INTRO.- What’s in a name?
ILL.- An Indian petitioned a judge of an Arizona court to give him a shorter name. “What is your name now?” asked the judge. “Chief Screeching Train Whistle,” said the Indian. “And to what do you wish to shorten it?” asked the judge. The Indian folded his arms majestically and grunted, “Toots.” (And short is often better)
ILL.- Fontana, California —What’s in a name? No end of harassment for a 19-year-old steel corporation employee here, who planned to enter college in the fall. His name is Richard M. Nixon. The “M”, though, is for Mark. He is a Democrat and he is not related to the former president with a similar name.
“People are always saying things like. ‘Hello, Mr. President, how are things at the White House?’” Richard said, “If I try to charge something at a store, I’m usually told, ‘Sorry, your credit’s no good, ha, ha!’ It isn’t even funny anymore, but I try to be polite and smile once in a while.”
Richard said he was stopped by a policeman one night and when he gave his name as requested, the cop snapped: “Okay, you smart punk, now put your hands on the car and don’t move.” After the frisking, the cop ran a check on Richard’s license plate, since he’d lost his driver’s license and car registration. “When he found out I was telling the truth,” said Richard M. Nixon, “he started laughing like crazy.”
Wouldn’t that be a hard name to bear? Of course, not as bad as Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden or Adolf Hitler!
ILL.- How would you like the name Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper? Was there really such a person as Kickenlooper? SURE WAS.
Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper ( July 21, 1896–September 4, 1971), was a member of the Republican Party, first elected to statewide office in Iowa as lieutenant governor, serving from 1939 to 1942 and then as Governor from 1943 to 1944. Hickenlooper. What a name!
12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you. And we also pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.
What’s in a name? Listen to God’s Word.
Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray: " ’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name..."
Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark 9:41 "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward."
John 14:13-14 "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
Phil. 2:9-11 "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
It appears to me that the most important name in all the universe is the name of Jesus. Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the Son of the living God, and our only hope for anything good in this life and the promise of eternal life! THAT MAKES HIS NAME THE NAME ABOVE ALL OTHER NAMES!
PROP.- Our text tells us how to pray in His name.
1- We pray for you constantly in His name
2- We pray for empowerment in His name
I. WE PRAY FOR YOU CONSTANTLY IN HIS NAME
11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling.
ILL.- A couple of young boys were fishing at their special pond off the beaten track. All of a sudden, the Game Warden jumped out of the bushes. Immediately, one of the boys threw his rod down and started running through the woods like being chased by a bear. The Game Warden was hot on his heels. After about a half mile, the young man stopped and stooped over with his hands on his thighs to catch his breath, so the Game Warden finally caught up to him.
"Let’s see yer fishin’ license, Boy!" the Warden gasped. With that, the boy pulled out his wallet and gave the Game Warden a valid fishing license.
"Well, son," said the Game Warden," you must be about as dumb as a box of rocks! You don’t have to run from me if you have a valid license!"
"Yes, sir," replied the young guy, "but my friend back there, well, he don’t have one."
Fishing. That’s a constant in some people’s lives. I knew a guy back in MO who fished all of his life and every January 1st, regardless of the weather, he went fishing. He went fishing on the Lake of the Ozarks even if he had to break the ice.
Constantly. Interesting word. Is there anything in your life that is a constant? Is there anything that you constantly do?
ILL.- I’ve heard people say things like: "I do nothing in the mornings until I have my morning coffee." Meaning that is a definite constant in their life. Some constants are very good and some may not be so good. But here’s a good constant.
Acts 1:14 "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."
Romans 1:9-10 "God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you."
I Thess. 5:17 "Pray continually." Praying is one thing that all Christians should constantly do.
We should be constantly praying for one another and especially, for those with special needs: physical problems, hospitalized, those needing surgery, etc. But also those who need Christ as their Savior!
Is there someone in your family or some friend who is not a Christian and in need of Jesus? We should pray constantly, every day for such people.
ILL.- Research at San Francisco General Hospital has revealed that victims of heart attack, heart failure and other cardiac problems who were remembered in prayers fared better than those who were not.
Cardiologist Randy Byrd assigned 192 patients to the “prayed-for” group and 201 patients to the “non-prayed-for” group. All patients were in the coronary intensive care unit. Patients, doctors and nurses did not know which group patients were in. Prayer group members were scattered around the nation and given only the first names, diagnoses and prognoses of patients.
The researcher said that the results were dramatic. The prayed-for group had significantly fewer complications than the un-remembered group. And fewer members of the former died. The latter group was five times more likely to develop infections requiring antibiotics, and three times more likely to develop a lung condition, leading to heart failure.
These findings were published in the proceedings of the American Heart Association. Someone suggested that maybe doctors ought to be writing on their order sheets: “Pray at least three times a day.”
If there is anything constant in our lives, it should be prayer and praying for others. It should be talking to God constantly; whispering prayers for others and praise to Him.
II. WE PRAY FOR EMPOWERMENT IN HIS NAME
11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours.
ILL.- A Preacher’s Confession: Lack Of Prayer. I have a confession to make. I am a pastor who doesn’t pray. To be honest with you, I always feel guilty about my prayer life. Oh, yes, I pray. I pray in the prayer meeting, in the fellowship meetings, and in the morning service. I pray in the morning and before every meal. I pray with my kids and my disciples.
Occasionally I pray with my wife. Oh, yes, I pray for people during crises and for the church when the church is in need. But as for a consistent, individual prayer life which books, like Power Through Prayer, talk about, I don’t have it.
I’ve struggled for twenty-five years with a need for regularity and consistency with my prayer life. I longed for an intense, quality time with the Lord. The image which kept running through my mind was that of Adam meeting the Lord in the cool of the day, of Moses seeing God face to face, of Abraham talking to God as friend to friend, or of Martin Luther spending the best three hours in prayer every day. I have a deep sense of guilt of a pastor who doesn’t spend enough time in prayer.
Why is it that some preachers don’t pray? Because they are like many other people. They are TOO BUSY to pray. And if we are too busy to pray then we are too busy.
ILL.- It’s like what J. C. Penney once said, "If a man is too busy to worship God twice on Sunday and on Prayer Meeting night, he has more business than God intended he should have." The same idea holds true for prayer. If we’re too busy for a season of prayer, a time with the Lord, then we’re too busy and need to cut out something.
ILL.- I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
I didn’t have time to pray.
Troubles just tumbled about me
And heavier came each task.
Why doesn’t God help me, I wondered,
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”
ILL.- Alexis Carrel said, "Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. It is the only power in the world that seems to overcome the so-called laws of nature."
BECAUSE YOU PRAYED
Because you prayed
God touched our weary bodies with His power,
And gave us strength for many a trying hour,
In which we might have faltered, had not you,
Our intercessors, faithful been and true.
11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours.
That by His power. How do we get His power? Through prayer. Through our walk with Him. This is when He works in us and through us.
Ephesians 3:16-19 "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
The strength and power of God’s Spirit comes into our lives and the lives of other when we pray. I know of no other way.
ILL.- The earliest African converts to Christianity were faithful in their prayer time. Each one reportedly had separate spots in the thicket where they poured out their hearts to God. The several paths to these places became distinctly marked; and when any one began to stop praying, it was soon apparent to others. They would then kindly remind him, saying, “Brother, the grass grows on your path yonder.”
Do you have any real power in your life these days? IF NOT THEN PERHAPS THERE IS GRASS ON YOUR PATH TO GOD!
CONCLUSION-----------------------
12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The conclusion of the matter? So that He might be glorified in us and in all things! Amen. So be it.
ILL.- A friend asked Mrs. Thomas A. Edison, “Have you ever asked your husband where he gets all the ideas that make him so famous?”
Thoughtfully, Mrs. Edison replied, “Yes, I did ask him once. He didn’t say anything. He just pointed upward and smiled!”
Brothers and sisters, we owe the Lord every ounce of glory we can give Him. If it’s good, it’s from Him and He deserves the praise. And this is why we pray so much. We pray for His sake, in His name, and for His glory. AMEN. SO BE IT.
