Magnolia Springs Assembly of God

During this past week we have enjoyed the ministry of one of
the most effective teachers I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Pastor
Duane Sheriff has, over the past 25+ years, lead a congregation that has grown
from around 15 or 20 to one consisting of 7,000 or 8,000 people who meet in
eight different locations around southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. There
are even Victory Life (the name of the church in Durant, OK) cell groups all
around the country. There is at least one in Mississippi. A couple of them
drove down to attend part of the recent meeting with Pastor Duane here at
Magnolia Springs.

God has helped Pastor Duane to develop one of the closest
models to a New Testament church that I have ever personally observed. It is a
congregation of people who embrace the model for New Testament church
administration, leadership, service, and relationship.

When the Apostle Paul wrote to his son in the faith,
Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2, he said, “Thou therefore, my son, be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast
heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who
shall be able to teach others also.”

The way the Apostle Paul, and the Early Church, were able to reach the
known world within the first century without supersonic transportation,
television, radio, internet, or even a printing press, was based on the 2
Timothy 2 model. Although this blog does not allow the space for me to fully
unpack all that is in these two little verses, this model is a prototype for
effective church development and congregational life in every generation and in
any culture.

Because we are all the body of Christ, and members in particular (1
Cor. 12:27-28), our functions may differ from that of Victory Life (Eph. 4:16)
but the basic life principle is the same. If it is not, then one of us (or both
of us) are functioning as something other than the body of Christ.

It is understandable that we look at successful ministries and wonder
why our church cannot or does not have similar success. While we are impressed
with the visible success, we are not able to see the infrastructure. The reason
churches, ministries, corporations or organizations look differently and have varying
levels of success or failure is due to the organizational structure.

In the case of Victory Life church, there would be no way for them to achieve all they have except that
Pastor Duane has taken the Apostle Paul’s model for establishing and growing
effective church ministry and life. He invests the major portion of his time
each week in study, prayer and meditation. He then focuses his attention on
training and developing leaders, his elders, and potential leaders who, in
turn, train and mentor others in New Testament ministry concepts. The result is
a strong, healthy, vibrant congregation that is impacting thousands all across
the nation from a little small town in southern Oklahoma.

Our newly created DSL Life Group is a first step in structuring the
leadership of Magnolia Springs to maintain the body growth and the expanding
ministries God has called us to stewardship over. Leadership is not based upon
physical age or even the length of time since you were born again. It does have
to do with maturity, wisdom and Spirit fullness. As we pray for and work toward
the goal of becoming more and more a New Testament model of ministry in our
world, the purpose for which God has established and sustained this place
called Magnolia Springs will become reality.

As we enter week four of these 40 days of fasting and prayer, I am calling for Magnolia Springs and others who may follow this blog to make students your prayer emphasis this week. Our students are under strong attack and are enduring pressure from all sides to compromise their stand for righteousness and purity. I believe God is calling for young men and women, like Samson, David, and Esther, to challenge the giants of our day: giants of sexual impurity, selfish personal gratification, social and spiritual rebellion.

Here are some points to help us all come into agreement in our prayers for our students.

· Pray for a hunger for God to develop in their hearts;

· Pray for students to develop a Biblical worldview;

· Pray for clarity on the truth of the gospel, and a willingness to defend and declare it;

· Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the unbelieving and rebellious;

· Pray for student pastors and leaders to “keep watch over the flock of God” (Acts 20:28) as well as over their own lives;

· Pray for God to raise up students with natural leadership gifts;

· Pray for students to develop strong, wholesome Christian friendships.

Also, pray for revival among teachers and youth leaders on school campuses. Pray that God will give them wisdom and courage to have influence with our students for righteousness.

Why Is Prayer Such A Big Deal?

Internet chat rooms have become a real social phenomenon in our society. Chat rooms provide an opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. Some of the stats I’ve seen indicate that as many as half of 11-12 year olds regularly visit chat rooms. Move that bar up to age 14 and the percentage reaches three-quarters. Half of them are in private or adult chat areas.

There have been some truly horrific examples of chat room relationships gone wrong. But there are also some really positive, healthy relationships that have developed online. The problem is, you never know who you’re talking to until it is, possibly, too late. Anyone with an internet connection, whatever their motivation, can enter a chat room. They can
intercept your posts and respond. It becomes very easy for predators, pedophiles, and criminals to gain your trust and access to your life.

The point is, so many people today spend huge amounts of time online chatting with people they do not know and have never seen, yet, they talk for hours. Sometimes they share intimate, personal feelings with these people. Some people become so involved in online relationships they can’t wait to connect with their chat room friend each day. But when the subject of prayer comes up, so often we hear the excuse that it seems so impersonal….talking into the air to someone you cannot see. HELLO!?

It seems to me that, with the growing popularity of online chat rooms, it would be much easier for people to grasp the concept of prayer. Whether we write a message on a piece of paper or send it over the internet in real time, we are communicating with someone we cannot see. But a message is given and received. As simple as it sounds, that is basically what
communication is all about.

God designed humans with an intense desire for interaction. Without it we become isolated. It is such a powerful emotional need that solitary confinement is seen as one of the most severe punishments for prisoners. We all have an innate need to interact, to connect.

What would happen if you never talked, or seldom talked, to your spouse, you child, your co-workers or friends? How would that relationship be impacted? Over time it would, of course, severely restrict or diminish the relationship. If communication is stopped long enough, the relationship would be lost entirely. Our relationship with God is the same.

Clearly God desires a close, personal relationship with us. He desires it so much He sent His Son to restore the broken relationship between Himself and mankind. Everything we do as Christians flows out of that relationship. Our lives as believers cannot grow or be productive unless our relationship with Christ is nurtured. Jesus put it very succinctly : "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon” (John 15:5-8 MSG ).

Combining prayer with Bible reading is the way we nurture our relationship with God. Failure to do so results in estrangement and broken relationship. Prayer IS a big deal. It is our lifeline to an intimate and fulfilling relationship with God.

PASTOR'S BLOG

18 January 2012

The emphasis for us here at Magnolia Springs during these first 40 days of the year is on preparing ourselves for “wonders” (Josh. 3:5) as we step into the promises God has given us over the past 40 years (which goes back to 1972). A major part of that process of preparation is prayer and fasting. Some see little value in fasting other than a means of weight loss. Others see fasting as some sort of hunger strike used by believers to pressure God into doing what they ask. Neither of these positions are correct.

Fasting is, in reality, an act of sanctification. That is a long theological word that simply means, to declare or regard as holy, to consecrate or set apart unto God. It is bringing the body (flesh) and its desires into subjection. That is, it separates us FROM the authority or control of physical appetites and TO the authority and control of the Holy Spirit. It is not a hunger strike but a discipline which humbles the flesh, taking the reigns of our strongest drives and giving them over in humility to God. Because it is not only a separation FROM natural instincts but also a separation TO divine authority, fasting has little spiritual value apart from prayer.

Now, as with fasting, many have a misconception about prayer. Prayer is not nagging God until he gives in to our requests. Prayer is much more than a ceremonially pious act. Prayer carries the sense of both petition and authority.

It has often been said that prayer is a conversation with God. And, in its most basic form, that is exactly what it is. Two things need to be clarified in regard to that characterization, however. First, Webster’s Dictionary defines “conversation” as, “(1) oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas (2): an instance of such exchange.” To define prayer as a conversation with God signifies more than just talking at God. It suggests an exchange between God and man.

Secondly, there are different kinds of conversations. Conversation between antagonists is much different than that between lovers. Conversation between parents and children is much different than conversation between business associates. Conversation between men of equal status is different than conversation between an authority and a subordinate. Conversation between a father and a son is different than conversation between a master and a servant.

When we approach prayer in this way, it is of great importance that we understand the circumstance of that conversation. According to Jesus, our prayers are a conversation between a Father who is Supreme Sovereign and His child: “Our heavenly Father, your name is holy” (Matt. 6:9).

But then, we must also recognize that, as children of our heavenly Father, we have been given authority in the earth. While the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, He has assigned authority in the created, natural realm to man. However, our authority is subject to His supreme and omnipotent authority. That is, we have the authority, as we walk in obedience and fellowship with our Heavenly Father, to declare those things which are bound or loosed in heaven as being so on earth.

Much of our praying is begging God for things He has already assigned to us and our authority. Did He not say, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Matt. 11:24). Did He not say that whatever things we say will be done if we believe and do not doubt Mark 11:23)? Are we not warned that life and death is in the power of our tongue (Prov. 18:21)? Declaring the Word of the Father is powerful and authoritative, affecting the spirit world and then manifest in the natural world.

Paul indicates, in that famous discourse on spiritual warfare and the armor of the believer (Eph. 6:10-20), that prayer is part of our weaponry in overcoming the schemes of the wicked one. We often stop short of the full statement which begins in verse 17. Read on! As we pray the Word of
God, which is designated “the sword of the Spirit,” we are releasing the creative, authoritative and eternally unchanging Word of Almighty God into the
atmosphere where principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and hosts of wickedness in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12) battle against the church and God’s
purposes for man in the earth.

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit but it is prayer that wields it effectively in our battle against the dark forces of hell. So, come on church, pray!