The Name Game

September 28, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series: The I Am Statements of Jesus

Sermon 1 of Series:

“I Am”

Revelation 22:13 CEB

Matthew 16:13-16 CEB

Exodus 3:12-15 CEB

The Name Game by Shirley Ellis

“The Name Game”

Let us pray…Pray for the Spirit’s leading and that God’s word would be heard…

When I was growing up, my brother and I used to love a song by Shirley Ellis called The Name Game. The song would go through various names and sing them in a fun way. For instance…Shirley! Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley Fee fy mo Mirley, Shirley!

Lincoln! Lincoln, Lincoln bo Bincoln Bonana fanna fo Fincoln Fee fy mo Mincoln, Lincoln! (We used to love to use the name Art…think about that for a moment…let’s do Art…Art Art bo Bart Bonana Fanna fof Fart Fee fy foMart, Art) It is all about the name.

What is it about names? Expectant parents spend many hours trying to find the perfect name for their unborn child. It has to be the perfect name that would exemplify the child. When I was born my dad went to my grandmother and told her that I was going to be named Ruth. Now my mother hated the name Ruth. There was already two Ruth’s in the family and I was not going to be the third one. Well…my grandmother asked her if she ever read the story of Ruth in the bible. My mother hadn’t so she decided to read the story. After reading it she decided that Ruth was the perfect name for me. (I hope that I have lived up to my name…)

Not only are we given names from our parents, we also go by many other names. When we are asked who we are we might say something like, a mother…a father…a pastor, a domestic engineer…the list goes on. These names, we give ourselves, describe what we do, not necessarily who we are. Although saying we are a child of God describes who we are in Christ… Even Jesus used words that described not only who He was but what He does. Jesus stated “I Am” in seven places in the New Testament.

We have entered into the Season that we begin to look forward to the manger…the Season that we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus is the Savior of the world but He is so much more than that. As we prepare to welcome in the babe in the manger, we are going to take a look at those seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made while He walked among us. My prayer is that as we do, we will realize what really happened that day, how that one day changed the tide of sin and death. It’s all about the name and what goes along with that very same name…not just who but what that name implies.

Now as I read the scriptures from this morning, we hear a couple of different ways Jesus is described. The Revelation piece tells us that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and the End. Jesus was there in the beginning. He is the beginning, the middle and the end and He will still be standing in the end of days.

When Jesus asked who the people thought He was he was given various answers but when
he asked who Peter thought He was, Peter knew for sure…He was the son of God…the Christ…the Messiah…not only who Jesus was but what Jesus was and is still today…the first and the last…the beginning and the end. It’s all in the knowing that makes a difference in how we respond…

When God called Moses to free His people Moses wanted to be in “the know” of who was sending him. He needed a name that he could use…a name that would be proof that he was sent by God…a name that was given to him to invoke trust. The name is found in Exodus 3:12-15… Listen to this name as I read the passage and see if it would invoke trust in you as well…

Exodus 3:12-15 Common English Bible (CEB)

12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”

God’s special name

13 But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” 15 God continued, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.

The forever name of God…one that last for a life time…The beginning…the end…and all that is in between… This is the name we remember to this day…God the Great I Am. I am always with you…I am with you in the desert places…I am with you in your joys and sorrows…I am with you in the storm and will bring you to still water…I Am…

It’s all about the name…it’s all about the whom and the what… It is who we are or what we are or both. Do we have a name that fits us? Do we have a name that shows the world not only who we are but what we are? We have the name of Christians…Christ followers…does that name we are given rain in us, out of us and on to the world around us? May the showers of heaven pour down on you and me so that the world will know the name above all names…our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. What’s your name and what do you do?

Let us pray…pray for Christ’s followers to live up to the new name we are given in Christ Jesus…

“Jesus’ Prayer” (As Written)

September 21, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”

Inspired by Marcia McFee

Sermon 12 of series-

“The Empty Cross”

Luke 11:1-13 The Disciples Literal NT

Philippians 4:4-9 The Disciples Literal NT

http://www.metrolyrics.com/he-reigns-lyrics-newsboys.html

“Jesus’ Prayer”

Let us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)

I was talking with Terry Pettengill after our book study a couple of weeks ago I think , and we were talking about the Lord’s Prayer. She was telling me that she was reading that at noon time, there are Christians all around the world that have made a commitment to recite the this pray. There are people all around the world that come into agreement with each other and rise up their voices so that God’s Kingdom will come on earth as it is in Heaven… We are talking Protestants, Catholics, Baptist…and the like. I have decided that it is something I want to agree with and I have begun to pray that prayer with all those other voices. It has been awe-inspiring to think that I am agreeing with not only God but with God’s children…my brothers and sisters in Christ… all around the world. What miracles happen when God’s children come together for His glory…?

This summer, we have been working though the prayer beads that were made as a way to helps remind us what we should be praying for. I can’t believe we have reached the end of our strings of beads. It really has been a summer of prayer. Our beads have lead us through many twists and turns but it has been wonderful traversing the road with each of you this summer. Let’s recap…the Gold Bead…which reminds us to begin with adoration ….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us to let go and let God….the embrace of silence with the “holey Bead” …the steeping stone bead…our journey of faith… The next one…the black...the black and white...the gray bead...reminds us to bring our spiritual struggles to God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries but concerns.

How about that red bead… the one that lets us know that we need to pray for the lovable and not so lovable people in our lives…even those who do us harm. Then there is the three purple beads on the string...the ones that remind us to pray for those “who are standing in the need of prayer.” And we are not just limited to the three beads…they are there to remind us that there are those who are needing...waiting...for our prayers for and about them. The green bead from last week is all about praying for those around the world…praying for the worlds situations…praying down God’s “kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven”… The next bead is the fiery red bead from last week. This bead is the one that we ask God to work through the Holy Spirit in us so that we will use our gifts and talents to and for His glory…to “step out of our comfort zone” and use the Spirit within us to “go forth and make disciples of all nations.”  

So…we have finally reached the last bead…the empty cross. This bead brings it all together. With this bead we are agreeing with God’s plan for the world and are trying to bring about change. As we end our time in “bead Prayer” this cross is where we pray the Lord’s Prayer. As we pray this prayer we are rededicating ourselves to be the hands and feet of Christ and pray for God’s reign over all the earth as it was in the beginning.

So why is it called the Lord’s Prayer you may ask. It is called this because it is the one that He taught His first disciples as well as those who have come after them. From the Scripture from Luke this morning shows us, when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He answered them with this prayer. But not only did He answer them, He told them that if they know how to do good and give good gifts to their own, being sinful and all, how much more will God give to His own. And we not only pray once for something, we need to keep asking until it is answered…and it will be answered… We have talked about how we need to keep praying throughout this whole sermon series this summer. We are to trust that God hears and will answer. Even when we don’t see God at work, we know and believe “that all things are working-together for good for the ones loving God, the ones being called ones according to His purpose.”

In the letter to the people of Philippi, Paul talks about this praying without ceasing… The scripture is found in Chapter 4 verses 4-9. Listen to the Good News about our prayers…

Philippians 4:4-9 Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT)

Be Rejoicing In The Lord, Kind To All, And Praying To God

4 Be rejoicing in the Lord always; again I will say, be rejoicing. 5 Let your kindness[a] be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious-about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgivings, let your requests be made-known to God. 7 And the peace of God surpassing all understanding will guard[b] your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Be Considering And Practicing All That Is True And Commendable

8 Finally, brothers, be considering these things— whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are commendable, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise. 9 Be practicing these things which you indeed learned and received and heard and saw in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

WE know…trust…believe…have faith in the fact that God is for us so who can be against us. As we “agree” with God’s purposes we will see miracles happening around us…and even if we don’t “physically see it” we know by faith that it is happening. But…but…we need to come into agreement with God and with each other.  As we pray in faith, as we come together as one, God’s glory and purpose is released upon the world and we will see His mighty acts in Christ Jesus. If we would but just believe…believe in the power of the prayers of the called….the prayers of “a righteous man.” And we are all made righteous not by our works but by the work of God that was done one a cross on Golgotha’s Hill… Marcia McFee states…and I come into agreement with her statement…An empty cross at the end of the strand is the final word… the Risen Christ lives in us as we move through the world as his Body. We sing and pray the Lord’s Prayer together in worship today as we have prayed it separately throughout the summer in our personal prayer devotions. This is the exclamation point on this Summer series and we celebrate God’s presence in “All My Days!” (by Marcia McFee)

People of Christ’s church…my people…can we agree on this…can I get a witness here? Maybe…jut maybe…as we pray the Lord’s Prayer and rededicate ourselves to God’s vision of the world, we can affect a change. As we pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” we will be changed and empowered by our own words and the words of those who come into agreement with us. Perhaps if we…as we…surrender our wills to Gods will and pray this Disciples Prayer we will be transformed from the inside out. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” As we pray “all our days” just imagine the fear that will be felt by the “evil one” who is in and of this world. Imagine the chorus that will ring down from heaven as God ushers in a new heaven and a new earth..

Its the song of the redeemed

Rising from the African plain

Its the song of the forgiven

Drowning out the Amazon rain.

The song of Asian believers

Filled with Gods holy fire

Its every tribe, every tongue, every nation

A love song born of a grateful choir

(x2)

Its all Gods children singing

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise about the four winds

Caught up in the heavenly sound

Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals

To the faithful gathered on the ground

Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation

Some were meant to persist

Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples

None rings truer than this

(x2)

Its all Gods children singing

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

And all the powers of darkness

Tremble at what they've just heard

Cause all the powers of darkness

Can't drown out a single word

When all Gods children sing out

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

All Gods children Singing

Glory, glory, Hallelujah

He reigns…

Let us pray…pray to rededicate ourselves to pray ending in the Lord’s Prayer...

Amen

“The Power-Filled Gift From God…”

September 21, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”

Inspired by Marcia McFee

Sermon 11 of series-

“The Spirit of God”

Joel 2:23-29 Common English Bible

Romans 8:22-28 Gods Word Translation

Let us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)

Have you ever felt “convicted” to do something that you have never done before?
Have you ever felt that little feeling inside to step out in faith and do something? It can be really hard to do that. You may feel that if you do this “thing” you may fail because you don’t really know what you are doing and are not sure if you even know how to do it. You get this prompting within you and you just want to ignore it but it just won’t go away. Why would you even want to do something like this? What if you fail and everyone around you sees you fail and thinks you are nothing but a failure? What if you do this and… (fill in the blank)? The Spirit’s prompting…conviction…can be so strong that you stand frozen…unable to move out because of fear. But there is hope…

This summer, we have been working though the prayer beads that were made as a way to helps remind us what we should be praying for. Well we are almost to the end of the beads this week. I know we have learned a few things as we have gone through the beads on the string.  Let’s see…the Gold Bead…which reminds us to begin with adoration ….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us to let go and let God….the embrace of silence with the “holey Bead” …the steeping stone bead…our journey of faith… The next one…the black...the black and white...the gray bead...reminds us to bring our spiritual struggles to God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries but concerns. And we have the red bead… the one that lets us know that we need to pray for the lovable and not so lovable people in our lives…even those who do us harm. Then there is the three purple beads on the string...the ones that remind us to pray for those “who are standing in the need of prayer.” And we are not just limited to the three beads…they are there to remind us that there are those who are needing...waiting...for our prayers for and about them. The green bead from last week is all about praying for those around the world…praying for the worlds situations…praying down God’s “kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven”…

The next bead is the fiery red bead. Now this, at times, can be a complicated bead. You see with this bead we are reminded…well it’s sort of asking…that we are given a gift that we are to use for God’s service. This bead is the one that we ask God to work through the Holy Spirit in us so that we will use our gifts and talents to and for His glory. Now this can be a tough bead because we are asking God to ignite the Spirit within in us to cause us to “step out of our comfort zone” and use the Spirit within us to “go forth and make disciples of all nations.” Now this can be a hard thing to pray for because sometimes…we are happy just the way we are. We don’t want to move out of our comfort zone. We have never done the things that God may ask us to do and frankly…we may not be sure we want to or are equipped to do so…

The scripture that I read from the Old Testament book of Joel gives us hope in those time that we are not sure…are frightened….to step out in faith. It gives us hope because it talks about a promise that God has given us. It tells us to rejoice and be glad in our God. He will provide for us abundantly. All the times in the past when we may have been in need…all those times in the past when we may have failed…they are gone. God will be in our midst and will not be put to shame. God has even poured out His Spirit upon us…upon you and me… and we will prevail. It tells us that this Spirit is not just for his “chosen people” but for all people…we are now all His chosen ones. And within this same Spirit we will be equipped to do His work. We will prophesize in His name…we will dream dreams in His name…we will see visions in His name…we will be equipped for the good works that He has laid out for us to do in His name… there is hope and strength in His “Power-Filled Spirit.”

In the letter to the Romans, Paul talks about this “power-filled Spirit of God”. The scripture I want to read about this said “Spirit” is found in Chapter 8 verses 22-28. Listen to the Good News about this Spirit of God and take heart…

Romans 8:22-28GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

22 We know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time. 23 However, not only creation groans. We, who have the Spirit as the first of God’s gifts, also groan inwardly. We groan as we eagerly wait for our adoption, the freeing of our bodies from sin. 24 We were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen? 25 But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

26 At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. 27 The one who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit has in mind. The Spirit intercedes for God’s people the way God wants him to.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan.

The Spirit within creation…the Spirit within you and me…groans with anticipation. This Spirit helps us in our weakness…in those times when we say to ourselves “I cannot do this.” You and I are right when we say “we” can’t do this but the power and strength of God through the Spirit enables us…equips us…to do what we cannot do on our own. As we pray and ask that God would pour out his Spirit upon us in a mighty way…He hears. It is by this same Spirit that He prompts us…convicts us…to do His good and pleasing will hear on earth. We are called according to His plan and we will prevail in all that we do in and through His power and might. But…but…we must be willing to pray the prayer of submission to His will…pray the prayer “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Just as Jesus prayed not my will but Your own…we too need to relinquish our will to God’s will in our lives.

Maybe…jut maybe…as we pray for the Spirits movement in our lives we will be moved to the movement of God in the world.  As we pray “Come Holy Spirit” we will be changed and empowered by that same Spirit. Perhaps if we…as we…ask for a download of the Spirit’s power and might in our lives we will step up to the microphone of God…instead if the microphone of the world….and with the boldness of Peter share the Good News of hope instead of the bad news of despair that the world is proclaiming. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Just because you and I don’t think we have the power…God knows we do and it is within the knowing that God will provide that we are emboldened for the Gospel of grace. It’s all about trust. Trust in our God and trust in our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Just saying…

Let us pray…pray about the Holy Spirit and ask for its power to fall mightily...

Amen

Virally Going Global

September 7, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”

Inspired by Marcia McFee

Sermon 10 of series-

“Global”

Psalm 67 NIV Bible

Isaiah 56:4-8 NIV Bible

“Virally Going Global”

Let us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)

Have you ever seen the stuff they have on YouTube these days? Some of it is pretty funny but some of it is really not very nice. Some of those videos make fun of others where as some of them are pretty cute. You can actually put something on YouTube and it just goes crazy...some of those videos are like a virus and just spreads all over the world with “likes” and such. There's one that come to mind and it is of this cat. The owner asks if it wants a bath and the cat sounds as if it is saying “no”...No, no, no, no, no... It is pretty cute. But why does so much well...stupid or mean stuff go so viral? There are some videos that have such meaning to it but humanity doesn't think it is important enough to have it go “viral”...so to speak. Where is humanity's priorities?

Last week...I was saying all we have to do is just pick up a paper or watch the news and we hear about bombings, war, famine, hunger, disasters, killings…the list just goes on. And how it is a little overwhelming to me. I talked about how God does have a plan and it begins with His people…it begins with Christians…it begins with you and me…praying for others. We need to remember those around the world and pray for them and what they may be going through.

This summer, we have been working though the prayer beads that were made and learning a different way to pray...a way that helps remind us what we should be praying for. I hope we have learned a few things as we have been going through the beads on the string. Let’s see…the Gold Bead…which reminds us to begin with adoration ….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us to let go and let God….the embrace of silence with the “holey Bead” …the steeping stone bead…our journey of faith…the black...the black and white...the gray bead...we are to bring our spiritual struggles to God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries but concerns. Remember the red bead from last week? We are to pray for the lovable and not so lovable people in our lives…even those who do us harm. And last week we talked about the three purple beads on the string...the ones that remind us to pray for those “who are standing in the need of prayer.” And we are not just limited to the three beads..they are there to remind us that there are those who are needing...waiting...for our prayers for and about them.

The next bead is the Blue Green/ Blue/ Green Bead. It is there to remind us to pray for the world. God gives us a glimpse of what is going on in the world and what we need to pray for by us watching the news and reading the paper. Now I myself have trouble with this at times. I see all the evil in the world and I just don't want to hear about it. I just want to block it out. But...but...how can you and I know what is needed in the world if we hide from it. We as Christians need to be “on top” of what is going on in the world around us because we are not of the world but we are in the world and need to be part of it only in the fact that it is in the need of our prayers.

The scripture I read this morning is all about praying for the world. It is about Christians...about you and me, praying for God's Kingdom come...here on earth. This is a call to intercessory prayer for the world, not just those in our circle of friends and family. We are praying for the nations and all people and that they would come to know God as their God and Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are calling for the nations to praise God for who He is and the blessings He bestows. We are calling down the blessings of God on all of His creation...We need to be virally going Global in our prayers.

In the book of Isaiah, chapter 56 verses 4-8, we hear about what can and will happen as we pray of others and pray for the world.

Isaiah 56:4-8 New International Version (NIV)

4 For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose what pleases me

and hold fast to my covenant—

5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that will endure forever.

6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord

to minister to him,

to love the name of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant—

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations.”

8 The Sovereign Lord declares—

he who gathers the exiles of Israel:

“I will gather still others to them

besides those already gathered.”

As we virally go Global in our prayers, people and situations in the world around us are changed. But there is a catch...it may not happen in our time...in our vision...but it will happen in God's time and in His vision. We just need to trust in His word... As I said last week...maybe God will use our prayer to show His glory. As we persevere in prayer God will hear and changes will begin. If we give up on the world...if we stop praying because of what is seen in the temporal world, how can the eternal things come to pass? If we concentrate only on the brokenness around us...how can there be healing?

Maybe…just maybe…as we pray for world, it will change. Perhaps if we persevere in prayer the glory of God will be seen. My prayer partners in Christ, can we agree here? Can we step out with one another and pray for the world around us...not just our own backyard? Maybe if you and I begin this journey others will join. Maybe just maybe it will be like that old Faberge commercial “And they tell two friends and so on and so on and so on.” Maybe we can cause our own virus as we virally go Global with our prayers. But...but...it begins with you and me as we agree that the prayers of God's people will be heard and God will act on His promises. Let's start a virus for our God and our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ and see how infectious we can truly be. Maybe just maybe, we too can hit over a million likes as we virally go Global in our prayers. Perhaps others are waiting to share our “Prayer Tube” on their “FW”...their faith walk with Christ... Perhaps maybe if we just...

Let us pray…pray about the world and it's people...

Amen

Standing In The Need Of Prayer

August 31, 2014

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”

Inspired by Marcia McFee

Sermon 9 of series-

“Intercessory”

Luke 18:1-8 NIV Bible

Ephesians 6:10-18 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/hollies/heaintheavyhesmybrother.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl5vi9ir49g

“Standing In The Need Of Prayer”

Let us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)

The road is long

With many a winding turn

That leads us to who knows where

Who knows when

But I'm strong

Strong enough to carry him

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

All we have to do is just turn on the News or pick up a News Paper and get our news about what is going on in the world in which we live. I’m telling you, it is scary out there. We hear about bombings, war, famine, hunger, disasters, killings…the list just goes on. It is a little overwhelming to me. How can I help? Where is God in all this? What does God want me to do? The list of questions is never ending when I see the state of the world. But God does have a plan and it begins with His people…it begins with Christians…it begins with you and me…

This summer, we are invited to pray “All My Days” and to make a habit of prayer wherever you are. Each Sunday in worship we have focused on one of the steps of the prayer beads. My continued hope is that our Summer Sermon Series “All My Days: A Summer of Prayer” will help us learn a way of prayer that will bring us closer to the maker of all we see.

I hope we have learned a few things as we have been going through the beads on the string. Let’s see…the Gold Bead…which reminds us to begin with adoration ….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us to let go and let God….the embrace of silence with the “holey Bead” …the steeping stone bead…our journey of faith…the black...the black and white...the grey bead...we are to bring our spiritual struggles to God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries but concerns. Remember the red bead from last week? We are to pray for the lovable and not so lovable people in our lives…even those who do us harm.

This week…it’s the three purple beads on the string. Now these beads are to remind us to pray even more about those who are standing in the need of prayer. You know…there are three purple beads but I don’t think it should stop at only three. I believe it represents all those people and situations that come up in our lives and we all know it usually is more than just three…

So on we go

His welfare is of my concern

No burden is he to bear

We'll get there

For I know

He would not encumber me

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

The scripture I read this morning is all about praying unceasingly. We are called to continue in our prayer even when we don’t see anything happening. You see…God is always working out His plan. God is always answering our prayers. We have seen a lot of prayers being answered within our church but there are also those prayers that we may never see answered in our life time. But…but…God always answer prayer. He has said it and I believe it. Believing is seeing and through our believing we shall see the glory of God…

In the Epistle of Ephesians, we hear more about this praying without ceasing type of prayer. But it goes even further than that. It tells us the tools we are to have in our lives…it tells us of the “Weapons of Warfare” that God gives you and give me in this battle of Good over Evil. It is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Let me read to you about our battle armor given to us by God for His glory…I am reading from the Disciples Literal New Testament Bile this morning. I think it really tells us of the strength that we have as we do battle in the world…

Ephesians 6:10-18 Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT)

Finally, Put On The Full Armor of God So You Can Stand Against The Spiritual Forces of Evil

10 Finally, become-strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength. 11 Put-on the full-armor of God so-that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, 12 because the struggle for us is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evilness in the heavenly-places. 13 For this reason, take-up the full-armor of God in order that you may be able to resist on the evil day, and having worked everything, to stand.

Stand Armored With Truth, Righteousness, And Faith, Wielding God’s Word And Prayer

14 Stand [firm] therefore, having girded your waist with truth, and having put-on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having sandaled your feet with the readiness of the good-news of peace, 16 with all these having taken-up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, 18 praying with every-kind-of prayer and petition at every opportunity in the Spirit, and keeping-alert for it with all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints—

I think in reading this scripture we have a question to ask ourselves. Now…we are told to pray with perseverance for all the saints right? Well…it is my thought that we should also pray for those who are not saints…yet. Who are these would be saints? Who is our brother, our sister, our mother, our father? It is the child in Bangladesh who lives in poverty and hunger. It is those in our family’s that have not yet come to Christ. It is the drug addict that just can’t seem to get to the other side. It is the mother who is raising her children alone. It is those who do us harm. It is those who we love and are sometimes not so lovable. It is anyone or anything that goes against God’s “perfect order” of things. The list is endless.

If I'm laden at all

I'm laden with sadness

That everyone's heart

Isn't filled with the gladness

Of love for one another

People and situations in the world around us are standing in the need of prayer. Are we going to sit idly by and watch? I was once told by someone who I thought was someone who would pray for others no matter what. I was told that they only pray for someone only if they knew Christ as their personal Savior. I asked them what happens when they don’t. They told me they give them a chance to accept Christ and if they don’t they won’t pray for them. What! If they don’t know Christ how can they come to Him if we don’t pray for them? Maybe God will use our prayer to show His glory to them and then they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Who are the saints? Who are the saints of the future…?

Maybe…just maybe…as we pray for people and situations out of our “realm of friends” there will be a change in the way things are going in the world. Perhaps if we widen our scope of prayer God will use us to bless others. Church of Jesus Christ…we have a mission from God and that is to pray for others without ceasing…even pray those in who are not part of the body of Christ. We are given the tools we need within His Armor and strength to conquer all things if we just are persistent like that widow who was looking for justice…just as our sisters and brothers are looking for justice in their lives and have no way out. Perhaps we can pray them out of their situation and the glory of God will be seen here on earth as His glory fills heaven. Maybe…just maybe… Who is standing in the need of prayer waiting for you?

Let us pray…pray about those needing our intercession…

It's a long, long road

From which there is no return

While we're on the way to there

Why not share

And the load

Doesn't weigh me down at all

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

Amen