In this Issue:

Free Helps for prayer leaders

Article - Hearing God Speak- Part 2

Ministry News

Things you can do to help

Prayer Conference on DVD

Promo Videos

Hearing God Speak

2. Come to Christ

Last month we began a series on Hearing God Speak. The five segments are:

• Examine Your Expectations
• Come to Christ
• Master the Minors
• Consider the Content
• Excuse the Excuses

In the first segment, Examine Your Expectations, we realized that God speaks to all of us, but may not be saying what we expect or want to hear. Today we’ll take a look at the beginnings of a conversational relationship with Him.

Throughout this study; we’ll use a radio to illustrate the actions we can take to improve our ability to hear God speak. I remember the first transistor radio I ever saw. There was this rich kid in our grade school that had the best of everything. One day he showed up with this red plastic thing about the size of a shotgun shell. He said it was a radio. Sure enough, you could hear scratchy sounding country music via a single ear bud. Everyone in school had jammed it in their ear by the end of the day.

Grade school hygiene aside; it was totally amazing to everyone including the teachers. However, the next day the principle issued a decree that transistor radios were against the rules. I’ve never seen a radio like that again, but I have my own now and it’s a lot better than that kid’s. Mine even gets short wave stations.

One thing about radios – they don’t receive any stations until you turn them on. In your quest to hear God speak; you turn your radio on when you come to Christ. Turning my radio on is pretty easy to figure out. The word ‘On’ is printed right by the switch. Salvation is not so easy.

Though Jesus talked about it a lot; He didn’t give a clearly defined plan of salvation. I can think of only four circumstances in scripture where Jesus talks to an individual about how to be saved. You may be surprised by His presentation of the gospel:

• The rich young ruler asked, “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" …Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." Matt 19:16-21 NKJV
• Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and was too proud to actually ask the question so Jesus read his mind and answered it this way, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3NKJV
• A godly lawyer said, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He (Jesus) said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" And He (Jesus) said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." Luke 10:25-28 NKJV
• The woman at the well asked for the living water and Jesus confronted her about her adulterous lifestyle. He concluded with this statement, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-24 NKJV

Didn’t Jesus understand that we need a concise and easy to memorize plan of salvation? He knew that’s what we would want, but he obviously didn’t believe that’s what we needed. Notice that:

• He gave a different personalized answer to each person.
• He didn’t push for an immediate commitment.
• He never provided a sinner’s prayer.

Jesus looked into the heart of each person, pulled out the greatest hindrance to their being His follower, and confronted them with it. For the rich young ruler; it was his trust in money. For Nicodemus; it was his religious pride. For the lawyer; it was legalism. For the woman at the well; it was immorality.

What about you? What would Jesus say to you? Are there areas of your life that you’ve never surrendered to Him? Stop reading and imagine yourself standing before Jesus on a grassy hillside in Galilee. He wears simple clothing. He owns nothing. He lives a simple life. Yet He is God. He multiplies food with his bear hands; walks on water; and has authority over storms. Can you gather the courage to ask the question? ‘Lord, what must I…’

After you’ve had that encounter with Him; consider this verse:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal 2:20 NKJV

Is that a description of you? If the answer is yes; it’s not because of any religious experience or magic prayer. It’s because at some point you made whatever choices you needed to make to welcome Jesus into your life and became His follower.

Why am I hammering on this subject? It’s not that I’m against invitations or even the sinner’s prayer. I use both. However, for many decades the church marketed Jesus like a vacuum cleaner and put a price tag on salvation. As a result, many think eternal life is purchased by participation in some religious ritual. These rituals vary greatly, but they all fall short of the personal relationship Jesus associates with salvation.

Have you ever seen a ship in a bottle? It seems miraculous, but you know it has to be some kind of trick so you start looking for the line where they cut the bottom out, put the ship in, and glued it back together.

Why are we like that? It gives us a sense of control. When we find the glue line we think, ‘there it is. I could do that.’

More amazing than a ship-in-a-bottle is Jesus-in-a-person. “How’d they get Him in there?” Again, it seems that we’re determined that there has to be an easy way to do it. There’s not. Salvation is a God thing that just doesn’t fit into anyone’s bottle.

Don’t misunderstand; I'm not trying to creat doubt. God wants you to have assurance of your salvation, but that confidence comes from a relationship not a check list.

Jesus taught many things that characterize his followers: repentance of sin, belief in Him, obedience to His teachings, love for one another – and many, many more. In the little book of 1 st John, the apostle is adamant that if these things don’t characterize your life; you probably don’t know Jesus.

However, John never said that you’re saved by doing those things. Where we get in trouble is trying to boil the ‘characteristics’ of saved people down to a few common denominators so we can say, ‘Do this and you’ll be saved.”

Do you know Jesus? That’s the real test of salvation that Christ used at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Think about it. That sermon is full of the most stringent moral teachings the world has ever known but the living of those teachings is not the result of a religious ritual or even the strength of your commitment to Jesus. It is the outgrowth of your personal relationship with Him.

Do you know Jesus? If the answer is yes, then you’ve already taken the first step toward hearing God speak. If you’re just good at the Christian religion, but don’t have a personal relationship with Christ; I suggest you join those folks mentioned above and ask the master evangelist, ‘What must I do to be saved?’

Journey Into the Presence of God conference of prayer

These prayer times, teaching sessions, and messages will help your church become a Biblical house of prayer.

Click Here to learn more about hosting the conference of prayer.

.

Prayer Guide book

From saying a prayer at a little league game or in a hospital room to guiding a prayer time for many or few; this is the book you need.

• E-Book - 5.95
• Unbound - $9.95
• Perfect bound - $12.95
• Spiral bound - $15.95

Click Here to visit our store.

.

Worship Evaluation Kit

Need to make adjustments to your worship service? Avoid undo conflict by doing it right the first time? Click here to take a look at this unique three step process to evaluate your worship and make productive recommendations to your congregation.

back to top

Ministry news:

Lay Renewal/LS Ministries relationship moves forward

In an earlier Newsletter, I asked you to pray for a Prayer Lay Renewal Weekend in North Carolina where I was leading four sessions. Jim Burton, from the North American Mission Board of the SBC attended that conference and became convinced that God had given me a message they were looking for. They’re working toward a push for more churches across the nation to begin Church Renewal Journey. This ‘journey’ involves five Lay Renewal Weekends, each with a different emphasis. These weekends can be months or even years apart. You can learn more about it at: www.churchrenewaljourney.net

I’ve contracted with NAMB to write the teacher’s guide for the church renewal weekend that emphasizes prayer. This will basically be a trimmed down version of the prayer conference that I lead regularly. The deadline for my part of the teacher’s guide is November 15. When that’s done, they’re interested in a video presentation to go along with it.

I’ve also been invited to preview the sessions at the national Lay Renewal leadership retreat in Sturbridge, Mass, October 16-18. Peggy will be leading a ladies planning session at this same conference. Her session will have to do with planning the ladies session that will be part of the prayer renewal weekends.

While there, I’ll also take part in planning for a special lay renewal event to precede the GPS kick-off next spring. This could involve a simulcast. GPS, God’s Plan for Sharing, is to be the largest, most extended and far-reaching national evangelism initiative ever launched in the SBC.

First Prayer Revival

I’ve been offering the Prayer Revival format for the Journey Into the Presence of God conference of prayer for many months and somebody finally took me up on it. Pastor Richard Smith of the Farley Street Baptist Church in Waxahachie, TX saw that it met the need of his church and it begins this Sunday, Sept. 27. I’ll be preaching/teaching thirteen times from Sunday morning through Wednesday night. Some are repeats, but there are nine different sessions. I think I’m ready. They say they’re ready. I know God is.

Busiest time of year

With all that; here’s our schedule for the next few weeks:

• September 27-30 – Prayer Revival at Farley St. Baptist, Waxahachie, TX
• October 4-7 – Prayer Conference at 1 st Baptist, Manteno, IL
• October 11-14 – Prayer Conference at 1 st Baptist, Malvern, AR
• October 16-18 – Lay Renewal conference in Sturbridge, MA
• Oct.31- Nov. 1 – Associational Prayer Conference in Osceola, AR
• December 4-6 – Prayer for Spiritual Awakening at Sang Ave. Baptist, Fayetteville, AR

Help!

I feel like a rain maker who’s been firing moth balls into barren skies all summer and now finds himself standing in the midst of a flash flood. Are we overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s answer to our prayers? A little.

Please pray for us daily. The next 40 days are critical to our calling to be a catalyst in the revival of prayer. We need His strength, His wisdom, His passion.

back to top

Conference CD Set

This 3 CD-Set has the Five main sessions of the Journey Into the Presence of God Conference of Prayer, plus five prayer times. Click here to go to our store.

DVD Kit Viewing Guide

This is the Viewing Guide that comes with the prayer conference DVD Kit on sale below. It walks you through the preparations and presentation of the video conference in your church or small group.

Click Here to see all sixteen pages of the DVD Viewing Guide.

Things you can do to help us:

1. Pray every day for us for the next 40 days.
2. Forward this newsletter to every servant of Christ you know.
3. Click here and give us your up-to-date email address.
4. Put us in your address book and notify us when you add/change your email addresses.
5. Bookmark our web site in your browser. - www.leadingprayer.com

Journey Into the Presence of God conference of prayer on DVD!

Every Christian needs these teachings. God is using it across the country to call His people back to authentic prayer. With this DVD Kit; He can bless your folks even if your church can't host the event.

The five 45 min. sessions were recorded live at the First Baptist Church of Ferguson, St. Louis, MO. The Viewing Guide has everything from discussion questions to suggestions for setting up the video equipment.

Please don't miss this opportunity to bring this blessing to your congregation or group.

$129.00 ($149 retail)

Free S&H (satisfaction guarantee)

This kit includes: 5 DVDs, a comprehensive viewing guide, promo DVD, bonus materials CD, and unbound Prayer Guide book.

• Each DVD has an easy to navigate menu, introduction, prayer time, sermon or session, and in some cases an invitation.
• The 16 page Viewing Guide contains: conference overview, preparation instructions; viewing guide for each DVD; discussion questions for each session; and suggestions for using the Prayer Guide book, promo DVD, and bonus materials CD.
• The bonus materials CD contains: a Prayer Guide E-Book, PowerPoint files, session outlines, planning kit, and promotional materials like posters and brochures.

This free shipping offer is not valid outside the USA! There is no limit on quantity.

back to top

Please forward this email to every praying person you know.

Prayer Conference Promotional Videos

The Journey Into the Presence of God conference of prayer is so unique that many struggle to understand what it is. If you're considering hosting the conference or purchasing the DVD Set; the following videos should help.

1. Click here to view the one minute publicity video suitable for promotions during a worship service
2. Click here to view the seven minute preview of the conference that's great for showing to church leadership.
3. Click here to view the seven minute explanation of the conference by Lowell Snow.

These are the videos from the Promo DVD which is available at the web site and comes with the DVD Set.