The Function

The Book of Acts is filled with descriptions of people full of the Holy Spirit. The church was birthed in a prayer meeting. Does your church have one?

Jesus still offers His churches The Spirit of His Presence. The powerless ones are those who are content to be prayerless.

"And when they had prayed,...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness."
Acts 4:31

NOTE TO SELF: When you try to function without His unction, you only reveal your dysfunction. The Holy Spirit meets you at the point of your humility, not at the point of your pride. When you yield to Him, you give Him the elbow room He desires to throw His shoulder into the battle. The tipping point of spiritual warfare is located at the the fulcrum of prayer. When God's people pray, the Holy Spirit turns the impossible into the HIM-possible. If you need His hands on your church, put your knees on the ground.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Burn

"And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.' So He went in to stay with them."
Luke 24: 29

The Risen Christ approached two downhearted and discouraged disciples, as the sun set on the first evening of Resurrection Day. They had heard the reports that Jesus had risen from the grave, but they had not seen Him.

At the end of their rope, and drained of hope, the disciples left the city and headed for home, to pick up the pieces of their lives.

"It is amazing what God can do with a broken heart, if you give Him all the pieces." Samuel Chadwick

While they were walking and talking, Jesus approached and interrupted their conversation. For seven miles He shed the light of the Scriptures into the darkness of their lives. The result? He ignited a fire in their hearts with the Word of God, and with the offer of His companionship.

At the end of the day, with burning hearts they yearned for more of His Presence. They urged Him, "Stay with us." Jesus honored their desire to spend more time with Him. He always does.

Recently an election was held in our nation. Millions of people prayed for God to hear their cries and to give them their hearts' desire.

Some rejoiced at the outcome of the election, while others wept at the result. Those who rejoiced were quick to acknowledge the answer to their prayers. Many gave God the glory. Others rushed in to claim credit for it.

Time will tell if praying power results in staying power. Falling in love with answered prayer, and taking credit for it is a short cut to a dead end street, not the next Great Awakening.

Pastor Jonathan Edwards is recognized as one of the key leaders of the First Great Awakening in America. His prophetic words still provide insight to the gift of answered prayer.

"The business of prayer is not to direct God, who is infinitely wise and needs not any of our direction, who knows what is best for us ten thousand times better that we, and knows what time and what way are best. It is fit that he should answer prayer, and as an infinitely wise God in the exercise of his own wisdom, and not ours. God will deal as a father with us, in answering our requests."
Jonathan Edwards
Sermon Title: "A Prayer Hearing God"
Text: "O thou that hearest prayer." Psalms 65:2
Date: January, 1735-6 (and 1752). Preached on a fast appointed on the account of an epidemic east of Boston.

NOTE TO SELF: When it comes to answered prayer, don't settle for anything less than Jesus. He responds to the cry of your yearning and burning heart. His Spirit fuels the fire of your heart, and guides your life from the light of God's word.

Praying power is sustained by His staying power. He longs to spend time with you, more than you desire to spend time with Him. You don't need more of Him. He needs more of you. Feel the burn! Settle for nothing less.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Stand

“Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.” Exodus 14:13

Moses never appeared more convincing and courageous than when he voiced his powerful challenge to the fear-filled people of Israel. As the chariots of Pharaoh bore down on them, they cried out to God, but they poured their sarcasm onto their leader.

Moses rose to the occasion with a message of hope. Exiting the public stage, he found a private place, behind a rock, to cry out in panic to God.

Moses took a stand in public, but He didn't fail to take a knee in private. Prayer warriors engaged in spiritual warfare soon learn there is great danger in posing, without taking refuge in praying.

Wise leaders don't substitute public posing, for private praying. Moses was a wise man, indeed.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are your crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.” v:15

Prayer warriors trust in God, not in themselves. Whatever comes their way, they engage in the process and the purpose of prayer.

The process of prayer involves bringing you face to face with God. Prayer often begins in breathless panic. Keep praying until there is a change in your breathing pattern.

Coming to the end of your rope is not a call to make more rope. Stop making rope. Start praying.

God's purpose for prayer is answered prayer. Gasping for breath in search of an answer to prayer honors God. Grasping to take credit for what God's answer to your prayer dishonors Him.

Prayer brings His Presence into the middle of your crisis. Don’t turn a crisis into a “selfie.” Step out of the limelight and give God's Spirit the elbow room He desires to answer your prayer, and then, give God all the glory.

Prayer is not an equal partnership. God does the heavy lifting. This cooperation is best described by the yoke relationship. The Teacher leads. The learner follows.

The synergy of prayer appears seamless, but there is always One who provides the greatest strength and the clearest direction.

Together great things are done, but there is only one Captain of the yoke. Prayer warriors do not seek to be in authority. They choose to be under the authority of The Captain.

“As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.” v. 16

“As for Me…I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army…then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored…”  v. 18

“As for you” and “As for Me” describe the partnership of prayer perfectly. Moses came to God in panic. He was placed in a position of responsibility, and prayer provided him the power. This is the process and the purpose. He gave all of the honor and all of the glory to God.

“Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.”
Exodus 15:1-2

“Pray like it depends on God, work like it depends on you.”

This quote has been attributed to everyone from St. Augustine to John Wesley and even to Dave Ramsey. So, who knows?

The truth is prayer begins and ends with God. It was His idea, and any participation in it should be viewed as the privilege of a junior partner, not a managing director.

NOTE TO SELF: Standing on the promises of God is a great deal more effective when you are kneeling on the premises of your latest crisis. Praying before, during and after a crisis prepares you to honor God for His deliverance and His Presence. Moses may not have been honest to the people regarding all that was going on in his heart, but he was honest where it counted. He was honest to God. Answers to your prayers begin on your part with the humility and honesty. They end with honoring God for His part in answering your prayers.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Choice

Survival or Revival

Evangelical pastors intent upon restoring the influence of Judeo-Christianity in a post-Christian culture must engage in the process, without becoming enraged at their prospects.

NOTE TO SELF: Verbally carpet-bombing a community of people who disagree with your political philosophy or theological position exposes your spiritual condition without advancing your cause. Here's why.

“The anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.”
James 1:20

Os Guinness challenges pastors to "think Christianly." I believe he has accurately described the current condition of the American Church. He persuades me to focus my eyes on the revival of the church, not the survival of the church. Here's why.

“Much of the American Church is in the same poor condition as the church before the Reformation or before the Great Awakening in the early 18th Century. So we need reformation and we need revival. Our greatest contribution to that is to recognize the difference between what we can do and what God alone can do, so we pray. But as we wait and pray and work, one of the foundational things we need is the ability to persuade. Under God it is our immense privilege and challenge to work to open hearts and minds to what we know is the best news ever.”
Os Guinness, (From Interview in OUTREACH Magazine, March/ April 2016, p. 64)

Focusing on the survival of the church often leads to an emphasis upon her appearance without addressing her health. Survival is a poor substitute for revival, because it is consumed with cosmetology, not theology.

Putting more rouge on a dead church is a deception, not a resurrection. Rouge is cold comfort. It offers an appearance of life, without turning death into life. Accept no substitutes.

Revival is a result of pastors leading their people away from confidence in man-made activity, and towards a dependence upon a genuine movement of The Spirit of God. Pray for it to happen in your church.

John the Baptist set the bar for those who would pave the way for a fresh movement of God. The road to Spiritual Awakening is paved with the crushed pride of broken men, not upon the arrogant eloquence of prideful men.

"He must increase, but I must decrease"
John 3:30

Prayer breathes fresh life into The Body of Christ, and the church is in need of a resurrection. Planting more churches in this Post Christian culture is a noble effort, as long as these churches offer new life in Christ, not an appearance of life.

Don't be deceived. Planting another corpse is only a burial, not a revival. Don't stop planting. Start praying for a resurrection. Why?

"The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no power. A rationalized faith, a socialized church, and a moralized gospel may gain applause, but they awaken no conviction and win no converts."
Samuel Chadwick

NOTE TO SELF: Do what you can do, but trust God to do what only He can do. Make your next breath a prayer for the revival of the church, not a cry for the survival of it. Without a fresh breath from God, there is no survival. Shallow breathing is a sign of impending death. Take a deep breath and keep breathing. Revival is just one prayer away, so we pray.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Surprise

In March of 1978 I heard of BROKEN ARROW, OK for the first time. After a "chance" meeting with Dr. Leon Hill, on the campus of Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, he invited me to serve as his Associate Pastor of Youth Ministries at FBC,BA. Dana and I moved to BA in May.

In this great city we purchased our first home, experienced the birth of our first child, and made life long friends. God doesn't deal in chance, but He loves to surprise His children with Divine appointments. Ask Him to surprise you with His grace today.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Wife

"An excellent wife is the crown of her husband."
Proverbs 12:4

The Hebrews used the word excellent to describe a strong and valiant army, or a gallant warrior facing down an enemy. The Greeks used it for the courage a person has to face adversity.

NOTE TO SELF: God has always valued a wife willing to stand next to her husband, through the difficulties of life. Thank God for yours today.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Value

"As a ring of gold in a swine's snout so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion."
Proverbs 11:22

The discreet value what is appropriate, modesty, chastity, virginity, purity, good taste, and sound judgment. The indiscreet idolize celebrity.

NOTE TO SELF: Words mean things, and sometimes sound mean even when they warn you of the danger ahead. If you take offense at what is right, you will never correct what is wrong. The Wise value purity. The Fool chases celebrity.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The "I"

“‘Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? And He said, ‘Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you.”
Exodus 3:10-12

One of the warning signs of a self-made man is his self-destructive sense of direction. He tends to overuse the letter “I” to tell his story. Moses was a man with “I” trouble, and in danger of missing God. When He heard God’s new sense of direction for his life, he evaluated his prospects based upon his past experiences, not God’s personal Presence.

"Who am I?"
Moses

The wise man is a humble man who understands that his story is actually a part of HIS story. He doesn't hide behind false modesty and pious posturing. He obeys God, and gives the glory to Him for any and all he accomplishes, without taking credit for any of it. Moses was a broken man, when God called him to the greatest mission of his life. He responded with a question for God, not immediate obedience to Him. He revealed a heart filled with the fear of man and the fear of failure, not the fear of God.

Moses had been looking down on himself without looking up to God. Intimidated by his past failures, Moses lost sight of God in the present tense. It resulted in counting himself worthless in the future tense. The Presence of God is always the remedy for “I” trouble. The church is a vision center. When preaching focuses on building up the self-esteem of selfish children rather than focusing their eyes on The Father, it is time for vision correction.

NOTE TO SELF: Your vision will not be restored, by examining the lint in your own navel. Look up and focus on God. When “I” dominates your praying it becomes prideful posturing. The overuse of "I" in your preaching, makes you the subject, focusing the message on the messenger, not The Master. When you insert “I” into your parenting, without praying with your children, it invites the proverbial “Eye” roll of your children. Prayer practices The Presence of The Father in the name of Jesus. No matter who you think you are, believe Him when God tells you, “I will be with you.”

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Struggle

"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood..."
Ephesians 6:12

The esprit de corps of prayer warriors is not based upon wearing the same uniform, marching in a parade under the same banner, or singing the same war songs. It is a spirit of steel bonds forged in fire, and exists only between warriors who have shared the relentless struggle together against a common foe.

NOTE TO SELF: Prayer is not designed for you to flaunt as a symbol of your spiritual devotion. It is provided as a weapon for spiritual warfare. When you wear prayer like a medal, the enemy does not fear it. When you use it like a weapon, the enemy trembles. Use it.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Hate

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil."
Proverbs 8:13

NOTE TO SELF: Pride, arrogance, the evil way & the perverted mouth have these two things in common. They are hated by The Wise and valued by The Fool. Don't be a fool. Fear God & hate evil.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!