Death to Agnostic Christianity

Everyone struggles with doubt from time to time whether prayer matters. Left unchecked it is easy to fall into what I call Agnostic Christianity. As part of the REVOLUTION taking place God is awakening believers to the necessity and power of prayer. Join the Revolution!

***Below are the notes for my message this Sunday morning to our church family at The Rock as we conitnue our series "REVOLUTION"

“Death to Agnostic Christianity”
REVOLUTION series

Text: Gen. 28:10-22

Intro.: -We have many AGNOSTIC Christians in our churches today
*Agnostic vs. Atheist
-Agnostic Christians are those who believe that there is a God, believe they need
to know Jesus as their savior, believe they are going to go to heaven when they
die BUT ARE NOT CONVINCED that God cares or is involved in their day to
day life
*No one comes out and says “I’m an agnostic Christian” in fact, most
Who find themselves in this mentality probably do not even recognize it
-There is sincere belief that one day in heaven everything will be
better BUT the struggle is to believe that God can, or will, change
circumstances NOW!
-Perhaps from lack of good teaching/knowledge of God’s Word, feelings of
insignificance, or the disappointment of previous “unanswered prayers”
*the overall feeling is that God’s only concern is for their salvation and
then leaves us to struggle through this life on our own until Heaven
-PRAYER then is a good exercise to vent, throw up wish lists or even gripe and
complain BUT FAITH & EXPECTATION grows slim as circumstances
are accepted at face value

I. In our text we find a man, Jacob, that has spent his whole life born into
Abraham’s lineage and interacting with God through Agnostic faith.
-Moving through the rituals, family expectations and religious obligations with
little to no personal interaction or relationship
*hearing about the God of his father, the God of his grandfather and
relating to their God at a distance – perhaps a “force of good” but nothing
intimate, nothing personal
-Jacob comes to a spiritual crossroad
*He has heard the promises of God over his life yet he is struggling to
own them as personal
-Jacob has a Revolution in his soul when he is awakened to the reality of the
ACTIVE presence of God in his life (vs. 16)
*Jacob’s response was to begin a conversation with God (PRAYER) and a
personal relationship was born (vs. 20-22)

II. How can we have a relationship with a spiritual God while we live in a physical
body?
-How do we bridge this gap???? PRAYER
-God has connected the unseen with the seen through prayer
-Listen again to the famous prayer Jesus taught His disciples and see the
connection between the unseen & the seen:
Matt 6:9-13
9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come ,your will be don eon earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.' NIV

-The unseen and the seen (heaven & earth / spiritual world & natural world) are
connected more than we can fully understand
Matt 16:17-20
. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
NIV
2 Cor 10:3-6
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
NIV
Eph 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
NIV

-This is why Jesus constantly taught the importance and necessity of prayer
Luke 18:1-8
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'
4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" 6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
NIV

III. God has linked His activity in our life & our world through our active
relationship with Him
-God chooses to use PRAYER
*Jesus prayed for Peter, Abraham intercede for Sodom, Paul requests the
prayers of others, disciples prayed for boldness
-As Christians the power/strength of our relationship with God is tied to PRAYER
James 5:13-18
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.
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.
NIV

-There are things in our lives, in our families, in our community, in our world that
simply WILL NOT be accomplished with out prayer
Mark 9:17-29
17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23 "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
NIV
James 4:2
You do not have, because you do not ask God.
NIV
-Not because God is agnostic but because He interacts with us through Prayer
****Illus: Treasure Chest in Heaven

IV. How much of our life, our church would be REVOLUTIONIZED by first
praying?
-Taking time to connect the unseen with the seen
Phil 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
NIV

-Revolution of Death to Agnostic Christianity
*renewed faith in God’s concern, God power, God’s presence & our
responsibility to connect with Him through PRAYER!

(JOIN ME – Revolution Prayer & Reading Journal)

-This morning we are going to close in a time of prayer asking God to connect the
unseen with the seen
*If you have a prayer need…join us…let’s ask & believe God to intervene

Ps 20
20 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call!
NIV

PRAY