Break Every Chain by Shane Idleman

you God cast hearing his voice through prayer hearing God's voice through prayer and really this is just gonna be a topical exhortation to you I'm not gonna really you know pick apart a lot of Scripture I'm going to exhort you because there is nothing more important than this topic that's why it's so difficult it's very challenging I actually just got back today I just came into town came into the service I spent two days up at a retreat and I just drank to brought two gallons of water and a Bible I got very hungry I want to drive home a few different times and it was difficult and just praying God fasting God here your people hear the voices of your children crying to your Lord would you would you move in this place because the the half-hearted considerations aren't gonna get it any more a five minute devotional or a quick prayer on our way to work just isn't going to cut it in this culture we need men and women who are on their faces before God praying to God and we talked three weeks ago on hearing God's voice through worship then through hearing it through his word and then last week we're hearing it's on the radio already and we're hearing from a lot of people how that one's changing their life as well on hearing God's voice through godly counsel and many people don't want to listen to counsel they'll just do their I'm going to do it my way it's a great song back in the 42 50s right but it's not it's not biblical so get that message they make copies of that for you but one thing I forgotten last week's message about seeking godly counsel I seek a lot of counsel from people who have passed on many many years ago hundreds of years ago you've heard names like George Whitfield and John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards and aw Tozer and Ian bounds and Amy Carmichael and Hudson Taylor and those types of counselors you can spend what I call deep devotional time these guys could write deep devotional writers that draw you in and another good one I want to recommend as Ian bounds I actually brought this with me this weekend too it's called the complete works on prayer by Ian bounds and get your highlighter out and grab a cup of coffee and you're going to sit for a while and it's the forward is actually by jimsim bola cymbalta however you want to pronounce it out of the Brooklyn Tabernacle where they have about 3,000 people on a Tuesday night at the prayer and worship service and this book will impact your life but I want to read because I look to these guys a lot of times for counsel obviously through what they write and I stumbled across this and we're talking about James 1:22 in this series be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves so we've been talking about the vital importance of obedience and I would even submit to you that the majority of our problems are directly related to obedience when we don't obey the Word of God we get into problems I mean problems are coming on their own regardless I I don't know about you but I don't want to multiply them the obedience is vitally important James says we can hear the Word of God but if we don't do it we live in deception and and I don't know if maybe it's just me but every time I read that it really sticks out because we don't just kind of struggle when we don't obey we don't just you know life's not a little bit chunk we actually live in deception he says you're deceiving yourself and then I stumble on to am bounds a whole chapter on obedience and he said a few things in relation to prayer and it ties right in listen to this an obedient life helps prayer it speeds prayer to the throne God cannot help but hearing the prayers of an obedient child he always has heard his obedient children when they have prayed if you have an earnest desire to pray well you must learn how to obey well obedient men have always been the closest to God an obedient life is a great help to prayer in fact an obedient life as a necessity to prayer the absence of an obedient life makes prayer an empty performance a mere misnomer an entire dedication to God a full surrender which carries with it the whole being in a flame of holy consecration all this gives wings to faith and energy to prayer the lack of obedience in our lives breaks down our praying and no man can pray really pray who does not open that's just three pages this thing will get you it see are you putting this in your mind before you go to bed or American Idol and you wonder why I wake up and I have no passion you put this you I can't wait to get up in the morning I mean it's like is it four o'clock yet is a fort I mean I got to get to bed because I'm putting that in the media just keeps me up and up and up and up and then you get up on the really good time forgot I'm too busy spiritual appetite spiritual hunger and must be filled with the right things so I would even if you don't want this big thick when he's got tons of books on prayer eight different books on prayer and very convicting because these men these men were anointed of God when God's in the book it's worth reading when he's not it's worth recycling so here we go this is an exhortation on prayer hearing his voice through prayer as they as we sang that song there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain but let me remind you that this power is not accessed by going through the motions and I see so many people just going through the motions right dead prayer dead religion dead worship we're not in the Word of God and we're just going through the motions so we lack the power of God in our lives we lack the power of prayer and we begin to blame God we begin to say well it's not working but we can't go through the motions we have to be fully surrendered to his work and you know right our foes are many you don't think you have any foes our foes are many they go by the name Legion and they are said to kill to still and to destroy that we you have an enemy that's said to kill to steal and to destroy and they do not sleep and they do not slumber and they are looking for prey to devour and I'm not trying to scare you I'm trying to motivate you you see the difference I mean sometimes I read the Bible and I put it down so oh god help us we are so unprepared it's like drop a soldier in the middle of the the desert of Iraq with some gym shorts and a tank top and some a water bottle go get him when the Bible says your enemy your enemy your enemy your enemy your enemy my enemy goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour you might want to sit up straight and turn off your phone and and begin to press into God I know this message is gonna impact a lot of lies you know whether radio here tonight because the last two days were hell I'll be honest with you trying to to pray and fast and seek God and and just just that difficulty and then today all the challenges that came up with the sermon it was just amazing how the enemy just wants to stop that and I had every excuse in the book I'll just go home start Monday it'll be easy if I just start and but once I pressed in worship began to take on a new realm a prayer begin to have a power the brass ceiling begin to open and heaven poured into the heart that was seeking God but didn't come after 10 minutes or two hours and don't get me wrong and just sit there you know I took a walk I prayed I did take a couple naps when you're when you're just a sting and it was difficult but it was worth it because we have to press in scurrying through a quick devotional isn't going to cut it reading the Bible as if you're NASCAR driver is of little value dead cold informal worship only emboldened the enemy the weapon of prayer finds its strength waiting on God and pressing in see what we have to understand is perseverance is that is a is a Christian attribute it's a spiritual discipline try losing weight in going five minutes on the treadmill Oh Shane that's impossible what we understand it in the physical but when it comes to the spiritual the actually the thing that's most important we forget about persevere it's the old folks used to say pressing in I'm gonna lay hold of God until I get my answer they used to say that it was interesting I was talking to my mom where she says we can trace my lineage back to Pierre Guillaume white who was the first baby born on the Mayflower Cape Cod Bay Massachusetts so I'm trying to really see if that really is true but she said also we've had some Methodist circuit writers in our family and they would go and they would preach and they would pray and I read some of the journals and some of the things they would lay hold of God until he answered doesn't mean you don't get up and go to work but you're praying on your way to work you're praying at work you're the best employee there but you're praying at work on you get home and you're praying your Lord I'm not gonna let go until you answer me do you think God says oh man are you doing that for that's drawing that's seeking God with all your heart with all your strength and Chelsey said we serve an all-sufficient Savior who was an all sufficient sacrifice and go yeah yeah good point pastor no listen all sufficient then fill in the blank for whatever the need he's an all sufficient Savior he was an all sufficient sacrifice now we're in right relationship with God now we can come in and say oh Jesus help my marriage is collapsing oh Jesus help my finances have dried up oh jesus help my health is diminishing oh Jesus help my life is falling apart oh jesus help my hope is gone and I know this isn't how tough guys pray but it's how real men pray because my strength is found in him this isn't weakness you're pointing to the one you're looking to the one who has the answers think about this by the grace of God at least right now we have the most powerful military that has ever existed but you know that Navy SEALs get backed up into a Ridge they call for help big carrier about 50 miles out radio it in guess what's gonna happen in about ten minutes all hell is gonna break loose they'll cry god I'm backed in a corner I don't we God I'm backed in a corner where does my help come from the Bible says where does my help come from see that's one thing I'm so you know going back and forth with media and all the stuff is because it draws us away from God I got up to the place I was out and I said hey where's the internet at because all we don't get it here you gotta walk down the like what really and that in and of itself is an addiction Facebook addiction now granted sermons I wanted to listen to different things but it was it was like God was saying listen seek me with all your heart with all your strength and with all your soul but where does my help come from does it come from therapy does it come from pills no my help comes from the maker of Israel he who holds Israel in his hands well does not sleep and he does not slumber where does my help come from I look to the heels there's where my help comes from sometimes it takes perseverance and pressing in he is an ever-present help in time of need that's who we serve that's our God he is an all sufficient Savior and maybe you are familiar with the story that Elijah prayed when they were they were surrounded by the army and a servant was scared he said oh we're done Master they're gonna kill us and he'll I just said open his eyes God and he opened up his eyes and he could see in the spiritual realm that God had chariots and God had soldiers and camped around that other army and many times I want to pray Lord open my eyes if you could see the spiritual battle you would run to the prayer closet I don't think they're here necessarily but when you get out there and you start to drive and that demonic influence comes in we are legion and we're coming that's what the Bible says I can't give a politically correct sermon I have much to give a biblically correct sermon if you could see the spiritual realms I'm coming after your daughter I'm coming after your son I'm coming after your spouse and I'm coming after you that's what he does you don't think I know you think I just get in my truck and just live walk on clouds all week long he plants the same desires in my heart as well if you could see the spiritual realm if you could see the look of the demonic it's so gross oh you appears as an angel of light but in their true form it would scare you to death people watching all these Exorcist movies and all these back front where do you think they'd get that from oh it's just fate phonies just made up I don't know I think if we could see into the spiritual realm that's what we would see we would see the demonic realm in their two colors and all they're waiting is for an open door just open the door the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour how does he devour you open the door prayer is the only weapon prayer is the only weapon that will truly come against that shame what about the Word of God oh absolutely thank God for but if you read this and you don't pray that's what they call Pharisee actually it'll work against you because now you're all puffed up and you don't think you need prayer and the enemy loves that you just opened the door that's how he works again I don't want to scare you but I do want to motivate you to change course so when it comes to this topic of hearing God through prayer I'm just gonna have three points and then we'll get into worship but these are vitally important we need persistent prayer what I talked about earlier persistent prayer the old Saints used to say I'm not letting go what happened to that where did it go everybody's in a hurry I've hear churches now getting their services down to an hour what why is everybody well we got to accommodate to the culture shake no we've got to preach the glorious truths of God's Word and let the Spirit of God draw on them and convict them that's how you change people as soon as you conform the church to the culture guess what you just lost your power you just lost your unction you just lost your spiritual authority you'll tickle ears but your sermon will fall on deaf ears and you'll be a dead man preaching to dead people that's how important this is when the Bible says we wrestle not we wrestle listen this isn't a tea party right my little girls are little little girls five years old she's let's have a tea party yeah let's make the little tea party we sit around a little time table but the Bible says we wrestle against do you know what wrestling is you should watch it sometime they wrestle it's a you think it's over in a minute some of those guys are they're wrestling that's our battle we wrestle not see I'd rather prepare you and have you go out armed and trained than sitting open and that's what happens a lot of Christians if all we hear is feel good and feel good and courage Minh we go out there and the enemy says oh I love this group they have no idea of the schemes actually the Bible cause of the wiles of the devil the trickery of the devil he goes about tricking and deceiving will train boxers to go 15 rounds right NASCAR drivers to go three hours around a track an Olympic athletes to train years for a medal that perishes but yet when we talk about persistent prayer sometimes we just say it's not worth it the amount of time reflects the commitment level think about this here's where the rubber meets the road let's just be honest let's be transparent the amount of time we've spent with God just reflects the commitment level why are these Olympic athletes training so hard commitment level NASCAR box what commitment level so once we get that commitment level up and we look at how powerful prayer is that's where real change can take place but I'm still bound too many people say Shane I hear you but I'm still bound have you been struggling something for years decades I'm still bad I've got news for that the bondage should drive us to our knees see if God just removed all temptation guess where we'd probably go see you later God but that need for Savior drives me to the cross my need for ever-present help drives me to prayer too so Lord take this away but then you think believe a little bit of it because I want to be drawn back to you I don't want to fall into the sin but I want that temptation to be able to pull me back to you and I talked to people I've counseled people we do that here often my mom does a lot of counseling and they're in deep bondage I mean addiction runs deep it's hard to overcome I don't want to just you know say I don't get over it come on but the majority of the time I've said this before when it comes even the addiction or bondage you tell the person tell me about your prayer life I really need to do that I know No tell me about your prayer life I don't really have one I mean you don't hear a person that has a powerful prayer life fall on the face before God in the Word of God worshipping fill at the Spirit of God yet I still struggle with heroin every other week or I get out of this powerful time of worship for two hours now let me go click 36:28 36x porn site you don't why why isn't that happening you see the difference chain them and so much bondage alcohol calls me as soon as I get in that vehicle or the pill or oxycontin or or whatever those things are they pull me shame they pull me I know I've been there addiction is hard it's a wiles of the devil but if you exchange that for prayer and worship you will see that that addiction begins to slowly lose its grip I remember a lot of times back especially in 1999-2000 I would just be doing so good for a month and then it just hits you like it's almost steering your car to liquor store it's like where did this path where did this come from where did this come from so mediate you pray to God you put on worship put on powerful messages or worship and that begins to change you atmosphere and it begins that desire begins to get conquered the problem is when we allow that - I'm not going to worship my gonna pray let me just see where this goes and it takes you right to the place it's trying to take you down but when persistent prayer will offset that persistent prayer will bring you back into it see it's not easy that's what we forget I'll forget I can't do this is too hard yeah we wrestle we wrestle against flesh and blood it's not a tea party son this is difficult stuff and Paul was building warriors Paul was building soldiers not cheerleaders he was strengthening believers and strongholds are not easily broken it's not why some people are delivered instantly another struggle for a long time I don't know I sure wish I did no no but Ian's balance also in this book said patience has its perfect work in the school of delay you want to get this don't you delay just means that there is work to be done patience has it's perfect work in the school of delay see when God is delaying something I'm convinced that he might keep that temptation right here if it'll drive me to an hour or two of prayer and worship it over it'll drive me closer to Dan he might keep that temptation right I see Shane without that temptation you're not gonna come to me without that struggle you're not going to come to me you're not gonna give me everything and all sufficient Savior so we have to allow that that that that delay and then it's to develop patience in our lives passionate prayer is the next thing I could preach all sermon on this passionate prayer I want you to think about this for a minute the god of the universe not just America the god of the universe holds everything in place he creates a life and he sustains it he's not a co-equal to the devil right we've made that crystal clear he's not a co-equal to evil good sits up here God sits up here everybody else is created by words he conquered kings and kingdoms he just spoke the word that's it that's who we serve that's who we're looking to and he says I will listen and I will listen for hours not only while I listen I will lead you and I will direct you I will conquer your enemies and I will devour your devour your phones he doesn't look at the time he doesn't text people he doesn't say he's in a hurry he will sit there for takes all night if it takes all morning think about what I'm saying this is an ever-present help in a time of need at 2:00 in the morning you can cry out to God at 11 o'clock in the morning you can cry out to God on the backside of the desert you can cry out to God in your jail cell you can cry out to God he doesn't sleep he doesn't slumber he says here Here I am come to me all who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest that's who we serve when I thought about this it just blew my mind he's always he's there right now if we just stop and say all God heal our family heal our nation heal our church he hears the prayers I'm not lining up my calendar for next Monday I'm not going to try to get a hold of him after the service he's here right now as you call out to him he will answer how do you no shame because I've seen it time and time and time again and so if you if you're honest passionate prayer he can break every chain subdue any addiction and conquer any obstacle see that's a truth and it's one thing it's one thing to say the truth and it's another thing to believe the truth that you're proclaiming many people say I know that what about when Lazarus died do you said I'm here he'll be he'll be resurrected oh I know I know he will later on later on the resurrection Jesus said no I am the resurrection and the life you see see they believe later on but when it comes to right now the disconnect don't happened Shan I've been praying and it's not happening well yeah that's persistent prayer that's praying with faith and mind I mean sometimes you know the old song thank God for unanswered prayers right God knows so this person this Creator that can break every chain and subdue any any addiction conquer any obstacle I know he can but it boils down to this do we surrender to that or do we just surrender to our flesh one of the other will prevail it's time to recover our passion for prayer and you might say well Shane how did I do that how do you how do you cultivate desire let's think about that how do you cultivate desire before I got married to my wife how did I call to Veit desire for her what do you think I thought about every day couldn't get wait to get homework call whatever right here men women now to addicted to pornography where are they cultivating that desire we go out and we just eat too much after the service where do we cultivate that desire right here you think about it you think about it I get them I guarantee it the more you think about God them deeper your desire will be the problem as we go through life's not thinking about God oh yeah I've got to go listen to a guy on Saturday that's about it you know I'll put on air one and I've got oh yeah I got it something I got a read here doesn't send me an email alert that's that's a persistent prayer thinking about God David says I'll think about you when I go to bed and when I wake up that's again goes back to my issue with entertainment you see where this is going if that's what I'm filling my mind with I've known that no thought for God my prayer life is dead my prayer life is dead on the vine but as I'm thinking about guys I get up said God you are so good look what you've done for me I look back look at my journal how he's answer so many different prayers we begin to read the Word of God you read the Psalms how how that verse it would it would just jump out to you I'm gonna read that again actually where does my help come from is your reading Psalms where does my help come from my help comes from God the maker of heaven or earth he o he holds Israel in his hands he does not sleep he does not slumber and you start to think about that you start to read good books you start to think about God you develop an appetite for God so if you have no appetite with God it goes right back to what are we feeding our mind there's no desire there this is why worship is too emotional for some some people their heart is disengaged it's grown cold and callous they don't worship and they don't pray but I've got good news that can be changed today that can be changed today listen the whole point of this this sermon is not for you guys go that was a great job that was close to last week good job can I get a CD that's not why I come up here I come up here so lives were changed and God speaks to his people and he first preaches to me before he preached to you and it's good to say okay Lord I need that see I remember when the church prayed in an upper room for days then fire fell is it funny you go to Acts they were up in the upper room praying and they all gather in the up for ten minutes and the Holy Spirit fell what why is everybody laughing you know what it says days now there's a lot of debate did they just sit there the whole time or they go out work come back who cares oli what do people want argue over that I wanna I don't wanna argue I just wanted to motivate me to pray so they waited in the upper room they waited and they pray they wait and they prayed Lord your word says this you've promised the gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus said I must go for when I go the comforter will come and he will be a pair of Cletus come alongside of you he will be inside of you he would dwell he will come upon you you will have the anointing and the filling of the Holy Spirit not in 10 minutes not in 10 hours but in days of persistent prayer and then the fire fell and everybody knew him they actually turn the world upside down because of a few people in an upper room in Jerusalem now America as it vests Perez has briefed the benefit now the nations have reaped the benefit of those men in the upper room I remember when the church was started in a prayer room I remember when we weren't in a hurry and sitting in the presence of God was biblical now it's called fanatical in churches that worship the Word of God they can they call our worship fanatical and emotional god help you God help you the word you worship should point you to the true mine you worship you think God loves it when we worship his word really talk to me after the service and we'll go over scripture over scripture over scripture my point my word is living and powerful discerning the thoughts and the intents of the heart to point you to the one who has the answers my word is like a fire it's like a hammer that does what breaks the arrogant heart in two pieces so they will point them to the savior my word came and healed them and delivered them from their destruction it's the means don't get me wrong I love the Word of God it's one of the if our house ever catches on fire I'm grabbing it with a couple kids in each arm and that might see if it'll fit actually have a bigger one at home that I used the Study Bible I remember when prayer drove the church now it seems like methods marketing programs and potlucks are front and center I remember when you'd come early to pray and stay late to hold on to God you remember that maybe not young cry you would go early and the worship team would just be up there early you pray and you'd state you're not in a hurry it's a presence of God I mean if you just think about this God says my house will be called a house of preaching my house will be did he teach your disciples teach us how to preach you see where all this is going the most powerful weapon you ever you've ever possessed is here in here to pray and petition God and seek his face with all your heart with all your strength I remember when prayer was an asset an entertainment was a liability I remember when people got excited about prayer and worship and I remember when prayer changed lives and it can do that again today see the whole again the whole point of this is to stir that fire if I had one of those little lighters I just go under each of your seats so when you leave you're going ah man Lord let me go through my CD collection let me go through my DVD collection let me go on Neff actually let me cancel Netflix for a month and instead we're gonna pray whoa your hearts are be radically changed you would come for both services that we need more worship we need worship nights every week because you're fostering that my house shall be called a house of prayer not potlucks and committee meetings and VBS and studies and groups and get together now don't get me wrong we need all those things for fellowship and iron sharpens iron and people come together but when they become the forefront and prayer begins to be back here some somewhere where do we put that prayer at you know I get I guess we better do it I mean the church is supposed to do it I don't know where the prayer is at but we'll get to when we can but when prayer prayer is the focus I mean I'll just if I had if I if this was our building and I didn't tax a worship team guess what we would have every week prayer and worship night you think I'm gonna be looking for leaders for this church out in the lobby or wanting to go to dinner I'm gonna be looking in prayer meetings and worship meetings that's who God builds his church with I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail it's a Church of Prayer so all these other things are great but they're supplemental you know that we're it's supplemental right I'm gonna take a supplement my diet is lacking in vitamins and minerals and all these things so I'm gonna take a supplement these things are supplemental to a prayer life on the bulletins you read another quote by Ian bounds I don't have it handy but says something about our public prayers are only gonna be powerful in our private prayer life how we pray here should be taken back to our homes what happens in many churches let's preach for an hour but scurry through worship right let's have videos and let's have this person talk and let's do this and let's do this and the outreach for a while and then come on we gotta hurry up scurry through worship and prayer time well we really don't know let's cut that out the most important thing that the end that runs the train is being cut out let's exegete the text but not exegete our hearts I know a lot of pastors they're so impressed by their exegetical ability to break down the Hebrew and the Greek and their the nuances of the verb tense and all these things you know I see one of you executed your heart through prayer and worship that's where it takes place we have polished sermons but our knees are not worn from praying you see how important this is this is vitally important prayer moves the hand of God when faith ceases to pray it ceases to live when your faith ceases to pray it ceases to live the reason some of your faith seems like you're that dead vine while we stay dying on the vine you see those grapes right and the vine is just dead it's dying it's disk what's wrong there when face it ceases to pray it ceases to live so if your faith is dying look at your prayer life have you ever seen anybody with a passionate prayer life says my faith is dying I don't know where God's that doesn't mean they don't go through challenges doesn't mean that they're going not going through difficulty doesn't mean there's not anxiety and depression from time to time but they know where their help comes from their faith is not dying it's being challenged big difference big difference and I often ask critical people I'll just throw this out there I know there aren't any of the four o'clock service wait there's not right I often ask critical people to tell me about their worship in their prayer life you know what they say nine times out of ten well in the morning at night I'm reading this and no I didn't say that tell me about your worship in your prayer life because you can't worship and pray and be critical there's no such thing as the gift of criticism people come in critiquing with a critical heart there's not a praying heart that's praying worshiping heart now can a praying worshiping heart critique of course we're called to have discernment but you see the difference a critical spirit means they're critiquing everything they're criticizing everything and like when I challenge him on that they go to this instead of the heart because you can defend it from this well the Word of God says I need to defend the truth and point out these things what also says don't overlook all the scriptures on humility and grace and love and forgiveness and gentleness in compassion while you're at it look at the scriptures are not being divisive and being teachable and while you're at it Paul says a rebuke a divisive person so I'm in the process of rebuking you sir that's where this leads and then finally of course powerful prayer the day of passive dead realist ritualistic prayer is over the Pharisees prayed remember this folks the Pharisees prayed cult's pray you realize that heathens pray Jesus said don't pray with vain repetition heathens do that and I got some people upset last month I'm gonna say it again vain repetition err it reminds me of El Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of the womb Jesus but how Mary full of grace oh and you just keep 15 times and you put it around your neck and you're good with God that's vain repetition that's vain repetition folks I'll challenge that by the authority of God's Word any day of the week because the last time I checked Christ died on the cross but when you pray Jesus said when you pray this is amazing so when you pray go shut yourself into a room to me that gives the imagery of okay this is gonna take a little bit of time to go into a room shut my prayer closet and pray to God and not show off to other people illustrate our prayer life you should have a place to go and pray husbands you should watch your kids and let your wives go and pray it's one reason why mine's not here this weekend getting away and doing that times of refreshing there is a distinction there's a difference there is a power there is power in his name see it's ironic we sometimes I sit there and go oh lord help us we sink we break every chain there's power in his name there's power in the name of Jesus bla bla bla and you know and yeah but you really understood that if you really understood that you would praise if God is listening pray as if eternal destinies depend upon it pray as if your marriage depends upon it pray as if your spiritual life depends upon it guess what it does it does sound the alarm sound the alarm everything begins in prayer the church was birthed in prayer Christ will go and pray prayer moves the hand of God it sustains everything everything that's why the enemy seeks to destroy it if a kingdom divided cannot stand do you think a church divided can stand divisive Christians are powerless there's disunity and no power their prayer and worship breaks disunity let me let me this is why I love this is so funny on worship night Monday night you can have issues going on in women's ministry and men's ministry and this and this and you know the churches have issues because there's a whole bunch of sinners here so we get you know I'm right caught in the middle of all that but when you come to worship guess what vanishes what was that we arguing about well who cares who cares what little petty little hurt feelings get out of the way jealousy gets out of the way Envy gets out of the way jockeying for position gets out of the way every we just come in and you'd leave here but you're loving each other instead of hurting you're guarding instead of pulling down what happens with prayer and worship arrogant Pharisees become humble servants prideful bible-thumpers fall on their face and worship God produções run to the altar Luke armed believers fully surrender their lives all because of prayer when you truly pray when you truly pray and I'll just hopefully close with this if you're dying spiritually which most people are let's be honest that's why I wrote my whole book desperate for more of God you guys are free copies I hope I think we have some left over see one of the ushers but-but-but that's the hardest thing for me to be a pastor as I see people dying spiritually with water right here right here it's like you remember the Terri Schiavo case right that's a terrible court case it that she ended up dying there was water right there but the good old government got in the way you know while there's pinions on that but I'll keep quiet but that's what it resembles right there there's living water right there if you're dying spiritually if God seems distant and depression is setting in this is the only tool the only medication known to mankind that will set you free did you catch that the only medication known to mankind given from God himself is prayer that will set you free too many times we're popping the pill we're going it I got to see my therapist as week I got to see my therapist I got to hear if I got to talk to this person I got I got I got it the only the only medication known to mankind that will set you free is prayer in time with God it gives us a solution right there right there but on this whole issue you can't call him father and pray until you call his son Savior did you catch that you can't call God Father unless you call his son your Savior this is the point where people start wiggling their feets a little bit not this four o'clock service remember this one's this one's the spiritual service but think about that you cannot call him father until you call his son your savior you can't pray to the Father unless you go through the Sun nobody comes to the Father but by the son and the father says nobody comes to the son unless the father draws him you won't hear God until you first or he won't hear you until you first hear him until you hear that that still calling of the Holy Spirit drawing and convicting and drawing and convicting and drawing and convicting he won't hear you until you first hear him that's how powerful this topic is of Prayer it has everything to do with catching the voice of God hearing the voice of God praying to God think about we're given the the absolute magnificent responsibility or gift of being able to sit and pray to the creator of the universe if we truly believe that why is our prayer life not more passionate and persistent and magnifying I'll tell you why I just spoke about for 40 minutes get the CD and listen again that's why so I just encourage you we're gonna worship team is gonna come up we're gonna go into time of worship and prayer this is where we move the hand of God by praying I truly believe that I've seen many prayers get answered I'm not just up your oh gosh let me wing it hope they believe me I know God will answer prayers and we also have communion up here this is for those who are believers in Jesus Christ we remember his death on the cross we remember his resurrection and the Bible says examine yourself examine yourself don't come to this table in an unworthy manner examine yourself is there bitterness is there a critical spirit in your heart don't come up here in a worthy manner so this ties in perfectly with communion a broken heart praying and seeking God and worshiping God you

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 11,644

Rating: 4.8808513 out of 5

Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, Shane Idleman

Id: F8Nw7XYK2wo

Length: 46min 47sec (2807 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 13 2014