May 1, 2022 - Prayer (May Sermon Series)
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As we’ve been talking about the past several weeks/months, for the month of May, we will be walking through some topics that I believe are beneficial to stabilizing the church...
The topics of:
Prayer
Water Baptism
Giving
Discipleship
Missions
And hopefully - - as we walk through them - we’ll hear the CALL-TO-ACTION when needed...
Maybe - a call to move
Maybe - a call to change
Either way - we’ll finish up the book of Galatians following the month of May.
Our first topic that we’ll focus on in this short series - is PRAYER
I DON’T think it would be an OVERSTATEMENT to say - that Prayer is probably the most UNDERRATED and NEGLECTED aspect of Christianity...
…which I think - would point to it being one of the most misunderstood aspects of Christianity...
Seems weird to say - because I think most people would reply to THAT by saying - What??
Its not that complicated...
You just pray...
BUT DO WE?
So let’s take a closer look...
The first aspect of PRAYER that we’re going to look at - - is that it is - INDEED - a Privilege!
SLIDE: What is Prayer? A Privilege Bought With Blood
What is Prayer?
What is Prayer?
*How often do we hear about Professional Athletes RUINING their careers because of:
drugs
violence
etc…?
We hear about it a lot - One of our own - Josh Gordon**
And what we often say is - He doesn’t understand that playing in the NFL is a PRIVILEGE - NOT A RIGHT!
Well - when we come to this topic of PRAYER - we have to understand that it’s a PRIVILEGE!
AND - that this privilege was bought with BLOOD!
Back in the OT times, within the Holy Temple in Jerusalem...
..there were different areas/courts...
SLIDE: Temple Pic
You had the outer court… where people could mingle...
Then you had the inner courtyard....or the Priests Court - where sacrifices could be made...
And then you had the Holy Place....a separate structure that housed the Altar of Incense...
A Table of Showbread...
And then what was called - the Holy of Holies...
It was the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt…BUT...
…as you can see - there was a giant VEIL that separated where men dwelt, from where God dwelt...
NOW - let’s keep looking at this…and I’m going to READ through Hebrews 9:1-8…
It’s going to describe what we’re seeing here...
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.
2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.
3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,
4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,
7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing
So - we see that the Temple was constructed the way that it was - for a REASON...
And the High Priest was only allowed to pass through the curtain - ONCE A YEAR… to make atonement for sins...
WHAT DOES THE CURTAIN represent?
It represents SIN....in that SIN is what SEPARATES us from God...
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
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.
The VEIL in the Temple - represented the SIN of mankind…in that it SEPARATES us from God...
And ONLY the High Priest was allowed to go through the VEIL (once a year)…to atone for SINS...
So now - let’s look at what happened when Christ died on the cross...
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Notice how it tore...
from TOP - to - Bottom
ONLY God could have done this...
This veil, by all estimates, was about 60 feet tall...
And when Christ died…the BARRIER of SIN was now REMOVED....FOR WHO?
For all who would BELIEVE!!
So BEFORE - where in the Old Testament - the high priest needed to CONTINUOUSLY make sacrifices for sins...
we KNOW based on the fact that this had to be done YEAR after YEAR...
…that it was just a TEMPORARY atonement...
Hebrews 10 speaks to this...
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
And here’s where Christ comes in to play...
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Jesus Christ - purchased US with His blood!
He was our SACRIFICE - ONCE for ALL…and when He died...
…what SEPARATED man from God (SIN) - that BARRIER fell - FOR ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE in Jesus!
We NOW had direct access to God!
Instead of needing to go thru the High Priest...
We NOW - had direct access OURSELVES!
And PRAYER is a PATHWAY - to God
And so - Understand the PRIVILEGE we have
We have God’s EAR (through PRAYER) - if we HAVE Jesus Christ as our SAVIOR!
Notice I said - IF we have Jesus Christ as our Savior!
This means - NOT EVERYONE has God’s ear...
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
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.
It’s saying here - that when SIN remains between you and God - He doesn’t LISTEN to your prayers...
God does not listen to - Unbelievers prayers
But like we saw BEFORE - When Christ died, the VEIL - TORE!
Sin is REMOVED between the - BELIEVER in Jesus Christ - and God the Father
WHICH means - if you trust in Christ and have been SAVED - you have God’s EAR in prayer...
What a Privilege that is!!
PRAY - Can we pray now - and THANK God for this amazing privilege we have?
Go before Him now - and just THANK Him that He LISTENS to you…!
Pray now...
Prayer is a privilege....
And BECAUSE this PRIVILEGE is based on FAITH…(HAVING God’s ear in prayer)...
INDIVIDUAL Faith in Jesus Christ…!
That means… (not only a Privilege)
SLIDE: What is Prayer? Personal Communion with God
What is Prayer?
What is Prayer?
As Christians we MUST not forget - God wants to hear from - YOU!
God CREATED PRAYER to be a means that we use to - GLORIFY Him! - and NOT JUST corporately!
But in many DIFFERENT - PERSONAL ways...
SLIDE:
God created prayer as a means by which we can enjoy Him
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
God IS - the epitome of JOY…it’s FULLNESS in His right hand...
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Prayer helps us to TAP INTO that JOY....
NOW - think of how POWERFUL that joy really is!
think of the Crucifixion…think of the pain…the suffering...
Listen to a Physicians take on the Crucifixion:
The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.
At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood.
The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement.
The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.
As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath.
Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins -- a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. One remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”
It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air.
The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper, “It is finished.” His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.
With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
Did Jesus know - beforehand - the pain that was coming?
He did! - And yet...
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
PRAYER taps us into THIS JOY...
THIS - pain enduring, suffering enduring - JOY…!
Wow - what a blessing PRAYER IS for us!! - - It’s a means by which we can ENJOY God...
But what else?
God not only created prayer as a means by which we would enjoy Him...
But...
SLIDE:
God created prayer as a means by which we confess our sin
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So PRAYER - is the vehicle we use to CONFESS OUR SINS to God...
we DO NOT confess our sins - BY DOING GOOD THINGS for God!
we DO NOT confess our sins - and receive forgiveness - by speaking them TO A PRIEST...
LISTEN - PRAYER to GOD - is the MEANS by which we - CONFESS our sins...
BUT - what about those who are Christians - and pray - but who do NOT confess their sins…?
We struggle with this do we not?
We find ourselves in situations where we’re OPENLY embracing sin...
Even justifying sin…and yet in and through that - we PRAY for God’s blessing!
But what does God say in His word...
15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
There are those who think that they can LIVE their lives HOWEVER they please...
in REBELLION against God’s instruction...
And God says - even their PRAYERS are an abomination!
And so know this:
SLIDE:
Not all prayers are created equal
Just because we PRAY - doesn’t mean God is listening...
BUT - for those pursuing Him in His word...
...What a BLESSING Prayer is for us! - It’s the vehicle we use to CONFESS our sins...
But that’s not all...
Not only did God create PRAYER as a means by which:
we enjoy Him
we confess our sin
BUT...
SLIDE:
God created prayer as a means by which we ask Him to meet our needs…and the needs of others
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
God says - PRAY to Me - and I will DELIVER YOU!!
Now - again - does this mean - God’s saying - I WILL PHYSICALLY DELIVER you!!! all the time!???
NO - “Deliver you” here means - I will BE your SATISFACTION - so that you can RESPOND to life like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego..
These guys were about to get tossed into a FURNACE…burned alive…and they SAID this...
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
These men end up SURVIVING the fiery furnace, because God saved them physically...
BUT - even if they had burned… God DELIVERED them!
Their SATISFACTION was ROOTED in God - not their physical lives...
and THEREFORE - God delivered them…!
They had BEEN delivered by God - because NOW - in their hearts and minds - God was ULTIMATE…not their physical lives...
PRAYER is designed by God that yes - we can ask that our needs be met…AND the needs of others
BUT - all the while, PRAYER is ABUSED - when it is used to BRING IDOLS before the LORD...
SO - when we PRAY to God - and we ask Him according to our own SELFISH desires…God will NOT hear our prayers...
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
So just an example - Let’s say you own a VERY OLD CAR...
…and it’s on the brink of going ka-put
…and so - you start praying for a LARGE SUV - and in your prayer you’re telling God that if He gives you this LARGE SUV, that you’ll use it for driving poor kids to school and driving kids in the community to church...
…BUT - in reality you don’t really intend to do those things…**
SEE - The point we’re making here is true (prayer is a means by which we ask God to meet our needs AND the needs of others)...
BUT - Ultimately - if our motives are right, GOD will stay ULTIMATE in our affections AS we make our REQUESTS known!
So YES - God designed PRAYER to be used as a means by which we ask Him to meet our needs…AND - - the needs of others...
HOW COOL is it - that we can ASK God to ALSO meet the needs of others?
Paul experienced this very thing!
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
Paul here - Praying for other’s salvation
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,
Here Paul asking others to pray FOR HIM...
7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.
And to solidify this idea of PRAYING for the needs of others...
11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
Prayer helps us MEET our needs and the needs of others...
BUT UNDERSTAND - PRAYER is NOT designed for ANYTHING to become a GREATER NEED than God Himself!
I hear people say or post all the time - “God is first”...
But then they live in such a way that it’s clear that the world is their IDOL…!
Anything that is DESIRED more in our lives that Christ Himself - is an IDOL!
And so we need to always - BE ON GUARD - that we continue to PUT to death what is earthly IN US.
So far....we’ve seen....
Yes - God created PRAYER as a means by which...
we enjoy Him
we confess our sins
we ask Him to meet our needs and the needs of others
But it’s also...
SLIDE:
God created prayer to be a means by which we align our wills with His.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
We know from our Bible Study that this verse is POPULAR for being MISAPPLIED!
In context we know that these WORDS are being spoken to - - EXILES...
That God IN JUDGMENT - sent His people into EXILE...
70 years will go by....it will be a struggle!
BUT what will HELP bring them back? (verse 12)
PRAYER!
Prayer helps us ALIGN OUR wills - to God’s WILL for us!
And it seems here that God USES Prayer - as a means by which we REALIGN our wills to - HIS
We see Jesus provide an example for us!
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
This here, I believe is one of the most neglected PRAYERS that we make as Christians...
I think we’re really good at making REQUESTS known to God...
whatever it is...
health (*In Florida this week - on a plane - prayed for the pilots… :) )
wealth
prosperity
We’re good at asking for these things...
But asking that OUR WILL in life - line up with His will for us?
Do we truly ask God - “Lord - help me do what You want me to do today!”
“Wherever You want me, SEND me!”
“…and HELP me LISTEN and OBEY”
Think of the circumstances surrounding Jesus when He prayed this prayer!
“If you are willing, REMOVE this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but YOURS...”
**What are you walking through RIGHT now?
What suffering do you see UP AHEAD?
PRAY - Can we go before Him now and ASK HIM that OUR wills would be ALIGNED with His will for us?
That His will would BECOME our desire?
Pray now....
SLIDE: Egyptian Christians
How many of these guys on their knees PRAYED the same prayer you think....but LEFT off the last part of the prayer...
… No doubt they were praying “REMOVE this CUP FROM ME!!!”
You think any of them finished the prayer - “Nevertheless NOT MY WILL, but YOURS!”??
PRAYER provides us with the OPPORTUNITY to finish the prayer - “Nevertheless, not MY will, but YOURS”
We need to KNOW...
SLIDE:
The safest place to be, regardless of the circumstance, is walking in the will of God for your life.
And PRAYER - is a means by which we can ALIGN our will with God’s will for us.
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
*Maybe you’ve been praying for a NEW JOB...
…but maybe it’s God’s WILL that you stay where you’re at - so that you can reach your co-workers for His sake…and theirs...
It may seem like God doesn’t listen...
But in reality - you’re WALKING where God wants you...
OR - you’ve been WANTING a new job...
BUT you HAVEN’T sought the Lord in prayer about it...
…and He’s just WAITING for you to do so - So He can bless you in it...
*Something I need to work on - Being CONFIDENT in the Lord...
*I’ll desire something - and I’ll pray about it, that God would make it happen...
…but then I’ll make comments like this - “Yeah....i doubt it will happen”
I need help in this!
something I personally struggle with...
BUT THIS IS WHAT PRAYER IS!
It’s a RESPONSE to God for all that He is for us in Jesus Christ!!
It’s not some word formula that we repeat at certain times and for certain events...
SUMMARY...
PRAYER IS...
A Privilege Bought With Blood
Personal Communion With God
God created PRAYER as a means by which...
we enjoy Him
we confess our sins
we ask Him to meet our needs and the needs of others
we align our will with His
This is PRAYER -
It’s something we can and should work at… AND I SAY WORK AT - because....
Jesus even gave us a sample prayer - Not to repeat mindlessly....but to help us understand the power and depth of prayer!
And so HEARING today - what PRAYER is - can we all - NOW - as we close...
take advantage of this privilege...
CAN WE LIVE OUT what we just walked thru?
…and lift Marian up to the Lord?
Can we use OUR PRIVILEGE to lift UP ANOTHER?
Marian can REALLY use prayer right now...
Let’s lift her up now...
Let’s pray