Effective Together!

Gary Stebbins
Church on the Rock - Melbourne

Jesus would often slip aside from the crowds and even the disciples to pray. On one such occasion a disciple of Jesus said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples” (Lk 11.1). Jesus instructed His disciples how to pray with what we call today the Lord’s Prayer. Certainly this prayer has served as a model of prayer for two thousand years. There is however another principle of prayer that Jesus taught the disciples that I believe is equally important, but one the church has not taken hold of as clearly. We find this in Matthew 18, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven” (Mat 18.19).

“If two of you agree on earth.” Prayer of any type is very important. There is however something very significant about praying together in agreement. This can only happen when two or more people make the decision to come together and pray. This is part of God’s plan and purpose for the church- to gather together and pray. As we read in the book of James, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (Jam 5.16). Certainly our individual prayer’s can be very effective, but there is something beyond individual prayer that takes place when believers gather together to pray. As the church gathers together in unity and comes into alignment with God’s will and purposes, great things can happen. The effectiveness of our individual prayers is greatly increased through the principle of agreeing and crying out together to God. Matthew says that as we come together, “anything they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.” This is a very significant promise that the Lord has given to His church. The power of agreement greatly increases our effectiveness in prayer. There are things that will only be accomplished as the church gathers together to pray.

There is another dynamic that praying together with other believers brings. We see this as we read on in Matthew 18, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Mat 18.20). There is something about the power of agreement that draws the very presence of God. God responds to His people when they gather together in unity and cry out to Him.

As I have taken time to look at the verses above, I have been encouraged that we need to continue to press forward with MyHop and other corporate gatherings where the church comes together in agreement to pray. There is much power in prayer. To think that we can move the heart of the Creator and invoke His response to our prayers is an absolutely humbling thought.

We serve a wonderful God. Consider taking time to gather together with other believers to pray. You will be greatly blessed as you do.

I Recently Heard...

Bonnie Stebbins
Church in the Rock - Melbourne

I recently heard a speaker say, “The Christian life is not about knowledge, it is experience.” Yes, I do pray to know more about God. I want to understand his ways, to understand his heart. But even more, I want to experience his love, live in his grace, dwell in his presence. John 15 encourages us to abide in Christ. This means to draw our every breath of life each day from Christ. The life of Christ will flow through us and bring forth his life to those around us. It will also draw us toward God. Charles Spurgeon said, ”Prayer comes spontaneously from those who abide in Jesus. Prayer is the natural outgushing of a soul in communion with Jesus.” If you are abiding in Christ you will experience that drawing into the presence of God. Prayer will not be a burden or obligation, but a joy. Prayer will be your very lifeline to Jesus. You will not only know him, but experience him. You will feel his love, receive his grace, be filled with his power, and hear his words of encouragement. Will you allow the love of Jesus that is in your heart to draw you to him? Will you let prayer gush forth from you and experience Jesus?

The Christmas Story

Tony Hauck
Church on the Rock - Melbourne

In light of the season, can you take a few minutes to open to the Christmas story found in Luke 2:1-20? I want to show you something there.

This is, of course, the story of Jesus being born in a manger in Bethlehem; God becoming man to make a way for us. But I want to focus on the response of the shepherds. First, they left their flocks (verse 15), then they returned full of joy (verse 20). Why joy? Two things. They heard the heavenly proclamation: peace, goodwill from God toward you (verse 13-14). They saw God (verse 17). This is the fulfillment of the cry of David in Psalm 27:4, to paraphrase, “All I want is to be where You are, to see You, and to hear Your declarations”.

Perhaps if we, like the shepherds, can leave our work for a bit during this busy season to seek Jesus, we’ll see a bit of His glory – even if it’s veiled in human wrappings, hear His declaration of “I have good will toward you”, and experience the true joy of the season.

Justice

Tony Hauck
Church on the Rock - Melbourne


It’s hard to see injustice all around us and not get angry. But it is comforting to know that, ultimately, no one escapes justice.

(Mat 12:18-21) Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.

Jesus is coming again, and will see to it that every man, woman and child receives justice, except one. (Acts 8:32-33) He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.

Jesus is the only man who will never receive justice. Throughout eternity the one great injustice will stand, an innocent man killed for the sins of others, and they will never be called to account for it. He chose to sacrifice His own justice to become a gift to us. Romans 5:8 calls this the demonstration of His incredible love. The next time you feel you’ve been treated unjustly, think about this.

Simply Devotion

Tim Franklin,

Freedom Christian Center

At our next MyHOP gathering at Freedom Christian Center, on Friday October 7th, we will do something a little different during our first prayer target time. Typically we would begin the evening praying into a designated prayer target. But, on October 7th, we will begin by doing a devotional set.

What is a devotional set? I am so glad you ask! Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, (available free on line, is a dictionary with definitions of words prior to secular humanists taking God out of our educational books) defines devotional as: the state of being dedicated, consecrated, or solemnly set apart for a particular purpose. A solemn attention to the Supreme Being in worship; a yielding of the heart and affections to God, with reverence, faith and piety, in religious duties, particularly in prayer and meditation; devotedness. Therefore a devotional set will be a time in which we dedicate, consecrate, set ourselves apart to God for a particular purpose. As we consecrate ourselves, we will be giving to Him the affections of our heart.

What will this look like when its happening? Another great question! The worship team will be ministering to the Lord in simple songs that you will probably already know. They may be singing or they may just be playing. Either way, it will not be a time to pray at the mic as we usually do, but it will be a time to enter into His Presence. You may start by loving Him. You may need to start by confessing your own sin. The thrill of this is knowing that you are in a room full of other people who are doing the same! Each one wanting to be closer to God. Each one wanting to be more dedicated at a deeper level.

What do I do? Such great questions! Feel free to kneel, walk around, pray, sit and meditate, worship, dance before the Lord etc. Don’t draw attention to yourself or do things that will be disruptive to others who are connecting with God. You may simply choose to ‘soak’ in the Presence--just be still and know that He is God. There is momentum (forward movement with mass) when people of like mind and purpose gather to a God who desires to show himself strong!

See you at MyHOP, Friday October 7th, 7 p.m.

As We Went To Pray

Tim Franklin

Freedom Christian Center

Acts 16:16 Now it happened as we went to prayer…. Isn’t it fascinating the number of things that happen in scripture on the way to prayer. Now it happened! Say those three words to yourself out loud. Now it happened! Those are three exciting words! They imply movement, are filled with action, and resonate with a “kairos” moment—a moment in time where God’s timetable and plans intersect with man’s plans. Paul and Silas were on their way to the place of prayer—when “it” happened. Paul and Silas were not your typical, stay at home and pray, kind of guys. They understood the power of corporate prayer and gathering together with other Saints to call upon the name of the Lord.

In Luke 9:28 “Now it happened/came to pass…” This time, Jesus is taking Peter, James and John up on the mountain to pray, and suddenly—Jesus is transfigured! Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus and God audibly speaks the disciples. Not a bad day, for just being on your way to prayer.

Acts 3:1 and following, Peter and John are on their way to the temple to pray at the ninth hour. Who do they meet, but a lame beggar. They do not have any gold to help the man, but what they did have they gave to him, and the lame beggar began running and leaping and praising God. All this happened on the way to prayer.

The early church was so alive with the Presence of God that ‘things’ happened on the way to prayer. What we have in these accounts are men who were deeply connected to the power of prayer, particularly corporate prayer. The walk to prayer, did not inconvenienced them. They did not have more important things on their calendar--because prayer was important. They knew they could pray at home, alone, in quiet. But, they deeply understood what happens when men pray together, so they choose to go to prayer. Lev 26:8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. NKJV Prayer increases exponentially in power when we pray together.

Maybe, when corporate prayer meetings are once again filled with people seeking God, then our corporate gatherings will be filled with the Presence of God. Maybe, when Saints look forward to praying together things will happen on the way to prayer.

A Bad Day for Jesus

Pastor Tony Hauck, COTRM

June 7, 2010

What would you think if I began by telling you that three people we prayed for this Sunday got miraculously healed? Would you consider that a good service? Well, no one got healed this Sunday that I know of, probably like most Sundays in most churches. And that leads to my point. I was reading in Mark and two verses stood out to me.

Mark 6:5-6 "Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching."

I thought, we’d be ecstatic if a few sick people got healed. Do you know what that means? It means a bad day for Jesus is still more than most of our expectations. Does Jesus marvel at our unbelief?

So then Jesus went about the villages teaching. I guess that’s all He could do, since He could do no mighty works. I wonder if that’s why the church is so full of teaching and so lacking in power. Maybe that’s all we have faith for.

Well I don’t want to settle for just good teachings. I’m determined to stir myself up, raise my expectations, press in, and connect with the Jesus I read about in the New Testament.

Who’s with me?

And Jesus said, "Come!"

Pastor Gary Stebbins, Church on the Rock - Melbourne
May 27, 2010


It is easy in this current season to be fearful and intimidated by any number of situations that we see going on in the world around us. Perhaps you are facing some serious challenges in your own life. I believe Jesus is saying, "Come!"

As we move into the summer months, I do not believe this is a time to drawback out of fear nor to embrace the summer months as the “lazy, crazy days of summer.”

In Mark chapter 8, we see Jesus ministering to over 4000 people in a desolate area. He felt compassion for them because they had been with Him for three days with nothing to eat. Jesus was very interested in the spiritual needs of people, but He also recognized their physical needs.

Jesus felt compassion for those who exerted the effort to go out to the wilderness and be with Him for three days, to sit under His teaching, and to experience His miraculous power. He could not minister to those who were not there. His compassion and ministry was extended to those who pursued Him, those who were present with Him in that desolate place.

In Matthew 14 we have another story where the disciples are in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jesus comes up to the boat walking on the water. One of the twelve disciples cries out to Jesus and says, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Jesus' response was "Come!" Peter gets out of the boat and walks on water with Jesus. He experienced something the other eleven disciples did not, because he made an effort to cry out to Jesus and was willing to step out in faith.

God always responds to those who make the effort to pursue Him and His presence. Those who did not spend three days with Jesus did not experience His compassion and provision. Those who remained in the boat and did not cry out to Jesus did not walk on water.

As I was praying this past week at early morning prayer , I felt God was saying that this was a “get out of the boat” season of time. I believe this is a season to cry out to God and ask Him to “command” us to “step out of the boat” so that we move into God's purposes for our lives and for the church in this season in which we live.

Are you ready to make every effort you can to pursue the presence of God and experience the fulness of His blessing and provision?

It is time to pray, to cry out to God.

Are you ready to ask God to command you to step out of your boat into His Kingdom purposes for your life?

Knock, Knock

Pastor Tony Hauck, COTRM- April 9, 2010

There are two types of knocking on doors in the New Testament. One is in Revelation 3:20, where Jesus knocks on our door. Let’s call this passive, since all we have to do is open the door when Jesus shows up.

The other is in Luke 11:9-10, where we knock on His door. We’ll call this active for obvious reasons.

Now I love when Jesus initiates spiritual activity, but I think we may be unbalanced. Our default mode seems to be to wait around for Him to do something. And when nothing happens, we spiritualize by playing the “God is sovereign” card. But consider some things He has said.

You don’t have because you don’t ask (James 4:2). Draw near to God (i.e. you go first), and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). You can’t please God unless you believe He rewards diligent seeking (Heb 11:6). Always pray (knock) persistently and don’t give up (Luke 18:1-9).

Seems to me we’re supposed to be doing most of the knocking. We need to realize that we have the power, through prayer, to stir up the activity of God. If our spiritual lives are boring, it’s not His fault.

Have you knocked on the doors of heaven recently?

Caught with Jesus

Gary Stebbins, Church on the Rock, Melbourne, FL - February 3, 2010

Recently at COTRM we have been talking about the difference between a Dangerous Church and a Safe church. As I read the Bible, I see nothing safe about the New Testament church. The New Testament church was serious about their relationship with God and dangerous to the world around them because they were a threat to their system of unbelief.

One verse has stood out to me as we went through this series ...
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

Peter and John had been arrested for talking about Jesus Christ. When the Jewish leaders examined them, they were amazed that these were ordinary men with no particular education. What made them extraordinary was that they "began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."

I believe the same is true for us today. If we hang out with Jesus, we are going to be extraordinary people. God takes ordinary people like you and me and makes us extraordinary, and the catalyst for this is spending time with Jesus.

Jesus Himself said this ...
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).

The word know means to be aware of, perceive, understand, or recognize. It indicates a relation between the person "knowing" and the object known- i.e., I know God. What this word communicates is that what is "known" is of value and importance to the one who knows.
We spend time with Jesus because He is "of value and importance" to us.

Do I have eternal life? If I do, I KNOW God.
If I KNOW God, I know Him because He is of value to me.
When something is of value to me, I become familiar with it.

Prayer is one of the main vehicles or tools that God has given to you and me so we can "know" God. If someone is of value to us we spend time with them and we talk with them. There is no better way to get to know the heart of God, than through His Word and Prayer.

Is God of value to you? Then PRAY, talk with Him, get to know Him, pause and make room for Him to speak to you. We serve a wonderful, loving God, who wants us to know Him as He knows us.