Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000004
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00:20 Hello, and welcome to "A Sharper Focus."
00:22 We're coming to you 00:23 live from the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:27 And this particular program is 00:30 a Wednesday night Bible study program. 00:32 So I know that your custom is to say, 00:34 "Welcome to everyone from around the world." 00:36 So would you all join me? 00:38 We welcome you wherever 00:40 you're watching from around the world. 00:43 And tonight before we begin, 00:45 our topic tonight is praying outside the box. 00:51 And I have to tell you that 00:53 this is "Fresh Manna." 00:56 I thought I knew what I was going to teach on tonight 00:59 and the Lord changed the direction, 01:04 just a few hours ago. 01:06 So I really feel that this is something 01:09 if you all don't need to hear it 01:10 I know that I need to hear it 01:12 because God was speaking to my heart. 01:15 So before we begin let's go to the Lord in prayer. 01:22 Our Father in heaven, 01:25 we come before your throne of grace, 01:28 and Lord we come to present to your presence. 01:32 We thank You Father that 01:35 we have become your children through Christ Jesus. 01:38 We thank You Father for the opportunity 01:42 to get to know You better 01:43 and Lord we want more of You. 01:48 Oh Lord, forgive us for the many services that 01:52 we have that were not really seeking your heart, 01:57 seeking your face. 01:59 Help us, Lord, everyday to come before you 02:04 to get to know you better. 02:06 And Father we ask in the name of Jesus that 02:10 you'll send your Holy Spirit now. 02:12 And Father we pray in Jesus name 02:15 not only will Holy Spirit be our teacher tonight, 02:19 but that you'll give us ears to hear 02:22 what you want us to hear. 02:25 So thank you, Father God, 02:27 we're asking these things in the name of Jesus 02:29 and we received them in the name of Jesus. Amen. 02:33 You know, I've to tell you there's a little bird, 02:36 it's called the titmouse. 02:38 And you know about those little birds. 02:40 Well, there is this bird that has been 02:43 for the last several weeks. 02:45 Everyday he comes to our window 02:49 and he just flings himself against the window 02:53 all day long, everyday. 02:55 And so I shut the blinds, 02:58 and he goes to the next window. 03:00 You shut the blinds then he finds windows that 03:02 don't have blinds on them. 03:03 And I thought about that and I thought, 03:06 you know, this poor crazy little bird, 03:08 this has been going on four weeks. 03:10 As soon as it gets light until it gets dark. 03:13 This poor crazy little bird 03:15 just keeps flinging himself against this window. 03:18 I don't know if he's trying to get in 03:19 or if he just sees a reflection, 03:21 maybe it's mating season. 03:23 I don't know. 03:24 But what is the definition of insanity? 03:29 To keep doing the same thing 03:31 the way you've always done it before 03:34 and to think that 03:36 you're going to have different results. 03:38 Well, I thought about that is as our topic tonight is 03:44 "praying outside the box". 03:46 And I guess the best place to begin is 03:48 to say that a good indicator of the value that 03:52 we place on something is the amount of time 03:56 we devote to it. 03:58 So let me ask, how do you value prayer? 04:05 Prayer is not something that 04:07 we should just put on our to-do list. 04:10 Prayer should be for the child of God 04:13 as instinctive `as breathing 04:15 because it is the breath of the soul. 04:18 And in our world of dizzying distractions, 04:22 every now and then we just need to stop 04:25 and we need to take, 04:27 put a finger on our spiritual pulse 04:30 and see what is going on. 04:33 And how do we put a finger on our spiritual pulse? 04:37 The amount of time we spend in prayer 04:39 and the amount of time we spend in Bible study 04:43 will tell us how well we're doing, right. 04:46 And when we find that 04:49 we have negligence of prayer 04:51 or when we have misplaced priorities 04:54 what does that show us about our lives. 04:59 To me it says that we're not surrendered to God. 05:04 So when you know that 05:05 when you're not spending enough time in prayer 05:07 or you know that you-- 05:09 your priorities are completely misplaced, 05:12 then realize you're not walking 05:15 in the power of God's surrender. 05:17 We don't pray enough 05:19 because we don't recognize the joy of prayer, 05:24 the joy of communicating, 05:27 communing witha loving Father 05:31 who's wanting to guide us, who's wanting 05:34 and willing to give us all things. 05:37 And so, we also don't pray enough 05:39 because we don't recognize the power of God that 05:44 is unleashed in prayer. 05:46 I want us to read three scriptures 05:48 if you'll turn to Matthew 21 and verse 22 05:53 and I hope you at home will get out your Bibles 05:56 because, you know, this is called 05:59 "Wednesday night prayer meeting." 06:02 Prayer is more than just us talking to God. 06:05 It's listening to God. 06:07 And the way we hear from God is through His word. 06:10 So what we're going to do is 06:11 read three scriptures just back to back here, 06:14 and we'll come back and revisit them in a moment. 06:17 But listen to Matthew 21:22, 06:21 these are Jesus words and He says, 06:25 "Whatever things you ask in prayer, 06:28 believing, you will receive." 06:32 Whatever things you ask in prayer, 06:36 believing, you will receive. 06:38 Now, turn to John 15:7, John 15 and verse 7. 06:47 Again these are Jesus words. 06:53 And in John 15, say Amen if you're there. Okay. 06:59 In John 15 and verse 7, Jesus says, 07:03 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, 07:08 you will ask what you desire, 07:12 and it shall be done for you." All right. 07:16 Turn to first John 5, 07:21 First John chapter 5, verses 14 and 15. 07:29 We're gonna come back in a little bit. 07:32 We'll come back and unpack these scriptures, 07:34 but I want to show you something. 07:36 First John 5, versus 14 and 15, 07:42 and the Apostle John echoes Jesus words. 07:45 He says, "Now this is the confidence that 07:48 we have in Him, that if we ask anything 07:52 according to His will, He hears us. 07:55 And if we know that He hears us, 07:58 whatever we ask, we know that 08:02 we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." 08:06 Now just let me repeat this, real quickly. 08:09 Matthew 21:22 says, "Whatever we ask in prayer, 08:15 believing, we will receive." 08:17 John 15:7 says, Jesus said, 08:20 "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, 08:22 ask anything you desire, 08:24 and you shall receive it." 08:26 And then, here John is telling us 08:28 in 1 John 5:14 and 15 that 08:30 the confidence that we can have is that 08:33 if we ask anything according to God's will, 08:36 whatever it is that we ask, we will receive. 08:40 Let me ask you, do you believe that? You do. 08:47 You know what I believe? 08:49 I believe that we believe it up here. 08:53 I think it is purely mental assent that we think. 08:57 Yes, this is the word of God. 08:59 We know the word of God is true. 09:02 And so, we have it up here 09:03 and we read it and we say yes, but it's not here. 09:07 You know why it's not here? 09:09 I can tell you because I can prove it. 09:13 Why do we pray such little prayers? 09:18 Why do we pray such small prayers? 09:22 You know, these are little boxed in prayers. 09:25 We box God in. 09:27 We limit God by our little thoughts. Admit it. 09:36 None of us know how to pray. 09:38 Turn to Romans 8:26. 09:41 That's a strong statement to say that 09:43 no one knows how to pray. 09:44 Sometimes we'll hear people 09:46 who sound so eloquent in prayer 09:50 and they just sound so beautiful. 09:53 And a lot of times there's not really 09:56 any praying going on. 09:58 It's just people talking 10:01 and they're not really knowing and seeking God. 10:06 Romans 8:26, listen to this 10:09 and I'll support that statement of scripture 10:11 'cause I got a few funny looks when I said that. 10:14 But here's what Paul tells us in Romans 8:26. 10:19 He says, "Likewise the Spirit 10:21 also helps us in our weaknesses. 10:24 For we do not know what 10:27 we should pray for as we ought" Paul saying here, 10:32 "I don't know how to pray." 10:34 He says "we" he doesn't say 10:35 "You don't know how to pray." 10:37 He says, "We know not what to pray 10:41 for as we ought, but the Spirit himself 10:45 makes intercession for us with groanings, 10:49 which cannot be uttered." 10:51 We don't know how to pray. 10:55 You know, we don't know how to pray 10:57 as it is necessary to pray. 11:00 What God's been working 11:01 in my heart is to help me understand, 11:03 we can't see the end from the beginning like He does. 11:07 So we don't know when 11:08 we're asking for a certain blessing 11:10 for ourselves or for someone else, 11:13 we don't know if that's really what's best for them. 11:17 And in our littleness and in our pride, 11:21 we pray little self-centered prayers 11:25 with self-centered plans, self-centered desires. 11:29 We're always asking God to bless our plans, 11:34 rather than asking God 11:36 to fulfill His plan in our life for the day. 11:41 You know, when you think about it, 11:42 why is there not more power in the churches? 11:49 Why is there not more power in our Christian lives? 11:53 I believe it's because we haven't learned 11:56 God's perfect plan and that 11:58 is to be totally dependent upon Him. 12:02 To be totally dependent upon 12:04 the Holy Spirit as Christ was. 12:07 We need to be delivered of our pride 12:11 and our self will. 12:13 James 4:6 says that, 12:16 "God resists the proud, 12:19 but He gives grace to the humble." 12:23 And you know, maybe that explains 12:24 why there is not more grace being poured out 12:27 because it's difficult to find truly humble people. 12:31 But we need to admit to ourselves that 12:33 we don't know how to pray 12:34 and recognize our utter helplessness without God. 12:40 Humility in prayer is what the Lord is looking for. 12:45 That's what He's looking for is for us 12:47 to come before Him humbly in prayer 12:50 and recognizing our dependence 12:52 upon the Holy Spirit. 12:54 You know, Jesus said in Second Corinthians 12:9, 12:58 "My grace is sufficient for you. 13:01 For My power is made perfect in your weakness." 13:03 And I've just finished a series that 13:07 taping over the last couple of weeks. 13:09 And it's on grace and, you know, 13:12 the three greatest gifts of grace. 13:15 What's the three greatest gifts that 13:17 God has ever given to human, humankind? 13:20 First, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior 13:24 and then the Holy Spirit and the word of God. 13:27 And if we recognize the gifts of grace, 13:30 we'll recognize the effects of grace. 13:33 Grace gives us power 13:35 when the life of Christ is in us. 13:36 When the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts 13:39 and Christ lives in our hearts by faith, 13:42 grace gives us power and we should be like 13:45 Paul who, here he is praying for deliverance 13:48 from something and Jesus says, 13:50 "No, my son, you don't know 13:52 how to pray as you ought. 13:54 I know that 13:55 you need this thorn in your flesh. 13:58 It is going to keep you secure in me" 14:02 And so, He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." 14:06 And that thorn in the flesh proved it to Paul that 14:09 the grace was sufficient and that His power, 14:12 God's power would be made perfect in his weakness. 14:16 And that's what we need to recognize. 14:18 We need to be like Paul who said, 14:20 "Oh! I glory in my weakness that 14:23 His power may rest upon me." 14:26 And we need to bring this attitude to prayer. 14:29 You know there in Romans 8:26 said that, 14:32 "The Spirit himself intercedes 14:35 with unspoken groanings." 14:38 Now a lot of churches will teach that 14:41 this is praying in tongues, but you know what? 14:44 The word is not glossolalia there. 14:47 What the word means in the Greek? 14:49 What it is saying is that that this is a wordless, 14:55 heart-to-heart communication with the Lord. 14:58 In words, there's sometimes 15:01 we agree that in our own language 15:04 there are things that we can't express 15:07 where the Holy Spirit has this wordless 15:10 heart-to-heart communication. 15:12 He knows our hearts. 15:14 He knows God's heart and he is so close to the Lord, 15:18 He is one with Him that 15:20 He prays this way for us, 15:23 the Holy Spirit is our intercessor on earth 15:27 dwelling within us 15:29 just as Jesus Christ is our intercessor in heaven. 15:33 You know the greatest prayers that 15:35 I have ever prayed had been when 15:38 I freely admitted that I didn't know how to pray. 15:43 And I would ask for the spirits guidance. 15:45 And it's amazing when you ask 15:50 for the Holy Spirit to help you pray 15:52 how it changes your prayer. 15:54 But I have to confess something. 15:57 They say confessions good for the soul 15:59 and bad for the reputation. 16:02 I didn't recognize my own pride, 16:06 the pride of the flesh in me until 16:09 God was showing me how, you know, 16:11 I've considered myself a prayer warrior, 16:14 other people will tell you I'm a prayer warrior. 16:17 But I don't know how to pray as I ought. None of us do. 16:22 And when we are praying without 16:25 first coming in that humility to surrender to God 16:29 and ask the Holy Spirit to guide the prayer, 16:32 we are not praying the way God wants us to pray. 16:37 I remember once that I was doing a meeting 16:40 and after this meeting, a woman came up to me 16:43 and she said, I need healing, sister. 16:46 I need healing. 16:47 You know, I've got a lung condition. 16:50 It was, what is it when you have? Emphysema. 16:55 I've got emphysema she said, and I need healing. 16:58 And boy, if you know me, you know I pray the promises. 17:01 So I began praying earnestly. 17:04 I mean, I've thought it was effective fervent prayer. 17:07 I am praying the promises over her. 17:10 I'm calling down God's power for healing. 17:13 And you know what happens. 17:15 In the midst of this, 17:17 the still small voice of the Lord impresses 17:19 this thought upon my mind and He says, 17:22 "Who is this that darkens my council 17:26 with words without wisdom?" 17:29 I'm pleading the promises. 17:30 And all of a sudden then I stopped 17:32 and I backed up and I asked her. 17:35 I said, you know, I need to ask you 17:37 a few questions before we pray 17:39 and we really need to have the Holy Spirit to come in 17:42 and help us with this prayer. 17:44 And I asked her, I said, are you still smoking? 17:49 And she said, yes. 17:53 And I told her, do you realize 17:55 we can't ask God to heal 17:58 you if you're doing something to harm yourself? 18:02 We can't ask God to bless what you're doing. 18:05 You've got, we've got to pray 18:07 for your deliverance from smoking. 18:10 Does that make sense? Amen. 18:13 So what we need, God wants us to get 18:17 to that place of humility of recognizing that 18:21 we're absolutely dependent upon Him 18:23 and then our prayers won't be mere formalism. 18:28 They won't be just vain babbling. 18:31 And what God was showing me right there 18:33 with that woman is that even pleading 18:36 the promises of God can be vain babbling 18:39 if I'm not praying according to God's will. 18:42 Is this making sense? Wow! 18:45 So earnest heart-felt prayer will lead 18:48 to a dynamic relationship with the Lord, 18:52 an intimate personal relationship with God, 18:56 and God is wooing us. 18:58 He is wooing you by the power of His love. 19:02 He is drawing you by His everlasting love. 19:07 And as we draw closer to God, 19:10 God will draw nearer to us. 19:12 Turn to Jeremiah 29, 19:15 and you probably know where I'm going. 19:18 While you're turning there, 19:19 I just want to take a moment to recognize Jay McGrath, 19:23 oh, Jay Rosario, oh excuse me. 19:26 And Dan McGrath, who are with us tonight 19:29 and who are taping, 19:31 here taping a new series for engage. 19:33 We also wanna welcome you, Mike Johnson. All right. 19:38 Jeremiah 29, verses 11 through 14 19:43 and I hope you're following long with us 19:45 at home in your Bibles. 19:48 So let's look at this very familiar passage, 19:51 but I want to do something a little bit different. 19:55 In Jeremiah 29:11:14. This is God speaking. 20:01 He says, "For I know the thoughts that 20:03 I think toward you, says the Lord, 20:05 thoughts of peace and not of evil 20:07 to give you a future and a hope. 20:09 Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me." 20:12 Let's stop. When? Wait a minute. 20:17 It just seems like this-- 20:18 this whole verse should be-- should be reversed. 20:23 He says, "I know the thoughts that 20:24 I think toward you, says the Lord, 20:26 thoughts of peace and not of evil 20:27 to give you a future and a hope. 20:29 Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me." When? 20:36 When we recognize that 20:38 God has a plan for our lives, 20:43 then we will go and pray to Him. 20:46 And when we recognize and understand God's plan, 20:50 He goes on to say I will listen to you, 20:53 you will seek Me and find Me, 20:54 when you search for Me with all your heart, 20:57 I will be found by you, says the Lord. 21:00 See when we understand God's plan, 21:04 it will give us a passion for His presence. 21:08 And when we have a passion for His presence, 21:11 prayer becomes something that is as natural 21:15 and instinctive as breathing. 21:17 And we will not come in what we think is our-- 21:23 we won't come in pride. 21:25 We will come in pure humility before the Lord 21:28 and we will give Him, acknowledge His presence 21:31 and give Him His place in prayer. 21:35 Turn to Hebrews 5:7. Hebrews 5:7. 21:42 Prayer is a form of worship, 21:46 so we should approach in reverent submission. 21:51 Jesus set the example for us 21:54 in Hebrews, chapter 5 and verse 7. 21:58 And it says, who, speaking of Christ, 22:02 in the days of His flesh, His life here on earth, 22:07 when He had offered a prayers and supplications 22:09 with vehement cries and tears to Him 22:12 who was able to save Him from death was heard 22:17 because of His godly fear, his reverent submission. 22:22 This is God praying to God, the same God, 22:28 Christ the Son praying to the Father 22:30 in reverent submission when 22:33 He in His great agony as He considered the trial that 22:39 He was about to face in Calvary. 22:41 The shame of hanging naked on a cross. 22:45 The pain and humiliation. 22:48 The separation from His Father. 22:51 He was still willing to do God's will. 22:56 And in times of trial what 22:58 we need to do is let the obedience of Jesus Christ 23:03 encourage us and the grace of God 23:06 sustain us just as it did Him. 23:09 We need to be like Jesus. 23:11 Here it says that He was hurt 23:14 because of His godly fear, His reverent submission. 23:18 When we come before the Lord, 23:20 we need to pause to consider who we're coming before. 23:25 And it is not only the holy God of the universe, 23:30 the creator, but He is our Abba, our Father. 23:35 Please turn to--well, let's--we're gonna-- 23:39 I'm running a little low, so let me just low-- 23:41 I'm running a little long, 23:42 so let me just read this one to you. 23:45 Christ redeemed us. 23:48 God redeemed us by sending Christ that 23:50 we might receive adoptions as sons. 23:54 And Galatians 4:6 says, because you are sons. 23:59 God has sent forth the spirit of His son 24:02 into our hearts, crying out, Abba! Father! 24:06 Now "Abba" is an Aramaic term 24:08 that has a very intimate term. 24:11 It's a term for Father. 24:14 But it means something like papa or daddy. 24:17 And, you know, what? This is really interesting. 24:20 Roman law if you were-- it didn't matter 24:24 if you were formally a slave, 24:27 if you were adopted by a Roman man, 24:33 you had full rights, guaranteed a full rights 24:37 to your portion of the inheritance. 24:40 An equal portion of the inheritance, 24:43 did it matter, you were-- there were no second-- 24:46 if you were adopted you were not a second class son. 24:49 You had full, equal, 24:52 whether you are biological or adopted, 24:54 you had equal rights. 24:56 So our full identity as adopted children of God, 25:02 do you realize that we share with Jesus, 25:07 all the rights to God's resources, 25:10 isn't that exciting? 25:11 So as God's heirs, we can claim the promises. 25:16 Second Corinthians 1:20 says, 25:17 all of those promises are ours. 25:19 But we have to remember this 25:21 and we're gonna get to that is that 25:23 the promises are conditional. 25:26 God's love is unconditional, but promises are conditional. 25:30 Now Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 4:16, 25:37 "Our approach to God is through prayer." 25:41 And Hebrews 4:16 says, 25:44 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that 25:49 we may obtain mercy and find grace 25:52 to help in our time of need." 25:55 Grace that we might find Jesus Christ, 25:58 the Holy Spirit, the word, the power, 26:02 God's supernatural power for salvation. 26:05 His divine assistance. 26:07 So we should come with reverence 26:09 because He is the holy God. 26:13 But we don't need to come 26:14 with our heads hung down low 26:17 because He is our Abba, Father. 26:20 And we also need to remember that 26:22 when we come before the Lord, don't come flippantly. 26:27 When you approach the throne of grace, 26:30 I don't care if you're just saying thank you at a meal. 26:33 When you approach God's throne of grace, 26:36 you are walking on holy ground. 26:39 So turn to Psalms 105, Psalms 105. 26:45 We need to come to seek His face, 26:48 not just His hand. 26:50 We don't wanna rush into His presence 26:52 with a laundry list of requests. 26:56 We need to be still before God. 26:58 We need to want more of God. 27:01 That's what prayer is all about. 27:03 And we need to give God His place in prayer. 27:07 We should come with a humble worshiping heart 27:12 that is willing to wait for God. 27:13 Psalms 105, verse 4 says this, 27:18 "Seek the Lord and His strength, 27:20 seek His face forevermore." 27:24 You know, David wrote Psalms 27, 27:26 you might wanna jot this one down. 27:28 Psalms 27:7 and 8, he said, 27:31 "Hear, O' Lord, when I cry with my voice, 27:34 have mercy upon me and answer me. 27:36 When you said, "seek my face," 27:38 I said, Lord, your face, I will seek. 27:43 To seek His face is in the context of worship. 27:49 This is complete devotion to God. 27:51 And if we start with an earnest desire to know God 27:56 and His will that's what 27:58 eternal salvation is all about, isn't it? 28:02 Jesus said in John 17:3, 28:04 "This is eternal life that you may know Him 28:10 and the one whom He sent." 28:12 See, we come in our prayers so often to say 28:17 God bless so and so. 28:19 Bless this one. Bless my child. 28:21 Bless me. Do this. 28:23 Help us to pay the mortgage. 28:25 And God is saying, Come here my child, 28:29 I want you to draw near to me, 28:31 to sit at my feet, let me talk with you, 28:34 get to know me, and when you know me, 28:37 when you-- if we could even begin 28:39 to fathom the depth of God's love, the width, 28:43 the length, the height, the depth of God's love, 28:46 we don't understand it. 28:48 Divine love has no equal. 28:50 And there is no way for us to understand it, 28:52 but God is saying, I'm trying to reveal myself to you. 28:56 I wanna show you how much I love you. 28:59 Come get to know me 29:00 and then you'll understand better how to pray. 29:03 We come with bold assurance 29:06 because He is our Abba, Father. 29:09 Now turn if you will to Psalms 63. 29:18 To really have effective fervent prayer, 29:21 to pray outside of the box, 29:24 it requires pressing in to find joy in His presence. 29:28 And I want to say to you at home. 29:30 If you feel that your prayers are not being answered, 29:35 persist in prayer to get to know God. 29:39 Hebrews 11:6 promises that 29:41 God is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him, 29:46 and Jesus said that in Luke 11:9 that 29:49 if we will ask and seek and knock, 29:53 we will find the answer. 29:55 So we want to come with an intense and sincere effort 30:00 not just a sentimental effort. 30:02 We wanna come early, seek earnestly 30:05 and don't give God leftovers just at the end of the day. 30:09 Let's read Psalms 63. 30:12 We're gonna read verses 1"4 30:14 if you're following us at home. 30:16 Oh, God, you are my God. 30:18 Early will I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, 30:21 my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land 30:25 where there is no water. 30:27 Can we identify with that? Mercy. 30:31 Spiritually we live in a dry land. 30:34 This picture is a prolonged drought 30:36 where your tongue cleaves to the roof of your mouth 30:39 and nothing can refresh, but the water of life. 30:44 Oh, I feel that why so often when I come to prayer. 30:47 It's like nothing can refresh me, 30:49 but the living water that God has to give me. 30:52 And He says, so I looked for you 30:54 in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory. 30:58 Because your loving kindness is better than life, 31:03 your love is better than life, Lord. 31:06 My lips shall praise you. 31:08 Thus I will bless you while I live. 31:11 I will lift up my hands in your name. 31:15 Oh! Let that be our heart cry. 31:18 When we get up in the morning, 31:20 we need to say, oh, Lord, I long for you. 31:23 I need you. I am thirsty. 31:26 My tongue is clinging to the roof of my--my mouth. 31:30 I need you, Father. I want more of you. 31:33 And that's a prayer that God is anxious to answer. 31:37 Now if you will quickly, let's turn to 1 Kings 18 31:40 'cause I want to show you something 31:42 about persistent intense prayer, a sincere prayer. 31:49 In First Kings in Chapter 18, 31:54 let's look at verses 41 through 45. 31:58 First Kings 18 and we'll begin with verse 41. 32:03 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "go up, eat and drink, 32:07 for there is the sound of abundance of rain." 32:11 Let me stop right there. 32:13 That's a prophetic statement. 32:15 There's not a cloud in the sky. 32:18 So Elijah is talking to king, 32:19 the wicked king, Ahab who is married to 32:21 the even more wicked Queen, Jezebel. 32:24 And he says, hey, go on up there and eat and drink, 32:27 but there is a sound of abundance of rain. 32:29 So, verse 42, Ahab went up to eat and drink. 32:33 And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, 32:37 then he bowed down on the ground, 32:39 and put his face between his knees 32:41 and he said to his servant, go up now, 32:44 look toward the sea. 32:45 So he, the servant, went up and looked 32:47 and he came back and said there is nothing. 32:50 And seven times he said, go again. 32:54 Then it shall came to pass the seventh time that 32:58 the servant says to him, there is a cloud, 33:02 as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea. 33:06 So Elijah said, go up to Ahab, say to Ahab, 33:09 prepare your chariot and go down 33:12 before the rain stops you. 33:14 Now what happened in the meantime that 33:17 the sky became black with clouds and wind 33:20 and there was a heavy rain. 33:22 The coming of the rain was the result of earnest prayer, 33:28 praying with his face to the ground 33:31 between his knees, earnest prayer. 33:34 I mean, he was speaking and saying, 33:37 hey, there's the sound of abundance of rain 33:40 and there was no rain. 33:41 God must've told him or he just spoke it prophetically. 33:45 But he prayed in the rain. 33:48 The effectual, fervent prayer 33:51 of a righteous man avails much. 33:55 That's what James says in 5 and verse 16. 33:58 And I wanna tell you, all prophets, 34:01 preachers and praying mummers 34:04 who have moved their generation for God, 34:07 have been people of great prayer. 34:10 People who found God's power through prayer 34:14 and that is the way they've done it. 34:17 That is the most powerful weapon that 34:20 we have and those who have fully developed 34:23 Christ's character and those who've done 34:26 the most for the Christian world 34:30 and the advancement of Christianity. 34:32 They've all one notable feature of all of their lives 34:35 has been that they were people of prayer. 34:38 Now let's revisit our three scriptures. 34:42 Let's look at Matthew 21:22 34:46 because when we started this, we said, do we believe it? 34:52 I think that we're praying 34:54 we limit God with our littleness. 34:58 You know, we think so much of ourselves, 35:01 but do you realize that even the human intellect 35:04 has been defiled by sin. 35:06 I mean if we're not walking in absolute surrender to God 35:09 filled with the Holy Spirit, 35:11 if it's not the Holy Spirit working for us, 35:13 there is really nothing good in us, is there. 35:15 Matthew 21:22, Jesus said, 35:19 whatever things you ask in prayer. 35:23 How broad is "whatever"? 35:25 That's pretty comprehensive, isn't it? 35:27 Whatever things you ask in prayer, 35:30 believing, you will receive. All right. 35:34 That's comprehensive, 35:36 but it's conditional on a promise. 35:38 So what is the condition? Believing. 35:43 We must pray and employ the faith factor. 35:49 We must absolutely believe, 35:53 but we have to have a basis for believing. 35:57 You know, I knew a woman in college, 36:01 a young woman who is madly in love with a senator. 36:06 Now this woman was very active Christian. 36:09 And she--I, we roomed together for a little while. 36:12 And she had her prayer an hour every morning. 36:15 You didn't dare speak to her. 36:16 She always do at the living room 36:18 and I have to sneak past her 36:20 because she didn't speak, 36:21 didn't even say hello or wave. 36:22 She was very dedicated to that prayer. 36:26 But she got in her mind that 36:28 she was gonna marry the senator, 36:30 who was already married by the way. 36:33 And she prayed and she prayed 36:35 and she prayed and I'm-- 36:36 and it's like, are you nuts? 36:39 We, you know, we had to have a basis, 36:42 I mean, she believed it. 36:44 So when Jesus says whatever things 36:46 you asked in prayer believing, 36:48 He's not talking about what you believe. 36:53 What is the basis for our believing? 36:57 The word of God. The word of God. 36:59 It has to be. 37:00 You cannot ask for anything that 37:03 violates the principle that 37:05 God lays down in His word and expect to receive it. 37:08 Can we? No. 37:10 So we have to have a basis for believing. 37:15 We've got to know the words that 37:17 we're praying in harmony. 37:19 You know what I say little word, how does faith come. 37:23 Romans 10:17, "faith comes by hearing 37:26 and hearing by the word of God." 37:29 Little word, little faith. Little faith, little prayers. 37:35 We must know and believe that 37:39 Ephesians 3:21 where it says that 37:41 God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond anything 37:46 we could ask or think 37:47 according to the power that is at work within us. 37:51 What is the power that's at work within us? 37:53 The Holy Spirit. 37:56 But James says, he adds to this that 38:00 he says in James 1:6:8, "let him ask in faith, 38:04 with no doubting, for he who doubts 38:07 is like a wave of the sea that is tossed 38:10 and driven by the wind. 38:11 Let not that man suppose he will receive anything." 38:16 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. 38:20 When we pray we've to have a basis for the prayer, 38:24 knowing the principles of God, 38:26 the word of God and we have to pray using faith. 38:30 And when we do that 38:31 we remember prayer is the vehicle, 38:34 but faith is the fuel. 38:38 And that's--it takes both to reach our desired destination. 38:45 Without faith, 38:46 it is impossible to please the Lord. 38:52 So let's look at John 15:7. 38:54 Our time is going by quickly. 39:00 And for those of you at home that 39:01 was Hebrews 11:6, without faith, 39:03 it is impossible to please God 39:06 because he who comes to God must believe that 39:09 He exists and that He is a rewarder of those 39:12 who diligently seek Him. All right. 39:16 Let's look at John 15:5, again 39:19 we've got a comprehensive promise and a condition. 39:24 "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, 39:28 you will ask what you desire 39:31 and it shall be done for you." 39:33 How comprehensive is that? 39:36 Well, Ask what we desire. 39:39 What's the condition? What's the condition? 39:42 "If you abide in me and my words abide in you," 39:48 that means we've got to be living in Christ. 39:52 Believing in Christ is to be living in Christ. 39:56 And we've got to have His word in our heart. 40:00 You know, a lot of people really get nervous 40:03 when we start preaching on what 40:06 Jesus said about prayer. 40:10 Because they think of Psalms 37 verse 4, 40:13 and--and unfortunately in Psalms 37 verse 4, 40:17 it says that, "God will give you 40:19 the desires of your heart." 40:21 Oh, boy, and have-- had some denominations 40:26 had a feel that they would with that. 40:28 But, you know, they don't quote the whole scriptures. 40:31 It says in Psalms 37, verse 4, 40:35 "Delight yourself also in the Lord." 40:38 There's the condition. 40:40 Then He will give you the desires of your heart. 40:43 See when we delight, 40:44 when we find our delight in God, 40:47 you know what happens? 40:49 He lines our desires up with His desires. 40:53 And we--if we find our delight in Him, 40:56 we want His will to be done. 40:59 So our desires are lined up with His 41:01 and we pray for His will. 41:04 And we--His desires become ours 41:07 and then naturally He would give us 41:10 anything desires of our heart. 41:13 So that condition is, first we've got to-- 41:17 we look, we have to employ the faith factor. 41:20 Secondly, we must abide in Christ 41:22 with His word abiding in us. 41:24 Let's look at First John 5:14 and 15 again. 41:28 First John, chapter 5 and this is verse 14 and 15. 41:40 We have to pray according to the will of God. 41:47 John writes, "Now this is the confidence that 41:49 we have in Him, that if we ask anything 41:53 according to His will, He hears us." 41:56 How comprehensive is this. Listen. 41:59 "And if we know that He hears us whatever we ask, 42:03 we know that we have the petitions that 42:05 we have asked of Him." Wow. 42:10 If we ask anything, what is-- what is the condition here? 42:15 According to His will 42:18 when our prayers align with God's will, 42:22 He hears and grants our request. 42:25 We can have communication confidence 42:27 as we come before Him, 42:29 but we must remember that 42:31 it has to be in submission to His will. 42:35 You know, Luke 22:42, Jesus said, 42:38 "Oh, Father, if it's possible let this cup pass from me, 42:43 yet not My will, but Yours be done." 42:46 He was facing the agony of the cross, 42:50 the shame of hanging naked on the cross, 42:53 and Jesus shows us here that 42:57 He had a very real personal struggle 43:00 in the garden of Gethsemane. 43:02 I think this verse, Luke 22:42 demonstrates, 43:06 it's okay if we express our true feelings 43:09 to God in prayer, He knows our hearts anyway. 43:13 He knows our thoughts anyway. 43:15 But the Christ who came His total focus 43:20 while He was on earth was to do the pleasure of God's will 43:25 and our struggle will only be resolved 43:28 when we become like Christ 43:30 and are willing to do God's will. 43:34 Christ life was one of absolute trust in the Father. 43:39 His life was one of absolute obedience to the Father, 43:44 of absolute dependence upon the Father. 43:48 And He lived a life of absolute humility. 43:52 Should we do anything less? 43:55 Jesus said, "I only say what 43:57 the Father tells me to say. 43:58 I only do what He shows Me to do." Right. 44:01 Or what I know He is doing. 44:03 So if He can be that humble from His humble birth, 44:08 He lived for nothing, 44:10 but to do God's will even to the point of becoming 44:15 obedient and experiencing 44:19 humiliation of death on the cross. 44:22 Now, I want to add. 44:23 We've got enough time, I was hoping we would. 44:26 I wanna add to our three scriptures. 44:28 Let's turn to I John chapter 3. 44:32 I John chapter 3, verses 21 and 22, 44:38 because this is another condition for answered prayer 44:42 and we've got to start praying outside the box. 44:46 We need to pray bigger prayers. 44:48 We need to rely on the Holy Spirit, 44:51 but first we've got to understand 44:54 how our prayers will be answered. 44:57 I John 3:21 and 22, 45:00 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, 45:04 we have confidence toward God." 45:07 What he's saying is when our consciences are clear, 45:10 we can come to the heavenly Father without fear. 45:14 And we can be confident that He hears our request. 45:18 And look at verse 22, 45:20 "Whatever we ask we receive from Him." 45:25 How comprehensive is that? 45:27 I don't think he's left anything out. 45:30 "Because we keep His commandments 45:33 and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." 45:37 "Whatever we ask we receive from Him, 45:40 because we keep His commandments 45:42 and do that which is pleasing in His sight." 45:46 So, we see the comprehensive part, whatever. 45:50 What's--what's the condition? Keeping His commandments. 45:55 God responds to His obedient children. 45:59 Have you ever felt that God didn't hear your prayers? 46:02 Are you praying in reverent submission 46:05 willing to do God's will? 46:08 We've got to get to that point where we are. 46:12 Jesus said in John 15:10 and 11, 46:15 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, 46:19 just as I have kept My Father's commandments 46:22 and abide in His love." 46:24 He said, 'These things I have spoken to you that 46:26 your joy may remain and it may be full." 46:32 Obedience is a source of true joy. 46:36 It's not doom and gloom. 46:37 Obedience is the pathway to God's blessings. 46:41 In Hebrews 10:36, I do want you to turn there 46:44 because so many people 46:45 don't-- don't know about the scripture. 46:48 When I mention it I want you 46:50 to put a little star by there, if you underline-- 46:52 underline this because Hebrews 10:36 46:56 is crucial for us to understand that 46:59 we must walk in obedience to receive the promises of God. 47:04 And the author writes, 47:05 "For you've need of endurance, 47:07 so that after you have done the will of God 47:12 you may receive the promise." 47:15 What comes first, the promise or obedience? 47:19 Obedience. Your obedience. 47:22 You have need of endurance, 47:23 so that after you had done the will of God 47:26 you may receive the promise. 47:30 And of course, we can count not only are we praying 47:37 with the Holy Spirit as our intercessor on earth, 47:41 but turn to Hebrews 7 and verse 25. 47:47 Hebrews 7 and verse 25. 47:57 In Hebrews 7, it says, talking-referring to Jesus, 48:02 "Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost 48:07 those who come to God through Him, 48:10 since He always lives to make intercession for them." 48:15 You've got an intercessor on earth 48:17 who dwells within you if the Holy Spirit is in you. 48:20 And you have an intercessor in heaven who cries. 48:24 Do you realize that the ministry of our risen 48:27 and exalted Savior is intercessory prayer? 48:31 I had a lady once who called me 48:33 and she'd been a missionary and she was 91 years old, 91. 48:38 And she said, Oh honey, I pray for you everyday. 48:42 I love your program exalting His word 48:45 and I pray for you everyday, 48:46 in fact I pray for everybody at 3ABN everyday. 48:50 And then she was talking about her prayer life 48:52 and then pretty soon, she just chokes up 48:55 and she says to me, "I'm in this nursing home 48:58 and I--I've lived my life for God, 49:01 but now there is nothing I can do. 49:04 I can't do ministry anymore. 49:07 And I said, now you told me that 49:10 you pray all day long for people? 49:13 And she said, yes. And I said, congratulations. 49:16 You have received the promotion 49:18 to the highest form of ministry there is. 49:22 She said what do you mean? 49:24 And I said intercessory prayer. 49:26 That is the ministry of our risen and exalted Savior. 49:31 See we think that going out and do an evangelistic series, 49:34 and by the way, Jay you're an evangelist, 49:37 if you go out and do 49:38 evangelistic series be prayed up. 49:41 There is a man who was a Muslim, 49:45 who, when he was praying, he is in the South Africa. 49:49 When he was praying for healing, get this, 49:53 God, he was an earnest Muslim. 49:56 And as he was praying for healing, God told him, 50:00 "I will heal you if you become a Christian." What? 50:04 So he went out and he bought a Bible. 50:05 I mean--I think he struggled with the Lord 50:07 for a little while in prayer. 50:08 Went out and bought a Bible. He read it. 50:13 He accepted Christ as his Savior 50:15 and then he went out to find the church that he felt 50:19 most closely identified with Bible teaching. 50:23 And he became a Seventh-day Adventist. 50:25 This man was a teacher and he became a farmer 50:32 to support his evangelistic series. 50:34 I mean he went out full-time to do evangelistic work. 50:40 His farming was kind of part-time. 50:43 And guess what happened? 50:46 I don't, well I don't have statistics in front of me. 50:49 It was remarkable how many people 50:52 this man has brought to the Lord. 50:55 Thousands, upon thousands he has brought to the Lord. 50:58 He has planted hundreds of churches. But get this. 51:04 You know, what he does 51:05 before he does an evangelistic series. 51:08 He spends six hours a day in prayer 51:12 for two months before each evangelistic series. 51:16 That's his preparation. 51:19 When we go out to do something in our own flesh, 51:24 we're not gonna get merely the results. 51:26 Yeah, I mean, we're speaking the word of God. 51:28 So there is going to be some results 51:31 'cause the word is anointed. 51:32 But boy, if we're to get that 51:34 point of being so totally surrendered, 51:37 people could look at us and see God in us 51:41 and God could get us out of the way 51:43 and our little bitty intellect 51:46 and we could pray these souls into the kingdom. 51:50 Oh, how we need to pray outside the box. 51:54 We're so boxed in our little prayers. 51:57 And then finally, we need to pray with persistence. 52:03 We need to be like Elijah. 52:06 We need to pray until we keep on until 52:09 we receive the answer. 52:11 And the answer won't always be what 52:14 we expect it to be. 52:16 But it will always be God's best. 52:20 Luke 18, if you've turned there, please. 52:24 Luke 18 verses 7 through 8. 52:28 Luke 18, verses 7:8. 52:34 Jesus is speaking and He's just told 52:37 the parable of the persistent widow. 52:40 And it starts off in the chapter saying that 52:43 He told this parable to show to His disciples that 52:47 they should pray always and not give up. 52:50 Don't give up. 52:51 No matter how big the mountain seems to you. 52:56 God can make your mountain a molehill. 52:58 And He--with God all things are possible. 53:02 So then He says in Luke 18, verses 7 and 8, 53:06 "Shall God not avenge His own elect 53:09 who cry out to him day and night, 53:11 though He bears along with them? 53:13 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. 53:18 Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, 53:22 will he really find faith on the earth?" 53:26 Persevering prayer is a greatest evidence of faith 53:31 that there is, Little word, little faith, 53:35 little faith, little persevering prayer. 53:39 But, we need to remember that 53:42 bold persistence pays off, 53:45 it's like when Jacob was struggling with 53:48 the angel of the Lord all nightlong and he said, 53:51 "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 53:54 We need to come before the Lord 53:57 and we need to struggle in prayer with Him like that 54:00 and say, "Lord, forgive me for my pride. 54:04 Forgive me for my self-interest. 54:07 I don't know how to pray. 54:11 I need you, Lord." 54:13 We need to come, God created us 54:17 to be vessels for His spirit. 54:21 We're to be the living temple of the living God. 54:24 We are sanctified vessels set apart 54:27 and you know what if I've got my table set, 54:33 do I--if I invite you over for dinner, 54:37 I set the table and put a bunch of trash 54:40 and stuff in the plates. 54:42 Well, what could I put on top of that? 54:45 If the bowl is full, if the vessel is full, 54:49 you can't add anything to it. 54:51 We need to come before the Lord and be empty vessels. 54:55 We need to say, Lord, empty me of me. 54:57 Help me put off the old man and put on Christ Jesus. 55:01 Fill me with your Holy Spirit, Lord. 55:04 And Jesus said, in Luke 11:9, he said, 55:08 ask and you will find, seek--and ask 55:13 and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, 55:16 knock and the door will be open. 55:18 And you know what, in the Greek 55:20 these are linear verbs that means they never stop. 55:24 It's like Jesus is saying, ask and keep on asking, 55:27 seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. 55:31 And then in verse 13, He tells us what we're asking for. 55:34 He says, if you, being who you are, 55:39 know how to give good gifts to your children, 55:41 how much more will the Heavenly Father 55:44 give good gifts. No. 55:48 How much more will the Heavenly Father 55:51 give the Holy Spirit to those 55:53 who ask and keep on asking. 55:58 And finally I wanna make one more point, 56:01 when you finish praying, linger a moment. 56:06 Don't just in Jesus name Amen 56:08 and start talking to someone else. 56:12 Linger a moment and receive the blessing. 56:16 When we were in Jerusalem recently, 56:18 we were at the Wailing Wall. 56:21 And I didn't--I wasn't aware of the custom, 56:25 I went up to the Wailing Wall I was praying 56:28 and then I turned around and walked away 56:31 and I noticed if this was the Wailing Wall 56:34 I noticed that everybody else 56:35 who've been praying was backing up like this. 56:40 And I asked someone, why did they back away? 56:43 And I mean, they backed away for many, many yards 56:47 and they said, because we believe 56:49 the Wailing Wall is the only place 56:51 where God's presence is still here in Jerusalem. 56:55 And you never turn your back on the king. 56:59 See, we rush into God's presence, 57:03 then we rush out of God's presence. 57:06 We don't acknowledge God. 57:09 We don't know how we ought to pray, 57:11 but we can count on the Holy Spirit. 57:15 Well, our time is quickly coming to a close. 57:19 I want to--we're going to stay here 57:21 and pray in just a moment, 57:23 but I don't--I'm afraid we won't have time 57:25 to pray on the air, but do know that 57:27 we always pray for all of our viewers 57:30 and we thank you so much, 57:32 we're so glad that you tuned in tonight 57:34 and I pray that the Lord gave you a blessing, 57:38 I pray that the Holy Spirit is stirring 57:41 something within you to know that 57:44 you can pray outside the box 57:48 and ask whatever you will, 57:50 when you meet God's conditions, 57:52 ask whatever you will and it will be done for you. 57:56 May God bless you more than you could ever ask or think. |
Revised 2014-12-17