Prayer Service (3)

Thanksgiving

We constantly pray for God’s leadership & guidance, His provision, and His presence. So many times, God answers our prayers, but we then forget to double back and actually give thanks for Him hearing our prayers and being faithful to His promises in answering them.

Romans 1:21 NKJV

21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

We cannot follow their example. We pray to God because we know that He alone can save. He alone knows the future, and He alone is our fortress and our strength. We must remember where our blessings come from.

Psalm 50:23 NASB95

23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”

So far this year, we have seen 5 people saved and 7 people baptized.

God has provided a new deacon for our people. God has also provided us a wonderful young couple to step into the role of youth leaders, which is a position we worried about filling.

We have also seen over 50 prayer requests answered by God. Every time we take prayer requests on Sunday mornings, wed nights, and other times, I try to put them all into a database and keep up with them. I know that many of them need to be updated, but I know of at least 51 prayer requests that have been answered through this church. God is amazing.

Hebrews 13:15 NKJV

15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV

18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Vision

As a church, the possibilities are endless concerning the options to ministry. There are tons of ministries to support, tons of ministry ideas to start or get involved in, and the possibilities of which direction to take the church are endless.

It is of utmost importance that we receive a vision from God as to which direction we are to go.

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

In order for us to be where God needs us to be, we must receive that vision from God. Now I will admit that God sends that vision through the leadership of His people. It is on my shoulders, as well as the other spiritual leaders of this church, to hear a Word from God and determine what that vision is. But that is not to say that we all cannot be praying for God to send that vision. We all should be praying for that.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

We need God’s guidance in understanding what that vision is.

A vision for the church is the overarching purpose of the people. It determines everything else that takes place. It will determine which ministries we pursue and which ones we do not. It will determine where we allocate funds to. It will determine where we spend our energy, focus, and time. The vision determines the direction of the church.

That is not to say that certain ministries or ideas are not good ministries or ideas, but that they simply do not fit the vision of where God has us and is leading us right now at this time in our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11 NASB95

11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

God knows where our focus, time, energy, money, and talents need to be spent right now. Let us take some time to pray that He reveals that unto us, so that we might be in His will and accomplish His purpose for this place.

Revelation

Those of you who were here Sunday night, were able to be a part of a wonderful conversation that took place. One of the points of discussion, were the different types of churches that exist and how they decide to do ministry.

Many churches today are becoming attractional churches. This means that their idea of ministry is to have events that draw people in, so that they can present the Gospel unto them in hopes that they will get saved.

Other churches, feel that God designed the church to go out into the community and do ministry so that people get saved right where they are. Then they come and lock arms with the church and begin contributing to what God is doing here.

I am not here tonight to tell you one way is right and the other is wrong. Both church models have proven to work and leaders from both models use Scripture to support why they do ministry this way.

I think the answer to this dilemma lies with God. He is the One who should direct out paths and determine who we are to become. He knows what people attend this church faithfully and how those people are driven. He knows what talents lie amongst us and how those talents can be used to effectively reach the lost for the cause of Christ.

In order for us to be successful in ministry and to be faithful to who He wants us to be, we must first know Him and His will. We must lean in close and find our next steps through Him.

This may mean that we have to make changes to how we operate. This may mean that we have to make changes to how we do ministry. This may mean that we are pushed outside of our comfort zone to places that we feel uncomfortable. But if God is in it, we will be successful.

Ephesians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Matthew 6:10 NKJV

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Unity

As we seek God’s will in out lives and in this church, we must be careful how we move and operate. If there is to be change in how we operate, we must be sure it is done correctly. There must be constant communication and time for people to process information.

Matthew 12:25 NKJV

25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

As a people united in Christ seek to accomplish His will, Satan is looking for every opportunity to sneak in and destroy what God is doing. The most subtle way he seeks to accomplish this is to do it from the inside. He will seek to destroy us from within.

1 Peter 3:8 NKJV

8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

This most likely will come as we seek to make changes within the organization of the church. Any time there is change administered, there is the possibility of people getting upset.

This happens when people are more worried about personal preference than God’s will. We must maintain a close relationship with God so that we might all be united in Christ.

If we fail to remain united in the leadership of the Spirit, we will suffer loss. We will experience hard feelings and challenging times.

We must pray that God would overshadow us with His hand of protection as we navigate through this season of change. Some of the changes we may face will be easy. They will come naturally and cause little disruption to how we operate. Other changes that we might face will not be so easy to navigate. They might cause us to restructure things and turn other things on their head.

Regardless of where God leads, we must be careful to move at God’s speed, not ours. We must also pray through every one of these decisions and include the whole church, so that everyone can be on the same page. Most importantly, we must be willing to give God the steering wheel, so that He may navigate through the storms that may come. If He is truly in control, we will come through this season of life prosperous and successful.

2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.