06/01/14 Pray the Prayer!
“BE OF GOOD CHEER” Series: Week 6 – (2 Thessalonians
3:1-5)
Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (NKJV)
“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that
the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and
that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have
faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from
the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that
you do and will do the things we command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your
hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”
Intro: What a prayer
to have prayed, a prayer asking “that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly
and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.” The main section
of the letter of 2 Thessalonians has been completed. This passage begins the
final words ever written to the church by Paul so far as we know. In the final
words, two subjects jump to the forefront immediately: prayer and the Lord's
faithfulness.
Application: God is Faithful.
1. A
Prayer of Distribution: vs. 1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of
the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you.”
There was
the request for prayer. The believers at Thessalonica were suffering and the
prayer was focused on encouragement, with that said Paul also was under
spiritual warfare and needed prayer and encouragement. If you recall in my
1Thessalonian Bible Study near the end of the Book Paul reminded the church to:
“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give
thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians
5:16-18
I don’t believe Paul’s prayer to include himself was selfish; as a
matter of fact his whole focus was upon the spread and success of the gospel. His
was concerned with the distribution or scattering of the Good News of Jesus
Christ. There was the need for the Word to have free course and to be glorified.
The Word of God is often hindered, hampered, and blocked; too often it has no
power or influence among a people, a people with an unprepared heart, because their
carnal in natural. I’ll even add there not being DISCIPLED!
The KJV uses the
word “free course” in verse one: “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word
of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.” "Free
course" means to run. It is a picture of an Olympian athlete running in a
race, the picture of the Word of God spreading all over because it is, focused,
active, strong, urgent, vigorous and yes powerful. It is all the things a medal
winning Olympic athlete is. The Christian should feel like they have won the
Gold Medal!
If the Word of God had free course, it would be glorified; souls
would be saved and lives changed. People would be freed: from sin and its
enslavement, from guilty consciences, from immoral and evil behavior, from
unjust treatment, from ignorance and from worldliness. Doesn’t this make the
urgency of prayer vital? Ocean View we need to pray the prayer of DISTRIBUTION!
People would no longer experience emptiness, loneliness, purposelessness, or lost-ness.
They would be set free to know the Lord and to commit their lives to reaching
and meeting the needs of a world full of desperate people.
“Because our gospel
came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit
and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.” 1
Thessalonians 1:5 (NIV) I don’t think our conviction is that deep anymore, how
deep is your conviction – is it worth praying for?
What would happen if the
believers of a single church prayed often every day for their pastor and
teachers? One thing is known: God could not sit still, for He would know that
those believers were as sincere and genuine as they could be. He would know that
they desperately wanted to reach their community for Christ. They would become
distributors of the Good News.
2. A Prayer of Deliverance: vs. 2 “That we may be
delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. 4 And we
have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the
things we command you.”
There will always be as long as we live in this world a
need for the Christian to pray for deliverance. Part of the problem is, we
forget to pray for protection and God’s security and we allow the Armor to be
taken off because it is too hot, maybe it is no longer in style, whatever the
excuse we become vulnerable (exposed) to sin and its desires. There are wicked
people in this world and they will do whatever is necessary to destroy your
walk with God. As crazy as this might sound, there are those who live in this
world, your neighbor, co-worker, boss and even family member who oppose your
teachings of love, joy, peace, morality, discipline, brotherhood, salvation and
even eternal life.
Why would people want to attack a person who preaches and
teaches that God loves the world—that He has provided the way for man to escape
death and to live forever? A reasonable and honest person would never oppose or
attack a person who was preaching and teaching this message. But; “not all have
faith.” The world is full of unreasonable and wicked persons, persons who want
to live like they want without any interference from God. They deny and ignore
God—deny and ignore the evidence within the world and within their hearts and
thoughts that God exists and that His love and judgments are real. They want
nothing to do with a message that puts restrictions upon their behavior,
especially a message that demands so much love—a love that demands that we give
all we are and have to meet the needs of the dying and poor masses of the
world.
Believers need to be constantly praying for God to deliver His people
from unreasonable and wicked persons. There needs to be a constant prayer of
DELIVERANCE! “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the
saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open
my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am
an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians
6:18-20
3. A Prayer of Defense: vs. 3-4 “The Lord is faithful, who will establish
you and guard you from the evil one.”
(Regardless) There is the faithfulness of
the Lord to the believer. Believers may fail us: when we stand in the greatest
need, when people oppose and persecute us, when the most terrible trials confront
us—believers may fail, may fail to pray, to encourage, to support, to speak
kindly or even to help, but not the Lord. The Lord God is faithful. He will do
things for the believer. The Lord will establish the believer and keep them
from evil. The word "establish" means to strengthen, secure, make
stable or firm, and set fast. Even if we fail to help one another, God will
strengthen and guard us against Satan and his evil followers, He is our defense.
The Lord will strengthen and guard us against all evil no matter what it is.
Even if the evil seems to be conquering us, it will not—not in the final
analysis. God will deliver us by working all things out for good. "And we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose."
Pray the prayer of Defense, pray
for protection that He will guard your heart and mind from the struggles of the
flesh. God will deliver us by overcoming our failures and completing His work
of salvation in us. We need to be confident of this: “Being confident of this
very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the
day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
How often have you bought something and
in small print on the package you notice it says Batteries not included? Have
you ever bought something and forgot to buy the batteries? A lot of stuff just
won’t work without the batteries. The battery is the source the power to make
the product work, without it, it just doesn’t work. With a spiritual
application in mind, if you don’t pray the prayer for Christ to come into your
heart and life, He can’t give you the batteries (Holy Spirit) to make the
product work.
The Lord actually works within and energizes the believer to will
and do God's pleasure, that is, to keep His commandments. When we sense a
stirring, some energy being aroused within our hearts to do good, that is the
Spirit of God working within us. The Lord will never leave the believer, not
completely; so long as the believer is on earth, the Lord will continue to work
within us, to stir and energize to keep God's commandments. This is the reason
Paul had confidence in the Thessalonian believers, that they would keep the
commandments of the Word that had been taught them.
4. Pray the prayer for
Defense! A Prayer of Direction: vs. 5 “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into
the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”
A person can tell if their a true
believer or not by the working of the Lord within their heart. If a person
keeps the commandments of God, then it is evidence that the Lord is working
within their heart; however, if a person is not keeping the commandments of
God, then it is evidence that the Lord does not live within their heart and is
not working within them.
The word "direct" means to make straight, it
means to remove obstacles out of the way or to open up. The Lord Jesus Christ
takes the genuine believer and opens up their heart. The result is that the
believer learns to love God more and more. Their attention and focus becomes
more and more set upon God's love. When trials, trouble, temptation, and evil
attack the believer, their able to stand in the love of God and overcome the attack.
The Lord directs the believer to patiently wait for Christ's return, keeping their
eyes and heart focused upon the glorious hope of Christ, the hope of conquering
death and of living forever and ever in perfection with God, the hope of ruling
and reigning throughout the whole universe for Christ. “So God has given both
his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is
impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can
have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This
hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the
curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:18-19 (NLT)
The Lord can be trusted
to stand by His promises. He will save you if you will come to Jesus, He will
keep you and take you to Heaven when this life is over, He will hear you when
you call on Him, He will meet your needs here, He will give you grace
sufficient for every trial, He will give you His peace in the midst of every
circumstance of life, He will walk with you every step of the way to glory, He
will keep every promise He has ever made in His Word!
What does this mean for
us? It is simply a reminder that, regardless of what happens in life, “God is
faithful!” Friends will fail, but God is faithful, family will fail, but God is
faithful, funds will fail, but God is faithful, feelings will fail, but God is
faithful, regardless of how life plays out, we have the confidence that our God
is faithful and that He will stand by us even when our faith is weak. Pray the
prayer for direction there a manual that goes with it!
Conclusion
Roger Simms,
hitchhiking his way home, would never forget the date—May 7. His heavy suitcase
made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all.
Flashing the hitchhiking sign to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it
was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The
passenger door opened. He ran toward the car, tossed his suitcase in the back,
and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat.
“Going home for keeps?” “Sure am,” Roger responded. “Well, you're in luck if
you're going to Chicago.” “Not quite that far. Do you live in Chicago?” “I have
a business there. My name is Hanover.” After talking about many things, Roger,
a Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fifty-ish, apparently
successful businessman about Christ. But he kept putting it off, till he
realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It was now or never. So, Roger
cleared his throat, “Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something
very important.” He then proceeded to explain the way of salvation, ultimately
asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior.
To Roger's
astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he
was going to be ejected from the car. But the businessman bowed his head and
received Christ, then thanked Roger. “This is the greatest thing that has ever
happened to me.” Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and
a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he
found the small, white business card Hanover had given him five years before.
In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was
impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused
as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself
facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. “You knew my
husband?” Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home
after the war. “Can you tell me when that was?” “It was May 7, five years ago,
the day I was discharged from the army.” “Anything special about that day?” Roger
hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so far, he
might as well take the plunge. “Mrs. Hanover, I explained the gospel. He pulled
over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his
life to Christ that day.” Explosive sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on
herself, she sobbed, “I had prayed for my husband's salvation for years. I
believed God would save him.” “And,” said Roger, “Where is your husband, Mrs.
Hanover?” “He's dead,” she wept, struggling with words. “He was in a car crash
after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see—I thought God had
not kept His promise.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, “I stopped living for
God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!” Even in that
extreme case, God was faithful. He will be faithful to us too! Rest in Him.
Trust Him. Serve Him. Believe Him. He is Who He claims to be, and He will do
all that He has promised to do. He is The Faithful God!
Pray the Prayer of
Distribution, pray the prayer of Deliverance, pray the prayer of Defense and
please pray for Direction there is a manual with batteries included!
In : Sermon
Tags: "be of good cheer series"
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