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.
Truth
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