Listen To God Constantly by Zac Poonen

so though my voice may sound a little different I'm the same person hopefully a little better person than I was last year we all must go that way sometimes God gives us it's just a coffin a coal sometimes God gives us these little reminders when we think we have our bodies a golden vessel and he reminds us it's just an earthen vessel and it'll be an earthen vessel till the end of our lives and not only an earthen vessel second Corinthians four also says that the outer man perishes day by day decays 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 16 it's a great verse we don't get discouraged just because our body our outer man is decaying you can't stop it you can stop the decay of food by putting it in a freezer but the decay of our body I mean you can arrest it with careful food habits and medicine all but it will decay but the reason he says we don't get discouraged is because our inner man is being renewed every single day and in an earlier message once I don't know where that was here or somewhere else I said what I see there is not something automatic the decay of the outer man of the body is automatic you don't have to do anything about it you can hasten it by bad habits in other words the decay will come quicker if you have bad food habits bad health habits but it will decay even if you do nothing but the inner man you have to do something for it to be renewed other way it's not automatic there's a big difference between the two but God's will for you see it from this verse it's just like you see your outer man decaying definitely year by year you should see your inner man growing in grace and being renewed renewed means colossians it says renewed in the image of him who created him that's the only renewal that is worth anything renewed to become a little more like Jesus every year now Paul had reached such a standard of life that it was not every year that he became Christ like it was every day I don't think I can say that yet well that's my goal he in his case he was so wholehearted that every day he became a little more christ-like so I see that's possible it's possible for those who live closest to me my wife to see that I become a little more christ-like a little more gracious a little more humble a little more pure a little more patient a little more forgiving etc etc every day make that your goal even if it takes you 10 years to get there start with something easier that this year you're a better Christian then you were in 2014 more christ-like but don't stop with that move on to working towards the place where every day finds you a little more christ-like because the outer man is decaying every day sometime we don't see it but it does decay some of it is not so visible and the effect of it sometimes comes upon you much later so Paul was pretty old he was in his 60s when he wrote that perhaps and he was an old man and his body was much more affected because he was travelling through rough roads and shipwrecks and so many difficulties I don't know what type of food he ate in different places and all that who had affected his body and he could see it wearing out and he said well I'm going to make sure that my inner man is renewed because he knew what it says in proverbs 4:18 that the path of the righteous the part God has planned for the righteous is exactly like the Sun rising that is being born again moving slowly slowly without any backsliding the Sun never back slides slowly till it comes to that position where we are completely like Christ the perfect day that must be your goal must be the goal of everybody in CFC Lord I don't want to backslide this year I want to repent of all my backslidings all this Sun going up and down I want to finish with that I want to be like that Sun you created that never back slides for one second keeps going keeps going keeps going and the secret of course is that sub Sun is just submits to a law that God is made that's all the earth actually that's how the Sun moves submits to the law of rotating on its own axis in 24 hours absolutely perfectly so we are living on this earth should learn from the earth which we live to follow that the laws of God so if you turn with me to proverbs chapter 4 in that verse there's a contrast made there between the path of the wicked and the path of the righteous in proverbs chapter 4 verse 14 he begins by saying to listen to his word was 14 do not enter the path of the wicked or the path of evil men avoid it don't even go near it if you see it turn away from it and pass on we are living in a world where there are many parts of the wicked don't go near it it says because the wicked person cannot sleep unless they do evil they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble the way I understand it is a wicked person cannot go to sleep unless he has gossiped about at least one person during the day he cannot sleep until he has spoken evil of at least one person sometime during the day ah I've spoken evil of one person today now I can sleep anybody here like that that there's a delight in tearing down somebody speaking evil of somebody maybe some information you have but you're usually at home gossip backbite then it says now I can sleep that is the path of the wicked but the path of the righteous who has accepted instruction here it says verse 10 listen my son accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many today I would say in the Old Testament a long life was important you know a long life but in the New Testament quantity is never emphasized not number of people in a church but the quality of a church not how long you live but the quality of your life Jesus lived 33 years the Apostle James lived about 30 years and he was beheaded Stephen probably 28 29 years stoned to death many great men and women did not live long lives many of them were martyred as young people quality of their life but they were faithful so don't think of long life as important thing but being faithful to Jesus until the end I never forget the story I heard of a missionary in Africa who told me this story that when Christianity first went to I think it was Kenya nowadays a lot of Christians there but in the early days they were spirit worshipers in that tribe called the Kikuyu tribe and when the missionaries went there and the first Christian first person from that tribe was converted he and this little 12 year old son and the whole tribe was upset in the chief ordered a a conference conference means a discussion of the tribe and they brought this father and son who dared to accept a religion called Christianity which all their fathers had never accepted and they asked this man will you renounce Christ imagine just newly converted he said no Jesus is my Savior and the chief said I'll kill you so fine got somebody to take a sword and cut off his head right there the presence of everybody on this platform and they call the little boy what about you see what I did to your father you're going to renounce Christ and he said no Christ is my Savior - twelve years old but he said before you cut off my head let me take off my shirt and he took off his shirt and he said before this gets stained with my blood I want to give it to you give it to your son and always remember that I loved you even though you killed me we're going to meet some people like this in eternity who were faithful they didn't live long lives but they were faithful I used to get my children to read missionary biographies of people who gave up everything to go and serve God when I was a young Christian there were two things I read one was the Bible who studied it the other was missionary biographies and I have to say that one of the reasons I left the Navy was not just it was not just the Word of God it challenged me but those missionary biographies I said wow these people really accomplished something on this earth before they left it what am I going to accomplish before I leave this earth just make some money get some honor get a title I want to do something for God before and of course I realized I can't leave if God doesn't call me but even if I'm there I must do something for God and not just compromise my conviction in order to get promotions in my profession and those biographies challenge me a lot you know there's a missionary who's I think his name was James Calvert in the 19th century more than 150 years ago he felt a call to go to the Fiji Islands in the Pacific and we were all no no Christians they're all cannibals people who eat human beings and he got into the ship from I think it is from England and they came to the islands and the captain of the ship said you'll die if you go there you and your wife he said we died before we came on the ship we can understand that they had died to themselves before they got on that ship those cannibals could only kill their body they'd already died I used to think as a young man lord I'm gonna meet these people in heaven I don't want to just say I lived a long life listen to my sayings the Lord says and the years of your life worse then we can say we'll be extremely profitable whether short or long seek to live a profitable life brothers sisters don't just drift along have a sense of direction on the oceans I used to see pieces of wood floating no direction the waves go this way the wood goes this way the waves go this way the wood goes another way I see a lot of believers like that there's no sense of direction in their life just somehow get along earn our living attend Sunday meetings in CFC and somehow get our children educated somehow as they grow up get the merit and retire and say I have done my job no you haven't when God formed you in your mother's womb he had a purpose for you a different purpose for each person you must be gripped by it and in the years when you have health do all that you can for the Lord because one day you may not have health for many many years I've been challenged by a statement made by a servant of the Lord who lived in the 19th century 150 years ago who became very sick at a very young age but he had already served the Lord for from a very from his teenage years for thirty forty years and when he was sick in his 50s in his 50s he said I thank God that in the years when I had help I served God with all my heart I didn't spare myself I didn't spare my body I lived completely for God so now now that I couldn't even get out of his bed he was sick he said I have no regret dear brothers and sisters one day if you don't know when it'll come when you can't move around as freely as you can I hope you'll have no regret about the way you lived then it was totally for Christ like that saying goes only one life and it'll soon be past and only what's done for Christ will last so it says you're listen to my instruction verse 11 I have directed you in the way of wisdom I have led you in upright parts and then this there's a beautiful paraphrase of verse 12 as your steps will not be impeded and the paraphrases as you go step by step I will open up the way before you beautiful paraphrase I remember reading that paraphrase as a young Christian when I was in my early 20s and I took it as a promise in my life as if God was saying my son as you go if you keep listening to me I will little by little open up the way before you and show you which way to go and your open up means your you'll be a blessing to more and more and more more and people as time goes on I will open up the way before you sometimes it looks closed but you'll open it up little by little as we come step by step but we have to move forward if you just stand still nothing will open up we have to have faith to go forward sometimes you may see a mountain in your way an obstruction a hindrance to what you're supposed to do for God the way you're supposed to live it could be from parents it could be from relatives it could be from circumstances it could be from your boss it could be the world is full of it could be from the government the world is full of people who are trying to hinder God's work and when you look at that mountain don't assume God has closed the way before me he has not so that's the time when you need to do what Jesus said to speak to that mountain in faith and say get out of the way I'm going to go on with God you're not going to stop me I'm going to go on with God have you let a little bit of rain prevent you from coming to the meeting when you should be there you never left a little bit of rain prevent you from going to work what do you get their money what do you get when you come to a meeting God has money become more important to you than God don't let anything hinder you from seeking fellowship don't let anything hinder you from listening to God's Word every day when you find reading the Bible heavy take a good Christian book and read it or if you have the Internet turn to one of those messages and put the subject there in that youtube search column in choose the subject you think will encourage you and listen to it but determine that you are going to go on with God and nothing's going to stop you and you will not be discouraged Hudson Taylor was a great man of God and he went to China and if you live in China the early days when there were hardly any Christians tremendous pressures to get discouraged some of us get discouraged with mosquito bites he was facing lions and tigers originally speaking and he took a decision it was a choice of his will he said I refuse to get discouraged he was tempted but he said I refuse to get discouraged I choose to always praise I will only praise God it's a decision of the will if you live by feeling you'll be a slave but you say feeling is not going to guide me I'll tell you in my early days I did not know the distinction between living by feeling and living in your will and I used to be frequently discouraged even after I got married and very frequently I set my head in my hand it's gone it's completely gone because I say I refuse to get discouraged I will only praise I live in my will not in my feelings feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving my guide is the Word of God there's nothing else worth believing that's what I often say to myself feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving but my only guide is the Word of God it's nothing else worth believing so remember that in this year it says listen to my instruction little by little doors that appear to be closed before you and you're supposed to go there and when you hear that some of you may immediately think oh it's that job I'm looking for with a high salary the door is closed dear me is that the only thing you can think of even hear a message like this you only think of more money that's not the door I'm talking about well you can make more money it's the door where you overcome sins that are enslaving you today it's like a mountain some sin in front of you it's not God's will that you should be blocked you must go on and possess that land so I'm going to go on I'm not gonna let get out of my way your mountain in Jesus name move forward says in verse 13 take hold of instruction don't let it go God her for she's your life and it has come to me more and more that if we want to be renewed every day we have to develop the habit of hearing God you know what Jesus told Martha Martha you're worried about so many things Luke 1042 good things cooking food essential particularly when you are cooking for Jesus and His disciples very good jesus said that's not the most important thing the important thing is to do what Mary des is doing sitting at my feet listening to my word we're not talking about sin now there are many legitimate things in the world lawful things we have to do it which mother can avoid cooking in the kitchen has to be done or changing the baby's diapers or so much work in the home so much work in our office for the men but in addition to all that and while you're doing all that say Lord you said one thing is needful to hear you speak to me I cannot think of the number of times in the last more than 50 54 years that the Lord has said that one word to me one thing is needful what mary has chosen sit at my feet and listen to my word the Lord showed me that word I think about 54 years ago many years ago one day I was on my birthday I said Lord do you have a word for me the Lord said one thing is needful said at my feet and listen to the word the next year my birthday I said Lord you have a word for me said same as last year then I realized that here is a word that the Lord was giving me for my life I had to sit at Jesus feet every day and listen to him and I can testify today after all these more than fifty years has changed my life because in my time of need I have a word but I would not have it if I had not stored it in my mind earlier see Jesus because he knew the Scriptures by the age of 12 when he was thirty and the devil came with the temptation he the Holy Spirit could immediately you know like a computer picks out from all the data the answer that you're looking for but that computer can never pick that out if you haven't put the data in first then it's got it searches and there's nothing there no answer for your question because you haven't put data in so it's a wonderful thing if you put God's Word into your mind that's what the Holy Spirit brought forth to Jesus say to Satan man shall not live by bread alone from the book of Deuteronomy chapter eight but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and God has not told me to turn these stones into bread so I will not do it look at his humility that even when he was in desperate need of hunger I cannot imagine anything greater than being hungry for forty days and you have the power to get food somewhere without cheating anybody without robbing anybody else's meal and yet to say no I don't have a leading from my father yet to do that you know how even when there was a need for wine in Cana he told his mother no I can't do it my hour is not yet come and little later he said yeah what do I see there I see a person who is so sensitive to the father's voice that when his mother told him they have need here no no word I'll say nothing I won't do anything a little later the father says okay fine and he turned the water into wine I want to show you a verse in John chapter 5 John chapter 5 and was thirty john 5:30 i can do nothing on my own initiative now if some of you don't know the meaning of the word initiative it is from the word initiate initiate is an english word which means you start something so my initiative means i started i start the ball rolling no i will not initiate anything nothing from my own initiative as i hear then i judge and even your assessment of people you know be all whether you know it or not whether you know it or not you are unconsciously assessing people around you all the time that's the honest truth you might as well face it I mean you see somebody doing something and you form an opinion you hear somebody saying something and you're formed an opinion you don't say it and over a period of time as you see certain people doing some things you have formed an opinion you never said a word to anybody you don't even gossip to your husband or wife but you found an opinion and you formed an inward judgment of that for that's where it says about Jesus in Isaiah 11 verse 3 that he did not judge by what his eyes saw or his ears heard if you look at your life all the judgments we have made from the time we were born is by what I eyes have seen and I years have heard even two plus two is four we learnt it by what our I saw in our years heard the most elementary things see 80 means cat you learnt it by what your eyes saw and your ears heard every single thing in life that's a way of life for learning things in the world naturally but when it comes to spiritual things the Lord says you can see and you can hear but don't judge by that if you want to form a righteous judgment after you have seen then after you've heard hear the father I as I hear I judge John 5:30 and my judgment is just righteous how to have a righteous judgment always righteous judgment of people righteous judgment of situations righteous judgment of what to do in this complicated situation here is the secret never forget it my judgment is always right because I do not want to do my own will in anything on this earth I only want to do the will of him who sent me I learned from that that if my only ambition in life is to do the will of him who sent me into my mother's womb I have no other ambition my judgment will always be right we make mistakes because we judge by what our I saw in years heard and I've done that I sometimes not sometimes number of times foolishly judge then I when I realize pretty soon after that I was completely wrong I just gone before God in repentance and say Lord when will I learn not to judge by what my eyes see and ears heard we got so used to it that we get into that rut so often it's like trying to drive a car or a scooter in the road where there's a deep rut you're not really careful there we will go into that rut and then you're stuck there then you got a job trying to get it out onto the road and there are these ruts you know human opinions and ideas and the devil adds his ruts of what he wants you to know and to get out of that and steer on the main road and say I will not fall into that rut of judging by what I hear and see you know there's an Old Testament verse which says see if I can find it in his eye 42 I think yeah Isaiah 42 and verse 19 it's a verse which is difficult to understand but I'll tell you how I've understood it Isaiah 42 19 who is blind but my servant now I want to tell you something in Isaiah chapter 40 to 66 whenever you read my servant it is always referring to Jesus Christ prophetically let me read it who is blind like Jesus deaf like my messenger Jesus who is so blind but the one who is at peace with me or so blind as Jesus the servant of the Lord he sees many things but he doesn't observe them his ears are open but he doesn't hear you have to connect that to Isaiah 11 verse three that Jesus saw many things but he was blind he didn't say well I can't form an opinion on that he heard many things but he was deaf so if I want to be a servant of the Lord and you ought to be a servant of the Lord you can't keep your eyes and ears shut when you walk on the earth you see but you don't observe that means you don't pass any judgment you hear but you don't say okay I got to process that I got to process it in my mind and listen to God and that's why Jesus lived like that once we read in John 7 his brother said hey we're going to the feast in Jerusalem all Jews have to go for that you know that aren't you coming he said no you go you read that in John 7 but it says after that his brothers went he went was he telling a lie no when his brothers called him he had not yet heard from heaven so what if there's a law that you have to go to Jerusalem I haven't yet heard my father tell me to go a little later maybe five minutes after his brothers left to Jerusalem he heard the father say go in other words God did not want him to go for that long 100 kilometer walk to Jerusalem from wherever he was Capernaum and Nazareth and during all those hours listen to the useless gossip that his brothers would tell him I think that must have been the reason now father said let them go you walk alone because then you can listen to me a little better sometimes we need to hear that too sometimes we can be so friendly with somebody or we don't offend them okay I don't want to offend God remember my brother's sister you got only one life you don't have a second chance to live this life and not only life you don't have a second chance to live 2014 that's finished the way you lived it you can never correct it in all eternity it's gone forever you can repent of it sure you can walk with people whom God tells you not to walk with 400 kilometers and listen to all their gossip and rubbish and everything else at the end of it say oh Lord I'm sorry for what I did a better way would be to listen before at least in the future saying Lord I'm not saying we shouldn't be friendly with sinners Jesus was a friend of sinners I'm only saying listen develop the habit of listening in this year please for God's sake and I'm not saying that irreverently for the sake of our Heavenly Father while you're doing other things listen whenever you get time read the Word of God and store it in your mind but develop the habit of listening you know particularly when you are alone listen listen listen there is a time for playing music Christian music but there are some people who are always listening to Christian music some of it is good God can speak to you through some songs God spoken to me through many hymns but most of the time God speaks to me through him by reminding me of that hymn when I'm not listening to anything because so many hymns now I know by heart that some word and it comes to me you know when you're on trial something like his love in time past forbids me to think that he will leave me at last in trouble to sink oh he won't let me down words like that when we have come to the end of our hoarded resources our father's full giving has only begun but if I keep on listening to Christian music that may not be the word I hear at that time that's why I don't keep on listening to Christian music even though that sounds such a spiritual thing to do the devil has so many ways of making us deaf to the voice of God my brothers and sisters cooking food is a good thing listening to music is a good thing watching television is if it's news and clean stuff it may be okay but don't let any of these legitimate things rob you of listening to God it is the one most important thing Jesus said one thing is needful listen to me and you will need it this year I believe you will need it he who has ears to hear let him hear I can boldly say thus says the Lord one thing is needful sit in my feet and listen to me that's what we read in proverbs 4 take heed to instruction hold it fast then what will happen the way will open up before you little by little by little mountains will move out of the way you will form right judgments of situations and people not based on what you input you get from eyes and ears but processed with the Word of God coming into your heart so develop the habit this year of listening if you are driving your car pay attention to the roads look for the traffic signs but you can also listen and when you are alone at home wonderful times when you can listen or if you're driving in an office Gavin you sit up there listen listen to God listen everywhere listen when you're having a shower listen when you're sitting on the toilet listen to God all the time because some of those times you're all alone nobody to disturb you when you're in the bathroom do you spend time listening to God so much of time we have lost in 2014 let's not lose it this year God's Word can do amazing things in your life God's Word is brings light into different situations it's God's Word that opened up the way for these relized to go through the red sea his word his word it's that what protected Jesus from temptation every time a temptation came one word the Holy Spirit would bring you shall not tempt the Lord your God and of matter no further discussion another temptation you shall worship only the Lord your God get behind me Satan finished how quickly temptation went away from Jesus there was no struggling struggling struggling struggling because he just caught in a scripture the exact scripture that the Holy Spirit brought to his mind because he was had this habit of listening he knew when to go to Jerusalem and not to go when to do a miracle and when not to do a miracle I think of that pool in Bethesda where Jesus walked in John chapter 5 it says a multitude of sick people were lying there what is a multitude 510 can you call 10 people a multitude know multitude means maybe 200 people were there and Jesus listened to the father you see that man there sitting there all by himself in the corner go and ask him if he wants to get well she's I've been 38 years nope I can't get into the pool father says heal him he healed him what about all the other hundred and ninety-nine people sitting there let's go home now God is a plan some people say jesus healed everybody was sick it's absolute lie they haven't read the Bible sometimes he did it because he was prompted by that think of that lame man who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple whom Peter healed for three years Jesus saw him every time he went by he'd asked for money and Jesus would give him money next day he would ask for money Jesus would give money next year he came and Jesus would give him money because always the father said don't heal em don't heal him I'm going to heal him three years later and when he gets healed by Peter five thousand people will get converted if you heal him now you'll hinder that revival then do you know sometimes a good work can hinder God's work we give you a clear example if the prodigal son was living next door to your compound and he was eating what the pigs are eating I'm sure you'd feed him so well that he'd never go back to his father's house would you accomplish God's purpose when a man is being disciplined by God sometimes a person in the church has to be disciplined and people go and say oh brother Zack is so hard I think I'll be compassionate towards him and go and visit him and encourage him you'll make sure he never comes back to God there are foolish believers who go by what they I see in their years here and you think you're more spiritual and more loving than the elders AHA just humble yourself and say they have a little more wisdom than you they don't lack love but they have grace + truth so listening to God is a wonderful thing and I believe I want to close with this John chapter 5 I'm sorry John 15 see the other advantage of studying God's Word is that you'll always have a word to give to other people when they come to visit you in the home or when you have a chance to share the word if you keep on listening listening listening whenever you know and judging yourself in the light of God's Word judging yourself God makes even the things that happen in your life to work for your good I had this coughing a cold which got a bit aggravated because I had to speak for nine hours in the last three days of the conference when I said Lord I have no complaint are you going to teach me something through this sure I'm always seeking to learn sometimes it's not a great spiritual truth like I get tossed from a scooter and I say Lord what are you trying to teach me so drive slowly so it's not always a great spiritual truths but it's a practical truth but sometimes it's a spiritual truth and what I'm sharing with you today was when I was sitting there and listening to God's shall Lord wash allies here today and he gave me this word John 15 verse 7 if you abide in me and my words abide in you that means you have listened and listened and listened and you haven't thrown them away abide means you keep them like the precious things you get don't throw them away if you have lost a word that God gave you some time ago then I'll tell you what you must have treated it like old newspapers do you collect all newspapers in your house or garbage you throw it away if you got a word today and you lost it by tomorrow clear sign you treated God's Word like garbage because you don't keep guard even for one day you throw it out you have to face it I treated God's Word like garbage he gave me a word now completely forgotten it dear brothers value the word God gives you if my words abide in you not that they come and go the opposite of abiding is visiting you visit a house or you abide in a house I abide in my house but I visit other houses don't let God's word visit you even this morning let it abide in you that's why I always say it's better to have a few words biding in us than lots of words visiting us and going away if my words abide in you and you abide in me you can ask whatever you wish and it'll be done for you you know some people ask me brother Zack it doesn't seem to always work Jesus said fantastic things like ask in my name and you'll get it and it'll always be done why can't you pray for this seriously sick person and heal him immediately I'll say I'll give you an answer to that if Jesus was here even if this was a leper or dead Jesus could raise him from the dead he didn't lay it raised everybody from the dead but Jesus could do it I remember visiting a home in one of our churches in Tamil Nadu where there was this girl who 10 or 12 years curled up from birth you know written some problem with their mind and brain and body that couldn't do anything he was a brother in our church and his body was all curled up this daughter of theirs and said can you he called me home said company can you come and pray for my daughter I said ok when I went to his house and I saw this curse I had zero faith to raise that child up to normal and I told him I said if Jesus were here he would touch that child or speak a word and this child would get up even if it was like curled up for 13 years jump about and walk normally but I want to be honest I do not have the faith of Jesus Christ I can only live at the level of my faith Jesus could sign a check for a million dollars million rupees maybe I can sign a check for 15 rupees let's be humble and not claim ah in the name of Jesus I'm going to do this do this don't be deceived by all these Pentecostal preachers and healers they don't have much faith either some of them don't even have 15 rupees I'll tell you they have loud words don't be deceived by them some people who don't make such loud claims actually have more in their faith account than some of those people that's why I never go to them but Jesus life was such that Roman centurion knew that you know in Rome Matthew 8 he said lord I know that if you speak one word standing here five kilometres away my servant will be healed how because that's he said that's how it happens to me I'm a Centurion with hundred soldiers under me I always listen to my captain he says Centurion come here I drop what I'm doing and I go and therefore when I tell this soldier come here he comes when I say now go he goes because I submit to my senior officer in the same way in the militaries like that and he looked at Jesus and he got a sense you know military people can recognize one another and he said gee I don't know what which army you belong to but I sense a military thing about you you've got some authority over you see most Christians I've got no authority over them and you can see it but this military man recognized me I don't know which authority this is but you're under some authority I know you have such tremendous power because he had heard about what Jesus was doing in other places is this impossible nobody can do it unless he's under some terrific Authority and so I know that if I were to paraphrases words you are so submissive to whoever is the authority over you he didn't know about God the Father or any such thing but some authority are listening to and I know from my experience that one who submits so completely to that authority will have authority over others that's why the Bible says in James 5 the prayer of a righteous man avails much why is that why not the prayer of all believers don't we think that James 5 should say the prayer of all believers in Jesus name it'll work it won't let's be realistic a lot of your prayers in Jesus name nothing has happened a lot of my prayers in Jesus name nothing has happened but I know that when Jesus pray it was always always he said I know father you always hear me there was never one failure and the closer we get to that we will see more and more God answering our prayer but that'll be in the sense that the closer we get to God we will not be asking for such a lot of worldly things like a lot of people you know most people when they say in Jesus name I want this it is some earthly thing is either health or wealth they say we don't believe in the help of gospel but that's what they're seeking all the time when they pray but Jesus was not saying in the father's name I'll get help or I'll get wealth no he wanted to do the will of his father and that's what every righteous man wants and the righteous man's prayer has tremendous power and the more righteous he is the more authority he has but he's still way below Jesus who could just say like that and it was done so he says if my words abide in you you can ask whatever you wish it'll be done isn't it a wonderful thing to let God's word not visit us but abide in us thank you for your patience listening brothers and sisters I love you all I always speak the truth I want to tell you I speak it to myself first always I never preach to you what I've not preached to myself I don't despise any of you I believe most of you are very sincere otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here so long god bless you let's pray our Father we thank you for your love and care for us please help us to honor you as a church in our different homes and as individuals help us to live listening to you accomplishing your will on earth as it is done in heaven we pray in jesus name amen

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

Id: EBD73Ujaha8

Length: 56min 0sec (3360 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 20 2015