Prayerwalking: Praying On-site With Insight
Luke 10:1-3
Mar. 26, 2006 FBC, Chester Dr. Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A On Wednesday (3/23/06), New York City Department of Transportation workers discovered a cache meant to aid in survival efforts in the event of a nuclear attack.
1 The cache was located on the top-floor of a three-story space inside the bade of the Brooklyn bridge.
a The cache consisted of empty water drums, boxes of medical supplies, & high-calorie crackers.
b The dates on the supplies are dated 1957 & 1962, two significant dates of the Cold War between the U.S. & the former Soviet Union.
aa 1957, The Soviets launched the first satellite into space.
bb 1962, was the year of the Cuban Missel Crisis.
c One of the containers was marked, "To Be Opened After Attack By The Enemy." (Source accessed on 3/23/2006 on www.cnn.com/2006/us/03/021/coldwar.trove/?section=cnn_mostpopular)
2 You, me, the Church, and Chester are under attack by an enemy.
a 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:10-12 (KJV)
b The enemy we’re facing will not be defeated with missles & guns; or overcome with drums of water, medical supplies, or high-calorie crackers.
c Our God is greater than any gun!
d This enemy that is attacking will be subdued by the prayers of the people of faith in this town.
B Today, we are going to hear the message, "Prayerwalking: Praying On-Site with Insight."
1 Jesus sent praying people to prepare a way for Him prior to His arrival in that city. (ETS)
a Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 "Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Luke 10:1-3 (NASB)
b Our prayers for Chester can be used by God to prepare a way of welcoming for Jesus’ arrival. (ESS)
2 I hope you’ll commit to participate in the two-week prayerwalking project, which begins today. (Objective)
a Who will prepare a way for Christ by being a part of the prayerwalking project? (Probing Question)
b I want you to look at two facts of prayerwalking that will hopefully help you commit to this project. (Transitional Sentence)
I The first fact of prayerwalking is...the reason. Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 "Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Luke 10:1-3 (NASB)
A Jesus sent the 70 out with a vastly different agenda than the 12 apostles.
1 The apostles’ job was to preach first the Kingdom of God. And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. Luke 9:1-2 (NASB)
a Jesus called the 12, (Luke 6:13), but He also called 70 laymen.
b Jesus was entrusting the expansion of His kingdom to not only ordained preachers, but also to ordinary believers.
c Sending them as lambs, not sheep, in the midst of wolves (v.3)
aa Uneven fight!
bb Split up
cc I’ll fight for you!
2 He sent the 70 to "every city & place" He was going to visit.
a Their mission was to pray for blessing, for the sick, for more laborers in Christ’s kingdom.
b They were to start seeing the people through Jesus’ eyes.
aa Brokenness, loneliness, emptiness, lostness, of the people in the town.
bb Praying allowed them to see these people the way Jesus did.
3 The 70 were sent to increase the receptivity of the townspeople to Jesus’ arrival (raise awareness)
a "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me." Luke 10:16 (NASB)
b Jesus came to cities by invitation, not invasion
c The 70 prepared the cities for His arrival
aa Not all cities welcomed Jesus. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! Luke 13:34 (NASB)
bb Imagine the peace, joy, happiness, & healing Jesus would have brought to these places had they welcomed Him.
B Jesus is still sending out His people to prepare for His arrival.
1 "Mike, I can’t pray in church, much less on a public street."
a Jesus is sending us out as lambs in the midst of wolves
aa Sending us in weakness was His idea! ...but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong 1 Cor 1:27 (NASB)
bb When God moves, it will leave no room to question from Whom the movement/awakening comes from. To God be the glory!
b He doesn’t want us stronger, rather He wants us to acknowledge our weakness.
2 "Mike, I don’t know these people, I’ve never seen them."
a By praying, we’re waking up to the idea of seeing people though Jesus’ eyes.
b See people in need of healing, salvation, hope, Jesus.
3 "Mike, what if I’m rejected or people make fun of me?"
a "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me." Luke 10:16 (NASB)
b No one rejects you, they reject Jesus!
C Prayerwalking basics:
1 Join with other believers: 2 or 3
2 Set aside time: a lot can be done in 60/120 minutes, although much can be done in less.
3 Choose an area: let God guide, preferably beyond your neighborhood.
4 Pray with insight: let God recalibrate your heart. Use Scripture
5 Focus on God: Ask God to put a restraining order on Satan so God’s blessing can be given to Chester.
T.S.: As important as the reason of prayerwalking is, we can not overlook the blessing found in the second fact of prayerwaking.
II The second fact of prayerwalking is the return.
A Jesus had scheduled a time for the prayerwalkers to regather to report on what had taken place on their ventures.
1 They didn’t come back with their dauber down.
a They came back with JOY
aa Joy of SURPRISE. The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." Luke 10:17 (NASB) They were surprised that their prayers were answered.
bb Joy of their identity in God. "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." Luke 10:20 (NASB) Demons know you, but more importantly, God knows your identity.
cc A taste of the joy of God over their testimony. At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. Luke 10:21 (NASB)
dd We don’t see Jesus being any more filled with joy than right here!
b Jesus was filled with joy because what had been hidden in God’s heart was now being revealed to whole cities (how? ordinary believers!)
2 These 70 prayerwalkers made Jesus happy! (What more reason do we need to prayerwalk Chester, folks?)
B Our return of joy is similar to the ones received by the 70 sent out by Christ.
1 April 9 celebration service with testimonies of prayerwalkers.
2 Joy of answered prayer
a I dare you to pray for revival without experiencing it first in your own heart (can’t be done)
b "For persons to be thus engaged in extraordinary prayer for the revival and flourishing state of religion in the world, will naturally lead each one to reflect on himself, and consider how religion flourishes in his own heart, and how far his example contributes to that when he is praying." -Jonathan Edwards
c Seeing Jesus more in the lives of families, homes, city!
3 Joy of being known by God.
a Gospel presented=one in Christ
b By being part of the Prayerwalk, you become one in Christ by partnering with other believers, from other churches.
c God knows when His bride’s behaving!
4 Joy of causing Jesus to rejoice!
a If believers praying for cities caused Jesus to rejoice 2,000 years ago, how do you think Jesus responds in 2006? (He’s the same yesterday, today, & forever!)
b I want to make Jesus smile.
C A dying man was laughing and smiling. His doctor said to him, "Man don’t you realize that you are dying?" "Yes," said the man, "But it’s all right! Years ago I met a man who taught me how to smile and I can smile even in death because of Him – His name is Jesus Christ!"
1 You don’t find warmth at the North Pole…. You don’t find Icebergs in Florida … You won’t find true happiness anywhere else but in Jesus.
2 Chester needs to know the rejoicing reward found in Christ Jesus!
Conclusion
A Jesus sent praying people to prepare a way for Him to visit prior to His coming to that city.
1 Our prayers for Chester can be used by God to prepare a way of welcoming for Jesus’ arrival.
2 We’ve looked at two facts of prayerwalking that will hopefully help you commit to this project.
a The REASON (weakness, welcome, & wake-up)
b The REWARD (joy of answered prayer, joy in identity to God, joy of bringing joy to Jesus)
B I hope you’ll commit to participating in the two-week prayerwalking project, which begins today (objective)
1 Look for reasons to say "no" or "yes"
2 Return? Joy to Christ, or not
C Who will prepare a way for Christ by being a part of the prayerwalking project? (Probing question)
1 In 1998, according to the American Heart Association, a study was done by Dr. Randy Bird (Dr. Bird is not a Christian, and the AHA is not a Christian organization. The study was not "Christian").
a The question of the survey, "Does prayer have any impact on a patient’s healing?"
aa 393 coronary care patients at Duke University Hospital.
bb Without the patients knowing about it, people were asked to pray on their behalf. 96 of 393 patients were prayed for.
b The people praying were given the names of the patients and their diagnosis & were asked to pray for their healing & recovery.
c Dr. Bird compared the outcome of each group & found those patients who were prayed for...
2 "You’ve got mail! You’ve got mail! You’ve got mail!" (Comes over sound system).
a On video screen put the email from God
aa To: The children
From: Heavenly Father
Subject: Prayerwalking project
Dear Children, this prayerwalk for your town is a critical counter-offensive to the war the enemy is waging on Chester. I am inviting you to be a part of this project.
See you soon,
Yahweh
bb How are we going to respond?
b Faux email reply #1
aa To: The King of Heaven
From: The Kids
Subject: Prayerwalking project
While sitting in First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois, on March 26, 2006, I received a very pressing invitation from one of your servants to commit to participate in a two-week prayerwalking project over the city. I pray you would excuse me from this invitation.
bb Would you send this email back, mom, dad?
cc I doubt there would be one person here who would make light of this invitation.
c Let’s write another reply!
aa To: The King of Heaven
From: The Kids
Subject: Prayerwalking project
While sitting in First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois, on March 26, 2006, I received a very pressing invitation from one of your servants to commit to participate in a two-week prayerwalking project over the city. By the grace of God, I will be a part of this prayerwalking project.
bb Who’ll send this in reply? Who’ll put their name on this email reply?
cc Be wise this morning & accept God’s invitation
3 Remember Dr. Bird’s study? Let me share the results with you.
a The prayer warriors didn’t know the people they were praying for, they just prayed! (The patients didn’t know they were being prayed for)
aa Those who were prayed for did better than those who were not.
bb Recovery rates, hospital stay, length of medication, type of procedure needed was better for the group who were prayed for.
b Prayer made a difference! DUH!
c Prayer will make a difference in Chester
4 Who will prepare a way for Christ by being a part of the prayerwalking project? (Probing Question)
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
