Antioch Waco

Walter Brueggeman, an Old Testament scholar, describes 3 stages common to all humans that we see in the Psalms—Orientation, when all is going well; Disorientation, when things seem to be falling apart; and Reorientation, when God is bringing new life out of what has died. In seasons of Disorientation, it can be hard to experience the presence and love of God. How can we move out of this stage to seasons of new and fresh life? We can make sure we're not walking in sin, we can make sure we're not numbing ourselves to God and we can remain honest with God, but mostly, we need to remember Jesus' command to come to Him like little children. We can't make God move at our desired speed; we need to trust, like little children, that He's doing something in us that is better than we can imagine.

As we read the story of the birth of Jesus in the book of Matthew, we see the author referring to Jesus as "the Child" many times. What we may not understand as 21st century readers is the social status of children in the 1st century—children and slaves were at the bottom of the social ladder. Yet when Herod heard from the wisemen about the child they were going to visit, he was frightened. And later in Jesus' life, He said that we must become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. We must recognize that, when we are helpless and have nothing to contribute, like tiny children, God loves us extravagantly.

The Bible promises us that we can enter God's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. It's that easy! Gratitude is our 'all-access-pass' to dwell in God's presence at every moment. Being thankful for those around us shows the kindness of God to the people in our lives, and living a lifestyle of gratitude gives us victory over anxiety in our everyday problems. Thank You, Lord, that we have so much to be grateful for!

We want to be a Psalm 27:4 people committed to a Psalm 24:7 prayer movement unto a Matthew 24:14 outcome—Lord, consume us to love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength! Let your Kingdom come and Your will be done in every area of our personal lives, families, city, nation and nations of the earth. Fill us with power to proclaim Your Kingdom wherever we go, so that as the world shakes around us, we're not shaken, and we can welcome the world to the feet of Jesus, the family of God and the purpose of God, that we might be a rescuing people for the glory of God.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” What does it mean to gather, or even just to live, in Jesus' name? It means to live in His likeness, as He would live, and to love the ones with whom we gather as He loves them. It's significant that this statement comes in the same passage as Jesus' instruction on godly conflict and His command to forgive our offenders seventy-seven times. To pray effectively, so that Jesus is present in our prayers, we must treat our brothers with the love of Jesus.

When the enemy would try to sideline us through deception, discouragement, doubt or disbelief, God calls us to be a House of Prayer that prays with authority. We can accomplish this through walking in humility, living in intimacy with God through simple obedience, and living a lifestyle of repentance. Lord, make us a people who pray with authority!

For any prayer needs we might have, we must first begin by remembering the Person of God—who He is and who He's promised to be to us. Then we can center our hearts rightly by I—glorifying Him for being everything to us. Third, we can locate a Scripture that shows the Promise of God in our area of need. As we pray the Scripture(s), we remain open to the Process of God molding our desires to match His own in this area. And finally, we Persevere in seeking His will over time. Lord, make us a people who seek Your desires above all else!

The New Testament is peppered with guidance on how we should pray, both in the words of Jesus in the Gospels and in the Epistles. There are three things that are required for effective prayer: First, that we DO pray. Second, that we have faith. Third, that we believe. Lord, make us a people who always come to You in prayer!

Sometimes, God calls us to pray for something that requires persevering prayer. This can feel very difficult. The truth, though, is that God uses this persevering, persistent prayer to reward us with what is good and most advantageous. Prayer is not simply transactional; it is a vehicle through which we grow in relationship with God. God values persistent prayer and calls us to walk in it. He equips us to persevere, and through persistent prayer, He bears fruit in us and accomplishes His will in our lives.

"When we try to step into supernatural calling, into these destinies that move our hearts, but we have not established the Lordship issue, quitting is inevitable. Because the minute we encounter a supernatural problem with our natural resources, we render our selves inert. We cannot move forward. You will either be one who serves the Lord Jesus and walks with Him and follows in HIs plans, or you will not. And the things that make us fruitful, the things that move us forward—perseverance , the ability to remain—those things are settled when He is the Lord. Because if He is the Lord, I go wherever He goes and I stay as long as He stays, so the issue of perseverance is settled for me. And I believe that's what God is doing in the Church today. He is looking for those who say, 'I am decided—You are the Lord. And I will remain, because You are the Lord.'"

The Lord's Prayer provides a comprehensive model for how to abide with Jesus in God's presence throughout each day. Following the prayer line by line, we can begin the day worshiping God, seeking His will and trusting Him to be our Provider in every situation. We can walk into the day already confident that we are forgiven and that we have plenty of forgiveness to extend to others. We can know that our day is covered—that when distractions and temptations arise, God will lead us away from them and toward Him. For God's is the kingdom, power and glory forever and ever. Amen!

1 John 5:14 & 15 say, "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." How do we know what His will is? The key is the Word of God. We know that everything God says in Scripture is true, so we can pray the Bible over every situation with complete confidence.

When Jesus' apostles asked him how they should pray, He taught them The Lord's Prayer. This week, we looked at just the first line: "Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name." It is because of the work of Jesus on the cross and the sacrifice of His blood that we can access Father God. Not only can we draw near to God, but He knows us intimately and crafted each of us with great intentionality. Because of this salvation and grace, we can, like David, say, "One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple."

Throughout the Old Testament, we see Israel following countless rituals and laws to make a welcome space for the presence of God. When Jesus died on our behalf, the veil standing between us and God was literally torn, and now God Himself inhabits each of His followers. We have access to Him all the time, and we are commanded to talk with Him and pray to Him unceasingly. Lord, let us be a people who pray at all times!

At Antioch, we want our relationship with Jesus to affect and infect every area of our lives, which is why we seek to embrace each of these circles continually. We want to have a deep devotional life in Jesus, seek to be and to make disciples, stay connected in community, serve and participate in our corporate gatherings and live on mission where God has planted each of us. As opposed to focusing on one circle, we hope to grow in our holistic approach to walking with Jesus by committing to embrace all 5 Circles. Why? Because we want more of Jesus, we want to be anchored in Jesus and we want Jesus to be glorified by, in and through us and His Church.