Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we continue our series titled The Nature and Ministry of the Church.
These messages focus on the home, the school, the church, and the state, the four great institutions that give meaning and stability to western civilisation.
Today we are talking about The Church and It’s Worship.
Prayer
Father, we praise Your name because You have lifted us from the miry clay, put our feet on the rock, and established our lives.
You have forgiven our sin and made us new creatures through Your Son.
We thank You also for giving us countless material blessings.
Every possession we have is a reminder of Your grace.
We worship You this morning with our hearts, hands, and gifts.
Please receive what we have to offer as an expression of our love and devotion.
Use or thither and offerings to help others know Your wonderful blessings we so freely enjoy, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
1 Timothy 2:1-3 AMP
A Call to Prayer
1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions (specific requests), prayers, intercessions (prayers for others) and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all people,
2 for kings and all who are in [positions of] high authority, so that we may live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This [kind of praying] is good and acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
Scripture Reading
1 Timothy 2:1-15 AMP
A Call to Prayer
2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions (specific requests), prayers, intercessions (prayers for others) and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all people,
2 for kings and all who are in [positions of] high authority, so that we may live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This [kind of praying] is good and acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge and recognition of the [divine] truth.
5 For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time.
7 And for this matter I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying [when I say this]—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger and disputing or quarreling or doubt [in their mind].
Women Instructed
9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and discreetly in proper clothing, not with [elaborately] braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
10 but instead adorned by good deeds [helping others], as is proper for women who profess to worship God.
11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with all submissiveness.
12 I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet [in the congregation].
13 For Adam was formed first [by God from the earth], then Eve;
14 and it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was led astray and fell into sin.
15 But women will be preserved (saved) through [the pain and dangers of] the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control and discretion.
Introduction
Worship is the dynamic of the church.
It is an act of meeting God in which believers are empowered, encouraged, and enlightened.
In today’s Scripture reading, Paul discussed one facet of the church’s worship, prayer.
- The place of prayer in worship.
(1 Timothy 2:1-8.)
- The importance of prayer.
- This we gather by implication and command.
Approximately one sixth of this letter is devoted to instructions concerning prayer.
Obviously Paul considered prayer to be important.
B. Paul practised prayer.
On the Damascus road, having met Christ face to face, Paul prayed.
In the midnight hour, with his back bleeding and his hands and feet in chains, the apostle prayed.
When he considered the lost condition of humanity, he prayed.
C. The truth is, people have always prayed.
They pray for rain in times of drought.
They pray for food in times of famine.
They pray for victory in times of battle.
They pray for strength in times of weakness.
They pray for health in times of sickness.
They pray when they can do nothing else.
4. Now Paul exhorted the church to make their requests known to God in prayer, look at verse 1 again, First of all, then, I urge that petitions (specific requests), prayers, intercessions (prayers for others) and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all people.
B. The characteristics of prayer.
Many people have a limited view of prayer.
Prayer is asking, but it is more.
In our text the apostle mentions four types of prayer that are to be used in public worship, and also in private worship.
- “Petitions” is the first word used, in some translations it will read “supplications”.
This is prayer that expresses the idea of personal insufficiency.
It is prayer for divine help and grace.
All prayer must begin at this point.
2. Prayer is the second word.
It is an appeal to God based on past mercies.
It includes acts of adoration and confession.
3. Intercessions is the third word.
It embraces the idea of going into a king’s presence to submit a petition.
It implies going to someone on behalf of a third party.
The prayer of Abraham for Sodom, the prayer of Moses for Israel, and the prayer of Paul for his worldly brothers all illustrate this concept.
It is what Christians must do for other Christians and for the unsaved people of this world.
Certainly we limit the King of the universe by failure in this area.
4. Thanks giving is the final word.
It is gratitude to God for all His benefits, like we see prevalent in the psalms.
C. The circumference of prayer.
(Verse 2)
- Prayer must encompass the world.
Paul said we are to pray “for all men.”
God’s love is for all, “for God so loved the world.”
Christ died for all.
In fact, unless we pray for all, we certainly will not witness to all.
The scope of our sincere prayers indicates more than anything else the measure of our concern.
2. Specifically Paul said we are to pray “for kings, and all that are in authority.”
At this time the church were subject to great persecution.
Those “in authority” were the ones instigating this bitter persecution, yet Paul told Timothy to pray for them.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:44, But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
On the cross He practiced this, saying in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
3. Only with this kind of prayer can we expect society to be what it ought to be.
This alone can make it possible for us to “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
“Quiet” indicates the idea of tranquility from without.
“Peaceable” indicates the idea of peace from within.
We are called to be Christian citizens showing our concern and highest desire for our country.
4. Paul believed that prayer could change things.
Even the king and those in authority could be changed.
Most of us place limitations on the omnipotent God by thinking that some people cannot be changed by prayer.
We mark certain ones off our list because we think they are beyond prayer, but Christ did not, not even His enemies who were crucifying Him.
D. The charter of prayer. (Verses 3-8)
Paul now gave reasons why we should pray.
- Verse 3 says, This [kind of praying] is good and acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.
Such prayer as we have been discussing is “good and acceptable” because it is obeying the command of God.
It is in keeping with the Spirit of Christ.
2. God’s desire is for all people to be saved.
Therefore our prayer should encompass all people.
3. There is one mediator between God and humanity.
Christ is our High Priest who intercedes with the Father for us.
We can “come boldly into the throne of grace” because Jesus “gave Himself as ransom for all.”
4. This charter for prayer stresses the universality of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It is for all people, and anything less than this is a mockery of Christianity.
He has made possible the redemption of the entire world, young and old, rich and poor, black and white.
5. Such prayer is in accordance with God’s will.
Sometimes we may be uncertain if our prayers are according to His will, but there can never be any doubt about prayer for the salvation of people for whom Christ died.
E. The conditions of prayer. (Verse 8)
- In worship we are to pray “lifting up holy hands.”
This refers to the position of prayer.
It does not exclude other positions like kneeling etc, it simply stresses this one.
It is the picture of a person standing before God with arms lifted and hands open toward God.
2. Paul mentioned three conditions for effective prayer.
People have always felt that a wrong life or a wrong motive was a barrier to access to God.
Isaiah 1:15 says, “So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help],
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you offer many prayers,
I will not be listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
To be effective in prayer, we must have,
- No sin, we must have holy hands.
David said in Psalm 66:18. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
Isaiah 59:1-2 indicates this truth, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save, Nor His ear so impaired That it cannot hear.
But your wickedness has separated you from your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Do you remember as a child coming to the dinner table and hearing your mother say, “Let me see your hands”?
If they were dirty, you could not eat until you had washed them.
In like manner God says that you cannot sit at His table of abundance until you have cleansed your hands and your heart.
b. No anger, we must be “without wrath.”
Jesus said that those who came to worship but remembered that a fellow Christian had something against them, must first be reconciled to that person before offering their gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)
If we are not right with others, our Father will not listen to us.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Anger, wrath, and hatred will destroy our prayer life.
c. No doubting, we must have faith.
Hebrews 11:6 says, But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.
James said in James 1:6-7, But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord,
2. The place of women in worship.
(1 Timothy 2:9-15)
Paul next turned his attention to women and their place in public worship.
“In like manner” or “Likewise” depending on what translation you are reading , refers to the men he mentioned previously.
A. The background of this passage is the paganism in which the early church found itself.
The immorality and indecency of some women in the pagan worship of idols caused Christian women to carefully guard against every appearance of evil.
B. The beauty of women was to be found in their inward character and not in their outward appearance.
C. Women were not to be leaders in public worship.
They were not to exercise authority over men in teaching.
D. The service of women was to be in the home.
Look at what Paul said in verses 14 and 15, and it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was led astray and fell into sin.
But women will be preserved (saved) through [the pain and dangers of] the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control and discretion.
This does not refer to salvation from sin, but to salvation from uselessness.
Since women were not allowed to teach in public, they were provided with an even greater field of service, a bigger responsibility.
In the home, by means of rearing and instructing and winning their children, women truly became “the hand that rocks the world.”
Conclusion.
In the light of all that Paul said, let us pray and serve as God would have us and in the place He would have us.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2021 IS A YEAR OF REFORMATION
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