Saw You at The Pole

It’s great to get to be here this evening with you all as we continue what was began this morning. As we really continue something that began 32 years ago.

This is what we’re calling SAW YOU AT THE POLE.

Today was obviously SYATP which is this GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER. Which is actually a part of a GLOBAL WEEK OF PRAYER FROM SEPT 25TH-OCT. 1ST.

If you weren’t here this morning, SYATP was began by a small group of students in 1990.

They have a small DNOW in Burleson TX and during this DNOW, the students become burdened for their community, & friends. So, not really knowing what to do, they decided To go to their flag poles and pray for those that were on their hearts.

From that, came this vision for students to pray on the same day.

The name SYATP came from a brainstorming session and the vision was shared with 20,000 students in June 1990 at a Reunion area in Dallas, Texas.

At 7 AM on Sept. 12, 1990, more than 45,000 teenagers met at school flagpoles in four different states to pray.

The burden that year for this country was spread even more at a youth ministry conference, word spread. Then on Sept 11, 1991 at 7 AM, an estimated 1 million students gathered at school flagpoles from Boston to Los Angeles.

Now SYATP has grown to a global praportion.

God has used the small obedience of a few students in Burleson Texas, who decided to pray during their DNOW for their friends and community. God has used thier boldness to bring the GOSPEL around the world.

TODAY, over 2 million students from all over 50 states and more than 20 other countries participated in SYATP.

It truly is an amazing thing that GOD has done through prayer.

Tonight I wanted to encourage you all here, that this doesn’t have to be a one day a year type of thing.

Prayer is a every day type of thing.

That can be done privately and corporately as a group. It can be done publicly in front of everyone or in the confines of the four walls in your closet.

It is the avenue that we have been given through Jesus to know our Father in heaven And to converse with the creator of the universe To glorify His Name, to know him, and to bring our burdens to Him.

Which, when you think about that… is quite an amazing thing!

Scripture actually encourages us to constantly be doing it. For prayer to be something that is routine in our lives.

The key verse for this years SYATP is Romans 12:11-12.

Romans 12:11–12 ESV

11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

This whole passage is filled with exhortations that Paul is giving to the Romans—>Things within their lives to keep up as most important as Christians.

We could take a lot of time going into each 13 of them. But for us this afternoon we will only focus on a few In Vv. In 11-12.

We see 6 exhortations in these two verses alone.

These are all things in which Paul was telling the beielvers in Rome to continue pursuit of…

Don’t be slothful in zeal:

How many of you have seen a sloth in full action. Seen a sloth when they’re trying to go as fast as they can???

ZEAL: Great energy or enthusiasm In pursuit of an objective.

I was in class one day for a class at HPU that i was taking for my Masters. The class was some sort of leadership class and we had the priveledge of the President of the University coming and teaching the class for a day.

I’ll never forget a line he shared in that class. I have it written down in my office.

He said, “Christians should be the most optimistic people out there.” He said that it should be Christians who set the tone for HOPE within our culture.

The Holy Spirit should radically alter the way a person lives.

be fervent in spirit:

It’s not often you see the word fervent in today’s modern language that is thrown around. You might be more used to hearing the word PASSION.

We can be passionate about a lot of things… and the word passion can mean different levels of passions for different things right?

I’m passionate about MARVEL. I love it. I have been watching MARVEL moves literally since the MCU started going big with Iron man in 2010. I’m passionate about the Dallas Cowboys. I love my team. Nobody how much they let me down, I will never disown my Cowboys...

BUT, the level of passion I have for the Cowboys or Marvel is no where close to the level of Passion I have for my children.

I have three little girls… there is nothing I wouldn’t do for those three little girls.mBeing passionate about them means that I am focused on being the best father I can. My heart is filled with wanting to seek them, know them, and do whatever I can fore them to have a great life here on earth into eternity.

PAUL CALLS US TO BE FERVENT IN SPIRIT.

To be fervent for God means to keep a deep, focused, passion-filled heart on God.

It means to align ourselves with God.

The Greek word here is zeontes, related to the root word for “life,” the phrase can literally be translated that we must be boiling in our spirit for God. It is a clear call from Paul that we are to avoid becoming lukewarm, tepid, or bored as we pursue God.

A spirit filled Christian shouldn't be boring.

serve the Lord: We are commanded to serve the LORD...

Service to the Lord is nothing that we’re having to FORCE OURSELVES TO DO.

When we are seeking the Lord in the Spirit, serving the Lord is something we are doing while we are REJOICING IN THE HOPE that we have...

Service to the Lord means serving His creation. Those around us. Making ourselves servants of others. Serving the people we like, our family and our friends, but also serving the people we don’t like.

The Greek word for servant in the Bible is doulos which is actually translated into SLAVE. God says that we are to humble ourselves To the point where it looks like we are slaves. To where the culture just doesn’t understand it. In love. All for the sake foR the sake of the gospel.

Rejoice in hope:

Servants of God continually rejoice in their hope.

The Greek here leads us to think about a CONFIDENT TRUST rather than an UNCERTAIN EXPECTATION.

An old theologian name Calvin says it this way… that we should “raise our minds to heaven, that we may enjoy full and solid joy.”

The apostle Peter spoke of being born anew “into the living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).

The reality of that HOPE IS JOY.

be patient in tribulation:

LISTEN: You will have YOUR FARE SHARE OF DIFFICULTIES. It’s going to happen!

But scripture says here to be steadfast, or patient in the time of trouble.

Students: VIEW LIFE AS AN OBSTACLE COURSE AND EXPECT OBSTACLES. Let us not be surprised when trouble come our way.

The source of our help during these times of tribulation we have is what???

PRAYER

BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER:

PRAYING is something that should be routine in our daily lives!

That’s what the Bible means when it tells us to be praying without ceasing. Our lives should be that of a praying life.

If we are who are adopted sons and daughters of God are not talking with God… we have just made it that much easier for the enemy to continue to wreak havoc in our culture.

One commentator says this, “if Satan can keep us out of touch with God, he will not have to worry about any trouble we might cause for his evil kingdom.”

You will be the person on the team that the opposing team doesn’t even worry about.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be that Christian who Satan worries about constantly. Now, this is a scary thought, but I want to be that player where the opposing team has to shift their whole defense or offense to worry about me! (Micah Parson’s!!)

The way to do that, BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER.

Let me tell you, this is something that takes training to get to where you want to be, and it is something that takes community.

That’s why tonight I want to tell you about an app called CLAIM YOUR CAMPUS.

This is an app that you can all download, sign up to have a profile, claim your campus as Jim Ned MS or HS.

This is an app where you can begin prayer groups at your school, and it allows others to see your prayer group, location and time to join your group if they want to or begin another prayer group.

This app encourages you as a student body to be praying for your school, community and friends at least once a week together.

This takes SYATP even further into the rest of the year where you’re not just praying for these things once a year… you’re praying for these things once a week with your peers.

This app even helps you pray. It helps take you through a prayer session and encourages you to LISTEN, THANK, ASK, and SHARE.

EVEN if you’re the only one who shows up to your group you start.. STILL PRAY. Be that BOLD CHRISTIAN that the enemy is constantly worried about.

SHARE the steps forward to form a SMALL GROUP,

GRAB a PRAYER OUTLINE…

Think heavily about beginning a prayer group through CLAIM MY CAMPUS.

Let us be the ones whom God’s uses to begin a revival right here in the JIm Ned community.