Scripture is that Scripture backs itself up, Scripture supports itself. In Mathew 11:27 Jesus says that all authority has been handed over to me. In Daniel 7:13, Daniel has an end times vision of Jesus coming. In Mathew 26:64 Jesus says, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless, I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of Heaven.” A quote from Psalm 110:1 and Dan 7:13. But my favorite verse that supports Jesus’ power is Col 1:15-17: “He is the Image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth , visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created both through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together…”
      1.                                                                i.      The stars you see at night, they were created by Jesus and for Jesus
      2.                                                              ii.      The planets at the outer depths of space were created by Jesus and for Jesus
      3.                                                             iii.      The vast oceans on this earth were created by Jesus and for Jesus
      4.                                                            iv.      The clouds up in the sky were created by Jesus and for Jesus
      5.                                                              v.      The materials to create your house, computer, tv, all created by Jesus and for Jesus
      6.                                                            vi.      The rulers of the world were set in place by Jesus and for Jesus
         1. All of this is held together for His purpose
   3. But why did Jesus tell them this now? I actually think that they need that encouragement considering the mission He was about to give them and us. Let’s look at the mission—-
2. In verse 19 Jesus says, “As you go make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
   1. Did you notice that I said, “As you go…” but in our Bibles it really says, “Go, therefore..”  look one of the cool things that I learned recently is that if you look at the Greek tense of this passage it tells us that “go” is not a command but a present participle. The only command in this passage is to make disciples. That means that this passage might be better translated “as you go…” Let’s apply this a little:
      1.                                                                i.      On Thursday night we drove home from our trip. I got home late at night and started thinking, “It is amazing that we can pass from one culture to another in that amount of time.”  I am all for foreign missions, I am all for traveling four hours a way for a mission trip. But you know, we can pass from culture to culture in Cincinnati alone. The problem with foreign mission trips is that it makes us think that missions is away not at home.
      2.                                                              ii.      In this passage Jesus is saying, “as you go about your business make disciples” This is a natural part of a Christian’s life. We must be so incredibly excited that we are making disciples everywhere we go.
         1. As you go to your job at McDonalds, make disciples
         2. As you go to the factory, make disciples
         3. As you teach students, make disciples
         4. As you cut hair, make disciples
         5. As you make friends, make disciples
         6. As you go out to eat make disciples
         7. As you go to the grocery, make disciples
         8. As you go to Lowe’s make disciples
         9. As you go___________, make disciples
      3.                                                             iii.       This is backed up by other Scriptures.  Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, “You are the light of the world” Look there is a light that shine through Jesus who is in us and we cannot hide our light and too many of us are.
      4.                                                            iv.      Now, making disciples implies evangelism; however, that doesn’t mean that we are walking up to someone saying, “If you were to die tonight would you go to Heaven or hell.” If you want to, go ahead, make sure you know what you are talking about. There are other types of evangelism:
         1. Servant evangelism: help people. As you go to the grocery, open doors for people
         2. Social evangelism: as you out to eat be nice to the waiter or waitress. You know that people who work at restaurants hate working on Sundays. I wonder why, could it be that all the Christians, correction alleged Christians come after church and demand a lot and tip a little. Have grace.
            1. This is also just talking to people, representing Christ well. Build the relationship and then you have their trust when you tell them about Christ
         3.  Invitational evangelism: invite them to church
      5.                                                              v.      Jesus modeled this “as you go” mentality. When everyone else avoided Samaria, Jesus went through and talked with the woman at the well.
   2. There is spiritual depravity and physical depravity. Our area has both:
      1.                                                                i.      The city of Harlan has an average income of 17,270. The is national: 41,994
      2.                                                              ii.      Lincoln Heights:19,834
      3.                                                             iii.      hamilton 35,365 Population 60,763
      4.                                                            iv.      Lockland: 28,292 Population: 3505
      5.                                                              v.      Cincinnati: 29,493 Population: 317, 361
      6.                                                            vi.      Dayton: 27,423 Population: 161,996
         1. Lincoln height is one of the poorest areas of Cincinnati, what can we do to help them? Hartwell is another place right next to us, what can we as Christians do to help them in physical ways and hopefully Spiritual ways? We have Jesus and ultimately that is what they need; however, they may not care how much we can tell them about Jesus until they know that we care.
         2. I am serious about this, I believe that we as a church have got to purposefully make these suburbs around the church our mission fields. As you go to church drive through Lockland and Lincoln Heights and pray for them. Brain storm things that we can do to help them.
      7.                                                           vii.      In Acts 1:8: Jesus told them to be witnesses in Jerusalem which is local, in Judea which is a little further and a bigger area, in Samaria, which is further away and then to the ends of the earth. Missions starts at home.
         1. Also, Jesus is talking to Jewish people and He tells them all the nations can have this Gospel: Greeks, Barbarians, etc. This is a phenomenal statement.
   3. Once they know Christ we make them disciples, they come along side us and learn how to be a follower of Jesus. They get baptized in the Trinitarian name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Next let’s look at verse 20:
3. Teach them to observe all that I commanded you and I will be with you
   1. Notice that Jesus says, “ALL” that I commanded you. Not some of what I commanded.
      1.                                                                i.      Love your neighbor as yourself
      2.                                                              ii.      Seek first the Kingdom of God
      3.                                                             iii.      Store up treasures in Heaven, not on earth
      4.                                                            iv.      Love your enemies
      5.                                                              v.      So much more
   2. Jesus is with us to the end
      1.                                                                i.      You are not alone. You have trouble telling people about Jesus, don’t worry learn the Bible, study what you will say and take comfort Christ is with you.
      2.                                                              ii.      This must have been encouraging to them since most of them would die in persecution
      3.                                                             iii.      In Acts 18:10 Paul is a little worried about witnessing in Corinth and he has a vision and it is Christ saying, “I am with you..”

Close:

On our mission trip we did a lot of new things, especially for the kids. All of those things can and should be done around here.

1. Prayer walking: let’s do it we can do that around here
2. Adult day care: we can go and build relationship with people at an adult day care around here
3. Construction
4. Sports evangelism: this is simply going to a park and playing games with people. The idea is to show them that Christians have fun and we care and if possible or if God leads you to share the Gospel

We must make this area our mission field.

Matt 9:36-38

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

This is also true here.

Let’s pray

Hi all, 

I found a story about holiness, and God’s work in us, which I thought I would add to yesterday’s sermon. It is below:

The Teacup Story

May we all see ourselves and God’s creative mastery in the story of the teacup.  

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful cup.They said, “May we see that? We’ve never seen one quite so beautiful.”

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the cup spoke.”You don’t understand,” it said. “I haven’t always been a teacup.There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over andI yelled out, ‘let me alone,’ but he only smiled, ‘Not yet.’

“Then I was placed on a spinning wheel,” the cup said,”and suddenly I was spun around and around and around.Stop it! I’m getting dizzy! I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, ‘Not yet.’

“Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat!” the teacup said. “I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, ‘Not yet.’

“Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. ‘There, that’s better,’ I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag.’Stop it, stop it!’ I cried. He only nodded, ‘Not yet.’

“Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate.I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening, nodding his head saying, ‘Not yet.’

“Then I knew there wasn’t any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf.

One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at yourself.’ And I did. I said, ‘That’s not me; that couldn’t be me. It’s beautiful. I’m beautiful.’

“‘I want you to remember, then,’ he said, ‘I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you’d have dried up.

I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel,but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.

I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven,but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have hardened;you would not have had any color in your life.

And if I hadn’t put you back in that second oven, you wouldn’t survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product.You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'”

~ Author Unknown

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I shall announce My words to you.”Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel.But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.” Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NASB)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Moral:

God knows what He’s doing (for all of us).
He is the Potter, and we are His clay.
He will mold us and make us,
so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work
to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Like the teacup, let us willingly yield to the Potter’s hand.

http://www.creativebiblestudy.com/teacup.html

Hi all,

I have written about this book, “The Grace and Truth Paradox” by Randy Alcorn, today I wanted to write about chapter one. If you read chapter one you can comment at the bottom of the page. Chapter one is on pages 9-18 so it isn’t too long, but it is full of good information. In this chapter Alcorn introduces this idea of “grace and truth” right out of John 1:14. Some things that I really loved in this chapter are below:
• 1st century Jewish culture knew truth better than grace. (page 14)
• Ex 34:6: God passed in front of Moses and identified Himself as “abounding in love and faithfulness,” Hebrew equivalents of grace and truth (page 15)
• Grace is a delightful, fragrant word. (page 15)
o It intriques (page 15)
o Attracts (page 15)
o Compels (page 15)
o Dazzles (page 15)
o It also confounds. It’s as though God said, “You know about truth. It’s taught in the synagogues every Sabbath. But let me tell you about grace…” (page 15)
• Some churches today embrace truth, but need a heavy dose of grace. (page 15)
• Other churches talk about grace but cry out for a heavy dose of truth. (page 15)
• “Birds need to wings to fly. With only one wing, they’re grounded. The gospel flies with the wings of grace and truth. Not one, but both.” (page 16)
• The two are interdependent. We should never approach truth except in a spirit of grace, or grace except in a spirit of truth.
o Jesus wasn’t 50% grace, 50% truth, but 100% grace, 100% truth (page 16)
• Grace-oriented Christians love forgiveness and freedom . But sometimes they neglect Bible study and see moral standards as “legalism.” (page 17) Truth-oriented Christians love studying Scripture and theology. But sometimes they’re quick to judge and slow to forgive. (page 17)

Those are some things that really stood out to me as I reread this chapter. What do you think about these exerts? If you are reading this book, what do you think so far? Do you find that you naturally lean towards grace or truth?
Have a blessed week— Steve

Hi all,

I originally wanted to have a book study over blog. So, I am on vacation from April 30-May 6. But starting May 14 I would like to write a post of about 200 words on the book, The Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn. I will start with chapter 1 on that date and then write a post every two weeks. You can comment freely and this way we can have an online discussion.

This is a very short book and can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Grace-Truth-Paradox-Responding/dp/1590520653

Have a great week serving Christ!

Good morning, I thought some may be interested in what I read and listen to. Now, this is not about what I am reading for sermon research; no, these are books and blogs that I try to read because I enjoy them and these readings aid me in continuing my education.

The following blog is written by Dr. Ben Witherington III. Dr. Witherington is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is quite extensively published having written commentaries on every New Testament book. Dr. Witherington writes book reviews as well as many other informative articles on his blog. You may also enjoy his blog.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/

I also read a blog written by Rev. Dr. Charles Swindoll to pastors:

http://insightforliving.typepad.com/

Many times I will go to oneplace to listen to sermons. I particularly enjoy listening to Swindoll’s Insight for Living, MacArthur’s Grace to You, and James MacDonald’s Walk in the Word. Living on the Edge by Chip Ingram is also very good.

http://www.oneplace.com/

Books specifically: Right now, I am reading several books at the same time. I really hope to finish these some day, hopefully soon.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Discipleship : This is a classic and I just began reading it. I am greatly enjoying this treasured book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cost-Discipleship-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/dp/0684815001

I am slowly working through President Clinton’s autobiography.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers of all time. In the 1800’s he was one of the first mega church pastors of all time. He started a Christian school and would lecture to students on Fridays. Some, if not all, of his lectures are recorded in Lectures to My Students. I am slowly reading through this work.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn: This is book written all about Heaven. It is a wonderful book. It is about 500 pages long and very informative about our eternal home.

I am slowly trying to read the Pseudepigrapha. These are Old Testament extra Biblical writings in two volumes.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Old-Testament-Pseudepigrapha-Vol/dp/0385096305

I am also reading a few books about church growth and Christian witness: one is called Outflow. There are various other books and articles that I try to read.

I also read a few chapters of the Bible many days of the week and various devotionals.

I don’t post this to arrogantly write about things I am reading. Not at all. It is important that I am reading as a pastor and that I am always gathering information on church ministry and Biblical texts. I have posted links as some of these you may enjoy checking out. In the future, I will write book reviews on this blog. Have a blessed week!

Hi, in case any one is interested, below I have posted the message which I preached at the Good Friday service at Vine Street United Methodist Church:

Introduction:

We talk a lot about paradise, don’t we? I am not talk about church either. We use the term casually. We might be talking about some form of an island “paradise.” We might think of a vacation resort as a paradise. One definition of the noun “paradise” actually can mean an ideal or an idyllic state. We have the “Bird of Paradise” Listen to this:

An Easterner was being driven by a rancher over a blistering and almost barren stretch of West Texas when a large brightly-colored bird scurried across the road in front of them. The visitor asked what it was.

“That’s a bird of paradise,” said the rancher.

“Pretty long way from home, isn’t he!” remarked the visitor. ^[1]

We may use the noun casually and we may even somewhat seriously use the word to talk about a place of relaxation that will be a temporary ideal state. I might use the word to talk about a Mexican restaurant or IHop. Maybe Chipotle is paradise. I love it, sitting there eating a burrito and the chips, they are so good. But it is only temporary! Eventually, I must quit eating, let my food digest and run 4 miles to make up for it. However, in the verse which I will speak on Jesus uses this noun to define an eternal state.

In this passage Jesus has already been crucified. If you listened to the first sermon Jesus had already asked forgiveness on those who crucified Him and I dare say you and I too. Jesus was crucified between two thieves. Now, in verse 42 one thief asked Jesus to remember him when enters His Kingdom. This brings us to verse 43.

Let’s read that verse and talk about the observations and inferences we can take from it.

First, notice that Jesus answered the man. Now, you may be thinking, “of course Jesus answered Him.” But remember that they are on a Roman cross. They are dying a slow death by crucifixion.

This was a very slow death by suffocation.

Arms were outstretched with and fastened to nails on the cross, he had to support most of the weight of His body with His arms. The Chest cavity would be pulled upward and outward. Making it difficult to exhale in order to draw a fresh breadth. But when the victim’s longing for oxygen became unbearable, He would have to push himself up with His feet, thus giving more natural support to the weight of his body, releasing some of the weight from his arms, and enabling His chest cavity to contract more normally. By pushing himself upward in this way the criminal could fight off suffocation, but it was extremely painful because it required putting the body’s weight on the nails holding the feet, and bending the elbows and pulling upward on the nails driven through the wrist. The criminal’s back which had been torn open repeatedly by a previous flogging, would scrape against the wooden cross with each breadth. Thus, Seneca (First century A.D.) spoke of a crucified man “Drawing the breadth of life amid long drawn-out-agony” (Epistle 101 to Lucilius, sec.14).

Sometimes people crucified would survive several days nearly suffocating but not quite dying. This is why the executioners would sometimes break the legs as we see in John 19:31-33. So, this idea that they are able to talk is a big deal to me. I started exercising several months ago. Sometimes I will be running on the treadmill and my wife will come down to ask me something, but you know, it can be quite difficult to respond because I am gasping for air. In much the same way the words that Jesus spoke and the words the two criminals spoke to Him were probably spoke while struggling to breathe. However, they do talk and so we have these words.

Jesus tells this man, “Truly I tell you,” let’s stop right there. Jesus is saying that this is the Truth. Jesus is not making this up. Jesus is speaking a statement that is of the upmost importance. The truth may not stand out to us today. In today’s day the truth has been stretched and sometimes we don’t know who to trust. But we must always remember that the Bible is absolute Truth and that includes Jesus’ words.

Now, Jesus says, Today, you will be with me in paradise. Now, before we talk about paradise, let’s talk about “today.” Now, I am not talking about “today, as in Friday, April 7, 2012, I am talking about the word “today.” I am talking about the word “day.”

How long is a day? I bet a day could be pretty long when you are slowly dying through crucifixion. There was a show made a few years back called “24.” Recently, my wife and I started watching this show on Netflix. Usually this is what we do, we starting watching shows after they have been out a while. This show is in real time. This means that a one hour episode is one hour on the show. A one hour episode is one hour in Jack Bauer’s life. A 24 episode season is one day in Jack Bauer’s life. But the thing is that in the first season his wife and daughter are kidnapped and he and his family are under attack the whole day. For Jack Bauer and his family that day is very long. In fact, in the beginning of each episode he says, “My name is Jack Bauer and this is the longest day of my life.”

That is exactly why it is so very significant that Jesus says, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Surely, the crucified thief knows that sometimes people don’t die so quickly. Even if he dies the same day as he is living in, what if there is some form of afterlife punishment? Jesus says, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” That is significant. Later on in 2 Cor 5:8 Paul writes that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I have said before that I am not scared of dying, I am scared of the process of dying. Seriously, I am. But as Christians we have no fear in death. This verse gives us great hope. If you have lost loved ones who were Christians we know that they are with the Lord. This is Truth. In case you doubted, Jesus even says that this is truth. This is truth and Jesus says that this same day the man will be in Paradise.

Oh, guess what else? Jesus will be with him in paradise. Wherever this paradise is Jesus will be there.

Now, let’s talk about paradise. I read something about this term last week:

The earliest Greek translators of the Old Testament used the Greek term for paradise for God’s garden (Gen. 2:8–10). [The Garden of Eden was called paradise] In the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha written between the Old and New Testaments, [these are extra Biblical literature written in the time period between the Old and New Testaments] “paradise” takes on a new meaning in Jewish thought. It becomes associated with the blessing of final judgment (see 2 Esdras 4:7; 6:2; 7:36, 123, 8:52). This meaning appears three times in the New Testament (Luke 23:42; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7).

So the thinking that would have impacted this term in Jesus’ day would have been what developed in the time period in between the Old and New Testament. This man would have known that Jesus was talking about a place of eternal bliss.

It is interesting that the religious elite who had Jesus crucified didn’t get it. They missed it. But they were the religious scholars of the day. Yet, this thief who deserved to die for committing a crime, he figured it out. Actually, by God’s grace he was saved. He didn’t do anything. He believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior. He recognized Jesus for who He was and He was saved into eternal life.

One commentary says this:

23:32-43. Luke did not state, as did Matthew and John, how the events of Jesus’ death fulfilled Old Testament Scriptures. Luke’s purpose, instead, was to show that Jesus was the forgiving Messiah even as He died. Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who were killing Him (v. 34), and He forgave one of the men sentenced to die with Him (v. 43). Even in death Jesus had power to make people right with God. And yet the rulers … sneered (v. 35) the soldiers … mocked (vv. 36-37), and one of the criminals crucified with Him insulted Him (v. 39).^[2]

Salvation is totally by grace, not of us but a gift from God. This demonstrates what Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches us. By believing in Jesus, accepting His free gift of forgiveness for our sins, confessing our sins and committing to Him we are saved and we will also enter paradise at death. This paradise will not be a temporary satisfaction of a burrito, nor an island resort. This will be eternity. I actually encourage you to do some study on Heaven. Interesting that this is our eternal home, but we don’t talk about it enough. There is a book by Randy Alcorn called Heaven, it’s very interesting. We’ll be there some day, with Jesus and with this redeemed thief.

Prayer

Intro:

Good afternoon, this is a Lenten lunch and many of you may be expecting a service that is specifically related to Holy Week. I want to forewarn you that this message is not one that specifically relates to this week. However, I do believe that this message will relate to the resurrection as every message should. We are called to be people living in the light of the resurrection all year long and this sermon relates to the idea of living as Spirit-Filled Christians all year long. Now, my style of preaching is generally teaching and generally teaching the Bible as you will see. Now, since I have given you that disclaimer, allow me to get to the message we are here for.

We have all eaten, haven’t we? I see that we have had some soup and some delicious cookies and we have coffee and maybe you are still eating. Food is such a gift from God, isn’t it? I mean, it even taste good. I think that we can eat and we enjoy what we eat is evidence of a loving God and even evidence of a God. I mean, God could have created us to need to eat but to hate the process of eating. But that is not true. I love the process of eating, I look forward to eating. I started exercising so that I can enjoy what I eat all the more. I mean, I don’t like to exercise but it is worth it when I eat. How do we know when we are finished eating? Well, one way is that we are full or filled up, right? I’ve said it before and maybe you have as well, “I am stuffed.” Some have said, “I can’t eat another bite.”

I have titled my message, Spirit-Filled Prayer, because in the passage which I will read I see the disciples prayer as Holy Spirit-Filled or at least Holy Spirit Filling. We must also seek the same in our churches and in our prayer life.

Allow me to read Acts 4:23-31:

1. First notice that their prayer begins with worship and an acknowledgement that God is sovereign.
2. Now, allow me to let you know what is going on in this passage: At the beginning of Acts chapter 3, Peter and John are going to the Temple at the time of prayer. A lame beggar was there and asked for money. Peter said, “Silver or gold I don’t have but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” The man is healed. This attracted a lot of attention and Peter preached a sermon. Peter’s message reached about 5000 people with the Gospel, but this aggravated the Jewish authorities and Peter and John were thrown in prison for the night. The next day Peter and John spoke before the Jewish leadership and Peter again preached the Gospel (4:8 says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit). Eventually they had Peter and John released.
   1. Now, following their release from prison, they come back to meet with their own people.
   2. This term translated as “their own,” usually means family but in this case it means the other Christians.[1]But the point is they immediately went back to share with the other disciples what God had done.
      1. They didn’t go to take a shower first. They didn’t go to catch up on business, emails, Facebook or other things. They went straight back to join their people.
      2. They may have gone back to the upper room or a location where they knew the church would be at.
      3. They shared about the chief priests. The Chief Priests were a small group of priest within the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin would be the Jewish Supreme Court. The Sanhedrin would be composed of 70 people plus the High priest.[2] The chief Priests are composed of former high priest and members of influential priestly families.
      4. Notice in verse 24: When “they”, which I am thinking is the rest of the disciples” heard this meaning what God had done. They went straight to prayer.
         1. We must always apply the Scripture to our lives. Let’s apply this narrative for a moment. Do we do the same? They could have gone to rest, but no, they went to prayer. Their prayer includes allusions to Old Testament prayers.

Let’s look at this Spirit-Filled Prayer

1. They start their prayer acknowledging who God is in relation to who we are. We should do the same. God created everything that we see and feel. God created the stars in the sky.
   1. Verse 24 starts their prayer as “Sovereign Lord.” This means that God is in control. This means “absolute ruler.” Actually the Greek word translated here is where we get the English word “despot.”[3]God is the absolute ruler and they acknowledged that as they began their prayer.
      1.                                                                                                                            i.      Let me also insert here that they were praying in unity. The Scripture says that they “raised their voices together in prayer…” This doesn’t mean they all prayed at the same time, but that they were praying in unity.
      2.                                                                                                                          ii.      Too often I believe that our churches are hindered because of our divisions. Our prayers are hindered because of our divisions. Hence, I am going to say that our divisions hinder the Spirit’s work in our prayer life. In a few verses we will see that this group of Christians experienced the Holy Spirit. I think we are missing the Holy Spirit because of our division[4].
      3.                                                                                                                         iii.      Another statement about division, I strongly believe that the devil starts and fosters our division in order to take our focus off of evangelism. I strongly believe that reaching the lost will heal our division. We will realize that the things we are divided over are not as important as sharing the Gospel with those who don’t even know the Lord.
      4.                                                                                                                        iv.      One more comment about unity and divisions: I was part of a church plant several years ago. A church plant is a start up church. In this case a church sent out about 45 people to start a new church in a different location. Now, last week I had the opportunity to talk with someone who is starting a new church in Alliance. Some would say, “Why start new churches when there are so many existing churches?” I think that is a valid question. However, I also believe that so many existing churches are struggling because they can’t work in unity; they are caught up in divisions. Consequently, God’s way may be to start a new gathering of Christians, start a new church.
      5.                                                                                                                          v.      What we need to see here is that there prayer was in unity and God blessed them with a special baptism of the Holy Spirit.
   2. Now, allow me to get back to their prayer and their acknowledgement of God as sovereign. Do we acknowledge that God is sovereign, I mean really acknowledge this?
      1. Do you go about your day to day life thinking that God is in control? Or, are you in control?
      2. Acknowledging God as sovereign includes the idea that we must surrender to His will too.
   3. Next, part of the prayer: Do we begin our prayer with worship. That is what they are doing. This is not unlike Jesus saying, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed, or holy, is Your name.”
      1.                                                                                                                            i.      Notice they are saying the Lord’s Prayer. If you read the rest of this passage they never say, “Now, we pray as you taught us to pray…” No, of course not. They are still praying the order, the pattern, which Jesus taught them to pray.
   4. Then, their prayer includes Scripture. They quote Psalm 2:1-2 in reference to Jesus.
   5. Lastly about God’s sovereignty, their prayer acknowledged that God’s plan included threats against Christians. Verse 27 references the crucifixion of Christ. Verse 28 references that in God’s sovereignty this was planned beforehand.
      1. But they never complained and that is my transition to their one request.

Read verses 27-30

1. They prayed for boldness and an expansion of the Gospel
2. They never complained. We would expect that they would pray that their threats would stop, but they don’t they prayed that God considers their threats. They had just been thrown in prison and they prayed nothing about that.
3. They ask that God allows them to preach God’s Word with great boldness.
   1. Notice they say “preach.”
   2. In 2 Timothy 4:1 and following Paul’s dying words to Timothy are about preaching. Paul says that the time will come when people will want the preaching to be what their itching ears want to hear. Don’t you think that time has come? Our preaching is looked upon as entertainment and if a pastor preaches truly what God has called him to say they are called “too preachy.” If a pastor truly preaches the Scriptures they are considered too deep.
      1.                                                                                                                            i.      Today we need boldness in our pulpits. We need pastors who don’t shirk their responsibility under God because of a responsibility under man. We need pastors that quit filling their sermons with stories and a Scripture that is equal to a foot note. The disciple’s prayer in this passage is that they can Preach “God’s Word” with great boldness. Notice, they will preach God’s Word, not a few stories, poems and jokes.
         1. I think that this got started because at one time many of the churches were so far away from their people that they were too irrelevant. But now the church has swung too far to the opposite end. We are now unscriptural in our preaching.
         2. Peter and John were persecuted by unbelievers, today the Christians that do believe the Scriptures are persecuted from within the church for holding to the Scriptures.
         3. The pastors that preach God’s Word are persecuted from within the church.
         4.                                                                                                                          ii.       Now, I am a young preacher and you may walk away thinking, “that young preacher will learn.” But I want to tell you that I am standing on the shoulders of many other great older preachers when I say things such as what I just said. Among them Charles Swindoll. But most of all, I am referencing Scripture. Listen to what Rev. Dr. Swindoll writes referencing 2 Timothy 4:1-2:

Paul wrote with urgency, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (4:1-2). In other words, stick with the preaching plan God has promised to bless and use. Deliver the biblical goods! Be a man or woman of the Word!

Don’t attempt to be so creative and cute that folks miss the truth. No need for meaningless and silly substitutes that entertain but rarely convict the lost and edify the saved. Teach the truth. Will you notice something here? This exhortation is not addressed to the hearer, it’s for the speaker. The one who is to do this is the one proclaiming the message. Be ready to do it in season and out of season. Being ready implies being prepared both mentally and spiritually.

In essence, Paul says, “Don’t be lazy. Do your homework. Don’t stand up and start with an apology that you didn’t quite have adequate time to prepare. That doesn’t wash.” And do so faithfully—when it’s convenient and when it’s not.

Sadly, in an alarming number of churches today, God’s people are being told what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. They are being fed warm milk, not solid meat. A watered-down gospel may attract large crowds (for a while), but it has no eternal impact. I’ve not been able to find any place in the Scriptures where God expresses the least bit of concern for drawing numbers. Satisfying the curious itching ears of our postmodern audiences is an exercise in futility.

The task of ministry is to deliver Truth. Frankly, I intend to continue doing just that, by God’s grace, until the day He calls me home. And I think there is an ever-increasing number of believers who long for nourishing messages based on the Word of God, not human opinion.

The world urgently needs more Christians with the fervor and faith of Paul. Will you be one of them? Will you answer the charge? If so, there’s no better time than now to begin.

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations . . . and I will be with you” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). There is no greater challenge and no more comforting promise. Believe it. Trust it. And by the grace of God, go do it!

1. We also need prayers that we can preach God’s Word with great boldness.
2. Verse 30 is a prayer for miracles.
   1. Do we pray for miracles? I must ask if I am praying for miracles. That is a challenge. We serve a God who brings about miracles.
   2. Verse 31 is a confirmation of their Spirit filled prayer.
      1. The place is shaken.
         1.                                                                                                                            i.      Did this really happen? It is possible it is metaphorical, but I favor that this is literal. God is so great that when He is present, I mean truly present there are consequences that defy natural laws.
   3. They also speak the Word of God boldly. That is the answer to their prayer.
   4. I want to read Isaiah 6:1-7:
      1. Notice this special revelation of God. God is present here. This really happened.

We eat and we want to be filled. We should pray desiring to be filled as well. We are New Testament Christians living in an increasingly secular world. Because of this we must go to the Word of God to be filled up with the Holy Spirit. Now, Christians are filled with the Spirit when we receive Christ as Savior and Lord; however, I believe as we grow in Christ we can experience special times of being filled with the Spirit. We should pray for this every day. I think this will mostly happen in small prayer circles and we need these as Christians. I think this will mostly also happen when our prayers are in the manner expressed in this passage. We must pray with worship acknowledging God as sovereign. We must pray in petition with our basic need, but also we must pray for the greater good submitting to God’s sovereign will. This prayer is for the building up of the church and it is spirit filled. Verse 31 says that they were filled with the Spirit.

Christ followers, let’s do the same. Whether or not you are a preacher, go forth and preach God’s Word including the Gospel. Do this with boldness. Pray in groups of Christians, pray in this manner and experience the Holy Spirit and get ready. Lastly, set aside diversity and instead embrace unity for the cause of the Gospel. Then, you ought to really be ready for the Holy Spirit’s work. Just last week in a small prayer gathering I experienced the gift of tongues being spoken and interpreted, though not by me. This confirmed God’s message in that prayer meeting. We need the type of prayer illustrated in this passage. I certainly do. We need, I need, Spirit-filled prayer meetings in our churches.  

Go and be Spirit-filled Christ followers, living as post resurrection Christians.

Listen as I read the words to a newer worship song:

Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble

Did you feel the mountains tremble?
Did you hear the oceans roar?
When the people rose to sing of
Jesus Christ the risen one

Did you feel the people tremble?
Did you hear the singers roar?
When the lost began to sing of
Jesus Christ the risen one

And we can see that God you’re moving
A mighty river through the nations
And young and old will turn to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord

Open up the doors and let the music play
Let the streets resound with singing
Songs that bring your hope
Songs that bring your joy
Dancers who dance upon injustice

Did you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song
And all the streams flow as one river
To wash away our brokeness

And here we see that God you’re moving
A time of Jubilee is coming
When young and old return to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord

Written by Martin Smith ©1995 Curious? Music UK

Let’s pray.