1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,760 What a joy it is to be here with you guys this morning. 2 00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:04,680 My name is Jenna. For those of you who don't know, 3 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:08,840 I am 1/2 of the Hatfield site pastors, My husband AJ being the 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,720 other half and bless him, he is there this morning with our four 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,200 children leading with the team there. 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,400 I think he's doing communion and I think we got a message to say 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,840 there was no one for AV so he could be jumping into AV as 8 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,400 well. So pray for him and the team 9 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,080 over there. But no, it's so good to be here 10 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,200 with you guys this morning. And we have been in a series 11 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:36,320 here, haven't we, about prayer called, pressing in and pressing 12 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,520 on. And Claire kicked this series 13 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,320 off a few weeks ago with an invitation. 14 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,720 The sense that the Lord is calling us as a church in this 15 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,280 in between season where we are between having senior pastors to 16 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,840 press into prayer. I love how she unpacked the 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,040 story of Isaac with the digging of the wells, that we are to do 18 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,080 the same that we are to keep digging wells. 19 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,680 And I love she used an illustration of a shovel, didn't 20 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,080 she? She even bought one with her 21 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,640 love that the call for us each to pick up whatever it is that 22 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,440 we have in our hands, whatever shovel we have, whether it's big 23 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:21,080 or small, and to use what we've got and to just start digging to 24 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,520 make a choice. And then Week 2, Richard, he did 25 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,160 a brilliant job talking about having faith in the waiting. 26 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,800 You know, what does it look like to stand in expectancy when 27 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:37,240 we're in a season of waiting? What is our posture like in that 28 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,120 season? And then last week, Claire 29 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,520 looked at fasting, turning from one thing to another, and she 30 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:49,640 talked about how fasting is this invitation from the Lord for us 31 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,840 to come and feast at His table. What a beautiful image. 32 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:59,120 And it reminded me of a picture that the Lord gave me a while 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:00,960 ago. And as I was preparing this 34 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,040 week, he brought it to mind. You know, I have a little boy 35 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,639 called Cameron. He is 2, nearly three, and he 36 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:13,520 absolutely loves food. He loves his food and like he 37 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,760 will eat a tea at nursery, he will come home and he will eat 38 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,960 dinner at home and then if his siblings don't look out, he will 39 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,520 steal food off their plate when they're not looking. 40 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,240 And he's come to realise that they're a bit bigger and a bit 41 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,720 stronger than him. So he can't always get away with 42 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:33,000 doing that, but he does try. And there's sometimes where I 43 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,520 find him even on the floor. Look, this is Grace, right? 44 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,800 Looking for food. Now I get it that like if 45 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,680 something falls on the floor, we've got like 3 second rule, 5 46 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:45,240 second rule, maybe even 10 second rule. 47 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,480 Like we can put away with that and he can pick it up and we're 48 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,000 like, yes, fine, you know, germs, not too bad for you. 49 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:51,320 It builds your immunity and all that. 50 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:56,440 But when he's under the table looking for food, I have to draw 51 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,760 a line. Goodness knows what he will find 52 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,800 under the table. But, you know, sometimes I find 53 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,520 myself yourself saying to him, Cameron, get up off the floor. 54 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,080 If you're still hungry, I've got food for you. 55 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,080 I've got food. I can feed you more food, 56 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:13,280 banana, whatever it is that you want. 57 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,600 I've got something for you. And I sense the Lord saying 58 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,400 something through that. And I think there's two things. 59 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,200 One, we don't have to make do with yesterday's lot. 60 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,600 Food that's probably gone stale, food that is old, food that is 61 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,480 gross. He has fresh bread for each and 62 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,120 every one of us. Fresh words from the Lord every 63 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:43,040 single morning. He is a living, present, moving 64 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,760 God. And just like with the 65 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,120 Israelites where he said you don't have to put up, don't, In 66 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,040 fact, he said, don't eat that food from yesterday because I've 67 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,400 got fresh manna for you today. And So what is the fresh bread 68 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,760 that he's got for you this day? And #2 there is always more. 69 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:02,840 We need to make a choice sometimes to get up off the 70 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,520 floor and to pull up a chair and feast at His table. 71 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,360 Because when we do that, our perspective changes. 72 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,760 It moves from a making do. Let's grab what we can while we 73 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:20,279 can, to realising that there is an abundance of the Lord that 74 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,760 when we come and pull up a chair at His table, there is always 75 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,120 more for us to feast on. And it kind of leads me into 76 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:28,800 what I want to talk about this morning. 77 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,440 You know, when we talk about prayer, what comes to mind? 78 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,560 It's been described as talking to Jesus. 79 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,440 Like prayer is where you bring everything to Jesus and you talk 80 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,680 to him. It's a conversation, isn't it, 81 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,840 with our Heavenly Father, where we talk to Him, we listen, we 82 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:49,800 get guidance, we get help, we ask for wisdom, we share what's 83 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,880 on our heart. It's where our relationship with 84 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,640 Him is formed and developed. And all of these things are true 85 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,200 and important. And I can say with absolute 86 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,880 confidence that God loves it when we bring all of those 87 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,520 things to Him. We bring our hopes and our 88 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,640 failures. We bring our dreams and our 89 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,960 fears. We bring our pain and our 90 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,880 disappointment, our questions, our anger, our needs. 91 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,360 We bring it all to Him, and He loves that. 92 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:24,120 But I wonder if there's even more to prayer than that. 93 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,480 You know, if it's our purpose to not only pray about what's on 94 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,640 our heart, but to pray what is on his heart. 95 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:37,160 If God is inviting us as a church to move from provision 96 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,440 based prayer to purpose driven prayer. 97 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,280 And you know, I had the joy, absolute joy of speaking at 98 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:47,720 Alpha just the other week. We're currently running an Alpha 99 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,680 course here, and one thing I love about Alpha is that it's 100 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,360 the space for people to come who are exploring the Christian 101 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,920 faith and they can ask their questions. 102 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,120 And we encourage guests throughout the whole course to 103 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,280 bring their questions. In fact, we have a saying that 104 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:07,440 there's no question too silly. Bring those questions. 105 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,760 And it's true, isn't it? I think most like asking 106 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,560 questions provides opportunity for clarity and for a deeper 107 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,640 understanding. And maybe during this season on 108 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,360 prayer, you found yourself asking God some questions 109 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:26,360 yourself. And if not, why not go to him 110 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,920 and ask him these questions? Perhaps you found yourself 111 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,520 asking him God, what is the shovel in my hand? 112 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:38,720 Or how, Lord, are you asking me to dig wells during this season? 113 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,320 Or what can I do in this waiting season, Lord, to honour you? 114 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,240 And you know, I love how in the Bible, the disciples asked Jesus 115 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,200 a question about prayer. And we're going to read it now 116 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,920 in Luke 11. It's Luke 11, verses 1 to 2. 117 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,160 And if you've got a Bible or if it's on your devices, you can 118 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,480 turn there. Otherwise it will come up on the 119 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:04,520 screen behind me. So it says this, It says one day 120 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:07,040 Jesus was praying in a certain place. 121 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,800 And when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, 122 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,440 teach us how to pray, just as John taught his disciples. 123 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,800 And then he said to them, this is Jesus. 124 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,720 He says when you pray, say, and then he goes on to say what to 125 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,560 say. But I love that the disciples 126 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,640 asked a question. And did you see Jesus response 127 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,640 there? He doesn't say it's easy. 128 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,920 What do you mean prayer? It's talking to Jesus, it's 129 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:37,920 talking to me, it's talking to your heavenly Father. 130 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,200 And yes, of course it is. We've talked about that. 131 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:48,120 It is, but no question is silly. By the disciples asking this, 132 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:52,400 Jesus is able to reveal something deeper to them. 133 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,840 It was an opportunity for him to reveal a truth to them. 134 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:58,160 He said. Do you know what? 135 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:00,680 There is a great way that you can pray. 136 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,120 And So what does Jesus go on to say? 137 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,720 We're going to read now what it is that He says. 138 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:08,920 And for this, we're going to look at a different scripture. 139 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,960 We're going to look at Matthew 6, verses 9 to 13. 140 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,920 Now this is the same conversation. 141 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:20,720 This is the same scenario, but from different eyewitness 142 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,280 accounts. And so this scripture that we're 143 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,080 going to read, you might be familiar with. 144 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,200 It's the Lord's Prayer. Maybe you're familiar with it, 145 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,160 maybe you recognise it or maybe not. 146 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,840 Maybe you're here and you've never heard this before, but 147 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:36,320 we're going to read it together now. 148 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:41,919 So Matthew 6, verses 9 to 13, and this is Jesus speaking, says 149 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:44,600 this then is how you should pray. 150 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,280 In answer to that question, He says, Our Father in heaven, 151 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,680 hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done 152 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,720 on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today Our Daily Bread 153 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,360 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors 154 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,920 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil 155 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,080 one. Now for some of you, I 156 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,320 appreciate you might read this and see it a bit like a formula 157 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,400 or a script of some kind, but I want us to look at it with fresh 158 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:21,480 eyes again this morning because this here is beautiful. 159 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,560 This is Jesus teaching us how to pray, not as a script or a 160 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:30,320 formula, but as a pattern of life. 161 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:35,240 He's revealing a truth to us and taking us deeper. 162 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,360 And so we're going to go through it some more of it in in more 163 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:41,800 detail in a moment. But what's interesting here, 164 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,120 just from the get go, just when we look at it, we look at the 165 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,800 order that Jesus teaches us to pray. 166 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:54,280 And I think it says something about our priorities as we pray. 167 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,280 You know, verse 11 says give us today Our Daily Bread. 168 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:03,960 It's good to ask the Lord for what we need for his provision. 169 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,560 He cares about that. But can you see it comes after 170 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:13,440 verse 10, which says your Kingdom come, your will be done 171 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,800 on earth as it is in heaven. And I think here Jesus is 172 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:24,200 reorienting us towards praying for God's Kingdom and for his 173 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,640 will, not just our personal needs. 174 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,760 And so that's what we're going to spend some time unpacking 175 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:35,280 together this morning. What does it mean to pray that? 176 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,480 What does it mean to pray Kingdom prayers? 177 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,640 What does it look like to prioritise the Kingdom of God 178 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,360 and Kingdom prayers over provision based prayers? 179 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,080 And so let's look in more detail at those first few verses. 180 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:56,880 The first line there, our Father in heaven, our God, is a 181 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:01,640 relational God. The Bible tells us that we have 182 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,920 been adopted into his family, that we are now sons and 183 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:08,840 daughters of him. And so Jesus is saying, when you 184 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:14,400 pray, we can, we should recognise him as our Father, we 185 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,040 should acknowledge who he is and who we are to him, not out of 186 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,600 obligation, but out of privilege. 187 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:24,840 I think it blesses God when we call him Father. 188 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:29,320 You know, I know for AJ, my husband, what a moment it was 189 00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:32,080 when our kids first said those words. 190 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:38,360 Dada, what joy it brought him. And even now when he comes in 191 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:43,440 from work and the kids run at him, Daddy, what joy, what 192 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,000 delight that brings him. And how much more delight does 193 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,080 it bring our Heavenly Father when he hears us, his children 194 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:59,720 call him Father. Dad, Daddy, hallowed be your 195 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:01,600 name. I'm guessing you guys probably 196 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:03,880 don't use that word hallowed very often. 197 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,800 Maybe DI don't. But what does it mean hallowed? 198 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,960 It means holy. It means set apart, greatly 199 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,360 honoured. And so we are to declare his 200 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,200 greatness when we pray, no matter our circumstances, we 201 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,320 recognise and we speak out his goodness. 202 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,680 And as we do that our our perspective shifts. 203 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,400 It says, Lord, before you do anything for me, before I ask 204 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:37,920 anything, I recognise who you are and that you are good. 205 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:44,480 And then we get to this line, your Kingdom come, your will be 206 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,000 done on earth as it is in heaven. 207 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,960 Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in 208 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:53,920 heaven. You know the theology and 209 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:58,480 practice of the Kingdom is of God is one of our core values 210 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:01,880 here at Vineyard. And I hope if you've been here 211 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,600 for a while or been hit any length of time, you would have 212 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,920 heard us talk about the Kingdom of God, the here and the not 213 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,840 yet. You know, the phrase Kingdom of 214 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:16,080 God or Kingdom of heaven appears over 100 times in the New 215 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,840 Testament, mostly in the Gospels where we read about Jesus and 216 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,520 his life. And the the Greek word for 217 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,960 Kingdom, it means kingship or royal rule. 218 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,920 So it's not talking about a geographical area, but it 219 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,960 implies the exercise of kingly rule and reign. 220 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,400 And so when we talk about God's Kingdom, it's where his rule and 221 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,800 his reign is established. And if we want to know anything 222 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:49,000 at all about the Kingdom of God, we look at Jesus because the 223 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:56,200 Kingdom of God came in him. In Mark 1 verses 14 to 15, it 224 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,840 says Jesus came proclaiming the good news of God. 225 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:04,160 The time has come, he said. The Kingdom of God has come 226 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,800 near. Repent and believe the good 227 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:11,320 news. Jesus spent the majority of his 228 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,440 teaching ministry explaining and demonstrating and inviting 229 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:22,160 people into the Kingdom of God. His core mission was to proclaim 230 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:27,000 and to demonstrate the Kingdom by healing the sick, casting out 231 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:32,240 demons, raising the dead. And in doing this, what he was 232 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,040 doing when he was, these miracles were taking place. 233 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,600 He was confronting people and saying in me, the Kingdom of God 234 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,080 has come and you have a choice whether to accept it or to 235 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,680 reject it. And so the Kingdom of God is 236 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:49,280 already present through Jesus, but it's not yet fully 237 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:54,120 established until Jesus returns. And so we live in this time, 238 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:58,520 this kind of in between time. We call it the here and the not 239 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,000 yet. So to help us understand this a 240 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,120 bit more, there's an analogy we often use. 241 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,200 You know, during the Second World War, it is agreed that the 242 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,520 victory for the Allies was assured on D-Day when they 243 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,360 successfully landed on the Normandy beaches, right? 244 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,000 The victory in that moment was won. 245 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,440 But it's like 11 months for the war to actually end. 246 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:28,320 And during that time Hitler who knew that his time was short, he 247 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,640 launched some of the worst bloodiest attacks where 248 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:36,120 thousands and thousands of men lost their lives. 249 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,200 The coming VE Day was assured but not realised. 250 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:47,360 And we are in a similar position church as Christians. 251 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,960 From the moment Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, 252 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:57,040 death was defeated. Satan had been defeated and the 253 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,880 final and full establishment of the Kingdom of God was assured 254 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,440 from that very moment. Amen. 255 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:08,400 We talked about it this morning. The victory belongs to Jesus. 256 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:13,760 But we have to realise, we have yet to realise. 257 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,640 Sorry. It's fullness in the days in 258 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:21,000 which we live, because there is a war still to be fought, an 259 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,640 enemy still capable of inflicting great harm. 260 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,440 And you know, just as with Hitler, when he knew his time 261 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,680 was up, Satan knows it's finished. 262 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,240 It was finished then, and it's still finished now. 263 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,040 He knows he's on borrowed time. And so he is on one final 264 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:43,600 rampage against humanity to cause as much destruction and 265 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:49,360 chaos and pain and mess that he possibly can before Jesus 266 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:53,480 returns. And our role as a church is to 267 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,560 equip ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit to come 268 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:02,600 against the enemy's plans, against the enemy's attacks. 269 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:08,760 And when we understand that it changes how we pray, it changes 270 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,800 how we live, it changes how we speak, it changes how we pray, 271 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,880 The victory has been won, but there is still an enemy to 272 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,400 fight. You know, once we place our 273 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:26,280 trust in Jesus, we have been drafted in to a fierce spiritual 274 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:33,000 battle and our assignment, our mission as a people of Christ, 275 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:38,080 is to push back the darkness and to bring God's Kingdom to earth. 276 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:42,240 And when we recognise that this is the time we're living in, it 277 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:47,440 makes sense that Jesus said to pray for God's Kingdom to come. 278 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,160 You know, in John Wimber's book Power Evangelism, I don't know 279 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:54,600 if you guys have read it. It's a brilliant book, so good. 280 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,760 But at one point in there, he describes that often Kingdom 281 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:03,400 life is likened to a Caribbean cruise on a luxury liner. 282 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,400 People change into their leisurely clothes, grab their 283 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:09,960 suntan lotion and saunter down to the docks. 284 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:14,760 What a shock it is when they find that living in the Kingdom 285 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,360 is really more like enlisting in the Navy and doing battle with a 286 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,960 vicious enemy, an enemy who follows no rules of war. 287 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:27,840 You know, I'm going to be real with you guys. 288 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:33,320 Like sometimes when we talk about being in a battle and we 289 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,560 talk about spiritual warfare, I think there's a danger that we 290 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,200 can fall into one side or the other of a pendulum. 291 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:45,000 We can either super spiritualise everything and blame Satan for 292 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,120 it all. You know, I'm on my way to 293 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,960 church this morning. I'm on my way to Versa group and 294 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,920 my car broke down like such. It's a spiritual attack. 295 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,880 What if it's because I didn't service my car? 296 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,720 What if I ignored? I ignored the red light that was 297 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:06,280 on the dashboard for too long and my car broke down for that 298 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,640 reason. You know, sometimes things 299 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,320 happen as a result of the choices we make. 300 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,160 Sometimes think things happen because life is life. 301 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:21,120 Be careful not to blame Satan for everything and give him too 302 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,880 much attention. But on the other hand, we can 303 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:28,320 swing too far the other way sometimes and we go around 304 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,760 without a care in the world. Completely naive, ignorant to 305 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,400 the fact that there is an enemy prowling around who will do 306 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:40,400 anything he can to bring distraction and to kill, steal 307 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,200 and destroy. And that's a dangerous place to 308 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,400 be because you end up being an open target. 309 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,440 And so guys, we need discernment. 310 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:55,200 We need wisdom from the Lord to know what and how to pray. 311 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,800 We need to open up our spiritual eyes and see things for what 312 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,080 they are. And I'm not saying this to make 313 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,200 us fearful. There is No Fear. 314 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,080 The Lord hasn't given us a spirit of fear. 315 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:12,720 We know the end of the story. We know what happens and we walk 316 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:17,040 in that confidence, but what it should do is evoke in us an 317 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:22,920 anger, a righteous anger, where we are compelled to speak out, 318 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:27,640 to stand up, to fight for God's Kingdom here on earth. 319 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,760 You know, the Bible says that we've been given keys to the 320 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:35,080 Kingdom of heaven. We've been given authority and 321 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,280 power over the enemy, but we still have to exercise that 322 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,080 power. It's a bit like a traffic police 323 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:48,320 officer go with me with this, like he or she doesn't have any 324 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:53,360 physical power to stop cars, but they are able to stop them 325 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,640 because of the badge that they wear and the uniform they put 326 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,040 on, which is given to them by a higher authority. 327 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,360 So when we pray in the name of Jesus for his Kingdom to 328 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:08,880 breakthrough, we do so from a place of authority and power 329 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:15,240 because of who he is. And I wonder, I wonder if you 330 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:19,640 are here this morning and you are actually questioning whether 331 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,400 your prayers even make a difference. 332 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,840 Maybe you've experienced disappointment. 333 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:28,640 Maybe you've prayed for healing like you've got on your knees 334 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,240 and you have been praying for healing for a person and they 335 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,280 haven't been healed. Or you've prayed for someone to 336 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,920 come to know Jesus and they still haven't. 337 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,440 And that disappointment is heavy on you this morning and it's 338 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,160 left you questioning what's the point? 339 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:49,960 Or maybe you're worried that you won't be able to explain to 340 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,640 somebody if nothing happens. You know, they already think 341 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,120 this God stuff is a load of rubbish and actually if I pray 342 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,920 and nothing happens, I'm going to have to explain that they 343 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:04,400 already think I'm silly. How am I going to explain it? 344 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,200 And I want to encourage you afresh this morning that the 345 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,680 outcome of our prayers is not our responsibility. 346 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,280 Isn't there freedom in that? The outcome of our prayers is 347 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,040 not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to pray, 348 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,120 to ask God for His Kingdom to come and to leave the rest to 349 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:29,880 Him. And we will never understand 350 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,000 why. Sometimes we see miracles and 351 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,800 sometimes we see His Kingdom breakthrough, and then other 352 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,160 times we don't. And we don't have to try and 353 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:38,920 explain it because there's no formula. 354 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,160 And that's OK. It's to say it's heavy sometimes 355 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:47,680 and it's hard, but we do see His Kingdom breakthrough more when 356 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,960 we pray than when we don't pray. And so I want to encourage you 357 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:57,920 to try again to keep pressing in and pressing on. 358 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,040 Pete Gregg says this great quote. 359 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,840 He's the founder of 24/7 Prayer. And he says it's arrogance to 360 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:10,160 think that only our prayers matter, but ignorance to think 361 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,080 our prayers don't make a difference. 362 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,120 It's arrogance to think only our prayers matter, but it's 363 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,560 ignorance to think our prayers don't make a difference. 364 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,880 And you know, I love that. This is seen in a story in 365 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,200 Daniel. In Daniel 10, we read about how 366 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:33,840 Daniel is going through a time of mourning and an Angel appears 367 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:38,200 to Daniel and he strengthens him and he encourages him. 368 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,000 Do you want no one know what the Angel says in verse 12? 369 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,280 Daniel 10 verse 12, the Angel says since the first day you set 370 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,400 your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before 371 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,880 your God. Your words were heard and I've 372 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,600 come in response to them from the first day. 373 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,360 Now this was 21 days later that the Angel appeared to him 374 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,080 because in that chapter it goes on to say that there was a 375 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,880 battle going on in the spiritual realms which Daniel wouldn't 376 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:13,080 have had a clue about. He didn't see that the Angel was 377 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,800 being held back by a demonic power. 378 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,640 But because of Daniel's persistence in prayer, there was 379 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:22,160 a release of angelic intervention. 380 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,720 Daniel's prayers, his persistent prayers over those 21 days, 381 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:35,680 literally moved heaven. We don't always see what's going 382 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:41,240 on in the heavenly realms, but there is a battle taking place 383 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:45,360 and we should never underestimate the power of our 384 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:48,960 prayers, the power of persistence in praying for God's 385 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:53,880 Kingdom to come. Your will be done. 386 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,080 You know, from the moment we're born, we have this desire, don't 387 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,480 we, to do things our way. It's easy when we pray for us to 388 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,680 focus on our will, because that naturally comes to us. 389 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,360 But here Jesus is teaching us a better way. 390 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:16,600 He says when you pray, say God, would your will be done? 391 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,960 When we say that we're surrendering our will and we're 392 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,440 submitting to him and saying, do you know what God, you know 393 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,360 best? God, even before I consider my 394 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:32,560 needs, I want to pray for your agenda. 395 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:36,680 You know, there are times when we don't always know clearly 396 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,880 what God's will is in specific situations that we might be 397 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,760 facing. You know, we can pray and we can 398 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,480 ask God to reveal it to us and pray into it from there. 399 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:50,040 And sometimes he does speak into that, sometimes he doesn't. 400 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,960 And in those times we have to say, you know, God, I don't 401 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:55,280 understand. I don't get it. 402 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,720 It doesn't make sense to me. But God, your will be done. 403 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,960 It's an act of surrender. It's an act of trusting in him. 404 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,760 Jesus prayed the same prayer, didn't he, in the Garden of 405 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:14,240 Geth's enemy, one of his most vulnerable, powerful prayers, as 406 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:19,800 he was literally sweating blood, coming to terms with what is 407 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,400 going to happen to him. And he says, God, please, if 408 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,360 this is possible, just take this cup from me. 409 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:30,600 I can't bear it any longer. Just take it from me. 410 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:38,160 Yet your will be done. And there are times when we know 411 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,280 what God's will is because he tells us in his Word. 412 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:47,360 And so we have to make sure that our prayers align with his will. 413 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,440 And to do that we have to get to know his character. 414 00:26:50,760 --> 00:27:00,160 We have to know what he's about and what his will is. 1 John 514 415 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,000 to 15 says this is the confidence we have in 416 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:08,200 approaching God, that if we ask anything in accordance to his 417 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:13,200 will, he hears us and say, what are some of those things? 418 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,640 He reveals his will to to us through the Scriptures. 419 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,480 Number one, it's God's will that everyone is saved. 420 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:25,680 Did you know that one Timothy, 2-3 to four, this is God and 421 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,600 this is good and pleasing. Sorry, this is good and pleases 422 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:34,160 God our Saviour who wants all people to be saved and to come 423 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:40,520 to the knowledge of truth. Something else he tells us is 424 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,840 his will, that it's God's will that we be a holy people, that 425 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:49,680 we be a grateful people. It's God's will that we do good 426 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,840 even when we're faced with opposition. 427 00:27:53,640 --> 00:28:01,560 It's God's will that we are spirit LED and transformed on 428 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:06,560 earth as it is in heaven. So it helps us to pray. 429 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,880 If we know what God's Kingdom is like when we say, God, would 430 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,720 your Kingdom come? If we want to know what that is 431 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:15,760 like his Kingdom, we look to Jesus. 432 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,760 And if we want to know what his will is, we look to Scripture. 433 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,960 And if we're still unsure, we look at heaven. 434 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:26,920 And I loved Yasmin shared that verse this morning, so beautiful 435 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,000 from Revelation. When we pray your Kingdom come, 436 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,680 your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 437 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:36,840 And So what does the Bible say about heaven? 438 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,600 Revelation 21. It says there'll be no death, no 439 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,480 mourning, no crying or pain, and He will wipe every tear from our 440 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,560 eyes. Revelation 7. 441 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:49,400 No one will be hungry, no one will be thirsty. 442 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,280 Revelation 22. It says heaven is full of light. 443 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,560 There'll be no darkness, there'll be healing and 444 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,040 wholeness for all, and that what was lost in the Garden of Eden 445 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,560 will be restored. Amen. 446 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:10,080 That's the hope that we have. And that is what that is what we 447 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:15,920 pray when we pray that heaven will invade earth. 448 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:23,120 God, would heaven invade earth? We pray, would your Kingdom come 449 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:30,120 and your will be done here now in this day as it is in heaven. 450 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,480 And you know, I think we can make an assumption by looking at 451 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:40,600 this verse that God's Kingdom and God's will are not always 452 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:46,000 outworked all the time. Because if it was, Jesus 453 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,520 wouldn't tell us to pray for it. Let me give you an example. 454 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:54,000 We've just read it's God's will that everyone becomes a 455 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,200 Christian. But that doesn't always happen. 456 00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:59,400 Why not? Because we live in a fallen, 457 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,520 broken world where people have free choice, people have free 458 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:08,320 will. And so, yes, God has a will, but 459 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:15,520 he's not controlling trafficking, abuse, injustice, 460 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:21,240 poverty, sickness, pain. None of this is reflective of 461 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,640 God's character of his Kingdom or of his will. 462 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,760 And I think sometimes we need reminding of this because 463 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,760 church, we are not called to be a passive people. 464 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:39,080 Phrases like what will be, will be or everything happens for a 465 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:41,120 reason. Like I get why there's a 466 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:42,840 tendency to say things like that. 467 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,160 But guys, we have to be careful that we don't get complacent 468 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,160 because Jesus teaches us to pray for these things. 469 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,720 We need to take our place in the battlefield and not just sit 470 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,720 back and go what will be will be. 471 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,720 We need to stand up, fully clothed in the armour of God and 472 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:09,880 pray these bold, extravagant, ridiculous, outrageous prayers 473 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:16,360 to contend for His Kingdom, to breakthrough church. 474 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:20,520 We want to be known as a people who have understood the 475 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:25,440 assignment, a people who fight on their knees in prayer. 476 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:29,160 A people that don't give up praying for His Kingdom and His 477 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:31,520 will to be done. Who stand in the gap for the 478 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:36,240 marginalised, the vulnerable, the hurting, the poor, the 479 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:40,240 people that don't yet know him and say God with your Kingdom 480 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:48,600 come. Matthew 633 But seek first his 481 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,280 Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be 482 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:56,160 given to you as well. What does it mean to seek? 483 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:01,280 It means to focus in on, to give our attention to, to be 484 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:06,800 motivated by His Kingdom and His righteousness and everything 485 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:11,200 else. Food, clothing, the bills, 486 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:15,360 whatever it is that you need today will be given to you as 487 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,800 well. What are your priorities when it 488 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:24,080 comes to prayer? What or who are you seeking? 489 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:27,920 Are you seeking Jesus or are you seeking the result? 490 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:33,400 Are you seeking His purposes or to have your needs met? 491 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:39,000 And you know, to finish, I want to encourage you this week to 492 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,680 spend some time with God and ask Him questions. 493 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,360 No question is too silly. Ask Him what? 494 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,520 What does Kingdom prayers look like for me in this season? 495 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:55,920 What does it look like, God, to contend for your purposes in our 496 00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:00,520 church, in our cities, in our nation, in our lives? 497 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,440 And maybe he's asking you to commit to praying for one person 498 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:10,520 that you, you know doesn't yet know Jesus every day to pray for 499 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,120 them. Maybe he's asking you to give 5 500 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:17,200 minutes a day to pray for your friend who is sick or to pray 501 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:20,400 for that person that you know is is walking through depression. 502 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:26,520 Maybe he's asking you to prayer walk in your local town once a 503 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:30,480 month if you can't do it once a week or once every day to find 504 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:34,400 out what the prevalent issues are in your town, in your 505 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,040 cities, And pray against those things of darkness. 506 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,080 And pray that God's light would come and that heaven would come, 507 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,680 that businesses would thrive, that people would turn to Him. 508 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,400 Maybe he's asking you to pray for our young people or the 509 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,280 students in this nation that they would have dreams where 510 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:57,440 Jesus calls them to church, or to pray for justice across our 511 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,000 world for the persecuted church to pray for our enemies. 512 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:05,640 Guys, this is not just a nice thing to do. 513 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,920 This is what we are called to do. 514 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:12,440 Would you guys stand as I pray to finish?