What do you think of when you think of prayer?

            Quiet, kneeling, hands folded…

            ‘Saying Grace’ at meal times

 

There was once a boxer who was being pummeled in the ring by his opponent. Blow after blow by his adversary left him with a bloody nose, swollen eyes, and an enormous amount of pain.
The battered boxer’s trainer, trying to encourage his man between rounds, kept telling him, “You’re doing great, Fred. That bum is barely touching you.”
To which the boxer responded, “Then you better keep your eye on that referee, because somebody is killing me!

No amount of smooth talk could camouflage the reality of the bloody battle in which this fighter was engaged. Psychologically correct talk and personal encouragement could not mask the pain he was suffering.

In prayer we:

1. (Commune with God)
2. Confront demonic schemes

 

2 Corinthians 10.3-5 (?)

 

Holy Spirit’s purpose is to create in us a holy spirit

Angels are messengers & are all around

-         Demons are also messengers & are all around

Satan wants you to sin b/c then prayer is selfish

-         “Lord, please forgive me; give me power.”

-         Instead of intercessory prayer

When we pray, we change the spiritual climate of places

Prayer is the way a spiritual commando contacts home base

-         When commando loses radio, he’s stuck, probably dead

 

Have fellowship – get in touch with God

-         Not follow a program of prayer

-         Otherwise welcome to Islam

 

How did Jesus pray?

-         13 specific accounts in the Gospels

-         Baptism – Healings – Popularity – Plots – Choose Disciples – Demon Possession – Fig Tree – “Who people say I am?” – Transfiguration – Jn 17 – Gethsemane – Cross

 

Ephesians 2.6-7

Ronald Reagan was an actor, then president

-         Same exact person, but different status – authority

-         “5. 4. 3. 2. 1. We just bombed Moscow.” “Mr. Gorbecheav, tear down this wall.”

-         The positions we hold indicate the authority we exercise

o       Always pray from heaven; not from earth

o       New position:  No longer under the authority of evil spirits on earth.

-         God will use you in incredible way if you know who you are

-         “IN JESUS’ NAME” = In His stead

o       We pray from our position in heaven, not position on earth

 

Satan uses specific demons to destroy specific individuals

-         more powerful demons to infect entire communities

-         demonic spirits linger; if not recipient of Xp prayer, could be unduly influenced

-         Purpose of territorial spirits: Prevent manifestations of God’s kingdom; paralyze

-         Eph 1.21 – Jesus has been given ultimate power

 

What happens when we pray/intercede?

-         Stimulates the Holy Spirit’s activity in and around the object

-         Diminishes the freedom of evil spirits hoping to gain additional influence

-         We have authority to alter the spiritual environment, but not dominate personal will

 

Ephesians 3.10-11

Satan not want people to understand the realities of Good News – blinds minds of unbelievers

-         No one comes to understanding unless HS reveals it supernaturally

-         Consequently, massive struggle on enemy’s part

Our part = Confrontive Prayer; In prayer we…

-         Gain life through communion with Christ

-         Use the position of authority with Christ to make known the perfect will of God

o       This is violent, confrontive prayer

o       Is not hard; not complex; not mysterious.

o       It is extremely effective when Christians do it.

o       But it’s not sweet – it’s violent.

Use what you have to stop the devil

-         All light has to do to win in use power

-         All you have to do to stop Satan is stop him

Many in church are sick

-         Not b/c demon-possessed but b/c demons whisper

-         I.e., “They don’t sing my hymns…” “Look what those kids are wearing…”

o       So what? The church isn’t about you!

 

What would happen if pray for family, job, church, community, Wabash Valley, politics…

 

Ephesians 6.10-19a

 

This is something only we in the church can do. There is no other group that can provide an environment of spiritual freedom that opens the door for people to respond to the gospel. Only we in the church, by praying from our position in heaven, can diminish demonic influences and stimulate the Holy Spirit’s activity.

 

 

I.                   It’s About God (Matthew 22:37-38; Romans 12:1-2)

a.       Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified w/… loved me and gave Himself for me…” (Jn 3.16)

b.      So in our narcissistic little minds, we think it is all about us.

                                                   i.      mentalhealth.com – is a psychol. disorder. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6. is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
8. often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

                                                 ii.      Narcissism is named after Narcissus

1.      Both derive from the Greek word narke "numb" (narcotic)

2.      Thus for the Greeks Narcissus stood for callousness and insensitivity

3.      He was emotionally numb to the entreaties of those who fell in love with his beauty.

4.      Narcissus fell in love with his reflection in the pool of water & tried to seduce the beautiful boy, not realizing it was himself he was looking at

5.      Grieved self to death there at pool by the unrequited love of reflection.

                                                iii.      If we live our life focused on us, we too will die, our destiny unfulfilled.

c.       Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ & I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”

d.       “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.” – Rev 4.11

e.       Romans 8.5-8, “Those who live according to the flesh (themselves) set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death. To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace… Those who set their minds on the flesh cannot please God.”

                                                   i.      “Focusing on yourself is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God and ends up thinking more about self than God.” Romans 8

f.        Application:  church, ministry, giving, job, relationships, possessions, prayer…

g.       Romans 12:1 MSG “Take your ordinary life - your sleeping, your eating, your going to work, your walking around life and place it before God as an offering.”

                                                   i.      In life: It’s not what you do that matters; it is Who you do it for!

 

II.                It’s About Others (Matthew 22:39; Romans 12:3-18)

a.       Illus:  “That church didn’t meet my needs.” vs. “Whose needs can I meet?”

b.      The notion of individuality has helped create a consumer mentality in churches. Folk in our day shop for churches like they shop for a new car or a new pair of shoes. We look around. We try on different models. We compare costs. Finally, we settle on a model we like. We choose based on how it fits and meets our needs. How could it be otherwise? After all, it’s all about me.

c.       One day it occurred to the members of the body that they were doing all the work and that the belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting and after a long discussion decided to strike work until the belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So for a day or two the hands refused to take the food, the mouth refused to receive it and the teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two members began to find that they themselves were not in very active condition. The hands could hardly move, the mouth was all parched and dry, while the legs were unable to support the rest. Thus they found that even the belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the body and that all must work together or the body would go to pieces.

                                                   i.      Aesop; 1 Corinthians 12:12-22

d.      Vince Lombardi tells what it takes to make a winning team.
There are a lot of coaches with good ball clubs who know the fundamentals and have plenty of discipline but still don’t win the game. Then you come to the third ingredient: if you’re going to play together as a team, you’ve got to care for one another. You’ve got to love each other. Each player has to be thinking about the next guy and saying to himself "If I don’t block that man, Paul is going to get his legs broken. I have to do my job well in order that he can do his."
The difference between mediocrity and greatness, Lombardi said that night, is the feeling these guys have for each other.

e.       Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

f.        I know that all of you were saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our church’s most valuable members -- Someone Else. Someone’s passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years, and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than the normal person’s share of the work. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. Someone Else can work with that group. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone’s lips, "Let Someone Else do it". It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the largest givers in the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed that Someone Else would make up the difference. Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing super-human, but a person can only do so much. Were the truth known, everyone expected too much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone. We wonder what we are going to do. Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? Remember, we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore.

g.       Galatians 5:13 “For you, dear friends, have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.”

h.       Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

i.         App: church, ministry, giving, relationships, possessions, prayer, time, witnessing

j.        Acts 2:42-47 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”