When You Pray

we're in the first month of the year this is a not only a time when we receive first fruit offering but sometime in November as I was praying about the first of the year I felt like God spoke this word to me in prayer I kept saying God what are you saying about 19 what are you saying to our church what are you saying to us what do you want me to say and I felt like God spoke to me in prayer one day he said I want you to tell them the blessing is in the basics the blessing is in the basics now when you say that deep people get offended that you would retreat to such basic things but you can't get much deeper than a foundation like how many would agree that the foundation is deep we got work going on in our house right now because of some issues and the foundation of a wall and this retaining wall that we had built was 19 feet tall and they had to dig out 19 feet of dirt but when you got down to the bottom of that you can't get no deeper than the foundation and the reason some people can't be blessed and walking the blessing is not because they don't get a deep word it's because they don't establish their life on a proper foundation and so before we go any deeper let's just get to the foundation and make sure we know that if we don't have a blessed year there are some things that God has already told us to be engaged in and it don't take a prophetic word for you to apply any of this you don't even have to go you don't have to go ask God if this is for you this is for everybody look at somebody to tell them this is for you and I want us to go to Matthew chapter six today and then I want us to look at Ephesians chapter two and I wondered why it wasn't a whole lot more than what God gave me but I believe I know why now worship was just so powerful today and the presence of God was moving and the power of Jesus was moving in this place and lives were changed and people already saved and I'm going to tell you this right now we're gonna have an opportunity before we leave to name for people to come to this altar and meet Christ as Lord and I want to tell you it no matter what you've done and how long you been doing it Jesus is the best friend every sinners ever had and you didn't come into this room today you didn't come in here today and nobody gonna judge you condemn you ask you where you've been and what you've been up to at the end of the day all of us have had to be delivered from some mess and today the good news is Jesus will deliver everybody who asked him from the myth somebody say man so that's gonna happen today before we leave and if you're in this place and you don't know Christ as Lord and Savior he's not the lord of your life I've already given them instructions you can't run out of here without meeting Jesus is Lord if you try to get out the ushers are gonna carry you back to the altar praise God I'm kidding okay I want you to go to Matthew chapter 6 with me right now and I want you to look at verse 5 so we're in a series called the blessing is in the basics today I'm gonna talk about prayer cuz let me know if you don't have a prayer life you won't have a blessed life look at your neighbor say if you don't have a prayer life you won't have a blessed life and when you pray not if you pray but when you pray you shall not be like the hypocrites Oh Lord for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corner of the streets that they may be seen by men assuredly I tell you they have their reward but when you praise I'm going to say when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you publicly or openly now how many know you can go through private warfare but if you ever go through private warfare you don't have a public victory y'all didn't hear what I just said I say you might wrestle with a lion and a bear behind the scenes but when you kill the Giant everybody in the nations gone over this God and when you pray do not use vain repetitions maybe I think you mentioned this in your opening prayer time this morning do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do for they think that they will be heard for their many words therefore do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him how many know that's good news in this manner you ought to pray our Father in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are in debtors against us and do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever Ephesians 2 can you handle some more scripture infusions to the spirit of the Living God I thank you so I say why don't you do that you just talk to get because when you feel it you gotta say thank you well I didn't feel it well it wasn't you he touched it was me so I said thank you how many ever felt God do something nobody else smell them doing it and then you responded and they looked at you like you was crazy you just have to look at him like I know it didn't happen for you but it just happened for me so I had to throw my hands up and say thank you lord anybody know what I'm talking about today alright watch this now look at verse number 18 let's start with 17 and Jesus came and preached peace to you who are afar off and to those who are near look at verse 18 I'm gonna read a few more after it but I want you to zero in on this for through Jesus we both have access by one spirit to the Father I'm getting ready to unpack that thing right there look at verse 19 now therefore you are no longer strangers or foreigners but fellow-citizens with the Saints and the members of the household of God having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple into the Lord in whom you also are being built together take some I say together and if you like coffee you need to go to the together cafe see gotta advertise for you right here in Ephesians chapter 2 can we thank God for the free publicity every news channel in Chattanooga has been through that place and given us free aired y'all come on and they put it on the front page of the region in the newspaper and they just wanted to testify I love this phrase I heard Cindy was her name 16 Cindy sixth and from WRC be said this they're not making a profit but they are making a difference so if you like coffee come to the together cafe okay some of y'all thought I lost the anointing because I did that in whom you're also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit how many know God doesn't just come to buildings God comes to a right building when the Spirit is right and I thank God what he's doing here how many know he's doing something that allows him just to come and dwell in this place I want to talk today about prayer for a few moments about prayer when you pray father I come to you now in the name of Jesus asking you for the grace to teach and to preach you've called me to preach and I said yes Lord now I'm asking you to send the anointing that makes the difference I thank you for these 90 mighty men and women of God some of them are mightier than they know today I pray as we discussed the subject of prayer that the platitudes and the the truths about prayer Lord it wouldn't just be about principles of prayer that we grasp but it would become that we are pregnant with a spirit of prayer that we have a praying spirit that we'd be a praying people who don't just know about prayer but we know how to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus we pray nevermind said a man so we talkin about the basics and that's what I'm going through for the next several weeks because I do believe your blessing is in the commitment to the basics I talked to you last week briefly about Matthew's Gospel Jesus is saying in Matthew's Gospel the seventh chapter that there was a man who built his house upon the sand and a man who built his house upon the rock and the foundation that they built on determine the success the viability the efficiency and the the greatness of that house if you want to have a successful great year how many would agree you have to establish this year on right foundations and some of us really need to take an inventory and that and evaluate what we do with our time and what we do without the resource of time I want you to know that the most valuable resource you have is not money it's not influence with people the most valuable resource you have is the resource of town when you spend it you can't get it back when it's gone it cannot be recovered and so you have to make sure that you are investing your time in in significant and important ways and and I don't want to drill down on this and I'm not trying to give some sort of not trying to capture some sort of clip here for it for medium but really we need to be careful how much time we spend on social media that's what I thought was gonna happen when I said that really we have some time because I don't have time to pray I bet you do I bet it's just that you have other things you wish to use your time for rather than prayer I want to say this to you you have to prayer will not come automatically you will have to deny some things and decide some things to pray if you're going to have a prayer life you will have to deny some things and decide some things and you will have time to pray but prayer is is it must be made a priority in fact some of us if we just woke up 20 minutes earlier we would have time to pray but the reality of it is prayer prayer can be a challenge for people in the church how many in this room have ever found it challenging to pray I'm live my hand/eye there there are times in my life prayer has been easy there are times in my life prayer has been a challenge and I want to make sure you understand as we ease in this day and we're just talking about right now just laying the right foundation and I'm not trying to persuade you to get a prayer life I'm trying to explain by the enemy but the flesh is weak because when it comes to prayer it is something that can be a challenge because we find ourselves so distracted we find ourselves so overcome by by the things of this world and really if you're going to pray you have to decide to pray and you have to make decisions on what you're going to prioritize and then you have to deny some things because there are some things that will impede on your let me say it like this there are some people that will impede on your prayer time anybody know that to be true and so when you when it comes to this issue of Prayer it's so much easier to talk about prayer and preach about prayer and even shout about the principles of prayer and we have people who have prayer notebooks but don't pray and they know what happens when they pray and they know why they ought to pray and they know what they could unlock with you know as they pray but what but we just sometimes don't commit to that and I'm gonna tell you there is a place in every powerful time of Prayer that I that I go into there is a price place in that time and space of prayer when I have to make a decision I'm sharing a little bit about my own journey but I have to make a decision in that moment am I gonna bail out on the shallow into this prayer meeting or am I gonna press through and get into the deep place God's calling me to in this time of prayer and every time I have ever decided you know what that can wait that can wait that can wait but Jesus cannot wait every time I've made a commitment to stay in that place heaven has opened up over my life and God has done something very significant in my heart in that time of prayer prayer is challenging and difficult because in many ways Satan hates you pray do you understand that when you begin to pray and simply stand on this planet and open up your mouth to the God of heaven do you understand that you begin to shift and align and bring things into the reality of this world that heaven has been looking for someone on earth to get an agreement with it about it's why Satan the Bible says in the book of Daniel chapter 10 that when Daniel begin to on the side of a river he asked God for the revelation about the end of days and God God heard him this is Daniel 12 at 10 12 through 14 God said to Daniel who was praying for the revelation from heaven he's on earth asking heaven for a revelation about what God is trying to say to him and the Bible said he prays and he prays 21 days nothing is happening on earth and on the 21st day an angel comes and he says to Daniel Daniel first of all before I tell you what the revelation is I want you to know something you've been worn out you've been stressed out you've been dealing with this thing you've been in this 21-day prayer meeting you've been having a fit with this but I need you to know something I heard you the first day you prayed Jesus isn't it good to know that even when nothing is happening on earth heaven heard you even when it doesn't seem like anything is moving and shifting and there is no immediate response I just want to tell you you moved heaven with your prayer and say to one of Satan's greatest weapons against the prayer life is to convince you that the time you invested in that time of prayer was a waste and the only reason you'll ever think it's a waste is because you think it has to happen then but I want to tell you even when you are praying and nothing is happening something is happening come on look at your neighbor tell them something happens when you pray now I want to tell you that there are times I have walked into a prayer time and I have laid on my face and wept before God and cried out to God and and come out of that place and within moments within moments God turn a situation God heals somebody's body but there have been other things that Devon and I have laid on our face and we rolled in the floor and we've done it for days and weeks and months and nothing is happening and the enemy sits on your shoulder and he says that's a waste that's a royal waste of time you're not making anything happen God don't hear you you don't have faith I'm telling you right now honey the next time you start hearing that kind of voice in your mind put your foot on the head of the devil and tell that lying devil I don't know what it's what it's doing I don't know what's happening but I refuse to keep my mouth closed and I refuse to stay in my valley without coming boldly to the throne of grace and finding help in the time of need we must pray we must pray Daniel said these words what wouldn't when the angel showed up he said these words listen to this this is profound he said to Daniel I heard you the first time you prayed and I sent the answer but it's been tangled up in the spirit read it God literally heard Daniel on earth praying heaven sent the answer and a demonic spirit called the Prince of Persia which I don't have time to go into that the Prince of Persia which was a demon spirit intercepted the answer on its way back to earth why did the answer finally get there they angel tells Daniel because of your words do you have you ever asked God for help and didn't feel like it came and then some time later it came and you wonder what took its alone well the enemy didn't want you to get the answer but the reason it finally got theirs because you refused to stop believing some of us have got the opinion if I ask once and it don't happen in ain't mine I'm telling you that devil is a liar if God ever gives you a promise and you ever start believing something belongs to you and you're praying you don't get it it doesn't mean it's not yours it means they enemy don't want you to have it and you know what I just don't give a flying rip what the devil wants me to have Jesus is the one that died to give it to me and I think I'm just gonna walk in my sonship and I know I don't deserve it but I think I'll praise him every time he answers a prayer he's a prayer answering God prayer is not always easy because there are eternal heavy thing that are on the other side of your prayers and Satan knows it which is why I chose to keep you from doing it he said to Daniel I heard you the first time you prayed on cinet but the Prince of Persia tangled it up but we overcame it I don't even have time there's something powerful about prayer and if you're struggling with prayer doesn't mean you're not saved if prayer is that were difficult for you it doesn't mean you don't love Jesus if prayer is never challenging that doesn't mean you're not spiritual here's what it means it means you have to keep pressing into it till you learn the power of it let me tell you this they'll come a point if prayer is always a chore for you you're not doing it right if prayers always a hassle and what are you God pray you're not doing it right anybody in here got people you enjoy talking to some of you thought I was gonna say don't enjoy talking to know how many in here got people in your life you love talking to okay that's what prayer is supposed to be like with you and God now I'm not telling you that you can't get into a place of prayer sometimes where there's war going on and you've got to militantly pray in the spirit you've got to cast down pull down bind up loose come on having know what I'm talking about but there is a place where you can get to in prayer where prayer becomes a privilege and a pleasure where it's not about how loud or how long now there are times when I go into prayer it's it's you know it's just about me and God there are other days I go into prayer and it's war and they have to walk down the hallways of the office and I'm hollering my music is going and everybody's out what in the world is going on in there well it's just the way we've had it today amen right you you you have to understand that when you commit to a prayer life at the beginning of the year and lay that found and it paves the way for blessing if you want to have a blessed life you gotta have a prayer life and I want to go through this very quickly in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus did not say if you pray he said come on when you pray a couple of things we need to remember and we need to be aware of about prayer life that Jesus teaches us here it I think is very important number number one when you pray he says do not pray like the hypocrites which means that hypocrites actually do pray so not everybody praying is right with God and what Jesus is trying to get to here is the motive of why you pray are you trying to pray because you want people to look at you and think my god she can pray goodness gracious he can pray if your motive to pray and your motives to be her is to be heard by men and to be seen by men and not to be heard or seen by God then God says watch this Jesus says this jesus said when those kinds of people pray for impure motives and they do spiritual things so that people will see them Jesus says this and I think it's fantastic he said they have their reward what is the reward for a person whose prayer life is wrapped up around people and being seen you ready for this their reward is the applaud of men there are people who actually come to church and do spiritual things because they want to be approved and applauded by people I am Telling You that if you don't get anything else out of this message today I want you to go back to me to being a person of Prayer not because people see you and say wow there are amazing people of Prayer no I want you to go back to being a person of Prayer because God says if you're a person and a man or a woman of Prayer who understands that it's about me and you I'm gonna have a reward unlocked over your life and it may never receive the applaud or the approval of man but I'd rather be known in heaven and hated by hell then they have a big following on the social media platform okay I can't go there Jesus sorry I'd rather be known by heaven and hated by hell than to be so interested in my presentation and the approval and applause of people some of us in this room today we need to get back to praying because God is watching and God is listening and stay now you think this is a rather mundane point pastor there's nothing deep about this it would blow your mind how much activity would cease in the church if we asked people to stop doing it unless they were doing it unto the Lord number one don't be like the hypocrites well I don't want to do that someone is watching your live stream right now there may even be people in this building who just testing us out today and you may say something like this I don't go to church why somebody asked you why you say because hypocrites go to church so I ask you do you want to go to church with hypocrites or the hell with hypocrites well welcome to redemption to the nation's it's Sunday morning hallelujah do you want to go to church with a hypocrite I've never gone to church with a hypocrite then to hell with the hypocrite they might be fake but not everybody in here's fake there may be weirdos and they're made these charlatans but not every preacher is a charlatan I want to tell you right now you better get over your excuses and fall back in love with Jesus stop living so horizontally I feel like calling off and preaching right here this thing about you and them it's about you and him get back to Jesus he's the center of it all and he is the center of the joy say Amen Church sorry this thing of blaming people in the church for doing stupid thing they've been doing dumb things in the church since Jesus got on a cloud and went back to heaven there is no excuse in the church for you not to be a part of it I'm telling you right now Jesus died for the church he's bled for the church rose again for the church and if you're going to heaven you're not going to heaven because you're an island unto yourself you're going to heaven because you are simply built together to be a temple of God where God I fill him in this building right now I already know that it even in my notes somebody needs to hear me at the first of the year church can't be optional I will say it again cuz I filled that person in here pushing back and you know you have to understand who you're dealing with when I feel it I come back for it one more time hallelujah church can't be optional well I don't like people in churches well you're going to happen with them well you know they're just different what you are to a beautiful thing about the body of Christ it's a great place to have the policies and the failures of life we're not a bunch of perfect people walking around speaking in tongues no I bet if I come to your house brother Wallace angels are floating around in your living room and you and Evan speak in tongues to each other oh no honey you come in my house you're gonna hear some tongues all right hallelujah I'm telling you right now nobody in here is perfect nobody in here's got it all together if they're sitting out there acting like your neighbors acting like they got it on they don't have it all together we're here because of the blood of Jesus we're here because of the mercy of God we're here because of our worst day he's still a good God and if you want to know how to find life quit sitting at home killing yourself everybody in church is a hypocrite the devil is Elijah there is a righteous remnant on this planet walking the bread with the desert in the power of the hallelujah feel like I fixed a few things you can't keep that attitude you can't stay all offended and come to church twice a year and be who God called you to be well I'm busy we'll stop because you were not created to live on this planet as a busy businessman who never has time for the things of God or the kingdom of God or a business woman who never has time to you'll lose it all you may gain this world but lose your soul and what is it worth make a commitment to the house of God okay that would even end my sermon here we go don't be like the hypocrites that's where them hypocrites always get a preacher on another tangent don't be like the hypocrites who pray and do spiritual things to be seen this isn't about me and you this is about you and him the next thing he says they do it to me sing uh go the next verse verse six please when you pray go into your room now here's what I want to teach you I believe everybody ought to have a place of Prayer now I also believe you can pray in all places at all times all right young people teenagers they never take prayer out of school if they took you out of school then you might have prayer taking down to school but as long as you're in the school there ought to be prayer in school isn't it funny how the enemy wants you to think everything's going to hell in a handbasket they took prayer to school no they didn't bring take prouder school in fact I think they they they woke up a giant you get the right kind of teenager and they find out who God is they're not afraid to anything they'll stand up on a lunchroom lunch table and turn the whole cafeteria into a big preaching the Lord in this place right now I feel like I'm gonna run through a troop and jump over a wall how they look he said find a place of Prayer now I have a place to pray at my house and I have a place of prayer in my office I'm gonna tell you why I have a place of Prayer cuz it calls to me every time I pass my office in my house you walk in my house to the right there are two doors never knows that there are four chairs in the fireplace in my office and I got one chair I sit on every time I wait what's that it's yours - hallelujah I get honey you have anything I got praise the Lord share it all every time I walk by that place every time I walk by that place it calls me it reminds me I felt God in that room and he found me and there are times I go in that room and every time I do it's got two doors and I just shut the doors behind me we got this thing in our house it bothers me it's a this particular thing in my house in that one room we have a speaker in the ceiling and every room in the house that morning I was just in the normal prayer time and something happened I didn't do and I didn't know if it was God or the enemy or what but the music started blaring scared the living daylights out of me 6:00 a.m. in the morning and it was right here and it was lord I give you my oh Jesus wonderful Jesus and we're praising God and all of a sudden so I had the people come out and look at it I said that can't happen anymore they said you know what something was wrong with the modulator in your thing and it just decides when it wants to get loud to get loud and then it'll go down and then go up and I said oh we have to fix that he said I don't know how to fix I know if we can fix that or not we can disable it I said you can't disable my music I have to have my music so I've got my ear pods now I got my ear pods now and I can holler and listen to music and Gaithers as long round as I want to and nobody has to wake up anymore so I got it all shut off and now got my ear pods and I go into my secret place and I just spend time with the father you have to have a place how many got a mancave anybody good like that place you watch football me in your lives I don't watch football uline wonder how many nascar whatever it is Matt MBA you got a favorite place I think places are important some of you would get more routine with prayer if you had a place of prayer because if you just think prayer is something that you just do in your kitchen and I do pray in the kitchen but that's not my time of prayer my time of prayer is when nothing else is going on and I'm involved with nothing else and it's just me and God in that place Jesus says when you go into that place shut the door behind you this is as important as prayer itself if you don't know how to shut the door stuff will follow you in there oh my goodness how many have ever tried to go pray and stuff just start interfering with your prayer day and you die you're like I just came to pray and it seemed like when you decided to pray everything started becoming urgent Oh y'all don't have those days do you I'm telling you right now you got and I'm gonna encourage you some of you're gonna push back on this but hear it from a person of experience I do not like to take my phone into prayer and if I do I put it on airplane mode and I'm gonna tell you why because something will be considered very important and I really really really - just a few things on this earth there isn't much more important thing to do than to get alone with the father in a place of prayer shut the world out tell the devil no and spend some time in the presence of the one who loves you he said I want you to have a place and then he says shut the door and then I want you to see this the father who sees and this is a principle I've taught this before I'm gonna spend much time on it here but you do nothing you need to understand something there is a reward for a person with a prayer life you better be careful who you hate on and how much blessing they walk in because people who walk in great reward are people who made great decisions and denied great things so that they could spend time with the father anytime you see God blessing someone publicly don't you ever think that it started in public it started somewhere in a very private intimate secret place I want you to know that before David was ever crowned King because he killed Goliath he took care of a bear and a and and a lion outside of the Shepherd sheep field and when you do those kinds of things in private and are faithful when nobody is looking I've said it like this for years and I keep on saying it if you want to do what everybody wants to do while everybody is looking you got to first enjoy doing what nobody wants to do while nobody's looking oh that was loaded right there there's a lot of people who said oh ministry ministry ministry CEO president you big big big shot big we want to we want to be that we want to do that before you can do what everybody wants to do while everybody's looking you got a first embrace doing what nobody wants to do when nobody's looking everybody wants to kill Goliath nobody wants to kill the lion and the bear missile of the ship but the reason God can trust you to kill the giant be crowned the king is because he trusted you to take care of the sheep when no one's looking and I don't have time to go into that but if you're ever going to be successful in ministry and as a pastor or a leader Shepherds smell like sheep I'll move on we'll talk about that some remark or something okay father who sees in secret will reward you openly next verse please I'm trying to get to this and I'm gonna be done when you pray don't use vain repetitions oh my goodness this is really something I think this is said to liberate us I think this scripture was actually said to liberate us from the pressure of feeling like we have to find a mantra the right combination of words and so there are people who and actually what Jesus was talking about here is the hypocrites actually followed oriental custom they followed oriental custom and they chanted in the Orient they would chant and they would summon all of the false gods through their chanting and now Jesus says to his listeners here you don't have to work yourself up and chant your way into an answer he says in fact you don't even have to go waste a bunch of time trying to inform God about your problem because he actually knows what you need before you approach him think of that how much time do we waste trying to explain God the difficulty of all that we're dealing with and God actually knew it before we came to it in other words what Jesus says let's get to it I don't want to waste your time and you're not gonna waste my time let's just get to it I know what you need before you even open your mouth how many of you have kids in here how many claim your kids that you have okay it's a better way to ask you I suppose I won't say which one of my kids but but there have been times in our life where they broke something I know because we have video cameras in the house who did it and everyone's like we don't have a clue I remember Judah but no was Isaiah he loved ornaments on a tree was it oh yeah then I was going to tell the story you want to tell him no was it Isaiah it was that saying so Isaiah are you in here as they where you at okay I love you son is just a little stuff here we're dealing with okay just working through this so we have you know me I'm a Christmas I love Christmas and we have a number of Christmas trees and one Christmas tree has Disney ornaments on it and they're all from different years and they're all special and Isaiah when he was a little guy he was infatuated with ornaments on a tree and would just go up and start handling them okay and so we had to tell him don't touch the ornament if you touch the ornament I will send you to another family don't touch the ornament I will not eat okay you just don't and so so he would he would he would he would touch the ornament and then so one time he touches the ornament takes it off the tree is handling the forbidden ornament and and it he drops it and crashes to the ground and I here you go and I walked in there another good Isaiah I said son you know the rules what did you touch the ornament for and he said you're not gonna believe this dad four years old you're not gonna believe this Dad that devil made me do it true story true story the devil made me do it right I knew when I heard listen I knew when I heard the sound what had happened I wasn't expecting him to blame it on the devil I was just leading a confession I needed a confession that that I messed this up and but I already knew before he ever told me what happened I already knew what happened and and some of you listen when you make a mess don't run from prayer because the only one that can clean up the broken pieces of the ornament you dropped is the one waiting on you to come to the place of prayer and just confess it he knows what you need before you ever come to him to ask him for and here's the good news he's the one that knew you were going to break the ornament he's the one that has the power to put it back together and he's the one that loves you enough to call you when you messed up anyway it's any wonderful as if Jesus just so good now I want to end with this I want you to go to that Ephesians 2:9 passage bran if you'll help me I'm going to transition here to nine Ephesians 2:9 and I want to just I want to I want to give you this I know this is real basic stuff today and I'm not I'm not attempting to go deep and I'm not trying to haul off and preach there I want you to lay a foundation of prayer in your life don't think you got to impress people with your words and how loud you are there are times I'm quiet there are times I'm hollering that God listen the times I holler in prayer and out of the holler I lift my voice in prayer the times I lift my voice in prayer it's not because God is deaf it's because I'm desperate okay God doesn't have a hearing problem it's not like I'm gonna get louder hoping he'll hear me he hears me whether I whisper or whether I cry out but when I am in desperate need of him I often pour my soul out and it comes out in a higher volume but this is we're not in a competition to see whose most spiritual so number one we don't pray like the hypocrites and number two when we pray we get we get in our secret place and number three when we go into our secret place we shut the door and when we go into our secret place and we shut the door we spend time with God what happened in that translates to public grace and victory if you hate prayer you're doing it wrong prayers always hard you're doing it wrong I want to just submit this last thing to you no no that's not it it's 19 I'm sorry it's 19 I said 9 I should have known that back up to 18 I promise you it's in there there it is yes that's it four through Jesus we both say we both now Paul is here talking about the Jew and the Gentile I don't have time to go into the depth of the revelation here that Paul is putting forth but essentially what he is saying is there's no superiority Jews don't get closer to God because they're Jewish and Gentiles don't get further away from God because they're Gentiles both of us both Jew and Gentile have access to God and this is important for it prayer should never be reduced down to a formula or some equation okay but I do think it is important to understand the theological underpinnings of prayer because I haven't been asked as a pastor do I pray to God do I pray to Jesus do I pray to the Father do I pray the Holy Spirit who do I prayed to and Jesus teaches us something in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus says when you pray when actually he said yes when you pray pray it like this he's not saying this prayer is a magic formula okay and I know that football teams kneeled down hidden and great football teams I was on a football team high school we grew up we all prayed the sinner's prayer every but nobody would say I don't think of the football team but everybody's praying the Lord's Prayer we all we're doing the cat the whole thing our Father which as if it were some sort of magic formula all right our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come and you know we're hollering and cussing and slapping people then it was great it was great so so the Lord's Prayer as it has become called is really not a mantra it's a model the prayer is not a formula that is guaranteed to work because I've known people who prayed two or three word prayers and moved heaven the thief on the cross said a very simple remember me so it's not about how many words you say and how long you stay there and the beautiful thing about prayers when you stop worrying about how long you're there you stay longer never mind he says watch this our Father not my father our Father what is that important because you must always understand your prayer life in context with the body why is that important because there are people in this church in other other churches who would actually use prayer time to approach God to take asking God to take his revenge out on other people in the kingdom of God and God says no no when you come to me you don't get to pray my father remember he's all of our daddy our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name now here's the print the point the point of this scripture and I want you to see this today I believe you can talk to Jesus I don't think there's anything wrong with you talking to Jesus I don't think there's anything wrong with you talking to the Holy Spirit there been times I say Spirit of God helped me give me wisdom here there have been times I say Lord Jesus I love you I do that every day but I want you to understand why prayer works it's actually legal it's legal it's not just okay God's listening no you and I were separated by sin from God so Jesus came as a mediator between God and man and he paid the price so that we could have access to God access to God for salvation and access to God thereafter every time you come to God to talk to God I believe you are coming watch to the Father by the son through the son pardon me through the son by the Spirit Jesus never prayed to himself and he never prayed to the Holy Spirit in fact there's just a couple of times and in scriptures where Jesus was ever prayed to one of them is the thief on the cross when we pray we are talking transactionally and legally we are claiming promises this is a whole other message claiming promises for ourself that are legally ours because we come to God the Father jesus said when you pray pray like this our Father so he's talking to the Father and now we have through Jesus access to the father and we come by the Holy Spirit and we make our petition known so if you want to get real legal and technical you don't have to be legal and technical if you talk to God the Father Son and the Holy Spirit it to me and it doesn't matter who you're talking to but if you want to get technical and legal you must understand something you have access to the father who has everything and the reason you have access to the father is called the Son Jesus has allowed you to come to the Father through his blood what my point is according to Hebrews chapter 414 you you actually get to come boldly to the throne of grace you do not come tiptoeing and walking on eggshells and oh my god do you know what I did yesterday he knows and yet he says come to me come to me when you sin come to me don't don't don't don't run from me come to me when you fall we you make a mess of it when you do something really dumb when you make when you just when you just get all your ducks out of a row and you you think I gotta wait a couple of days and I've gotta I've gotta get more religious before I come back to God God says now don't do that he says come to me just like you are you come through the blood of Jesus Christ by the person of the Holy Spirit and you wind up standing in the very throne room of God and you say pastor I have no legal right to be here I failed and Jesus says yes you did but my on your worst day if you have faith in Christ your righteousness is listen you're on your best egg your righteousness is as filthy rags but on your worst day if your faith is in Christ you are still covered in the blood and when you come into the throne room of grace you are able to get help from God and come boldly it doesn't mean you come arrogantly it doesn't mean you come a hearty it doesn't mean that if you send you prints in like there's no remedy responsibility and no weight of sin on your heart but what it does mean is you do not let the enemy whisper in your ear and tell you you cannot be heard in heaven because heaven does not hear you based on your own merit heaven heaven hears you because you're washed in the blood of the Lamb and the Spirit of God is within you and Paul says in the book of Romans we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the Spirit of God has enabled us to open up my mouth and cry Abba Father there is a legal reason why God hears you when you pray Jesus has paid the price you come into the presence of the Father you make your petition known you don't say I know you're his child I would took the boys to see a movie last night took the girls to see a movie I don't ever get to see two movies in one Saturday you know most the time on Saturday I'm rolling around in the floor oh I need a sermon Jesus give me a second give me the word for tomorrow I already had the word I said we're gonna go see what was the movie the dog movie oh it was a train wreck Jesus I cried like a baby oh my god and then I wouldn't took the boys to see our bumblebee bumblebee we go up to the popcorn line you know somebody ought to be thrown in jail for how much movie places charge for popcorn some believable I could buy 12 boxes of popcorn for that but we go up to we go up to the line we go up to the line to get some popcorn and some water cuz we're healthy do you want extra butter yes and give me water too cuz I'm gonna be healthy and bad all at the same time so we go up and little Zion she breaks out her purse Danny I have some cash I can pay for this and then she saw how much it was she said get the popcorn Danny get the popcorn you can get the popcorn if you want to get the popcorn you want some popcorn my dad's getting popcorn my dad walks up and then we go to the we go to the bumblebee movie at night and the little Jeremiah a little Isaiah Jeremiah has been working at chick-fil-a jesus knows chick-fil-a yes and he breaks out his wallet I'm getting my own one of those things we got sour sour patches sour patches I'm getting my own sour patches I'm get my own drink you know we're working now we're gonna spend our money Betty I'll show you I can do this yeah but daddy's gonna pay for it he saw how much the soured matches was he said get this our patches daddy just you you go if you want to do that for me you go ahead and get this out right how many know it's really good just to spend some time with Daddy he'll take care of the popcorn he'll take care of the sour patches I feel the Lord only right here he'll take care of the healing of the body he'll take care of peace in the house he'll take care of the financial provision you've been waiting on just spend some time with Daddy just spend some time with Daddy Jeremiah I could tell stories out there two nights ago he leaves his Jeep parked out in the driveway nobody can get into the garage so I couldn't get out I said I'm taking the Jeep I took the Jeep down to Walgreens run it on SD so what did I do pull it right into the cache they get station filled it up yesterday comes in the house so you know what happened last night I come home guess where the Jeep was in the parking lot right there in the middle I thought oh I see what he's doing now here's the point just spent some time with daddy spend some time with the father well I don't know how long I'm gonna pray and don't really matter every moment it's bliss and when you get to come in you don't have to worry about your resume and if you deserve to be there the question is do you trust Jesus is Lord if you do you come to the Father through the son I feel it right now by the Holy Spirit and if you get into a place of prayer and you feel like what do I say let me let me help you here just relax the Holy Ghost will actually perfect your prayers for you and by the time they get to the Father he'll have it all cleaned up the greatest statement for me out of the signs and wonders conference was one by my friend Alexander Pagani he said these words God knows what you meant to say isn't that wonderful god knows what now words are important and you have a responsibility to use them wisely but when you're praying and you feel like I just don't know what to say and you feel like maybe it's coming out wrong stay with me if your head is bound and your eyes are closed no one leaving moving just for a second you're in this room today and you would say faster Kevin I need this opportunity to come to Christ and I want Jesus to save me some of you come to church for the first time today some of you been coming for a couple of weeks that you've been waiting or an opportunity to give your heart to Jesus today is that moment today is that day no matter what you've been doing and how long you've been doing it Jesus will save you and I want to give someone in this room the opportunity to respond to an open altar someone who will say I mean Jesus to rescue me today heads bowed eyes closed if you're in this room right now and you need Jesus to save you and you want to leave your board again by the spirit you want to be a child of the Living God and you never want to be the same again I'm counting the three for you I want you to shoot your hand up and say pastor pray for me I need to give my heart to Jesus one two three right now lift your hand yep yep yep yep yep put them all down you can all put them down thank you if it would look at me I saw a number of hands I don't know how many I saw but I saw a number of hands I want intercessors to silently and gently pray right now for the hearts to be open but I want everyone in here to go to work with me right now in this moment there's someone standing on your left someone's standing on your right you may have known them your whole life you may have never met them before this day but if you're in this room right now and you're breathing and you have a pulse I need you to help me preach this message and the conclusion of it by looking at your neighbor on your left and right and asking them one question in just a second do you need someone to go to the altar with you and if you lifted your hand or you know in here in this heart of yours that you should have when they ask you that question I just want you to nod at them they're gonna take you by the hand we're gonna come together in this altar we're going to pray and God is going to rescue people who want Jesus to save them ask your person on your left and right right now do you need someone to go to the altar with you come on help me preach the conclusion of this message and if you lifted your hand or you should have stand when they ask you that question right now I'm waiting on the Lord's gonna rescue laughs today the Lord's gonna save laughs I'm not coming to get anybody but somebody needs to come to the Lord thank you for coming thank you back there god bless you sweetheart thank you for coming god bless you it's a good day come on come on it's a good day to come to Jesus they say what would they think about me they're gonna think thank god they came come on we've been here we know what this feels like come on pal come on sweetheart we're waiting there's still people coming I want you them I want us just a bless the Lord come on this is why we come to church anyone else before we pray I want to give it all to Jesus then stretch your hands toward the altar I'm gonna ask our salt team to come our leadership team become pastors to come I was surrounded and just covered in love and prayer everyone's still in the building if you would stretch your hands toward assaulter and pray over them like you ordered someone to pray over you but that you give your heart to Jesus I want us to pray together now listen we're gonna begin to do something and it's gonna be a little different they're gonna keep praying but I want to give an opportunity for our sons and daughters and particularly those who are part of our school of ministry opportunities to pray and operate in faith and in the gifts God given them and they're still praying here so at the end of service sometimes when it permits and we're not in another vein of ministry we're gonna have opportunities for our our Redemption school of ministry students to come and pray if you have a need of any kind be it physical or financial and you just want someone to agree with you in prayer many people already been given breakthrough today by God and the worship but maybe you want someone to pray specifically with you I'm gonna ask our students that they'll come over on this side over here please and they'll just line up on the altar these are our sons and daughters we love them can we tell them we love them come on and they're part of our school and we've been talking and training and preparing for ministry and I want you to have the opportunity to be prayed with and so if there's anyone that needs prayer and all for anything I want you to know you can come down and just receive ministry and we'll pray as long as you need to pray so you're welcome to come and do that now at any point before we leave the sanctuary if you need prayer in your mind your body your spirit in your marriage you're a fine whatever there there are no need to pray for you and I want them to pray with you and they've been sitting with us for a year now and they're they're amazing men and women of God and we love them the hand of the Lord is on their life so you can come in be ministered to this morning but I want everyone else that's not needing prayer before you leave lift your hands up and I want us to pray for God to give us all a praying spirit a praying spirit people are coming to receive prayer you're certainly welcome to do that now but everyone who's not moving for prayer let's lift our hands and ask God to give us a praying spirit lord I asked you for a praying spirit to follow in this house move in every heart Lord Jesus stir us to places of Prayer to be people of Prayer to understand the privilege and the pleasure of prayer to not get getting caught up in the religion of it all we just spent some time with ABBA and as we spend time with you've got you're just going to take care of stuff going on in our life I bless you Lord for these beautiful people today I thank you for a spirit of Prayer coming on this body a little hallelujah Sante Kimes Spirit of God I pray your service and wake us to pray and motivate us Holy Spirit the flesh is weak but the Spirit of God is willing and our spirit when it's in touch with you is willing I pray we'll just stay Alleluia a grace of Prayer rest on this house that revival could continue to burn and fire of God can continue to burn I pray Lord the incense on the altar never go out that the fire never go out on the altar there always being and then since arising before you lord oh come on let's lift our hands Spirit of God is just coming in this place right now sick enormous I thank your Holy Spirit for the blessing and the privilege and the opportunity to pray say about around by my side oh come on let's just draw close to the father for a moment we worship You Jesus Jesus we worship you thank you for letting us come boldly to the throne of grace we can approach the Father with great boldness because we're covered in the blood of the Lamb and the Spirit of God compels us to come we worship God we worship you armor we thank you that we've not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but we received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father we thank you hallelujah oh come on take somebody by the hand let's take 30 seconds and pray for one another right now God give us a break come on open up their mouth church up the vine if we're not trying to run out if you gotta go we understand we love you go with the peace of the Lord but if you go stay with me for another thirty seconds I want you to turn the volume up right now and ask God Lord teach me to pray give me a break spirit Lord Rama Shania let us get so pregnant with the word of the Lord and with the promises of God come on something's happening here something's happening in here Oh God give us a break spirit we thank you God that the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man a woman of ailment come up 45 more seconds Marvin shake off religious which set off that happiness of religion there is no pressure in the presence neutral of because you lock your children we are something we were [Music] Oh [Music] come on took them to it right now the fire of God is here I'm telling a sing-along I dig through I say the Lord my king we're lucky changes Oh Oh God none span sambar you more the father we were so new Oh [Music] Oh we're depending on you Jesus when the tippecanoe father wait [Music] [Music] [Music] thou art worthy mighty God now [Music] Oh beware we worship before we leave less off lesson together in this place come on lift those hands a lesson don't ask you for a thing just spend some time worshiping him right now LM sorry man [Music] hallelujah [Music] come here Chris come to Manisa we got the babies with you today in the back many of you know Chris and Mandisa cooked they're some of our family they're such a beautiful family Chris has been them Todd in coach at recruiting coordinator for the MOX the UTC MOX football team here and they just got a promotion they're going to Akron and he's going to be the coach up there and have so many responsibilities Mandisa has been such a blessing to the staff to the office here and she's such a sweetheart and they're precious babies we love them they're gonna be leaving this is their last Sunday I want to bless him before they leave and I already prophesied and told him the next time he comes back in to be the head coach of the UTC box stretch your hands toward on right now Lord I bless them in this transition keep your hand on them protect their family their babies their marriage bless their bless his career bless her career I thank you that this move is going to unlock something you sweet lady in the name of Jesus it's gonna come some open doors and some stuff's gonna be aligned you didn't want this but you're gonna be glad for it after it happens watch it happen it's gonna be beautiful and lord I thank you that this is temporary but Lord well he's going to what he's going to do while he's gone is draw closer to you and I thank your Holy Spirit great doors are coming in his future I'm blessing now I bless them now I bless the children now and I bless the Akron's football team now father I pray revival break out in the football I pray the Lord move in a powerful way and I pray Lord that you'll help them have a winning season into great things and Lord you're just gonna make yourself known through Chris Chris and Mandisa cooked in the name of Jesus Christ be glorified through their lives oh god I pray in Jesus precious name Amen tell them you love the sickness [Music] listen seven o'clock this Wednesday is going to be powerful if you want to know more about our church and become a part of the family sign up for connect track don't miss it as this Wednesday night and we don't have a great time I love your own go in the Peace of Jesus and pray pray pray spend time with the Father in prayer god bless [Music]

Channel: Redemption to the Nations Church

Views: 4,636

Rating: 4.9139786 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: kcDbsLyhsdw

Length: 67min 31sec (4051 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 18 2019