Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Great Themes of the Kingdom: Prayer, 3/6/16

Sermon 3-6-16 great themes of the kingdom  Prayer          James 4:1-6
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud   but shows favor to the humble.”[c]

The evolution of our prayers.
The evolution of our Christianity
Evolution of our spirituality

In the beginning we are indeed the subject and center of our prayers.
But in God’s time and in God’s way a revolution takes place in our heart.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, there is a shift in our center of gravity.
We pass from thinking of God as part of our life to the realization that we are part of His life.
Mysteriously, God moves from the edges of our prayer experience to the center.
A conversion of the heart takes place, a transformation of the spirit.
It is a wonderful work of Divine Grace

Common misconceptions
the phrase - Prayer changes things – me         PICTURE does gary have it
this is the great “amiss”
We r not in control. We are submitted
The preponderance of scriptural evidence points to the relationship in this matter.

People never find richness because they settle for shallowness
How would you feel if i was always asking.....
Always wanting something, never just enjoying the time toghther

There is a time to ask for things. Just don’t get stuck there
we are taught
What we are taught in prayer- does not serve us well-
bow your head-close your eyes
fold your hands-kneel down
pray for this-ray for that
make a list-ather together a really big list and go over every persons need
feel guilty for not praying enough
fell guilty for wandering thoughts
feel guilty for falling asleep while praying – nothing wrong w that
you have to pray to the right person - father, son or holy spirit
you should have a king james sounding praying voice
We are stuck in concrete thinking about prayer
here is how it is done, do it this way,
[not that any of this is bad, there is just more]

Asking amiss-----To gain, to consume
selfish prayers
During the war, God was good to us, we prayed, and all of the bombs fell on the other side of town.

grandmother "took her grandson to the beach one day, complete with bucket, shovel and sun hat. The grandmother dozed off and as she slept, a large wave dragged the child out to sea. The grandmother awoke and was devastated. She fell to the ground on her knees and prayed, 'God, if you save my grandchild, I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll join whatever club you want me to. I'll volunteer at the hospital, give to the poor and do anything that makes you happy.'

"Suddenly, a huge wave tossed her grandson on the beach at her feet. She noticed color in his cheeks and his eyes were bright. He was alive. As she stood up, however, she seemed to be upset. She put her hands on her hips, looked skyward, and said sharply, 'He had a hat, you know.'"—Bombeck

Prayer isn't always about talking...Anthony Demello
4 stages of prayer
1.   I talk, you listen – god I want

As if In the American version of Christianity;  Jesus gets married, buys a house in the suburbs; has a family; serves as PTA president for a stint; has good health care; has a fat 401K; lives a long life and dies quietly in his sleep.
our ideas of prayer have kept us from prayer
2.   god talks, I listen
What does God say?
Sell all you have and go to china to be a missionary?
Love your neighbor, love your enemy, forgive. Keep no record of wrongs
Trust me, come follow me, fear not. Peace be with you. Turn the other cheek
Do you really already know what to do?
Go tie up your camel

The holy spirit will lead you to places you never thought you would go and invite you to do things that you never thought you would

3. Silence
Explain it – out to dinner

Prayer as relational
Jesus said, if you have seen me, you have seen the father - John14
I and the father are one - they are spending some time together - John10

maybe the most important part of prayer is the just being together.
Think of a friend
What do you like the most about the relationship?
Talking sure. Bit don't you have lots of time when you are just together?

You are in the presence of someone you love.
You don't have to talk. You just hang out

what would you do with a friend. Fish, play darts, listen to music.
Sit on the desk, Go for a drive. Go for a walk

You can do this with God, with Jesus Christ.
This is prayer
This is a relationship with God

Ramifications of this
Prayer becomes a normal part of our conversational life
Our Focus changes
our prayers are not longer just about finding relief to some part of life that we don't like, prayer begins to be enjoying time with a friend
Prayer is not closing the gap between me and a god that is far away
Prayer is the joyful communion between the heart of God and the soul of man

the mystics taught thatwho are the mystics
Spirituality is about waking up.  Prayer should wake us up
Out of our slumber of self-indulgence
Prayer brings us to an awareness of god
The great WOW

Awareness - The bus in yellowstone
We are born asleep to God…..we walk around in a stupor…..being religious even…..but unaware, unconnected, out of touch
True prayer wakes us up to the reality of Gods deep love for us
True prayer wakes us up the reality of Gods availability & presence in our daily lives
There are no good and bad moments….they are all Gods moments….
True sanctification is not eliminating the normal moments from your life….it is learning to make those moments that are shared with God
I take you to piano lesson…..God and I take you to piano lesson

The long lines at Walmart- finding joy in difficult moments
Prayer helps us to see
The blind man saw men as sticks
Paul said that we see thru a glass darkly, dimly
See the good, see the sky
Jesus prayed prayers that released him from his human wants
-yet not my will, but thy will be done
-father forgive them, they no not what they do

True prayer teaches us to be released from things and people who upset you so much…

"Father, I thank you for the people in my life who seem to bring more pain than joy, for I believe you have let our paths cross for important reasons. Thank you for the good things you want to do in my life through the things that bother me.”
The story of the fire makerin detail
Story of the fire……….all the rituals, but none of the fire,
A man invented fire and took it to faraway lands
They loved it.
They worshiped the fire and the man moved on.
They built temples and put the fire tools on the altar.
They developed liturgy and ritual.
They got so busy doing religious things that they forgot the fire and let it burn out
So they had nice temples, but no fire.

Where is the fire of the Christian life? In the prayer.
The fire is prayer…….
Not prayer of desire but prayer of relinquishing

Conclusion
Prayer is the one thing all Christians can do. We cannot all sing. We cannot all teach Sunday School. We cannot all preach. We cannot all even read our Bibles. But we can all pray. 
Something dissolves in water – tide pods
the salt figurine
wandered over the earth until it fame to the sea. Where it remained lost in the contemplation of that huge mass of water and waves that it had never seen before. Who are you, it finally asked the sea. Come on in and see, said the sea with a smile. Without further ado, the salt man entered the sea and the deeper it went, the more it dissolved until only a tiny amount of its body was left. Just before being completely dissolved, the salt figure exclaimed, now I know who you are
Stanley jones wrote - I am never so free as when I am bound to him. I am never more completely myself and when I am lost in him. The core of my being yearns to be connected to something bigger than me.

God is waiting. When you are ready, just wade into the water.

Surrender
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. Amen.
St. Ignatius Loyola
 

The Holy Spirit moves from high-pressure to low-pressure



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