good morning OSC put your hands together so glad to see every single one of you welcome those watching online I'll tell you where I was in the middle of the message because this is really important I'm so happy that you're here as we're starting this brand new series on prayer so let me tell you a story I pulled something I knew exactly where it was and it's something I don't show to many people but I keep it as a memorial and as a reminder to me it's an airplane ticket doesn't even belong to me in fact it doesn't even have a seat number on it it was a standby ticket from a gentleman that I want to tell you about I was speaking in Colorado Springs a few years ago and while I was there I was speaking for a friend three services at his church then did the chapel for compassion International and and you have to fly into Denver than an hour and a half drive to Colorado Springs hour and a half back in order to have a direct flight so I did all of that and so after speaking after all that large weekend of ministry and just a tremendous blessing I took the drive back to Denver Colorado to catch my direct flight so found out which I was excited about because of my miles they they bump me up a class and put me up there was in Row 1 so I was excited so people are boarding the plane so I put took my Bible out who's gonna read my Bible while they were boarding the plane and like any good Christian I fell asleep while I was reading the Bible on the plane and so I was out cold I did but before I fell asleep I looked over and I just kind of greeted nodded to the man older white businessman gentleman sitting next to me just kind of nodded we not had read the Bible fell asleep so while the plane was on the ascent we just you had the shaking of the plane I woke up out of a dead sleep and had this thought that somebody was staring at me and then when I looked over the white elderly businessman is all gone and there is this young black African staring at me with this giant smile on his face and finally just goes hello how are you doing and and I thought he knew me and I just go great to see you again and I have no I didn't even know who he was let me tell you because this is important this is how an Italian met an African one day on a plane here's what happened and then he began to tell me his story and this is where I saved his plane ticket his name is a screw do a ghana form and that that's that's the best I can do and here's what he told me he said you are an answer to my prayer I said what I said what he goes before I got on this plane I prayed and I said God you will sit me next to someone who is a godly man he shall lay hands upon me he will pray for me and I am gonna have hope come back into my life he said I was in row 35 on the plane when this businessman came back and said I got bumped up my wife did and I'd like to switch seats with you he says so my Iowan my he went back there I came up there you were sleeping with your Bible and I knew you were the man that was about to pray for me so I've been waiting for you because you are an answer to prayer from my life I'm telling you I was all pumped up I was going I said okay let's let's let's pray I'm praying he's getting loud I mean like like super loud and and by this time I look I'm going like I don't even know these people and say whatever you want and so we're praying on the plane he is he is going thank you God thank you God hallelujah ha and at that point I took I took his ticket I said I sent a Ghana for I want your ticket I said what this ticket is gonna remind me is that God answers prayer and whenever I feel like God what are you gonna do I remember seat one be this man going you were my answer to prayer on Delta flight 1708 God answers prayer that's what makes God absolutely amazing that's how an Italian met an African on that day but as we start the series I really want to tell you this is why I pray because I want to share with you today as we open up the next four weeks of the why we pray instead of just the how we pray because if you can understand why then it makes the how even doable and something that we would want to do we're calling this and if you look don't get don't get nervous but I know this brings you back to biology days from the periodical table this is called prayer the element of change and that's what I want to share with you I want to show you and walk you on a journey that that literally changed my life so I want you to get ready to write some things down because I want to give you the why we pray before we jump into even the how we pray and some of the things that God will show us through his word so get ready to write some things down so let me walk you through a journey here every time I get ready to pray I open up my prayer journal and there are definitely I try to say these two things every day there's two quotes from two people one of them being a woman who's been a hero of mine never met her wish I did one day died in the late seventies early 80s she was the one that survived the concentration camp wrote the book the hiding place called Corey Tim Boone I love this I started to say this every single day Corey Tim Boone said these words top as them the more I pray the more coincidences happen I love that if you want to know what a coincidences coincidence is is God doing something and just remaining anonymous the world would call it a coincidence we know it's God and so when I think of those words I really find out that that really is true the more I pray the more coincidences happen and really what happens is the more I pray the more I notice God doing things let me just say that again the more I pray the more I notice God doing some things the second thing that I try to pray or I try to say every single day comes from what is considered probably one of the greatest writers on prayer from the 19th century Scottish preacher Maine Andrew Murray Andrew Murray wrote a great book called with Christ and the school of prayer a very powerful book another one called intercession which has really influenced my life but this is you gotta think on this one this is a really important thing that he said listen to these words he said when I work I work when I pray God works let me say that again when I work I work but when I pray God works and this is the challenge for every single one of us so let me show you in the scriptures another Delta flight 17:08 and this time I want to show you how an Italian met a Jew and this is really important because if I had to tell you what motivates me to get up it is Acts chapter 10 let me say this again Acts chapter 10 is the reason why I get up every single morning to pray that's how influential this passage of Scripture my prayer life has had on me and I want to just challenge you so let's get ready to go through it there's a number of verses we got to read we'll pause a couple times but this is a narrative this is a story that to me is life-changing so let me show you and read to you kind of the Acts chapter 10 flight Delta flight 17 away but this time it's not an Italian meeting in African it's an Italian meeting a Jew let me read this to you look at verse 1 now there was a certain man at Caesarea named Cornelius a Centurion of what was called the Italian now stop right there this is a shout-out to my people I just got to let you know right now so if you have your Bible Circle that word Italian this is the shout out and just thankful that God gave my people a little shout out here in fact if you go to Acts chapter 8 the first ethnic group that came in with the Ethiopians and the Africans then God said okay we give it to them and then we come over to Acts chapter 10 and my people so make sure you put a little star there put pastor Tim Italians way to go okay let's continue on a devout man who feared God with all of his household he gave many awns to the Jewish people and this is important he's a man of prayer and prayed to God continually and then it tells you about one of his prayer times listen what it says verse 3 not the ninth hour we'll come back to that because that's gonna have some significance of the day he clearly saw in the vision and the angel of God who had just come in and Cornelius and fixing his gaze upon him being much alarmed he said what is it Lord he said to him your prayers and arms have ascended as a memorial before God verse 5 says now dispatch some men to Joppa send for a man named Simon who is called Peter free staying with the Tanner Ming Simon whose house is by the sea and then it says this when the angel who was speaking to him had left he summoned his servants and a devout soldier of those who were as personal tents three guys and what he did was and after he explained everything to them he sent them 17 miles away to Joppa now get ready now oh I see what's happens next it's Delta flight 1708 this is now this is an Italian and and and this instead of an Italian an African an Italian and a Jew are about to intersect in their lives look at verse nine here it comes on the next day as they the three guys from the Italian house are on their way and approaching the city of Joppa Peter they have to understand something yet to see this is the way we almost get this insight that God is showing how he sees things at times while these guys are coming up to the house God now has to work on Peter and Peter went up on the house top about the sixth hour to pray here's what's incredible you think and think about this for just a moment two lives drop this down two lives are about to be intersected because of their prayer lives - lies Cornelius prays Peter prays and God goes I'm gonna be going to intersect their lives they have two lives that literally are joined together because two men prayed 70 miles apart in verses 2 and verse 9 let me read to you the rest of what begins to happen as the lives are about to bring an intersection Delta flight 1708 about to happen verse 10 but he became hungry this is Peter now who said let me go on the sixth hour and begin to pray became hungry was designed to eat but while they were making preparations fixing lunch he fell into a trance another word just saw a vision he had the saw the sky opened up now for us Gentiles this is not gonna mean much but for a Jew this is a big deal when he was seeing an object like a great sheet coming down by four corners to the ground and we're in and all kinds of four-footed animals crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air these are animals that he was seeing that the Jews were not allowed to eat voice came to me said get up Peter and kill and eat Peter said by no means Lord for I've never eaten anything I mean think about this in fact when I read the Scriptures first time I'm just noticing it I mean who would ever say no Lord and put those two things together that's pretty that's pretty that's pretty brat but then again we're dealing with Peter for I've never eaten anything unholy and unclean again a voice came to him a second time because he said no the first time would goddess cleanse no longer consider unholy this happened three times and immediately the object was taken up into the sky now verse 17 now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mine as to what the vision he had seen might be get ready for the intersection the men who had been sent by Cornelius having asked direction for Simon's house appeared okay pause for one second this is a little bit of a miracle alert let me say this again look at these words the men who had been sent by Cornelius having asked for directions folks do you see the miracle the men have been asked for to rep men asking for to rep there is a God I mean think about that right now men asking for it and this is incredible okay let's just continue on verse 18 calling out they were asking whether Simon who is also called Peter was staying there while Peter was reflecting on the vision the spirit said to him behold three men are looking for you get up go downstairs and accompany them without any misgivings don't buck on this for I have sent them myself this is incredible Peter goes with them just a couple more verses goes with them shows up at the Italian house starts preaching to this entire Italian cohort and let me show you what happens while he is speaking the Bible says the Holy Spirit falls upon that were listening to the message and all the circumcised believers mean the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed how come because the gift of the Holy Spirit that have been poured out on the Gentiles also and they were hearing them speak with tongues and exalting God and folks what makes this amazing is this is really kind of the Gentile than non Jew Pentecost from the book of Acts this is acts 2 for the Gentiles this is what God is doing the reason why you get to hear prophecies the reason why Jim lafoon comes in the reason why people get to begin to speak in tongues and the gifts of the Spirit happen is because of Acts chapter 10 and Acts chapter 2 you got to put them both together that God was doing something really special here so what do we do with this story really this is the reason this is the Y this is the Y instead of the how acts 10 is the reason why I give up get up in the morning this is why not only I pray I think this is the reason why we pray in fact let me give you three words I want you to drop these three words down and then we'll expect expand them here they are this is why we pray I think for direction I think because we have availability to God and number three because of refreshment let me give them to you again this is why I pray this is why we pray direction availability and refreshment and I'm gonna show you really how important those words are and why it's really worth it for us to give that time for God so let me walk this through you take each of these and expand them a little bit deeper so let's get ready to walk through this number one I think the reason why we pray instead of to speak to direction I think prayer gives all of us next steps its next steps its it gives you direction you never would have had if you didn't pray or for businesspeople what prayer does we get inside information cuz it said what do you mean by that okay let me say that let me ask you a big question here if Cornelius doesn't pray if Cornelius doesn't pray then how does he know about Joppa Peter a guy that's a Tanner whose name is Simon and Peter who he's supposed to bring to his house he he doesn't pray how does he know that information how does he even I mean listen folks let me just tell you something I mean this is an Italian I did I thought let me just say this to you I thought the Italians us at times were the only people that loved to eat until I came to Louisiana let me just tell you something right now then down here this is like almost a whole nother level with some of you I mean that the food here is amazing and so let me just tell you something because you guys feel some of our stuff let me tell you what you steal because I've heard this about gum people say this about gumbo they go like man Gumbo's better the second day we say that about pasta pastas better the second day you know what he's saying that to give you another excuse to eat I understand that I get that that's what we do so we're we're tracking here folks I'm just telling you that we're tracking that's why I love Cajuns but here's what's it quickly here's what's crazy if Cornelius goes no no no I'm just gonna eat more pasta no I'm just gonna do and he doesn't pray how does he know about Joppa how does he know about Peter how does he know about I got to send some guys on a journey what prayer did was give him information that he never would have had if he didn't pray that he never would have known this is what I'm supposed to do so jot this down this is really important when I pray I found out three things happen and I'm gonna keep referring to this get this down three things happen every time I pray one I get to go places I never would have gone to I meet people I never would have met and three I go through doors that I never should have gotten through let me say that one more time when I pray I get to I get to go places I never would have gone I get to meet people I never would have met and I get to go through doors that I never should have gone through and that's exactly what happened I mean think about this if you believe those three things that you see on the screen here then to not pray he's really a boring life to not print about what prayer does prayer brings excitement get to meet people you never would have met go places you never would have gone to go through doors you never would have gotten through that's what blows me away and to think about what who Peter has meant and Cornelius has meant prayer intersects two worlds that not only would never have met it was impossible to me because talk about a racial issue it was not just a Jew in Italian it was a Jew in a Gentile and they never cross paths a Jew would never go into an Italians house or Gentile zone a Jew would never go into and eat at a Gentile home but because of prayer I get to go places I never would have gone meet people I never would have met and go through doors I never would have gone through only God could have provided that exactly listen exactly what happened to Cindy and I Cindy and I had the privilege last week it was very difficult for us and I asked pastor Jacob I said listen I it's hard for us because we have this opportunity to speak in in Barcelona Spain there was gonna I said but it's during a rise in pastor Jacob because he thinks so much larger and and just doesn't think within a zip code but just has him and Miss Michelle goes no you need to go you need to be part of this I'm so grateful for him and Michelle in their vision and we we felt so bad to miss arise but to see what God was going to do in another part of the world we had a chance to go there we would have six hundred pastors from all over Spain in the morning and four thousand at night it was an amazing opportunity to see what God was doing I didn't know this about Barcelona I was like blown away I don't know if any of you knew this my kids knew this and I didn't know this in Barcelona they speak the Spanish language it's a different dialect where they speak the the the see that the s sound sounds like a list instead of it being gracias it's gracias and instead of it being Barcelona its Barcelona and and first when I started to hear that I'm going like man the whole country has a problem there everybody has a lisp and we need a pret you need deeper prayer than Finn and just I mean how many knew that that was that that was part of anybody here now okay I just want to make sure because my kids are going like everybody knows that well they don't so here's and someone told me this someone said to me do you know that happen and I'm not sure I didn't I've not verified this they said one of the old kings of Spain had a list and pronounced it and basically the OL of society when if the king says it and it must be the right way to say it and so whatever I don't know so anyway let me just say what happened as we're ministering to these pastors in Barcelona and seeing what God was doing one of the mornings I was teaching on the scars that sometimes ministry and life will cause and that there's always meaning even in our pain in fact you want to get this down because this is really good CS Lewis says this and the reflection on the Psalms this is so good because this is really I was trying to get across chop this down Lewis is this where we find difficulty we may always expect that a discovery awaits us that that's really good let me just say what he was saying was this when you're going through a difficult situation you're about to discover something really cool about God when you're going when you're going through some pain always wait because God is about to show you something he says will we find difficulty we can always expect that a discovery awaits us at this time and so I was sharing with them about the the scars that we go through and we're dealing with the life of Joseph and King Hezekiah and talking about what the scars meant and some of the scars that were put on by people closest to his brothers and parents and I said most of those scars and a lot of us are internal scars from betrayal and and promises unkept but I said but sometimes we have scars that are physically there and so then we had a time of praying with the pastors hundreds of pastors we had the chances to pray with these amazing people these amazing leaders in Spain and while we were praying and finished we were celebrating we were walking back and and I met with a pastor with my translator my interpreter right backstage and he just goes I have to tell you my story he was weeping he goes I had been pastoring and just got of year ago I got diagnosed with cancer stage four cancer and he says I I started my faith started to waver my belief in preaching with not just physical pain but even this thought where is God where is God and he said on my body now I've had three surgeries and three cut marks and scars of me of where they try to stop the cancer and try to stop him he says but after today after today I realize that this is the store this is not the story the pain is not the story but I realize that I have hope today that God listened to what he said that God would send somebody from Louisiana all the way over to Barcelona to tell me that there is hope even with scars and my star scars can still tell a story you know what God was doing he was reconnecting at intersecting worlds how does Lafayette touch Barcelona it's like an Italian touching a Jew and an Italian touching an African when you pray Church you get to meet people you never thought you'd meet when you pray you get to go places you never thought you'd go and when you pray you get to go through doors you never thought you'd begin to get through that's how Lafayette touches Barcelona he begins to bring people together that's why this is so important for us as we begin to understand how God begins to brothers listen to me close this is so important prayer widens the boundaries on our zip code our geography and relationships let me say that again when you pray it widens the boundaries on our zip code our geography and our relationships or the best way I can say it is this job is them when you don't pray you shrink your world when you don't see prayer is something important your world gets smaller and smaller and it becomes about you and you miss everything else that God is doing and you miss that God you're sending me from Lafayette to Barcelona because the man has three scars on his chest and needs some hope only you can begin to connect Lafayette and Barcelona only you can do that because when you pray you go places she never would have gone and me people you never should have met that's why I pray Acts chapter 10 gives the second reason I want you to jot this down this is why we pray don't underestimate spontaneous prayers I call it throwing one up to God let me let me explain this because this is really huge in this chapter the Bible talks about two kinds of Prayer in this story and in fact Cornelius does one and Peter does another in fact that's why we said notice that when Cornelius prayed it was the ninth hour and what Peter prayed it was the sixth hour let me tell you about those hours the ninth hour is 3:00 p.m. that was the traditional time every Jew prayed you could see that in Acts chapter three right through the day of Pentecost the Bible says and they went to the temple to pray at the ninth hour which is the hour of prayer that was when every Jew prayed every single day the ninth hour 3 p.m. traditional but then the Bible chooses to throw in there and this is where it gets really good this is why I pray acts 10 wakes me up every morning the sixth hour which is 12 noon it was a spontaneous prayer it was an extemporaneous prayer it was it was literally one is scheduled and the other is impromptu it was literally Peter throwing one up but both equally important and needful let me explain what happened Peter comes home so this is this is my rendition Peter walks into the house looks it goes hey his lunch ready and his wife goes 20 more minutes here's Peter unbelievable Peter has a choice do I take the remote and watch ESPN see if there's something new about Jewry's his hand do I do I take it do I sit there watch fox or CNN do I take it and watch another rerun of mash or Everybody Loves Raymond or Seinfeld or here's a thought I line up and here's what happens Peter you're not supposed to pray at noon Peter decides ah I'll throw one up throws up a prayer and a vision comes here's what's amazing God sees both those prayers as valid he gives a vision at 9:00 the ninth hour and the vision at the sixth hour he says whether which means talk about availability God goes I'm not just available on Sunday in church sitting on a Pew God goes I'm available on a plane I'm available on your campus I'm available on a rig and at your school and at your job God goes you can throw one up in your car and you don't know what's gonna happen this is what makes this pretty amazing that God goes even if you throw one up I can begin to answer that prayer how does this look pastor Tim okay let me let me tell you how part of it looks for us is how it looks so I have this hobby I've been doing for about 23 years since 1996 and my hobby is every city I go to to preach in I go to the Starbucks get the mug that has the city and Starbucks on it I've been doing that for 23 years I've gone through five different series of Starbucks mugs do not ask and list I am and and there are people that have given us mugs of cities because when I when I get those well let me just say this I am NOT saying do not buy me any mugs because they're this close to heavy marital counseling so just no mugs okay we have enough that we're working through here where this is a work but will be meeting with pastor Randy or shortly if any more mugs but when I was in Spain I picked up Barcelona I picked up the Spain's mug got it but here's what happens when I get those mugs and it's time because you cannot pray and read the Bible unless you have coffee so what I do is this I'll get the coffee pull out whatever mug is there I'll pull it down and we throw one up every single morning I did it this morning there was a family in our church they gave us they were in Arizona gave me an Arizona mug and I told him I said every time I drink coffee out of that mug I'm gonna throw one up for you and so I did I saw them today I praise Allah I knew some of the de said God I pray for direction I pray that you would just guide them I pray that your Holy Spirit would lead I just threw one up I told him today said hey I drank out of my Arizona mug prayed for you then before I walked into church I get a text from Cindy and this is literally at 7:45 before the 8 o'clock service she goes hey I'm drinking out of the Wisconsin month who we praying for and so had I let her know who were praying for out of the Wisconsin mug and so so while I'm preaching she's throwing one up for the people our friends from Wisconsin I here's here's what's amazing you can do that and God honors that God goes listen you could be I'm driving down College saloon when I pass by my dentist's office I pray for him his family and his business every time I pass by okay can you do that yes I'm throwing what up it's the sixth what that is is six-hour praying enough to be in a church earth even being a primitive you can pray anytime which tells me God is always available for every single one of us that we can begin to pray that's why I mean think about this for just a moment and how important this is that's why jot this down Thomas Keating said it best you ready for this the only way to fail in prayer is to not show up that's it so show up at the sixth hour show up at the ninth hour here's a thought oscy just show up and God goes I don't care if you're throwing one up and I don't care if you're showing up for a permitting a church it all counts both of them got a vision and both worlds got connected does that make sense this is why I pray I pray because one God is always available whether I'm in a car or in a church whether you're coming to the Tuesday night - - when groups are a small group for a prayer meeting whether you're coming to Monday morning whether it's a week of prayer and fasting God's gonna meet you there and whether you just thrown one up from an airport or throw one up from a rig or throwing up even before you go to school as a student God answers that I pray because man direction things I get from God I never would have gotten unless I prayed and let me just close with this final thing and then we close this is live but for a this is important number three prayer is a reboot I think of our system it's a reboot what do you mean pastor Tim it helps to see with fresh eyes again let me explain it like this so I didn't realize how big of a deal this was when Cindy asked me she goes I want to change my perfume so I need you to come to the store to smell it to see if you like it so I'm gonna like really that means but it made sense I'm going like yeah I guess I need a like like the smell is that sure we'll do it so we ended up at Macy's and you walk into this section it looks like this it's sterile everything's white you got these ladies walking around and think they graduated from med school with white doctor coats and everything else so they're walking around doctor coats with sheets of paper and just waving them so they're squirting it and going like this and all this and they wave it and they're gonna smell this some others so let me just say something by the second sheet of paper everything smell the same everything was citrus I'm going like if I like I just I said I said this is a scam I said every one of it's all the same smell I said you just you just put a different label on it it all smells like fruit every single one of this stuff smells like fruit and so the and then this is what she did she goes in doctor coat in and then she comes over she grabs this bowl of coffee beans and she goes I'm and she goes I want you to smell it I said if I smell that I'm gonna be a coffee and a mug I said I'm gonna say that right now and I may have to pray for you but here's what she could smell the bean smell the beans and she says now smell this I'm going whoa she says what the beans do is reset your palate she says now you're smelling it like you're smelling it for the very first time so she goes watch this smell the beans smell the beans she goes now smell this I'm gonna oh my goodness that's evergreen and she goes now watch this smell the beans then she waved it again just smell this I'm going oh my goodness that's amazing I'm going this is this is this is just the citrus this is like you know forest passion and then all of a sudden she was no here it is some other beans here it is again I'm like ooh Musk okay give me more beans that's just that's disgusting and so you guys here's what I realize that's exactly what prayer is every time you pray you're getting a whiff of heaven and you're getting to see things with brand-new eyes you're getting to see things because you know what prayer does prayer reset your soul to see things like God sees them if not everything citrus you see everybody the same instead of seeing the value of people instead of seeing God in a situation everything is citrus but when you pray something begins to happen and a reset of the system begins to take place here's the big question ready for this here's the big question does Peter answered the door if he doesn't smell the beans does Peter answer the door if he doesn't pray here's what's intense he gives you the answer here's what Peter said you ready for this verse 28 Peter said to them the three guys three Italian guys you yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner you Italian people or even to visit him and yet God has shown me because that day I threw one up in prayer at the sixth hour that I should not call any man unholy or unclean verse 29 that's why I came without even raising an objection when I was sent for you know what Peter did when he threw one up he began here's what happened Peter then although some throws went up seized those men differently or let me say like this Peter doesn't see the messengers as Gentiles but he sees those messengers as part of God's plan for his day that when I pray my system gets rebooted I see things the way God wants them to see and all of a sudden you start to realize that God begins to expand our lives or as I love this or as one French commentator said Lewis Lamont he says it like this get this damn the man who prays will accomplish more in a year than another man would in a lifetime who doesn't pray I want to pray is what I want to begin to do so let me finish with this I want to tell you a story that was inspiring to me it's called the almost impossible mission just happened this week when the talks failed with our president who was going to meet with the Taliban in Afghanistan and it's Hawks failed there was a number of suicide bombings that took place in Afghanistan and our soldiers our heroes were put in huge danger and one of those one of those men was critically injured which the article was written about was called almost impossible mission the 8,000 mile nonstop flight this is that the title of the article the 8,000 mile nonstop flight to save one u.s. soldier's life let me tell you that the article says three military aircrafts 18 medical personnel 24,000 gallons of jet fuel 25 gallons of blood we're a hundred soldiers stood on line to donate their blood to save the life of their critically wounded fellow soldier to get him to a place that he can begin to get fixed and to get healed it's called reach the mission was called reach 797 they flew a plane out of Dover over to Afghanistan to pick him up and then from Afghanistan 8,000 miles they put that man on a plane with 18 personnel listen to this as they're coming back to 18,000 miles refueled over the Atlantic refueled over Maine in the air in air refueling to get into San Antonio to the Brooke medical facility in San Antonio to save this man's life 8,000 miles non-stop to get one man I'm just gonna tase I love America god bless the USA to do that for one of our soldiers oh my goodness 8,000 miles non-stop because we care about those soldiers and thank God the thing about that let me just say it again three aircrafts two in the midair fueling the plane in mid air over the Atlantic to get him home and to rush him home 24,000 gallons of jet fuel 18 personnel on that flight to make sure this man is going to survive that that suicide bomber and you think about it 25 gallons of blood from our soldiers who are fighting over there stood in line to make sure that their fallen that their fallen comrade was gonna make it home on time 8,000 non-stop miles to save one soldier now I'm gonna ask you to think big now think about it just for a second let's go back to prayer prayer is gonna cost you some time it's gonna cost you something we'll go over that in the weeks to come the challenge the Tuesday night prayer meeting I'm sorry the Wednesday night prayer meeting the first Wednesday that's gonna be a challenge because we're asking you to come to pray with us and we're gonna teach it how they'll firt the one we had last month was absolutely incredible but I want you to think a little bit larger okay here it is I want you to think not what its gonna cost you to pray stay with me but I want you to think about this what did it cost God to get you to pray think of this for a second I got to give a 50 I got to get up 15 minutes early I've got to show up first Wednesday's deprived God okay that's that's your cost I get I get I got to get up in the morning I get up every morning just to break got up this morning to pray for all of you it was a cost but here's the part what did it cost God to even give you the opportunity to talk to him he had us talk about an 8,000 mile non-stop journey God sent his son to die on the cross you couldn't pray to God yourself if Jesus didn't come and died on the cross let me say that again you couldn't even talk to God if Jesus didn't create the way to allow you to talk to him the Jews three million Jews in the desert needed an hour and the priest to talk for them God's going I'm not talking to them but I'll talk with you Aaron and you can communicate and you know what's amazing when God sent his son on a non-stop journey for us to die on the cross do you know what he just did oscy don't take this for granted the blood of the precious Jesus dying on the cross allows you to throw one up once in a while and allows you to pray and we're gonna say it cost us it cost God's son his life so you can throw one up and pray today that's what it did and when he came and made the journey to come down he wasn't saving one life he was saving all of humanity on that day that's what he came to do and today you can talk to him because Jesus died for you think of that for just a moment this is what makes this absolutely amazing it cost jesus' life so you can pray and now you can pray a prayer that changes everything you can pray a prayer to to be born again the most important question we can ask anybody is have you been born again why is that important watch this because the journey that he came down to died for us so we can live is so we can make the journey to heaven when we die he made the journey to die for us why so we can be forgiven and make a journey to heaven to be born again because how do you make that journey huh Tim I go to church or I've been baptized or I've had communion Jesus says this to make the journey this is the prayer we can pray Jesus said in John 3:3 I'm telling you the truth jesus said no one could see the kingdom of God unless there first without being born again but Jesus was saying that is this just as you have a first birth you need a second birth and today it's gonna probably take you 90 seconds you ready for this no no disrespect it can take you 90 seconds to throw one up that can change your life and how could I have how come I can pray that because the Son of God died for you that allows you to pray today well pastor Jim how do i how do I do that born-again thing how do if that's how it gets me to heaven how do I do it it's as simple as ABC let me tell you how importance is a a and each one of these correspond to a word a admit not that you're a good person would admit you're a sinner probably the biggest thing that we face in our culture is everybody was to tell us how good they are can I just say something to you Jesus said there's nobody nobody good except God and for you to say I go to heaven because I'm a good person then it's you and God and if that's the case then you should just go start your own church and just it's just or religion or save the planet do something because it's just you and God now they're never and I'd love to meet you after church because the Bible says none of us are good not one only God is good so the first prerequisite of going to heaven is saying I'm not good enough to get there just as that wounded man couldn't get all the way to San Antonio on his own you can't get to heaven by being good enough you need help and you got it his name is Jesus that's what gets it for you how pastor Tim that's the be part be believing that God sent his son to die in my place died dying a death he lived a life I couldn't live died to death I should have died and gave me a reward called heaven now I didn't even deserve and it's believing that God died for my sins I couldn't pay for my sins he would be my sin bearer he said I'll take the consequence I created the big bill called sin and Jesus came and said I'll pay the bill that was his death and it's until we accept that and going it see the more you try to get good enough to get to heaven it's you saying I can pay the bill off you can't pay this bill off Jesus had to die for us and see confessing him as Lord which means you're in charge now you're the boss Jesus did not die 2,000 years ago to get you in church Jesus died 2,000 years ago to get you to heaven that's why he died and today rich throwing up we can spontaneous say Jesus we want you to change us we want to be born again I want to start that brand new journey with you I want you to bow your head and close your eyes as we finished today we're gonna finish in the next two minutes and if you're here today I'm here to tell you Jesus made a non-stop journey so you can make a non-stop journey and if you're here today I want to pray that born-again prayer a prayer that you're able to pray because Jesus came and died for all of us starting this that was and I know with me starting with me came into me and I prayed this prayer and if you're here today and going past with him I want to start that journey I want to be forgiven I want to know I'm going to heaven if you're here today I'm not gonna ask you to stand I'm not gonna make you walk forward but I will ask you this if you're here today and say pastor Tim when you pray that prayer and put me in that I want to be part of that I want to be born again so I want to start that journey perfect people don't go to heaven good people don't go to heaven forgiven people go to heaven and today I want to be forgiven of my sins and know that I'm on that journey if that's you with every head bowed and every eye closed I'll be the only one looking around but if that's you and you go pastor Tim put me in that prayer when you pray that born-again prayer without any hesitation if that's you hold up your hand right now just hold it up high because I want to make sure I see every hand that's up and I want to have the chance even this to count the hands and make sure that I Siddhant you see them keep them up is one two three four five six seven eight nine 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 keep them up I want to share 20 21 22 that's fantastic you can put your in 23 got you back over there thank you you could put your hands down those 23 folks can we all pray this together with them come on let's everyone say these words dear Lord Jesus I believe you're the Son of God I believe that on the cross you took my sin my shame and my guilt can you die for it you faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go you rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven a purpose on earth and a relationship with your father today Lord Jesus I turn from my sin to be born again God is my father Jesus is my Savior the Holy Spirit is my helper and heaven is my home in Jesus name and everybody said amen come on put your hands together
