Spark Notes (11/26)

TEACH US TO PRAY: WEEK FIVE

 Brad Vermeer spoke this week on Matthew 6:13, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 

Brad started with a story about horses. Horses often wear blinders to keep their eyes on what is ahead of them, not what is on either side of them - things that could distract them or spook them. Sometimes, we need "blinders" to keep our eyes off of the things that could tempt us. Brad also told of a family member who trained horses. Part of his training would be getting the horses used to being spooked by throwing a blanket over their heads or opening an umbrella next to them. By getting them used to being spooked, they would no longer spook. Sometimes, being put through difficult circumstances, things that could spook us, helps us as we move forward. We are no longer spooked and have built endurance. 

There are three things that keep our minds from wandering toward temptation:

1. Praise
2. Prayer
3. Sharing your personal testimony
• Your testimony is not just a story of you, but how God has changed and used you. 

Brad continued on through the Verse of the Week, Ephesians 6:10-11, and on through verse 18. 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

We are told to be strong in the Lord and to put on the full armor of God.

Satan's Influence                                                                        God's Armor

Father of Lies                                                                               Put on the belt of Truth

Uses guilt and accusations                                                           Breastplate of Righteousness

Puts doubt in our minds                                                               Shoes of Peace (the Gospel) 

Darts of temptation and deception                                               Shield of faith

Battles to control our minds                                                         Helmet of salvation

Hand to hand combat                                                                   Sword of the Spirit (God's Word)

To watch the full recording, click on the following:

First half

Second half

 

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Spark Notes (11/19)

TEACH US TO PRAY: WEEK FOUR

This week, as we continue studying the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6, Justin VandeWater taught on verse 11, "Give us this day our daily bread".

He began addressing the tension we feel when we are disappointed by different circumstances. We face all of these trials like sickness or financial struggle, so we continuously ask God, over and over, "give it to us", and then we're disappointed when the outcome isn't what we wanted or we are left waiting. We ask that His Kingdom would come and we believe in His healing and provision, but what do we do when there's that tension and disappointment?

Our verse of the week, Proverbs 30:7-8 reads, 

“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die.  Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." 

The author of this proverb was obviously facing disappointment, but asking the Lord to be protected from ever speaking a lie about Him. He then goes on to a radical prayer - give me neither poverty or riches, because if I'm rich, full, then I will deny you, but if I'm poor, I will steal and do wrong. How much faith does it take to say to the Lord, "Today there are things that I want for myself and for other peoples life, but I'm asking you to give me what I need". Often what we want is not always what we need. 

When we look at the lives of Noah and Abraham and so many others in the Bible, we see how through trials, through situations that they may not have wanted to go through, they constantly looked to the Lord. They spent time with the Lord and in His word. There's this pattern of what is wanted, seems to be different from what is need.

As we look back at the themes overarching the themes we've broken down the Lord's prayer into,

Praise - hallowed be your name
Purpose - kingdom come
Provision - give us this day our daily bread
Repentance - forgive us
Protection - deliver us

Jesus knew that all of these things were crucial to the faith. We often see provision out in front of praise and purpose. In Matthew 6:25-33,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

Instead of pursuing God for what we want, or what we think he wants for us, we should seek his Kingdom first, his righteousness, and ask him on a daily basis, "God, I'm trusting you today, what is it that you think I need?"

This piece of the prayer is often an ask. We ask for healing, breakthrough, etc. But all of a sudden, "give us this day our daily bread" becomes a listen as we ask God what we need. "God, what is it that YOU think I need?" Daily. That is a radical prayer and radical faith to ask him that every day. 

When we face the tension found with the disappointment, Galatians 2:20 reminds us of the gospel in this, 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

We no longer need to ask for what we think we need, because its not even our own life anymore. That's radical! God takes all of our sin, expectation, fear, shame, disappointment, etc. and in exchange gives us all of his righteousness! Christ lives in and through us. We realize that it's not about us! It's about Jesus. He is our daily bread. 

When we look back to the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt, when they were in the midst of the trial, they were willing to go back to slavery, to what they thought they wanted or what they thought was better for them. It took just a few days to get the Israelites out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of the Israelites. 

We have this opportunity to come before the Father and ask "What is it that you think it need?" and listen and receive from the One who always provides what we need. Jesus humbled himself to save us, and as he faced the cross, he prayed to the Father "is there any other way?" but he still went through with sacrificing himself in obedience. 

Justin challenged the group to ask the Lord to come live His life through us. 

To watch the full service, click here.

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Spark Notes (11/12)

TEACH US TO PRAY: WEEK THREE

This week, Lyle Schut continued in the Lord's Prayer series teaching on "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10 NIV).

Big Picture

We first have to look at this phrase with the "big picture" in mind. When we pray "Kingdom come", this is asking for Jesus' 2nd coming. In Revelation 19 we get the picture of Jesus riding on a white horse, coming back to rule and reign over the earth. 

Imagine how the Jewish people and disciples felt when John the Baptist came. For 400 years before that, there was no voice (no prophet) in the land. But then John the Baptist comes speaking the Word and prophesying. 

We need a revelation about the Kingdom coming. Are we ready for it? Or do we have plans to do so many things before it, thinking, "I want to get married, have kids, go to school, get that job, then I will be ready" The Kingdom is so much greater than we can ever imagine. All of those things will fade in the light of the Kingdom, so we need a revelation about it! 

Already But Not Yet

We hear that phrase so often, but it is a true statement. We sometimes draw back from doing what Jesus said - to pray here and now. Sometimes we pray for healing, yet nothing happens, so we just stop praying. But God says that his will is that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), so we should be encouraged to continue praying!

In Luke 11, the disciples come to Jesus and ask him to teach them to pray.  They saw Jesus performing miracles in so many different ways - with his voice, with his touch, with even his spit - then they ask to be taught to pray the way the Son prays to the Father. In Luke 11:20, Jesus says, "but if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you". The Kingdom on Heaven is near us when there is healing. The Kingdom reality has come. 

Luke 17:20-21 - The Holy Spirit is in our midst. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us, which is the reality that the Kingdom is coming. The Holy Spirit is like our down payment of our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13-14). Jesus sends us out as carriers of his Kingdom. Romans 8 says that the same Spirit that raise Christ from the dead is inside of us. Jesus tells us that all authority has been given to him, so he commands us to "Go" (Matthew 28). When we pray "Your Kingdom come, your will be done" we are praying to destroy the works of the devil. 

Lyle simplified the concept with the phrase, "Whatever is going on up there, let it come down here. Whatever is going on down here that is not of God, let is stop." We long for the day that there is no more sickness, pain, death, lies, deception, etc. We pray that His Kingdom would come and His will would be done!

To watch the full service, click here.

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Spark Notes (11/5)

Teach Us To Pray: Week Two

This week, Jen Sandbulte continued our series called Teach Us To Pray, focusing on the first phrase of the Lord's prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven - hallowed be thy name"

"OUR FATHER" - It begins with revelation of who God is. The name doesn't mean anything until you have had a revelation to the person behind it. 

Who can use the word "father"? Unless you are a child of God, you have no right to use this prayer. Until you know Jesus, you are an orphan. ?You are in the universe without a father. When we kow him as a father, the world becomes a totally different place. We are all adopted and grafted in through Jesus. We can all call him "Father" (Abba meaning Daddy). We pray "our" - not "my". 

The phrase "Give us.." is not a selfish, private prayer, but a way to pray for things you could ask for others. 

"IN HEAVEN" - this keeps "daddy" from being too casual. Our Heavenly Father is holier and more powerful that ANY dad on this earth. 

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 102:25 - In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the  heavens are the work of your hand.

Psalm 19:4 - Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

Revelation 5:13- Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!"  

"HALLOWED BE THY NAME" - If you were going to pick on someone or curse them, would you di it if they were sitting right next to you? We cannot get away from the presence of God. If we have a sense of his presence, we hallow his name. We cannot take his name in vain in his absence, because God is always there. 

We need to not blaspheme the name of God, we should hallow it. How do we blaspheme the name of God? 

1. Perjury - When we go to court - we swear on God's word, but do we get what we are doing?
2. Profanity - There are two deeply sacred relationships: a man's relationship with God and a man's relationship to women. Almost every swear word points to one of these two relationships.
3. Flippancy - A sense of humor that goes too far. Never laugh at the devil. We have authority over him but we do not need to mock him. We should spend our time praising Jesus over mocking the enemy. 
4. Incredulity - refusing to believe in God's works and his words. 
5. Hypocrisy - we come to church and take the name of Christ on our lips and then dishonor the name of Christ by living in the way of the world. 
6. Familiarity - Jews hallowed the name of God so much that they wouldn't even speak his name. In the days of Jesus, they called him "The Name".
7. Blasphemy - when Godd's name is used to support evil things - there will come a day when people will kill you in the name of God. 

What we pray for is that men would know what it stands for - that one day they would stand to render their account. 

Why was Jesus put to death? One charge of blasphemy. He called himself God and to those around him, this was not honoring the name of God - it was blasphemy. According to their law, not to hallo the name of God was punishable by death. 

In then name of God, they condemned the son of God to die. 

Jesus never joked about God -was never flippant or profane about God. It was men who were. 

Jen then challenged the group to pray that we may come to know God as holy, heavenly, and mighty. 

If you would like to watch the full service, click here. 

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What is HOME?

The House of Missions & Equipping is a Christian missions base that has a central emphasis on prayer & worship (exalting the name of Jesus), making disciples and supporting the local church.

Our mission at HOME is to equip others to live active prayer lives, to fully engage in worship, and to do Kingdom work throughout NW Iowa and the surrounding region.

Our desire is that this ministry would serve as a catalyst for bringing Christians together to love and serve our community, flowing from a lifestyle rooted in prayer & worship. Viewed this way, HOME is a gathering place where people from all walks of life can come together to study, network, dream, learn, lift up their hearts to the Lord in prayer, and then go and impact the world we live in to the glory of God.

HOME is run by staff and volunteers whose mission is to grow closer to the Lord in worship and prayer. 

We host a weekly time of worship, prayer, & teaching called IGNITE. IGNITE services are every Sunday at 5:00pm. On Wednesday nights at 9:00pm, we host a casual prayer and worship service called the Loft. Throughout the week, there are various live worship sets scheduled. Visit our calendar for dates and times.

We also host different prayer ministries that include: Verse of the Week Prayer meetings, Prophetic Ministry, Healing Ministry, and Freedom Ministry. Visit our website, sc-home.org, for more information and how to sign up. Feel free to visit HOME Monday through Friday 6:00am to 10:00pm, Saturdays 7:00am to 10:00pm, and Sunday evenings at 5:00pm for our IGNITE service. 

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