“Pray Also for Me” (Part 2 of 2)

The timely basis. Trial, we find ourselves asking God to deliver us from our difficulties yet. When the apostle Paul was in prison he didn't ask fellow believers to pray for his safety or his peace of mind today on Truth for Life. Alister Baig teaches us about the striking request Paul made. Instead, in his final words to the Ephesians. I invite you to turn once again to Ephesians chapter 6, I don't think we have any reason to believe that Paul was a natural speaker. I don't think that is anything about Paul that suggested as that it was it was second nature to him that he would have been if you like part of the debating society in school and find it would seem that Paulus was the one who was peculiarly gifted in that way and that when Paul identifies the flag in writing to the Corinthians that there was something of diffidence about his delivery that there was something fearful if you like about his approach that that was not on Paul's part a sense of undue self-deprecation, but it was an acknowledgment of the fact that when he said I want you to pray the words may be given me that I may have that sense of God enabling me so that my language will flow so that I have freedom so that I have functions so that I'm able to do beyond my own natural ability to do that. It was the genuine cry of his heart and it was a sincere and honest request, so we considered the first part of that specific way that words may be given me a in order that I might open my mouth boldly know that's the second part of the specific request.

First of all, for utterance, and then for boldness.

It doesn't come across here in the ESV and I don't suppose that it matters a great deal, but it's worth pointing out because some of you follow up on these things. I know because you tell me, but although it is not very peer in the ESV in other words, is boldly both in 19 and 20.

In actual fact in the text.

It is unknown. In verse 19 and it is a verb in verse 20 that I might have boldness is his request in 19 thereby identifying the noun and that I might then speak with boldness that my speech may be marked by this same thing. Now you will notice that his great concern. As we said again this morning was not his liberation, but rather the proclamation of the mystery of the gospel that ought to make you turn immediately back to chapter 3 and verse seven where he is speaking of the gospel and he says of this gospel.

I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power to me though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone. What is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, and he is already in chapter 2 made much of the fact that both Jew and Gentile have been caught up as a result of the good news of the gospel. The amazing news that both the Jew and the Gentile alike can and must be saved through faith in the crucified Christ, no matter to whom he spoke with her to his own people in his background of Judaism or whether into a pagan environment amongst the Greeks and the Romans, those who had no context whatsoever for the gospel. He was saying the same thing because he was absolutely convinced as one of the other apostles post Pentecost that there is no other name under heaven given amongst men, whereby we must be saved and it was that deep-seated conviction that then fueled if you like his sense of boldness and fight, just mentioning Pentecost.

It makes me want to turn backwards. I'm going to add to acts chapter 4 and just point out to us the importance of boldness and where this boldness emerges. This is remember that there's been a healing of the man at the gate beautiful that is caused great consternation amongst some of the religious folks. They are now holding the apostles in a form of custody because they don't like what's going on and they want them to essentially stop this kind of stuff and so Peter and John are before the Council and so there's what they say.

Let it be known to all of you into all the people of Israel as a pretty good start is that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified was quite bold, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone here is my diverse and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved and then look immediately says what now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceive that they were uneducated, common man, they were astonished and they recognized that he had been with Jesus. Boldness, now you see in the face of external pressure or for that matter within the church. Internal pressure and opposition boldness is necessary, and remember that God says to his prophet of old. He says no do not be afraid of their faces worry what it was number one fear in life is the fear of death. Number two is speaking in front of a large group of people. By all accounts you're try this fearful but boldness to to speak boldly does not mean to speak unkindly. We make a major mistake. Everything the boldness then somehow another.

It allows us to just about qualify everything else and then determines the tone of our delivery while he was very bold and therefore you get away with murder know Paul is already said, actually. In chapter 4 that it is absolutely essential that we would be speaking the truth in love. So in other words, what were looking for then and what Paul is praying for.

If you like is a sweet boldness that is nonpartisan and is not a fanatic is not sectarian but he is bold and it is a boldness that is tied directly to the message that he proclaims we see one of the reasons that the church give such an uncertain sound in our day and and and seems to be prepared to equivocate on so many different things. In other words, is absent a sense of boldness is because of a loss of conviction about the gospel itself. Why would you be so bold enough to say to the whole world. There is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, unless you believe there is. Why would you go to your Jewish friends and say to them when you read the law of Moses. There is a veil over your heart, and only in Jesus is the veil taken away. How unkind is that unless of course it's true.

I put in my files an article that just caught my eye and I am really made much of it. It was written in the daily telegraph on 20 September and the heading is what caught my eye and is what it says Western Christianity isn't dying out from natural causes is dying of suicide.

Now this article I think is written by a Roman Catholic man. It comes from a fairly objective point of view and another to read it all to you. But his thesis is worth considering what he says here is this that the church least speaking of the British Isles of the church has known for decades been chasing after cultural acceptance by trying somehow another to offer itself to a world that is disinterested in it in such a way that it will excite them.

So, for example, at the weekend. He said there was a discussion in the newspaper about whether or not God has a gender item 1. Young girls are young boys two years constantly refer to God as he said the right Rev. Rachel Trevithick, the Bishop of Gloucester, because that might alienate people.

He is on to say she doesn't need to worry because no one is listening. We blame our falling numbers on everything except ourselves.

The truth is that Western Christianity isn't dying out from natural causes is committing suicide and he just articulates the fact that when the church of Jesus Christ, ceases to pray as Paul prays here that we might be enabled to have utterance so that when our mouths are open.

We speak the word of God with boldness when it ceases to do that it deserves actually to fizzle out and to die one final quote from this.

It says that these people are interested in seeing the church prosper but they are smothering it.

They have transformed the faith that only extended as far as it did through preaching and martyrdom into something anxious and introspective, excessively concerned with gender pronouns and saving the redwood tree. Make no mistake, this is in a debate about left and right in church politics know it's about whether the church talks chiefly about man or about God.

It is about whether Christians have a distinct message et al. my love ones. This is why you see it is so unconditionally important that in every generation we learn again to pray. The last thing that I said this morning, I would mention is that to which we come now number one the pole was not a superhero.

He was marred by vulnerability and an accompanying humility that when he recently requested prayer from those to whom he wrote he was specific in his request that I may have the words that I may have freedom and delivery that I may be able to speak the word of God boldly and then he identifies himself as an ambassador in chains and ambassador in chains we quoted extensively this morning from the end of acts, and in that same closing chapter. Luke says.

And when we came into Rome. That is, he was accompanying Paul when we came into Rome. Paul was allowed to stay by himself with a soldier that guarded and when he was addressing some who would come to listen to him talk. He said it is because of the hope of Israel, that I am wearing this chain it was on account of his faithfulness that he had lost his freedom. He had told the Corinthians, when he wrote to them we are ambassadors for Christ in God makes his appeal through us and that is something of an irony in this there is a paradox in the way this comes across. By and large, ambassadors today as best we understand it, justifiably enjoy the privileges of access and freedom they enjoy.

If you like a measure of diplomatic immunity. It goes with the territory. They are representative of a government from another place and therefore there able to speak on behalf of the government and their able to speak on the authority of it as they represent, if then those ambassadors were to come in their finery.

Then in Paul's day, it may well be that the change that the war were chains of adornment and people would've looked at it and said now this is a very important man and he represents a very important authority and that's why he's marked in this way, what pulses I have changed to by these chains are not waiting around my neck by the RN insignia of the one I represent because Paul was aware of the fact that he represented a higher throne than all this world have no that he had been set apart as we saw the beginning as the ambassador of the King of Kings and of the Lord of lords and the insignia that guarded chosen for him. That was to mark him at this juncture in his life was one that identified him in all of his need in all of his vulnerability in all of his apparent weakness before the might of the Empire, which held him in its grip. I remember years ago and Mickey may remember this because we went to mainland China. Together, and one evening we were taken to an apartment somewhere in China and there we were there in the company of some of the leaders of the house church. It was a very difficult evening because we didn't speak any Chinese and in and actually speak hardly a word of English, and they had the stereo up very, very loud because they were convinced that people were intruding on the mend and listening in, especially if they had foreigners come to meet when they were gathering and at one point somebody asked these Chinese brothers about the established church in China and about someone who had come from America very high profile person from America who had come, and then had been lauded by the Chinese government spoken in these large gatherings that were sanctioned by the atheistic Chinese government and what he said was when Paul okay.

He came in chains when this man comes he comes and is lauded. He said translated I think it is in chains that we represent the king and we stand against the might and the power of those who oppose us and why does Paul point this out. He's not carrying their sympathy. He's not telling them this so they will feel sorry for him nor is he actually including a PS which says and by the way, please pray for my freedom so that I might get out of here know he wants freedom, but he wants the freedom for the gospel itself and he wants them to pray so that he can deliver it boldly, so that whether it is in entreaty where he says, be reconciled to God or whether it is in warning.

He says God has set a day when he will judge the world. He does this and in doing this he not only affirms his place as an apostle in the founding of the church, but he if you like blazes a trail for other frail week souls who are set apart to gospel ministry who harass to stand often fearfully consistently unrelentingly before a group of people Sunday after Sunday after Sunday and who desperately need to know the prayers of those to whom they preach that WordPress may be given and the boldness may be the accompanying diamonds. I haven't read Lloyd Jones in a couple of weeks. Although he is help me through Ephesians, but just a night as I came into the building. I thought I wonder what Lloyd Jones has to say about this closing section and and that the one thing that stood out to me was this heat is on about the need for boldness and he says and this is most important at the present time, and then he says to his congregation new pray for the preachers of the gospel. Do you realize what happens every time a man enters a pullover frail, fallible week, and yet called of God to be his representative and an exponent of his glorious truth. Do you pray for preachers of the gospel and do you pray in particular that they may speak boldly and he was talking about it being of great importance quite a long time ago in the British Isles. Surely if he were to come back and see this place he would reiterate his sentiment many times over. This is a critical moment. It always is, and therefore our great concern should be as it is, is there any indication that what he asked for happened. I think there is. I wouldn't want to go to the state for it, but he at the end of two Timothy and is one of the other reasons I read from. He is able. He's able to say, and I hope you pick this up on my first offense. No one came to stand by me, they deserted me, may not be charged against them and him.

Here we go by the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me. The message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it or we thank God for those who have gone before us. It's Reformation Sunday and I've I've had Luther Luther with me.

He he stays with me in my room and every so often I bring them out for a trip and is as I picked them up tonight.

I thought about how he was one man among many. I thought about how much he valued the ministry of Jan whose the check Roman Catholic who became a Christian who was greatly influenced by the writings of Wycliffe, who was subtly and outrageously encouraged to attend to the Council of Constance in November 14 14 it was a trick.

They imprisoned him and they put them in chains, and they gave them over a period of about 10 months every opportunity to recount and then on 6 July 1415. They dressed them all up in the finest robes of a priest and then deliberately and brutally they removed his garments. One piece at a time and then they tied him to the stake and they set fire to him and as he die, he said, Lord Jesus. It is for the that I patiently endure this cruel death. I pray the to have mercy on my enemies and he recited the signs as the flames engulfed her or could a man like that possibly may of the equivocation that is represented in contemporary Christianity surely the call to pray is a most necessary call to us as a church. May God help us to heed this call and not miss this moment and who knows, but that God may choose to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon us such as there would not be room enough to contain powerful example of one man's willingness to boldly declare the gospel regardless of the circumstances listing to Truth for Life Alister back.

Today's message marks the end of our study through the book of Ephesians titled strength for the battle but you can continue learning from Alister's teaching in the book of Ephesians that you can only complete series titled grace and peace which comprises all six chapters of Ephesians available on a USB drive. You'll find it when you search grace and peace online@truthforlife.org/store and let me remind you we still have a few days left for you to request the book titled our ancient foe Satan's history activity and ultimate demise. This is really an eye-opening book. It will alert you to the real threat that Satan poses. You'll discover how Satan uses lying, deception, temptation and accusation to undermine our faith.

This book will help you recognize Satan's tactics and resist them by drawing on the power of Christ. Request your copy of our ancient foe today when you donate to support the Bible teaching on this program, you'll find the book on her mobile app online at truthforlife.org/donate or call us to request a copy. 888-588-7884 from Bob Lapine. Thanks for starting this week off with us.

We hope you can join us again tomorrow as we begin a new series titled preaching the gospel. We know that the Bible is a book about Jesus. But how does that affect the way we interpret the Old Testament books like the book of Ruth.

For example, will discover the answer Tuesday. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by truth for line where the Learning is for Living