Today marks the first day of our 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting.  I am so excited to focus our hearts and minds upon the radiance and beauty of Jesus.  One of my favorite authors, A.W. Tozer, has written a beautiful prayer:

“God, I have tasted Thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed at my lack of desire; I want to want Thee, I long to be filled with longing.  I thirst to be made more thirsty.  Show me thy glory.  Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. In Jesus name, Amen.”

As you begin this magnificent journey of knowing Christ more, Tozer’s prayer is my prayer for you and me.  I have no greater desire than to see the people of FSBC thirstier for Jesus.  I pray God will have favor upon us and show us His glory. Take time to walk this 40-day journey with me.  If you did not pick up a 40 Day Guide on Sunday, remember, you can find it on our website at fsbcsalina.com.

One of my favorite prayer passages is found in Luke 11.  As you begin this 40-Day journey with me, take a moment to look at Luke 11:5-13.  In April of 2017, I asked the church to pray an audacious prayer.  We began to pray, asking God to help us pay off the remaining debt on our building by the end of 2018.  At the time, it was well over $200,000.  In 2018, we paid off over $170,000 which brought our debt load to zero.  As we approach Easter, ask God what our next audacious prayer will be.  A church should always be doing something that stretches them, something that scares them, something they genuinely believe could not be done unless God intervened.  That is an audacious prayer.  I like verse 8 of Luke 11 in the 2011 NIV: “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.” Here’s the lesson: If a tired and stubborn neighbor is willing to meet his friend’s need, how much more is our loving heavenly Father willing to meet the needs of his children? Therefore, pray and don’t give up!

 

What are the traits of praying with shameless audacity?

 

1. Be Bold – Ask of God great things. Remember, He is able “to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Eph 3:20).  How dare we not ask God to do great and mighty things for His glory. What are we doing that only God could accomplish?  What should we attempt that will bring great glory to God?
2. Be Expectant – When you pray, do you pray with doubt or in great faith? When you pray, expect God to answer. Pray as if you believe He can answer you. Pray as if you believe He cares enough about you to answer and pray as if He is wise enough to give you what you need. Throughout the Luke 11 text, it says things like, “the door will be opened,” and “everyone who asks receives…”  God does answer prayer.  Expect Him to answer.  Do we pray so little because we expect so little?
3. Be Persistent – Why do you give up so easily in prayer? The text says to ask, seek and knock. It has the idea of keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. Don’t give up.
4. Be Filled – Notice, Jesus talks about His Father giving the Holy Spirit. Spirit-filled praying is the key in audacious prayer.  Why are our prayers so feeble?  Could it be that we do all the talking in our prayers? Romans 8 reminds us when we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us (See Romans 8:26-27).  Could it be we never pray with Spirit-filled power because we always know what to pray for and never stop talking in prayer? One of the great aspects of an audacious prayer is listening.  Stop talking. Admit you don’t know the heart of God as you desire.  Beg the Spirit to pray for you.

For many Christians, our prayers are too small, too few, and too selfish.  During these forty days, begin again to pray audacious prayers.  Seek the face of God.  Ask Him during this time what our next audacious prayer should be.  The audacious prayer will stretch FSBC.  It will make us uncomfortable, make us feel overwhelmed and weak. But the audacious prayer will also bring much glory to God. Pray as if we believe the God of the universe is ready to answer our prayer for His glory and the good of others.

On Sunday, Southern Baptists were rocked to the core as they read the Houston Chronicle and learned about the report of over 700 individuals being sexually abused within the supposed safety of Southern Baptist Churches.  As Baptists read the article and the news spread around social media, we were grieved, angered and mourned those who had been victimized but such evil people.  I wept as I read the reports of sexual abuse. We are well beyond the point of asking, “How can people do this?” and to the reality, that evil men and women are hurting our children, and adults,  in untold evil and horrific ways within the supposed safety of our church walls.  As a Convention, we can not stand idly by.  This report must grieve us, but we also must go beyond feeling to action. Sexual abuse cannot be allowed to continue in any fashion within the ministry of the local church.  As a church, I am pleased to say First Southern Baptist of Salina has already taken many steps to assure our children can learn, play and worship in a safe environment.

FSBC, Salina, has taken a proactive approach to church safety.  For many years the church has vetted potential child workers through a deep screening process.  If you want to work with children, you must complete the screening. There are no exceptions. Last year we even expanded the net wider to include screening everyone who would like to be a part of any ministry in our church. If you want to volunteer at the Coffee Bar, we ask you to be screened.   A couple of years ago we established a “Safe Church” team whose primary job is to evaluate and implement safe church strategies continually.    We also have cameras strategically placed around the church.  We have a strong safety protocol within our church, including a two-adult rule in our rooms. We try extremely hard to make sure an adult alone in the room with a minor.  If they are for some reason, we have a mandatory “door open” policy.  Finally, we have a zero tolerance for sexual sin.  If there is an accusation of sexual abuse in our church, rather staff or volunteer, we immediately contact the police, remove the person from serving, and allow the issue to be taken through the proper external and legal investigation. We treat all sexual abuse as a criminal act and allow the authorities to get to the truth.  At First Southern Baptist, Salina, we believe very strongly in the safety and well-being of our children (birth – 18 years of age) and adults, of any age,  and have taken many steps to create a safe environment. We hope to make our environment extremely difficult for a sexual predator to commit these acts of evil while on our campus.

For many years, churches across America have covered up sexual abuse.  We must stop this immediately.  God in His mercy, has exposed the sin.  Now exposed, we can deal with sin.  As a Convention, we must take proper actions to assure sexual abuse is eradicated in all churches everywhere. As a Baptist, I’m so sorry for those who were abused and hurt through the evil of these people. It angers me and grieves me.  Thankfully, sin has been exposed.  Pastors, please use this exposure of sin as a catalyst to act.  Evaluate your safety plan.  If you need help or ideas, please let me know. Our church would be more than happy to help you and your church. We don’t live in fear, but we do implement and plan for the good of others and the glory of God.  Parents, you and your children are as safe as possible at First Southern Baptist Church, Salina.  We will continue to strive to make FSBC, Salina,  a safe church.  If you have questions, please contact me.  I would always welcome questions and suggestions on how we can make our church even safer. Finally, please remember, people fail but God never fails.

One of the great Southern Baptist voices is Russell Moore.  I trust him and have often found he and I think along the same lines about many issues.  He is the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.  Here is his response.  Russell Moore

Here is the original article: Houston Chronicle