I Am A Church Member session 4

It was one of the most rewarding encouraging and revolutionary times of my Ministry is a pastor. I was struggling I was I was wondering if I can make it in this particular church and and I could give so many reasons why I just I was just at a point. I was just at one of those points where I knew my Ministry was going to go one way or the other. Her name was Francis Francis Maison Francis Mason, I have talked about so many times. It's amazing. We pastors talk about church members way back and we'll talk about the real good church members and we'll talk about many times the Less Pleasant situations because we remember those and even though this was in the year 1993. I still remember it as clearly as if it were just a few weeks ago Francis Mason was always encouraged her for me. She is now with the Lord, but she was not just an encourager. She put her prayer life to action. She did things for me. She when she she stood in the Gap. I absolutely loved that lady. She was on the search committee that, she represented the senior adults on that search committee and she was a stall word of prayer conviction Bible reading and she loved her pastor know where the reasons not to love me. Absolutely. I wish I could I did and I could make a lot of mistakes. I've even talked about those mistakes and on our Pie cast written about I'm on my block ending books. Yeah. I made a lot of mistakes as a pastor and a leader in other contacts. Consistent think it's her job to correct me that she would have rebuked me. If if I have been in a pattern of behavior that was hurting the church or that had some type of moral failure connected to it. But otherwise should let me fail she wouldn't she wouldn't chastise me as long as I just kept on going but she could see in me. She could see something in me that I was telling her that I was I was at a pivotal moment and I could have gone in a way that maybe perhaps even left the ministry left. Okay, tional Ministry because it was a time of extreme frustration. She came up to me and she said come and get some paper to pray for your pastor. She didn't address my attitude. She didn't know she didn't dress my disposition or my body language just said I'm going to get some people to pray for you. I was bold enough to say that only please but I even promoted it and more and here I can give you the end of the story. She got together over 100 people. And that group of people committed to pray for me at least one minute at noon every single day. They say 1 minutes out along prayer a hundred people praying for me and accessory prayer every single day for 1 minute. And I know that others did longer was incredible God work through the power of prayer and I had really some of my greatest days of ministry that followed It didn't mean that my problems on the way. It didn't mean to problem people went away with guy gave me a new spirit disposition strength courage and power to handle those he gave me wisdom to this power of prayer to go through tough situations and to focus and celebrate more on the things that he was doing for his glory Francis Mason Mason form the pastor and accessory prayer partners that helps if you will and then she formed the Pips it became one of the greatest things in my life and Ministry ever since that happened once I left a strong Ministry and went to be Dana the Seminary than later president of Life white and now founder and CEO of church answers during that time. I have committed to always do this. I am always going to pray for my pastor and oftentimes other church leaders. I know the God's servants leaving churches are always under spiritual warfare certainly the How to deal with the critics in the bullies in the antagonist church members, but ultimately it is all spiritual warfare to bring them down to discourage them. So as you look at this and you begin to think what am I? What is it that it means to be I am a church member what does it mean to really make a difference in the context of the local church? What does it mean to be a part of the I am a member Church Revolution. I'm a church member revolution revolution. What does it mean one thing it means is that you're going to pray for the leaders? If you are the type of church member that God wants you to be you will have a regular prayer life. And does that have to be linked e it does not have to be hours upon hours. Like for those who prayed for me they committed to one minute a day. It can be a very short time. But you pray for your pastor and you pray for your other church leaders make that a part of your commitment right now whether this is a new member class or are you just using this as a study are doing this on your own make a commitment right now that you are going to pray for the pastor and the leaders of the church in that only that pray for their families. One of the ways many times is Satan will bring down pastors and other church leaders is to attack the families of these because that's often are greatest points of exposure and vulnerability. So that only pray for the pastor's but many times the spouse is in the children go through horrendous times, seeing what's happening to the pastor or staff member or maybe even at times receiving direct criticism and attacks upon damn pray for the families pray for their protection and my protection. I mean that there is spiritual warfare at work Satan and his emissaries is Demonte Court will do whatever they can to destroy the ministry of a church leader to destroy the ministry of a church. Pray for their protection get into spiritual warfare and pray for these church leaders and also as an ancillary to this pray for their physical and emotional health pray that God will give them strength physically pray that God will give them strength mentally emotionally pray that God will be there for them in the body the mind and the Soul pray for that that these pastors and these staff members and their families may continue to leave now for the questions. I want you to look at 4 questions and it a point to the 1st Timothy 3:2 and that look at these questions because I want you to look at the standards to be a pastor and I want you to see how high the bar is raised and see if what that says to you about the implications you pray for your pastor. Look at what the positivity and 1st Timothy 3. About the devil's trap read that passage and see what that might have to do. As you pray for church leaders who are at many times the devil is trying to ensnare these leaders in his trap look at 1st, Timothy 3:7 and look at the meaning of Outsiders who are looking in on the church for this pastor who is to be above reproach for the church is to be unified. Why should that even be a concern to church members or pastors? But even more importantly how will that lead you to pray? And then I'm just going to ask you to take a brief biblical exercise and find some key passages in the Bible where intercessory prayer takes place. That means intercessory prayer means praying for someone else and then take those passages and relate those two praying for your pastor. If you have trouble finding any of those, I suggest you might look at some a Paul's letters that he wrote that just the the letter to the church at Ephesus Ephesians. And see how he talks about praying for others particularly in that that first chapter what you can find other places as well be a church member means that you are a part of the body of Christ. We covered that in 1st Corinthians 12 earlier own. It means you're being a functioning buddy, but it also part of the body but it also means that you are to love one another one of the greatest loves 1st Corinthians 13 as we look at that. One of the greatest loves that you can demonstrate is to be a man or woman of prayer that can bring your church together that can give your leaders what they need to press on in the leadership that God has given them You said I hope I cannot know for certain how you interacted on the other side of the camera. But you said I hope that I want to be a part of the church member Revolution. The greatest Revolution takes place on the battlefronts of spiritual warfare and the Battlefront 2 spiritual warfare. The only way that you can be really involved in that Warfare is to be a Praying person for your pastor the staff the leadership and their respective families. I am a church member. I am a part of the church membership Revolution and in that Revolution, I will pray for my pastor for the staff of the leaders and for all of those families and in doing so I will make one of the greatest contributions to my church. They can possibly be made new church member be a revolutionary praying church member and will look more at this. Inception thought