“WE MUST PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS” 1 Tim. 2:1-4
FBCF – 7/4/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – History Lesson: In the early & mid-1770’s, conflict between the 13 US colonies & England was heating up as England increased its oppression & taxation over our people on this side of the pond. More & more colonists were convinced that the British king & parliament was determined to take away their freedom & saw more & more corruption by England all around the world. Britain began preparing for war in early 1775 & the first fighting broke out in Massachusetts in April of that year. The Revolutionary War had begun. By early 1776, many of the colonists began to seriously consider cutting ties w/ England & the movement for independence began to gain some serious momentum.
A Continental Congress was elected & became the governing body during the Revolution. In June of 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution “that these united colonies are & of right ought to be free & independent states.” On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to declare independence, & on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was ratified & the battle for independence & freedom was engaged. Some 8 years later, the Treaty of Paris was signed, the war was over, & the United States of America was a free nation.
Here we are, 245 years later. We’ve been through 12 different wars. We’ve established ourselves as a major world power in every way imaginable – military, economic, education, entertainment, athletics, & other areas. We’ve stood against tyranny & oppression all around the world. We’ve helped in nearly every world disaster you can think. We’re strong! We’re free! We’re proud! We’re Americans!
And, we’re also in trouble.
- We’re immoral
o College girls on mission trip to India – Men’s idea of Western women comes from pornography
- We’re violent - Rioting in street of Los Angeles this week over a transgender man who exposed himself to little girls. Some believe he had right to do that. We are so messed up!
- We’re unspiritual & unchurched/dechurched - The "Nones" are fastest growing religious group in US now (https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/december/unaffiliated-are-not-unreachable-understanding-and-reaching.html)
- We’re irreligious
- We’re greedy
- We’re uncaring
- We’re desensitized
- We’re more divided than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime – We don’t agree to disagree anymore. We just disagree, dig our hard line in the sand deep, & try to destroy those who disagree w/ us.
- We’re angry – sometimes righteously angry – more often than not, just MAD
ALL of this to say – WE NEED A SWEEPING REVIVAL IN OUR LAND!
#205 – 1956 Baptist Hymnal – “Revive Us Again” – 4th stanza:
“Revive us again, Fill each heart w/ thy love,
May each soul be rekindled w/ fire from above.
Hallelujah, Thine the glory, Hallelujah, Amen
Hallelujah, Thine the glory, Revive us again!”
For that much-needed revival to come, we must pray, & pray BIG!
EXPLANATION – 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Paul continuing to instruct & disciple Timothy in those things necessary to lead the church there at Ephesus.
- Timothy needs to know & teach sound doctrine
- He needs to have some strong servants in the church w/ him.
- He needs to be ready to stand against false teachers & those who would stir up dissension w/in the church.
- He needs to keep proclaiming the Gospel, keep building up & growing the church
- He needs to maintain his own personal walk w/ the Lord –
o 1 Timothy 4:18 – “Keep a close watch on yourself…”
o 1 Timothy 6:11 – “But as for you, O man of God, flee [from sin]. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, & gentleness.”
Here in this passage, Paul is “urging” Timothy – earnestly asking him; begging & pleading w/ him – to lead the church to pray - & not just some general call to prayer, but corporately in specific ways:
- “supplications” – “requests” (NIV) – Praying for needs, usually of the person who is praying
- “prayers” – This sounds sort of general, but it truly means those prayers that only God can answer.
o Some prayers you can get involved in. Pray for someone who doesn’t have enough food. Spirit says, “You’ve got a bunch of food. Take them some.”
o But then there are those prayers that only God can answer. That’s what we are talking about here.
- “intercessions” – praying on behalf of others.
o 2 Thessalonians 3:1 – “…brothers & sisters, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly…”
- “thanksgivings” – for God hearing & answering
Paul exhorts Timothy that he must lead his church to pray. And specifically, to pray for leaders & those in authority over them. Same is true for us.
APPLICATION – Praying for leaders is every Christian’s privilege & responsibility.
ESTABLISH 2 BASIC FACTS:
We are in war for our faith – 1 Timothy 1:18-19
Like Timothy, we’ve got to “wage a good warfare” – “fight a good fight.” We don’t have to go looking for the fight – in fact, we shouldn’t. But the fight will & has come to us.
Satan will use every tactic in his book & every weapon in his arsenal against us to get us to the point of “shipwrecking our faith” (v. 19).
Different means of warfare:
- Lone sniper or a whole army
- Chemical warfare
- Cyber warfare
- Direct assault or guerilla warfare
- Firing missiles & dropping bombs
Satan will use any & all of these types of attacks to get us to the point where we shipwreck our faith.
How do ships wreck?
- Storms
- Rocks
- Icebergs
- Torpedoes
- Get off course
We must pray alone & corporately:
- Frequently
o “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
- Fervently
o “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16)
- Faithfully
o “Pray always & never give up” (Luke 18:1)
Paul’s specific command to pray for “all people, for kings & all who are in high positions.” 3 clear reasons:
IT IS GOOD
- Gk – it’s the right thing to do; it’s advantageous, important
- “all people” – We don’t pick & choose who to pray for. We pray for anyone who needs prayer.
- “kings & all who are in high positions” – governmental leaders – Those who are elected & those who are appointed. Those we voted for & those we didn’t vote for. Those we agree with & those we vehemently disagree with.
- Takes time. Takes dedication. Takes perseverance. Takes faith.
- Nonchalant, half-hearted, lazy praying doesn’t cut it. Not giving you a specific amount of time you should pray each day, but praying for “all people” & “for kings & all who are in high positions” is going to take some time.
- Prayer App: Thu is day I pray for gov’t leaders
IT IS PLEASING TO GOD
- If there’s anybody we should have a passion to please, it should be God. This was Paul’s passion in HIS life & should be our passion, too.
- Galatians 1:10 – “I am not trying to please people. I want to please God. Do you think I am trying to please people? If I were doing that, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (CEV)
- Lots of people try to be people-pleasers. We need to be God-pleasers. And serious prayer for all people & gov’t leaders pleases God.
IT IS IMPORTANT B/C GOD WANTS ALL PEOPLE TO BE SAVED
- We aren’t just praying for leaders so we will have a better life – be more prosperous – be happier.
- We are praying b/c God wants the lost to be saved.
- We are praying that those leaders who are in high positions will make decisions that create conditions that allow the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS to bear the most fruit.
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS
What changes do YOU need to make in your prayer life so you can please God & pray more for ALL people & for leaders?
