1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,240 Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast. 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,920 Riverbend Church exists to lead all people to know, love, and 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,320 live new life in Jesus Christ. We hope that you enjoy this 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:20,280 message. Good morning, Riverbend. 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,800 Welcome to church this morning. So grateful that you're here 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,520 with us. This is going to be a new day 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,360 here in Gainesville because you see me only on the screen. 8 00:00:30,170 --> 00:00:32,650 Pastor Chris Guthrie thinks that it's no different. 9 00:00:32,650 --> 00:00:36,010 Apparently he that's a fat joke, you know, he thinks I'm large 10 00:00:36,010 --> 00:00:39,450 and in charge up here, but here we are on the screen. 11 00:00:39,450 --> 00:00:42,290 You get a little taste of what it's like in Oakwood today. 12 00:00:42,290 --> 00:00:47,170 I am down in Oakwood at the campus down there and excited to 13 00:00:47,170 --> 00:00:51,290 be a part of of today with with both campuses and getting to see 14 00:00:51,490 --> 00:00:54,290 some people at both places. It's really awesome to see all 15 00:00:54,290 --> 00:00:56,610 God. That's all that God is doing in 16 00:00:56,610 --> 00:00:59,850 the life of Riverbend. Don't take for granted what we 17 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:04,129 get to be a part of. Don't take for granted that we 18 00:01:04,129 --> 00:01:09,450 are a church with multiple locations serving the city, not 19 00:01:09,450 --> 00:01:12,610 only here in Gainesville but also in Oakwood, and spreading 20 00:01:12,850 --> 00:01:17,210 the good news about Jesus through your hands, through your 21 00:01:17,210 --> 00:01:19,970 efforts. Don't take it for granted the 22 00:01:19,970 --> 00:01:22,690 opportunity that's in front of us and all that God's called us 23 00:01:22,690 --> 00:01:24,090 to. I'm excited about it. 24 00:01:24,410 --> 00:01:27,370 I hope you are as well. It's an honor to be here today 25 00:01:27,370 --> 00:01:32,770 with you teaching about prayer, one of my favorite subjects to 26 00:01:32,770 --> 00:01:36,810 teach on because it always teaches me the Bible when I come 27 00:01:36,810 --> 00:01:41,770 to it always teaches me something new about prayer when 28 00:01:41,770 --> 00:01:45,240 I teach it myself. We find ourselves in Acts 29 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:49,240 Chapter 12 today, where we're going to study a miraculous 30 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,880 answered prayer. And we're going to focus more 31 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:59,360 specifically on verse 5 today, where we'll look at the way that 32 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,320 this prayer was answered and we'll look at it from 4 33 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,120 different angles. In Acts Chapter 2, we're going 34 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,199 to see the opposition, the nature, the subject. 35 00:02:09,750 --> 00:02:12,470 And the recipient. So let's go to Acts chapter 12 36 00:02:12,470 --> 00:02:15,630 together, starting in verse one. If you don't have your Bible, 37 00:02:15,830 --> 00:02:17,390 that's OK, it'll be on your screen. 38 00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:20,030 I'm reading from the English Standard version today. 39 00:02:20,510 --> 00:02:24,310 About that time, Herod the King laid violent hands on some who 40 00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:27,670 belonged to the church. Violent hands. 41 00:02:28,950 --> 00:02:33,830 Violent hands. Persecuting the church, Doing 42 00:02:33,830 --> 00:02:36,390 acts of violence against the church. 43 00:02:38,340 --> 00:02:43,020 And he even killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 44 00:02:44,420 --> 00:02:47,740 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest 45 00:02:47,740 --> 00:02:51,500 Peter also. This was during the days of 46 00:02:52,060 --> 00:02:56,260 Unleavened bread. And when he had seized Peter, he 47 00:02:56,260 --> 00:03:00,660 put him in prison, delivering him over to 4 squads of soldiers 48 00:03:00,660 --> 00:03:04,700 to guard him. He he put 4 squads of soldiers. 49 00:03:05,070 --> 00:03:08,030 In place to guard Peter. This is how significant this 50 00:03:08,030 --> 00:03:13,870 prisoner was for the King. He was intending after the 51 00:03:13,870 --> 00:03:16,110 Passover to bring Peter out to the people. 52 00:03:16,110 --> 00:03:21,950 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made 53 00:03:21,950 --> 00:03:25,870 to God by the church. And now when Herod was about to 54 00:03:25,870 --> 00:03:28,230 bring him out on that very night, Peter was sleeping 55 00:03:28,230 --> 00:03:31,390 between two soldiers. I got this picture where he's. 56 00:03:31,810 --> 00:03:33,850 He's just sleeping right here, and the two soldiers are right 57 00:03:33,850 --> 00:03:38,290 beside and making sure that you don't go anywhere bound with two 58 00:03:38,290 --> 00:03:43,050 chains and centuries before the door were guarding the prison. 59 00:03:43,050 --> 00:03:47,730 And behold, an Angel of the Lord stood next to him and a light 60 00:03:47,730 --> 00:03:52,730 shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and 61 00:03:52,730 --> 00:03:55,980 woke him up saying get up. Quickly. 62 00:03:55,980 --> 00:03:58,660 I love this picture because Peter's there sleeping and the 63 00:03:58,940 --> 00:04:02,380 an Angel comes in and the light shines brightly. 64 00:04:02,380 --> 00:04:04,620 Of course. And that doesn't wake Peter up, 65 00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:07,620 because we know that the Angel had to strike him on the side, 66 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:11,020 prodding him on the side. Wake up. 67 00:04:12,580 --> 00:04:14,900 Peter was fast asleep. We'll come back to that later. 68 00:04:16,380 --> 00:04:20,220 And the chains fell off of his hands and the Angel said to him, 69 00:04:20,220 --> 00:04:23,180 Dress yourself, put on your sandals. 70 00:04:23,740 --> 00:04:26,780 And he did so. And he said to him, wrap your 71 00:04:26,780 --> 00:04:31,260 cloak around you and follow me. Verse nine he went out and 72 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:33,380 followed him. He did not know that he was 73 00:04:33,380 --> 00:04:37,740 being what was being done by the Angel was real, but he thought 74 00:04:37,740 --> 00:04:40,340 he was seeing a vision. And when they had passed the 1st 75 00:04:40,340 --> 00:04:43,620 and the 2nd guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the 76 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:45,220 city. What are we going to do with 77 00:04:45,220 --> 00:04:48,060 this iron gate? But it opened for them on its 78 00:04:48,100 --> 00:04:52,580 own accord, and they went out, went along one street, and 79 00:04:52,580 --> 00:04:56,740 immediately the Angel. Left him when Peter came to 80 00:04:56,740 --> 00:04:59,100 himself, he said. Now I am sure that the Lord has 81 00:04:59,100 --> 00:05:02,540 sent his Angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from 82 00:05:02,540 --> 00:05:05,500 all that the Jewish people were expecting. 83 00:05:05,500 --> 00:05:09,700 And when he realized this, he went to the House of Mary, the 84 00:05:09,700 --> 00:05:15,700 mother of whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered 85 00:05:16,620 --> 00:05:19,060 and praying. And when he knocked at the door 86 00:05:19,060 --> 00:05:23,260 of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 87 00:05:24,570 --> 00:05:27,570 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened they saw 88 00:05:27,570 --> 00:05:33,090 him and were amazed, motioning to to them with his hand to be 89 00:05:33,090 --> 00:05:34,970 silent. He described to them how the 90 00:05:34,970 --> 00:05:41,170 Lord had brought him out of the prison, and he said, tell these 91 00:05:41,170 --> 00:05:43,170 things to James and to the brothers. 92 00:05:43,730 --> 00:05:47,890 And then he departed and went to another place. 93 00:05:48,770 --> 00:05:52,980 This is an unbelievable story. There's so many things to focus 94 00:05:52,980 --> 00:05:57,340 on, of course, this morning in this text about this miraculous 95 00:05:57,980 --> 00:06:02,420 escape from prison and how the Angel came to deliver Peter and 96 00:06:02,620 --> 00:06:05,460 and why the Lord delivered Peter in this way. 97 00:06:05,460 --> 00:06:07,660 And how he came to visit the disciples. 98 00:06:07,660 --> 00:06:10,900 And how the the disciples were there with the church and they 99 00:06:10,900 --> 00:06:16,820 were praying so many things about this miracle to focus on 100 00:06:16,820 --> 00:06:20,020 how they came to the iron gate. And the iron gate just opened on 101 00:06:20,020 --> 00:06:24,480 its own accord and. How the chains that were on 102 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,440 Peter's hands just fell off. How? 103 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,000 How the guards had no hope of stopping him. 104 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,280 But the thing that I want to focus on this morning, 105 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:41,560 ultimately, is the thing that we can apply first and foremost, 106 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:45,360 the thing that we should be focusing on each and every day 107 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,960 of our lives. And that's prayer. 108 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,920 So first, let's look at the opposition. 109 00:06:51,980 --> 00:06:56,020 Of their prayer, the early church was under fire. 110 00:06:57,940 --> 00:07:01,980 The most powerful man in the land, the king, King Herod, was 111 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:05,460 coming against them and laying violent hands on them. 112 00:07:05,460 --> 00:07:07,980 He he had just killed one of their leaders, one of their 113 00:07:07,980 --> 00:07:11,060 brothers. He was surely now going to come 114 00:07:11,060 --> 00:07:14,180 for them as well, right? And he had Peter locked up, so 115 00:07:14,660 --> 00:07:19,460 he had great plans for Peter. I'm sure they were like lambs 116 00:07:19,460 --> 00:07:22,680 among wolves, like. Just getting ready to be 117 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,560 slaughtered. So what did they do? 118 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:29,800 What did they do when they were under fire? 119 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,960 What do you do when you're under fire? 120 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,600 What do you do when you're in these moments where you know 121 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:42,680 that you're in trouble? What was their protection? 122 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,920 What was their first move? What was their battle plan? 123 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,080 Their their battle plan, their first move. 124 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:54,510 Their their decisive. Action was to go to the Lord in 125 00:07:54,910 --> 00:07:57,910 prayer. Prayer was their plan. 126 00:08:00,110 --> 00:08:04,390 They didn't look for weapons. They didn't gather around the 127 00:08:04,390 --> 00:08:07,870 table and begin to scheme about how they were going to go about 128 00:08:07,870 --> 00:08:09,870 it. They didn't consider their 129 00:08:09,870 --> 00:08:14,110 strategies. They prayed. 130 00:08:16,990 --> 00:08:22,220 They went to their father. In prayer, instead of talking 131 00:08:22,220 --> 00:08:25,900 about their problems, they asked God to solve them. 132 00:08:26,060 --> 00:08:30,420 Instead of choosing worry, they chose to trust. 133 00:08:30,420 --> 00:08:35,659 They chose to go to their father 1st and petition him. 134 00:08:35,659 --> 00:08:41,820 You see, I I I think the riskiest lie that we believe is 135 00:08:41,820 --> 00:08:47,700 that we can live without prayer. Think this is one of those lies 136 00:08:47,700 --> 00:08:54,070 that the enemy loves? To sow into our minds and our 137 00:08:54,070 --> 00:08:58,110 hearts that we can live without. We'll be OK. 138 00:08:59,230 --> 00:09:01,270 What is God gonna do for you anyway? 139 00:09:01,390 --> 00:09:03,310 Are you sure he's even gonna hear you? 140 00:09:03,430 --> 00:09:06,910 How is you think he's gonna answer you with everything else 141 00:09:06,910 --> 00:09:09,990 he's got going on? And then we tend to just walk 142 00:09:09,990 --> 00:09:13,990 through life thinking that we can live without this 143 00:09:14,270 --> 00:09:19,110 connection, this communion. With God, like living without 144 00:09:19,110 --> 00:09:22,710 prayer is kind of like a fish out of water. 145 00:09:23,830 --> 00:09:28,270 Living without prayer is kind of like a flower without sunshine, 146 00:09:30,190 --> 00:09:33,150 you know? It's confusing too. 147 00:09:33,150 --> 00:09:35,830 It's maybe. Another good example would be 148 00:09:35,830 --> 00:09:39,870 like a tractor. When you look at a tractor and 149 00:09:39,870 --> 00:09:44,710 you see it, you think that the blades are doing all the work. 150 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,560 What's more important, the blades are the engine. 151 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,960 Blades aren't going to move if the engine doesn't move them. 152 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:04,600 The riskiest lie we believe is that we can live without prayer. 153 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,360 What's the first thing you do when you're under fire? 154 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,160 Where's the 1st place that you turn for help? 155 00:10:16,610 --> 00:10:21,370 Psalm 34 starting in verse 15. This is a beautiful part of 156 00:10:21,370 --> 00:10:26,690 Scripture about prayer, psalmist rights. 157 00:10:26,690 --> 00:10:30,850 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and the ears. 158 00:10:31,050 --> 00:10:35,010 His ears are toward their cry. He's looking. 159 00:10:35,850 --> 00:10:40,330 He's listening. The face of the Lord is against 160 00:10:40,330 --> 00:10:43,810 those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 161 00:10:45,210 --> 00:10:49,770 When the righteous cry for help. When the righteous cry for help 162 00:10:50,090 --> 00:10:52,970 when they come to me and petition me, when they join 163 00:10:52,970 --> 00:11:00,330 together in the Church, and they ask me to deliver Peter, I hear 164 00:11:01,690 --> 00:11:05,050 the Lord. Hears and delivers them out of 165 00:11:05,090 --> 00:11:09,650 all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken 166 00:11:09,770 --> 00:11:13,810 hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 167 00:11:15,370 --> 00:11:19,690 The Lord is near to the broken hearted, saves the crushed in 168 00:11:19,690 --> 00:11:22,210 spirit. He hears the righteous cry for 169 00:11:22,210 --> 00:11:25,610 helping. He He comes in to deliver. 170 00:11:27,330 --> 00:11:29,730 Them out of all their troubles. These are texts. 171 00:11:29,730 --> 00:11:32,530 These are parts of scripture that we must remember. 172 00:11:32,530 --> 00:11:36,730 Look at Psalm 107, starting in verse 4. 173 00:11:37,210 --> 00:11:41,330 The some wondered in the desert waste, finding no way to a city 174 00:11:41,610 --> 00:11:43,690 to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty. 175 00:11:43,690 --> 00:11:47,970 They're so fainted within them. Maybe you feel like this today. 176 00:11:47,970 --> 00:11:52,890 Maybe you've come into riverbend shirts feeling hungry in your 177 00:11:52,890 --> 00:11:55,650 soul. Feeling thirsty? 178 00:11:55,910 --> 00:11:59,950 In your soul in a in a way that you can't satisfy on your own, 179 00:11:59,950 --> 00:12:02,230 and you know it. Maybe you've come here looking 180 00:12:02,230 --> 00:12:04,510 for a place to dwell that's safe. 181 00:12:08,510 --> 00:12:11,830 This is a good scripture for you to read this morning because 182 00:12:11,830 --> 00:12:16,830 they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them 183 00:12:16,990 --> 00:12:20,950 from their distress. Look at verse seven. 184 00:12:24,230 --> 00:12:32,420 We're going to look at verse 7. He led them by a straight way, 185 00:12:35,660 --> 00:12:37,700 till they reached a city to dwell in. 186 00:12:38,300 --> 00:12:42,540 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous 187 00:12:42,540 --> 00:12:47,180 works to the children of man, for he satisfies the longing 188 00:12:47,180 --> 00:12:52,540 soul and the hungry soul. He fills with good things. 189 00:12:52,540 --> 00:12:55,020 This is what he did. He he led them. 190 00:12:56,670 --> 00:13:02,630 To a city to dwell in. By a straight way, he he heard 191 00:13:02,630 --> 00:13:05,630 their cry, he delivered them and he led them there. 192 00:13:05,910 --> 00:13:11,790 This is this is the result of coming to him and crying for 193 00:13:11,790 --> 00:13:16,470 help. Where are you going when you're 194 00:13:16,470 --> 00:13:18,350 in need? Where are you going when you 195 00:13:18,350 --> 00:13:21,390 need help? Where's your first place to 196 00:13:21,390 --> 00:13:27,500 turn? It's a beautiful picture, and I 197 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:34,380 don't want you to think that today God's up there waiting for 198 00:13:34,380 --> 00:13:38,660 you to give him your request. And then he's going to act just 199 00:13:38,660 --> 00:13:42,780 accordingly to what you say, because we know that he answers 200 00:13:42,780 --> 00:13:47,540 according to his will, and we know that when he delivers us, 201 00:13:47,940 --> 00:13:51,340 when he rescues us. Any action that He takes as a 202 00:13:51,340 --> 00:13:54,340 result of our prayer is in accordance with His will. 203 00:13:54,340 --> 00:13:59,660 It's in alignment with His will. But he will act. 204 00:14:00,580 --> 00:14:04,900 He will hear the cries of His children. 205 00:14:05,460 --> 00:14:08,860 When the world was against the early church and they were 206 00:14:08,860 --> 00:14:16,100 afraid, afraid for their lives, they immediately and 207 00:14:16,100 --> 00:14:20,560 persistently prayed. Second thing I want to look at 208 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:22,640 today is the nature of their prayer. 209 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,560 Acts 12 verse five. So Peter was kept in prison, but 210 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:34,800 earnest prayer was for him made to God by the Church. 211 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,360 Earnest prayer. The nature of their prayer is 212 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:42,800 that it was earnest, earnest, fervent, strenuous. 213 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,760 This, this word here, this adverb for fervent. 214 00:14:48,890 --> 00:14:55,290 For Earnest, it's the same word that Luke uses in Luke chapter 215 00:14:55,290 --> 00:15:01,050 22 when he's describing the Lord's Prayer in the Garden of 216 00:15:01,050 --> 00:15:04,410 Gethsemane, when Jesus was crying to God for help and. 217 00:15:04,740 --> 00:15:08,580 And Luke wrote that he was in agony and he was praying very 218 00:15:08,780 --> 00:15:13,020 fervently and and his sweat became like drops of blood 219 00:15:13,020 --> 00:15:16,580 falling down upon the ground. You see this word for fervent 220 00:15:16,580 --> 00:15:20,540 here, the same word that's used in Acts chapter 12 and Luke 221 00:15:20,540 --> 00:15:27,540 chapter 22 is it means to stretch a muscle to its limit. 222 00:15:27,620 --> 00:15:30,860 It's it's a medical term. It quite literally means to 223 00:15:30,860 --> 00:15:38,840 stretch a muscle to its limit. Earnest, fervent, the church 224 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,240 poured out everything they had into their prayers for Peter. 225 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,080 They stretched out according to Luke. 226 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,600 They prayed similarly to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. 227 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,880 What a beautiful picture that the early church was agonizing 228 00:15:55,880 --> 00:16:01,880 to be with God, desperate for his presence, longing to 229 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:11,670 communicate with him. They were convinced that he was 230 00:16:11,670 --> 00:16:16,830 all they need. They were convinced that in Him 231 00:16:16,830 --> 00:16:24,910 was fullness of life, fullness of joy, hope, eternal hope. 232 00:16:27,270 --> 00:16:29,270 And they agonized to be with Him. 233 00:16:30,830 --> 00:16:36,730 They didn't have a great. Organized plan, but they 234 00:16:36,810 --> 00:16:44,570 agonized for supernatural power, Dr. G Campbell Morgan once 235 00:16:44,570 --> 00:16:49,570 warned. There's this great quote, I 236 00:16:49,570 --> 00:16:54,250 thought we had it on the screen, but just follow with me here, 237 00:16:54,250 --> 00:16:57,930 Dr. G Campbell Morgan said. This one of Satan's methods 238 00:16:57,930 --> 00:17:02,310 today. Is to start so many programs in 239 00:17:02,310 --> 00:17:08,349 a church that the members have no time for unhurried communion 240 00:17:08,349 --> 00:17:13,910 with God. Many Christians are so busy that 241 00:17:13,910 --> 00:17:23,470 they can hear only the clink and clatter of church machinery, as 242 00:17:23,470 --> 00:17:27,510 if there's a strategy of the enemy to get us so. 243 00:17:28,810 --> 00:17:33,730 Distracted by all the good things that we do here to where 244 00:17:33,730 --> 00:17:39,850 we are unable to slow down and listen, slow down and commune 245 00:17:41,850 --> 00:17:44,250 with the Father. The early church was desperate, 246 00:17:44,250 --> 00:17:47,490 Ferv, and earnest. They stretched their muscles to 247 00:17:47,490 --> 00:17:50,730 the limit and agony to commune with God. 248 00:17:51,410 --> 00:17:56,090 There's there's a big difference between this posture and a 249 00:17:56,090 --> 00:17:57,130 posture. That's. 250 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,320 Focused on organizing and planning everything to a certain 251 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,520 degree and making sure we get it all right. 252 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:10,960 There's a big difference between organizing and agonizing, and I 253 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:17,120 wonder if we've grown to be over organized and under agonized, 254 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,800 Samuel Chadwick said this. The one concern of the devil is 255 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:25,420 to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless 256 00:18:25,420 --> 00:18:27,420 studies. He fears nothing from prayerless 257 00:18:27,420 --> 00:18:31,020 work or prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil. 258 00:18:31,020 --> 00:18:36,460 He mocks at our wisdom. But he trembles when we pray, 259 00:18:39,620 --> 00:18:42,900 trembles when we pray. There's power and prayer. 260 00:18:44,140 --> 00:18:49,380 There's more power than we can imagine, and I fear that most of 261 00:18:49,380 --> 00:18:52,020 us don't have. We haven't even scratched the 262 00:18:52,020 --> 00:18:59,340 surface of our understanding of our deficit in this area. 263 00:19:01,500 --> 00:19:06,190 The. Early church gave more attention 264 00:19:06,190 --> 00:19:16,420 to praying than planning. It's very important for us to 265 00:19:16,420 --> 00:19:20,780 consider where we give our time and our attention and our 266 00:19:20,780 --> 00:19:27,730 energy. Because where we give our time, 267 00:19:27,770 --> 00:19:32,450 our attention and our energy will reflect what we value the 268 00:19:32,450 --> 00:19:35,490 most. It will reflect where we put our 269 00:19:35,490 --> 00:19:39,970 trust. We can see clearly time and time 270 00:19:39,970 --> 00:19:44,010 again. In the early church they went to 271 00:19:44,010 --> 00:19:48,090 God in prayer 1st and consistently because they 272 00:19:48,090 --> 00:19:50,410 believed that he had all the power. 273 00:19:51,410 --> 00:19:53,890 They believed that he was going to be the one to make the 274 00:19:53,890 --> 00:19:56,370 difference. They believed ultimately that he 275 00:19:56,370 --> 00:20:03,450 had all that they needed and it reflected their dependence on 276 00:20:03,450 --> 00:20:08,610 him. We see how dependent we are by 277 00:20:08,610 --> 00:20:11,770 how much attention we give to praying. 278 00:20:14,770 --> 00:20:19,450 Reminds me of a story about Charles Spurgeon. 279 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,720 The great preacher in England. He led a church called the 280 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:28,320 Metropolitan Tabernacle for many years in England, and he was 281 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:32,520 there was a story about him leading visitors who had come 282 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:34,720 for the first time on a tour of the church. 283 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,800 It was after a service had completed and he was showing 284 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,800 them around and after they had gone through the main building, 285 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,350 he he walked them through a hall and he said, I want to show you 286 00:20:44,350 --> 00:20:46,750 the most important room in the building. 287 00:20:46,750 --> 00:20:49,990 I want you to, I want to show you the most important place. 288 00:20:51,030 --> 00:20:53,110 It's called the heating apparatus. 289 00:20:53,590 --> 00:20:57,070 That's what he called it, the heating apparatus. 290 00:20:57,670 --> 00:21:00,910 He took them in this room and he opened the door and much to 291 00:21:00,910 --> 00:21:07,470 their surprise, they saw 400 people in there praying, crying 292 00:21:07,470 --> 00:21:14,210 out to God. This prayer room became infamous 293 00:21:15,850 --> 00:21:19,410 and Charles Spurgeon's under Charles Spurgeon's leadership. 294 00:21:22,370 --> 00:21:26,370 He believed that that was the reason that they saw so much 295 00:21:26,370 --> 00:21:31,770 growth, because they gave so much attention to their prayer 296 00:21:31,770 --> 00:21:35,050 meetings. The Church, with warmth of 297 00:21:35,050 --> 00:21:41,450 spirit, must have a heating apparatus. 298 00:21:42,970 --> 00:21:45,850 Third thing we're going to look at today is the subject of their 299 00:21:45,850 --> 00:21:50,370 prayer. So Peter was kept in prison 300 00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:55,970 earnest. Prayer was made to God by the 301 00:21:55,970 --> 00:22:00,770 Church for him. For Peter. 302 00:22:00,890 --> 00:22:04,570 The subject of their prayer was Peter. 303 00:22:06,010 --> 00:22:09,930 And we see here the power of specific intercession. 304 00:22:10,810 --> 00:22:14,250 They they they put Peter in the middle of their prayer as the 305 00:22:14,250 --> 00:22:16,490 subject. And they they they focused all 306 00:22:16,490 --> 00:22:23,610 their attention on God and they asked God to intercede for 307 00:22:23,610 --> 00:22:28,330 Peter. Imagine how this all went down, 308 00:22:28,570 --> 00:22:30,450 right. I get inside of these stories 309 00:22:30,450 --> 00:22:34,970 and I think how in reality, how did this all go down as they're 310 00:22:34,970 --> 00:22:38,050 gathering together and they came together and and James had just 311 00:22:38,050 --> 00:22:41,860 been killed and now Peter has been arrested and detained. 312 00:22:42,020 --> 00:22:44,260 And So what are we going to do, you know? 313 00:22:44,340 --> 00:22:46,420 And they're coming in and I imagine that there's some that 314 00:22:46,420 --> 00:22:49,700 are more worried and some that are more scared and some that 315 00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:52,780 are kind of reserved and and thinking about what they're 316 00:22:52,780 --> 00:22:56,060 going to do and and some are just ready to to charge the hill 317 00:22:56,060 --> 00:22:57,780 and and go break him out of prison. 318 00:22:57,780 --> 00:22:59,740 And they got all these different perspectives. 319 00:22:59,740 --> 00:23:03,980 But what do we see them? Do we see them come together? 320 00:23:03,980 --> 00:23:07,300 And it's almost like they just join in one chorus. 321 00:23:07,590 --> 00:23:14,830 They just join in concert to say we need the Lord, we need to 322 00:23:14,830 --> 00:23:18,110 pray, we have a need. We agree on the problem. 323 00:23:18,310 --> 00:23:21,230 We have a need. So hurry, let's go to the Lord. 324 00:23:22,030 --> 00:23:24,790 Hurry, hurry, Come, come on. We have a special matter. 325 00:23:24,910 --> 00:23:27,270 It deserves special attention, surely. 326 00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:32,150 Surely in this moment they were focused on the one prayer. 327 00:23:33,790 --> 00:23:38,650 And surely they weren't praying. And general terms, they were 328 00:23:39,050 --> 00:23:41,650 crying out to God for help about Peter. 329 00:23:42,370 --> 00:23:46,810 I've been in many hospital rooms and when you're in the hospital 330 00:23:46,810 --> 00:23:54,570 room and it seems like all hope is lost, the prayer is focused. 331 00:23:55,490 --> 00:24:04,500 The prayer is specific. The prayer is urgent but but I 332 00:24:04,500 --> 00:24:10,220 think about this and I and I put myself in this scene and and we 333 00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:14,420 we can see from the timeline here that they were continually 334 00:24:14,860 --> 00:24:18,540 praying with the same earnestness with the same 335 00:24:18,820 --> 00:24:22,100 urgency, day in day out. They had shifts that they were 336 00:24:22,100 --> 00:24:25,140 taking. They they believed so much in 337 00:24:25,140 --> 00:24:33,180 this war in prayer. They didn't stop, and he didn't 338 00:24:33,180 --> 00:24:39,700 just do this when a tragedy struck or something devastating 339 00:24:39,700 --> 00:24:43,340 might happen. It was a way of life for them 340 00:24:43,340 --> 00:24:48,700 because they believed in the power of prayer and God heard 341 00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:56,820 their intercession. Why not pray specifically for a 342 00:24:56,820 --> 00:24:59,180 missionary that you know that needs help? 343 00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:07,130 Why not pray specifically and consistently for someone that 344 00:25:07,130 --> 00:25:15,490 you know is in great need? Why not ask God to act in his 345 00:25:15,490 --> 00:25:19,810 sovereign power, in something that requires his special 346 00:25:19,810 --> 00:25:23,170 attention, Something that is going to blow the doctor's 347 00:25:23,170 --> 00:25:27,330 minds? Because it's only from his power 348 00:25:27,330 --> 00:25:32,600 that it could be made possible. When it looked as if the early 349 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,000 church could do nothing, they believed that they could do 350 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:41,600 everything by prayer. Day and night they gathered 351 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:46,440 together, taking shifts, Peter as the subject. 352 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:49,800 They didn't stop until he knocked on the door. 353 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,120 They prayed him out. They prayed him out. 354 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:57,360 Imagine the joy when he knocked on the door first. 355 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:00,520 They didn't even believe him. They said it was an Angel. 356 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,040 They prayed him out. What a miracle. 357 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:11,200 Are you asking God for specific things today? 358 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,600 You have a list. I know many of you do have 359 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,080 talked to many of you. You have a list and and maybe 360 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:21,280 you're here today and you say I'm. 361 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,600 I'm growing tired of asking God for the same thing and not 362 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:26,480 seeing anything happen. I'm. 363 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,230 I'm getting ready to quit today. I want to encourage you, don't 364 00:26:30,230 --> 00:26:32,590 quit. Take a page from the early 365 00:26:32,590 --> 00:26:36,390 church's book. He hears the cries of his 366 00:26:36,390 --> 00:26:42,430 children and he answers prayer, sometimes with a yes, sometimes 367 00:26:42,430 --> 00:26:49,830 with a no, sometimes with a wait, sometimes with go. 368 00:26:53,630 --> 00:26:56,920 But he answers prayer. Don't, don't miss this. 369 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:03,280 Don't just come to God expecting the answer to be yes as if he is 370 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:07,200 some genie in a bottle to answer your every need according to how 371 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,760 you ask it. Don't, don't, don't miss out 372 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,840 you. You will miss out on so much 373 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,960 fruit if you only pray to God when you think or know the 374 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:21,320 answer is going to be yes, because He shapes you in prayer, 375 00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:24,770 He molds you in prayer, He changes things in prayer, even 376 00:27:24,770 --> 00:27:33,490 if he's just changing you. He hears you can trust that any 377 00:27:33,490 --> 00:27:39,370 answers, even when the answer is not exactly what you want, or 378 00:27:39,370 --> 00:27:44,250 even when the answer is not yet. And he's teaching you how to 379 00:27:44,250 --> 00:27:50,470 wait and rest upon him. Fourth and last angle that we'll 380 00:27:50,470 --> 00:27:56,830 look at today on our Scripture is the recipient of their 381 00:27:56,830 --> 00:28:02,110 prayer. Earnest prayer was made right 382 00:28:03,750 --> 00:28:10,270 for Peter to God. Recipient of their prayer was 383 00:28:10,270 --> 00:28:13,390 God. They knew who they were praying 384 00:28:13,390 --> 00:28:17,190 to. They knew His power. 385 00:28:17,550 --> 00:28:22,120 They knew his sovereignty. They knew they trusted him 386 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,680 completely. It matters that you know who 387 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:27,440 you're praying to. You say, well, yeah, of course 388 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,040 we're praying to God. The whole world prays to God. 389 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,080 The whole world, even if they don't believe him, they they 390 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:33,520 pray to God when they're in need. 391 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,720 No, no, no, no, no. I mean, do you know, Do you know 392 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,960 who you're praying to? Do you really know? 393 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,720 Because to know him is to trust him. 394 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:47,060 Because he's never failed. To know him is to believe in 395 00:28:47,060 --> 00:28:48,500 him. If you really know him, you'll 396 00:28:48,500 --> 00:28:51,820 believe. Because he is unstoppable. 397 00:28:51,820 --> 00:28:54,460 He is ever worth all of our praise. 398 00:28:54,660 --> 00:29:04,180 He is everlasting in his love, his goodness and his kindness 399 00:29:04,180 --> 00:29:07,540 never end. To know him is to trust him. 400 00:29:09,900 --> 00:29:12,900 Just look at Peter in the jail cell as an example. 401 00:29:13,180 --> 00:29:18,530 Sound asleep. We get the picture of this scene 402 00:29:19,050 --> 00:29:22,010 in the presence of many guards. The scripture, remember, said 403 00:29:22,010 --> 00:29:24,290 that they had four companies of guards. 404 00:29:26,690 --> 00:29:28,370 He's sleeping in between two of them. 405 00:29:28,370 --> 00:29:33,450 He's chained up and he's on a hard floor, hard and filthy 406 00:29:33,450 --> 00:29:35,330 floor. They didn't talk about a pillow 407 00:29:36,170 --> 00:29:39,890 like, I don't know about you, but I got to have a pillow and I 408 00:29:39,890 --> 00:29:43,850 got to have a good pillow. I can have two good pillows. 409 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,080 He didn't have a pillow. Apparently he's laying on a hard 410 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:52,360 floor. He's chained up. 411 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:55,280 Sound asleep, Jared. How you know he sound asleep? 412 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,760 Because the Angel came in with the bright light. 413 00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:59,080 Didn't help. It didn't wake him up. 414 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,840 Angel came in. Had to proud him awake. 415 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:08,280 Wake up. Wake up, Peter. 416 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,480 We got things to do, Peter. Sound asleep. 417 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,350 The kings threatening to take his life didn't matter. 418 00:30:15,150 --> 00:30:25,990 Nothing could disturb his rest. Nothing could disturb his rest. 419 00:30:25,990 --> 00:30:30,030 There is certainly a lesson to be learned here about resting in 420 00:30:30,230 --> 00:30:32,710 God. When you know who you're praying 421 00:30:32,710 --> 00:30:38,310 to and when you know his track record, nothing can disturb your 422 00:30:38,310 --> 00:30:41,190 rest. When you know God, you trust 423 00:30:41,190 --> 00:30:45,990 God, and when you trust Him, you'll find rest in him. 424 00:30:46,630 --> 00:30:51,870 Peter knew God had a perfect track record. 425 00:30:51,870 --> 00:30:53,750 Peter knew who he was praying to. 426 00:30:53,750 --> 00:30:55,750 Peter knew who the church was praying to. 427 00:30:55,990 --> 00:30:59,710 Peter was just resting because he believed that God was 428 00:30:59,710 --> 00:31:03,790 ultimately in control. And later we see this very same 429 00:31:03,790 --> 00:31:06,630 Peter advising us when he wrote 7. 430 00:31:06,630 --> 00:31:10,630 Cast all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you. 431 00:31:12,550 --> 00:31:16,590 This is a very literal example of him doing what he preached 432 00:31:16,590 --> 00:31:19,950 later casting all his anxiety on him. 433 00:31:21,630 --> 00:31:24,550 Because he care. And if he care, the God that I 434 00:31:24,550 --> 00:31:28,590 know, if he cares, I don't have anything to worry about. 435 00:31:32,070 --> 00:31:35,150 There's a direct relationship between trust and God. 436 00:31:36,490 --> 00:31:43,810 And finding rest for your soul direct relationship? 437 00:31:44,930 --> 00:31:45,810 Don't. Miss this. 438 00:31:47,770 --> 00:31:51,890 If you trust God, you. Will find rest for your soul and 439 00:31:51,890 --> 00:31:56,090 so many of you, today you. You need rest. 440 00:31:58,410 --> 00:32:02,480 You need rest for your soul. You feel restless in a way that 441 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:05,000 you can't fix, and you've been trying all kinds of things to 442 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:15,690 fix it. I want to urge you today to go 443 00:32:15,690 --> 00:32:23,130 to him in prayer consistently and begin to to learn more about 444 00:32:23,130 --> 00:32:26,650 Him and ask him to show you more of Him so that you can know him 445 00:32:26,650 --> 00:32:29,370 more completely. And when you know him, you will 446 00:32:29,370 --> 00:32:33,490 trust him, and when you trust him you will find rest in him. 447 00:32:34,970 --> 00:32:39,020 There's a story in Second Chronicles 20 in the time of 448 00:32:39,020 --> 00:32:43,500 King Jehosha Fat. And a multitude was coming 449 00:32:43,500 --> 00:32:48,940 against the people. Jehosha Fat the king. 450 00:32:50,540 --> 00:32:54,460 Called a national fast because he was terrified. 451 00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:58,460 He's leading the people against this great army and. 452 00:33:02,300 --> 00:33:04,900 In verse 12 we see Jehosha Fat praying. 453 00:33:04,900 --> 00:33:08,390 What a beautiful prayer. Oh, our God, will you not 454 00:33:08,390 --> 00:33:10,670 execute judgment on them, our enemies? 455 00:33:10,670 --> 00:33:13,670 For we're powerless against this great horde that is coming 456 00:33:13,670 --> 00:33:15,190 against us. Powerless. 457 00:33:15,310 --> 00:33:19,830 We recognize our weakness here, but we recognize your strength 458 00:33:19,870 --> 00:33:22,150 in it. And we do not know what to do. 459 00:33:22,350 --> 00:33:26,590 But our eyes are on you. We do not know what to do, but 460 00:33:26,590 --> 00:33:28,910 our eyes are on you. What do I pray? 461 00:33:29,070 --> 00:33:30,630 What do I pray? I'm terrified. 462 00:33:30,790 --> 00:33:33,310 I don't know what to pray. I don't have words, which your 463 00:33:33,310 --> 00:33:37,370 hostile fat didn't either. And he just simply said God, we 464 00:33:37,370 --> 00:33:41,970 don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 465 00:33:43,690 --> 00:33:47,490 Oh, what a prayer for some of us today to consider what a prayer 466 00:33:47,490 --> 00:33:50,530 to memorize with God. I don't know what to do, but one 467 00:33:50,530 --> 00:33:53,370 thing I do do is I put my eyes on you. 468 00:33:54,450 --> 00:33:59,210 My eyes will remain on you because I believe that you have 469 00:33:59,210 --> 00:34:03,650 what I need and you can preserve, you can uphold, you 470 00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:07,650 can deliver. And meanwhile all of Judah stood 471 00:34:07,650 --> 00:34:09,969 before the Lord with their little ones, their wives, and 472 00:34:09,969 --> 00:34:14,130 their children, going to verse 14. 473 00:34:15,050 --> 00:34:18,929 And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jehesi El, the son of 474 00:34:18,929 --> 00:34:25,449 Zechariah, son of Banaya, son of GL, son of Matt, Naya, A Levite 475 00:34:25,449 --> 00:34:28,050 of the sons of Asaf, in the midst of the assembly. 476 00:34:28,050 --> 00:34:30,969 And he said, Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of 477 00:34:30,969 --> 00:34:35,290 Jerusalem, and King Jehasha fat. Thus says the Lord to you, do 478 00:34:35,290 --> 00:34:38,090 not be afraid, do not be dismayed at this great horde, 479 00:34:38,370 --> 00:34:44,570 for the battle is not yours, but gods now is. 480 00:34:44,570 --> 00:34:48,290 This is one of those TV's I could write on, you know, 481 00:34:49,210 --> 00:34:52,770 underline that, but the battle is not yours. 482 00:34:52,770 --> 00:34:54,860 But God, we don't know what to do. 483 00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:57,540 But our eyes are on you and we trust you. 484 00:34:57,540 --> 00:35:00,940 Because the battle is not ours. It's yours. 485 00:35:01,100 --> 00:35:03,780 You will win the battle. If we're going to win, it's 486 00:35:03,780 --> 00:35:08,860 going to be because of you. The Lord continues tomorrow. 487 00:35:08,860 --> 00:35:10,300 Go down against them. Behold. 488 00:35:10,300 --> 00:35:12,620 They will come up by the ascent of Zizz. 489 00:35:13,020 --> 00:35:16,740 What a word, Zizz. I wouldn't name my kid that if I 490 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:20,770 were you, but you know, I mean it's built in nickname Zizzy. 491 00:35:20,970 --> 00:35:23,370 You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the 492 00:35:23,370 --> 00:35:27,170 wilderness of drool and you will not need to fight in this 493 00:35:27,170 --> 00:35:29,610 battle. So stand firm and hold your 494 00:35:29,610 --> 00:35:33,330 position and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf. 495 00:35:33,650 --> 00:35:36,930 You don't need to fight. All you gotta do is stand firm 496 00:35:37,050 --> 00:35:40,130 and hold your position and keep your eyes on him. 497 00:35:41,970 --> 00:35:44,570 If I had more time, I'd preach all on that right there. 498 00:35:44,570 --> 00:35:46,730 Oh, Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. 499 00:35:46,930 --> 00:35:50,290 Do not be dismayed. Tomorrow, go against them. 500 00:35:50,530 --> 00:35:53,970 The Lord will be with you. The battle's not yours, but 501 00:35:53,970 --> 00:35:55,610 God's. The Lord will be with you. 502 00:35:55,610 --> 00:35:59,970 So stand firm and hold your position trusting. 503 00:36:01,530 --> 00:36:07,850 That he's in control, That he's ultimately powerful and you will 504 00:36:07,850 --> 00:36:11,570 be victorious at his hand. God's people have been marked by 505 00:36:11,570 --> 00:36:14,090 prayer for generations. We see it here in Second 506 00:36:14,090 --> 00:36:18,290 Chronicles, We see it in Acts. We see it everywhere in between. 507 00:36:19,050 --> 00:36:23,850 It's no different for us today. My question my. 508 00:36:23,850 --> 00:36:28,210 Challenge for all of us is How's your prayer life? 509 00:36:30,130 --> 00:36:33,130 How's your prayer life? What? 510 00:36:33,130 --> 00:36:35,450 Are you praying for? And how's it going? 511 00:36:35,450 --> 00:36:42,360 I. Found this poem that I thought 512 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:44,880 was very relevant. It's called Into the Day and I 513 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:46,640 couldn't find who the author was. 514 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,930 It says unknown but. I want you to listen to this 515 00:36:51,930 --> 00:36:53,370 poem. It's it's short. 516 00:36:54,050 --> 00:36:57,490 It's called Into the day. I got up early one morning and 517 00:36:57,490 --> 00:37:00,010 rushed into the day. I. 518 00:37:00,010 --> 00:37:03,690 Had so much to accomplish, I didn't have time to pray. 519 00:37:05,090 --> 00:37:09,730 Troubles just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. 520 00:37:10,290 --> 00:37:13,930 Why doesn't God help me? I wondered, and he answered. 521 00:37:14,450 --> 00:37:18,770 You didn't ask. I tried to come into God's 522 00:37:18,770 --> 00:37:21,490 presence. I used all my keys at the Loch. 523 00:37:22,250 --> 00:37:27,290 God gently and lovingly chided. Why, child, you didn't knock. 524 00:37:30,090 --> 00:37:33,770 I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on Gray and 525 00:37:33,770 --> 00:37:36,970 bleak. I called on the Lord for reason 526 00:37:36,970 --> 00:37:45,330 and he said you didn't seek. So I woke up early this morning 527 00:37:45,690 --> 00:37:48,010 and paused before entering the day. 528 00:37:48,930 --> 00:37:55,290 I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray, 529 00:37:59,170 --> 00:38:04,850 Martin Luther once said. Famously that I have so much to 530 00:38:04,850 --> 00:38:08,530 do today that I. Shall spend the first three 531 00:38:08,530 --> 00:38:14,130 hours of it in prayer. So much to do. 532 00:38:15,150 --> 00:38:16,870 The world is closing it around me. 533 00:38:16,870 --> 00:38:20,350 I have so many things to figure out and work through. 534 00:38:22,150 --> 00:38:28,710 So the First things first. I'm going to rise early and 535 00:38:28,710 --> 00:38:30,150 pray. How's your prayer life? 536 00:38:31,590 --> 00:38:34,750 Christ died that you might be reconciled to God by grace 537 00:38:34,750 --> 00:38:37,870 through faith. Christ died that that you might 538 00:38:37,870 --> 00:38:41,070 be reconciled, and that He would be at the right hand of the 539 00:38:41,070 --> 00:38:45,490 Father as your Advocate at the throne of God. 540 00:38:45,650 --> 00:38:48,650 If you're a Christian, this is the confidence that you have in 541 00:38:48,650 --> 00:38:55,210 prayer That Jesus Christ your Advocate, your Savior, who died 542 00:38:55,370 --> 00:38:59,010 and rose again on the third day for the forgiveness of sins, now 543 00:38:59,290 --> 00:39:05,210 is in heaven at the right hand of God advocating on your 544 00:39:05,210 --> 00:39:06,970 behalf. This is your confidence. 545 00:39:06,970 --> 00:39:10,290 If you're in Christ, nothing is stopping you from direct access 546 00:39:10,290 --> 00:39:13,450 to the Father. But if you don't know him today, 547 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:17,240 can I tell you that you're the only one standing in the way? 548 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:25,240 If you don't know him today, come to him in repentance and 549 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:30,800 faith. And begin daily walking with 550 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:40,550 him. In prayer, you pray with me 551 00:39:40,550 --> 00:39:47,000 church. Father God in heaven, I thank 552 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:51,840 you for your word. I thank you for meeting with us 553 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,800 here. Thank you that you've given us 554 00:39:55,800 --> 00:40:00,360 access. Because of Jesus by the Holy 555 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:04,600 Spirit that we can enter with confidence into the throne room 556 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:08,800 of grace where we may find help in times of need. 557 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,920 God, we are needy and ultimately we. 558 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:18,380 Know that you have. All that we need, even more than 559 00:40:18,380 --> 00:40:22,420 we need. So God, I pray. 560 00:40:22,420 --> 00:40:25,060 That you give us a hunger for your presence today. 561 00:40:26,420 --> 00:40:31,860 Pray that you help us. To sink deeply into your love, 562 00:40:34,300 --> 00:40:35,940 Help us to know. You more. 563 00:40:36,380 --> 00:40:39,260 And as we know you more, I believe we will trust you more. 564 00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:45,810 We will find rest. For our souls, help us God. 565 00:40:46,450 --> 00:40:51,010 To be a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, would you 566 00:40:51,010 --> 00:40:54,650 light? A fire in us so that we could. 567 00:40:54,650 --> 00:40:58,650 Shine to the world your light it's in. 568 00:40:58,730 --> 00:41:00,970 Jesus name we pray. Amen. 569 00:41:04,610 --> 00:41:07,090 Thank you for listening. To the Riverbend Church Podcast 570 00:41:07,410 --> 00:41:10,010 Learn more about who we are as a church and how to connect. 571 00:41:10,010 --> 00:41:11,370 You can head over to our website. 572 00:41:11,780 --> 00:41:12,980 Riverbend Church dot Life.