1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Englewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning in to our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:22,000 according to the Bible. Well, good morning, Englewood. 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,800 How about that worship team? Amen. 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:35,080 Not that I want to do an infomercial for them, but they 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,200 have recorded ACD and you can get these in the bookstore. 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,640 You can also download these. And so all that information will 11 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,800 be over there. They'd love for you to, to get 12 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,520 about 4000 of those, share them with your closest friends 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,600 because I know some of you have 4000 close friends, but it's 14 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,200 just entitled worship and it will lead you to do that. 15 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:57,280 So thank you so much for being here. 16 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,200 If you're a guest, thank you. Let me just share a couple of 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,800 words and then I want to pray for us. 18 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,680 I want to thank first of all, there's a good crew that went 19 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,040 over to Tarboro yesterday and did a lot of hard work. 20 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,960 And so I appreciate very much those of you who were a part of 21 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:16,200 that team. And also a team is getting ready 22 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:18,400 to head out to Western North Carolina at the end of the week. 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,960 And there I think we pray they're, they're ready to start 24 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,920 building houses actually that they're beyond the clean out 25 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,320 phase and now they're actually going to start rebuilding some. 26 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,080 And for some people, it's just been a very hard and long time. 27 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,560 Obviously, I also want to pray about the weather coming up, 28 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,680 that our coastline will be safe and that what we see out in the 29 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,240 ocean will just stay right out there and bless the fishes and 30 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,400 not us. And also just take a take note 31 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,600 in your worship guide today. There's several things coming 32 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,200 up. The special needs ministry has a 33 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,480 table out there and some special training coming up. 34 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,680 So don't miss that as well, but I just wanted to pray for us 35 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:03,520 this morning as we think about his faithfulness and we praise 36 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,320 Him for that and we move forward together. 37 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:08,800 So would you stand with me and let's pray together? 38 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:21,520 Father, you are indeed faithful. And Father, I pray that that 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:27,400 sentence, as simple as it is, is never taken for granted. 40 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,720 You don't have to be to us. We don't deserve your 41 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,760 faithfulness. It's part of your nature to be 42 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,960 the same as part of your nature to be true. 43 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,360 And Father, we thank you that you allow that to touch us. 44 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,520 Father, thank you for what you're doing here. 45 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,200 Thank you for what you're doing in Tarboro. 46 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,400 We look forward to the launch on the 19th. 47 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,720 I pray, Father, that we'll help them as our church plant on the 48 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:00,680 11th. And thank you for the crew that 49 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:02,160 was there. I pray you'll bless the crew 50 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:03,880 going out to Western North Carolina. 51 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:09,680 Father, what a what a difficult time so many families are still 52 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,800 facing out there. And Father, I pray that you'll 53 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:15,600 keep us safe over the next few days. 54 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,480 I pray, Father, that the Father we might get the refreshing rain 55 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,120 that we need, but Father, we wouldn't get more then we need, 56 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,200 Father, and that You would keep the storms away and keep people 57 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,160 safe. Now, Father, please open our 58 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,520 hearts and minds to Your Word. We need this Word today. 59 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,480 I believe so, Father, help me to simply tell these people what 60 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,240 you've told me to tell them, and help His Father to understand 61 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,920 Your Word in Christ's name. Amen. 62 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,080 Well, I'd invite you to turn to Ephesians chapter 6. 63 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:49,760 You might want to buckle up just a little bit. 64 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,720 I got some news for you. You're in conflict. 65 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,080 You may not know that. You may not believe that, you 66 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:08,160 may not want that, but you are. You might even want to argue 67 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:09,360 with me. John, you have no idea what 68 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:10,920 you're talking about. Won't be the first time somebody 69 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,760 this week has said that. But you don't know what you're 70 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,279 talking about. And you might argue that you're 71 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,519 perfect piece right now, doing just fine amidst this thing 72 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:24,520 called life. When people say, how are you, 73 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,200 you, you give that perfunctory, I'm I'm fine. 74 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,040 Hope you are and just move right along. 75 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,960 But regardless of how you're really doing right now, you're 76 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,120 still in the middle of a conflict. 77 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,120 Fun, huh? Exciting, isn't that? 78 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:45,280 But you're not alone. We're all in the middle of a 79 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:46,840 conflict. So. 80 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,840 So let's talk about working through it together today 81 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,680 because this morning I'm going to continue in our sermon 82 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,640 series, Come Live the Church's vision, the seven essentials of 83 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,680 discipleship. I've shared already that as a 84 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,720 disciple of Jesus, we must engage the Bible with a humble 85 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,400 and teachable spirit. I've also shared that we must 86 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,640 unite in fellowship with hospitality and authenticity. 87 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,280 But I also need to share with you this morning that as 88 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:15,840 disciples of Jesus, we must commit to abiding in prayer with 89 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:20,880 dependence and anticipation. See, one of the essentials of 90 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,640 being a true disciple of Jesus is that we learn to constantly 91 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,280 abide with God in prayer. And that's harder than it might 92 00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:31,600 sound. We need to submit to his, to to 93 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,160 his sovereignty and total dependence, to his authority. 94 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,440 And one way to do that is through prayer. 95 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,400 So we pray to one who is worthy of that submission. 96 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,560 We we pray to one that is above us. 97 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:51,000 We pray to the one who can because we cannot. 98 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,240 We're dependent upon that, or we should be. 99 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,560 We believe in who he is and and therefore we believe that prayer 100 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,640 matters and we and we anticipate prayer working. 101 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,360 Prayer is an act of humility. It's an act of recognition. 102 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,800 It's it's where we engage in dialogue with God. 103 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:12,920 Now you need to think about that. 104 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,840 Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, you need to think about 105 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:22,280 what I just said. You actually get to engage in 106 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:24,880 dialogue. What an incredible, incredible 107 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,000 privilege of engaging an actual conversation with the creator of 108 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,800 the universe. Don't take that lightly. 109 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:34,720 He's the Savior of all and you get to talk to him. 110 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,640 God cares about you so much. He wants you to bring and dump 111 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,200 that truck, truckload of life right on him. 112 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,760 He, he wants you to bring your fears, your worries, your, your 113 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,680 issues and your load right on him. 114 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:55,640 He wants you to bring it. So instead of spewing, spewing 115 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,320 forth, you're venting on somebody else, complaining about 116 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:04,720 things or arguing about things, go to Him because he loves us in 117 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,680 this way and we're given this opportunity. 118 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:13,880 No, we're given the command to abide with Him in prayer. 119 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,720 Now, does that really describe your daily existence? 120 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:23,360 Abiding in prayer with dependence and anticipation? 121 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:26,760 But I mentioned a conflict. There is one. 122 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:31,080 There's a conflict because we also have a real enemy who seeks 123 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,320 to stop you from doing this right. 124 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,000 He wants to weaken you. He wants you to collapse under 125 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,600 the weight of the truckload of your life right now. 126 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,160 He he does not want you to find true peace. 127 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,480 He doesn't want you to find true direction as a disciple. 128 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:49,600 And frankly, that makes me angry. 129 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,280 And he's been working overtime lately in our world and frankly 130 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:02,320 here been working overtime. It frustrates me that our enemy 131 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:08,080 is so good at what he does, so we must passionately embrace 132 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,880 true discipleship and abide in prayer with dependence and 133 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,040 anticipation. And it's very hard for some to 134 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,080 do that. It's very hard for some to admit 135 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,640 that life, as John Piper has said, that life is a 136 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,120 battleground, not a playground for some people. 137 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,120 For some people out there especially, the concept of 138 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,880 spiritual conflict or a spiritual enemy would just be 139 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,800 fantasy. Yet he does exist. 140 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:36,480 Let me tell you about him. His temporary existence is part 141 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,240 of this fallen world. We discussed that a few 142 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,720 Wednesday nights ago. Everything I'm doing ties 143 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:42,280 together. I wish you would be here all the 144 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,280 time. 100% participation in your opportunities. 145 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,360 The Bible calls him the wicked 1, the deceiver, the destroyer, 146 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,760 their adversary, the enemy of our souls. 147 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:54,560 Satan doesn't want you to have peace. 148 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,600 He wants you distracted. He wants you frustrated. 149 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,200 He wants you afraid. He wants you alone. 150 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:02,720 He doesn't want you to seek true discipleship. 151 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:04,680 He doesn't want you to love God and love people. 152 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,000 He doesn't want you to engage the Bible with a humble and 153 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,120 teachable spirit. He doesn't want you to unite in 154 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:11,520 fellowship through hospitality and authenticity. 155 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,240 Though our world around us, This culture desperately needs that 156 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,960 testimony. And he certainly doesn't want 157 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,760 you to join God's mission. So he would absolutely hate it 158 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,200 if you abided in prayer with dependence and anticipation. 159 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,160 He wants you to be overwhelmed by the burden of life. 160 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,480 I mean, can't you hear Him? Can't you hear His voice? 161 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,360 Live this life on your own. Try to fix your own life. 162 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,720 Try to deal with things by your own strength. 163 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,120 Live by your own truth. Be true to yourself. 164 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,840 Listen to the voice. Be so focused upon the issues of 165 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,880 this fallen world that you're too distracted to see the 166 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,480 Creator who seeks to redeem and sanctify you. 167 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,160 Keep yourself safe. Keep yourself comfortable. 168 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,080 Be a consumer, not a giver. Be a complainer instead of a 169 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,360 builder. Don't you hear him? 170 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,360 Listen, those are the words of the enemy, not of the Lord. 171 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:10,680 Let me tell you what I'm afraid of. 172 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,480 And I've quoted this often. I've shared this with staff. 173 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,200 I've probably said it from the pulpit 4 times or six times. 174 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,160 But you know, who cares? It's a quote by missionary 175 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:24,680 William Carey. And it, it bothers me because 176 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:26,800 this is what I'm afraid of. Here's what Carey said. 177 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:28,640 He said. I'm not afraid of failing. 178 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,640 I'm afraid of succeeding at things that just don't matter. 179 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,640 Mission drift. You know what you got to do to 180 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,720 drift? Absolutely nothing. 181 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,760 Just sit back and let Satan win because he doesn't care whether 182 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:49,960 you aimlessly drift along or not. 183 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:54,080 He'd be real happy with that. When I served with the Foreign 184 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,240 Mission Board, one of the things and everybody else who serves 185 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,040 with the Foreign Mission Board, we had some of our missionaries 186 00:10:58,040 --> 00:10:59,520 here today. I was glad, great to see them. 187 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,400 And it was interesting because everything, you know, I imagine 188 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,760 everybody still does this. You took a personality inventory 189 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,920 test called the Myers Briggs Personality Inventory. 190 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:08,600 Some of you probably took it for other reasons. 191 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:10,200 It's one of those more in depth ones. 192 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,120 You know, it's not one of those dumb ones where you answer 5 193 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:13,600 questions and you're some kind of animal. 194 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:19,200 You know, it's, it's a real personality inventory and you 195 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,120 get tested out, you end up with a certain number of letter, you 196 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:22,880 get letters. So you're identified by these 197 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:24,960 letters that represent different parts of your personality. 198 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,360 And there were about 60 of us in the room and they said go stand 199 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:29,560 with the people and groups with the other people who share the 200 00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:32,760 same letters as you do. And I was alone in the corner. 201 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,320 So I recognize that I have been officially tested to be 202 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,520 different. Explains a lot, doesn't it? 203 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:50,440 So maybe I do think differently because I assume Inglewood 204 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:54,040 Baptist Church, that you want to reach people and that you're 205 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:58,360 willing to sacrifice to do it. I believe that you'll put your 206 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,240 own concerns and needs aside to make true disciples, to see 207 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,840 people saved, to see God glorified. 208 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:10,000 I not only believe that I'm counting on it, because what God 209 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:15,680 wants to happen here will require sacrifice, and we need 210 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:18,240 to listen to His voice, not the voice of the enemy. 211 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,840 Listen to what the truth of the Lord says. 212 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:25,040 Ephesians 610 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength 213 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,120 of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, 214 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,280 that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the 215 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,200 devil. For we do not wrestle against 216 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,920 flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, 217 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,360 against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against 218 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,960 the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 219 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,400 Just a few days ago, Pastors Jean and Jordan and I recorded a 220 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,240 podcast in our Walking in Prayer series concerning spiritual 221 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,440 warfare. And we discussed this passage, 222 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,520 parts that I won't necessarily go into detail about this 223 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,960 morning, but but I believe it was so important that I wanted 224 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,240 this message to dovetail with that podcast. 225 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:00,760 You need to listen to both of these. 226 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,880 Go and find the podcast about walking in warfare because let 227 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,720 me tell you something. Christ is already perfectly 228 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,320 victorious through the cross in the empty tomb. 229 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:13,840 No, no, wait a minute. No, no, no. 230 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:15,080 You don't get to do that this morning. 231 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:20,280 I said Christ is already perfectly victorious through the 232 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:22,480 cross and the empty tomb. Amen. 233 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,560 Yeah, you don't get to do that this morning. 234 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,080 And Satan is already ultimately defeated. 235 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,320 And I like saying that over and over again out loud because he 236 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:36,480 can hear me. But battles continue in this 237 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,960 life for now. That's not an option. 238 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,520 That's just reality. So if we're to fight 239 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,480 effectively, we need to be focused, we need to be well 240 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,240 equipped, we need to be dependent upon God's power. 241 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,600 We need to anticipate him working on our behalf because we 242 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:52,880 can't do this on our own. And so we know that our king has 243 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:54,720 a mission. We know that he has a vision for 244 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,080 our lives. But the enemy has a strategy 245 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:58,080 too. And you've really got to 246 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,120 understand what that word means. When you talk about the schemes 247 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,680 of the devil in verse 11, the word is Methodia in the Greek, 248 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,440 and I just want to read. Let me read carefully the 249 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,600 definitions of that Greek word. Listen to this. 250 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:17,720 The pursuit of an orderly and technical procedure, a cunning 251 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:22,440 device, trickery strategies, deliberate planning. 252 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,040 When it's used as a verb, the word means to go systematically, 253 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:30,160 to work, to pursue something methodically, to lie and wait, 254 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:35,240 to deceive and scheme. He has a well thought out, 255 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,840 detailed plan for your life and for the life of this church. 256 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,360 We got to pick which strategy we're going to follow. 257 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,920 The devil's leading opposing forces has sworn enemies of this 258 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,800 church seeking the best ways to deceive, the best ways to ambush 259 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:55,800 us. He hates this church and for 260 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,640 what? She stands, and he wants to stop 261 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,040 Inglewood rather than watch her continue to grow. 262 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,120 Let me tell you three things Satan's going to try to do to 263 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,200 you. He wants to discover your fears, 264 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,880 He wants to distract your focus, and he wants to destroy your 265 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,120 faith. Now you didn't get that. 266 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,720 Satan wants to discover your fears. 267 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:21,120 He wants to distract your focus and he wants to destroy your 268 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:25,080 faith. So if Satan has a strategy for 269 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,560 the fight, we better have a vision strategy for discipleship 270 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,440 in place to fulfill the mission of our King. 271 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,640 So as imperfect people say by grace, and that's what we all 272 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:35,080 are, Amen. That's what we all are. 273 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,680 As imperfect people say by grace and rooted in Christ. 274 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,680 We have to imitate Jesus and believe every one of us is quit 275 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,280 by the Holy Spirit to be a disciple. 276 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,240 So we need to hear the Holy Spirit. 277 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,800 Listen to him verse 10 again. Finally, be strong in the Lord 278 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,360 and in the strength of His mind. So let's talk about our strength 279 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,960 for a minute. Are our strengths not our own? 280 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:00,520 It's not. It's not found in us. 281 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,560 It's found in Him. We are absolutely dependent upon 282 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,680 Him. So we are victorious because our 283 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,000 strength is God's strength. The joy of the Lord is my 284 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,880 strength, because that which brings God joy strengthens me. 285 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:23,000 Right now, Satan's real and he rules a heavily armed Kingdom. 286 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,760 He has superhuman wisdom, He has superhuman power, but he is not 287 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:28,360 omnipotent, nor is he omniscient. 288 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,600 Now we studied about those attributes of God this past 289 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,560 Wednesday night and, and, and, and how he's truly strengthens 290 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,440 us. You need to study these things. 291 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,520 The devil's a fallen Angel who is condemned forever. 292 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,400 Let me just read that one again. Just because he's a fallen Angel 293 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,320 who's condemned forever, that's who he is. 294 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:57,000 That's all he is, right? But his current powers granted 295 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,080 and limited and can only go as far as the Father allows. 296 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,440 So God alone is sovereign and has allowed Satan some access 297 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,480 with some opportunity for some time. 298 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,079 You got to remember the study of the problem of evil we did 299 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:13,200 several Wednesday nights ago. Everything I'm doing ties 300 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,000 together. When a Muslim goes to Mecca on 301 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,040 their pilgrimage, they do several rituals if they can 302 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,359 normally, and some of the rituals include they kiss the 303 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:28,000 Blackstone, they drink from the Well of Hagar, and they throw 304 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,440 stones at 3 pillars which represent Satan. 305 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,160 I I often think of that and I think Satan must be more amused 306 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:40,200 than offended because if we want to battle with evil, we're going 307 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,440 to have to do a whole lot more than throw a few rocks at a 308 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,280 pillar. So how can we be strong and move 309 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,800 forward in the fight? We must abide, we must live in, 310 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,920 we must tent in, we must Tabernacle with, we must walk 311 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:55,200 alongside of, we must abide in God by devoting ourselves 312 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,200 corporately and individually to daily communicating with him. 313 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:02,720 See, the goal is not even that you would have a better prayer 314 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,040 life. The goal is that you would have 315 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:09,240 greater intimacy with God. Prayer is the means, not the 316 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,000 end. Spiritual disciplines are not 317 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:12,920 the goals. Spiritual disciplines are not 318 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,840 the are not the end game. They're means to an end. 319 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,720 They're the means for you to have intimacy with God and his 320 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,960 will because of who he is and what he's already done. 321 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,160 We can be strong enough to not simply survive. 322 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:26,760 We can thrive. We can grow. 323 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,440 That's why he writes in first John four. 324 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,720 He says, little children, you're from God and have overcome them. 325 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,080 For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 326 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:43,360 Watchman Knee, who was a Chinese believer many years ago, who who 327 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,040 helped begin some of the underground church movements of 328 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,400 China, was later imprisoned for his faith, eventually died in 329 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,000 prison. Because of his faith. 330 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:56,040 He wrote several things, and one of the things he wrote was our 331 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,320 prayers. Lay the tract down upon which 332 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,760 God's power can come. Like a mighty locomotive. 333 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,280 His power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without 334 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,760 rails. So Christ's victory gives us the 335 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,280 strength and the hope we need for our victory and and the 336 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,760 ability to face and fight the darkness of this present age. 337 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:22,080 To take and cast my truckload of fear, my truckload of anger, my 338 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,320 truckload of confusion, or whatever it is at the foot of 339 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,680 the cross. And yet not only do we have the 340 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,600 strength, we also have to admit there's a struggle. 341 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,360 Look at verse 12. For we do not wrestle against 342 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:41,080 flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, 343 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,320 against the cosmic powers, over this present darkness, against 344 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,480 the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 345 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,040 And so though we fight from a position of strength and a 346 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,520 position of victory, the enemy still attacks and we still fight 347 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,080 in the middle of this created place. 348 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,920 But but be careful. Don't simply blame him for your 349 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,480 failures. It's true that he tempts you. 350 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,600 He might even create the circumstances around us that 351 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:10,120 tempt us. But when we fail, when we sin, 352 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,440 we and when we think or we say or we do something that's 353 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,840 contrary to God's word or contrary to God's will, we have 354 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,720 to bear the responsibility. It's our choice. 355 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:24,240 We can't simply blame the devil for all of our stumbling. 356 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,640 We must be God's disciples who abide in prayer corporately and 357 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,640 privately, to be dependent upon him in constant communication 358 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,080 with the commander. A soldier needs strength for the 359 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,600 struggle. John Piper wrote this. 360 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,960 He said prayer is meant to, is meant by God to be a wartime 361 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:48,160 walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom, not not for the 362 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,920 enhancement of our comforts, but for the enhancement and the 363 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,480 advancement of God, God's Kingdom. 364 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,360 We need faith for the fight. Paul wrote to the church at 365 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:01,280 Corinth in Second Corinthians chapter 10. 366 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,600 He said for though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war 367 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,400 according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare 368 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,560 are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy 369 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,520 strongholds. We destroy arguments in every 370 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,080 lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every 371 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:23,800 thought captive to obey Christ. We must destroy strongholds and 372 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,400 and the and the exciting thing about discipleship is you have 373 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,600 the ACT you have access to the tools to do that Spiritual 374 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:36,080 strongholds, strongholds. I can say that word Oklahoma 375 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,440 spiritual strongholds are sinful patterns. 376 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,440 These are sinful patterns of misdirected fear, misdirected 377 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,960 faith that we allow to become normal in our life. 378 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,160 And they provide Satan and opportunity. 379 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,960 They provide him a place to tempt, right? 380 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,000 And so we can't allow him an opportune time. 381 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,680 We can't allow him a weak spot. We can't allow him to dig in. 382 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,040 We can't allow him to build. We can't allow him to divide. 383 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:09,080 Long time ago, before American tourists were going there, I had 384 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:13,840 the opportunity to go into China and go to the Great Wall of 385 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,080 China along that trip. And it, you know, incredible 386 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,600 structure to see. But you know, the whole purpose 387 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:21,920 of the Great Wall of China was that were to keep enemies out. 388 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,960 That was the whole basic idea. We're going to keep the enemies 389 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:25,360 out by building this gigantic wall. 390 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:28,080 But you know, it completely failed in its purpose. 391 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,760 It never did succeed. It completely failed because all 392 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,040 the all the enemies did was bribe the guards and they just 393 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:37,280 opened the gates. We got to be careful that we 394 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,960 don't just open the gates. Our sin will give Satan a 395 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,440 stronghold. Our apathy will give him a place 396 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,400 to grow. Our complacency about true 397 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,440 discipleship allows an entry point, an advantage. 398 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,000 We're much more likely to fail when we allow ourselves to be 399 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,880 put into this type of stronghold. 400 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,400 We have to fight the false teachings of this world. 401 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,840 We have to take every thought captive for Christ, and we must 402 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:02,560 do this. No one else is going to do it. 403 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,440 We must do this. Look at the command verbs. 404 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,880 You must do this in your personal life, for you, for your 405 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,840 family. We acknowledge our struggle, but 406 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:16,880 we also acknowledge that we fight from a position of 407 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,480 strength and we have divine weaponry because that's the only 408 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,640 thing that's going to work here. My own ability is not going to 409 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,640 get it done, so I need these weapons. 410 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,040 The word weapons here, panoply it. 411 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,920 It's the image of all the equipment that a heavily armed 412 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,240 infantry man would carry in the day. 413 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:38,440 So carnal weapons are not going to bring victory. 414 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:43,160 Human ideas, human strategies, human methods are not enough. 415 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,680 Money can't buy it. Your brain and your willpower 416 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,600 are not enough. No matter what you think that 417 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,240 your own personal truth is or being true, that's not going to 418 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,520 get it done. There must be divine weaponry 419 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:57,400 undergirding and empowering you. So you've got to connect to 420 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,760 God's strength by abiding with Him in prayer. 421 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,720 We need to anticipate that He hears, that we anticipate that 422 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,480 He actually works, that this prayer thing is real and it 423 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,920 actually accomplishes. But we must also understand that 424 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:14,280 as we pray, we're not changing God's mind about circumstances. 425 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,520 We're allowing Him to align our thoughts with Him. 426 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,680 It's more about us. He's going to grow us as 427 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,240 disciples through prayer. But through prayer, God will 428 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,800 equip us. Then for third thing, our stand, 429 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,920 verse 11, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to 430 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,520 stand against the schemes of the devil. 431 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,360 We must put on the armor. Notice these verbs again. 432 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,160 This is not automatic. This is not even natural. 433 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:41,920 This is not some default setting. 434 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:46,040 You must put this on. These are imperative verbs in 435 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,800 the Greek language. You have to put on the whole 436 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,560 armor. As the one old preacher said, 437 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,760 don't go on the battle naked. Put on the whole armor of God. 438 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,920 Verse 13. Therefore take up the whole 439 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:03,800 armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil 440 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,880 day, and having done all, to stand firm. 441 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,320 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having 442 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,520 put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for 443 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,920 your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of 444 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,960 peace in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with 445 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,680 which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil. 1 And 446 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,080 take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which 447 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:30,000 is the Word of God, Withstand, stand firm, stand. 448 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,480 Therefore, you think maybe the Holy Spirit's trying to get a 449 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,040 point across. Now you got to think about who 450 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,680 is reading this. The very first time these 451 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:44,120 Ephesians were surrounded by paganism, I mean huge temples. 452 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:46,320 You can still go there. Teresa and I were there not long 453 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:47,680 ago. We had the privilege of going 454 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,400 over to Ephesus and you can tour the ruins of Ephesus and there's 455 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,280 temple after temple. They were surrounded by Pagan 456 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,080 temples in false teaching. Think about it. 457 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:58,920 They were surrounded by paganism, by lostness, by 458 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,840 spiritual darkness, by false teaching. 459 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:03,640 I mean, I don't know about you, but does that sound like 460 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:04,840 anywhere else you know right now? 461 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,040 Sounds like Rocky Mountain, North Carolina to me. 462 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:14,600 One of the reasons why I often refer to our culture as pre 463 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,120 Christian. I think we're back in the same 464 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:21,360 boat. So we need to depend upon his 465 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,720 power to help us stand. The word stand is a military 466 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:25,680 term. It means to hold one's position. 467 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,000 Because the Army's design was that every, every single member 468 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:31,600 of the Army had the responsibility of holding so 469 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,800 many square feet. And if everybody held their 470 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,400 square feet, we all held our square feet together, we would 471 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:44,280 be undefeatable. So we put on the belt of truth, 472 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:46,040 the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of 473 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,240 peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and sword 474 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:49,640 of the spear. And we discussed these a whole 475 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,360 lot more in the podcast. I really do pray that you go 476 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:57,360 listen to Walking and warfare, but for today, I want us to move 477 00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:00,920 on with great anticipation. Then we abide in our 478 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:07,200 supplication. Verse 18 Praying at all times in 479 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:11,440 the Spirit with all power and supplication to that end, keep 480 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,280 alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the 481 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,480 Saints. You think he's making a point? 482 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:27,520 All here's why we should pray. We should pray because it's a 483 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:29,560 weapon against the enemy. We should pray because his 484 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,520 disciples were dependent upon God to work. 485 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,240 We should pray because it focuses on us and and produces a 486 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:38,160 passion for the will of God. Focuses on not on us. 487 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:41,160 Focuses on and produces a passion for the will of God. 488 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:44,240 We pray because we believe prayer works and we anticipate 489 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,560 God working. We pray because it blesses 490 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,000 other. We pray because it benefits us. 491 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:50,960 We pray because it strengthens our faith. 492 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,120 We pray because it glorifies our God. 493 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,320 We pray because He commands us to do so. 494 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:59,120 We pray because we love God that much and we want to join Him in 495 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,360 his work. We've got to abide in prayer. 496 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,960 Glenn Martin and Diane Ginter wrote a really great book on 497 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,120 prayer and they and they and they said this. 498 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:12,840 The last thing Satan wants is a praying people. 499 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,240 He will do everything possible to intimidate and discourage 500 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:20,200 you, to make you feel overwhelmed by the task. 501 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,480 The powerful church is 1 in which prayer is positioned 502 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,280 theoretically and practically at the center of all the church 503 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,520 does. It is seen as being as important 504 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,720 as evangelism, discipleship, and missions. 505 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:38,760 Or from the Chinese church many years ago, Little prayer, little 506 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:45,920 power, no prayer, no power. So how do we abide in prayer? 507 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:47,480 With dependence and anticipation. 508 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,240 How do we do this? Well, the Bible tells us first 509 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,280 of all, we pray continually. We're praying at all times. 510 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,640 Prayer is our first thought. It's our last request. 511 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,880 Reminds you of what Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica in 512 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,000 First Thessalonians chapter 5, where he says pray without 513 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,600 ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. 514 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:10,120 What a statement we're to give thanks in all circumstances. 515 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:14,240 For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, for you do not 516 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,280 quench the Spirit. And a couple of Wednesday nights 517 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:19,880 from now, this Wednesday night, I don't want to talk about the 518 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,160 Trinity because I figured why not, you know, describe the 519 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:23,840 entire Trinity in about an hour and a half. 520 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,200 And so come back Wednesday night. 521 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,920 But then in a couple of weeks, I'm going to actually talk about 522 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:30,720 sins against God. I'm going to talk about what 523 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:32,680 does blasphemy against the Holy Spirit even mean? 524 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:38,320 What does it mean to quench the Spirit, Abide, live in it, 525 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,640 Develop a regular private prayer habit that incorporates praising 526 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,760 God for who he is, repenting of sin, giving thanks for his 527 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,880 blessing, and humbly asking for his provision. 528 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,080 Again, I just, I, I know I'm a broken record, but I want you to 529 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,640 see how these things connect. I want you to listen to another 530 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,640 of our Walking in Prayer podcast simply called Walking in Prayer 531 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,280 that Pastor Charles and I did at the very beginning where we just 532 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:05,320 walked through these categories of prayer because Jesus didn't 533 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:11,680 say if churches have dynamic leadership, the finest 534 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,840 facilities, the perfect programming, and the latest 535 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,600 methodology, they would bear much fruit. 536 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,880 It's not what he said. Only if we abide in Him and He 537 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:26,480 in US can true abundance be found, because without Him we 538 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:34,240 can do what, huh? Therefore, not only must we pray 539 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,160 at all times, but we must pray in the Spirit. 540 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,160 Secondly, prayer is both warfare and worship. 541 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,200 Again, we pray to the one who is higher. 542 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,840 We cannot, but we believe, and we know He can, and we 543 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,920 anticipate that He will, and that's prayer. 544 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,800 So prayer is humbly acknowledging who God is. 545 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,320 We're dependent upon the Holy Spirit to reveal to us for what 546 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,800 we must pray and to convict us of our sin when we don't, and to 547 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,400 give us the proper words in the proper season to draw others to 548 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,440 salvation and to help us to understand God's Word and God's 549 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,800 will. Henry Blackaby once said this. 550 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,280 He says genuine prayer does not lead to an encounter with God. 551 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,880 It is an encounter with God. Prayer is designed more to 552 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,120 adjust you to God than to adjust God to you. 553 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,160 God doesn't need your prayers, but He wants you to pray. 554 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,520 You need to pray because of what God wants to do in and through 555 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:31,760 your life during your praying. The writer of Hebrews very 556 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,520 familiar verse in Hebrews 4 says this. 557 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,360 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, 558 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:45,520 that we we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of 559 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,600 need. So we come with confidence. 560 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,640 Another translation would say we come boldly and that the the 561 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,960 wording here, and I've shared this with you before, the word 562 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:56,840 here means total transparency. The word here means complete 563 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:58,320 honesty. In other words, we can't hide 564 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,040 anything from God. We can tell God everything. 565 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,800 We can bring him everything. He already knows it anyway, but 566 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,440 He wants us to come to him. And I just need you to stop and 567 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,320 to imagine that for a minute that the creator God of the 568 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,800 universe calls us to come. And he'll give you all the time 569 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,440 you need and he'll give you his, his, his undivided attention. 570 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,600 And he wants to listen to you. He wants to dialogue with you. 571 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,840 He wants you to bring that truckload to him. 572 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:25,720 And it's quite amazing. Mike and Debbie Rogers also 573 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:27,520 wrote in the area of prayer. They said prayer is an 574 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,480 invitation to the nurse center of the universe. 575 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,080 There in God's throne room, you can Orient yourself to what God 576 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,800 is doing to redeem the world. Or, as John Piper says, I've 577 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,560 quoted Piper more today than I have in 10 years. 578 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:47,800 Life is war. That's not all it is, but it is 579 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,640 always that we are on this earth to press back the forces of 580 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,640 darkness, and we are given access to headquarters by prayer 581 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,760 to advance this cause. So #3 we also have to pray 582 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,000 persistently. Verse 18 says praying at all 583 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,000 times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication to that 584 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,800 end. Keep alert with all 585 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,160 perseverance, making supplication for all the Saints. 586 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,160 Sometime you ought to read Luke 18. 587 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:17,200 Read the whole chapter. God answers prayer in His way 588 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:21,520 and in His time, and we must anticipate His answering, but 589 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,800 but we also have to do so while remaining thankful for no matter 590 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,840 what His answer might be, because His motive is always 591 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:34,880 perfect and He knows all things. Therefore #4 we also pray for 592 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,320 one another. Verse 18. 593 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:40,680 Again, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and 594 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,200 supplication to that end. Keep alert with all 595 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,240 perseverance, making supplication for all the Saints 596 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:50,680 and also for me that words may be given to me and opening my 597 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,440 mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. 598 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,640 Are you praying for one another? The strength of the prayer 599 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,360 component in the REACH strategy and our Connect groups is where 600 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:06,720 prayer leaders are reaching out week each week to seek prayer 601 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,040 needs not only from us but from our community. 602 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,159 Are you praying that we would be strong, that we would stand? 603 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,480 Are you praying that we would fight well from a position and 604 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:21,480 perspective of victory, that we would grow in the essentials of 605 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,880 discipleship? Are you praying for your 606 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,440 leaders? Are you praying for me? 607 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,080 But also #5 we pray for a bold witness. 608 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:32,880 We can't neglect what he says in verse 19. 609 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,440 And he says, and also for me, that words may be given to me, 610 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,719 and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the 611 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,880 gospel for which I'm an ambassador in chains, that I may 612 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,480 declare it boldly as I ought to speak. 613 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:47,280 So Paul's in chains when he's asking the church at Ephesus to 614 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:51,960 pray this way. If they're reflected often about 615 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:55,800 the fact that if the apostle Paul, the apostle Paul doesn't 616 00:34:55,800 --> 00:35:01,000 think he's bold enough and he's asking for prayer, for boldness, 617 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,360 how should we be praying for one another? 618 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,000 Are you doing that? Are you praying that we would be 619 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,800 bold in a in our marriages, in our families, in our community 620 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,440 to reach out to people? Are you in a Connect group that 621 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,120 does that? When people intercede for one 622 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,360 another in the unchurched, their hearts become sensitive to God's 623 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,640 desire to see people save. Burden begins to develop. 624 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:27,520 In fact, an Arkansas pastor who uses REACH in his church and has 625 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:31,160 for years wrote this to me. He said praying for the lost did 626 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:34,240 more to refocus our church than any single factor. 627 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,280 We became a church with an outward focus after being an 628 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,440 inwardly focused church for years. 629 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,800 Or my friend and mentor Tom Rayner, who said I could not 630 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,480 find one declining church that I visited over the past few years 631 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,600 that had an ongoing prayer ministry specifically for the 632 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,320 lost. Perhaps these dying churches 633 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,520 have not because they ask not, he adds. 634 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:02,840 Churches that are asking for souls are receiving evangelistic 635 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:07,520 harvest. One last writer, Arlene 636 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,360 Lawrence, said, Wouldn't it be great if your neighbors came and 637 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,360 asked you how they can have peace and hope through Jesus 638 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,120 Christ? Imagine a community where non 639 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:19,240 Christians became aware of God's existence, power and love and 640 00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:21,800 come to you wanting to know about Jesus. 641 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:26,640 This can happen when you talk to God about your neighbors before 642 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:28,120 talking to your neighbors about God. 643 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,640 Our past reach experiences where we would see hundreds and 644 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:35,600 hundreds of prayer requests coming in from the community and 645 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,640 and we would be known for the church that prays for the soul 646 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:41,760 of the community and for the needs of the community. 647 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:47,760 So it's time for Inglewood to be the United spiritual force in 648 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:52,920 this community that God intends for her to be. 50,000 new people 649 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,760 coming in the next 10 years. What are we going to do about 650 00:36:56,760 --> 00:37:01,200 that? We need to be the one that love 651 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,560 them as ourselves. As my doctoral chair in a a 652 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:07,680 missionary for many years, my doctoral chair Mark Terry once 653 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,960 said, he says we have the best of materials, media and methods, 654 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:15,160 but we lack spiritual power. Christians of the Apostolic era 655 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:17,120 had none of our advantages. They didn't even have the New 656 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:18,880 Testament. Still, they turned the Roman 657 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,920 Empire upside down. Not only were the apostles 658 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:25,120 empowered, their prayer for the lost souls were answered. 659 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,800 When Peter finished preaching, he gave an invitation and 3000 660 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,640 people responded. Notice that the wonderful 661 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:36,120 response followed 10 days of intense prayer and empowerment 662 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:41,640 by the Holy Spirit. The power of prayer and the 663 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,960 power of the Gospel combined as allies in the war against 664 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:49,120 lostness. In this present darkness, may we 665 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:54,560 pray in such a way that Satan and his demons know our names. 666 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,480 Charles Spurgeon once said Satan never kicks a dead horse. 667 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:03,560 When I say it is my prayer that the enemy can hear us coming and 668 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:07,160 believe and tremble, I pray the enemy thinks of us often and 669 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:09,640 tells his hordes to beware of this church. 670 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,200 So create a personal prayer vision. 671 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:15,440 Plan for yourself, for your family. 672 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:19,640 Make a daily appointment with God, a time and a place. 673 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:22,120 Commit to being a connect group and pray for and with one 674 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,600 another and for others to reach. Give back to God in prayer 675 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,160 through adoration and Thanksgiving. 676 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,320 Get back from God in prayer through confession and 677 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,880 supplication. You need to learn the wait 678 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,240 method. Wait stands for Why am I 679 00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:39,000 talking? It's a good lesson for all of us 680 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,880 to often use the wait method. Sometimes you need to be quiet 681 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:47,880 and listen to God. Keep a prayer journal of 682 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,800 requests and answers. Listen to and apply or walking 683 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:55,960 in prayer podcasts. Share with others and apply what 684 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,560 you learn. Participate in corporate prayer 685 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,160 times during the worship service and special prayer services. 686 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:03,040 We're going to have another one on Wednesday nights. 687 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:04,840 In just a few weeks, you'll be hearing all about it. 688 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:10,480 Attend special upcoming prayer training sessions and don't give 689 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:14,280 up. Be persistent until you're 690 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,720 consistent. Billy Bain. 691 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:21,920 He didn't know I was going to call him out today. 692 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,800 Billy Bain had a Prime Timers dinner recently. 693 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,800 Shared words that have haunted me ever since. 694 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:34,400 Thanks, Billy. He said this. 695 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:38,960 The only reason you've been born is to be saved and to know him. 696 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:44,920 If you don't do that during this life, you've wasted the whole 697 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:50,480 reason you were born. Why are you here? 698 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,680 What do you seek to become this morning? 699 00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:00,520 Who do you seek this morning? Understand that no great 700 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,720 spiritual awakening, the history of humanity, ever occurred 701 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:07,280 without God's people first falling before Him in prayer on 702 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:10,560 their faces. Why not us? 703 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:17,960 Why not right now? Why not right here? 704 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,880 Because I want to be able to declare Satan. 705 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:27,680 You lose. Christ has already beaten you, 706 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,520 and as his disciples, we're going to pray you out of this 707 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:37,920 church and pray you out of this city because we belong to Jesus. 708 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:44,440 Father, thank you for allowing us to belong to you. 709 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:53,400 Thank you for not only allowing us, but expecting us, commanding 710 00:40:53,400 --> 00:41:03,280 us to speak with You. Father, forgive us when we do 711 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:05,840 not pray. It's so easy for us to be busy. 712 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:11,880 Satan will make sure we're busy. This world will make sure we're 713 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:16,480 busy. Our Father, forgive us when we 714 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:21,000 start to pray and our minds just wander all over the place and we 715 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:25,640 can't seem to remain focused. Fill us with your spirit. 716 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:30,040 Help us, Father, to actually recognize that we are talking 717 00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:33,600 with you. How disrespectful it would be 718 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:39,200 for us to talk to someone so eminent, so incredible, and then 719 00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:42,000 kind of wander off and not pay attention. 720 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:48,320 Father, I pray that we will be prayer warriors. 721 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:52,000 I thank you, Father, for those who are already doing that. 722 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,280 There's many in this church. I thank you for even for our 723 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:56,400 shut insurance right now who are getting our prayer requests 724 00:41:56,400 --> 00:42:00,040 every week and and becoming a team, an army of prayer 725 00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:03,800 warriors. Thank you for our prayer leaders 726 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:08,200 and our connect groups. Thank you for the way that we're 727 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:10,400 learning to pray in our family ministries. 728 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,280 Let's pray, Father, then we'll take it home that individually 729 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:21,240 we'll pray. But Father, before we can abide 730 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,400 in and with you, we have to know you. 731 00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:29,080 And Father, there's probably somebody in this room right now 732 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:32,280 who's never trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 733 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,920 They don't know you, so none of this really makes sense. 734 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:41,920 So Father, right now I pray that you would make your presence so 735 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,040 real to them that it's undeniable that Father the Holy 736 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:47,840 Spirit would begin to convince them that you would remove the 737 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:51,200 spiritual fogginess, the darkness, the blindness, that 738 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:56,320 they would understand that this is truth, that Jesus is the only 739 00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:01,040 one who can save them. I pray for believers here who 740 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:03,200 need to recommit themselves to discipleship. 741 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,240 They need to recommit themselves to prayer. 742 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,800 They need to recommit themselves to joining your mission. 743 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,600 And Father, I pray that we'll respond to you. 744 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:24,480 Lord, lead us as we worship you and as we respond in Christ's 745 00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:27,120 name, Amen. They're going to be some pastors 746 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,560 here. You can come talk to one of us 747 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:31,840 if you want to. You don't have to. 748 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:34,480 There's a room right over there where people are going to be. 749 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,520 It's the next steps room. There are people who'd love you 750 00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:38,720 and just love to have a conversation with you about what 751 00:43:38,720 --> 00:43:40,920 God's doing in your heart. Maybe you just want to come and 752 00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:42,920 kneel with these steps and pray all by yourself. 753 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,800 Whatever you feel the Lord leading you to do, let's stand 754 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:47,800 together. The worship team is going to 755 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:55,000 lead us and you respond. Thank you so much for listening 756 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:56,600 today. And I also hope that you'll go 757 00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:58,840 to ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 758 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:01,880 as well as our app and find many other resources that will bless 759 00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,080 you and your families. Thank you once again.