Rooted In God's Word & Prayer

Good to have Broadheads!

It is good to be home!

It is good to be in church!

We spent a lot of our time in Utah which mainly has Mormons — Bible-believing churches are rare.

Let’s not take our church for granted!

After being out of the pulpit for 2 Sundays (a very rare occurrence!) I’ve got a lot of things pent up.

Please bear with me!

First, you may wonder at me wearing a Tshirt this morning.

It has to do with a news article I read while we were on vacation.

A woman named Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer, spoke in September at a Family Research Council prayer summit.

She told how she was forced to compete with a so-called trans athlete who is a man.

A man who not only wants to unfairly compete against female athletes, but who, though a fully function man, is also allowed use the women’s locker room.

She also:

… took issue with the fact that female athletes and other opponents of allowing trans-identified males to compete in women’s sports have begun using the term “biological women.” After recalling how she thought she “had to make the distinction,” Gaines proclaimed, “we have to stop with that.”

“We cannot refer to ourselves as biological anything. That’s admitting that there’s an unbiological alternative and there’s not. There is man and there is woman. There is male and there is female,” she asserted as the crowd erupted into applause. “There is girl and there is boy and there is mother and there is father. … This idea that we can change what God created us to be is beyond absurd.”

What has me wearing this Tshirt emphasizing our men’s ministry here at New Life is what else she said during her speech:

… Gaines stressed the importance of men working to “fulfill their biblical role, which is to protect and provide,” by standing up for the women in their lives who find themselves forced to compete against or share intimate spaces with trans-identified males. She brought up the adage, “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times.”

Gaines pointed to the 1940s when the United States was engulfed in World War II, as “the last time we had a society full of strong men.” According to Gaines, “Men were lying about their age to enlist in the draft, and now we have men lying about their sex to get into women’s sports.”

“It’s this crazy juxtaposition, but I think it proves this cycle that I’m talking about,” she added. “We can only hope that these hard times garner strong men.”

Gaines identified the present state of the U.S. as the time in the cycle where weak men have created hard times.

Men, we NEED you to be strong!

Strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

We can help one another to do that!

As Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

I missed our men’s meeting here at the church Saturday before last, but I want to encourage our men to gather to sharpen one another through fellowship, through the Word of God and through prayer.

During our many hours on the road, traveling about 5,200 miles, we listened to 2 1/2 audio books:

Randy Alcorn - The Ishbane Conspiracy

I think it is a must read, or for those who don’t read, a must-listen to the audio book for those raising children — especially for parents and grandparents of teenagers.

It is along the lines of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.

And then, for those who are old enough to remember Frank Peretti and his This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness books, there is an interesting series by Chuck Black that tells history from an angelic viewpoint — rather than from the demon’s viewpoint.

I have to emphasize that these are works of fiction.

I pastored a church during the Frank Peritti book releases where I had people who put Peritti’s book on an equal footing with the Bible.

These books — any Christian book you may read — is NOT the Bible.

But especially remember this in cases of fictional books, like these to which we listened.

And then, this week, October 27, there is a documentary movie coming out called After Death.

I see it will be in Hiawasse but not here in Blairsville.

In just 18 days while Sandra and I were gone, many things have happened on the world stage! 3 are huge:

First of all, for the first time in the history of the U.S. the Speaker of the House was voted out.

What insanity! All for political games.

This is not a time for games!

Folks, we need to pray!

The fools who seem to control the politics in Washington need a revelation.

And let me be clear; I’m not calling them fools, God does in:

Psalm 14:1–3 (NLT) Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. 3 But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

In a world where not only Israel’s existence, but the U.S.’s existence hangs by a thread, our leaders seem to have lost what little mind they may have had.

I confess that I don’t know what the answer is, but may God grant wisdom to the members House of Representatives!

They are in desperate need of it!

Probably it starts with a prayer meeting — can you imagine such a thing?

And yet the need is, as I said, desperate.

Folks, if they won’t do it for themselves, WE need to pray for our political leadership.

Second, Hamas invaded Israel and left a trail of blood and bodies that horrifies the witnesses.

People are comparing the atrocities in Israel over the past couple of weeks to the Holocaust of WW2.

Innocents gunned down, men, women, children, grandmas and grandpas.

In addition, Hamas has taken hundreds of hostages.

Though we will not be meeting tonight, there is an opportunity for joining with many others online:

Pray Vote Stand

I have given you a prayer guide to help you in your prayers for Israel

Could you get that out for a moment?

Could you hand-write: Next to the next to the last prayer point could you write Pray for GA AG missionaries in Israel? We have 3 GA missionary families in Israel

On the other side, please note that Judith and Natalie Raanan have been released. Praise God for that! and ask for God to bring about the release of all the rest.

And finally, we are seeing what anchors so many of our institutions: anti-semitism. riots

Our Ivy league schools are producing young people who hate the Jews. Who are publicly spewing their hatred — spurred on by Jew-hating professors.

We have Muslim U.S. representatives spewing hatred for the Jews.

And in a strange act of irony we saw Jewish, Jew-haters took over the Cannon House Office Building.

In a world of turmoil, chaos and confusion the need is greater than ever that we engage.

We must anchor ourselves in the Word of God.

We must pray.

We must give to send the Gospel.

On Sunday, November I am asking that you share with us what God is telling you to give so that the Gospel goes into more counties.

It is the only hope for our world.

God has blessed us so much and in so many ways! — may we give sacrificially to see the world won to Jesus.

Emphasize Generosity (November 5th) Show Faith Promise Card.

In giving and in living, we need to be rooted in God’s Word and in prayer.

Point #1 – Studying Scripture Gives Us Wisdom

Psalm 119:105 (LSB) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

God’s Word is light.

It dispels the darkness of sin and lies.

It cuts through the darkness of deception.

We need all the light we can get in a world full of darkness.

God’s Word is Lamp.

It will guide us in the right path.

In a world full of foolishness it will give us wisdom.

God gave the Bible as a gift to help us live our lives with wisdom.

When we study the Bible, we learn from the characters on each page what to do and what not to do to please God.

The Bible is not like any other book.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

It is a living document put together by over 40 authors over 1,500 years and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

It is alive and active, Hebrews says.

That means while we read the Bible, it also reads us.

The author of Hebrews says the Scriptures are sharper than any double-edged sword that cuts us right down the middle to expose our true motives, insecurities, and doubts.

It searches us and reveals the weeds that have crept in so we can uproot them.

When we study the Bible, we give God the opportunity to work in our hearts, which plays out in our words and actions.

In these dark days I encourage us to turn to the light of God’s Word.

And I encourage us to do more than read it — pray for Holy Spirit enlightenment so that we might APPLY it to our living.

Don’t just pray for enlightenment — but actually pray the sciptures.

Lord, in these dark days please send us the light of Your word in our hearts.

Let the light our Your Word give me the wisdom I need in days of deception.

Let Your Word be a lamp that guides me in times of difficult decisions — in fact EVERY decision.

I ask these things in the mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

Point #2 – Prayer Gives Us Peace

Yes, we need to pray!

Pray God’s Word.

Pray in the Holy Ghost.

Last night I walked the neighborhood.

I’m trying to get ready for our Nov 4 Blood Mountain hike.

As I walked through the Overlook Apartments I prayed.

As I walked to an overlook of North GA Technical College I prayed.

As I walked by the houses in Wesley Village, I prayed.

As I walked by Branan Lodge I prayed.

I prayed for the lost, the hurting, the broken.

I prayed for old people who have never known salvation through Jesus.

And because there are a lot of needs I don’t know I prayed in the Holy Spirit — I prayed in tongues.

Romans 8:26–27 (LSB) … the Spirit … helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

One of the reasons we find ourselves stagnant and discouraged is because of stressful things we encounter in life:

Wars and clashes around the world.

Conflict in our own families.

Sickness and disease.

Overstimulation from social media.

Financial pressures.

All of this leaves us feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

The Bible tells us we don’t have to let these outside forces crush us; we have been given supernatural help.

Philippians 4:6–7 (LSB) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul invited his readers to let go of anxiety and place their trust in God.

He told them to be anxious about anything.

That means we should give the big and small things to God in prayer.

All of it can be placed in God’s hands as we let go of control and rely on the only One who actually has control.

Paul said our response should be prayer and petition as we offer our requests to God in every circumstance.

Some of us feel intimidated when it comes to prayer.

Many of us feel like we don’t know what to say or how to say it.

It is not complicated or difficult.

We can learn a lot from children about how to speak to and hear from God.

I once read some letters that children had written to God to let Him know what was on their minds.

Here’s what some of them said.

Illustration: “I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset You made on Tuesday. That was cool.” //

“If You watch me in church on Sunday, I’ll show You my new shoes.” //

“I bet it is very hard to love everyone in the whole world. There are only four people in our family, and I’m having a hard time loving all of them.” //

“Thank You for the baby brother, but I think you got confused because what I prayed for was a puppy.” //

“I think about You sometimes, even when I’m not praying.” //

“Please help me in school. I need help in spelling, adding, history, geography, and writing. I don’t need help in anything else.” (Ministry127.com)

You see, God invites us to speak to Him just like we would talk to a friend.

We can approach God with the confidence of a child.

Prayer is just honest conversation.

Through prayer, we are humbly admitting to God that we are in need of His help because we cannot navigate life on our own.

Abraham Lincoln said it this way, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.”

Being rooted in prayer keeps us from finding ourselves overtaken by the uncertainties of the world. It keeps the weeds of worry from taking over our lives. Another discipline that helps us grow is reading and studying the Bible.

Come to Jesus

Will the worship team come to the platform?

In order for the Bible and prayer to help you the most, you need relationship with Jesus.

If you don’t know Him or if you aren’t where you should be with Him I encourage you to come forward for prayer this morning.

Do you need to come?

SERMONWEEK 3

Rooted: Back To Church: Week 3

Rooted In Prayer And Study

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12 // 1 Timothy 4:7-8 // Philippians 4:6

Write Up: Spiritual growth is achieved with passionate prayer and intentional study of Scripture. This is how we know and trust the heart of God. The more we spend time reading and praying, the more our lives are transformed by the power of God. The church is a place for everyone to gather and hear the life-giving truth of God’s Word—a place to unite our hearts in prayer and to allow God to move powerfully in our lives and around the world.

Think: The Bible was given to us to share with one another. There is power in wrestling with the Scriptures together and interceding on one another's behalf.

Feel: God loves us so much that He has given us ways to connect with Him and to know Him deeply.

Do: Carve out intentional time in your daily life to read the Bible and pray. Consider finding ways to do this with people in your church.