There was a man who was on his death bed and he called the three men that he trusted the most to come and see him. He called his minister, his doctor and his lawyer to him and said, ÒWhen I die, I my savings account of ,000 divided three ways and when you walk by my casket, I want each of you to put your ,000 into my casket to be buried with me.Ó They didnÕt understand why the man wanted to be buried with the money, but they oblidged him. A week later, the man died. At the funeral, each man placed their portion into the casket as they walked by to pay their last respects. As they were eating dinner together afterward, the minister said, ÒGuys, I have something to confess to you. I kept out some of the money. WeÕre in the middle of the building project, so I kept out ,000.Ó Then the doctor spoke up. He said, ÒWell, if were going to confess things to each other, I guess IÕd better confess too. WeÕre adding a new maternity ward onto the hospital and I kept out 20,000 of my portion to help defray the cost.Ó The lawyer had a disgusted look on his face as he shook his head and said, ÒYou guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I hope you know that my ,000 will always be with him in the ground. I took your ,000. you left and I wrote a personal check for the full amount of ,000.Ó

1 Timothy 2 : 1 - 8

1 First of all, then, I urge that ENTREATIES and PRAYERS, PETITIONS and THANKSGIVINGS, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. 7 And for this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

(1) Entreaties

(2) Prayers

(3) Intercession

(4) ThanksgivingÓ

Others are (5) Petition

(6) Glorify

(7) Praise

Pray for OthersÕ Peace

Job 25 : 2 ÒDominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

Proverbs 28 : 2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

Pray For Our Peace

Luke 10 : 19 ÒBehold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.

Don't expect a thousand-dollar answer to a ten-cent prayer.

WE MUST BE SAVED TO WALK IN GODÕS ORDER

Verse Five 5 This is one of the most significant verses of the NT. It declares first of all that Òthere is one God,Ó the basis of Judaism, Dt 6 :4Deuteronomy 6 : 4 ÒHear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 ÒAnd you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 ÒAnd these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; 7 and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

But then comes a difference, for Christianity goes on to assert that Òthere is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.Ó A ÒmediatorÓ is someone who intervenes between two parties, either to make peace and restore friendship, or to form a covenant. In keeping with this, Christ by his death restored the harmony between God and human beings which sin had broken.

To be of any use, a bridge across a chasm or river must be anchored on both sides.

GodÕs DesireThree things are necessary for our salvation : (1) to know what we ought to believe; (2) to know what we ought to desire; and (3) to know what we ought to do.

GodÕs Direction

Teaching in Faith and In Truth

WE MUST WORSHIP TO WALK IN GODÕS ORDER

Holy Worship

Psalm 134 : 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD.

Psalm 22 : 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Psalm 149 :4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

The praise chorus "We Exalt Thee" took on a whole new meaning when a little three-year-old girl was heard singing her version: "We exhaust thee. We exhaust thee, O Lord."

Happy Worship

Rev 21 : 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.Ó

Fellowship with a holy God will produce holy living.

If we haven't learned to be worshipers, it doesn't really matter how well we do anything else.

Have you ever eaten at an expensive restaurant for a special occasion? There you are, all dressed up, with three different forks, fine china and crystal. You are very careful to not embarrass yourself by spilling anything, or doing anything inappropriate.

Now compare that to eating a meal at home. There you are in comfortable clothes, you definitely only have one fork! If you are like Christy and I, you are eating your meal on the coffee table while watching TV. There is no fine china or crystal. If you drop something on the floor, you wait to see if the Ben will come get it and eat it. Just kidding. Obviously, you are relaxed and comfortable.