Prayer - Pt 1- Persistence and Content

GREET EVERYONE-

Good Morning Loved Ones

If I have not had a chance to meet you on live stream or in person; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

VISION

MISSION

INVITE

Welcome HOME - Sunday April 26

New Members Class - MAY 3rd

LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND

Open it to Luke Chapter 18 as we Begin a New mini Series exposing what God says through the Scripture about Prayer

PRAYER OVER SERIES

For all of us this morning is that we would pray more.

Now that is a pretty simple prayer for this series -

What I have found in my preparation for this series that will actually lead us into the next series - is that I found my self begin really convicted that I need to pray more.

I am not sure I pray enough.

SO when I say all of us - I pray we all pray more -

and not only do I desire to see an increase in my prayer time and for you to see an increase of you prayer time in your life -

I believe it is in the heart of God for all of us to see all of us praying more and more together as we come together -

Here on Sunday morning and in all of our small groups that gather through out the week.

PRAYER OVER MESSAGE

IS that when we pray more we would pray with more perseverance and we would pray like those who Cry out For God Day and Night -

As one of the Local Bodies of Christ - AKA Local Churches - called Stonewater Fellowship.

We have 7 core values -

Jesus -

Prayer

Unity

Missional Communities - Small Groups

Disciple Making - from among lost people

The Priesthood of Every believer

Sacrificial Leadership

And so our the way we articulate how we value prayer is this:

We value, desire, and strive to be people engaged in empowered prayer together — Matt 21:22 Acts 1:14 Our prayers together are powered by the Holy Spirit when we pray out of our anguish, out of our need for God and out of our passion for God’s purposes. Prayer is the lifeline for all of us to enter into the very presence of God, the weapon against our common enemy, the fuel by which we can do what God commands us to do and the glue that sticks us all together in unity.

Prayer is by kind of prayer - Empowered prayer, and and Together Prayer

Powerful Prayer - Powered by the Holy Spirit

Prayers from our Anguish -

Prayers from our Need of GOD -

Prayers out of our Passion for God’s purposes -

What are HIS purposes? - Well the Scripture Says that His main Goal is to glorify Himself and His passion is that all would come to repentance and be saved.

The it describes what Prayer is to US or should be to US..

Lifeline into the presence of God -

A weapon against our common enemy -

and FUEL - Power - to do what God has called us to do.

and Lastly GLUE - Glue that sticks us together -

So I pray that this message will move us closer and closer to praying with more perseverance

Praying like those who Cry out For God - Day and Night

That our Prayers would have the Content that God would say YES because they are aligned with His passions and HIS purposes.

All so we could see the might power of God working in our lives and in the lives of people around us.

ENGAGEMENT –

We really need to understand what prayer is!

What or better yet HOW is prayer defined by GOD?

The very first time recorded in the bible when men began to pray is recorded for us at the very end of Genesis chapter 4.

After Adam and Eve - After Cain and Able - After Cain Killed Able - Seth was born - Seth has a son and His name was Enosh -

and it is here in Genesis 4 after Enosh is born that the Scripture says:

It was at this time that men began to call upon the Name of YHWY

Prayer is all the way through the Old Testament.

This Parable of Jesus and this message really struck home for me this week probably in a deeper way then does most messages God brings through the scriptures.

This message began with me asking myself some pretty intense questions about my own habits of praying -

Wondering: DO I pray enough?

Asking: What do I pray for?

Reflecting: What does my persistence in prayer and the content of my prayers indicate are my priorities concerning prayer and what does the content reveal about what I value?

I was then really confronted with an additional set of questions:

Do I like to pray- especially when I am by my self?

and then the crushing question:

Do I really value prayer?

TENSION

It then brought me to us -

Do we Pray enough -

and let me tell you this is the prayingest church that i have ever been associated with -

But Really - we cannot compare ourselves to others -

The question still remains - AS we consider all of who God is and all of what God does - Do we pray enough?

What does our content and our persistence in prayer - Reveal about us? and how we value prayer?

If we looked at our calendar - And our daily Schedule and our Sunday Morning Routines -

What would a time comparison reveal about how we valued prayer?

and Then it makes me wonder - If the true and real examination of our schedules reveals to us that prayer might not be on the higest priority of our lives -

and we value it but not all that much in comparison to other things we spend out time and energy doing -

I am then left with the question: WHY is it that way?

Why is it that way in my life and in yours?

I wonder if it might be that we are not really all that sure that our prayers get answered -

Or maybe - They just done get answered the way we want them to -

Or maybe - Just Maybe - We just don’t think prayer works all that well?

And so its only something we do becasue that is just what God believing people do.

IM not sure but what I am sure of is Jesus tells us to pray - Jesus tells us how to pray -

Jesus tells us what our heart of prayer that He is calling us into

and jesus tells us this morning That we must be persistent in our prayers and He will ask an interesting question.

When He returns will He find “faith” in prayer!

BACKGROUND

IN Mathew 18 - Jesus is on His way back into Jerusalem for the last time -

This is late in the time that Jesus walked on this earth as Immanuel - God with us.

Three years have passed - Since Jesus began teaching and revealing Himself as the Son of God - As the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the world.

He is on His way - he is passing through an area between Sameria and Galilee -

When He get there he is met by 10 lepers and he heals all of them .

Only one of them realize that Jesus healed Him and turned back to thank Jesus for the healing -

It is interesting that Only one turned to engage Jesus for what He had done for them - Only One was faithful to recognize that Jesus had done some great work in his life.

The Religious leaders of the area Engage Jesus in conversation about when the Kingdom of God would come -

Jesus said - you will not be able to see it as it is a spiritual Kingdom.

He then Turns to His disciples and tells them what will be happening in this world when the “the Son of Man comes”

Jesus is making reference to His second Coming -

It is a VERY Interesting conversation that Jesus is having -

He just told His disciples and the Religious leaders that the Kingdom of God is in their midst - That the Kingdom is a spiritual one they cannot see

NOW he moves to his second coming even though His first coming is not yet complete.

He uses illustrations of Destruction from the stories of the Old Testament?

Noah's story when God destroyed the world for its sinfulness-

Lot’s story when when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their grotesque sin.

Jesus says “So will that day be when the Son of Man is revealed”.

Then He talks about people disappearing -

People on the roof top will not be able to go into the house and take things with them

People out in the fields will not be able to come back in from the field -

Two in bed and one taken - Two grinding corn meal - One taken

Jesus says something interesting in all of that

Luke 17:33 ESV

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.

and what is interesting is in the middle of all of this kind of Talk the very next subject that Jesus turns to is prayer.

I think it is very likely that the Disciple were also ag group that needed to be praying more -

They were a group that had been under roman persecution for so long that they were a people that thought that Prayer just didn’t work all that well.

maybe they had gotten to the point where they just didn't value prayer all that much anymore.

But Jesus - Knowing what they need to hear first - turns to them

UNPACKING

Luke 18:1 ESV

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Here is a Parable -

what is a Parable according to Jesus?

According to Jesus a Parable, when delivered to the Disciples - Unlocks for the Jesus followers “The Secrets of the Kingdom of God”

SO this Parable is delivered to the disciples, unlocks for them, one of the secrets of the Kingdom of God in reguards to the fact that Disciples of Jesus - Followers of Jesus - Students of Jesus

Should- That is what the word “ought” means - ALWAYS PRAY

AND

Not loose heart - in other words, don't give up - Don't think God aint listening, Don't think Prayer don't work - Don't get impatient - Don't expect it to happen immediately.

Then what Jesus does is he paints for us a moving picture of what this kind of Praying looks like

and what this kind of praying does -

First - To what this kind of praying looks like -

and REMEMBER this is a Parable - This is to give His followers, His students, the KEYS, the Secrets of the Kingdom of GOD-

Watch and listen what He says and the word movie He paints about prayer:

Luke 18:2 ESV

He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

This is very interesting -

Jesus is unlocking the keys - the secrets of the Kingdom of God - and he uses the framework of A judge -

All of His disciples and All of us here know what He is talking about -

This is one of the things that is GREAT about Jesus Parables -

He uses images and objects that relate -

They relate to them back then and they relate to us today.

All of know when Jesus says “A judge” we all know what He is talking about -

Courtroom - Evidence - Lawyers -

And the person who over sees it all the Judge - Black Robe -

Sitting above everyone else in the room - Big Chair - Big wooden Gavel and all.

and The Judge that Jesus uses is one who is characterize by two things -

Feared Neither GOD or MAN.

This Judge Jesus is talking about - Fears nothin and nobody.

In other words - A Judge who has all authority, or at leased He thinks he does -

A judge who at the minimum rules his courtroom like that -

I mean the reality in our day and age - A court Order is a word of Authority.

This judge Jesus was talking about didn't care about nothin and nobody

The only thing this judge cared for what his rulings- and His way -

He didn't even care what is right or wrong

and then there is a person who comes before His court -

A Widow

Luke 18:3 ESV

And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

Here is what was common - If you were a first centruy woman - Living in jerusalem - and you were a woman -

You had plenty of people who would take advantage of your situation.

and so this particular Widow Jesus Says “Kept Coming” to the Judge

Over and over and over again.

“Give me Justice”

in other words “Make it right” Judge.

This was a persistent petitioner of the Judge - Over and over she would continue to ask “Give me justice against my adversary”

Adversary in the language of the new testament - The word hear means “my opponent in the Law”

This is a legal term - Some one who has accused her of doing something - or some one who is taking advantage of her and she is seeking Justice

She is PERSISTANT in her quest for Justice!

SO the Judge Relents and give in to her becasue of her Persistence =

Luke 18:4–5 ESV

For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”

SO the Judge who does not care about Justice - Who cares not for right or wrong changes His mind becasue of a widow who keeps persistantly asking Him for Justice against her advisory.

Remember this is a Parable and so its intent is to unlock the secrets of the Kingdom of God and so Jesus then turns the story into How God the Father - The Good judge, that one who is the source of all that is good and the one who opposes all that is wrong.

The Good and eternal Judge who loves and does care for Justice - In fact He is Just.

You see loved ones - It is not that God has or possesses Love and Mercy and Grace and Justice - He is those things. Those are part of Who God is -

Watch where Jesus takes this-

He then compares the unjust Judge to the Judge who is Just!

Luke 18:6–7 ESV

And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

Jesus says - If this terrible Judge relent his decisions when someone is persistent in pursuing justice for themselves -

What will you heavenly father do?

Will God, give Justice to His elect?

Who Cry out to him Day and Night?

What Jesus is saying is “will God who is Just in and of himself - Give Justice in answer to our prayers, wen we cry out to Him Day and Night?

Jesus then asks “Will he delay long over them?

Jesus them makes a statement - at the beginning of verse 8 -

“I tell you He will give Justice to them speedily”

Jesus Promise is that Justice will be given to those who Cry out to God Day and Night.

and In the Last part of verse 8 Jesus closes this parable out with an interesting question.

Luke 18:8 ESV

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

What what Jesus is asking

When The son of Man returns -

Right before this Parable. Jesus shared with them what the world looks like when the son of man returns -

Destruction like in the days of Noah becasue of the Sin of the world.

Destruction like in the days of Lot when the grotesque sin was prevalent.

Two Sleeping one Taken

Two in the field - One taken

No Time to grab things No time to return home -

Just arrival and taken.

And look what Jesus asks?

When I return will I find Faith on the earth?

Will I find trust on the earth?

Will I find those who are living out this parable on this earth?

This then leaves us the question: IF we cry out to the lord day and night is GOd going to answer out prayers -

This is were content coms in -

This is where “THE WHAT are we praying for comes in”

What are we praying for?

Justice?

Salvation?

Our personal mission?

our personal ministry to the lost and the poor?

Are we praying for more and more obedience to His commands?

Our life to live radically for Him becasue He is the one who died and was raised?

OR

and here is where this gets really close to Home?

are we praying for the idols of our culture to come true in our lives?

are we praying for more comfort or continued comfort and in doing so do we avoid the things in being obedient to Jesus that cause us discomfort.

You know when we pray for more comfort or continued comfort and we avoid things that make us uncomfortable - Even if those things are things Jesus commands - Our Prayers are Answered YES

and Unfortunately we then consider our life blessed by God becasue we are more comfortable.

Are we praying for our lives to be more and more convenient? and so the things in our life that are inconvenient even when they collide with following Jesus commands we push back away from - Because there just to inconvenient? Is that the content of our prayers?

Ya know - if that is our prayer - and we keep away from anything that is inconvenient in our obedience to Jesus - Prayers Answered -

What about safety? - We pray about more and more being safe? - and so, becasue that is our prayer we don’t take any risk or do really anything that has risk, even if that means we skip out on the things that Jesus commands us to do becasue there is too much risk?

If that is how we live and make decisions - Prayers answered - More safety - But are we really blessed by GOD?

And Lastly - Security - Of we pray for more and more security - Security in our food supplies - Security in our medical condition - Security in our financial picture? Security being the content of our prayers - even if it is contrary to obedience to Jesus -

When we life in the pursuit of Security and not the obedience to Jesus commands - We might just get it. But could we consider that blessed by GOD?

Watch what James says: The half Brother of Jesus -

A man who while Jesus was living - Rejected Jesus

After Jesus was raised form the dead?

Church leader -

watch what James says about the content of our prayers -

Jesus has addressed the persistence of our prayers -

James talks through the content.

James 4:1–3 ESV

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

What causes quarrels and fights among us?

Is it not our Passions are at war with in us?

Our passions of Obtaining comfort, convenience safety and security?

We know these things are temporary yet we strive for them?

James continues -

We desire so we murder -

now listen loved ones - We might not literally murder someone - over these 4 idols - But how angry do we have a tendency to get when someone stands in the way of us having them or even more if someone tries to take them away?

and we covet - Meaning we want what we perceive what others have?

We fight and quarrel - Meaning we are in disagreement all the time?

Then James says something interesting -

Well He says two things that are interesting-

and these two things are extremely interconnected -

and they are directly related to the content of our prayers.

1st thing he says - We have not becasue we ask not.

Jesus just finished saying - When we ask with persistence God will hear and answer -

James says “we have not becasue we are not asking”

Than watch what James says about our content -

We ask and do not receive becasue we ask wrongly - That means we ask for the wrong things - We as for things that God really doesn't care all that much about.

and then James gives us the problem

What we are asking for we are asking for to spend it on our passions -

You see loved ones -

pur prayers are important to God -

Not that we pray - but our passion for Him and for His passions - For the things that have His heart -

THE GOSPEL CONNECTION -

Gods heart and Gods passion is the world.

The Gospel - The advance of His kingdom -

The Proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth -

His love for the world - Displayed on the Cross of Calvary.

Ushering in Salvation for all who receive believe and repent - Surrendering to Him as Lord.

This is God's passion

This is God's concern-

Saving souls for His glory and for the Honor of his great name.

Loved ones we must understand.

When we are obedient to Christ our world is upside down -

The rest of the world will look at the obedient life and say - There is not comfort in that -

Our comfort is His presence -

The world will say that is way to Inconvenient for any reasonable person -

Our convenience is we will be with Him forever

The world will say - There is no safety in obedience to Jesus -

Our safety is knowing that to Die in this world is Gain - To live for Him is gain. and there is no safer place to be than to be in the will of God.

The world will say ‘there is no security in Obedience Jesus -

We are the most secure, as we store up for ourselves treasures in Heaven, Secure in our relationship with Him as the ones whom God has given Jesus and no one will snatch them away.

You see loved ones this world is not our home -

and so we must live as aliens - Residence of the Kingdom of God -

ambassadors of Christ

all of us given a ministry of reconciliation.

Pleasing with men and women every where

anyone, anywhere, any time.

Be reconciled to God.

Repent - Surrender your whole life to Him, be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the Holy Spirit.

Our prayer must reflect this passion -

Our anguish must plead with God to bring salvation

Our passion for God and god’s purposes must be in our prayers loved ones -

And in this - Jesus says: God will answer speedily and when He comes again He will find Faith on this earth. COMMUNION

PRAYER TEAM