Saturday, September 15, 2018

He Will …



Gtcotr/ss091618

Today is the 7th Day of Awe in the 10 days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement this year. These events are worth mentioning because their ultimate fulfillments are still on God’s calendar for planet earth. This coming Wednesday the 19th is Yom Kippur. This Day of Atonement has been observed by God’s command for over 3500 years as a dress rehearsal pointing to the Second Coming of Messiah Yeshua, better known to us Gentile Believers as Christ Jesus.

Every year for the past 3500 years heaven and earth have been reminded that the Savior of the World will return on the Day of Atonement with His saints to the earth after the great tribulation to do battle with the Anti-Christ and the forces of evil, in the valley of Jezreel. Afterwards Jesus will establish His Kingdom on the earth and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for a thousand years. You can read about what happens after that and new heaven and earth in the last two chapters of Revelation.

Many of you have joined with me for a special time of personal prayer and Bible reading each morning during these 10 Days of Awe this year. Today we read 1 Corinthians 13 and refreshed our hearts and minds concerning the love of God. My prayer of dedication today included a commitment to love my neighbor as I love myself. Tomorrow we will read from James 4.

This world is waxing worse and worse day by day and to my knowledge all of the prophecies which must come to pass before the Rapture of the Church and the ensuing apocalypse have now been fulfilled. If I didn’t firmly believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, I’d be busy building a Faraday cage and storing up tribulation food. As it is, it would be better if we just  continue telling others about the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. Only Jesus can keep us from the wrath which is to come. I believe:

God wants to give you peace, and if you give your mind to Him, He will.

God wants to give you hope, and if you will turn your situation over to Him, He will.

God wants to love others through you, and if you will offer your heart to Him, He will.

Jesus came to earth to accomplish two important purposes.
1.   To save us from an eternity in hell,
2.   And to save us from the hell of this life.

The New Testament Book of Matthew records Jesus teaching a multitude on a hillside near the Sea of Galilee. He taught them how to take charge and change their lives. Many of you have traveled with me to sit on that same hillside and read from this account in chapters 5, 6, & 7. In the very middle of His sermon that day Jesus began to teach His followers how they ought to pray. He knew prayer to be the most powerful tool a person could possess. As He taught them to pray, He gave them specific guidelines.

Three years later Jesus told His 12 Disciples: “When you pray, say …”, (Luke 11:2), and then He again recited those same guidelines. This morning I want to teach you how to effectively pray with the same priorities, posture and passion Jesus did while He was on the earth.

Praying in this way will help you keep on track with God. It will help you take charge and it will change your life. This prayer has helped me to learn and to apply the Will and the Word of God to my life for many years. Jesus must have known we would need a personal plan if we were going to maximize our time and effectiveness in prayer.

Turn with me now to Matthew, chapter 6, and let’s begin. After we survey this personal prayer guide given to us by Jesus, I am going to ask you to consider praying with me for 21 days in accordance with what we will learn this morning. It will help you to establish your priorities, fix your posture and fuel your passion in prayer. Believe Jesus … it will change your life!

Matthew 6 NKJV
9  “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On 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 do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

The Model Prayer

The Model Prayer, also known as, The Lord’s Prayer, includes:
·        3 Proclamations
·        3 Petitions
·        A Personal Time of Praise

First:
The 3 Proclamations
·        Your Name
·        Your Kingdom
·        Your Will

These proclamations remind us of the first priority of prayer. The first priority of prayer is to offer reverence and respect to our Heavenly Father.
·        Prayer is designed first to move us, not to move God.
·        Our prayer is God’s hope that we will understand and participate in His plan as our first priority.
·        Jesus shows the proper posture of prayer is one of humility and submission to God and His will above our own.
·        Prayer should first and foremost be about Him and His needs.
·        Remember, prayer, like faith, is less about what we can get God to give us and more about what He can get us to give Him.

Next, the Model Prayer teaches us about God’s provision for our lives. Jesus encourages us to petition God on behalf of ourselves and others.

     The 3 Petitions
·        Give Us – Simply tell God what you want and what we need.
·        Forgive Us – Find a private place and be honest with God about your sins, failures, frustrations and fears. Ask Him for help if you need to forgive others or if they need to forgive you.
·        Lead Us – It is reasonable to let God know that you will follow His leadership and work with Him as He delivers you from the power and the plan of the devil.

God knows what we need before we ask however, He teaches us that we should ask for what we want in prayer.

The Conclusion – Our daily prayer should both begin and end with our recognition of Who God is. The Creator of the universe is our Father and all power and glory belong to Him. So, Jesus encouraged us to offer God our:

     Praise
·        There is nothing sweeter to a Father than the praise of His children.
·        I’m certain – Unless we have the same Father, my Dad can whoop your Dad.
·        He is bigger, better and stronger than any other … and I want Him to know how proud I am and how safe I feel just to know I am His child.
·        Prayer which comes from the heart of men will reach the heart of God.
Colossians 4:2  Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

God wants to give you peace, and if you give your mind to Him, He will.

God wants to give you hope, and if you will turn your situation over to Him, He will.

God wants to love others through you, and if you will offer your heart to Him, He will.

He will … will you? Well, you’ll need to let Him know …

If you don’t have a personal prayer plan, or even if you do, I want to invite you to join with me beginning tomorrow morning for 21 Days of Prayer. It will help you to take charge of your life and change you to be more like Jesus.

And remember, it’s not the quantity of prayer but the quality … Keep it simple, remember the guidelines given to us by Jesus, and simply talk to God.