Download DEUTERONOMY 8:1 - Hope Congregational Church

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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 COLOSSIANS 1:9-12 For this reason also,
since the day we heard of it, we
have not ceased to pray for you and
to ask that you may be filled with
the knowledge of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so that you will walk
in a manner worthy of the Lord, to
please Him in all respects, bearing
fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of
God; strengthened with all power,
according to His glorious might, for
the attaining of all steadfastness and
patience; joyously giving thanks to the
Father, who has qualified us to share
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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in the inheritance of the saints in
Light.
 As we continue looking at what
Scripture reveals about intercessory
prayer
 By definition prayer that intercedes
with God on behalf of others
 We’ll look this morning at some
examples of this kind of prayer
recorded for us to observe
 The apostle Paul prayed a lot
 He interceded on behalf of people
and churches and cities and
unbelievers
 Our text this morning reveals what he
prayed about for the people in the
church at a city called Collossae
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 Colossae was a city in Western
Turkey
 The ancient Roman province of
Turkey
 Probably not all that far from
where Doug & Ann Johnson are
now
 It was a city Paul had never been
to
 They were people he had not seen
face-to-face except for a couple of
people
 Philemon and his family
 Epaphras
 But even though they were
strangers to Paul
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 He heard about them from his
friends and he prayed for them
 And we read just what he prayed
about
I: Inercession For The Colossians
 For this reason also, since the day
we heard of it, we have not ceased
to pray for you
 Paul heard about them
 He heard about their problems
 He wrote this letter to give them
counsel in addressing their troubles
within the church
 But what he prayed for them wasn’t
that their troubles would cease
 we have not ceased to pray for you
and to ask that you may be filled
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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with the knowledge of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so that you will walk
in a manner worthy of the Lord, to
please Him in all respects, bearing
fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God
 Do you get the picture?
 He prayed for them to grow
 Not for their trials to cease
 All of these things he mentions are
about their growth in relationship with
the Lord
 filled with the knowledge of His will
 in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding,
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 walk in a manner worthy of the
Lord,
 to please Him in all respects,
 bearing fruit in every good work
 increasing in the knowledge of God;
 strengthened with all power,
 according to His glorious might,
 for the attaining of all steadfastness
and patience;
 joyously giving thanks to the Father
 Those are not small things
 Nor are they about trials going
away
 They are about the people growing
stronger so that they can be used
by God
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 Look at the list again and think
about it in those terms
II: Intercession For The Ephesians
 Another example we have is Paul’s
intercession for the church at
Ephesus
 EPHESIANS 1:15-20 For this reason I too,
having heard of the faith in the Lord
Jesus which exists among you
and your love for all the saints, do
not cease giving thanks for you,
while making mention of you in my
prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may
 give to you a spirit of wisdom
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 a spirit of revelation in the knowledge
of Him.
 I pray that the eyes of your heart
may be enlightened,
 so that you will know what is the
hope of His calling,
 what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the saints,
 and what is the surpassing greatness
of His power toward us who
believe.
 These are in accordance with the
working of the strength of His might
 Does that sound familiar?
 The Ephesian church was also
experiencing great difficulty
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 The last time Paul had spoken to
them a few years earlier he had
warned them
 ACTS 20:22ff “And now… I am on my
way to Jerusalem, not knowing what
will happen to me there, except that
the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to
me in every city, saying that bonds
and afflictions await me.
“But I do not consider my life of
any account as dear to myself, so
that I may finish my course and the
ministry which I received from the
Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the
gospel of the grace of God.
“And now, behold, I know that all of
you, among whom I went about
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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preaching the kingdom, will no longer
see my face.…
“Be on guard for yourselves and for
all the flock…
“I know that after my departure
savage wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock; and from
among your own selves men will
arise, speaking perverse things, to
draw away the disciples after them.
 When Paul wrote this letter a few
years later those savage wolves were
already at work
 Later he would send Timothy there
to stem the tide
 But instead of praying against the
trials that the church was
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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experiencing he prayed that they
would be strengthened in the midst
of them
 That their eyes would be opened
to look beyond the earthly things
 a spirit of wisdom and of revelation
in the knowledge of Him.
I pray that the eyes of your heart
may be enlightened, so that you will
know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the
glory of His inheritance in the
saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness
of His power toward us who
believe. These are in accordance with
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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the working of the strength of His
might
 Can you see it?
 Intercessory prayer is about joining
the conflict of the ages
III: Worldly Or Kingdom Objectives?
 It comes down to just what our
minds are set on
 What our objectives are
 The examples we’ve cited reveal that
Paul’s objectives were all about the
Kingdom
 And his prayers reflected that
 In Ephesus there were more things
going on than just the savage wolves
trying to devour the church
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 He told the Corinthians that he
himself had fought wild beasts
there
 Probably a reference to facing lions
in the coliseum
 But he didn’t pray for them about
that
 He prayed that they’d understand
God’s purpose in it
 That they’d fulfill their calling in it
 That their eyes would be awakened
to see things from God’s viewpoint
 We see the same thing in 1
Thessalonians 1
 The church at Thessalonika suffered
greatly
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 It was so bad that they were
convinced that they were already in
the great tribulation
 They thought the Lord had already
come and they’d been left behind
 They were imprisoned
 Beaten
 Tortured
 Executed
 And Paul prayed for their strength
and their witness
 Not their safety and comfort
 Over and over again we see this
 Jesus prayed the same way
 John 17 is known as Jesus High
Priestly Prayer
 It’s familiar to all of us
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 He prayed for his disciples {and
for us}

 JOHN 17:11 “I am no longer in the
world; and yet they themselves are
in the world, and I come to You.
Holy Father, keep them in Your
name,
 JOHN 17:13-18 “But now I come to You;
and these things I speak in the
world so that they may have My joy
made full in themselves.
“I have given them Your word; and
the world has hated them, because
they are not of the world, even as I
am not of the world.
“I do not ask You to take them out
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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of the world, but to keep them from
the evil one.
“They are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your
word is truth.
“As You sent Me into the world, I
also have sent them into the world
 In Luke 22 we have another example
of Jesus intercessory prayer
 LUKE 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan has demanded permission to
sift you like wheat; but I have
prayed for you, that your faith may
not fail; and you, when once you
have turned again, strengthen your
brothers.”
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 Jesus prayed for Peter
 Interceded for him
 Not that he wouldn’t face trials
 Not even that he would stand up
to them
 But that after he had been knocked
down that he’d get up off the ground
and get back into the fight
 That he’d be used by God to
strengthen others by his own
example
CONCLUSION
 Intercessory prayer is not a small
thing
 Nor is it a simple thing
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 It’s a divinely powerful weapon that
is designed to do battle in the
heavenly realm
 It’s power is intended for Kingdom
objectives
 To use it effectively our own hearts
MUST be in tune with God’s heart
 Our minds MUST be set on things
above not things on earth
 As part of our Redevelopment Plan
intercessory prayer is a MUST-DO
 And it MUST e focused on
Kingdom objectives
 Our desire to see the church grow
must be about people coming to
Christ or coming back to Him as the
Lord uses us
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 Our objective must not be simply
to attract new people so we can
keep our doors open
 Those are two different things
 And they reflect two different
objectives
 Intercessory prayer is a powerful
weapon
 But if used wrongly it is neutralized
and ineffective
 Almost like applying a bandage
to a cancer
 It looks like it’s doing something
 It might even give the patient
comfort
 but in reality has no effect at
all
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January 9th, 2010
Intercessory Prayer
Subjects Of Prayer
Col. 1:9-12; Eph. 1:15-23
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 The Lord is serious about His
business
 And He wants us to be, also
 Kingdom stuff is serious business, not
to be taken lightly
 And it takes a Kingdom focused
heart to enter the ring
 And that takes a concerted desire
and intentional time to be holy
 #171- Take Time To Be Holy
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