Series - Maximum Impact
“Live for maximum impact! Make a difference!” is what the Lord has been saying to me this month! There is a world that is being devastated by sin all around us. I don’t want to rehearse all the evidences of the brokenness for I know that you know it well. I also know that, as disciples of the Lord of life, we are empowered to live differently - the ‘abundant life’ is what Jesus called it - and we are called to lead others to Him. Maximum impact disciples are not just focused on getting others ‘saved’ so they can go to Heaven. They are involved in their world working to bring about justice, to defeat oppression, to lift up those who are sad!
They share the mission of Jesus Christ which He announced by taking the words of Isaiah -
Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
So far, in this series of messages, I’ve talked with you about the new identity that God offers to each of us in Christ, about the reality of God’s Presence all around in daily life. We considered Gideon, a frightened farmer that God called to be a “Mighty Warrior,” Israel’s deliverer.
I talked with you about walking with God, like Abraham, who lived with his eyes fixed on God’s promises, and walked out His will, day by day.
And, last week, I spoke about the importance of having goals and making sure they are worthy of our status as God’s people. We took the negative example of Judas Iscariot, who began well with Jesus, but then became captive of his own dreams, and in the deception of self-will, became a traitor who died tragically!
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Today, I want to emphasize the essential importance of wiring ourselves into the wisdom of God.
I believe that the single most influential development in the world in the last two decades is the Internet! It has brought about what is called ‘the information age.’ It is now possible for a preacher in Washington, NJ to communicate with a pastor in Indonesia- so that their lives influence each other.
The Internet is an amazing source of information - some bad, some good.
ill.- Last Saturday, I discovered that my Miata’s radiator was leaking. I sat down with my computer,
typed in some search phrases and soon found a place where the process of replacing it was laid out, in detail, complete with pictures! It looked like something I could do, so I went to another website and ordered a radiator, which was delivered to my door on Tuesday!
On a much more serious note, when Dad became very ill back in January, his surgeon told me he had a mesenteric carcinoid tumor. I was able to spend hours searching through medical articles to find out as much as I could about this kind of cancer. The information was so valuable and helped me to understand the treatments offered to him by his doctors.
The incredible wealth of information, the ability that I enjoy to build a network of relationships, the nearly instant communication that is possible - has enriched my life and made me much more productive.
“So, is this a commercial for Dell computers or a sermon?” you may be asking. No, there is a spiritual point here. Let’s go there!
A Disciple desiring to live for maximum impact, to really make a difference, needs to be wired for wisdom, connected the Source.
No computer is needed, no technological skills are required! We find the wisdom and information we need to live for Him, when we learn to live in constant conversation with the Lord of Heaven and Earth.
The old trawler was in her last hours afloat! The captain called the small crew together; counted them, and looked down at a paper in his hand. With a grim face he asked, “Does anyone here know how to pray?”
One young sailor put up his hand, “I do!”
“Great,” the captain responded, “You pray while the rest of us put on life jackets. We’re one short!”
For many people, probably including some of us in this room, prayer is the choice of last resort – when we’re out of life jackets – then, finally; we turn to prayer.
The Bible says that prayer should be a way of life, a constant conversation with God – in good times, in bad times, in moments of confusion, and in peaceful rest.
1 Thessalonians 5.17 tells us that we must “Pray continually!”
Countless books have been written discussing how to pray, the meaning of prayer, methods of effective prayer, what to pray, and even why we pray. I’ve read too many of them! As a young preacher I wanted to find that ‘foolproof’ prayer method that would produce results! In my immaturity, I thought of prayer as just one more skill that I needed to learn to be able to lead a church.
Prayer was about ‘getting things done.’ I wanted to know how to get the sick healed, how to get my financial needs, how to find God’s guidance for my life, how to bring down the powerful Presence of God on the congregation I served, etc! In some pretty dramatic years in my early 30's, the Lord began to help me to understand that I didn’t need to adopt somebody’s methods nor did I need to find a formula. I just needed to start ‘being with God.” It was time to stop studying prayer and time to get into the school of prayer.
And what is prayer?
Jesus was very practical when he taught about prayer.
· He said that prayer is “asking, seeking, and knocking.”
· He illustrated prayer with a story about a persistent widow who came again and again to a judge seeking justice and then told his friends that the point of his story was they should always pray and never give up! He implies that prayer requires deep faith and is not always an easy discipline!
· He commended a Roman centurion’s prayer saying that “I have not found such great faith even in Israel” shocking those who heard him, because they thought only certain people with the right religious credentials could pray– is that what you think? He points to the mysteries of prayer that defy our attempts to wrap up prayer in our formulas and methods.
I am convinced that there are two main reasons that we do not pray, at least as we know we should:
1. We are misinformed about the purposes, and therefore the practice, of prayer, and
2. The enemy of our soul makes distraction from prayer a primary objective for he knows how powerful a praying Christian actually is!
Let’s talk about that first statement... We are misinformed about the purposes of prayer.
Many of us, perhaps unconsciously, think that prayer is primarily like building a grocery list. Before I head off to ShopRite to stock up for the week, I want to know:
What do I plan for this weeks’ menu?
What ingredients do I need to have on hand?
What do I have in my cupboards?
What must I buy at the supermarket this week?
I have already formed my own plans and agenda when I prepare to go shopping. I am not there to learn a new diet. I just want my groceries!
Applying that to prayer, many people form their plans, and then go to the Lord to get the resources they want to do the job! Prayer is not about ‘discovery’ or even relationship. Prayer is a kind of Divine ATM experience, a place where stuff is dispensed from Heaven’s store.
When we study the prayers of Jesus even superficially, we soon discover how inadequate the ‘grocery list’concept of prayer really is!
Of course, the Master prayed for specific needs and problems, and so should we. There is nothing wrong with asking God to supply our needs. That is a part of what prayer is.
The Gospels often tell us that Jesus “went to pray.” Prayer, to Jesus, was much more than shopping at Heaven’s supermarket to acquire supplies! He prayed because He loved God and loved to be with Him. Prayer was like breathing to Him. He prayed to live!
Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Jesus engaged in frequent times of conversation with His Father so that He would be in tune with His will and aware of His Presence.
What about the distractions that keep us from prayer?
The number one reason many Christians offer for not praying is a BUSY LIFE! Do you ‘excuse’ yourself from learning to pray or spending time in prayer by pointing to the pressure of your schedule? I risk sounding like a scold or a nag, but I must tell you that such an excuse does not really work!
Richard Foster makes an observation that many of us will understand:
“We today yearn for prayer and hide from prayer. We are attracted to it and repelled by it. We believe prayer is something we should do, even something we want to do, but it seems like a chasm stands between us and actually praying. We experience the agony of prayerlessness. We are not quite sure what holds us back. Of course, we are busy... but our busyness seldom keeps us from eating, sleeping, or making love.” – Prayer, Harper, 1992
Our busy schedules, and modern Americans are incredibly busy and productive people, generally do not prevent us from finding ways to do those things to which we assign a high priority or value!
This being true, we would be much more honest if we admitted that we do not pray, because we don’t believe prayer works all that well!
If our experience was that we could pray for x number of hours and be guaranteed that we would get exactly what we requested, this church would be packed full of Christians on their knees, praying for days on end!
But even that reveals our shallow understanding of the purpose of prayer!
It goes back to the ‘grocery list’ concept once again. If we understood prayer as Jesus did, as our ‘breath,’ as being a time when God’s Spirit brought life and health to our being, we would not allow lesser things to keep us from prayer.
Please think carefully with me. Please do not let your mind rush ahead of me.
· Let me repeat a fact: it is good and right to boldly present our needs and requests to God in prayer. The Bible teaches us to ask God for our daily bread, our healing, for guidance.
But the Bible also teaches us that prayer is to be contemplative, that the best prayers are a conversation with the Spirit that first transforms us inwardly and then changes our outward circumstances!
Psalm 46:10 is a familiar text in which God urges us to
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
“Be still...” is a translation of a Hebrew word that is also translated with the English word – “feeble, weaken, idle, and faint!”
What’s God telling us? That our best prayers flow out of a child-like humility that causes us to abandon all pretense that He should do our bidding. Our only confidence in prayer comes from the assurance of His love towards us! And what a confidence that ought to be! 1 John 3:1 NLT powerfully assures us – “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!”
When you come to your Father in Heaven which are you more like?
An angry teenager or like a little child?
When my children were very little, they freely asked me for all kinds of things. They had an uncomplicated expectation that I would provide food for them, that I would be available to comfort them, and that they could completely trust me to be good to them. Then, they became teenagers... Our communications became negotiations. They strategized, tried to intimidate, bargained. argued, threatened, stone-walled..... any parents know what I’m talking about?
God wants us to have an uncomplicated, humble expectation that He is good and that He cares for us. He delights in our requests and our desire to be with Him. We rob our prayer life of joy and intimacy IF we start demanding, negotiating, threatening, and ‘boycotting!’ He will not be bullied. He says, “Be still and know that I am God! It is my interest to care for you because that is how others come to honor me when they see my faithfulness to you.”
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My aim in this message is actually quite simple – to move you to pray, to enter the school of prayer by actually praying!
Begin a conversation with God that never ends! Wire into His wisdom! Get connected and stay that way!
Talk with Him about anything and everything– your dreams, His plans, your fears, His love, the war, your kids, your marriage, your unmet longings, your sins. Listen for His voice and watch for His works.
Grow a faith that sustains you and emboldens you to pray for others. In fact, go public this week. Notice a family member with a need? Pray with them, out loud!
No, not a preachy pray full of church language, but rather a conversational prayer that asks God to meet their need. You pray and leave the answers to Him!
Begin with a willingness to do whatever God shows you to do!
Lord and Master, as your servant I sincerely want to please you. I don’t need to know your plans for my entire life, so help me focus on YOU today. Let me stay where I can hear Your whispers in my heart, feel You near!
Please empower me to serve you in this way. I want your dreams for me to be my dreams as well.
Amen.
If you pray this prayer with a child-like openness, stand ready!
But, please, do not grumble when He shows you a path you would not necessarily choose for yourself!
I dare you this week....
1. Continue to pray “anytime/anyplace.”
2. Add to that some specific moments of prayer in a quiet place where the busyness of life and the clamor of other people won’t intrude.
3. Don’t ask God what his will is, and then decide whether or not you’ll do it.
Bring to him your willingness to do his will. Ask him what it is. Then do it!
And, as you breathe in His life and wisdom, as you live near to Him -
amazing things will happen to you and through - yes, you will move towards living for Maximum Impact, making a difference.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you!” declares the LORD
Amen
