A Gospel Family Prays Together
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A Gospel Family Prays Together
A Gospel Family Prays Together
We are in the middle of this Gospel Family sermon series.
next week Johnny
Parenting Workshop
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In week 1 of this series we said that:
A Gospel Family Worships Together
In week 2 we said that:
A Gospel Family Enjoys God’s Word Together
and The title for today’s message is:
The title for today’s message is A Gospel Family Prays Together
A Gospel Family Prays Together
The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said this about prayer:
“Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might” (C. H. Spurgeon).1015
“Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might” (C. H. Spurgeon).1015
The great preacher,
(Westminster Shorter Catechism) says that prayer is The addressing and petitioning of God. Prayer to a god or gods is a feature of many, if not all, religions, but here attention will be restricted to the biblical teaching and some of its implications. A classic definition of Christian prayer is “an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies”
Prayer. The addressing and petitioning of God. Prayer to a god or gods is a feature of many, if not all, religions, but here attention will be restricted to the biblical teaching and some of its implications. A classic definition of Christian prayer is “an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)
along those same lines, Tim Keller, in his book Prayer, said,
“Our prayers should arise out of immersion in the Scripture. [We] speak only to the degree we are spoken to. . . .”
If you want to be a better prayer, spend more time in the Word.
Last week when talking about the Bible, we said that singing praises to God is absolutely an important part of the Christian life, but.... what He has to say to us will always be more important than what we have to say to Him
along those same lines, Tim Keller, in his book Prayer, said,
“Our prayers should arise out of immersion in the Scripture. [We] speak only to the degree we are spoken to. . . .”
If you want to be a better prayer, spend more time in the Word.
which is what we will do today....
Our passage for today is … four verses
if you’re familiar with this passage, you might ask, “why not just focus on verse 6 or 6 and 7 since 6 is about prayer and 7 is a result of prayer.
but in fact, the paragraph should include verses 4 & 5 and so that’s how we will tackle it.... and i think appropriately because verse 4 is about our relationship with God and verse 5 is about our relationship with people.
do you think our relationship with God and people will affect our prayer life?
do you think our prayer life will affect our relationship with God and people?
so turn with me to philippians 4 ....
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
let’s pray - - -
vs. 4 - rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
maintaining a joyful heart is one of the most common struggles for Christians.
we just don’t always wake up ready to sing… anyone had any days like that this week? this month?
this is probably why the evangelist, George Mueller said, “The first great and primary business… everyday was to have my soul happy in the Lord.”
obviously there are going to be times, even seasons that we struggle with despair, depression, hardships… so be encouraged that some of our greatest christian leaders of the past experienced those things… you’re not alone
but Paul is not saying, rejoice when things go well, he’s simply saying rejoice… always!
you see, joy comes from our relationship with Jesus, not our circumstances
even Paul, as he is writing this letter is in prison, i’m sure it wasn’t the time of his life! but here he is encouraging us to rejoice always
i love how the Message version of the Bible puts this verse, it says...
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in Him!
that helps me to see the subject of why we are rejoicing. Celebrate God all day...
you see, Paul doesn’t just say, “REJOICE ALWAYS” … he says “REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS”
you might think that you’d have joy when you get what you desire. but in fact, REAL joy comes from when you realize you are not getting what you deserve.
joy comes when you realize you deserve judgment… but you’re receiving salvation. your circumstances might change but your salvation doesn’t and THAT is something to rejoice about no matter what your circumstances!
in , Paul is telling his friends in Corinth about the things he and his team are going through as they share the Gospel… listen to what he says:
8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
2 corinthians 6:
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing
Paul isn’t teaching us that we should always be laughing and skipping around not even noticing our problems.. but even though at times we may be grieving or sorrowful, even through tears, when we remember the depths of our own salvation, we can sing with joy because of Jesus.
vs. 5 - let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
the word here for reasonableness - is a difficult word to translate
some other translations might say;
graciousness, gentle spirit, gentleness, be considerate in all you do
that helps us get the idea that Paul is trying to get across
DA Carson says, “it’s the opposite of being contentious and self-seeking.”
this is so important if you want to have an impact on those around you. if you want to have a kingdom perspective, if you want to practice relational evangelism, you MUST have a willingness to be gracious with everyone.
this is so important when speaking Biblical truth to people in today’s volatile culture… especially when talking about subjects like homosexuality, gay marriage, abortion....
we need courage to take a stand on such issues but we need gentleness and graciousness and love for everyone as we do it.
i pray that Heritage has a reputation for being gracious and gentle and loving in our relationships with people inside and outside the Church… with those who agree with us and with those who disagree with us.
Paul reminds his listeners that, “THE LORD IS AT HAND”
God is close to them… he lives in their hearts… AND... God is returning soon
those 2 facts should cause us to live differently today as we anxiously await His return.
vs. 6 - do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God
as we look at these 2 final verses, we will see 3 characteristics of the family that prays together....
first:
A house of prayer:
turns anxious thoughts into prayer requests [anxiety]
anxiety seems to be talked about more today than ever before in history. a quick Google search of the word “anxiety” will produce about 390 MILLION results.
one definition says that anxiety is Intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations.
John Piper says, “anxiety seems to be an intense desire for something, accompanied by a fear of the consequences of not receiving it.”
but Paul here tells us, NOT to worry… NOT to be anxious… rather.... take those thoughts and turn them into prayer requests… tell your heavenly Father your needs...
and a Gospel Family will do this together...
imagine with me
A father who is anxious about finances and the bills piling up, confesses this to his family and asks them if they can all pray about it together so that God will bring peace to the situation, and then they pray together.
A mom is is worried about a relationship at her office, asks her family to pray about it together so she can sleep peacefully and not be anxious about going to work the next day.
if we would begin to practice this as parents.... what do you think our kids would do when they become anxious about a test, or a bully, or sports…?
anxiety is a joy killer… anxiety will make you self-absorbed.... when you’re consumed with your worries, you will be less likely to serve others wholeheartedly. worry distracts you. worry keeps you from mission.
there’s lots of prescriptions and advice out there about how to rid yourself of anxiety… i’m not here today to make any kind of statement about whether they’re good or bad or anything like that…
but let me say this...
start with what God has said to us in His Word. We need God’s Word to know God’s peace.
A house of prayer turns anxious thoughts into prayer requests.
vs. 6 - do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God
is a house of peace
2. A house of prayer is a house of thanksgiving
no matter your circumstances, when taking your requests before God… be thankful for what you DO have. And when you receive good things immediately… as a family.... give God the credit, thanking Him for His many blessings!
instead of acting like you deserve what you have because of YOUR hardwork, show your spouse and children that you are dependent on the LORD and grateful for everything He provides.
Thanksgiving is a recognition that everything comes as a gift… and a bonus… gratitude begets generosity
setting an example for our children in thankfulness, is huge! if you want to raise grateful children rather than entitled, spoiled children, set the example by being a house of thanksgiving!
vs. 7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
3. A house of prayer is a house of peace
R.A. Torrey… “Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.”
Paul doesn’t say that prayer will keep us from having problems… remember… he’s in prison as he’s writing this....
along those same lines, Tim Keller, in his book Prayer, said,
“Our prayers should arise out of immersion in the Scripture. [We] speak only to the degree we are spoken to. . . .”
he’s saying that once we pray and give our burden to God, we can have His peace in the midst of the problem.
If you want to be a better prayer, spend more time in the Word.
in our homes, times of problems and struggles can be very chaotic. when a family member is going through depression, sickness, fractured relationship… these things put stress on the entire family.
paul tells us the remedy is prayer. and i’m saying today… family prayer. prayer together… and God’s peace will make its way into your home.
a house of prayer is a house of peace.
i love kids. i always have. i have a great relationship and connection with them.
maybe it’s because i’m short… i look a little younger than i am… maybe its because i’m silly
but kids will give my high fives, tell me about school and sports and how things are going… it’s great and I’d do just about anything for kids
but there’s special privileges to being MY kid. that’s just how it works. Ainsley and Braxton have access to me that no other kid has. they receive things from me that no other kid does.
that’s how it works with God as well. you see, you can find some peace, you can meditate, you can exercise, you can medicate yourself.... but this peace that God gives that comes from complete access to Him in prayer, it’s for His children.
here’s the great news! he wants everyone to become His child. Scripture tells us that God’s desire is that none would perish, that all would come to eternal life in Him.
let’s pray.5
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Prayer, Answers To
I asked for strength that I might achieve;
He made me weak that I might obey.
I asked for health that I might do great things;
He gave me grace that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy;
He gave me poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
He gave me weakness that I might feel a need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
He gave me life that I might enjoy all things.
I received nothing I had asked for;
He gave me all that I had hoped for.1017
