Christian Living II Lecture 4

Lecture 4 Christian Living II

Thursday, January 23

“Prayer and Obedience”-E.M. Bounds

How many of you love Jesus?

How many have ever tried to pray when you know that you’ve been disobedient to God?

How much liberty did you find when you knew that you had been obedient?

Was it easier to pray when you had been obedient?

What is obedience?

“It is doing God’s will: it is keeping His commandments. How many of the commandments constitute obedience? To keep half of them, and to break the other half—is that real obedience?” ~Bounds

Obedience is “a surrendering of one’s own will in order to do the will of God.”

But not just that—obedience is also a trust that God’s intentions for my life are best.

Much has been said about obedience:

Henry Giles “No principle is more noble, as there is none more holy, than that of a true obedience.”

William Ewart Gladstone “There is one proposition in which the whole matter, as it is relevant to human duty, may be summed up; that all our works, alike inward and outward (character and conduct), great and small, ought to be done in obedience to God.”

“Obedience to God is the most infallible evidence of sincere and supreme love to Him.” ~Nathanael Edmonds

Even Jesus emphasized obedience when He told the disciples in John14:15- “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” In other words, if you love Jesus, you will obey His commandments!

Sometimes, we almost have the mentality that we can love JESUS on one side, and yet, do what WE want to do over on the other side. But it doesn’t work that way!

Bounds “Love delights to obey, and please whom it loves!”

If you have a desire to pray well, then you must learn how to obey well.

If you have a desire to learn to pray effectively, then you must first learn to do God’s will effectively.

“Obedient men have always been the closest to God.” ~Bounds

“The absence of an obedient life makes prayer an empty performance.” ~Bounds

The Book of James tells us that the “....fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

A righteous man is an obedient man, and he it is, who can pray effectually, who can accomplish great things when he brings himself to his knees in prayer.

What we see thru this, is that if you and I are going t pray effectively, then we must pray with our heart in complete obedience to God.

“Prayer and the Word of God”-E.M. Bounds

The Word of God is the fulcrum upon which the lever of prayer is placed, and by which things are mightily moved.”~Bounds

The Word of God is an immovable object to which we may cling in times of distress and peril. It remains constant in a world that is filled with chaos.

Psalm 119:89- “For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.”

The Word of God gives us promises to which we may hold onto in prayer. It gives us hope and faith in a hopeless and a faithless world.

If you need:

Peace- John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Wisdom- James 1:5

Healing- Isaiah 53:5

Salvation- Romans 10:13

Whatever it is that you find yourself in need of, it can be found in the Word of God and through His Word coupled with prayer, you both claim and receive the promises found there.

The Word of God is made effectual and operative by the process and practice of prayer. (Bounds)

If God’s Word is lodged in our heart, it will form an outflowing current of prayer.

Bounds - The absence of vital force in praying can be traced to an absence of a constant supply of God’s Word.

Doing God’s will, and having His Word abiding in us, is an imperative of effectual praying.

May God grant us a fresh hunger for His Word!

Chapter 2-“Praise-The Act of Divine Adoration”

What better authority on praise than the Psalms!

Psalm 7:17a- I will praise the Lord, according to his righteousness.

Psalm 9:1- I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works.

Psalm 33:1- Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

Psalm 34:1- I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Praise is a common theme throughout the Word of God. (216 verses deal with praise)

It’s important that we acknowledge WHO God is in our prayer.

Illustration: If you and somebody you know meet in Walmart, and yet, they walk right by you and never acknowledge you or say hello or anything, how are you going to feel? You’re going to feel disrespected.

How much more should we acknowledge an Almighty Creator? It is not only respect, but it is reverence.

We should have a “holy awe’ when we come into His presence.

Many times, all our prayer time consists of, is what we want Him to do for us.

Too many times in our prayer time, we treat God like a McDonald’s employee working the drive-thru.

We pull up, give them our order, and drive on.

And if we’re not careful, we will spend the majority of our time giving God our orders.

Result = unhealthy prayer time

As holiness people, we have shied away from praise a little bit, due to the foolishness of the Charismatic Movement.

We have allowed their example to pull us away from giving God the praise that He is more than worthy of.

Praise is not all there is to prayer, but it is an integral part that must not be left out!

If we do not praise, if we do not worship, it is not “cool”, but rather, it is “cold”.

When God’s presence is evidencing itself, there ought to be something inside of you that wants to reach out to Him, and if there isn’t, then it’s time to pray through.

Forget about the opinions of your peers; God’s opinion is far more important!

Psalms 50:23a Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:

He is worthy of praise anytime, anywhere, and in any situation.

Even Christ in Matt. 6:9 told us that we ought to start our prayer with praise—“Our Father which art in heaven, HALLOWED BE THEY NAME.”

“Hallowed”— in the Greek, means “to revere or to sanctify; to set apart”

With this in mind, it only makes sense that we should take a period of time during our prayer time in which we recognize WHO GOD IS.

This is not to remind God of this fact, cause He already knows, but rather to remind and encourage ourselves of WHO He is.

Do you know WHO it is you’re praying to?

God the Father

Elohim: used 2,570 times in the Word of God and refers to God’s power and might (Gen 1:1)

Elyon: The Strongest Strong One (Gen 14:17-20)

Olam- the everlasting God (Is. 40:28-31)

Jehovah- God’s most common name (6,823 times); means Self-Existent One, the God of the convenant

Do you really know WHO it is that you’re praying to?

God the Son

Advocate (I John 2:1)

Beginning and Ending (Rev. 1:8)

Captain of Salvation (Heb 2:10)

Deliverer (Rom. 11:26)

Great High Priest (Heb 4:14)

Lamb of God (John 1:29)

Do you really know WHO it is that you’re praying to?

God the Holy Ghost

Third Person of the Godhead

The Spirit of God

The Breath of God

The Paraclete, or “Helper”

The Spirit of Truth

The Comforter

The Promise of the Father

(Sermon I preached 2/10/22 at Mount Zion Tabernacle Silver Springs NY)

I. What is Praise?

A. It is vocal adoration of God.

1. Adoration is the act of rendering divine honor, esteem, and love.

2. It is derived from the ancient expression that meant 'to apply the hand to the mouth' or 'to kiss the hand'.

3. It certain countries the kiss of the hand is still a symbol of deep respect and submission.

B. The act of vocal adoration is important because it implies that we acknowledge God as God.

1. Ps. 63:3, "Because thy loving kind- ness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee."

2. Only praise puts God in His rightful position at the very outset of our praying.

3. In praising Him we declare His sovereignty and recognize His nature and power.

C. Praise is important because it is unselfish.

1. The worship of God demands that our focus be shifted from ourselves to God.

2. Too often we go to prayer with only thoughts of what we want and what we need even when we are praying for others!

3. Praise shifts our thoughts from "God I want" to "God you are".

D. Praise is important because it will bring us into the presence of God.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

2. The context of these verses concern the dedication of Solomon's temple.

3. When the temple was completed, Solomon brought in all of the various pieces of furniture, including the ark of the covenant, but something was still missing! The presence of God!

4. However, when they began to sing praises unto God the presence of the Lord filled the place!

5. Psalm 22:3, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel."

II. How to Praise God in Prayer.

A. Praise Him for His name.

Psalm 115:1, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake."

1. Throughout the Old Testament we are given various names for God which point to some attribute or character.

2. In the New Testament we find that His name is the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Someone once said, "If you want to get in good with God, just brag on His Son!"

B. Praise God for His righteousness.

Psalm 35:28, "And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of they praise all the day long."

2. The word 'righteous' means meeting the standards of what is right and just.

3. God does more than meet certain standards...He is the standard!

C. Praise God for His infinite creation.

Psalm 150:2, "Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness."

2. That means there is no limit for our praise to Him.

3. Our praise can be something different every time we pray!

D. Praise God for His Word.

Psalm 56:10, "In God will I praise His word: in the Lord will I praise His word."

2. An excellent outline for praising God for His word is found in Ps. 19:7-9

Psalms 19:7-9 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

3. We glorify God and His Word when we use His word to praise Him!

The possibilities for praise stretch beyond the limits of our imagination. Because God has no limit, our praise is limitless. We need to be careful not to get in a hurry and rush past the time of praise in our prayers. We need to allow God to reveal new themes of worship as we praise Him.