Sermon Tone Analysis

In Jesus Name

I love history about Abraham Lincoln.

Tony Evans tells a story of a young man sitting in D.C. on a park bench.

A little boy noticed him bawling with tears just streaming down his cheeks.

Concerned the little boy says, “What’s wrong sir, what’s wrong?”

The man tells the boy about his brother being on death row facing execution in the next few days.

The boy desperately wanted to get in to see President Lincoln to ask him for a pardon of his brother.

He said, “of course, regular people cannot get in to the president's office, so I feel hopeless.”

After hearing the man’s story the little boy said, “Sir, would you come with me?”

The boy took the man by the hand, walked through the guards, into the office, past the secretary and nobody mumbled a word.

The man couldn’t believe it.

He couldn’t have gotten half this far,even if he tried, and this little boy walked him straight past everyone into the president’s office.

President Lincoln stood as the boy was walking in, and looking at the boy he said, “What can I do for you, son?”

You see the reason the man was in the oval office and in the presence of the president is because he met and had an encounter with the son of Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln’s son could walk past all the opposition.

Evan’s says that you and I cannot walk into the presence of a holy God unless we are escorted by the Son.

That’s why we pray in Jesus’ name.

Jesus’ teaching here in has helped us to learn how easy it is to enter the throne room of God spiritually through prayer.

and assures us of the power of Jesus name not only in granting us entry but in having our request heard and answered.

We have the promise of Jesus

In there is no mention of prayer.

It is an account of the religious leaders and people questioning and criticizing the Kingdom work he was doing in bringing salvation to satan’s captives.

Coincidence is not responsible for the ordering of God’s Word, God is; therefore I believe Luke’s placing of this account directly after the account of Jesus’ teaching on prayer is on purpose.

STAND AND HONOR THE AUTHOR OF THE WORD AS WE READ HIS WORD

PRAYER

The promise of Christ is that where 2 or more of his people are gather in His name there He is also.

Gathered in His name for His purpose.

The promise of Christ is that where 2 or more of his people are gathered in His name, for his purpose, there He is also.

The purpose of Jesus for the church was up to the church to live out.

But they understood one thing better than many churches.

The prayer life of the first church provides a pattern from which the modern church can learn, both in terms of the importance of prayer, and also matters for prayer.

If you read through the first several chapters of Acts you will see the first church gathered often and praying (intensely and faithfully) every time they did.

Before they attempted to follow Christ commands they prayed.

in:

The prayer life of the first church provides a pattern from which the modern church can learn, both in terms of the importance of prayer, and also matters for prayer.

After the greatest single movement of the Holy Spirit happened, producing the greatest single need of discipleship, they became committed to making disciples grounded in prayer.

When 2 of the church elders had been arrested and released because of preaching the gospel in the name of Jesus, the church gathered to pray, not for comfort or protection but for boldness.

The Bible gives the result of those prayers.

When complaints and criticisms arose in the church, instead of stopping the most important kingdom work, the church leaders, apostles, prayed and told the people to choose faithful and spirit-filled men to protect church unity.

Acts 6:

When a member was deathly ill, the people called for prayer of healing.

After the first pastor of the 1st Christian Church, James, had been killed, and while another elder, Peter was in jail the church was praying.

After the first pastor of the 1st Christian Church, James, had been killed, and while another elder, Peter was in jail the church was praying.

After the first pastor of the 1st Christian Church, James, had been killed, and while another elder, Peter was in jail the church was praying.

When they were praying during worship God called the church to send out some members to plant another church.

They did not go until after receiving a prayerful commission.

If missions was at its core, then prayer was its nucleolus of every cell of the Body of Christ.

If they all lived on mission as Christ had commanded them to do, then prayer was the blood that flowed through the arteries and veins of the Body of Christ.

If missions was at its core, then prayer was its nucleolus of every cell of the Body of Christ.

If they all lived on mission as Christ had commanded them to do, then prayer was the blood that flowed through the arteries and veins of the Body of Christ.

What does all that have to do with ?

Understand these 3 truths about what happens when we pray by ourselves and together in the Body of Christ.

We are not fighting against God.

We have already learned from the first 13 verses of that God is for His children.

His intention is to give His children what is most beneficial for them.

Our first enemy is self

Jacob wrestled him self not God

A few obstacles we find in our praying for unbelievers, church members, pastor and staff are: unconcern (about their needs or spiritual health), unbelief (doubting God’s power and promises to meet your needs), and un-confessed sins (offenses against God and others we committed or commands of God we omitted).

Our second enemy is satan

Who is behind all the obstacles of self we have to overcome.

We know this from where we find Paul’s description of our spiritual battlefield.

Some people think that there is no Satan.

Perhaps the following story will be instructive to them.

Once there was a boxer who was being badly beaten.

Battered and bruised, he leaned over the ropes and said to his trainer, “Throw in the towel!

This guy is killing me!”

The trainer said, “Oh, no, he’s not.

He’s not even hitting you.

He hasn’t laid a glove on you!”

At that point the boxer wiped the blood away from his eye and said, “Well, then, I wish you’d watch that referee.

Somebody is sure hitting me!”1192[1]

[1] Michael P. Green.

(2000).

1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (pp.

322–323).

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

[1] Michael P. Green.

(2000).

1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (pp.

322–323).

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

A prayerless Christian denies the problem.

A prayerless Church dies from the problem.

That is the reason I believe we find this account after Jesus’ teaching on prayer in .

That’s why I titled this sermon:

Praying Disciples Prevent Prevalent & Predominant Problems

Luke goes directly from Jesus’ teaching on God giving the Holy Spirit to His children; to giving a perfect real life example of how satan seeks to work against what the Holy Spirit does in the kingdom through God’s children.

Notice how Luke shows it is satan causing these people to criticize or question what Jesus is doing in establishing God’s kingdom.

The first lesson for us as Christ followers is that

Disciples Intensely praying together prevent the problem of satan’s captives not becoming Christ followers.

v. 14 - Jesus is seen here clearly doing the work of the kingdom that he had declared to be sent for over in .

God the Son became Jesus the man so that by His power the captives of satan could be released.

This was Jesus’ point in vs. 21-22 - Satan doesn’t work against himself, he works against God because he is trying to keep what he already has.

I wonder if Paul, a close companion of Luke, had this passage in mind when He wrote telling us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of Jesus’ might and to put on the full armor of God; finishing it by telling us to pray always in the Spirit.

Here in v.22 - We know that Jesus is referring to himself as the stronger one who takes away satan’s armor and captures his spoils.

How does he do that since He is now in heaven?

He uses our prayers for lost unbelievers to strip away what satan thought he could trust.

Jesus uses our evangelism, each of us telling lost unbelievers the gospel, to take away satan’s spoils - the souls he held captive.

Disciples Intensely praying together prevent the problem of Kingdom Workers being opposed by Kingdom Critics.

v.15 - Matthew in his account in identifies these people as the prideful and pretentious Pharisees who tried to stop Jesus at every turn and eventually crucified Him.

v.16 - Another group is mentioned here that may have thought it a little to weird or judgmental to call Jesus a satan worker.

They did still, however, show their own level of pride when they tested Jesus by asking Him for a sign.

It was just another way of criticizing and questioning Jesus without being so obvious to everyone else.

In asking for a sign from heaven - they questioned if Jesus had really been called of God to come there as the local pastor and demon out-caster.

Matthew in his account in identifies these people as the prideful and pretentious Pharisees who tried to stop Jesus at every turn and eventually crucified Him.