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weekly sermon 8-23-09 Can We Talk? We have just finished up a series on the Holy Spirit, what it means to our lives, and how God is totally in control. This week I want us to start a new series that is kind of a tie in to the one we just finished. I want us to talk about talking. Some folks may call it praying, but I like to call it talking and by the end of this message I hope you all will understand why.
I received an email, a couple of weeks ago, that I want to share with everyone. This email really expresses what it is I am wanting to say here. I will actually be sharing two emails that display what we are going to talk about. The paragraph below is the actual content of the one email.
A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day, Decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn't shaved in a while.
His shirt was kind a shabby and his coat was worn and frayed, the man knelt, he bowed his head, Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed, each noon time came this chap, each time he knelt just for a moment, A lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear, He decided to stop the man and ask him, 'What are you doing here?'
The old man said, he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunchtime was his prayer time, For finding strength and power.
'I stay only moments, see, because the factory is so far away; as I kneel here talking to the Lord, This is kind a what I say:
'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY.'
The minister feeling foolish, told Jim, that was fine. He told the man he was welcome To come and pray just anytime.
Time to go, Jim smiled, said 'Thanks.' He hurried to the door. The minister knelt at the altar, he'd never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed, in his heart , he repeated old Jim's prayer:
'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. ! ! SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.'
Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come. As more days passed without Jim, he began to worry some.
At the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill. The hospital staff was worried, But he'd given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them, Brought changes in the ward His smiles, a joy contagious. Changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand why Jim was so glad, when no flowers, calls or cards came, Not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed, He voiced the nurse's concern: No friends came to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile; 'the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, that he's in here all the while.
Everyday at noon He's here, a dear friend of mine, you see, He sits right down, takes my hand, Leans over and says to me:
'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM, HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP, AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN. ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY, AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY'.
There are two things I want us to notice about this little story. Yes the meat of the story should really make us think about how we react to others and how we judge them by what we see and not what we know, but I have just two little areas that I want us to pay special attention to, for the purpose of this message. I want us to notice the prayer that Jim prayed ever day at noon and I want us to notice the prayer that Jesus prayed to Jim at the hospital. The words that are said are very important and not because it is a prayer. The words that were said were simple, one person talking to another, type words. If you look at the prayer that both prayed to each other, it was more like two friends just having a conversation.
There is one other email that I want us to look at before we get started. This following email will eventually tell us two things also. This next paragraph is also the exact content of the email. The regular font lines are the prayer and person talking, the bold print is God talking.
Our Father Who Art In Heaven. Yes? Don't interrupt me. I'm praying. But you called ME! Called you? No, I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in Heaven. There you did it again! Did what? Called ME. You said, "Our Father who art in Heaven" Well, here I am. What's on your mind? But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like fulfilling a duty. Well, all right. Go on. Okay, Hallowed be thy name . . Hold it right there. What do you mean by that? By what? By "Hallowed be thy name"? It means, it means . . good grief, I don't know what it means. How in the world should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean? It means honored, holy, wonderful. Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. Thanks. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Do you really mean that? Sure, why not? What are you doing about it? Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control, of everything down here like you have up there. We're kind of in a mess down here you know. Yes, I know; but, have I got control of you? Well, I go to church. That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read? Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at church! Excuse ME. I thought you were praying for MY will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you for example. Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others. So could I. I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free. Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, You and ME. I'm proud of You. Look, Lord, if you don't mind, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our daily bread. You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is. Hey, wait a minute! What is this? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups. Praying is a dangerous thing. You just might get what you ask for. Remember, you called ME and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying. ( . . pause . . ) Well, go on. I'm scared to. Scared? Of what? I know what you'll say. Try ME. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. What about Ann? See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories. She never paid back the money she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her! But, your prayer. What about your prayer? I didn't mean it. Well, at least you're honest. But, it's quite a load carrying around all that bitterness and resentment isn't it? Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her. Boy, have I got some plans for her. She'll wish she had never bee n born. No, you won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. You know how unhappy you are? Well, I can change that. You can? How? Forgive Ann. Then, I'll forgive you; And the hate and the sin, will be Ann's problem, not yours. You will have settled the problem as far as you are concerned. Oh, you know, you're right. You always are. And more than I want revenge, I want to be right with You . . (sigh). All right all right. I forgive her. There now! Wonderful! How do you feel? Hmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all! In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight. I haven't been getting much rest, you know. Yeah, I know. But, you're not through with your prayer are you? Go on. Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted. What do you mean by that? You know what I mean. Yeah. I know. Okay. Go ahead. Finish your prayer. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Do you know what would bring me glory, What would really make me happy? No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now. I've really made a mess of things. I want to truly follow you. I can see now how great that would be. So, tell me, How do I make you happy? YOU just did.
Now, looking at that message, we can see many things that we should reflect on concerning our lives and how we say one thing and do another all the time. We can see that we pray a prayer but down deep we really, either do not understand, or just do not apply what we are praying, to our lives, but that is not what I am wanting us to notice here.
Just like in the first email, I want us to notice how the prayer was being done. Notice that once the person started praying, God came in and began to talk. It was just as if two people were having a conversation, not really a prayer.
Can you see now why I called it talking instead of praying? If we pray, then we are praying to a God that we anticipate will answer our prayers, but when we talk we are talking with a friend, someone we have a relationship with. During the series we just finished, I spoke about how the Holy Spirit came so that we could have a relationship with God. We also learned that Jesus came, not only to offer us salvation, but was sent by God so that sinful man could have a relationship with an Almighty God.
I will now turn us to the Bible just for a couple of really quick passages of scripture, to show some of the things I am trying to say here.
Turn with me to Matthew 6:9-13, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (10)Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. (11)Give us this day our daily bread. (12)And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13)And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." This shows us two things also. It shows us the exact same prayer that was in the email, that should show us that by this one prayer everything is taken care of and it shows us the Lord has told us exactly how to pray.
In closing, turn to one other passage of scripture with me. Ephesians 2:22, "In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." This word habitation is translated to mean relationship. This is talking about the relationship that God wants with us, hence why He sent the Holy Spirit. To have a true relationship with God, just as anyone, there must be conversation. This conversation is done through prayer. What I want us to understand though, is that the praying being done, should not be robotic, but more like talking with an old friend.
Do you know God as your friend? If you do not have a "old friend" relationship with God but would like to, then all you have to do is say this simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Stone
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