Praying with Paul: Imagery in Prayer
Praying with Paul • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro:
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Tonight, we will continue [Praying with Paul]. The subject of my message is, [Imagery in Prayer].
The Bible is the most important book in print. We value the Bible. As people of the Spirit, we are people of Scripture. The Bible is the authority on everything we do.
There are more original copies of Scripture than any other ancient book. It has been preserved for thousands of years. Tradition holds that forty different men wrote the Bible.
But the truth, they were directed by the Author and the Finisher of our Faith— God. We believe that the Bible is:
Inspired—the Holy Spirit revealed what to write to the authors.
Infallible—there is no error in Scripture, it is 100% correct.
Complete— we do not need more Scripture added, it is complete.
With these truths, it is easy to notice that the books of the Bible read a little different.
Take the Gospels for example, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each book has a different way of describing what Jesus did. The books do not contradict each other.
The authors were not stenographers, like in a court, transcribing what is happening. Instead, God used the authors personality to write.
It is like when people give an interpretation to a message in tongues. Just a few weeks ago in revival, I started to give the interpretation before and someone else did.
They used different words, but the meaning or interpretation was the same. They might not have said it the way I would have, but the message God wanted to get to the us was the same.
What was the difference?
Personality,
God works through our personality.
That is why Peter and Paul’s epistles are different.
Paul was educated in the finest universities in Jerusalem
Peter was a fisherman
Both spoke the word of God, but they did it through their personality, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Often in Scripture, the writers use different literary devices to make their point. One in particular I want to notice tonight is imagery.
Imagery is, uses descriptive language that means something different than or goes beyond the literal definition of the words, often through exaggeration, comparison, or symbolism.
My grandma used imagery in her talk:
He’s up a creek without a paddle— no way out
She’s madder than a wet hen— really mad
These are just a couple, these phrases describe something deeper.
Scripture does this as well:
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
God’s word leads the way.
I want to look at three ways Paul used imagery to make his point in Galatians 5, [Stand Fast], [Run Well], and [Walk Close].
Let’s begin
1. Stand Fast
1. Stand Fast
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Paul had a serious problem to deal with in Galatians. Shortly after his ministry to the Galatian churches, false teachers came and told the people to find true salvation, they had to follow the Jewish Law.
The problem with this was, NO ONE in history, except Jesus, has ever been able to keep the Law in its entirety.
How then could they do what no one Jesus could do?
So Paul paints a picture with his words— STAND FAST.
What does he mean?
Cherish the truth that you have recieved and REFUSE to go back into the bondage of our past.
What truth did they receive?
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
They received the Way, the Truth, and the Life. They recieved Jesus and they had freedom in Jesus. Why then would they want to return to the yoke of bondage.
They were to plant themselves deep in what God has done and what He will do.
It reminds me of what Moses told the Israelites when the Egyptians chased them:
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
Now the Egyptians were to literally stand. The Galatians were to figuratively stand. Paul paints a picture with his words— do not move, do not go anywhere, do not leave the truth that you have recieved!
Once we are saved, we need to refuse to go back.
2. Run Well
2. Run Well
7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.
Paul often viewed our walk with God as a race:
we have a course/track
we are the runner
we have a finish line.
He tells them, when I first met you, you willingly accepted the Gospel and were running the race so well, but something has held them back from the truth.
What got them off course?
Someone came and told them they could reach the finish line in a new way. Instead of trusting God to get them to the end, they false teachers wanted them to get to the end through their own strength and power.
Salvation begins and ends with God.
The moment they started trusting their rightesouness instead of God, they began to get off the track and started running the wrong way.
When I think of a race, I remember in order to finish, we have to keep the end in sight.
How do we do this?
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We have got to keep our eyes on Jesus. When Jesus is our focus, we will:
show forgiveness
repent daily
depend on the Spirit
hunger for righteousness
read the Bible
pray without ceasing
rejoice always
When Jesus is our focus, life is so much better. So Paul wants them to:
stand fast, stay rooted in truth
run well, keeping the end in sight— Jesus and…
3. Walk Close
3. Walk Close
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
There are two words that create an image for us— Spirit and flesh.
The Spirit describe the Holy Spirit
The flesh describes our sinful nature
The sinful nature wants to do evil. We have a bent toward doing the opposite of what the Spirit wants us to do.
How can we overcome the desires of the flesh?
We have to walk in the Spirit. What does this mean? How does one walk in the Spirit.
This was the same question Nicodemus had when Jesus told him that he must be born again. He wondered how a grown man go back into his mother’s womb?
Jesus wanted him to stop looking at the flesh and think about the spirit.
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
When we walk close to the Spirit, He leads and directs us like the wind. We go where the wind blows and follow His leading.
The Holy Spirit wants to lead us and fill us if we will let Him.
How then do we walk close to the Spirit?
The Holy Spirit plays an important role in our lives.
We receive Him at conversion, but once we are saved, there is a gift for us, God wants to baptize us with His Spirit. He wants to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
Being baptized in the Holy Spirit opens a door for us to walk closer to God than we could have ever imagined.
Jesus intends for every believer to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. That was a part of His plan for us.
16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
When we let Jesus baptize us in the Holy Spirit, He takes control and consumes us like a blaze of fire.
We walk close to God through the Holy Spirit.
Close:
These three phrases:
stand fast
run well
walk close
Are words used to describe what we should do in our walk with God.
We need to firmly plant ourselves in the truth.
We need to keep the end in sight.
We need to walk close by being consumed with the Spirit.
When we pray we should imagine ourselves being and doing all God calls us to be and do.
Let’s pray with Paul and ask God for His help to enable us to do live out these three images.