Sermon Notes August 21, 2016

Sermon Notes August 21, 2016 Fortress of Prayer (The Circle maker #3) Psalms 71: 1-6 1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. 5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother s womb. I will ever praise you. Reflection on the Word: 1. What thoughts come to mind about the psalmist s use of rock and fortress imagery? 2. In respect to our relationship with GOD, do you sense a quality of peace in this passage? If so, why? If not, then what sensing do you perceive? 3. When have you seen verse 5 manifest itself in the good times and the bad times in your life? Family Time or Small Group Discussion: 1. In our life priorities, where do we honestly place reliance on GOD? At the top? Or Elsewhere? 2. How should a Christian look upon prayer? 3. How is the GOD-human connection experienced in Christian community? Where do you see that in the life of the church? 4. Is it ok to question GOD? Resources: Books: The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson; Zondervan, 2012. This series is loosely based on The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, specifically to set aside our temptation toward human solutions to problems instead of God focused solutions. How To Pray: The Best of John Wesley on Prayer; Barbour, 2007 Additional Scripture: Psalms 18, 31, 46, etc. (17 references to fortress in the Psalms) Matthew 7:7 Hymns: 110 - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, 368 - My Hope Is Built Websites: http://www.fortressoffaith.org/blog/2016/01/01/the-importance-of-prayer/

Series Progression: Last week, we explored the Cloud of Witnesses surrounding us, from the distant biblical past, from the recent past, and those now around us like United Methodist Women, John Wesley and other saints closer to home. All these witnesses lived and loved GOD. Or are now, Living and loving GOD. All the witnesses are still lingering, in our hearts or in our daily lives to help lift us up despite all life s twists and turns. The faith community, though a challenge to us, IS CHRIST s living breathing example for us. And no matter what befalls us, they will help us live out and grow in our faith so we can witness to family, the community and the world as we pray for them and each other. In this we all can point to, and model GOD s perfect LOVE and his eternal Grace. This week we celebrate our precious United Methodist Men and their wonderful contributions to the Cloud of Witnesses. And in our prayer theme, we shift again to look more closely at our need to be in communion with GOD. The Fortress of Prayer explores the concept that we are desperately in need of HIS presence, guidance and protection. And when we open ourselves to HIM, Giving all control over to the Eternal One, then our prayers are genuine. It is the genuine prayer, and our corporate genuine prayers, which can MOST effectively bear fruit for HIS KINGDOM. AND, we have got to hone our skills to engage in this Holy conversation with GOD. It is why we are here. And, it seems to me, it is the key root from which springs all else in our Christian walk. BUT who REALLY is our fortress? Is it GOD, or something/someone else? Sermon Points: Fortress of Prayer Good morning church. United Methodist Men day. A day when we reflect on those challenges ahead for the men who seek GOD, who labor together to that end, and review in our hearts, the lives of those men who have gone before and the blessings they have been and what they have done for the Kingdom. Bill Zagrocki and our United Methodist Men, I am honored wonderfully to talk on our behalf today. Let us Pray, Holy and eternal GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Thank you for giving us this day to learn, to laugh, to love. To be in communion with you and your people. Our lives sometimes are just full of worldly cares, and pains, and hurts. Please help us to deal with those worldly things while we focus on the main thing -- YOU, and then live like we mean it! For YOU are our ever present safe haven. Amen Today s scripture. Psalm 71: 1-6 1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. 5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother s womb. I will ever praise you. This is the word of GOD for the people of GOD The great Reformer, and author of A mighty Fortress is our GOD, Martin Luther, said once, Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.

So here is a question for you. Have you or I sought the fortress of Prayer, or for that matter, have we even opened its blessed door? Today we take a frank and honest look at prayer. Fortress in the dictionary is defined as refuge or haven or wall. Our Men s prayers, my prayers, your prayers, are in a sense building blocks for our benefit in the fortress of prayer. When the Christian prays, he or she is allowing GOD s refuge to more and more envelope his/her life. And know this, GOD s presence, is always! HIS love is eternal! HIS desire is to be in relationship with all his creation. Especially HIS people. GOD is with us in bad times, the ugly times. And He is even with us in the good times. Even if we don t notice. Yes, Present in ALL times. GOD is with us in HIS power over evil, in HIS GREAT LOVE. SO, that being the case, that HE IS always with us, HIS impregnable fortress of prayer CAN surround us. We need only walk in and rest in that fortress. But we DO need to seek and find that shelter. We DO have free will and can choose NOT to seek shelter. So his presence is HERE In the bad times and ugly times, what a wonderful shelter in the tough times!! HE is our refuge and strength, HIS resounding trumpet declaring I AM, I am with you no matter the troubles you may encounter. I AM s protecting flashing sword of truth and mercy, slices away hurts, and Heals as HE goes. And HIS subtly insistent hammer of GOOD, beats back the ungodly and negative things with HIS love and grace. HE champions our heart, HE stands before us facing the enemy, weapons at the ready. He steadfastly acts for us. Ever doing battle for us if we will JUST LET HIM. And For us, is it not so that in the bad times and ugly times it is instinctively easy for us to pray? After all WE are in trouble, and we will naturally reach out to HIM. So now in the good times, yes HE is present. and still WHAT a Wonderful shelter HE IS even in the good times! HE is our refuge and strength, a buttressing foundation, uplifting our faith, quietly supporting with HIS LOVE and GRACE. Always there. When we pray we help HIM maintain that shelter. And I wonder, if the good times may be the most challenging time for us to pray! What do you think? After all, the good times do have a way of just ROLLING, don t they? No bumps in the road, no ISSUES coming to mind, plenty of the good stuff. At some level of our humanity, during the GOOD Times, we might think to ourselves, who needs GOD then? Sometimes we lose sight of not only how our prayers please HIM, but also the immense power your prayers, my prayers, ALL our prayers, can have when brought to bear in HIS holy Name. What could BE if we only prayed for something like peace? Just you or me or all of our prayers heaped up together in HIS Name. WOW! But when its goin swell, we can forget ------ Here is a true story from my life which shows how we can just forget HIM sometimes, and who we are in HIM. Then how HE can catch us up short and remind us of HIS dominion and protective shielding fortress. This short true story is one of the occurrences which led me to a stronger faith. And I think it was MOST impactful because it happened BEFORE my realization of who I am or who I can come to be in CHRIST. It is 1980, when I am a staff officer at 22nd Air Force at Travis Air Force Base California next To a town called Fairfield. On that Saturday night, I was running late for a retirement party because this particular night was one of our last choir rehearsals before our Easter cantata in about a week. Soo, I finished my shift at the command center, rehearsed, jumped in my car, and went out the front gate. --- Was proceeding apace (that s SPEEDING) to the party, when I saw some lights in my rearview mirror, yes the flashing lights!!!! I pulled over on to the shoulder, stopped, got out my ID and registration and sat to await my well-deserved ticket. The lawman came up alongside me. Hey Major, in kind of a hurry tonight? After we chatted, he simply gave me only a warning and left. I just sat there for a moment. Astonished that he did not ticket me. I was going nearly 80 in a 55 zone. Collecting myself, I proceeded the last couple miles on over the over pass over Interstate 80 to the party. We are going to come back to that overpass again in a couple minutes. I appeared at our friend s retirement celebration in a hurry, changed clothes, sat at my place and wolfed down my steak and salad with a glass of red wine just as the others were getting up to go to the bar to continue the fun. The waitress brought my second

glass of wine and my dessert. Soon, I joined the rest of the men at the bar and we continued the fun with a few more drinks. Pretty quick (or so it seemed because we were having a GREAT time) it was past midnight. And we declared it was time to go to breakfast. That is, the not so level headed ones declared it was time. Looking back on this particular night it is obvious to me that NONE of us should have gone to breakfast, and probably should not even have been driving. But nevertheless, we WERE having a good time. Most guys, the level headed ones, just went home. But some of us --- well, you will see. I jumped into my little Datsun 210 hatchback with 5 on the floor, and with the other not so level headed men, proceeded back over the overpass over Interstate 80, headed to breakfast. Remember I told you we would come back to that overpass. Most of you know that Interstate 80 is a main east west artery from the east coast all the way to San Francisco California. During the time frame of this true story of mine, in the early 80s, it was not a very busy road at one o clock in the morning Sunday morning. Just a few cars moving between Sacramento & San Francisco. By the mid-80s that road was a busy thoroughfare fairly HUMMING with traffic 24 hours a day. It remains so to this day. But NOT THAT night or my story might have had a different ending. Going over the overpass, Headed to breakfast, I proceeded east towards the air base. Stopped at a crossing stop light about a mile past the overpass, Performed a 180 and came back west bound preparing to angle off to the right and merge on I 80 for the 6 miles run to the diner. The entrance ramp to I 80 in that area went up hill slightly and as it made a sweeping right decreasing radius turn, began a descent as it merged onto the interstate. You can glance down to the left about 25 feet below where you are while in the sweeping turn and see the I 80 roadway clearly across the big expanse of ice plant ground covering. I came to that entrance ramp a little too fast and as I began the right hand sweeping turn, My little car departed the on ramp. Jumped over the little curb, slid down the embankment leaving a large scar in the ice plant ground cover, and came to rest on the left lane of the I 80 road way facing the wrong way, motor stalled, headlights aglare!! Not a car in sight. I sat there for a moment. Unbuckled my seat belt and got out of my car, noticing that the driver s door arm rest was NOT on the door. I walked around the car, spied all the ice plant in the under carriage, noticed the slight imprint of an angle iron reflector post in the hood of my car. Still no other cars in sight. I breathed a brief prayer of thanks. Then got back in my car and drove to breakfast. Then went home. How come there were NO cars? How come there was not a highway patrolman or policeman anywhere near my mishap? How come my car did not roll over? How come I did not collide with another vehicle? Why no injuries? How had I escaped jail? How come I am not dead????? I share this little true story from my past to illustrate how we sometimes just don t have any idea about HIS presence and just float along, focusing on US, and not on the eternal. Isn t it so that occasionally, we are sometimes jarringly REMINDED of HIS love and presence? Don t we sometimes need reminding that HIS will is worthy to seek, and all we need do is ask and knock and ENTER IN? The lesson I learned? The obvious (alcohol and driving do NOT mix) and Don t forget GOD! The AUTHOR of ALL LIFE, to whom we owe our existence, and our every breath. The ONE we must talk to and with, and listen to. For whom and about whom we should be reaching out to the world. And it seems to me Prayer, is the fortress from which all our reaching out originates. Once we accept HIM as our savior, and begin seeking HIS will, through prayer, the answers to vexing questions or our human issues, become clearer and then recede into the background as we focus more and more on HIM. Our scripture today illustrates, when we learn to trust HIM, and release control to the ONE who IS truly in control, it is in this continuous move from the indistinct forms and images of our conversion, to more identifiable concepts in our walk where trust grows. This trust in HIM is REALLY aided by our prayer life. To be sure, also aided by scripture study, and learning in classes, and our service to others. BUT Prayer!!! THIS singular aspect of our lives, can be the foundation of our faith. The Fortress of Prayer, inside of which we can place our faith, the good works done in HIS name, the scripture study, the worship. But, interestingly, as we said earlier, our part of the Fortress of prayer is made strong and durable ONLY when we open up our hearts and learn to talk to HIM and to be with HIM and put ourselves in that vulnerable place, that open and defenseless posture, giving HIM all the power. Focusing on HIS will and HIS love, even when pleading with HIM, or even when arguing with HIM, as many of our bible heroes did!! It is at this place where GOD can surround us most effectively.

Oh, here is a prayer I came across the other day that says a lot about us. Heavenly Father, I thank you that I have not uttered an unkind word today, that I have not hurt anyone s feelings, and I have not grieved your heart. But since I just woke up, there is still time. But seriously, all conversations with the LORD are good prayers. But I DO wonder, brothers and Sisters. Is HE our rock and fortress? Is prayer truly a major part of our lives? Or, have we been distracted by other things? Vexing things! Like today s politics? Ourselves? Some other thing holding our attention? Do we REALLY spend time with HIM, or is the world intervening and pushing HIM aside? It is something for us all to think about honestly, oh and to PRAY about. Ya think? Because GOD is faithful and delivers from all iniquity. I LOVE the idea that when we pray, that we are nearer to HIM than almost any other time. --- being totally dependent and vulnerable. It s a lovely and sweet state. And during these times our place in HIS fortress is strengthened. Let s pray together FOR each other, this invitation. Everybody Help out here, I am going to ask you to turn to your neighbor and repeat after me. Turn READY? YOUR place in the fortress awaits. ---- Please knock and Come in and Help CHRIST build it up! Now turn to your other neighbor and repeat after me, YOUR place in the fortress awaits. Please knock and Come in and Help CHRIST build it up! Then repeat after me Pray! Repeat after me! Pray! In CHRIST s Holy Name Thought for the Week: Prayer is certainly the grand means of drawing near to God, and all other means are helpful to us only so far as they are mixed with, or prepare us for, this. John Wesley