1/26/14 EQUIPPING TO SERVE

A Faithful and Growing Steward

    As we continue to talk about Christian stewardship, let me start out with a question.  What about the concept of “living within your means”, even if it will determine that you don’t have all the fun stuff others have?  Does that sound unamerican?  After all, we live in a prosperous nation and credit is very easy to get.
    Do you think you could survive financially if in the past nine years you had earned $300,000,000?  You say, are you crazy?  Of course I could make it. I would be amazingly wealthy.  But, boxer Mike Tyson made that much, and yet he had to file for bankruptcy.  This points out an important part of stewardship: It’s not how much you make, it’s how you manage it for God.
    I like the Swiss watchmaker’s slogan I heard.  Known for their luxury watches, Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe has also become well-known for its clever advertising slogan: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe; you merely take care of it for the next generation.”  That is a great picture of stewardship. We don’t own things, we are taking care of them for God.
Colossians 3:17, 23 NKJV
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
23And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
    Do EVERYTHING for the Lord.  Do it all the Lord’s way.
    Review: A Steward – a trustee, control or manager, but not an owner.  A steward manages for the benefit of someone else.
    From Biblical times:  A steward was in charge of a household and was accountable to the owner, who made final decisions. The steward was expected to be faithful in working and overseeing the household, all that had been entrusted to him.
    Some background to the word:  Steward, From oikos, “house,” and nemo, “to arrange”.
    The importance of using the gifts given by the Lord for the strengthening and encouragement of fellow believers.
1 Peter 4:10 NKJV
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
    A definition of stewardship to use for study: “The Sum total of all my attitudes toward God”.
    A true steward must have a good attitude, or he/she won’t be able to be faithful to the responsibilities of stewardship.
***Total:  add up all the parts of your life, and attitudes.
***My Attitudes:  Dictionary says, attitude:  A bodily posture showing or meant to show a mental state, emotion, or mood.  A manner of acting, feeling, or thinking that shows one’s disposition, opinion, etc.  This is how you really feel on the inside.  How you think, feel about things.
***Towards God:  He receives of our attitudes.  God sees your heart.  Is it open, receptive, tender to Him?  or hard, rebellious?
    Stewardship is the Christian way of life, the Christian law of living.  God has given us all so much:  Talents, abilities, intelligence, capabilities, ability to create wealth and there is so much that we all can accomplish.  All the things we claim as assets, are really God’s investments in us.
    Regarding our abilities – People confuse assets and liabilities.  IE, put $100 in a bank saving account, it is a liability to the bank.  We expect a return with interest.  God’s investment in us is a liability for us towards God.  We expect a return from the bank, God expects a return from us.  WE must USE what He has given, develop our skills, productivity.
-----WHAT GOD EXPECTS!!
    A quick review from last week, we read this passage.
1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV
2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
    A steward is required to be faithful, reliable & dependable.  Don’t be a quitter.  We can all be faithful.
    One of the big investments God makes in us is giving us material resources.  We must handle them well.  Stewardship includes what we think of and how we handle material wealth.
    Keys to Handling Money
    Being a Godly steward of material wealth comes from a Godly perspective  regarding money. Money is a servant to utilize, not a god to serve. Your motives in acquiring and using money are key factors.
    Let’s read and review a few passages from Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 NIV
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NIV
18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
    Last week we talked about the concept of what we should do, and yet we wonder if we really can do it.  Will we make it if we obey?  We recognized that those who obey God will make it.
    The Bible teaches us about tithing.  This is a central part of stewardship, of recognizing ownership and rightly handling the money we have in our control.
    One of the authors that many of us read during the time of our capital campaign was E. M. Clark.  He has passed away now.  I knew him as a president of North Central.
From: The Key To Blessing by E.M. Clark
THE PROMISED BLESSINGS
    In the beginning I paid the tithe first because it belonged to God, a debt I owed to Him.  I could not pay Him for all He has done for me.  But I could at least try to show my appreciation for what He has done for me by obeying Him in paying what He says I owe Him and paying it where He says to pay it.
    It’s also important to examine one specific part of our obligation.  God said to bring “all the tithe into the storehouse”.  As I look back at this now I notice the promises and benefits God made to him who brought “all the tithe”.  Some people pay part of the tithe or say, “I’ll start paying my tithe when I can afford it”.  That’s not what God is telling us to do. Our blessings start by being obedient.
    As saints we have too often been focused only on our tithing duty, which is very important, and yet we have not been taught that we are also supposed to claim His promised blessings.  That was exactly where I found myself as a early Christian. They said very little about what God did for the tither for paying his tithe where it was supposed to be paid.
    But fortunately for all of us, God sees things differently.  His plan works differently.  Our offerings are investments in the kingdom of God and have always been treated as such.  God is responsive when we obey Him.  And He has a plan which is designed to pour out His blessings upon us. This is the part too few of us appreciate and claim.
(P. 11-12)
    God has amazing blessings and benefits for His children as they obey Him.  Remember what Isaiah said (Isaiah 55:8-11).  God’s thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways God’s ways.
    Let’s build on understanding stewardship:  ownership.
    *****OWNERSHIP is often a heathen game people play.  I own it, and the big issue is that you can’t use it.  The proper Christian attitude is that God owns everything I have.  Think: CONTROL.  If you want to use it, you have to ask me.
    *****Understand that God is sovereign.
Sovereign: above or superior to all others, chief, greatest, supreme.  Supreme in power, rank, or authority, holding the position of ruler, reigning.
    The sovereign looks to no other source for authority or determining what is right or wrong.
    *****We live in God’s world and need to learn to do everything His way.
    That leads us to a very basic problem we regularly deal with:  We live in a pagan society.  I’m not talking pagan in that people burn animal sacrifices to some god.  Pagan philosophy impacts our whole society.
    *****The pagan idea of property is that it belongs to us.  The name of the game is ownership, posses, control, dominate, exploit.  In this pagan concept people act like pseudo-gods.
    *****So, what does Pseudo mean?
Pseudo:  Sham, false, spurious, pretend, counterfeit.  Our world rejects God’s ways.  If I own it, you have to ask ME to use it.  I control you.
    *****These definitions, this foundation leads us to the issue of the tithe and the Law of First Things.
    Define the tithe – 2 Identifying Marks:
1.  Always first.
2.  Always 10% of increase (before deductions).
    The tithe is the acknowledgment that all we have belongs to God.  He is God and He is in control.  It acknowledges the sovereignty of God.  The tithe is a means by which God’s ownership is established.  Unrestricted use clouds ownership.  IE. Friends or roommates who are always borrowing things.  Soon it feels like yours.
Law of the First Things
    God always gets the first. Tithe paid first before other things.
Exodus 23:19 NIV
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
    The city of Jericho was the first city conquered by Israel in the promised land, It belonged to God.
Joshua 6:17 NIV
The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
    They were specifically warned not to take anything from the city, it belonged to God.  They got in trouble when one man disobeyed.
The Storehouse Principle of the Tithe
Malachi 3:8-12 NIV
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
    This passage includes blessings as well as curses.
    What are the blessings? Provision in God’s house.  This is God’s divine way to provide for the local church.  The needs will be met and we won’t have to resort to guilt, pressure, gimmicks, manipulation, raffles, candy sales, etc. to provide for the local church.  God says that He will make it enough.  It will work because it is God’s way.  God promises blessings as well as rebuking the devourer.
    The storehouse: The local church – where you regularly attend.  Tithe where you are fed, have fellowship and receive ministry. This is where you turn to in times of trouble and blessing.  Tithe to your storehouse (God’s clearing house) – undesignated, it belongs to God.
    These verses include some challenging and frightening statements.  They are also some statements of blessing.
    “Will a man rob God?”  Who of us would think of sticking a gun in God’s face and stealing from Him?  Yet, that’s what God says happens.
    Important fact about tithe:  while it is not primarily a money making project, it IS God’s revealed way to support the church.  When all of God’s people tithe, the church is relieved of all the gimmicks used to coax money in to the treasury.  Tithe, not gimmick, is God’s way.
DISCUSSION
What if everyone who claims Christianity brought the tithe to their local church regularly?
Where do offerings come in?  Missions, etc.
Is there a specific income level a person has to reach before God expects the tithe?
Can you identify specific struggles people have that keep them from tithing?
Is this whole topic of stewardship and tithing simply a money raising scheme?
            If Americans who identify with the historically Christian church had given 10% to their churches in 2008, rather than the 2.43% given, there would have been an additional $172 billion available for work through the church.
http://emptytomb.com/potential.html

1/19/14  EQUIPPING TO SERVE - We are God’s Stewards

    As we enter in to this season focusing on Equipping To Serve, I want to give some foundational material.  The challenge I have faced on where to lay the foundation is that there are multiple topics I could use for the start.
    Let’s start with this statement:  God has given us great resources (don’t just think money with the word resources).  We must use those resources for His honor.  Use them well.
    This may be a poor illustration for starting, but it has a good point.  First of all, even though this illustration talks about the lottery, please don’t waste God’s money on the lottery.  God will take care of you when you are faithful.
Lottery Winners Who File for Bankruptcy
    If you happened to win the lottery, your financial situation would improve, right? Actually, according to a recent study, the answer is maybe not. Three economics professors wrote a paper titled “The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery.” Their research tried to address the following questions: Does a lottery windfall have a permanent impact or does it merely postpone financial pain? Does getting a “boatload of money” solve people’s financial problems or just push those problems down the road?
    The professors obtained a list of winners for a Florida lotto game called Fantasy Five. Then they compared those names to Florida bankruptcy records to see how many winners filed for bankruptcy and when. In the first couple of years after winning a jackpot, people who won small amounts were more likely to file bankruptcy than people who won larger amounts. That makes sense. Someone with a large amount of money can initially weather a bad time or keep creditors at bay.
    But after three years, large lottery winners were more likely to file for bankruptcy than small winners. The people who won larger sums did not use their new wealth to pay down debt. Financial consultant Don McNay concludes, “Winning the lottery did not help people increase their net worth. They needed to have set goals and an understanding of finance to make their lives better. It appears that [the lottery winners] did not have those fundamental tools.”
Adapted from Don McNay, “Bailouts Don’t Work: The Lotto Winners Study,” The Huffington Post (9-7-10)
    So, what’s the point?  It is not the amount of money a person has, it is what they do with it.  Many famous entertainers who have made millions have to file bankruptcy.  And, for the Christian, the point is also identifying ownership of our resources.
    Our resources go beyond money.  It is not the abilities and talents we have, it is what we do with them.
    And the point is that God is our source.  We will see this truth develop.
    With this in mind, we want to take a few weeks on the topic of biblical stewardship.  What is it and how do we apply it in daily life?   As we all apply these biblical principles, we will take our church fellowship far down the road God wants to take us.
1 Corinthians 4:1-21 NKJV
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
    We are ALL called to be God’s servants, His helpers.  This is a subordinate role, not the big cheese.  We are God’s stewards.  We are responsible to manage the large investment God has in us.
□    The steward is accountable to his/her master and must prove trustworthy and faithful.
□    He/she must be reliable.
□    The steward doesn’t own what is managed, it is managed for another.  Yet, he must treat it as if it were his/her own.  The steward is entrusted with the owner’s resources.
Jesus said:  Luke 12:42-44 NLT
42 And the Lord replied, A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.
    God gives us the responsibility of managing for the Master. The better we do in managing what God gives us, the more He will trust us with.
    This passage helps understand the concept of ownership.  The Master still owns it all, the servant, the steward manages it.  ***Understanding ownership is a key to biblical stewardship.
    We are called to be God’s managers of what He entrusts to us.  We are to manage our resources in a way that pleases God and follows His commands.  I know of a church that received a large six-figure offering from an individual.  It eventually destroyed the church because people fought over how to use it.  Some tried to control it for what they wanted.  Those folks forgot whose money it was.  It was given to God and belonged to Him.
    I read an expression someone wrote: “the treadmill of accumulation”.  That’s a good expression.  A treadmill has a purpose, but you aren’t going to get any where while you are on it.  The more you accumulate, the more it controls you unless you are using your accumulation as God wants you to use it.
    Here’s an example from the secular world of some people who forgot whose money they were managing.
How Debt Ballooned for the Meadowlands Sports Complex
    Going into debt is such a tempting way to get what we want or supposedly solve our problems. Too often, it only leads to snowballing debt and interest.
    Consider the state of New Jersey, which built the home of the NFL’s New York Giants, the Meadowlands sports complex, in East Rutherford in the early 1970s. The Wall Street Journal reports:
    Nearly 40 years ago the Garden State borrowed $302 million to begin constructing the Meadowlands. The goal was to pay off the bonds in 25 years. Although the project initially went according to plan, politicians couldn’t resist continually refinancing the bonds, siphoning revenues from the complex into the state budget, and using the good credit rating of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition authority to borrow for other unsuccessful building schemes.
    Today, the authority that runs the Meadowlands is in hock for $830 million, which it can’t pay back. The state, facing its own cavernous budget deficits, has had to assume interest payments—about $100 million this year on bonds that still stretch for decades.
Steven Malanga, “America’s Municipal Debt Racket,” The Wall Street Journal (6-14-10), A17
    A big help in understanding biblical stewardship:  Think Eternal.  Look far beyond today to see the long term impact.
    The deeper that people get in to learning about biblical stewardship, the more some people say it doesn’t make sense.  Know this:  God’s ways are higher, and they are always better.
Isaiah 55:8-11 NIV  8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
1.  God’s ways higher, better, more beneficial.  So, do things God’s way.
2.  God’s purpose will be accomplished.  A crop will come, results will come when we obey the Word of God. 
    So, let’s learn and then follow God’s ways.
    One of the great challenges of the Christian life comes when we see something in the Bible that we should do, and yet we wonder if we really can do it.
□    Will we make it in life if we obey?
□    Will we survive doing it God’s way?
□    Is God really going to take care of us if we obey?
    Chew on these thoughts for a bit.  Let’s discuss them.
    Right in the middle of some laws that God gave Israel, right in the middle of a section that we struggle to get through as we read, we find an example of God’s blessing on obedience.
    God told Israel that every seven years they were to give the land a rest.  They were NOT to plant a crop.  Now, the obvious question is: how could they survive?  They didn’t have all the modern sources of supply, long term storage, freezing, etc. that we have today.  Well, the answer is simple.  God said HE would take care of it.
Leviticus 25:18-22 NKJV
18 ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. 20 ‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.
    God said to Israel: if you obey Me I will take care of you.  He says that to us today, as well.
    The miracles:  a bumper crop, no spoilage, they had food when they rested the land.
    Vital principal: when God says to do something, trust HIM to make it work.
    Keep this in mind as we continue to work through this topic of stewardship.  God’s ways are higher and He expects us to obey.
    Stewardship is the Christian way of life and managing resources.  This is not optional for Christians.  It encompasses every aspect of our lives.
    It is common to look at the big mountain before us instead of the powerful vehicle we have to drive over it.  It is common for us to look at the challenges and needs of the world and our fellowship instead of looking to God Who is bigger than anything we face.
    We must keep this focus in mind, not only as we cover this topic, but as we do all the work God has called us to do.  I wish we had more time right now to go deeper, we will continue next week.

DISCUSSION
What is a steward?
How do we define the resources God has invested in us?
What are we to do with these resources?

PRAYER

1/12/14  PRAY!  Jesus Is Our Lord

Get this: We must be people of prayer, people who really pray.  Jesus is our Lord, we don’t just serve some higher power.
    Have you noticed the attacks against Jesus? People in government are saying that people can’t pray in the name of Jesus at public events.  People who quote the Bible are ridiculed.  Scriptures are being carved up to take out what is not popular.  We now have this thing called politically correct that supersedes the Bible.
    Someone wrote an expression of politically correct thanks.
    In today’s politically correct environment where you have to be so careful to keep from offending anyone, we might all have to give reports like this fourth grader who reported on the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. “The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where.”
From the files of Leadership
    It is obvious we are in a battle.  But, what is this battle?  It is a battle to take God out of daily life and replace Him with anything and everything anyone wants.  It is a battle to bring confusion to the world and keep people from Jesus.
    Here is an interesting challenge from history. I am going to read it to you.
Armor of Integrity
    During the time of the twelve Caesars, the Roman army would conduct morning inspections. As the inspecting Centurion would come in front of each legionnaire, the soldier would strike with his right fist the armor breastplate that covered his heart. The armor had to be strongest there in order to protect the heart from the sword thrusts and from arrow strikes. As the soldier struck his armor, he would shout “integritas” [in-teg-ri-tas], which in Latin means material wholeness, completeness, and entirety. The inspecting Centurion would listen closely for this affirmation and also for the ring that well kept armor would give off. Satisfied that the armor was sound and that the soldier beneath it was protected, he would then move on to the next man.
    At about the same time, the Praetorians or imperial bodyguard were ascending into power and influence; drawn from the best “politically correct” soldiers of the legions, they received the finest equipment and armor. They no longer had to shout “integritas” to signify that their armor was sound. Instead, as they struck their breastplate, they would shout “Hail Caesar”, to signify that their heart belonged to the imperial personage, not to their unit, not to an institution, not to a code of ideals. They armored themselves to serve the cause of a single man.
    A century passed and the rift between the legion and the imperial bodyguard and its excesses grew larger. To signify the difference between the two organizations, the legionnaire, upon striking his armor would no longer shout "integritas," but instead would shout “integer” [in-te-ger].
    Integer means undiminished, complete, perfect. It not only indicated that the armor was sound, it also indicated that the soldier wearing the armor was sound of character. He was complete in his integrity, his heart was in the right place, his standards and morals were high. He was not associated with the immoral conduct that was rapidly becoming the signature of the Praetorian Guards.
    The armor of integrity continued to serve the legion well. For over four centuries they held the line against the marauding Goths and Vandals, but by 383 A.D., the social decline that infected the republic and the Praetorian Guard had its effects upon the legion.
    As a 4th century Roman general wrote, “When because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to feel heavy since the soldiers rarely, if ever, wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates and mail and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for the heart and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore the armor to the infantry. They took their armor off and when the armor came off, so too came their integrity.” It was only a matter of a few years until the legion rotted from within and was unable to hold the frontiers. The barbarians were at the gates.
John Di Frances, Reclaiming the Ethical High Ground (Reliance Books, 2002), pp.103-106
    That which made them strong -- heavy armor, integrity of heart, disciplined training -- was neglected.  It brought them to defeat.
    As believers in Jesus, we are standing for Him.  We are proclaiming the truths of the Bible.  We recognize that we cannot try to make things easier by abandoning the armor that God has given us simply because it is heavy and the battle is hard.  As believers in Jesus we will continue in the way God taught His church to go.
    While this is not my main thrust of this message, let me remind you of the armor that God has given us.
Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
    God has given us some amazing equipment to win the battle.  Use it.
    What do we see from the early church?  They faced this powerful and evil Roman government.  What did they do when they were challenged?
    The early church believed in Jesus and were not afraid to proclaim Him even when society rejected Him.
    Peter and John were in trouble for boldly proclaiming the teachings of Jesus, for boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.  They were hauled before the religious leaders and challenged.
Acts 4:8-12 NIV
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11 He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone’.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Salvation is only from Jesus.
    This is a vitally important passage of scripture.  The footnote from the Fire Bible expresses it well.
Salvation... in no one else. Jesus’ disciples were convinced that the greatest need of every individual was to be rescued from the consequences of rebellion and opposition against God so they could enjoy a personal and eternal relationship with him. They preached that this need could be met by no one other than Jesus Christ. He is the only one whose perfect and sinless life (Heb 4:15) could have provided the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin once and for all (1Pe 3:18). This truth reveals the exclusive nature of spiritual salvation (i.e., the fact that it comes only one way—through faith in Jesus Christ; see Jn 14:6). It also highlights the church’s responsibility of communicating the message of Christ to every person. If there were other ways to be spiritually saved and to have a personal relationship with God, then the church would not have to face its mission with such urgency. But according to Christ himself (see Jn 14:6, note), there is no hope of salvation for anyone apart from Christ and faith in him (cf. 10:43; 1Ti 2:5-6). This fact is the basis for the church’s need to support missionary efforts (i.e., people and ministries that take Christ’s message to people in other places, nations and cultures).
    Acts 4:12 is a critical verse.  Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life.  He is not one of the ways, He is not a good way, He is the ONLY way.  That truth needs to stir us.  Peter and John did not compromise the message, even when they were brought before the religious leaders who could cause them much trouble.
    Later on Peter was in trouble again.  King Herod had James killed.  He arrested Peter and was planning to kill him as well.  What did the church do?
Acts 12:5 NIV
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
    The enemy brought the battle to the front door. The church took up the battle.  They called an all night prayer meeting.  They prayed, not because they couldn’t do anything else, but because it was the best thing to do.
    What does it say the church was doing?  Earnestly praying.
    The early church responded to the battle by earnestly praying.  The situation appeared hopeless.  James had been killed.  Herod arrested Peter and put him in maximum security.  Because of their faith in Jesus and the power of prayer, they prayed earnestly for Peter without ceasing.
Acts 12:7-10 NIV
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
    God had no problem answering their prayers.  The solution to the spiritual battles we face is prayer.  This is why it is so hard to pray because the enemy fights prayer.
    Believers have employed prolonged times of prayer together.  Prayer meetings have been a common form of spiritual battle.  There is something powerful about praying together.
    God is pleased when His people come together to pray.  Powerful prayer is more than just a few minutes as a part of a service.  God inhabits prayer meetings.  Prayer is critical to bringing the genuine power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
    As a result of prayer, Peter was released from jail.  Prayer is what God is calling us to do.
APPLICATION
Why is it so hard to pray more than just a few minutes?
What can we do about this?
How is prayer going to impact OUR world?  The world we live in here in Wisconsin?
What are we going to do so that our world is impacted?
Identify a place to start, then start.