There is Always, But | Randy Skeete

[Music] lord how are they increased that trouble me many are there that rise up against me many they be which say of my soul there is no help for him in god but thou o lord at a shield for me my glory and the lifter up of my head i cried unto the lord with my voice and he heard me out of his holy hill i laid me down and slept i await for the lord sustained me i will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about arise o lord save me o my god for thou has smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly salvation belongeth unto the lord thy blessing is upon thy people i thank god again for another day of life i frequently say although it may be a little depressing that last night all over pennsylvania where we are people went to sleep and this morning they were found dead it happens everywhere nursing homes hospitals they're found on the streets on the battlefield in private homes every night people go to bed expecting to wake up in the morning and some are found lifeless and it happened this morning but we are alive and the question we may ask is why did god preserve me surely he did not give us another day to sin more he's given us another day that we may draw closer to him and that we may do that which is pleasing in his sight god is a god of mercy god is a god of extended second chances and third his mercy is exceedingly elastic and sometimes we misinterpret that as divine slackness but god isn't slept he's simply merciful so he's given us one more day and i hope that you will feel a burden to draw closer to your god because he's given you life and god gives us life in order that we might glorify him not ourselves i'm grateful to god for this privilege of speaking for him and i will do all that i can to represent him by simply proclaiming thus saith the lord our subject for the day there's always but there is always but is our subject for today welcome to all those connecting i'm particularly pleased to welcome those of you who are not seventh-day adventists wherever you are on god's green earth thank you very much for your interest in truth and for worshiping with us in this fashion we thank god for modern technology surely knowledge has increased i welcome the little children who may be watching little boys little girls god can speak to you jesus loves you and at one point in his life jesus was your age so if the little boy is watching and little girls thank you very much for loving jesus and the father if there's anyone suffering from the coronavirus i will pray and ask a merciful god to deliver you from that affliction and that you may use your health for his glory our subject there's always but before i get into it as always i ask you to preserve an atmosphere of reverence wherever you are god is god 24 hours a day seven days a week he isn't just holy on sabbath god is holy consequently when we interact with god we should do it with a consciousness that we are in the presence of the holiest of the holy favor number two pray for me while i'm speaking all i ask is that you say to god father o lord put your words in that man's mouth jeremiah chapter 1 verse 9 says then the lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth the reality is god is divine my mouth is earthy sinful god takes his divine word and puts it in my human earthy clay mouth and that's that's a privilege i cannot measure and so you simply pray to god and ask him to tell me what to say let me complete the verse then the lord put forth his hand and touch my mouth and the lord said unto me behold i have put my words in thy mouth who is i the universal authority on truth that is god not the writers of the encyclopedia britannica but god himself has promised to give me his words favor number three think as you listen concentrate isaiah 1 18 come now let us reason together seth the lord there's an example of god calling us to reason jeremiah 12 5 if thou has run with the foot men and they have weary thee how cans then contend with the horses you cannot keep up with a man how do you plan to keep up with the horse god calls upon us think what are you doing think reason together let's pray father in heaven we thank you for life you are the source of all life you are life thank you so god so much for opening our eyes immediately god we recommit our lives to you we acknowledge your goodness half the day has passed as we count time but if within that time we've offended you we ask you today god to forgive us you love to forgive exercise that love now and forgive us have mercy upon me dear god i am called upon and i'm weak and it's my duty to do a very very serious spiritual work help me by granting me your spirit but an angel to stand next to me father and fill me with your spirit that my words may represent the throne of grace and the throne of glory bless those who listening father if anyone listening has contracted the coronavirus deliver that person from that thing father heal that person their god simply because you love to be merciful whether the person is a believer or not because your word says he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth reign on the just and on the unjust bless the children watching father touch their little minds as you touch the mind of john the baptist as you touch the mind of jeremiah from the womb as you touch the mind of the human jesus touch their minds and bless our guests in a very special way bless the leaders of countries god let them make decisions that are consistent with this biblical principle righteousness exalteth a nation bless this church bless the pastor of the leadership thank you again father for the privilege of speaking for you now i commit this service to your glory and your glory alone in jesus name i pray amen there's always but let us go to mark 11 we shall read from verse 23 i'm reading from the king james version of the bible mark 11 reading from verse 23 mark is the shortest of the four gospels very interesting gospel fast-paced gospel mark 11 reading from verse 23 for verily i say unto you that whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and shalt not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass he shall have whatsoever he saith jesus now people use that and they add to it verse 24 therefore what things so ever you desire when you pray believe that you receive them you shall have them and people have written me several times but i prayed and i believed and nothing happened what's our subject there's always but understand that god is a god of conditions and this is watching prayer and work god is a god of conditions yes but and so many of us are disappointed when we pray and we think we believe but there's no belief that god accepts outside of thus set the lord belief that moves heaven is belief that grows out of thus saith the lord god does what he does in a very disciplined and organized way the bible says let all things be done decently and in order that includes praying elohim frequently talks about the science of prayer the science of salvation which means there is a way to do it when it comes to praying to god we must always remember that answered prayers have conditions now if you go back to verse 24 therefore what things so every desire when you pray believe you receive them and you shall have them and when you stand praying if you have ought against any we are to forgive now here's a condition for answered prayer that no one thinks about when they harp on mark 11 24 i prayed i believed and nothing happened for some reason they never read verse 25. if you forgive that your father also may forgive your trespasses your sins forgiveness of sins a willingness to forgive to make things right is associated with the willingness of god to answer prayer because god does not forgive the person who consciously refuses to forgive now reason with me here is god listening to your prayer and he's watching you and jesus is watching you he's your intercessor and the holy spirit is watching you the angels are watching you and you were praying i am praying father give me a house and god says but i can't forgive him his sins but i'll give him a house i can't forgive him sins but i'll give him whatever there are conditions and that passage we use so frequently to complain that god did not answer our prayer it has a condition there are many conditions to answer prayer and one condition is if you have ought against any forgive that person that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you if there is a circumstance where god cannot forgive then god cannot answer the prayers [Music] there's always but let us go to first john 5. we'll read verse 14. and 15 of john chapter 5. i'll pray again father talk to me talk to me and talk through me i pray in jesus name amen yeah first john 5 14 written by the same person who wrote the gospel of john and the person who wrote the book of revelation and this is the confidence that we have in him if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us and if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we deserve we desired of him now here's one major condition for answered prayer we must pray according to the will of god and immediately i can hear someone say but how do i know the will of god let me give you the will of god in condensed form in uh when i was a little boy we we were given an essay to write we'd be we will be asked to write a pray see of that essay which is just a condensed word a summary fancy word is praising what is the summary of the bible what is the praise see what is the will of god condemned in the 66 books of the bible covering 1500 years the 10 commandments of god are the condensed will of god to pray according to god's will is to pray in the light of the righteousness that god requires of us as expressed in the commandments and lived in the life of jesus christ this the will of god is expressed in his law i don't mean the law of sacrifices i mean the great law of ten commandments spoken by christ himself for the father on top of mount sinai and repeated by moses in deuteronomy 5 and this is the confidence that we have in him if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us we encountered one condition in mark 11 25 when you stand praying if you have ought against any forgive that your father also which is in heaven may forgive your trespasses or your sins this is a condition in other words holding grudges blocks god's willingness to answer my prayer and answer your prayer holding grudges and let me pause on this point and appeal to you there may be someone listening to me who has not forgiven someone who you should forgive you have not forgiven for years the person heard you 25 years ago you go to church you return your tithe you sing loudly you're in the choir you the head deaconess but you will not forgive that person unless you do that and you know you ought to forgive unless you do that the bible says god cannot forgive you and a refusal to forgive blocks god's gifts to us because all the gifts of god are promised on condition of obedience christ object lessons page 145 paragraph one all his gifts are promised on condition of obedience christ object lessons page 145 paragraph one it is also found in letters to young lovers page 83 paragraph 1 all the gifts of god are on condition of obedience to his word or to his will and so the bible tells us if you'd like that mountain to move when you pray make sure you have forgiven those who've offended you and that you have apologized to those whom you have offended clear that rubbish clear that blockage out that the lord may receive and answer prayer there is always but and so if this is the confidence we have in him i like the word confidence sometimes we can't trust our own family members can't trust your supervisor can't trust your politicians can't trust your church leaders you can always trust god this is the you see god i usually demonstrate that but i can't do it here here's a wall many years ago i worked in a a home for encourageable boys beyond correction they were taken out of homes and placed in this place and we would come in as workers on shifts and monitor them and whatever else we were playing a team building game an exercise and this particular exercise was scary the boys were lined up in two lines and they had to interlock their hands like this now someone would stand on a chair with his or her back turned and you had to just fall back believing those incoming boys will catch you god is like that our trust in him you can just fall back and god will catch you or here's a wall you can just lean your full weight on that wall it will not move because that's god with this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will with his conditions he heareth us there is not a condition for god answering our prayers let's go to proverbs 28 and let's read verse 9. our subject there's always but proverbs 28 verse 9 we'll encounter a word in that verse that's a little frightening proverbs 28 written by solomon the son of david the wisest man who ever lived the man who made the silliest decisions ever made but the wisest man who ever lived he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer shall be what an abomination the bible has abominations and it has sins now they're all sins but an abomination is an intense sin without offending anyone let me give an example a man and a woman coming together for physical relations who are not married that is sin in the eyes of god and if not confessed will result in the loss of the soul but a man and a man coming together that is also sin but that's a step further that is abomination because it goes contrary to the laws of nature the man and the woman outside of marriage yes is sin but as still it is still a natural act are you following what i'm saying it is sin but a natural act innocent but a man and a man a woman and a woman a man and an animal [Music] that is abomination now keep this in mind listen to proverbs 28 9 he that turneth away his ear not someone who's ignorant someone who says don't tell me i don't want to know i couldn't care less he or she who does that even that person's prayer shall be an abomination in the eyes of god and some of us in church we practice that as i said earlier we know there's some things we ought to do things we ought to make right sins to forgive sins to apologize for and we absolutely refuse but we go to god in prayer and our prayers arise before god as a stench in his nostrils he that turneth away his ear in second peter chapter 3 verse 5 the bible says for this they willingly are ignorant of many years ago i was conducting an evangelistic series in the city of detroit close to where i live that's my home airport three weeks we met every night this lady came the first week and she came she was blessed then i did not see her at the beginning of week number two so i called her on her job and i said sister whomever i didn't see you you know what she said to me she said elder skeet i cannot keep coming because if i keep coming and sit under that preaching i will have to make a decision so i am not coming back now that's honestly you must respect but that's a well-spoken form of self-destruction i am not coming back because if i do that word will cause me to make a decision and i'm not ready for that based on where i am in my life he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law because for often in the bible the word law does not only mean the ten commandments it means the revealed will of god he that turneth away his ear you know you ought to return a tithe and you do not this text does not embrace those who are ignorant acts 17 verse 30 and the times of this ignorance god went at john 15 22 if i had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin we are talking about those who deliberately do not want to know in the eyes of god ignorance must have two qualities quality number one i did not know quality number two i had no way of knowing that is ignorance in god's eyes this does not qualify for those in second peter 3 5 for this they willingly are ignorant of it does not cover the arrogant ones in proverbs 28 9 he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law the will of god even his prayer shall be abomination there are some people who tell you don't tell me anything about the health message i like my meat don't bother me with the health message i like my meat someone was talking to me some while ago about an elder in some church and the elder said someone had preached on health the health of the church said no one will take my meat from me well fine no one will take my meat from me now biblically how you eat affects your character it is not by accident that the very first victory christ won was a victory of appetite what he would consume of course he avoided food his victory was over appetite the first adam fell on the very same point this is not accidental it is not accidental that daniel begins with a story on diet this elder said no one will take my meat from me he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer shall be an abomination there is always but let me pray again father continue to instruct me in what to say and how to say it and when in jesus name i pray amen we sabotage our own prayers it's not god god is a god who sent christ surely is willing to give you tuition now how do you compare christ if god will give me christ why wouldn't he give me tuition are you following me if christ if god will send christ someone equal with himself the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth why would he not heal a cold or whatever but there's always a but psalm 66 verse 18. go there with me psalm 66 verse 18. so by the way i recommended john i also recommend psalms if you want to experience the full range of human emotions read the psalms read the psalms you see the humanity of those who wrote the psalms most were written by david but other people wrote some same with proverbs solomon wrote most other people wrote psalm 66 verse 18 if i regard iniquity in my heart finish the verse the lord will not hear me now what does that mean if i not if i commit outwardly sin if i regard iniquity let me give an example there are some people who say i have no problem with people who smoke occasionally now i don't smoke but i have no problem with those who do from time to time on your birthday and thanksgiving and valentine's day that's fine you are regarding iniquity in your heart [Music] i have no problem with uh those who go to the games on sabbath and go fishing on sabbath and go snorkeling on sabbath i i have no problem i don't do it but i have no problem you don't have to do it to be classified as part of it i didn't say that clearly let me try to clarify by using the bible in matthew 23 jesus condemns the scribes and pharisees hypocrites you get you build the tomb of the prophets of the s the saints and garnish the chapliker of the prophets and you say if we had been in the days our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets it's they're saying we didn't live back then we didn't do it jesus says fill thee up then the measure of your fathers in other words you are as guilty as they are even though you did not do it because their attitude towards old testament prophets is your attitude towards me and i'm a prophet this is a very serious uh concept you do not have to physically commit the murder for god to regard you as a murderer you simply have to have the same mindset you regard murder in your heart or i and so the bible says he if i regard iniquity in my heart the lord will not hear me so you can pray and fast and ask other people to pray for you but there is a blockage there is a blockage preventing the transmission of god's goodness to you and your prayer to god why that sin there is always but what have we seen so far anything you ask god he'll give you the next word is but you ask god anything either come on to me you ask receive not because you ask amidst that you may consume it upon your lust ask jesus said ask and it shall be given you seek you shall find knock and the door shall be opened unto you but that has conditions and so we discovered in mark 11 23-25 yes whatsoever things you desire when ye pray believe that you receive them and ye shall have them but verse 5 says there is a but you must be willing to forgive those who have offended you and apologize to those whom you or i have offended we found out in first john 5 14 this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will oh the the goodness of god the generosity of god anything according to his will and so according to his will puts a fence around the limits to what we can ask god we can ask anything but what he will give according to his will because there are many requests that are not according to his will lord give me that man's wife that no no god will never do that father kill my enemy no god will not do that father this father that if we ask anything according to his will what is the will of god summarizing his law the word of god at large he heareth us we discovered in proverbs 28 verse 9 he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer shall be an abomination the bible says in ii chronicles 20 20 believe his prophets socially prosper believe his prophets so shall he prosper you know the jews recognize christ as a prophet but not the messiah the jews their bible is mainly the old testament it's part of our bible too christianity owes a debt to judaism we can never never repay elohim says every ray of light god has given to the earth has come to the jewish nation every ray of light the jews they have the old testament recognize christ as a prophet nice fellow but not the messiah but the old testament which they use says believe his prophets and jesus who was a prophet said i am the savior are you following me no you're not my fault let me try again jesus made it clear i am the savior their bible says believe his prophets they accept him as a prophet but will not accept the fact he said i am the savior i am god that's why he had virtually told the lady at the well in john chapter four the bible says believe his prophet so shall he prosper we have a prophet called ellen white i no matter where i go people are down on that prophet they will not believe the disregard disrespect try to minimize your influence the bible says believe his prophets socially prosper it is self-destructive to attack the gift god has given to this church ellen white and what i'm saying to you is that if i regard iniquity in my heart and to dismiss god's prophets is to act indicatively if i regard iniquity the lord will not hear me my brothers and sisters we looked at psalms 66 18 which is if i regard the nicu in my heart the lord will hear me 28 9 of proverbs he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law and the bible talks of the law and the prophets the lord the prophets always go together and so i ask you on a very personal level do you disregard the prophet god has given to this church do you dismiss the counsel he has sent us through her writings god has given this church a gift not given to any other church on the face of the earth i may sound politically incorrect but i'm biblically correct no one hears the church like the church no one dismisses the prophets like those to whom the prophets are sent it wasn't the canaanites that killed the prophets in the old testament it was the jews it wasn't the canaanites that put jeremiah in a pit it was god's people it wasn't the romans that wanted to kill christ pilar said three times i find no fault in him the church said we don't care we don't care we don't care kill him and there many of us who say kill her ellen white kill her there's always a but forgive as a condition for answered prayer pray according to god's will and to acquaint yourself with god's will this must be your constant study in order to acquaint because the spirit of god will impress you what to say because romans 8 26 says we know not what we should pray for as we ought the spirit makes intercession for us so we need the spirit of god to guide our prayers let's look at two other conditions for prayer let's go to john 15. i'll pray father as i continue to restrain my carnal nature lord it doesn't take long for the carnal nature to raise his head push it back down that you alone may be glorified in jesus name i pray amen john 15 we read verse 7. here is another verse that people use to complain to god when he does not answer their prayers john 15 reading verse 7 reading from the king james version of the bible if he abide in me and my words abide in you he shall ask what he will and it shall be done unto you and we use that to complain when god does not answer our prayer but this is what the bible says let's read john 15 1 to 10. there's a particular word we're looking for as we try to understand verse 7. i am the true vine and my father is the husband man every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that bear fruit he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit now you clean through the word which i have spoken unto you now let's identify this word verse four what's the first word in verse four all right i want you to give me a tally a number of how many times you see the word abide you'll also see the word continue it's the same greek word menos abide continues same greek word they mean the same thing so when you see continue at that it means abide verse 4 john 15 abide in me and i in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine no more can ye except he abide in me how many times did we see abide in that verse four three times i am the vine verse five here the branches he that abideth in me and i in him the same bringing forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing for six make sure you're making up your tally if a man abide not in me he is cast forth that the branton is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they burn if he abide in me and my words abide in you he shall ask what he will and it shall be done unto you hearing is my father glorified that you bear much fruit so shall he be my disciples as a father heavenly love me so have i loved you continue ye in my love that word continue is abide verse 9 if he keep my commandments he shall abide in my love even as i have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love now stop how many times do we come across abide or continue ten times then we are looking at the passage of scripture where the central theme is what [Music] come on you just told me abide now give me another word for abide continue now keeping those in mind give me another word abide continue come on one more word remain remain there's this teaching in the bible once they've always said you have to remain you have to continue now jesus says in verse 7 of john 15 having examined as we just did if he abide in me and my words abide in you under those conditions you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you you cannot have a hit-and-miss relationship with god and i expect him to answer every prayer you utter and mutter there must be an abiding because when you abide you are behaving like god why because god is always faithful god is not up and down god is constant in his love in his determination to save in his stubborn affection for us he is constant his love for us abides and he says now you be like me you abide in me by abiding in my word and having my word abide in you when that's the case you will ask anything do you know why you'll ask anything because the word abiding in you will tell you what to ask for because you cannot trust yourselves and myself to know exactly what i should pray for that's why we need the spirit i told you the bible is very clear in a very embarrassing way we know not what we should pray for as we art uh a family in a country overseas had asked me for some guidance on a college for their daughter in the united states adventist and uh we settled on uh uh uh it's not a college it's not a high school actually in canada called um somewhere in british columbia forgotten fountain view i've been there lovely place and so a correspondence began the school was very very helpful very willing to receive willing to offer scholarship and people were willing to do this and that and uh but it didn't work out and a little girl was so despondent and the mother said she asked me why is god doing this to me shortly after that the pandemic broke and schools were closed she would have been stuck you understand what i'm trying to say she would have been stuck but her prayer was let me go to fountain view let me go to the country in africa let me go on that's no you know children young people how they are it's an excitement i'm going to another country let me go and god said no out of love but she could not see why god kept closing doors until the pandemic struck what am i trying to say we not because we do not know the end from the beginning we ask all sorts of things but god isaiah 46 verse 10 who knows the end from the beginning he knows what's best and so through his indwelling word he manages our requests if he granted some we would walk straight into a swamp if he abide in me and my words abide in you question now because this is watch and pray how does the word of god abide in our hearts just by memorizing it no there's much more to it than that it must abide as an active living principle that energizes and directs the life [Music] that's why psalm 119 verse 105 thy word is what a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path when we walk in the word of god in the light of his word when that indwelling word purifies us john 15 3 jesus told the disciples now you clean through the word which i have spoken unto you when this cleansing work works within us our prayers arise like incense to god because that spotless word which itself is divine instructs our choices and instructs our prayers we cannot trust ourselves to know what is best there is always but mark 11 23 25 yes if you say that the mountain move but have you forgiven those who've offended you have you apologized to those whom you've offended there is a but first john 5 14 if we ask anything according his will and his will is that we forgive he heareth us proverbs 28 9 he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law and the lost sometimes mean all the revealed will of god as we have in all the new testaments psalm 16 18 if i regard iniquity in my heart i don't do it but i have no problem with those who do then you're just as guilty just as guilty i don't drink but it's fine if you drink i'm not a homosexual but that's fine if you practice it i don't rob banks but it's fine if you do then in the eyes of god i am no different we looked at all these buts [Music] then we came to john 15 7. if he abide in me and my words we have to study god's word and obey ella white writes in christ object lessons page 100 paragraph one if studied and obeyed they have to go together the word of god works in the heart subduing every unholy attribute not most every is it pornography you can't stop going to those sites the word of god will cleanse your mind of that is it stingy you hate returning a dime for offering the word of god will cleanse you that are you always getting mad at the drop of a hat the word of god will cleanse you of that that's why the bible says in ephesians 5 26 husbands love 25. husbands love your wives even as christ also of the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word then we go now to another condition another but let's go to first thessalonians chapter five first thessalonians chapter five it's just three words you know it verse 17 what does that say come on tell me what does it say three words and we're talking about prayer pray yes without ceasing you don't have to find it now it's pray without cease now let's pause and think but let me pray father as i move towards this latter part of this message continue to instruct me lord in how i say it and what i say and when in jesus name i truly pray amen listen to three words pray without ceasing [Music] when neyman went to elijah at the recommendation of a little captive made he was a leper needs to be cleansed elisha did not even come to the door he just sent the servant tell him go and dip in the river jordan how many times seven times why not one seven times did not change the chemical constitution of the jordan river neyman complained i have cleaner rivers in the mascot why am i dipping in this dirty river there are clean rivers i can see the sand i can see the fish you can't see anything in jordan it is so muddy and polluted why am i dipping and why seven why not just touch me no seven dip dip dip again dip again dip again we apply that to the prayer life why do people ask me frequently why do i have to pray when god knows what i want i know you've probably never heard that i've heard it all the time if god knows what why do i have to pray because praying is part of spiritual living it is part of your spiritual life it is a spiritual principle it is essential for spiritual growth and it demonstrates your ongoing sense of dependence upon god and so the bible says pray without ceasing take out without ceasing how else could you say that pray how take out without ceasing now tell me pray always tell me something else pray continuously tell me something else praying pray what fervently and pray persistently many prayers are not answered because we stop praying too quickly [Music] let's go to genesis 25. genesis 25 our subject is always but genesis 25 we read verses 40 not 40 sorry 20 and 21 of genesis 25. and isaac was 40 years old when he took rebecca to wife the daughter of bethuel the syrian of pedanaram the sister the laban the syrian and isaac entreated the lord for his wife because she was barren and the lord was entreated of him and rebecca his wife conceived now how old was isaac when he began to pray that his wife would become fertile how old was he 40. go to verse 26. read the last part of that verse and isaac was three score years when she bear them how much is three score how old was isaac when he finally got a spread answered so how many years did he pray that's my question 20. now what's first thessalonians 5 17 what does it tell us pray now i'm not saying you must always pray 20 years to get anything i'm not saying that but i'm simply saying that one of our spirit in our spiritual heritage our ancestry of faith we have one of our spiritual fathers he prayed 20 years not because god was trying to develop the skill to answer it was for his own development and for reasons best known to god abraham came into canaan when 75 years old genesis 12 verse 7. just around that time he got the call from god he had isaac when he was a hundred you tell me how long did abraham pray 25 again let me put your mind to these we do not have to pray 25 years for the lord to remove a pimple or call call or care whatever call um cure whatever we're asking no but i'm trying to let you know that we have a history in our spiritual background of our fathers of faith praying and praying and praying how many times did the elijah pray before the rain came back seven times now could you pray did god hear him the first time yes but for some reason god wants us to enter to to plead let him see how fervent we are in our request as my sister said pray fervently i gave you this verse yesterday hebrews 5 verse 7 speaking of christ who in the days of his flesh when he had offered prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears what is a supplication you are pleading when we plead with god we're not pleading to a stony-hearted tyrant we're showing god how serious we are you see many of us we have an up and down relationship with god on sabbath we love him during the week well we don't remember him up and down he answers the prayer we're happy he does not answer according to our will then we're depressed he gives me the husband i prayed for i'm happy he did not give me i'm depressed we have this relationship with like this god is constant so god says to you when you pray to me show me how serious you are show me your constancy ask me i'm not sadistic but you demonstrate the depth of your sincerity ask me pray talk to me why else would god want us to pray and pray and pray when things are going well people don't pray when i say don't pray they talk they don't pray it was the last time you saw someone praying and crying oh god i have everything i need i have all the money and no no no no watch someone at a funeral at someone's bedside in the hospital with tubes coming out of his or her nose and they're praying and they're crying someone leaves the hospital or doctor's office with a diagnosis of cancer of the brain and comes home and people are crying and they're praying oh god aren't you a nice god god loves when we come to him in prayer sometimes that's the only time we spend time with god a brief prayer and we're gone god sometimes arranges circumstances that allow us to come to him because god enjoys our fellowship we must understand god enjoys human fellowship more than humans enjoy divine fellowship let me say differently god is more eager to hang out with us than we are to hang out with him and his eagerness to be with us is proven beyond refutation by the fact that jesus christ came as one of us there's always but does god want to answer your prayer yes does he have conditions yes all his gifts are promised on condition of obedience christ object lessons page 145 paragraph one and it's biblical you read deuteronomy 28 1-13 if you obey all these conditions you will be the head always and not the tale god will preserve you going out you're coming in your enemies will come against you one way they'll flee from you seven ways what's the condition obey me forgive someone [Music] let this word abide in you ask me to give you hatred for sin so you do not regard iniquity in your heart whether in your own life or in the life of someone else ask god to give you a a a loving heart if i regard if if he that turneth away his ear from hearing the lord give me a love for your lord because the law is love the lord's life and don't say the lord gives life it preserves it adam god gave adam life but obedience would have preserved it great controversy page 467 paragraph 4 the law reveals to man his sin but provides no remedy while it promises life to the obedient it declares that death is the portion of the transgressor it promises life to the obedience romans 7 verse 10 the commandment which was ordained to life i found to be unto death because of sin there's always a but let me close by reminding you of what you already know god loves you and loves to fellowship with you what is the name of jesus given to him by the angel we all know jesus matthew 1 21 but the same angel said in verse 23 behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name emmanuel which being interpreted is god with us [Music] goodness always flows from heaven to earth all god asks for is a little faithfulness from earth to heaven my faithfulness cannot compare in size to god's faithfulness to me because god is god and so when you pray today ask yourself is this someone i need to forgive mark 11 25 ask yourself am i praying according to god's will first john 5 14 am i turning away my ear from hearing the truth proverbs 28 9 do i regard iniquity in my heart psalm 66 18 does the word of god abide in me to instruct me john 15 7 do i pray without ceasing first thessalonians 5 17. let's go back to mark 11 24 do i pray in faith faith is not arrogance faith is not resumption faith is total trust reliance and dependence upon thus saith the lord i say faith is not presumption god parted the red sea told the israelites to cross they crossed and were safe he did not tell the egyptians to cross they crossed and were destroyed the same red sea same dry land for a while same direction perished these israelites crossed by faith the egyptians tried it by presumption and they're in a watery grave faith is not presumption faith is simply relying 100 percent on thus saith the lord there is always a but may the lord touch you and me so that in all our interactions with him we may try with the help of his holy spirit to fulfill the conditions christ was given without condition but he saves on condition let me say that again christ was given without condition he was sent without condition he saves on condition may the lord help us to be aware of the conditions conditions are not satanic impositions they're not acts of slavery they are divine methods of developing us spiritually in training our minds to think like god and to think of god at all time let us consider that in all our interactions with god in all our praying there's always a but and that but is the condition of obedience to thus said the lord let's pray father in heaven thank you for your word it challenges lord to the core our carnal nature thank you for truth and the transforming effect it has when we accept it if i said anything i should not have said forgive me i pray i ask that your spirit will take my meager human effort and somehow improve it father and present it anew to the hearts of those who listened dear god help us to love praying just for the sake of praying which is fellowship with you shutting out the world and just abiding in your presence in prayer and conversation with our father our god not because we want anything father you're not a supermarket help us to love praying just to hang out with you bless those who heard the word prepare our hearts and minds for the next presentation in jesus name i pray amen [Music] [Music] you

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Keywords: Gaither Vocal Band - Hear My Song, Lord Gaither Vocal Band - Jesus Messiah, Gaither Vocal Band – Reaching, No One But You (Live) - Hillsong Worship, King of Kings (Live) - Hillsong Worship, Hallelujah – Pentatonix, God Only Knows - Pentatonix, Mary, Did You Know? – Pentatonix, Can You Feel the Love Tonight? – Pentatonix, LLUC | Heritage Singers, Katy Perry - Harleys In Hawaii, Taylor Swift - ME!, Katy Perry - Small Talk, God Only Knows – Pentatonix, Wintley Phipps

Id: zMgLrXhjlSI

Length: 57min 12sec (3432 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 13 2021