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Christ Centered Prayer Breakfast
Devotion # 1
January 10th 2009
By Raymond Driskill
I want to thank you for coming out this morning.
Our Purpose:
To come together and pray for unity in the CHURCH,
unity between Believers,
for a lost world,
for our nation,
its leaders to accept Christ into their hearts,
and for each other.
To uplift Christ to all in peace
and as growth comes
to begin other Christ Centered Prayer groups
in other localities and to hold together, united.
I wish that all denominational names be dropped here. We are Children of God meeting together to pray together and remove those walls that have held us captive. Some of you have already talked with me and some of you may be wondering what these prayer breakfasts are all about. Just a brief overview of who I am so you may have a better understanding of the vision God has given.
In November 2000 I heard an impressionable voice speak to me. “Ray, you are 57 years old, when are you going to work for Me? My CHURCH needs a wake up call for I am coming soon. I was troubled with the scripture in Matthew 7 where it reads, “not all who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven,” And also in Revelation 3 about the luke-warm Christian being vomited out of the mouth of God. I had attended Church most of my life and found something missing in my life and the life of others. What was missing was the reality of God’s existence. Oh, I believed in God because I had been taught about Him but I needed Him to be really real.
I started to prepare for the ministry not knowing the full extent of that calling until of recent months. I have pastured a couple of small churches since then, am on the radio program “Christ’s Way” KNEO radio, and writing weekly editorials for Newton County News and just last Thursday will have some of my editorials in the Neosho daily. I send them out over e-mail for those who wish to receive them.
During this time God has directed me towards unity among believers. I talk about it on the radio, sometimes through my editorials, and as I preach and teach. There are many who believe with me “That the CHURCH has been divided long enough”. This has become more and more of a direction in my life.
The division of the CHURCH by different denominations and the like has confused the people around us until millions can’t understand what the real message of the church is because we fight or disagree among ourselves. Mathew 12: 25 reflect the words of Jesus when He was talking about satan,
“But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:
‘Every kingdom divided against itself
is brought to desolation,
and every city or house divided against itself
will not stand.”
This goes for God’s house equally well that if it is divided it will not stand. In fact Satan likes the church divided. Recent surveys show there is a significant decline in church attendance over all. If this is not turned around there will be no church for our grand-children. This is a definite wake-up-call for all real believers.
What do we do about this separation? Well we do not want to start a new church or a new denomination that’s for sure. What we need to do is to;
• Pray for each other.
• Pray together,
• Cry together for our nation and our churches.
• Lift up Christ truly.
• As ambassadors of Christ we are to give the world the real view of Christ.
• Fellowship together at times.
• And start mixed prayer cells in other areas
What we need to quit doing is making denominational statements such as;
• They do this or
• They don’t do this or
• They think they are the only ones going to heaven.
• And quit believing we are the only church going to heaven.
These statements are what I call denominational bigotry statements and they stagnate the gospel of Jesus Christ. These statements separate or divide us from really representing Jesus Christ to the world. All the world sees is that we are fighting among ourselves and they don’t want a part of it. God planned for one Church but; as the Israelites got away from God and went into sin so did the one Church, but now as we divide ourselves we are also sinning and the Holy Spirit’s real power has left the church. As was on the day of Christ teaching the disciples and they healed sick and raised the dead; we have lost that but God meant it for all generations that followed.
On the day of Pentecost there were 120 left that were in the same frame of mind when they were endowed with the Holy Spirit then the CHURCH grew by leaps and bounds. That is where we have to come to, to save our nation, our world, our friends our families, and perhaps even our own souls.
Stand together with us and bring unity into one united cause for the truth in God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let’s form mixed prayer groups from this breakfast and pray together thru this next month and meet again together the second Saturday of each month for prayer and praise, bringing others to unite, pastors and lay persons as well. Then let’s be better for our own church where we attend. If you would like for me to speak at the church where you attend, I would be honored to do so.
Our nation faces great turmoil today because of separation of Church and church, not church and state. We need to become a part of being One-in-Christ. Our nation and the world is getting all kinds of different messages on how to serve God because of our separation.
John 3:16-18 (New King James Version)
16 For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.
Most everyone knows 3:16 and a few know the 17 and 18th verses. We must not condemn our brothers who are searching to know God and have a relationship with Him no matter where they attend church.
There is an attendance card to fill out if you wish. We can inform you of what’s going on with the prayer breakfasts and groups. You can find out the next dates if you log onto www.calluponthelord.org. E-mail is a quick way for connections. We do not send out things to make you feel bad if you don’t want to pass it own. If you would like to help or start a new group in an area where you live please let me know this and give me your contact information. Help us start this here and we’ll help you establish one in your area.
We have come here to pray together and Brother Mike Bevis which is a pastor will lead us in prayer and Sister Janet Driskill will close. During this time pray also among yourselves for God’s will above all and for our politicians and NATION to come to their knees before God and lead this country in a Godly way. Pray for our churches that we will unite together for this cause and though we are separate we still can become one voice to all.
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Devotion # 2
“Is Christ Divided?”
Placed on my heart by God
Raymond Driskill
02/14/09
The most difficult task for one called by God is to let go and let God take the lead. We have learned that when we focus on God and His Holy Word, that God will lead us. He will open up ways for one to take what He wants to say and do, in our lives on his time schedule. If we try to take things into our own hands we will fail.
Since God’s calling to wake up the church, we haven’t quite understood all that entails until recently. God had been showing us many things to prepare for this time and until recently, parts of His direction is falling into place.
In Ephesians 5:13-16
13 But all things that are exposed
are made manifest by the light,
for whatever makes manifest is light.
14 Therefore He says:
“ Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
15 See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time,
because the days are evil.
Paul was a man of God and Christ called Him into His service on the road to Damascus. Paul was greatly humbled at that time and served our Jesus Christ. I say this to bring authority to the word he wrote in his epistles. Here he is speaking to Christians.
1 Corinthians 1
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ
through the will of God,
2 To the church of God which is at Corinth,
to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints,
with all who in every place call
on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Then he says in verses 10-13 something that the churches have ignored or misinterpreted from what Paul is saying. Now think on these words.
Sectarianism Is Sin
10 Now I plead with you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all speak the same thing,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be perfectly joined together
in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren,
by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now I say this, that each of you says,
“I am of Paul,”
or “I am of Apollos,”
or “I am of Cephas,”
or “I am of Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Perhaps the 12 verse could be read from today’s perspective;
12 Now I say this, that each of you says,
“I am of Peter,”
or “I am of Luther,”
or “I am of Calvin,”
or “I am of Wesley,”
or “I am of Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided?
We have divided Christ up to fit into our mold without realizing this fact. Some of us go as far as to say we are the only church. Isn’t Christ, the head of the CHURCH? In this Paul states that this difference is carnal in 1 Corinthians 3. No wonder the church seems to have lost the power of the Holy Spirit in most cases. Perhaps our Country wouldn’t have left it’s Christian values. Perhaps the church would hold more respect from the world. As Andrew Murray said, “The world can’t believe because they can’t believe the believer’s believe.”
Remember the words of Jesus when He said in Luke 11:17
“But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them:
“Every kingdom divided against itself
is brought to desolation,
and a house divided against a house falls.
Where does the CHURCH go from here? Today, we shouldn’t change where we go. In fact we should remain where we go and become stronger, praying and fellowshipping with other Christians from other churches and not criticizing each other but loving each other as a brother and sister, and that we should show the world this coming together. All of us are reaching out to God and as we follow that path, the Holy Spirit will guide and direct our pathway.
Our prayer should be, “Search me and change me into a vessel that is obedient to You Oh Lord. Take my life and make it wholly Thine. Let me walk each day with You, lead me oh Lord and guide me. May thy will be my will. Amen
Prayer time:
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