Be Expectant in Prayer
Vision 2023 • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
William Carey, (1761-1834), founder of the English Baptist Missionary Society (1792), lifelong missionary to India, and educator whose mission at Shrirampur (Serampore) set the pattern for modern missionary work.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Carey
“Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”― William Carey
“We don’t expect much from God, so we don’t ask for much from God. And, as a result, we don’t receive much from God.” - Dave DeSelm
https://www.davedeselmministries.org/devotionals/expectant-prayer
“If you want to embrace expectant prayer, you’ve got to “devote” yourself to making the ask, be “watchful” for where to focus that ask and be “thankful” in advance that God has heard your ask.” -Dave DeSelm
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
Why would Jesus say this to Peter?
Because the cursing of the fig tree was a rebuke against the faithless Pharisees.
Folks, as followers of Christ, we never want to be lumped in with the faithless Pharisees.
No, we must be convinced that God desires to hear from us and answer our prayer.
We must be expectant in our prayer
Imagine what God would accomplish through a people who prayed expectantly...
Main Idea: You Must Pray Faith-Filled, Mountain Moving Prayers to God!
How?
Three things to be aware of in order to pray this kind of prayer...
You Must Be A Believer In God (vs. 22)
22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
It’s all about a relationship
God is not a cosmic vending machine. You don’t put your prayer in and out pops an answer. What a cold and selfish view of God.
No, you need to be His child for Him to answer you.
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
on the other hand
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
God delights in answering the prayers of His children!
Not everyone is a child of God.
How does one become a child of God?
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
You Must Be His Child In Order To Pray to Him
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
In order to become a child of God, you need to...
Repent
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Believe
31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Illustration - For 23 years I went to church faithfully and thought I was good with God. But I was not his child. It wasn’t until I was confronted with the message of the gospel - that I needed to repent of my sin and trust Jesus Christ as my only hope for salvation from the wrath of God, that I then could be His child.
Argumentation - Does God seemingly never answer your prayers? Perhaps you should ask yourself if you are indeed a follower of Jesus.
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
But, if you are in the faith, realize that God LOVES to hear from his faith-filled followers of Jesus. In fact, being a believer in Christ is the only sure way God will hear from you.
Are you a child of God? You can and must...
Review - You Must Pray Faith-Filled, Mountain Moving Prayers to God!
You Must Be a Believer in God
2. You Must Pray Boldly and With The Right Motives (vs. 23-24)
So if God is now our Father, who just happens to be the all-powerful God of the Universe and the Creator of all that is - Not just any creator, but the Creator who Creates from NOTHING, I think we can and should go to him and pray AUDACIOUS prayers!
Isn’t this what Jesus is saying in verse 23?
23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
The MacArthur Study Bible (Chapter 11)
Jesus did not literally uproot mountains; in fact, He refused to do such spectacular miracles for the unbelieving Jewish leaders (see note on Matt. 12:38). Jesus’ point is that if believers sincerely trust in God and truly realize the unlimited power that is available through such faith in Him, they will see His mighty powers at work
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 11:22–24
Therefore, because believing prayer taps God’s power to accomplish the humanly impossible (cf. 10:27), Jesus exhorted His disciples to believe that they have already received whatever they request in prayer. Faith accepts it as good as done even though the actual answer is still future.
Do you pray boldly? I mean I know we are told in Hebrews that we can boldly approach the throne of God’s grace, but do you pray bold prayers.
By the way, it isn’t the boldness of the prayer you pray, it is your confidence in the one you pray it to!
What if Christians if Christians really prayed to God in full confidence in his capacity to answer their prayers in the best way possible?
Notice what Jesus says in verse 23?
“and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”
No more “Ya but” thoughts
10 Spies - “Ya but....”
25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
Phillip - “Ya but...”
1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
Let ABC NEVER BE “YA-BUT” PEOPLE!
What if we started praying audacious, faith-filled, mountain-moving prayers and believed that God could answer them?
First of all, I don’t think we pray enough as individual or as a church. We are doing better, but there is much room for improvement.
There is one man in our church who took me up my challenge to spend an hour with God each day. He said it is changing his life for the way better!
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
So, we are commanded by Jesus to pray and believe that we have already received it.
A Couple of Reminders
We can only expect God to move according to His nature and will.
13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
“When Jesus says we can ask for anything, we must remember that our asking must be in his name — that is, according to God’s character and will. God will not grant requests contrary to his nature or his will, and we cannot use his name as a magic formula to fulfill our selfish desires. If we are sincerely following God and seeking to do his will, then our request will be in line with what he wants, and he will grant them.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
That’s it! As long as we are praying according to the nature and will of God, we can ask whatever we want and we can expect God to move in a way that brings Him the most glory and us the most good!
Illustration - George Meuler
Argumentation - Do you want to see God move in our midst?
Do you think it is God’ will that we pray audaciously that he save our family, friends and community?
Do you think it is God’s will that we pray audaciously that we become a disciple making powerhouse in Allendale, Michigan, and the World?
Do you think it is God’s will that we reach families with the gospel, teach them how to raise their children in the ways of the Lord, and change the culture of our community? Do you think God want the men in our community to be Husbands that are Godly, loving and kind to their wives?
Do you think God wants wives in our community to be loving, supportive, more concerned about their husband and children than the image they attempt to portray on their social media platform.
Do you think God wants the students in our community to function like Daniel, Joseph, Debrah, and Hannah?
Do you think God wants businesses in Allendale to function with integrity an honor?
You see, I do think God wants this from our community.
How do you suppose this will happen?
It starts with our bold, unashamed, bold, rightly motivated PRAYER!
And that prayer then changes us to be what Jesus calls us...
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Application - Would you start to pray bold prayers for yourself, you family, your friends, your neighbors, your work mates, your employees?
But be careful of your motives. God will not answer positively when we pray selfishly.
Review - You Must Pray Faith-Filled, Mountain Moving Prayers to God!
You Must Be a Believer in God
You Must Pray Boldly and With The Right Motives
There is one more caveat for God to answer your prayer...
3. You Must Have a Forgiving Heart (vs. 25)
We live in a world where offenses will come. I submit to you, in this cancel culture that we live in, being offended is a badge of honor.
And yet Jesus says this...
25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Christians are not to be an offended people.
11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Brant Hansen, in his book “Unoffendable” says this about the Christian who is perpetually offended.
“If you’re constantly being hurt, offended, or angered, you should honestly evaluate your inflamed ego.” - Brant Hansen
When you understand what you truly deserve as a human - eternal punishment in Hell because you have offended God over and over and over by breaking his law.
And then you undeservingly receive salvation because of God’s GRACE alone!
And then you have the audacity to remain angry and unforgiving to someone in your life? NO WAY for the believer in Christ. That’s worldliness at its finest.
“The cross simultaneously stands as a constant reminder of [Jesus’s] willingness to pay the bill, and as an indictment on us when we are unwilling to do the same for others.” - Brant Hansen
“Anger is extraordinarily easy. It’s our default setting. Love is very difficult. Love is a miracle.” - Brant Hansen
And we, my friends, are to be known by our LOVE for one another, not our perpetual anger, frustration, and irritation.
We are to actively, intentionally put on Christlikeness...
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Our relationships with one another are inextricably linked with our relationship with God.
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Even in our marriage relationships. Husbands, check this one out from Peter...
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Illustration - Peter poses a question to Jesus and Jesus, per usually, has a brilliant response that teaches Peter (and us) a powerful lesson on forgiveness...
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Sounds like some powerful motivation for Christians to be forgivers!
By the way, this is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Christians is that we are forgiver!
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
I see so many young people who grew up in the church that are now deconstructing their faith. At the heart of their deconstruction is anger at the church and the people of the church. In many cases their anger is justified because of the hypocrisy they have witnessed. However, their anger and unwillingness to deal with issues and forgive is fueling their fire of bitterness and un-forgiveness. And it is these two things, bitterness and un-forgiveness that will ultimately be their gods and will destroy them.
Friends, some of your prayers don’t go farther up than the ceiling because you have forgotten what the Lord taught His disciples regarding effective prayer.
“Forgive us our trespasses (sins) as we forgive those who trespass (sin) against us.”
Okay, so How do I ensure that I have a forgiving heart so that the Lord will hear my prayer?
You have three options...
Let love cover your offence.
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
2. If You know they have and offense against you, Go!
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
3. If you have offense against them, Go!
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
The bottom line, if you want God to hear your prayer - pursue a purified heart! And a purified heart is a forgiving heart!
Application -
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
And when you do, you will pray unstoppable prayers to God!
Review - You Must Pray Faith-Filled, Mountain Moving Prayers to God!
You Must Be a Believer in God
You Must Pray Boldly and With The Right Motives
You Must Have a Forgiving Heart
Conclusion
Friends, I want to be a part of a forward moving, God please, praying God’s power down from heaven Kind of Church.
I want to be a part of a church that boldly prays “Faith-filled, Mountain Moving Prayers to God.
I want to be a part of a church that is powerfully accomplishing great things for His kingdom.
Do you as well?
The we need to do the hard work of Prayer both as individuals and as a corporate body.
And when we do, watch out for what God will accomplish through us.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Connection Group Reflection Questions