"Prayer - Its a Heart Thing!" - "Stewardship - Its a Heart Thing!

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Liberty Chapel United Methodist Church
Prayer - Its a Heart Thing! - James 5:13-20
Scripture - James 5:13-20
5:13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should
pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of
the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in
the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in
faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise
him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous man is powerful and effective.

Kids Time
Prayer. Bow your head. Close your eyes. Stop. Take
your hat off.

This is a five part teaching series.

(_________________) Its a Heart Thing!
The word to fill in the blank is "stewardship."
Stewardship - Its a Heart Thing!
I know what youre thinking. Isnt stewardship a
church word for money?
Wrong. Stewardship is not the money talk.
Our Friend the Dictionary
Steward 1. One who manages another's property,
finances, or other affairs, 2. One who is in charge of the household affairs of a large estate, club,
hotel, or resort.

A steward manages something that belongs to somebody else.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - Are you sold out to Jesus?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your bodies are
temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you
have received from God? You are not your own; 20
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with
your bodies.
Jesus gave his life for us.
In return he asks us to give our lives to him.
Are you sold out to Jesus?
Youre heart has a hole in it. It aches.
People put different things in it to fill the void. - Pleasure - possessions - drugs
The hole is God-shaped.
You will be miserable until you give your heart to God.
You cant give him half a heart.
When you give your heart to Jesus Christ
He owns all of you. 100%
Lock, stock and barrel.
After you give your heart to God, he begins to tune it so it beats in time with his.
There will be some things he will tune out.
There will be some things he will tune in.
Heartbeat aligned with the heartbeat of God.
This teaching series of stewardship - is getting your heart and life right with God.
Are you sold out to God?
Until you are, the rest of this will be nonsensical rules.
All the resources you have access to Your time, talents, spiritual gifts, financial assets, relationships, mental abilities, education, etc.
All these belong to God.
You are called to manage all of them for the glory of God.
My goal in this series:
1 - Enhance your discipleship.
2 - Build up a great church of committed disciples.
The best way to begin is through prayer. Prayer = spending time with God.

Prayer is powerful - James 5:16-20 - 1 Kings 17:1 - 18:42-45

James 5:17
17 Elijah was a man just like us.
"Just a man."
Want a prayer genie? I dont have one.
Want a magic formula? I have nothing.
My view - prayer is just talking to God.
A personal relationship.
The simpler the better.
Cant say anything wrong when you pray.
Sometimes a one word prayer is all you have - but that may be sufficient.
Exclamation of the heart.
Out loud is tough. Get past itit doesnt matter. The more you do it the easier it gets.
James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
The Greek word is dunamisdynamodynamite.
An example of the power of prayer comes from Elijahs life.
5:17-18 - 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not
rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the
earth produced its crops.
1 Kings 17:1 [Ahab was evil king. He led Israel in idol worship and child sacrifice.]
17 Now Elijah the Tishbite was a prophet from the settlers in Gilead. I serve the Lord, the God of
Israel, Elijah said to Ahab. As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few
years unless I command it.
1 Kings 18:42
42b Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed
with his face between his knees. 43 Then he said to his servant, Go and look out toward the sea.
The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, I didnt see anything. Seven
times Elijah told him to go and look. 44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, I saw a little
cloud about the size of a mans hand rising from the sea. Then Elijah shouted, Hurry to Ahab and
tell him, Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you dont hurry, the rain will stop you! 45 And
soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm.
I believe in the power of prayer.

Yet, there is a mystery. Sometimes amazing results. Sometimes results I dont see. Prayer doesnt
always change things the way I want them.
But prayer changes me - and tunes my heartbeat with Gods.
That is a miracle!
Prayer is asking and listening.
Any good conversation consists of both listening and speaking. In a natural rhythm a dance
both partners move and respond to each other in time to the music. This is no less true of the
process of prayer. After a time of listening to God in the stillness, we are moved to respond. Wait
for the words to arise from deep within.
- Daniel Wolpert, Upper Room Reflections email, Friday, October 18, 2014.
How does prayer work?I don't know.
Why does prayer work?I don't know.
God wants to know what is on our hearts and God wants me to know whats on Gods heart.
I find that prayer connects me to the heart of God.
I dont get what I want.
My heart beats with Gods heartbeat.
It is less important for me to get what I want.
It is more important for me to be whom God wants.
In James 5:13-20 there are four examples of prayer.
Name them one by one
Is anyone suffering? James 5:13
1. Is anyone suffering?
5:13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.
5:13NKJVIs anyone among you suffering?
What are some of the troubles and sufferings
people face?
There are people here in trouble and suffering.
(Not illness - that comes later)
Grief. Work difficulties. Marital and family problems.
Kids. Parents. Grades.
I could name people in our congregation standing in the need of prayer.
Often the more needy ones are not on the prayer list.
I hold them in prayer.
Do you hold those you know about in prayer?

God doesnt cause trouble. God doesnt cause evil.

Mortality and human free will is the cause of most of it.
God tries to prevent evil.
God is able to turn evil into good.
He is able to redeem it.
Be mindful of that as you pray for yourself and others.
For me, the times when Ive grown the most have been times of adversity.
In prayer, our goal is to see God.
Our goal is to look beyond the pain, suffering, and anxiety of life and see God the redeemer of pain
and suffering.
Is anyone here suffering? [Hands?]
Will you pray for one of these?
Is anyone happy? James 5:13 Deuteronomy 8:6-18
2. Is anyone happy?
5:13b Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
You should spell that "prayerse"
What are some of the joys that people praise for?
Yesterday - fall colors. Bountiful harvest. A fun car.
Sunshine. Hezekiah.
Freedom of worship. Christian friends. Salvation.
Heaven.
There are many lessons in sports:
How not to be a sore loser.
How to win graciously.
It seems like how to praise might be harder than how to pray in hard times.
In hard times, church attendance increases; in prosperous times, church attendance dips.
When tough things happen people turn to the Lord.
When good things happen people turn to themselves.
Moses warned us about that.
Deuteronomy 8
6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and
revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good landa land with brooks,
streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines

and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will
lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land
he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his
commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and
are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow
large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will
become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the
land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless
land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave
you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test
you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the
strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the Lord your God,
for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which
he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
When children were little"It comes from God. . .God made it."
How to praise the Lord in blessings.
We need to learn to praise Him.
In prayer, our goal is to see God.
Our goal is to look beyond the good things in life and see God the giver of all good things.
Is anyone happy?
Will you praise with one of these?
[PP#9 - Is anyone sick? James 5:14-15]
3. Is any one of you sick?
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of
the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in
the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in
faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise
him up.
Anointing oil has two interpretations:
1. Medicinal.
2. Ceremonial.
Me: Yes. Both. Medicine plus prayer works.
Youve seen those who need healing.
Are there others? Yourself? Loved ones?
Show hands. Pick a couple to pray for.
In the midst of illness, our goal is to see God.
Our goal is to look beyond the illness to see God.

Is anyone sick? [Show hands]

Will you pray for one of these?
Has anyone sinned? James 5:15-20 - Luke 18:9-14
4. Has anyone sinned?
15 If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Confess
Confession to God is essential.
Confession to an accountability partner may be
helpful.
Confession to the person may be helpful - or maybe not.
There was a guy - I thought everything was cool - he confessed at Kairos he didnt think the way I led
my table was right - we had too much laughter. He asked me to forgive him.
I said sure.
Then I lay awake at night.
It took a long time before I felt right about him. Before his confession, it was all good.
Prayer
Prayer for each otherforgiveness.
5:19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20
remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover
over a multitude of sins.
The goal is reconciliation.
Too often our prayers turn into tattletales and self-righteousness.
The Pharisee and the Publican.
Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on
everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee
and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: God, I thank you that I
am not like other peoplerobbers, evildoers, adulterersor even like this tax collector. 12 I fast
twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat
his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all
those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Story of a woman allegedly engaged in adultery. The pastor was asked to confront her. She heard the
gossip and left. [Elaborate]
Too often our prayers turn into tattletales and self-righteousness.
James 5:19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him
back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from
death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Our goal is reconciliation to God and to each other.
Is anyone here struggling with temptation? with sin? [Dont show hands.]
Is there anyone here who is not?
Will you pray for one of these?
Does anyone know one who is lost? [Show hands]
A former regular here?
Will you pray for one of these?
As we seek to reconcile estranged relationships, our goal is to see God.
Our goal is to look beyond the estrangement to see the reconciling God.
Prayer - Its a Heart Thing - James 5:16-17
5:17 - 17 Elijah was a man just like us.
James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous man is
powerful and effective.
dunamisdynamite.
Prayer has the power to tune your heartbeat so it
beats with the heartbeat of Jesus.
The Elijah story is one of drought and rain.
How long has there been a prayer drought in your life?
Let it rain, Let it rain
Open the floodgates of heaven
Do you know people who are prayer warriors?
Do they get results?
Or do they pray.
Prayer warriors are people who do it.
Find a time - maybe a place. Do it.