1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,680 Take your Bible if you would please, and turn to the 17th 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:09,920 verse of the 5th chapter of the first book of Thessalonians. 3 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,920 We are literally going verse by verse as we conclude our study 4 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:20,880 of this great epistle, this great letter to the Church of 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:26,000 Thessalonica. We spent two weeks on verse #16 6 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,720 which says rejoice always. We'll spend two weeks on this 7 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,760 verse, pray without ceasing, and then we'll probably spend at 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,920 least two weeks on in everything, give thanks for this 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:45,760 is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 10 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,840 And why are we doing that? It's many because it's all about 11 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,080 the model life of 1 of adoration. 12 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,080 The Lord is seeking true worshippers, those who adore 13 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:03,600 Him, those whose affection is completely his, who want to 14 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,960 truly worship Him in spirit and in truth, and requires that 15 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:15,160 number one, we be joyful #2 we be prayerful and #3 we be 16 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:21,320 thankful. And for the most part, we have 17 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:25,520 joy. We pray and we give thanks. 18 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:33,160 The problem is, is that we're asked to do it always, that is 19 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:39,240 rejoicing and pray without ceasing and to give thanks and 20 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,080 everything. That's the problem. 21 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,960 How do we actually do that? And so we, we spent a couple of 22 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,320 weeks looking at what it means to to rejoice always and how you 23 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,680 can actually rejoice in every situation in circumstance 24 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,680 because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 25 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,680 This trilogy of being joyful, being prayerful, and being 26 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,120 thankful is a trilogy that is the will of God for your life. 27 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:12,040 This is God's desire for you. The life of adoration to the 28 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:17,200 King, living for the glory and honor of his name, learning to 29 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,880 rejoice always, to pray without ceasing. 30 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:24,880 What on earth does that even mean? 31 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,840 How do you do that? Do you live a life of 32 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,520 uninterrupted prayer, walking around with your eyes closed 33 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,560 wherever you go? What does it mean to pray 34 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:40,640 without ceasing? It deals more with the attitude 35 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:48,680 than the ACT. The attitude that is conscious 36 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:58,840 of God's presence at all times. It's, it's an attitude that 37 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:07,840 signifies I never give up when it comes to prayer, that I pray 38 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:16,840 always without ceasing, never giving up simply because I am 39 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:26,320 conscious of the presence of God in my life, in my family, in my 40 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:32,200 work, everywhere. And so my attitude is always 41 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:45,840 directed upward toward God. Prayer is is a foreign land to a 42 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,880 lot of us. When Arthur said it this way, he 43 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,400 says prayer is like a foreign land. 44 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,520 When we go there, we go as tourists. 45 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:04,200 Like most tourists, we feel uncomfortable and out of place. 46 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,200 Like most tourists. We therefore move on before too 47 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:15,000 long and go somewhere else that that signifies most of our 48 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,200 prayers. It it's a foreign land to us to 49 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,920 sit and to pray and to commune with the living God. 50 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,440 Sometimes it's so foreign to us that we act as tourists. 51 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,280 We can't wait to get out of there and move on to someplace 52 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:37,320 else or something else, and that's unfortunate, The great 53 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,480 theologian Leon Morris said. We are to live in the spirit of 54 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:48,360 prayer, realizing our dependence on God for all we have and all 55 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:55,240 that we are, being conscious of his presence with us wherever we 56 00:04:55,240 --> 00:05:02,080 may be, yielding ourselves continually to Him to do His 57 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,520 will. Those who pray without ceasing, 58 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:18,360 living in constant communion with God, notice this about our 59 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,320 Lord. Take your Bible and turn with me 60 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,520 to the Gospel of Luke, the third chapter. 61 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:38,520 You need to note that prayer is what commenced the other worldly 62 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:45,000 ministry of Jesus. We call it the other worldly 63 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,880 ministry because He He came down from above. 64 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:56,680 He came down from a perfect world to a sinful world, and so 65 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:01,360 prayer would would commence his other worldly ministry. 66 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,640 Luke 3 verse 21. Now when all the people were 67 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,040 baptized, Jesus was also baptized. 68 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:14,440 And while he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit 69 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:19,080 descended upon him in in bodily form like a dove, and a voice 70 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,320 came out of heaven. You are my beloved Son, and you 71 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:27,800 I am well pleased. You will note that that prayer 72 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,400 commenced the otherworldly ministry of of Christ. 73 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:39,160 You will also know that prayer is that which characterized the 74 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,680 daily ministry of Christ. Just turn over, if you would, 75 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:53,320 your Bible to the 5th chapter of Luke says in verse #16 But Jesus 76 00:06:53,320 --> 00:07:00,480 himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. 77 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:07,080 What a statement. Not only did prayer commence the 78 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:13,720 otherworldly ministry of Christ, but prayer was that which 79 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,480 characterized the daily ministry of Christ. 80 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:22,040 Just read through the the Gospel of Luke which emphasizes the 81 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,760 humanity of deity and to recognize how often Christ was 82 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:32,560 slipping away to be by himself to pray. 83 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:42,800 You will also note that prayer is that one thing that 84 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:47,720 consummated His earthly ministry. 85 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:53,400 If it commenced His otherworldly ministry and characterized His 86 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:59,480 daily ministry, then it consummated His earthly 87 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,800 ministry. All you have to do is read John 88 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:08,640 17, which is truly the Lord's Prayer on the eve of His 89 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,360 crucifixion. All you have to do is examine 90 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,760 His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was 91 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,280 crucified. All you have to do is listen to 92 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,160 his words on the cross. Father, forgive them, for they 93 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,560 know not what they are doing. My God, my God, why has thou 94 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,640 forsaken me? Father, into your hands I 95 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,680 commend my spirit. Prayer was which which 96 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,679 consummated his his earthly ministry. 97 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,120 And then in Luke 24 at the end before His ascension, He lifted 98 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,159 up his hands and begin to bless and pray for his disciples. 99 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,480 But not only did did prayer commence His otherworldly 100 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,400 ministry and characterize His daily ministry and consummate 101 00:08:51,480 --> 00:09:00,320 His earthly ministry, you need to know that prayer constitutes 102 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:11,400 His heavenly ministry. Hebrews Chapter 7 verse #28 I'm 103 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:18,560 sorry. Hebrew 7 1st #25 Therefore he is 104 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:22,360 able also to say forever those who draw near to God through 105 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:33,280 him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 106 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:40,080 Prayer is that which constitutes His heavenly ministry. 107 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,400 He is our advocate. He intercedes on our behalf. 108 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,840 It's no wonder that when the disciples came to the Lord in 109 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,160 Luke 11, they asked the Lord to teach them how to pray. 110 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,680 You know, they never asked the Lord to teach them how to lead. 111 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:07,280 We need a seminar in leadership. Lord, teach us how to lead. 112 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:12,000 They never asked that question. Lord, teach us how to be 113 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:16,160 apostles, how to be representative of your Kingdom. 114 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,760 Never ask them that question. Lord, help us to teach us how to 115 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,000 be better fathers. Never ask that question either, 116 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:29,680 Lord, Teach us how to be men of God. 117 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,600 Never ask that question either. Never ask that question. 118 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:44,720 But the one question they did ask was Lord teach us how to 119 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:52,880 pray because you see, every time they saw him, He was praying. 120 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,640 And so when you when you come to the, the 11th chapter of Luke, 121 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,600 it says these words, it happened that while Jesus was praying in 122 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,880 a certain place. Chapter 11 verse #1 After he had 123 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:13,360 finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to 124 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:17,720 pray, just as John also taught his disciples. 125 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,720 Lord, teach us how to pray. Now you can imagine the scene. 126 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,080 Jesus is often praying. So Jesus is praying and they're 127 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,480 waiting for him to to stop, to be done. 128 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:32,360 They're sitting around thinking, is he done yet? 129 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,600 Not, not done yet. How about that? 130 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,240 Nope, still not done. Is he ever going to stop 131 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,320 praying? When can we ever talk to him? 132 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,560 And there he was praying. Finally, he's done. 133 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:52,640 Lord, teach us how to pray. Teach us how to commune with our 134 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,200 Father in heaven. Because you see, this is what 135 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:02,600 Jesus did, Deity communicating with deity in the most intimate 136 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:12,320 times throughout his life. It must have been fascinating to 137 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,880 be with Jesus when he prayed. We had the that long prayer in 138 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:21,320 John 17 that speaks of his communication with his Father in 139 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,120 glory in the Garden of Gethsemane, Gethsemane and how 140 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:26,920 he communicate with his Father in glory. 141 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:35,600 But to the disciples that they they wanted to know how to pray, 142 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,560 it's the Lord teaches them what is commonly called the disciples 143 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:42,680 prayer. It's not the Lord's Prayer, it's 144 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:46,400 the disciples prayer. And it gives them a pattern on 145 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:51,880 how to do it because prayer is is centered around a a divine 146 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,720 pattern, God and his glory man and his needs. 147 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,080 That's why he says when you pray, pray this way. 148 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,880 He didn't say if you pray, pray this way. 149 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:05,960 He says when you pray, pray this way, our Father in heaven, 150 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:12,160 hallowed be thy name, may your name be made holy in our lives. 151 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,240 Thy Kingdom come, praying for the return of the Christ in his 152 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:23,920 Kingdom. Thy will be done on earth as it 153 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:25,800 is in heaven. It's all about God's glory, 154 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:31,160 Lord, where our prayer is that your will be done in US that 155 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,520 your will would would be done on earth as it is in heaven. 156 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:38,320 Well, one of the ways you, you have the answer to that prayer 157 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:43,120 is that you are to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful because 158 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,440 this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 159 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,640 So when you pray for the will of God to be accomplished, you're 160 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,720 asking the Lord, Lord, I want to be joyful, prayerful and 161 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,560 thankful. And then he goes on to talk 162 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:02,840 about man and his needs. But what our Lord does next is 163 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:12,480 very important because he knows how hard it is to pray without 164 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:20,400 ceasing, how to never give up on prayer, never give up on asking, 165 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:26,320 beseeching the throne of grace. So he moves from the disciples 166 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:31,360 prayer to a parable. And so Luke 11 says these words. 167 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,760 Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and 168 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,960 says, Damn friend, lend ME3 loaves. 169 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,400 For a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have 170 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,960 nothing to set before him. And from inside he answers and 171 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,120 says, do not bother me. The doors already been shut and 172 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,680 my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you 173 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,360 anything. I tell you, even though he will 174 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:01,080 not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet 175 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:07,280 because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much 176 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:11,520 as he needs. It's a parable that describes 177 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:20,880 God's generosity and willingness to answer your prayers. 178 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,640 And even though the reluctant friend doesn't want to get out 179 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:31,680 of bed, he does so anyway, begrudgingly. 180 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,880 The Lord is not that way. In fact, he gives a similar 181 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:41,120 parable in in Luke chapter 18 when he says this in verse #1 182 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,400 Now he was willing to tell them a parable to show that at all 183 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,320 times they ought to pray and not to lose heart. 184 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:50,480 Same thing. Pray without ceasing. 185 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,640 At all times you are to pray and not lose heart. 186 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,040 So there are two avenues by which you can go. 187 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,480 You can lose heart or you can pray. 188 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,200 If you're praying, you're not going to lose heart. 189 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,720 If you're losing heart, it's because you're not praying. 190 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:15,280 In other words, when you pray, your heart does not shrivel up. 191 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,960 When you pray, you're able to remain steadfast and immovable. 192 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:29,640 But the reason we can't stand strong and steadfast is because 193 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:33,760 we don't pray. So the Lord says very easily, 194 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:40,120 listen, I tell you this, so that you will pray and you will not 195 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,720 lose heart. And So what do you say? 196 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,720 In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and 197 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,240 did not respect man. There was a widow in that city 198 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,320 and she kept coming to him, saying, give me legal protection 199 00:16:54,320 --> 00:17:00,600 from my opponent for a while. He was unwilling, but afterward 200 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:05,720 he said to himself, Even though I do not fear nor respect man, 201 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,800 do not fear God or respect man, yet because this widow bothers 202 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,920 me, I will give her legal protection. 203 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:19,319 Otherwise, by continually coming, she will wear me out 204 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:22,319 again. The parables are one of 205 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,119 contrast. Our Lord is not like the 206 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:30,760 reluctant friend, nor is he like the unjust judge, because you 207 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:35,240 can't wear out the Lord. He neither neither wearies nor 208 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:42,680 tires. He's always bending his ear to 209 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:48,160 hear the cries of his own. And so he goes on to say in Luke 210 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:54,360 18, these words he says, and the Lord said, hear what the 211 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:57,400 unrighteous judge said. Now we're not going to bring 212 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,600 about justice for His elect who cried to Him day and night and 213 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,960 will delay long over them. I tell you that He will bring 214 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,920 about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man 215 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,880 comes, will he find faith on the earth? 216 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,160 In other words, when the Son of Man returns, will you find find 217 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,600 this kind of faith? What kind of faith? 218 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,040 The faith that believes that God is not like the unjust judge, 219 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,960 but that he he spills out generously upon his own if they 220 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:33,000 come to him and seek, ask and knock? 221 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:39,920 The question is, will you as disciples? 222 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,760 Will you as believers be so committed to your God that you 223 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,520 believe exactly what he says, that you will pray without 224 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:54,880 ceasing, you will live a consciousness of of communion 225 00:18:54,880 --> 00:19:00,880 with God that you never give up on your prayers. 226 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,760 I have several points I want to cover with you this week and 227 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,480 next. And, and the first one is this 228 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,800 that that prayer will will always challenge your 229 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,960 spirituality. There there's nothing that 230 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:23,120 challenges your spirituality more than prayer. 231 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,920 It it's the greatest challenge to your spiritual growth. 232 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:36,880 God doesn't excuse me. Satan doesn't care that I 233 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:43,320 prepare a sermon, but he does care that I prepare my soul to 234 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:47,400 preach the sermon. Same is true for you. 235 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,800 Satan's not concerned that you get married. 236 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,000 He's concerned that your heart is not right when you get 237 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,520 married. This is what your heart being 238 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:02,520 right. This is what your life being 239 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,760 right. It's all about the inner man and 240 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,880 the growth of the inner man. And we need to always be 241 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:16,560 persistent unto prayer. Prayer is, is, is everything. 242 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,560 You know, I, I know that we have electives that, that, that you 243 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,000 can engage in and, and learn from. 244 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,240 I know that we have classes that you can go to and, and involve 245 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,120 yourself with different groups of people. 246 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:34,960 I understand that, but that's the real know what the ideal is. 247 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,200 The ideal is that when we're done here, everyone of you would 248 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,880 gather together over there in another room and all of you be 249 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:46,120 in prayer for everybody in the second service, everyone of you. 250 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,480 And then everybody who's coming to the second service, we're not 251 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,440 engaged in some elective or or some class, but they would be in 252 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,240 prayer for you as you are in here. 253 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,640 That would be the ideal that everybody would pray for 254 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,240 everybody else. And then while those are 255 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,720 worshipping, after they're done worshiping, they would go and 256 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,040 pray for everyone else. Why? 257 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:14,800 Because the power of life resides in our prayers. 258 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,120 That's the that's the impetus, that's the motive, that's the 259 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:23,800 power behind everything. It's it's spending time on your 260 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:28,560 knees in prayer, asking God to do a great and mighty work. 261 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:33,960 It's learning to pray God consciously all throughout the 262 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:40,200 day, lifting your request before the Lord constantly because you 263 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:45,120 are heavily minded and you're asking God to do a great and 264 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:53,760 mighty work. Listen, prayer is the ministry. 265 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,400 Prayer is the ministry. If you don't have a ministry, 266 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:00,840 your prayer, you don't have a ministry. 267 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:07,400 Prayer is the ministry. And so praying without ceasing 268 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:12,320 is a command that Paul gives along with rejoice always along 269 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:15,440 with in everything. Give thanks because this is 270 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:22,320 God's will for your life. But prayer is that which 271 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,560 challenges our our spirituality unlike anything else. 272 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,320 We we have to wrestle with our ego when it comes to prayer. 273 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,960 We have to wrestle with with all the effort put behind it when it 274 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,880 comes to prayer. But the thing we wrestle with 275 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,720 the most in prayer is the expectancy. 276 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,240 Let me illustrate it for you. Turn up in your Bible to Acts 277 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:58,120 chapter 12. Acts chapter 12, verse #1 Now 278 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:05,520 about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged 279 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:11,720 to the church in order to mistreat them, and he had James, 280 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,560 the brother of John, put to death with a sword. 281 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:19,880 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest 282 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,400 Peter also. Now it was during the days of 283 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,080 Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put 284 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,920 him in prison, delivering him to 4 squads of soldiers to guard 285 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:36,680 him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before 286 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:41,160 the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but 287 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:49,560 prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. 288 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,640 That is just a marvelous statement. 289 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:00,240 Here's Peter in prison. The expectation is, is that 290 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,560 Peter's going to die, because James, the brother of John, has 291 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,960 already died. Peter now has been arrested. 292 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,720 The expectation is that he too will will die. 293 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,800 So the church gathers together and begins to pray rightly. 294 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,720 So that's what they should do. And they began to pray 295 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,160 fervently. Notice that the effectual 296 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,200 fervent prayer of a righteous man of death. 297 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,560 Much James 516 tells us. So he gathered together to pray, 298 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,880 and they were fervent in their prayers. 299 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,200 Read on verse 6. On the very night when Herod was 300 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,000 about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two 301 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,480 soldiers. Bow to chains and guards in 302 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,440 front of the door were watching over the prison. 303 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,800 Notice that Peter's sleeping. He's not anxious about his own 304 00:24:52,800 --> 00:25:04,880 death, his impending death. He is fast asleep, it says. 305 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,200 And behold, an Angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and the light 306 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:12,680 shone in the cell and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, 307 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,360 saying, get up quickly. The chains fell off his hands. 308 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:19,480 And the Angel said to him, gird yourself and put on your 309 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:21,400 sandals. And he did so. 310 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,400 He said to him, Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. 311 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:27,880 And he went out and continued to follow. 312 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,520 And he did not know that what was being done by the Angel was 313 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,840 real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 314 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:40,320 They'd passed the 1st and 2nd guard, they came to the iron 315 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:44,760 gate that leads into the city which opened for them by itself, 316 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,920 and they went out and went along one street and they need to 317 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:49,360 leave. The Angel departed from him. 318 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,720 When Peter came to himself, he said, Now I know for sure that 319 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,040 the Lord has sent forth his Angel and rescued me from the 320 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:01,160 hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were 321 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,560 expecting. What were they expecting? 322 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:12,800 His death verse 12 When he realized this, he went to the 323 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:17,040 House of Mary, the mother of John, who was also called Mark, 324 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,800 where many were gathered together and were praying. 325 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,560 When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant girl named 326 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:29,680 Rhoda came to the to answer When she recognized Peter's voice 327 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:34,000 because of her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran in and 328 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,920 announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 329 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:39,960 Now you have to understand the scene. 330 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:46,360 They are praying for Peter and Peter shows up and Rhoda goes to 331 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,200 open the gate, recognizes it's his voice, but doesn't let him 332 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,040 in. What does she do? 333 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:58,200 She goes back to where everybody's praying because she 334 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:03,880 has to make the announcement that prayers have been answered. 335 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:15,080 So the Bible says this. It says she ran in and announced 336 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,720 that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 337 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:21,240 And they said to her, Hallelujah, God has answered. 338 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,200 That's not what they say. What did they say? 339 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:31,400 You are out of your mind, Rhoda. You're a crazy woman. 340 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,320 You snap the twig. You don't know what's going on. 341 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:42,760 They kept saying it's his Angel. It's his Angel. 342 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:47,000 What do you mean it's his Angel? But Peter continued knocking, 343 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,080 and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were 344 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,360 what? Amazed. 345 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:55,520 Listen, how do you know When you pray? 346 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,440 You pray with wrong expectations. 347 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:05,240 When God answers, you're amazed. We should never be amazed when 348 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,920 God answers. We should just be praising God 349 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,480 and thanking Him. But they were amazed. 350 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,600 Why? Because they didn't expect their 351 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:18,920 prayers to work anyway. They gathered together to pray 352 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,400 for for Peter and pray for his release. 353 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,280 But when they were praying for his release, they really weren't 354 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,960 expecting him to be released. I mean, after all, James is 355 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,800 dead, Peter's in prison, he's going to die, but let's pray for 356 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:31,880 his release anyway. And then when he's finally 357 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,160 released, they're absolutely astonished. 358 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,080 Because God works in conjunction with man's prayers. 359 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,680 And that's why prayer challenges your spirituality more than 360 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:50,840 anything else, because you live in a life of, in the realm of, 361 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,920 of, of, of not expecting God to do what we ask him to do. 362 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,800 And yet we're told to keep seeking, keep asking, keep 363 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:08,080 knocking continuously. In other words, pray with 364 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:14,040 without ceasing. Go back to to Luke 11. 365 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:27,480 In the Luke 11, Christ knows that persistence and prayer is 366 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:31,280 going to be lacking in the life of the disciples. 367 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,040 He knows that like he knows it's lacking in your life and mine. 368 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:44,200 So he gives this parable because the Lord is not like the 369 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,880 reluctant friend, and Luke 18 is not like the unjust judge. 370 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:55,360 He is generous, he is kind. They says this verse 9. 371 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:59,160 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and 372 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:02,600 you will find, knock, and it will be open to you, for 373 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,520 everyone who asks receives, and he who knocks finds. 374 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,000 And to him who, excuse me, who seeks, finds and to him and 375 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,640 knocks, it will be open. Now suppose one of you fathers 376 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:18,080 is asked by his son for a fish. He would not give him a snake 377 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,160 instead of a fish, Willy. Or if he asked for an egg, he 378 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:24,160 would not give him a scorpion Willy. 379 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,880 If then you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your 380 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:33,720 children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the 381 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,400 Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 382 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,440 This is Speaking of the generosity of God. 383 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:46,320 You have an earthly father. When you ask ask for a piece of 384 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:47,800 bread, he doesn't give you a snake. 385 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,560 When you ask for a fish, he doesn't give you a scorpion. 386 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:52,360 No, because your Father loves you. 387 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,120 He's kind, he's generous. Well, how much more will your 388 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,720 heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit to them? 389 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:05,240 It asks. Now the parallel account in 390 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,040 Matthew 6 said it doesn't say Holy Spirit, it just says give 391 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,080 to you that which is good. Interesting. 392 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:17,960 Give that which is good to those who keep asking, seeking and 393 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,240 knocking. We know that only God is good. 394 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:29,120 The Holy Spirit is God, therefore the Holy Spirit is 395 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,600 good. Very interesting. 396 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:37,120 Matthew 6 also tells us that that the Lord knows what you're 397 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,840 going to ask before it's ever on your lips. 398 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,160 So he already knows what you're going to ask him. 399 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:50,880 He already knows that because he knows everything in advance. 400 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:57,000 God never finds out anything. He just simply knows everything. 401 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,040 So he knows what you're going to ask before you even speak it, 402 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:05,280 because He knows your heart, knows everything about you. 403 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:11,440 And so he makes a statement that's absolutely profound for 404 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,640 the disciples. Why? 405 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,720 Because they lived in expectation of the coming of the 406 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:19,840 Spirit of God. How do we know that? 407 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,640 Ezekiel chapter 36, Ezekiel 36 says it this way. 408 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,080 Verse 25. I will sprinkle clean water on 409 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,400 you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your 410 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:34,240 filthiness and from all your idols. 411 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,600 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit 412 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,160 within you. I will remove the heart of stone 413 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,280 from your flesh and give you heart of flesh. 414 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:49,920 And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my 415 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:53,560 statutes, and you will be careful to observe my 416 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:56,080 ordinances. That's a new covenant promise. 417 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:02,960 They know new covenant promise that the greatest gift that God 418 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,800 will give them is the Spirit that indwells them. 419 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,800 So because the Lord knows what you ask before you even ask it, 420 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:15,600 He says, look, the Lord is so gracious, so kind, so generous, 421 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,320 He will give you the Spirit of God. 422 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,160 Everything that you've longed for, you're going to get. 423 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:26,280 That's so important. Why? 424 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:32,960 Because everything you are asking God for is already 425 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:38,800 embodied in the Spirit of God. Think about it. 426 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:44,240 You ask God for courage, for power. 427 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:50,760 And the Lord said in Acts chapter 1 that you will receive 428 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:56,360 the Holy Spirit and when you do, His power will over shadow you. 429 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,320 You receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 430 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:05,320 We ask God for power, we ask God for courage. 431 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,440 And we had the Spirit of God who is all powerful already within 432 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:14,600 us. We, we, we need comfort, comfort 433 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:18,400 during times of sorrow, comfort during times of trouble. 434 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:23,800 And Christ says in John 14, I'm going to give you another helper 435 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:29,520 or another comforter, not one of a different kind, but one of the 436 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,840 same kind as me. So when you need comfort, you'll 437 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:36,760 have the spirit of comfort already within you. 438 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:43,239 When you, when you want to receive guidance, the Spirit of 439 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:46,480 God will give you the guidance that's necessary because He will 440 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:50,360 guide you into all truth. So everything you're looking to 441 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:54,960 receive you already have in the Spirit of the living God. 442 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,800 You're dwelt by the Spirit, you're sealed by the Spirit, 443 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,360 you're saved by the Spirit, right? 444 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:05,680 You're convicted by the Spirit and the Spirit makes his home, 445 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:10,120 his abode with you. God gives you everything that 446 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,840 you need in the arrival of the Spirit of God. 447 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:20,680 You ask for the supply of something, and God gives you the 448 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:28,720 source of everything. Interesting you ask. 449 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:37,720 You ask for God to give you joy and the fruit of the Spirit is 450 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:42,520 what? Joy You, you, you. 451 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:45,560 And I've heard this many times. I, I, I just don't love my 452 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,200 husband or my wife anymore. What do you mean you don't love 453 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:49,560 them anymore? I just don't love them anymore. 454 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,320 No, you, you're saying you can't or you don't want to love them 455 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,840 anymore because you have the Spirit of God in you. 456 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,880 And the Spirit of God produces love. 457 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,120 So you can love your enemies, you can love your wife, you can 458 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:04,840 love your husband, you can love your children. 459 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:06,520 Why? Because the Spirit of God gives 460 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,720 you love. The fruit of the Spirit is 461 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:12,200 Lovejoy and peace. See I'm I'm so anxious. 462 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:13,640 Why are you anxious? You should be at peace. 463 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:15,800 You have the Spirit of God within you to give you peace. 464 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,320 How can you have peace when the Spirit of God reigns within your 465 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,880 heart? How about long-suffering? 466 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:29,880 For the Spirit is patience, long-suffering, gentleness, 467 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:34,240 meekness, kindness. Oh by the way, the fruit of the 468 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:38,800 Spirit is self-control. So I just can't control my 469 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:39,800 anger. Yes you can. 470 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:43,560 I can't control. I can't control my, my, my, my 471 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,920 sexual tendencies. Yes you can, if the Spirit of 472 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,040 God is within you, because He is a spirit that produces 473 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:55,600 self-control. You might be unwilling to yield 474 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:59,560 to the power, unyield to the spirit, unyield to the call of 475 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,880 God in your life, but the source of everything is there. 476 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:08,000 You ask the Lord for money and he gives you the bank. 477 00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:11,840 Would you rather have a portion of money or would you rather 478 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,320 have the bank? I'd rather have the bank. 479 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:18,720 Why? Because with the bank comes all 480 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:21,200 the money you you could possibly ever want to need. 481 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,680 So God says I'm going to give you the Spirit because in all 482 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,680 your search for truth, He's the Spirit of truth and all your 483 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,400 search for direction, He guides you and all the desire for 484 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,120 comfort. He's the one who comforts you 485 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:35,160 and your desire to be controlled in life with your emotions and 486 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,400 your thoughts. He is a spirit that produces 487 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:41,160 self-control and your desire to love others, love your enemies, 488 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:45,880 He gives you the love to do so. It's all within the spirit of 489 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:51,400 the living God. That's why we say that prayer 490 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:52,920 will challenge your spirituality. 491 00:37:53,160 --> 00:38:01,520 More than anything else, we need to understand prayer and why the 492 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,000 command is giving. Pray without ceasing. 493 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:08,680 Be conscious of God's presence as you walk through every 494 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:14,560 situation in life, no matter how difficult it is, how painful it 495 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:19,160 may be, no matter how depressing the circumstances might be 496 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:22,400 around you. God is walking with you through 497 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:26,720 those times that as you learn to lean upon them, you trust Him 498 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:29,880 and you rely upon Him. That's why not only does prayer 499 00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:35,040 number one challenge my spirituality, but prayer #2 500 00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:42,560 certifies my dependency. Prayer certifies my dependency. 501 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:50,280 In other words, it helps establish the fact that I am not 502 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:53,800 an autonomous being. I can't function independently, 503 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,440 Christ said. Without me ye can do nothing. 504 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:04,120 John 15-5 But see, we don't believe that we we think that we 505 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:08,720 can go through life and rely on my intellect, rely on my 506 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:15,040 ingenuity, rely on my money, rely on my expertise, rely on my 507 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:19,120 giftedness, rely on the things that I already have. 508 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,760 And so we go through life independently of from God, 509 00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:27,120 trying to establish our life without him simply because we 510 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:29,920 think we're good enough and excellent enough. 511 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:35,120 But you are not. Remember Luke chapter 5? 512 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:40,800 Probably not, so let me read it to you, Luke chapter 5. 513 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:46,520 It says now it happened that while the crowd was pressing 514 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:49,680 around him and listening to the word of God, he was standing by 515 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:54,640 the Lake of Geneseret or the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two boats 516 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,960 lying at the edge of the lake. But the fishermen had gotten out 517 00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:59,720 of them and were washing their Nets. 518 00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:01,360 In other words, they were done fishing. 519 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:02,840 They were now cleaning their Nets. 520 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:05,960 And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and 521 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:09,200 asked him to put out a little while from the land. 522 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:11,920 And he sat down and began teaching the people from the 523 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:14,840 boat. So the disciples have come in 524 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,480 from a from a early morning fishing and they are washing 525 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:22,520 their Nets and Christ decides to teach. 526 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:27,760 So he occupies Simon's boat and he says pushed out a little ways 527 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:29,800 and I'll teach him the boat because the crowds were pressing 528 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,000 against him and he was backing up against the water. 529 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,600 And so he says, I'll just go in the boat and begin to preach and 530 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,000 teach, and people will be able to hear me from there. 531 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:46,160 And so he says when he finished speaking, he said to Simon, put 532 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:52,480 out into the deep water and let down your Nets for a catch. 533 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,480 In other words, in the modern vernacular, Peter, I'm done 534 00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:04,640 preaching, let's go fishing. Let's go fishing. 535 00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:10,680 This Simon answered and said, master, we worked hard all night 536 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:20,280 and caught nothing. He says, Master, Lord Jesus, 537 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:25,120 you're a teacher, you're a preacher. 538 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:30,800 But me, I'm a fisherman. I don't tell you how to teach. 539 00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:35,320 You don't tell me how to fish. This is what I do. 540 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:39,840 My whole family fishes. I was raised this way. 541 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:43,840 This is how I live my life. I'm an expert fisherman. 542 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:50,320 I'm not an expert preacher or teacher, but I am an expert at 543 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:56,640 fishing. And so Peter says, but I would 544 00:41:56,640 --> 00:42:01,040 do as you say and let down the Nets. 545 00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:05,120 In other words. Nevertheless, if that's what you 546 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:10,680 want, Lord, then that's what we will do, just to prove to you 547 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,240 that you're not a fisherman and just a teacher and a preacher, 548 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:19,480 that I'm the true fisherman and you are not, because I'm an 549 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:25,080 expert at it. So Needless to say, we'll push 550 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:30,120 out into the deep and I will show you, Jesus, that I am right 551 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:38,440 and you, Jesus, are wrong. And so they says when they had 552 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,960 done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish. 553 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:44,320 So you don't fish during the day. 554 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:46,800 Why? Because during the day the fish 555 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:52,440 go further down into the water. Why it's cooler down there in 556 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,040 the early morning. In the evening they rise to the 557 00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:57,920 top. But during the day, the heat of 558 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,000 the day, they, they go down to the to the bottom. 559 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:06,480 Peter knows that. But they cast the Nets over the 560 00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:10,480 side of the boat and they caught a great quantity of fish. 561 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:13,640 So and so the Nets began to break. 562 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:19,520 So they signal to their partners in the other boat for them to 563 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,040 come and help them. And they came and filled both of 564 00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:24,800 the boats, so that they began to sink. 565 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,120 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus's feet, 566 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:34,640 saying, Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. 567 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:38,880 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of 568 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:41,200 the catch of fish which they had taken. 569 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:47,480 And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and we're 570 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,160 partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, do not 571 00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:54,400 fear, from now on you will be catching men. 572 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:57,720 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left 573 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:06,000 everything and followed him. Here is Peter, depart from me. 574 00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:10,760 I'm a sinful man. Depart from the fact that even 575 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:14,040 though I think I know more than you, I don't. 576 00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:16,680 I thought I did. I thought I could act 577 00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:20,480 independently, God of you, But I can't. 578 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:25,120 In the arena in which I am the most skilled, in the arena in 579 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:28,640 which I am the most intelligent, in the arena in which I am the 580 00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:33,160 most experienced, in the arena in which I am the best at, I 581 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,880 still need God. That's the point. 582 00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:42,040 But see, we we go through life thinking, well, I don't need 583 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:46,120 need God in my job. I can do that. 584 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:50,520 I mean, come on, who needs God for that? 585 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:53,760 I don't need God to help me raise my family. 586 00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:56,880 I know how to raise my family. I know how to get them to church 587 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:01,920 and read the Bible with them. I don't need God to help me with 588 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:03,000 this or help me with that. Why? 589 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:07,720 Because I'm smart. But in the arena in which you 590 00:45:07,720 --> 00:45:12,360 think you don't need, God is what you need in the most, 591 00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:17,000 because you see, it certifies your dependency upon Him. 592 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,160 And that's why the story in Mark 9 is so important. 593 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:24,520 When the disciples remember when Peter, James and John and Jesus 594 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,080 came down from the mountain, transfiguration, and they 595 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:32,040 couldn't cast out the boy who had a demon in him, in Christ 596 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:36,520 was frustrated with his own men. Oh, unbelieving generation, how 597 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,680 long shall I be with you? Bring the boy to me. 598 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:41,320 He cast out the demon. And they wonder why they 599 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:44,680 couldn't do that. Because he had learned to live 600 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:48,760 independently of God in the arena which he'd called him to 601 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:52,760 live for him, he says. He says he's only come out by 602 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:56,280 prayer. Your dependence upon me for 603 00:45:56,280 --> 00:46:00,360 everything. That's why prayer will challenge 604 00:46:01,080 --> 00:46:07,120 your spirituality more than any other aspect of the spiritual 605 00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:11,760 disciplines. It will certify your dependency 606 00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:17,560 that I need God in every situation, in every 607 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,760 circumstance, no matter where I'm at, no matter what I'm 608 00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:24,360 doing. I am not gifted enough nor 609 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:28,600 talented enough nor experienced enough to do it without my God, 610 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:35,120 for without me ye can do nothing. 611 00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:41,840 You need me prayer will challenge my spirituality, 612 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:46,720 prayer will certify my dependency, and thirdly, prayer 613 00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:56,960 will confirm my loyalty. And to understand that, you'll 614 00:46:56,960 --> 00:47:01,520 have to come back next week. Let's pray. 615 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:08,440 Father, we thank you for today. It is a challenge to every one 616 00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:14,640 of us to understand we are to pray without ceasing. 617 00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:20,520 We are to never give up. We are to never quit on prayer. 618 00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:24,560 We are never to throw in the towel on prayer. 619 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:30,000 There, there might be someone in the room today who said I, I 620 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:35,400 prayed for a year. Well, you say, keep asking, keep 621 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:41,840 seeking, keep knocking. We need to learn persistence. 622 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:46,160 We need to learn steadfastness and prayer. 623 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:54,880 We can never afford to give up praying for your will to be 624 00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:57,960 done. Why? 625 00:47:59,320 --> 00:48:06,200 Because your will is that we pray unceasingly, that we pray 626 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:13,760 at all times for all men, that we be the kind of people that 627 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:17,320 continue to commune with the true and living God as we go 628 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:22,960 through each part of each day. As you have taught us, Lord, to 629 00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:29,160 rejoice always, teach us now to pray unceasingly. 630 00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:35,600 Why? Simply because you've told us in 631 00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:42,480 John's Gospel, the 14th chapter, the 13th verse, that the reason 632 00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:48,760 you answer prayer is not to get our needs met, but that the 633 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:52,960 Father would be glorified in the Son. 634 00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:58,760 That's what we're asking for, that you would receive all the 635 00:48:58,760 --> 00:49:01,920 glory. So Lord, whatever we are asking 636 00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:05,080 for today, whatever we're beseeching the throne of grace 637 00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:12,080 for today, may we do it for one reason and one reason only, the 638 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:15,480 glory of the true and living God. 639 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:19,760 We pray in Jesus name, Amen.