Text: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Last Sunday, I spoke about the importance of prayer and that we would be looking at prayer and fasting as a series. This Sunday, we continue with prayer and its significance in our life as Christian.
Before I get started on today’s message, I want to share this with you. I mean this in kindness and love, from my heart, so I trust you will take it this way.
When the disciple came to Jesus and said, teach us to pray, the LORD instructed them how to pray. They were to start with Our Father. This was a qualifier. Our Father is an indication they were to be children of God.
If you are not a child of God, you have no right to call God your Father. Those who have not surrendered their hearts to the LORD and accepted His salvation are not children of God and do not qualify to call him Father. As I stated last week, there are only two sides to this spiritual conflict, the plan God has for you and the plan the devil has for you.
It was not their prayers that were answered, but a child of God somewhere was praying, and God was answering their prayers.
We are qualified to call God our Father when we have accepted His gift of salvation. When you receive the LORD, you are a son or daughter of God.
This makes you a brother or sister to Jesus Christ. He becomes your elder brother making you a coheir with Him. Paul explained this when he wrote, But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
This is no small thing, so do not minimize your life. Only a joint heir with Christ can call God, Father.
Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, where He intercedes for us. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with us and in us.
That means when you accept Jesus Christ as you LORD and Savior He gives you the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. It is a sign that you belong to Christ. Jesus said, You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. Rom 8:9
If you do not have the Spirit of Christ in you, you have not received Him. Upon accepting Jesus as your Savior, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
You become a child of God and the temple in which God dwells.
When we call God our Father, we are willing to follow Jesus; we come out of the world and into the kingdom of God. We leave the danger of sin and death and enter the protection and safety of our Father.
We leave the darkness and walk in the light. We come out of stress into peace. We leave the burden and labor of life and find rest in Jesus Christ. The LORD carries the troubles and cares of life. He does all the heavy lifting.
The only reason the world enjoys whatever peace and blessing it does are because godly men and women are praying and fasting. Most people have no idea about what is happening in the spiritual world. They go along, not in the least bit aware they are enjoying the blessings, safety, and security they have because of people who take prayer seriously. They think it is good luck or karma. Their life is happening for none of these reasons.
It is the result of prayer warriors doing the work God has called them to do-to pray and intercede as the Holy Spirit leads them. What many Christians fail to understand is that we are all called to pray. The problem is that many Christians are not listening to the call of God to pray.
I do believe that we are closer to the LORD’s return than at any time in the history of the Church.
We see the scriptures fulfilled daily.The signs of His coming are all around us. It is much later than most Christians will admit. That means we must get our lamps filled with oil, that we are spiritually healthy to face the evil that is coming. We must have a strong relationship with the LORD. We must do battle in prayer for our lives as well as the lives of our family and friends, as well as those the LORD puts on our hearts.
We are to become the intercessors. There is evil all around us. We may think we are in a safe place, but that can change in an instant. Dreadful things are happening way too close to our area of safety, and we must be on guard daily against the attacks of Satan.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are a legal citizen of the kingdom of God. We are now in the army of the LORD. The battle lines were drawn long before Adam and Eve.
Everyone who decides to follow Christ is on the side of God. The enemy of God is now our enemy. It should be noted that thinking that you can remain neutral by not choosing a side- puts you on the enemy’s side.
People join the side of evil by thinking they are their own person. You cannot be neutral in this life battle. Eternity is at stake, your soul is at stake, and all you love and cherish is at stake.
Your first pray is to make God your Father by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Prayer and Fasting
Over the next few weeks, I would like to talk about prayer and fasting as weapons of spiritual warfare.
There is a war going on that you must be prepared for if you want to have victory in your life. If you are a believer in Jesus and have received Him as your Savior, you are part of the Body of Christ. This means you are in the spiritual war between God and Satan. Even if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are still in this war. You may not be aware yet, but you have no control over the things that happen to you. You can be hit and hurt in the crossfire from the enemy of your soul and not realize what is happening.
As you stand on the battlefield of life you may be suffering from problems, one accident or disease after another, the failure of your marriage, trouble with relationships, problems at work, financial crisis, mental torment, the consequence of bad decisions, the rebellion of children, the list is endless. You may think this is bad luck, but it is not. It is the result of the battle that is going on around you, and you are not protected. The LORD wants to give you protection from the enemy of your soul, but you must accept the security that is only found in Jesus Christ.
Some believers are suffering from battle wounds because they don't understand war is going on, and they are in it. Far too many believers are lying wounded on the battlefield because they think bad things happen, and that is just life. They are not actively engaged in the war, even though they are on the receiving end of the enemy's weapons. They lie wounded on the battlefield because they are unprepared to face the enemy.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, you must realize that the enemy of God is your enemy as well. You may consider yourself a peaceful person, and you are not at war with anyone. You don't have to be at war with someone for them to be at war with you. Many Christians have fooled themselves into thinking that their spiritual enemy does not exist and that they are not involved in the war. The truth is that no matter what you believe, you have an enemy who is always opposing you. One of the weapons of the enemy is to make you think you are not part of the battle because it does not exist.
It is time for people to realize that God has a plan for your life, and Satan has a plan for your life.
The only way that we can have abundant life is in Jesus Christ. Satan plans to rob, kill, and destroy us. God is giving us the weapons to have a victorious life prayer and fasting.
As a believer, you now involved in a spiritual war whether you know it or not, accept it, or recognize it.
The things happening in your life happen to others, and it may seem that it is just bad luck, but it is far more sinister than that. Those events in your life are the result of the enemy of your soul planning to destroy you.
Satan is the enemy of God and all God's children. You may think this is not your war, but it is, and you better be ready to engage the enemy.
How you respond to the enemy of your soul determines if his plan or God's plan for your life is realized. The enemy is real, the battle is real, and what you do will determine your spiritual success.
There will be many battles in life, and God has called us to be warriors of the Cross. One specific class of warriors is the Prayer Warrior.
The prayer warrior understands there is a tremendous spiritual battle ongoing (Ephesians 6:12). A prayer warrior is one who takes part in that battle through prayer—interceding for others and praying for God's will to be done in all things.
All Christians are called to prayer Eph. 6:18, 1 Timothy 2:1–4, Hebrews 4:14–16, and James 5:16 are intended for all believers, not just a select few. Even so, there seem to be some Christians who have an exceptional capacity to pray with enthusiasm, persistence, and effectiveness. How do we strengthen our own prayer lives and become prayer warriors?
First, we must understand what prayer is. It is communicating with God—both speaking to Him and hearing from Him. When we pray, we are addressing and hearing from the Creator of the universe, the one true God who has all knowledge, power, and might, and loves us more deeply than we realize (Ephesians 3:14–19). He is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). He grants us the privilege of prayer through the work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:15–16; 10:19–23). Prayer is powerful because of the one to whom we pray.
When we understand the privilege and power of prayer, we become more eager to engage in it. As we pray, we grow in relationship with God. Just as with any relationship, the more time we spend with God, the more we know Him. The more often we communicate with Him in prayer, the more we want to talk with Him in prayer. We become comfortable praying and grow in our understanding and practice of prayer; the more we do it.
Understanding and desiring the will of God is vitally important to our prayers. In part, our hearts aligning with His will happen as we pray. But we must also read the Bible, God's Word by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us, to know who God is and the things He desires. First, John 5:14–15 says, "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." Our prayers are effective when we request things that are in God's will. Reading His Word helps attune our hearts and minds to His will.
When we pray, we are to address God (Matthew 6:9), rely on the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26–27; Jude 1:20), and pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13). Prayer is part of the armor of God, so it makes sense also to ensure that we are equipped with the other pieces of armor (Ephesians 6:10–18). Wearing the full armor of God is always appropriate.
To be a prayer warrior, we must also understand our standing before God in Christ: forgiven (1 John 2:12), loved (Ephesians 2:4–7), reliant upon Him for everything (Isaiah 42:5), blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3–14), sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14), fully equipped for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3–4), and planned for throughout eternity (1 Peter 1:3–5). We have the confidence to pray because of Jesus' work (Hebrews 4:14–16) and can boldly approach our heavenly Father, trusting Him to do good things (John 1:12; Luke 11:13; James 1:16–18).
Prayer warriors understand they must be humble (2 Chronicles 7:13–15); eliminate hindrances to prayers such as unforgiveness, sin, or selfish motives (Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 John 3:21–22; James 4:2–3); and avoid grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), but instead obey His promptings and directives.
To be a prayer warrior, you need to first be a child of God through Jesus (John 1:12; 3:16–18). Then you need to want to press in closer to God, to know Him better, to understand His ways deeper, and to follow Him closer. Read the Bible and start praying. Keep praying. None of us ever "arrives." But we can continue to build our "prayer muscle" by following God's directive to pray and rejoicing that He hears us and delights to relate with us and accomplish His kingdom purposes through prayer.
There is a war going on that you must be prepared for if you want to have victory in your life. If you are a believer in Jesus and have received Him as your Savior, you are part of the Body of Christ. This means you are in the spiritual war between God and Satan. Even if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are still in this war. You may not be aware yet, but you have no control over the things that happen to you. You can be hit and hurt in the crossfire from the enemy of your soul and not realize what is happening.
As you stand on the battlefield of life you may be suffering from problems, one accident or disease after another, the failure of your marriage, trouble with relationships, problems at work, financial crisis, mental torment, the consequence of bad decisions, the rebellion of children, the list is endless. You may think this is bad luck, but it is not. It is the result of the battle that is going on around you, and you are not protected. The LORD wants to give you protection from the enemy of your soul, but you must accept the security that is only found in Jesus Christ.
Some believers are suffering from battle wounds because they don't understand war is going on, and they are in it. Far too many believers are lying wounded on the battlefield because they think bad things happen, and that is just life. They are not actively engaged in the war, even though they are on the receiving end of the enemy's weapons. They lie wounded on the battlefield because they are unprepared to face the enemy.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, you must realize that the enemy of God is your enemy as well. You may consider yourself a peaceful person, and you are not at war with anyone. You don't have to be at war with someone for them to be at war with you. Many Christians have fooled themselves into thinking that their spiritual enemy does not exist and that they are not involved in the war. The truth is that no matter what you believe, you have an enemy who is always opposing you. One of the weapons of the enemy is to make you think you are not part of the battle because it does not exist.
It is time for people to realize that God has a plan for your life, and Satan has a plan for your life.
The only way that we can have abundant life is in Jesus Christ. Satan plans to rob, kill, and destroy us. God is giving us the weapons to have a victorious life prayer and fasting.
As a believer, you now involved in a spiritual war whether you know it or not, accept it, or recognize it.
The things happening in your life happen to others, and it may seem that it is just bad luck, but it is far more sinister than that. Those events in your life are the result of the enemy of your soul planning to destroy you.
Satan is the enemy of God and all God's children. You may think this is not your war, but it is, and you better be ready to engage the enemy.
How you respond to the enemy of your soul determines if his plan or God's plan for your life is realized. The enemy is real, the battle is real, and what you do will determine your spiritual success.
There will be many battles in life, and God has called us to be warriors of the Cross. One specific class of warriors is the Prayer Warrior.
The prayer warrior understands there is a tremendous spiritual battle ongoing (Ephesians 6:12). A prayer warrior is one who takes part in that battle through prayer—interceding for others and praying for God's will to be done in all things.
All Christians are called to prayer Eph. 6:18, 1 Timothy 2:1–4, Hebrews 4:14–16, and James 5:16 are intended for all believers, not just a select few. Even so, there seem to be some Christians who have an exceptional capacity to pray with enthusiasm, persistence, and effectiveness. How do we strengthen our own prayer lives and become prayer warriors?
First, we must understand what prayer is. It is communicating with God—both speaking to Him and hearing from Him. When we pray, we are addressing and hearing from the Creator of the universe, the one true God who has all knowledge, power, and might, and loves us more deeply than we realize (Ephesians 3:14–19). He is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). He grants us the privilege of prayer through the work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:15–16; 10:19–23). Prayer is powerful because of the one to whom we pray.
When we understand the privilege and power of prayer, we become more eager to engage in it. As we pray, we grow in relationship with God. Just as with any relationship, the more time we spend with God, the more we know Him. The more often we communicate with Him in prayer, the more we want to talk with Him in prayer. We become comfortable praying and grow in our understanding and practice of prayer; the more we do it.
Understanding and desiring the will of God is vitally important to our prayers. In part, our hearts aligning with His will happen as we pray. But we must also read the Bible, God's Word by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us, to know who God is and the things He desires. First, John 5:14–15 says, "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." Our prayers are effective when we request things that are in God's will. Reading His Word helps attune our hearts and minds to His will.
When we pray, we are to address God (Matthew 6:9), rely on the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26–27; Jude 1:20), and pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13). Prayer is part of the armor of God, so it makes sense also to ensure that we are equipped with the other pieces of armor (Ephesians 6:10–18). Wearing the full armor of God is always appropriate.
To be a prayer warrior, we must also understand our standing before God in Christ: forgiven (1 John 2:12), loved (Ephesians 2:4–7), reliant upon Him for everything (Isaiah 42:5), blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3–14), sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14), fully equipped for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3–4), and planned for throughout eternity (1 Peter 1:3–5). We have the confidence to pray because of Jesus' work (Hebrews 4:14–16) and can boldly approach our heavenly Father, trusting Him to do good things (John 1:12; Luke 11:13; James 1:16–18).
Prayer warriors understand they must be humble (2 Chronicles 7:13–15); eliminate hindrances to prayers such as unforgiveness, sin, or selfish motives (Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 John 3:21–22; James 4:2–3); and avoid grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), but instead obey His promptings and directives.
To be a prayer warrior, you need to first be a child of God through Jesus (John 1:12; 3:16–18). Then you need to want to press in closer to God, to know Him better, to understand His ways deeper, and to follow Him closer. Read the Bible and start praying. Keep praying. None of us ever "arrives." But we can continue to build our "prayer muscle" by following God's directive to pray and rejoicing that He hears us and delights to relate with us and accomplish His kingdom purposes through prayer.
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