1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,680 Hey, I don't know about you. I want to just say my heart is 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:05,640 overwhelmed with joy for many reasons. 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,880 But every year at this conference, I just feel like 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,160 it's a family reunion. And even though there are new 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,360 people here because of the kindred spirit of the Holy 6 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,280 Spirit living in each of us, I can't tell you the joy that I 7 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,880 have looking around and seeing people walking and interacting. 8 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,840 And I think we're getting a little glimpse of what we're 9 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:26,960 going to have in eternity. We're going to be with each 10 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,840 other forever and ever and ever. And if that intimidates you, 11 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:31,720 here's the good part. We're all going to be perfected. 12 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,320 So it's not going to be so overwhelming as much as you 13 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,760 might think. I'm so excited to be with you 14 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,040 tonight. And here, here's my prayer also 15 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,480 for tonight, I hope you have energy reserved to respond to 16 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:45,040 this message because there will be a response. 17 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:46,040 I'm just telling you where we're going. 18 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:47,760 There will be a response to this message. 19 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,160 And it's going to be an invitation for every single one 20 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:52,560 of us. And if you're not energized, I'm 21 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,280 going to pray that God would energize us because we want to 22 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,200 meet with the Lord. And James tells us draw near to 23 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,480 God and he will draw near to you. 24 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:04,239 So he puts the ball in our courts, right? 25 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,440 We initiate the pursuit and God is faithful to meet us there 26 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,520 with open arms. And so I hope that what you hear 27 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,920 today would stir you to say, I really want to respond to these 28 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,520 truths and experience them from my for myself. 29 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,160 So I prayed, but I would like for us to pray again before we 30 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,240 crack open our Bibles together. Let's do that, shall we? 31 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,720 Lord, we ask that you would by your Spirit, drive us to the 32 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:32,600 place where you want us to be in prayer. 33 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,600 Drive us to our knees, drive us to the place of adoration, of 34 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:41,080 worship, of faith again. Resurrect things that we've 35 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,720 stopped praying for. Stop believing you, for we need 36 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,600 your help, Lord, because we know that Satan would love to stifle 37 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,640 and to eliminate this reality from our lives. 38 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,040 But we pray that today it would be a turning point for each of 39 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,640 us. And so let your word be spoken 40 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,240 clearly, free from any stammering, confusion, 41 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,400 distraction. Let it come with authority from 42 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,760 heaven. We trust that Lord, you will 43 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,200 hear us even now, and you will guide us for the rest of this 44 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,400 evening. In Jesus name we pray. 45 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,600 Amen. Behold, he is praying. 46 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,800 Those were the comforting words that the Lord Jesus gave to a 47 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,320 very reluctant disciple by the name of Ananias, who was 48 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,000 summoned by Christ to go and minister to a radically 49 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,880 transformed Saul of Tarsus. And what was true of Saul, whom 50 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,200 we know to be Paul in the infancy of his faith, was a 51 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:39,680 trademark throughout his life and ministry until his very last 52 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:44,920 moments on the earth. In other words, one of my one of 53 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:49,440 my first notes that I still have to this day that I taped behind 54 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,560 the cover of my Bible were all the requests that Paul made to 55 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,440 the various churches to pray for him. 56 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,440 It moves me and move me because of who Paul was and yet at the 57 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,720 same time how dependent he was on this strange, mysterious, yet 58 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,280 accessible thing called prayer. And I believe it's because of 59 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,800 what he believed in. Second Corinthians. 60 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,120 I want you to turn to with me in chapter one, verse 11 of Second 61 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:22,920 Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians 111. 62 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:27,120 Look what Paul says to this church. 63 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:42,200 You also must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on 64 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,040 our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers 65 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,560 of many. If you want one simple take away 66 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,080 from this verse, you'll never forget it. 67 00:03:53,120 --> 00:04:00,240 Prayer works, and prayer helps. If Paul didn't believe that, he 68 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,400 wouldn't waste his time asking for it. 69 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,520 But he really, really believed it. 70 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,120 And when he wrote this, he was undergoing an undisclosed 71 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:17,440 intense season of suffering where he says that I, I could 72 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,279 smell death. I can actually taste the grade. 73 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,960 That's how severe this turmoil was that Paul and his ministry 74 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,000 team were experiencing. And he understood something 75 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,120 here. He understood that he can be 76 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,320 helped, that there is certain heavenly assistance that's 77 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:40,160 unlocked only upon this premise. If the people of God pray, if 78 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,600 they don't pray, then we're not going to tap into this help. 79 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,120 There's only access through prayer. 80 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,640 And so he demands it. And notice this, he says you 81 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,480 must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our 82 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,840 behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. 83 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,000 So again, Paul here believes that there are certain blessings 84 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,120 that can only be experienced through prayer. 85 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,600 I wonder how many testimonies we've missed out on because of 86 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,160 our lack of praying. Then our churches, our families, 87 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,320 our marriages, what have we forfeited because we have not 88 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,160 put our faith in this thing called prayer? 89 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:24,680 This is something for us to consider because what's 90 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,960 fascinating is not just what prayer can do, but who Paul's 91 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:30,560 asking to do the praying for him? 92 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,960 The Corinthians. You know, people better be 93 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,840 careful when they say we need to go back to the days of the early 94 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:40,880 church. Which part? 95 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,280 I think what you're referring to is the early church before Acts 96 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:49,600 chapter 5, because as much as there might be problems in our 97 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,880 churches, and we all have them, I'm sure the Corinthian church 98 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,000 was messed up, severely messed up. 99 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,360 And so comparatively to the apostle Paul, Paul asked 100 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:07,080 struggling Saints to pray. And not just the Corinthians, 101 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,360 the Thessalonians, the Ephesians, the Colossians. 102 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,760 He asked all these different churches, with all their 103 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:17,720 weaknesses and their defaults and their limitations, to pray. 104 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,000 To pray. You may never preach a sermon in 105 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,560 your life, but you can pray. You may never be invited to do 106 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,960 something like preach at a conference or travel and plant 107 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:32,560 churches, but you can pray. You may never be able to, out of 108 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:36,200 the goodness of your heart, give financially, but you can reach 109 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,640 into the treasury of intercession and pray. 110 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:47,840 Prayer gives all of us equal access to making an impact for 111 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:52,680 the Kingdom of God, no matter what you are, what you do, what 112 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:57,200 you feel like you're limited by. So Paul invites these believers 113 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:03,160 to pray Weak, stumbling, inconsistent Christians 114 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,080 believing that God would hear them if they came in humility. 115 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,920 And so this is a gift that God has given every single one of us 116 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:15,960 to be, to be able to make a profound move forward for the 117 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:17,440 Kingdom and the glory of Jesus Christ. 118 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:19,720 And if you're not moved by the fact that the Corinthians were 119 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:23,280 invited to partner with Paul, partner with heaven through 120 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,400 prayer, then be moved by the fact that Paul is the one asking 121 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,160 for it. If there was a guy that I can 122 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,640 write off as someone who didn't need to go around asking people 123 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:38,280 for prayer, it was Paul. Paul, this guy was a machine of 124 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,520 a missionary. No matter where Paul went, one 125 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,520 of two things happened. There was either revival or 126 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:48,280 riots or sometimes both. This man, again, as we've been 127 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,080 studying, is just, he's unique in many ways. 128 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,200 And yet in virtually every single one of his letters, he 129 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:55,600 goes, would you please pray for me? 130 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,720 You know, when Christians ask for prayer, they kind of say it 131 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,720 like a second hand kind of sign off to the conversation. 132 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:04,040 Yeah. Yeah. 133 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,680 Pray for me, brother. Do you think that's how Paul 134 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,280 asked people for prayer? Do you think it was just 135 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,480 Christianese? Now let me show you how much 136 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,680 Paul really believed in people praying for him and how much he 137 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:18,360 needed it. So we read Second Corinthians, 138 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:23,400 but go to Romans and look at chapter 15, verse 30. 139 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,880 He says to these Christians, I appeal to you, brothers, by our 140 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:35,400 Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to strive 141 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,440 together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf. 142 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:43,720 Do you see the desperation in this man's words? 143 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:51,880 Look again, I appeal to you, I urge you, I beg of you Romans, I 144 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,320 need you to pray for me. Now when I, when I read this and 145 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,400 meditated on this, this is the, this is the thought that ran 146 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,920 through mind. This is the question that caused 147 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,320 me to reflect. If Paul asked people to pray for 148 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,520 him, why don't I? Why don't I ask people to pray 149 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,840 for me? Is it because I'm afraid that 150 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,440 people would see me as weak or Paul had no problem looking weak 151 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,920 before others? Or is it perhaps that I I'm 152 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:28,760 limited my understanding of what can happen when I collect and 153 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,080 combine my faith with other Christians? 154 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:38,840 Is that what's hindering me from joyously making a couple of text 155 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:43,560 messages to people to say please pray for for me? 156 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:48,120 Paul had no reservation. In fact, Paul understood that 157 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,280 one of the things about Christian community is that we 158 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,360 make a dedication to do this thing called prayer for one 159 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,640 another. And he did not hold back. 160 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,680 And notice that when Paul asked for prayer, it did not mean that 161 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:02,120 he did not engage in it with himself. 162 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,000 Read again Romans 15, verse 30. I appeal to you, brothers, by 163 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,520 our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to strive 164 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:13,280 together with me. So you have another extreme 165 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,440 where people ask everybody for prayer because they don't pray 166 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,160 themselves. That's not the way to do it. 167 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,520 Strive together with me. Strive together with me. 168 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,960 There's some ministers who are apparently too busy to pray, and 169 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,720 so they'll ask people to pray for them or they'll create a 170 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,240 prayer team. That's not how Paul ministered. 171 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:37,840 Paul didn't allow himself to get to the point where he justified 172 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,680 his lack of praying, even in the name of ministry. 173 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:44,760 He said strive together with me. Let's work together now to 174 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,960 bombard the throne of grace and to believe that God will send 175 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:53,040 something down. And as you can tell, so much can 176 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:54,560 be said about this incredible treasure. 177 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,240 But for the sake of time, if you are a note taker, I want to 178 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,520 present to you 3 glorious life altering possibilities through 179 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:09,000 this thing called prayer Three. And the first one is this prayer 180 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:14,080 prize. Open prayer peels. 181 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:20,680 Open prayer opens spiritual eyes and that truth is found in 182 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:23,080 Ephesians chapter one, beginning in verse 16. 183 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:25,280 Let's read that together, shall we? 184 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:38,560 Ephesians 116 Paul says, I do not cease to give thanks for 185 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:44,240 you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our 186 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,880 Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit 187 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,640 of wisdom and revelation, and the knowledge of him having the 188 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:56,600 eyes of your hearts enlightened. That you may know what is the 189 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,400 hope to which He has called you. What are the riches of His 190 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,240 glorious inheritance in the Saints, and what is the 191 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:07,160 immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe 192 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,480 according to the working of His great might? 193 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,720 There are three. What's that Paul includes in the 194 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,920 introduction of this letter? Three, what's that he wants 195 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,360 these believers to experience and to know? 196 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,520 The first one is what is the hope to which he has called you? 197 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,120 The second what is what is the riches of his glorious 198 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,040 inheritance in the Saints? And lastly, what is the 199 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,080 immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe? 200 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,400 Now these verses, they they encourage me and they challenge 201 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:39,640 me at the same time. You know why? 202 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,080 Because Paul is not writing to non believers. 203 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,040 When you go back to verse 15, you realize that he is writing 204 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,840 to people who have exemplary faith, who have been radically 205 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,880 transformed by the gospel. And yet at the same time he 206 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,920 tells them, I'm praying that you would see more, that you would 207 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,400 see more, right? And he tells the things that he 208 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,920 wants them to, to behold and to witness in the innermost part of 209 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:06,840 their being, which tells me that you and I can be saved but 210 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:12,360 remain shallow. And Paul couldn't imagine of a 211 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,760 greater nightmare for believers to just come to the knowledge of 212 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,840 Jesus Christ and stay there at the basic understanding of your 213 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:20,840 faith. He goes, no, no, no. 214 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,160 I want you to know the depths of his power, the depths of his 215 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,120 riches, the depths of this hope that is your inheritance. 216 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,600 Now, I want to ask you, if you were here and you teach the 217 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,280 Bible on any level, Sunday school mothers to your children, 218 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:37,200 you have a Bible study, a Home group, you run a men's meeting, 219 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,760 you're an elder. Whatever you do in terms of you 220 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:44,600 communicating the truth, how would you go about trying to 221 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,520 unfold the what's that Paul presents to this pupil? 222 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:49,000 What would you, what would you do? 223 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,880 What would be the primary means? It's very simple. 224 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:57,120 You would probably teach it. I'm going to now have a series 225 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,920 on what on what is the hope to which he has called you for the 226 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:01,680 next seven weeks. We're going to do a series about 227 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,840 what are the riches of his glories inherits in the same. 228 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,960 There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but what I find so 229 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,560 fascinating about Paul is that he doesn't necessarily expound 230 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:16,400 on these things before he tells them that I'm praying for you to 231 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:23,200 experience them. I am praying that your eyes will 232 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,920 be open. And what Paul reveals here is 233 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,960 that you can have incredible abilities to argue and 234 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,720 illustrate and and be compelling in your communication skills. 235 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:39,360 Those things are not enough. And we're living in an age in 236 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:43,200 which even among Christians, we are moving further and further 237 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:49,160 away from the supernatural components of our faith, so much 238 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,920 so that so many people have shriveled up in their prayer 239 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:56,960 life, including ministers. Paul didn't rely on his oratory 240 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,280 skills. Paul didn't rely purely on his 241 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,200 writing ability. Paul understood here that growth 242 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,480 and spiritual knowledge cannot be fully achieved until I take 243 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:11,760 some time to put my knees on the end of my bed and to ask God for 244 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:15,560 you to see it with greater clarity and supernatural 245 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:21,960 assistance. So elders, if there are elders 246 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:27,840 here beyond elders of NBC, when you're ready to share the word 247 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,280 of God, do you pray for the people to see what you're about 248 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,760 to explain? Youth group leaders, do you pray 249 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,640 for the young people every other Friday? 250 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:41,120 When you give a small lesson, do you ask God, Lord, I'm praying 251 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,760 that you would open their eyes because I can only take them so 252 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,240 far. Parents, all my beloved parents 253 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,640 and so many, the babies in here make me so happy. 254 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,920 They don't bother me one bit. I love to hear the voice of 255 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,520 these children as they are in the presence of God's people, in 256 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:57,920 the presence of singing in his Word. 257 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:03,280 But can I ask you something? Are you creating a habit even 258 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,960 now with those little ones in your arms to pray and ask God 259 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,040 that as soon as they can, their little eyes would be able to 260 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,200 behold the majesty of Jesus Christ? 261 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,040 Because apart from prayer, it's going to take a lot more work in 262 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:20,360 your strength to do it. Paul says, I'm praying that you 263 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,280 would see he didn't depend on humanistic ideas. 264 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,920 In fact, he he echoes this not in Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 3IN 265 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,880 that very famous passage where he says I bow my knees before 266 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,000 the Father. Then he goes on to tell them 267 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,680 another thing that he's praying for, that they would know the 268 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:38,080 height, the death, the breath, right? 269 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,480 The length of the love of Jesus Christ. 270 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:47,440 I'm praying that you would know that again, I can explain to you 271 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,280 the love of Christ. And there is an importance in 272 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:51,800 that, in preaching and teaching and declaring and explaining 273 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:53,760 you. You can't nullify that. 274 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:58,360 But Paul here also shows that it's one thing to explain the 275 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,360 love of Jesus, it's another thing to experience it. 276 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,319 And I believe Paul understood that to experience it, it must 277 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:11,480 be prayed over, lest what happens here is just a lesson 278 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,200 and there's no real impartation through the power of the Holy 279 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,040 Spirit who takes these truths and drives them into your heart. 280 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:26,359 So Paul here believed that unless I seek the Lord, people's 281 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,320 eyes will not be able to open up to the degree that they should 282 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,880 be opened. That's true for people you pray 283 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,400 for and certainly that's true for yourself as you pray and you 284 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,960 ask, God, let me see you, let me understand you. 285 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:40,760 Let me behold the wondrous things that you're out of your 286 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:42,840 law. Open my eyes, God, please. 287 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,560 But that's not the only thing. There's a second thing that 288 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,040 prayer does. Prayer now only opens spiritual 289 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:53,720 eyes. Prayer increases and matures our 290 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,160 love. So that's found in Philippians 291 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,000 chapter one. Go there with me if you would. 292 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:05,720 And in verse 9 to verse 10, I'm here to tell you today that 293 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:11,680 love, Holy Spirit, love Christ centered and themed love is not 294 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:16,800 going to come through spontaneous combustion, right? 295 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,880 This kind of godly love does not have to be depended upon your 296 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,800 empathy being stirred by some event or some suffering that 297 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,600 you're beholding. Paul shows us here that there 298 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,400 can be a loved access and experience through prayer. 299 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,040 Notice what he says to these believers. 300 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:42,040 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more 301 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,200 with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may 302 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,800 approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the 303 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:56,080 day of Christ. So Paul wrote a total of 4 304 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:57,960 letters from prison. This is one of them. 305 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,440 And what's amazing here in that in every single letter, his 306 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,560 prison epistles, he mentions how he is praying for the Christians 307 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,840 that he is writing to. You know why that's important? 308 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,080 Because although Paul was bound by chains, although he couldn't 309 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,520 walk and travel and sail, to be before the people and to preach 310 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:19,240 to them and to counsel them and to console them, he knew prayer 311 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:23,160 can go where he could not go. He knew that though he may be 312 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,640 shackled, his prayers could not be limited. 313 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,520 They could traverse through the walls. 314 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,720 They can traverse through terrain and cities and 315 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,920 provinces. It's no accident that Paul told 316 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,680 the people while under house arrest that he was praying for 317 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,160 them. Because prayers outlive the 318 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:47,240 people who even pray them. You realize that prayers will 319 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,240 outlive you. There are some people, I 320 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:51,600 believe, including George Mueller. 321 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:53,760 We're told of George Mueller, that he prayed for two specific 322 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,560 individuals to come to Christ. One of them did right before he 323 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,240 died and the other one did after he died. 324 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,200 Prayers outlive the ones who pray them. 325 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:03,640 That's a remarkable thing about prayer. 326 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,000 And Paul here tells him I'm praying for you. 327 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,640 And in the theme of his prayers centers on love. 328 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,880 But notice that he qualifies the kind of love that he's asking 329 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:15,360 God for. He's not very general. 330 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:19,400 He gives 3 features about the kind of love that prayer makes 331 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,400 possible for your life. And you're saying, well why is 332 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:22,960 this important? If you're a Christian, you 333 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,520 understand how important love is the first characteristic. 334 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:29,840 If you're taking those, these are sub points to what Paul's 335 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,840 praying for. Three features of this love that 336 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,320 if you but pray for can be true for you. 337 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:38,560 And the first one is this, that the the love they would know 338 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:42,120 would be abounding. Isn't that what he says? 339 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:47,280 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more. 340 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,480 So it's not that the Philippians lacked love because earlier he 341 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,600 commends them for their support in verse 7. 342 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,240 But Paul knew that there was even more, even more for them to 343 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,840 tap into. And this is what he's asking God 344 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,480 for. And he understood. 345 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:07,480 Listen, that prayer is the spiritual pump that draws out 346 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:12,560 tangible, sacrificial Christ, reflecting love from any heart 347 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:17,040 that desires it. If you're honest enough to say 348 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:23,840 that you're weak in love for your spouse, for your church, 349 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,960 for your elders, for fellow believers, for the lost, for 350 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:36,040 certain ethnic people, you're in need of prayer and ask the Lord 351 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,680 for it to abound more and more, and you will be amazed at how 352 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,960 God will inspire you. You would be fascinated to 353 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,440 realize what he can do. But Paul doesn't stop there. 354 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:48,600 The second quality he seeks for the people about their love is 355 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,120 not just that it would abound, not that it would overflow 356 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:53,280 merely, but that it would be a knowledgeable love. 357 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,680 Isn't that what he says, That it would have bound more and more 358 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:06,360 with knowledge and discernment? So we talk about love in in such 359 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,760 a general way, and it's foreign to the Bible. 360 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:12,520 The Bible has specific, meticulous ways of describing 361 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:14,880 biblical love, and one of them is a knowledgeable love. 362 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,120 And what does that mean? What does it mean for love to be 363 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,120 knowledgeable? Well, because there are many 364 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:23,600 people who love but not loving the truth. 365 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:30,160 And there's some people who love, and their love is more 366 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,600 stimulated by emotion than conviction. 367 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,560 So the extended of love depends on the fuel of what they're 368 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,880 feeling that day or that week. If they feel like loving you, 369 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,040 you'll experience their agape love. 370 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,640 If they don't feel like it, then you might not experience it. 371 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,240 And so, so many acts of service, so many sacrifices, so many 372 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:55,920 times of patients are dependent, unfortunately, on on stirrings 373 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,200 of the heart. And Paul's saying, I'm actually 374 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,840 asking that God would give you a love so much deeper than that, 375 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,400 that it would not rely on things that are so fleeting, like how 376 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:10,040 you woke up that morning and because you had a good week and 377 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,120 not a bad week, I'm asking for something greater than that, a 378 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:16,280 love that is stimulated by knowledge rooted in what you 379 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,880 know. And this is important because I 380 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,840 wonder, I wonder what Paul would have prayed like when he asked 381 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:26,640 God for that. I imagine that it would be. 382 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,720 Lord, let the believers in Philippi come to a place where 383 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,320 they love because they know who you are and they know what 384 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,480 you've done for them. Lord, please let this love be 385 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,440 unbroken. Let it be something that 386 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,000 remains. Let it be something that's not 387 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,920 easily taken from them. Let it stay true. 388 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,720 And as they grow in their knowledge of you, may that only 389 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:49,280 increase their love more and more. 390 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,280 A knowledgeable love. But here's where I think it is 391 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:55,760 the most interesting feature about this love. 392 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,560 He's not just talking about a love that abounds, not just a 393 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,000 love that's knowledgeable, rooted in truth, but a love 394 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,120 that's discerning. I'm praying that you would 395 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:09,360 increase in your life with knowledge and discernment. 396 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:14,280 And I cannot express how relevant this is to us today. 397 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,600 They're Christians who believe, and they're Christians who 398 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:18,920 defend. And there are Christians who act 399 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:27,040 on behalf of people and causes and our culture, churches that 400 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:31,040 embrace agendas and ideologies, thinking that they are doing so 401 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,520 in love. And they justify it because it's 402 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:40,640 done in love and it lacks discernment. 403 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:47,120 And a love that lacks discernment is dangerous because 404 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:50,360 what you end up doing is manifesting a type of love that 405 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:55,360 lavishes affection and approval on those who will live in open 406 00:24:55,360 --> 00:25:00,760 and unrepentant sin. Christians who will give 407 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:04,520 anything to anybody out of their compulsive compassion. 408 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:10,960 There's so many things that can go wrong when Christians do 409 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:13,520 things in the name of love, void of discernment. 410 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,840 And Paul says, I'm praying that your love would be protected and 411 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,480 they would be funneled and it would be framed by discerning 412 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,160 instruction. So discerning level instruct you 413 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:28,640 when to comfort, a discerning level call you to rebuke. 414 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,400 At times, a discerning level tell you when to go, when to 415 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,320 stay, what to give, what to not give, what to support, what not 416 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:40,040 to support. Fail to have this discernment 417 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,520 and you end up supporting and feeding things that can even 418 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:48,840 damn people to hell. So if you don't seek the Lord 419 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,760 for a discerning kind of love, you're going to do more harm 420 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,680 than good. And Paul understood that, and so 421 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,200 he prayed for this discernment. But it's it's more than that. 422 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,400 Discerning love doesn't just doesn't just decide what to do 423 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,400 and what not to do, what to believe and what not to believe, 424 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:04,760 what to support and what not to support. 425 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:06,560 But this is where it gets more practical. 426 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:11,880 This discerning love also in in a very real way, tells us the 427 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:13,960 best way to go about loving people. 428 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:23,040 I would be afraid if you love your unbelieving neighbor in the 429 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:26,760 same way you love your spouse, that would be wrong. 430 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,320 There would be problems there. There will be problems if you 431 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,600 love your brothers in Christ the same way you love your sisters 432 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:40,160 in Christ, right? And so Paul understands that 433 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,600 there is a wisdom in love that needs to be accessed in order 434 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,880 for us to be the most effective in our loving. 435 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,960 So he prays for a discernment that you would know what to do 436 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,880 with every situation and every single person, every object of 437 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:56,680 your love by the Spirit living in you will give you the exact 438 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:01,840 and the best way to lavish them with Christ, affection for them. 439 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:08,320 Paul's so obviously led by the Spirit enlisting these things. 440 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:13,200 And so we see here that this multifaceted way of love, God is 441 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,360 ready to dispense it if we just humble ourselves and ask for it, 442 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,200 isn't it? I mean, what a gift this is, 443 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:24,360 what a gift this is that I don't have to excuse my lack of love 444 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:28,720 or my careless love or my spontaneous love to my 445 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,480 disposition or my upbringing. Now all of that can be cancelled 446 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,120 if I just get before the Lord and say Lord, if Paul believed 447 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,360 it was possible for the Philippians and himself to 448 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:42,120 experience it, give it to me. Give it to me. 449 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:45,320 You know who got it? Not the Philippians at this 450 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,080 point, at least the Thessalonians. 451 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,200 You don't have to turn there, but listen to these amazing 452 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,320 words about the Thessalonians and what kind of love they 453 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,240 experienced in First Thessalonians 49. 454 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:03,360 Paul says now concerning brotherly love, you have no need 455 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,480 for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught 456 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:13,360 by God to love one another. God did a direct work in the 457 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:16,320 heart of the Thessalonians and Paul, recognizing he says what 458 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:20,000 you guys are doing for each other and for others outside of 459 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,480 your church, that comes from God, no doubt about it. 460 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:32,240 Imagine that that prayer can to can take us beyond listening to 461 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,240 a series of messages on love, though that's important. 462 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,480 I'm not trying to dismiss that would belittle that, but I'm 463 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,480 trying to open our hearts to realize that this thing called 464 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:41,760 prayer, we can't afford to neglect it. 465 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:47,440 There's something to be known in it that deserves greater 466 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,760 attention. And before I move on, I wonder 467 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,240 if we caught this when Paul spoke to the Philippians, right? 468 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:55,640 He asked that their love would abound, that it would be with 469 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,240 knowledge and discernment. For what reason? 470 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,880 So that they would be found blameless at the day of Christ. 471 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,560 Did you catch that? If you didn't catch it, go back 472 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:07,200 and look at it. He says it here in verse nine of 473 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,680 Philippians and 10:00 so that you may approve what is 474 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,120 excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. 475 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:16,960 When you're talking about the day of Christ, you're talking 476 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:18,800 about the return of Christ. You're talking about Christ 477 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,200 coming back to judge this world. He's going to do that by the 478 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,000 way. He's going to come and he's 479 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,760 going to clean house. He's going to he's going to do 480 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:31,120 everything that we have been hoping for for generations and 481 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,440 establishing a government that will be without fail and promote 482 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,680 a peace that will be eternal. He's going to do it. 483 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:38,080 Only him. He's not going to be your 484 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,600 favorite political candidate. I'm sorry to disappoint you. 485 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,760 Only Christ is king, and only Christ will make everything 486 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:47,520 right. But notice in Paul's mind when 487 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:51,720 he speaks about the day of Christ and believers preparing 488 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,360 for the day of Christ, you know what's going through his mind? 489 00:29:55,520 --> 00:30:00,840 Their love, their love increasing as the day of Christ 490 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,680 is approaching. And I wonder how many 491 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:08,080 Christians, in these tumultuous, troubling times, as we believe 492 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,400 more and more that the return of Christ is closer than it's ever 493 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,640 been, how much of our conversation, how much of our 494 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,000 dialogue, how much of our praying for one another, centers 495 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,920 on our love increasing so that when Christ comes back, he'll 496 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:23,560 find his love mirrored in our hearts? 497 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,560 If your only sense of preparation for the day of 498 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:35,960 Christ is looking for bunkers, loading up an ammunition, and 499 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:39,560 storing up food and buckets, you you're not reading the Bible 500 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:44,480 right. He's telling these Philippians, 501 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,680 hey, listen as a day of crisis coming closer and closer. 502 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,560 Get your love going and prayer will get it going. 503 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,320 Let Christ come back and find the people who reflect His 504 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:03,680 affection. Prayer creates a love in US and 505 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,120 grows it. But thirdly, prayer invites us 506 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,600 to express and experience, express and our experience, our 507 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,880 holy desires. I invite you to turn to Romans 508 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:25,360 chapter one. When you come to Romans and you 509 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:27,600 read Romans, you have to understand a very important 510 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,520 element about Paul's relationship with these 511 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:32,440 believers. Paul never met the Romans. 512 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:35,320 Paul didn't lead the Romans to Christ. 513 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,720 Paul heard about their faith. There was already a church 514 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,000 established there, and he's writing this letter to them to 515 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,480 encourage them in the faith. But he also explains them that 516 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:51,640 upon hearing about their faith, he's tried many, many times to 517 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:57,280 be there and to meet them. So we don't exactly know who led 518 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,320 the Romans to the Gospel, but there is a clue in Acts chapter 519 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:05,240 2, verse 10, when the day of Pentecost occurred and the Holy 520 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,000 Spirit fell upon the 120 in that upper room. 521 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,400 And we're told about different names of peoples or people 522 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,400 groups rather, that were present when they began to speak in 523 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,840 tongues and glorify God in their respective languages. 524 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:20,040 And we're we're told there that there were visitors from Rome. 525 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:23,880 So could very well be that there were Romans who were there 526 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,760 during the feast and they heard about the Gospel and they went 527 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,600 back with the gospel changing them in a church being 528 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,680 established through that. Nevertheless, Paul he was moved 529 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,840 by their testimony. He he explained something here 530 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:40,240 in verse nine. I want us to read it together. 531 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:45,360 For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the 532 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:48,920 gospel of his Son that without ceasing. 533 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:55,200 I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by 534 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:59,800 God's will I may know at last, or that somehow rather excuse me 535 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:04,000 at last in coming to you for I long to see you, that I may 536 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:08,280 impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. 537 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,320 So listen, I haven't mentioned before, but I want to tell you, 538 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:14,640 and I'm calling God to witness, that I haven't stopped praying 539 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:16,360 for you. And the fact that he has to call 540 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:21,240 God to witness about his prayer life shows how difficult it is 541 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:22,960 to remain consistent in our prayers, right? 542 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,680 To say that I have not stopped praying for you. 543 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,360 That's a difficult feat to accomplish, right? 544 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,560 But he says, I'm calling God to witness, that I actually have 545 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,480 been consistent in seeking God on your behalf. 546 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,400 And he prays. But we see here that there were 547 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:40,440 these hurdles. There are these external 548 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,400 obstacles from him actually getting there. 549 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,240 He's done an over and over again. 550 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:48,120 And I am happy that Paul never went to Rome at this time. 551 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,400 Do you know why I'm happy? Because perhaps if Paul did go 552 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:55,240 to Rome, he would never have written the book of Romans. 553 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:02,240 The book of Romans is the result of him being restricted and him 554 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,000 reaching out with his efforts to bless this church from a 555 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,600 distance. So. 556 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:09,840 So don't be squeamish and don't raise your fist to heaven. 557 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,159 If God closes the door, maybe he's wanting to open something 558 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:16,080 else. One of the most brilliant, 559 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,600 fascinating theological masterpieces came as a result of 560 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,360 God not allowing one of his men to go to Rome. 561 00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:27,800 But we see here that Providence is not the only insight we 562 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,719 gained from this early chapter. We also are instructing about 563 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,520 what what Apostolic praying looks like. 564 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,120 So he says here, God is my witness, whom I serve with my 565 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:38,639 spirit and the gospel send that without ceasing. 566 00:34:38,639 --> 00:34:41,880 I mention my prayers and notice that Paul again calls God to 567 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,760 witness. But more than that, he tells 568 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,280 them that he submitted to God's will in the whole matter. 569 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,920 So look at verse 10. He says, always in my prayers 570 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,560 asking that somehow by God's will. 571 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:01,600 So when you pray, you're always keeping in mind and you're 572 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:05,360 always ready to submit to God's ultimate decision with your 573 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:08,640 prayer request and by the fact that the fact that he's saying 574 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,760 God's will is even more meaningful when you look at his 575 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,320 desire in verse 11. Look at the beginnings of verse 576 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:17,280 11 for I long to see you like he really wanted to see the Romans. 577 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,000 He really wanted to travel. He really wanted to impart 578 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,480 something to them and he really wanted to receive something in 579 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:26,240 return. I long to see you and yet I 580 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:28,560 still am willing to submit to the will of God. 581 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,600 That's that's what we must do first. 582 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:37,240 How often do you take your desires to prayer? 583 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,640 How often do you communicate those desires to him? 584 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,120 Is he your friend? We sang it, my Lord, write my 585 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,920 companion, my friend. So when's the last time you have 586 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,880 just in simplicity and an honesty poured out your heart 587 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:50,880 and saying, Lord, I, I long for this. 588 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:53,720 It can be anything as long as it's holy. 589 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:56,080 If it's sinful, you have no business even entertaining it. 590 00:35:56,680 --> 00:36:00,240 But if it's holy like these things, Lord, my heart really 591 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:02,800 yearns for this. I really want to serve in this 592 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:04,640 way. I really want to be married. 593 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:08,760 Something wrong with that? I really want to begin this 594 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:10,240 project. I really want to do this. 595 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:13,240 You have every right to do that. And that's one of the gifts of 596 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:14,880 prayer that we can vent to the Lord. 597 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,200 We can open ourselves before him. 598 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:21,680 But at the same time, guard yourself by conscious surrender 599 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,080 to the sovereignty of God. Because what you'll realize over 600 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,360 time is that no matter how strong your desires are, if God 601 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:30,360 gave you everything that you asked for, that would hurt you 602 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,600 more than anything else. Listen, I've been walking with 603 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,360 the Lord, let's say here 12 years now, and there are many 604 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,320 prayers that I thought should be answered. 605 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,440 And in hindsight, I'm so glad God didn't answer. 606 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:46,720 Very happy, actually. And so I come with that boldness 607 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:50,960 and I come with that honesty, but I also am cushioned by 608 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,040 knowing that as I'm speaking to my Father, He will not give me 609 00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:55,520 something that He knows will not be good. 610 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:59,240 He knows and so I'm never nervous wondering if I prayed 611 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:01,480 hard enough or long enough to convince God. 612 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,720 That's not how it works. He honors your faith, but He 613 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:07,440 goes more than just honoring your faith. 614 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,440 He will protect you from things that you think will be goodwill 615 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,200 actually not be good. We've been studying Elijah and 616 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:17,040 I've mentioned this before but I can't help but refer to him. 617 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:19,240 Elijah prayed 3 significant prayers. 618 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:21,960 One time was fire from heaven, it came instantly. 619 00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:25,000 The second time he prayed for rain, it came slowly. 620 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,360 And the third time he prayed to die and God never answered it. 621 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:37,200 In fact, he never died, right? And so we have to understand 622 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,200 those things. God can answer prayers right 623 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,400 away. God can answer prayers slowly. 624 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:43,920 And one of God's hidden blessings is that God will not 625 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:49,240 answer your prayer. Paul here prayed and he's, he's 626 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:52,800 submitted to the will of God. And you know, there are some 627 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,360 people who are afraid to pray and ask God for his will because 628 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,320 they think it'll be lesser than what they have planned. 629 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:03,560 If you have that understanding of God, take a pause on 630 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:07,640 understanding how prayer works and explore the character of God 631 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:11,680 first because you have a skewed understanding of how good he is. 632 00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:13,600 I've talked to so many people like that. 633 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:15,880 I'm scared that if I ask God, he's going to do this and I 634 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:20,080 don't want that. So you have a better blueprint 635 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:21,760 for your life than God, supposedly. 636 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,960 But look here at verse 11. Paul celebrated the faith of the 637 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:29,880 Romans and he believed that there is more for them to tap 638 00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:31,920 into, just like what we read earlier in the Ephesians. 639 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,120 But what I love about his request for the spiritual 640 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:38,680 enrichment of these believers is that he volunteered to be the 641 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:41,720 means of it. So look again at verse 11. 642 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:44,640 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual 643 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:48,640 gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually 644 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:51,520 encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 645 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:54,640 So Paul wanted the Romans to be blessed. 646 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:59,600 Paul wanted the Romans to grow. But Paul in his prayers also 647 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:03,360 volunteered himself to be the answer to those prayers. 648 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:05,680 That makes sense. I hope I didn't put you in a 649 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:07,040 pretzel there with your thinking. 650 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:11,160 I'll tell you why this is important because sometimes how 651 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,960 Christians use prayer is as a scapegoat. 652 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,400 They try to use prayer as a way of not having to deal with 653 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,360 things or involve themselves or thing with things or interact 654 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:23,600 with people. And so they kind of try to pray 655 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:29,480 it away, right? And so we asked the Lord and, 656 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,560 and we comfort ourselves because we're doing the holy thing. 657 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,760 We're praying, but what we're doing, really doing is saying, 658 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:37,760 Lord, can you just not let me deal with this or not let me 659 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,120 have to face this. Paul didn't pray like that. 660 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:43,600 Paul prayed for believers from a distance, but Paul also 661 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:46,040 positioned himself to say, and Lord, I'm willing to be the 662 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:50,040 answer to that prayer too. I'm willing to come. 663 00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:54,040 And so listen, prayer is meant to transcend your capabilities, 664 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:58,280 but it's also designed to empower you to enlighten you and 665 00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:01,400 to help you achieve the very things that you're praying for. 666 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:05,360 So don't don't rely on prayer as a way of. 667 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:10,560 Distancing yourself allow prayer to do something in you so that 668 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:12,880 you can embrace the very thing that you're challenged by. 669 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:17,040 We see here something else in verse 12. 670 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:20,720 Paul, if you read all his prayers, they are spiritual in 671 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,160 nature. There's nothing wrong with 672 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,480 praying for physical needs and material things, but Paul was so 673 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:30,120 consumed with the Kingdom of God that you rarely find him asking 674 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:35,320 for transient matters. It was always related to things 675 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:38,320 about the soul, things about salvation, things about 676 00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:41,360 sanctification. And he's always praying for 677 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:44,640 others to be blessed, people to be safe, people to be healed, 678 00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:47,720 people to be rescued. But from time to time you find 679 00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:53,200 Paul praying things for himself. And so he comes in verse 12. 680 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:56,320 And he asked not only for them to be built up, but he says here 681 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,040 that we may be mutually encouraged. 682 00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:08,040 And I see here an invitation that you and I should ask God 683 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,760 for things. You and I should ask God for 684 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:17,160 spiritual blessing, for miracles, for help, for 685 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:22,520 manifestations, for whatever you are a part of, to be more 686 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:28,000 heavenly and spirit empowered. He really sets a precedent for 687 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,080 what should happen every time you gather with Christians, 688 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:31,560 right? There should be a giving and a 689 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,960 taking, a providing and a receiving that we may be 690 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,920 mutually encouraged. Everybody is going to give 691 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:39,720 something and everybody's going to leave with something. 692 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:44,760 If that's how we operate in our churches, we'll be much more 693 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:50,600 excited for church. So he sought God to be with 694 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:52,720 other believers. He sought God to be blessed by 695 00:41:52,720 --> 00:41:57,280 those believers. He sought God for things, and 696 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:03,360 God would honor that. Or would he that Paul received 697 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:06,560 the answer to his prayer to be with the Romans? 698 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,120 People are staring at me. I see some shoulders shrugging. 699 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:16,720 I see some people saying no. I see some people saying yes. 700 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:21,840 You want an answer? Acts 28 is your answer. 701 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:27,720 Acts 28 verse 14 and 15, the last chapter of the book of Acts 702 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:44,360 tells us Acts 28, verse 14, Luke writes. 703 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:47,400 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for 704 00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:50,360 seven days. And so we came to Rome. 705 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:58,200 Oh, looks like somebody made it to Rome, and the brothers there, 706 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:02,360 when they heard about us, came as far as the form of APS and 707 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:07,280 the three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God 708 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:11,160 and took courage. Paul got his answer to prayer. 709 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:16,080 I really want to see the Romans, Lord, I really want to know 710 00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:18,240 them. I want to experience 711 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:24,800 encouragement with them. And God gave him that request. 712 00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:30,040 But keep in mind how God answered his request. 713 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,280 All that makes all the difference, right? 714 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:36,160 How did Paul arrive to Rome? Did he purchase a ticket on 715 00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:42,120 kayak and get a one way nonstop route? 716 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,560 Study acts to realize what it took for him to get to Rome? 717 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:51,760 False accusation? Beatings, A failed assassination 718 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:56,040 attempt? Shipwreck at sea, stranded on an 719 00:43:56,040 --> 00:44:01,720 island, bitten by a snake. Finally, after all of that, he 720 00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:05,240 gets to Rome. So be very specific with your 721 00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:07,960 prayer request, but be very open to how God will answer it. 722 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,960 Yeah, because that's where a lot of people get disappointed in 723 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:15,880 prayer. They, they ask God for things 724 00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:19,200 and when he brings it about in his timing, in his way, they get 725 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:22,160 frustrated, perhaps not even realizing that God is in the 726 00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:29,040 process of answering it. So the way to rejoice in prayer, 727 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:32,440 to have confidence in prayer, to know joy in prayer is to marry 728 00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:40,360 prayer with the doctrine of Providence that God can bring 729 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:43,720 this about. And I am fully submitted to the 730 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:53,080 way he's going to perform it. I want to invite you tonight by 731 00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:56,200 limiting my time in preaching and giving more time this 732 00:44:56,200 --> 00:45:03,120 evening to praying. I want to ask you to muster up 733 00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:09,080 the faith to believe God for something tonight in this very 734 00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:12,800 room. Parents, your wayward children 735 00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:16,080 who you would love to see here at this conference, but are not 736 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:19,360 here because they'd rather be in the world than be in the 737 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:22,840 presence of God's people. I'm inviting you tonight to grab 738 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:26,480 a hold of your husband's hand, of your wife's hand, to look 739 00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:28,600 each other in the eye and say let's pray. 740 00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:36,080 Let's pray for him, Let's pray for her children, your parents, 741 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:38,840 whom you would love to see in heaven. 742 00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:44,880 I know so many people trying to understand the mechanics of 743 00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:49,400 prayer, God's will, and my prayers. 744 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:53,520 How does that work? If God really wanted to unfold 745 00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:56,960 the engineering of prayer and how that all works and how all 746 00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,240 that can be reconciled, he would have given us a whole book on 747 00:45:59,240 --> 00:46:03,440 it, I'm sure. But from my study of praying in 748 00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:06,800 the Bible, what I've come to the conclusion about it is that when 749 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:12,600 you and I pray, God hears that specifically for a person and he 750 00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:16,320 will go based on your prayer and intensify his conviction, his 751 00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:20,120 power, his love, his protection for the one that you are praying 752 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:22,120 for. And where I get that from is 753 00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:24,200 Abraham and Lot. Abraham prayed for a lot. 754 00:46:24,200 --> 00:46:28,080 And what did God do for a Lot? He went above and beyond to 755 00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:31,040 rescue Lot from Sodom. And he still gave Lot a choice, 756 00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:33,840 didn't he? Not he says, hey, listen, you're 757 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:38,440 out of here, don't turn back. If you look back, it's over. 758 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:41,600 And his wife look back. So what I take from that is when 759 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:45,280 we when we intercede for people, the Lord does work in their 760 00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:48,280 lives in a profound way, in a way that would not be realized 761 00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:51,200 if you've not prayed. So I'm, I'm asking you, you 762 00:46:51,200 --> 00:46:57,080 people who have a, a, a lost father, a lost mother, pray 763 00:46:57,080 --> 00:47:01,960 tonight and ask God we do a miracle in the very moments of 764 00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:06,080 your prayers for your ministries, so many ministries 765 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:09,520 represented here. Maybe your services for months 766 00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:14,320 have been absolutely dead and you can't figure out a solution. 767 00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:17,880 You tried the games route, you tried the entertainment route, 768 00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:21,320 you've tried the video route, you've tried everything. 769 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:25,440 It's not working. Why don't you spend some time 770 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:28,680 praying and asking God to pour out his spirit and to open their 771 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:33,440 eyes, to warm their hearts, to do something with your 772 00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:37,720 preaching, to do something with the singing that would be more 773 00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:42,120 than just external emotion. It would be deeper because now 774 00:47:42,120 --> 00:47:46,040 God's hand is on the things that you're doing because you prayed 775 00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:50,200 your desires. Maybe you've come to this 776 00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:53,480 conference with desires on your heart and it's, it's actually 777 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:57,360 weighing you and you've, you've come to the point where you're 778 00:47:57,360 --> 00:47:59,320 like, I can't even talk to people about it because I think 779 00:47:59,320 --> 00:48:02,360 I've annoyed most people repeating myself about my 780 00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:07,600 desires and my longings. People might get tired, but the 781 00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:13,000 eternal 1 does not. He is never overwhelmed with 782 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:15,280 your request, even if they're repeated. 783 00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,640 He never sighs when you approach the throne of grace. 784 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:22,160 He never shoes you away. He actually delights in you, 785 00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:23,840 casting your anxieties at his feet. 786 00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:29,000 He delights in it. So why don't you take some time 787 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,640 and you're going to have an all nighter, I'm sure perhaps some 788 00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:32,800 of you, you're going to be with people. 789 00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:36,880 Why don't you tonight just block out people around you and just 790 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:42,200 bow your head and murmur your petitions to the Lord of glory? 791 00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:46,400 Why don't you do that? And don't do it tonight because 792 00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:48,640 the person with the microphone is telling you to do it. 793 00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,560 Do it tonight because you just got a glimpse of what prayer can 794 00:48:51,560 --> 00:48:56,840 do, the miracles that can take place, the moments that can be 795 00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:03,400 created. So let's bow our heads and I'm 796 00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:06,160 going to just ask a couple of people from the praise team to 797 00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:17,800 gently assist us in music. So at this time, if you need to 798 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:20,000 pray on your own, prayer on your own. 799 00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,560 But if you want to grab the hand of somebody else, if you want to 800 00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:34,080 pray with 2-3 other people, and I want to make one more, I want 801 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:36,400 to ask that if you've come with somebody who doesn't know Jesus 802 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:41,640 Christ, to ask them if they would like to give their lives 803 00:49:41,640 --> 00:49:47,520 to Jesus Christ. Explain to them the gospel that 804 00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:52,640 God sent his Son and great love to die on a cross for our sins 805 00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:55,880 so that we would not experience the wrath of God, but the love 806 00:49:55,960 --> 00:50:02,280 of God for all eternity. And if that person has any 807 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:08,160 obstacles, any questions, take the time to answer that and pray 808 00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:11,800 with them that they would experience the gospel after 809 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:14,840 understanding it. So let's do that. 810 00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:17,320 So if the praise team can come, please, I'm going to take some 811 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:20,120 time to pray as well. If you need anything to be 812 00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:22,320 prayed for, if you want to combine faith together, I'm 813 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:24,360 going to be back there and I'm willing to pray with you. 814 00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:28,320 And if there are more than one person who wants prayer, just 815 00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:30,800 please keep that in mind. As much as I would like to hear 816 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:32,880 everything in detail, I want to also give an equal chance to 817 00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:35,200 other people to receive prayer. But I want to ask every person 818 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:37,000 here, let's lift our eyes to heaven. 819 00:50:37,360 --> 00:50:40,760 Let's lift our hearts to the throne of glory and ask the Lord 820 00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:43,600 to do something spectacular. What would it be like to leave 821 00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:45,800 Marinatha Conference at the Sea answers the prayer. 822 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:48,120 That's what I'm hoping and believing God for. 823 00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:49,120 Let's do that, shall we?