The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 7th September by David Sansum
Growing God's Church through Prayer - The King's Church, Ilford - 7th September 2008
We are currently making our way through the book of Exodus. This week's message is not really from Exodus. I'm sure that I could come up with a link with a little thought... But really, this message results from a recent conviction about corporate prayer.
Our notice sheet states that 'Prayer is the lifeblood of the church'. I know that I have not regularly attended King's prayer meetings since the Saturday morning meetings stopped, some months ago. I gather that nobody meets here at 10am for prayer on Sunday morning, and only a few on Tuesday evenings. I know that we pray in our homes, a life groups etc.., but I believe that we make a statement when we set time aside specifically to pray together.
In Newfrontiers we are holding onto a promise for 'a thousand churches, and churches of a thousand in the UK'. I don't think that we will see this without giving ourselves to corporate prayer.
2 Chronicles 7: 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
The call from God is to 1. humble ourselves, pray and seek His face and 2. turn from sin. The result is that He will hear, forgive and heal the land. If we commit ourselves to prayer and holiness, we will see many from our society cured from sin sickness; won over from false gods, materialism, immorality, violence, depression, anxiety, and separation from God.
Getting biblical principles into us and acting on themThe 'Getting in the Way of Wisdom' course of teaching which we are going through with Pulse, is aimed at encouraging holiness. We need to get free from the world, the flesh and the devil to devote ourselves to God. The Elders would like the whole church to get hold of this teaching. For some it will remind us of what we already know about living for God. For others it will get biblical principles into us that we didn't have before. We can't effectively pursue God and His purpose while we're playing about with sin.
Corporate prayerAre we excited about the prospect of hearing from God and seeing His church grow? Is there anything that is more worthwhile? There is a clear link between prayer and church growth. We have received the great commission to go and make disciples. We must go out and tell people about Jesus. But it is a mistake to pour loads of time and energy into organising evangelistic activities while neglecting prayer. It is God that brings about the growth of His church. We must pray loads and then go out.
I don't remember the source of this quote, but it is very true: 'You can do something once you have prayed, but you can do nothing until you have prayed'.
Here are some examples: David Yonggi Cho is the pastor of the world's largest church (which had a membership of 780,000 in 2003) - the Yoido Full Gospel Church of Seoul, Korea. Dr Cho points out, 'It has been historically true that prayer has been the key to every revival in the history of Christianity.' 'No man can schedule a revival,' Dr Cho has said, 'for God alone is the giver of life. But . . . when the fullness of time has come and prayer ascends from a few earnest hearts, then history teaches it is time for the tide of revival to sweep once more. Dr Cho bases his study on one single premise: 'God has no favourite children. What has worked for me will also work for you . . . If God has worked through men and women in the past, He can work through you.'
Many of us will have heard of Teen Challenge. Some of you however will not have heard of David Wilkerson. He was a hillbilly Pentecostal pastor who felt challenged to give up his TV in order to commit himself to prayer. Somewhat reluctantly he sold his TV, and in the following months God spoke to him about the gangs of young people in New York. In time David moved to New York, and saw many saved and set free from drug addiction. Later Teen Challenge was established which helps young people with drug addictions to get free through the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
A slightly less famous David was challenged about prayer a few years ago. After a visit from Brother Yun (2004?) he came to church to pray before going to work. This went on most days for a couple of months. In that year the membership of the youth discipleship groups at King's tripled. Too bad I haven't committed myself to prayer as much since. Imagine the potential growth…
God Grows His ChurchIt's vitally important that we understand this principle: The growth of God's kingdom is God's work, which He accomplishes. We cannot do it for Him in our own strength. Rather, we cooperate with Him in it. 'God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply'.
Psalm 127 1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
1 Corinthians 3 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
We want to be involved in a church which is established on New Testament principles. As we read through the book of Acts we can see how prayer brought growth. At the beginning of Acts we see Peter and the disciples meeting together in prayer. Not long before this Peter was so scared of the Jews that he denied even knowing Jesus. Now, having been given instructions from Jesus to wait for the Holy Spirit, they are giving themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14).
Next, the Holy Spirit comes. The disciples pour out of their hiding place. Peter preaches the gospel boldly to the very people who had Jesus crucified. Three thousand people are saved and added to the church in one day as a result (Acts 2:41).
Then, guess what? The church keeps praying 'Acts 2: 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer' Always asking for boldness, Peter, Paul and the other disciples in the face of beatings and imprisonment continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the power of God brings about many miracles and saves many people from their sins (e.g. Acts 16: 22-40).
Obedience:When Jesus spoke about prayer and about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), He said 'when you pray'…'when you fast'. Jesus expects His followers to do these things. It is a matter of obedience. In the West, very few of us fast regularly. We don't have a great deal of discipline for prayer either, whether on our own, or together. This needs to be addressed. I want to be clear about fasting. Jesus is talking about going without food for at least a day. Giving up TV, chocolate etc… may be a good thing, but it isn't biblical fasting. Fasting helps us to get free from preoccupation with the visible so we can focus on the invisible. It is a great tool for strengthening self discipline and controlling our appetites. Jesus would expect us to fast every week, not only on special occasions. Neither is prayer just for the super spiritual. We are all called to devote ourselves to prayer.
What's stopping us?Comfort and Compromise: I can't speak for everyone but I have a good idea of my reasons, and the bible reveals a lot about the condition of mankind. I find fasting difficult because I love food. It's that simple. I don't get to the prayer meeting because I am weary after a day at work and want to sit in front of the TV and let the entertainment wash over me. If we are going to see God grow His church we need to ask Him for grace and be disciplined. I will be at the prayer meeting this Tuesday evening. I will get into the habit of prayer and fasting.
Confidence: Some may not feel good enough to pray. I have news for you. No one is good enough. The gospel is that when Jesus died, He took the punishment for sin. God accepts Christ's sacrifice as entirely sufficient for the forgiveness of sin. Before, access to God was limited because He can't stand mankind's sin. Now we can come boldly into God's presence. It is our privilege. God wants us to communicate with Him, and we can. This is True. We can all pray, not because of us, but because of Jesus.
Circumstances: Some people may not be able to get out at the times of the prayer meetings because of children or work. I do sympathise. I do believe however, that circumstances can be overcome. We can get babysitters, or we can meet with others for prayer at times that don't clash with our work.
What is really important in life? What really lasts? Let's devote ourselves to prayer, get closer to God, and be involved in the advancement of His kingdom.
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1