Thank you for listening to the river.
Bend Church podcast Reverb in church exists to lead all people
to know love and live New Life in Jesus Christ.
We hope that you enjoy this message.
Well, good morning Riverbend Church.
Good morning here in Gainesville and everybody who made it in
through the crazy winner. Again, we had spring a couple
weeks a few days ago now we got winter again and so good morning
to you guys. Oh quit good morning to you.
So, Glad that that you guys are with us today and everybody
online. My name is Joe and I'm the
pastor here and if it didn't get to meet you today, here in
Gainesville, I'd love to meet you.
I know, Pastor Michael would love to meet you if he didn't on
the way in today at Oakwood. And so we're diving into week
four of our series, your will not mine.
And so, this Series has led us through 21 days of fasting and
prayer. Today is day 15?
And if you don't think I'm counting, you better believe
that I am six more days, six more days.
I you know, One thing I've learned is I look back on this
season and I go God, I'm so glad I did that Lord, it was good but
in the middle of it, you're like, whoa, come on now.
It's when you make a commitment of any kinds of the Lord.
I heard some people cutting out sugar, like you're going to
marriage counseling, just because you cut out sugar, you
don't have to go to counseling to get over this crazy.
The things that we've said, God I'm gonna I'm gonna put aside
something in my life that I like her love in order to get more of
you and also that you may have more of me.
And so, here's the thing. Thing.
Next Sunday, we're calling it break through Sunday, we've got
baptisms lined up, people that have gone from Death To Life
over the last several weeks, and they're going to make that
profession in Jesus public through baptism next week.
And so both here and at Oakwood, listen, if you haven't taken
that next step of baptism, what a better day, what better day to
do it? They don't break through Sunday,
January 29th. And so all you need to do, let
us know on your connect card. You can go online and shoot me a
message. There, you can find the baptism
info there or you can catch one of our Masters our staff in the
lobbies on the way out and just say, hey I want to talk about
baptism but we want to loo love to celebrate that with.
You also will be taking the Lord's supper together in all
our services, both campuses next week.
And so we're pressing onto this new year.
And here's what we've said so far in the series 2023, it will
be my best year yet. If I live it under the lordship
of Jesus Christ, not just acknowledging, God, not just
saying Lord. You know, I tip my hat to you.
I do believe in you but saying, God, I'm Already this year to
align myself under your will for my life.
What do you say? What do you want knowing that
that's going to be the most powerful and anointed year that
we can ever have under his lordship?
And so, our best year yet comes from the one who wants more and
better for us than we even know how to want for ourselves.
It really comes down to trusting in this prayer because this
really is a prayer and a statement Jesus, your will not
mind God, I want your will for my life and so what I want to
Here today is what I'm going to call for Dangerous prayers for
2023 and their prayers. That I really believe that if
you'll take this to heart today, you're going to have an outline
in your notes today in that bulletin there on the back.
There's if you take it there's a note guide there and I'd
encourage you to use it. And here's why this is going to
become a private prayer session between you and God at some
point this week. Maybe even every day this week.
And so when I wrote this, I started walking through it
myself and it's been powerful as I have prayed these prayers.
The Lord has started doing some new work in.
In me. And so it's kind of just me
shared my journal with you today, but when I say dangerous
prayers, there's automatically sort of a roadblock when I say,
I'm going to ask you to do something dangerous.
You know why we have conditioned ourselves?
So much to stay away from danger.
You think about, you know what Jeff and we were kids, man?
There's no helmets, no shoes, jump on the bike, you go do what
you want man. Do a backflip - hey try to stay
alive, Plato dark come home, but nowadays it's like got out of
hell. My elbow pad.
No, you gotta take. You can't take the training
wheels off. And listen.
I'm not knocking. I said I get it.
I get it. Like we have to we have to be
safe but sometimes when it comes to God's kingdom, what you'll
find out is our prayers are always like this Lord, just keep
us safe. Where are the prayers?
God call me out into something that I'm scared to death to do.
Where are the prayers? Like God?
I'm so ready to have freedom in life transformation in my life
that I refuse to stay safe with you.
Of course, we want our kids to be safe and I want to be safe,
you know where my seat belt, too.
But I'm just saying, there comes As a point though where I'm like
God call me into something. So big that people are going to
think you're crazy. You're praying dangerous prayers
and so today I hope to convince you of some dangerous prayers
that you can pray, that literally can begin to call you
out. Like Peter onto the water, you
know, there's a story in the Bible.
Peter, Jesus came Walking On The Water.
Peter was in the boat. He was the only one that had the
courage to say Jesus. If it's, you call me out there
in the raging Storm, he didn't say Jesus, just keep us safe in
the boat. He said, help me get out.
And so he Stepped out and he walked on the water.
And so we're going to take this lesson today from a man who
originally prayed dangerous prayers, a lot of them.
And the reason that we know he prayed him as he gave us his
journal, God allowed his journal to actually be inspired part of
the word of God and we call it the book of Psalms.
But if you know what's you've got to know what songs really
is. This the book?
It's David's Journal. King.
David is his name, a journal. He wrote the 23rd.
Psalm the Lord is my shepherd. That's King David.
And here's what God had to say about David, as A young man God
was telling the current King Saul.
He said, you know what, because of your sin, you're not going to
be king anymore but I want you to look at this descriptive
statement about the guy that wrote this dangerous prayer.
He says, Saul your kingdom must send for the Lord has sought out
a man. And here it is, after his own
heart, a man who has the heart of God, who has the desire, like
the heart of God. And so, this is the only time in
scripture where God says that there's a man after my heart of
person after my heart person who wants to know me, Of me and live
a new life. Now, for sure, if you read about
David, he also had a lot of sin. We know about that, but it's
like his prayer life. If you see in his journal, he
constantly put things right size.
He brought himself back to God again.
And again through prayer, he prayed dangerous prayers.
Do you know why? David prayed dangerous prayers?
Because I've read his journal, several times called Psalms.
I read his story if you can find that first second first and
second Samuel but I looked at his story and he prayed
dangerous prayers because that's where true Transformation
happened. He prayed dangerous prayers
because they called him to step out on faith.
And trust God for big things, he prayed dangerous prayers because
they brought him into a deeper knowledge of God.
He got to know, God, more and surrender to God more.
And so today, it's going to come from to short verses in one of
the kind of his journal entries. Psalm 139.
And here's what it says. Search me, o God and know my
heart. Test me and know my anxious
thoughts, man. It's just powerful.
Point out. Anything in me that offends you
And lead me along the path to everlasting life.
So, if you just read through those words in your mind, you
just prayed a dangerous fear, not that they endanger your life
actually, Chris, who's over our technical.
So one of our elders here, he brought it up when I when I
share this message with a staffing said you know, it's
kind of deceptive because you're saying it's dangerous fairs but
really it's prayers that are going to actually lead you where
you want to go. They're not really that
dangerous because they're actually good for you.
But but listen, what I mean date?
Why do I say they're dangerous prayers.
When you pray this prayer, I'm going to break it down into four
prayers. When you pray this prayer, they
don't endanger your life. They endanger your pride.
They don't endanger your life. They endanger your confort.
They endanger the status quo in your life.
Do you know what else? They also endanger?
The secret sins that have been holding us back for a long time.
That's where the danger comes in.
They're dangerous to the enemy, the enemy that wants to strangle
you and choke you back and pull you back and pull you back from
God's best for you. They endanger the enemy and so
when I say they're dangerous fears, they aren't dangerous
peers, not in the way of like they're going to put your In
danger, they're gonna put your pride and comfort in our sin in
danger of losing the battle. So I want to go back through
these four prayers here. David first said this, he said,
God search me. And know my heart.
So here's the first dangerous prayer.
Three Little Words search my heart.
Search my heart. Lord.
Psalms also tells us that we should be still and know that he
is God. And when you put these two
things together that you're being still in the presence of
God and you're praying a prayer and then you're listening,
you're praying a prayer and you're not talking to God after
that, you're saying one thing in here, search my heart and then
you just pause before the Lord and let him start speaking.
You want to know if God speaks to you I dare you to get along,
put distractions aside get into a place.
Say these three words sincerely from your Your heart to the
heart of God. And then listen.
Listen to what the Lord may say to you or reveal to you.
When David said search my heart. What kind of search was he
talking about? Well, this week, I told you a
couple weeks ago, according got me are pods for Christmas and I
loved it because I listen to podcast, you know, working out
you can tune things out a little better, but I had one in my ear
and we were sitting in my truck and I'm not real good with them.
Like, they fall out of my ears. Sometimes it felt to me or down
between the seats. So we get out of the truck, we
go around, she's on her side. I'm I'm digging them.
I'm not going anywhere till I find this thing.
I just got it so we're digging all.
I couldn't find anywhere. Took everything out of the
backseat. I let the sea.
Seat back and forth. I mean I'm looking everywhere
and I cannot find the searching searching searching.
And so I'm like it didn't fall out the door, look under the
truck where we open the doors. And so I take my phone light and
it starts shining all around down in between the seats.
And I all of a sudden I catch a glimpse of the little shiny
piece, a little metal piece on the end.
It was reflecting. It was about 18 inches down in
this little cylinder plastic cylinder, right beside the seat
belt. And so I looked up online, how
to get to that? You got to take the Over seat
out and take the side of the center console off to get to it.
It's so I call Aaron, I called are Mulliken and because I, he's
got a bunch of tools that I was wondering, if maybe had like a
little claw tool or something that I could and he goes no but
you may be able to get it with a magnet.
So sure enough I went and I got one of those, telescoping
magnets. And I like fed at all the way
down in there and I just happened to pull out.
Barely got it back out, so there there it is, that's the second
time. I've dropped him in my truck and
couldn't find him by the way, but that time was crazy.
And so when I, when I thought David said, search my heart I
think he's talking about search like Joe was searching for his
lost are R-pod he wasn't giving up on it.
He was going to go get the magnet.
Listen, some of us, we need to let God take a telescoping
magnet to our heart and go down there and pull out some stuff
that he hadn't dealt with in a long time.
Come on, get on down in the god, listen, I'm good, I'm good Lord.
But no no search me God, get the magnet out on me.
God and go down in there and see if there's anything you need to
pull up that we hadn't talked about in a while.
Something you want to set me free from that I hadn't been
free from, let me give you a question to help you reframe
this search here. What is going on inside me?
Even if it doesn't make it outside me, this hurt my
relationship with God or hurting your relationship with your
spouse or your friends, or the people around you, what's going
on inside. And here's the argument just
because it's once it starts going on inside of you,
eventually it will make it outside of you.
I would I should have said that hap made it outside of me yet.
That is hurt my relationship with God, because think about
it. Where does where does sin start?
It starts in our heart, doesn't it didn't always come out in our
hands and our feet and our words, it starts in the heart.
Lust lust hides in the hearts and starts in the heart and it
also hides in the heart lust will hide in the heart and see,
God doesn't want us just to look good on the outside.
He wants to deal with that, inner hurt, and that inner pain
that's inside of us in that inner sin.
Battle that so he wants to help us in that struggle, anger,
hides in the heart, you can smile and tell everybody else.
Everything is Okay, nothing, nothing man, I'm fine today.
I'm having a good day and you can be raging inside rage hides
in the heart unforgiveness hides in the heart.
And I'm not saying this to send but we know this to be true past
hurt, and Trauma can also hide in the heart and be impacting
your entire life right now. And so Jesus was serious about
what was going on inside of your heart.
Look what he says a person who produces good things from the
treasury of a good heart of Treasury of a good heart.
And a person, produces evil things from the treasury of an
evil. Heart treasury's, Like,
overflow, overflow of my heart. What you say, flows from what is
in your heart. And on Jesus, Just Dropped a
Bomb here. What he says is if things are
making it out of your mouth then there's something deeper to them
because you know, sometimes people say things and they said
well I didn't mean what I said. I'm not saying we don't misspeak
sometimes but if it's a repetitive thing something that
just keeps going. It's not just a misspeak.
There's something in the heart and I'm not saying we should
point the fingers at everybody else you know where we need to
point to first right here this guy.
If there's something that keeps coming out of my mouth this
dishonoring God maybe Unholy language may be hating on
people, maybe. Cutting people down, eventually
you got to turn the gun and go, you know what?
It's not just, it's not just how I was raised.
It's not just me. Miss speaking, I got some heart
issues that I need God to deal with.
Do you know what sin does that hide in the living room and
kitchen of our hearts? Either it hides, an unfinished
basement and the dark closets. You know why?
I want, I don't want it to be exposed and so this is a
dangerous prayer. Lord search my Heart.
You know why? It's dangerous because you let
the holy spirit in and he's going to start working on you,
he's going to start bringing conviction, you haven't felt in
a while. He's going to call you to
confession and repentance and maybe even call us to Freedom.
So it's a transforming prayer, especially when we act on it.
So I dare you to play pray this prayer, this week.
If your pastor can, they are you and that's okay.
I dare you to get before the Lord in a quiet, place for a few
minutes, and go God search, my heart, searched my heart.
Now here's the thing. Once you do that, the spirit of
God won't force you to change. He invites you to change, it
gives you the power and authority, you need to change,
but he never ever forces you. Why?
Because he invites us, you know, this is, this is how the Holy
Spirit works. Works on us too.
We pray, this prayer. God begins to reveal things and
then, he allows us to walk and leave the oldest behind and step
into the new. You, it's a little bit at the
time, God knows we can't handle it.
All at one time, he gives us his Spirit.
Immediately, there's a new me living inside of me, because his
spirit is there, but now I've got a walk that out every day
and sometimes you feel like you went backwards, not forwards
some days but you get back up again and you walk for it again
and go God keep searching my heart.
Here's the second prayer. Test my mind.
Now there's a lot that I don't
like about this prayer. I actually have become more
comfortable with Lord, search my heart.
Then test my mind, Two reasons. One, the mind is where a lot of
crazy stuff goes on. I know.
None of y'all think crazy thoughts and you don't have bad
soundtracks in your head. Sometimes about yourself or
about the world around you or about your pastor about your
regret. But listen, sometimes that beats
me up and I don't know if I want to let God in on what's going on
in my mind even though he's already there.
But also to say, Lord, test my mind, there's already so many
mental health struggles, the enemy right now.
I really believe this. It is a, it is one of the
tactics of the enemy demonic attack, over the minds of God's
people. It's fine.
Your heart can belong to God, but it's almost like, don't give
him your mind though. Don't let the Lord in your mind.
Because Lord forbid, he may come in and start wanting to heal
that and rewire some things and ask you to change some things
and get some counseling and deal with some of the things that
have been that you've been you're wrong.
Wrong thought patterns, you've been dealing with the see
David's prayer. Here gets to the root of the
mental struggle. Look what he says.
Lord test me and know my anxious thoughts.
He gets very specific test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Do you know why this is a hard prayer because you're asking God
to test you. Nobody, I know loves to think
about that. I did.
God, will you just test my mind today?
Come on Lord, bring your test. I saw a meme and it made me
think about it. Some of you felt like this, this
last year me calling God to make sure I'm not on his strongest
Warriors list again in 2023. I saw this week is some people
told me when we're going into this fast and New Year, they
were like, listen, Joe 2022. God tested me.
Plenty, I'm not praying this. I'll pray search my heart, but
I'm gonna skip to the third period because I'm not praying
that one. Test me, Lord.
But look, what he was praying, though.
He was praying about anxious thoughts worries.
You know what? That gets at that gets it places
in our lives where we're not, trusting God.
So, here's the question. What worry Have I made bigger
than God in my life? Life.
King David had plenty to worry about you, go read his story.
Here's what you'll find out. He lived at War almost his
entire life. He lived at War either somebody
was gonna attack him or he had to go attack somebody when he
was a young man. God anointed him to be the king
and then for 15 years he pretty much was on the run from the
current King King Saul running for his life.
You lived on the run for that long and he'd actually done.
Nothing wrong. This guy was an evil guy that
was just after him at the end of David's life.
One of his sons tried basically Roku and tried to overtake the
kingdom. And so even at the end of his
life, it ended in total chaos, and War.
And so David constantly had reason to worry and yet here he
says, Lord will you test my anxious thoughts?
Show me where I'm not trusting you God, where have I made my
worries bigger than my God see this is the crazy thing.
We trust that we have a God who that when we die and our body is
here and our spirit is gone. We trust that he's going to take
us to heaven. But we don't trust that he's
bigger than whatever we're worried about currently many
times. Do we?
God, I know you going to take me to heaven when I die.
But do you really care about my day to day?
And he does see, this is dangerous prayer, invites the
Holy Spirit to search our minds and point out.
Where am I? Not trusting you God.
That's what David was getting at.
God, I'm probably overlooking some things.
Where am I? Not trusting.
You remember what Paul said about worry?
Philippians 4. He said this don't worry about
anything and that statement always ticks me off because I
love it. Don't you just love it when
you're Stressed out and people say hey don't worry.
You just want to go like give a little smack real quick.
It means nothing. Right it's empty words.
Don't wear hey hon, don't worry about that.
Do you know? That makes no sense but here's
what happens. Paul gives us what to do here
instead. Pray about everything, tell God
what you need, it's okay. God welcomes our prayers.
We've used this in our prayer, service God, welcomes.
Our prayers. He wants you to tell him.
Your needs. So when we say I'm praying, your
will not mine. That doesn't mean that I can't
pour my desires out to the Lord. He welcomes that.
He says, tell God what you need. But then also, here's part of
our prayer life. Thank him for what he has done.
And by the way, gratitude in prayer time will change your day
completely. Another challenge.
I'll give th not part of the dangerous prayers.
Another challenge. I'll give to you.
Start your journal or start your prayer time with his many, good
things from your past. As you can remember that God has
done for you before you worry about the worries of the day.
Thank God for everything he's already done.
I kind of like to do this backwards first, thank God and
then tell him what I need because he gets my mindset.
A lot of times it says that then you're going to experience God's
peace which exceeds anything we can understand.
And this is I love this verse because it's in the midst of
anxiety, it doesn't say he has to remove what we're anxious
about. We don't have to be healed from
our anxiety, to find his speech right in the middle of it.
He can speak peace right over you right in that moment and
sure you may have to go out and keep working on, whatever's
making you anxious and get to the root of it and dig down and
get some help and get a prayer counselor and get some friends
around you. But but the truth is Is God can
speak peace. That is separated from
circumstances. And it says his piece is going
to guard your hearts and Minds as you live in Christ.
Jesus. So let me give you in short what
Paul was saying here. If you will let worry prompt you
to prayer, you'll find peace there if you'll let Worry Be
Your prompt to prayer, what do we usually do?
When we worry where we start thinking about more things that
could go wrong and we just fixate on it.
So one of the rewiring our brains thing that I think David
had learned to do and God wants To do every time we feel
worried, let that prompt us to pray to the God who can change
it. One of the things that I've
started to do over the years, I've done this several times.
When I find myself really stressed and worried whether
it's about family ministry, sometimes the agenda just seems
so long. Like, God, how am I going to get
everything done and start worry where he just builds up,
anxiety, can come from that, but I'll make a list sit down and
make a list of everything you're worried about.
One thing I've learned is you SLI not as long of a list as I
thought it would be. I thought I could fill up a page
and really it's like three or four things maybe five or six
things at the most shot, I write down what I'm worried about and
then I look at the things that would never happen.
Look at the things and go. You know what that that's never
happened to me before. It's probably never going to
happen to me. And so, I just got to give that
to the Lord. And then look at what you have
left on the list, Circle, the things on my list is what I do.
I Circle the things that I have control over, God has given me
some Authority and control in my life.
The things I'm worried about that, I Do something about.
I'm going to prepare for that. I'm going to work on that.
I'm going to work towards eliminating that worried by
being prepared and then there's another thing on the list.
There are things that are out of your control.
It's not that they're not important.
Like sometimes, you know, when you know my going to get in a
car wreck if some going to happen to me that's out of my
control, I can be safe and I can be wise but there's so many
things out of my control you know what you have to do with
those trust. Those to the Lord that loves you
more than, you know how to love yourself and then you can move
on with your day sometimes with a And full of things that you
can do something about, let me give you the third dangerous
prayer here. Here it is reveal.
I want to tell you what, the first to everybody's going to be
okay with these. This one right here, I hate.
I honestly sometimes in my flesh.
I hate this. One reveal.
My sinful actions. Mmm.
He's here. What here's what David said,
here's how it translates out. Look at look what he said.
Point out anything in me that offends.
You who that's a strong prayer, get quiet before the Lord and go
God, will you point out anything in me that offends?
You I really believe that this may be one of the keys to
Revival in the church and by Revival.
I mean us being fully experience of the Holy Spirit completely
filled with his Spirit completely led by his spirit.
I believe that prayer point out anything in me, that defends you
an older translation of this says Lord show me my evil ways.
That's where I get the Deeds, the action piece is looking at
the language here. Lord, reveal my sinful actions.
I don't think David was praying about a sin that he was aware
of. I don't think he was currently
living in, you know, sexual sin, or living with unforgiveness
openly and just saying, God will you just show me?
I don't think it was a blind eye like that.
I think David had already confessed, he wasn't coming to
the Lord playing dumb. I think what he was saying is
God, Is there any sin that I'm not aware of in my life?
See what if there's something holding you back in your prayer
life and you don't even realize it anymore.
Let me give you a question to help.
You think about this prayer Dua, have a sin blind spot in my
life. You know, when you're driving
down the road and you gon pass, or you going to, you know,
Interstate for changing lanes, every vehicle has some sort of
blind spot even with the cameras and all the technology in the
blind spot mirrors. It seems that there are still
still some blind spots as far as where we can't see and you just
can't see everything around. And so the deal with blind spots
is, you can't know that they're there.
B looking. You just have to assume that
they're there. I just assumed Are there and I
thought about this, we would be better, spouses friends,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ and neighbors.
If we started with the assumption that I probably have
a blind spot that I'm not aware of in my life.
Think about that for a minute. What if you?
And I just decided every morning we woke up before the Lord God.
I know that I think I'm doing pretty good today and I'm not
going to live in the glooms today, but I will say this got I
probably have a sin blind spot. Will you reveal that to me?
I need God and I need others to help me at times.
So many relationships are separated out, so many families
are torn apart because of sin, blind spots, and people
unwilling to pray this prayer. God, do I have a blind spot?
Lord, search me and reveal my sinful actions.
So what are blind spots? You know, the first thing that
blind Sparks are blind spots. Are there things that you are
ignorant to you just don't know it.
You don't know that. God's word says, you shouldn't
do that. You don't know that God's word
says you should be doing something.
And so you just live in in a way, maybe hurting yourself and
hurting hurting others and don't realize it.
And so this is where we have to get.
So intentional about opening, God's word and saying, God, I'm
not coming to your word with my own thoughts, I'm coming to your
word, to let it speak to me, you speak truth into me.
Also, you can ask a trusted friend and I get that.
This is hard because it has to be somebody that, you know,
loves you and they don't have an agenda.
You cannot ask somebody that has an agenda in your life to this
question. Do I have a blind spot but you
need somebody. If you really want to step into
all God has for you in 2023, you need a brother, a sister,
somebody who cares for you enough?
And you know, they don't have an agenda they actually just want
good for me and get in a quiet place with them and just go
listen, you see my life. You kind of see my behind the A
little bit. Is there any blind spots that
you see that I may not be aware of?
No, you got to be careful because that is a painful
question, right? That's why there has to be
trust. There has to be love between the
people. You could go to a counselor and
I may not be a bad thing. If you tell them your story and
go. Hey, do you see any blind spots?
What am I missing here? And that's a question that I've
asked my counselor before is there at what am I missing here.
But the second thing is not things, you're ignorant.
To is things that you've become callous to, that's a blind spot.
And what I mean by that, you You used to feel the pain of Sting
of conviction, when you send to get Scott in that area.
But then over time, you just kept pushing the Holy Spirit
off, push it all, sing God, I'm good, I'm good.
And then eventually even though the Lord wants to convict you
and free you of something, it's become sort of a pet that you're
just Catalyst to you, don't, you don't feel the sting anymore.
And so we have to get to a point where we're going, I'm not
looking to social media or what's popular to get fed.
Because I may be calloused I need to go back to God and say,
God, what do you say? I need people who love me and I
need to be humble enough to lay down my pride and let somebody
in and say, hey what have I become callous to in my life?
I really believe that can lead to a lot of transformation.
You need to be careful. Let the spirit lead you if
that's a person but you know if you're married in the room I may
be a question for your spouse. And again you got to have trust
and love. Y'all are supposed to be for
each. Working on your marriage all the
time. And so it may be a good question
to ask in the right situation but see we have to have the help
of the Holy Spirit and someone who loves us to lay aside pride
and listen. So why in the world would we go
through dangerous prayers? Like this?
Why? Because it's the path to
Freedom, that's why sometimes sin can even limit our prayers.
Did you know, that specifically in how we treat the people
around us of our sin is overflowing the people around
us, first Peter, Peter Talking about husband and wife
relationship sand. Here's what he said.
I read it to you because what he was saying, he was saying,
sometimes husband's you're praying.
And God is not working in your prayers because of how you treat
your spouse. Look at this.
He said you should treat her as you should.
So your prayers will not be hindered in that crazy thought
that God cares. So much about how you treat the
people around you about, whether there's blind spots and calluses
whether you're ignorant, some things you need to be doing and
it doesn't have to just be your spouse.
I think it could be. How do you in your circle?
Maybe God's. Your prayers are being hindered
because of how you've been treating the people around you
and you need help. Show me you need to pray the
prayer with David. God show me pointed out.
I want to be holy. Here's the last prayer, though.
The last piece of this and it piece.
It's really simple. Lead me to New Life leaving two
new life. Look what, look what David said
here. He said lead me along the path
to everlasting life, and he wrote this before, For Jesus
walked on the earth before he went to the Cross, before he
ascended. Before, he poured out the spirit
and really the church age was burst.
This was before that. So everlasting life would have
been understood as a path in this world.
That was going to lead you to be with Jesus forever leads you to
be with God forever, everlasting life for us.
So, we know it doesn't start in heaven.
It starts the moment we surrender ourselves to Christ,
that's where New Life Begins. So the prayer prayer like this.
It's not just the Lord lead me to Heaven one day.
It's a I know that you want to transform my life on this Earth.
Before I ever get to heaven, you may want to change somehow, I'm
speaking change what's going in my heart, and in my mind, and in
my relationships, and in my actions, I know you want to
change that. Jesus is so Lord.
Will you lead me to New Life and say we can't pray a prayer like
that unless we're willing to put our feet in it, unless we're
willing to put our shoes on and say God I don't want to be so
prideful to think that I've got it, all figured out, Lord I
don't, here's what Paul said to the church at Corinth.
Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
The old life is gone or another way to think about that.
The old life has passing away and the new life has begun.
Ever thought about this. God wants you to live New Life,
probably for every single one of us, there's an old habit or an
old tendency or there's some trauma in your past or some pain
from how you were raised or something you've been through.
And you're just assuming that it's this.
How you got to live the rest of your life?
I look at the scripture, I believe God wants to make you
new but I don't think you can find the newness without praying
these other prayers. God search me, test me reveal
myself. To me and Lord lead me into New
Life. See it's still a choice to
follow the leading. Once we pray for leading, we
have to say, God, I'm gonna put my yes on the table just like
Isaiah. I'm not going to wait until you
tell me what I'm supposed to do. Lord, I'm gonna put my yes on
the table now. So can I give you a question
here? Oakwood.
Can I give you this question this morning?
Where is Jesus calling you to leave some old knee behind and
live New Life? What is the area that you still
been holding back from God? And listen, I know I'm harping
on this because the Lord just goes to show, take it back to
him again. Take it back to him again.
There's still some people that haven't got freedom, that God
wants them to give God wants them to get it.
Maybe the freedom has it come because you've never surrendered
your life to Christ and, you know that he's calling you
today. Listen, there is a God that
loves you in spite of everything you've ever done.
He loves you. He desires to give you new life.
He doesn't want you to have to live.
Live with the pain of loneliness, separated from him
anymore, you don't have to get your act together, you don't
have to change yourself to come to him.
All you need to do is surrender to him and maybe New Life can
start for you today. But what area of your life, have
you been holding back on the Lord and during this 21 days, my
prayer has been God search, our hearts and our minds and
revealed our sin and help us confess and repent lead us to
New Life. When we get on the other side of
January may we be walking in more new life than we ever had
before the new life? Me the anointed me the as God
intended me to be version of me. I wrote this in my journal at
some point. And I didn't write it for you.
I would think about a message. When I wrote it, I was writing
it to me. But here's what I wrote many
times. The only thing standing between
you and that was Joe between you Joe and your best year yet, is
the decision to act on what the holy spirit is prompting you to
do. Will you bow with me across the
room Oak? What I want you to stay with me.
Bow with me, if you lose focus, when you bow your head, you can
just keep looking at me right now because we're not done yet.
So I want you to hang with me, hang with me right here.
Here. What is the holy spirit prompted
you to do? But you've been pushing back
against it. What area of surrender or what
prayer of search me? Reveal it Lord.
What confession prayer? Do you need to pray?
Where is God calling you to act? But you've been holding back and
listen. Today is the day, maybe for you.
It's time to surrender your life to Jesus Oakwood.
Maybe it's time your God, brought you right there where
you are to surrender your life to Jesus Christ today, because
that is the next step. And maybe you already know that
you've got wrong and you need to be forgiven but you want to
experience his new life. Listen, if you're here in
Gainesville, if you're there at Oakwood, I want you to pray this
prayer, if that's you and you go, Joe, I'm ready to experience
New Life. Pray it from your heart, to the
heart of God. Just say this Jesus today, I
Surrender my life to you. I'm asking you to save me and
forgive me. And give me new life that you
promised. Just tell him say you're my
Lord. I'm going to let you be the boss
in my life, the best. I know how from this day
forward. I'm ready to follow you.
Let me just tell him. Thank you.
Jesus, for saving me. Amen.
Listen, if that was you. I want you real quick before we
move forward. Just raise your hand if that was
you today. He said Joe, that was me.
I just did that. Thank you anybody else?
Hear you? Say come on John.
I did that. Just thank you.
I see you. Anybody else?
Praise You Jesus. Awesome.
Listening for you guys. I would love to celebrate with
you Oakwood. We love to Celebrate Pastor.
Michael, would you surrendered your life today?
Here's what I want for the rest of us.
We're going to turn this into just prayer session down in the
front here in an oak wood to its.
So I don't want you to feel like you got a hold back today.
If the spirit has prompted you on something, I want to ask you
to let a prayer begin the rest of your week.
And what I mean by that come to a place.
If you're physically able, you can come sit on the front.
You can come kneel at the front and begin to pray about the
things that the Lord wants to bring new life to you in.
In these areas. I want to pray for you and I'm
Invite you to respond to Jesus. Thank you for salvation today.
Thank you for these dangerous prayers that endanger our pride
in our sin and our old cells. And God I'm asking you even now
Lord, help us respond in obedience to you today.
Lord, reveal it. That we make forsaken confess it
in Jesus name. Will You Stand Together
everywhere? Oakwood stand.
Come on down as the band Legion since morning.
Thank you for listening to the river.
Bend Church podcast. Learn more about who we are as a
church and how to connect, you can head over to our website for
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