Prayer in the Local Church January 5, 2025

First Baptist Church Leominster

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This morning we we return to our study of 1st Timothy after after a bit of a break so by way of reminder in the book of 1st

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Timothy chapter 1 Paul charged Timothy to wage the good warfare to fight the good fate fight

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Timothy was to do this by holding faith and a good conscience The war that Timothy was to wage was a war against error

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It was a war against falsehood. It was a war against the lies and deceitfulness of the adversary

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The church at Ephesus where Timothy was serving had been overrun with false teachers and false teaching savage wolves from among themselves had infiltrated the church and Through their teaching sought to distort and pervert the truth of God Certain persons at Ephesus had been promoting and teaching different doctrine

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Doctrine that did not agree with the sound words of the Lord Jesus Christ Doctrine that did not align with the teaching that accords with godliness so instead of Promoting the stewardship from God that is by faith

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These certain persons had devoted themselves to empty and selfish pursuits myths and endless genealogies

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Rather than pursuing love love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith

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They had swerved from these things and had wandered off into vain discussions

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The goal of their ministry was not to glorify the Lord God by furthering the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus It was to glorify themselves

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Their desire was to be known as teachers of the law and to be honored by all men

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Instead of advancing the work of the Lord God through the proclamation of the gospel They were promoting themselves as well as various controversies and divisions

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Which were greatly hindering the progress and unity of the church Paul instructed

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Timothy to correct these errors and set the church at Ephesus in order

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To accomplish this arduous task Timothy would need to teach admonish encourage

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Help confront and rebuke those within the church But where was

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Timothy to start? How was Timothy to proceed? Where should his reforms begin?

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What was the single most significant change that Timothy could affect in the church at Ephesus to correct their erring?

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trajectory Please turn with me to the book of 1st Timothy Our text this morning is 1st

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Timothy 1 1st Timothy 2 verses 1 to 7 1st

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Timothy 2 1 to 7 First of all, then

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I urge that supplications prayers Intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people

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For kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life godly and dignified in every way

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This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior who desires all people to be saved

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And to come to the knowledge of the truth For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men the man

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Christ Jesus Who gave himself as a ransom for all which is the testimony given at the proper time?

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For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I'm telling the truth

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I'm not lying a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth The most significant change that Timothy could affect was prayer specifically evangelistic prayer in light of the current circumstances at the church at Ephesus above all else

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Paul urged Timothy to pray on behalf of all people verses 1 and 2

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Because the Lord God desires all people to be saved Verses 3 and 4 because the

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Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of all people verses 5 and 6 Thus the gospel is to be preached to all people verse 7

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It's important to note that the context of these verses verses 1 to 7 is prayer

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But the content of these verses is the universal offer of salvation to all people

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The phrase all people is used three times in these seven verses Timothy was instructed to pray for all people

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God our Savior desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth and Christ Jesus gave himself up as a ransom for all people

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Over the years this passage specifically the phrase all people has caused many theological arguments and debates

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And over the next few sermons we'll address and answer each one of these arguments But today we'll be examining first Timothy 2 verses 1 and 2 which addresses the priority of prayer the subject of prayer and the reason for our prayers

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So let's look at the first two points in greater detail first Timothy 2 verse 1

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First of all, then I urge that supplications prayers Intercessions and Thanksgiving be made for all people in this verse

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We see the high priority placed on prayer in Waging the good warfare in fighting the good fight the primary and principal means of our warfare is prayer therefore above all else

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Paul urged Timothy to pray In our spiritual disciplines and priorities

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Prayer often comes last But it should come first If the gospel is to advance if the good news of Christ Jesus is to be proclaimed

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Then first of all of primary importance supplications prayers

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Intercessions and Thanksgiving must be made for all people Now given the circumstances at the church at Ephesus False doctrine and false teachers you would think that the priority would be on preaching and teaching

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You would think that the priority would be on rebuking correcting and instructing in sound doctrine

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But it's not Paul's primary emphasis is prayer in light of the

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Circumstances at the church at Ephesus, why would Paul place such a high priority on prayer?

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Well, remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 15 Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself

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Unless it abides in the vine. Neither. Can you unless you abide in me?

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I Am the vine You are the branches Whoever abides in me and I in him he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me

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You can do nothing Beloved prayer is the means by which the

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Lord God advances his kingdom Prayer is the means by which he advances the cause of Christ without prayer apart from Christ Jesus We can do nothing

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Prayer is the most important thing you can do in your service to the

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Lord God in ministry, it can be very common for our Horizontal ministries our care and our concern and our service to others to take priority over our vertical our vertical worship and our vertical worship is

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Prayer our vertical worship is our communion to God our service to God our worship to God The Lord God must always come first and people second

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Prayer is the means by which we rely upon and reorient ourselves back to the

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Lord God Prayer redirects our focus back to the Lord God and back to his plan

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To his purpose and his way the high priority of prayer, especially within the context of Christian ministry is

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Also seen in the book of Acts Acts chapter 6 now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number a

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Complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution

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At this time the early church was growing at a rapid pace in Acts chapter 2 3 ,000 souls were added to the church in Acts chapter 5

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Multitudes of men and women were added to the church in Acts chapter 6. Their numbers were still continuing to grow and Of course, there would be some growing pains that coincided with this growth

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Hmm one of those pains was the neglect of the Hellenistic widows

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The Hellenistic widows or the Greek speaking widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food

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Christian widows with no family had to rely upon the church for their daily sustenance

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Now this neglect would have been a significant concern for the church

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Because there was no one else to support these widows. It was up to the church.

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These widows had nowhere else to go And for whatever reason probably due to their language or their cultural differences.

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The church had discriminated against Neglected and overlooked these widows

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So, how would the church address and correct this significant problem? Acts 6 2 and The 12 summoned the full number of the disciples and said it is not right that we should give up preaching the

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Word of God To serve tables Therefore brothers pick out from among you seven men of good repute

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Full of the Spirit and full of wisdom whom we will appoint to this duty But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the

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Word The 12 Apostles prioritized prayer and the ministry of the

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Word over providing and serving impoverished and hungry widows

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It wasn't that these widows were insignificant or unimportant pure and undefiled religion before God The Father was to visit and care for widows

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But the highest priority was given to prayer This high priority of prayer can also be seen in the book of Ephesians in order to wage the good warfare in order to fight the good fight

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Spiritual resources are needed to stand firm against the schemes and wiles of the devil

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Ephesians 6 10 Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might

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Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil

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For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities

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Against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places

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Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and His shoes for your feet having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in all circumstances

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Take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one

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And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God verse 18

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Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication

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To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the Saints and Also for me that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel

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For which I am an ambassador in change that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak one of the most

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Crucial components of our weaponry that is absolutely necessary for our victory in spiritual battle is prayer all prayer and supplication

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While we're fighting with the belt of truth the breastplate of righteousness The shoes of the gospel of peace the shield of faith the sword of the

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Spirit the helmet of salvation We are to be at all times in prayer

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Prayer is the atmosphere in which the Christian is to live and breathe

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John Bunyan understood the importance of prayer and he illustrated it in his book the pilgrims progress

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Which is an allegorical story of a man named Christian who was born in the city of destruction

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And he was traveling to the celestial city Christian encountered many difficult trials

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Tribulations and enemies on his journey and one such tribulation occurred in the valley of the shadow of death

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The pathway through this valley was exceedingly narrow Therefore Christian had great difficulty

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For when he sought in the dark to shun the ditch on the one hand he was ready to tip over into the mire on the other side as He carefully sought to escape the mire.

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He would almost fall into the ditch Thus he went sighing bitterly For besides the dangers mentioned above the pathway was so dark that often when he lifted his foot to step forward

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He did not know where or upon what he would set it next About the midst of this valley.

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He saw the mouth of hell which was very close to the narrow path Now thought

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Christian what shall I do? The flame and the smoke would continually come out in such abundance with sparks and hideous noises

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Things which Christian could not fight with his sword as he did Apollyon before Therefore he was forced to put his sword away and take up another weapon called all prayer

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So he cried out Oh Lord. I beseech you deliver my soul Thus he went on for a great while with the flame still reaching towards him

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He also heard dull for doleful voices and rushings to and fro

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So that sometimes he thought he would be torn in pieces or trodden down like mire in the streets

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This frightful sight was seen and these dreadful noises were heard for him by several miles

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Arriving at a place where he thought he heard a company of fiends coming forward to meet him He stopped and ponder what was best for him to do

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Sometimes he had half a mind to go back Then again, he thought he might already be halfway through the valley

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He also remembered how we had already vanquished many dangers And that the danger of going back might now be much more than for him to go forward

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So he resolved to persevere on the dangerous path Yet the fiends came nearer and nearer and when they were almost upon him

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He cried out with the most forceful voice. I will walk in the strength of the

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Lord my God And with this the fiends retreated and came no further on his perilous journey

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Christian was delivered from the valley of the shadow of death Not by his bravery not by his strength not by his wit

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Not by his armor not by the sword not by his shield, but through all prayer

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Prayer Expresses our confidence and our dependency upon the

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Lord God Prayer is the means by which we express all that is in our hearts our highs our lows

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Our joys our fears our trust our anxieties to our infinite eternal and unchanging and all -wise

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Heavenly Father Prayer brings us into reverent communion with the

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Lord God as we acknowledge the Lord God as good and as sovereign over all things prayer expresses our submission to his sovereignty and it demonstrates our trust in his grace in his mercy and his faithfulness

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An analogy that helps illustrate the importance of prayer is a commanding officer and his troops a commanding officer expects to hear from his soldiers in battle constant communication is

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Expected and it is required Battles cannot be fought without open lines of communication

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Likewise Spiritual battles cannot be fought without open lines of communication

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The Lord God expects us to pray the Lord God expects to hear from his soldiers as we wage the good warfare

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Beloved prayer is to be our way of life It's to be our manner of life.

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It's not just another piece of the armor that we put on and take off It's not a small part of the armor.

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It's not a small part of the Christian life prayer is the Christians life a

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Lack of prayer manifests a lack of trust in the Lord God and an overabundance of self -reliance and overabundance of pride at best to abandon prayer is

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To fight our spiritual battles without our very best resource, which is a direct line to the

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Lord God At worst abandoning prayer means that we have lost all interest in the battle and we are living life to our own advantage it is necessary for believers to pray to the

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Lord God at all times because of the Intensity and the ferocity of the spiritual battle

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Remember the immediate context of the armor of God. It is spiritual warfare

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Beloved always remember that you are in a spiritual battle and your adversary is never at rest

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Your adversary is always scheming. He is maneuvering. He is plotting Your adversary never takes a break.

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He never takes time off. He is diligent and he is alert Therefore Ephesians 6 11

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Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil

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For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities

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Against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places

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In the book thoughts for young men by JC Ryle, which is one of my favorite books He thoughtfully reminds us of the strength tenacity and danger of our adversary

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He writes Your enemy is restless He never sleeps

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He is always going around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour He's always going back and forth in the earth and walking up and down on it

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You may be careless about your souls But he is not He wants your soul to make you miserable like himself and he will have your soul if he can

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Your enemy is cunning for thousands of years He has been reading one book and that book is the heart of man

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He ought to know it. Well, and he does know it all its weaknesses all its deceitfulness all its folly and he has a storehouse full of temptations

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Such as are most likely to do the heart of man the most harm Never will you go to the place where he will not find you

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Go into the city and he will be there go into the wilderness and he will be there Also sit among drunkards and he will be there to help you

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Listen to preaching and he will be there to distract you Beloved the enemy is working hard for your destruction.

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However, little you may think it The souls of men are the prize for which he is especially contending which is why we must pray at all times

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For all people because we live amid a raging spiritual battle

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Thus, we must be self -controlled Sober -minded and watchful for the sake of your prayers

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The Lord Jesus Christ expects his children to pray Matthew 6 5 and when you pray

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Matthew 6 6 but when you pray Matthew 6 7 and when you pray Matthew 6 9

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This then is how you should pray Luke 11 9. So I say to you ask seek and knock

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Luke 18 1 Jesus told his disciples that they should always pray

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Suppose that the Lord Jesus Christ Were to visibly appear to you face to face in the parking lot after church

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And he puts his arm around you and he tells you that this coming week will be very challenging and difficult

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And he expects to hear from you throughout the day Would you become more diligent and faithful in your prayers knowing that the

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Lord Jesus Christ expected to hear from you I think we would It's important to remember that the words of the

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Lord Jesus Christ read from the scriptures are Just as much his will for you and me as if he spoke our names and said them directly to us face -to -face

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Beloved the Lord God expects you to pray but he also Entreats and invites you to pray

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Prayer is a royal invitation to converse directly with your Creator Your Savior your

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Lord and your King the Lord God's Expectation for us to pray should not be viewed as an obligation or a burden that is required of us but as a matchless and insurpassable privilege and joy

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Hebrews 414 since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens

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Jesus the Son of God Let us hold fast our confession For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness

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But one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin

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Let us then with confidence Drawn near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need

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Beloved you can look at prayer in one of two ways as a pessimist who sees it as a chore an obligation a duty or as An optimist who sees it as an opportunity to receive the blessing and favor of the

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Lord God Prayer is a royal invitation.

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It's a royal invitation to receive mercy and grace But if prayer is a royal invitation, then why is it often so difficult for us to pray?

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Well, there are many hindrances to an effective prayer life, but the most common hindrance is our sin

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King David recognized that his sin had hindered his prayers and his communion with the

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Lord God Psalm 66 18 but if I cherished iniquity in my heart the

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Lord would not have listened The Prophet Isaiah reminded the Israelites of this same truth

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Isaiah 59 1 and 2 behold the Lord's hand is not short in the hand of the Lord the

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Lord's hand is not short in the hand of the Lord But he has not cut off the hand of the Lord But your iniquities have made a separation

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Between you and your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear

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In the book of James we learned that our prayers are not are often not answered

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Due to our doubt and our selfishness in the book of Hebrews we learned that our prayers are often unanswered due to disinterest and and apathy.

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In the book of 1 Peter, our marital problems frequently hinder our prayers.

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By not treating our wives as a fellow heir of the grace of life, our prayers are hindered.

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Sin is the greatest barrier. It is the greatest detriment. It is the greatest hindrance to prayer.

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Therefore, you must put away your sin. You must put your sin to death.

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You must mortify it. You must kill it. You must repent of your sin. You must turn away from your sin.

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You must turn to the Lord God, look to Him, and your prayer life will abound.

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But what do you do if you don't feel like praying? I've been there. I'm sure we've all been there.

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What do you do when you feel too discouraged to pray? What do you do when you feel that your spiritual well has run dry?

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What do you do when you are unable to pray? When you feel spiritually empty, apathetic, and cold?

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What do you do? You pray. Beloved, it doesn't matter how you feel.

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You must hold fast. You must press on. You must persevere in prayer.

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Charles Spurgeon, as per usual, said it very well. If your heart be cold in prayer, do not restrain prayer until your heart warms, but pray your soul unto heat by the help of the ever -blessed

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Spirit who helps our infirmities. If the iron be hot, then hammer it, and if it be cold, hammer it till you heat it.

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Never cease in prayer for any reason. Beloved, an effective and powerful prayer life begins with a settled determination to have an effective and powerful prayer life.

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Prayer is a spiritual discipline, and like every other discipline, it takes practice.

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It takes training. It takes work. It takes sweat and tears, and this work is not always easy.

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It's often arduous. It's often challenging, but we must never fail to pray at all times in the

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Spirit. Luke 6, 12, before the Lord Jesus Christ chose his disciples, he went off to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

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In Acts 2, 42, the earliest church, the earliest Christians in Jerusalem, were continually devoting themselves to prayer.

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In Acts 10, 2, Cornelius, the centurion of the Italian cohort, is said to have prayed to the

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Lord God continually. In 2 Timothy 1, 3, Paul constantly remembered the church in his prayers night and day.

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In 1 Thessalonians 5, 17, Paul commands believers to pray without ceasing.

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To pray without ceasing means that your heart is in constant communion with the

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Lord God at all times. Every moment of every day, you live in a constant awareness that the

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Lord God is present. You live constantly aware that the Lord God is accomplishing his purpose and his will.

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You live with a constant awareness that the Lord God is the vine and that you are a branch of that vine, and thus you abide in him.

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Throughout every moment of every day, you view everything through the lens of the personal and glorious presence of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. To pray without ceasing means that you will live in a continual state of God consciousness, where everything you see and everything you experience becomes a kind of prayer that ascends to the

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Lord God. You live in a deep awareness of God's personal presence and his providential hand guiding, leading and directing you.

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In other words, in your temptations, you entrust the temptations to the Lord God and you request his strength, his provision, his protection, his wisdom.

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In your triumphs, you acknowledge that the Lord God is good and you thank him for his presence, for his goodness, for his provision, for his protection, for his blessing.

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When you see evil in the world, you grieve over it and you pray that the Lord God would restrain it and deliver those who are captive to it.

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When you meet someone not saved, you pray that the Lord God would draw them and grant them the repentance that leads to saving faith.

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You pray that the Lord God would allow you to share the gospel and to use you as a faithful witness and ambassador.

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When you experience trials, tribulation and trouble, you cry out to the

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Lord God for deliverance, for comfort, for wisdom, for perspective and protection.

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In all things, in every circumstance, you filter everything through the lens of the personal and glorious presence of the

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Lord God Almighty. This is what it means to pray at all times.

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This is what it means to pray unceasingly. In our prayers, we often gravitate to our own needs and our own wants.

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And it's not wrong to pray for yourself, but when you become the primary focus of your prayers, your prayers become imbalanced.

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The Bible primarily calls us to pray for others rather than ourselves. We must pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

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But praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ does not exclude us from also praying for the lost.

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Upon that gruesome cross, before the Lord Jesus Christ gave up his spirit, he took the time to pray for those who had mocked, beaten and crucified him.

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Luke 22, 34, Jesus said, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

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The Lord God wants us to pray for other believers, but we should also be praying for the lost, for those who do not know the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Getting back to our text, 1 Timothy 2, 1 and 2.

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First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a way.

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Paul uses four terms to describe our responsibility. Supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings must be made on behalf of all people.

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Paul is calling for continual prayers of all different varieties to be made on behalf of all people of all different varieties.

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Christians are not to limit their prayers to only those closest to them, but for all people, all different kinds of people, saved, unsaved, family, friends, strangers, enemies, like -minded people, not like -minded people, people near us, people far away, all different varieties, every nation, every tribe, every tongue and every people.

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But especially, prayers should be made for kings and all who are in high positions.

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But especially, prayers should be made for our political and civil authorities.

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Now, why does Paul specify our political and civil authorities? Look again at verse 2.

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For kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

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The purpose for praying for those in authority is so that Christians may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way, which we will address in the following sermon.

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Beloved, do you understand the high priority that is given to prayer? And does your prayer life reflect this priority?

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Do you pray for the salvation of your political and civil authorities? Do you pray for the salvation of people who disagree with you politically?

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Do you pray for the salvation of people who advocate ungodly agendas? Do you pray for the salvation of people who openly embrace sin and reject the truth of the

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Lord God and His Scriptures? Do you have a heart to pray for the lost, like the

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Lord Jesus Christ? Do you have the passion that inspired John Knox to please give to pray, give me

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Scotland or I die? Do you have the attitude that George Whitefield, who prayed, oh

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Lord, give me souls or take my soul? Do you, like Henry Martin, mourn when you see others trapped in false religion and cry out,

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I cannot endure existence if Jesus is to be so dishonored? The Lord God uses faithful and prayerful men as powerful tools to bring about the salvation of despairing and dying people.

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Each one of these men had a clear and vivid understanding of what was at stake. It's an issue of life and death.

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It's an issue of eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. Beloved, our unbelieving family members, our friends, our co -workers, our enemies will suffer in torment away from the presence of the

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Lord God if they do not embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is this realization that should drive each one of us to our knees to plead not only for them to believe the gospel, but for the

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Lord God to save their souls. The 17th century

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English Puritan Richard Baxter wrote this, oh, if you have the hearts of Christians or of men in you, let them yearn toward your poor, ignorant, ungodly neighbors.

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Alas, there is but a step betwixt them and death and hell. Many hundred diseases are waiting ready to seize on them, and if they die unregenerate, they are lost forever.

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Have you hearts of rock that cannot pity men in such a case as this? If you believe not the word of God and the danger of sinners, why are you

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Christians yourselves? If you do believe it, why do you not bestir yourself to the helping of others?

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Beloved, the Lord God expects us to pray. The Lord God expects above all else that supplication, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, but especially for kings and those who are in high positions.

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Our church meets every Wednesday here at the church and over the phone through a conference call, and we pray together.

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I would encourage you to attend either here at the church or over the phone.

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Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your faithfulness, and Lord, we recognize that we must depend on you.

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We must abide in the vine. We must abide in Christ because we can't do anything on our own. We can't live our lives on our own.

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We can't make any decisions on our own. We pray, Lord, that we would always look to you.

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We pray that you would guide us and lead us. We pray that you would speak to us through the scriptures.

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We pray, Lord, that we would be men and women who pray, who love to pray, who accept that royal invitation, and we pray unceasingly.

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So, Lord, we pray that you would guide us and help us in these things. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.