Prayer, Calling Upon God by Jim Cymbala

when my wife and I began since she couldn't read or write music and I didn't never went to seminary or Bible School it was either God was going to help or the thing would go under there was less than three dollars in the checking account and the first offering was $85 was the total tithes and offering I remember all those days because it reminds me how faithful God is how many have found in your own life that God is so faithful right and he's especially faithful and and his plan to pour good things into our life the conduit for that he's chosen to be prayer we didn't make that up we didn't think it up God just laid it down in the Bible this first principle you have not because you just it's incredible you can miss out on what God wants because you just don't take the time to come before him like a good child would be with their father and just say god this is what we need this I'm bringing my needs to you and throughout the Bible starting in Genesis when religion began when men began to call on the Lord that's the first people who ever belonged to God were not called Jews they were called people who call on the name of the Lord and the Bible follows that word all the way through onto the New Testament he's rich in mercy to everyone who calls upon him and there's encouragement Saul along the way where God keeps saying to us like ask and you will receive not scolding us come on you gotta pray you're a Christian not that at all but it's like come to me come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I'll give you rest therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we might receive mercy and grace to help us right when we need it and I know in an order an audience this big underneath the exterior because it's always been that way in my life there's all kinds of NEADS in your own life in your family decisions that have to be made the financial direction from God strengthening running out of spiritual energy you know all these things are true you know you get fatigued that's why the bible keeps saying be strong in the lord and in the power of his might why because you can get weak you can get just just eking out a spiritual existence that's not what god wants he wants the best for us amen he wants he wants to give us everything we need to live lives that will glorify him fulfill his will for our lives so that's why God has called his house a house not a preaching and I'm trying to do that right now and not a house of singing and they're great not a house of even worship although worship is always involved in what I'm about to say but he says my house shall be called what a House of Prayer why because you've got to come where the action is come to the throne of grace I would make an argument that any sermon that doesn't lead people to the throne of grace has missed its mark I don't care how eloquent the guy was I don't care how doctrinally sound if it doesn't lead you to make contact with God and receive from God what's the purpose we're not Jehovah Witnesses we're not Mormons who just have lectures we're Christians aren't we come on somebody say Amen we're Christians and we come to God and that's why you see all through the times of trouble in the Bible what did they do they had an instinct trouble call on God in the day of trouble God invites us in the day of trouble call upon me and I will answer you I'm not gonna frustrate you I'm not gonna hurt you in the day of trouble call upon me so you see it in Moses life you see it in David's life you see it all throughout the Bible you see it how did the church begin in a prayer meeting in Acts chapter 2 no one was preaching there were no outlines nope power point no anything but they were gathering for prayer and boom God came and the church was born and Peter preached the first sermon and then thousands were added to the church and God has not changed and I don't care how tough America or any place else seems how many beliefs still radical that with God nothing is impossible lift your hand up I okay and God wants us to believe that and to step in to this plan of his fulfillment of our needs so I'm gonna read one of those little stories that are in the Bible to encourage us and then we're gonna pray because every time I come here I just it's a midweek service and my instinct is always on the midweek service not to do a lot of complicated teaching but to exhort you so that we can come to the throne of grace he's right there behind there there's needs those choir members and out there I know there's needs and we want God to meet those needs tonight I want God to draw us create faith in us so here's one of those stories that are in the Bible to encourage us how the early church responded to emergencies and sometimes it's quite different than what we call church you know the American concept of church is not exactly biblical in all of its ways and what we have to do is escape church culture so that we can live a life pleasing to the Lord according to his word amen you know there's white church culture black church culture Baptist Church culture Assemblies of God charismatic this that meal but none of those should be our goal our goal should be what does the word say and let me appropriate it so that God can be glorified through our lives it was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church this is Acts 12 intending to persecute them he had James the brother of John put to death with the sword and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he proceeded to seize Peter also this happened during the feast of unleavened bread arresting him Peter he put him in prison listen handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each I mean Peter was obviously seeming a seeming threat when you have 16 guys watching one former fisherman and they were on rotation four at a time watching them Herod intended to bring them out for a public trial right after Passover so Peter was kept in prison but the church was earnestly praying to God for him look up here for a second that that Greeks in the sentence in the Greek original sometimes it's translated and a steady stream of prayer kept going up to God for Peter well how would you feel if the pastor was taken away from you and he was facing death from a madman who had already killed James the brother of John you know there's a time for everything under the Sun it's the time to sing there's a time to study the Bible but there are the times in life all of those are inappropriate it's time to pray and when you mingle the wrong at the one thing at the wrong time you miss the power that God has available for us they shut down everything why because Peter is in the slammer and he is going to be killed and they have no influence with government they have no influence with the Roman government they have no influence with the temple and and and the leaders of the Jewish establishment they have no influence with Herod he hates them and they have no money and they have no influence with the media and they have zero but they have everything because they have God on their side sometimes we are counting all of our pieces and all of our advantages and we line it up and we think like the corporate world things how do you solve a problem you get there and you get that and you get this and get that well they had no things to get together they had zero nada nothing and they got Peter in the prison but they remembered the the words of our Lord men ought always to pray and not give up with man that's impossible but with God nothing is impossible and there is a growing movement in Christendom today in America pastor Steve knows about it very well it's anti supernatural and tie that God still does these things we just study doctrine and fill your head with truth but actually believe God to intervene in a situation and turn to the whole thing around a lot of people are like that's too emotional that's too fantastic it's liable to abuse but I'm telling you what the Word of God says Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever can we put our hands together and say amen to that so the church shuts everything down we've had times like that in Brooklyn has shut everything down when you have people who are mostly poor and you need five six million dollars yeah well there's a time for everything but a couple of times we just started the first service on Sunday when we were having let's say three back then we have three now and one time we're having four started the first service dismissed the people at the end of whatever their time was but never left the auditorium just people would wait and pray and call on God why what are you going to do when you face an emergency and there's no way out except God and look at me everyone God ultimately of it inevitably will leave all of us in situations where we have nothing but him he'll remove every crutch everything you lean on even friends won't understand you and your money won't help you you'll be put in a situation where God because He loves us so much it's just waiting for us to look up and say god you're my help you're my only help I have no plan B you are playing ABC and D from me god it's you or bus and he loves that because he loves to supply for his people and he loves for us to look to him in faith for without that kind of faith it's impossible to please God so the church is praying Peters about to die the night before Herod was to bring him to trial Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains and sentry stood guard at the at the entrance my goodness chains chained to bound two people between two soldiers I should say another guard at the entrance and suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell he struck Peter on the side and woke him up quick get up he said and the chains fell off of Peters wrist then the angel said to him put on your clothes and sandals and Peter did so wrap your cloak around you and follow me the angel told him and Peter followed him out of the prison but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening he thought he was seeing a vision and they passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city it opened for them by itself and they went through it and when they had walked the length of one Street suddenly the angel left him then Peter came to himself and said now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating and that's how Peter kept on keeping on and ministering and traveling and being an apostle because when it seemed like he was doomed I'm going to say it the church prayed them right out of that prison there's no other moral to that story except that the church prayed God heard God answers listen there's a lot of mysteries to prayer I don't pretend to understand at all but in this story we know one thing they prayed God answers Peter was delivered and God's name was glorified notice what happened here ladies and gentlemen because I want to just be brief and then let's get to praying for the things that face us you know pastor Steve what challenged me was see in America we have it so easy and were spoiled but I went with my friend Ravi Zacharias some years ago to Hong Kong and someone with money brought in about seven or eight hundred underground church leaders in China from China from mainland to Hong Kong actually we had the conference in an arc someone built an exact replica of Noah's Ark hello Noah's Ark in the water but moored not not able to a cell and it was a conference center it was people could visit and look at it and it was wild driving up every morning and going into Noah's Ark with the exact dimensions that's in that are in the Bible so here were these people from mainland China some of the provinces the government doesn't help you but it's like not too heavy persecution other other provinces oh my goodness just in jail who knows what could happen and half the people I were speaking to had been in jail for Christ's sake I felt unworthy felt I shouldn't even speak to them they've been in jail for Christ and here I'm in Brooklyn eating a pastrami sandwich and now going over to to to Hong Kong to try to minister to them but I did and I fell in love with them and see that's how they live there did you know that the fastest-growing Christian Church in the world do you know a country that's in it's in China where it's illegal the church is growing fastest where it's been banned why because they're down to basics the Bible God prayer Jesus the gospel be brave trust them pray then pray more and that's how they live and when you hear them worship and you hear them sing it'll take your breath away it'll take your breath away and I'm reminded as I read about Peters escape about how those people pray and all the great things God has done there for them continues to do so notice what happened the church is praying and Peter's in the prison being guarded chained and everything but that stream this is the this is the the mysterious part of prayer prayer mounts up before God and it almost like gains pressure and breaks through you don't see the answer right away and sometimes you have to pray through keep on praying keep on believing and then the breakthrough comes in answer to that prayer some prayers are answered just with one sentence you pray and the answers on the way or it comes within 48 hours others you you just have to mount up in prayer keep on praying well as they kept on praying here's what God did and he still does this today the Bible tells us suddenly from heaven an angel was sent when we pray when churches pray every revival in the history of our country and the world the Great Awakening the Second Great Awakening the Welsh revival any revival that you read about and study of which I've done a lot of reading and studying every revival begins this way people can't take it any longer and they begin to pray and when they pray listen God sends something from heaven it's not man-made you can't create it you can't organize it you can't manufacture it it's something supernatural from heaven in Peters case it was an angel in cases it's been a deep sense of his presence and sometimes he comes and people now who are unconcerned about their soul or get convicted of sin and everyone's wondering why is everyone so broken and convicted of their sin someone's been praying but when people pray God responds and sent something from heaven and I don't know about you but I'll tell you about my own life I need something from heaven like regularly I need something from God I need something that only God can do you do what you can you try to figure out things but then you get in a spot where you realize you know what God has to come God has to come notice something was sent from heaven and then Peter was woken up by the angel slapped him upside the head and said wake up get up quickly that's another thing that God does when people pray he wakes other people up do you have someone in your family tonight do you have someone in your circle of friends they are sleeping not physically they are spiritually sleeping they're there they're not awake they're comatose they're not concerned about anything you can talk to them argue with them you could cry over them but when we begin to pray intercessory prayer God can come and wake them up my daughters with Carol out in California she was as far away from God as you could get God woke her up I tried everything money crying screaming you name it I tried it she got worse and then when God just let me run out of energy and we did nothing but pray God actually came one night and woke her up and gave her a dream where she realized what am I doing with my life how many believe God can still do that lift up your hand he can do it for your daughter your son granddaughter grandson he could do it in whatever situation and you can't give up Satan's gonna say now that's just emotionalism that's just religious hyperbole and that's just extravagant talk I'm telling you God has not changed he can wake people up when we pray wake them up that's why Luther said whoever prays well studies well because when you get up to preach unless you've prayed and the Spirit is working with you people can hear a good sermon and remain absolutely the same unchanged but then God comes and he can wake them up last thing I want to just say something came from heaven Peter was woken up and the Bible says what a beautiful metaphor it happened literally but what a picture and the chains fell off did you know that when we pray God can make chains come off I don't know how it is here but you know in New England I was just up in New Hampshire and I was in bought and there in Boston and I was then out in Pennsylvania near Harrisburg but I've been reading and these articles there's a great article called American I'll think of the last name before I'm done here it's all about it's all about the opioid disaster that's happening I was in Pennsylvania speaking somewhere and there's Amish farms and and trees and everything nice and then I get to these pastors and I talked to them and they said there's overdoses it makes the heroin epidemic that was in the 50s and 60s in New York and then crack and cocaine and crack in 70 80s ix makes it look like child's play and it's not some poor minority person in downtown Brooklyn sticking the needle in their arm in an alley it's everywhere all colors all races all everybody so empty and they get hooked and they can't get off we need something supernatural from heaven if we're gonna see that broken do I get a witness here you think that listen we're gonna offset that just by nice teaching and a nice music by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir or this great choir no it's going to take something from God it's going to take something from heaven it's going to take some some some power from God to break those chains and I've seen that happen so many times before I close let me just I'm thinking of one right now I could tell you so many that I know God answers prayer Carol I seen God answer prayer she just had a great answer from prayer I was sharing with your pastor and his wife I once needed six million dollars so bad and God gave it to me in ten minutes someone came up and said the project can't go on you're six million dollars short I had no way to get six million dollars and oh we prayed and I cried to God and then I came back from where I was and in ten minutes at 12 noon and 10 after 12:00 on my first day back from Argentina I opened two letters and one was a donation for a million dollars from a man I met once and the other one was a gift of five million dollars from a woman I still have not met and it's exactly the amount that I needed it wasn't seven million or three million I'm telling you God answers prayer can you say Amen with me here God answers prayer so I'm not talking about something here that just a verse in the Bible of mean this Oh God is so faithful so one day let me get done here on one day I'm in church on a Sunday years ago and they our previous billet building and I'm preaching and what I don't know is that a ministry in our church was going to that what was called then on the Westside the salt mines it's changed now and and it's become a very kind of bougie kind of place expensive now but it used to be called the salt mines because the Department of Sanitation stored their salt there for bad weather snow so who was living in those salt mines and that area was a colony of male prostitutes who were living in total degradation total mess it's the sickest subculture you could ever possibly think about so I didn't know that that ministry they've been going out on Saturdays bringing them blankets feeding them talking to them sharing the gospel but on this Sunday they brought about 12 of these guys into the one of the services on Sunday and they were there somewhere because the church is supposed to be a Holy Ghost Hospital I don't care if you don't say Amen I'll say it again the church is supposed to be not a nice place for the family that is nowhere found in Scripture it's supposed to be a Holy Ghost Hospital where emergency cases are dealt with and Jesus shows himself mighty so anyway the service ends and the people are praying at the altar and our were kind of get done with the service and I'm walking down and I'm in the front and I'm backing up and Carol's playing the keyboard and I'm backing up and I bump into this blonde lady short blonde hair thin as a rail black dress black stockings and I go oh excuse me ma'am and suddenly a voice comes out and says no that's okay ma'am and I looked immediately for the Adam's apple and it was a guy I'm not talking about a sloppy transvestite I'm talking about looking good as a woman the whole deal the whole thing I went up to my wife I was in shock because I've seen all kinds of things but this one just took my mic just blew my mind I went up to Carol I said see the blonde she said yeah I said that's a guy she said no wait don't say that I said no you go over and you just talk right so his name was Ricardo Ricardo apareció but his name in the street was Sarah and he was a male prostitute he had been raped when he was 10 11 12 by uncles cousins all kinds of stuff you don't want to know I wouldn't go into it here but I learned his story because we came friends and Ricardo ended up to support his drug habit he just was out there prostituting so he would wait out and they would be limos coming in from New Jersey and other places fancy cars they stopped he would get in or the other guys he was obviously dressed and looking like a woman not all of them were like that I thought to myself I say Ricardo is I got to know so how do you live I mean what is it he's know I said man it's hard out there he said I always go out with razor blades hidden in my sleeve because I don't know where I'm gonna end up and if I have to slash my way out I'm gonna slash my way out but no one's gonna put a hurt on me meanwhile he's destroying his life so lo and behold Sarah comes again to the church and he gets saved wait he recieves Jesus as his Savior people loving on him crying all over him he comes up dressed like Sarah and he gets saved but I mean totally saved the chains break off he comes awake he realizes what in the world am i doing he didn't know that before because only God can show you that you can talk until the cows come home only God can show you that those things so he asked to get baptized we said we're gonna baptize you so we line up the date and then I know there's a Tuesday coming up so I pulled him aside and I said listen Ricardo I want to introduce you to the church and you're gonna get baptized he said okay I said but not like that not just like that you got to come Tuesday night I want you in men's clothing God made you a man you're a man you're not a woman if he want to make you a woman he would have made you a woman he made you a man he said but Pastor what am I gonna do I have no I have no clothing I've been doing this for years I said okay we're gonna figure this out I'll get you clothing so on a Tuesday got his haircut and looking good as a man now and I introduced him to the church as God is my witness he's listening to me now I said ladies and gentlemen I want you to meet Ricardo Ruiz Cubano he's from Cuba ladies and gentlemen I want you to meet someone getting baptized this week Ricardo Aparicio and he walks up with a sweatshirt on and just jeans and he puts his hand up like this and he starts to praise God and cry and we all cry and the church is going crazy you were to think the Queen of England had just walked into the building that's how happy people were people you were because that's what Christianity is about seeing God change people do I get a witness here come on do I get a witness so so so now we get close and he's telling me about his life and all this stuff so he comes to me one day and he says pastor I got to tell you something I met someone I said would you meet a girl she loved God yeah I want to introduce you to her okay so now Sarah Ricardo a Patti CEO the chains are so off he is so awakened light is shining on him in his soul he gets married I know when I say that it doesn't mean anything to you but if you would have seen them you'd be running around this building doing a Jericho March he got married do you realize what that means he got married so the next year we rented Madison Square Garden we wanted to start another church and we use these big outreaches to start churches so we got 2,000 people who are homeless in shelters we brought them in I got some corporations to supply food that we give hand out to them when they left Madison Square Garden we sold the rest for tickets just to cover these exorbitant costs to use the garden and we had this rally to fit because they couldn't put people behind Carol's choir because of sound problems over there was maybe 15,000 but we could have filled it with 18,000 there were 15,000 people there and I showed a video of the old Sarah in the street pictures of them and we went with a film crew from CBN back where he used to hang and he met the people he used to hustle with and run around with and one dress like he used to be dressed but nowhere near looking like a woman broke down crying in said Sara Ricardo is that you I can't believe that's you and there he is with his wife so at the end of the event at Madison Square Garden we showed this video Carol sang a song I think it was called I'm clean I'm clean I've been washed in the blood my sins that were so many have all been taken away and they saw the before and after and then I said I know you didn't expect this audience I want you to meet mr. and mrs. Ricardo Aparicio and they walked up on that stage that place went nuts they went crazy because they realized there's no chain God can't break there's no darkness God can't shine there's light in there's no there's no anything that's impossible to God so this is the power that we see Peter was awoken and for someone here I just want to add this you're trying to get a door open and maybe that door isn't supposed to be open because what's interesting is when they came to the final gate the gate opened by itself when we pray and God intervenes gates doors open by themselves the angel and Peter didn't have to get a big piece of lumber and say come on let's get this thing open it opened by itself remember what Paul says in another letter pray for me for a wide and effectual door of ministry has opened from me he said God opened that door for me and when you have open doors you got to follow them you got to go there but God opens those doors so how how is it with you all here tonight anybody here got faith in their heart that you want to pray for someone that's not present the church was praying for someone that was not present intercessory prayer is like this look and I'm done with one hand you touch God and with the other hand you touch that person that situation it's not praying for yourself they weren't praying for themselves in the church they were praying for somebody else that they loved Peter and they touched God and they touch Peter they were the conduit and look what God did send something from heaven woke them up chains came off set free our God is an awesome God and awesome God let's give God just one more [Applause] close your eyes with me we are standing on holy ground sing and I know that there are angels [Music] let us pray [Music] Jesus now [Music] we are standing in his presence every eye closed the Lord loves us so much he wants to meet every need he wants to go to that person that you love that situation you're concerned about he does not want us to worry he says over and over again double negative in the Greek don't worry not even about a single thing don't worry stop worrying but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving tell god what you need he'll work it out for you and they'll give you a piece while you're waiting for the answer to come peace that passes all understanding before I turn it back to the pastor is there anyone here like me I I got I got some situations happening right now in the church I am at my wit's end I'm trying to help two people it there is no human answer and I realized that this afternoon it's going to take a divine intervention it's gonna take God doing something only God can do so I want to reach out in prayer for that person that I'm praying for Satan is just working overtime in this person's life I gotta stand in the gap because he doesn't know enough to pray for himself right now he's deluded anybody here want to just get out of your seat and come up and stand with me here in the front before we close and and just say pastor I want to pray with you I want to agree with you for the situation I have in my life just get up out of your seat anybody want to come just come up representing your son your daughter your grandson your granddaughter whatever the situation might be that needs someone needs prayer just come we are staying [Music] unholy grind [Music] and I know that there are angels all around let's praise let us pray Jesus nah we are stand its presence before we pray can you lift your hands up with me whether you're standing or sitting sing it we are stand unholy ground [Music] that there are angels all around [Music] we [Music] the keyboard just gonna play that through again don't sing let's just talk to God everyone just talk to God as he plays [Music] father God we bring every Son we bring every daughter every granddaughter every grandson every family member might be chained might be asleep in prison of their own making Satan just as I'm locked up we pray that you will break through Lord break the chains get in their God and get them out wake them up send something from heaven something that they'll know this is not somebody talking to me this is God touching my life let them know that isn't that the way you change Saul of Tarsus Lord in the Paul the Apostle we're praying we believe we believe that nothing is impossible to you God so God we pray in these situations and and and things that only the people and you know about that you know we're facing God we pray we lift up a steady stream to you tonight we are holding on to you God we have no plan B you are playing a B C D God you have to do this you got to do it for us God didn't you tell us to come now do as you said you said if we would call you and answer so we're calling now come and answer and be faithful to your word you said if we asked we would receive that if we would knock it would be open if we sought we would find it Lord [Music] so we're digging in the ground Laura putting a stick in the ground right now and drawing a line we will believe God to answer this prayer we will believe God to change the situation we're believing you God we're not just saying a prayer we're praying and believing and we're going to expect and we're gonna worship while we're waiting for you to turn it around and when you turn it around we'll give you all the praise and honor and glory it won't go to any pastor no church denomination Jesus you will receive all the glory and honor and praise do it again what you did for Ricardo do it again in these all these different situations we love you and we praise you just stop playing for a second brother we're gonna go to acapella here and just every eye closed in the building everyone stand please whether you're in your pew or not just stand everybody let's pray with our eyes closed that God is going to use us this week to talk to people about Jesus and to be used by him to fight there's this this epidemic the opioid epidemic American epidemic that's what it is and it's not just in the form of those oxycontin and all that stuff is just sin running rampant and we're the light and we're the salt we got to ask God to use us spirit of [Music] for fresh on me spirit of the living Oh fresh lift your hands and sing break me keep we're playing break melt me fill me fill me use me use me spirit of the living [Music] Oh [Music] one last time sing break me let's all sing together loud to him as our prayer [Music] fair [Music] spear [Music] and brain tell me Lord and you [Music] you

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

Id: q-nzQbc3PKI

Length: 46min 29sec (2789 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 21 2018