The Devoted Series part 2
In today’s second of three posts about our Devoted series we look at three recent talks.
Devoted to Fellowship
Paul Norris talked about being devoted to one another as a community together. As we read Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) we see a picture of the early church.
That first community were Devoted to their leaders teaching (word of God), Devoted to fellowship, Devoted to the breaking of bread (Remembering Jesus) and Devoted to prayer. This is the model of what we want to see in Jubilee church.
There are so many words that we can use to describe fellowship -participation, benefaction, generosity, communion, togetherness through action, looking after one another or a share in the whole. Paul talked about three particular areas relevant to the church today – participation, common purpose and generosity.
Click on the podcast to hear what Paul had to say.
Devoted to one another
Rob spoke about forgiveness and unforgiveness. We want Jubilee church to be a place of good relationships and we don’t want this to be undermined by unforgiveness.
Good relationships are not perfect relationships but loving relationships where forgiveness is readily exercised. 1Pe 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
The Lord’s Prayer asks the Father to: forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. – the presumption being that we have already forgiven others.
Click here for the podcast.
Devoted to prayer
Rob spoke about how prayer cannot be separated from our devotion to God. Our devotion means that we will speak to him, want to be with him, connect deeply with him and join our hearts together with him and pray. Prayer is an outcome of our devotion.
Rob introduced 3 principles
1. Learn to ‘wait on him
Rob has discovered that prayer is so much more than words – it begins with an attitude of heart, a place where we position ourselves, a place where we simply learn to ‘wait on’ him.
2. Knowing who we are affects how we pray
The Apostle John gives us a key to prayer in our approach to God where he says that we must come with confidence:
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)
This kind of confidence can only come from being secure in who we are, because knowing who we are affects how we pray more than anything else. Do you know who you are in the presence of God?
3. Believe your prayers are ‘powerful and effective’
What you believe about the effectiveness of your prayer makes all the difference as to whether you will pray or not. If you were assured of the power and effectiveness of your prayers how much more likely would you be to pray?
Click here for the podcast.
