Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Between Offered Prayer - Minister Max Lucado

Transcript

Between Offered Prayer - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Whether you're watching online or at one of our campuses
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: or in the sanctuary here in Southlake, we're so very,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: very honored that you're here. Stephen Carter did just a
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: masterful job last week. And I appreciated the reminder from
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: him that waiting is not passive. That to wait on
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the Lord is to set your hope on the Lord.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I think waiting in a time of transition is a
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: challenging time because we're sitting ducks for cynicism, despair, or
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: even abandonment of our faith. So I'd like for us
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to linger on this thought about waiting on the Lord.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Many of you are waiting. Maybe all of you are waiting. Personally,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: you're waiting. You're waiting on good news. You're waiting on
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: a breakthrough. You're waiting on a development. As a congregation,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: we're waiting. We're waiting on the next chapter. We've been
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: praying and we're waiting.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: We're in a hurry. We don't like to wait. But
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: waiting matters. It matters.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: And the person whose story we're going to ponder this weekend,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: I think, has some wonderful when it comes to waiting
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: on God. The title of the message between offered prayer
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: and answered prayer. Speaking of prayer, I've asked the lead
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: pastor of our church in San Antonio to pray a
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: blessing over this message. Many people are surprised that I'm
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: not the lead pastor.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: I was forever.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: But a few years ago, we discovered this wonderful wonderful talent,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: gifted brother who came to us many years ago by
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: virtue of as a worship pastor, but then became a
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: campus pastor. And now he's the lead pastor and he
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: is just doing, he exceeds all expectations that I ever
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: had on someone as a successor. I love him like
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: a son. Would you please say hello to Travis Eads?
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Well, it's my honor to be with you, and I
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: want to take an opportunity to pray with you.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Let's pray together.
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: Well, Father, we are so grateful to you to be
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: before you to get to proclaim who you are.
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: You are righteous.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: You are perfect.
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: You are holy. Your thoughts are above our thoughts. You're
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: above our ways.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: Father, we say to you, we claim the promise The
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: promise that your steadfast love never ceases. That your mercies
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: never end. That they are new every morning. We say
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: great is your faithfulness.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Oh Father.
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: Our hope is in you. The Lord is my portion
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: says my soul. Therefore we trust in you Father. Our
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: hope is in you. You were the one.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: You said that those who hope in you. Will have strength.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: You said that we would soar on wings.
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: Like eagles, we would run and we wouldn't grow weary,
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: that we would walk and that we would not faint.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: So Father, now as we come to open your word,
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: we seek a word from you. Speak to us. Your
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: children are listening. Give us ears to hear. Give us
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: eyes to see. We want to see Jesus. We want
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: to see only Jesus. And it's in his name we pray.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: And all those who agreed said, Amen.
• 3:59
  Speaker 5: Amen.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Max?
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Bill Irwin is not the first person to
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: walk the Appalachian Trail. He's not the first person to
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: ever begin in Georgia and conclude in Maine. He's not
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: the first person to weather the rain, the wind, the cold,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: the hypothermia to camp out on the ground, to ford
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: the streams. Bill Irwin was not the first person to
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: ever make this journey, but he was in this particular detail.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: He was blind. He was 50 years old when.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: In 1990, he set out on the hike. A recovering
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: alcoholic and a devoted Christian. He justified his adventure simply
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: by saying, well, the Lord told me to do it.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: And he made 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: his mantra.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: We walk by faith and not by sight.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: He didn't use a map, a GPS, or a compass.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: It was just him, his German shepherd, in the rugged
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: terrain of the mountains.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: He estimates that he fell.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: About 5,000 times. If my math is correct, that translates
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: to an average of four times every hour for eight months.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: He battled hypothermia. He cracked his ribs. He had more
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: scrapes on his knees and hands than he could count.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: But he made it.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: He made the longest walk. You're doing the same. Not
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: on the trails of the Appalachians, but in the trials
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: of life. You're walking not between Georgia and Maine, but
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: you're walking a road that is even steeper, longer.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: More challenging.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: You're walking the path between a prayer offered and a
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: prayer answered. Many of you are walking this, if not
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: all of you, personally. You're somewhere between a prayer for
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: healing and the answer to that prayer. A prayer for
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: reconciliation and a reunion. A prayer for financial help and
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: a new job. You're somewhere between a prayer offered and
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: a prayer answered. The Gateway family is making this journey
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: as a congregation, aren't we? Most of us can remember
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: when our prayers took on an added sense of urgency.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: Some of you have been praying for the Gateway family
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: for 25 years.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: I've met you. I admire you. And I love you.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Others of us are newer to the family, but all
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: of us, our prayers took on an added level of
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: intensity last summer when we realized that That we were
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: going to take a long walk. An uphill walk. A
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: walk up a steep terrain. A challenging walk. And that's
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: where we are. The walk's not over. We have begun
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: the prayer. We've intensified our prayers. We've asked the Lord
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: to guide us. We're praying for the elders. We're praying
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: for the staff. We're praying for direction. And we're just
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: putting one foot in front of the other. Oh, do
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: we not love the season of answered prayer? Those days
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: in which life is nothing more than a downhill ride
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: with the wind at the back and everything is happening
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: in a wonderful fashion. The Apostle Paul said that we
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: preach the gospel in season and out.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Oh, I love preaching in season.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: When the fruit is obvious, when people are happy, when
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: nobody's mad at the preacher. I love in-season preaching. But
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: you know, there's times in which we're out of season.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Seems like there's no harvest. There's no easy solutions. The
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: questions seem to outnumber the answers and the problems defy
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: easy solution.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: We're in between. Offered prayer and answered prayer.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: In between supplication and celebration. In between bent knees and
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: lifted hands. In between tears of fear and tears of joy.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: In between help me Lord and thank you Lord. Between
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: Cana and Capernaum. A father once said, went to Cana
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: with a heavy, heavy heart. He needed help. And someone
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: had told him that Jesus was in Cana. And so
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: he made the journey to Cana. And while there, he
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: offered a prayer, a sincere prayer. a heartfelt prayer, a
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: prayer we're going to consider here in just a few moments.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: And Jesus, according to what he said, answered the prayer,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: but the father, the person in Cana, would not see
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: the answer to his offered prayer until he made the
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: walk to another city by the name of And.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: It would be in.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: Capernaum, Jesus said, that he would find the answer to
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: his prayer. And so he offered a prayer in Cana
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: and then not knowing if that prayer would be answered,
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: fueled only by the promise of Christ, he had to
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: make a decision.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: And make a 20-day.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: Mile walk between Cana and Capernaum. So again, I'd like
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: to ask, do you know this walk? The longest walk?
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Could I ask for a show of hands? If anybody
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: here is somewhere between offered prayer and answered prayer, you
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: can raise both hands if you want. If so, then
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: you know how arduous this walk can be. You know
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: how difficult every step can be. You know how despair
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: comes along as an uninvited companion. You know how doubt
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: creeps in. You know how even temptation comes your way.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: You know how hard it is to keep walking. How
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: easy it would be to give up. You've seen others
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: toss the hat of faith out of the ring instead
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: of in the ring. And you're tempted to do the same.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: It is a hard time, a hard place to be
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: in between offered prayer and answered prayer.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: Yet it is a valuable time.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Because in this season, in between offered prayer and answered prayer,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: Some faith muscles get developed that cannot be developed in season,
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: but only out of season. The story of the gentleman
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: to which I am referring is found in the Gospel
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: of John, chapter 4, beginning.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: In verse 46.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: As Jesus traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana. where
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: he had turned water into wine. There was a government
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. When
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: heal his son. This man was a man of high standing.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: an official in the court of Herod. He was likely
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: a Gentile. His modern day counterpart would be a secretary
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: of state or maybe chief of staff or cabinet member.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: He was a man of high position. He had a
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: house full of servants, but none of that mattered.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: Because he had a son. And this son was very,
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: very sick.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: The son we will soon see in verse 49 is
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: called Elad, L-A-D. It's a Greek word typically used to
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: refer to a youngster. In my mind, I see a four-year-old, five-year-old, six-year-old,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: but he was very, very sick. No doubt the aristocrat
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: had summoned the finest physicians to help his son. No
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: doubt he had cashed in every chip. He had used
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: every leverage, but no amount of influence, no amount of money,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: no amount of leverage could bring him what he so
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: longed to have, and that.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Is a healthy son. The dollar is not almighty.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: Neither rank nor riches can protect their possessors from disease
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: and death. Certainly, this father would have given both to
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: see health return to his son. How he learned of Jesus,
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: we're not told. We do know that he was a
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: resident of Capernaum, and we also know that Capernaum was
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: home base for the operations of Jesus for quite some time,
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: a fishing village, the hometown of Peter, where Jesus healed.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: Peter's mother-in-law, where.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Jesus preached in person in the synagogue, no doubt. The
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: high-ranking official had heard of Jesus. Maybe someone said, go
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: talk to Jesus about your son. Maybe he had seen
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: what Jesus did. Maybe he had heard word of Jesus
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: turning water into wine. I do not know, but I
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: do know that Jesus, he felt, could help him. However,
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: he was in Capernaum and Jesus was in Cana. And
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: the two were separated by 20 miles. So the walk
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: from Capernaum to Cana is a long walk. Can we
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: assume that he and his entourage could walk three miles
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: an hour? Can we assume that this would be.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: A long journey?
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: Even if he left early in the morning, it would
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: take the better part of a day. He gave his
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: son's fevered brow a kiss and he gave his wife
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: a promise I will bring Jesus back and off he
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: went if he left midday he would have had to
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: to spend the night somewhere and I know he did
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: not sleep well for his son was on his mind
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: by the time he reached Cana he had been walking
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: for many many hours he was weary he was worried
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: and his son was Was dying.
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: He went.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: And begged Jesus. To come to Capernaum. To heal his son.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: Who was about to die. Every word is rich. He
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: went and begged. I see him on his knees. Maybe
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: face in the dirt. This is an austere prayer. He
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: makes no mention of his title. or his position. He
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: drops no names. He doesn't offer to give the ministry
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: of Jesus some money. He goes straight to the core
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: of the issue. He went and he begged Jesus to
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: do what? To come to Capernaum. A specific request. Come
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: with me. Go the 20 miles with me. I need
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: you to please go with me. He is a man
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: of authority. Maybe he's used to calling the shots. So
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: he tells Jesus, come with me. My son is about
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: to die. This is the first time in John's gospel
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: that Jesus is brought face to face with death. In
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: John's gospel, the only miracle prior to this is turning
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: water into wine. Significant miracle, no doubt. But I tell you,
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: it's one thing to solve a problem at a wedding.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: It's another thing to begin to deal with the problem
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: of humanity. And that is that we all die. The
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: response of Jesus surprises us. Jesus says, Will you never
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Goodness gracious, I did not see that coming. Where'd that
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: come from? He questions the faith of people who must
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: have a miracle before they have faith.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: A contingent faith. He questions it.
• 19:13
  Speaker 5: But why?
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: Why? Why here? Why now? Why in this moment? Can
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: I tell you my answer? I don't know.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Maybe he saw some contingent faith in the eyes and
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: the heart of this father. Will you come with me
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: to heal my son?
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: Maybe there was something about his orchestrating or controlling The
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: response of Christ that didn't settle right with Christ. It
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: could be also. the word was out now about Jesus. Jesus,
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: the miracle worker. We could envision the official coming into
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: the town with the entourage and people finding out why
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: he's there. And they're saying to themselves, oh man, I
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: wasn't there for the water to wine miracle.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: I want to see this one.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: And so a whole crowd of people follow him in
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: hopes of seeing some razzle dazzle.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: We do not know what prompted this.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: It's an important teaching, but it's not a teaching that
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: the official wants to indulge at the moment. He goes
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: right back to the question or the request. The official pleaded, Lord,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: please come now before my little boy.
• 20:36
  Speaker 6: Dies.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: His heart's 20 miles away in Capernaum.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: He does not deny that some people demand miracles. He
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: simply said, can we talk about that another time? I mean,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: the appeal could hardly have been more genuine, and Jesus
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: gratefully responded to the appeal. So let all seekers of
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Christ be encouraged. If at first you don't succeed, ask again.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: Christ is never turned away by the persistent prayer. In fact,
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: he welcomes it. He welcomes it.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: If Jesus spoke with a frown in verse 48, can
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: we not imagine him speaking with a smile in verse 50?
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: Then Jesus told him, go back home. Your son will live.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: You know, Jesus never turns away a sincere seeker. He
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: never does. Oh, dear child of God, hear this. He
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: never turns away a sincere seeker.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: Search your gospels. Read every word.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: Find that one occasion in which Jesus, upon hearing a request, said,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm just too tired. Or you've been here
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: every day for 20 years. Or I've got other people
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: to tend to. Find that time he turned away a
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: sincere seeker. He never, never does. He cherishes the prayers
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: of his children. He not just hears, but he cherishes
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: the prayers of his children.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: He cherishes your prayers.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: And When you bow your head in faith and open
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: your mouth and say, oh, Father, all of heaven stops
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: because he wants to hear what you have to say.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: And Jesus said to this man, you can go home.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Your son will live. That's good news, isn't it? Jesus
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: answered the man's prayer, didn't he?
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Or did he?
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: If we were in a small group in a living room,
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: this is where I would say, tell me, did Jesus
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: answer the man's prayer? Remember the man's prayer, what was it?
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: Come home with.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: Me to Capernaum and heal him.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Come with me. The man asked Jesus to go with him.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Did Jesus go? No. But he told the father to go.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: He said, now go home.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: Your son will live.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: You think the man might have hesitated. Do you think
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: the man might have said, well, okay, yeah. You sure
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: can't go with me? I mean, who wants to make
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: that journey alone? Who wants to make this journey from offered.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: Prayer to.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Answered prayer solo? Who wants to make that 20-mile hike
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: From Cana to Capernaum. Don't you think that he might
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: have said, well, Jesus, could you reconsider?
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: My wife is a really good cook.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: And I've got some great conversation starters.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: We can chat all the way. I know some good jokes.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: It'll be a nice journey.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: And I would feel so much better if you came
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: with me because the man might have been thinking, what
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: if I get all the way here and my son's
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: not healed? What if I make that 20 mile hike
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: and my son is not better? What if I get
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: here And the prayer's not answered. And then I have
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: to go back and find Jesus. But Jesus isn't there.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: What if Jesus has gone somewhere else? It would be
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: so much better. Jesus, if you would just do it
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the way I want you to do it. In the
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: time that I want you to do it. In the
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: fashion that I want you to do it.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Please. What would you do? Or better asked, What do
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: you do?
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I would like to be healed, Lord, by this time
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: next month.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: So I'll be robust for the holidays. I could sure
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: use a pay increase.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: And while you're at it, if you want to get
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: rid of that colleague of mine in the adjacent cubicle,
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: be clear about I believe in specific requests.
• 26:18
  Speaker 7: I do.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: I believe we are.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: Taught to be anxious about nothing but in everything by
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: prayer and petition with thanksgiving to make our requests known
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: to God. So there's nothing wrong with a specific request.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: But there is something wrong in thinking that the only
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: way God can answer my prayer is in the way
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: I want it answered. Prayer, recall, is not necessarily asking
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: God to do what I want. It's more asking God
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: to do what is right. The most important words in
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: a prayer are, not my will, but thy will be done.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: As a congregation, the Gateway Church, we're being taught a
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: lot about prayer.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: A lot about waiting. A lot about healing.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: How can we move from an offered prayer to an
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: answered prayer? Now maybe, maybe this fella heard what Jesus said,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: spun on a dime and started whistling and dancing all
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: the way.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: For 20 miles home. Maybe he did.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Maybe every time he saw a person, he said, my
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: prayer was answered, my prayer was answered. Maybe he started singing,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: the sun will come up tomorrow. Maybe he could not
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: have been happier. Maybe he walked, no, he rode on
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: the magic carpet of faith, never doubting for an instant.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: If so, he would be better than your preachers. I
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: would have had to have some self-talk.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Okay. You sure? All right, here I go.
• 28:27
  Speaker 5: Oh, man.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: What if I....
• 28:32
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: The only thing that he had going for him was this.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Jesus said, Jesus said, your son is healed. What he
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: had going for him was one thing, and that is
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: the word of God.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: God had spoken. God had spoken.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: So in my mind, I'm seeing the guy say, oh,
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: I don't know, but he said, okay, but he said,
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: And he said, and empowered by the spoken word of
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, he made the journey from offered prayer to
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: answered prayer. You know exactly what I'm about to do,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: but I'm going to say it anyway. What word has
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: he spoken to you about your problem?
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: What word? What word?
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: What voice is dominating your thoughts? In between offered prayer
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: and answered prayer, our task is to simply do two things.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Heed the voice of Christ and walk in the direction
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: of an answered prayer.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: That's all we do.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Easier said than done. Because so many voices are clamoring
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: for our attention. So many voices are coming in competing
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: for the voice of Christ. So many voices are demanding
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: to be heard. But what you are called to do, moms,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: what you are called to do, dads, young people, older people,
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: what you and I are called to do is to
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: heed the voice of Christ. But Jesus said, never will
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: I leave you, never will I forsake you. But Jesus said,
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: But Jesus said, when you walk through the fire, you
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: will not be burned. But Jesus said, this is the
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: vernacular of the disciple.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: He or she.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Turns their hearts into a bank vault of verses. They
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: deposit God's word. The psalmist said, I I treasure your
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: word in my heart so that I will not sin
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: against you. We bring words of Christ into our heart
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: and we repeat them over and over and over. More
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: than once I have awakened in the middle of the
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: night to hear my beautiful wife, Deanlyn, who's awake and
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: she can't get back to sleep. And I'll just hear,
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: do I walk through the valley of the shadow of death?
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: The Lord is my shepherd. I Though I walk through
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: the valley of the shadow.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: She's just speaking God's word into the room.
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: She's speaking the word.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: I can see in my mind this man speaking the
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: word of God. But he said, he said, he said,
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: he said. You see, when God speaks, the world comes
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: into existence. When God speaks, he sustains the universe with
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: his word. When he speaks, it happens. God has spoken.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: And what has God spoken about the Gateway family?
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: He has spoken. He has said, I will build my church.
• 32:07
  Speaker 7: I will.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: I'm not on my. For if you don't mess up,
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: I will.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: Or maybe we'll go find someone else. He's in charge.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: And so he will build his church. Is that to
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: say churches don't pass through tough times?
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: Just the opposite. Because he has spoken, Satan.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Comes and attacks the spoken recipients of God's promise.
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: But he will not be victorious. He will not.
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: Because what he has here at Gateway is a.
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: Quorum of people. A quorum of people. Maybe winnowed down
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: like Gideon's army. Not as many as we used to have.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: But determined.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: To listen to the voice of God because he said.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: The story urges us not to give up. The father
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: from Cana begs us to keep asking, keep walking, don't quit,
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: to make the word of Christ our pole star and
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: to hold on to the promises of Christ like a
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: barnacle holds on to the hull of a boat.
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: Here's what happened next.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: While the man was on his way, some of his
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: servants met him with the news that his son was
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: alive and well. He asked them when the boy had
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: begun to get better. And they replied, yesterday afternoon at
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: one o'clock, his fever suddenly disappeared. And then the father
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: realized that this was the very time Jesus had told him,
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: your son will live. And he and his entire household
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: believed in Jesus. This was the second miraculous sign Jesus
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: did in Galilee after coming from Judea. So the good
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: news from the servants was met with a good question
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: from the father. You say my son was healed. When
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: was he healed? Thank you, John, for giving us these details.
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: What time did he get better? Oh, one o'clock. That's
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: the very time I was with Jesus. And Jesus had
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: worked a a long distance healing. The power of the miracle,
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: look at this, the power of the miracle resulted not
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: just in the life of the boy, but in the
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: salvation of the household. The whole household, including the officer,
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: believed in him. I would suggest to you, that's the
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: greater miracle. The salvation of the household happened It was
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: an amazing miracle that he saved the boy from dying.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: But as far as I know, that boy eventually died.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: Maybe he lived to be 80 years old, but I
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: do not know. And I have been to Capernaum and Cana.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: I've never seen a 2000 year old man. walking around.
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: Eventually he died, but here's what I do know. These
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: household members were saved by faith in Christ. And right
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: now they are a part of that great cloud of
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: witnesses that is looking down upon us. And the reason
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: that Jesus healed in the way he did, and he
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: chose not to go back is because he had a
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: higher prayer that he was going to answer. And that
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: is the salvation of everyone in the household. The problem
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: in the man's prayer is not that it was too small.
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: I mean, not that it was too great. It was
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: just too small. He was praying for immediate healing and
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: Christ was dreaming of eternal salvation. Revival came to the
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: man's house. Two lessons and I'll be done. Number one,
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: would you please be open to a miracle? Would you
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: keep your heart open to a miracle? I think I've
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: mentioned to you before that my dad was a blue-collar
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: oilfield worker in the wild badlands of West Texas. And
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: he was very handy in that he built every house
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: that we lived in with the exception of the last
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: one that he bought. And part of the Locato family
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: lore is that the day that he and my mother
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: framed a house in a small town in West Texas.
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: The town is called McKamey, McKamey. You know exactly where
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: McKamey is. It's close to Wink, not far from No Trees,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: and just up the road from Ira Ann.
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: You know exactly where it is.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: And my parents, believe it or not, my mom was
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: a nurse, my dad was a pipeliner, And in their
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: spare time, they found time to.
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: Build a house. I can't even stack.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: Lincoln logs, but they could build a house. And so
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: long before I was born, this happened. But they framed
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: a small, modest house and took them several weeks working
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: in the afternoon. And finally, one weekend, they dedicated a
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: chunk of the weekend to getting the frame up. And
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: they got the frame up. They went home, went to bed.
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: And Sunday night, one of those wild, cruel West Texas
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: winds that carries all of the panhandle with it came
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: out and blew. And my dad got up the next
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: morning on his way to work.
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: To go check on the house. And guess what? Everything
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: was down.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: Mom said that dad just stood there with his arms crossed, sighed.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: thought of all that work that was wasted. But he
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: had to go to work and so off he went.
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: He mentioned it to a few friends. When he got
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: off work, he went back to the house, just ready
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: to start collecting the pieces. Can you imagine his surprise
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: when he arrived and over 30 men were there? The
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: word had gotten out. And by the time he got there,
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: the frame was up. And not only was the frame up,
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: they had advanced the project some two or three weeks
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: worth of work, my mom said. I try to think
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: about how my dad felt that morning and then how
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: he felt that afternoon. He never saw that miracle coming,
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: did he? Maybe you feel like your house has collapsed.
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: Maybe you feel like all the walls have fallen down.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: Maybe you feel like it's all come undone. Dear friend,
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: blessed daughter of God, blessed son of God, be open
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: to a miracle. God can do more in one moment
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: than we can do in a lifetime. Be open to
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: a miracle. And lastly, be a part of the miracle.
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: Just be a part of it. When we get to heaven,
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: I want to find this fella, this official. Will you
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: go with me? Let's find him. And I want to
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: ask him a couple of questions. One question is, did
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: you ever regret making that long walk between offered prayer
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: and answered prayer? Later in your life, did you ever
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: look back and say, boy, that was a waste of time?
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: And he'll laugh and say, of course not. And he'll
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: call all that household together who are in heaven because he.
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: Made that walk of faith.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: Gateway family, do you think you'll ever regret being faithful
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: to God during this time? It's a tough time. It's
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: a challenging time. But let me tell you something, friend.
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: At the end of this walk, there's going to come
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: a revival for the household of God.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: There's going to come a revival.
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: There are certain things we cannot learn unless we are
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: in a time of testing. There are certain things we
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: cannot learn otherwise. We can't learn them through sermons.
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: Or through books.
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: We have to experience them. And right now, it's a
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: time of testing. But I believe with all my heart
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: that at the tail end of this time of testing,
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: there'll be a great revival in the household of God.
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: Amen. Do you believe that? Do you receive that? May
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: God be praised. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. In Jesus' name.
• 41:18
  Speaker 8: Amen.
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: Amen.
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 41:23
  Speaker 6: I'll be all right. You don't have to stay. If
• 41:31
  Speaker 6: you've already chosen, I won't stand in your way.
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: I can feel it in your distance.
• 41:42
  Speaker 5: In the way you barely speak.
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: Like your heart is somewhere else now.
• 41:50
  Speaker 6: Somewhere I can't reach I was.
• 41:54
  Speaker 7: Trying just to hold us While you slowly slipped away.
• 42:01
  Speaker 5: Now I'm left with all the silence You didn't want
• 42:06
  Speaker 5: to say Maybe I just held on To something.
• 42:18
  Speaker 9: Already gone.
• 42:23
  Speaker 8: I'll be fine You can leave You don't owe me
• 42:28
  Speaker 8: anything If your heart is found away Out of what
• 42:35
  Speaker 8: we used to be.
• 42:38
  Speaker 9: I'll be fine.
• 42:39
  Speaker 5: Don't look back.
• 42:41
  Speaker 8: I'll survive this empty space.
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: Not tonight.
• 42:46
  Speaker 5: Maybe not soon.
• 42:48
  Speaker 8: But I'll learn to be okay.
• 42:56
  Speaker 6: We don't need to fake the feeling. I can see
• 43:01
  Speaker 6: it in your eyes.
• 43:03
  Speaker 5: ¶ There's no reason left for staying ¶ ¶.
• 43:07
  Speaker 8: When the love already.
• 43:09
  Speaker 7: Died ¶ ¶.
• 43:12
  Speaker 5: Through the quiet in your voice.
• 43:20
  Speaker 9: ¶ ¶ I can hear your choice ¶ ¶ I'll
• 43:26
  Speaker 9: be fine, you can leave ¶ ¶ You don't owe
• 43:30
  Speaker 9: me anything ¶ If your heart has found a way Out.
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: Of what we used to be.
• 43:40
  Speaker 7: I'll be fine, don't look back I'll survive this empty
• 43:46
  Speaker 7: space Not tonight.
• 43:49
  Speaker 4: Maybe not soon But I'll.
• 43:52
  Speaker 8: Learn to be okay I don't need a reason why I.
• 44:00
  Speaker 4: Can see it in goodbyes.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: And it breaks me, it does.
• 44:06
  Speaker 4: But I won't ask you to stay.
• 44:13
  Speaker 8: I'll be fine.
• 44:15
  Speaker 4: You can't leave.
• 44:17
  Speaker 8: You don't owe me anything.
• 44:21
  Speaker 7: If your heart is found away, I'll be fine. I'll
• 44:29
  Speaker 7: be fine, don't look back I'll survive this empty space
• 44:36
  Speaker 7: Not tonight, maybe not soon But I'll learn to be
• 44:43
  Speaker 7: okay I'll be alright