Invite: Power of Prayer

Mission - To be reminded that we ought to pray for opportunity and direction in being an inviting Christian.

We should learn to pray for opportunity to do HIS WILL through our Life.

Prayer is the powerful connection with God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the route of the Holy Spirit in us

Rote pray is not obsolete, by genuine prayer is heartfelt, honest, and healing to our sinners’ soul

We are going to be in and out of 1 Tim 2:1-8 today

1 Timothy 2:1–2 (ESV)

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Prayer types and styles can be as varied as we are as individuals

I think the secret is simply to pray --- to talk to God

Ask for things

lift Scripture up to Him

Ask for Him to intervene

Ask for Wisdom

Apologize for sins

Ask for Him to search your heart and reveal issues to you

And thank Him for all things

AND WE CAN ASK FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO REACH OTHERS

one of my favorite movies is the replacements

A group of SCAB replacement players to get the game going

you see the QB is a lot like us --- gifted and extremely valuable to the team

but he has a habit of holding back

He falls in love with his team —this rag tag SCABS

and they have the ability to win the game and the QB looks at the coach and says IWANT the ball.... and the coach replies.. WINNERS ALWAYS DO!

THIS MUST BE US --- WE GET THE PLAY FROM THE SCRIPTURE, THE DIRECTION FROM THE SPIRIT and then we must make the choice --- I want the BALL

BIBLE:

If you have your Bible open look at verse 8 for a moment

We must learn to pray before all things not before somethings

SO HOW?

That last verse is interesting and I want to address something that all of us have been aware of in prayer.

1 Tim 2:8 “8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;”

We have learned to bow or heads and fold our hands.

You know the weirdness of not following the rest of the pack --- the thought of looking up first at the AMEN and noticing someone didn't bow their head, or they folded hands but didn't bow head -- they were only half praying.

This comes from Tradition and it is not bad at all.

The main reason that we bow our heads to pray is because we are showing reverence and respect to God.

It is symbolic because it shows that we are humbling ourselves before the Lord.

The important thing to understand is that this is not a requirement.

There is no rule written in the Bible which states that we how to bow our heads.

Some people kneel, some set their arms to their sides with their arms closed, some raise their hands to heaven.

Some close their eyes to block out distractions.

This is what is seen in Matthew 6:6 when it says that you should “go into your room and shut the door”.

It is to block out everything else and make prayer a private act of reverence.

The choice is up to you; they’re all different ways to show respect and reverence to God.

Humble is never a wrong choice. We have the capacity to be BOLD, yet HUMBLE

I want us to look at our way of communicating with God.

we should be okay with praying in a group or alone

2. Hebrews tells us that we can go boldly to the Throne because Jesus is our intercessor.

3. We have the Lord's Prayer in how Jesus gave us a model for prayer and the proper use of prayer.

Matthew 6:5-13 “5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Take the Risk

We are in this short series on INVITING

There is a difference between an invite

Oh why don’ t you come to the party

versus

You have to come — we want you there in fact the party wouldn’ t be the same

The difference in the “want” — YOU NEED TO WANT PEOPLE TO MEET JESUS and your church — Horizon should be a place to make the introduction

WE LOVE OUR LORD JESUS here at HORIZON — We so WANT to tell you about Him

Come and see — Come and Hear — Come and Met my Saviour

We have all known the difference between deeply wanting to be around someone and asking someone out of obligation.

We tend to seek to calculate the risk to ourselves.

Illustration:

During World War II, the phrase “calculated risk” began to populate throughout the military. Generals would calculate the risk of how many B-24 bombers they would lose if they attempted a proposed mission.

Once hypothetical possibilities and outcomes were discussed among the leadership, the highest in command would determine if the potential casualties were worth the attempt.

_____

The phrase “calculated risk” later became prominent in business and human resource circles. The thought went something like this: We are interested in hiring Person A.

We recognize that she doesn’t have the experience, but she has the natural instincts, and she’ll thrive with the right coaching.

So a risk is calculated, and if the potential value gained outweighs the cost to reach it, you move forward. You make the leap. You take the risk.

In universities all across the country, courses are based on the idea of risk management.

Every great leader understands the expectation to identify and manage potential threats and dangers to an organization.

All of that is fine and good, but what happens when our gospel becomes a matter of risk management?

What happens when our churches find themselves constantly calculating risks?

What happens when Christ-followers become averse to risk?

What happens when the church is okay with standing on the cliff and watching?

Unfortunately, within our modern society, a subtle message of “Safety Above All” has been perpetuated.

We pray for safety.

We tell our children to be safe, and we use the adage “safety first.”

Pain is a terrifying subject that we go to great measure to avoid.

Our mantra is, “Shield yourself from all forms of risk, and risk only if there is a good chance the calculations will come out in your favor.

Don't step out. Don't fail. Don't put yourself in danger. Don’t be fully seen. Don't risk.”

Do you calculate the Risk or do you have a “no one left behind methodology?

i’m guessing that you came to Christ, because someone took a risk on you.

Take Action

I want to share a few Statistics with you.

55 % of all Americans say they pray everyday

79% of Evangelical Christian state they pray everyday

90% of Jehovah Witnesses

59% of Catholics

43% of Buddists

29% of Jewish

only 15% of 18-29 year old will survey to this daily action

So initial takeaways that scare me.. Our youth are not praying, and maybe scarier in a Biblical sense those who identify as Jewish, God's Chosen people are admit to 29% !!!

Where does this leave our Church? - I pray that we are a praying church

1 Timothy 2:1–8 (ESV)

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;

Praying is not just for church

Praying is not just before dinner

Praying is not a rote set of words repeated over and over

Pray is communication with your Father and your Lord

Pray must be the life preserver in life.

We are told to pray before all things, to offer requests, to bring thanksgiving

here is a little word for you to learn for your prayer life

ACTS-

Admiration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication - Requests

Our mission this month is to become more of an inviting church

We need to ASK for IT

HERE I AM LORD SEND ME!!!

Keep your prayer life active —

Write down people that come to mind

Reach out to them

PRAY FOR THEM — PRAY TO SHARE WITH THEM

PRAY FOR CONFIDENCE AND BOLDNESS TO SHARE

WE MUST INVITE AND WE MUST SEEK THE DEEPER RELATIONSHIP

and we MUST PRAY for OPPORTUNITY TO BE USED FOR HIS KINGDOM>

Know Your Target

This is why prayer must be part of Invitation

You pray that the Lord will direct you to the people

You simply do your part

You accept that you may only be a part

Illustration:

We have a lot of movies made in NM

and i have met many people that are excited that they are an “extra”

the truth about that extra is that they are NEEDED to make the show work

They are honored and overjoyed to simply have a part in the show

Jesus is the Star

God is the Producer

and the Holy Spirit is the Direction

our role is to do our part

to know that just being there is a part, that a walk by, or a single word is all part of the story line

Prayer is where we get our direction and our target.

We simply need to obey and do what our hearts are leading us to do.

Prayer

Lets take a few minutes and pray RIGHT NOW

Who is on your heart?

[take about 5 minutes and allow them to pray]

Rewards

Matthew 5:11–12 (NIV)

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Friends our mission this morning was To be reminded that we ought to pray for opportunity and direction in being an inviting Christian

GUY and ANDREA --- RENEWAL OF VOWS