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Praying-with-Your-Whole-Heart-Msg-40-44 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: The last four verses of the fifteenth chapter of Romans
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  Speaker 1: provides us with the sacred text of our time together.
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  Speaker 1: You will find in your worship folder of the outline
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  Speaker 1: for today's message, which I would like for you to
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  Speaker 1: place in the book just before Romans. It's the Book
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  Speaker 1: of Acts. Locate Chapter twelve and slide it in. There.
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  Speaker 1: Will begin in Acts twelve and find our way to
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  Speaker 1: Romans fifteen thirty through thirty three a little later in
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  Speaker 1: the message. If you will, out of respect for our
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  Speaker 1: heavenly Father and in honor of his written word, may
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  Speaker 1: we stand together as I read for you these closing
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  Speaker 1: four verses of Romans fifteen, beginning at verse thirty. Now
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  Speaker 1: I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and
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  Speaker 1: by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with
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  Speaker 1: me in your prayers to God for me, that I
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  Speaker 1: may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea,
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  Speaker 1: and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to
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  Speaker 1: the saints, so that I may come to you enjoy
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  Speaker 1: by the will of God, and find refreshing rest in
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  Speaker 1: your company. Now, the God of Peace be with you all,
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  Speaker 1: and everyone said, amen, you may be seated may be
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  Speaker 1: bow together in prayer. Our world is marked by chaos
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  Speaker 1: and heartache, brokenness, and misery on every side, our Father.
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  Speaker 1: Just this week we were shocked to hear again of
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  Speaker 1: another disaster on a college campus, and our hearts go
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  Speaker 1: out to those families who grieve the loss of their
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  Speaker 1: innocent students now absent from them because of the work
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  Speaker 1: of this murderer. Chaos, heartache, brokenness. There's a war that
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  Speaker 1: continues on and some this very day will be wounded,
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  Speaker 1: perhaps killed. How we pray for those families, those who
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  Speaker 1: love them, those who serve in those difficult places. We
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  Speaker 1: pray for determination and courage, and for the ability to
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  Speaker 1: see beyond the grief. Help us, all, our Father, to
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  Speaker 1: know how to cope the world that has long since
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  Speaker 1: lost its way. Bring us back to you, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: in any number of ways, as we find in you,
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  Speaker 1: the only source of true peace, the only place of tranquility.
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  Speaker 1: Thank You for the ministry of music, for the singing
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  Speaker 1: of the songs, for the lyrics that break the bond
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  Speaker 1: of our day and turn us to another day when
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  Speaker 1: stones of memorial were held over places where you had
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  Speaker 1: won a victory, where praises that the saints are lifted up.
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  Speaker 1: We can almost hear them in the silence to this
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  Speaker 1: hour of worship. And now, as we have the joy
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  Speaker 1: of sitting quietly and allowing the fresh breeze of the
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  Speaker 1: Appalachian Mountains to blow across us, give us refreshment again,
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  Speaker 1: as we give you our gifts again in the lovely
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  Speaker 1: name of Jesus our Savior. Everyone said, Amen, many things
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  Speaker 1: are not as they seem to be. We may have
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  Speaker 1: thought that they were that way most if not all,
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  Speaker 1: of our lives. And then suddenly something is said or
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  Speaker 1: something happens that jolts us and gets our attention and
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  Speaker 1: rearranges the facts, and we realize we admit did all along.
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  Speaker 1: It was a number of years ago that the old
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  Speaker 1: Salts of the American Football League got together for a
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  Speaker 1: little reunion as they look back over the first twenty
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  Speaker 1: years of their existence. And they had come to celebrate
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  Speaker 1: along with some of the old seasoned veterans of that league.
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  Speaker 1: And they found themselves in Los Angeles, and sitting among
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  Speaker 1: them was not surprisingly Al Davis, the ornery and controversial
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  Speaker 1: owner of the Oakland Raiders. And he had stories to tell,
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  Speaker 1: of course, he had been there from the start and
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  Speaker 1: remembered the banquet that was held where Nicky Hilton spoke
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  Speaker 1: and had everyone's attention because of not only his involvement
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  Speaker 1: in the world of sport, but also his wealth and
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  Speaker 1: his notoriety, and how Davis told the story to the
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  Speaker 1: table the people sitting around him. He said he was
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  Speaker 1: introduced as having recently made one hundred thousand dollars in
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  Speaker 1: the baseball business in the city of Los Angeles, and
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  Speaker 1: as soon as they heard that, there was a thunderous applause,
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  Speaker 1: and Nicky Hilton walked up to the platform to begin
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  Speaker 1: his speech, and he said, before I go on, I
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  Speaker 1: need to clarify some things. It wasn't me. That was
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  Speaker 1: my brother Baron who had those experiences. And it wasn't
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  Speaker 1: actually Los Angeles, it was San Diego. And it wasn't
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  Speaker 1: the baseball business. It was football. And it wasn't one
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  Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars, it was a million dollars and it
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  Speaker 1: didn't make it. He lost it. Other than that, it
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  Speaker 1: was a good introduction. Huh, many things are not as
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  Speaker 1: they seem. That is so true a prayer. It would
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  Speaker 1: seem as though all of God's people are those who
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  Speaker 1: really believe in it and really practice it. And when
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  Speaker 1: we do, we really trust God and we leave it
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  Speaker 1: all with him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: we say religious words, and we fiddle around with the
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  Speaker 1: moments where we reach the end, and we tried everything else,
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  Speaker 1: So we shoot up a word, hoping that somehow there
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  Speaker 1: might be a little magic between here and there, and
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  Speaker 1: changes come. Oh but prayer, prayer? Was it meant to
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  Speaker 1: be prayer with our whole hearts? Certainly the exception rather
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  Speaker 1: than the rule. Philip Yancey realized it when he was
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  Speaker 1: preparing to write his book on prayer, subtitled Does It
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  Speaker 1: Make any Difference? He writes, I interviewed ordinary people about prayer. Typically,
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  Speaker 1: the results went like this, is prayer important to you? Oh? Yes? Well?
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  Speaker 1: How often do you pray? Well? Every day? Approximately? How long?
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  Speaker 1: Five minutes? Well, maybe seven? Do you find prayer satisfying? No?
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  Speaker 1: Not really do you since the presence of God? Would
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  Speaker 1: you pray occasionally? Not? Often? Many of those I talked
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  Speaker 1: to experienced prayer more as a burden than a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: They regarded it as important, even paramount, and felt guilty
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  Speaker 1: about their failure, blaming themselves. When I listened to public
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  Speaker 1: prayer and evangelical churches. Yancy adds, I heard people telling
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  Speaker 1: God what to do, combined with thinly veiled hints on
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  Speaker 1: how others should behave. When I listened to the prayers
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  Speaker 1: in more liberal churches, I heard calls to action, as
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  Speaker 1: if prayer were something to get passed so we can
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  Speaker 1: get on the real work of God's kingdom. Hans Kum's
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  Speaker 1: theological tome on Being a Christian, seven hundred two pages long,
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  Speaker 1: did not include a chapter or even an index entry
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  Speaker 1: on prayer. When asked later, the author said he regretted
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  Speaker 1: the oversight and embarrassingly admitted he simply forgot about prayer.
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  Speaker 1: Something within all of us, in secret moments, wishes to
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  Speaker 1: drift back to maybe another era, another century, when prayer
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  Speaker 1: really meant something. And when folks are pushed at that point,
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  Speaker 1: they will often pick the first century appropriate time of persecution,
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  Speaker 1: time of some of the giants of the faith, living
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  Speaker 1: and hammering out the theology of the faith and giving
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  Speaker 1: their lives as most of them did for the cause.
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  Speaker 1: Surely they were men and women of great prayer. And
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  Speaker 1: in case you happen to think that, turned to Acts
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  Speaker 1: chapter twelve, and let's look at a rather pathetic example
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  Speaker 1: of those whom you would have expected to be people
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  Speaker 1: of enormous faith. After all, their theology had been honed
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  Speaker 1: by Peter, it would soon be shaped by Paul. It
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  Speaker 1: was being tried in the furnace of persecution. Herod Agrippa
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  Speaker 1: was the monarch ruling known for his brutality and severity
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  Speaker 1: antagonism toward believers. We see a quick resume in the
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  Speaker 1: first two verses about that time Herod the king laid
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  Speaker 1: hands on some who belonged to the church in order
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  Speaker 1: to mistreat them. How would you like for that to
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  Speaker 1: happen today? Soldiers appear at the door. They get me,
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  Speaker 1: and they get my family, and we're marched out, and
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  Speaker 1: then you follow, and you're next. And several of you
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  Speaker 1: were picked, and a few of you over there, and
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  Speaker 1: some up there, gone gone, taken for the purpose of mistreatment.
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  Speaker 1: You can fill in the blanks with your own imagination.
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  Speaker 1: These are not black words on white pages. This is truth.
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  Speaker 1: This is a record. Herod's plan was to do with
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  Speaker 1: them as he had done with James. Verse two. He
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  Speaker 1: had James, the brother of John, put to death with
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  Speaker 1: a sword. That's the man ruling the throne over the Hebrews.
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  Speaker 1: The unsaved people were applauding his actions. And because what
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  Speaker 1: he did please the majority. Verse three, he saw that
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  Speaker 1: it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter. Also,
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  Speaker 1: why not, he's the spokesman for the church. Silence him,
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  Speaker 1: You silence a large arm of the church. By now,
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  Speaker 1: it is numbering in the thousands. By the way, if
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  Speaker 1: you don't like big churches, you won't like the first
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  Speaker 1: century church. Right out of the chute, it's three thousand
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  Speaker 1: before you can blink. It's five thousand before too many
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  Speaker 1: more months. It's six, eight, ten, multiple thousands spread all
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  Speaker 1: over in homes, in caves and dens of the earth everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: These believers are growing and herodism maddeningly searching for them.
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  Speaker 1: So he picks Peter. We read that he proceeded to
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  Speaker 1: arrest him. Verse four. He seized him and put him
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  Speaker 1: in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to
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  Speaker 1: guard him, intending after the passover to bring him out
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  Speaker 1: before the people. You know what his plan was another
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  Speaker 1: mock trial, just as this man's messiah had been tried, arrested,
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  Speaker 1: and put to a cross. That's Peter's future. On the
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  Speaker 1: very night, very moment he's there Verse five, prayer for
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  Speaker 1: him was being made fervently by the church to God.
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  Speaker 1: It's exactly what you would do. If they march some
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  Speaker 1: of us out, the meeting would stop. There would be
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  Speaker 1: pockets of prayer that would break out. You would be
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  Speaker 1: on your knees. You would take the prayer home with you.
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  Speaker 1: You would pray through the afternoon. The end of verse
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  Speaker 1: twelve tells us that there were many gathered together there
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  Speaker 1: in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,
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  Speaker 1: and they were there for prayer. So we have two scenes.
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  Speaker 1: We have an impossible setting where Peter is in prison,
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  Speaker 1: and we have a place of prayer where the saints
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  Speaker 1: have gathered. Picture it in your mind. They are helpless
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  Speaker 1: to do anything about this situation. But pray almost makes
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  Speaker 1: me smile. Helpless, just prayer. We are never more powerful
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  Speaker 1: than when we are on our knees. They're on their knees,
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  Speaker 1: they're beseeching God, they're trusting God. Or are they Back
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  Speaker 1: to the prison Verse five, Verse six, On the very
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  Speaker 1: night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter
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  Speaker 1: was sleeping between two soldiers. I have the feeling Peter
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  Speaker 1: is not worried. You don't sleep. If your stomach is churning,
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  Speaker 1: if you're anxious, if you're worried about your own death,
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  Speaker 1: if you think they're going to mistreat you, of you
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  Speaker 1: don't sleep. Peter's sound asleep, no medication, just fell asleep,
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  Speaker 1: maybe laid on one of the shoulders of one of
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  Speaker 1: the soldiers. Maybe all of them were asleep. He's bound
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  Speaker 1: with chains, and the guards are in front of the door,
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  Speaker 1: and they were watching over the prison. Last time they
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  Speaker 1: put one of their own away, he rose from the dead,
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  Speaker 1: so they're going to make sure this one does not.
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  Speaker 1: So they have the guards set. It's an impossible situation.
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  Speaker 1: And these believers are praying, praying for Peter. They can't
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  Speaker 1: go and release him. They know that God can, and
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  Speaker 1: they're praying, So God does. Verse seven, behold, I love
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  Speaker 1: scenes like this poof an angel suddenly appeared in a
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  Speaker 1: light shone in the cell. He struck Peter's side and
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  Speaker 1: woke him up, saying, get up quickly. His chains fell
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  Speaker 1: off his hands. You know angels can do that. And
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  Speaker 1: the angel said to him, gird yourself and put on
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  Speaker 1: your sand to get dressed. Put on your shoes. He
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  Speaker 1: did so, then he said, wrap your cloak around me,
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  Speaker 1: around you and follow me. Get her done. Get up, Peter,
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  Speaker 1: let's get out of here. Verse nine. He went out,
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  Speaker 1: continued to follow, and he did not know that what
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  Speaker 1: was being done by the angel was real. You've been
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  Speaker 1: in a kind of a sleep like that's called rim sleep,
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  Speaker 1: and kind of in a phase. You wake up and
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  Speaker 1: you started doing stuff, and you maybe answering a phone
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  Speaker 1: or responding to a knock at the door. You sort
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  Speaker 1: of in and out. He didn't know it was real.
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  Speaker 1: He thought he was seeing a vision. Of course, now understand,
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  Speaker 1: these people are praying and Peter is being delivered. So good.
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  Speaker 1: So he went out and continued to follow, and he
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  Speaker 1: didn't know what was being done by the angel that
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  Speaker 1: he was read it was real, but he thought he
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  Speaker 1: was seeing a vision. Verse ten. When he had passed
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  Speaker 1: the first and second guard, they don't wake up. Angels
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  Speaker 1: can do that. And they came to the iron gate.
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  Speaker 1: It's all locked, but it opened for them by itself.
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  Speaker 1: Angels can do that. And so they went out along
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  Speaker 1: one street and immediately angel's gone. They do that, they
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  Speaker 1: show them, they do their thing. They're gone. Hey, So
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  Speaker 1: Peter thinks, I'm glad. I want my sandals verse eleven.
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  Speaker 1: Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent
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  Speaker 1: forth his angel and rescued me from the hand of
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  Speaker 1: Herod and from all the Jewish people, all that they
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  Speaker 1: were expecting. And when he realized this, he went to
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  Speaker 1: the house of Mary. Here we are from the prison
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  Speaker 1: to the house of Mary. Okay, that's where they're all gathered.
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  Speaker 1: They're all praying. Look at what happened verse thirteen. When
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  Speaker 1: he knocked at the door of the gate. A servant
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  Speaker 1: girl the term used as a diminutive size, so it's
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  Speaker 1: a little girl. Her name is Rose. It's rendered here Rhoda.
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  Speaker 1: So Rose runs to the door. She goes to the gate.
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  Speaker 1: The gate's locked, and she recognizes verse fourteen Peter's voice.
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  Speaker 1: That's Peter fourteen. Because of her joint, she didn't open
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  Speaker 1: the gate. And then, like a kid, I'll be right back.
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  Speaker 1: Since she runs down there to tell all these praying saints,
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  Speaker 1: he's there, Okay, hang on, And they said to her
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  Speaker 1: verse fifteen, praise God from whom all blessings folk. No,
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  Speaker 1: they say you are out of your.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 1: I thought they were praying. No, No, they weren't. They
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  Speaker 1: were doing religious things. They were going through religious motions.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, the word out of your mind is
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  Speaker 1: the term from which we get our word maniac. You're nuts, Rose,
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  Speaker 1: you're young, but you need meds. She kept insisting, no, no, no, no,
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  Speaker 1: it's Peter, it's Peter. And they kept saying, well, it's
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  Speaker 1: his angel, suggesting what death angel. He's died, The death
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  Speaker 1: angel has come. Tell us he's with the Lord. Don't grieve,
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  Speaker 1: it's his angel. But Peter keep knocking on the gate.
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  Speaker 1: They've got it locked. They don't want anybody in, certainly
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  Speaker 1: didn't want Peter in. He's dead Verse sixteen. Peter continued knocking,
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  Speaker 1: and when they opened the door, they saw him and said,
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  Speaker 1: and that's the prayer. Nope. They were amazed, what are
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  Speaker 1: you doing here? Supposed to be in prison? What's wrong?
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  Speaker 1: Whatever they were doing was in prayer. They were doing
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  Speaker 1: what we do a lot of, but we just don't
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  Speaker 1: admit it. Peter was still imprisoned in their minds. Zero faith,
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely amazingly pathetic. They had the chance to storm the
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  Speaker 1: throne and to touch the one who alone can get
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  Speaker 1: him out of prison. And when he pulls him out
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  Speaker 1: of prison. They're shocked. How's your prayer life? How's your faith?
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  Speaker 1: I have a feeling that most faces I look at
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  Speaker 1: right now have a worry list longer than a prayer list.
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  Speaker 1: And I say, to my own embarrassment, there are days
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  Speaker 1: in my life that's true of me too. Isn't it
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  Speaker 1: about time that change Romans fifteen can help that happen.
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  Speaker 1: We turn to the City of Corinth, where Paul is
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  Speaker 1: sitting with Tertius, his scribe, and Paul pauses at this
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  Speaker 1: moment toward the end of the letter, and it decides
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  Speaker 1: to be very vulnerable, very honest. Now he begins, I
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  Speaker 1: urge you, same word used here as Romans twelve to one.
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  Speaker 1: I urge you, by the mercies of God, that you
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  Speaker 1: present your bodies. Except this isn't presenting your bodies. I
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  Speaker 1: urge you same word. It's like the term summons. It's
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  Speaker 1: a military term. I draft you. If he could take
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  Speaker 1: them by the shoulders. I would like to shake you away.
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  Speaker 1: I'd like to get you engaged. I urge you, brothers
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  Speaker 1: and sisters. There's a need here. As I read through
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  Speaker 1: the verses, we're going to be looking at four things
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  Speaker 1: stand out to me, and all four make prayer come
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  Speaker 1: to life. First is an awareness of the need. What's
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  Speaker 1: the need? Well, he's mentioned it, but you may have
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  Speaker 1: forgotten Verse twenty two of this same chapter. I have
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  Speaker 1: often been prevented from coming to you. So he has
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  Speaker 1: a need to get past the obstacles. Pray for that
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  Speaker 1: I long to be with you verse twenty three. So
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  Speaker 1: he has a need for them to pray him to roam.
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  Speaker 1: Pray that I might be able to catch the ship.
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  Speaker 1: Pray that I might be freed to do so. Pray
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  Speaker 1: that I might live long enough to be with you.
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  Speaker 1: Pray that the obstacles will be removed. Be aware of
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  Speaker 1: the needs. You cannot pray if you're not aware of
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  Speaker 1: a need. So make yourself aware of needs. That means
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  Speaker 1: you're engaged in life. You're not removed, your shades aren't drawn,
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  Speaker 1: your door isn't locked. You're in touch with people. And
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  Speaker 1: when you say I will pray, you keep your word.
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  Speaker 1: It isn't a nice religious cliche to get them off
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  Speaker 1: your back or to make them think you're their friend.
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  Speaker 1: Says I urge you. Some unnamed hindrances we're holding him back,
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  Speaker 1: probably included people. People are usually hindrances. To the will
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  Speaker 1: of God. Events can happen that break the ability to
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  Speaker 1: fulfill what God would let us do. And then we're
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  Speaker 1: in the process of praying ourselves through those obstacles. He
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  Speaker 1: tunnels through those mountains, he flies over them, he goes around.
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  Speaker 1: The mountains are nothing to him, nothing, they're everything to us.
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  Speaker 1: And if you're not careful, the obstacles take all of
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  Speaker 1: our attention. I've been in prayer meetings. We're the only
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  Speaker 1: thing that was done is we all share the obstacles.
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  Speaker 1: These are all the things that are not going right.
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  Speaker 1: These are all the things that are probably, These are
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  Speaker 1: all the things we can't say stop. Obstacles are the things,
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  Speaker 1: the treacherous things that get our eyes off the gold.
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  Speaker 1: The gold is that God be engaged in doing what
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  Speaker 1: we cannot do, so there's an awareness of the need.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, this isn't just reading words on a page.
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  Speaker 1: This isn't listening to a sermon about prayer. This is
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  Speaker 1: to engage you. I read a humorous story this past
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: week about Yogi Barra when he was a catcher for
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: the New York Yankees, quite a character. They were in
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: a World Series game with Milwaukee Braids. Hank Aaron, the
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: all time home run hitter, was at the plate. Yogi,
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: as you remember, was a catcher for the Yankees, and
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: they were playing in this series, this game in the series,
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: and Yogi kept up the chatter to encourage his team
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: and to distract the everybody who came up to the plate.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: And when Hank Aaron showed up, he said, hey, Hank,
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: you're holding the bat wrong supposed to hold us you
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: can read the trademark. Hank ignored him, and Wop mocked
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: a ball clear of the left field home run. As
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: he circles, he kind of has a smile on his face,
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: and when he comes back to home plate, he's pauses
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: and says to Yogi, I didn't come up here to read.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: Isn't that a great story? You didn't show up today
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: to read a few verses on prayer. Give me a break.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: You don't need another sermon. You've heard more than you
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: can number. He to do it, need to get engaged
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: in it. Don't wail or cry because there aren't many praying.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: You pray, and if we all do that, we're all praying.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: By the way, there must be also a willingness to
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: get involved. That's also in verse thirty, I urge you, brethren,
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: by our Lord Jesus Christ, by the love of the Spirit,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: to strive together with me and your prayers to God
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: for me. One of those few verses in all the
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Bible where the members of the Trinity are all named,
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: I can remember his name first, the Lord Jesus Christ,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: followed by the third member of the Trinity, the Spirit,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: followed by the Father himself, God. Little tip. When you pray,
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ, through
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: the power of the Holy Spirit. When you do, you
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: call down the authority of Heaven, and alongside you the
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: members of the Trinity stand and are at work. I
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: urge you, by the Lord Jesus and by the love
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: of the Spirit. Now the key terms strive with me.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: Listen carefully. Soon agonidzomai soon s u n means with
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: agonidzomai agony, with agony. The word means agonize along with me,
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: struggle with me. I call that being involved. You're not
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: just tossing up a name to Heaven. You're identifying with
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: the person you're praying for. You find out enough to
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: know what they're going through. You feel with them, the ache,
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: the void, the hurt, the need, what seems to be
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: the impossibility, the emptiness, the pressure, and you take it
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: on and you agonize with the other one who is
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: in agony. You say, well, you know what I want
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: to be like Jesus, I don't have to agonize in prayer.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Check out, Matthew, I was ahead of you, Matthew twenty
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: six thirty seven where we read in gethsemone he grieved
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: and was distressed. Oh, you agonize in prayer. In fact,
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: he prayed as it were, and as he did, great
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: drops of blood formed on the pores of his skin.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: That's agony, friends, what are you agonizing over? Well, you're
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: struggling to release your will to God's. You're struggling to
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: accept whatever may be his plan. You are struggling to
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: discern what he may want in prayer. You do all
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: of that. Lord, I don't know what it is you want. Lord,
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: I certainly don't want my will.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: My will is obvious, it's selfish. This would be the
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: most pleasant thing for me, but this would be the
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: most relief. But Lord, not my will, your will be.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: That's agonizing. One man put it this way. There's nothing
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: automatic about prayer. Prayer is not like using a coin
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: operated machine or a cash dispenser. Our God, here's our prayers,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: every one of them, every single one of them. He
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: takes note of them. Here's the agony. Paul finished his
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: life two Timothy four to seven. I have fought the
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: good fight, same word agony. I have agonized the good agony.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: I've spent my life agonizing over these churches, over these
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: individuals who have given me grief. Without wanting to sound
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: overly dramatic, there are times when in prayer we break
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: the grip of the adversary. The grip of the adversary
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: is wrapped around a victim, our friend, the one we love,
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: our pastor, a neighbor, the lady who's just learned she's
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: a widow, the parents of the wayward kid. The enemy
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: has come, and when I enter into that situation, I
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: agonize with the one who's going through it. In his
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: fine work a Spiritual Clinic, Jay Oswell Sanders quotes Satan's
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: tactics seem to be as follows. He will first of
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: all oppose our breaking through to the place of faith,
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: for it is an authoritative notice to quit to the enemy.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: He does not so much mind carnal rambling prayers, for
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: they do not hurt him much. That is why it
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: is so difficult to attain to a definite faith in
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: God for a definite object. We often have to strive
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: and wrestle in prayer before we attain this quiet, RESTful faith,
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: and until we break right through and join hands with God,
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: we have not attained a real faith at all. However,
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: once we attain to a real faith, all the forces
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: of hell are impotent to annul it. The real battle
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: begins when the prayer of faith is offered. It's like
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: teeth in gears. The need presents and your willingness to
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: agonize fits right into those teeth, and you work together
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: and you trust God to break the grip. I've made
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: a list of some things that we often agonize with
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: others over longstanding prejudices to be broken. May I pause
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: and underscore that you weren't born prejudice. You learned prejudice.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: You learn to hate that other race, you learn to
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: hate that other religion. You were taught to be prejudice.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: When you come to terms with it, you have friends
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: join you to break the bonds of prejudice so that
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: you will no longer come to those quick conclusions because
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: they are that color or they look like that another.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: There is a stubborn mind and heart. If you've dealt
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: with people that are stubborn, you don't need any illustration.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: Only God can break through a stubborn heart, addictions and
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: evil habits. I've had two men shared with me this morning,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: two men just separated by the services, the worship services,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: of their battle with pornography. I so admire them for
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: saying it, just standing there and looking me in the
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: eye and saying, thank you for standing with me. I
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: need help I enter into that. He gave me his
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: name both did I remember them this week? I agonize
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: with them in the battle for purity. I suggest practical things,
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: but I mainly pray for them. Territories that have been
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: dark long time and now and then. If you ever
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: stepped off the plane in a third world country, you
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: know right away what I'm talking about. It's like the
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: darkness envelops you. If you ever stand before a group
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: that's hostile, you know what darkness is all about. They
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: aren't nearly as gracious and considerate as you are. The
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: presence of the enemy can be felt when you're with
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: those who are antagonistic to the will of God. It
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: is a fight to get through it. Standing firm requires prayer.
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: When you're pleading with God on behalf of a prodigal.
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: When you're wrestling with God and little things are are
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: getting worse and you're losing heart, that's when you agonize
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: in prayer. Paul says, don't just toss up my name.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: I need more than that. Pray about the obstacles, and
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: because they would, He names three specifics. This is one
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: of the things I love about Paul closely, the preciseness
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: of specific requests Verses thirty one and thirty two. Number one,
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: Pray that I may be rescued from those who are
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: disobedient in Judea. Some see me as a turncoat. Some
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: were once my fellow Pharisees, Now they're my enemy. Some
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: used to hunt down Christians with me, Now they hunt
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: me down. Pray that as I get to Jerusalem, I'll
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: be able to survive. Pray that when I'm with those
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: who are disobedient to the truth, pray that God will
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: win the way. Second, pray that my service for Jerusalem
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: may prove acceptable to the saints. What does that mean?
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: He's collecting money through his trip across Europe. He came
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: to Proas, and then he crossed the Aegean, remember we
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: saw it on the map. And then he came to Philippi.
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: Then he came to Berea, and then he came to Athens.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: Now he's come to Corinth, and he's on his way
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: back across the sea to Ephesus and finally to Tire
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: and then back to Jerusalem to take money to the
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: people who don't have enough food to eat. Pray that
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: I'll get there with the money, that I won't be mugged.
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: Pray that I'll be able to find success in meeting
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: the needs, because the need is real, the offering is important.
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: And pray verse thirty two that I may come to
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: you enjoy by the will of God. By the way,
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: if I could go back to that first one in
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: case you think it might have been a little exaggerated
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: for him to pray that he'd be able to be rescued,
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: let me show you what he had in front of him.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: Go back to Acts again, Chapter twenty, Acts twenty, verse
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: twenty two. I don't hear many pages Acts twenty and
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: verse twenty two. Okay, now, behold bound in the spirit.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: will happen to me there, except the Holy Spirit solemnly
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: afflictions await me. Don't let the old English or the
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: characteristic Biblical English take away the difficulty of it. Bonds
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: and afflictions means exactly, mean exactly what they say. I'm
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: going to be shackled, I'm going to be tortured, I'm
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: going to be going through mock trials verse twenty four.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: How could he do it? Because I do not consider
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: my life of any account as dear to myself, so
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: that I may finish my course in the ministry which
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: I received from the Lord Jesus, to solemnly testify of
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: the gospel of the grace of God. How wonderful a
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: Paul have that mentality? Look at twenty one verse three.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: the left, we kept sailing to Syria. Oh, I want
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: to look at a map so bad? And they landed
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: at Tire, for there the ship was to unload its cargo.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: After looking up the disciples. We stayed there seven days,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: and they kept telling Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: Real stuff. When we pray for a missionary that goes
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: in a tough area, and I'm thinking of one of
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: our friends that went to Indonesia. Pray for that he'll survive.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: Pray that he'll make it. His family will not be
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: tortured and killed because they're believers in this Muslim country. Friends,
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: this is real stuff. This is where we are today,
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: and if you're not careful, the comfort and the joy
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: that we enjoy in this place will dull your senses.
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: There are people hanging between life and death, persecution everywhere
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: in those dark places. The apostle says, agonize it with
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: me in prayer. I'm gonna add to that. Pray for
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: your pastor, Pray for our staff, Pray for our board,
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: Pray for our church. We can't make it without the
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: prayers of the saints. I'm not energetic or sharp enough,
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: and either's anybody I work with to do that. Pray
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: for those who serve alongside us. Pray for those in
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: volunteer places that touch the lives of individuals. Pray for
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: those who are working with those with addictions. Pray for
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: those who serve those who are struggling in their marriages.
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: We won't make it without the prayers of the saints.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: By the way, when you pray, you get real specific.
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: Isn't it wonderful not God answers in specific ways? Remember
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: last week Mark Young, the hot water bottle and the
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: Dolly you go? Why that was last week? Mark Young
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: told us the story of a group of missionaries, Helen
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: Roosevert medical missionary. She and a group of kids because
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: the little baby was gonna die, that had been born prematurely,
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: and the mother had died, and the only way the
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: baby would make it is for a hot water bottle.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: And they're at the equator. Who's gonna send a bunch
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: of missionaries a hot water bottle? And a package comes
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: that was mailed five months ago. I love this story,
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: That's why I'm telling it again. So the package arrives
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: and Helen rosevir and the little kids start opening up
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: all the things, and they pull out the sweaters, and
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: they pull out the bandages, and the little girls stand
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: there looking for the hot water bottle. Why because she
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: prayed for a hot water bottle. She's the hot water bottle.
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: And he reaches in there. Who would ever thought to
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: send a hot water bottle to us in the middle,
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: especially five months ago. We're on an equator. The little
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: girl says, the Dolly's got to be in there somewhere,
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: So she reaches in there, there's the dolly? Good or what?
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: And I thought of Isaiah sixty five twenty four. It
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: shall come to pass. Before they call, I will answer.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: While they are yet speaking, I will hear God knew
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: exactly what the need was, five months before the baby's
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: even born. Why of course he's God agonize with that young,
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: precious life struggling between life and death. God send a
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: hot water bottle, and just for good measure, put a
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: dolly in there. You know why it's good because when
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: he does, you just fall on your face before him
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: and you thank him, and you thank him, and you
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: thank him for a little dolly, for a little hot
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: water bottle, that I may come to you by the enjoy,
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: by the will of God, and find refreshing rest in
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: your company. Just that great ful apostle done so much traveled,
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: got nearly old hands and beat up body and probably
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: ugly feet, been all over the country. Trapes it along,
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: and he says, I look forward to sticking my feet
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: up on and hanging out with some of you folks
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: in Rome and realizing God did it. How good is
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: that God did it? Refreshing rest in the will of God.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: By the way, the way the Lord answered this prayer
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: is these prayers are very interesting. He said no to
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: the first one. He said no, So those were who
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: were disobedient. He wasn't rescued from him. They got him
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: in shackles. The answer to the next one was not
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: what he had hoped for. And the answer to the
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: third one was qualified. Yes, not as you expected. He
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: got him to Rome, but he had him in chains.
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: And you know the good story of that under house
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: arrest in Rome. For two years, Sees had to keep
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: sending soldiers who would be chained to him all day
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: with Paul. Now that you're here, Frank, I got something
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: I'd like to tell you. No, I don't want to listen.
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: Well that's too bad, Bud, your chain to me. Just
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: sit and listen. One after another after another after another
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: of saints in Caesar's household because he was in wrong.
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: Only God could do that. We'd spend our time fussing
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: about the chains. Well, it's not quite the place I
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: expected guys got to go outside and go to the bathroom.
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: This isn't very comfortable. It's cold at night. Hey, relax,
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: God's at work. See when you pray, your attitude changes,
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: your expectations fly out the window. Didn't about you, who
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: cares what you want? It's about and we care what
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: he wants. And when we care what he wants, the
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: struggle stops and we go thank God. And I just
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: say praise God, just praise God, just praise God. He said, Wait, well,
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: I just say praise God. Over in First Timothy chapter two.
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: And I don't know what time it is. Look at First
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: Timothy chapter two, the first two verses of One Timothy two.
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: I want you to remember these three little simple things
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: when you pray. Please remember these three First, prayer deserves
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: top priority. That's why the word first appears in the sentence.
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: First of all, pray top priority. You go to your doctor,
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: you wait for the report. You pray before the report comes.
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: He gives you the report. You pray before you respond
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: to the doctor. You're waiting for this loan to come through.
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: You.
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: Before the loan comes through, you pray before you get
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: When you get the envelope, you pray, You open the envelope.
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: You pray. You pray because you are putting your mind
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: in gear with the Father's plan. You don't call your attorney,
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: you don't call your physician, you don't call some hospital.
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: You don't call your friend a gossip. You don't wind
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: to your pastor. You go to God and you pray,
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: and you say, Lord, I'm yours your mind. I lay
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: this before you. First of all, it's yours. It's your battle,
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: your struggle, your work, your church. That's an enemy of you,
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: not me. It's yours. First of all, prayer deserves top priority.
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: Second prayer is essential. I urge you. Here he is again.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: I urge you, not after you've tried everything else. Shoot
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: up a prayer, not after you didn't get what you want.
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: Pray no, pray knowing it's essential. And third prayer is
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: the ideal. Tranquility. Prayer will give you rest like nothing
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: else that I may lead a quiet and tranquil life.
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: Verse two concludes, even with dignity, relax.
• 46:26
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: I want to close by addressing something that's very, very serious.
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: I don't want you to miss a word of this.
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: I've been thinking about this for about two or three weeks,
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: but I didn't know about this particular ending until middle
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: of last week. That's when it all came clear. I
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: want to remind you that the enemy knows us better
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: than we know ourselves. He's been studying you since you
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: were born. You've only known you since you became self aware,
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: maybe last week, or when you were in college, or
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: when you finally figured out what life is about after
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: a divorce or two you finally discover who you are.
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: He's been studying you from the get go. He knows
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: you so much better and you know yourself. And by
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: the way, he isn't violent, not usually, He's very, very
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: very patient. Your enemy is really really smart. He knows
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: how to work on you. That's why this that I'm
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: going to read to you meant so much to bring
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: us down. He wears us out, to bring us down,
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: He wears us out, just wears us out. I was
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: at a grocery store the other day and a mother
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: had a kid with her in the grocery cart, and
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: he was just old enough to reach the tic TACs. Mother,
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: I wanted tictac. No, we're not having tic TACs. You've
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: had mom on tiktac. Mother on tik tac. I want
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: to tick tacks on tiktacs. Mother wants the tiktacs. And
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: I'm watching this kid, I want some tiktacs mother. So
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: she turns him, goes tonother land. So they had tick
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: tacks over them. Mother wants some ticktacks. I wants a
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: tick tack. Mother wants a tick Okay, she buys a
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: box of tic tacks together. What happened? He wore her down?
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: Smart kid. She hadn't given him. I would have given
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: it to him. I tell you, you can just take
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: so much. Okay, here it is here. It is listen up.
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: Satan has in fact a plan against the saints of
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: the Most High, which is to wear them out. What
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: is meant by this phrase wear them out? It has
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: n'ted the idea of reducing a little this minute, then
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: reducing a little further the next minute. Thus the wearing
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: out is almost perceptible, a little today, a little tomorrow. Nevertheless,
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: it is a reducing. The wearing down is scarcely an
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: activity of which one is conscious. Yet the end result
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: is that there is nothing left, nothing left. He will
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: take away your prayer life, little by little and cause
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: you to trust God. Less and less, and yourself more
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: and more. A little at a time, he will make
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: you feel somewhat cleverer than before. Step by step you're
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: misled to rely more on your own gifts. Step by
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: step your heart is enticed away from the Lord. Now
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: we're Satan to strike the children of God with great
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: force at one time. Well, they would know exactly how
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: to resist the enemy, since they would know immediately recognize
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: his work. He uses the method of gradualism. There it
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: is never read that before. He uses the method of
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: gradualism to wear down the people of God. Many of
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: you are victims of gradualism. You're just worn bound. So
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: you shrug and the enemy gets his way. You take
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: the easy way out, and the enemy gets his plan unfolded.
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you from experience, it takes strength to stand
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: against the enemy. I'm to tell you that you expect
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: me to do it, I will do it. I expect
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: you to do it as well. Stand against him, don't
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: give him an inch, And when we together stand against him,
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: God prevails, has his way. Victory is won. Now with me, please, ah,
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: If you've never met the Savior, some of this is
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: kind of like talking in riddles. You want to do it,
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: you want to believe it, You want to go where
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: we are, but you can't get there. The reason is
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: you your first step has not been taken. That's to
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: come to the Cross, that big old cross that stands
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: up in history in years past, where God won the
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: victory over sin, and his son paid the complete penalty
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: for you and for all the sins you have ever committed.
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: And he's available to you if you will come to
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: him by faith, that is the gospel, believing that Jesus
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: Christ died for you and was raised from the dead.
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: By placing your faith and trust in him, you are
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: given the gift of life eternal. Come meet with our
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: friends in the prayer room at the close of the service.
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: The Sole care people are there. They can help you
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: begin to move in a whole new direction. And for
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: you who are worn out, find refreshment and hope in
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: the instruction of God's word. And begin this day to
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: pray with your whole heart. Thank you, Father for lifting
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: us free of the chaos of the world outside, giving
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: us a few quiet moments together to praise you and
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: to hear from you. May your voice become for us
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: more important than any other. Human being. May your word
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: become for us more important than any other piece of
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: literature or reading material. May your will become more important
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: to us than any other will on this planet. And
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: may we become men and women of prayer. In the
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: name of Jesus, we pray all of us said, Amen, Amen,
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: Brother Amen.
• 53:48
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, Praying with your Whole Heart, was copyrighted
• 53:52
  Speaker 2: in two thousand and eight, twenty ten, and twenty twenty five,
• 53:55
  Speaker 2: and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty five
• 53:59
  Speaker 2: by Charles R. Swindall Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 54:04
  Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.