Richmond Community Church

Sermon Audio: Pray with Persistence

Prayer That Works

I suspect there are people who do the same thing with prayer…they use prayer’s power sparingly.

Did you know this is the only time in the entire Gospels when the disciples explicitly asked the greatest teacher who ever lived to teach them something?

Jesus was the greatest teacher that ever lived, and He knew that a fundamental principle of teaching is that you never learn anything without being a little disturbed.

But the scripture goes on to say that even though your neighbor won’t give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your “shameless audacity” he will give you what you need.

Are we really supposed to be the little old lady who is so persistent with her requests that an unrighteous judge is afraid she’s going to beat him up?

We don’t just ask once. In both of these stories, the emphasis is that the asker kept asking.

A ASK and it will be given to you: when you are in need of something, you ask for it.

S SEEK and you will find; when you are looking for something, you seek it (wisdom, peace, answers, something you’ve lost).

K KNOCK and the door will be opened: when you want to see someone, or when you want access to somewhere, you knock on the door.

Would anyone ever accuse you of shameless audacity in your prayers? Or do you come to God timidly, afraid you are going to bother him? Afraid you are going to make him mad?

Sermon Audio: Pray with Expectancy

Prayer That Works

And I think that if we actually believed what we said we believed about prayer, we would be doing a whole lot more of it.

In James 4:2, he says that one of the reasons we don’t receive what we desire is we don’t pray.

It is common for many of us to feel we don’t know how to pray or what to say–and James understood that so he gave us an example of how we can pray.

Then Elijah, after pouring water all over his sacrifice, prays a very simple prayer:

FIRST, Prayer that works takes work!

SECOND, prayer that works takes persistence.

THIRD, Prayer that works takes risks.

FOURTH, Prayer that works takes understanding God’s will.

FIFTH, Prayer that works takes righteousness with God.

Sermon Audio: Fully Battle Ready

Spiritual Armor

This word of God is the word that gets deep inside of us. It’s the scripture that gives us power.

This sounds like a strange sight unless we understand that the two-edged sword is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

When He spoke that word at his enemy, it became a double-edged sword.

The writer of Hebrews states that God’s word is alive, powerful, and more deadly than the sword of the Roman soldier.

Prayer of Consecration

Prayer of Petition

Prayer of Authority

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Prayer of Supplication

Prayer of Intercession

Sermon Audio: That Sinking Feeling: Dealing with Doubt

That Sinking Feeling: Dealing with Doubt

Sermon Audio: The Protecting Helmet

Spiritual Armor

Just as this helmet is designed to protect the head of the soldier from a hit that could take his life, our helmet of salvation is designed to protect our mind.

If he can get into your mind, he will begin to play mind games with you.

Satan will do all he can to keep you away from those who want to help you on a spiritual level and he does so with mind games.

Make this verse personal. “I will destroy every proud obstacle that keeps me from knowing God. I will capture my rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey God.”

When you have salvation covering your mind as a Roman soldier had his helmet to protect his head, then Satan’s plans are doomed.

Salvation gives us power.

Sermon Audio: The Shield That Covers

Spiritual Armor

Paul related the shoes to the peace of God. We are assured of our firm footing when battling the forces sent against us.

These shields carried into battle were the size of doors. And like a door covers you when you are behind it, so did these shields.

Paul relates this shield to our faith. It is our faith that protects us.

So where does faith begin?

How do I know if my faith is big enough?

Each soldier would be equipped with a shield to fit him. God does the same with faith.

So how do I take care of this faith?

If the only time you soak your faith in the cleansing water of God’s truth is on the occasions that you come to church, your shield of faith is dry.

What about those times when my faith feels so weak?

We should be able to call on each other for prayer support when we are in a spiritual battle.

God’s promise to us.

Once again, we see the joint effort between us and God. He will protect us by his power not ours.

Sermon Audio: Let It Shine

Spiritual Armor

Although the belt was the only part of the armor not made of metal, and although it seemed to be the least significant, the belt actually played an important role.

Righteousness. Is the act of doing what is in agreement with God’s standards, which leads to the state of being in the proper relationship with God.

God has provided a way for us to be in right standing with him no matter what we do.

So, Jesus willingly went to the cross and offered his blood to cover man’s sin forever

When we are wearing our armor of righteousness, we can pray with confidence.

This is the result of understanding righteousness. It gives us a confidence to follow God’s lead through the Holy Spirit.

Sermon Audio: Tighten Up Your Belt

Spiritual Armor

As Paul analyzed the soldier that stood before him, he observed his body armor.

With all of this glorious shining metal, notice the Holy Spirit points Paul to what seems to be the most unimportant part of the armor, the belt.

Think about this. The belt of truth is the only part of our spiritual armor that can be held in our hand.

Righteousness

Peace

Faith

Salvation

Spirit

Sermon Audio: The Power of the Presence

Thinking Outside the Walls

We are not called to defend the walls of our church building, but instead we are to storm the very gates of Hell.

But the Bible wants us to understand that the reason Peter was so bold was because God was right there with him.

I’m more of the school of thought that the Spirit is an active and vibrant force in the life of the believer.

While the Spirit may help you and I to occasionally to say something that speaks to a person’s heart–it helps to be prepared.

And I’m convinced that–if you pray about it beforehand–the Spirit can begin to tinker with the hearts of those you’d like to talk to.

In other words–you’ll know you’ve been walking by the Spirit when your life is filled with love, joy, peace, etc.

Sermon Audio: We Must Obey

Thinking Outside the Walls

“If the Bible and I don’t agree, I must be wrong.”

People in places like Turkey, China, and India have to decide if their love for Jesus is more important than their love for life.

What makes one qualified to speak about salvation?

We should be praying about all things; it only makes sense that we would pray to prepare for the coming persecution.

We also are empowered by the Holy Spirit, so we need to constantly be in prayer. As we do so, we need to trust in God.

You’ll have the strength to comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love–it’s immense.

The Sanhedrin reminds them that they had been warned about preaching Jesus, but the apostles declared, “We must obey God rather than men!”

Let’s live our lives in such a way that people see us and give glory to God.