The Importance of the Word and Prayer

The Importance of the Word and Prayer Acts 6.1-7 BAPTISM IN AUGUST,, We have been seeing how priorities in the Early Church were the Apostles’ s Teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. II Peter 1. 12 So I will always remind you of these things,even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. Here we see the priority of the Apostles: the ministry of the Word of God and prayer. There is that word, “devoted” again. Constant Stedfast attention Persevere without fainting Show oneself courageous for These are the things that make a church a church. These are the Church’s priorities * The Ministry of the Word. Serving out the Word versus Serving Tables. Shepherds in the church of God are first of all to feed the flock. They are to feed them the Word of God. Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor… actually charged him! I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season, rebuke reprove exhort with great patience and careful instruction. II Timothy 4.1-2 Shepherds are to do this publicly and privately… Biblical Preaching/ Teaching and Biblical Counseling… giving Spiritual Direction from the Scriptures. A good example of this is what we are doing here with the Word and the feeding of needy people. Monday Evening and Friday afternoon. Haiti and Bangladesh Photos On Wednesday at noon and Thursday Evening and Saturday Morning we gather to pray. Here on the LORD’s Day we meet for worship and prayer and the Word. I want you guys to be the best fed, best loved flock on the South Shore. There are many fine churches here. I do not mean we are the best or the only ones. The apostles knew. This decision rescued the church from becoming only a feeding program for widows, weak in the Word. * Those who were to serve tables had to have A good reputation Filled with the Holy Spirit Filled with Wisdom Important Spiritual Characteristics They were Greek men. Stephen, one of the seven, was used by God to do miracles signs and wonders. The work of the church is to be led by spiritual men. * The result of this wise decision was The initial problem being solved The Word of God spreading The numbers of disciples increasing greatly A great number of priests believing and becoming obedient to the faith. What the priests saw in the Temple on the Day Jesus died. The 10 inch veil/ woven curtain torn in two from top to bottom. They saw into the Holy of Holies for the first time. This was only for the High Priest, once a year on Yom Kippur. They saw and continued to see God working in ways they never saw before. The witness of Lazarus, Jesus, the Apostles, the lame man. Jesus healed lepers and sent them to the priests as a testimony to them and to get their certificate of cleansing. Notice in this passage once again we are seeing how important the Ministry of the Word and Prayer were to the early church and ought to be to this day. They are to have priority over all else. They are foundational to the church’s existence. They are communicating with the Father and the Father communicating His will to us. Hebrew 4.12 for the Word of God is living and active sharper than any double edged sword; the it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrows. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. God’s Eternal Word. It is alive. It is dynamic. It stands eternal in the heavens. Heaven and Earth will pass away but My words will never pass away, Jesus said. We have confidence in it. We have proved it to be true. George Muller set out to prove there was reality in the things of God. It is true in Bangladesh, Haiti, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, India, Pakistan, Zambia, Myanmar, Kenya and all the nations on the earth. Photos of Pastor Pum Myanmar When Jesus told His followers to into all the world and preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations He knew the power of God’s Word. Paul wrote to the Romans that he was not ashamed of the Gospel. He was implying, “The Gospel does not let me down.” Wherever it is shared people respond. We are learning more about prayer here. God is answering prayer. We have seen Him move in response to the prayers of His people. * The Importance of Prayer Pastor Johnson and Robert and I were talking this week about the importance of prayer in the church. The prayer meeting shows the spiritual condition of the church. I would add also the response on our Church Facebook Page as well. It is encouraging to me when we post a prayer request or praise to see comments and people affirming they are praying. The bulletin lists prayer requests too. The prayer box where you can place your requests are prayed over. More people are asking for prayer. The Apostles saw this need of feeding the widows as important but they also recognized if they got involved in waiting on tables, serving the food, the danger of not making prayer a priority, not be devoted to it. Satan works to get us away from the Word and Prayer. He will even put good things in front of us to get us away from the greater work. Oswald Chambers wrote that the first things we need to battle in praying is wandering thoughts. I keep a prayer journal. Sometimes I write out prayers in another book. I find myself waking up and praying. Let’s be people of prayer. There are three prayer meetings each week here for us: morning, noon and night. Saturday Morning, Wednesday at noon and Thursday Evening. Wednesdays are live-streamed so if you cannot be here join the 100’s across the country and around the world and pray. Watch the LORD answer. Simple exhortation today: Let’s be people of the Word and Prayer.