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Institutional First Baptist Church Weekly Sermon Delivered By
Dr. E. G. Sherman, Jr
Dr. E. G. Sherman, Jr
Delivered On
September 6, 2015 at 10:45 AM
September 6, 2015 at 10:45 AM
Subject
Pray and Then Choose
Pray and Then Choose
Description
| Dr. E. G. Sherman, Jr. | Sunday September 6, 2015 |
| Pray and then Choose | |
| And it come to pass in these days, that he went our into the mountains to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God And when it was day he called his disciples: and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles” Luke 6:12-13 | |
| There are several religions in the world. They differ in many ways, some of which are: the number of Supreme Beings, the time of worship, and one’s destiny after death. There is one commonality, however, it is that of a belief in prayer. While the founders of the religions, taught the value of prayer, Christianity stands alone as the religion whose founder taught prayer, demonstrated the power of prayer, left a prayer model for believers, died in prayer, was resurrected from the grave, ascended into heaven, and shall return to claim his own. Friends, if we are committed to a belief in the power of prayer, it would seem Christianity offers the most reliable method. This conclusion is based upon teaching of Jesus on the need of and value in prayer. Let us never forget that, among his many teachings on prayer, is the glorious invitation to approach God in the name of Jesus and we will be rewarded in proportion to the intensity of our belief and in accordance with the will of God. Since life is characterized an on going decision making task and the human group is often too quick in making a selection, our sermon has been planned to submit a reliable approach to this problem. Its title, Pray and then Choose - the approach that will be extolled today. Essentially, the sermon - while acknowledging that time can be a crucial factor in the need for a decision - there is yet the urgency to utter a prayer for guidance in one’s deliberation and ultimate choice. Our sermon will be anchored by the account of Jesus prior to his selection of the disciples, or apostles as noted in the text. The prayer on that occasion will serve as the model from which we can lift the following guidelines for our prayer before making a choice; they are: The Lord’s habit of prayer, the occasion of the long prayer, and anticipation of an answer to the prayer. Prior to examining these guidelines, attention will be focused on Christ as a praying individual. The praying Christ is a prominent figure in each of the four Gospels. While the writers recognized that Jesus was divine and, therefore, could easily reach the heart of God, St. Luke - with his clear insight into the needs of our nature - goes to considerable length to give us a glimpse of the human side of Jesus. As noted in the text, Jesus was facing the task of selecting men to become his disciples. Instead of just taking a glance at the prospects and, then, making a choice of persons for discipleship, Jesus went to the Mount where he had earlier delivered the Beatitudes and there he lingered and prayed throughout the night. At the break of day, we are told, he chose from the group twelve men, who Luke described as disciples. Beloved, let us take note of the process in decision making; it is that of prayer and then choice. Admittedly, our highly industrialized, increasingly computerized, and rigidly bureaucratized society calls for rapid decisions, we must be ever mindful of the process which is prayer and then choice. Oh! it will take some time and much faith to master this process, but the task can be mastered. To aid us in our effort, the sermon focus will now be directed to guidelines gleamed from the prayer life of Jesus. First, the Bible tells us that our Lord had a habit of prayer. Numerous are the references of Jesus as a praying person. Although the skeptic may inquire as to why it was necessary for Jesus to prayer? The answer is - “In the first place, it was natural for Jesus to pray, because he was the son of God. Prayer is at its best whenever the praying person can earnestly feel that he/she is talking directly with God. Jesus had this type of confidence as was reflected in his prayer at the grave of Lazarus, “Father, I thank thee for hearing me prayer...”. Jesus, also, felt the need to pray because he was the Son of Man, and as such, He needed strength from the Father and so do we, who are less prefect that He, need to develop the habit of prayer. Thirdly, Jesus prayer on the occasion of the text because he was about to make a decision that would impact the rest of his life. Friends, if it is a matter of tea or lemonade, a quick decision can be given; in contrast, it if is a choice of a spouse - time and prayer are both essential. This fact leads to the second guideline - there will be some occasions in which we will need to prayer throughout the night. For Jesus, it was the time to appoint men who would assist in his ministry. They were to be trained as his disciples; they were to aid in his ministry; they were to share his concerns; and they were to follow his leadership. Hence, Jesus had a major task before him; therefore, he felt the need to pray throughout the night and then make the choice the next day. Beloved, he prayed and then he made the choice. But take a look at the choices. Yes most of the men were desirable disciples, but there was Peter who would later deny that he knew him and there was Judas who would betray him. Friends, I am sure that Jesus knew of these forthcoming event, but he continued with his mission. That divine approach echoes across the annals of time and reminds us that people are less than perfect and most have their hidden agendas, yet we must - after prayer and choice - work with them and leave it to God to make everything alright. Friends, this glorious reality leads to the final guideline in the prayer and then choose process - it is that of expecting an answer to the prayer. Just as Jesus expected an answer to his prayer, we - too - have the same rights of anticipation. Jesus said,“ And all things, whatsoever ye shall in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” ( Matt.21:22 ). Without attempting to over editorialize this Scripture, we must remember that the Good Lord knows what we need and can handle it/them; He may give us less than what we request, or even a substitute to the request. Our challenge, however, is to remember the prayer of Jesus - Remove this bitter cup from me, but not my will but thy will be done. ( Matt. 26:42). Let us note, further, the special answer to Jesus prayer is seen in the selection of the Twelve, not all of whom forever remained loyal to Jesus, but He, later restored, the denying Peter to the Christian band... Remember, we live in a world of people and people are less than perfect...hence, we must pray and then choose from options that include: a job, a spouse, a residence, a worship center, associates and in many other areas. Amen. |
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