A few weeks back an associate stopped by the office on his way to west Florida for some evangelist training. He left me a pamphlet and gave me permission to use it. This pamphlet asks one question that has helped me to step back and take a broader look with how we are going to help people know Jesus Christ during this Christmas season and throughout the year next year. “What if” is the question in mind. It is based on a verse found in 1 Corinthians 10:33 “just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. This is where we ask the first “what if’ question in this Christmas series. What if we prayed for others? Everyone asks for prayers when it comes to sickness but what if we prayed for other people’s salvation and sanctification? As you read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 again we read “pray without ceasing.” What if we developed an attitude of prayer where we were sensitive toward the Spirit’s work in the lives of people around us. At the same time as we have this developing sensitivity of prayer for others salvation we become keenly aware of our own need to be made more like the Lord Jesus in every area of our lives so we begin to pray for their sanctification as we as ours. Sanctification can be defined as being set apart from this world for Christ and being made like him through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Now the Holy Spirit will help us in our weakness because we do not know how to pray. You and I can learn to take every passage of Scripture and turn it into a prayer for others and ourselves to the Lord. What if you began to pray for that one person that the Lord has laid on your heart? You know that the Lord is going to hear your prayer and start working in your life just as much as he is working in their lives. When you and I begin to pray for others’ salvation the Lord will guide through the Scriptures and guide you on how to pray for them. When you and I begin to pray for others’ sanctification including your own you can begin with these three passages of Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-19; Ephesians 3:14-21 and Colossians 1:9-14. Your prayer life will grow and so will your sensitivity of the Lord’s work here in north Florida. We will close with this question: What if we don’t pray for the Lord to save people? The truth is that unless someone is born again in Christ Jesus they will not spend eternity in heaven. Will you join me in praying for others to open and receive the gift of salvation that God has given us in his Son, Jesus Christ. You never know when the person you’re praying for is going to open and receive God’s gift of salvation.
Categories: Weekly Sermon