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.
