Prayers of the Saints As It Is In Heaven Sermon Series By Senior Pastor Tom Harrison Revelation 5:8-10 March 18, 2018 This is the 5 th message of 7 on Revelation 4-5. Heaven is a happening place! There are the 4 living creatures + the 24 Living Elders fall in worship before the throne where the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is also the Lamb of God is seated. Songs reverberate. The smell of incense is noted. It is NOT a boring place. Heaven is a place of action, energy and great passion. Jesus is the core of heaven. He was the only One who could open the scrolls to explain the mysteries of heaven. Today s message concerns The Prayers of the Saints. Our focus is on prayer today. EVERYBODY prays, including atheists. We pray for companionship; not to be alone. We pray for optimism/hope. We pray for a purpose in life - for meaning we want to believe there is something more out there then just me/us. We pray to fill our emptiness & despair. We pray to express our gratitude to somebody. We pray because we are afraid that our challenges in life will overcome us. We pray because we are guilty and need forgiveness. My first prayers were the prayers of a child: God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Now I lay me down to sleep the Lord s Prayer. Rituals are great training wheels! We need them. My prayer changed to bargaining with God when I played basketball in Junior High and I stood at the free throw line. If I made the free throw, I promised to be nice to my sister. Or not swear. Or do better in class. If the free throw went in, I quickly took the credit and forgot my promise. If the free throw didn t go in: Why did He betray me? God got all the blame and zero credit. My conversion changed all of that. My heart was awakened as a 14 yr old. I was inarticulate in prayer but loved God and just expressed my love back to God in my own heart-felt language. I learned to pray by hearing others pray. I also learned to pray from the Bible. As our bulletin quotes Robert Murray M Cheyne: Turn your Bible into prayers. Most of us pray when we are in some form of crisis, disorder, distress or chaos like John. As Imperial Rome persecuted Christians, John was exiled to the isle of Patmos. It is dreadful to be removed from your people and family. Rome separated Pastor John from his church. He is discouraged, depressed, and in despair. Then he had a vision Revelation. He is back on his feet again, filled with
hope and optimism. The slain Lamb triumphs. The Lamb is also a Lion. Jesus wins. The exile ends. Order has triumphed over chaos and confusion. Rev. 5:8-10: Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." But we re not finished. Rev 8:3-5 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. WHY pray? In some mysterious way, God hears our prayers, collects them and hurls them back to earth and they have a powerful impact. Some of those prayers change us just that we will align ourselves with God s will and purpose. Other prayers impact those we love and those who we don t love (our enemies). Prayers impact leaders and governments. God is Sovereign. He is the Lion. God is Sacrificial. He is the Lamb. He sits upon the Throne. (Reversed Thunder p95) Prayer is the most practical thing anyone can do. It is not a mystical escape, it is historical engagement. Prayer participates in God s action. God gathers our cries and our praises, our petitions and intercessions, and uses them. The prayers that ascended to God now descend to earth. God uses our prayers in his work. *Prayer = private. Frequently seen in Jesus life, He would withdraw to a lonely spot, whether at the Sea of Galilee or in Gethsemane and try to align with God s will. We clear out distractions. *Prayer = corporate. We pray alone, but we also pray together. Jesus said, Whenever 2 or more or gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them. *Prayer is worship. Worship is paying attention to Who God is. We learn to offer ourselves to God for His will, pleasure and glory. and focus upon God s Kingdom and not my agenda.
*Prayer is service. This is a corporate worship service. *God invites us to PARTICIPATE. Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. God initiates and invites then waits for us to respond. Why doesn t God just do it all? C.S. Lewis replied, Then why should I wash my hands why ask for the salt why put on my boots? God could have arranged things so that we are passive and God does it all. But that s NOT the way God does it. He gives us the opportunity to respond in meaningful ways. Prayer is a way of advancing the KOG and it s not any stranger than putting on my boots. We get to cooperate. But we must make ourselves available. God wants more than a one-sided conversation God wants to speak to us, too. *Some prayers must be PURIFIED: James 4:2-3 You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. *Some prayers must be PROCESSED. Revelation 6:10: Rev 6:10-11 How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" When will God answer my prayer? Some prayers are still in heaven but have yet to return to earth in action. We do not know how long we must wait, but we persist in asking, seeking and knocking. God has promised to answer. We may not get our way. Application: I ve never heard anyone say, My biggest problem is that I pray way too much. In a sermon on prayer, who among us doesn t feel guilty, embarrassed, insecure or afraid? We feel there is a gap between what we profess and what we practice. We struggle. Rather than making a bargain with God about how much more/better you re going to pray, just do it. Brent told me that he had an accident that gave him a herniated disc in his neck. The nerve damage caused a loss of strength. The doctor told him that the nerves heal at a rate of about one millimeter a day. It will take 9-12 months for it to work out. And that is exactly what is happening. Brent told me he is getting much stronger and can now do pushups now that he couldn t do before. The same is true with pregnancy. You don t give birth moments after conception (wouldn t THAT be interesting?) There is a process. If you got serious about praying today and made some sort of commitment to pray, where would you be a year from now? If you improved a millimeter a day in your prayers (or got a little more pregnant each day ) it will begin to show. This is a sermon on prayer. Rather than just talk about it, I thought it would be good to practice prayer in our service. We will use the pattern of praying referred
to as ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication). We will also incorporate our communion liturgy in our ACTS of prayer. Cheryl Steffen, who leads our Prayer Ministry, will be assisting. TOM: (Adoration) (Rev 5:13-14) Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. We Praise You, the God of all creation who has made all things good. We Praise You the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and have redeemed Your lost sheep who have all gone astray. We Praise You Holy Spirit for being with us in life, in death and in life beyond death. You, O Lord, are worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise. People: And so, with Your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise Your Name and join their unending hymn. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. TOM (Confession) (1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Lord, have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your unfailing love and great compassion, blot out my transgressions, wash away all my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin. Lord, break the power of sin in my life and purify my heart. We pray for Christ s humility instead of complacent pride We pray to awaken from spiritual slumber to seek first God s kingdom and righteousness People:We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will. We have broken your law. We have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us we pray. Free us for joyful obedience through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In the Name of Jesus Christ You are forgiven! People: In the Name of Jesus Christ You are forgiven! Glory to God! Amen. TOM (Thanksgiving) (Ps 100:4-5) Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Thank you for our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters in the faith Thank you for husbands and wives, sons and daughters, grandchildren Thank you for the church of Jesus Christ around the world, in the US, Oklahoma and Tulsa Thank you for Asbury United Methodist Church Thank you for food, clothing and shelter, for financial provision and creating us for good work Thank you for the grace, mercy and love of Jesus Christ and His gift of eternal life People: Christ has died; Christ is risen, Christ will come again. TOM (Supplication) (Phil 4:6-7) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We pray for a spiritual awakening upon the earth so that all people will know and love Jesus As Jesus prayed, we also pray for the church to display Christ s unity to the world We pray for pastors, leaders, churches and missionaries all over the world We pray for our students and sponsors on Spring Break Mission in Tulsa, Kentucky, Texas, Jamaica and Guatemala We pray for persecuted believers around the world. Help them not to lose hope. We pray for the enemies of the gospel that they might know You We pray for victory over evil powers that hold people captive We pray for families and friends (pause) We pray for those who with physical, emotional or spiritual needs (pause) We pray for those who are broken and need healing and reconciliation (pause) We pray for leaders and those in authority
We pray for wisdom for the Oklahoma Legislature and the educational needs in our State We pray every nation would honor Jesus as Lord and welcome Him as King Teach us, O Lord, how to help others follow Jesus People: We praise Your Holy Name, O God Guy/Jay/Hosts move to their stations. Guy/Jay: We are in the tradition of the open table. If you are following Jesus or desire to do so, you are invited to come and be with us now, regardless of church membership. We have gluten-free wafers available. Tom: This is the Body of Christ, given for us; and His blood, shed for us. Eat and drink in remembrance of Him that Christ has died for us and be thankful. Tom: Jesus of Nazareth invites you to a dinner in His honor, come as you are directed and receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.