06 - The Prayer Of Agreement 2016 By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Pray Through

Part 6

"The Prayer of Agreement"

Matt. 18:19-20 "19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

"Agree" is sumphóneó--(soom-fo-neh'-o) from which we get the English word "symphony." It means, "to harmonize with."

This passage is about the prayer of agreement, where the saints of God gather in total harmonious agreement for something they want to pray for.

Now, in a real orchestra there can be up to 100 different instruments divided into four sections--woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings.

Yet all of these instruments play the same chord at the same time.

If even one of them played a C while the rest were in the key of A it would be discordant, and stand out like a sore thumb.

An orchestra will never allow someone to play who won't remain on key.

And so it is with the church and with the prayer of agreement!

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Notice how Jesus places a premium on the gathering together of His followers in unity.

He says, "If you come together in my name, I am there with you."

So the church is to gather in the KEY of Jesus!

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Now, we've shown in this prayer series how many times Jesus taught us to pray "in His name."

"If you ask anything IN MY NAME I will do it" (John 14:14).

And now here He also gives a promise for those who also gather in His name.

There is a well-known axiom going back to the early church fathers that says, “Where three are, there is a church."

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Now in our passage, Jesus is encouraging us to pray for a definite thing.

"As touching anything which they shall ask," says our Lord—anything they shall agree to ask for in harmony, like that orchestra.

"In my Name" literally means, "into my Name;" with love for me, yearning for union with me, and acting for my glory.

The gathering Jesus is talking about is for those who gather for His cause, with hunger for Him and His glory...who are fully invested in everything Christ Jesus stands for.

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Now, I want to point out three things regarding the prayer of agreement.

First,

I. God blesses unity...

Unity is a powerful spiritual dynamic, and according to Psalm 133, it literally causes God to "command" a blessing!

Ps 133: 1-3 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life evermore."

When two or more people come into agreement they are also there in unity...

And Jesus Himself promised to be with them and their prayer in a way that changes things!

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In fact, agreement is so powerful that it produces, not just addition, but multiplication!

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:30 that one can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand to flight!

If agreement were based on addition, one would put a

thousand to flight and two would put two thousand to flight.

But unity commands God's blessing and God's blessing

brings multiplication!

For that reason, the prayer of true agreement is an exceedingly powerful force in the spiritual realm.

EXAMPLE:

Tell story: Peter and John went to pray...

They healed a crippled man in Jesus' name and were commanded by the chief priests and religious leaders to "preach no longer in the name of Jesus."

Then we read: "And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and

elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said:

"Lord, you are God, Who has made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of your

servant David has said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?....For to do whatever your

hand and your counsel determined before to be done."

"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant to your servants, that with all boldness they may speak your word, By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus." Acts 4:23-30.

Notice the first thing Peter and John did when they were released from the prison: "And being let go, they went to their

own company...

The best place to go when you're in trouble is with your "OWN COMPANY"--people with faith in the Lord Jesus!

Unfortunately, today's Christian would be more inclined to organize a committee of mediators to go and talk to those leaders and make a deal where everyone could "just get along."

But the Bible says, "...they lifted up their voice to God with one accord."

ACCORD means "with one mind at the same time."

They knew the power of the united prayer of agreement!

And look what happened, "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was SHAKEN; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31).

They weren't praying some generalized prayer; they were

praying about the persecution that faced them.

And as they all prayed in United agreement, and lifted their voices to God in fervent prayer, "the place was shaken."

Just like a really strong, stormy wind will blow against a tree, bowing it down and violently shaking and rattling the leaves, that's the word here...SHAKEN!

The building being SHAKEN was only an echo of the spiritual power that had been released...

God's power was mightily manifested in answer to the prayer of agreement!

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Secondly, since unity and harmony are crucial to the prayer of agreement...

II. Unity is always under attack...

Because God's blessing rests on unity, and His presence is with those who agree in His name, the enemy works overtime to divide the Lord's church...

He constantly seeks to bring strife into relationships, to provoke anger and jealousy, to stir up bad feelings, and to keep Christians at odds with and angry with each other.

He wants husbands and wives divided, pastors and their congregations divided, parents and children divided, choir members divided, worship teams divided, and different local church congregations divided against each other.

Because to divide us is to defeat us!

No wonder Paul wrote urgently to the Ephesian church, "Make every effort (move swiftly and zealously) to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace" (Eph. 4:3).

No wonder God says that of the 7 things He hates most, last but not least is, "...he who sows discord among brethren" (Pr. 6:19).

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Now listen, it's important to understand that for me to be in unity with you doesn't mean I have to agree with you on everything...

Did you know that there are at least 21 different Protestant denominations in America with thousands of offshoots?

And all of them believe they are closer to the truth than the others!

So if I hope to fellowship in unity with others outside my group, I CAN'T wait for us to have exactly the same beliefs!

So here's the good news: Unity is not achieved by gathering together around exactly the same beliefs...

Unity is achieved by gathering together around a Person--Jesus Christ!

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The path to unity is best described by a saying attributed to Augustine that says:

"In Essentials (there must be) Unity" If we can't agree on the blood of Jesus as our only hope of forgiveness and salvation, or that God's Word is non-negotiable, unchanging, unvarnished truth, or in the necessity of living a godly, moral life in keeping with the teachings of Scripture, then I can't walk in unity with you.

"In Non-Essentials Liberty" If you want to believe that you can't eat pork, or that women shouldn't wear pants, or that the gifts of the Spirit passed away with the Apostles, or that playing instruments in a church service is not right, I can still eat with you in fellowship and unity AROUND the Person of Christ!

"In All Things Charity" Should we disagree on non-essentials, I will still love you in Christ, for he is our basis for unity!

The church of Jesus Christ must be quick to forgive and patch things up, big enough to overlook faults and differences in others, and care enough for God's church to fight for the unity!

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Regarding the prayer of agreement, God blesses unity, Unity is under attack at all times, and third...

If you've prayed for something you know is His will without results, the NEXT STEP is...

III. Get someone to AGREE with you in prayer...

We may be mighty in prayer alone, but we can be mightier with someone joining us!

As I've already stated, Deuteronomy 32:30 says, "...One can chase a thousand, and two can put ten thousand to flight."

With someone agreeing with us in prayer, we can do ten times as much as we can do by ourselves.

It doesn't take a lot of people--just one other person will do.

ILLUS: Lisa Schwartz and property for Crazy 8 ministries.

Crazy 8 ministries touches a lot of people with the love and healing of Jesus Christ...

They are involved with around 200 counseling sessions a month.

Are now providing housing for 4 women and 7 children for recovery and healing.

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And In 2015 they were told they had to vacate the property they were on and were given a deadline...

They searched and searched for 7 months and ran up against wall after wall.

In one particularly trying time, the day before they were supposed to close on a property it fell through.

This left them with only two months to find their land and get moved.

It was at this time that Brendon and I went to Lisa's offices, gathered with the staff, and lifted our voices in the prayer of agreement.

I remember heavily sensing the Presence of God.

The very next week her property opened up.

I've been there and it is a PRIME PIECE of real estate....far surpassing what they were forced to leave!

Now there's more---they had to close on the property by June 30...

When Lisa told one of the businessmen it must happen by the 30th, he said, "Honey, you're asking for a miracle."

Lisa said, "Exactly what I'm doing!"

They closed on June 28!

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Jesus said, "...if two of you AGREE on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Summary: God blesses unity, unity is always under attack and must be protected, and if you're stuck in prayer, find someone to AGREE with you!