Protection of Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
Announcements
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Fish Fry Sept 19th
Back to Church Sunday September 20
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Protection of Prayer
Protection of Prayer
Mission and vision
Scripture
We’ve been in this pasture of prayer for a few weeks.
Being led by the good shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Had about 10 min of testimony on Wednesday! God is answering prayers
John 10 tells us that Jesus is the Good shepherd
WE also see that there are dangers being a sheep
Right?
He talks about the stranger trying to lead us away
He talks about thieves coming in to steal and kill and destroy
Protection for a sheep lies solely in one place
The Shepherd
We understand this in a physical sense when looking at the pasture of prayer
The shepherd physically protects the sheep from enemies… lions, bears
King david talked about killing a bear and a lion who were trying to attack his flock
We understand physical danger now days
We are keenly aware of the harm that could befall us at any moment
Churches around the country have armed security to protect against violence
There’s vigilance in every interaction. You have navigate danger from other people, from vehicles on the road. We’ve got to navigate danger from the Caronavirus
War, brutality, pestilance... it’s all present in ourminds
And the presence of this necessity to be vigilant leads us to a place mentally… where we are dealing with attacks
Fear creeps in. The fear of being harmed, the fear of failure, the fear of not being prepared, fear for our children, fear for our health, fear for our parents and loved ones’ health, financial fears, political fears
And pretty soon we begin to be consumed by the attacks that have our entire being in chaos
But there’s something else I want us to see today in this pasture of prayer
Your good shepherd, Jesus Christ, is not just protecting your finances, your health, and all that other stuff… But Jesus protects even our innermost thoughts when we rest in the pasture of prayer.
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Here we have Paul talking to the people of God at Philippi and He’s giving them some final instructions in this letter
He gets to this point where he says that the Peace o God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
Through Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving… the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds
Paul isn’t saying that the physical dangers aren’t real… in fact he says but in EVERYTHING
that means every trial, every struggle, every moment of poor judgement, every financial dicision… bring it to Jesus in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
Paul is echoing what Jesus says in Matthew 6
Don’t worry about all the temporal stuff. The stuff that will eventually fade away
Not that these things aren’t very real and felt needs, but we must IN the moments of need seek Christ and his Kingdom first
Right? Go into the pasture of prayer with humility and honesty and bring your all to Jesus
With prayer and thanksgiving. And HE will guard our hearts and mind with the peace of God
Just a side note
Heart - This is the place where the will is, where you choose from, where your desires come from
Mind - Reasoning, thinking, psychological faculties
Paul is telling us that when we live in this pasture of prayer where we are listening to the voice of our shepherd… where we are spending the time … He will not only watch over us in those moments of protecting us from some catastrophic attack of the enemy, but he will keepyour heart and your mind guarded by his peace
Isaiah talks about this in Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
The fact is that when we make the choice to listen to our shepherd to abide in the pasture of prayer by lifting up all things to him
By rejoicing and praising - reminding ourselves of the Character of God
By - depending on God by bringing all requests to him
by lifting others up… interceding
Basically by focusing on God we have no room in our mind for the nonsense that gums up the works
The reason Paul can tell us to not be anxious about anything BUT in everything by prayer....
Not out of everything!
Paul is telling us that in the midst of the trials there is deliverance
In the middle of the storm there is peace
In the uncertanty there is a blessed assurance
IN Everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving Bring it ALL to God and he will guard your hearts and minds
Is because the HolySpirit has revealed to Paul that the way we are able to keep our hearts and minds guarded from anxiety or fear is by keeping our minds stayed on Jesus
In that he keeps us in perfect peace
The Shalom of God protects us and we are able to abide in Christ and his peace
What Jesus is trying to get into you today is that you don’t have to let
Anger rule you… bring it to God with prayer and thanksgiving and the peace of God will protect your heart ands mind
bitterness reign in your heart, You don’t have to go around upset at the latest facebook post, you don’t have to be consitantly tormented by your own toxic thinking. Because when you are connected to the good shepherd through prayer… he will keep you and protect you
That image of the peace of God guarding you harkens to this image of the vigilant shepherd watching for intruders and keeping them away from doing you harm
That is not only the physical attacks that we pray we never feel…
But the Peace of God the Shalom of God will dilligently watch over your decision making process
The peace of God will diligently watch over your emotions
The peace of God will diligently watch over your conspiracy theories
When you are walking in the pasture of prayer and fully resting on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd… you will be living in the peace of God and be filled with the Hope of God… which is something this world so desperately needs
This week as you are in your pasture of prayer and writing in your prayer journals… I want you to lay down any of the anxieties that are burdening you. And whatever that fear is that you are worried about, put it in your journal EXACTLY what you are asking God for… If you know
and next to it put a promise of God
and something you’re thankful for that God has already done
And watch how God transforms your fears, how he shapes your heart.
Time of response