Focused Thinking: Going straight to prayer tonight.
Personal Application:
Interactive Prayer:

Praying for Josh and Andy and the services tomorrow at Highpoint.

• Acts 6 & 7—Stephen’s Defense
• Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
• Stephen’s opponents couldn’t withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen was speaking.
• Acts 7:1–8—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• Acts 7:9–16—Joseph
• Acts 7:17–29—Moses: First Forty Years
• Acts 7:30–43—Moses: Next Eighty Years
• Acts 7:44–53—Joshua, David, Solomon

Father, I pray for Josh and Andy tomorrow as they lead us. I pray that they will be filled up to all the fullness of God. I pray that they will be filled with the Spirit, sensitive to the Spirit, and obedient to the Spirit. I pray that You will honor their preparation, but also give them sensitivity to Your movement throughout the day.

I pray that more and more of our people are praying with anticipation and expectation tonight. I pray that You will build an army of prayer warriors for our church. I pray that people will see the opportunity that is in front of us and dedicate themselves to be intercessors for the glory of God to be revealed to us. Father, I pray that each and every Sunday that You will show Your glory to us in greater ways. I pray that all the additional seeds being planted through our classes will move people to prayer.

Father, teach us how to pray. Father, teach us to pray. Father, show me if You want us to do a series on prayer. I pray that You will call people to be people of prayer. I pray that You will call people to specifically pray for my family and for the leadership of the church. Father, I pray that people will hold up my arms, Andy’s arms, Josh’s arms, and Bob’s arms. I pray that people will adopt specific staff members and pray for them daily, but especially on the weekends. I pray for people to pray for Chris and Amanda Harris, for Amber Ramsey, Krystal Durfee, and Elissa Roberts. Father, I pray that You will provide the children’s workers that we need as a growing church. Father, I pray that You provide amazing leadership for our children and students. I pray for a harvest of children, Hwy 56, Middel School, and High School students to trust the Lord and follow Him in baptism.

Father, I pray that You will honor Matthew and the prayer team’s faithfulness. Father, I pray that the Lord of the Harvest would call forth laborers into the fields of prayer, children, students, hospitality, parking, Sunday School, discipleship classes, and all types of local and global missions. Father, rise up prayer warriors. Father, call men and women to pray on Saturday nights. Father, call men and women to pray on Sunday mornings.

Father, I pray for the “Building for the Future” sermon series. I pray that we will pray more than ever before. I pray that we will witness more than ever before. I pray that we will love more than ever before. I pray that we will teach, preach, and present the gospel more than ever before. Father, I pray that we will see more salvations than ever before. I pray that we will see more baptisms than ever before. Father, I pray that we will encourage people more than ever before. Father, give us a vision for giving more than ever before. Father, give us the ability to live fully surrendered to You for 30 days and see what You will do (March 20-April 10). Father, give us the ability to consecrate ourselves for 30 days and watch the wonders of God be performed among us.

Father, give us Your vision. Father, show me how to get our church to see, believe, and live out Joshua 3:5 for thirty days. Father, give us the ability to make this doable and practical. Father, give us the simple ways to help people love and obey God for thirty straight days. Father, show us the power of focus for thirty days. Father, anoint these prayers and plans. Father, show me how glorious You are. Father, show us that nothing is impossible with You. Father, fill my heart with Your vision. Father, fill my heart with Your plans. Father, fill my heart with Your direction. Father, give me the faith to believe and obey You.

Father, I pray that February will be better than January. Father, I pray that You will build upon the momentum. Father, I pray that You will increase people’s love for You and one another. Father, I pray that You will cause the seeds of Love Works to come to harvest right now. Father, I pray that our people will keep coming to Sunday School and the Discipleship classes. I pray that people who haven’t taken the step out of worship yet, will take the next step to connect and serve. Father, I pray that You will inspire and motivate people to get connected. Father, I pray that You will equip all of our leaders and teachers and give them the ability to lead, teach, and love well. Father, I pray that You cause our people to worship, connect, serve, equip, and give. Father, I pray that our people will be protect from the enemy. Father, give us an incredible season of Your blessing and favor. I pray that our people will love loving You and love loving others.

I pray that our people will grow up before our very eyes. I pray that You will bring us established leadership to help all of our young leadership. I pray that You will give us the ability to produce hungry and growing leaders. I pray that our people will walk with You and talk about you.

I pray that our people will grab hold of the witness 5 idea and make it a strong and consistent part of their prayers. I pray that all of our people will devote themselves to praying for 5 people to come to know the Lord in 2011. I pray that every single one of our people who faithfully invest and invite will have the privilege of baptizing someone this year. Father, I pray that You will give us 100’s of baptisms this year. I pray that we will have to have going public days and services that are 100% dedicated to baptisms.

Father, I pray for continued favor with Overton students and families. I pray for continued and increased favor with the African American community. I pray for entry point to the Hispanic community. I pray for more and more favor with single parents. I pray for more and more favor with people need of recovery. Father, give us major victories over the domains of darkness in Memphis. I pray that the church will be the aggressor and play offense instead of defense. I pray that Highpoint will be a place of healing and hope. I pray that Highpoint will be a place of forgiveness and freedom. I pray that Highpoint will be a place of salvations and sanctification. I pray that the seeds of the Word of God will fall on good soil.

I pray that You will build us into men and women that You can trust with the stewardship of 100 fold, 60 fold, and 30 fold. Father, I pray that You will give us the strong and violent wind of the Holy Spirit to blow through our lives and church. Father, please bring the rain and water the seeds we’ve planted.

Father, give our people a true vision of the opportunity that is before us with this building. Father, give me the ability to say what You want said, the way You want it said. Father, I pray that people who aren’t tithers will be become tithers. I pray for people to truly give sacrificially. I pray for our us to increase the number of givers that we have as well how much we give. Father, I pray that our people will commit to be conduit givers at the heart level and You will truly bless them. Father, I pray that You will open the floodgates of heaven upon us. Father, I pray that You will give us David Montague type stories. Father, that our high capacity givers will truly give sacrificially and commit to be conduit givers. I pray for people who don’t think that they have much to believe that it is much in the eyes of God. I pray for You to supply and multiply the seeds of the givers. Father, show Highpoint your glory through people’s giving. Father, do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think according to Your mighty power that works in and through us.

Father, I pray for Easter 2011. Show us what You want us to name it. Father, give us Your vision for the Easter experience. Father, I pray that You give Josh a vision straight from You. Father, give us the ability to truly exceed our capacity every time we open the doors for Palm Sunday, for the Seder, for Good Friday, and for Easter Sunday. Father, I pray that our people will pray BIG and BOLD for Easter. I pray that people will pray for their Five people. I pray that You give people our a passion for inviting people. Father, I pray that You will anoint our advertisements. I pray that our advertisements will catch people’s eye and that Your Spirit will draw them here. Father, give us over 1,000 salvations through six Easter services. Father, I’m not sure how that number is possible, but it is the number that I sense You are putting into my heart and right now You aren’t giving me permission to lower it.
Father, I pray for tomorrow. Give Josh and Andy the ability to have the strength and wisdom of Stephen. I pray that they will experience the same power that dwelled in Stephen in them. Father, give Josh the ability to lead our people to participate. I pray that our people will absolutely love being in Your presence tomorrow. Father, I pray that You will be lifted up and that You will draw all people to Yourself through our worship tomorrow. I pray that people who don’t typically worship would be freed up to worship whole-heartedly. I pray that You will give people permission and freedom to sing and experience You inhabiting the praises of Your people. I pray that our worship will be a fragrant aroma that is pleasing to You in every way. I pray that You will be very pleased by our worship. I pray that we won’t just worship with our lips, but that we will worship with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I pray that non-worshippers will worship. I pray that people will be saved during the worship. I pray that people will repent during the worship.

Father, I pray for Andy to be strong and courageous tomorrow. I pray Andy to be filled with the wisdom of Stephen. I pray for Andy to speak as boldly and confidently as Stephen spoke. I pray for Andy’s words to be anointed and authoritative. I pray for Andy to be bold in calling for a response. I pray for people to be saved, to go public, and to repent of sin. Father, I pray for our people to listen with a willingness to obey. I pray for our people to listen and pray at the same time. I pray for our people to listen and obey. I pray that people will obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Father, I pray that Andy will preach the most powerful he’s ever preached because You are more in control than ever before. Father, I pray that Andy will have complete and total confidence and peace as he preaches. I pray for the Holy Spirit through Andy in such a way that each person gets a personalized message. I pray that I will listen for the purpose of obeying in my life.

Father, show us Your favor and give us ability to continue growing numerically, spiritually, and financially.  Father, I pray that we have more adults, more children, and more students each and every week. I pray that we will worship more, pray more, obey more, and glorify You more. Father, manifest Yourself to Highpoint tomorrow. Father, bring Your revival to Highpoint tomorrow. Father, give us the early rain of revival. Father, thank you for giving us a holy discontent at Highpoint. Protect us from every going through the routine on Sunday or Monday for that matter. Father, give us the courage and faith to pray BIGGER and more BOLD each and every Sunday. Father, too many people are don’t know You to be content. Father, sin is too strong and victorious in people’s lives for us to be content. Father, cause the Holy Spirit to make us burning bushes for You.

Father, show us Your glory tomorrow. Show specific people specific expressions of your compassion, grace, patience, lovingkindness, and truth tomorrow. Father, give us the ability to go to church tomorrow and to be Your hands and feet as we walk through the building. Give us the perspective to give instead of receive tomorrow. Father, work through us tomorrow. Show people Your glory through us tomorrow. Father, love people through us tomorrow. Father, give us Your eyes to see what You see tomorrow. Give us the ability to be Your vessels tomorrow, your instruments tomorrow. Father, give us the privilege of being the church tomorrow. Glorify yourself through us tomorrow. Show us Your glory.

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Focused Thinking:

Who is Peter speaking to?

Men of Israel: He is speaking to Jews about the promised Messiah.

Jesus of Nazareth:
A man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—
This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

For David says concerning him,

I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.

Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.

• Peter appealed to God’s approval of Jesus.
• Peter appealed to King David’s prophecy of Jesus.

• Peter did everything he could to prove to Men of Israel that Jesus was the Hope of Israel.
• Peter approached the Jews with compassion without compromise.

Personal Application:

I want to map out all the prophecies of God’s definite plan.

I this has been done, but I want to do it for Christmas and Easter.

I want us to create resources to help people rediscover the majesty and glory of Christmas and Easter. I want to use all forms of communicate these truths in a relevant way.

I want to dive into specific word pictures and bring them to life through the creative use of media. I want to take verses like verse 24 and make the phase “loosing the pangs of death” come to life: “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

I want to help people recapture David’s heart: “Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.”

• Believers need to live in victory today instead of defeat.
• Believers need to be glad, rejoice, and be people of hope.
• Believers need to be people of faith, hope, and love.
• Believers need to walk in the paths of life.
• Believers need to be full of gladness with your presence.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, I pray that You give our people an incredible sense of Your presence tomorrow. I pray that our people will pray tonight about tomorrow. I pray that our people will pray with big expectations about tomorrow.

I pray that Matthew could lead a prayer initiative for Saturday nights. I pray that we could put together a prayer guide for Saturday nights preparing for Sunday morning. Father, I pray for people to gain confidence in prayer. I pray for people to own the movement of God in and through Highpoint through prayer. I pray that You will make us a praying church. Forgive me for the times that I neglect the true purpose and power of prayer. Forgive me for the times I try to do things in my own strength instead of committing them to prayer.

Father, I pray for people to join me in praying for Your Spirit:

• To lead our people to pray strategically on Saturday nights.

• To lead our people to pray before and during the services.

• To lead our people to pray strongly during the response time.

• To blow strongly through our church every Sunday.

• To lead our people to participate in worship.

• To inhabit the praises of our people.

• To lead our people to make worship a fragrant offering & aroma to You.

• To give our people the gifts of faith and repentance.

• To lead people to be saved and follow You in baptism.

• To give our people the ability to respond to the Holy Spirit.

• To give our people the ability to trust and obey.

Father, I pray that our people will embrace what it means to be a witness. I pray that You will remove the confusion that the liar creates. I pray that You will change people’s opinion of what it means to be a witness. I pray that people will move from fear to faith. I pray that people won’t feel defeated or disappointed, but will walk away feeling confident in their ability to be a witness. I pray that people will look forward to joys of witnessing. I pray that people will begin praying about a lifestyle of witnessing. I pray that for people to pray specifically for friends and family members. I pray for people to pray for five specific people that they want to witness to in 2011. I pray that they will see and understand that witnessing isn’t a one time encounter, but that witnessing is a lifestyle. I pray people will look forward to being people of love and telling others about God’s love. I pray that people will wholehearted embrace what it means to simply share their story.

I pray that You will give people the ability to overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. I pray for people to be passionate in their love for You so that they can passionately tell others about Your love. Father, give us the ability to reclaim the word witness. Nike made the word cool again through the LeBron campaign, but it is our word. Father, You and You alone are the true definition of Greatness. You and You alone are the Great I Am. Father, give Your people a passion to witness Your Greatness and to tell others about. Father, remove the fear that the world imposes on us through the deception and lies of the devil. Father, why should we be afraid to tell people about the greatest love story of all time? Father, correct our thinking and cause us to think according to Your ways instead of the ways of the world. Father, give us a burning passion to be a witness.

Father, I pray that You will increase the love of our people for You and others so that we have the opportunity to witness You more. Father, I pray for our people to love Your Word more so that they will love You more. I pray that people will walk with You more because the more we walk, the more we witness, and the more we witness, the more we talk. Father, I pray that our people will brag about You to others. I pray that our people will love talking about You. Father, I pray that You will do such an amazing work in the lives of our people that they can’t stop talking about what they have seen and heard.

Father, for the fifty to sixty percent that choose to stay on the sidelines, I pray that Your Spirit will demand them to get into the game. Father, if the people who are on the sidelines aren’t saved, please save them. Father, give us favor with people. I pray that our people will form friendships and pull their friends into the movement of God. I pray for wins in Sunday School and Discipleship Classes in order to create witnesses and for those witnesses to go tell others what they’ve seen and heard. Father, I pray that our people will truly Connect with God, Grow with Friends, Serve on Mission, and Build the Future.

Father, I pray for an amazing season of salvations, baptisms, and the making of disciples. Father, I pray that You will give us Your blessing and favor during this season and do what we cannot do. Father, I pray that the seeds that we are planting will fall on good soil and produce some 100-fold, some 60, and some 30. Father, I pray for more than a church that is successful at attendance. Father, I pray for a church that is successful at making disciples. Father, I pray for our disciples to be successful at “Going into the world and making disciples.”

Focused Thinking:

“…they were all together in one place.”

They were regrouping together.

They were planning and praying together.

They were waiting and anticipating together.

Personal Application:

We need to lean into M28.

M28 will be our 120 before the day of Pentecost.

M28 will be our 120 before the day of Revival and Spiritual Awakening.

We need to believe in the power of advanced discipleship training.

We need to believe in the power of a few.

We need to believe in the power of leaders leading.

Focused Thinking:

²“And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”

We need to pray for the sound of the Holy Spirit to come upon us.

We need to pray the Spirit to come upon us and give us the power to be witnesses.

This expression of the gifts was needed with the language barrier.

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit.

We can’t do anything without the Holy Spirit.

They began to speak in other tongues/languages as the Spirit gave them utterance.

• They spoke for a purpose with purpose.
• They spoke to be heard and understood.
• They spoke for the purpose of communication.

Personal Application:

The Holy Spirit indwells us at Salvation.

The Holy Spirit fills us through Sanctification.

We must say what the Spirit says.

We must say what the Spirit says the way He wants to say it.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, today is the day that we have our first Building for the Future dinner. This day is a day that I’ve prayed for and worked toward for the past ten years. Please give our people the ability to see that the FUTURE is about You and Your people. Father, give people the ability to see Your Vision for the people of Memphis in and through Highpoint Church. Father, awaken us and cause us to pray more, believe more, obey more, and give more. Father, increase our people’s faith. Give our people the ability to see that it time to make history. Father, give them the ability to see beyond this life. Father, use this opportunity to grow this church spiritually, numerically, and financially.

Father, show us Your glory through this process. Show us that You are bigger than our obstacles. Show us that You are faithful today. Show us that You are powerful today. Show us that You do miracles today. Father, inspire us to love You more, to obey You more, and to glorify You more. Father, forgive me for the ways that I doubt. Forgive for the times I choose to sin instead of obey. Father, forgive for the ways I choose to love me instead of loving You. Father, forgive me for the ways I choose pleasure now instead of pleasure later. Father, purify me and purify our church. Father, do a movement in and through us that is a movement of genuine godly sorrow that leads to a repentance without regret. Father, fill us with the Holy Spirit. Give us the ability to walk by the Spirit and to bear the fruits of the Spirit. Father, give us the privilege of seeing more people be saved, more people be baptized, and more be discipled. I pray that people will live for you 24/7 and quit living for You part-time.

Father, give us the blessing of reaping the seeds that we’ve planted over the years. Give us the ability to reap where we have sown and where we haven’t sown. Give us the ability to grow M28 into a true leadership development process. Give us the ability to equip and employ people to serve. I pray that You will provide mentors for people through this program. Give us the ability to teach and apply God’s Word in ways that radically transform our people. Father, cause Your Spirit to empower us. Give us the gift and blessing of momentum. Give us the ability to experience Your blessings in ways that are exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think according to Your mighty power that works in and through us.

Father, protect us from the enemy. Protect us from spiritual warfare. I pray that You will bind the enemy by the blood of Your Son and by the authority of His name. Father, protect us from interruptions and distractions. Father, give us a season of unrestricted and uninterrupted blessing. Father, grow this church for Your glory. I pray that You will be proud of us and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Father, give us the ability to invest in the next generation through this church. Give us the ability to build a church that will truly be a lighthouse for this city for hundreds of years to come. Father, give us the ability to be history makers for Your glory. Father, make us a place that is so full of the Spirit that the norm is salvation, baptism, and discipleship. Father, make us a bride that is beautiful without spot, stain, or winkle but holy and blameless.

Father, I pray You, show me Your glory. Father, the Scripture says, “You have not because you ask not.” The Scripture also tell us to ask boldly and persistently. It also tells us to keep asking, to keep seeking, and to keep knocking. Father, I pray that every single person in our church will make a sacrificial gift. I pray that the people with the smallest of incomes will give sacrificially and that You will supply and multiply their seed and increase their harvest of righteousness. Father, I pray that will feel important and know that in a way that we can’t possibly understand that you will multiply their seed. Father, I pray that for every income level. I pray that people will make equal sacrifices, not equal gifts. I pray that people will experience the truths of 2 Cor 9:6–15 in their life. I pray that our church will learn the joy of giving. I pray that You will bless us with large gifts that allow us to do more than renovate. I pray that You will bless us with gifts that allow us to pay down the debt. I pray that You will bless us with grow spiritually, numerically, and financially to reduce and eliminate the debt as quickly as possible. I pray that You show us signs of Your blessing early and often. Father, I pray that people with blessed resources will find great joy and satisfaction in giving. I pray that they will see this to be more than giving; I pray that they will see this to be investing. Father, I pray that every single highpointer participates and takes ownership in their church family. I also pray that there would be outside of Highpoint that would be led by Your Spirit to be a generous and cheerful giver to Your work through Highpoint.

Father, this is a season of spiritual markers. This is a season to make history. Father, fill us with Your Spirit and give us the ability to make history for Your glory. Father, show more and more evidence that You are with us and will continue to be with us. Father, thank you for the divine providence and affirmation of Pastor Wayne Allen’s daughter being at Highpoint Sunday for the announcement. I can’t remember her name right now, but she and her husband are missionaries in Brazil and you had them at Highpoint for that announcement. They’ve been praying that a church would continue her dad’s legacy in this location. Thank you for being a BIG GOD.

“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and “‘Let another take his office.’

²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” ²³And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Focused Thinking:

How well did the disciples know the scriptures in order to recognize prophecies?

Personal Application:

I must devote more and more time to knowing the Word.

I must devote myself to prayer and ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).

I must organize the church to make this possible.

Focused Thinking:

“Let another take his office.”

How did they choose who should take his office?

Who are the men who have accompanied us from the baptism to the resurrection?

There is value in being present.

There is value in being consistent.

There is value in being faithful.

These two men were probably faithful in the small things and now it is time to be put in charge of much.

What was the role and responsibility of this office?

“One of these men must become with us a WITNESS to His resurrection.

Justus or Matthias

How did they choose between Justus and Matthias?

²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen…”

We don’t know people’s hearts, but the Lord does.

We need the Lord to show us what we don’t know but need to know.

“And they casts lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

Casting lots was the method for their day and they trusted Jesus to make the choice.

Personal Application:

We need prayer and preparation.

We need to prayer with confidence.

We need to prepare with confidence.

We need to trust God to answer.

Focused Thinking:

“And when He had said these things,”

After He gave us His mission, He departed and sent the Holy Spirit.

After He told us we will receive power when the HS has come upon us.

After He told us to be His Witnesses.

After He told us to be His Witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.

“as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

The ascension is only recorded by Luke here, Acts 1:2, and Luke 24:51.

The ascension is implied in John 20:17.

1 Tim 3:16 and 1 Pet 3:21f speak to Jesus’ exaltation to the Father.

Even though Jesus ascended to the Father, He continued to reveal Himself to Stephen (7:56) and Paul (9:5).

“And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,”

It was important for the disciples to see and experience Jesus ascension if their primary responsibility was to be witnesses.

It was important that the resurrected Messiah didn’t just disappear.

It was important that the resurrected Messiah didn’t just die again.

A witness must see and experience what happened.

• In verse 9 it says, “as they were LOOKING on…”
• In verse 9 it says, “He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him OUT OF THEIR SIGHT.”
• In verse 10 it says, “And while they were GAZING into heaven as He went…”
• In verse 11 it says, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand LOOKING into heaven?”
• In verse 11 it says, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you SAW Him go into heaven.”

and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

This was the official curtain call.

Men, it’s official, Jesus has ascended. It is time to GO and OBEY your MISSION.

Men, Jesus has ascended but He is sending the Holy Spirit.

• Jesus isn’t sending in the 2nd String Quarterback.
• Jesus is sending the THIRD PERSON of the TRINITY.
• Jesus is sending the THIRD PERSON of the GODHEAD.
• Jesus was WITH US, but the Holy Spirit will be IN US.

• The Holy Spirit will CHANGE us from the INSIDE OUT.
• The Holy Spirit will RENEW our MIND and TRANSFORM us.
• The Holy Spirit will TAKE OFF THE OLD and PUT ON THE NEW.
• The Holy Spirit will EMPOWER us for HIS MISSION.

Personal Application:

I need to build a strong and confident theology and understanding of the Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit is too vital for us to be uncertain about Him.
• The Holy Spirit is too important for us to be fearful of Him.
• The Holy Spirit is member of the Godhead that is IN US and WITH US.

The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to the Church.

• The church cannot be the church apart from the Holy Spirit.
• The church cannot fulfill her mission apart from the Holy Spirit.
• The church must confidently define and embrace the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives individually and corporately.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, life is so much bigger than man’s ability. I am completely inadequate to lead this church. All of us are inadequate, that’s why we need Your Spirit to fill us, lead us, and empower us. Father, please fill me with Your Spirit in a new and fresh way. I’m in desperate need of seeing and understanding your vision and mission in a new way. Show me how to accomplish Your will personally and as a church. Father, give me the ability to overcome my personal struggles and weaknesses and to live 100% surrendered to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Give me the ability to hear, to discern, and to obey. Father, show how to lead this church to accomplish Your mission for this city in this day.

Father, I don’t want your church to be anything less than it is designed to be. Father, I want to see the church of Pentecost today. Father, I want to see the revivals of yesterday today. Father, I want to see the church be salt and light in the midst of a dark and decaying city. Father, I want to see people repent of casual Christianity. I want to see people repent of selfishness. Father, I want to see our break the 20/80 principles. Father, I want our church to be as good as the greatest organizations in the world, I want us to be radically different. I want us to be unexplainable because we are a people who truly love God, love people, and make disciples. I want us to be a people truly live holy lives. Father, makes us a church that excels as loving people.

Father, this church needs to grow spiritually, numerically, and spiritually. Father, please give me all the wisdom, vision, and strategy necessary to grow this church. Father, I need You to speak to me. Father, show me where You are at work and how to join you. Father, I pray that our people will take advantage of the opportunities that we provide them. I pray that people will truly follow the discipleship process of Connect with God, Grow with Friends, Serve on Mission, and Build the Future. I pray that people will take advantage of the opportunity to participate in M28. I pray that M28 will be a huge success. I pray that the seeds that are planted will yield a rich and abundant harvest. Father, do a mighty work in this church in 2011. I pray that all of our hard work, all of our seed planting, will yield a harvest. Please give this church the positive trends across the board. Give us the ability to please You and honor You in every way as a church. I pray that You will trust us with the power of Your Spirit and the stewardship of Your people.

Father, forgive me for the tug of war for control in 2010. Forgive me for worrying too much. Give me the ability to spend my time doing the most important things and to trust that everything else will fall into place. Father, I truly repent of not depending on You enough. Father, I repent of depending on me too much. Father, I repent of depending on my leadership too much instead of depending on your Spirit to accomplish Your work. Father, it is impossible to accomplish Your work by man’s ability. Give me the ability to live moment by moment by Your Spirit in 2011. Give me the ability to live each day completely devoted to You. Give me the ability to truly become a man of Your Word, Your Prayer and Your People.

Father, give me the confidence and ability to allow You to live through me. Father, this year isn’t about me; this year is about You. This year isn’t about Highpoint; this year is about You. It isn’t about saving my life; it is about spending my life for Your glory. Father, I pray prodigals to come running home tomorrow. I’m thinking of one specific prodigal right now. I pray that You will bring him to church tomorrow. I pray that Your Spirit will be strong in our church tomorrow and that the Spirit of confession and conviction with set it and that people will be freed from his or herself. I pray for this person to be saved. I pray for all the unbelievers who think they are saved but aren’t saved to be saved tomorrow. I pray for a fresh moving of Your Spirit tomorrow. Father, I can’t make anything happen without Your Spirit, without Your moving. Father, send Your Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Father, anoint me for Your purposes tomorrow. Father, give me the ability to say what You want said the way You want it said.

Father, I shamelessly ask You to send Your Holy Spirit in an unprecedented way tomorrow. Move like You have never moved at Highpoint before. Father, I’m sick and tired of praying and not seeing You move people out of their mediocrity. I’m sick and tired of seeing people choose their sin over You. I’m sick and tired of seeing people passively reject You. Father, I ask, I demand that You move tomorrow in such a way that people confess and repent of living small lives. I pray that people will confess and repent of living a self-help gospel. I pray that people will confess and repent of living a consumerism gospel. I pray that the Spirit of God will fall on us tomorrow and give us the ability to see how far we have fallen from Your standard. Father, I don’t demand that You save J.B. Father, I demand that You restore the B. Family. Father, I demand that You save J.R. Father, I demand that You save him now for Your glory. I demand that You save Him so that You can use Him. Father, I’m tired of politely asking, seeking, and knocking. Father, I am pounding on the door. Father, I’m not going way until You get up and give us the full power of Your Spirit blowing throughout our Church and City. Father, forgive me for being inconsistent in my asking, seeking, and knocking. Father, forgive me for being too polite in my knocking. Father, we can’t afford to live another day without You moving in and through our church.

Father, too many people are dying and going to hell. Father, too many people are living in a hell on earth. Father, too many people are living in the middle and You want to spit them out of Your mouth. Father, I believe Moses demanded to see Your glory. Father, I demand to see Your glory. Father, show me Your glory. Father, show our church Your glory. Father, show Bobbie, Emily, Elyssa, and Adam your glory tomorrow. Father, send your Holy Spirit like a violent rushing wind. Father, give me the wisdom and ability to discern it and respond appropriately.

Father, give our people the ability to understand what they cannot understand by human ability tomorrow. I pray that the Holy Spirit will make everything I say make sense to people. I pray that the Holy Spirit will interpret Your words through me to each and every person. I pray that the unbeliever will understand and respond, that the new believer will understand and respond, and that the mature believer will understand and respond. Father, I pray that You will give me supreme confidence tomorrow. The confidence that comes from being in Your Word and Prayer. The confidence comes from belief instead of unbelief.

I pray that You will protect me from the enemy. I pray that physically You will take my cold away during the night and give me the ability to be strong and healthy tomorrow. I pray that You will give me the strength of being secure in You tomorrow. I pray that You will give me the strength of people praying for me. I pray that You will increase Matthew’s favor and give me an army of prayer warriors. I pray that You will protect me, my family, and our church from the enemy. Bind him with the blood and name of Jesus and keep him far from us. Father, I pray that there won’t be any distractions tomorrow. I pray for the freedom of the Spirit. I pray for the rest of the team to be ready and prepared to worship.

Give the Josh and the band a supernatural sense of Your presence and the ability to lead in respond to Your Spirit. Father, give us one mind tomorrow in our approach to the day and to the New Year. Father, give us the ability to focus. Give us the gift of focus. Give us the ability to comprehend the magnitude of worshipping You and what You can do in and through a single human soul. Father, give us the ability to raise up the next Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley. Father, give us the ability to rise up godly leaders who refuse to accept anything less than the fullness of Your Spirit.

Father, change me. Father, forgive me for accepting less than the fullness of Your Spirit in my life. Father, I refuse to accept less. Give me the Spirit and faith of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley. Father, forgive me for accepting the water that drips from the faucet instead of turning the water on and expecting a strong stream of water.

Father, my soul longs for You. I pray that You will create a longing for You in the souls of our people tomorrow. Father, I pray that the seeds of the Magnify series will be harvested this year. I pray that the seeds of the “Take the Stairs” series will be harvested this year. I pray that the seeds of the “Fallen” series will be harvested this year. I pray that seeds of the “Buying a Lie” series will be harvested this year. I pray that the seeds of the “My Priority Time” series will be harvested. I pray that seeds of the “7000 Days” series will be harvested this year. I pray that the seeds of the “Forgotten Jesus” series will be harvested this year. I pray that the seeds of the “Love Works” series will be harvested this year. I pray that we will harvest seeds where we haven’t planted but others have. I pray that You will come like the Rain.

Father, I demand You to come like the Rain. Father, I see the clouds and I know the rain is coming. Father, rend the heavens. Father, cause the clouds to shower Your rain upon us. Father, I believe You will pour out Your Spirit upon us. It is gonna Rain. I believe it Lord. Let it rain. Let it rain. Dear God, please bring the Rain. Father, increase my belief. Father, I’m asking, seeking, knocking, let it rain. Father, I pray that it will rain upon us in a powerful way tomorrow. Dear God, pour out Your Spirit on us. We are thirsty for Your rain. Father, I am thirsty for Your rain. Father, others are thirsty but they don’t know it yet. Father, create a longing in people’s souls for You. Father, I pray that people will seek Your face tomorrow. Father, give me the wisdom and confidence to lead us in a greater and deeper way tomorrow. Father, let us be known as a generation that seeks Your face. Father, interrupt our plans with Your Spirit tomorrow. Father, accomplish Your purposes tomorrow. Father, I need to see You move tomorrow. Father, I need to see You move this year. Father, I need to see and experience You in a new way. Father, send revival to my soul.

Father, forgive me for working too much and praying too little. Father, this church doesn’t need my leadership; this church needs You to live in and through me unhindered, without limitations. Father, give me the ability to not give what people think and to only care what You think. Father, give me the ability to believe that You are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Father, forgive for fearing we might not see You move in revival like You have historically. Father, You haven’t changed, we have changed. Father, give us the courage to exalt Jesus, provoke Satan, prioritize the Bible, and inspire love. Father, let it rain. Father, I demand it. Father, I need it. Father, I people need it. Let it rain upon us tomorrow and everyday. Keep us the ability to sustain our prayers. Keep me the ability to shamelessly persistent. Give me the ability to be inappropriate in my asking. Father, do this for Your glory. Protect us from ourselves. Save us from ourselves. Expose the lies of the devil and replace them with the truths of God.

Father, I want to see Your glory. Father, I don’t want man-made success. Father, I can’t handle watching people live defeated lives. Father, I can’t handle watching people die and wonder if we are doing enough. Father, give us the ability to persist in prayer, repent from sin, preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, acknowledge God’s authority in humility, and serve God with boldness. Father, show me Your glory. Father, show what You can do when we surrender to You. Father, give me the ability to surrender to You. Father, give us the ability to search for the lost the way we would search for our church if they were missing. Give us the urgency of “Missing Children.” What are we willing to do? If we don’t believe in hell, we will never have urgency. Father, forgive us not being urgent. Father, forgive us for not talking about hell enough. Father, forgive us for being indifferent. Father, we must be Your hands, Your feet, and Your Heart in this city, in this country, and in this world. Father, show us Your glory. Father, hell is forever. Hell isn’t temporary. Give us Your urgency. Live Your live in and through us. Father, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (Gal 2:20–21)

Father, people must by the grace of God make a decision tomorrow. If we don’t make a decision to live for You, we are making a decision to live for ourselves. Father, give us the ability according the Your Spirit to confess and repent tomorrow. Father, give us the ability by Your grace to make a decision to live the crucified life this year and every year. Father, give us ability to overcome the resistance and cynicism that comes with spiritual decisions and break us. God break us and make the decision for us. Father, I remember the way You broke me in seminary one day. Break us from not giving You ALL of our heart. Give us the ability to serve the purpose of God in our generation the way David served the purpose of God in His generation. Father, take us out of the driver seat tomorrow. Father, make us sensitive and vulnerable to Your Spirit. Father, I pray that we will do what You want us to do according to Your Spirit. Give us a sense of urgency. Give us a sense of opportunity. Give us a sense of the Your presence. Give us the ability to see Your vision and to embrace Your vision instead of our vision. Change our paradigm. Break us from man-centered theology and perspectives. I pray that Your Spirit will cause us to see that our life doesn’t belong to us and that everyone of us is valuable to God and needed. It isn’t what you are going to get out of God; it is what God is going to get out of you.

Father, increase our faith. Give us more faith tomorrow. Give us the ability to believe that You are bigger than our habitual sins. Give us the ability to believe that there is nothing extra difficult about us. God has forgiven worst than you. God has saved worst than you. God has sanctified worst than you. You are not too difficult for God. Quit having more faith in sin than God. Quit having more faith in darkness than light.

Father, I pray that my children will make a decision tomorrow to quit competing with one another and start loving one another. I pray that they will be broken over their sin of selfishness and envy instead of simply loving one another. I pray that You will do a life changing work in my children this year and give them the ability to transition from children in their faith to a young man and woman in their love relationship with You and others. Father, give me the ability to live my life according to my goals this year. Give me the ability to truly change my diet and exercise and lose 50 lbs. Father, give me the ability to devote myself to prayer and ministry of the Word. Father, I pray that I will finally be able to live according to Your priorities of God, family, and Work. Father.

Father, I pray that our people will move from agreeing to changing. I pray that they will act upon their convictions. I pray that their convictions will lead them to repentance. I pray that our people move from hearing about the abundant life to having the abundant life. Father, I pray that our people will quit hiding and start healing. I pray that we will use the weapons of intercessory prayer, proclaiming the gospel, and sacrificial love. Father, move us from us a people who are content with principles and minor improvements and give us passion and total transformation. Father, give us a salvation that is more than forgiveness but it is also freedom. Father, give us a salvation that is God living in and through us.

God to a man is as imperative as gas to a car. You put gas in a car so that gas can be gas and the car can function properly. Father, put Your Spirit in us so that we can function properly. Spiritual birth is designed to let God be God in a human experience. Father, take us residence in us. Father, take control over us. Father, forgive us for such a weak and self-centered version of Christianity. Father, forgive us for constantly trying to fit You into our agenda instead of us abandoning our agenda to follow Your agenda.

Father, be our one driving passion. Be our highest priority. Give us the ability to truly be “ALL IN.” Give us the ability to truly live for You will ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Father, be our turn on, our passion, our obsession, our burning fire. Father, show us Your glory. I pray that we will stand on holy ground tomorrow at Highpoint Church. I pray that we will know that we are in Your presence and make haste to bow low toward the earth. I pray that everyone will know that they’ve been in the presence of the Lord.

Father, I don’t know what I’m asking for, I can’t fully predict it, but I’ll know it when I experience it. Father, give me the ability to believe You. Father, I pray that our people will come tomorrow with a God-given anticipation. I pray that our people will come with a God-given expectation. They may not understand it, but I pray that they wake up full of faith. I pray that they wake up motivated and inspired. I pray that they wake up eager to be Your presence. I pray that You will give me the ability to believe in the fullness of Your Spirit through the service. You can break in at any moment. Father, I’m knocking on the door right now in the middle of the night asking You to get up and give me bread for my guest. I’m asking You to get up because of my persistence. I’ve prayed the prayer, “I pray You, show me Your glory,” for approximately ten years and now and God want I want to see Your glory in the morning. I want to see Your glory this year.

Father, You say we have not because we ask not. Father, I’m asking that we see Your Spirit blow through our church in such a way that it is 100% undeniable. I pray that we will literally see thousands trust You as their Lord and Savior this year. I pray that people baptize thousands this year. Father, thousands were baptized in Acts, You are the same today. Give us the ability to truly devote ourselves to the apostle’s teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. Father, give us the ability to be perfected in unity and see You show all people that You love them the way You love Your Son. Father, I pray that our people will quit being spectators and start being followers. I pray that our people will commit to Sunday School. I pray that our people will commit to be relationally connected, commit to building friendships.

Father, I pray that You will truly grow this church in unexplainable ways. I pray that You will grow the church where the building isn’t a risk but it is a wise financial decision. I pray that You will provide for the building. I pray that You will give us gifts that surprise us and give us the ability to do more and have less debt. I pray that You will give us great success in raising dollars because people are moved by Your Spirit. Father, grow this church spiritually, numerically, and financially. Give us the ability to truly be the body of Christ locally, give us the ability to be the family of God, and give us the ability to be an army of soldiers to conquer the hill and become a light penetrates the darkness.

Amen!

CC

⁶So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; ⁸but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Focused Thinking:

The First Account I composed…was LUKE

• It was about all that Jesus began to DO and TEACH.
• It covered His BIRTH, His LIFE, His DEATH, His RESURRECTION, and His ASCENSION.

”until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.”

“To these He also presented Himself ALIVE after His suffering, by MANY CONVINCING PROOFS, appearing to them over a period of FORTY DAYS and speaking of the things concerning the KINGDOM OF GOD.

Backstory:

I’d love to know what He said in individual conversations during that forty days.

• What was the interaction between Jesus and Peter?
• What was the interaction between Jesus and John?
• What was the interaction between Jesus and James?
• What was the interaction between Jesus and the rest of the disciples?

I’d love to know what He taught during that forty days.

• Forty Days is a long time, I’m sure there was purpose in every day.
• How much of the New Testament represents what Jesus taught the disciples during that forty days?

⁴Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

It was essential for them to wait.

• They couldn’t accomplish the Mission without the promise.
• They couldn’t accomplish the mission w/o the promise of His presence.
• They couldn’t accomplish the mission w/o the promise of His power.
• Instead of the pillar of God by day and fire by night, we have the guide of the Spirit from the indwelling of the Spirit.

You will be IMMERSED with the Holy Spirit not many days from known.

• I know I’m indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but what does it look like for me to be IMMERSED with the Holy Spirit daily?
• How intentional do I need to be in my relationship with God to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me instead of allowing my spirit to lead me?
• I can do nothing apart from the Holy Spirit in my life.

Notice the emphasis on the Spirit before the Commission.
Notice the emphasis on the Spirit before the Calling.

Personal Application:

I must be more committed to studying and understanding the Holy Spirit.

I must be more committed to listening, discerning, and obeying the Holy Spirit.

I can’t be a student of revival and not be a student of the Holy Spirit.

I can’t be a student of prayer and not be a student of the Holy Spirit.

Focused Thinking:

⁶So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; ⁸but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

They couldn’t get their minds off the earthly kingdom.

It was virtually impossible from their context to think about any other kind of kingdom. If we were in their shoes we would have thought the same thing.

They couldn’t understand God’s definition of His kingdom.

• Every kingdom has a King.
• Every king rules and reigns.
• The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God on earth as it is in heaven.
• It is the mission of the church through salvation and sanctification to bring the rule and reign of God to earth as it is in heaven.
• This will never happen perfectly before Christ returns, but we can be salt and light in the midst of a deteriorating and dark world.

⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

Don’t concern yourself with things you can’t control.

• The time of Christ return is God’s business.
• The times or epochs have been fixed by the Father’s authority.

We must let the King be the King and rule and reign as He sees fit.

• It is not our job to know what the King knows.
• It is not our job to advise the King.

It is our job to trust and obey the King.

It is our job as soldier to obey the orders of the Commander and Chief.

⁸but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

• What should the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT look like in my life?
• What are the spiritual disciplines of a SPIRIT-LED LIFE?
• What do my spiritual gifts look like EMPOWERED by the HOLY SPIRIT?

I need to visit pastors and churches that are experiencing the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT and learn from them.

I need to visit real revivals and learn first-hand what is authentic and what is counterfeit.

What is the bottom line?

The mission cannot be accomplished apart from the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT.

What must we do?

We must study the Spirit-filled life.

We must live the Spirit-filled life.

We cannot accomplish the mission of God by our power.
We can accomplish the mission of God by His power.

What must we be?

We must be WITNESSES.

What is necessary for us to be WITNESSES?

We must WITNESS the LOVE of GOD.

We must WITNESS the LOVE of PEOPLE.

We must WITNESS the POWER of GOD.

We must WITNESS the GREATNESS of GOD.

We must WITNESS something GREAT enough for us to be WITNESSES.

We must WITNESS something GREAT enough to TALK ABOUT IT.

We must WITNESS something GREAT and POWERFUL to turn it into a MISSION.

• In Jerusalem
• In all Judea
• In all Samaria
• And even to the remotest parts of the earth.

Personal Application:

Help me to learn, live, and teach about the Holy Spirit in such that a way that it replaces fear with confidence.

Help me to be fully committed to growing people in Christ.

Help me to be fully committed to equipping people in Christ.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, teach us how to be men and women of Acts in today’s world. It must be possible to be the church you intended today. Do a work great enough in my life that You will entrust me with the POWER of your Spirit to be Your WITNESS. Father, show us what we aren’t doing and what we need to be doing. Would the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT look different today if we had more than 20% of our people living the Christian life? Maybe the problem isn’t the absence of power in individual believers; maybe the problem is the absence of power in the majority of believers. Maybe it is as simple as going form 20% to 30% to 40% to 50%.

¹At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, ²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ⁷so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸Having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. ¹⁰He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Focused Thinking: Going straight to prayer today.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give me the ability to be me tomorrow. Give me the ability to be confident in You and in the way that You have called me, equipped me, and gifted me. Give me the ability to teach/preach to an audience of One. Give me the ability to ignore the critics. It is my responsibility to preach the Word of God under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It is people’s responsibility to listen and apply God’s Word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Father, give me the ability to be comfortable in my own skin. Give me the ability to connect and teach the way that I teach in a classroom. Give me the ability to teach/preach with the anointing and authority of the Holy Spirit. Father, give me the ability to be completely comfortable and confident. I pray that the energy and power of the Love Works series will be present tomorrow. I pray that people will see the continuation of that vision tomorrow. I pray that they will see that being conformed to the image of Your Son is the destination of their life. I pray that they will see that they means loving like You love. I pray that we will get on the roads of loving God, loving people, and making disciples. Give us the ability to drive on three roads that equal one destination: Love Works.

Father, give me favor with You and man tomorrow. Give me the ability to win people to You tomorrow. Give me the ability to help people see what roads they are on and what roads they need to be on. Father, give us the ability to help people that one significant step tomorrow. Father, help us help people desire what You desire. Help us help people make decisions according to Your direction. Father, help us help people see and remove their distractions tomorrow. I pray that people will replace their distractions with direction tomorrow. Father, I pray that people will make different decisions tomorrow. I pray that they will make different decisions about the Word of God, about the Work of God. I pray that people will make decisions tomorrow instead of trusting their intentions.

Father, protect us from being deceived by our intentions tomorrow. Help us to see and agree that our intentions aren’t good. Are intentions are nothing without direction. Are intentions are deceptions without direction. Father, give us the ability to be honest with ourselves tomorrow. I pray that our loved ones will be honest with us tomorrow. I pray that people will love us enough to warn us. I pray that people will love us enough to speak the truth in love to us.

Father, I pray that people will trust You as their Lord and Savior tomorrow. I pray that they will decide to take the narrow road, the road less traveled. I pray that people will decide to be baptized tomorrow. I pray that people will decide to travel the road of sanctification. You must travel the road of sanctification to reach the destination of sanctification. I pray that people decide to go to Sunday School. I pray that people decide to serve. I pray that people decide to give. I pray that people decide to change the direction of their life. I pray that people change their desires, decisions, direction, and destination.

Amen!

Matthew 9:36–38
Luke 10:1–3
Mark 4:26–29
John 4:31–38
2 Corinthians 9:6–13

—

2 Corinthians 9:6–15

⁶Now this I say, HE who SOWS SPARINGLY will also REAP SPARINGLY, and HE who SOWS BOUNTIFULLY will also REAP BOUNTIFULLY. ⁷EACH ONE must do just as HE HAS PURPOSED IN HIS HEART, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER. ⁸And GOD is ABLE to MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND TO YOU, so that ALWAYS having ALL SUFFICIENCY in EVERYTHING, YOU may have an ABUNDANCE for EVERY GOOD DEED; ⁹as it is written,

“He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now HE who SUPPLIES SEED to the SOWER and BREAD for FOOD WILL SUPPLY and MULTIPLY your SEED for SOWING and INCREASE the HARVEST of your RIGHTEOUSNESS; ¹¹YOU will be ENRICHED in EVERYTHING for ALL LIBERALITY (Generosity/Bigheartedness), which THROUGH US is PRODUCING THANKSGIVING to GOD. ¹²For the MINISTRY of this SERVICE is NOT ONLY FULLY SUPPLYING the NEEDS of the SAINTS, but is also OVERFLOWING through MANY THANKSGIVINGS to GOD. ¹³Because of the PROOF given by THIS MINISTRY, THEY will GLORIFY GOD for your OBEDIENCE to your CONFESSION of the GOSPEL of CHRIST and for the LIBERALITY (Generosity/Bigheartedness) of your CONTRIBUTION to THEM and to ALL, ¹⁴while they also, by PRAYER on YOUR BEHALF, YEARN for YOU because of the SURPASSING GRACE of GOD IN YOU. ¹⁵THANKS be to GOD for HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT!

Focused Thinking:

¹³Because of the PROOF given by THIS MINISTRY, THEY will GLORIFY GOD for your OBEDIENCE to your CONFESSION of the GOSPEL of CHRIST and for the LIBERALITY (Generosity/Bigheartedness) of your CONTRIBUTION to THEM and to ALL, ¹⁴while they also, by PRAYER on YOUR BEHALF, YEARN for YOU because of the SURPASSING GRACE of GOD IN YOU. ¹⁵THANKS be to GOD for HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT!

What is the proof of this ministry?

If you sow bountifully, you will also reap bountifully.

• God is able to make all grace abound to you.
• God is able to make sure that you always have all sufficiency in everything.
• God is able to make sure that you have an abundance for every good deed.
• God supplies seed to the sower.
• God will supply and multiply your seed for sowing.
• God will increase the harvest of your righteousness.

You will be enriched in everything for all liberality (Generosity).

• This ministry through you will produce thanksgiving to God.
• This ministry fully supplies the needs of the saints.
• This ministry overflows through many thanksgivings to God.

That’s amazing proof!

If you can read this passage without a predisposition toward money, this is one of the most amazing passages of Scripture in the entire Bible.

If you read it from the context of a giver, it reaffirms your faith and inspires you to give more.

If you read it from the context of not giving, what is your argument for not becoming a giver?

What objections aren’t answered?

What questions aren’t answered?

What if the church really operated this way?

What would be the condition of the world today?

What would unbelievers think about believers?

What would unbelievers think about God?

The church should never have to ask for money.

There should plenty of money to meet the needs of believers and unbelievers/

If you are tempted to argue with this passage, try to erase man’s failures from your mind and simply argue with the passage.

Do you trust God to honor His word?

Do you trust God to keel His promises?

Do you trust God to bless your obedience?

If you trust God with your salvation, can you trust Him with your money?

What will people do because of the proof of this ministry?

They will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality (generosity) of your contributions to them and all.

Who is glorifying God because of your obedience to give?

Wow! What a challenging and inspiring thought!

Matthew 9:36–38
Luke 10:1–3
Mark 4:26–29
John 4:31–38
2 Corinthians 9:6–13

—

2 Corinthians 9:6–13

⁶Now this I say, HE who SOWS SPARINGLY will also REAP SPARINGLY, and HE who SOWS BOUNTIFULLY will also REAP BOUNTIFULLY. ⁷EACH ONE must do just as HE HAS PURPOSED IN HIS HEART, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER. ⁸And GOD is ABLE to MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND TO YOU, so that ALWAYS having ALL SUFFICIENCY in EVERYTHING, YOU may have an ABUNDANCE for EVERY GOOD DEED; ⁹as it is written,

“He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now HE who SUPPLIES SEED to the SOWER and BREAD for FOOD WILL SUPPLY and MULTIPLY your SEED for SOWING and INCREASE the HARVEST of your RIGHTEOUSNESS; ¹¹YOU will be ENRICHED in EVERYTHING for ALL LIBERALITY (Generosity/Bigheartedness), which THROUGH US is PRODUCING THANKSGIVING to GOD. ¹²For the MINISTRY of this SERVICE is NOT ONLY FULLY SUPPLYING the NEEDS of the SAINTS, but is also OVERFLOWING through MANY THANKSGIVINGS to GOD. ¹³Because of the PROOF given by THIS MINISTRY, THEY will GLORIFY GOD for your OBEDIENCE to your CONFESSION of the GOSPEL of CHRIST and for the LIBERALITY (Generosity/Bigheartedness) of your CONTRIBUTION to THEM and to ALL, ¹⁴while they also, by PRAYER on YOUR BEHALF, YEARN for YOU because of the SURPASSING GRACE of GOD IN YOU. ¹⁵THANKS be to GOD for HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT!

Focused Thinking:

¹¹YOU will be ENRICHED in EVERYTHING for ALL LIBERALITY (Generosity/Bigheartedness), which THROUGH US is PRODUCING THANKSGIVING to GOD.

Why will we be enriched in everything?

For all liberality, for all generosity, for all big-heartedness.

God supplies and multiplies our seed for sowing first.

God doesn’t supply and multiply our seed for the purpose of reaping first.

Reaping is the result of sowing.

Our motive must not be reaping; our motive must be sowing.

James 4:3 speaks to the importance of our motives:

³You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Generosity always produces thanksgiving to God.

When we are generous people thank God for our generosity.

Is there another world religion as generous as Christianity?

¹²For the MINISTRY of this SERVICE is NOT ONLY FULLY SUPPLYING the NEEDS of the SAINTS, but is also OVERFLOWING through MANY THANKSGIVINGS to GOD.

Sowing seeds to increase the harvest of righteousness is a ministry.

Being enriched in everything for all generosity is a ministry.

Producing many thanksgivings to God is a ministry.

What does this ministry do?

This ministry fully supplies the needs of the saints.

This ministry is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.

Why have we made the ministry of money so controversial?

We are suspicious for legitimate reasons.

We are suspicious for selfish reasons.

Money is our number one competition to God.

No one can serve two masters;

For either he will hate the one and love the other,

Or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and wealth.

Personal Application:

I must quit being afraid of teaching these truths.

What truth is more freeing than this truth?

What truth will help more people than this truth?

What truth will produce more thanksgivings to God than this truth?