Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #14906 - You Need To Know Him Personally - Ephesians 1:15-18

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#14906 - You Need To Know Him Personally - Ephesians 1:15-18 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Amen.
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Take your Bibles and open them to Ephesians chapter 1.
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We're going to pick up where we left off last time in verse 15.
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Ephesians chapter one, verse 15, and I've been tottered our Bible
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study. You need to know him personally
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or you could say you need to know Jesus personally and after
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encouraging the believers in Ephesus with the presence of the
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Holy Spirit in their lives. Remember in verse 13 he said you
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were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
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In verse 14, he reminded them that they are the guarantee of
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their inheritances from the Holy Spirit.
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He turns a corner in verse 15 and he prays for them.
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He says therefore I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord
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Jesus and your love for all the Saints do not cease to give
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thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers today.
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We're going to learn from the first of two prayers that Paul
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includes in the book of Ephesians.
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We're going to gain new insights of prayer.
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It will not be an in dub study on prayer, but we're going to
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learn a lot about prayer as we listen in with Paul.
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Prayer has been called one of the highest forms of
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communication available to man. Think about it for a moment.
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God listens to and responds to our prayers.
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The Creator and Sustainer of the universe cares about you and
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communicates with you and hears you and answers and invites you.
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And the Bible is filled with prayers.
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But today we turn our attention to one of Paul's two in this
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epistle. You'll notice with Paul, he
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always prays for spiritual things.
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This is the target that he shoots.
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While we have a tendency to focus our prayers on the
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physical and the material realm, Paul aimed his prayers at the
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heart. And perhaps God will add that to
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your prayer life. Not merely a list of things that
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we want from God, but rather we come to God in prayer, wanting
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God himself and the importance of who he is in our relationship
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with him. But before we jump in, it's good
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to be reminded of where Paul is. Paul is in prison.
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Ephesians is one of the prison epistles, and he's sitting in a
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Roman prison locked up. And some of you may be in prison
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yourself. Now, I know that many that are
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in the local jails that get the Grace FM radio signal will
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schedule time around this live service, and this is their
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church service. So I know this message will go
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out to those that are physically locked up because of a crime
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committed. But that's not most of us.
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Most of us are bound and locked up for different reasons.
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We are not physically in prison, but perhaps bound up by other
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areas of our lives. Perhaps you feel trapped or
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restricted or hurt or scared or filled in anxiety.
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Maybe it's a chronic illness or grief or pain or even
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hopelessness. We need to know and learn.
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We need to know and understand what prayer can do for us when
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we are restricted. You and I overcome our prisons
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through prayer, tapping into the God who loves us and is praying
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for other. As we pray for others, we're
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tapping into the power of love and support and care for
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ourselves. You don't need to turn there.
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But in Acts chapter 16, when we studied the book of Acts, we
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have the first time Paul prays in prison.
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He's in Philippi, and he had come into Philippi after a
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couple of hard closed doors, and he found a group of women
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praying at the Riverside. He prays with them.
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Salvation takes place. A church is planted.
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And then there was that young girl possessed by a demon
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following Paul around. And he stops and turns around
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and casts out the demon and releases this girl from her
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prison. And what was the reward?
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They threw him and Silas into jail.
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They incarcerated him and there he is.
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The Bible says in Acts 16, praying and worshipping God in
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jail. And what happens as he's praying
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and worshipping God, the jailer hears and he gets saved, and a
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tremendous change takes place. You will hear this theme of
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imprisonment throughout our study in Ephesians, but you need
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to know that prayer is not a last resort.
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It is the first step in experiencing the freedom that's
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already yours, even in and especially in difficult times.
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In verse 15, Paul says, Therefore, after I heard of your
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faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love for all the
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Saints, I don't cease to give thanks for you making mention of
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you in my prayers. The faithful prayers of the
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Saints are precious. Your prayers are important.
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How Marie and I and our family so appreciate your prayers for
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us. They're needed and they're
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wanted. Praying for our church.
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Praying for the pastors and wives, praying for the lay
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leaders, praying for the person that you just met.
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Praying for the grieving, praying for the hurting.
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We need these. Paul would be known today if he
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was a part of our church. We would probably call him a
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prayer warrior. Now, I'm not a super big fan of
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that phrase because it makes it sound like some people are are
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different kind of prayer, You know, in prayer, they're
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different than others. And I guess that's true to some
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degree. But if we're going to use
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phrases like prayer warrior, then we should all be prayer
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warriors. Like it should apply to all of
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us, not just a few people. But I know, I do know that a few
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people have this special leaning toward prayer.
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And we appreciate you and we need you.
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And we need your number to multiply because like Paul you,
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we need you to be seeking the Lord's favor on behalf of those
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that you know and that you don't know.
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We need you to pray for our church.
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We need you to pray for the needs of our church.
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And one thing you'll notice in a familiar theme, the longer you
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walk with the Lord, the more you read the Bible.
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This is something you'll notice. Great men and women of God have
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always been and continue to be men and women of prayer.
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Those that seem to experience great exploits or a long
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faithfulness or those that finish well, you'll see if they
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pull back the curtain of their lives.
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They were great men and women of prayer.
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This is the real difference in a person's life early on in the
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life of the church and even pre church in the old covenant.
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But early on in the life of the church we learn in Acts chapter
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2 verse 42, the key of their strength.
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It says that they continued steadfastly in the apostles
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doctrine and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in
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what prayers. It actually says it in the
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plural. The early church was a group of
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prayer and they often prayed and this was the key to their lives
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as it needs and must be the key to our life.
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You can look at the life of any person that God has used
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mightily and you will see a great prayer life behind it.
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I mean, think back to Moses and David and Elijah and Joshua and
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John and Mary and Hannah, and on that list goes great men and
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women of prayer. And then we bring it down to
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like our generation, authors like EM Bounds, Charles
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Spurgeon, DL Moody, George Mueller.
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And some of you might go when? Who are these people?
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Hey, look them up and start reading their books, especially
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George Mueller. We have a book downstairs of the
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life of George Mueller. Every page is like a conviction
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of prayer. This guy, he prayed like he laid
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it all on the line and becomes a great example to aspire to.
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Now, none of us will be George Mueller, but man, he'll stretch
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you. I know that book stretches me in
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my dependence upon the Lord and my relationship with him.
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And in our own church life, we have met great men and women of
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prayer. I mean, there's a brother that
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comes to mind immediately. I hope you have the chance to be
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a part of his life and for him to be a part of your life.
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We were blessed for many, many years.
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Another brother that goes way back with us, back to the school
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days, who was with us for many, many years until he graduated
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and went home to be with the Lord.
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I hope you had a chance to have Pastor Avant a part of your
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life, Avant Ramsey, a man of prayer.
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That man would not let you out of his sight without praying for
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you and he would pray every morning at the side of his bed.
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The man was a man of prayer and he handed down that heritage to
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so many. And we are grateful that he is
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known. I think of another brother,
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Randy Schofield. He he is a brother that will not
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let you go without prayer. And he's praying for you when
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he's, when he's gone and he's praying for you on the way.
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Like these men that we have had a part.
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And some of you are prayer warriors, but your, your name is
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not known. But it doesn't make you
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insignificant. Prayer is the key.
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It's one of the reasons why I've enjoyed another modern brother
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in the ministry, Pastor Jim Simbola from Brooklyn, the the
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ministry that he's been called to in the inner city of Brooklyn
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and the challenges. What did God do in his life made
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him a man of prayer and that is his gift to the church.
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You can't help but be impacted in any way by his ministry
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without being emphasized the need to pray.
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And the fruit of prayer before us today is another man of
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prayer known as Paul the Apostle.
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Prayer is one of those ministries that can not only
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release you from the bonds that you're in, but also help you
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travel around the world. I think of of Pastor Nate there
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in Myanmar, we've tried to go out a few times and his answer
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is no, you can't. Don't come now.
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Don't come now. It's too dangerous.
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And so physically, we haven't been able to travel and see his
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ministry with our own eyes. But I want you to know that I
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have been in be Myanmar dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens
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of times since he's gone there through prayer.
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Even this morning as we prayed for Nate and Tessa, we were
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there with them. I mean, I don't know, I forgot
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to check what time it is in Myanmar, but let's just say it's
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the middle of the night. So we all went into his bedroom
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while he's sleeping and stood over him and he woke up and go,
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whoa, I hope he doesn't beat us up if he sees us in that
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bedroom. But praying over him, We're
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praying over him at the dinner table.
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We're praying over him as he's setting up this new house you
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are in. You through prayer, get to
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travel the world and impact what's happening around the
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world. It takes you really, you know
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the value. I mean, we can talk about prayer
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all day, but the value of prayers, it takes you out of
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yourself and it, it brings you right into the eternal.
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Because we're before we ever get to Burma, we go to heaven first,
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right into the throne room of grace.
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And what do we find there? Help in time of need.
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We're right there in the presence of our ABBA, of our
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Father, pleading with him, enjoying him, coming to him in
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times of need. And in your prayer life, you're
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always going to have to fight. There's always going to be a
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fight attached to your prayer life because the enemy's not
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happy. He's not happy with the progress
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you're making in coming to the Father.
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And there's always going to be a fight because in prayer he's
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going to whisper things to you like, why did you say that or
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why did you do that? What a dumb thing to ask God.
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God isn't interested in those little things.
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And Satan does that because he knows the power of prayer.
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I have found over the years that the devil believes things deeper
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than believers do, and he knows. He knows the power of prayer.
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He knows what God does through prayer.
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He knows what a powerful woman you are, what a powerful man you
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are when you are close to the Lord, how safe and secure you
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are, and how much more flows out of your life when you leave
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after a prayer session with the Lord.
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It's one of the discouraging things that I've seen over the
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years here in this little fellowship family.
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Many years ago, I was deeply convicted that we weren't
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praying enough, and we rearranged the whole Wednesday
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night service to emphasize prayer.
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We call it Give 10. You know, back then when we
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started doing that, the room was probably 3/4 full, people coming
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out for Bible study. And as soon as we start praying,
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the room emptied, the room empty.
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People didn't want to pray. Maybe you still feel that way.
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Yeah. I don't come to Wednesdays
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because I don't want to pray with people.
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That's really unfortunate for you and unfortunate for us.
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I mean, imagine that. I don't want to pray out loud,
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and I want to. It's just you're believing the
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lies of the enemy because all. You know what?
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I don't know how to pray. What do you mean you don't know
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how to pray? Do you know how to talk?
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Yeah, I know how to talk. Then you know how to pray.
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You know how to communicate. Yeah.
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You know. Yeah, I can pray.
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Can you say anything? Yeah.
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Well, you know, I know I'm not able to speak.
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Well, can you say it in your mind?
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Yeah, I could say it in my mind. Well, you're already praying.
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But the attitude of coming and saying, you know, I, I don't
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like, I don't want to pray out loud with, with people I don't
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know, with strangers. Can I just remind you, you're
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not praying with strangers. You're praying with your family.
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This is your family. I know you haven't met that
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crazy uncle yet, but you will. They'll be in the prayer group
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with you or that, that aunt that you haven't seen in 30 years,
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They're going to show up that, that you, you pressing in.
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You know, the real unfortunate thing is that there's an
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opportunity for you to, to really be trained on prayer and
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to focus on the needs of your church, whoever is leading the
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prayer that night. And your response is I, I don't
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want to do it. And so you rearrange your life
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around it. Listen, I know there's other
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reasons why you may not be able to come to a midweek service.
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That's not my point. My point is it's very
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discouraging to watch and let me even bring it home.
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There's very discouraging in my own life to watch those seasons
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where I don't even want to pray, where Marie or my kids might
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say, say, dad, let's pray. And I'm like, you know, why?
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Why am I not the one saying that?
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And it's because the enemy is coming against the weapon of
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prayer. We're going to learn that in
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Ephesians chapter 6. It's one of your spiritual
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armor. And so coming together, you
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know, in the life of your own little church here, you you get
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to come together on a Wednesday night.
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You get to fellowship together, You get to break bread together.
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You get to pray together and you get to study God's word.
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You get to be Acts 242 in in a church like for the service.
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That's our service and you get to intercede and see prayers
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answered and leave encourage. You know, one of the things I
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love praying out loud. I love this.
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I miss this because my kids are all grown up now.
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And so we don't have this experience as much obviously,
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because I'm not putting them to bed anymore.
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But when I was putting my kids together, putting my kids to bed
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and we're praying with them, you know, when they were praying out
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loud, I was learning things about them that I didn't know,
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that they were just talking to God and I was learning something
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that happened or some fear that they had or some issue that came
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up. And I'm like, oh, and that still
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happens with adults. I'll be praying.
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And I'm praying in a circle that just with the group and I'm
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praying and I'm hearing, I'm like, wow, that gives me a lot
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more to pray for this sister. Or this is what they carried
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into church. You know, they carried some
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burden. And I'm like, OK, Lord, yes,
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there's a lot of people carrying that burden and praying out loud
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and praying together. That's what we're going to learn
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when we study the the prayers of Paul.
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You're going to learn more about the Lord, but you're also going
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to learn more about Paul because he's going to bear his heart.
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And we see that he prays after it says in verse 15 that he
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heard of the faith of the in the Lord of the believers there.
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And he also heard of their love for all the Saints.
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And as he's praying, he's stepping into their lives, he's
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praying for them in a good time. They're blessed, they're
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encouraged, they're enriched with every spiritual blessing.
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They're they're Saints. They're filled with faith and
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love. And he says because of
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everything good I've heard about you, I'm praying for you.
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Have you noticed, have you noticed our tendency to pray for
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those that are hurting and those that are down and those that are
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discouraged? I see that in my own ministry
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life. I'm drawn to the hurting and
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those that are going through it. I want to encourage and I want
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to see that Praying for those that are in the middle of a
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trial, praying for those with prodigal kids, praying for the
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backsliders, for the sick. Of course, of course, that's
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part of our prayer. That's right.
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And it's good and it's proper. But what Paul is showing us here
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is he's adding something to our prayer life that not only are we
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praying for those that are struggling, but we're also
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praying for those that are doing well.
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Like it's good to pray for those that are doing well and those
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that are blessed, those that are filled with faith, those that
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are filled with joy, those that are just filled with the love of
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the Saints. Yes, yes, yes, we're to be
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praying for those that are weak, but we're also to be praying for
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those that are strong. Why?
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Because the devil saves his strongest weapons and attacks
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for those that are walking strong with the Lord.
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He is not happy with your progress.
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Have you noticed that yet? He is not happy with the
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progress you're making in your marriage, in your singleness
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with your kids. He's not happy with the
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promotions you're getting at work.
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He's not happening with your prayer life.
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Have you ever thought about it that way?
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That there's great resistance to those that are strong?
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Yes, we need to be praying for the hurting, but how?
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We need to be praying for the strong, too.
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We need to be interceding. You know, when I hear of a
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church in town that's doing fantastic and wonderful, I pray
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for them. I pray that God not just for the
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churches that are struggling or the path.
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When I hear about something great, some overflowing outreach
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or some big deal, or like some church that's in town, and I
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mean the whole metro area of the whole state, I just, when I hear
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some good thing, I'm praying for them.
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Because I'm telling you, I've been around long enough.
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I've been in the city now over 26 years serving the Lord and I
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have seen some massive churches. That when we moved here were
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double like they were, they were huge, huge churches that do not
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exist today for whatever reason. And it breaks my heart.
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They were at one point doing so strong.
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And whatever reason they're not even meeting anymore.
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The the buildings are being used for other purposes.
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It's sad. And so we pray for the churches
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in in this town. We pray for those that are
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hurting and we pray for those that are blessed.
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Now. We want the hurting to be
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blessed and we want the blessed to be more blessed.
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Why? Because the Kingdom, it's all
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about the Kingdom. It's why we pray for our church.
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We want our church when it's hurting.
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We're going to pray for us. We're going to pray for our
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church when we've experienced this season of blessing because
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we want to see more. We want to be used more.
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We want to see that longevity. Pray for the weak, pray for the
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strong. You notice that Paul is both
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thankful when he says, I heard about this and then in verse 16,
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I don't stop thanking God for you.
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I just don't stop thanking God. It's amazing what God has done
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in Ephesus. I love this part because I don't
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stop thanking God for what God does here in Aurora.
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Aurora is different because of you.
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Aurora is a different city. I know it may not feel like that
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at times. I know it may feel like the tide
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is turned against the church. Don't ever believe that lie.
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The gates of hell will not prevail against the church.
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Don't you ever believe that lie. You be careful what you hear and
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what you take in and you start concluding that the devil is
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winning. The devil doesn't win.
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Just turn to the back of the Bible and read the last page of
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Revelation and you see who wins. Do I need to tell you who wins?
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Let me tell you who wins. God wins through the blood of
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Jesus Christ. He wins.
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But hey, along the way, sure, along the way you just take in
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all this and it's like, Oh no, woe is me and woe is me and we
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have no power. All the don't, don't you worry
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about it at all. You just be faithful.
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The city's better because of you.
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You live in Aurora, it's better because you live in Denver.
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It's better. You live in Centennial, it's
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better. You live in Castle, it's better.
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You live in Castle Pines, it's better.
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You name the city, it's better because you live there and
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worship God right there on the block, right there in the
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apartment building, right there in the condo.
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It's better because of you and your walk with the Lord.
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As we're praying, we need to be a thankful for what God's doing
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and make mention of your church. Make mention of the other
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churches, make mention of the believers you pray for the
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believers at work. You pray, pray, pray.
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Why? Because it's good.
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It's good. Notice in verse 17.
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Now he says that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
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glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
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in the knowledge of Him. I want you to pay careful
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attention to the English translation here.
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What he's praying for is more wisdom and revelation in the
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knowledge of Him. What Paul's praying for, his
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first request, is that you know the Lord better, that you know
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the Lord better. He's praying that the church
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would know more about the Lord, not more about everything else.
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What a convicting thought. There are some among us right
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now. You know so much more about
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something else than you do about the Lord, because that's where
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you've chosen to spend your time.
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I think of the current socio economical, political climate
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that we are in and we've been in some of you have no more about
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what's going on in the world then you know more about the
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Lord and it's freaking you out, changing you.
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And so Paul, if he was praying for us, he would say, I'm just
24:11
praying for those church in Aurora, that God would give you
24:15
a spirit of revelation, that you would know Him better, that that
24:21
would be your focus, that you'd really take to heart.
24:23
Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all
24:26
these things will be added unto you.
24:29
You think back to the years of you accumulating.
24:31
When did you hear this? And did you see what this is
24:33
going in? Did you see this?
24:34
And they fall like you got. And the things just keeps
24:37
coming, keeps coming, keeps coming, keeps coming.
24:39
And what you really need to know is what the Lord is doing.
24:44
What I really need to know is Him.
24:46
Let's bring it down. Forget about the world right
24:48
now. Let's bring it down to something
24:49
even more close to the knowledge of God, and that is theology.
24:55
Some people study the Bible more than they know God.
24:58
And you go, wait a minute, Ed, what do you mean?
25:00
Like some people stop at the Bible and never get to the Lord.
25:04
Some people stop at their study of the Bible and every little
25:08
every little thing so they can have a good argument and they
25:10
can be this and they can do this and they never get to the
25:13
intimacy that God has for them. Let me be careful here.
25:17
I believe in strong theology and doctrine.
25:20
This is that's my life. You could say my whole life is
25:23
dedicated theology. Let's not be scared by the word
25:26
theology. The word theology just simply
25:28
means the study of God. That's all it means, the study
25:34
of God. But many have made the Bible
25:37
more important than God. And the Bible is not more
25:41
important than God. The Bible is a revelation of God
25:45
that has intended to get you to him, not to a teacher.
25:50
The end doesn't stop like when you're seeking God right now.
25:53
The end doesn't stop in this church, and the end doesn't stop
25:58
in this pulpit. Do you know what the end is?
26:01
God, a relationship, you need to know him personally.
26:07
Think about it. And you guys that are married
26:09
and there was a book written about your wife and all you care
26:12
about is the book. You actually know the book
26:15
better than your wife. How's that going to work for
26:17
you? Because things change over time.
26:20
Things change and you it's like, hey, you know, your wife wants
26:23
to tell you something. I already know it.
26:25
I read the book. Dude, you missed a chapter, man.
26:30
And it goes both ways. A book written by your husband.
26:32
Not very thick, but it was written nonetheless.
26:36
I'm a husband. I can say that it's like you pay
26:41
more attention to the book than you do the person.
26:44
That's not how you develop relationships.
26:47
Relationships come only one way. Same thing between you and God
26:51
and you with others. And that's this time and
26:54
testing, time and testing and the means by which you build a
27:00
relationship through time and testings.
27:01
You want to know what it is. I don't see anybody writing
27:03
notes down. You should write this down.
27:05
I know it's profoundly simple, but it's very powerful.
27:08
Time and testing. The means by which you and I
27:10
develop relationship is communication.
27:14
The better the communication, the more accelerated the
27:17
relationship, the lack of communication, the more problems
27:22
that exist, the the miscommunication problems exist.
27:27
And that's where prayer comes in.
27:28
Prayer is a means of communication with God.
27:31
He has spoken to us through His Word, and we know God through
27:36
His Word. But the end is not the Bible.
27:39
Yes, read your Bible and pray every day.
27:42
Yes, know the Word of God. Prioritize it in your life.
27:47
But it's not the end. It's the beginning of your
27:51
relationship with the Lord. You're growing.
27:54
You know how you meet people sometimes, and maybe this is
27:56
you, but you'll talk to them about the Bible and they'll just
27:58
say, well, I've already read the Bible.
28:00
It's not that kind of book. I already read the Bible.
28:03
What do you mean you've already read the Bible?
28:04
There's always something new to learn, some new facet, some new
28:08
direction. And he says, I want you to have
28:11
that spirit of wisdom. I want you to have that
28:14
revelation, something that is revealed to you, not just
28:19
learned, but revealed to you. This is one of the things I pray
28:23
for in my own life. I pray.
28:26
You know those times when you're faced with something and there's
28:28
not like a scripture you can go to.
28:31
You don't have the exact scripture that answers the
28:33
situation. And So what do you default to?
28:35
Well, I'll tell you what I default to.
28:37
What I've learned over the years is I listened to you and I may
28:40
give you a response like this. Yeah, I don't know yet.
28:42
I need to pray, see if God will show me a scripture for you.
28:44
But I can't say this what you're talking talking about right now.
28:48
That doesn't sound like God. So you go, Ed, What do you mean?
28:51
How can you say that? Well, because I know God
28:54
personally, I've learned to walk with him.
28:59
You know, it's like with the kids.
29:01
If the kids say something, it's like, yeah, I don't know if your
29:02
mom will. I'm not sure I know her.
29:05
I mean, you can try it and we'll all just kind of watch.
29:07
But I know her. It'd be better to do something
29:10
else that may be more for you than it is for her type of
29:13
thing. That's how it can be with God.
29:16
It may be more for you than it is for God.
29:18
And you just learn who He is. You see His mercy and His grace.
29:23
You see at times His sternness, but you just know Him.
29:28
And you begin to talk and reflect His character and His
29:33
nature in your life. You start to learn about His
29:36
desires, what He likes, what he doesn't like, his heart for the
29:40
lost, his grief over sin. He's like, ah, that doesn't
29:44
sound like the Lord. You'll remember in John chapter
29:47
17 and verse 3, Jesus is praying.
29:49
And when we were in that section, I, I spent, I don't
29:52
know, 3 or 4 weeks just learning.
29:53
You want to learn how to pray, start paying attention to the
29:56
prayers in the Bible. And one of them is from Jesus
29:58
himself in John 17. And it says in John 17 verse 3,
30:02
Jesus says, and I'll declare, excuse me.
30:05
And this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true
30:12
God and Jesus Christ whom he sent.
30:14
That's Jesus prayer for you, that you will know him, that you
30:18
will know him and Jesus personally, intimately.
30:23
And the vehicle to get there is prayer in the word.
30:26
But remember, it's just getting you to him because as a pastor,
30:31
I do need to warn you from time to time.
30:34
And today is one of those days like the reality of your born
30:38
again, like it's important that you're born again and you're not
30:42
just religious because for some people, they're going to be
30:45
shocked in the presence of Jesus.
30:48
Because for some church going folks and some folks that lived
30:52
a more moral life and made some few behavioral changes and
30:56
slapped Christian terms on them, they may hear this.
30:59
Jesus said in Matthew 723. It says and I will declare to
31:03
them, I never knew you. That's heavy because Jesus
31:11
values knowing him personally. Paul values it here too when he
31:17
says in verse 17 back in Ephesians the word knowledge
31:21
circle it. It's the Greek word epinosis,
31:24
EPIGNOSIS. It means a complete full
31:30
knowledge like an expert. He wants you to continue growing
31:35
and be an expert in the things of God and be an expert with God
31:40
where he gets to verse 18 so that your eyes of your
31:43
understanding being enlightened. He's basically saying the next
31:47
prayer request is open their eyes, Lord.
31:51
It reminded me of a Bible study I taught in Second Kings chapter
31:55
6, Elisha and his servant, the prophet Elisha, where they're
32:00
surrounded by the Assyrian army. Just two guys surrounded by a
32:03
whole army. His servant wakes up in the
32:05
morning and he freaks out. He's like, what's going to
32:07
happen? He actually uses the word in the
32:09
new King James. Alas, master, what are we
32:11
supposed to do? And Elisha's all cool and chill
32:14
about it and what does he do? He just prays.
32:17
And what does he pray for? Open his eyes so you can see.
32:21
And what did God do? Opened his eyes and what did he
32:24
see? He saw the army still, but then
32:27
his eyes could see that that army was surrounded by the
32:30
armies of God and that he wasn't alone.
32:33
So Paul tells, tells God in his prayer for Ephesians and for US.
32:39
Open their eyes. That's often a prayer I have for
32:43
me and for my own life, but also for us as a church.
32:46
Open our eyes, Lord, that we can see what you see, because when
32:49
we see what you see, we're going to do what you want us to do.
32:53
And God knows, God knows what's happening in your life right
32:56
now. And I pray that God would open
32:57
your eyes because we get stuck in the immediate.
33:00
There's a real like I, I think of the economy right now.
33:03
It's very hard, very challenging, lots of bills, high
33:06
prices. And you know, today, if God
33:08
would open your eyes, he would, you would see this.
33:10
He is not freaking out about your bills right now like you
33:13
are. He already knows how he's going
33:15
to take care of it. And so I pray that God would
33:18
open your eyes. You have that situation with a
33:21
with, with a person and, and you know, God opened their eyes
33:25
because I'm telling you, God's not worried about it like you
33:27
are. You know how you're losing sleep
33:30
over it and staying up all night.
33:32
God's not sitting on the bed with you, freaking out with you.
33:37
He's not coming in and go, oh, are you worried?
33:39
Let me worry with you. He knows.
33:42
Open our eyes, Lord, and we can see how are you going to handle
33:45
this and which way is it going to go?
33:47
And really, our eyes isn't Him. Just for the solution, Lord,
33:51
open our eyes and we can see you in this.
33:53
Because what would you see? God?
33:55
Open your eyes right now. What would you see?
33:56
I'll tell you what you'd see. Years and years and years of
33:59
faithfulness. God has been faithful every
34:01
single time He's come through, every single time He's been with
34:05
you every single time He's gotten you through every single
34:08
trial up to this day, to this very moment, and now this very
34:13
moment, and now this very moment.
34:15
I could keep saying and all that.
34:16
That could be the whole message. Look at God's faithfulness.
34:19
Now, now, now, now, now. What do you think He's going to
34:23
do for the next one? He's going to be faithful.
34:26
He doesn't deny himself. Oh, that God would open our eyes
34:30
and see what He sees. We'd spend more of our time
34:33
seeking Him and enjoying Him and resting in Him.
34:37
Might even get a good night's sleep.
34:39
Might even get a good night's sleep as we just cast our cares
34:42
upon Him. You may have to do that 1000
34:44
times a day, but God will be with you 1000 times a day that
34:48
your eyes would be open and that you may know what is the hope of
34:52
His calling, why you're in this world, The purposes of God.
34:57
God has a purpose for your life and He's placed you where He
34:59
wants you on purpose. Think about if God has a purpose
35:02
for your life, then what's going on in your life is on purpose.
35:06
That's why you work where you work.
35:07
That's why you're knocking on doors right now.
35:09
That's why you're in school. That's why you are seeking out
35:12
God's purpose in your life. That's He is doing it on
35:15
purpose. Your calling in life is so
35:18
valuable and so important. Wherever He places you, it's so
35:21
important. Oh, I can't emphasize that
35:25
enough, that not only that, but like you know, that there is
35:29
hope. God is reminding us of the hope
35:32
of His calling and the riches of the glory in his, of his
35:37
inheritance in the Saints, that this world is not all there is.
35:41
There is more to experience in this world than you have even
35:44
experienced. That's His prayer for us.
35:48
His prayer is Lord. He's not just praying provide
35:51
whatever is needed to pay the bills.
35:53
He's saying God open their eyes so they could see the bills the
35:55
right way because bills will be with us forever.
36:01
Unless you're like me and I only check the mail once a month so
36:04
I'm to worry about it for a couple weeks.
36:07
It's true. The postman always gets upset
36:11
with us because our boxes always filled because we're just like,
36:14
we'll deal with it later. I know these things are real.
36:20
I live, I live in this realm of worry myself.
36:23
And I just know the Lord's not there on on my bedside worrying
36:27
with me. He's calling me to himself,
36:31
seeing Ed. Ed, just don't worry about it.
36:39
I got you covered. Don't you remember when you
36:42
weren't even saved? I took care of you.
36:44
How much more now in Christ am I going to take care of you?
36:47
It's like you're right, Lord, you're so faithful.
36:51
And remember, we, we learned, didn't we, that if we belong to
36:54
the Lord, then when you come in prayer, all you have to say is I
36:57
got this problem. But but since you owe me, Lord,
36:59
it's your problem. No, my problem, because I'm
37:02
going to look to you. You're going to take care of me.
37:06
You're going to get me through it like Daniel's friends.
37:09
You know what? I know God will deliver me.
37:11
He's able, but even if he doesn't, I've got God.
37:15
That's enough. Whatever God has for me, we can
37:19
trust him with our lives. That you know, the hope of your
37:22
calling, your calling is very important.
37:24
You work where you work on purpose.
37:26
The highest calling for God, the best gifts for God are the ones
37:29
that he gave you. Do you know that it's what he
37:31
gave you? And I know sometimes you think,
37:34
well, pastor, I just talked to my Co worker pastor, I just
37:37
talked man. I know he would convince him.
37:39
Probably not because you've forgotten that the pathway of
37:42
the gospel is relational and God has put you in their life and
37:46
you have. You have been used all these
37:48
years to take down barrier after barrier in their lives, to get
37:53
closer and closer to them as they trust you more.
37:55
That's why you show up to work with boxes of doughnuts.
37:58
That's why you're bribing everybody to tell them how much
38:00
you love them. You can never say everybody at
38:03
work I love you in the name of Jesus, but you can give them a
38:05
doughnut in Jesus name. It's a big difference.
38:08
That's why every coffee run you do, it's done by loving Jesus.
38:12
Every time you go out and you're the one to get the lunch without
38:15
complaining, that's from the Lord God has given you.
38:18
Every time you show up to a meeting, every time you pray for
38:20
someone, every time you're the one that God you are reaching
38:24
people that would never in a million years listening to me,
38:28
never in a million years. And it's one of the reasons why
38:31
you're not called to the pastorate.
38:33
You don't want want to know why you're not called to the
38:35
pastorate. Most of you is because God has
38:37
you where he has you. You're better there, you're
38:40
better there. That's why God has you're better
38:42
there. I'm better here and together the
38:45
city's better because of us. It's not amazing to me.
38:48
It's amazing. I was just in a, a meeting
38:51
sitting next to a brother and there was a conversation going
38:54
on and he said something so simple and so profound, but also
38:58
so powerful. And he's sitting next to me and
39:01
we were talking about ministry and, and he, he, I was sitting
39:04
next to him. So he said, you know, I have not
39:05
been called to a pastor like him.
39:08
And I think it was just after I shared a devotional with this
39:10
meeting and I'm not called to be a pastor like him.
39:13
I was called to make money. And I'm like, wow, God has shown
39:20
me it's, it's easy for me to make money.
39:22
And I said, well, can you help a brother out?
39:26
I didn't say that. I didn't say that at all at all.
39:29
I didn't even think it when I am now.
39:35
But it's true. This guy is a hyper, highly
39:38
successful man in the world. You never know it, but he is.
39:41
And he wasn't saying it arrogantly anyway.
39:43
He what he was saying is exactly what we're talking about now.
39:46
I know what God's place. I know my, I know my place in
39:49
the world. My place is to fund ministry
39:52
like Lydia and Philippi. That's my place.
39:55
My, that's why God put me in this world and, and he's very
39:59
good at it and is used greatly by the Lord.
40:01
And you can say the same exact thing about where you're at
40:04
right now. It doesn't have anything to do
40:06
with money. It has everything to do with
40:08
God's, the hope of his calling in your life because your
40:11
calling is going somewhere. It's going to the presence of
40:14
the Lord. And as we end this little
40:17
section, because we're going to break up this prayer into a
40:19
little sections, it's vital that you leave here today knowing
40:23
just how important you are. You are so important.
40:28
To God, to us, to this fellowship family, your prayers
40:33
are important. You know your prayers mean the
40:37
world. Your prayers are shaping your
40:41
life. God's delivered you from the
40:45
things that have pulled you away and tugged you away from Him.
40:49
And as you pray, you draw near to him.
40:52
You, you are coming closer to Him every single time you talk.
40:57
Not ceasing to pray, not ceasing to give thanks.
41:00
Maybe it is time for you to think about coming to a prayer
41:03
meeting here in the church. Yes, maybe it is time you don't.
41:07
You, you don't rely on prayer. You know what you're relying on
41:10
your own resources, your own abilities.
41:14
And haven't we learned yet how limited we are in what we have
41:18
to offer God? But we can come to him who has
41:20
unlimited resources. Unlimited.
41:24
Now I want to share this before we leave because sometimes
41:28
people will say like I, you know, I never hear from the
41:31
Lord. I don't hear God, I don't hear
41:33
God. And I have a familiar easy joke
41:38
on that, right? I tell you, well, if you want to
41:39
hear God, God speaks in his word.
41:41
So read God's word and you'll hear the voice of God.
41:44
And if you want to hear the voice of God audibly read your
41:47
Bible out loud. And it's convenient.
41:49
And as long as one person laughs at it, I will use it until the
41:52
very end. Thank you, thank you very much.
41:54
But let me give you another one. You may never, can never ever
41:59
considered about this place where you can begin your prayer
42:03
life, where you can begin to like God speaks to you all the
42:07
time. He is speaking to you and me all
42:11
the time. I want you to be ready, be ready
42:14
for this. When you sense the conviction of
42:17
sin, God is speaking to you. He's telling you this is not
42:22
good for you. This is not what my son does.
42:25
This is not for you daughter or as parents like you know, you
42:29
kind of think with there are times I have my conversation
42:31
with my kids. This is not how we raised you.
42:34
This is not good for you. This is not the wisest choice
42:37
for you. What it's just a dad wanted to
42:39
help their kids. And so when you sense the
42:41
conviction of sin. God is speaking in that moment,
42:45
He's speaking to you and it would be best for you to
42:47
respond. Your prayer life can come alive
42:51
so quickly is when you sense the conviction of sin you just
42:54
acknowledge. Yes Lord, I agree.
42:57
Father, thank you for speaking to me.
42:59
Thank you for showing me, thank you for loving me.
43:03
Can you think of all the things you can respond to the
43:05
conviction of sin instead of guilt and shame and condemnation
43:10
that God loves you so much that he doesn't want you to continue
43:12
in the pathway that you are. So he convicts you of your
43:16
spirit. He's by his Holy Spirit, his
43:18
Spirit speaking to your spirit. And Can you imagine your prayer
43:20
life can come alive? I mean, some of you get
43:22
convicted of sin 1000 times a day.
43:26
That's a lot, by the way, 1000 times like you guys sent a lot.
43:30
Like that's a lot, but you know, when you start responding to the
43:34
conviction of sin, it's going to get less because you're closer
43:38
to the Lord. It's going to get less.
43:40
I was speaking with a brother last night and he wanted to add
43:43
he's, I don't understand what that means.
43:45
I only look at. So I talked to him and his
43:47
conclusion after I explained that to him, he said, well, I
43:49
guess I, I just need to stop cussing.
43:52
And I said, no, actually, that's not what I'm saying at all.
43:55
I don't think you should stop cussing.
43:57
I don't think that should be the goal.
43:58
Here's what the goal should be when you sense the Holy Spirit
44:02
convicting you of the words coming out of your mouth or in
44:04
your head, talk to God about him.
44:07
Acknowledge it and you know what will happen.
44:10
You'll be so much. You'll be talking to the Lord so
44:13
much. You know what's going to happen.
44:14
You're going to cuss less. It'll just happen.
44:18
You don't need to bite your tongue or pinch yourself.
44:21
I mean, other than that you like you're it's going to be trouble
44:23
if that's what slap yourself. Can you imagine if you well
44:26
anyway, that was a brother. It's so, so vital and so
44:31
important of what the Lord wants to do in your life.
44:34
You just need to know Him more. Church, please.
44:38
That that's where it's at. That's where the fruit is,
44:41
that's where the abundance is. That's where the joy is, that's
44:43
where the peace is. It's with the Lord knowing him.
44:47
Amen. Lord, thank you for your word
44:50
and that the joy of knowing you personally.
44:52
May you have your way with us in Jesus name.
44:55
Amen. We pray that you've been
44:58
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
45:00
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer, call us at 87730 grace
45:07
that's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
45:13
integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
45:18
online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
45:23
Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
45:25
this week.