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Matthew 7:24

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

 

This week I had the opportunity to attend the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention held at First Baptist Church Forney. This event, held once a year, is where affiliated church representatives (called messengers) assemble to worship, vote on convention business, and coordinate cooperative mission work across Texas and globally. The theme for this year’s annual event was, “Built on the Rock”. Throughout the event we heard wonderful news of what God is doing through the joint effort of all Southern Baptist Churches in Texas through the Cooperative Program. One example of this wonderful news is that fact that church plants in the state of Texas are growing so fast, that every 7 minutes a person is being saved!     

          Another thing I would like to share is the biblical challenge brought by Pastor JR Vassar on Tuesday’s morning session. Pastor Vassar gave a powerful message on the importance of prayer for the building of God’s church. He preached out of Matthew 7:7-11, where Jesus speaks about, “Ask, and it will be given”. Pastor Vassar reminded everyone of the reason why the early church grew so fast and how significantly they impacted the culture of their time. He gave an amazing illustration of how the early church was viewed by others. He quotes the letter to Diognetus written around AD 130:

They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.”

In his biblical challenge, Pastor Vassar, challenges us to recognize the importance of prayer for the building of God’s Church. Prayer, he says, is the right response to our needs, shapes outcomes, and is a privilege for all believers. The only way we will have an impact on this world and the generations to come is if we are a people of prayer and total dependance on our Lord.