Latest / The OneCry Podcast / #260 You Were Made to Pray - Six Keys to Revival

Transcript

#260 You Were Made to Pray - Six Keys to Revival · The OneCry Podcast

0:00
This is crazy, guys.
0:09
That God has decided a way to see heaven expressed here on earth is through the prayers of His
0:15
people.
0:16
Welcome to the One Cry Podcast, a nationwide call for spiritual awakening.
0:24
The goal, accelerating the movement of God through sharing revival truth, stories, and
0:31
reports.
0:32
Well, welcome to the One Cry Podcast.
0:35
You're in for a real treat today.
0:38
Our buddy, Kyle Reno, who's often on this podcast with me, is on today, but in a little
0:45
different form, because as you know, if you've been listening the last few weeks, we're listening
0:51
to some messages that were preached at an Awakened Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas,
0:56
at the Summit Church there, where I pastored for many years.
1:01
And this message is by Kyle Reno.
1:05
And you know Kyle.
1:06
In fact, you've heard some bits and pieces of this content, but you're going to hear
1:12
it in a preached form today that is unbelievably powerful.
1:19
I would encourage you, if you can, to watch this by video.
1:23
You may not be able to, but if you can, Kyle uses a visual illustration of this that is
1:28
very, very powerful.
1:31
You'll never get it out of your mind's eye in the years to come.
1:37
God has made you to pray, and praying is a great key to revival and intimacy
1:48
with Christ, to the presence of Christ.
1:51
So buckle your seatbelt, and let's walk right in and hear our friend, Kyle Reno.
1:59
Part of me just wonders what God wants to do in the next few moments, and so I know
2:05
we're starting.
2:06
We'll see where we end.
2:07
Okay?
2:08
I want to make a statement to you that we don't believe fully enough, but I hope to
2:13
help you believe that through God's Word in these next moments.
2:17
Here's the first statement.
2:19
You were made to pray.
2:22
You were made to pray, and I can make that declaration to you tonight because you were
2:26
made for Him, that no matter where you are in your spiritual journey, and if some of
2:32
you are here and you're still investigating the claims of Jesus Christ, you're not quite
2:36
sure where this all lands in your own heart and mind yet, I understand that.
2:41
I remember being that guy that just didn't know if this was true for me.
2:45
It seems to be true for others.
2:47
I want to let you know a secret.
2:49
You were made for Him.
2:51
You're made for a relationship with a God that knows you, weaved you together in your
2:56
mother's womb, purchased through the sacrifice of His Son, through His powerful life, death,
3:03
and resurrection, the opportunity for you to be made alive on the inside and alive again
3:09
to relationship with God.
3:11
In light of being made for Him, that means you were made to pray, because you were made
3:17
for communion with a God that longs to hear your voice, that longs to get to know you.
3:23
And I know that this is an awesome church that's been led for a long time in light of
3:29
what it means to be a praying person, but we all need fresh places.
3:34
And what I want to give you in light of one of the greatest model prayers ever given through
3:38
Jesus, I want to give you six approaches.
3:40
You got it on a piece of paper that we wanted you to have to walk away.
3:44
I want to give you six approaches for tonight, but also six approaches for tomorrow in light
3:50
of believing God for a real move of God.
3:54
You're believing that, right?
3:56
A real move of God in the greater Little Rock area, the state of Arkansas, good news, got
4:01
a news flash for us.
4:03
Our King's on the move right now in ways we've not seen in decades.
4:08
I can't go anywhere, and God's allowing us to go places and just be a part of it.
4:13
The activity of Jesus Christ and the advancement of his kingdom right now is crazy town.
4:19
I mean, you put the gospel out there and people are ready to believe.
4:23
You put an action step of obedience and people are ready to obey.
4:28
And while that's all awesome to know out there, Lord, do not pass us by that the cry of your
4:35
pastor right here is saying, I love hearing the headlines of the activity of the kingdom
4:41
of God, but let it be true right here, right now.
4:45
And for that to be true, we got to learn how to pray in ways we've never prayed before.
4:50
We got to accept the invitation of God.
4:53
So I love the moment where the disciples looked at Jesus and I'm giving you a simplified version
4:57
of this because I want to land where God wants us to land in a moment.
5:01
But finally, they said, after watching him going away to secluded places, solidary places,
5:06
desolate places, they said, Jesus, whatever that is that you're doing with the father,
5:11
would you teach us how to do that?
5:14
Would you teach us how to pray?
5:16
And I'm just telling you, this is Kyle translation.
5:18
I think Jesus is like, you finally asked the right question.
5:24
And then he gave us the model prayer, which I believe gives you six approaches and here
5:28
it goes.
5:29
And he said to them, verse two, when you pray, say, father.
5:41
In one word, Jesus wrecked religion, yes.
5:49
In one word, Jesus put to death every wrong approach and welcomed, listen to me, the only
5:59
right approach.
6:01
So I have a visual up here for you, two chairs.
6:05
And what I want you to imagine in this illustration is the opportunity for you to have a conversation
6:10
with the God that created the cosmos tomorrow morning.
6:14
Maybe that's in a secret place.
6:15
That's a chair you have set up on a back porch, or maybe that's a walking trail where you
6:20
go walking with God.
6:21
Maybe that's the commute tomorrow and what Jesus is teaching us in the first approach
6:26
is this, is listen to me, prayer is at its best when it's relational at its core.
6:34
That through the finished work of Jesus Christ, hear me now, not merely for the intercessor
6:40
or the prayer warrior, but for any person that ever puts faith in what Jesus accomplished
6:46
in Calvary and a tomb that is empty is for you and I to come to the place tomorrow morning,
6:52
not in shame, not in condemnation, not in fear of the wrong kind, not in trembling the
7:00
wrong kind, but to come into the presence of God and not merely listen to be around
7:06
him, know him, to come, listen to me, to a place that you would know him as father.
7:15
But let me tell you a secret about prayer that God's teaching me.
7:19
Prayer is not merely learning how to say some things.
7:23
Prayer is learning how to be with someone.
7:28
That reframes the whole relationship.
7:32
Get this guys, look at me, I love this, the corporate setting man with the people of God
7:36
jam packed in a room, letting out praise, damn it, it's awesome.
7:41
But this is a crazy thought, look, you get God all to yourself tomorrow.
7:48
Tomorrow morning, just you and him.
7:55
One of the greatest moments, breakthrough moments in the life of a follower of Christ
8:00
is where you learn to let loose your Abba cry, to let loose that cry that's guttural
8:09
in all of humanity, to finally find yourself back in the presence of the father.
8:16
And know, listen to me, there's no place on planet earth that you belong more than
8:21
with him.
8:24
So the first approach in prayer is this, is relationship.
8:29
It's relationship.
8:31
You want to see a real move of God play out in greater Little Rock, in this entire region?
8:36
I don't know how many chairs you got in the room, how many people's in the room, let's
8:39
say there's 750 people in the room.
8:41
The 750 people get to know God as father for seven days, come back in here and see
8:48
how it changes the atmosphere of this room.
8:52
See how it changes the atmosphere of your home, man, see how it changes that my kids
8:56
come into the same room, they're on their way to oatmeal, but they realize that their
9:01
father has met with Omega, that their mother has spent time now in the presence of a father
9:09
that loves them.
9:12
Listen to me, when I don't know what to say, I know who I long to be with.
9:19
It's coming to that place that you embrace what God wants for you in relationship.
9:24
Romans 8, 15 says, for you do not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
9:30
but you have received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.
9:38
So I would like to say on behalf of the father, as you learn how to approach him in prayer
9:43
tomorrow morning, would you learn that the first step is relationship?
9:49
This is a crazy thought, you've heard this from many others before, God wanted this so
9:54
much that God died for it.
9:59
Somebody say amen, right?
10:02
And he doesn't just want it for later, he wants it now.
10:08
Jesus didn't die just so that we might sit at the table at the feast, at the banquet
10:13
table one day with the father, but that we would learn to the fullest measure possible
10:17
now just to be with him.
10:20
You're made for this.
10:21
It says that Moses met with God face to face like a man meets with a friend.
10:27
That friendship with God is out there for you and I, that's the first approach to prayer.
10:32
If it's not the last, imagine man, you take these six moments, these movements, and learn
10:38
how to pray this week differently.
10:40
And it said, he said to them, when you pray, say, Father, so the first approach is relationship.
10:48
Hallowed be your name, hallowed be your name, set apart is your name, holy is your name,
10:57
Father, awesome is your name.
11:02
The greatest worship that will play out, listen to me, in light of the Summit Church and Little
11:06
Rock is not merely what's coming this next Sunday, it's what is coming when the sun comes
11:12
up tomorrow.
11:14
Come on now.
11:17
That would just, if you approach tomorrow morning or in the commute, man, you turn the
11:21
radio up and the person driving next to you's thinking, that dude's done lost, he is mine.
11:31
But then you come into the presence of the Father, listen to me, and you have your holy
11:38
ground moment.
11:39
Let me tell you what I love about the story of Joshua, is that Joshua didn't have to live
11:48
off of Moses' holy ground moment.
11:50
God gave him his own.
11:52
Come on, right?
11:54
Here's a secret.
11:55
Men and women of God are not accidents, they're not freaks of spiritual nature, they're those
12:00
that have marinated in the presence of God.
12:05
So if you see that which is aspirational in the life of somebody, you say, man, I see
12:09
God's life on them, I see God's power on them, I see the rivers of living water coming through
12:15
them, that's not an accident, that's alignment.
12:19
Come on, right?
12:20
And that we all get, look at me, now, young generation, you get the same access to the
12:25
Father that Billy Graham got.
12:28
You get the same access to the Father that every great woman of God has, man.
12:33
You take the Lottie Moons and every other person that leveraged their life for the kingdom
12:39
of God, they learned who their God was in the secret place.
12:44
And you tell me what I promised they had?
12:46
They had holy ground moments.
12:51
They had, listen to me, they had moments that they learned how to get face down and listen
12:54
to me, and they didn't care who came in, that they learned to worship him and to say, Lord,
13:02
I want you to know, and here's the thing about worship, that's the second approach, worship.
13:11
Worship is simple when you simplify it, it's really just getting to the place saying, God,
13:17
I want you to know that I know who you are, and I'm going to rightly declare who you are.
13:28
So look at me for a second, listen, when's the last time just you and him, you said,
13:32
I want you to know that you are the great I am, that you are alpha and omega beginning
13:38
and end, you are savior and king, you're a rock and refuge, you are the God who sees
13:44
and moves, that you are sustainer, my strength, your power, you're in control, you're sovereign,
13:52
you are God almighty.
13:53
And you say, Kyle, I don't know how to do that yet.
13:58
Start with one name.
14:03
You're building worship muscles.
14:07
So when the war comes, you're ready.
14:11
In the quiet place, man, this is a workout.
14:15
You're getting some reps in.
14:16
Look at me, that's real.
14:22
So then when it's wartime, you don't have to work up worship, man, you can work it out.
14:29
To get to that place, holy, holy, holy, man, I promise you on behalf of your pastor, elders,
14:35
pastors here, let 750 people come in this Sunday morning that's been worshiping each
14:42
day, encountering God, watch what happens to the collective spiritual temperature of
14:48
this room.
14:50
Come on, take worship into your workplace, worship into your school, man, let worship
14:56
fill your car.
15:00
See what happens.
15:01
See, Kyle, that's not natural.
15:04
And I'm like, you know what, I get it.
15:08
It's not normal.
15:09
Who wants to be normal?
15:14
But it invites the supernatural.
15:17
It invites the transformative.
15:19
I'm telling you, listen, Deej and I were talking about this earlier.
15:25
And I'm coming up on a lot of years in the faith, which is wild to me.
15:29
I came across at 19 years old, 45 years old now, and I'm learning I don't care anymore
15:36
to impress people.
15:39
I don't.
15:40
I like people liking me and all.
15:43
But I realized something, I got one shot, one life, one opportunity to glorify God whom
15:51
I will stand before one day, and it's now.
15:55
So I want to learn how to worship him now in daily ways, knowing I'm going to worship
15:59
him for all eternity.
16:07
Then it gets like really good, if you would allow me some bad grammar, it gets gooder
16:11
right here, you ready?
16:12
I have to bring some Alabama out every once in a while, right?
16:16
I've been really working on my grammar, Bill.
16:18
I've been working, right?
16:22
And he said to them, when you pray.
16:24
So listen, I want you to imagine, I want you to imagine these six moves playing out
16:27
tomorrow morning.
16:29
You've come in relationship.
16:31
There's no place I belong more than in the presence of my father because of the finished
16:35
work of Jesus Christ.
16:37
And now here, I glorify your name, I exalt your name, I'm going to let worship come through
16:42
words out of my mouth and out of my heart and express it to you, my whole body.
16:50
And now in that position, let's get to work.
16:59
Your kingdom come.
17:06
This is crazy guys, that God has decided a way to see heaven expressed here on earth
17:15
is through the prayers of his people.
17:18
That the invitation of God, we're saying, God, we want what is true in heaven to be
17:22
true here.
17:23
And what's true in heaven is peace.
17:25
What's true in heaven, Lord, is harmony.
17:28
What's true in heaven is that there's relationship with you fully, completely.
17:33
What's true in heaven is there healing, what's true in heaven, God, is there's the renewal.
17:42
And so I'm asking heaven come here.
17:45
Power of God come here.
17:48
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
17:54
This is partnership.
17:57
This is that God has decided that every one of his sons and daughters, not just a few,
18:02
that every one of his sons and daughters would have the opportunity through prayer to reach
18:05
into literally heaven and lay hold of God and invite God's power here.
18:14
Man, if that is true and the Bible tells me that from front to finish, how much are we
18:20
leaving on the table?
18:22
Doesn't that invoke in our spirit, like the need to, man, I'm going to walk my street
18:28
and say, kingdom of God come right here, right now.
18:31
Kingdom of God come to my church, come to my city, come to our school, kingdom of God
18:38
come to my family and know that there's a spiritual war in realm and I'm going to lay
18:45
hold of heaven till I see heaven come here.
18:51
You track every great revival move of God, someone or some group of people at some point
18:57
laid hold of heaven and didn't let go.
19:00
Come on, right?
19:01
Say, God, we're not going to let go until we see a move of God in Little Rock that's
19:06
not just a glimpse.
19:08
God renews and brings her out a whole trajectory change.
19:12
God, we're going to lay hold of heaven on behalf of a generation until our generation
19:18
is known for the name of Jesus.
19:20
God, we're going to lay hold of heaven for our nation and we're not going to let go until
19:26
you bring it about.
19:29
To see cities change through prayer, man, to see schools change through prayer, to see
19:33
renewal come to places.
19:36
I got Adam Morgan, our young adults pastor from our church and Brandon's with us.
19:43
And man, we're in a season that I'm sort of scared to even talk about because I just don't
19:50
want to quench any of it.
19:53
But the man, the amount of people that are coming into the kingdom of God, amount of
19:58
lives that are being changed.
19:59
We baptized 38 this last Sunday.
20:01
Yeah.
20:02
And I mean, all glory to the Lord in that.
20:07
But over the last years, I mean, like hundreds and hundreds of people have come in to the
20:12
kingdom of God.
20:13
We had a Sunday a couple of years ago that God was growing our faith and we had these
20:17
far from God cards, beads in the middle of the story and we're praying over those far
20:21
from God cards.
20:22
Basically, real simple.
20:23
We said, man, you put the first name of somebody that you know that you're just not quite sure
20:28
where they are in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
20:32
And we're making a commitment.
20:34
We're going to pray from this day, every week, that name will be prayed for.
20:38
It was like for four months span of time till Easter.
20:42
We're in a service.
20:43
We're sharing that for the first time.
20:45
I'm telling you this happened.
20:47
You can think I'm lying to you.
20:48
I'm not.
20:49
You can think I'm crazy.
20:50
I am.
20:51
But I'm going to say this.
20:52
In the midst of us sharing about that, the baptistry waters, not done this before, start
20:59
churning so loud that everybody in the room is like, why is the baptistry going shh?
21:06
And instantly God spoke into my spirit, I'm soon to take names that are being listed on
21:11
those cards.
21:12
They're going to come to know Christ and they're going to come through those waters.
21:16
Now I had a decision to make, am I going to be crazy enough to say that out loud?
21:21
And I did.
21:22
In the first service, I said, hey, we're going to believe that some people that are here,
21:26
we're going to have to pray.
21:27
We're going to have to proclaim.
21:28
We have to share the gospel aggressively.
21:30
We got to get in on this, but I think God's going to do that.
21:33
Let's stretch our hands out, pray toward the baptistry that that would happen.
21:36
We did in the nine o'clock service.
21:38
I'd like to say we went to the 1030 and the baptistry did it again, it didn't.
21:42
But I shared the story from the nine.
21:44
I think we need to believe for that.
21:48
Two weeks later, preach a simple message, give people a chance to come to know Christ.
21:54
One way to respond is maybe you want to be baptized today.
21:59
And at two o'clock that day, we got done baptizing 104 people.
22:03
Okay.
22:04
All right.
22:05
Let me tell you something.
22:06
Listen to me.
22:07
And I say this because God is real and at work.
22:10
I can go back and I will never forget these things.
22:14
I'm looking into the eyes of a wife that's looking at me, standing with her husband that's
22:19
in a dustpan.
22:21
He's broken a hundred pieces, right?
22:23
He's coming to know Jesus Christ.
22:25
And he says, she says to me, she goes, Kyle, I put his name on that card two weeks ago.
22:31
He's never been here before.
22:34
He's coming to Christ and we're baptizing him.
22:36
I got an aunt with her nephew, grown nephew and his wife.
22:42
She's behind the whole time.
22:43
I'm trying to lead them to cross in this moment.
22:46
She's behind me, this huge distraction behind the whole time going, I put their name on
22:51
the card.
22:53
I put their name on the card.
22:54
I'm like, I know.
22:55
Give me a minute.
23:01
Story after story, man, they're standing at the magistrate.
23:04
This is my son that we put his name down.
23:07
This is my granddaughter.
23:09
We put her name down.
23:10
We had people that came, not listening to me, literally, whose name was put down, was
23:16
not invited by someone.
23:19
And they're standing there looking, going, that's my coworker that I put on that card.
23:26
And they're here and they're giving their life to Christ.
23:29
What is happening?
23:31
Kingdom of God had come.
23:34
Will of God was being done.
23:40
So here's where I'm, the scripture shows me the problem is not in the power of Christ
23:48
or in the power of the kingdom.
23:52
The problem lies in the fact that God is looking for a people that would believe that he still
24:00
works the way he's always worked.
24:03
He still does what he's always done.
24:06
And would we cooperate with him in that?
24:10
I'll give you another.
24:11
This is just fun.
24:12
I got to watch time.
24:13
We're good?
24:14
We're straight?
24:15
Yeah.
24:16
Don't tell me that.
24:17
I'll be here a minute.
24:18
It's been a while since I've been here.
24:21
I'd like to come back again.
24:24
Man, the area that we're in, we're believing for renewal, a lot of renewal.
24:33
And I'll never forget this moment.
24:36
I came out of a place I work out at and you got them here.
24:40
There's this strip mall that was sort of dilapidated and it was going the wrong direction.
24:46
And you know, ruin just spreads.
24:49
By the way, here's the principle of the kingdom.
24:51
Our responsibility is to either see things renewed or listen to me, or we're a part of
24:55
the ruin.
24:57
And God entrusts his every generation, the opportunity to see the things renewed.
25:03
So I was looking at it, it was like a horror movie.
25:04
It was like raining.
25:06
There was this sign that was like blinking, one in the Mexican restaurants closed down.
25:11
You're like, man, if Mexican restaurants closing down, you know, we're in trouble lying it.
25:17
And let's just be real about it.
25:19
And there's some vacant buildings and I'm just telling you, God gave me faith in that
25:23
moment.
25:24
And I'm learning how to do this just like you are.
25:26
And I just stuck my hands out and I said, God, would you renew literally those businesses?
25:33
Would you bring life back there?
25:36
Things that would benefit this community, this whole region, things that would bring
25:40
future generations so that we might reach them with the gospel.
25:46
Just threw it out there, drove on my happy way, you know.
25:50
Two weeks later, I drive into it and no, I'm telling you, no lie, huge sign that says tractor
25:57
supply coming soon, not when, and the kingdom has come, right?
26:02
You tell me that there's a bigger expression of the kingdom of God coming than tractor
26:06
supply coming to Brandon, Mississippi, right?
26:11
And then seven brew and then a new business here and a new business and then a bank.
26:16
Now we have these loft apartments that are coming in.
26:19
Now we have these restaurants that are coming in.
26:21
You go, Kyle, why does that matter?
26:23
Because listen to me, the kingdom of God brings about city renewal.
26:28
The kingdom of God changes elected officials' hearts, man.
26:32
The kingdom of God starts bringing about things that make people say, it's almost like God
26:36
is real.
26:37
It's almost like he's working here.
26:42
It's almost like that's impossible outside of someone being sovereign and strong.
26:51
So I would ask, what ways are you partnering with the kingdom of God coming to greater
26:57
Little Rock?
27:01
Don't complain, cry out.
27:06
Make some noise about it.
27:08
Make war.
27:15
He said to them, when you pray, say, Father, hallowed be your name.
27:18
Your kingdom come.
27:19
And he says, and give us each day our daily bread.
27:24
We think it's awesome about it.
27:27
Bill and I have talked about this several times, even podcasts do.
27:31
It took that long for God to finally say, now, so what do you got going on?
27:37
God cares.
27:38
But when we think about prayer, we think about all the things that we need first.
27:41
And what God's saying, man, let me align you to a relationship.
27:44
Let me align you to worship.
27:45
Let me align you to the advancement of my kingdom.
27:48
And once all that's in perspective, you might look up and go, you know, I really don't,
27:51
I'm all right.
27:55
Or you might have the clarity to realize what you really need.
28:02
This is stewardship.
28:04
This is coming to the place in your relationship with God in prayer that you realize everything
28:09
that you have, you got from him anyway.
28:11
All right, come on.
28:12
Anybody grateful for the breath you have in your lungs right now?
28:15
Come on.
28:16
If you don't have breath in your lungs, if you'd raise your hands real quick, we would
28:19
like to help you.
28:23
But every day, every opportunity, the occupation that you have, the ability to rise morning
28:28
after morning.
28:31
I love what 1 Corinthians 4, 7, what do we have that we've not received?
28:35
Why do we boast as those that have not received it?
28:39
Stewardship is coming to the place to realize, man, every good and perfect gift comes down
28:42
from the Father of lives.
28:46
I love a practice that my wife has.
28:48
She's done this for years now.
28:50
Every morning she writes out three things she's grateful for.
28:53
I'm sure I make that list sometimes, right?
28:57
I peek sometimes.
28:59
Why did y'all laugh at that like that?
29:04
Let me tell you why she does that, because it puts to death greed.
29:09
Puts to death greed.
29:12
In light of, listen to me, what we're grateful for, then we can ask what we genuinely need.
29:20
What we genuinely need in life.
29:21
Listen to me, there's not one thing that's happened in your life that God doesn't care
29:25
about.
29:27
There's not one thing in your life that God, that He cares about at all.
29:32
So cry out.
29:34
Man, I'm praying for the provision for every kid that needs braces, and every kid needs
29:39
braces.
29:42
You orthodontists better be tithing, right?
29:49
I meant that down in here.
29:50
I meant that.
29:54
That's not in my notes, but it is in my heart.
30:01
Let me tell you what I've learned in light of the need, stewardship.
30:07
God loves it when I'm dependent.
30:11
He loves it.
30:14
And He wants to talk about all of it.
30:18
So listen to me, what do you need from Him today?
30:22
Tomorrow?
30:24
And listen to me, God is bored with generic praying.
30:29
Bored.
30:32
What are you asking for?
30:34
What are you believing for?
30:35
Summit Church Little Rock, what are you believing God for?
30:39
In light of, listen to me, in light of future buildings, in light of gathering more people
30:43
in the presence of God, we're asking specific, oh God.
30:49
For the glory of your name, would you provide for my family, for my children?
30:52
Would you move in these ways?
30:55
Because God actually cares, grateful for everything, dependent in everything.
31:01
Grateful for everything, dependent in everything.
31:05
The fifth approach that we see, and I hope, listen, I hope you hear me.
31:10
Don't just hear this and say, man, that's a great way of laying out the Lord's prayer.
31:17
It'll be better to be prayed tomorrow.
31:22
And the next day, and the next day, and the next day.
31:27
And then it gets, as y'all have been in the season this, and forgive us our sins for we
31:31
ourselves forgive everyone who's indebted to us, everyone that has sinned against us.
31:36
There's few things that are more freeing than forgiveness.
31:42
Let me tell you what I found with every follower across, me being one of them.
31:46
It's one thing to know you're forgiven.
31:49
It's another thing to feel forgiven.
31:53
It's one thing.
31:55
Great doctrine.
31:57
Great doxy, orthodoxy.
32:00
How about the practice of feeling forgiven?
32:08
How about morning by morning?
32:09
Let me tell you what I've learned, man.
32:11
There's just something about getting close and coming clean.
32:16
I want to say this to somebody in the room, listen to me.
32:18
There's nothing like living in the light.
32:23
Nothing like it.
32:26
Look at me.
32:27
Listen to me.
32:28
If you are in the dark right now, it's death.
32:33
It's death.
32:36
It's destroying you and destroying everyone around you.
32:40
And the enemy wants to keep you in the dark.
32:43
And what God is doing morning by morning, moment by morning, is He's saying,
32:48
Hey, come close and let's get clean.
32:52
Let's unpack it.
32:55
Man, we're raising Reno's, right?
32:57
And I got five awesome, I mean this, kids.
33:04
I'm super, did one of them make it here?
33:10
It could have happened.
33:11
I'm saying, I'm kidding.
33:13
I promise you every kid in this room could cry and it wouldn't bother me.
33:15
So let me tell you what I love about my kids that I feel like probably
33:20
because their mom's way more awesome than I am.
33:23
Our kids are not scared to come to us.
33:26
Listen to me when they're dirty.
33:30
Because they know we can help them get clean.
33:36
Yeah, look at me.
33:37
What's between you and the father?
33:40
I mean, you've heard message after message around consecration and repentance
33:44
and some of you are still living in the dark.
33:48
In Jesus name, you need a moment of deliverance.
33:53
You very well might need a season of discipleship on the other side of that
33:56
moment of deliverance.
33:57
But let your moment of deliverance come tonight.
34:01
Let it come tonight.
34:03
Bring it into the lot.
34:06
And he doubles down on us and says the other side,
34:09
and forgive those that have sinned against you.
34:14
Hey, what's the thing you're harboring against someone that hurt you?
34:18
And if you've been hurt by someone, welcome to the human experience.
34:23
Right?
34:26
Anybody got some hurt that's in their family that you haven't unpacked well?
34:31
By the way, you've heard this way better than I'll ever say it.
34:35
Forgiving someone, it's not about this.
34:38
It's about this.
34:41
You say, Kyle, I don't want to forgive them.
34:43
I get it.
34:44
How about you used to?
34:47
Y'all have heard me share this story.
34:48
I'll say it again.
34:49
By God's grace, my dad and I's relationship's been reconciled and in great places.
34:55
But at 19 years old, man, before coming to the cross,
34:58
we're throwing fists on the front yard of the Reno home
35:02
and he's going off in handcuffs, okay?
35:05
Twice.
35:08
That'll leave a mark.
35:11
Come to know Jesus.
35:15
Saved by a cross.
35:17
First thing I heard in my spirit, like I'm getting to know God.
35:22
First thing I hear him say to me is this.
35:25
Outside of a call to salvation, forgive your dad.
35:31
And I literally said out loud, that's not fair.
35:36
I said it out loud, that's not fair.
35:37
I'm like, why don't you start somewhere else?
35:38
Put one on the tee, God.
35:40
You went to the big enchilada, like right off the bat.
35:46
Skip some steps here, you know?
35:50
But listen to me, if he's good enough to save me,
35:55
if I can trust him with my salvation,
35:57
I can trust him with what he speaks.
36:01
So I remember picking up the phone, calling my dad.
36:04
I said, hey man, I want to tell you something.
36:06
We had not talked.
36:09
God's doing something in me.
36:10
I'm a Christian or some bumble way of saying that now
36:15
and I just want you to know I forgive you.
36:18
You know what he didn't say?
36:19
Man, I'm so sorry.
36:20
He's like, I hung up the phone and I was free.
36:28
I look back in horror and think,
36:31
I wonder if I would have held onto that,
36:34
what it would have done.
36:35
What it did, forgiving, expedited the work of God in me.
36:41
Expedited it.
36:43
Hey, listen to me, something's going to happen
36:46
in some future season of your life
36:49
and it won't be about somebody that already has hurt you.
36:52
It's about somebody that will hurt you
36:54
and you'll have a decision to make.
36:56
You're going to sit in this chair with him and say,
36:59
hey Lord, I just want you to know I forgive so-and-so.
37:04
I'm choosing to forgive them
37:06
and I might have to do it 70 times seven,
37:10
but I'm willing to
37:13
because I believe your word's that big.
37:16
That's called fellowship.
37:19
That's fellowship.
37:21
That's with God and humanity.
37:26
And in the place of prayer, both of those are restored.
37:29
I wonder what God might be speaking in the room
37:31
even right now around that right there.
37:35
And then the last part and I'll be done.
37:39
It moves us from the chairs, man,
37:41
into the work, into the war, into the world
37:45
and lead us not into temptation.
37:48
Matthew 6, another place that captures it
37:50
and deliver us from the evil one.
37:54
The picture here inside of the Lord's prayer,
37:57
I believe is discipleship.
37:58
Who are you going to follow?
38:02
We know, scripture tells us explicitly
38:05
that the Lord would never tempt us.
38:06
He's not tempted.
38:08
What it's saying is,
38:09
Lord, moving from this place of prayer,
38:12
I want to follow you.
38:14
I don't want to follow the evil one.
38:17
I don't want to be lured away.
38:21
Do you know that this says in the scripture
38:23
that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
38:26
that Paul's prayer for the church of Corinth was,
38:28
I'm afraid that your mind might be led astray
38:32
from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
38:35
You say, Kyle, how do you battle that happening
38:38
every day in prayer?
38:41
Jesus, I want to follow you today.
38:45
I don't want to be lured, lulled to sleep.
38:49
I don't want to be distracted or deceived.
38:52
I want to follow you until the end.
38:57
It's discipleship.
38:58
It's coming to that place,
39:00
choosing to follow him every day.
39:03
Can you imagine what Jesus had in his heart
39:08
when he handed them this prayer?
39:10
Let me tell you what he didn't think about.
39:12
He wasn't thinking about Friday nights in the South
39:15
before a football game.
39:18
For a few guys that are amped up to repeat,
39:22
he was thinking about a life.
39:25
He was thinking about the Christian life,
39:27
every aspect of it.
39:32
Wow.
39:35
I know you're going to listen to this one
39:37
over and over.
39:39
I'm so grateful that we had a chance
39:41
to bring this to you today.
39:43
I want to just reiterate that last little
39:47
illustration Kyle gave when he said,
39:50
our kids are not afraid to come to us
39:54
when they get dirty because they know
39:58
that we can help them get clean.
40:01
Do you need to run to the Father today?
40:05
Instead of lashing you and disciplining you
40:10
in a harsh way,
40:12
the Lord is waiting for his people
40:15
to come to him with just humble,
40:18
repentant hearts and say,
40:19
Lord, I'm unclean.
40:22
I have something in my heart
40:24
that I need you to fix,
40:27
that I need you to purge me of,
40:30
that I need you to cleanse in my life.
40:33
What is that for you?
40:35
Could we join together in prayer right now
40:38
and ask the Lord to do that fresh work
40:41
in you?
40:42
It may be exactly what you need right now.
40:45
Let's pray.
40:47
Father, so many times we're out of sorts
40:50
spiritually and we can blame our schedule
40:53
or other people or this and that and the other
40:56
when the reality is we just substituted
41:00
something for Jesus
41:03
and we're following another little God,
41:06
little G-God in our life
41:09
and sin has crept in the door.
41:12
And so, Father, I pray that you would
41:15
turn on your spotlight.
41:18
Lord, we pray with David,
41:21
search me, O God,
41:23
and know my thoughts.
41:24
Try me and know my ways
41:27
and see if there's any wicked, hurtful,
41:30
destructive way in me.
41:32
And then, Lord, once that's dealt with,
41:35
lead me in the everlasting way.
41:38
I pray that you do that with each of us today.
41:41
And I pray, Father, that we would
41:44
never run away from you,
41:46
but you would find us running towards you
41:49
all the time, over and over again
41:53
every day.
41:55
Because, Father, you are the source of life
41:58
and cleansing and health
42:01
and in your presence
42:03
is fullness of joy.
42:05
So take us there,
42:07
even right now,
42:09
in Jesus' name we pray.
42:11
Amen.
42:13
Well, thanks again
42:15
for joining us.
42:16
And one more message next week
42:18
in this Awakened series
42:20
and you're going to be surprised
42:22
who it is, so don't miss it.
42:24
And we'll see you next time.