Five Ways We Can Pray for Our Pastor

The flaming arrows of the evil one are flying through the air right now, aimed at our pastor.  The enemy can be effective in his deception to destroy the credibility of the Word of God by destroying the deliverer of the message.   The Apostle Paul was acutely aware of his need for prayer when he asked the Ephesian believers to pray for him. 

"Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” - Ephesians 6:19-20

When he spoke to the church at Colossae, Paul exhorted them to devote themselves to prayer, keeping alert in it...  praying that God would open doors for evangelism (Colossians 4:3).  And in First Thessalonians he simply says, “Brethren, pray for us” (5:25).  

If Paul needed the prayers of his fellow workers in the faith, then certain our pastor needs them.   This is an urgent call for all of us to get on our knees and humbly pray for Pastor Jeff.   There are numerous things to pray for when we intercede for our pastor, but here are five specific items to get started: 

1).  Undistracted study time.  Pastor Jeff needs to have full concentration while he's studying scripture and preparing his sermons.  There are a million other important things that can pull him away from his studies.  So it is essential that we pray for him to get adequate quiet time to get his thoughts in order.  We should pray against the enemy using subtle distraction tactics to destroy the effectiveness of sermon preparation. 

2).  Clarity of the Word of God.    We need to pray that his studies are fruitful so that the meaning of scripture is crystal clear to him.  If his job is to clarify what the Word of God says, it is impossible for him to make it clear to us if it is not first clear to him.  There is nothing that the deceiver would like more than to confuse people by muddy preaching. 

3).  Quality family time.  Pastor Jeff’s first mission field is not the crowd of people that assemble on Sunday morning for church.  It is his family.  They need shepherded by him.  And not only that, but his wife needs her husband and his kids need their dad.  A pastor who does not spend time with his wife and children has failed. 

4).  Victory in the fight against discouragement.  Being in full time ministry has it's share of amazing blessings.  But it is also brutal.  Ministry is often a rollercoaster of highs and lows.  Ministry involves people; and while some people are a great encouragement, many will disappoint.   One of the devil's most effective methods in his toolbox of destruction is to use discouragement to ruin someone's ministry.  A massively great encouragement to a pastor is seeing the effects of the Word of God in the people he teaches.  Let’s pray that our church would not only hear what we’re being taught, but also to put into practice all of the principles we learn from God’s servant as he explains the Bible to us.  

5).  Vigilance against pride.  The tendency toward pride is part of the sinful human condition.  It comes naturally to people. Gaining a certain amount of knowledge can very easily vault someone into an attitude of superiority.  Pastors who study well are continually gaining knowledge of the scriptures and if they are not in a constant state of vigilance, they can be puffed up with pride.  This is a sin.  And so we should pray for humility. 

If we want our church to be constantly expanding its influence in the culture, we cannot let the adversary destroy the life-saving message of the gospel by the barrage of attacks on our pastor.   God's answers to these prayers will extinguish the flames on every destructive arrow the enemy can sling. 

Blessings,

Mark

Jesus said, "Let the Evildoer Still Do Evil." (Wait, JESUS said that?!)

It’s hard to watch the news as a Christian sometimes.

Another 10 Commandment Monument removed. Atheist victory.

Another law passed to impose the will of LGBT. Gender is what you make it. Bathrooms are multiple choice.

Another ISIS attack. Video posted on YouTube.

Another debate over abortion. And while children are slaughtered in utero, our hearts mourn a gorilla.

We live in a day of rampant immorality, and often Christians can be guilty of going into wrong mindsets:

Despair: “The world is going worse and worse. What are we going to do?! What can turn this ship around?!” Yes, the world is going to get a lot worse before it gets perfectly better – as advertised (John 16:33).

Hatred: Just as we saw (in our 6/5 message) Stephen show grace to the people who were murdering him (Acts 7:60), we, too, must ask God to fill our hearts with love, even for those who hate us. Jesus commanded this (Matthew 5:44)! Yet, too often, our response is hatred. “Can’t wait until God casts those people straight into hell.” Even God Himself doesn’t delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23) but desires all men (people) to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).

Indifference: “Well, nothing we can do about it. I’ll just mind my own business. Doesn’t really affect me.“ Yes, it does. Because you have the answer. Can you turn a blind eye? If the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed you, why do you think it lacks the power to change them? You are an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) – God has chosen you to share the love and Gospel of Jesus with the world. You are like a doctor walking around with the cure to an illness that afflicts everyone who has not taken that cure! Can you really keep it to yourself while people die from the illness?

Wrong solutions: “We just need to elect the right politicians. The wrong politicians in office will mean certain doom for the church.” While you should vote, and yes, let’s acknowledge that some seem more detrimental to the mission on the surface... but God is not limited by who is in office. In Acts 8:1-8, we saw God actually used persecution to advance the church! We must look to God's Word - not to Washington DC - for answers.

Jesus has a Word. Actually, it’s how the Bible ends. You would think as God completes His book that He worked on for more than 1500 years, He would speak some impactful words to close the Canon. And He does.

Revelation 22:10-13 – And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

“Let the evildoer still do evil”? What is that all about? Is Jesus telling sinners to sin?

He is. Jesus is saying, “Keep it up. Sin. Go ahead. You want to sin, then sin.”

But the warning follows. “I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me.” So go ahead and sin if that’s what you want more than Me. But know this: I am coming back to “repay each one for what he has done.” The day is coming when every hard hearted act of rebellion will be righteously and permanently judged by the Lord. So you can indulge yourself in the passing pleasures of sin now. Go for it! Live it up! Do whatever you want! But know that it is not going to pay off in the long run. 

And there’s a promise in there for us, too. Let “the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” Just as sinners will persistently stay the course, so must we. We must be just as persistent in love, in grace, in evangelism, in standing on the Word, in reaching out to a lost and dying world. And the promise of “recompense according to deeds” is also, gloriously, graciously, given to us.

So choose in what you are going to persist. Because the Lord is taking note. And He is coming to settle accounts.

Pastor Jeff

-for the time is near

Welcome to Our New Home for the Summer

For the third year in a row we will temporarily be relocating to Ingomar Middle School. This will continue throughout the summer months as renovations are done to Marshall Middle School (our typical weekly home). Please remember to plan ahead and join us in Ingomar next week 6/5, just a quick 10 minutes away.
Check out the map and timelapse video below to prepare for the move!

 

Why Are We Talking So Much About Persecution?

Can’t we talk about something nice? Like charity or kittens? This talk of persecution and suffering is a downer!

The easy answer is: we follow the text. But there are more reasons we need to talk about persecution, and they are listed in 1 Peter 4. As promised Sunday, here they are. In case you’re wondering why we are so fired up to share these truths with you from Acts, read Peter’s Holy Spirit-inspired take on the subject.

1 Peter 4:12-19:

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

We Are Studying Persecution:

1. So I Won’t Be Surprised. (1 Peter 4:12) Sometimes Christians seem genuinely shocked when the world acts like the world. Peter says, “Don’t be surprised, like this is a strange thing.” It’s a world that hates Jesus. And if you align with Him, the world hates you, too.
    
2. So I Will Know How to Respond. (1 Peter 4:13) Like the early church, persecution suffering shouldn’t result in “woe is me, poor me, pity me” attitudes – they should result in rejoicing! A hymn of praise lifted to heaven for this opportunity! How can this be? Read on...
    
3. So I May Share in the Sufferings of Jesus. (1 Peter 4:13, see also Acts 5:41, Philippians 3:10) It is a glorious truth from God’s Word: suffering isn’t just some unfortunate event. You are actually sharing in the sufferings of Christ! Share in suffering now, rejoice in glory with Him soon. What a marvelous thing to share the life of Christ now AND in eternity!
    
4. So I May Be a Strong Witness. (1 Peter 4:16, see also 2 Timothy 2:3) Suffering persecution isn’t a season of delay in ministry – it is a new opportunity to glorify God!
    
5. So I Learn to Trust God in a Deep Way. (1 Peter 4:19) Trusting God when things are hard always teaches us to trust Him in ways we don’t experience when things are smooth. You want to go deeper in your walk with God? It happens when you are persecuted.

We’re going to suffer persecution if we stand for Jesus. Let’s suffer well.