1 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,520 Hello everyone. My name is John Ewart, and I'm 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,240 the senior pastor of Inglewood Baptist Church here in Rocky 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:14,360 Mount, NC. Thank you for joining us in this 4 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,200 series of episodes. We're entitling Walking in 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,480 Prayer. You can use this as you're 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,600 walking around the neighborhood, walking the dog, and you want a 7 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,000 prayer guide to accompany you, but you could frankly also use 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,560 this just in your personal quiet time if you wanted to. 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,360 In this episode, I want to share more about how do we walk as a 10 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,960 witness as we talk about praying evangelistically, how do we pray 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,600 for our lost friends and neighbors? 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,840 And in each section of prayer that I'm going to mention to you 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,440 today, there's going to be a prayer for the lost person, but 14 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,240 there's also going to be a prayer for fellow believers to 15 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,560 join you in that effort of lifting people up who don't know 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,840 Jesus in prayer. This outline's going to spell 17 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,000 outreach. I want you to note that just to 18 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,120 help you remember it, but I'm also going to be sharing some 19 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,640 scripture along the way. So as you walk or as you begin 20 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,360 your prayer time right now, let's open this prayer time with 21 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,840 the idea of receptivity. The ability to receive the 22 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,120 gospel is something we don't talk about enough. 23 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,440 We often jump farther ahead than that when we pray for people, 24 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,920 but we need to pray that people would actually be receptive to 25 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,520 the gospel, that the Holy Spirit would open up their hearts and 26 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:29,640 minds to be willing to listen. I can't force people to believe, 27 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,160 and neither can you. So we want to pray that the 28 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,400 hearts of the unsaved that we know and that we'll meet along 29 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,160 the way would be open to the truth of the gospel. 30 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,640 Let me read a couple of passages of Scripture to help us in First 31 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,160 Corinthians chapter 1, and you might want to go back later and 32 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,200 read that more fully. But it says for the word of the 33 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,960 cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:53,920 being saved, it is the power of God. 35 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,200 Then later it says, but we preach Christ crucified, A 36 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,680 stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. 37 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,120 The reason it's that way is in chapter 2 it says the natural 38 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,760 person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for 39 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,080 they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them 40 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,440 because they are spiritually discerned. 41 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,600 And so I want our heart and our mind and our passion to be that 42 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,400 of Paul's where he says in Romans 10/1, brothers, my 43 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,840 heart's desire and prayer to God for them as that they may be 44 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,040 saved, but we have to pray that the Holy Spirit would work in 45 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,680 their lives first. So as you think of a lost person 46 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,240 that you know, a friend, a family, neighbor, someone you 47 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,280 work with, someone you go to school with, I want you to think 48 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,760 of their name right now. I want you to picture them in 49 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,240 your mind as you're walking or you're praying, and I want you 50 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,880 to begin to pray that the Holy Spirit would open their heart 51 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,920 that they would be receptive to the gospel. 52 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,360 And then I also want you to pray one other part to this, and then 53 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,360 I'll pause for a moment. I want you to pray that other 54 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,200 believers will be receptive to joining you in prayer and an 55 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,840 outreach to the lost. In Matthew 938, Jesus tells the 56 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,320 disciples to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send 57 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,040 out laborers into his harvest. So we need to pray that fellow 58 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,960 laborers would join us in prayer as we begin to pray that hearts 59 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,400 would be open to the gospel. So you take a few moments right 60 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:26,240 now as you're walking or as you're praying to ask the Lord 61 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,320 to do that, especially specifically for that person in 62 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,240 your heart and mind. And also maybe for the person 63 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,720 you see right now in your neighborhood as you're walking, 64 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,040 that person in the park or that person on the track with you or 65 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,640 the person down the street. So specifically pray for them 66 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,160 right now that the Holy Spirit would work in their heart. 67 00:04:46,390 --> 00:05:22,680 The. The. 68 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:44,960 The. The. 69 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:41,560 The. And as we continue this journey 70 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,640 together, not only do we want to pray for receptivity, but 71 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,360 secondly, we want to pray for exposure. 72 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,680 We want to pray for the opportunity to actually share 73 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,480 the gospel with that person that we're praying for, that neighbor 74 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,200 or that person that we need to meet today that we don't know 75 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,600 yet, but we're going to meet. And so we want to pray that the 76 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,280 opportunity will be made available and it it'll be very 77 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,440 clear to us when it's that moment, the Holy Spirit will jog 78 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,000 our hearts and our minds to say, this is the moment you've been 79 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:10,760 praying for. Share now. 80 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,680 Speak to them. When Paul was in prison, he 81 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,840 asked the Church of Colossae to pray for him and to pray that 82 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,520 the door or the window of the gospel would be open in 83 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,880 Colossians chapter 4. And so we want to pray for that 84 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,200 kind of opening. We want to pray that the Holy 85 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,480 Spirit removing their spiritual blindness, removing their 86 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,800 spiritual deafness and receptivity is now going to 87 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,280 actually provide the opportunity for exposure to the gospel. 88 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:38,080 And then I also would ask you to pray that you and other 89 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,360 believers will, will build relational and spiritual bridges 90 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,120 to the laws, that you'll be intentional. 91 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,200 Romans 10 asks our question, how are they going to hear unless 92 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:47,640 someone goes and preaches to them? 93 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,000 And so we need to pray that we would be available when those 94 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,280 moments of exposure take place. So as you walk and pray now and 95 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,480 you focus upon those lost people in your heart and mind or those 96 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,800 you're seeing right now, be sure and pray for that opportunity of 97 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,200 exposing them to the truth of the Gospel. 98 00:10:15,230 --> 00:10:59,080 The. The. 99 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:47,200 The. The. 100 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,200 Well, now that we've been praying for receptivity and 101 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,960 exposure, it's time to pray for acceptance. 102 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,360 We actually want to pray that they will be saved. 103 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,120 We've been doing the pre work. We've been doing the laying the 104 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,640 groundwork, asking the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts 105 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,280 and minds, asking for the opportunity for them to hear the 106 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,800 gospel, that the window would be open, that we'd be bold enough 107 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,000 to share. And now we want to ask the the 108 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,320 Holy Spirit to work in their heart for them to actually 109 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,880 believe and accept the truth of the gospel, that they would be 110 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,800 accepted by God through his grace and be accepted by him 111 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:37,120 through faith and the truth of the gospel. 112 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,000 Again, Romans 10 says be if we confess with our mouths that 113 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,240 Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from 114 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:48,000 the dead, we can be saved. And so we need to pray right now 115 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,320 that people would not only hear the gospel, but that they would 116 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,480 believe that they would have the faith that they would be saved 117 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,120 when they hear that truth. We also want to pray that we 118 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:03,040 ourselves will be accepting and willing to be obedient to obey 119 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:07,160 the Great Commission and to share the gospel as we walk 120 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:11,040 through our daily life or as you encounter people now walking 121 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,360 down the sidewalk or walking around the park or wherever you 122 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,840 might be right now. And so I ask you now to take a 123 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,920 few moments to not only pray for that receptivity, not only for 124 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,520 exposure, but now for acceptance. 125 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:59,120 The. The. 126 00:16:38,240 --> 00:17:23,880 The. The. 127 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:19,800 The. Well, hopefully we're saying 128 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,760 praise the Lord and that someone has been saved or that someone 129 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,480 soon will be. So not only we want to pray that 130 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:32,240 someone would accept the gospel and be accepted by God in faith, 131 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,880 by His grace, but we also want to pray next for commitment, 132 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,560 that those who are accepting Christ would commit their lives 133 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,040 to him and to His Church. In 2nd Corinthians 515 it says 134 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,560 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live 135 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,920 for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was 136 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:54,600 raised. We can never forget Hebrews 137 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,920 10/25, which really does challenge a lot of people 138 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,560 because it talks about being in church. 139 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,520 It talks about not neglecting to meet together as the habit of 140 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,880 some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you 141 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,640 see the day drawing near. So we want to pray that not only 142 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,280 will someone be saved, but that they would commit themselves to 143 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,800 a life of discipleship and to a church family. 144 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,040 We need to be instrumental if we've been the one sharing with 145 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,440 them to help guide them to that place, to bring them to our home 146 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,040 church. If you're a part of the Rocky 147 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:29,800 Mount community, bring them to Inglewood. 148 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,960 If you're outside the Rocky Mount community, find a Bible 149 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:37,080 believing evangelical church and and help them get connected. 150 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,320 We also want to pray that they'd make their commitment known, 151 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,480 that they would do that publicly, that they would follow 152 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,240 the Lord in baptism, and that they would follow through with 153 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,520 whatever steps of church membership and commitment and 154 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,280 accountability that they need to take. 155 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,840 We also want to pray that we ourselves will commit to 156 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,520 persistent prayer for the lost and obedience to God and and 157 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,000 outreach and evangelism ourselves, that we will be 158 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,600 committed, that we won't stop praying. 159 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,840 We won't stop seeking to share the gospel. 160 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,000 I once had a friend named James and I I probably should the 161 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,960 gospel with him six or seven times. 162 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:15,400 He knew everything he needed to know, but I had to pray for him 163 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,680 for five years before he actually accepted Christ. 164 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,160 Sometimes it takes perseverance, but we want to do as Paul 165 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,400 commanded us in Romans 12, and we want to offer ourselves as 166 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,960 living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our 167 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,920 spiritual worship. We don't want to be conformed to 168 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,280 this world, but we want to be transformed by the renewing of 169 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,560 our mind so that we might know the will of God and we might 170 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:41,120 follow it and he might use us. So spend a few moments now 171 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,680 praying for those who need to commit. 172 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,240 They they need to follow through with their decision to follow 173 00:20:47,240 --> 00:21:48,880 Christ. The. 174 00:22:31,110 --> 00:23:13,540 The. The. 175 00:23:52,560 --> 00:24:44,350 The. And finally, I like for us to 176 00:24:44,830 --> 00:24:47,230 pray for honor. We've been praying for 177 00:24:47,230 --> 00:24:49,590 receptivity. We've prayed for exposure. 178 00:24:49,590 --> 00:24:53,960 We've prayed for acceptance. We've prayed for commitment, but 179 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,240 I do pray that we will finish this time together by praying 180 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:01,360 that God would be glorified by all of this, that God would be 181 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:04,480 honored by the lives that are changed, that God would be 182 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,360 honored by the growth of his church that only He can produce. 183 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,000 I'm reminded of what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and 184 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,520 Ephesians 2. He said, so then you're no 185 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,760 longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the 186 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:19,760 Saints and members of the household of God built on the 187 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:21,880 foundation of the apostles and prophets. 188 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,160 Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole 189 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,120 structure of being joined together grows into a holy 190 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,560 temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built 191 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,800 together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 192 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:38,840 So we want to join together. That's part of what the church 193 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,640 is all about, that we would encourage one another, support 194 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:45,280 one another, share with others in your small group, share with 195 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,360 others in your circle of friends within the church body about the 196 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,640 name of the person for whom you've been praying, that lost 197 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,840 person for whom you're burdened. And let's share that together. 198 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,920 God will be honored and glorified by our prayers. 199 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,920 He'll be honored and glorified with our lives when we think of 200 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,200 others that way and we think of His Kingdom that way. 201 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,600 And let me just finish this time with a word of praise and a word 202 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,680 of honor to God out of Psalm 96-O. 203 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,440 Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. 204 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,920 Sing to the Lord, bless His name, tell of His salvation from 205 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:25,880 day-to-day, declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous 206 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,360 works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and 207 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,480 greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all 208 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,080 gods. If you would pray this way every 209 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:39,920 day for lost people, if you would think of four or five, 210 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:44,560 perhaps even more lost people that you know and someone that I 211 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,560 often refer to as person X, that's that person I haven't met 212 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,160 yet today, but I'm going to meet today. 213 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,560 I'm going to meet him at at the store, or I'm going to run into 214 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,520 him at the gas station or somewhere along the way, maybe a 215 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,600 waitress or a waiter, someone for whom I need to pray and 216 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,280 someone that might need to know about Jesus. 217 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,000 I want to be ready for them. I want to be, I'm going to be 218 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,800 open to the opportunity that God gives us. 219 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,240 So we want to also pray that God would open the door in our own 220 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:14,120 hearts that we would always be ready in season and out of 221 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,400 season to give a reason for our hope and to trust that the Holy 222 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,760 Spirit will give us the words that we need to say. 223 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,880 So as you walk with Him and you walk in prayer, I encourage you 224 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,800 to walk as a witness and bring Him great glory. 225 00:28:20,490 --> 00:29:01,760 The. The. 226 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:57,840 The. The. 227 00:31:21,990 --> 00:31:24,590 I want to thank you again for joining us for this episode. 228 00:31:24,590 --> 00:31:26,710 And if you don't have a church home and you're in the Rocky 229 00:31:26,710 --> 00:31:29,750 Mount area, we'd love for you to join us this Sunday or this 230 00:31:29,750 --> 00:31:33,030 Wednesday night at Inglewood Baptist Church on Winstead Ave. 231 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,880 If there's ever anything we can do for you or you have anything 232 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,040 we can pray about with you, please let us know. 233 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:42,120 And I look forward to joining you again in our next episode of 234 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:43,800 Walking in Prayer.