Should We Pray for Biden and Harris?

all right first Timothy chapter 2 of this evening first Timothy chapter 2 simple simple little reminder Bible study message sort of thing here this evening first Timothy 2 verse number 1 first Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore that first of all which is a funny thing to say after you've already written a whole chapter would wouldn't first of all be in chapter 1 verse 1 not chapter 2 verse 1 anyway I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men now there's a period on top of a comma semicolon there so that's a full thought now with another thought that goes with it for kings and for all that air authority period comma another thought that we may lead a quiet peaceable life in all godliness and honesty for this is good and acceptable to the sight of God our Savior who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time we're on to i'm ordained a preacher and an apostle I speak the truth in Christ and lie not a teacher of the Gentiles and faith and Verity I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting all right father bless this portion of Scripture to our hearts tonight bless these men and women that made the effort to come and be here in the church service in the middle of the week and some have come a long way and and really it took a lot to get here I pray you'd bless all of us this evening from your word in Jesus name and amen all right in the first verse we have four types of prayers in the second verse so at the end of the first verse in the second verse we have the object or the persons for whom we are to be praying in the third verse we have the desire of God as it relates to those prayer in the the third portion verses three through six and then in verse number seven we're reminded that Paul is a preacher of the gospel and Paul has put prayer as the first order of business and preaching the gospel as the second order of business and then in verse eight we're told that we might be tempted to question whether or not God really wants us to do what we've just read and that we might not want to do what we just read and God says no no you heard me right I want you to do it so let's take a look verse number one I exhort I'm charging you I am I'm coming as close to demanding this as I possibly can first of all that supplications you see the word supply in there that's asking God to provide what is needed asking God to provide what is needed now we're not we're not ruling out that verse one would take in give us this day our daily bread we're not ruling out that this verse would take in God give me the health and the strength to to get through this day we're not ruling out that this would take in God please provide for my family and so forth but in the context in the context this is not me asking God to supply for me this is God asking me to seek his face that he might supply the need of all men you see that first of all supplications be made for all men we really don't need too much of a command to pray for what we want or need but we really do need God to remind us that our prayer closet shouldn't be our own private the prayer list should have someone on it besides ourselves then he says supplications prayer now aren't prayers prayers I don't think so not at night as you read the verse so we'll skip that one just for mowing intercessions Jesus Christ the Bible says he's our great high priest he ever liveth to make intercession for us and we said we teach that we say this what that means I go to Jesus Christ and Jesus goes to God on my behalf he's he's an intercessor he prays to God for me so what would intercessory prayer be that would be me I'm a priest I'm not the great high priest I'm not a high priest but all believers are priests the Bible says and that is me going to God on behalf of someone else that is me going to God and praying for someone else now notice this intercession is separate from supplications so this isn't asking God God make sure that he's fed and makes sure that she's well and make sure that they are comfortable this this is not me asking God to supply something for someone this is me praying on behalf of another there are people the devil wants to destroy there are people that devil wants to take to hell there are people that devil wants to drag out of church there are people the devil wants to sidetrack into some heresy or another you know whether Bible says first of all prayer supplication or supplication prayers intercessions give a thanks you always should do that first because when we see somebody slipping out of church our first move is to talk about them when we see somebody getting into some kind of heresy our first move is to try and figure out how to out argue them when we see somebody going to hell our first move is I need to witness to them or preach to them we certainly should but that's not the first move God's talking here about being the Saviour of all men and he's talking here about the Apostle Paul a preacher but he says before we get to that I need you to pray for people we could tonight have long and lengthy conversations about all the terrible things that unsaved people do in the city of DeLand does our prayer time equal our talk about them time does our criticism of their practices time equal our intercession on their behalf time God didn't say first of all I want you to talk about it first of all I want you to discuss the problem first of all I want you to make sure everybody agrees with you that they're really all that bad it's the first thing I want you to do is pray for them well I don't know if that's well we show you just a minute and and the fourth type of Prayer here as and giving a thanks I wonder if if God in any wouldn't because he just he's gracious and he's merciful and all the things that he is but I wonder if God answered a prayer or supplied something for me I wonder if he didn't give me anything else until I said thank you for what he gave me I wonder if my thank-yous wouldn't pick up real quick well I'll tell you someone when when we're not well or we don't have food or we don't have a job or something's going wrong in the family that supplication thing it's automatic but as soon as whatever was stirred up calms down that giving of thanks why isn't that as automatic nobody really has to tell us to ask God for what we perceived to be lacking nobody should have to ask us to thank God when he provides it but giving of thanks is not not really a big party if you we didn't do it tonight but but in the average midweek service and in a church there be prayer time and prayer requests have I got a prayer request and there'll be 30 of those before anybody says thank you God for anything now shouldn't there be I don't know a good hour of thank yous before we even get around to saying and and by the way let's pray about this if God doesn't do something we wanted him to do he hears about it real quick but when he does um million things every day that we didn't even ask him to do there's really not a lot of thank yous going up okay so if something want to get through if supplication if that's asking for supply for need if intercession if that's going to God on behalf of others if giving a thanks that's obvious then what would prayers be when I just be talking to God you should be talking to God I think people have never heard like you know I just don't know how to pray you have friends do you have family members are you married I mean if you have friends then you don't just talk to people when you want something because if that's the only time you talk to people you wouldn't have any friends our relationships aren't all give me give me I want I want I don't have this I don't have this please a lot of our relationships just talking and prayer you don't have to go to God because you want something you have to go to God because you need something why not just talk to him just fellowship with him we it's an odd thing isn't it we we we don't have most people don't have a problem conversing with people they're close to we would say in theory there's nobody closer to us than God there's nobody means more to us than God there's no one dearer to our heart than God but we sure don't talk to him much you ever text him you ever call him you ever send him an email you see somebody so I gotta tell someone tell God God that's really pretty I really like to see him that I doubt are you seeing that right now I I'm sure he is you made it but you understand what I'm saying I'll be able pray just talk to God don't just go to him when you want something just go to him fellowship with him praise the Lord you could speak to him and Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing a song the Lord riding down the road in the car talk to God say God how come when there's two lanes they go 70 and when there's one lane they go five shouldn't that shouldn't be 35 when one lanes shut down and just you and the Lord can talk about that sometimes sometimes you know really we think about it we don't act like God's a real living person we we say prayers but are we talking to somebody so all right now here's what he says I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions give thanks be made for all saved men that you like well we should do that for all the people in your church we should do that but then God says for kings and for all that our Authority the man that wrote this is living under an emperor who's imprisoning and killing Christians and the Holy Spirit said the first thing I want you to do is pray for the king first thing pray for the king pray for everyone in authority that would be who the Centurions the generals the tax collectors the Senators the Holy Spirit has Paul right to timotheus I tell those church people God wants them to pray not against not about tell them he wants them to pray for the authority figures that are over them both inside the church and outside the church now I don't say this I'm as guilty as anybody about what I'm about to say but if everybody it's truly saved in a mirror I had spent eight years praying for Obama as often as they criticized Obama the man might have got saved because he said before we get to somebody preaching the gospel the first thing I want you to do is pray before we get to somebody campaigning to get one guy out and the other guy in I just I just want to know have you interceded on behalf of those that are over you in the church and outside the church you know something lost people can do petitions lost people can do campaigns lost people can do commentary lost people can do radio and TV programs only saved people can get into the presence of God in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask the Almighty Creator to turn the heart of the king and if all we do is what lost people can do we've not done the first primary thing that's our disposal some of you like Trump some of you don't like Trump some you say I like him but I don't like things he says and I like some of the things he said okay that's we could talk about that all night long have you prayed for a man who twice has looked in a camera and given the gospel of the world have you prayed for a man who has appointed professing Christians who speak up for Jesus Christ to his cabinet I mean before you run him out of town because he does some things you don't like when's the last time you had a man who could give you his testimony of salvation as your vice president it's so easy to criticize the pastor it's so easy to criticize the principal it's so easy to print it criticize the governor God said the first thing I want you to do is pray for those that are in authority and if we haven't done that where is out of line as the people are criticizing we have this incredible power at our disposal when it comes to our government when it comes to our church we get some men that that are deacons who are biblically qualified to be deacons praise the Lord we got some men who are Deacons that know this Bible and are trying to live by this Bible it'd be a shame if if half a church or more never prayed to God for them but as soon as they did something questionable talked among themselves about I don't know why they made that decision we just I don't know we might have got more than two I don't know I saw we have two new doors in the back and somebody somebody has probably already said why did we get metal doors somebody's probably already said why did we get doors with those kind of locks several of you already said why is it locked who cares what kind of door it is I can't get through it anyway I'm telling you it is it is automatic to send forth some kind of criticism to whoever was in charge and whoever made a decision why is it automatic to pray for them God said first of all before you tell your brother or sister how out of line your parents were when's the last time you prayed for God to help mom and dad do a better job of being mom and dad verse number two goes on to say this now look I'm gonna say something here's here's here's I've preached this way I've heard it this way all my Christian life for kings and for all dinner authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life but look look at verse 1 for all man semicolon for kings and all their authority semicolon that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty I pray for the leaders of our nation that they will leave the church alone so we can live a quiet and peaceable life but that's not the big picture in this context I pray for the authority figures locally I pray for the leaders of our church and other churches that that we can have peace among ourselves but that's not the primary focus and direction in the big picture of the context think about it let's let's just pick Obama and Trump okay Obama and Trump they're common to all of us do you know how many hours of your life you spend agitated because you're talking about or thinking about the leadership in the White House and God says you could have been quiet you could have been peaceable you chose to agitate yourself by complaining about things you had no control over when you could have been praying to me on behalf of those men and I would have put peace in your heart I would have quieted you down see we're wanting God to change the king or change the Emperor so my life is smooth and peaceful and God said I want you to stop being so discontented and spend more time talking to me so your life can be quiet and peaceable because quite honestly millions of people in America enjoyed eight years of Obama while a lot of us were torn out of the frame by it and millions of people in America right now are enjoying the the Trump administration while others are losing their minds and you know what when it's all done none of none of our side had any influence on Obama and none of that side seems to be able to faze Trump be what happens a lot of people just get ulcers and take nerve pills and yell at their wife and throw things at the TV and God said you cut out a quiet and peaceable life you just decided to get yell at a man that wasn't listening when you could have talked to a God who is I have I have a long list of suggestions for Donald Trump and I don't think he cares I had an even longer list of suggestions for mr. Obama and I know he didn't care but I could go and talk to God now let's let's look at the third verse after we look at one again verse one for all men verse two for kings verse two for all that are in authority for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who will have all men to be saved and to come under the knowledge of the truth first of all come on are you saved you save believe in heaven believe in Hell okay so let me ask you something should you really be praying for Obama to lean to the right or should you be praying for his precious never dying soul to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ you know what God wants he wants Barack Obama to be saved he wants Michelle Obama to be saved he wants Donald Trump to be safe I think he is okay if he is her God wants him saved God wants his his devout Roman Catholic wife to be truly genuinely saved and born again that's what God wants you don't know if God wants them left or right you don't know if God wants them liberal or conservative you don't know if God wants them to straighten out America or push it over the cliff you don't know that you know he wants them to be saved there's 50 governors in the United States God wants every one of them saved and their spouses and their mistresses he does hug that guy right now ready on a run that guy at office I would heat it a look some of us would agree so is disagree you're not going to agree with every with everybody on what the governor should do what the mayor should do what the county council should do what the pastor should do context you know what God wants he wants all men to be saved and if we have this great great I don't let say weapon in the wrong way this great powerful means of moving men to Christ and we don't use it because all we do is what the lost people do criticize the leaders argue against the leaders or argue for the leaders Jesus Christ didn't go to that cross so we could stack a quart now look as a citizen I got my views I want I want a court that's you know strict constitutional and getting the old pro God and pro bomber all that that's what I want when you say that to several hundred people that's not what everybody here wants who doesn't matter I'm telling you there is a point of agreement we should all have we want all of our senators to be saved we want all of our school principals to be saved we want all commanding officers to be saved that's why Christ went to the cross so people could be saved I vote I encourage you to vote I try to know enough about things to vote in intelligently and I don't know if I do or not but that is not what a church is to be wrapped up in we're to be wrapped up in the salvation of souls look at verse number five for there's one god there's one god for Republicans Democrats atheist infidels Buddhists Muslims they don't know it but we know it there's one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave him something to watch this who gave himself a ransom for all now look at verse one prayers be made for all men see that Calvin Calvin just wrong Calvinists are just wrong Jesus Christ died for all men because he wants all men to be saved and he wants us to pray for all men right this time look everybody's got different views on this thing what it means to pray in Jesus name and just we say in Jesus name I pray amen and I'm not saying don't do that but you can say God make me make me young again and make me a millionaire in Jesus name Amen and you're wasting your breath it's not it's not a blank check in Jesus name to pray in Jesus name means I'm gonna go to Jesus with this prayer but if it's if it's not something he's he's bought into he's not taking it to the Father now you know what you can like me or not like me over this I hope you get over it but there are a few things I prayed about as fervently in the last however many years I could remember as I prayed for God to spare our nation from that woman that was running for president because everything I know about her and read about her and heard her say with her own mouth she's as close to being the devil in car as you can be that's my opinion that might not be your opinion some of you might have voted for her that's why we don't bring that kind of stuff up because it divides people over things that aren't matters of Bible doctrine though I think that one would be a matter of Bible doctor anyway but do you know Jesus Christ if he tonight tonight if I went to to the Lord and I said I want you two to break Hillary Clinton's vocal chords so she can never speak again that might be my will I don't think he's taken that prayer to the Father unless he already did on his own okay let me stay on track here if I pray tonight God exposed to the world all the rotten things the Clintons have ever done that might absolutely not be God's will you know said I don't know that if I go to God tonight I say God Jesus Christ your son died for Bill and Hillary Clinton and you don't want them to go to hell I don't want to go to hell God would you please open their hearts the gospel and save their souls you know what that is that is praying in Jesus name because that's what he wants now I'm gonna get to how you feel about what I just said in a second in fact you want me go ahead and jump in look at verse eight I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting holy hands without wrath and doubting God said I don't care how angry you are with that King in his policies I want you to pray for him and I don't care how impossible you think it is for that person to ever be saved I want you to pray for them not praying for Obama after what he did to our country without wrath I don't see any way that man could ever get saved and doubting that's what he said because you know what there's some people didn't think some of you would ever get saved and there's some people that aren't too happy about some of you going to heaven I thought God's going to heaven right everyone the world's not in favor of you walking on gold streets forever you see that in this context you got family members you can't stand them Jesus Christ wants to save them give him eternal life he said I want you to put your wrath aside and pray for them they're people you've witnessed to and witnessed to and witness to and you've given up and you you doubt it's done any good at all you know what God said I don't care if you doubt or not I want you to pray how about that I doubt you could go to the northern extremities of Sierra Leone and see Muslims trust Jesus Christ as their Savior but it sure was worth praying for there they are you you wouldn't you wouldn't have said 10 years ago that cabinet officials and high-ranking members of our government would be meeting for prayer and Bible study in the Capitol building and in the White House but it's happening oh yeah oh silly pass some of the laws they pass like look I don't see a lot of things God said just just reach up to me just reach up to me say God help the pastor God help the Deacons God help the leaders of our church God helped people run our town God help the people run our our state God help the people run our country God help the people sit on the on our citizens in our courtroom and God most of all save their souls so they don't have to go to hell in Jesus name because you know that's his will he's so proved it was his will by dying for them here's what we do doctrinally see here's here's my dr. doctrine who Jesus died for all men Jesus went the cross he died for dr. everybody everybody where do you get that first Timothy first Timothy Christ died for all man okay so who do we pray for who does God want to save well oh man okay how about the king well not him how about then their authority well not them when Paul but Paul wrote to Romans he's writing all the saved people and he said and they have Caesars household I don't think that was a very nice household Caesars household probably didn't some things the Kennedys never even thought of doing but the gospel got there with prayer behind it and people in that house got saved how about that now maybe if they'd thrown your family into the dungeon or executed some of your kinfolk or sold your daughters into slavery maybe you wouldn't be too happy about them being forgiven by God and going to heaven so what the Lord said whatever happened to your family look at what happened to my family my son was crucified so they could be saved don't you tell me who deserves that doesn't doesn't deserve it don't you tell me about how you were mistreated they spit in my son's face he's the creator of the heavens and the earth they nailed him to a cross I mean come on when you tell god I don't want that person saved because they did me wrong the only reason we're saved is because they did his son very very very very wrong you what God had to do to save you lay aside his wrath how about that there's a lot of people in power in our country I don't like anything they do I don't like anything about them I can't think of one one commendable virtue that I've ever heard of and they're their entire life why why do we rejoice when we hear about a death row inmate being saved but we wouldn't feel the same way about the powerful leader of another political party being saved well because the guy on death row didn't do it to you those politicians did it too you see my problem is I have a hard time praying for people because it can't put me aside for all men you got people you go to church with you scratch them off the prayer list cuz they did something to you there it is all right no no look verse one i exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions giving thanks be made for all men now look at verse seven our six who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time we're on - I am ordained a preacher and an apostle I speak the truth in Christ I lie not and a teacher the Gentiles and faith and Verity you know what you got here's the fact that Christ died for all men here's a man going out to preach that to all men and God said before I get there if you will have prayed for all men my chances success go up tremendously I've really been I really been trying to figure this out I have I really been trying to figure this out we're weird we're down on Friday afternoon way down people participating trying to reach the lost we're down on Saturday evening way down Church Street we used to have we've to have a van full and another car following now it's two people three people way down door-knocking way down you know what's gonna get you back out there you start praying for people that are lost and going to hell and begging God to save them he's gonna take you from verse one and put you in verse 7 you start praying for people that Jesus Christ died for and you start praying for people to be saved you don't Lord's gonna do he's going to ordain you a preacher how do you how can you pour out your heart to God and say God they're lost they're lost in Jesus died for him God they got to be saved and not get stirred up inside you to go and tell him you already said he didn't say first of all get out there and preach he put that in verse 7 he said first of all pray for him it will start praying more for lost people our feet our feet we'll get back walking where they ought to walk get that burden in your heart I can plead I can threaten I can schedule I can complain I can but God get in your heart and God or get in your heart you start praying for all men verse 8 I will therefore I just don't know what God's will is for my life I will therefore that men pray everywhere you can't preach everywhere you can't preach at work it's not what they hired you to do you can pray there you can't preach in school you gotta listen teacher not disrupt the class you can pray there there's not a place you can't pray they can outlaw a lot of stuff they can outlaw praying this you can't distribute literature over here you can't preach over here you can't go through this gated community and knock on doors over here you pray everywhere pray everywhere I will afford men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands makes you question your hands but how about now I think I've some of you've heard this so many times right first time I read that I've read into the New Testament never read through it before first time I read through it I read that verse so the next Thursday night when church time came was prayer meeting and they started praying I I put my hands up now what it says lift up holy hands without wrath and doubting and suzette service over I had one of my meetings with the Deacons and tapped me on the shoulder and he's gonna talk to you so went over there yeah I said what were you doing so what do you mean what were you doing well you had your hands up we were praying what are you doing how did you know I had my hands up when we were praying I said well you don't know let me show you I'm so naive I thought he'd never read the verse but he had not showed him the verse and he said we don't do that here as well well we should it's right here in the Bible which is what every deacon wants to hear from a 19 year old kid with long hair you know and and he said we don't do that here and I said can I ask you a question do we not do it because it's not right by the Bible or do we not do it because the charismatic churches do it and he said we don't do it because the charismatic churches do it I'm not encouraging people to be in rebellion but I've just I've never been able to knuckle under that kind of nonsense I wasn't chat shouting in tongues or anything I'm just doing what a verse said now when it says I will pray everywhere lifting up holy hands I would I would wait for the red light I don't know if I'd want to do it going down i-95 and trying to get here from work at whatever mile per hour you feel comfortable with honey looks on them self-driving cars now he's just praying and you know look we're not you know I'm pray to be seen of men hey guys watch this don't these little ones to do when they want to be carried you know these little ones do and I want to get close to you grandma or mom hardly ever dad but they right they just lift up those innocent little hands what God said just reach up tell me you want me to pick you up reach up tell me you want to get closer lifting holy hands without wrath and doubting one one last point what if it's not my wrath toward Barack and Michelle what if it's not my doubts that God could ever save a man that has lived like Donald Trump what if I'm mad at God for not answering some of those supplications what if I'm mad at God for not responding to some of those prayers I prayed you know what the Lord said I want you to come and pray to me and stop holding my wisdom against me because if I haven't answered one of your prayers it's because it shouldn't have been answered and if I haven't given you something you asked for it's because I know it would have hurt you now put aside your wrath and come talk to me how many people in this town are mad at God a lot of them you know why they're mad at God because they ask him for something and didn't get it he said put that wrath aside and doubting can I be honest with you prayers I struggle with prayer I do I struggle with prayer God Lord said you know that woman came knocked on that door and asked for Brad and that guy didn't want to give it to her but he gave it to her just listen he wanted to get back to sleep one thing makes sense to me is God never needs to sleep so that because there's things I've been knocking and knocking and knocking and knocking and ian's and throwing that bread down yet and so I have to go to Lauren I say Lord you told me to pray without doubting you told me to come in faith believing but it's hard for me to do because I don't know what your will is I don't know what's best so god I'm not here to order you I'm not here to demand you and I I I doubt whether or not I'm praying right but I don't have any doubts that you answer right and I'm telling you some of you your your prayer life's not what it used to be because something's happened to make you doubt whether or not God answers your prayers you already said without wrath and without doubting you got to pray like it's the first time you've ever prayed you can't be influenced in tonight's prayers by what you perceive to be a lack of sufficient answer to last year's prayers not wrath or doubting that's just on big scale national scale most most of you here you're very conservative people you're very old school people tell me tell me three years ago you were certain and confident before God then he was going to give you a president that spoke up for Christianity and the Bible and Jesus Christ and you couldn't have prayed that prayer without doubting know what God said I want you to stop coming to me having figured out what I'm gonna do or not gonna do or should do or shouldn't do I just want you to come to me and pray for all men to be saved because that's what I want who would who who had to pray in Jeremiah's they dear God I just want you to get ahold of Nebuchadnezzar's heart and send him in here to bring us into captivity when Jeremiah Jeremiah said never cogniser is God's servant he's going to come in here and carry you off to Babel and they throw him in the dungeon that don't sound right how can I be right so I'm not gonna go to God and tell him who he needs to put in office and not put in office and well you know I'm go to God and ask him to save Governor Scott and his family wouldn't be great they got saved what wouldn't be great if all the if pelosi and her husband got saved wouldn't it be something they got saved and gave the 800 million dollars they've stolen to missions why are you praying for to go to jail pray for to get saved in jail you understand where we are tonight it is so easy to talk about people in authority we just do it like Christians it's so easy to look whoever is in charge of anything you can criticize them you can find fault with whoever throws the baby shower for not doing something the way you would have done it right just goes with the territory God said I want you to pray for them because my son died for them so when somebody preaches to them it'll have an effect amen

Channel: James W. Knox Sermons

Views: 2,074

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Trump, Obama, HIllary, Prayer, Saved, praying for obama, deplorables trump, praying for others, praying for salvation, how to pray, how to pray to god

Id: UeVllSSr_Vc

Length: 48min 6sec (2886 seconds)

Published: Thu May 31 2018