Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 3 Conditions for Mountain-Moving Prayer | Mark 11:20-26 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

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3 Conditions for Mountain-Moving Prayer | Mark 11:20-26 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  An old preacher once said Jesus never taught his disciples how
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  to preach, but how to pray. He did not speak much of what
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  was needed to preach well, but much of praying well.
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  To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak
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  to man. Not power with men, but power
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  with God is the first thing Jesus loves to teach his
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  disciples how to pray, and that is true.
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  The Lord Jesus did teach his disciples how to pray, and he
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  instructed his disciples in the area of prayer on more than one
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  occasion. Such lessons are found
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  throughout his ministry. And even near the end of it.
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  And it may be striking to us to discover yet another set of
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  instructions on prayer at a site and during a time that is
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  presented before us in our text today.
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  And at first glance it may seem out of place.
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  And so I invite you to turn with with me to Mark 11 beginning in
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  verse 20, to consider these things further, Mark 11, verse
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  20. Father, from the bottom of our
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  hearts, we ask for your help in this message.
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  Our Lord, just inspire us to obey it and to believe it.
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  We need your help for this and we believe that it is for us.
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  At this time, as a church in Jesus name, we pray.
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  Amen. Mark 11/20 As they pass by in
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  the morning they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots
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  and Peter remembered and said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig tree
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  that you cursed has withered and Jesus answered them.
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  Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever
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  says to this mountain be taken up and thrown into the sea, and
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  does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will
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  come to pass. It will be done for him.
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  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that
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  you have received it, and it will be yours, and whenever you
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  stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone.
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  Let me repeat that if you have anything against anyone, so that
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  your Father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your
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  trespasses. This scene takes place the day
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  after Jesus entered into Jerusalem to cleanse the Temple,
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  and we learned that last. Week and we also.
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  Saw that after Jesus with his priestly purification completed
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  that cleansing, he retreated to another place, exiting the city
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  for another evening, most likely to Bethany again to be with his
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  friends. And as verse 20 informs us in
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  the morning, the day after they make their way, Jesus in the
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  12th back to Jerusalem, and they traveled on the same path that
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  they did when they saw the fig tree originally.
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  But as they journeyed, the disciple disciples made a
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  shocking discovery. The fig tree, that very same fig
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  tree that Jesus spoke to, has now shriveled up from its roots
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  up. And Peter was the one who
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  vocalized his wonder, and he sought the Lord's attention on
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  the matter. Rabbi, look, the fig tree that
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  you cursed. It has withered and
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  interestingly, after the disciples pointed to this object
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  of judgment, the Lord begins and elaborates on this teaching
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  about prayer as though the fig tree was the object lesson for
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  this truth, this mysterious yet powerful thing known as prayer.
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  Now if someone were to ask you, based on what we learned in the
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  past couple of weeks, what does the message of the miracle of
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  Jesus cursing the fig tree point to?
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  Your answer should be that the fig tree symbolized Israel's
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  religious hypocrisy and Christ's displeasure over her inexcusable
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  fruitlessness, ultimately resulting in judgment.
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  That's what that miracle was about, was pointing to a
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  fruitless religious system in the temple.
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  When you saw the temple, you saw a religious building, but when
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  you went into the temple you saw no fruit.
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  You would be right if that is your explanation.
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  You would be correct in your interpretation of this miracle.
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  Yet at the same time, Jesus seems to draw a different set of
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  truths from what we have concluded about it.
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  How do we make sense of this? The answer is found in Matthew's
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  explanation of the very same story.
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  So turn to Matthew chapter 21 and look at verse 20.
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  Just one verse and it'll make all the difference for us.
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  In Matthew 21 verse 20, Matthew writes when the disciples saw
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  it, they marveled saying how did the fig tree wither at once.
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  So Matthew expands on the story and the disciples here not only
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  marveled at the site that in such a short amount of time this
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  tree was put to death, they desired an explanation for it.
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  So what the fig tree symbolized is still Israel, but how it was
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  able to decay in such a way, according to the words of Jesus,
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  is the consequence of a power that was accessed through
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  prayer. But why teach on prayer now you
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  know, why wouldn't Jesus, just in a breath or two explain it
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  while they were making their way towards Jerusalem?
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  There are other pressing matters at hand.
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  Did we forget that what this conversation is and where it
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  happened and when it happened was just a few days, a few days
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  before Jesus would be betrayed, tortured, and put to death?
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  Is a message on prayer really necessary at this time?
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  Is it relevant Christ is about to complete his mission this
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  very same week? The answer to the relevance of
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  prayer at this time, and it being necessary, is a resounding
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  yes. Christ takes his time now to
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  build the faith of his disciples in the area of prayer for that
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  very same reason. He's about to physically depart
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  from them. All these disciples knew in
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  their relationship with Christ for years, Intimacy with Christ,
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  ministry for Christ was in the context of having Christ with
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  them all the time. And all of that was now ready to
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  change. So knowing that the Lord is
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  ready to now transition from being with them to being with
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  the Father and glory, he's preparing his servants.
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  He wants to prepare His friends on how they can access His
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  presence, enjoy His fellowship, and draw from His power, His
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  provision, His protection through prayer.
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  You know what this tells me right at the outset of our
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  message? Prayer is the means by which you
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  and I come closest to the Savior.
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  Prayer is the means by which you and I walk the closest with the
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  master. The disciples are now ready to
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  enter into an experience that you are very familiar with, that
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  you've only known your whole Christian life, namely walking
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  with Jesus without actually physically walking with Jesus.
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  And what the? Disciples were provided, has
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  been provided to you and I. This gift, this ever present
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  channel known as prayer, that at any time, at any place invites
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  his personal care and power into any situation that requires it.
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  And the disciples believed it. The disciples believed in this
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  thing called prayer the moment Jesus left them.
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  You remember where Jesus ascended.
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  We don't talk much about the ascension of Jesus, do we not?
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  We talk about what? His death?
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  Yes, his life, his burial, his resurrection, But his ascension?
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  That's for another message, for another time.
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  When Jesus bodily ascended into heaven and Acts 111, what do you
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  read in the next verses in Acts 112 to 14 that the disciples
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  returned to Jerusalem? They were rejoicing, and they
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  put themselves together in an upper room and in one accord
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  devoted themselves to prayer. The moment Jesus leaves, you
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  know what they do. They run to what He has given
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  them so that they can know His presence and access His divine
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  power. Prayer, Prayer.
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  As comforting, as exciting as that truth may be, Christ here
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  in our text clarifies that there are conditions to knowing the
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  full potential of this reality. Prerequisites, if you will, to
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  knowing prayer with answers. And that's precisely what I want
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  to speak to you about today. I want to base on this text from
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  the words of Jesus. Draw out for us three
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  requirements, three conditions, not just for prayers being
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  heard, not just for prayers being answered, but for prayers
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  to move mountains. And so we come back to our text
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  and we look at the first thing. What does Christ demand of me to
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  pray in such a way where mountains can move?
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  Saying what do you mean by mountains?
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  We'll just stay awake for the midpoint of the message and
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  you'll know what I'm speaking about with mountains.
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  Jesus tells us in verse 22 of the first thing as he teaches on
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  prayer that is needed of us to see things happen in our lives.
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  And Jesus answered them have. Faith in God.
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  Have faith in God. That seems very simple.
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  Let me give you a heads up. The three points are very
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  simple. And guess what?
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  I'm happy it's simple. I'm happy It's not some
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  elaborate exercise to try to get God's hand to move in my life.
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  Here's step number one for you and I have.
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  Faith in God. For Jesus to say this right from
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  the beginning indicates that the disciples and making the comment
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  about the fig tree demonstrate it's a symptom of a lack of
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  faith in the full potential of God's power.
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  Rabbi, look, the fig tree withered the one that you
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  cursed. Matthew says how did you do
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  this? Now if you're coming up near the
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  end of Jesus ministry, you're you're reaching there the
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  three-year mark. You would think that the
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  disciples have settled in their minds and their hearts, that
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  Christ and his word has all power and authority over
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  everything, not just over demons, not just over sickness,
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  but over creation itself. You would think that they would
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  have determined that. But here we find them
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  struggling, trying to comprehend how this came to be.
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  And we can be a little bit lenient here and understanding
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  because this is a unique miracle.
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  Jesus determining and deciding an object with his power to be
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  judged directly. Very uncommon as we learned.
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  So the disciples asked and Jesus here is gently teaching them and
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  reminding them that this was possible.
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  Disciples, this was possible because of God.
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  Now how does that tie into prayer?
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  Very simple. When you have a limited view of
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  God's power, character will it will ultimately limit how you
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  pray. Notice that Jesus did not say
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  have faith in. Prayer.
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  Is that what he said? Have faith in prayer?
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  No, he said. Have faith in God.
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  God is the object of your trust, even in the area of prayer.
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  Have faith in God. At the end of the day, how you
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  pray is determined by what you know and what you believe about
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  the Lord. And This is why having faith in
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  God is the bedrock for mountain moving prayer and it's mentioned
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  as the first thing for a reason. Can I ask you something?
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  What do you know about God? What do you know about his
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  character? What do you know about his
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  nature? What do you know about what he
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  has done throughout history? And what you know about that is
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  one thing, but believing he did it is another.
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  You see, growing in your knowledge of God in His Word and
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  thriving in prayer go hand in hand because as your knowledge
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  of God grows, so does your confidence in His ability and
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  willingness to intervene on your behalf.
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  And I think about Paul's words about the whole Bible, yes, but
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  specifically the Hebrew scriptures, where he says in
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  Romans 15 verse four that these things have been given to us for
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  our encouragement. Not just to stuff your head with
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  knowledge. No, no.
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  You can read the Old Testament and be filled with encouragement
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  and surely encouraged in how God has moved and worked in the
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  lives of others through and in His people.
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  Defending them, providing for them.
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  You can be encouraged. You know, some people treat the
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  Bible as a museum. They just look at it and see
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  history and say, oh, isn't that nice?
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  It's not just a museum. It's not just a testimony of
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  what he's done, But if who he is today, And I'm thinking and
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  meditating on this, have faith in God, how does my knowledge of
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  God fuel my faith in God so that I can express it in prayer to
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  God? And one guy came to mind.
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  He's not referenced much. But oh, he's mentioned in the
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  Bible. Nehemiah.
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  Go to Nehemiah chapter 2 to see how knowledge of God can help
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  you relate to God. In the area of communion with
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  God, Nehemiah 2 one and Two. Before Nehemiah 2, there's
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  Nehemiah one. How about that?
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  In Nehemiah chapter one, we learned that Nehemiah while in
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  exile serving the king, a Pagan king.
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  Was informed by some of his brethren that traveled to
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  Jerusalem, of the desolation of the city, the holy city.
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  The walls are down. They're defenseless, they're
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  vulnerable. They're an object of scorn and
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  mockery. Nehemiah is so overcome by this
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  that he begins to weep and set apart time for fasting and
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  prayer. And when you read there in the
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  beginning of Nehemiah one, you were told the day that he begins
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  to do that. And then you come to Nehemiah 2
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  and you see another date not meant to be glanced over, but to
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  consider the significance of Nehemiah's devotion in the month
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  of Nissan and the 20th year of kings Artaxerxes.
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  You know what that means. When you compare Nehemiah 2/1
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  with Nehemiah one the first few verses, you learn that Nehemiah
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  has been praying and has been weeping and has been seeking God
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  for months. Months when wine was before him
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  because he was a cup bearer. When wine was before him, I took
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  up the wine and gave it to the king.
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  Now I had not been sad in his presence and the king said to
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  me, why is your face sad? Seeing you are not sick?
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  This is nothing but sadness of the heart.
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  Then I was very much afraid. So Nehemiah here is doing what
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  you were supposed to do when you served.
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  Monarchs and kings of ancient times show that you are enjoying
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  what you are doing for the king. And then he learns because this
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  Pagan king, yes, though a Pagan was discerning why is your face
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  down? And it's not because you're not
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  feeling well. I can tell that it's because
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  your heart is heavy. And we're told that Nehemiah was
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  afraid when this man made that observation.
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  Because you also know this about ancient royalty, that it didn't
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  take very much for them to make rash and severe verdicts
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  whenever they were not pleased with someone or something.
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  And so now Nehemiah is not only sorrowful for what's happening
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  to his people, now he is concerned about his own
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  well-being. And so he musters up the courage
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  to say something in verse three. I said to the king, let the king
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  live forever. Why should not my face be sad
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  when the city, the place of my father's graves, lies in ruins
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  and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
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  Then the king said to me, what are you requesting?
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  And here it is. So I prayed to the God of
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  Heaven. You know what that doesn't mean?
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  So I pray to the God of Heaven. It doesn't mean that Nehemiah
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  asked to retreat to his room for a few days.
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  And to seek God so that he can have a more refined answer.
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  Now this was an opportunity of a lifetime.
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  This was a window that was open, and it could be shut in the very
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  same moment. And so Nehemiah knew that he had
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  to take advantage of. This and so right there as he
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  stood before the king, surprised by his somewhat compassionate,
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  probing praise. He prays right there and then,
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  and we see here that within the mixture of fear and excitement,
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  Nehemiah speaks to the king of kings as he stands before this
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  king and we're not told what he prayed.
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  I can make a safe guess that it's somewhere along the lines
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  of courage, somewhere in the ballpark of wisdom, so he can
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  give the right answer to this man and not blow this chance.
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  You see you. Look at this and you think to
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  yourself, why is this mentioned here?
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  Is it important? Yes, it's important.
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  He gave it to us in our Bibles for a reason.
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  Not to just see what he has done, but who he is now, what
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  he's able to do today. You know what the sacred snippet
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  of the Bible teaches me, at least, that wherever I am,
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  whoever I stand before, no matter what I am feeling, I can.
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  Spontaneously. I can internally.
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  I can even briefly lift my request before the God of heaven
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  and earth. And he'll hear me.
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  You look at Nehemiah chapter one and you see a man who spent days
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  and time alone crying out to the Lord, and we even get a long
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  description of what his prayer look like.
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  And then the next chapter you have this Just a little breath,
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  a whisper of prayer, and both are just as recognizable by God.
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  So this this man in this very moment, I'm just giving you an
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  example of how this can feed your faith in God, to trust in
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  God. The God of Nehemiah, who heard
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  Nehemiah is my God, is my God. So before I step into that
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  office, before I step into that room, before I make this
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  confrontation, before I hear this news, I can pray to my God
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  right there and then. And God will hear it.
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  He will turn his ear, yes, even from his throne above.
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  And I have his full attention. So now my view of prayer based
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  on that, just because I decide to have my devotions in the book
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  of Nehemiah. Now my view of God has expanded
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  the ability of God. The ever loving presence of God
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  and knowledge of God is now equipped in my faith, furnishing
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  in my trust. Have faith in God.
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  What do you know about him? What do you believe about him?
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  Are you able to look at situations that related to
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  things in the word of God? If you don't have faith in God
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  then you won't be able to do the next thing.
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  The next thing for mountain moving prayer to be a reality is
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  to identify and express your need.
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  Look at verse 23 again of Mark 11.
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  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain be taken
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  up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but
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  believes that what he says will come to pass.
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  It will be. Done for Him.
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  Now, before we get into the practicality of this, let's
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  clarify what Jesus is speaking about.
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  I can assure you that He's not giving you a secret to tapping
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  into some kind of ability to shift nature or to move
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  geographical boundaries. That's not what the Lord is
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  getting at here, because prayer does not promise us to tap into
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  something, to perform pointless stunts.
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  What Jesus is saying here is a figure of speech that was common
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  in his day and is common in the scriptures.
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  Most of us know this verse I'm going to.
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  I'm going to ask you to complete it, not by might nor by power,
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  but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
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  That's Zechariah 46. But do you know what comes after
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  Zechariah 4/6? Because it'll give us insight
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  into what Jesus is saying here. Not by might nor by power, but
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  by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.
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  We'll go to Zechariah 47 to see the rest of it.
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  Let me read verse 6 to connect it.
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  Then he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel
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  of Zechariah 46. Not by might nor by power, but
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  by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
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  Who are you? O Great Mountain, before
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  Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain, and he shall bring
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  forward the top stone amid shouts of grace, grace to it.
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  What is this great mountain that the Lord personifies?
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  And what does it mean for this great mountain to be made a
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  plain? Well, there's a hint in verse
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  seven that gives us an idea of the context.
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  He says in the latter part, and he, being Zerubbabel, shall
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  bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace, grace to it.
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  Now, when you build a structure from the base level up, at that
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  foundational level, there is a cornerstone.
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  Christ is our cornerstone, right?
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  We believe that, and that's in the scriptures as well.
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  But when that building comes to its completion, and when it's
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  ready to be finished, you can place a top stone, and that
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  indicates that it is in fact completed.
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  And this is what he's speaking about, that Zerubbabel is going
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  to take a top stone and place it.
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  We're talking about a building here.
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  We're talking about an actual structure, as we're about to
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  discover in the next two verses. So what building are we talking
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  about here? What the wider context is,
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  indicating that it's the temple. Zerubabel was a man among the
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  Exiles that left Babylon and came back to Jerusalem, and not
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  only was he in exile that returned back to the holy city,
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  he was a leader. He was a leader who supervised
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  the reviving of the temple structure.
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  In fact, Haggai tells us that he was one of the governors.
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  He was a governor in Judah, and so Zerubbabel here played an
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  instrumental role in seeing this thing come back to life.
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  But that plan, that project, saw many great obstacles.
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  All you have to do is read the book of Ezra to see most of it.
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  There was legal issues. There was political interference
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  that put a pause on the project. On top of that, you had gentile
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  persecution, verbal accusations and slanders and actual physical
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  threats. And more than that, you read
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  Haggai and you had internal problems.
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  You had the people of God who got lazy and distracted.
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  And So what happens? They start beautifying their own
• 25:28
  homes and neglecting the House of God.
• 25:30
  And Haggai has to come and say, hey, what are you guys doing?
• 25:34
  Get back to what matters the most.
• 25:36
  So you have all these things, all these problems that became
• 25:39
  insurmountable. No human effort can be
• 25:46
  implemented to overcome this problem, these series of
• 25:50
  problems that piled up on each other.
• 25:51
  And that's what the Lord is alluding to when he's speaking
• 25:53
  about this great mountain, this great mountain that's facing
• 25:57
  Zerubba as a leader who's trying to honor God with this house,
• 26:01
  with the people who have vacillating commitment, with
• 26:03
  outsiders who don't want to see God's house built, with even
• 26:07
  leaders who with one letter, one word can stop your construction
• 26:10
  project, this great mountain. And the Lord says Zerubbabel,
• 26:14
  I'm going to make it a plain, I'm going to, I'm going to add
• 26:19
  grace and ease to this. Where there was such difficulty
• 26:22
  and hindrance, I'm going to make it disappear.
• 26:25
  That's confirmed in verse eight and nine.
• 26:27
  Look, Zechariah 4/8 and 9:00. Then the word of the Lord came
• 26:30
  to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the
• 26:34
  foundation of this house. His hands shall also complete
• 26:37
  it. Then you will know that the Lord
• 26:40
  of hosts has sent me to you. I bring this to your attention
• 26:44
  to say that the imagery of a great mountain was used by the
• 26:48
  Spirit to speak of a major barrier, A towering hindrance
• 26:53
  that stood in the way of the will of God being expanded and
• 26:56
  advanced. And this is a good reason to
• 26:59
  believe that when Jesus spoke of uprooting mountains, he was
• 27:02
  Speaking of prayer, having the ability to flatten any
• 27:07
  intimidation, any overwhelming difficulty that tried to block
• 27:11
  you and I from enjoying God's purposes.
• 27:15
  So we're not talking about physical hills here, We're
• 27:17
  talking about real life, almost impossible to deal with problems
• 27:26
  with. That being said, the Lord
• 27:27
  translate. It's that hyperbolic statement
• 27:29
  in verse 23, right? Whoever says to this mountain be
• 27:32
  thrown into the sea. He translates that analogy to
• 27:36
  real life application. And what's the application?
• 27:39
  Look at verse 24 of Mark 11. Therefore meaning based on what
• 27:44
  you just heard about speaking to mountains and seeing them moved
• 27:47
  into the sea, tossing to the side.
• 27:49
  Therefore, based on that, here's what I'm about to say this say
• 27:52
  to you about this. Therefore I tell you whatever
• 27:55
  you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will
• 27:59
  be yours. That's how you apply this.
• 28:04
  To see mountains moved to be brought down, to be moved to the
• 28:08
  side is through prayer. And that's our second
• 28:14
  application to seeing God do that in our lives.
• 28:17
  Mountain Moving Prayer. Means you actually have to pray
• 28:21
  about it. That's almost silly to say as a
• 28:25
  point, right? A message on prayer.
• 28:27
  One of your points is pray. Not very profound, but you and I
• 28:32
  are aware that human nature is capable of being so shaken, so
• 28:36
  disturbed, so drained, when troubles arise that to actually
• 28:42
  bring it and to place it at the feet of the Lord is sometimes
• 28:48
  and oftentimes an afterthought. And even with some no thought at
• 28:53
  all. Whatever you ask in prayer, let
• 29:00
  me remind you that moving mountains, any impossibility
• 29:03
  that drops into your ministry, any mountain that is stretching
• 29:07
  higher and wider in your marriage, any mountain that's
• 29:09
  meddling with your children, anything that's trying to
• 29:12
  frustrate your business, or any other category Jesus says,
• 29:15
  Whatever you ask in prayer will not be moved unless you ask,
• 29:22
  Will not move an inch unless you ask.
• 29:26
  Mountains don't move when you complain about the mountains.
• 29:30
  Mountains don't move when you stay up all night tossing back
• 29:33
  and forth about the mountain. Mountains don't move when you
• 29:38
  torchingly return to the drawing bar board.
• 29:42
  Try to find a different solution in your own strength and human
• 29:44
  wisdom. Mountains are moved according to
• 29:47
  Christ. When you open your heart before
• 29:49
  the Lord and spill out your needs and your concerns, and you
• 29:52
  say, Lord, you have to do something about this.
• 29:57
  And like I said, we can get so caught up in our thinking, so
• 30:00
  caught up in talking to others about it, that we have no energy
• 30:03
  left to say, You know what? This Wednesday night, I know
• 30:07
  Church has a prayer meeting. I'm going to show up, get with
• 30:09
  brothers and sisters, kneel on this carpet and ask God to do
• 30:13
  something. That's not to say that you don't
• 30:18
  plan. That's not to say that you don't
• 30:20
  invite the council of people. But listen to this.
• 30:22
  There are some situations in life where your plans or the
• 30:26
  plans of others can't do a thing about it.
• 30:32
  That's what Jesus is speaking about here.
• 30:35
  Can you imagine moving a mountain?
• 30:36
  How silly would that look? Placing your bare little hands
• 30:39
  on the east side of that hill and trying to move it.
• 30:42
  He's giving this hyper relief for for a reason.
• 30:44
  There are things in life that are like, that's like you can't
• 30:47
  go anywhere. I'm standing before this thing
• 30:48
  and I'm living in its shadow. What am I to do?
• 30:51
  Ask the God who made the mountain.
• 30:54
  Ask the God who has power over the mountain.
• 30:58
  Ask well, God is sovereign and truly, if he desires to do
• 31:02
  something in my life for his will to be accomplished that I
• 31:04
  don't see the need to ask. That's not how the economy of
• 31:08
  faith works in God's Kingdom, God has His will, and God will
• 31:14
  do things with His common grace in our lives.
• 31:16
  But there are some things that can only be unlocked.
• 31:19
  When you hit the. Floor with your knees.
• 31:23
  Figure that out in your theology if you will.
• 31:25
  I take the words of Jesus literally and seriously.
• 31:30
  I'm reminded of 6 words. 6 words that Hezekiah, another king,
• 31:36
  heard from the prophet Isaiah when he was visited by
• 31:39
  skyscraper situation where you could not look to anything else,
• 31:43
  outnumbered by the armies of Assyria.
• 31:47
  Intimidated, fearful, pushed in the corner and here's this is
• 31:51
  precious. I mean this is wonderful.
• 31:56
  Isaiah 37, verse 21. When I was looking at this
• 32:01
  point, it was these 6 words that rang through my heart.
• 32:07
  And Isaiah 3721. Then Isaiah the son of Amos sent
• 32:14
  to Hezekiah saying, Thus says the Lord of God of Israel.
• 32:19
  Hear the words because you have prayed to me concerning Seneca,
• 32:28
  king of Assyria. You see that because you have
• 32:34
  prayed to me, implying what if he had not prayed?
• 32:39
  There wouldn't have been an answer.
• 32:43
  Did God see the trouble? Did God see his city being
• 32:45
  surrounded? Did God see that they were going
• 32:47
  to be absolutely swallowed by foreign enemy?
• 32:51
  You better believe it. But it wasn't until he heard the
• 32:56
  voice of a man saying, God, these are the threats of the
• 33:00
  king of Assyria. I'm concerned about your glory.
• 33:04
  What are you going to do? Lord, you need to do something
• 33:07
  about this. And the prophet comes with a
• 33:11
  pure true word from the Lord. Hezekiah, because you have
• 33:15
  prayed to me. Watch me now.
• 33:18
  Do you know how freeing that is? Do you know how freeing that is
• 33:21
  in so many ways? What if God doesn't answer?
• 33:25
  Well, I did my part because you have prayed.
• 33:29
  Because you have prayed. I'm not willing to live my life
• 33:31
  thinking, what if I had prayed? I'm going to pray about it.
• 33:35
  I'm going to bring it before God.
• 33:38
  And stand back and see if you'll give me instruction about it, or
• 33:42
  if you'll tell me to just stay there, be quiet, and watch me
• 33:44
  move. We come back to what Jesus says
• 33:48
  here in our text in verse 24. Therefore I tell you whatever
• 33:52
  you. Ask in prayer.
• 33:53
  Believe that you have received it and it will be yours.
• 33:55
  So not just to pray about it, but to pray about it in a
• 33:57
  certain way, with expectation, with expectation.
• 34:03
  I'm believing that if I pray about this, God is going to give
• 34:08
  it. Some of us are offended by that,
• 34:13
  but God invites us into that. And you're saying, well, are you
• 34:17
  saying that if I pray hard enough and long enough and
• 34:21
  passionately enough and desperately enough that God will
• 34:25
  give me whatever I want? No, prayers of faith will never
• 34:30
  fulfill desires of the flesh? Do you see who Jesus is speaking
• 34:35
  to when he gives these instructions as you speak, on a
• 34:37
  mountaintop with thousands of people there with questionable
• 34:40
  motives? Yes, this is applied to us, and
• 34:43
  yes, this is applied to readers of the Bible.
• 34:47
  But it's to these disciples who have sold everything to follow
• 34:50
  Christ, who have determined that their future will be framed by
• 34:54
  one aim, advancing the gospel even unto death, who have said
• 34:58
  no to the world and yes to the Messiah.
• 35:02
  When you have that as your life, when your heart has determined
• 35:06
  that in your relationship with Christ, that's going to
• 35:09
  formulate how you pray, so this isn't a blank check for just
• 35:12
  anybody. This is for those who, like the
• 35:15
  disciples, have decided to follow Jesus, make their life
• 35:18
  about Jesus, and live to please Jesus.
• 35:21
  When? When that's there, then this
• 35:23
  applies to you because you're going to pray differently than
• 35:26
  the person who's half in with Jesus.
• 35:28
  Not going to happen. Whatever you ask my followers
• 35:33
  who are living to serve me, who when I leave will truly take
• 35:37
  this to heart. I'm going to be behind it.
• 35:41
  Pray with expectation, Pray with longing.
• 35:47
  Come to the place like Nehemiah where your reflex when trouble
• 35:50
  visits you when you were surprised by something.
• 35:54
  Go Lord, you got to do something here.
• 35:56
  Oh Lord, help me. Oh, what a wonderful thing it
• 36:01
  would be if. And I believe it is here.
• 36:06
  If every home here had that mom and dad know.
• 36:11
  Kids get around, we got to pray. We have some troubles here with
• 36:16
  our finances. Nothing to worry about, but
• 36:18
  let's bring it to the Lord when that report comes in over the
• 36:22
  phone. And it's a.
• 36:22
  Tragedy to your family when the church When the church needs
• 36:28
  something, we need something, do we not?
• 36:30
  You were here for the announcements, right?
• 36:32
  I forgot what it was. What do we do, God?
• 36:38
  You see us where? Are we going to go in this
• 36:41
  market? What are we going to do at this
• 36:42
  time? We have no idea.
• 36:46
  Good ask. Come to me.
• 36:50
  Bring it to me. I think this message is
• 36:52
  providential. I don't know about you.
• 36:54
  I was floating since I've been studying it all week.
• 36:56
  Yes, OK. Lord, this great mountain will
• 36:59
  be made a plain, not by your might, not by your power, but by
• 37:03
  my spirit, says the Lord. Well, if you want to see the
• 37:06
  Spirit work, you got to partner with the Spirit.
• 37:10
  And so we see here that the Lord gives this very simple
• 37:13
  condition, but one that we often miss.
• 37:15
  Whatever you ask, you got to ask.
• 37:18
  Take that thing, whatever that mountain is called, and bring it
• 37:20
  to him. Say, Lord, this.
• 37:24
  I've read about you. I've heard things about you.
• 37:27
  I've listened to enough sermons. I've read church history.
• 37:29
  I've studied revivals. Now here's my own mountain.
• 37:33
  Here's what's happening. Lord, do something.
• 37:37
  And I believe with all my heart, because I have studied you, that
• 37:40
  this is nothing to you. That's the kind of prayer that
• 37:44
  moves mountains. Not half hearted, not
• 37:51
  distracted. Not all.
• 37:54
  You know, it's the right thing to do to pray.
• 37:56
  Not when somebody asks you to pray.
• 37:58
  You're like, yeah, how am I going to say no?
• 37:59
  What kind of Christian. Yeah.
• 38:00
  Yeah. Let's pray about it.
• 38:01
  Thank you, Lord. OK.
• 38:02
  Thanks, buddy. All right.
• 38:03
  Yeah. That doesn't move.
• 38:05
  Nothing. Desperate, humble, broken, fully
• 38:11
  convinced, kind of praying. I believe God can do something
• 38:16
  about it. Well, does it have to be big for
• 38:18
  God to do something about it? Not necessarily, whatever you
• 38:21
  ask in prayer. Whatever you ask in prayer, as
• 38:28
  one writer said, let. Everything in your life come
• 38:31
  under the care of prayer. Just smother it all, Submerge it
• 38:38
  all. You got to buy a new car, pray
• 38:41
  about it. Why not?
• 38:45
  Think about where to move? Pray about it.
• 38:47
  Why not? Kids being bullied, pray about
• 38:50
  it. Why not?
• 38:52
  You're invited to pray for whatever.
• 38:55
  Pray. Pray in the moment.
• 38:58
  Take time to pray about it like Nehemiah.
• 39:01
  Just pray and watch God move. I can take the next 10 minutes
• 39:06
  to tell you about stories, stories, personal stories.
• 39:11
  How God has shown himself true. Everything from new boots.
• 39:15
  As some of you heard that story, I won't bore you with it again.
• 39:18
  New boots. To new cities, new locations.
• 39:25
  From little problems that I need for the day to be solved, to big
• 39:29
  problems where I don't know where I'm going to be for the
• 39:32
  rest of my life If this is not solved, whatever you ask in
• 39:36
  prayer invite. Me into it.
• 39:41
  But we have one more step, one more condition for mountain
• 39:45
  moving prayer. The first was to have faith.
• 39:47
  Not in prayer, not in your devotion.
• 39:51
  In God, grow in your knowledge of God and watch your strength
• 39:55
  and your confidence and prayer also grow, but from there to
• 39:59
  also identify and express your need with expectancy.
• 40:03
  Lastly, live repentedly. Before God, verse 25 of Mark 11
• 40:13
  And whenever you stand praying, that was a common posture,
• 40:15
  praying of that time forgive if you have anything against
• 40:23
  anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven, may forgive
• 40:27
  you your trespasses. This final condition here is so
• 40:34
  important having. Faith in God is foundational.
• 40:37
  Identifying and expressing your need to God is essential, but
• 40:42
  without recognizing this you will not be able to move A.
• 40:47
  Pebble Unless we take heed to what the Lord is saying.
• 40:53
  The Lord essentially in a general way, is saying if you
• 40:56
  are willing to justify holding on to sin, then you forfeit your
• 41:03
  access to miraculous problem solving.
• 41:07
  Mountain moving prayer, that's what you forfeit.
• 41:11
  And that's that's a threat throughout the Bible.
• 41:13
  Even in First Peter 3 when we're told about husbands and how they
• 41:16
  should relate to their wives, you know what the threat was for
• 41:17
  husbands. They don't live in an
• 41:19
  understanding way with their wives.
• 41:21
  Your prayers won't be heard. I had a friend who told me he
• 41:24
  was recently getting married. So are you excited to get
• 41:26
  married? He's like, yeah.
• 41:27
  I'm kind of nervous too. So why?
• 41:30
  I was expecting difference And he says remember that passage
• 41:32
  and. And Peter, because, look, I'm
• 41:35
  becoming one with somebody else, and I've never obviously done
• 41:38
  this before, and I'm just, I just want to make sure that God
• 41:41
  gives me the strength so that my prayers are not hindered based
• 41:43
  on how I treat my wife. Wow.
• 41:46
  You know what that tells me about that man, about the Bible
• 41:50
  declares about prayer. That prayer should be so
• 41:51
  valuable to you, that threat should be legitimate.
• 41:55
  Huh. Do you feel that when you read
• 41:59
  that? Passage.
• 42:00
  The way you treat your spouse will determine how God will hear
• 42:03
  you. Does that cause you to be like,
• 42:07
  hey honey, can we talk? Some people have such a low view
• 42:15
  of prayer they can read past that and not be moved an inch.
• 42:19
  You have not experienced what prayer can do.
• 42:21
  You have not tasted His presence in the secret place.
• 42:24
  You've not. Seen it for you not to feel
• 42:27
  something like that. And so Jesus now comes and his
• 42:31
  final condition. And he says, if you're willing
• 42:34
  to hold on to sin, you're willing to let go of this gift,
• 42:40
  not your salvation, but this gift, your experience of God
• 42:43
  through this life. But what He has specifically in
• 42:46
  view here is the issue of unforgiveness.
• 42:49
  And what the Lord essentially is getting at is if we are
• 42:52
  determined to withhold mercy and grace from another, you should
• 42:56
  not be surprised when God withholds His blessing from you.
• 43:03
  I love the Book of Job for many reasons.
• 43:07
  It's such a unique book. But what moves me about the Book
• 43:12
  of Job is how it ends. Because if you want one word to
• 43:18
  describe the ending of Job, it's this restoration, restoration,
• 43:24
  restoration. And it's multifaceted.
• 43:27
  Turn with me to Job as we close this service.
• 43:33
  Job, Job 42 and verse 7. After the Lord had spoken these
• 43:53
  words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Timonite.
• 43:57
  My anger burns against you and against your two friends.
• 44:01
  For you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job
• 44:04
  has now therefore take seven bulls and seven Rams and go to
• 44:09
  my servant Job and OfferUp a burnt offering for yourselves.
• 44:13
  And my servant Job shall pray for you.
• 44:16
  For I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to
• 44:20
  your folly. For you have not spoken of me
• 44:22
  what is right, as my servant Job has.
• 44:25
  In these verses God refers to Job as my servant 4 times.
• 44:30
  My servant, my servant, my servant, my servant.
• 44:34
  He speaks to these three friends.
• 44:37
  Interestingly, he doesn't bring up Eli.
• 44:38
  Who the the youngest one out of them.
• 44:41
  We can talk about that another time.
• 44:42
  But these three friends, and he tells them you're wrong, and I'm
• 44:47
  going to vindicate the innocence of my servant.
• 44:49
  And the way I'm going to do that is have you humble yourself to
• 44:55
  come before him and to seek his pardon, His forgiveness
• 45:01
  expressed through prayer. And when you do that, then I
• 45:06
  will hear you and I will answer you.
• 45:10
  In other words, what the Lord is teaching these people here is
• 45:13
  that to be reconciled with Job is necessary before you seek to
• 45:17
  worship and receive anything from Me.
• 45:23
  And so they went, and they did so.
• 45:25
  And as much as Job's prayer was a condition for these men to
• 45:30
  experience renewal, right it's it's pretty clear plain this is
• 45:35
  the part that moves me Job praying for His friends was
• 45:39
  necessary for him to know renewal.
• 45:44
  Him praying was not just for his friends to experience
• 45:47
  restoration with God. Him willing to pray for them was
• 45:51
  also necessary. For him to know the fullness of
• 45:54
  restoration, prove it. Look at verse 10.
• 45:58
  And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had
• 46:04
  prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as
• 46:09
  much as he had before. It's clear Job's fortunes were
• 46:13
  not restored until until he prayed for his friends.
• 46:18
  So God was not willing to move on behalf of these friends.
• 46:22
  And God was not willing to move into the life of Job to the
• 46:25
  fullest extent until they reconciled.
• 46:27
  You have to go and acknowledge my my servant Job was innocent,
• 46:31
  you were wrong and accusing him. And you read about all those
• 46:33
  accusations throughout Job and Job.
• 46:36
  My servant, before I restore to you anything, forgive them.
• 46:45
  This man was not just blistered with actual sores, but was
• 46:50
  harassed by the railing slander of these friends.
• 46:54
  Cough. It up job.
• 46:55
  You can't experience all this without being a Sinner in
• 46:57
  secret. What did you do?
• 46:58
  Did you sleep with somebody else's wife?
• 47:02
  Did you rip off the poor? But you?
• 47:05
  Blasphemy. God.
• 47:06
  Cough it up, man. Imagine your friends doing that.
• 47:08
  The Council of Job's friends was best when they were silent for
• 47:11
  several days. Problems arose when they began
• 47:14
  to speak up. Imagine all of this.
• 47:18
  Imagine the bitterness, the resentment, the anger.
• 47:22
  I spent all those chapters telling you that I, my
• 47:25
  conscience, am innocent and you didn't believe me.
• 47:29
  Now you want me to pray for you on top of it?
• 47:34
  You know, prayer is one of the strongest indications that you
• 47:36
  have forgiven somebody. Prayer for that person is one of
• 47:39
  the strongest marks that you have moved from resentment to
• 47:44
  relief. You know what?
• 47:49
  This truth makes me wonder? How much blessing is being kept
• 47:54
  from those because they have not yet prayed for others who have
• 48:01
  hurt them? Personally, I stepped back and
• 48:10
  thought, Lord, far be it from me that if in my heart I'm holding
• 48:19
  something against someone and that resulting in you holding
• 48:22
  back something from me, you know that might be true of you today.
• 48:31
  Be a Christian long enough and you will know pain and hurt.
• 48:35
  Even if you're not a Christian, if you do not let go, God will
• 48:42
  not be able to open the floodgates.
• 48:46
  If you cannot stand in prayer and forgive, then God will not
• 48:51
  give you the solution to that mountain.
• 48:59
  That can all change today, though.
• 49:02
  You know why? Because this lesson on prayer
• 49:05
  with the withered fig tree immediately follows Jesus
• 49:09
  cleansing the temple. And you know what Jesus said
• 49:10
  when he cleanse the temple, my house shall be called what?
• 49:14
  A House of prayer. How fitting.
• 49:17
  My house shall be called the House of prayer.
• 49:18
  Now let me teach you about prayer.
• 49:20
  And here you are in the new covenant in the House of God.
• 49:23
  I'm going to challenge you to do something today.
• 49:26
  Instead of just wrapping this up, having two songs and going
• 49:29
  our merry way, I'm going to ask you if you want this kind of
• 49:34
  heavenly favor over your life, to forgive, to forgive people
• 49:42
  who have. Said things about you who have
• 49:45
  done things to you who have stolen from you, who have tried
• 49:48
  to kill you and. Say, Lord, I want to be free.
• 49:55
  I want to be free. And that might be for some of
• 49:58
  you, but you know what was going to be for all of us, because
• 50:00
  there's going to be a two-part response to this message.
• 50:02
  The first one is for all of us to to sit still and to get right
• 50:06
  with the Lord in this area. I refuse to live my life with
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  blockage vertically because I'm not willing to let go
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  horizontally. And we can go in the next 30
• 50:20
  minutes about what forgiveness looks like.
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  Let me tell you what forgiveness isn't.
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  It isn't you not feeling pain, even if it's been years since
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  you've been hurt. It's not you forgetting what
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  happened either. Forgiveness is you saying.
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  I refuse to entertain, to wallow, to enjoy the thought and
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  even to plan revenge. That's I'm done.
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  It's not. It's not up to me.
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  I refuse. And one of the ways in which you
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  know you're free from that. Because sometimes unforgiveness
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  is empowering. That's why we hold on to it.
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  We think about and we play these things in our minds, and we
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  almost wish harm upon those who have hurt us.
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  And that thing needs to be broken.
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  And the way one of the ways in which there is light now and
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  there is freedom is that you could say Lord, so and so.
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  I'm asking that you have mercy on them genuinely from my heart.
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  And one of the motivators for that is how many times have I
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  failed you? And you've extended mercy to me,
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  over and over and over. And if you feel like that is not
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  even enough motivation to forgive another person, revisit
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  the absolute holiness of God and realize just how heinous and
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  evil even the smallest offences are to him.
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  And realize he takes you back every time.
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  Every time he doesn't put you in a penalty box for a few days,
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  they prove yourself and then we can go back at this thing.
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  The moment you say forgive me goes I've forgiven you.
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  Let. Fuel your forgiveness in that
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  place. Say, Lord, forgive.
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  Forgive them. Bless them, not bless them while
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  they remain in their sin. Lord, be kind to them.
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  And instead of extending judgment to them, would you so
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  overwhelm them with your mercy that their hearts melt and
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  they're restored to you? Do that for them, please.
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  That's the type of prayer of a person who is forgiven.
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  That's the first part. Second part is this church.
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  Aren't you excited that we have a great mountain before us in
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  this next year? We do.
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  And don't think that we just started off this campaign with a
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  lengthy announcement and we're just going to revisit it once or
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  twice. No, we got to.
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  Pray. And we got to say, Lord, here we
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  are, NBC and here's a mountain. Do something, Lord do.
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  If you don't come through, we're finished here, we don't come
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  through. We're going to get a lot of
• 52:52
  tickets on our cars. Lord, you need to come through.
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  Lord, we're. Grateful for the space.
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  But look, it's been 3 weeks in a row and people are still back
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  there. Lord, you got to come through.
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  We're going to do that. So here's what we're going to
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  do, OK? We're not in a rush, right?
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  It's the Lord's there, right? Good.
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  I'm. Going to ask.
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  For one or two of the musicians to play gently, just for the
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  sake of limiting distraction. I'm going to ask every single
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  one of you before we move that second part as a church crying
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  out to the Lord for you to think about that last part.
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  Having faith in God and and identifying and expressing your
• 53:27
  need to God won't go anywhere unless you first forgiven.
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  Let your heart be set free today with that truth.
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  Give them to the Lord. Bless them, Pray for your
• 53:38
  enemies. Our Jesus said, what do you pray
• 53:42
  for? Lord?
• 53:44
  I'm praying for my enemies. No, pray for them and then we'll
• 53:48
  transition and say here we are. Lord, our hearts are clean.
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  We've released this and now we come and we say, please help us
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  with this mountain. Make this great mountain into a
• 53:56
  plain. Oh God, I'm so excited to do
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  this today. Come ahead, Miss Houston's.
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  Yes, and just do that. Don't distract anybody.
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  Let them be with the Lord in this.
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  And in a few moments, I'll come back up here and give us
• 54:09
  instructions on how we'll close out the service.
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  Spend time with God. Well we put these names before
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  your throne. It might have been parents,
• 57:44
  might have been siblings, might have been church people, might
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  have been a pastor, an elder, a Deacon, a Co worker, a boss.
• 57:52
  Lord, well, we just bring them to you now.
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  We say, God, we forgive them, and we want you to bless them.
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  We want you to have mercy on them.
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  We want them to be overcome by your love.
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  Lord, we ask that they would not remain in their sin, that they
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  would no longer justify the things that they've not even
• 58:21
  done to us, but that Lord, in your kindness you would lead
• 58:24
  them to repentance. We do not wish for judgment upon
• 58:28
  them, but for your mercy to triumph instead.
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  Lord, let this be the defining moment for some, perhaps to know
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  a freedom that they've never experienced before.
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  We will not steal from you, Lord.
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  You said vengeance is mine, says the Lord, and I will repay.
• 58:52
  We give that right to you. We don't even want that to be in
• 58:56
  our imagination, never mind scheming and hoping.
• 59:00
  Lord, we don't want to murder their reputation.
• 59:03
  We don't want to continue speaking about the hurt that
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  they've done to us. Lord.
• 59:08
  If there's going to be any energy spent on those people who
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  have hurt us is to pray. Help us do that, That in every
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  complaint that comes from our heart and every remembrance that
• 59:19
  only strengthens our bitterness, we would say, Lord, please heal
• 59:23
  me and heal them. Bring us to that place, Lord, a
• 59:27
  freedom, and help us believe that you've set a principle with
• 59:30
  Job's life that fortunes are released when we have that
• 59:34
  release. We don't want anything to get in
• 59:37
  the way. Lord, between you for giving us,
• 59:40
  you answering us, us having your full pleasure reigning over our
• 59:47
  lives. In Jesus name we pray.
• 59:52
  Amen. Church, would you stand with me?
• 59:54
  We're going to now get into the second part of this and as the
• 1:00:00
  precinct comes up, as we're ready to.
• 1:00:02
  Sing and closing. I want us to.
• 1:00:05
  I want us to really pray. Pray with expectation.
• 1:00:13
  God owns everything. And you read the story of Ezra
• 1:00:17
  and Nehemiah and even Hagai. You realize that God is
• 1:00:20
  sovereign over the kings of Persia, the kings of Babylon,
• 1:00:23
  over every politician, and in our context, every village.
• 1:00:34
  This is not just a time for us to see how God will come through
• 1:00:36
  with resources. This is a time, I believe with
• 1:00:38
  all my heart designated to see what God will do with prayer,
• 1:00:41
  what God will do with prayer when the church prays.
• 1:00:45
  And so I'm just asking you now with full attention, just to
• 1:00:49
  engage in this act of faith, to pray.
• 1:00:54
  And so give your complete focus with me now as we turn to the
• 1:00:56
  Lord. This isn't showmanship.
• 1:00:58
  This isn't just the emotional way of ending a service, really,
• 1:01:01
  to pray. My house shall be called the
• 1:01:03
  House of Prayer. God longs to hear our voices
• 1:01:05
  this Sunday afternoon. Lord, we look to you with
• 1:01:10
  absolute trust in you. We have read of you and we have
• 1:01:14
  heard of you. You are the God of Abraham,
• 1:01:17
  Isaac, and Jacob. You are the God of Joseph.
• 1:01:21
  You are the God of Daniel. You are the God of Isaiah.
• 1:01:24
  Jeremiah Ezekiel, you are the God who has heard many prayers,
• 1:01:30
  the prayers of individuals, the prayers of your people, Israel
• 1:01:35
  and Lord. You are the same God today who
• 1:01:37
  now in the New Covenant has given us the access to you.
• 1:01:42
  The access that's not limited to a temple, the access that's not
• 1:01:45
  gained through several sacrifices, but through the
• 1:01:48
  blood of your son, the once and for all sacrifice.
• 1:01:51
  We have boldness and confidence to come before your throne.
• 1:01:55
  Lord, you know our hearts. You know that we love the
• 1:01:57
  gospel. We love your word.
• 1:02:00
  We want to be holy. We want to please you.
• 1:02:03
  And, Lord, we have a need. We have a need today.
• 1:02:07
  Lord, we thank you for the growth in this church.
• 1:02:09
  We thank you for the people that you're changing.
• 1:02:12
  We thank you for the maturity that's being realized in our
• 1:02:14
  faith as we gather week after week.
• 1:02:17
  But, Lord, we are limited today. We're being strained today,
• 1:02:20
  Lord. We have great hopes and dreams
• 1:02:23
  and desires for your will, O God, and for your name's sake.
• 1:02:27
  So, Lord, we ask that you make this great mountain into a
• 1:02:29
  plain. And we pray, Lord, from the
• 1:02:31
  bottom of our hearts, that we would see a miracle of
• 1:02:33
  provision. And that, Lord, you would
• 1:02:35
  highlight and make known a place that you have designated for
• 1:02:38
  Maranatha Bible Church. Lord, we will not fear nor fret.
• 1:02:42
  Help us remember that as we advance your Kingdom, Satan will
• 1:02:45
  not sit idly by. He will seek to frustrate and
• 1:02:48
  divide. And agitate.
• 1:02:51
  Our own hearts and the hearts of the people here gathered.
• 1:02:55
  So Lord, help us be equipped, equipped with the full armor of
• 1:02:58
  God, mindful that although this is a nice desire to ask for,
• 1:03:01
  this is war with the Kingdom of darkness.
• 1:03:05
  And so we pray for protection over our minds, our hearts, our
• 1:03:08
  unity, our love against persecution that would try to
• 1:03:12
  hinder us meeting here peaceably.
• 1:03:14
  And we pray, Lord, that you would come through in a way
• 1:03:16
  that's undeniable. Let there be no confusion that
• 1:03:19
  when this does happen that you're the one who did it.
• 1:03:22
  This is our desire, Lord, that in 2024, leading into 2025,
• 1:03:27
  there would be an amazing testimony in the Chicagoland
• 1:03:30
  area. And that Lord, when you do bring
• 1:03:32
  us through and people ask when did you come here and how did
• 1:03:35
  you come here? We'd be able to say, listen to
• 1:03:37
  what God has done. This is our yearning and our
• 1:03:40
  plea, Lord, And we ask, believing that you will provide.
• 1:03:44
  For this church, for every person's need here in their
• 1:03:49
  family, with their jobs, with, with any struggle.
• 1:03:52
  Lord, move those mountains. Today help us graduate in prayer
• 1:03:57
  for your glory and we say thanks to you together in Jesus name.
• 1:04:01
  Amen. Let's sink to the Lord together.