1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:06,720 Good morning, it's a pleasure to be here, Middletown, Portland 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,640 7th Day Adventist Church. I bring you greetings from three 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,960 angels in Newington. We love our sister church. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,560 This church will always have a special place in my heart. 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,000 It's one of the earliest memories I have of, of church. 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,120 Those are fond memories. And I'm I'm happy to see that 7 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,160 every time I'm asked to preach, there's more people here. 8 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:32,759 Your congregation is growing. Praise God. 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,680 OK, so the title of my message this morning is called When 10 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,160 Heaven Moves, the power of prayer. 11 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:48,600 So prayer is foundational, yet it's often misunderstood. 12 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,760 Is prayer for just a last resort or something more? 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,120 Is it just for emergencies or a daily source of power? 14 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,560 Today, my goal is to to help us discover what makes prayer 15 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:10,480 truly, truly powerful and help build a powerful and effective 16 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,240 prayer life. Let me have a word of prayer. 17 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,160 Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for all of your many 18 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,400 blessings. We thank you Lord, for bringing 19 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:23,560 us up, bringing us here today, waking us up, and for all of the 20 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,240 ways that you keep and sustain us. 21 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:30,880 I ask Lord, that you would give me the words to speak and that 22 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,600 the message would be heard that you intend for each intended 23 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,120 person. Please forgive us of our sins. 24 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,640 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,200 So first, I like to start all my messages with a disclaimer that 26 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,880 I don't claim perfection and I don't want to come off 27 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,640 hypocritical. I personally have much room for 28 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,400 improvement, but I and I'm often feel too impressed, impressed to 29 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,160 talk about things that I personally might be lacking in. 30 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,440 So please pray that these messages permeate my life as 31 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:10,080 well as your own. So grounding in James 516 32 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,640 through 18 as Joe just read. Therefore, confess your sins to 33 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:17,440 each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. 34 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,840 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 35 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:23,880 Elijah was a human being even as we are. 36 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,080 He prayed earnestly that that it would rain and that it did not 37 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,360 rain on the land for 3 1/2 years. 38 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,680 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth 39 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,320 produced its crops. So unpacking the fundamental 40 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:44,360 points there we have the promise of powerful, effective prayer. 41 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,520 And the example of Elijah, important to note that it's easy 42 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,440 to think of these people as mythical figures, but Elijah was 43 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,400 a human being just like us. So the power, the same power 44 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,000 that was accessible to Elijah is is accessible to us. 45 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,520 And it is important to note the caveat of prayer of a righteous 46 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:12,000 person, but more on that later. So the key points that I hope to 47 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:17,200 leave with you today, the 1st is that first prayers, first 48 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:22,120 miracle is changing us and talk about how prayer transforms us 49 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,760 from the inside out. Second key point is God's power 50 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:32,320 is beyond human measurement. Why faith sees what science 51 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:37,320 can't measure. And 3rd, the call to to fervent 52 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:42,040 and faithful partnership and our role in a powerful prayer life. 53 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:48,720 So on that first key point regarding prayers. 54 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:54,040 First, miracle is changing us. We often think of prayer as a 55 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,760 way to change our circumstances, but the first most reliable 56 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,040 miracle is how it changes the world within you. 57 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,960 A proper prayer requires us to acknowledge God's sovereignty. 58 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,200 Prayer begins with surrender, not strategy, and prayer trains 59 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,920 us to trust rather than control. When I personally have pride out 60 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:22,120 the God in desperation from impossible circumstances, when 61 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,280 God answers that prayer and delivers me from the enemy, 62 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,200 these are circumstances that help me understand. 63 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,160 When when Paul writes to the Corinthians, my strength is made 64 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,480 perfect in weakness. It's these moments of weakness 65 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,040 that it would be hard for me to appreciate the true strength and 66 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,080 majesty of God when He comes and delivers me from the situation 67 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:48,440 that I might otherwise feel self-sufficient in managing all 68 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,920 my problems. It's in our weakness that God's 69 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:56,360 strength is made perfect. So remember to give thanks and 70 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,360 praise God in all circumstances, even the trials. 71 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,360 I remember, and I think it was actually at this very church 72 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,920 wondering, it was a in a Sabbath school when I was very young 73 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:15,960 asking why do we have to ask God for things that he already 74 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:17,680 knows? He already knows everything that 75 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,360 we need. So why do I have to ask for 76 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:27,160 these things? And recently, I've gained an 77 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,560 appreciation for the importance of asking. 78 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,200 Personally. There's some people in my life 79 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,320 that have gotten accustomed to simply airing grievances, with 80 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,120 the expectation that those grievances or unspoken requests 81 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,560 will be solved for them, either by myself or someone else. 82 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,480 I've started holding these people accountable. 83 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,400 To make a request. Sometimes I need to be very 84 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,920 direct and ask is there anything I can do to help? 85 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,440 And I've learned that if a direct request for help is never 86 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,800 made, it's also very unlikely that you'll receive a thank you. 87 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:11,440 So if somebody says, oh, the tire is something's wrong with 88 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,640 my car or oh, I'll go fix it or, you know, something like that, 89 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,960 there's not as much appreciation that comes, it seems, in my 90 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,440 experience anyway, when that request is satisfied. 91 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,600 I think that if we don't ask directly, ask God for things, 92 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,600 we're not likely to thank him or even attribute the asked outcome 93 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:36,000 to his power. So important takeaways is first, 94 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:41,480 ask God for help. 2nd and very importantly is thank Him when he 95 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:46,120 answers. It's very, very easy to pray for 96 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,200 something out of desperation when it's solved. 97 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,920 Forget that this was God who who answered our prayer, who who 98 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,960 showed up for us. So this is foundational to 99 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,480 acknowledging His power and sovereignty in our lives. 100 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:07,920 So a divine invitation, prayer isn't just an option, it is a 101 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,160 command and a loving invitation from God. 102 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,520 Jeremiah 33 three says, call to me and I will answer you. 103 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,680 Answer you. Prayer wasn't our idea, it was 104 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,520 God's. He doesn't just permit it, He 105 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:27,040 commands it. And this is one of those 106 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:33,600 situations where God commands us to do something because for, for 107 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,400 our own good. The 4th commandment, remember 108 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,920 the Sabbath day to keep it holy. This is an important command 109 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,360 that I didn't fully appreciate when I was younger. 110 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,720 When I was younger, it was a day that I couldn't do certain 111 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,960 things that I enjoyed doing. As I'm older, I appreciate 112 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,960 respecting and honoring that command for my own good, for my 113 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:59,520 own rest. If it weren't for this command, 114 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,160 I would probably just work myself into an early grave. 115 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,440 So the command to rest, the command to pray, all of these 116 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,000 commands are are are actually for our own benefit. 117 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,360 So God knows our propensities and he knows we're known we're 118 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:18,640 we're prone to stray as sheep. So This is why it's important to 119 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,840 study His words. Pay attention to His commands 120 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:27,760 for our own good. Know that God's commands will 121 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,720 always yield a better outcome for ourselves, even if we don't 122 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:41,820 yet understand the why. Prayer is a God-given tool for 123 00:08:41,820 --> 00:08:46,620 mental and emotional health. It acts as a psychological 124 00:08:46,620 --> 00:08:50,180 anchor, calming our minds and bringing peace. 125 00:08:51,500 --> 00:08:57,580 Now, there have been many conflicting scientific studies 126 00:08:58,260 --> 00:09:02,600 on the external efficacy of prayer for others, and I'll talk 127 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:07,280 about that in a little bit. However, there's no scientific 128 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,520 or medical dispute of the internal and personal benefits 129 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,280 of a prolific prayer life. Now these are things that have 130 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:21,000 been confirmed by medical journals, studies about the real 131 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,960 measurable improvements in the life of someone who has a strong 132 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,880 prayer life in terms of mental and emotional well-being. 133 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:34,560 There's reduced stress response. Prayer can calm the nervous 134 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:39,120 system, analogous to meditation. It suppresses fight or flight 135 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,720 reactions and reduces reactivity to negative emotions like anger 136 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:50,320 has, yields lower physiological arousal, it yields enhanced mood 137 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,480 and life satisfaction, and it yields post traumatic growth and 138 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,440 resilience. Spiritual practices, including 139 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:01,360 prayer, are linked to better psychological outcomes, 140 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:07,280 especially in trauma or crisis, promoting meaning, optimism and 141 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:12,120 emotional resilience. In terms of physical health and 142 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:19,120 longevity, healthier lifestyle and possible protection against 143 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,960 illness, Frequent spiritual engagement is associated with 144 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,040 lower bread blood pressure, better immune function, and 145 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,240 possibly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and 146 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:35,920 mortality. Longer life lifespan, especially 147 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,440 with communal practice. Regular religious service 148 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,040 attendance has been linked with significantly lower mortality 149 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,800 rates over time, possibly due to social support, optimism and 150 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:52,520 life purpose in terms of brain function and cognitive benefits, 151 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:58,000 improved attention and perception and greater empathy 152 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,520 and reduced negativity and meaning belonging. 153 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,720 There's a very, it's actually a very long list. 154 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,320 If you, if you look on the Internet, there's no shortage of 155 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:12,760 evidence supporting the measurable physiological 156 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:18,000 benefits of of the perilite. So in terms of the anatomy of 157 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,360 connection, the most beneficial prayer is relational, not 158 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,360 transactional. It involves worship and 159 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:30,560 adoration, recognizing God's greatness and expressing love 160 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:34,960 and reverence, confession and repentance, acknowledging our 161 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,560 shortcomings and turning toward God, and Thanksgiving, 162 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,760 expressing gratitude for God's blessing and presence. 163 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,560 A powerful prayer life is more than a list of requests. 164 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,640 It's about honoring God, being honest with Him, and cultivating 165 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,960 a grateful heart. It's easy to get into a routine 166 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:57,440 and take relationships for granted. 167 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,400 This is true of all relationships, spousal, family, 168 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:06,560 friends, just as our interpersonal relationships 169 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:10,440 require intentional work. If, for example, you neglect to 170 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:16,040 keep up with a friend, don't call for a while, don't maintain 171 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,040 regular connection, that friendship, that relationship 172 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,240 decays. Erodes can even happen with 173 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:22,840 someone you live with, with your spouse. 174 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:27,320 It requires intentional effort to maintain these these 175 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,160 relationships. And it's the same with our 176 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:34,640 relationship with God. One thing that I've tried and 177 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,280 not always succeeded, but I continue to try is to make sure 178 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:43,680 that I don't get out of bed without saying a prayer or even 179 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:47,400 reach for my phone and check my notifications before I say 180 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:48,600 prayer. And I think that's a practical 181 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,800 thing that could benefit everybody because if we start 182 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,920 our day with prayer, there's a pretty good chance it's going to 183 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,280 go better. In my experience, generally 184 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:02,720 start with a a better mood and maintain that that connection 185 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:08,080 with our God moving on. It's important and I've heard 186 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,320 Elder Bill Reinwald say this a lot and I love it. 187 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,600 It's a quote from Ellen White that says prayer does not bring 188 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:16,520 God to us. It brings us up to him. 189 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,640 And so the quote is key to understanding prayers purpose is 190 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:23,880 the main goal is connection with God. 191 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:32,440 Peace is the beautiful result. Second key point, and this key 192 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:39,680 point is about saying about how prayer, efficacy of prayer is to 193 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:43,280 an extent beyond measurement. Make a case for that. 194 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,560 So faith allows us to see what science cannot measure. 195 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,520 God's power operates beyond the limits of the laboratory. 196 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,560 And let me unpack that statement a little bit. 197 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:02,920 So faith versus science, two different tools and we must 198 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,480 recognize that faith and science are different tools for 199 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,960 discovering truth. My mom recently shared a message 200 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,680 with me. She said that there was a a 201 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:18,720 message from a pastor purporting that he heard of a study that 202 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,960 said that measurable correlation in brain activity there, there 203 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,520 was somebody to this study that there was people prayed over 204 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:30,560 here and they were able to measure brain activity happening 205 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:35,000 as a result of those prayers over in a completely different 206 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,760 location. And so that sounds pretty 207 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:43,280 amazing and it's attractive at first, but I was skeptical and I 208 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,160 had to do some research. So I found that there are many 209 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:53,040 conflicting studies on this topic with varying degrees of 210 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,360 conformance to the scientific method. 211 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,880 I don't believe there's anything wrong with the scientific 212 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,840 method. I personally think that it's an 213 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:07,880 excellent way of simply being able to have a hypothesis and 214 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:12,240 perform a test and see if your hypothesis is confirmed. 215 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:19,520 This is a logical process. And so I don't believe true 216 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:24,520 science and logical observable facts of our world conflict with 217 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,640 God's word. Many scientists will try to use 218 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:33,640 one against the other, but many other scientists show science is 219 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:35,960 just an evidence of God's power and majesty. 220 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,400 Everything that we can observe through sciences is more 221 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,040 evidence of, of God's wonderfulness and what he's 222 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:46,200 built, what he's done, than it is to say, oh, we understand 223 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,600 this now. So therefore, you know, but 224 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,360 anyway, I don't think they're, they're in conflict with each 225 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,600 other. But I have concluded that it's 226 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,600 pointless to try to validate the power of prayer through using 227 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,480 the scientific method. And because there are some 228 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:07,280 fundamental limitations about the scientific method in terms 229 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,800 of measuring prayer. And this slide's not loading, 230 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,520 but I remember, oh, hang on, it is OK. 231 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:21,840 So there's some key flaws. One is that if you want to do a 232 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:28,080 true scientific study about whether or not something works, 233 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,000 prove a hypothesis, you have to create a control group. 234 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,000 You have to be able to say, OK, we're going to have this group 235 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,560 that has people praying for them, and we're going to have 236 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,480 this other group that has nobody praying for them. 237 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:41,960 First of all, how can you guarantee that nobody's going to 238 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,000 be praying for these people? And even if you could, why would 239 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,680 you do that? But you can't. 240 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,760 So. So that is creates A fundamental 241 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,160 flaw in the scientific scientific method. 242 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,640 How do you measure because you know our our Scripture reading 243 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:00,240 says the prayer of a righteous person. 244 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,520 How do we know that the people who are praying are righteous? 245 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,079 How do we know that we have no way of measuring these spiritual 246 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:09,560 things. Only God can measure the heart. 247 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,040 So these are these are things that that make it really kind of 248 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:18,880 pointless and futile to try to say, aha, we have proof that 249 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,400 prayer. And that's a little bit of what 250 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:25,560 faith faith is for. But I have a better test. 251 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,160 I call this slide the Power of testimony. 252 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:36,160 Our evidence isn't found in lab reports, but in life reports 253 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,880 from the Bible to today. Our faith is built on the 254 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:46,800 stories of an act of God. Is there anyone here who has 255 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,720 experienced something in their life or seen something happen 256 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,680 around them that can only be explained as God's intervention 257 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,040 in response to prayer? I personally can. 258 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,520 And don't be shy because we're asked to be His witness. 259 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,440 It's through our witness and our testimony that God is made, is 260 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:11,360 made real and shown to others. Acts 18 says you shall receive 261 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:15,360 power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be 262 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,680 witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to 263 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,880 the end of the earth. This is why our personal 264 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,320 testimony of what God has done for us is so powerful. 265 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:31,160 Nobody can dispute my personal experience with God, so I 266 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,560 encourage you to share your testimony with anyone who will 267 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:39,560 listen. Often times I've heard a quote 268 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,840 that said don't tell me about your religion, show me about 269 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,000 your religion. Live your life. 270 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,040 You can give a Bible study to someone without quoting a single 271 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,600 scripture by showing someone how you live. 272 00:18:55,880 --> 00:19:00,640 And God's hearing isn't random. He hears the righteous. 273 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:05,160 He rejects the prayer that clings to sin, but always hears 274 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,840 A sincere seeker and acts according to his his will. 275 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,720 So he hears this. Here's the righteous reject sin, 276 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,520 hears the sincere seeker, and acts according to his will. 277 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:21,880 The Bible shows us that there is a framework to answer prayer. 278 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,080 First, know that he rejects the prayers that are linked to our 279 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:31,680 sinful human condition. Prayers to win the lottery. 280 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,920 Prayers for a new exotic supercar. 281 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:41,120 Does your prayer glorify God? I've often heard, I don't know 282 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,760 if I've even fallen into this fallacy, but people, you know, 283 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,280 they get a lottery ticket and they pray earnestly to God. 284 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:52,680 God, if I had $20 million, whatever the number may be, I 285 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,360 could do so much for your Kingdom. 286 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,760 But, and that's there's a fallacy there because the 287 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,760 question is we currently have resources. 288 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,880 We currently have time, a resource that everybody has, no 289 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,480 matter what kind of financial resources you have. 290 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,120 Are you using that resource? What? 291 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,960 How you're using that resource is a direct reflection of how 292 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,680 you would be using abundant resources. 293 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,960 So if you there's a little lesson there. 294 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,520 If you want God to bless you with much, prove that you can be 295 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:33,800 trusted with little. So we know that God answers the 296 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,920 righteous, the prayers of the righteous, but God also hears 297 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,720 and answers the prayer of all who pray according to His will. 298 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,000 And he always hears prayers from sincere seekers. 299 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,800 When I started coming back to church, probably about 15 years 300 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,640 ago, 20 years ago, I was raised the Adventist. 301 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:59,800 As an Adventist, I went out into the world, started coming back 302 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:01,160 to church. I was baptized. 303 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:05,000 My wife, who had very little experience exposure to church, 304 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:07,720 started coming to church with me. 305 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,720 Praise God. And this was at Plainville. 306 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,920 And they had a prayer box. And in that prayer box they 307 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,680 would say anybody can write a prayer on a piece of paper and 308 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,400 leave it in that box. And after the service, the 309 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,360 elders pray over the pray over the box. 310 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:27,440 They don't read them. They pray over the box and the 311 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,320 contents are burned. So she put a prayer in that box 312 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:38,600 that was very personal and power and, and impossible, frankly. 313 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:40,280 I mean, nothing's impossible with God. 314 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,440 But this was something that like, I don't know if it was 315 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:46,320 intended to be like a litmus test, but it wasn't anything out 316 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,280 of, you know, personal, like it wasn't cling to human sin. 317 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,560 It was something that she legitimately wanted and it was a 318 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:57,080 so she put it in there and got answered. 319 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,920 And that like the answer to that prayer, like was, was the 320 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,080 foundation of her faith. Like that was her first 321 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,520 experience. And now, I mean, she's, she's 322 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,720 baptized now and she's currently over at 3 angels because she's 323 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,760 the treasurer over there. That's why she never comes with 324 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,080 me. She's got treasury 325 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,680 responsibilities over there. But that's, that's a personal 326 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:21,640 testimony to God answering his sincere seeker, even though she 327 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,960 had no, not very little, only only knowledge of, of God 328 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:29,040 through my personal, you know, testimony and, and and whatnot. 329 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:33,000 And I was just, you know, wasn't firmly rooted in faith other 330 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,840 than my foundational understanding that it has a 331 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,880 child. Anyway, personal testimony there 332 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,280 that God answers the sincere seeker, regardless of whether or 333 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,560 not they can be qualified as a, a righteous person. 334 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:50,040 So my third key point here out of my three points is a call to 335 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,720 fervent and faithful partnership with God. 336 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:57,600 This was a quote I've heard of a lot from Jamaican speakers, and 337 00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:59,960 I could be imagining this, but I think that this might have been 338 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:03,360 something that I heard Ernie Elder, Ernie Byron say a lot. 339 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:05,800 Phil, you can you can keep me honest here. 340 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:15,440 Did he say no prayer, no power? Little prayer, little power, 341 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:21,040 much prayer, much power. It's simple. 342 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:27,800 So this is where the message becomes personal. 343 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:34,280 The invitation is to move from a passive faith to an active daily 344 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:44,490 partnership with God. This is a call to move from 345 00:23:46,290 --> 00:23:50,290 lukewarm faith to an active, powerful prayer life that 346 00:23:50,290 --> 00:23:53,010 cooperates with God and a call to action. 347 00:23:56,290 --> 00:24:02,440 We have not sure sure people are familiar with the Laodicean 348 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:07,120 warning of the Church of Laodicea that we believe the 349 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:12,560 time that we're living in is a lukewarm faith leads to lukewarm 350 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:17,000 powerless prayer life. The call is to move from routine 351 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,640 to a fervent hot relationship with God. 352 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,160 If our prayer life and and I think that in the closing key 353 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,320 point is the ABS time that you know, we're first Sabbath of the 354 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,400 new year. There is a New Year's resolution 355 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:34,960 worth making and keeping. This is this is probably one 356 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:40,080 that everyone, myself included, could benefit from if our faith 357 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,320 life, if our prayer life feels powerful and may be a symptom of 358 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,880 the Laodicean condition. A faith that is neither hot nor 359 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,240 cold produces prayers that feel the same. 360 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:54,600 And today's call is to turn up the spiritual heat as we pray to 361 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,200 God, rely on God, and watch God act on our prayers, and our 362 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,480 faith will grow. And in turn, our prayer life and 363 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,880 relationship with God will grow. So I encourage you to talk to 364 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:12,840 God the same way. Well, maybe not exactly the same 365 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,840 way, but the way that you would talk to a close friend. 366 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,520 Don't just, it's very easy, especially if it's something 367 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,680 that you're doing every morning. It's a good thing to do at night 368 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,960 too, to not get in the routine of just reciting the same 369 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,440 phrase, the same prayer, every time. 370 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,240 If you had a friend that said the exact same thing every time 371 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:39,000 you saw them, that relationship might, might decay. 372 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:47,880 So talk to God about your day. Talk to God about your anxiety, 373 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,960 the things that are bothering you, things you need help with. 374 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,360 Praise God for when he comes through for you. 375 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,000 Here's a quote that my mom shared with me as I was 376 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000 preparing this sermon the first time they gave it for three 377 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,120 angels. That's it's sobering. 378 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:08,800 But this is a quote from Sister White. 379 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:14,160 She says, and I'd never heard this prior to her telling me 380 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,200 this. So hopefully this is, you know, 381 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:21,160 but it's it's a bit sobering. It says I have been shown the 382 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,200 angels of God, the prayers of the Saints to heaven. 383 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,360 But they were. Grieved. 384 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,200 That so few prayers were offered. 385 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,520 So let that sink. In if the angels are, you know, 386 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:39,000 like, why aren't they asking? Why aren't they asking God for 387 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:44,840 stuff? So at that moment, some of you 388 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:46,840 know, you know, my, my brother's condition. 389 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,840 I, I, at that time, I said, OK, well, we got to pray now after 390 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,080 hearing that, then what a better time to pray than right now 391 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:54,920 because frankly, I don't pray enough. 392 00:26:55,800 --> 00:27:00,320 So, so I had a prayer with my mom about keeping, you know, my 393 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:05,960 brother who's struggling with a number of things to forgot to 394 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,880 continue to work on him. And so we did that, and I asked 395 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,520 for for continued prayer for anyone who is or isn't familiar 396 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:22,360 with that situation as well. So our role. 397 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:26,160 Is to combine faith in action, and this is a uniquely Adventist 398 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,320 approach. Pray with faith and. 399 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,600 Persistence. Align with God's. 400 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,640 Perfect will and cooperate with God through wise choices. 401 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,000 The final invitation. The ultimate invitation is to 402 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,040 embrace. Embrace prayer as the opening of 403 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,080 the heart to. God as to a. 404 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,960 Friend, a constant, vital connection for all of life's 405 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,800 circumstances. Let's end by returning to the 406 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,360 heart of prayer. Not a machine, but a friend. 407 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,120 The invitation is to talk to God as your closest, most trusted 408 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:07,760 friend and to commit to move from lukewarm to a fervent 409 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,080 prayer life. Heavenly Father. 410 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,440 Thank you, Lord, for all of your many blessings. 411 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,800 Ask Lord that. And we know, Lord, that even the 412 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,200 faith that we have, little as it may be, comes from you. 413 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,840 It's a gift from you, Lord, and it's on us to to foster that 414 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:28,800 faith, grow it into more faith so that you can trust us with 415 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,400 more and you can work bigger in our life. 416 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,560 Please, Lord, give us the. Conviction to have a better 417 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,320 relationship with you and talk to you more often so that you 418 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:45,560 can influence our character, make us better people, make us 419 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,840 healthy. Ultimately, Lord, to win souls 420 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:52,480 for your Kingdom, grow your Kingdom and answer your Great 421 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,480 Commission. Please forgive us for our sins. 422 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:58,280 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 423 00:28:59,280 --> 00:28:59,600 Amen.