Larry Brincefield
larkayb@earthlink.net
Sunday, January 12, 2003
Title: "Got Any Prayin’ People ’Round Here?"
Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Introduction
1. The sun was lowering and the air was like an oven when the stranger rode into town.
With every step his horse kicked up little puffs of dust from the dry, powdery street
No one had seen the likes of him before.
He was a stranger to these parts.
No one knew for sure what to make of him.
Leather creaked as he slid out of the saddle.
The ground shook as the big man’s boots hit the street.
He hitched his horse to the rail,
looked around,
stepped up on the wooden sidewalk
and headed toward the saloon.
When his lengthening shadow spilled through the swinging doors a hush fell over the crowd.
The bartender stopped pouring.
The dealer stopped shuffling.
The bargirls stopped shmooching.
Even the piano fell silent.
Chairs creaked,
and necks craned
as every eye tried to catch a glimpse of the stranger.
The stranger stopped and spoke for the first time, "Got any praying people around here?"
Those were the first words that Francis Asbury
(an itenerant Methodist preacher)
spoke when he rode into a new town.
"Got any praying people around here?"
2. That’s how the Methodist Church became the largest and most influential Christian denomination of the 19th and early 20th century.
They knew that revival came when Christians prayed.
(Note: I borrowed this introduction from one of Roger Griffith’s sermons here on sermoncentral.com, entitled: "Praying for Revival")
Today, we are going to kick off our prayer campaign for our revival.
Our Revival begins on February 5, only 3 1/2 weeks away.
The success of our revival depends on the answer to that question..."Got any prayin’ people ’round here?"
Read Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Body
1. When you put Christ First, you will be a person of Prayer
In our vision for 2003, we’ve been talking about putting Christ First.
You should remember that the "I" in Christ stands for intercession.
Paul says, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone" 1 Tim 2:1 (NIV)
Paul says, "I urge you"...
"I’m begging you"...
"I implore you"...
Obviously this is very important information that Paul is communicating to Timothy.
In 1 Timothy 1:3, we learn that...
Paul had assigned Timothy to provide pastoral leadership to the Church at Ephesus....
while he went on to Macedonia....
Paul was hoping to come back soon....
but he realizes that he may be delayed...
and that’s why this letter was written.
In 1 Timothy 3:14-15, Paul says, "Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth"
So, how should people conduct themselves in God’s house?
We should be people of prayer.
Paul urges not only Timothy and the Church of Ephesus...
But he is urging you and me...
here in the Church of Belleview COTN...
to be people of prayer.
Paul says, "first of all"
He doesn’t think that prayer is way down the list of priorities...
He doesn’t think that prayer is a hit or miss exercise....
He doesn’t think it is something you just do if you have the time...
Paul says, "I urge you FIRST OF ALL" to be people of prayer.
Paul mentions 4 types of prayer here in verse 1.
requests...
prayers...
intercession....
and thanksgiving.
Requests (supplications in KJV)
Requests or supplications are made when we see that there is an urgent need...
so we go to God and beg Him to intervene.
In the dictionary, the word "supplication" means...
To make a humble request...
an earnest petition
to beg.
When Ethan was injured by a baseball....
and his spleen was ruptured...
and he had internal bleeding...
and it looked like he might have emergency surgery....
I can assure you that as I laid my hand gently on his stomach and prayed...
I was making an urgent request...
when we get to the point that we pray for revival with the same sense of urgency and desperation that we pray for one of our sick family members...
revival will come!!!
The next word Paul uses is "prayers".
"Prayers" is an inclusive term.
It includes the other 3 types of prayers mentioned in this verse.
Requests, intercession, and thanksgiving are all types of prayers.
Intercession has the meaning of coming to God...
as in a conference or conversation on behalf of someone else.
This is what we do when we pray for our lost loved ones.
Or when we pray for the President, our military men and women, and other leaders.
In fact, Paul mentions the importance of praying for "kings and all those in authority" 1 Tim 2:2 (NIV)
Paul understands that God can work through men and women of leadership...
so it behooves us to pray for them.
But it also relates to revival...
If we want our lost children to come to Christ....
If we want our lost family members to get back to God....
If we want to reach our neighbors with the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
If we want revival to spread outside the walls of the Church...
and into our neighborhoods....
It will be because we were involved in intercessory prayer.
We need to come to God on their behalf.
When people return to Christ...
It is because someone has been praying for them....
and the diligence of the "Hound of Heaven"
to pursue them.
But we can’t expect God to do His part...unless we are willing to do our part!!
Paul also mentions prayers of Thanksgiving...
many times, we overlook this important aspect of prayer.
We come to God....
pouring out our hearts for Him to heal our friends or family....
we bring our urgent prayers and requests to God...
we bring our prayers for our lost family members and friends to God...
and when He answers those prayers...
We seem to think that is the end.
My kids like to eat at McDonalds.
They will beg me to go....
"Dad, please, oh, please, oh please, can we go to McDonald’s"?
And on occasion, even though it’s not my favorite restaurant....
I’ll take them to McDonald’s.
But many times, as we are leaving the restaurant....
and they are playing with their little junky Happy Meal toys ..
by the way, these toys always seem to end up in the middle of the floor when I am making my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night barefoot,
and of course, I find their toy...
not a pleasant experience...
But as we drive away, from the restaurant,
I begin to wonder if any of my children will say thank you.
To be honest, they are doing much better nowadays.
and when they remember to say "thanks" it means a lot to me.
God is the same way.
after we have begged and begged for Him to intervene...
and He does....
we need to remember to say thanks!
2. Paul says that when we bring our prayers, requests, intercession and thanksgiving to God; that "This is good, and pleases God our Savior" 1 Tim 2:3 (NIV)
When it comes to praying for revival...
this is a good thing....
it pleases God...
it is acceptable...
This is the way God wants us to be.
On the other hand, what about people who refuse to pray?
What about people who are too busy to pray?
What does God think about that?
Well, this is a bad thing....
it displeases God....
it is unacceptable...
it hurts God that we don’t want to spend time with Him...
A year ago, in preparation for revival, I preached a sermon in Isaiah 59:16, "and God was appalled that there was no one to intervene"
When we are too busy to spend time in prayer...
when we neglect to pray for revival...
God is appalled...
He is hurt...
He is stunned...
One use of the word means "horrified".
I would like you to keep that in mind as you consider your commitment (or lack of commitment) to praying for revival...
you are either going to pray;
really pray...
and please God....
or you are going to only make a half-hearted attempt at prayer...
and hurt God.
Let’s determine within ourselves that we want to please God with our prayer life!!
3. 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
Don’t worry, women, God wants you to be saved too!!
The Greek word used here is used to generically include all people; and distinguishes us from the animals and plants.
1 Timothy 2:1 tells us to pray for everyone...
the goal of which is for everyone to get saved.
Some people preach a "gospel" of exclusiveness...
only a certain number of people, 144,000...
or only those that God pre-determined can get saved....
and all others, God has pre-determined to spend eternity in hell.
2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
Joel 2:28 says, "I will pour out my Spirit on all people."
John 12:32 says, "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
Luke 3:6 says, "all mankind will see God’s salvation"
1 Timothy 4:10, "we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe."
Colossians 1:28 "We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ."
2 Corinthians 5:15, "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again"
We are here to do the work of God....
obviously God wants everyone to make it....
With that in mind, let me ask you a question,...
Is everyone ready?
Have we reached everyone with the Gospel?
Do there remain ANY who have not given their heart and life to God?
I’m sure you’ll agree, there are MANY people who have not yet been reached...
and I’m not just talking in some backwoods, 3rd world country...
RIGHT HERE IN MARION COUNTY...
people are lost...
RIGHT HERE IN MARION COUNTY...
there are people who will spend eternity in hell,
because they aren’t ready!
So here in 1 Timothy 2:4, God has given us a glimpse of what He wants...He "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
and how can we address this great desire that God has?
We can pray!!!
Pray for the lost!!!
Pray for those that you know, that don’t know the Lord!!!
Even pray for those you DON’T know, that don’t know the Lord!!!
As long as there is even JUST 1 PERSON who doesn’t know the Lord, our job is not done!!
Conclusion
I hope you are beginning to see the need for us to be praying for our upcoming revival...
We already have several prayer opportunities available here in church...
9 AM Tuesday Morning Prayer and Share
7 PM Wednesday Evening Power Meeting
9:30 AM Sunday Morning Prayer during Sunday School
But with revival coming, I feel like we need to make even more opportunities for prayer...
with that in mind, I am going to begin praying in the prayer room before each church service....
because of my involvement in choir practice...
I am going to be in the prayer room at 8:30 AM on Sunday Mornings...
4:30 PM on Sunday Evenings...
and 6:30 PM on Wednesday Evenings...
I invite you to join me at those times...
I’d like to see the prayer room full!!!
But if you AREN’T in the choir,
Feel free to use the prayer room at 9 AM on Sunday Mornings
5:30 PM on Sunday Evenings,
And if you want to come and pray ANY time, just let me know when, and I’ll make sure the church is unlocked so you can use the prayer room.
I would also like to provide a reminder for you to pray throughout the week...
if the ushers will come and pass out these yellow dots (little yellow stickers)
one to each person...
I encourage you to take one and stick it on your watch....
so that everytime you look at your watch...
you will see this yellow sticker....
and it will remind you to say a prayer for our revival...
Whenever you look at your watch and notice the sticker....
whether you are driving down the road,
or shopping,
or watching TV,
you can pause for a moment,
and pray that revival will come.
Pray that God will reach those that are lost...
pray that God will revive your own spiritual life...
pray for our evangelist, Bruce Cleasby...
pray for our music ministers, Mark and Janene Dubbeld...
most importantly, just pray.
"This is good, and it pleases God"
If you don’t have a watch,
maybe you could stick yours on your steering wheel of your car,
or on the mirror in your bathroom,
just put it somewhere where you will be reminded to pray.
If we have 75 people lifting up little 30 second prayers, throughout the day, every day...
God will hear....
and He will answer prayer....
and revival will come!!
So let me ask you, "do we got any praying people around here"?
I hope to God, the answer is YES!
Let’s pray
