Daily Dose of the Word of God - Beyond Sunday Ep. 72

Jeff Klein, Pastor of Outreach

Transcript

Jeff Klein 0:00
 
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose in the Word of God. It's Tuesday, January 21st and this is Jeff Klein with a weekly reminder to take your faith Beyond Sunday and into the week.

Jeff Klein  0:22 

In America, we are very capable - sometimes too capable. We love to apply business and leadership principles to all of our ministry endeavors. We love to form teams, strategize and measure the results. Inherently, there's nothing wrong with these qualities, but they cause us to be more focused on what we can do and accomplish in the visible world. But something gets left out in this: the kinds of things that only God can accomplish. When it comes to having spiritual conversations in the hope of helping people understand Jesus, it seems like we need to place our focus elsewhere - on the invisible world. The world where we do not war against flesh and blood, where the enemy has blinded the minds of unbelievers and where people are being devoured by a roaring lion.

Jeff Klein  1:08 

In order to see something happen in this invisible realm, we need to pray. We need to pray with the belief that our prayers will alter the deepest parts of the universe. In John 6: 44 Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me." According to Matthew 16, we've been given the keys to the kingdom. So whatever we allow on Earth is allowed, and whatever we don't allow or permit is not permitted. So, with those keys to this visible (yet invisible) kingdom, we get to open the way for people to come to know Jesus and become
part of the kingdom. And we get to tell the enemy when to leave someone alone.

Jeff Klein  1:47 

Who are you praying for? What are you praying for? How are your prayers unlocking the truth of the gospel for someone, opening the way of the kingdom for them? Let's agree to move in the presence and power of Jesus together on his mission.

Jeff Klein  2:03  

Would you pray with me? Lord Jesus, we need your presence. We need your power. We need you to move for us in places we can't see. To do things that we can't do and to work things out we can't work out. We pray Jesus that you would open the way for us as a church to be on the front lines of changing people's lives with the good news that you have come for them. Jesus, help us to succeed in ways that only you can arrange. In your name we pray, amen.