Passionate Prayer

October 16th 2022

Series:Organic Disciples

Sermon Title: Passionate Prayer

Handout:Auctionless Auction Booklets

Topic: How can compassionate prayer change the world? How did Jesus pray? How does He teach us to pray?

Key Passages: Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 5:16, Matthew 14:19, Luke 23:34, John 11:40-42, Matthew 27:50-52, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 10:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,

Sermon Blurb: Jesus was in constant communication with His father and prayed for His followers and for those who were still wandering far from God. We can live with an intimate connection with God. As we grow in this spiritual marker, we will find ourselves praying for others.

Grace Campus: Adam Grill / Bob Wielenga

Ebenezer Campus: Keith Stewart / Eric Dine

Sermon:

Teacher A

Adam Grill – Grace

Keith – EB

Welcome to Family Church!

We are in week 3 of our series called Organic Disciples.

If you’re new or newer to Family, we want you to know that we are in a series Organic Disciples.

This month, and next month, we are talking about growing in our love for God AND how to sharing our faith with others!

Jesus said in

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Here Jesus is talking to His disciples and giving them a snapshot of how to be an Organic Disciple.

We are writing this down every week….in the hope that it will sink in!

Organic Disciples are committed to grow in Jesus and go with Jesus.

Repeat

PAUSE

Growing in your faith in Jesus is what we call Discipleship

Going and sharing your faith with others, is what we call Evangelism.

So, write this down as well…

Discipleship is about becoming more like Jesus. Evangelism is about bringing people to Jesus.

Repeat

An Organic Disciple will do both.

And yes....we will keep repeating that each week in the hopes we will not only remember this!

But that we will internalize it and live it out!

PAUSE

Let me show you where we are in this series…..

Put the 7 markers of spiritual maturity up on the screens.

7 Indicators of an Organic Disciple of Jesus

1. Bible Engagement

2. Passionate Prayer

3. Wholehearted Worship

4. Humble Service

5. Joyful Generosity

6. Consistent Community

7. Organic Outreach

Last week we looked at the importance of the Bible in our lives...

And let me encourage you to go back and listen to that message if you missed it.

Today we get to the second indicator....

Today is all about Passionate Prayer.

PAUSE

Today our whole focus will be on learning from Jesus’s prayer life.

Let me lead out with a question: “Does God hear prayer?”

Do you believe God hears when you pray?

Does God hear the prayers of His people?

Have you ever prayed for something that later happened?

PAUSE

As a pastor, I get the privilege of hearing the awesome things God is doing in the lives of people here at Family Church.

How God helps you at school.

How God helps your relationships.

How God answers your prayers.

As a church, we’ve witnessed answers to prayers, very specific prayers even.

Let me give you some examples….

Over a year ago Ebenezer came under our leadership and we started a 2nd location, that was an answer to prayer!

Ebenezer was praying for God to guide them and fill the church with people and life again…

Praying for families to return.

To heart the crys and laughter of little kids again.

At the same time Grace was praying for God to help us with more space....

God to open a door for us to reach more people for Jesus.

And WOW! Has God answered both those prayers!!!!!

Ebenzer is filled with life again and God is working in amazing ways!

Today at Ebenezer we are seeing OVER 500 people gathering weekly…

60+ kids learning about Jesus and making meaningful friendships

Grace was able to send people to reach that community and grow again….

Grow again to the point we need to, and are, launching now a 3rd and 4th location!

God hears and answers prayers!

We are a church that prays and absolutely believes that God hears and answers!

Teacher B

Bob Wielenga - Grace

Erik - EB

But what about you?

Have you ever noticed how Christians tend to pray more when things are NOT going well?

It is interesting to me how we pray less when things are trending positively or when we are having success.

We shouldn’t ONLY pray only when things are terrible!!!

We should pray over ALL areas of our life... at ALL times.

As the Great missionary, Corrie Ten Boom once said,

Corrie Ten Boom: “Prayer should be our steering wheel, not simply our spare tire.”

I’ve also noticed how some people feel like pray is a chore or burden…

Admittedly, I’ve even felt that way before.

Some of us see prayer as a project, or as a task to be completed… a checkmark, if you will.

But Jesus approached prayer very differently.

Write this down

For Jesus, prayer was as natural as breathing!

Repeat

Prayer was just a part of who Jesus was and what naturally flowed out of Him…

Prayer was Jesus’ way of communicating with His Father.

Write this down

For Jesus, prayer was a direct line of communication with God, cultivated by an ongoing conversation with God, that deepened His intimate connection to God.

Jesus lived with an open line of communication and connection to His Father.

Jesus didn’t only pray at church,

or before bedtime,

or before meals…

No!

Jesus prayed during life's hi’s and the lows

Jesus saw prayer as His line of communication with His Father!

Scripture shows us that Jesus prayed a LOT.

Luke 5:16 tells us this, that…

Luke 5:16, Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.

Matthew 14, says this:

Matthew 14:19, “looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves”

And bear in mind that here was NOT Jesus just praying over a meal!

It was Jesus thanking God for feeding THOUSANDS of people from on kid‘s lunch BEFORE anything happened!

Jesus prayed in times of deep pain, rejection, and sorrow. On the cross, Jesus cries out in prayer,

Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”

Jesus prayed in the high moments as well, like raising a man from the dead!

John 11:40-42, 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God”? 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said,

“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent Me.”

Jesus prayed in the big moments of life…

Jesus prayed BEFORE calling His disciples.

Jesus prayed in the Garden preparing to die.

Jesus often prayed for His followers.

Jesus prayed while hanging on the cross.

Jesus prayed for unity in his future church.

PAUSE

To Jesus, prayer was as natural as breathing… it was a rhythm of His life.

It was His lifeline, or connection to His Father.

Jesus demonstrated what prayer was designed to look like for all of us.

Teacher A

Adam Grill – Grace

Keith – EB

So, let’s see what else we can learn from Jesus’ prayer life.

Write this down

I have been given VIP access to God through Jesus Christ.

Repeat

Let me share with you when we saw all truth come to life in the Bible.

Matthew 27:50-52, And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave us His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open...”

The curtain mentioned here served as a visual reminder of how we were separated from God and could only access Him through very specific and limited ways.

But when Jesus died for us, it wasn’t JUST for our salvation!!

Jesus death also provided us direct access to God!!!

The curtain was torn, and the way was opened!

Jesus gave us VIP access to the God of the Universe!

Ephesians 2:18, 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 3:12, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

Hebrews 10:19, 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus modeled the prayer life and He granted us the invitation to participate as well!

PAUSE

Second, we need to learn how to pray continually.

Write this down:

My prayer life should be constant and continual.

Repeat

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Jesus showed us what continual connection to God could be like…

So, how do you pray continually?

How do you pray without stopping?

Is it even possible?

The short answer is, yes!

You and I can pray without ever stopping.

How you might ask?

Well…. remember what we said earlier.

If we view prayer as a chore or religious obligation,

or something that only happens at church,

or just a dinner table thing,

Then we are missing out on what Jesus provides.

Prayer is NOT a task.

Prayer is an ongoing, continual conversation with God, not a petition or one-time conversation.

PAUSE

We shouldn’t think of prayer as something we “have to” do but as something we “get to” do and even “want to” do.

Eventually, it will become something we do without even thinking about it!

The difference between someone who “wants to” pray and someone who “has to” pray is the result.

The person who wants to pray will grow in their connection to God.

The person who has to pray will not.

PAUSE

And here’s another nugget… just because you say, “AMEN”, doesn’t mean prayer has stopped.

Take marriage as an example.

Every night, when you go to bed, you tell your spouse “I love you honey, Good Night”.

Then you close your eyes, you fall asleep, and stop actively interacting until morning… right?

But just because you don’t speak to one another overnight, doesn’t mean you’ve ended your relationship or connection to one another

… it just means you have paused the verbal communication.

In the same way, your relationship with God.

Your communion and fellowship with God... it does not cease when you say AMEN at the end of a prayer.

PAUSE

Let me explain this another way,

write this down

Prayer is an unbreakable line of communication that is rooted in our relationship with God.

And communication is 2-way, right?

Going back to our marriage analogy....

How many of you agree that a GREAT marriage cannot be one-sided????

Prayer is based on a personal relationship with God and is a two-way channel of ceaseless communication!

Jesus prayed during all sorts of circumstances and scenarios, we can too!

You can pray…

…powerful prayers, for healings and miracles!

… prayers for freedom

…Crazy prayers like praying for GOOD thing for your enemies!

…Audacious prayers!

…Prayers of surrendered, “not my will, but God’s will”

…Evangelistic prayers for God to save someone you love!

Remember Jesus provided us with a direct line of communication to God!

Teacher B

Bob Wielenga - Grace

Erik - EB

Let us demonstrate for you how this works.

PICTURE OF MARILYN

In 1984, a woman by the name of Marilyn Newman, born and raised right here in Zeeland Michigan but serving in Kenya since 1956.

One day she began asking God how she could help women and children during a great drought that was affecting the entire country of Kenya.

She had NO IDEA what she was really asking God to do through her!

It began very small.

God asked her to began working in a rural community and bring then the hope of Jesus.

This was the beginning what is now knows as HELPING KENYA KIDS (LOGO)

She just started sharing with people who Jesus is.

Then God called her to provided Hope through building schools and educating children.

And she was NOT a teacher or builder by the way!

Then God called her to provide Hope by building, staffing, and supplying medical clinics in each of these remote areas.

And she was NOT a nurse or doctor by the way!

And over time she just followed the leading of God and by 2019 she has 9 centers scattered across Kenya educating & feeding THOUSANDS of students every day.

God has used her to plant 9 churches!

God has used her to build medical clinics and provide care to people that would otherwise NEVER see a doctor.

And so much more….

PAUSE

In 2019 Marilyn turned 81 and she felt God telling her it was time to turn her ministry over to someone else because he was going to call her home soon.

So, Marilyn began praying.

She prayed simply, “God help me find the right people to continue this ministry that you have begun.”

Later that year she then approached our church and asked if we would take over the leadership of this ministry.

So … Pastor Adam and Pastor Bob began to pray.

They planned a trip to go.

And right before the trip Marilyn was called home to Jesus.

And as they were there they saw how God moved through one woman who just listened and followed God.

So, in 2020, right in midst of the COVID Pandemic, Family Church lovingly wrapped it’s arms around this ministry that we felt God was calling us to be a part of.

LARGE GROUP PHOTO OF TEAM WITH COMMUNITY IN KENYA

Since then, several of you have traveled with us to Kenya to view the Hope Centers yourselves.

PASTOR TEACHING IN CHURCH

You’ve met the pastors who give so sacrificially to serving the people.

KENDALL WITH LITTLE KIDS

You’ve met the people who have lovingly embraced you and provided you with a much greater blessing than you’ve been able to give to them.

PICTURE OF SCHOOL BUILDING IN KIMELOK

You’ve helped to build the first 4 classrooms of a K-8 school in the middle of an empty field where more than 125 students now are getting a quality Christian education.

You’ve even stepped up to pay the tuition for these students to get the best education available in Kenya.

MEDICAL CLINIC IN IL-KERIN

You helped last year through our Auctionless Auction to help build a Medical Clinic in the community of IL-Kerin!

Your generosity you also helped us drill two much needed wells that are almost each 1,000 feet deep.

MEDICAL CLINIC IN KIMELOK

You also provided enough for us to build a second Medical Clinic building in the community of Kimelok.

All because Marilyn prayed!

And Pastor Adam and Pastor Bob prayed!

And you, the good people here at Family Church prayed! And community members in Kenya prayed!

Do you see how this works?

Prayer does not isolate or disconnect us from the world.

It moves us closer to the heart of Jesus… and Jesus’ heart breaks for the world.

PAUSE

And now here are the next steps that we believe God is calling us to take in our relationship with Helping Kenya Kids and the rural communities of Kenya.

Open your Auctionless Auction Books to pages 4 & 5 and you’ll see information about Helping Kenya Kids.

We’d like to raise enough money to fully equip the medical clinic buildings that have been built.

For each clinic we need exam tables, microscopes and blood analysis machines, centrofuges and computers, scales, blood pressure cuffs, office furniture, and medicines.

You’ll find all the information you need in the booklet and just like last week – here’s what we’d like to ask you to prayerfully consider.

In your Auctionless Auction Book you will see an Envelope.

This envelope will accept cash, checks, and even allow you to enter your debit or credit card information, fill it as full as you can, check the box that says KENYA and place the envelope in the Large Lighthouse in the Lobby.

I’ll make you this promise right now.

If you use that envelope this weekend to help us buy Supplies and Furniture for Helping Kenya Kids Medical Clinics, I will give you a brand new envelope to use next week so that you can continue to play along with all of our great Auctionless Auction items throughout the next 6 weeks.

PAUSE

Prayer isn’t a task or part of a church-service but it is an ongoing connection to God a 2-way communication between me and God.

Prayer is rooted in our relationship with God though Jesus.

When we embrace this, embrace how Jesus approached prayer and how He invites us to do likewise… then our connectivity to God will deepen as our sensitivity to God heightens.

LIFE APPLICATION: Do I pray passionately? Do I pray constantly? Study Jesus’ prayer life and commit praying like Jesus. This week, commit to passionately pray for one person every day.