Breakfast was served before worship including donuts, coffee, and other snacks. Music was playing on the speakers before the service. It was a very informal environment with everyone visiting together. When worship began we sang “In You” and “Who Is like Our God”. The band leader, Danny, prayed. We then sang “More Love, More Power”, “Mighty To Save”, “Holy & Anointed One”, and “At The Cross”. Danny gave another prayer and a man in a wheelchair came forward named Mike. He said good morning and said that he hopes everyone has a safe spring break and he is glad everyone came to Vineyard to worship. He said that we are getting ready for a short coffee break and that the preacher, Jim, would give the life lesson after the break. There were notes available for anyone who wanted them. He said something about Bill Gates and Tony doing doodles to help inspire themselves.
After the break Danny and the band sang a song called the Come Back Song which had the lyrics “Right by My Side” in it. A man named Phil gave announcements about Women of Faith and the ladies retreat. He said that if anyone was here for the dance they had Friday, they were going to start having a dance the first Friday of every month. He said everyone was welcome to come that night to “H2O – A Journey of Faith” at 6 PM. Soup will be served at 6 and they will watch a video at 6:30 and discuss it at 7. Childcare will be provided and it is all free.
Jim said good morning and said that the song we sang “At the Cross” reminded him of the hymn “At the Cross” but it was a different song. One of the ways that is used to teach is hymns. He said that Christians don’t lie; they just wait until the weekend and sing them. He said we are telling God how much we love him and singing these lyrics to God. He looks down and asks himself, do you really mean it? He said to remember during praise that we are singing this to God. Songs are meant to teach and admonish you.
Jim’s life lesson was part of a series of lessons called “Doing the Stuff Jesus’ Way.” He said that it is not just a five step process but more of a model. He gave a recap and said that when you catch on to the fact that God does not require but allows us to minister we are getting the point. He felt that God has left him here to do God’s work. When we approach ministering as a duty or something we need to do, we miss the point. A person will get saved if it is God’s will, with or without us getting involved. He said that he wanted to pray for others and not just about himself. It is about God and others. Jesus didn’t just die for our benefit but for everyone’s benefit. He told a story about a young preacher and an old preacher. The young preacher asked the old preacher how long it took him to prepare his sermon and the old preacher replied about 40 years. He said that chasing a rabbit leads to chasing another rabbit.
Jim said that God can use him when he is serving others. He asked God one time about helping a person, but he felt like God was telling him not to because it would interfere with what God was doing. There are times when you have to just listen to God. He said he tries to minister in a topical way, not an expository way. He said that when he first started preaching that he was very young and the people bore with him. He felt totally inadequate and he felt like he was unable to do what God wanted in God’s way. He admitted that he would sometimes leave a hospital after visiting a patient and he would have forgotten to pray. He said that he felt like he would sound stupid praying out loud.
He said that the 1st lesson talked about an interview process. That we should not just jump into praying for people but listen to the dialogue of what they are saying. We should listen on two levels: Where does it hurt, and we should listen between the lines. He said that sometimes he could hear a voice inside of him telling him that the reason people are asking him to pray for them, is not the real reason they want prayer. He said one time to someone that the reason they said they wanted prayer was not the real reason they came to him and the person he was talking to started crying and said that they had a more serious problem. He said that one time, while visiting a church; he heard something in his spirit told him something that wasn’t said at the church. He said he heard and responded to the voice inside. It always works better with two people involved while doing prayer in this form. He quoted Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1, and Ecclesiastes 4:9. He said that he believes that a husband and wife team together is a great idea. Step one is to interview. Step two is to diagnose the condition. If someone gives you a long list to pray for, focus on one thing only. Ask them what is one thing they want you to pray for right now.
He said that there are kinds of prayer you can pray for others. There is a prayer of selection. That is the one just mentioned where you pray for one particular thing. Next is a prayer of invocation. This is a “come holy sprit” kind of prayer. He said that it is always wise to invite the Holy Spirit into any situation and this is what the prayer of invocation does. It honors the Holy Spirit and gives willing admission to him as we wait on God.
He said that sometimes prayer encounters take a while. We should submit to the Holy Spirit, not direct it. If you lead, he will leave you on your own. He said that Samson could do nothing without God. When he thought he could, he was subdued by the Philistines. Next is a prayer of partition. This is where we ask God to help us. This makes it a joyful experience when it is answered. Next is a prayer of intercession. This is asking God to help someone else. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving. This is where we thank God for allowing us to be used. There are prayers that could be considered from God. This is where God is directing you in what you do and what you say toward the person you are ministering to. He said that one could be where God is ministering to the person being ministered to. This is called a command of faith. He reads from Acts 3:1-10 where Peter and John heal the crippled man. Peter and John had possibly passed by him before. Maybe Jesus had even passed by him before. Jim said that Jesus did not heal everyone, but only those who came to him. He healed many but not everyone. Jim quoted John 5:19-20. He said that there is often an emotional response going on in the person being ministered to and he can see what God is doing. Peter and John hear the man asking for money. Apparently something had happened before this because Peter was arrested. Jim quoted Matthew 9:5 where Jesus healed a crippled man and said that perhaps this is what Peter had in his mind when he healed the crippled man in Acts. Peter improvised in his healing and in bold faithfulness reached down and pulled the man to his feet. A miracle occurred. The man not only received strength but motor skills. This caused a commotion and another few thousand were saved.
Peter told the man to look at them. Sometimes God does not use us because he doesn’t have our full attention. One interesting point to note is that Peter does not fall to his knees and pray for the man in these verses. Peter and John were on their way to the temple and had probably already been praying. Jim said that Jesus did not pray for the sick, not once except for the possible exception in Mark 7:34 where he sighs. He said that the Bible does not mention the Apostles stopping and praying on their way except in Acts 27:8. Except for a few exceptions the apostles didn’t stop and pray. This does not mean that Jesus and the apostles didn’t pray. It is obvious that they did in other parts such as Jesus praying in the garden. But when they cam out of praying, they went and healed the sick. Jim said there is nothing wrong with praying. We are given authority to do God’s work. He has empowered us to heal the sick. God can and will use you. We don’t need to wait for a healing encounter to pray. He said that he had forgotten to pray before leaving his house to come to church this morning. He said that this can happen all too quickly, and we forget to pray. Jim talked about a conference that he went to where another pastor said that he was drove to prayer for 5 whole minutes, as if this was a lot. He said that sometimes he doesn’t do big prayers, but just popcorn prayers while in his office or while driving. Jim said that there is so much more to serving God then you will ever imagine.
Jim encouraged us to spend time in the Gospels. He got slack onetime because he said that for three years he was going to read nothing but the four gospels. He did it too. Jim said that he was going to say the benediction for us. He said that he had prayed twice for God to show him someone who needed help. He felt like there was someone there who was having problems with a bad rotary cup. He believed that God wanted him to minister to it. He wanted to see if God is going to do what he wanted to do. Jim said the benediction prayer and we were dismissed. Afterwards, I noticed one woman who came forward and received prayer from Jim.
No comments:
Post a Comment