Brother Gary Sunday Morning 9/30/12

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 9/30/12

Praying in all seasons; Praying always in all seasons: true prayer is worshipping God in prayer.  Yet Praying and thanking God for tangible things in life and for healing is necessary.  We need to be thankful to God.  If you have been healed of that terrible life in sin, if you have come off of the broad way to the straight and narrow way, then you have much to thank God for.

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

There are many regulations that try to keep God out of the schools.  You can follow all the rules, but there is no wall or regulation that they can make that can keep God on the outside.  True prayer is worshipping God.

Pray and supplicate in the Holy Spirit:  Plead with God that you will not be distracted.  Every one of us knows because we are alive that there is a real struggle that goes on not only to get into the prayer closet but to also get the door shut.  There are many legitimate things that you have to do and to be concerned about. There is a proper time to work on your schedule and to think about when you can get the garden cleaned 

off. 

We need to pray and supplicate for our self.  Part of getting saved is going through a battle of accusations.  We need to know that we confessed, repented, turned from our sin, have measured, walked, and come to the line.  The way to overcome accusations is to overcome the enemy by the blood of the lamb.  If you have gotten saved, then you are a child of the king.  Sometimes we can thank God that the devil is accusing us and therefore don’t have us.

The lust of the flesh: there will be things that you enjoy that are not necessarily sinful yet they will take your mind away from prayer.  My wife and I like to hike.  We like to see mountain lakes.  There is nothing sinful in that, but it is important that when we pray and supplicate and begin seeking after God that our mind doesn’t go to the lake.

We all have people in our lives.  There are some people that are rude, crude, and unacceptable; we must watch that we don’t let that get to us.  There are others that are nice but may drop things into our mind that will take our minds where ever it may.  We must all have victory over people. 

We must be willing to forsake mother, father, son, or daughter to serve God.  We cannot allow anything to have a place in our heart that separates us from praying and supplicating to God. 

Temptation: you can be saved and doing your best to walk with God and Satan will come with the most ridiculous things to see if you can be separated from following God.

1 Cor 9:27 I keep my body under.

To keep our mind in subjection and under the blood of Christ, to keep our thoughts: our thoughts are not God’s thoughts, we need to keep our selves under subjection.

Praying in the most Holy Spirit:  It is wonderful that not only did Jesus come, but he lived on earth and then ascended back to the Father and sent His Holy Spirit to teach us, to direct us and to live within us. 

We need to pray in all seasons for ourselves.

When you are sick it is hard to pray but you must take the old flesh and say, “I’m going to pray and worship.”  I might as well be praying here than just laying and wishing that I wasn’t so sick.

Prayer is the language of dependence.  We all will come to the line of either being independent and saying, “I can handle things all by myself and everything is fine.”  Or saying, “Jesus I’m depending on you.” 

It is not the thought that perhaps you cannot get through a crisis or a muddled decision.  We’re not talking about that, we’re talking about you praying for a situation before you get there.  Deal with the situation and the crisis and get everything right before others and God.  Deal with the situation by letting God know how much you are depending on Him.

I am praying in all seasons because my dependence is on God.

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Paul was in persecution and so were the saints.  Times were difficult and he was moved on by the Holy Spirit to watch.  Every saint of God without exception needs your prayers.  Every singer, every piano player, every instrument player, we need to watch that we pray for them.  The young guys are sharp, but they desperately need prayer.  That doesn’t take away from the fact that they are saved or that God has blessed them with gifts and talents, we need to watch that we pray for them.

We need to pray for the older saints.  As individuals age, the devil doesn’t have respect for them getting old.  God help us to pray earnestly, there is nothing sadder than for someone to have lost direction, than one to have run and then not win the race.

Persistently supplicating with God to keep our brothers and sisters from being affected by the battle that is incensed against them:  We each want to have prayer.  When we are going to be walking in a perverse situation it doesn’t bother me to call for prayer.  We as the body of Christ, must first take care of our self and then we must have the attitude that we are going to do what we can to help everyone.  There can be no respecter of persons, not having prayer just for a special comrade but for those that are not your special comrade.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

It is very important that our strength is in the Lord.  We are in uncertain times in Western Montana; there are things that could happen and change our whole lifestyle.  There is no way that we could accumulate enough wealth or food products so that we could say, “My barns are full and I don’t need to worry.”  There is no strength in a full cellar.  Before we get home today our house could be gone. 

If people want to empty our cellar, they know that we are gone right now.  There is no strength in any of these things.  If you are young and strong, things can happen so quickly so that there is no strength for the battle even if you have muscles.

Put on the whole armor of God.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Before you can put on the whole armor of God, all the rags of self-righteousness must be removed.  We must also be clothed with humility.  Being saved is not enough, we must put on the whole armor, this is the language of our dependence on God. 

We need to have on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil.  The wiles are all the avenues that the devil uses to try to reach to us.  There is not one person that is living today that the enemy doesn’t have plans to distract.  Our security is putting on the whole armor of God so that no matter what he brings against us we can stand.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The thought is not that we are in a combative situation against people.  It is an old thing and a part of life to be a target by people.  It doesn’t matter what position that person that has targeted us is in.  Paul let you and I know that this is nothing but a trick of the devil. 

Whoever is in position in your life, your boss on your job, those that have a certain amount of authority as to whether you get the better or the worse, we cannot cater to individuals for advantage.

We are warring against principalities, often it is the principal that someone could turn their hand to make things easier or lighter.  God doesn’t want you and I to let up on the standard of the Word of God to position ourselves to have better finances.  We cannot lower the bar of holding the standard of ‘holiness unto the Lord’ to the rich. 

We all have family members that we would really like to love and be loved by them.  The congregations heart is bleeding toward Rebecca, we’d like to see her saved, delivered and having a new life toward Jesus Christ.  There would be those that would like to receive the help that they can have through God and us and yet not change their life.  We cannot cater or change the standard for them.

We must put on the whole armor of God because we are living in a time when the agents of darkness want to get you and I to be quiet, want to get you and I to not lift up the standard high and often times this brings real war to your heart.

Powers were dealt with in this scripture.  I really want to pray in all seasons.  We war against the power of suggestion: sometimes people will just drop a suggestion in your mind that will be a war going on.  “It is a lot better over there”, the enemy may say.  It is a lot better over there because you are not there.  You are not there for the enemy to fight.  It would be a different battle if you were there, but you would be still in the battle.

Most people look like they are strong and can handle everything.  The thing of being rejected after you have reached out to someone can cause you to draw back the next time you go to reach out.  The power of suggestion comes to your mind. 

The power of fear; we live in a day when people are so afraid, they are afraid of people taking advantage of them.  We haven’t been given the spirit of fear.

The power of anxiety.  Anxiety doesn’t have to be all bad.  You can be anxious to get something going, we cannot work things up, it must be God that does.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Take the whole armor of God and stand, “Standing firm.” what God has shown you and revealed, take the whole armor of God, keep standing and when you have done all to stand, keep standing.

When you find yourselves in a position where you must take a stand, the enemy wars on your mind, “If I take a stand, then I will be misunderstood.”  This could be the case, most of us don’t like to be misunderstood, but when we must stand, we need to stand.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Have it settled, by the help and grace of God I’m going to do what is right. 

Good will to man:  It is hard when people don’t have their feet shod with the gospel of peace.  God never instructs us to put on our killer shoes. 

Above all take the shield of faith.  The shield of faith is first to protect your spirit. Not only will you protect your spirit, you will protect those that you have an influence on.  It is scary when people open themselves up to whatever the devil has planned for them.

The shield of faith quenches the darts of the wicked.  Holiness encouraged holiness.  When you are around someone that is lifting the bar of holiness then it encourages you to lift the bar.  Victory encourages others and inspires victory.  “I’m not going to let this thing get me down; I’m going to get victory over this.  I’m going to pray in all seasons.” 

Praise encourages praise.  If you don’t praise God then others around you will become gloomier.  Prayer encourages prayer.  Jesus told them to tarry until they be endued with power.  Referring to the 120 in the upper room, they were all in one accord in prayer and supplication.  Prayer encouraged prayer.

Humility: one of the greatest convictions that your life can have on others is walking humbly with your God.  Humility encourages humility.  The enemy will come along to any of us and try to shoot that arrow of pride, “I know some things that that other brother doesn’t know.”  None of us know anything that God hasn’t revealed to us.  Take the shield of faith and use it.  Determine that, “pride is not going to work in my life.”

A burden encourages a burden.  Can you request prayer for your son or daughter without it causing a burden for another’s son or daughter?  A burden encourages a burden. 

Faithfulness encourages faithfulness.  We don’t preach about money around here, the head of the church , God, knows if everyone pays tithes.  We were so poor that we couldn’t pay attention but we paid our tithes.  Faithful to the house of God and to the labors that God has encouraged you in.  

Sacrifice encourages sacrifice.  It destroys stinginess.  It destroys the thought of having peanut butter sandwiches and dill pickles for a pot luck to fix someone.

Virtue encourages virtue.  Virtue means moral excellence and it means boldness.  The boldness that comes from having prayed and sought God then you felt bold to pray for a young man or woman.  You felt bold to go talk to that one.  It is not the boldness of the flesh but the boldness of virtue or moral excellence; I want you to be saved from that life of sin. 

Prayer is God’s design for man.  Prayer humbles the heart.  Prayer enflames faith.  Prayer brings life to hope.  Prayer ignites spiritual desires.  Prayer makes God real.  Prayer weighs the lost soul.  When I begin to pray for someone that is lost and feel the weight of being lost:  Lost people don’t have direction they go this way and that, prayer makes the needs real.  Prayer changes me.  Prayer aligns me with God.  Prayer unites me with fellowship.  Prayer raises the soul form earth to God.