Let Us Pray

Lord I thank you for your mercy and your grace, I thank you for walking with me, leading and guiding me into all understand. And now Lord I pray your Holy Spirit would open our eyes to see the way, our ears to hear Your Word and our hearts to receive your wisdom. I pray you would dwell in me that may speak boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel. That Your Word will be powerful in the minds, delivered passionately to the heart, to achieve the purpose in the lives of your people . In Jesus name I pray. Amen

As we come to the end of the month of August, we find ourselves two thirds of the way through the year of our Lord 2018. We’ve had some ups and downs, triumphs and challenges, victories and defeats. We’ve had some unmet desires and some unexpected blessings. To put it plainly, we’ve lived life, because in life we will have all of these things, in fact Jesus tells us in In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

So I have a question for you, by a show of hands, has anyone out there felt helpless or hopeless this year, last month, last week, yesterday? I would venture and feel somewhat confident saying we’ve all been at a place where we’ve been sick and tired of being sick and tired. We want the pain to go away, we want the problem to go away, we want that person or those people to go away. In fact, Oh that I had wings, I would fly far away; look you stay, I’ll go, just to have some peace. But then you think nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, or that the problem, trouble, or person would probably just follow me anyway or maybe you think where would I go? Turn with me to

NLT - Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

This morning we’re going to talk about The Power of Prayer.

First let me tell you when you earnestly pray, expecting God to move, you need to be ready to move, because He will send people your way. Last week after intercessory prayer...

So I have a question for you, by a show of hands, has anyone out there felt helpless or hopeless this year, last month, last week, yesterday? I would venture and feel somewhat confident saying we’ve all been at a place where we have been sick and tired of being sick and tired. We want the pain to go away, we want the problem to go away, we want that person or those people to go away. In fact, Oh that I had wings, I would fly far away, look you stay, I’ll go, just to have some peace. But then you think nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, or the problem, trouble, person would probably just follow me or where would I go?

Lady at the card section of Wal-Mart

This morning we’re going to talk about The Power of Prayer.

Geneo

David

Can anybody say Job.

When you pray and believe, there will be a demand placed on your faith and you have to be ready and willing to act on it, because God is able.

The Apostle James gives the reader very straightforward direction. In this particular verse he begins with a question. “Are any of you suffering hardships?” We’ve already established we are or have. Some of the hardship may be of our own making, because if we’re honest we sometimes create our own drama by the choices we make. It’s no less a problem because we created it ourselves, but still…and at times it’s others who have created the problem for us.

Now let me just say, I’m only going to allow you to create just so much trouble in my life. You see, what you have to realize is you determine how much power and authority you’re going to give to someone else to influence your life. Not everyone should have the ability to create drama for you, there are some people you need to show the door and lock it behind them. With others it’s not as easy, but at the end of the day it’s your choice.

Some hardships come as a result of things breaking down. Last Sunday we came home to running water, flooding on the main floor and into the basement of our home and destroyed equipment. So after saving what we could, moving what we could, trying to suck up as much water as we could, we went to bed and I got with the insurance company the next day and started the process of putting things back together. But before things can be put back together, some things have to be torn apart.

ServPro sent a technician out to assess the situation. The technician called to say he was on the way. When he arrived he introduced himself, then he listened to what happened, next he looked at what happened, then he made a plan to fix what happened, then finally he started to work.

When things are happening in your life, sometimes you need to take the time to assess what’s going on. Are you suffering hardships? James says, “You should pray”.

When you pray you have just called the insurance company, praise God we have insurance that you never have to worry about the policy lapsing, you don’t have to be concerned with them dropping you because you filed too many claims, you don’t have to fear you won’t be fully compensated for your loss. You see our insurer has everything and He freely gives to those who ask, and more than that he gives more than you could ask or think according to the power that works in you.

So my technician, called before he came. God is a gentleman, he calls before he comes, he calls through nature, he calls through circumstances, he calls through situations, he calls through people, he calls through you and me.

Then the technician came to my door, Jesus says “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” You must open the door. You cannot experience relief, you cannot get help, you cannot begin to heal unless you first open the door.

You see even though I went to the insurance company, even though they started the claims process, even though the technician called my house, even though he knocked on the door, had I not opened the door nothing would have happened. He could not start the repairs until I opened the door.

God is standing at the door of your heart waiting to make repairs, but you won’t open it. Why won’t you open the door? Well, I won’t open the door because God might...

tell me I have to give up the relationship I’m in and I love that man, I love that woman…but they hit you, they demean you, they make you feel bad about yourself, they use you, they take advantage of you. Open the door.

Well I won’t open the door because God might tell me I need to share my experience with others, and I don’t know what they’re going to think about me, I’ll be embarrassed, they won’t think I’m great anymore, I’ll lose my job, I’ll lose my position, I won’t be admired any more I’ll lose my popularity. So tell me, do want to be popular and in pain or human and healing. Open the door.

Well I won’t open the door because God might tell me to quit my job, and I have bills to pay. God is your source, not that job. Open the door.

There are so many reasons, we won’t open the door, but it all boils down to this; fear. We’re afraid of what He’s going to tell us to do.

The technician listened to my story. The thing about telling someone your story is there are things you may not even realize until you say it out loud. Sometimes we need to speak, sometimes we need to listen and sometimes we need to listen to ourselves speaking.

Have you ever heard a person speaking and you thought to yourself, or maybe you’ve even said to them, are you listening to the words coming out of your own mouth? David had to encourage himself in the Lord. You can’t always rely on others to pump you up, speak into your life, or encourage you. Sometimes you have to go to the Word of God and find encouragement for yourself. But you have to be willing to tell your story, however bad you may think it is, you have to be willing to open some doors and let him see what’s behind the door, you have to let him into the basement to fully assess the damage. You can’t compartmentalize your life and think God is going to be able to heal you.

After listening to my story the technician looked for himself, you see, he’s the expert in water damage, he knows what to look for because he’s seen it before. He knows how water travels and how destructive it can be if left unchecked, if left to flow where it wants and sit where it wants for as long as it wants. If left unchecked it can cause mold, which can be toxic, if left to sit it can cause the material it’s sitting on to rot, lose its integrity and eventually be destroyed. It’s the same with sin in your life, open your heart and let the expert have a look, he knows the damage sin can cause, the things it can destroy in your life and how it can ultimately cause your death.

Then the technician made a plan, it appeared he didn’t do anything the first day because he just looked, but in reality he was making a plan. You can’t just run into things without a plan, because, sometimes, once you’re in, there’s no stopping and there’s no turning around. It’s like when you’re going through a tunnel, there are tunnels where the traffick only flows one way, and you have to go all the way through to the other side before you have the opportunity to turn around and for some of the tunnels you have to pay money to go in the wrong direction. What has going in the wrong direction costs you? Was it worth it? You must know that God has a plan for your life.

Then he came back the next day and he began to tear things up, he cut the carpet in a couple of rooms, and pulled out the padding. You see what was originally put down to give extra cushion and comfort now had the potential to hold moisture and create something toxic, the now wet padding was a sponge holding water with the potential to create mold. He put a hole in the insulation that was wrapping the duct work because it was saturated with water and leaking out onto the floor. We put a bucket under it to keep more water from getting into the already soaked carpet.

Sometimes things will get worse before they get better, sometimes they have to cut out the infection before healing can begin. Sometimes people have to leave before you can walk in the calling God has for your life. Sometimes your marriage has to die because that’s not who God had for you, you just got in a hurry and chose with your physical eyes instead of your spiritual eyes. Sometimes…it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Hang in there, don’t give up, don’t give in...this too shall pass.

And even though, he cut out, took up and removed the wet carpet and padding and hardwood and underlay there was still moisture, the concrete and wood were still wet so he had to place floor fans and dehumidifiers to complete the process, to finish drying things up because there was also moisture in the ceiling and the walls.

Just because you get rid of the obvious thing, doesn’t mean there won’t be some residual moisture, it doesn’t mean there won’t be some residue, it doesn’t mean you won’t carry the baggage, the insecurity, the feelings of hurt, trust issues and whatever else, into your new relationship. We’re talking about hardship.

The blowers had to blow for days and while they were doing their work, we had to endure the mess and the noise and the inconvenience of the process. Healing is not always comfortable, you may have some sleepless nights, you may have some restless days, you may have some tears, some sorrow, and some pain. Weeping may endure for a night…

Well the blowers and dehumidifiers and wet carpet and wet walls and wet floors are now gone but that was only the beginning.

Don’t think that just because you said a prayer, once, or you came to church a couple of Sundays, or even a whole month, or you went to the doctor and they gave you a diagnosis, that you’re done. It’s a process and you must continue the journey. Even though all that noisy equipment is out of my house and things are dry, it’s still a mess, my carpet is still cut, the padding and some other carpet is still gone, part of my hardwood floor is still gone, the toilet and sink are still gone from that bathroom and it will all need to be put back together, it all still needs to be replaced.

Are you suffering hardships, you should pray, but know this,

it takes time to recover,

it takes talking to God,

it takes opening the door of your heart when he knocks,

it takes letting him see behind every door, including the closet, the basement, and even in the ceiling;

it takes giving up some things that were once comfortable, but now could cause you harm

it takes letting him remove the toxic, harmful and hurtful things in your life

it takes enduring the noise that may come from others or even your own head

it takes being willing to change, to get out of your comfort zone

it takes not being willing to go back to what was once familiar,

being willing to find a new normal that’s not like anything you’ve ever experienced or seen before.

Whew! Hardships, we all have them and if you don’t, just keep on living.

The next question James asks is, “Are any of you happy?”

You would think with all that’s happening in my house what on earth could I find to be happy about. Well let me tell you, because of the flood I get new carpet and new paint and my hardwoods have to be refinished, all of them on that floor because they can’t match the old.

When it appears your life if falling apart and you’re losing things or people, don’t worry, be happy. God is making room for the renovation that’s about to take place, He’s making room for the new. You have to be willing to let go of the old to get something new because you can’t hold everything.

There may be something you’ve wanted to do, but you couldn’t afford it, now you get it and you don’t have to spend your money on it. God will work things out in your favor, sit back and watch him do it. All things work together for good to them who love God to they who are called according to His purpose.

Are you called today? Be happy and sing praises. Sing your song to the Lord God Almighty who is waiting just to bless you. What is it you need? Ask God for it, without doubt, without wavering. Ask expecting Him to do what He said He would do, and while your waiting, even as He’s blessing you, sing praises. Sing unto the Lord a new song, for He has done marvellous things, make a joyful unto the Lord and bless His name, for the Lord is God, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations. Sing praises.

Are any of you sick? In the original this word sick is defined as being without strength, powerless, to be infirm, weak, or feeble. Sickness can take on many forms and when we think of health, there is physical health, mental health, emotional health, spiritual health, and even financial health. So often we immediately think of the body when we think of sickness. When the body is sick we’ll go to the doctor, eventually; we’ll take medication, initially, and we’ll follow the doctor’s orders for a little while.

When our brother wasn’t feeling well, he contacted me and for the second time in a span of about 15 minutes I was standing in Wal~Mart praying. You see, while we may not always be able to get to you physically, we can always petition the Lord on your behalf and not that it’s a one-time thing, we have already anointed him with oil and we can do that again today, the important thing is that we prayed in the name of the Lord.

But what about when the mind gets sick, what about our mental health? That takes a different kind of doctor, that takes a psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor and it’s sometimes not as easily recognized, certainly much less accepted and sometimes harder to treat. This body God has created is still a mystery to man and the mind even more so, yet and still it’s often in the church where people are most discouraged from seeking help. In the name of Jesus we have got to flip the script on that thinking and get our people the help they need when they need it. We have got to not just break the stigma, we have to destroy it, before it destroys us.

We suffer emotional sickness when we have a failed relationship and we feel inadequate or unworthy of another. Or we stay in emotionally abusive situations because our partner has made us believe we couldn’t do better. The devil is a liar, God’s perfect mate for you would not make you feel inferior, they would fight for you if need be and yes you are worth that.

There are millions of churches and pastors and preachers and teachers and missionaries because there are billions of people suffering from spiritual sickness and even within the household of faith there are Christians dealing with spiritual sickness because they are failing to study for themselves and sitting under false prophets, preachers and teachers.

They believe what the man or woman of God is saying to them, yet they fail to read what God is saying to them. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth. Pray for our spiritual leaders that the Word they give to the people is the absolute truth of the Word and not given with selfish motives. And pray for the Saints, that learn how to access God for themselves.

And when we pray, in faith, the sick will be healed, not because of us but, because the Lord will make you well. It is God who has made us and not we ourselves, so it is God who can heal us. Yes he gives people with training and callings and ability to help us, but it is God who makes us well in the name of the Lord and not only that he will forgive you for any sins you have committed. So, stop walking around, with your head hanging down, wallowing in guilt and shame when God has already forgiven you.

How can that happen? I’m so glad you asked. You start by confessing your sins to each other - now wait a minute pastor, I’m not getting ready to tell Sister Sally what I’ve done, she’ll talk about me to everybody. Get over that fear, lay aside that weight that would keep you from your destination and what is your destination? Simple, it’s to be healed, it’s the last half of verse 13 - to be happy and sing praises.

A true Christian, and you need to pray for discernment, but a true Christian is going to do, just what this Scripture says, when you confess to them, they are going to pray for you, they are going to petition the Lord on your behalf. James goes on to say, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces not just results, but wonderful results.

When you are a true believer, when you pray, not wavering, but expecting God to answer your prayers, when you’re not afraid to open the door and expose all the damaged areas of your life, confessing your sins to each other you will experience wonderful results.

Jesus decided he was not going to let us fall, He went to the cross to save everyone, although not everyone will receive the gift that he gave, but that’s not for us to worry about, not for us to decide, we have simply been commanded to go and teach and make disciples, not church members, but disciples. What’s the difference

Church members come when they want to

Disciples come even when they don’t want to

Church members come to receive a blessing

Disciples come to be a blessing

Church members attend

Church members may give a donation

Disciples give tithes and offering

Church members contribute

Disciples sacrifice

Church members look for things they can get

Disciples look for things they can do

Church members may change their schedule

Disciples change their lives

Are you a church member or are you a disciple? Today is a good day to make your answer a sure one. Prayer is a powerful thing that produces wonderful results when it’s in the hands, the mouth and the heart of the right person. Who is the right person, it’s the one who is righteous, not by man’s standards but made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ.

The doors of the church are open for

Disciples come when they don’t want to

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

salvation

church membership

rededication