You're listening to Key Life Fellowships pulpit Ministry
podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we
learn from God's word together. If you would like more
information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our
pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.
Lay men, may we, as we have just been reminded in song, may we
remember that the apostle Paul himself realized that he had
been crucified with Christ. Yet he lives because it is in
Christ that we find true life, isn't it?
Aren't you thankful for that this morning?
And you die with Christ. You were buried with Christ and
you have risen to new life in Christ.
Get your Bibles. If you would turn to first
Timothy and the second chapter as we are going to finally get
back to our series entitled Biblical Ministers and Biblical
Ministry. As we have been walking through
the pastoral epistles, beginning with first Timothy, we will then
walk through Titus and then we will walk through Paul's
believed to be the last letter, the letter of Second Timothy.
And we will in those pastoral epistles see instructions and
commands, encouragements to be biblical ministers and to be
biblical ministries, as we are here at church, a ministry of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And in today's lesson, Paul is
going to start in chapter 2 with the first of many instructions
to the church. It's interesting that he's going
to begin with the call to prayer and wants to focus on that.
I want to make great emphasis towards that today because it's
important. And it's especially important in
the church today because Paul is giving us instructions on how to
be biblical ministers and how to be biblical ministries.
And the topic is that he begins with.
It's not how to have a great sounding praise van.
A very melodic worship team, smooth talking, eloquent
preacher, church members who do everything right, elders who
always make the right decisions. He doesn't begin with those
things. What he's going to do is he's
going to begin with prayer. And what a sad testimony to the
modern church that prayer has become so unimportant that we
usually don't have it at the front of the list.
We usually have it at the last of the list.
When everything else hasn't worked, we then attempt to
incorporate prayer. Now there is a sense in the past
is that we're going to look at that.
God is going to tell us through Paul to pray for everyone in
general and that that truth is there.
But I but I don't want you to miss the greater truth here
because in the context what you're going to find out is he
is specifically calling on the church to pray for the
unbelievers, pray for those who lost.
And so when we put it in its context, the thrust of this
passage today. Will be prayer, but it will most
importantly be praying for the unbelievers.
So let us contemplate this today because I can tell you as I have
prepared for this message, much conviction has set into my heart
and in my mind. Though I pray for the lost on
occasion, I don't find myself praying for the lost as often as
I should have. I don't find myself looking at
the situation of those who are without Christ and that bringing
me to a place of prayer and brokenness for their souls.
We're going to see Paul teaches the exact opposite here Today.
He's going to teach us to pray evangelical prayers for the
unbelieving, for the lost, the lost of all social or economical
backgrounds, for the lost of all races, religions, nationalities,
backgrounds, whatever they may be.
He's going to use terms like all men and everyone to describe
them, and he's going to point to the church to pray for them.
And I pray that we would learn this today.
I pray that we would learn to pray for the lost and that we
would respond in obedience to what we are going to learn
today. Praying for unbelievers, though
it is often neglected in today's church, The Church of yesteryear
founded of great importance, the early church founded of great
importance, the Church Fathers walking in obedience to the
commands of the apostle Paul that we'll see today, who
received what he received from Christ himself, found that
praying for unbelievers was an important part of the
Christian's life. Now I don't say this to try to
beat any of you up. I just want you to to really
just examine your life and ask yourself this.
Question. When's the last time that you
prayed for someone who was an unbeliever?
When was the last time that you turned on the news and saw the
chaos around us of the corrupt government officials, our
culture or society that is without Christ and totally
godless? No, no, oftentimes we look at
those things and we in our self righteousness complain about
them. They're over critical about
them. But I'm talking about seeing the
lostness of the unbeliever and then that driving you to your
knees in prayer, pleading to God for their souls.
Because what Paul is going to teach the church here today is
what was passed on to the early church fathers that they echoed
throughout church history. It's important that it's crucial
that we as believers pray for the unbelievers.
In fact, Justin Martyr, you've heard me mention Justin Martyr
many times, who lived between 10165AD, one of the early Church
fathers, He said this, he said we.
Pray for all men everywhere asking that they may come to
know the truth. He says that in his writing
entitled The First Apology, praying for the unbelievers, all
men everywhere, they would hear the truth of the gospel.
Tertullian, another church father, he said this We pray for
all emperors that God may grant them a long life, secure
dominion, a safe home, brave armies, a faithful Senate, a
righteous people and a peaceful world.
The thoughts of Tertullian and praying for the unbelievers
origin is another. And he said this we pray not
only for ourselves but for those who persecute us.
That they may be converted and obtain mercy.
Now, that's not often how we pray for the unbelievers who
hate us, is it? We pray that God would just take
care of them, That God would just remove them from our lives.
That God would just do something about them.
You know the greatest thing that God could do for our enemies,
Save them and make them our friends.
Save them and make them like minded with us as we were like
minded with Christ. The early Church fathers
understood this. Cyprian of Carthage, he said, We
ask and entreat that the mercy of God may be poured upon all.
That's on his in his discourse on the Lord's Prayer that God
would pour his mercy out on all, you say, Well, Kirk, we've read
the end of the book and we know that God's not going to actually
pour his mercy out on all because there are going to be
those who spend an eternity in hell.
And that is true. You don't know who they are and
I don't know who they are. And we are not called to decide
who God gives mercy to and who. He withholds mercy from We are
called to bow the knee, and to bow the head, and to bow the
heart, and to pray for. All men that God would have
mercy on their souls, just as he has had mercy on our John
Chrysostom, he said. This, he said nothing is so
characteristic of a Christian as to pray for his enemies.
I want a thought. Nothing is more characteristic
of a Christian as to pray for his enemies.
How can we come to that conclusion?
Because it's Christ himself who prayed for his enemies.
Can I tell you this, This once enemy of God is now Son of God
Most High because of a prayer that Jesus prayed for me in John
chapter 17. Don't you forget that when he
prayed for all those who would believe I was one of those, He
prayed for me, knowing full well that I would spend the beginning
part of my life as a direct enemy of God because of my sin.
Yet in His grace and His mercy, He sought to deliver me and he
petitioned the Father on my behalf.
Augustine Hypo, you're familiar with Augustine, I hope he says
the church prays for unbelievers that they may believe, for
believers that they may persevere.
What a heart of the church Fathers that he would pray for
the unbelievers. And the only prayer that we can
really pray for an unbeliever is that that they would believe.
Won't open their eyes so that they can see.
Forgive them ears to hear and eyes smothered with your salve
that they may see. Give them a heart, a new heart
that longs for you and beats for you.
It's God and God alone who can do that.
And that ought to be the way that we pray for the
unbelievers. Just Paul is going to in these
first 8 verses, give us a call to pray.
Please see the context of it that he is.
Calling on the church to pray for the lost, the unbelieving
and the dying. May we be convicted, may we be
challenged, may we be obedient to that call in our lives as
believers. He says in First Timothy chapter
2 verse 1, he says, I urge then first of all, that requests,
prayers, intercession and Thanksgiving be made for
everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may
live peaceful and quiet lives and all godliness and holiness.
This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be
saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and man,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom.
For all men. The testimony given in its
proper time and for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an
apostle. I'm telling you the truth.
I am not lying and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
He says in verse 8, I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands
in prayer without anger or dispute.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
come to you now. We lift this text to you.
Well, then we ask that your Spirit would teach us today as
we see this text unfold before our eyes, the very word of God
would I pray that we would be driven and urged, as Paul says,
to lift up others in prayer, namely the lost, the
unbelieving. Now that you would teach us how
to do this, You would teach us how to do this effectively.
You would teach us to do this just as Christ did this God.
I now even pray for the lost who may be in this service.
I pray not for their health, their wealth, their prosperity,
when I pray for their soul. Because what profits a man if he
gains the? Whole.
World yet loses his soul. God, I pray for any unbeliever
who is here today that you and you alone, as only you can, do
but shower Your mercy and Your grace and Your forgiveness upon
them, that You would bring them out of darkness and into Your
marvelous life, showing them the depravity of their sin and their
great need for Christ. Lord, I pray that You would be
faithful to save those who call upon You today, as I know you
will. Lord, we'll give you all the
glory for it and I pray for every believer in this room that
they would be moved to be people of prayer who petition the
throne of God on behalf of all those who are in need of Christ.
We give you all the glory and praise in Jesus name, Amen.
So as we examine this call to prayer today, I want you to
really understand what it is really all about, what he is
really saying here. Now go ahead and tell you right
off the bat, there are many verses in this particular text
that get taken out of context quite frequently.
I'm not going to do that this morning, nor.
Will I allow? You to do that, we're going to
look at it in its proper context.
So that we can understand this call for Christians to pray for
the unbelieving, this call for us to pray evangelical prayers,
to pray for the lost souls. If you're going to understand
this, the first thing that you need to take note of is Paul's
approach to this. You're taking notes.
Write this down. Biblical prayer must be a
priority. It must be a priority to pray
for lost people biblically must be a priority.
Watch how Paul phrases this, he said, I urge.
Then watch the next phrase. First of all, he didn't say, I
want you to be great theologians, though that's
important. He didn't say, I want you to
memorize entire passages of Scripture, though.
That's important. He didn't say that.
I want you to be a great minister and servant of God and
everything you do though. That's important.
Before he ever gets to anything involved in ministry, watch what
he says and don't miss this because it has been neglected in
the church for too long, he says.
First of all. That request prayers,
intercession and Thanksgiving be made for everyone, he says.
First of all, you pray. I urge you first of all.
To pray. Paul's calling on the church.
He's calling on the leaders of the church.
He is calling them to pray and to especially pray for the
unbelievers around them. Spurgeon, the Prince of
preachers, said it like this. He said I would rather teach one
man to pray and tend to preach. Oh, let us see the importance of
prayer today. Let us say that we are all
called to bend our knees and humble ourselves and pray on
behalf of the lost and the unbelieving, Spurgeon himself
saying it would be more profitable.
To the Kingdom of God, one man learned how to pray effectively
and for ten men to preach the Scriptures eloquently.
Paul is going to do exactly that same thing and reminding us that
we are to make prayer a priority.
If we're going to do that, we must be devoted in prayer.
Devoted in prayer. That is in obedience to God's
Word, Paul says to the Colossians in chapter 4 verse
two. He says devote yourselves to
prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Then what a sad testimony that comes out of the American
church. You know the fastest way to kill
attendance at church, call a prayer meeting.
There are many people who are devoted to being fed the word of
God. There are many people who are
devoted to ministering to others physically.
But when we call on God's people to be devoted in prayer, there
is a huge deficiency in the American church, is it not?
So we were to pull the congregation this morning.
When is the last time that you petition God for an unbeliever?
I'm not asking you when's the last time that you petitioned
God for your thought need? The last time that you
petitioned God for something that you desired or that you
wanted? Because that's how the American
church has been taught to pray, and that's not biblical.
Prayer. When is the last time you had
compassion? That supermarket clerk who just
by simple expression, in a short conversation, revealed her
losses or his losses. When's the last time that you
went to your car, you prayed for them?
When's the last time that you had that employee that sat next
to you talking about the sexual immorality and the drunkenness
that they participated in the past weekend with no regard to
God and His commands at all? When's the last time that you
didn't look down on them with yourself righteous view down
yourself righteous nose, but you were moved into compassion and
humility and you petitioned to the throne of God on their
behalf. God save them by your mercy.
Save them by their by your grace, because without.
You, Lord Jesus Christ, they are as hopeless as I once was.
There's a deficiency in the church, in our devotion to
prayer, disobedience toward God's Word.
Paul says devote yourselves to prayer.
Are you devoted to prayer? Are you devoted to prayer?
Is it obvious that you're obeying God in regard to this?
Are you devoted to prayer and dependence upon God's power as
you pray? And that's what prayer truly is,
isn't it? And it's most.
Simplified definition, prayer is simply this dependence upon God.
You know why the enemy loves to distract us from praying?
And doesn't he do a great job at it?
He loves to distract us. From praying because when we are
truly on our knees in prayer, we are truly depending upon God.
I can't tell you the countless times.
In my life as a minister, where I've been in my office, I've
been studying the Word of God, and I was prompted by the Spirit
to come into this auditorium that we sit in today to walk up
to one of these containers with these cards here.
We call them redemption cards that have the names of many lost
people, unbelievers that we know and that we.
Love on there. I can't tell you how many times
the Holy Spirit has prompted me to come in to take these cards
and to kneel before the Father and to petition these
unbelievers on His behalf. And before I make it to this
door, it's probably only 12 feet.
Someone drops by unexpectedly. 30 text messages go off at the
same time. 15 phone calls come in.
And all of a sudden the enemy is distracting me from that which I
need to do, and that is to be devoted to praying for the
unbelievers to take that time to throw that phone away and to get
on my face before a holy God and petition Him for their soul.
Crying out to him to show them mercy, dependent upon him and
him alone to save them. Why is that important?
Because he's the only one who can save them.
He's the only one who can save them, and if I'm not praying for
the lost people, I'm not trusting God to save the lost.
You trust God to save the lost you.
Simply put, if you're not depending upon God in your
prayers, you aren't depending upon God.
That is the avenue to which He has given us to show our
dependence upon Him. Remember what the Lord had
taught our Father, which art in heaven.
Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day Our Daily
Bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is a Kingdom of the power and the glory forever.
Amen. Why did the Lord give us that?
To teach us how to depend upon Him that entire model prayers
about depending upon God in and through prayer.
Now let's take that in context of what we're going to see Paul
teaching here today. It is praying and depending upon
God to save the. Unredeemed.
Are you devoted in prayer? He says.
First of all, make this a priority.
Put it where it belong. We fail as evangelist if we go
and share the gospel without it first being bathed in prayer.
We are simply depending upon our words to convince people instead
of depending upon a sovereign God to save them by His mercy
and His. Grace every Saturday we have
outreach groups that go out from this church to share the gospel
in the community and I've been there and experienced it with
them prior to ever leading leaving.
We joined together and we petition God for those who we
will come in contact with that God would have mercy on them
simply depending upon him. Are you devoted in your prayers
for the unbelievers? Depending upon God, devoted in
prayer, but also diverse in prayer.
Watch what he says here, he says.
I urge them. First of all, there's that
priority, that utmost devotion, he says.
First of all, that request prayers, intercession and
Thanksgiving be made for everyone.
So we see that we're to be devoted in prayer, but we're to
be diverse in prayer. What do I mean by that?
We are to pray all kinds of prayers on behalf of the
unbelievers. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 18
Paul says and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds
of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and
always keep on praying for all the Lord's people with.
All kinds of prayers and requests.
There are many variations of how we should pray for others.
That stands also true for the unbelieving world.
He uses the term here request that we see in the English.
The Greek word has a distinct meaning.
It means a specific need presented to God that otherwise
would not or. Could not be met.
For instance, salvation. Only God can save.
So if we have a burden for someone who is unsaved, why
would we not take this request to the throne of God and to
plead for their soul before His throne of grace?
That ought to be our natural response as believers to make
that request known. God, I can't save this person.
The person next to me can't save this person.
Billy Graham couldn't save this person.
Lord, only you can save sinners, he says.
Make requests on behalf of all. Kinds of men of everyone that
God would do what only God can do in their life.
God would save them as only He can.
Secondly, he says prayers, and this is a general word, a
general term. In reference to prayer, he's
saying that this is general trust or a general calling upon
God and dependence upon Him. This is our daily prayers where
we're depending upon God. He's saying in your daily
dependence upon God, depend upon Him to save souls.
Let me just ask you this church, is he faithful to save the lost?
Did he go to the to the extreme and do beyond even what we can
comprehend in our human minds to rescue the lost?
Then shouldn't we pray, trusting in the fact that He is able and
willing to save the lost? Of course we should, he says,
request prayers, and then he says intercession.
Oh, this is where it gets really interesting and really amazing
to me. The Greek term here for our
English term intercession, means to fall in with someone.
It means to get on the same page.
With someone, and when we talk about interceding for the
unbeliever and we understand that that term means to fall in
with someone, let me just remind you of a couple of facts #1 the
holy. Spirit is interceding for us.
Constantly with groans that we can't even understand is what
Paul said. Not only is the Holy Spirit
interceding on our behalf, Christ himself lives to
intercede for us. That's what scripture says.
And so when we begin to intercede for the unbeliever, we
are literally getting on the same page we are falling in
with. The Holy Spirit and his
intercession, and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ in his
intercession. We are.
Finally, praying for the lost in accordance to the will of God.
We are praying in agreement with God's intercession as God
intercedes on behalf of those who need Christ.
We are joining in with Christ and with the Holy Spirit and we
are doing the same. What an honor and a privilege
that we miss out on when we don't intercede for the lost.
Pleading for the soul. Trusting in God and God alone to
save them. Praying with the same empathy,
the same compassion, the same zeal, the same fervor as both
the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Continually pray to the Father with what a privilege that is
that we would be called. To intercede.
That is exactly what praying in the Spirit is for all the
charismatics. You want to distort it and to
make it into something that it's not.
For all the Pentecostals you want to twist the scriptures to
fit your agenda. Praying in the Spirit is simply
praying in alignment with the Holy Spirit.
It is falling in with someone. When you pray in the Spirit, you
intercede on their behalf. Can I just tell you today that I
stand here before you, first of all because Christ was merciful
to me, gracious to me beyond anything that I can even begin
to imagine. Can I also tell you that there
were others who fell in with the Spirit as He prayed on my
behalf, namely my grandmother who diligently prayed for me,
and not just me only, but all of her unbelieving grandchildren
and children. And yes, I stand here today
first and foremost because of Christ.
I would never take that glory away from Him, but I am thankful
that in His mercy and His grace, He raised up a woman who would
be devoted to praying for this unbeliever who interceded,
joined in with the Spirit, with the Son, with the Father,
joining in with the Triune Godhead in agreeance for my
soul, praying with that compassion and zeal Christ
prayed with. We need to be diverse in our
prayers, praying with all kinds of prayers for the lost, request
prayers, intercession, and then he says Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving. Well, that's a simple term that
we all basically understand. Gratitude and praise to God on
behalf of others. I know it's difficult in our
self-righteous pharisaical mindset sometimes in
Christianity to learn to pray with Thanksgiving for lost
people who come into your life. I pray that you would learn that
because it is a great blessing when God draws your attention to
that lost person. To take the time and to say
thank you Lord, for their lives. Thank you one, that they are
living and that they are still living.
And because they are living and they are still living, there's
hope for them. And that hope is found in the
gospel. Thank you that they still have a
breath in their body. That reminds me that I don't
need to stop praying for them. Thank you that they do have
something in their lives to offer God when they are
redeemed. Thank you that I I have seen the
qualities that you've already placed in them.
Now redeem those qualities for your purpose.
Redeem those qualities for your glory.
Thank you, Lord, even for the unbelievers.
They're just as much a part of your sovereign plan as
everything else. Lord, I pray that you would
bring them in salvation, showing them mercy, forgiveness, so that
others will see your kindness to the lost, Your kindness that
brings them to repentance. So he calls us to be diverse in
prayer, praying all kinds of prayers, right?
It's not as simple as Lord just help all the lost.
Oh Lord, my Co worker Joe, who's going through a divorce and he's
going through his third divorce
because he's trying to do this thing on his own his entire.
Life. And he's given no regard to you
and to your word. He's never surrendered to
Christ. Lord, I lift Joe to you.
I don't look down on Joe. He's doing exactly what lost
people do, exactly what I would have done had you not rescued
me. And Joe needs to be rescued.
I thank you for our friendship, and I think about how great that
friendship could be if you were to save Joe, bringing him into
fellowship with you, Lord Jesus, and with the Father through the
Holy Spirit, and into fellowship with me as a member of your
church, Lord save Joe. All kinds of prayers, not just
some blanket statement at the end of your prayer.
And Lord, save all the lost. Now be diverse in your prayers,
all kinds of prayers. But then he goes on and he says
this not only all kinds of prayers, in regards to being
diverse in our prayer, all kinds of people, he says.
I urge him first. Of all that request.
Prayers, intercession and Thanksgiving.
Those kinds of prayers be made for everyone.
For everyone now, you nor I will have the opportunity to pray for
every single person that exists in this world, but we will have
the opportunity to pray for all kinds of people in our lives.
That's what he's talking about. All kinds of people, everyone.
Unbelievers of all kinds. This is important.
Why? Because God desires to save
unbelievers of all kinds, it is His will to rescue people from
every people group. In fact, Genesis chapter 22
verse 18, reiterating His promise to Abraham, He says this
and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be
blessed, because you have obeyed me.
He promises a blessing to all the nations of the earth, every
kind of person. How diverse is that blessing?
And our prayer ought to be that diverse.
Why? So we don't fall into the trap
of just praying for our own kind, our own family, our own
friends. We devote ourselves to diversity
and prayer, praying for all kinds of people.
Isaiah 49, six, it says. He says it is too small a thing
for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and
bring back those of Israel. I've cut, so I'm not going to
stop there. I will also make you a light for
the Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the ends of the
earth. It is God's desire that His
salvation reaches to the ends of the earth.
Now the ends of the earth is not geology or geography.
Excuse me? But it is anthropology, it is
the fact that the gospel is to go out to all kinds of men, to
everyone, everywhere, just as the Lord commissioned the
disciples to go and to make disciples of all nations.
And the joy of this is knowing what happens in the end.
And, you know, we get a glimpse of the end there in Revelation
chapter 5. Revelation 59.
Here's what it says. And they sang a new song,
saying, 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. Persons from every tribe and
language and people and nation. What is he talking about?
A diverse group of people from every tribe, every people, every
tongue, every nation. And so you know who we ought to
pray for? Everyone.
People of all kinds, as Jacob announced a moment ago, Joe
Hendricks men and his wife Amy are next door and enriched.
They were here in our first service.
They are visionaries that we as a church support in Oaxaca,
Mexico we're to praise specifically.
For those that Joe comes in contact with in Mexico that they
will come to know Christ. Why?
Every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation.
That is God's will. And if we are praying for people
from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation,
we are now finally praying for the lost in accordance with the
will of God. But if you only pray for your
sister who's lost or your aunt who's lost, and yes, they need
prayer and yes, pray for them. But Paul doesn't leave it there.
He's saying be diverse in your prayers for the.
Law, Everyone, everywhere. The American church has failed
at this long enough. So self absorbed, so
self-centered. Let us put a halt to that today,
at least here at Key Life Fellowship.
Let us say that we are going to make prayer for the unbeliever a
priority. Why?
Because the Word of God says first of all.
First of all, before we do anything else that we may pat
ourselves on our religious backs about church, let us drop to our
knees. Let us make requests and prayers
and intercession and Thanksgiving for everyone, for
everyone. Without exception, all kinds of
people, biblical ministers and biblical ministries will make
prayer a priority. They'll be devoted in prayer.
They'll be diverse in prayer. Secondly, we are going to submit
to this call to prayer for the unbelieving.
Not only must it be a priority, it must be without prejudice.
Must be without prejudice. Watch what He says next.
He says for kings and all those in authority, that we may live
peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be
saved and to come to a knowledge of.
The truth Here's what Paul is saying here.
Paul knows that it's easy for us to pray for those that we love
and those who love us. Those who are in our family,
those who are our friends. But he's now going to call the
church to pray for unbelievers who potentially hate us.
We bring persecution in our life.
It calls us to suffer. And he's refusing.
And he's wanting the church to refuse to show any prejudice and
how they pray for the unbelieving, but to simply see
all unbelievers as what they are, you know what?
They are lost, and to see them as lost, lost souls who are in
need of God's mercy through Christ Jesus.
That's it. We need to pray for them without
any kind prejudice, praying without discrimination at all.
Praying for all unbelievers, not just those who are easy to pray
for. Please note what he says here
for kings and all those in authority that we may live
peaceful and quiet lives and all godliness and holding.
He's saying pray for the Romans that are in authority over you.
They're in Ephesus. That's where they are.
Those who are bringing persecution into your life, pray
for them. Pray that God would change their
heart, that God would draw them out of darkness and into light,
that Christ would save them by his precious blood.
Pray for them. Why?
Because this is good, and it pleases God our Savior, that you
do this. That you would pray even for
your enemies. And then he says, who wants all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth?
Now we have some theological problem here sometimes, don't
we? There are many people who like
to take that one little verse in that section, that verse out of
context and see there and, and to say see there.
Those of you who adhere to the doctrines of grace, those of you
who believe in God's sovereign salvation, that no one is saved
apart from His grace alone and is all His grace that saves
them. Those of you who believe that
God has mercy on who He has mercy and He judges those who He
desires to judge, see what about that verse when we see it in its
context, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth? It hasn't changed.
They're in the context. He's still talking about all
kinds of men, The examples that he uses here, kings and those in
authority, that'd be the enemies to the church in Ephesus that
he's writing to, and he's saying this to them.
I even desire to save people from among Roman emperors and
Roman authorities. I can save whoever, whenever I
choose to save them. So don't think for a second that
this verse out of context is going to somehow cancel all of
the teachings on the doctrines of grace throughout Scripture,
because that's not the case. And we see it in its context.
What does it do? It reminds us that he's teaching
them to pray without prejudice, to pray without discrimination.
He's saying don't just pray for the people that you like.
Don't pray for your fellow Jews. Even your fellow believing Jews
don't. Pray for your fellow Gentiles.
Pray also for the Emperor himself.
Pray for the emperor himself that God would break him and
bring him to his knees. Isn't it interesting how we in
America forget this? We watch the news, we see the
opposing political side who many times is very lost and without
Christ. It's obvious and.
Instead of petitioning God for their soul, we basically have
the attitude, let them go to hell and they'll get what they
deserve. Aren't you thankful that that's
not what happened to you? I can tell you this, if I would
have spent an eternity in hell, it would have been exactly what
I deserved. You know what we ought to do is
we ought to petition on behalf of kings and those in authority.
Even if they're making our lives miserable.
Even if they're passing laws that we don't agree with.
Even if they are passing legislation that allows people
to kill unborn babies and homosexuals to marry as
heterosexuals are called to marry.
Even if it's what we don't like, shouldn't we pray for them?
Shouldn't we pray for their soul?
Because surely anyone who votes for same sex marriage, Surely
anyone who votes to kill unborn innocent babies, surely anyone
who votes to emasculate children and make them into something
that God never intended for them to be, Surely they're
unbelievers. But what we ought not do is just
to cast them into hell. Why?
It's not your job to cast people into hell.
But it is your job to pray for their soul God, that you would
change the souls of our lawmakers, that you would change
the souls of those who are in authority, yet you would change
the souls of the kings. That you would redeem them, that
you would rescue them, that you would save them as only you can
do. Or we're beginning to see how to
pray as a true believer. Now, aren't we praying without
discrimination? Not just those that are easy to
pray for. Pray for all kinds of men.
Why? Because God desires to save all
kinds of men. He desires to save blue collar
workers, white collar workers, politicians, non politicians.
He desires to save plumbers. He desires to save Jews.
He desires to save Gentiles. He desires to save Barbarians.
He desires to save Romans. He desires to save pagans.
He desires to save save the rich.
He desires to save the poor. He desires, desires to save men
from every type of man. God wants to save unbelievers.
How do we know this? He sent His only begotten Son to
prove and to demonstrate His love for us and that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Pray for those who are still sinners that they would see the
love of God that was displayed in Christ and that they would
repent and turn to Christ as the only hope of salvation that any
of us have. Should pray without
discrimination. About any prejudice, even
praying for our enemies, Can you believe that he would call the
Ephesians to pray for the Roman authority?
Those who persecute them and make their life miserable, those
who mock them because they won't indulge in Pagan sacrifice and
Pagan sexual immorality. Can you believe that he would
even call on them? To pray for those kinds of
unbelievers, they're enemies. Is that not what Jesus commands
us to do? Well, you heard the scripture
reading this morning and Matthew chapter 5, verse 43, you have
heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your
enemy. But I tell you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
You have heard love your neighbor and hate your enemy
that it's OK. Americans were inundated with
this, aren't we? Anybody who's an enemy to
America, we need not even pray for them.
Wrong. We can look at the headlines
just recently, all the chaos and all the things that are going
on. Christian, are you moved to pray
for souls? We've all seen footage of a
Venezuelan leader and his wife taken from their home and we all
have opinions about it. We all have to get caught up in
discussing our opinions. You know what we ought to do?
Someone who can be so wicked and so vile obviously is lost.
Have you bent the knee one time to pray for that man and pray
for his family? Have you even thought about it
like this? Perhaps God and his sovereign
plan brought them to the United States.
So in that penitentiary in New York, they'll hear the gospel
where it's still legal to hear the gospel and to preach the
gospel and to be saved. Oh no, in order for us to think
about those things, we would actually have to think
biblically, and then we would start praying biblically,
wouldn't we? Without discrimination as Jesus
did, praying for his enemies. He said, you've heard that it
was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you. That's where Paul got this from.
Pray for those who persecute you.
Why? That you that you may be
children of your Father in heaven.
He causes his Son to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
What is he saying there? He's compassionate to all His
general love and his general grace falls upon everyone.
Pray in general that God would shower His grace and His mercy
upon that lost. Soul that he has prompted you to
pray for in doing so you reflect Christ.
He goes on and he says if you love those who love you, what
reward will you get? Speaking common sense here.
I love that Jesus spoke common sense.
You won't get any reward. There's nothing in that, not
even the tax collectors doing that.
So the tax collectors love those who love Him.
And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more
than others? You're not even pagans do that.
Then He says be perfect. Therefore, as your Heavenly
Father is perfect, what is He saying?
Have compassion on all. And if you truly are having
compassion on all, you will be praying without discrimination,
even if they are on the opposite aisle of your political lean or
your political agenda, even if they don't agree with you on
certain topics, they pray for their soul without
discrimination, without any prejudice at all.
You'll even pray for those who hate you or even harm you.
Luke chapter 23 the Lord Jesus and statement that every time I
read it, it grabs me with great intensity because I'm so far
from being able to pray anything of the.
Sort, but I pray. Lord teach me to pray like this,
it says in Luke 2334, Jesus said, Father forgive them for
they do not know what they're doing.
They divide it up his clothes by casting launch.
What was going on here? Well, they just tortured him and
they just beat him, and they just stripped his clothes from
him. And you know what they're doing?
They're now gambling for his garments.
Oh, I would to God that I would pray for unbelievers in such a
manner. Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do. Jesus even praying
undiscriminately toward his executioners, praying that the
Father would exercise forgiveness and mercy on their
behalf or must be without prejudice if we're going to pray
biblically for the unbelievers, praying without discrimination,
but praying with sincere desire. Now, let me help you with this,
why I say this and why I believe that Paul wants us to know this.
When we pray for the lost, let us pray with a sincere desire
for them to be saved. I don't want anyone today to
simply just begin to pray for lost people because you've been
told that's what you're supposed to do.
But I do want everyone to pray for lost people with an earnest
desire for them to be saved. But don't be like Jonah, right?
You remember Jonah, he sends him to Nineveh.
Go priest. There's going to be a revival.
Jonah didn't want to do it. We know the story. 3 days and
three nights in the belly of a fish was speed up on the beach.
Eventually went to Nineveh because that was God's will.
Jonah. Jonah goes to Nineveh and
preaches one of the greatest revivals in history.
They're in the capital of Syria. And then what happened?
Jonah gets upset about it, doesn't he?
He gets upset about it because he knew that God was full of
compassion and God was full of mercy.
Listen, don't pray for unbelievers and then get upset
about it when He saves them because you want them to have
some kind of justice in this life.
No, Pray that He freed them from justice and the life to come.
Pray that He lift His wrath off of them and that wrath be placed
on the back of Christ. Pray that they'd be saved
because of God's mercy and disgrace toward them, just as
He's been merciful and gracious toward you.
Pray truly and sincerely, desiring that they will be saved
without prejudice, desiring salvation instead of judgment,
even for the wicked and for the vile, because isn't that what
you received? I can tell you this, a man who
was once wicked and vile stands before you and I look out at a
congregation of people who were once wicked and vile That God
has had mercy on her soul was pray with sincere desire that he
would have mercy on others. Ezekiel 3311 says, say to them
as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, rather that they turn
from their ways and live turn turn from your evil ways.
Why will you die? People of Israel, you know what
God was desiring there as he's communicating through Isaiah
that these people turn from their wickedness and that they
turn to Him. He finds no delight in the death
of the wicked. That's for all the people who
think that God just somehow sadistic and up in heaven.
And when people who didn't acknowledge him and remained in
their wickedness passed from this earth, he says, aha.
Now you get to go to hell finally.
It's not as hard at all. Grieves him that his creation
would have fallen to rebellion to begin with.
He's gone to great lengths and to great extremes to redeem many
from that creation through Christ.
So you don't be opposite of that.
And you're looking at the unbeliever, hoping that they
perish, hoping that they get what they deserve.
I've heard people say that all the time, right?
They'll hear some story about a serial killer.
I hope he goes to hell and he gets what he deserves.
I hope he doesn't. I don't wish hell on anyone.
Why? Because my Heavenly Father does
not delight in the death of the wicked, nor shall I.
I pray that God would turn His heart toward Him.
He would exchange that old filthy heart of stone for a
heart of flesh. That He would raise up a man of
God, even from the dredges of society, to show the power of
His grace and His mercy. Maybe pray like that sincere
desire for that person to be saved, sincere desire that we
see in the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 10 where he says,
brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the
Israelites is that they may be saved.
He was grieving because of unbelieving Israel.
He was. Praying that their that their
hearts would be changed, that they would be saved, He said.
It is my desire. It is my prayer.
His desire was sincere. In fact, when you read on, you
realize how sincere his desire was.
You know what he was willing to do if possible.
Forfeit his own salvation so that his brothers of Israel
would be saved. What a prayer, what a prayer.
Just say, you know what? I would lose my own salvation if
it meant the salvation for my people.
What a heart. What a true desire for people to
be saved. When's the last time that you
approached praying for an unbeliever in that manner?
Lord, I would give it all away, all the mercy, all the grace,
all the forgiveness, all the eternal life, so that this
person who is bound for hell could be saved.
Where's that heart? Where's that attitude in the
church? We see it in the Apostle Paul.
We see it in his writings here, teaching us to pray with sincere
desire, without prejudice, no discrimination at all, desiring
that the same grace that we have been shown, the same grace that
we have received, would be exercised upon others.
American Church, listen, we should never want anyone, not
anyone in this country, not anyone across the globe.
As Third World and as Pagan as they may be, we can never let it
be our desire that they just go to hell simply because they
deserve it. We should forgive as we've been
forgiven. And if you desire that someone
should go to hell simply because you've deemed that they deserve
it, how much more do you deserve it?
Let's be moved to pray for those who are bound for hell.
Biblical ministers. Biblical ministries, according
to what Paul's teaching here, they'll be doing just that,
praying for unbelievers with unbiased hearts, refusing to
only pray for those that it's easy to pray for, those they
approve of or those they like, or those who show some kind of
potential, or whatever the case may be true.
Biblical ministers and biblical ministries will be praying even
for those who persecute them without prejudice in their heart
toward the middle. Thirdly and lastly, seeing this
call to prayer, we've seen this must be a priority, must be
without prejudice. It must be with a purpose,
purpose, what he defines for us, the purpose.
Next, he says in verse 5, and this is no accident or
coincidence that he throws this in here.
He's telling the people to intercede on behalf of the
unbelievers, and he's going to. Remind them of this says in
verse 5. For there's one God and one
mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself as a ransom for all men the testimony given in its
proper time. What is the purpose of our
prayer? To point them to the true
mediator. We intercede on their behalf so
that they can see the one who has interceded for them and will
intercede for them for all eternity.
Christ, he goes on, he says, and for this purpose I was appointed
a herald and an apostle. I'm telling the truth, I'm not
lying, and a teacher of true faith to the Gentiles.
What's going on in the world of the Apostle Paul here?
He's saying this. My job, my purpose is to pray
for the unbelieving Gentile believers that they may see
Christ and see him for who he truly is.
Pray for the unbelieving among us, he says.
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands and prayer without
anger or disputing. What was Paul doing it?
Paul was instructing purposeful and intentional prayers.
He is telling the people and reminding the people that you
must pray, pointing these people to Christ, whether they are Jew,
whether they are Gentile, whoever they are.
He says, now understand I've been called to the Gentiles and
so I'm going to share the gospel with the Gentiles.
I'm going to pray for the Gentiles.
That is my role. You do likewise pray for
everyone, as I pray for everyone and as Christ the Mediator saves
those who. Believe, do with purpose,
purposely pray for the salvation of those who are perish you.
Let me just ask you this professing Christian, do you
know an unbeliever? In fact, let me ask you this, if
you do not know an unbeliever in your life, at least one raise
your hand none. So I ask you this, are you
purposely? And intentionally praying, even
if it's that one unbeliever, are you praying that they would see
Christ, their only hope, the only mediator between God and
man? He's not calling here for
needless babbling, right? In fact, Jesus condemns that
Matthew chapter 6 verse 7 when he tells us not to pray and to
keep on babbling like the pagans who think they'll be heard
because of their many words. He's saying this purposely.
Pray for the lost, that they would be saved.
Call them by name. Name them.
You know them, you are acquainted with them, you are
family members of some of them you are Co workers with.
Some of them. Now be purposeful and
intentional in your prayers, praying for the salvation of the
perishing. There's only one way to
salvation, isn't there? That is Christ and so we should
specifically be praying that God would open their eyes to see
their need for Christ because without Christ they perish.
Thomas Watson said this. He said pray that God will
soften their hearts. Speaking of the unbelievers, the
work is his though the prayer be thine.
He says our job is to pray. The work of softening the heart
of the unbeliever, that's God's job, and he will do that in
Christ, and he will do that far better than we can maybe do
that. Maybe pray for the lost.
With a purpose and that purpose being their salvation.
This is modeled throughout the Scriptures.
If you'll think back with me for just a moment, those who would
have prayed for the lost or the ungodly or the unbelieving, we
go quickly in our minds hopefully to Genesis chapter 18,
Genesis chapter 18, there in verses 22 through 33, you know
what you see? You see Abraham and you know
what he's doing. He's praying for a bunch of
sexually immoral homosexuals in Sodom and Gomorrah.
You know what he's not doing? He's not saying let all the
homosexuals there in Sodom and Gomorrah go straight to hell
because they deserve it. You know what he is doing?
He's pleading with God. God, if there were just 50,
surely you would save them. God, there was just 45.
Surely you would have mercy on these immoral people.
Surely, maybe we could find 40. God surely 30.
And then 20 and then 10. Surely for 10 you won't destroy
these people. What was Abraham doing?
He was petitioning a God of mercy.
Oh, let us learn something from that instead of condemning the
lost. They're lost.
That's what they do. Lost people things just as you
did when you were lost. Instead of sitting around in Fox
News watching the TV and complaining about the lostness
of the of the lost, instead, why don't you close your eyes and
bow your head and bend your knee and humble yourself before God
and plead for the very souls of the lost people that you see on
the screen. Because.
That's what Abraham would do and that's what Jesus would do.
What about an Exodus 32 where we see Moses doing the same?
He prays for idolatrous Israel, interceding on their behalf.
Lord, save them. Don't exercise your judgment
upon them. Lord, have mercy on them.
Go back and read it. How is he approaching God on
their behalf? Prayer.
Why were they in the condition that they were in unbelief?
What did Moses desire? That God would bring them out of
their unbelief and bring them in to believe?
And he prayed for them. What about Samuel?
In first Samuel chapter 12, verses 19 through 23, he's
praying for sinful Israel. Israel who was always bent to
rebellion, it seems, just like us.
What does Samuel do? He doesn't say, God just wipe
them from the face of the earth because they're stubborn and
they're obstinate. They're immoral.
I plea, please, for God's mercy, God's restoration, God's
healing, God's forgiveness. What about Jeremiah?
Jeremiah chapter 14, where Jeremiah intercedes for
rebellious Judah again, rebelling at every turn.
Here they are again, straying away, whoring away from.
God, the one true God. Jeremiah praise for them about
First Kings chapter 8 verses 41 through 43.
If you don't think praying for lost people is something that we
see all throughout Scripture, Solomon prays for even the
unbelieving foreigners at a time when people wouldn't have prayed
for foreigners, for the foreigners that had come into
their land. You know what he prayed.
And while they're here, may the heart be turned to you, the one
true and living God. He prayed for the salvation and
the redemption of foreigners who didn't belong to the Jewish
people at all. Luke chapter 23 as we've already
discovered Jesus giving us the greatest example, praying for
his own executions, praying to God the Father would spare them.
Acts Chapter 7 we see him following in the footsteps of
Jesus Stephen there in Acts Chapter 7 at his execution and
his stoning for his faith in Christ.
He says this in verse 59 while they were stoning him.
While they were stoning them, him, it says Stephen prayed.
I want you to think about that for a second because I know
that's difficult for the American church to wrap our
minds around this. He wasn't calling local law
enforcement. He wasn't begging them to stop.
As they were stoning him, he prayed.
What did he pray? Lord Jesus received my spirit.
He didn't stop there. Then he fell on his knees and
cried out. Lord, do not hold this sin
against them. And when he had said this, he
fell asleep. His last and dying words were a
prayer for the unbelievers that were killing him by stoning him
to death while it was actually happening.
He was not recovering in the hospital after a brutal stoning
that he lived through. His last breath was to pray for
the lost people who were murdering him.
Church LED us to see the magnitude of this.
Let's see what the Apostle Paul is teaching us.
Let us decide. Will we be a biblical ministry
in regard to our prayers? Will we be like the rest of the
selfish self seeking American churches, seeking only what we
can get in this lifetime? It's free with purpose, the
salvation of the perishing, but the promotion of peace.
I end with this because this is where we stopped today.
He says in verse 8. I want men everywhere to lift up
holy hands in prayer without anger or disputing.
Many say that maybe that goes in the next passage.
Maybe it fits in this patch, as I think it stays in this passage
because it is the context of prayer.
Context is going to change next, the propriety, the worship of
women, not actually worshipping them, but how they should
worship. He's saying that we ought to
pray for the unbelievers, lifting up holy hands in prayer
without anger or disputing. This is prayer for the promotion
of peace. You know how to make an
unbelieving enemy your friend and pray for his soul.
And then not only when he's saved will he become your
friend. He will become your brother in
Christ, and you will have unity and fellowship with God the
Father, with this new brother in Christ.
Second person purpose that we see here, the first purpose,
salvation for the perishing. So let this be our purpose in
prayer, but also let it be for the promotion of peace.
Let me remind you what Jesus said in Matthew 590 said blessed
are the peacemakers, blessed are the peacemakers.
Paul calling these men lift up holy hands in prayer without
anger disputing. Be people of peace.
As you pray, pray that God would bring the unbelieving into his
fold so that they can find rest and they can find peace, just as
we have in the fold of Christ. And we promote peace through our
prayers, through our communion with Christ.
As they persecute us, as they cause us to suffer, May we lift
up holy hands, praying for them without anger in our heart
toward them, just as Jesus displayed or disputing.
In doing so, we promote peace by portraying Christ.
Doesn't the New Testament call us to live such godly lives that
even though they insult us and they persecute us, in the end,
they know they have nothing to say about us?
Oh, if we were a people who were devoted to lifting up holy hands
in prayer, not being angry when we watch Fox News or see the
world crater around us, not getting in into endless disputes
over controversial crazy issues that we see come up today,
conspiracies and the like. Wouldn't it be better if the
world saw us, its men and women, lifting up holy hands in prayer,
refusing to be angry as Jesus refused to be angry at those who
took his life? What would happen when the lost
world see us, sees us praying like that?
What's going to happen? Your Christ likeness is going to
promote peace because they will see not you, but they will see
the Prince of Peace and then through you, you will be doing
what Paul says to do in Romans chapter 12 verse 18, where he
says if it possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at
peace with everyone. How do we do that?
Holy hands lifted in prayer, refusing to be angry and
refusing to dispute with unbelievers simply to petition
God for their lost souls, pointing them to Jesus Christ as
we preach the gospel to them, as we share with them the love of
Christ. Biblical ministers, biblical
ministries, we praying with intention and with purpose.
Let us be that. Let us be that you men who are
here today, you are a minister in your home.
You moms who are here today, you're a minister in your home,
minister to your children. Pray for their souls.
Let us be obedient to what we've seen this morning.
It's going to look a little different here at the end.
I've already mentioned up up front here in these wooden
containers, they're, you'll find yellow and green and blue
redemption cards on these hundreds of cards that are here,
the names of loved ones and friends and families and maybe
even enemies that others believe to be lost.
They have asked that we, the church, would pray for them.
Many of you, you've taken many opportunities to do that.
Some of you I've never one time walked 25 steps to pray for a
name on a card that God would show them mercy and forgiveness.
And I pray today that that changes forever.
And we would utilize this time here at the end of the service,
not for ourselves or our needs for the needs of the
unbelievers. What do they need?
Christ in a moment as I pray, going to ask our invitation
counselors if you would come forth standing to my right and
to my left. Perhaps you're here today and
you're an unbeliever and you don't know Christ.
And God has made that clear maybe in the weeks and the
months past. And you know that today you need
to surrender to Christ. You've heard the gospel, you
know that you're a Sinner. You know you have a great need
for Christ, and today I pray that it would be the day that
you repent of your sin and you turn to Christ.
If that's you, I'm going to ask you to do something simply to
come up to one of these people, my right, my left.
And all you have to do is tell them I need to know how to be
saved, and they're going to show you how to be saved biblically.
For the rest of us, may we hear this call to prayer.
May we be obedient to pray for the lost.
Perhaps someone that you know whose name's not on this list.
There's pens here, there's empty cards.
Put their name on there that others would pray for them as
well. Very startling statement from
the ministry of Jesus Christ constantly grips me as a pastor
and as a man of God. I pray that we never become
this. Jesus walked into the temple
after weaving a whip together, and he drove all the money
changers and all the crooks from the temple and he drove them
away with this statement, says. My Father desires that this be a
House of prayer, but you have made it a den.
Thieves. You've only come here to get
what you can get over and over and over and over again.
Yes, maybe what you get is good theology.
Maybe what you get is good Bible teaching.
But you were all about you getting.
He says shame on us, this should be a House of prayer.
Be humble yourself. Will you petition the lost and
the dying at the throne of God this morning?
Although we love you, we thank You for Your Word, we know that
it will accomplish what you set out for it to accomplish.
Bring us to our knees. Make us the people of prayer, as
you desire and as Your Word teaches us to be.
May no one that we know spend an eternity in hell because we did
not pray for them. Jesus, you've been listening to
Key Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry podcast.
Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.