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INDEX
In the Midst
Learning how to Pray Right
In the Midst
Matthew 18:19-20 " 18 Again I say unto you, That if
two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
"
IS GOD THE CENTER OF WHO YOU ARE? IS GOD THE CENTER OF YOUR STRENGTH? IS
JESUS WHO YOU ARE FOLLOWING?
IS JESUS THE REASON FOR YOUR ASSEMBLY?
Jesus Christ is the indispensable man in church and in any church service.
Jesus Christ is the reason, the way, and the very flavor that makes church a
church. Without Jesus, it’s a waste.
And He is the one who needs to be recognized and honored in our services. It
is Jesus, the lamb who was slain and lives again; the lion of the tribe of
Judah! And it is God the Father who is the I am that I am that is worthy to
be honored- Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and
for thy pleasure they are and were created. "
The Holy Spirit not only empowers us in our worship, but He is the director.
The pastor has been set in as the shepherd over the local congregation, but
Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd ! Paul said this, 1
Corinthians 11:1 " Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ. "
- Christ is still the leader.
In fact the word makes it clear: Colossians 1:17-20 "
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is
the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence. 19 For it
pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having
made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things
unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things
in heaven. "
He is the head of the church.... it’s not Coldiron’s church, or Brock’s
church, or this family’s church, or that family’s church, but it belongs
(along with the rest of us) to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are a part of His
church, but when we start acting like we own it, we are intruding on the
preeminence of Jesus ! We don’t have that right. It belongs to Jesus Christ.
It’s His church! If He wants us to pour out of our hearts in worship for two
hours, then that’s what we need to do. If God wants the speaker to bring the
message five minutes after we get here, then that’s what we need to do! If
God wants this one to speak in tongues and the other one to interpret, then
that is what we need to do. We need to obey the Spirit because He owns us!
Romans 8:14 " For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. "
WE ARE TO CONCENTRATE UPON JESUS, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE
TEMPTING TO CENTER ON.... BUT WHEN WE DO THEN WE ARE WRONG.
After the material things that God gives unto His children.... we look on
the carnal instead of the spiritual.... John 6:26-27 "
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me,
not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and
were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto
you: for him hath God the Father sealed. "
God is our provider, but we go astray when we try to treat God like a candy
machine and expect everything to always be wonderful if we confess the right
formula, and do just the right things that God is somehow obligated to do
what we will. NO, ACTUALLY HE IS GOD AND HE IS
SOVEREIGN AND ACTUALLY WE ARE OBLIGATED TO DO WHAT HE COMMANDS! Let’s get
the order right !
After the gifts instead of the giver... Acts 8:18-21 "
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy
Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power,
that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 20 But Peter
said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that
the gift of God may be purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor
lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. "
You can get so caught up in the manifestation that you actually forget
Christ ! David Wilkerson preached over fifteen years
ago about a Christless Pentecost where people wanted the demonstration of
power without any responsibility to God.... not looking unto Jesus and the
cross at all.
But spiritual power comes with spiritual purity and
maturity, and that comes from a walk with Jesus Christ in the Holy
Spirit, and growing in the word.... learning and growing in faith from
hearing the teaching and preaching of God’s Holy Word.
When you look for the gifts or look to have the gifts for the gifts sake and
not for Christ’s sake, you become like Simon the Sorcerer, not discerning
the truth of the matter. It becomes selfish ! And it no longer seeks Jesus
Christ as the source.
The pastor..... or the evangelist..... or another in the church....
1 Corinthians 3:3-5 " 3 For ye are yet carnal: for
whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not
carnal, and walk as men? 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I
[am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos,
but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? "
Its in a lot of churches, clicks who follow this one
or that one, but the fact is the very thought of any side other than the
Lord’s side is CARNAL !
Yes, follow the ministry as they follow Christ (that's biblical). But check
them out by the Word. Never just take anything for granted. A true man or
woman of God will not be offended if you weigh what they say by the Word of
God. If you think that they are out of line, then come and talk to them
about it as the scriptures tell you. Don't rise against them publicly... go
to them first. If all are being led by the Spirit and
all are in the Word of God, then you will be moving in the same direction,
won't you?
And to those in the ministry that God has put where you wherever that may
be... it isn't about getting your own way. And it isn't just letting this
group or that group get their way... but its about loving them and moving
with the Spirit and walking in the Word so that the Lord has it His way. We
work for Him. We are servants... servants of the servants, but first the
servant of the Lord! If you are walking in the Lord and supporting the
Lord's side, and those around you are on the Lord's side... then we are on
the same side. It’s Jesus you had better follow !
Its all about Jesus Christ and having Him in our midst revealed by the Holy
Spirit. If I am in the word and following Christ, then pray and God will
give you the same vision He has given me. But we must follow Jesus or we
will end up falling. I am human and I make mistakes. You are human as well.
But Jesus is the Son of God and the Head of this Church.... He will lead us
together without confusion. He is the Lord!
Get where God wants you and work there for Jesus. Yes, submit to Godly
authority - serve Jesus. I’ve seen people leave a church when a pastor left
because they were following a man instead of the Lord. That’s wrong if you
left for just that reason. The Lord gives us the vision and direction, and
the Lord is who we follow. We gather together in Jesus' name.
JESUS MUST BE THE ONE RECOGNIZED.... AND YOU MUST
CENTER IN ON HIM !
Matthew 14:29-30 " 29 And he said, Come. And when
Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to
sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. "
Peter had a word from the Lord who was already walking on the water. Who
knows Jesus is already out there on the waves of the storms coming against
your lives. If Jesus has sent you to the other side, rest assured that He is
there making sure that you are going to make it.
Peter walked on the water.... walked on the word until he took his eyes off
of Jesus. And here is the key. When we make other things more important and
powerful that Jesus... even problems, we lost the power of God in our lives.
We must recognize Jesus, the storm is incidental... He is there !
Jesus will be there when you call out on Him!
FireStorm
LEARNING HOW TO PRAY RIGHT
Matthew 6:7-13 “ 7 But when ye pray, use not vain
repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be
heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for
your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as
[it is] in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive
us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. “
JESUS EXHORTED US NOT TO USE VAIN REPETITIONS IN OUR PRAYERS, BUT IF WE
ARE NOT CAREFUL THAT IS WHAT WE WILL MAKE WHAT WE CALL “THE LORD’S
PRAYER”. It isn't really the Lord's prayer, but an outline that He
gave to us to pray. Its our prayer actually.
Jesus made it clear that God knows what you need even before you ask.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask, but don’t recite a prayer to get
what you want from God. God wants real communication with His children.
Jesus did not give us a prayer to recite, but instead He gave us a plan
or outline of how we ought to pray. Many times we don’t know how we
should pray, but Jesus here gives us the main points that we need to
cover when we have communication with God.
PRAYER IS COMMUNICATION. YOUR VICTORY OR DEFEAT
WILL DEPEND UPON PRAYER.
A survey of a major fundamentalist church membership and ministers about
ten years ago found that most ministers pray less that 3 minutes on a
given day. And the membership prayed between 30 seconds and 1 minute a
day.
If you call me on the phone and don’t say anything that amounts to
anything, your call is vain. And many times that is how our prayers are
to. The word says this, James 5:16-18 “ 16 Confess
[your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed
earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the
space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the
heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. “
There is prayer, and there is praying in the Spirit. There is prayer,
and there is the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous. Effectual
means that it has purpose and that it serves it’s purpose. What are we
to pray for? Jesus told us in His model prayer. Pray the fullness of the
Kingdom of God. Pray the word of God. Which means that to be really
effective, you must get the word of God in your heart.
Fervent means heated. This is not a short, cold prayer.... but it is
taking time with God and praying the prayer of faith. And faith cometh
by hearing the word of God. It is the prayer of faith that will save the
sick. We have to pray in faith, or it is useless to even pray. James
1:5-8 “ 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like
a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that
man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded
man [is] unstable in all his ways. “
We believe that we receive when we pray for God or we spin our wheels.
THIS IS HOW THAT JESUS TAUGHT US TO PRAY... WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY OF
JESUS!
Matthew 6:9 “ After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. “
After this manner pray, this does not mean pray this word for word. It
does mean that this is the general way you need to pray and the things
that you need to pray.
This is a model prayer.... it includes the things we need to address
when we pray and puts it in the order of importance.
The Greek houto means in this way or after this
way... it’s an outline!
Our Father which art in heaven, if we have been bought by the blood of
Jesus Christ then we can come before our Heavenly Father and he is our
God of grace. Hebrews 4:16 “ Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need. “
Romans 8:15 “ For ye have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. “
Abba means daddy or papa. You couldn’t
really use that term of love unless you really belonged to your father.
We have a loving daddy who happens to have all power at his command. I
have access to the throne of grace and a father who is never so busy
that he doesn’t have time for me!
To hallow is to praise and honor. We are to honor
the name of God. In other words, we should start our prayers with
praise.
The Greek word for hallow is hagiazo which
means to render praise or to acknowledge someone and their honor and
position. We are to acknowledge that God is our father, and who he is
and the authority he has, not only over us but over everything.
SUBMISSION! HE IS MY SOURCE!
1 Peter 5:6 “ Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: “
THY KINGDOM COME:
Matthew 6:10 “ Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is]
in heaven."
The kingdom of God that is established in men’s hearts today come or in
the Greek to come forth or to come into being or be established. God,
establish your kingdom in this world. Lord, you are my King and I am a
part of you, and a part of your realm and what you are doing on the
earth and the heavens.
Lord, institute your kingdom in this world. In my life, in my family’s
lives, in my church’s lives, in my community, in my country let your
kingdom and dominion be established. Help me spread the kingdom. Romans
14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.“
We need the kingdom in our lives. We need righteousness, peace and joy
in the Holy Ghost. God start with me first and then let it spread. This
is not only blessings, but this is how revival is born. God birth in me
the fullness of the kingdom !!!!! THIS IS REVIVAL !
First, will of God be done in me. In my life and every part of my life
guide me. You are my shepherd and I want to lose my will and gain yours.
GIVE
US THIS DAY... Matthew 6:11 “ Give us this
day our daily bread. “
Give to us... Greek didomi which means to supply or furnish. God, you
are my provider and I am praying for my daily provision. Our daily...
DAILY is the Greek ep-ee-oo'-see-os: the bread of our necessity, or the
bread that suffices for each day.
Bread is the Greek artos {ar'-tos}: it means food composed of flour
mixed with water and baked, or food of any kind. God, give me this day
in the name of Jesus the things that I have need of.
Our daily... not next year, but daily... God give me daily provision....
one day at a time. Greek word say-mer-on, this very day.
GIVE GOD YOUR REQUESTS AFTER YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO WORSHIP AND PRAISE.
AFTER PRAISE, THEN YOU MAKE YOUR REQUESTS.
Matthew 6:31-33 “ 31 Therefore take no thought,
saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. “
Psalm 37:4-5 “ 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust
also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass. “
FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS:
Forgiveness.... this is the key to Christian living. Christianity only
FAITH in the world that teaches grace, not works brings relationship
with God. Men try to justify themselves, and make excuses for
themselves... and lie to seem righteous, but the only righteous are
simply forgiven and they have Jesus righteousness!
Jesus is instructing us here, that in our private, daily prayer time...
we are to ask God for forgiveness. If we have sinned; if our flesh has
won out in some area of our life, then we are to ask God for
FORGIVENESS. 1 John 1:9 “ If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. “
1 John 2:1 “ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye
sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous: “
But if I allow the love that God has given me to reign over my
bitterness, then I can forgive others, and know when I confess my sin
that God has forgiven mine. He is just and faithful to forgive us.
Matthew 6:14-15 “ 14 For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. “
God will forgive us just as we forgive others... so if we hold grudges
or bitterness, or hatred in our hearts, then God doesn’t forgive us...
period. No grudge is worth Hell. No problem with someone is worth
damning your own soul. They might pray and get it right and you in your
bitterness WILL MISS Heaven.
DECIDE TO FORGIVE... GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE
FEELINGS IF YOU WILL JUST DO IT !
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM...
Matthew 6:13 “ And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, for ever. Amen. “
We end in Praise and Thanksgiving. If you believe He will answer, then
you need to thank Him before that you see it!
The pattern is this: Praise and worship, followed by our requests,
followed by repentance, followed by thanksgiving! Praise God... you
might not think that this is important, but Jesus thought that it was.
And it’s like anything else, I rely on Jesus Christ, the Son of the
Living God’s authority over all others! Let’s believe God and follow the
directions of our Lord Jesus Christ.
FireStorm
Copyright © 2004 by James Dale Coldiron and Voice of
the Watchman
Feel free to forward or redistribute as long as
original message text and this Copyright is in intact and
unchanged.
For permission to change to use in another work, please
contact me at
firestorm_five@yahoo.com ... thank
you.
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