1 Timothy 2:1-4 - The Priority of Prayer

hello everybody welcome to wednesday night bible study i also wanted to remind you that we are going to be doing communion tonight so if you could gather your things and be prepared for communion that'd be great as we worship the lord so let's start off with the word of prayer lord thank you so much for your faithfulness lord and for your love for us we as you go before us in this time of worship and communion and also your in bible study lord help us to be open and lord just receptive for whatever your holy spirit might have for us lord we thank you and we pray these things in jesus name and everybody say [Music] amen [Music] there was between us [Music] no longer [Music] your love is [Music] feel the darkness shaking all the [Music] you call me [Music] [Music] death can't hold us down [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] take all i have in these hands and multiply god all that i am and find my heart on the altar again set me on fire set me on fire take off i have in these hands and multiply god more than i am and find my heart on the altar again set me on fire set me on fire here i [Music] am hold me now my life gracefully broken my heart stands in all of your name your mighty love stands strong to the end you will fulfill your purpose in me you won't forsake me you will be with [Music] hold me now my life gracefully broken unto jesus all to jesus now holding nothing back holding nothing back i surrender i surrender i surrender here i am gracefully broken here i am [Music] gracefully broken oh to jesus nothing back holding nothing back i surrendered i surrender i surrender i surrender [Music] you spit out the skies over empty space said let there be light into a dark and formless world your life was [Music] you spread out your arms over empty hearts said let there be light into a dark and hopeless world your son was [Music] [Music] what a [Music] how majestic you whispered [Music] like [Music] [Music] what a wonderful god now i has fully seen how beautiful the cross and we have only heard the faintest whispers of how great you are [Music] what a wonderful maker what a wonderful savior how majestic you whispered [Music] how humble your [Music] in the heart of the father how majestic your whispers [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] whispers [Music] whispers [Music] what a wonderful [Music] the weapon may be formed but it won't prosper when the darkness falls it won't breathe cause the god i serve knows only how to triumph but my god will never fail [Music] belongs [Music] belongs to you [Music] this power in the mighty name of jesus every war he wages he will win i'm not backing down from any giant cause i know how this story [Music] is [Music] i'm gonna see your [Music] victory [Music] [Music] you take what the enemy meant for evil and you learn it for god [Music] you turn it for good victory i'm gonna see your victory for the battle belongs to you lord i'm gonna see your victory i'm [Music] [Music] [Music] belongs [Music] you turn [Music] [Music] victory i'm gonna see your victory for the battle belongs to you lord i'm gonna see your victory i'm gonna see your victory for the battle belongs to you lord [Music] [Music] [Music] do you are here moving in i miss i worship you i worship you you are here working in this place i worship you i worship you you are we make a miracle worker promise keep light in the darkness my god that is [Music] my god you are here touching every heart you are here healing every life you are here turning lies around you are here [Music] [Music] make a miracle [Music] that is [Music] that is [Music] is [Music] who you are that is who you [Music] are [Music] that is who you are [Music] even when i don't see it you're working even when i don't feel it you're working you never stop you never stop working you never stop you never stop working even when i don't see it you're working even [Music] [Music] you're working [Music] [Music] [Applause] never [Music] that is [Music] that is who you are [Music] [Music] is [Music] keeper light in the darkness my god that is who you are [Music] yes lord that's who you are lord thank you for all your promises for your love for us lord thank you lord for your word that is true lord we can put our faith and trust in it lord we pray now lord that you would open and res and help us lord to receive whatever your holy spirit has for us tonight lord and we pray these things in jesus name and everybody say amen amen god bless you guys well good evening it's good to be with you tonight for our midweek study as you may know pastor jack and debbie are out of town they're celebrating 40 years of marriage but pastor jack will be back in the pulpit this sunday morning so we'll look forward to that but i'm excited to be able to be with you here tonight and share god's word with you with that said we're going to be in in 1st timothy chapter 2. so you may want to grab your bibles and and find your spot there for when we get started but while you're doing that i want to share a couple things with you a couple announcements things we're excited about coming up here this next week one being our weekly bible studies you know as early as as this week i guess the first week in august we'll be putting all of our weekly bible studies online so the high school study the young adult study pastor gerard's monday evening study and and our young at heart senior study will all be online at the morningstar website beginning the first week in august and we're super excited about that you know since this lockdown and until we're able to to meet together again in person it's good that we'll be able to gather around god's word on those weekly studies so go to morningstar's website morningstarcc.org and you'll find those bible studies there this next week also i want to remind you that our saturday prayer meetings are still going on there will be meeting over in the chapel store parking lot the men will be meeting this saturday it's if they meet on the first and the third saturday of every month the women on the second and fourth but come out this saturday eight o'clock a.m out just outside the the fellowship hall there and lift up the needs of the body pray for for those in your lives that that you want to see get saved it's a great time to gather together with brothers and sisters and seek god's will so that's happening every saturday the first and third and the second and fourth also our how much more food ministry continues to serve the needs of our community and help those who need food during this time and you can be part of that you can buy non-perishable food at the grocery store bring it here to the church office during the week the office is open monday through friday eight to five and and we'll minister to the people not only the food that you guys bring but also the word of god if you know somebody who's in need certainly send them here over to the church on tuesday mornings they just have to be here by 10 30 and we'll share the love of god with them and and help them and their families so that's a great ministry that that continues here at the church well like i said we're going to be looking at first timothy chapter 2 this evening so if you would once you join me we'll pray and ask the lord to go before us father god we thank you so much god for your promise to be with us lord father to fill us with your spirit and lead us by your word god father in good times and in bad and in times of ease and times of struggle god you are the faithful one that we rely upon and this evening as we lift up your your name and and as we look to you through your word for your direction and your your plans for the church god we pray that we wouldn't only have hearts that are open to hear from you but god that you would by your spirit empower us to go out and and do those things that you've called us to do that we'd be effective servants for our king in this world and in this time that you've given to us so father be with us this evening lord open our understanding give us wisdom god and we'll trust you and serve you and walk with you until that day we see you face to face so god bless this time together we pray in jesus name amen well tonight we're gonna be in like i said first timothy chapter two and i want to talk a little bit about prayer you know you can go throughout the scriptures and see prayer all over and you could turn to a lot of different scriptures and different places in the bible to teach god's heart on prayer so i wanted to kind of use first timothy chapter two here as kind of a springboard to go and look at what the bible has to say about prayer and and what he's called us to do as his people in this world just to give you a little bit of background here about the book of first timothy you know paul had planted this church in ephesus on his second missionary journey and though he couldn't stay there very long in that city the first time he went he would go back on his third missionary journey and he'd be able to stay much longer some three years or so he would be able to stay there ministering and teaching god's word to the people you know and when he left the church was strong and it was growing and it was effective you know the word of god was was strong in that place but it wouldn't take too long for false teachers to come in you know and paul had warned them there that that would happen and and not more than a year or so afterward he would see the the church they're struggling as the word of god had had been given a different place he had warned them that those would come in and and not desire to teach sound doctrine he said they would instead teach fables and endless genealogies and and just have idle talk it would divide the church rather than build it up and the news of this troubled church would come to paul and and he would urge timothy his his son in the faith to go and pastor the church there it would be some nine years or so after the church had started that this rather timid and fearful yet willing young servant timothy would agree to go and be the pastor there and serve the lord in the church there in ephesus and after being there for about a year paul would write this letter to him instructing him and encouraging him how he might love god's people and instruct them in his ways that he would correct the false teaching that he would raise up elders that would help with the work there that he would lead by example just that he had as he had seen paul do in his life and in his ministry so like i said tonight i wanted to look at the priority of prayer that that paul laid out for timothy here in these first four verses of chapter two of first timothy so if you would read with me here the first timothy chapter two verse one paul writes therefore i exhort first of all that supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men you know if timothy was going to accomplish this calling that the lord had had given to him and to the church there in ephesus weeding out false teaching and and bringing back the sound doctrine ultimately taking the gospel to to the world and into the lost then prayer was the place where that would have to begin you know if the church is going to answer the call that the lord has given to us today as well to go into all the world and to preach the gospel to see people get saved and and make disciples then we must be people of prayer we've got to rely on god's word and and the moving of his holy spirit and men's hearts but prayer is that place where where that should all start so here in verse 1 paul puts prayer right there on the top of the list for this young pastor that he should be that example of prayer there in the church he says to them there you know the church should exist to to pray and to seek out the lord we've got to be people who rely on on god and his word and his in his promises to us and like i said prayer is the place where that starts that church that exists for the work of the lord is a church that prays for the world that prays for all men prayer is not just a suggestion for the church it's it's not an afterthought you know the prayer isn't a place that we go to as a last resort when things are are tough and and we've tried everything else i don't know how many times you might have said or maybe i've said well i can't do anything else i guess i'll pray but that certainly isn't paul's advice here he says no prayer is the place that we should start and paul writes to timothy i exhort first of all that these supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men what do you see as the work of the church what should the priority of every believer be the one thing that should never be forsaken or set aside by believers paul says here that prayer should be first of all you know the word of god should be taught certainly the word of god is is powerful it's sharper than a two-edged sword it will divide between the soul and the spirit the thoughts and intents of men's hearts but prayer is the place where we should start no doubt the word of god should be taught and it should be taught well and and often paul said in the book of ephesians that the gifts were given to those in the church for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry that they would be edified you know the the edifying of the body of christ and that equipping and that edifying happens in a number of ways certainly like i said the teaching of god's word as we disciple the saints that that edifying and encouraging and teaching continues you know even through through evangelism and as we gather together to worship the lord those things are accomplished but prayer has to go before all of those things paul says there were lots of needs there in the church of ephesus there are lots of things that need to be accomplished things that that need to be corrected but paul's advice to timothy is hey you start with prayer think about it you know how did you first get saved you prayed you called on the name of the lord and you were saved what did you do what did we do before we open up the bible and and seek to to learn from the lord we pray we ask god for wisdom we ask god to to open our hearts and and allow us to receive all that he has for us we pray and we ask him to reveal his ways to us but by opening up god's word and reading it either together as a church or or as we sit down in our homes alone with the lord we need to start with prayer before we lift our voices to worship god we pray that he would be honored in our hearts and lifted up that that god would would change us as we spend time worshiping him together as the people of god and as we go out into this world and seek to be witnesses for him we pray we pray that god would would send his holy spirit behind the scenes to work on men's hearts that's one of the works of the holy spirit that he's with man that he's drawing them in as they hear god's word as they see god's people living out their faith but we pray and we ask god to do that work we ask god to give us boldness to go out and and open our mouths and share his word with the lost we we pray that god would would help us to to see the need and then go and accomplish those things but prayer is where all those things begin throughout the bible we see this this need for prayer and prayer being applied to all these different situations moses when he faced problems as he led the people of god through the wilderness he prayed he he sought the lord and and sought direction sometimes in frustration many times in frustration but nonetheless he he went and wanted to see the lord work so he prayed jonah in his rebellion to god prayed to the lord his god from the belly of the fish we're told and god heard his prayers and he delivered him in first kings chapter 18 as elijah contended with the prophets of baal there he prayed to the lord and i love his prayer this is what what elijah prayed there he said hear me o lord hear me that the people may know that you are the lord god and that you have turned their hearts back to you again he prayed that the lord would hear him for a purpose that god's people their hearts would turn from false gods and know that he is the lord and that their hearts would be turned back to him and certainly god heard that prayer he answered with with fire from heaven consuming that offering that was there in acts chapter 9 as peter knelt down and prayed for a little girl who had died he prayed and then said to her tabitha arise and she opened up her eyes and she sat up and and she was alive but it was peter praying and and seeking the lord for direction on what he should do there in luke chapter 22 jesus said to peter indeed satan has asked for you that he may sift you like weed not great news right that's not something you want to hear what satan's after me yeah i've read the book of job that didn't turn out very well for him but nonetheless that's what jesus said to peter but then he said but i have prayed for you that your faith should not fail and when you have returned to me strengthen your brethren jesus relied on on prayer and when satan came looking for the the life and the ministry of peter to sift him like weed jesus said don't worry prayer has gone out before you and when you return you're going to strengthen the brethren what a great encouragement that is james tells us that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much and paul would write to the thessalonians pray without ceasing in everything give thanks for this is the will of god for you in christ jesus you could go on and on and on looking through the scriptures and seeing places and encouragements and and times of prayer for all different kinds of situations for all different kinds of men in many different places prayer was offered up to god it was relied upon by those who desired to serve the lord it was relied upon by those who wanted to see god's will done and his kingdom furthered who wanted to see the lord worshiped and lifted up in men's hearts all those things began with prayer in every situation for all kinds of people so paul says here therefore i exalt you first of all that prayers i'm sorry is it supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men paul refers to various forms of prayer here that are to be offered up for for all different men and and women for for people in different situations the word supplications here that's the imploring of god for help in time of need if you've if or if you're willing to open up your eyes and look around at the world around you at at your community at your family at your church you'll see all kinds of needs around you from physical needs like like healing or provision to spiritual needs like wisdom and faith and boldness and certainly salvation but it takes us opening up our eyes and and being willing to be open to the fact that god is calling us to meet those needs and certainly that begins like he says here with prayer that we would pray and ask god to reveal how he would meet these needs and then be willing to step out in faith and and serve the lord in that place supplications are to be made for all men there's all kinds of needs around us and certainly god would would want us to go out and and be part of of that work that he's doing you you could not do that you could sit and and and not look at the needs or or when you see them ignore them but but what fruit is going to come from that god desires to to bear fruit in our lives and as we pray and and are willing to serve the lord god's promises that he'll show us and he'll meet those needs he goes on and says that we should not only pray with supplications but with prayers the word prayer here is the kind of offering up of our desires to the lord it's that place and time that we devote to the lord as an act of worship a time that we put our needs aside and or our desires aside and just spend time alone with our lord maybe you go to a quiet place or or designate a time during the day when you turn off your phone and and the tv and and get away from everything else and just spend time in prayer with the lord allow him to show you the the needs that you have in your life and then lift those up to him and rely upon him keeping your eyes on the lord and and what his will is setting apart ourselves just to spend intimate time with our heavenly father we need to pray those kinds of prayers he also says here that we should offer up intercessions which means to to fall in with somebody or or to identify with somebody it's a prayer to god for others who you might be able to relate to maybe you see a brother or a sister struggling in a specific sin or maybe just somebody who's out there in the world maybe they're having trouble with with some kind of chemical dependency or or alcohol or or anger or whatever type of sin is seeking to bring them down and maybe you've been in a place like that you've been in that place where where you've struggled with those kinds of things and seeing god's deliverance these are the intercessions that god would have us to go and and to pray first of all to come up alongside one another and lift them up and identify with them even if you haven't been through that specific thing that they're going through i think we can all say yeah we've all struggled with sin and with the temptation of sin we can all identify with our failure to correct our own hearts and and to be righteous before god and have to come to him and and rely upon his sacrifice and his love to bring us to that place we're not able to say well i've never been through that so i i don't know how to pray for you i think we can all do that that's why paul says to timothy here first of all lift up intercessions for all men he also says that we should be giving thanks in our prayers you know in the full sense of the word we pray thankfully that god wills all men to be saved and christ is that mediator between god and man every single man and woman god is the the mediator he sent his son we give thanks knowing that god not only hears our prayers but he's going to have his way you know that god's will is going to be done and that should be a thankful place for you to go and spend with your heavenly father to understand that that god hears that he knows the the correct answer and and his will is going to come to pass i tell you that's a place of great rejoicing so paul says you you should go and and praise us with great thanks or a giving of thanks i tell you if the church is not praying for one another and for those who are lost then we're missing our calling and our mission that god's given to us as he's put us here in this world as his people we should ourselves be praying in this manner one-on-one as the lord has has led us you know you can go back to matthew chapter six where jesus says when you pray not if you pray but when you pray go into your room and when you've shut the door you pray to your father who is in a secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly so there's this time that god instructs us to go and pray just by ourselves one on one between us and the lord that that god would would see our hearts were where we don't feel like we have to put on any kind of heirs it it's just us and the god who sees everything clearly and god who who hears you in that secret place will reward you openly that you'll be able to see the work of god and the answer to your prayers and what an awesome reward that is i'm sure you've been in that place as i have as well to to have a need or to pray for somebody or a situation and then be able to see god's answer it doesn't happen all the time here at church we get a lot of people who will call and and ask us to pray and lift up situations and many times we don't hear how they turned out but there are those times when they'll will hear about how god answered or how god moved and and i tell you it is the greatest reward to be able to say god you did such an awesome job in this place you met that person's need you were glorified in this situation i can't think of a better reward than than being able to rejoice in the answered prayer of our god but we shouldn't only just pray alone by ourselves in our rooms we should also pray corporately with one another as the body of christ just as the disciples would would pattern for us there in in acts chapter 4 and again in acts chapter 12 as they prayed for for peter when he was arrested and and put in jail they would gather together and and pray and lift up peter their brother asking for his deliverance and and god's grace upon the situation we have so many opportunities to pray together here at church like i mentioned before we started saturday mornings are men's and women's prayer times there at eight o'clock awesome time for you to get together with your brothers with your sisters and lift up the needs of the church you know we get prayer slips that come in from people during the week and and we can take those and pray together for them lift them up to god and ask for god's answer to those situations it's a time when when you can pray for your family your friends for others that you want to see get saved we should gather together and agree together on those things that god has called us to lift up to him sunday morning so saturday or saturday mornings are great time for that we also have mondays monday mornings where we gather together and pray tuesday mornings as well on wednesday nights before church service and and on sunday mornings before every single service we gather together and have opportunity to pray with one another for those times now i know with with us being able to meet together you know as a a group during this time it makes that a little bit harder but it really isn't i mean look at what we're doing here tonight i'm here in the church teaching you're at home taking in god's word along with me there's there's nothing that comes in between the work that god wants to do there so certainly you don't have to be in the same room with somebody in the same physical place to pray with them corporately it just takes a little extra work on our part doesn't it it takes some time and some commitment to to call and say hey let's get a group call together with some of your brothers or sisters and say let's spend this time praying together for the needs of the church god will still hear won't he god will still answer god will still move and work in the hearts of of his people he'll still bind us together in his will and in his desires as we lift those things up before the lord certainly it's nice to get together and and sit together in a circle and pray with one another in person but god's not limited by those things and we shouldn't be as well we should gather together on the phone on the internet do a zoom call whatever it takes but get together and pray first of all that's paul's instruction here to timothy and that's the key i think so many times that we see the need to pray for all men not just those we like but for all men so paul will go on here in verse 2 and he says you should pray for all men for kings and all those who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence now i think that paul picks those two or those who might have been maybe the last on people's prayer list during this time maybe they were last on timothy's prayer list or on the prayer list of the church you know in the first century the romans were about as wicked as as they come especially toward the church and the people of god nero was the ruler in charge at the time and and it's paul who says we need to pray for him just about a year and a half later he would be putting paul to death for his faith but paul's view of this calling that god had given to him was that we should pray and lift up these leaders paul says to timothy i exhort you first of all that these prayers supplications intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men for the kings and for those in authority why that we might may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence that we would be those kinds of people and again this is where prayer begins look around and you'll notice that those who are really radically involved in christian politics you know who who are are deeply rooted in in the things of of the government in this world much more than the things of god that they are are anything usually but quiet and peaceable on the contrary they seem to be more angry instead of of being peaceful maybe it's not a physical anger that sends them out to to fight physically with people but it certainly doesn't bring peace to their hearts because it's impossible for the rule of man to bring peace to to people's hearts to the p the hearts of of christians i wonder if that is really what the lord intends for the church how much better would it be in my opinion if we would pray more than we would talk concerning those political manners now don't get me wrong i'm not saying that those things shouldn't concern us and we shouldn't care about them we certainly should we should vote and vote wisely and prayerfully we should use the freedoms that god has given to us in this country and the place that he's put us here to be proper ambassadors for the lord we should seek to see his kingdom furthered not the kingdoms of this world and god certainly in his grace at least at this time so far in america is giving us a place that we can do that so i'm not saying you shouldn't care about those things i i think god would have us to care but certainly we can't set our hearts on them but as we pray and and pray for those leaders specifically god has a way of not only making our calling and our purpose clear but bringing that peace to our hearts that we would be those people who would live lives that are peaceable that are reverent to our lord i'm not saying that we shouldn't not care about them but they can't be first they can't be second he can't be third they've got to have a place down the line and prayer has to be first how much more needful and better is it that we pray for those in authority knowing that god has a much better view of what's going on than we do now i know many times we think about all right well i pray for my my leaders i pray for those i don't agree with i pray for those who are trying to to tear down our nation and and maybe you're hurting the the um the opportunities we have sometimes to to share the lord or to to go out and in boldness and and preach the gospel i pray for them i pray for my leaders but i'm not saying you don't pray like david did in psalm 58 they lord break their teeth in their mouth david wasn't praying there for for their destruction david was praying there because he had said in the verses before they're like vipers with teeth that are venomous so don't allow them to to bite and and and for their wickedness to affect the the world and the nations and the in god's people so break those teeth in their mouths so that they're they can roar like lions but they can't bite you know they can't harm he wasn't calling for somebody to punch him in the mouth and break their teeth he he was calling it praying that their effectiveness would or their their mission would come to nothing it would have no effect in the world i think that's a great way to to pray for our leaders they may have their agenda but we pray god you've put them in this place god you used them for your purposes and even beyond that we would pray for their salvation that we pray that they would come to know the lord who sent his son to die for them that we would hope that they would be saved and and their hearts would be changed and in doing so god would truly be able to use their lives instead of just moving them around like a pond because god is going to have his way if he set them in those places he's got a plan and a purpose behind it i tell you our hope is not in those who are sitting in the white house our hope is in the one who's gone to prepare a place for us because he's going to return one day and he's going to rule and reign in righteousness what a day that will be so we should pray for our leaders whether we agree with them or not knowing that god is working out his plans and lead a quiet and peaceable life before the lord that shows exactly where our hope lies that our hope doesn't lie in the regimes of this world but it it lies in in the kingdom that will never fail oh what a witness that can be to all men to give reverence to the lord acknowledging that he is our king that that we are citizens of heaven and not of earth now i know you can pick any leader that you want but until the nation wants jesus our nation itself won't change nothing's going to help so pray that this is a a place where the battle would be fought in one the hearts of men the salvation of their souls as individual hearts are turned to christ leaders and those who vote for them then you'll see real change in our nation the laws of the land will reflect the hearts of the people of the nation those who belong to the lord as people get saved they'll vote in and people who will vote in laws that agree with god's word rather than contend with it what is taught in our schools will line up more to god's word if men's hearts are changed and and lives are saved and and hearts and and minds are renewed this is why we pray first and and pray for our nation and for our leaders and and for those in authority that they would be saved and god would would would bring revival to our nation that's why we're here that's why god desires for the church to be busy doing this work and beginning with prayer look here at verse 3 and in verse 4. paul goes on and says for this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth you know there's so many times throughout the day or week or month in my life that i wonder if what i'm doing is really what god would have me to do if god sees my actions and even my attitudes as good in his sight i don't know maybe you think about that too sometimes and wonder is this really what god wants is this really where he would have me to be here or what he would have me to do well i tell you wonder no more spend time in prayer spend time with the lord alone spend time corporately praying with your brothers and sisters pray for those who are in need pray for your leaders that they might be saved for this is good and acceptable in the sight of our god and our savior i like that a lot if you're unsure of what god would have you to do in a specific situation you can know for sure that this is god's will for you that you should pray that you should get on your knees and just lay those things out before the lord and trust him with them in times of anxiety and and depression and times of fear go to the lord and and lift those things up to him and watch god give you that that peace that surpasses all understanding knowing that you're in the perfect will of god at that time and in that place now if god wasn't willing or wanting everyone to be saved it'd be kind of foolish to devote yourself to this kind of prayer to praying for the lost and and praying for those who need to to know salvation if he doesn't desire all men to be saved then it's it's probably not the wisest thing to spend your time doing but it does it is true that god desires all men to be saved so i couldn't think of a wiser place to be here or a better way to spend our time than seeking out the lord in that place of fellowship i mean think of the the blessing that god has given to us as his people to come boldly into his throne room of grace any time of the day any time we have a need that we can come before the lord and and find grace and help in our time of need why would we ever forsake that time i tell you it takes work on our part it takes patience it takes long suffering it takes commitment it takes faith to pray for those who need to be saved i tell you the truth there's there's people on my prayer list that have been i've been praying for their salvation for years and years and years some of them maybe for 30 plus years and i tell you there's a few of them that have gotten saved and there's others that it doesn't seem to me like they're any closer to to knowing the lord than when i began praying for them but peter would write in second peter chapter 3 you know the lord is not slack concerning his promises as some would count slackness but he is long-suffering toward us he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance so knowing that i continue to pray and i know you do too because we know the consequences of our family our friends of those who we we come in contact with in our communities if they continue on without the lord and and their life is lost in that place we know the grave consequences that accompany that so knowing god's heart we pray for them knowing god's calling on our lives we we commit ourselves to those things so that god would be glorified so so that that our hearts would be changed so that that we might rejoice in in god's work so that the world would find revival in the gospel that saves so what do you think should we pray should we pray knowing that god hears our our prayers shall we pray knowing that god knows best and he has the power to reach the hardest heart is his desire that all would come to him and as we seek to to edify the church as we seek to glorify our god as we seek to grow in the knowledge of him as we seek to be proper ambassadors for our lord first off prayer is that place where we start i'm so thankful that god's given us this place and this calling and especially this this this subject and this calling of prayer because it doesn't rely upon us you know it's not how well you pray or or that you use the proper words or or any of those type of things it doesn't matter if you're on your knees or or standing you know with your arms raised or or with your eyes closed and your hands clasped none of those things matter because as we simply go and and speak to our god and our father we know that he hears and we know that he answers and we know his will would be done what a powerful place god has given to us why would we ever forsake that time why would he we ever put that second or third or at the bottom of our list the lord hits it right on the head here i exhort you first of all that you pray you know as we we close here now and and get ready for a time of communion with one another i i tell you that that the best and and first prayer that you should pray if you don't know the lord is is god save me that god would hear that prayer from your heart and that he would answer with salvation if you call on the name of the lord you shall be saved the bible declares and if you find yourself in a place today listening to this study or watching it on youtube or or some other platform there on on the internet i tell you that where you are right now god will hear your prayer he'll save your life he'll forgive your sins he'll he'll he'll set you your feet on a rock he'll put you in a place where as his a child of god and and put his holy spirit inside your heart and begin to lead you maybe you've opened your bible before and and read and said gosh i don't can't make heads or tales of these things but now you'll have the author of these this book living in your heart and god will give you wisdom but until you pray that prayer of salvation these other prayers not only will be ineffective but but your desire won't be to do them you won't be able to have the commitment to to do those things prayer is where life begins as we call out to the lord so if you're in that place today and and you don't know the lord then right now where you are call out to the lord say jesus save me i'm a sinner i need your grace i want to know you and walk with you i want you to be my lord and my king i know the world has has no answers for me my flesh just leads me astray but if you promise that you'll come in when i call i call on your name and i trust you in jesus name and that prayer of salvation will bring new life to your heart if you've prayed that prayer this evening or or as you're watching this i'd encourage you if you have a christian brother or sister tell them about your commitment to the lord allow them to encourage you call the church office or or send us an email and let us know that you got saved we'd love to send you some bible studies pray with you encourage you in your walk with the lord because it's your life is going to be radically different from now on the time of rejoicing has just begun and if you're walking with the lord already i'd encourage you put prayer your priority straight and and spend time with the lord pray without ceasing give thanks to the lord that's god's will for you and for me let's pray father thank you so much for being with us this evening lord for your word god that that has saved us god that is in the process of of changing our lives and our hearts god you're your word father that never fails it instructs us and teaches us the way we should go we thank you so much lord for for the work that you've begun in the work that you have promised to to finish until that day of christ jesus so as we gather together now and and spend a moment in worship as we we lift up your your body and your blood in communion god we do so in great faith in great thankfulness for your plan for our lives so we give you this time we thank you for it in jesus name amen if you would grab that bread and that cup where you are and and hold on to them and and let's sing this psalm together and then we'll partake together this is the blood broken and bored out for all of us in this communion we share it as love this is the body i will remember everything lord that you've done for me i won't take for granted the sacrifice that set me free i hunger and thirst for your love come fill me today this is the body this is the blood [Music] broken and poured out for all of us in this communion we share in his love [Music] this is the body this is lord that you've done for me won't take for granted the sacrifice that set me free we hunger and thirst for your love your righteousness we long for your presence here lord be with us again for this is the body this is the blood [Music] broken and poured out for all of us [Music] this is the body this is the blood [Music] this is the body [Music] you know communion has always held a real special place in my heart and in my life as a believer as i'm sure it does for you as well but i remember before i got saved i had good friends who were taking me to church at a good bible teaching church over at calvary chapel downey and i went for months to church with them on sunday mornings on wednesday nights and heard the word of god and and contemplated what i should do and and if it was was true and right but i remember my first communion night over in that church as they began to pass out communion the pastor shared a little bit about communion and and what it represented that this this bread represented the body of christ that was broken and punished for my sins that the the blood this cup that it represented that it was the blood of christ that was shed for the remission of sins the sins of the world and he said god had given this this time to the church to remember what he had done for them to refocus them on on on this price that was paid for them this great price and he said if you're not saved then then this should mean nothing to you it's an empty religious sacrifice on your part and it means nothing but for the believer it's our very life and i remember them passing out communion and when those trays came to me i just passed them by because i i didn't believe that in my heart yet i jesus wasn't my lord i wasn't trusting in his sacrifice and i knew that and i'd like to tell you that happened just one month and the next month i got saved but it didn't this happened month after month after month and then one sunday night i was at church and and the pastor gave an invitation at the end of this study and and the lord moved to my heart and i went forward and gave my life to jesus and my life began to change but one thing i remember is saying gosh i can't wait for communion i can't wait for the last wednesday of the month i get to have communion with with the body of christ and i tell you that that first time when when that tray came by and i was able to take that bread and that cup and and as they prayed over these elements and and we partook this sense of overwhelming thankfulness just flooded my heart and i tell you it continues to this day because the more and longer i walk with the lord the more i realize this grace of god that i don't deserve so i'm so thankful though we can't be together tonight that we're able to share in this communion together in that place where you are and us here at church that god would be glorified that we would proclaim his death until that day when we see him face to face what an awesome way god's given to us to honor him and and remember him and renew our commitment to him so if you would take up the the bread and pastor sean is going to come up and and pray for that for us if you'd hold up the bread with me father we are so thankful for just everything you've given us we have a chance to look at calvary and and remember how much you love us in a world today where we can see just hatred from so many different angles we get to look to the cross and remember god that despite all of our shortcomings despite everything that we've done you still came and you died for us god because we didn't love you first you loved us first and that's the only reason we love you and as we think about that and meditate on that lord and we have a chance to remember these things we asked god that you would enter our hearts your holy spirit would would convict us in the areas we need conviction that we would be able to remember that great love that great agape sacrificial love that you gave us at the cross as we remember that your body was beaten for us the sin of the world put upon you where you were mocked to where you were to the point of being unrecognizable and we have you to thank for that because you're a god that absolutely loves us so god we ask that tonight you would do a great work that our hearts would be in true remembrance god that this wouldn't just be a time of communion for us of checking it off our list at the end of the month but rather it would be a true time for us to meditate be thankful and that your holy spirit would move helping and compelling us god to truly be reflections of the great god that we know that we serve and we truly do love so go before us lord we thank you for the work that you did we thank you for the work that you continue to do and we ask god that again you would have your holy spirit interfere in our lives and change us and transform us that we would have hearts that are thankful in the world would see it that we would love people that we would be exactly as pastor doug was saying today we would be in continuous prayer pray without ceasing and hopes our hearts will be changed in love god we thank you for what you've done for us that we have the ability to do so now so go before us lord we ask in jesus name amen let me partake oh thank you lord hallelujah what a great savior if you wear would why don't you lift up the cup and pastor daniel is going to come up and pray over that for us what a wonderful savior we have will you guys join me in prayer heavenly father we we just come before you so grateful for the price that you paid on the cross lord and as peter writes in his epistle lord that we weren't bought with corruptable things like gold and silver lord we know that you are rich in everything but it was with your precious blood that you purchased our sins lord lord we know that this is the blood that represents the new communion lord the new covenant that jeremiah spoke of way back hundreds and thousands of years before you came and did what you did on the cross lord and we now enter into this new covenant because of what you did lord because of your blood lord we see it time and time throughout the bible lord there is nothing that can wash us clean except your blood lord we can dip our garments that are filthy rags into your blood and take them out as white as snow and lord it's all because of what you did on the cross jesus you died in my place you died for a corruptible man like me a fallible man lord you are the only perfect one lord you give up every freedom every right lord and you willfully gave your body also that i could have life and life in you lord so as we reflect back on what you did on our behalf lord we thank you and we give you praise lord and we lift up your name above every other name because it is the only worthy one so lord we thank you we praise you and jesus you are worthy let us partake how great is our god huh well we want you to join me as we uh close in prayer father thank you so much lord for for all that you're doing for us lord for this evening you've given to us would you bless the church lord and and every believer god do you fill us with your spirit lord and send us out with your calling and with your message how would you provide for our needs god would you heal the sick lord bring peace to the fearful god just to save the lost we pray for our nation lord that that you would bring revival by your word maybe one heart at a time but nonetheless god the the one after another after another would come and find this wonderful place of communion with you so god do that work we pray and use us your people god to accomplish your will we pray that you might bring us together again allow us to meet in person soon lord but we're trusting in you nothing stands in your way you you can do all things and you do them well so thank you again for this night we love you go before your people this week be glorified we ask in jesus name amen may god bless you all have a wonderful week we'll see you on sunday morning you

Channel: morningstarcc

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Id: GvSHF4IsmOs

Length: 84min 42sec (5082 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 29 2020