The Weekly Sermon » Prayer

Pray: ALWAYS

Pastor David Miklas — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:46:37 +0000

Volume No. 2011 Issue No. 08 Date: March 4, 2012

Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706

Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com

In Psalms 61:1-2 we read "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

Prayer is our absolute dependence upon God.

Prayer is that wonderful means provided by God to meet the NEEDS, the DIFFICULTIES, the TRIALS, the ADVERSITIES, the TEMPTATIONS and the PROBLEMS of life.

The Apostle Paul strongly hinted in his letters how he felt the need of the prayers of God's people.

We read this in Romans 15:30, "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the Love of the Spirit, that you strive (literally agonize or wrestle) together with me in your prayers to God for me." Literally, Paul was encouraging these folks to share in the battle, share in the burden.

He sought prayer support from the Corinthians people in II Corinthians 1:11, "Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf."

He sought prayer help from the Thessalonians in II Thessalonians 3:1, "Finally brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you."

In Ephesians 6:18-19, we read, “"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me(Here Paul asks these people to intercede in a very specific way) that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel…" The apostle Paul, having written about the armor of the believer and the urgency of prayer, asked the Ephesians to pray that God would give him the ability to share the Gospel boldly at every opportunity. Notice the word all in this passage.

We're to pray always-at all times. We're to offer all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. We're to pray with all perseverance. And we're to remember all the saints.

In his book on prayer, Samuel D. Gordon wrote that this world is God's prodigal son, and that God has devised a plan for winning His prodigal back. He wants to use us in the process; and our greatest agency is prayer, which, Gordon says, is communication between God and His allies in the enemy's country. We're behind enemy lines, but prayer is our connection with the Commander. Let's take prayer seriously and always offer all prayer in the Spirit with all perseverance for all the saints.

In this spiritual warfare, praying for others enables you to share in their victories.

Their victory is your victory.

Their thrill is your thrill.

Their achievement is your achievement.

Their answer to prayer is your answer to prayer.

Their blessing is your blessing, because you can both praise God!

May God’s blessing be upon you this week as you read and meditate on the message “Watch and Pray” taken from Matthew 26:41.

In His Amazing Grace,

PS: As we have repeatedly said, we will not charge for sending the Weekly SERMON. However there are expenses associated with doing what we do. If possible during 2012, would you please consider helping us in this faith ministry? Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember, for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA. Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to Bible Baptist Ministry 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706 will be applied to this ministry.

In order to access the Weekly SERMON, please click the link to Weekly Sermon Library, where you will be able to choose: Plain Text (TXT), Microsoft Word document (DOC), Rich Text (RTF), Web Page (HTML) or PDF (Portable Document Format), any of the format(s) you desire. After you decide on the appropriate format(s) you may then print a copy of the Weekly SERMON, save it to a file on your computer, or download it and save it to a disk for future use. Your use of this material is meant to be flexible.

http://BibleBaptistMinistry.org/../MMXII/10/

Watch and Pray

Pastor David Miklas — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:51:49 +0000

Sunday March 4, 2012	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Watch and Pray	Text: Psalm 63:6; Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 26:41; James 1:15

"Watch and Pray"

Introduction: In Psalms 63:6 we read, "When I remember thee upon my bed, and mediate on thee in the night watches…"

In Luke 11 our Lord is teaching His disciples how to pray. In the last phrase of verse 4 He said, "And lead us not into TEMPTATION; but deliver us from evil." I want you to notice that statement, "Lead us not into TEMPTATION." This prayer petition is similar to David's in Psalm 141:4, "Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity." The petition is "Do not permit me to be tempted."Now please follow me closely, as I want to make five statements related to temptation.

First: God does not temp us. In James 1:13 we read, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man;.."

Second: Satan does tempt us. In Matthew 4:1-3 we read, "Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

Third: God sometimes delivers us to Satan for temptation. In I Corinthians 5:1-5 here is the the story of a man who was living in sin with his step-mother. In verse 5 we read that God said, "To deliver such as one unto Satan for the destruction (or the defilement) of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Fourth: God limits Satan's ability to tempt us. We read of this in I Corinthians 10:13 in the phrase, "Who will not permit or allow you to be tempted above that you are able." God does put a limit on Satan's ability to tempt us.

Fifth: God can keep Satan from tempting us. In Revelation 3:10 we read, "Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation…"

Now, in light of the previous five statements:

Does God tempt us? NO

Does Satan tempt us? YES

For Satan to tempt us, God has to do what? "DELIVER US TO SATAN"

Does God limit Satan's temptation? YES

Can God keep us from temptation? YES

Now we come to the question, “Under what condition will God keep Satan from tempting us?” I believe the answer to that can be found in our Lords' experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Please turn to Matthew 26 and follow as I read verses 36-43.

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. (37) And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. (38) Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. (39) And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (40) And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (41) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (42) He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (43) And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.”

Would you please notice again verse 41, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into TEMPTATION; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." So, what keeps us from temptation? WE ARE TO WATCH AND PRAY. It is not just praying, but it is watching and praying.

So you ask, what is watching and praying? When Jesus came with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, it was night time. They had come from the upper room, where Jesus had helped to prepare them for the WHY of His going back to heaven. Remember among many things He said, "Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God believe also in me, I promise to prepare a place for you and I will return for you." Now, our Lord comes to the agony of the Garden. Notice again verse 38. “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” Notice again verses 40-41, “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (41) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

This was a rebuke to Peter. Only a little while ago Jesus had warned the disciples that before the night was over they would all be offended and would leave him. Now to WATCH was a special duty of that hour for the disciples. PRAYER would help them to WATCH, and WATCHING would aid them in PRAYING.

They were to WATCH because of the temptations that lay ahead.

Jesus knew what temptations these men would be facing.

He saw how badly they needed to be in prayer. Notice He said in verse 41 "For the spirit (our spirit) indeed is willing but the flesh (our human nature) is weak."

Jesus knew the weakness of the human nature.

He knew their strength would not be sufficient to sustain them.

He knew the Devil would attack at anytime, especially when circumstances have already weakened them.

So the Lord said, "Watch and Pray". In the Jewish night there were two watches.

First watch was from 6:00 PM to midnight.

Second watch was from midnight to about 6:00 AM.

So you are to watch and pray while others are asleep. Watching is a sentinel term; it is a time of standing guard in the night. If you would avoid temptation, you have to pray, but more than that, you have to WATCH and PRAY.

Now why did Jesus ask the disciples to WATCH and PRAY? He knew that right before the cross, where He was about to bear the sins of the world, Satan would again make an effort to entice Jesus to avoid the cross, and die there in the garden. Notice again verse 39. “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” About to die in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that the cup of death would pass from Him that night, so He could live to die on the cross the next day.

Now if Jesus had to WATCH and PRAY to avoid temptation, how much more do we need to WATCH and PRAY? Remember what Jesus had taught His disciples in the model prayer, "And lead us not into TEMPTATION but deliver us from evil… (literally the evil one).

Please listen carefully, unless you WATCH and PRAY you will be taken in by the devil or by the world or by your own sinful human nature. And before you know it, you will backslide like Peter who slept, while he should have WATCHED and PRAYED.

Let me ask you what temptations you face on a daily basis? Oh, to be sure there are temptations abounding, as someone said, "I don't have to go seeking temptations, they find me." Remember this, "Temptation will strike at our weakest moment at our strongest point." Those who think they cannot wander will be the first to lose their way. I Corinthians 10:12 says, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."Remember the big three:

The flesh, our old lustful human nature, which lurks inside us,

The world, with a lifestyle that leaves God out, and

The devil, the god of this world who blinds men eyes to the truth of the gospel, and who is alive and well upon Planet Earth.

Let's repeat again…

God does not temp us.

Satan does tempt us.

God allows Satan to tempt us.

God limits Satan's ability to temp us.

God can keep us from Satan's temptation, and

All this is done by WATCHING and PRAYING!

Would you please turn with me to James 1 and follow me as I read verses 13-15.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (14) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (15) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Now follow me in reverse order. At the bottom is death.

What brings DEATH? It is sin. (Romans 6:23)

What brings SIN? It is lust.

What brings lust? It is temptation.

Now the word temptation in verses 13-14 in the verb form means "a solicitation to do evil." A glance at a dictionary will inform us that temptation is "the act of enticement to do wrong, by promise of pleasure or gain." That's right! Temptation motivates you to be BAD by promising something GOOD. Isn't that just like the devil? TEMPTATION IS INEVITABLE! NONE ESCAPES IT!

Someone said, “You will be tempted. The kinds of temptation may change. You have candies for kids, sensuality for the teenager, riches for the middle-aged and power for the aging. The Evil One can bring the changes with greater skill than any advertising agency. He knows our Achilles’ heel. You will be tempted continuously. You will even be tempted ferociously at times."

Now lust in the Bible means wanting something we don't need. Lust is wanting, something that is usually sinful. Remember this:

Temptation brings Lust; Lust brings Sin; Sin brings Death!

Recall with me the story of Achan in Joshua 7 beginning with verses 20-21. “And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: (21) When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.”

This was the Achan who stole the accursed things out of Jericho that caused the defeat of Ai. In verses 24- 25 we have the results. “And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. (25) And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.”

Achan saw, that was TEMPTATION.

Achan coveted, that was LUST.

Achan took, that was SIN, and in verse 25

Achan DIED!

Same old story – he was tempted, he lusted, he sinned and he died. Now go back with me to James 1:13-15.

What brings Death, SIN

What leads to Sin, LUST

What leads to Lust, TEMPTATION

What keep us from Temptation, WATCHING & PRAYING!

That's why I have been saying that prayer is the means God has given to us to come to Him and ASK of Him our needs. Prayer allows us to pour out our souls unto God. Our churches ought to be focused on "LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY." Yet,our churches have become more concerned about:

TECHNIQUES, PERSONALITIES, PROGRAMS, METHODS, and How To Do books!

We have become so busy with meetings and committees that in the midst of all this "RELIGIOUS COMMOTION" we have not learned to pray. We have not learned to really pour out our hearts unto the Lord, begging and pleading for our needs and for the needs of others. Oh, how we need to learn to pray, to ASK and SEEK and to KNOCK.

We need soul winners; moreover we need praying soul winners.

We need preaching; moreover we need prayer anointed preaching.

We need godly teachers; moreover we need praying teachers.

We need Godly workers in all areas of the ministry; moreover we need praying workers.

We need Godly Moms and Dads; moreover we need Moms and Dads who will WATCH and PRAY.

We need God's people to be enrolled in the SCHOOL of PRAYER, to learn what it is to WATCH and PRAY.

I don't care who you are, the temptations in your life are stronger than you are. The devil is going to temp you at your strongest point in your weakest moment. You are not going to have the victory over TEMPTATION, LUST and SIN until you learn to WATCH and PRAY.

If I have to keep from DEATH, I must keep from SIN

What brings Sin? Lust

What brings Lust? Temptation

What keeps me from Temptation? WATCHING & PRAYING

That means I must WATCH and PRAY while others sleep. That means in the wee hours of the morning while no one else is awake, you are pouring out your heart and soul to God. It means in the early morning before time to get up, you are spending time on your face before God:

Pleading for the power to serve,

Begging for the needs of others,

Agonizing over your needs before God, and

Pouring out your soul for deliverance from lust and temptation and the evil one.

Here we go again:

Top step TEMPTATION,

Next step LUST,

Third step SIN,

Fourth step DEATH!

Now,

If I don't want to DIE, then I must not SIN.

If I don't want to SIN, then I must not LUST.

If I don't want to LUST, then I must not be TEMPTED.

If I want to avoid TEMPTATION, then I must WATCH and PRAY!

Folks, let me show you where most of you live. I believe you live between TEMPTATION and LUST (between the top two steps).

You go places you shouldn't go. You know it’s wrong, but you go there anyway.

You watch video and cable shows that are immoral. You know they are lustful, but you watch them anyway.

You justify the sin of drinking alcohol or listening to Rock music, even the so-called Christian Rock or Country and Western, which is just one step from the secular Rock and Roll.

You hang around people whose lifestyle is worldly. They live in sin by compromising with the world. They are unsaved or maybe worldly and even carnal, but you still hang out with them.

You fellowship with people, even "Christian people" whose doctrines, convictions, and principles are not in keeping with this Book. You justify it in the name of love and in the name of fellowship.

You walk with those people, even Christians, who are critical, who tear down instead of building up. Do you remember what Psalm 1:1 literally tells us? "Happy is the man who WALKETH not in the COUNSEL of the UNGODLY, nor STANDETH in the way of SINNERS, nor SITTETH in the seat of the SCORNFUL."

You may ask,“Pastor what is wrong with a social drink once in a while? Well, not only are you in disobedience to the Word of God, but you are at the level of TEMPTATION, just one step away from LUST.

You may ask, “Preacher what is wrong with listening to Christian Rock music? My friend you are just one step away from the temptation of listening to the world's Rock music. Find me a contemporary Christian singer or musician who has taken "Godly music" and put the worldly rock beat to it, who has not gotten caught up in the lifestyle of worldly music.

We live in a hooked generation. The devil has thrown out the bait and we have fallen for it. Unfortunately, what he has not done is spelled out the FRUSTRATION, the REMORSE and the FAILURE of being hooked. O' how I wish I could walk good folks across this platform to share their testimony of how they constantly walked between TEMPTATION and LUST and before long, sin over-took them. Remember, the devil:

Shows you the cigarette, but not the cancer.

Shows you the drugs, but not the blown minds.

Shows you the alcohol, but not the broken homes.

Shows you the glamour of sex, but not the haunting memory.

Shows you the saw dust size faults of others, but not the totem pole size faults in your eye.

Shows you the glories of telling a story, but not the scandal or heartache it carries.

The devil is always showing you the "Front Door" of sins, but never the garbage brought along with death at the "Rear Door."

Have you ever heard this statement, "Christians never have any fun?" That's interesting because:

In my Bible I read, "The wages of sin is death."

In my Bible I read, "The soul that sinneth shall die."

In my Bible I read, "then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

Reading those scriptures, it would seem to me that the world's crowd does not have much fun because they are "DEAD IN TREPASSES AND SIN." The world and the devil has nothing to offer that will last. That's why I remind you again of what Jesus said, "That I have come to give you life and to give you life more abundantly."

Let me pause here and say some of the things I have just said might seem hard to you but I believe if we are going to step back into old fashioned morality and righteous living, I have got to keep preaching up here and you need to keep on WATCHING and PRAYING with me or else the next generation will not know the God of our generation, the God of the Word of God.

Let me go one step further. When you WATCH and PRAY, you won't tempted to buy that new item that will increase your payments to the point you can’t pay the bills and still tithe. So you choose to work over time for extra money. But now you are not free to attend with your family all of the church services that encourage you to WATCH and PRAY.

When you WATCH and PRAY at night you will not be tempted to watch filthy TV shows where you secretly lust in your heart for some other woman or some other man.

What I am saying is if you get up and get on your face before God to beg and pray and WATCH and PRAYin the night watches, I believe what the Word of God is telling us is you'll come to avoid wrong desires and wrong decisions. Let's hear it again:

If I don't want to DIE, then I must not SIN.

If I don't want to SIN, then I must not LUST.

If I don't want to LUST, then I must not be TEMPTED.

If I want to avoid TEMPTATION, then I must WATCH and PRAY!

For our young people to keep themselves pure and clean and righteous, so that one day they will meet at the wedding alter in all their loveliness and purity, they need to get out of bed and fall before God and WATCH and PRAY.

Beg God to keep them HOLY and PURE and CLEAN and Alert to WRONG DESIRES and WRONG PEOPLE and WRONG DECISIONS, as well as pleading with God to keep them alert to the perfect Will of God to avoid Satanic temptation.

Parents, Moms, Dads, and Grandparents do you want to really protect your children and grandchildren from the temptations and the lusts that lurk in the world? Then get out of bed and pray for your kids and grandchildren at night. I mean literally slip out of bed, get up while they sleep and WATCH and PRAY. They face TEMPTATIONS and WORLDLY PRESSURES to conform that are much more powerful than they are to resist.

Please don't be deceived to think that just because you bring them to Sunday school, and perhaps you have them in C-club or the youth group activities that they will turn out OK. Oh, PLEASE DON'T BE DECEIVED!

We have got to live in Godly ways before them.

We have got to WATCH and PRAY.

We have got to set some standards and live by those convictions.

We have got to build RULES and BOUNDARIES into their lives.

Someone said, "Until you lose your will to the will of God, you will never be able to discern the will of God. Until you lose your own will, you will have a will, and with that will you will lust." That's why we read and quote Romans 12:1-2 so often and plead with you to follow it.

Until you come and place yourself on the altar, and let the mind of God operate in you,

You will have a will, and

That will will be tempted, and

That temptation will lead you to lust, and

That lust will lead you to sin, and

Before you know it, just like Peter of old who slept while he should have WATCHED and PRAYED, you, like he, will backslide.

Our Lord's admonition, which was more of a rebuke to the disciples, now becomes a challenge to you to WATCH and PRAY, Walk with GOD during the night hours.

Do as David said in Psalm 63:6, "When I remembered thee upon my bed and meditated on Thee (speaking of the Lord) in the NIGHT WATCHES." We must do as the Lord said in his prayer instruction to the disciples. We must pray, "Lord lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one."

WATCH AND PRAY YOUR WAY THROUGH!

*****************************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart, after reading the sermon “Watch and Pray” why not right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”

If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know? Please send an e-mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.

The “Weekly SERMON” was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy: your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party.

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In His Amazing Grace,

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Victory Through Prayer

Pastor David Miklas — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:33:34 +0000

Volume No. 2011 Issue No. 02 Date: January 9, 2011

Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706

Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com

In Ephesians 6:18 we read, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" and from this “one-verse sermon on prayer” we can devise six things that can give us victory.

I. Frequency of prayer – praying always: This sounds so much like 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "pray without ceasing.” Praying always and praying without ceasing means praying at given times, on every occasion, and in between, both audibly and inaudibly. Someone said, "Acts of prayer may be intermittent; but the spiritual attitude should be incessant.”

II. Variety of prayer – with all (kinds of) prayer: It is so discouraging when we look at God only in light of what we can get. God designed prayer to be an oasis of variety. Think about praying in all these modes: adoration, confession, repentance, thanksgiving, and supplication. Daily spend time in praise. Confession renews our lives daily. Thanksgiving is the antidote for me-ism and unhappiness. When we learn to pray with diversity, God will definitely change the things we request from Him. He conforms us to His image and transforms our desires. The work of prayer is to change us.

III. Dependence of prayer – in the Spirit: We need the Spirit's enabling as we approach the throne of grace. Romans 8:26 "…for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” So many times we are emotionally and physically exhausted, and our emotions are too deep for utterance or for expression in articulate language. The Holy Spirit helps us as we attempt to pray.

IV. Manner of prayer – watchful. Think of your prayer time as “my watch.” To keep awake is always a challenge. Who will watch if I don't? Others can sleep when the watchman is awake. Be the watchman on the wall.

V. Persistence of prayer – all perseverance. In the Christian life "defeat is unthinkable.” Develop that, I will never quit, attitude – the attitude to be persistent.

VI. Objects of prayer – all the saints. How can we ask God to give us more members if we are not taking good care of the ones He has already given us? And how can we take care of our flock without making all the saints our objects of prayer?

Starting January 16^th we will begin a revised 14 part series of Weekly SERMONS on the “Family of God.” Here are the dates and Weekly SERMON titles for this series.

January 16 How to Treat One Another in the Family of God Romans 12:10

January 23 How to Treat the Broken Hearted in the Family of God Psalm 34:19

January 30 How to Treat the Fallen Brother in the Family of God Galatians 6:1-5

February 13 Bearing with Irritating Qualities in the Family of God Ephesians 4:1-3

February 20 How to Treat Our Enemies in the Family of God Matthew 43-47

February 27 How to Handle Strife in the Family of God I Corinthians 12:12

March 6 How to Comfort One Another in the Family of God Colossians 2:1-2, 4:4

March 20 How to Pray for One Another in the family of God James 5:16

March 27 How to Pray for Your Pastor in the Family of God Acts 6:1-6

April 3 How to Forgive One Another in the Family of God Ephesians 4:31-32

May 8 How to Serve One Another in the Family of God Matthew 20:20-28

May 15 The Scarlet Sin of the Church – Fault Finding Matthew 7:1-6

May 22 How to Love One Another in the Family of God – Part -1 John 13:34-35

May 29 How to Love One Another in the Family of God – Part -2 I Corinthians 13:1-13

This series will eventually become the material for our eleventh book of sermons. Lord willing and as soon as we complete the final proof and editing process, we anticipate offering several of the first ten volumes during 2011.

As we have repeatedly said, we will not charge for sending the Weekly SERMON. However there are expenses associated with doing what we do. During this past recession year, we came up short by $2,350.00 in meeting our 2010 budget. Perhaps there are those who have been blessed by this ministry and can help us make up this short-fall. This is God’s work and what He gives through His saints we gratefully receive with thanksgiving.

If possible during 2011, would you please consider helping us in this faith ministry? Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember, for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA. Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to Bible Baptist Ministry 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706 will be applied to this ministry.

Have a blessed and fruitful week as you meditate upon the Weekly SERMON “What is man?”

In His Amazing Grace,

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PS: If possible during 2011, would you please consider helping us in this faith ministry? Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you please consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA. Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:
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mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">will be applied to this ministry.

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Ingredients of a Great Church

Pastor David Miklas — Sun, 16 May 2010 20:01:13 +0000

Sunday May 16, 2010	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Power & Glory in the Church #5	Text: mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Acts 11:19-30; Acts 13:1-5

“The Ingredients of a Great Church”

Introduction: Would you turn with me to Acts 11 and follow as I read from verse 19-26,

“Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. (20) And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. (21) And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. (22) Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. (23) Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. (24) For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. (25) Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: (26) And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

When we think of the great institution of the Church:

We must understand from Psalm 127:1, “Except the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain that build it…” With one change of a word in reference to the church we could read it this way, “Unless the Lord builds the Church they labor in vain who build it.”

We must understand that the primary purpose of the church as seen in Ephesians 3:21 is the place of the "Glory of Almighty God."

We must understand that the church of the Living God was FOUNDED by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, "Upon this rock (referring to Himself) I will build My church." When our Lord said those words, He did not have in mind either a building or a name, only a group of people. The term "church" comes from the Greek word "Eklesia," meaning, "called out ones." Jesus would reach into the rank of humanity and "call out" for Himself a people, who by faith trusted Him for eternal redemption.

We must understand that the church of the Living God is an empty shell unless it is EMPOWERED and ENERGIZED by the Holy Spirit of the Living God. Someone put it this way,

The model for ministry is Jesus Christ.

The power of ministry is the Holy Spirit.

The foundation of ministry is character.

The nature of ministry is service.

The motive for ministry is love

The measure of ministry is sacrifice.

The purpose of ministry is the glory of God.

The tools of ministry are the Word of God and prayer.

The privilege of ministry is growth.

In Acts 1:8 just before Jesus went back to Heaven, He said to His disciples, "But ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth." For several weeks we have looked at the first church established by Christ in Jerusalem. This was primarily a Jewish Church, led by the Apostle to the Jews, Peter. There we saw from Acts 2:41-48 whatever we do as a church ought to fall within the parameters of 4 objectives. They are WORSHIP, INSTRUCTION, FELLOWSHIP, and EXPRESSION (or evangelism). After establishing the church there in Jerusalem, the next area penetrated by the Gospel was the area of Judea. Then the Gospel moved into the area of Samaria where the second great church at Antioch is mentioned in Acts 11. This is the first Gentile Church and the central evangelistic figure changes from Peter (the Apostle to the Jews) to Paul (the Apostle to the Gentiles).

Again in Acts 11:19 we read "Now they who were scattered abroad upon the persecution…" Who were these scattered? They were believers who had come from Jerusalem because of the persecution. In Acts 8:1, 3 we read, "…And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad…except the apostles. Therefore, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." The church members themselves went everywhere preaching the gospel.

The road was their pulpit, the market place was their pulpit, and the backyard of humble homes was their pulpit.

Scattered by tribulation, they traveled throughout, talking about the Word of God, telling others of the wonderful, good news of the gospel. You know,

It's good to know there are many Christians in the public arena openly preaching the gospel and living for Christ. It's good to know that in every community you find born-again Christians seeking to carry on a gospel witness.

God still has His witnesses everywhere. At present, believing Christians might not be in the majority in America, but I am thankful that we do have many Christians scattered around. Notice that His witnesses in the ancient world went as far as Antioch.

There were at least 16 locations known as Antioch in the ancient world, but this one was the greatest. This "Antioch" was the third greatest city in the world in the days of the early church. Rome was considered first, then Alexandria, then Antioch. It was a wealthy city, but it was also a wicked city.

One Bible historian has said, "If any city in the first century was worthy to be called the heathen queen of the east, that city was Antioch." It was in this city that the Gospel was preached so effectively that many received the gospel and were born-again. Here in our text I want to call your attention to 5 ingredients of "that great church at Antioch."

First: Antioch was a PREACHING Church: There was an emphasis upon preaching.

In Acts 11:19 we read they were "preaching the Word."

In Acts 11:20 we read they were “preaching the Lord Jesus."

In Acts 14:25 we read, "And when they had preached the word…"

God put a great deal of emphasis upon PREACHING. The emphasis at Antioch was on preaching the Word. In order to have a great Bible-believing church, it must first be a preaching church.

In Mark 16:15 Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world and PREACH the gospel to every creature."

In I Corinthians 1:21 we read, "It pleased God by the foolishness of PREACHING to save them that believe."

In Luke 4:43 Jesus Christ called Himself a preacher, for he said, "I must preach the Kingdom of God…for therefore am I sent…"

Now in the church:

There ought to be great music.

There ought to be adequate facilities.

There ought to be organization and planned activities.

There ought to be friendliness.

But the main ingredient should be PREACHING. I am reminded of the challenge of the Apostle Paul to Timothy in II Timothy 4:2 that he was to "Preach the Word; be instant (diligent) in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering, and doctrine." The emphasis in the church should be to preach the whole counsel of the Word of God. Part of that emphasis was to be about the person of Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus gave the great commission in Acts 1:8, "ye shall be witnesses unto me." The preaching of the resurrection of Christ was as prominent as the death of Christ. It would have been useless for the apostle to preach about the death of Christ unless they also learned that He had risen from the dead.

Peter's first sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2:32 centered on the resurrection of Christ, "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witness."

Christ’s resurrection was the theme of Peter's second message in Acts 3:26, "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you."

Christ was the theme of Peter's defense before the Jewish Sanhedrin in Acts 4:8,10, "Be it known…by the name of Jesus…of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead…Neither is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

In Peter’s second defense he said in Acts 5:30-31, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be …a Saviour…"

Christ was the theme of Stephen’s preaching as he lay dying in Acts 7:56, "…behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

Christ was ever the theme of Paul's defense before the Roman government and the theme of His preaching, where he wrote in I Corinthians 2:2, "For I determine not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ crucified. "

In I Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul declared "For I delivered unto you…that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures."

Let me quickly summarize this thought.For us personally:

We must preach Christ, the only Saviour.

We must give the message in a simple, straight-forward style.

We must tell people that Christ alone is able to save.

Our church must always have a preaching ministry in order to preach the whole counsel of the Word of God. Let’s not ever let this pulpit be used for anything other than "PREACHING THE WORD."

Second: Antioch was a SOUL WINNING Church. According to verse 21, in spite of the wicked conditions there were people being saved in this city. When you preach the gospel, regardless of how wicked a city or person is, the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation," and people are going to be saved. People need to hear that the gospel is:

the power of God unto Salvation,

the power of God to change lives, and

the power of God to solve problems.

Just give them the gospel. Notice the results in Antioch:

Verse 21, "And the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord."

Verse 24, "…and much people was added unto the Lord."

Here in this wicked city people were being converted because Jesus Christ was being proclaimed, the Word of God was being preached. The hand of God was with them, to bless them, and people were getting saved. God teaches that the ingredients of a great church are first of all preaching, and second is soul winning.

Third: Antioch was a TEACHING church.

Verse 26, "And it came to pass that for a whole year they assembled themselves… and taught much people…"

Acts 13:1, "And there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers…"

Five of the prophets and teachers, who concentrated on teaching these people the Word God, were named:

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS TEACH THE WORD,

WORKERS IN OUR YOUTH PROGRAMS TEACH THE WORD,

MEN WHO TEACH, TEACH THE WORD,

LADIES WHO TEACH, TEACH THE WORD.

In my opinion, we have too much modern day “how you do this and how you handle that” going on in our Sunday Schools and Bible classes. This new approach is found in most of our Christian literature. But in reality, all we need is here in this one Book, the Bible. What it needs to be is RE-TAUGHT, not RE-THOUGHT!

Many people in many churches are coming to be fed the word of God, but all they are getting is the dessert and not the meat.

Too many people are going to DAIRY BAR Churches and not to churches that serve the SOLID MEAT OF THE WORD OF GOD.

In Acts 20:28, Paul challenged the Pastor to "FEED THE CHURCH OF GOD."

Fourth: Antioch was a MISSIONARY Church. You recall again from Acts 1:8 Jesus said, "But ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." In this verse, Jesus tells us to begin at home (that is your Jerusalem) and then spread out even unto the whole world. Notice in Acts 13:1-4a that this was a missionary church.

“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. (2) As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. (3) And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. (4) So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost…”

This church waited upon God. So many churches are finely organized, so many committees, so many boards, so many programs, that the Holy Spirit never gets to say anything. In verse 2, we see that the Holy Spirit could communicate with this church. Again I remind you that the work of the ministry is empty and useless without the power of the Holy Spirit.

The church at Antioch was a missionary church sending people out to other nations, to other cities, to other people. A church starts at home, that is your Jerusalem. But if you stop in Jerusalem, in practice you are not a New Testament church. I wonder if we understand the force and focus of real, genuine, missions work.

One of the ingredients of the church missions program is:

Not just hearing about missionaries,

Not just funding missionaries,

Not just praying for missionaries,

but you being touched by the hand of God here in this place and saying yes, Lord send me. I don't mean just to your family and neighbors, but perhaps it would be to the far reaches of this world, to carry the gospel.

Fifth: Antioch was a PRAYING church. Notice would you

Acts 13:2, "And when they had fasted and prayed…"

Acts 14:23 "And when they had ordained the elders in every church and had prayed with fasting…"

This was a praying church that waited upon God. By the way, praying was emphasized even in the Church at Jerusalem.

Prayer created a Spirit of unity in the church, Acts 1:14, "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…"

Prayer created a spirit of power in the church, Acts 2:42, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Prayer created a spirit of boldness within the church, Acts 4:31, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with BOLDNESS."

For a church to be blessed of God, it must be a praying church, individually as well as collectively. The people were of one mind and one heart, and God was pleased to answer their requests.

No wonder many people were saved at this church at Antioch.

No wonder missionaries were sent out.

No wonder God wrought miracles in this church.

Every time we read of the church at Antioch, we read that they were fasting and praying, praying and fasting. God honored and blessed them for that.

As we think about the Green Street Baptist Chapel, and our part in this church, can we truly say it has the ingredients of this great church at Antioch?

Is ours a preaching church?

Are we focused on preaching the whole counsel of God's Word?

Do we emphasize the preaching of Christ, Him crucified, buried, risen and coming again?

Is our church a soul winning church?

Is our church a teaching church?

Can it be said that we are truly a missionary church?

Are we really a praying church?

As you think upon these FIVE ingredients, let me call your attention to the last phrase of verse 26, "And the Disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." It was at Antioch that the name "Christian" was first applied to the disciples of Jesus Christ.

Today the word Christian is a very loosely used word. Many people who have never been born again consider themselves "Christians" simply because they say they are not "pagans." After all, they may belong to a church, attend services somewhat regularly, and even occasionally give to the work of the church! But it takes more than that for a sinner to become a child of God. It takes faith in Jesus Christ. Actually the word “Christian” is mentioned only three times in the entire Bible. Here in

Acts 1:26, "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

Acts 26:28 "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

I Peter 4:16 "Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf."

I would say it's a wonderful blessing to be called a Christian, meaning one who is "Christ-like." I would say it is a wonderful blessing to be a part of the Family of God:

to know that God is our Heavenly Father,

to know that Christ is our Redeemer and Sustainer,

to know that the Holy Spirit lives inside us to comfort and guide us.

It's a wonderful blessing to be called a Christian, AMEN! You and I ought to be PROUD of that NAME.

I am so glad that I am a part of the family of God.

I am so glad that I can be called a Christian.

I believe the Holy Spirit of God teaches us that we ought to be careful not to hurt the Lord's name. The biggest blight on Christianity today is the hypocrisy of so many Christians. It ought to matter how we live. We represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and GLORIFY your Father, who is in Heaven." I understand the word "Glory" here means a "Good Name" and we ought to so live that we give our Heavenly Father a good name.

My friends, we live in a very Anti-Christian society. Humanism has so invaded our society that it has over-taken us and we are simply reaping what we have been sowing for these past 30 years. Therefore, it seems like the Bible believing, Christ honoring people are discriminated against more than anybody in America.

People are laughing at our God.

People are criticizing our Bible.

People are denouncing our Christianity.

We will not quiet them through our preaching, or through our beautiful music, or the way we conduct our service. But they sure will notice how we live on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It ought to mean something to be a Christian.

As we close this service let me ask you,

Can you say this evening that you have the assurance of Heaven, if you would die this very moment?

Have you by faith put your trust in the finished Work of Christ who died at Calvary to save your soul?

***********************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “The Ingredients of a Great Church”then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

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In His Amazing Grace,

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Men Ought Always to Pray

Pastor David Miklas — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:33:29 +0000

Sunday September 26, 2009	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail: pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Prayer	Text: Luke 17:26-18:8

Men Ought Always To Pray

Introduction: We are living in a day in which there are clichés or slogans for practically anything we can think of, including prayer. We have heard for example:

Prayer changes things.

The family that prays together stays together.

Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees.

Prayer should become our first and natural response to every circumstance of life.

Yet, when we find ourselves up against the cold hard realities of life, off times these sayings appear to be over-simplified and we do not trust them.

However, it is absolutely true that a Christian can take his burdens to the Lord and leave them with Him day after day and moment by moment and consequently live in perfect peace. The only way he can do this is by REGULAR PRAYER about every problem. Perhaps we need to practice more of what we sing about,

What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer!

"Oh, what PEACE we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear;

All because we do not carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer!

Please turn with me to our text found in Luke 18:1-8 and follow as I read.

“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; (2) Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: (3) And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. (4) And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; (5) Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. (6) And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. (7) And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (8) I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

The book of Luke has been called the Gospel of Prayer and here in this chapter we have a number of instances of prayer.

Verse 1 the Widow’s continual prayer

Verse 11 the Pharisee’s self-righteous prayer

Verse 13 the Publican’s prayer of humility

Verse 38 the Blind beggar Bartimaus’ prayer.

Notice again the phrase in verse 1 "Men ought always to pray."

It is not only that we would DO WELL to pray, but that we OUGHT to pray.

It is not only that we OUGHT to pray OFTEN, but that we ought ALWAYS to pray.

There are times when Christians should do nothing but pray. Now from Luke 18, there are 3 truths I would like to bring to your attention.

First Truth: PRAYER is NECESSARY. Notice in verse 1 Jesus is saying that men "ought always to PRAY and not to FAINT." If we don’t pray, we will faint; it’s as simple as that! The word "FAINT" describes one who loses heart and gets so discouraged that he wants to quit.

Now in order to understand that phrase we must look at the CONTEXT in which our Lord was speaking. There is a connection between what our Lord said in 18:1 and His last statement in 17:37. "Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together." speaks of something that is rotting. I believe we can say that our society is like a rotting corpse. The "atmosphere" in which we live is being polluted and this is bound to affect our spiritual lives. But when we pray, we draw upon the "pure air" of heaven, and this keeps us from fainting.

Now in the context of Luke 17:26-37 Jesus is describing what it would be like just before his return in the last days.

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; (29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. (30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (31) In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. (32) Remember Lot’s wife. (33) Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. (34) I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. (35) Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (36) Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (37) And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

Now in 18:1 it says Men ought to always do what? PRAY and not FAINT.

Here is where we have the difference between Noah and Lot.

The reason Noah did not faint in the wicked world in which he lived is because he no doubt prayed for his family. In so doing, he provided protection for his family as God directed and preached words of warning to those around him.

Yet on the other hand, Lot fainted because he failed to pray for his family, and therefore failed to protect his family from the rotting world around them. As a result, he succumbed to the wicked world of his day in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Why did Noah succeed in the wicked world?

Why did Noah succeed in saving His family?

I believe that Noah succeeded because NOAH PRAYED. In view of that observation, let me suggest several things:

ALL your activities should be bathed in prayer. All around Noah, people were living in sin. He realized there was a judgment coming. So rather than leave the outcome to chance, HE PRAYED that he and his family would be saved. Jesus said we "ought to always pray." Pray about everything!

I don’t have to tell you that we live in a wicked world. You know that and I certainly know that. We live in a world where the Devil, our own human flesh, and the world around us are doing their best, day and night, to defeat us. I read several years ago that the Church of Satan is fasting and praying 2 days a week for Christians and especially Christian leaders and Pastors to fall into sin and immorally. Now if that is true, then day and night we had better uplift each other through prayer before the throne of Heaven in order to negate all that Satanic prayer.

DAILY, persistent prayer for your family is a necessity. You read Luke 17:26-33, as well as II Timothy 3 and you should begin to realize we are already living in the period of the last days. Listen folks, our families, our children, our churches, and God’s men are under vicious Satanic attack.

It takes more than just saying we are a Christian family.

It takes more than saying we go to church with our family.

It takes more than just having your children in Sunday School.

You can have them in all these arenas and many more, but unless you are praying daily for them, you are going to lose them. Let me ask you, how many of you pray for your wife, husband, parents, children, and grandchildren by name and by specific need every day?

Noah succeeded. He did not faint in the polluted world because he prayed, preached and walked with God.

Lot who walked in the council of the ungodly, and stood in the way of sinners, and sat in the seat of the scornful, led his family deeper and deeper into wickedness because he failed to WATCH AND PRAY and thus fell into temptation.

Pastor what about my family? I have prayed for them, raised them in a godly atmosphere and yet they have not turned out right. In II Chronicles 29-32 we have the story of one of the godly Kings of Israel, Hezekiah. He was a deeply spiritual man who prayed in times of religious problems, political distress, and physical problems. At his death, onto the throne came His son who became one of the most wicked men to ever rule Israel. Yet after 55 years on the throne, Hezekiah’s son came to God in repentance. Why? What influenced him? I believe that the prayers of His godly daddy followed that son through all those years, even long after Hezekiah’s death. DON’T STOP PRAYING!

Second Truth: PRAYER is ACTIVE, verses 2-4. In verse 3, this woman kept on coming day after day. In verse 5 the judge gave her what she wanted because she was wearing him out. Put another way, she was a nag.

Now, if that kind of persistence can get an unjust judge, who could care less who you are, give you what you requested, how much more will a loving, heavenly father give to us, his children, what we need and what we request?

Listen to this thought provoking, yet tragic, statement, "The average Christian prayers 4 minutes a day, the average pastor prays 7 minutes a day, and very few, if any, families pray together." And yet we have a prayer-answering God who can give us the power to stand in the midst of a rotting world.

I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us we are to "pray without ceasing." Now, what does it mean to "pray without ceasing"?

Does it mean we are to be speaking words constantly? Of course not.

Does it mean that the Christian should stay on his knees every moment of the day? This is impossible.

It means we are to make prayer as natural as we do our breathing. We just breathe; we don’t think about it. We should just pray whenever and wherever. We don’t need to think about it.

There are several things, I believe, that are meant by “praying without ceasing.”

There isn’t any time when the Christian should not pray. Every day ought to be a sacred moment for the Christian when he can and should be breathing out prayers to God.

The Christian should be in constant communication with God.

How wonderful are the early morning hours spent in prayer.

How strengthening is the noontime when the Christian may attach his cable to God’s booster for help during the day.

How sacred are the closing hours of the day when God seems even nearer and more dear.

There isn’t any place where the Christian should not pray.

Every place is Holy Ground, an altar, a sanctuary.

The kitchen sink can be an altar.

The workbench can be a chancel.

The sofa can be a mourner’s bench.

The rest room can be a prayer closet.

In verse 7, it seems the woman had an urgent need; so urgent that she begged day and night. Now, if she was that way with an unjust judge, why shouldn’t we have the same urgency in praying to God? Our God is never wearied of our coming to Him in prayer.

So, we see the necessity of prayer in verse 1, and the activity of prayer in verses 2-4. Now, let’s talk about the third truth concerning prayer.

Third Truth: PRAYER is REAL. In verse 7, “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?” God is not like the unjust Judge.

The unjust judge had no interest in this woman.

To him she was just a woman who wanted some justice given.

To him she was just a bad dream, a pain in the neck. He wanted to give her what she wanted to get her off his back.

On the other hand, our God is PATIENT, KIND, GOOD and LOVING, CONCERNED and CARING. Amen!

We may ask why God doesn’t give us what we ask for immediately, if He is all that. Listen, it must be understood that our Heavenly Father which art in heaven does not always answer immediately; nor in the way in which we think He ought. Regardless, He still wants us to persevere in prayer.

Remember, God’s delays are not the delays of inactivity, but of preparation. Apparently, God is always answering prayers, because Romans 8:28 tells us, God works in all things at all times, causing all things to work together to accomplish His purposes. SO, WHY WOULD GOD SOMETIMES WANT TO MAKE US WAIT FOR AN ANSWER AND THEREFORE HAVE US CONTINUE TO AGONIZE AND PERSEVERE IN PRAYER?

First: Because God knows WHAT is best. Sometimes we come to God to present our petition, and God knows that we are asking for a solution that is second best. He may have a better solution. Many Christians receive second best because they want their prayers answered quickly. Sometimes the Lord delays to see if we will wait for His best solution.

Second: Because God knows WHEN is best. If it is a prayer for something that is in the will of God, and the solution is right for us, God has the answer already wrapped, addressed and postmarked. But his timing is important. The WHEN is just as important as the WHAT. He wants us to have it, but He wants us to have it at the right time.

Oh, our God is a prayer-answering God. One of the most profound verses in the Word of God that we should know by memory is God’s telephone number found in Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Notice it says "Call unto me and I will ANSWER." That’s pretty much all we need to hear, God will answer. In the New testament there is another profound verse found in Ephesians 3:20-21, which says "Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above ALL that we ASK or THINK, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory…"

Do you believe God answers prayer? I trust you have often experienced answers to your prayers. But do you realize how many answers to prayer there are in the Bible? Here are just a few:

JOSHUA prayed after the defeat at Ai and God revealed the thief Achan.

HANNAH prayed and God gave to her a child, Samuel.

DAVID prayed, and O’ how often God answered his prayers.

HEZEKIAH prayed when he had religious, political and physical problems, and God answered.

DANIEL prayed and God protected his life.

ABRAHAM prayed and God delivered Lot.

ELIJAH prayed and God raised the dead, sent fire from heaven, brought the drought, and gave the rain.

NEHEMIAH prayed and God allowed him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Now those are some of the answers to prayer found just in the Old Testament. Our great God definitely answers prayer in response to our requests. In so doing, we don’t worry Him, or weary Him. He delights in us coming and coming, again and again and again to Him in prayer. Remember,"What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!"

How serious are you about the ministry of prayer? Let me encourage you to make this church a praying church. In Mark 11:15-18, we read of our Lord chasing the merchants out of the temple. “And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; (16) And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. (17) And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. (18) And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.”

This was the second time He did this, the first being in John 2. So what made the Son of God so agitated? His house was being used for purposes other than what was intended. He seemed to be saying, "This place looks and feels more like a mall than a temple." Whatever happened to Isaiah’s word about the real point of this building, to be a HOUSE OF PRAYER for all nations? Out, get out of here, all of you."

To be sure, the merchants were there to help with the required money exchange and the buying and selling of animals for sacrifice. "But Jesus was not impressed with their religious commercialism. He was concerned then, as He is now, not only whether we’re doing God’s work, but also how and why we’re doing it." That’s a rather uncomfortable message for us to swallow.

The first century moneychangers were in the temple, but they didn’t exhibit the spirit of the temple. Jesus wanted "The atmosphere of my Father’s house to be one of prayer." Jesus seemed to say, “The aroma around my Father must be that of people opening their hearts in worship and supplication. This is not just a place to make a buck or perform a service. This is a house for calling on the Lord."

Someone said this, "The feature that is supposed to distinguish Christian churches, Christian people, and Christian gatherings is the aroma of prayer. Does the Bible ever say, My house shall be called a house of preaching? Does the Bible ever say, My house shall be called a house of music? However, the Bible does say, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Do you realize that Jesus launched the Christian church, not while someone was preaching, but while people were praying? The early church was initiated and sustained by prayer. This intense praying resulted in the powerful proclamation of Christ.

In Acts 1:14 the church is found seeking the face of God, not planning, but praying, not organizing but praying, which resulted in 3000 souls being saved at Pentecost.

In Acts 2:42, the church is still excited as they move forward in prayer. The results were phenomenal as people came to know Christ daily.

In Acts 3 Peter and John, on their way to the Temple to pray, saw 5000 converted before they arrived.

In Acts 4 the church continued to pray, and in Acts 5:14 we read "and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women."

In Acts 13:3, the church was preparing to send forth missionaries. In order to determine God’s will, they PRAYED and FASTED. In fact, the motto of the early church was "pray and proclaim, pray and proclaim."

E. M. Bounds in his book "Power through Prayer" said,

"What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use, men mighty in prayers. The Holy Spirit does not flow through METHODS, but through MEN. He does not come to MACHINERY, but to men. He does not ANOINT plans, but men of prayer."

E. M. Bounds goes on to say,

"We must learn anew the worth of prayer, entering anew the school of prayer. There is nothing which takes more time to learn. And if we would learn the wondrous art of prayer, we must not give a fragment here and there, "A little talk with Jesus," but we must demand and hold with iron grasp the best hours of the day for God in prayer, or there will be no praying worth the name."

Let me encourage you to be here for the Wednesday evening prayer meeting. I believe PRAYER MEETING is the most important service of the week. This ministry needs to be gathered in much prayer.

In Ephesians 6:18-19 "Praying always with all prayer…and supplication for all saints; And for me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known… the gospel."

Matthew 7:7, "ASK, and it shall be given you: seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;"

Psalm 37:4, "Delight thyself in the Lord; and HE SHALL GIVE THEE the desires of thine heart."

Yes, you are a vital part of the prayer ministry for this church. Wednesday Evening is just as important as Sunday School, Sunday Morning, and Sunday Evening. Let me close by saying:

There is no burden so great or so small that God doesn’t want to help us bear it.

There is no problem so great or so small,that God doesn’t want to help us find a solution to it.

There is no question so hard or so simple that God can’t find an answer to it.

There is no area of life that should be kept from God, and we should be in constant touch with Heaven presenting our petitions and accepting grace in time of need.

Prayer is God’s appointed way for Christians to get things and to get things done. The psalmist said in Psalm 65:2, "O thou who hearest prayers, unto thee shall all flesh come."

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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon "Men Ought Always Too Pray" then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Copy write permission: Because the “Weekly SERMONS” will be reproduced into other formats, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: The “Weekly SERMON” in it’s original form, without any changes, may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and copies may be printed for individual or ministry purposes, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of the “Weekly SERMON” must set forth in full the heading that is given before each “Weekly SERMON.” Any other request for use, please contact Bible Baptist Ministries at pdmikBBM@aol.com or by phone at 570.829.5216.

http://TheWeeklySermon.com/2009/39/

Is Anything too Difficult for God?

Pastor David Miklas — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:59:20 +0000

Sunday Sept. 13, 2009	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail: pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Prayer	Text: Jeremiah 32:17, 27

"Is Anything too Difficult for God?”

Introduction: Have you ever found yourself bogged down in the challenges of life, facing what could be called absolute impossibilities? If you are not currently in such a bind, it will not be long until you will be. If things seem a little difficult today, just wait, they’ll soon be impossible! Remember this little chorus,

Got any rivers you think are un-crossable;

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?

God specializes in things tho’t impossible;

He does the things others cannot do.

How do you handle life’s impossibilities? Where do you get the faith to meet these absolute impossible problems? Now, before I get into the heart of the message, let me give you several rather common misconceptions about Christian maturity.

Misconception number 1: "Because you are a Christian, all your problems are solved." Do you believe that? I hope not, because the Bible never says that. The Word of God promises that we will be new creatures in Christ; it assures us that we will have a destiny that is secure and eternal; but it does not guarantee a perfect road once Christ comes into a person’s life. In fact, in some instances problems increase and the road gets rougher!

Misconception number 2: "If you are having problems as a Christian, you are unspiritual." Again this isn’t a true statement. We all have problems, trials and tribulations, and you’re not unspiritual because you are wrestling with a dilemma. As a matter of fact, some of the most spiritual men and women known have wrestled with some of the deepest problems life offers. Here are just a few:

Think of JOB and his suffering. (He faced the loss of family, wealth and health, a wife who said "curse God" and friends who were no help.)

Think of ESTHER and her problems. (Her people the Jews were facing a holocaust and if she was found out, she too would be slain.)

Think of DANIEL and his problems. (He lived righteously, faithfully praying and he still ended up in the Lion’s Den.)

Think of JOSEPH. (He was rejected by his family, sold into slavery, and ended up in jail.)

Think of the Apostle PAUL. (Reading II Corinthians 11, you see he was loaded with adverse situations in life, shipped wrecked, jailed, beaten, left for dead, and nearly blind.)

Think of the Apostle JOHN. (He was the most beloved of all the disciples, and yet in life he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.)

Now, let’s get back to those impossibilities. In order to put everything into the right perspective, let me give you four key passages of scripture that address the subject of impossibility. Two of them are found in Jeremiah 32, which is set in Jeremiah’s prayer and the Lord’s response. The other two are found in the Book of Luke.

First: Jeremiah 32:17: In verses 17-19 we read, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: (18) Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, (19) Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:” Notice again the last phrase of verse 17, "there is nothing too hard for thee." Do you realize that whatever thing or things you’re calling "impossibilities" could be superimposed over what God says is "nothing" to Him? NOTHING!

Notice the description of God found in this passage:

verse 17, "by thy great power and stretched out arm"

verse 18, "the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of Host”

verse 19, "Great in counsel, and mighty in work."

In the Hebrew language the last part of verse 17 would read, "No, nothing, absolutely nothing for you, Lord, is extraordinary." What a statement of promise. And what a statement of promise given us in Jeremiah 33:3 where God said, "Call upon me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee GREAT and MIGHTY things, which thou knowest not."

Second: Jeremiah 32:27, Beginning in verse 27 we have the Lord’s response to Jeremiah’s prayer, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; IS THERE ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR ME?" God is asking you to substitute your impossibilities for the word "Anything." You fill in the blank. "IS _______ too difficult for God?" the implied answer, of course, is: "Absolutely not. Nothing is too difficult for me."

“Preacher, you don’t know my situation.” That’s true. I don’t know your situation or your problem. All you and I need to know is GOD AND HIS PROMISES. He is Lord, and nothing is too difficult for Him.

In Job 36:26 we read, "Behold, God is great…" How great is your God? We often sing this hymn. Here are the first two stanzas:

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy power thro’ out the universe displayed.

When thro’ the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,

How Great Thou art! How Great Thou art!

In Psalm 77:13-14 we read, "…who is as great a God as our God? Thou art the God who doest wonders…"

In Psalm 86:10 we read, "For Thou art great, and doest wonderess things: Thou art God alone."

It was the beloved Disciple John who penned this hymn of praise in Revelation 15:3-4, "Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name…"

As we read these passages and see the greatness of our God, we must come to the conclusion that,

OUR GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR PROBLEMS.

OUR GOD IS ABLE TO MEET THE IMPOSSIBILITIES OF OUR LIVES, AMEN!!

Why? Because "Nothing is too difficult for Him." The God of the galaxies is the God:

Who knows when your heart is broken.

Who knows when you have burdens.

Who knows when you have needs.

Who knows us personally and individually.

No wonder we read in Psalms 147:5, "Great is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding is infinite."

Third: Luke 1:37. We move from the passages in Jeremiah on to the Gospel of Luke 1. In an answer to Mary’s question concerning her conception. An angel appeared to her and said, "You are going to bear the Christ-child." She asks, "How can this be, since I am a virgin? How is that possible."

Follow me as I read verses 34-38, “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (36) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. (37) For with God nothing shall be impossible. (38) And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” Again in verse 37 is the answer we just read in Jeremiah about God. "For nothing is impossible with God." To make that statement practical, the word "Nothing" can be replaced with your situation. Whatever it is, it is not impossible with God.

Fourth: Luke 18:27: In this passage Jesus is meeting with the rich young ruler who asks “what he has to do to inherit eternal life?” Follow me as I read verses 19-26, “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. (20) Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. (21) And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. (22) Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. (23) And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. (24) And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! (25) For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (26) And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?” Now notice please verse 27 Jesus said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

Stop for a moment. I want you to think about that which seems most impossible in your life. You have seen and read theses four promises of God. Each has said virtually the same thing: "Nothing is impossible with God."

That includes you business.

That includes your marriage and family..

That includes your health.

That includes your ministry.

That includes healing strained relationships with people.

That includes the habits you have.

That includes insurmountable spiritual impossibilities.

Now the question is, will you ask the Lord to handle that specific impossibility, and then leave it with Him in a faith that simply will not doubt?

To illustrate this, there are any number of Biblical illustrations we could have gone to. However, would you turn to a very familiar event found in John 6? This is unique for several reasons.

First, this is the only miracle mentioned in all four Gospels, so it seems to be extremely significant to the Gospel writers and certainly to the Lord himself.

Second, this is the only account in which Jesus asked the advice of someone else.

Third, this is the only time Jesus performed a miracle before such a large crowd.

Fourth, this is an absolute miracle.

Jesus has chosen His disciples and sent them out to carry out the ministry. According to Matthew, they have gone to every village in the area and proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom, the message of repentance. Now they have returned, physically exhausted, emotionally worn, and the Lord desires to be alone with them and to rest.

In verses 1-4 we read, “After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. (2) And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. (3) And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. (4) And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.” Picture the scene. Jesus and His 12 disciples are alone on the mountain for some rest and relaxation.

In verse 5 we read, “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” They are all tired and weary, and they want to be left alone. Jesus looked up and saw an enormous crowd approaching. According to verse 10, the number was about 5,000. Matthew 14:21 tells us it was 5,000 plus women and children. So it could be safe to say there was between 10,000 and 15,000 people. That’s a lot of people with a lot of needs coming up the mountain.

Here they are in a barren place, and wouldn’t you know, all these people are hungry. There were no Price Croppers markets, Redner’s or Wal-Marts in sight. The disciples don’t know anyone, and they aren’t aware of any source of food. IT’S AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION.

But that’s how Jesus wanted it, because these disciples are just like you and I. "Oh, no, Lord. What on earth are we going to do?" Isn’t that how we often look at things?

How are we going to handle this situation?

How are we going to meet this financial crisis?

Jesus saw it as a perfect opportunity for a miracle. It was time to go from explanation to solid reality. So He gave them a test.

The first one to take the exam was PHILIP in verse 5-6, “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (6) And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.” Perhaps as Judas was in charge of the finances, Philip was in charge of the supplies. Notice Jesus’ intent of Philip in verse 6, "Where are we going to find bread to feed them?" Why did Jesus ask Philip, perhaps to test him? He wanted to determine the depth of his faith, could Philip trust Jesus in the impossibility. Philip was the statistical pessimist of the group.

He had to see everything in front of him.

He had to have everything figured out.

This is evident in Philip’s answer in verse 7, “Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” You will notice Philip didn’t even answer the Lord’s question. The Lord had asked, "Where do we go to buy bread?" and Philip’s answer dealt with "How much. Because all we have (in our terms) is $34.00 to feed 10,000 to 15, 000 people."

All the Lord wanted Philip to say was "I DON’T KNOW. It’s impossible with me, but it’s nothing to you Lord, and I’m going to wait and see How my Lord is going to pull this off." But that’s not what Philip said.

Philip saw only the situation, the size of the problem. He did not remember how big God is. He was more convinced of what could NOT be done than what could be done. Like Philip, isn’t that the way we are:

When someone suggests a new Idea, you say, "Oh, no. That won’t work."

When some situation gets worse, and you cannot handle it any longer, it never dawns on you to simply trust God.

All you can see is what can’t be done.

The second person to take the test was Andrew, verse 8-9, “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, (9) There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” Andrew had one thing going for him. Any man who can talk a little boy out of his lunch must have some degree of persuasion! He approached the Lord and said, "Here are five loaves and two fishes."

But he didn’t stop there. He went on, "But what are these for so many people?" Too bad he didn’t stop when he was ahead. For Andrew it was "Little thinking in a big situation."

Let’s stop right here. What about your situation and mine?

You hear of the needs of the unreached multitudes. A whole world out there is desperate to know Christ. You tuck the little ones in bed at night, two, three children. "Lord they are yours, but what are these among so many?"

You don’t have a whole lot of money, so you are only able to give just a few dollars month after month. You begin to calculate, "What’s this among so many needs?"

You don’t have a lot of time. Your work and family takes 12-14 hours a day. You want to pray more, but often it is so little time "that hardly counts."

You don’t have a lot of what some may call spiritual talents. “Lord, I can’t do that much in service for you, so what is the use of doing anything?”

Hold it. Maybe you don’t have a lot to give, but neither did that little fellow. What he gave was all Andrew could find, and that’s all the Lord needed. JUST THAT.

Now here is the miracle. Remember the story? It’s as simple a miracle as it can be. Notice please verse 10-11, “And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. (11) And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.”

The fish were little pickled fish like a sardine, not like a sea bass.

The barley loaves were the size of a pancake, flat, hard, and brittle, The bread of poor people.

Jesus took these brittle loaves and tiny fishes in His hands and pulled off the impossible. The multitudes were sitting along the slopes of the mountain, and those disciples were busy passing out the food to hundreds, and then thousands.

There was Philip the statistical pessimist and Andrew the one who thought small in a big situation passing out to the crowd "all they wanted." And notice in verse 12, "When they were filled…" That’s just like the Lord. Not only does He do the impossible. He does abundantly beyond all we could ask or think. He gave to those people until they had plenty. Jesus did the impossible. Remember Ephesians 3:20, (I love this verse) "Now unto Him that is ABLE to DO exceeding abundantly above all that we ASK or THINK…"

Notice what Jesus said to the disciples in verse 12 after the people were filled. “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”

Picture Philip with his basket full saying "I can’t believe it."

Picture Andrew, the "little thinker," looking stunned.

Picture that little lad saying, "Whoa, look what the Lord did with my lunch. He fed this whole crowd of people."

Let’s put some handles on to what the scriptures have been saying. Here are several statements I believewill suffice:

First: When you or I are faced with impossibility, we need to leave it in God’s hands.

We need to refuse to calculate or doubt.

We need to refuse to work it out by ourselves.

We need to refuse to worry over the matter.

Instead we need to say, "Lord, I’m carrying around something I cannot handle. It’s impossible for me, but it is as nothing with you."

Second: Our problem is that we hold on to our problems. I know this to be true, because I have done it myself. I work at the problem, and after I have made a first class mess of it, then I turn it over to the Lord. Have you done that?

We tend to make all the mistakes and then dump it in His lap and say, "Here, Lord I can’t do anything with it." Rather, what we ought to say right at the beginning is, "It’s impossible: I can’t handle it. Lord, before I foul things up, it’s yours, please handle it for me."

If we are facing some unbelievable problem, some impossibility, in which we have come to the absolute end, in which there is nothing we can do – ZERO, what does God repeatedly say to us?

"All things are possible to him who worries." No way!

"All things are possible to him who attemptsto work it out by himself." No way!

"All things are possible to him WHO believes." Absolutely right!

Today, what is your impossible situation?

Is your marriage under siege?

Is it related to your family, parents, children, grandchildren?

Is it some habit that has got you hooked?

Is it a pressing financial situation beyond your control?

Is it related to a relationship that is so strained and pressured that

you cannot handle it?

Fill in the blank with your impossible situation and then TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OF IT, while asking God in absolute faith to take over. The answer is not in human mythology, the answer is in the Grace of God.

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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon, "Is Anything too Difficult for God” right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

http://TheWeeklySermon.com/2009/37/