Be A Lifter Of The Arms, Be A Gapstander

BE A LIFTER OF THE ARMS, BE A GAP STANDER!

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

I. WE MUST PRAY FOR THE UNHINDERED POWER OF THE GOSPEL

TO BE FREELY RELEASED ALL AROUND US.

WE MUST BUILD A TEAM THAT RELEASES GOD’S UNHINDERED POWER!

A. LET US NOT HINDER THE GOSPEL THAT WE TEACH!

LOOK HOW ACTS CLOSES:

Acts 28: 30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came to unto him.

31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding.

B. From David Wilkerson:

THE ORIGINAL GREEK FOR "FORBIDDING" HERE ACTUALLY MEANS

HINDERING.

C. The New American Standard Version states it this way: PAUL PREACHED AND TAUGHT THE GOSPEL WITH ALL OPENNESS, UNHINDERED.

D. Paul will soon be martyred, but he refused to allow anything to hinder the POWER OF THE GOSPEL HE WAS PREACHING.

II. PRAY FOR WORKERS, PRAY FOR MORE WORKERS.

PRAY FOR SPIRITUAL REFRESHMENT AND ENCOURAGEMENT.

A. WE MUST INTERCEDE TO ALL THAT ARE WORKING IN THE HARVEST.

Matthew 9:37 Then saith he unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;

38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest, that he will send forth laborers into His harvest.

Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great,but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he

would send forth laborers into His harvest.

B. I have been told these verses about the laborers suggest in the original PUNY!

C. Puny means slight in power, size or importance, weak, inferior in performance.

D. Are we offering God something more than a puny effort?

E. The harvest is ripe, the laborers must come together as a team.

III. THE CHURCH NEEDS SOME UNASHAMED ACCOMPANIMENTS!

THE CHURCH IS A BODY, A TEAM.

A. TEAM: Together Each Accomplishes More!

B. I was a student on the LMU campus in the early ’70’s.

There was a required course called Music Appreciation.

We had to spend hours in the music library listening to Masterpieces from the music greats.

One day while digging through some old albums, I ran across this title that caught my eye, THE UNASHAMED ACCOMPANIMENT.

I stopped and read the small print. Seems this great pianist played for the great opera singers.

He often played for the great tender singer, Luciano Pavarotti in Italy, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, London, and Paris.

He also played for many other great and famous singers.

But people never knew him, he was just an accompaniment.

The marquee never had this man’s name, and if it did, it was in very small letters. 31 years later I don’t remember his name?

I just remember THE UNASHAMED ACCOMPANIMENT.

His talent was used to support and complement and bring completeness to great vocal masters. This musician was a master of his art but he was

always in a subordinate part, A SUPPORTIVE PART.

B. Remember several years ago the Oak Ridge Boys sang a song, EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A LEAD GUITAR PLAYER FOR

JESUS?

C. I played lead guitar for years, and I went to playing the bass guitar for a Southern Gospel Group.

The bass guitar is an accompaniment instrument. It is seldom recognized but it is very important to the music as a whole.

D. Reading the work of the Unashamed Accompaniment album cover helped me as I moved to the back seat.

E. THE CHURCH NEEDS SOME UNASHAMED ACCOMPANIMENTS!

IV. CAN WE HEAR THE CALL? SHEEP MUST KNOW THE SHEPHERD’S VOICE?

THERE GOES FORTH A MASS CALL TO ALL BELIEVERS!

A. BIND TOGETHER AS PRAYER WARRIORS NOT JUST PRAYER PARTNERS.

B. We can have a lesser power within our hearts.

We can be charmed ---- but not changed!

We can have decisions --- without CONVERSIONS.

WE CAN HAVE DEDICATION --- WITHOUT COMMITMENT.

C. We can have eye service and lip service as outward rituals.

D. We can have great theological debates and never know Jesus as our personal Savior.

1 Timothy 2:1 EXHORT THEREFORE, THAT, FIRST OF ALL,

SUPPLICATIONS, PRAYERS, INTERCESSIONS, AND GIVING

THANKS, BE MADE FOR ALL MEN.

Ephesians 6:6 Not with eye service, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart!

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

V. LET US DEFINE A FEW IMPORTANT WORDS.

A. PERSEVERANCE:

***To keep on in the face of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement

***To put up with hardships ***Endure, stick it out ***hold on

***Steadfastness

B. SUPPLICATE, SUPPLICATION

***To make a humble request

***To ask humbly and earnestly ***entreat

C. PRAY: