Participants:
Series Code: HCAU
Program Code: HCAU200011S
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00:11 And this is the record
00:13 that God hath given to us eternal life, 00:16 and this life is in His Son. 00:20 Welcome to 3ABN Australia Homecoming. 00:30 I'm really pleased that you could join us again 00:33 at our 3ABN Australia, Homecoming 2020. 00:36 And we're talking about preparing for eternity. 00:39 I think every one of us wants to be with Jesus 00:41 when He comes. 00:43 A big welcome to our audience. 00:45 And it's good to see 00:46 some new faces and to all our viewers 00:49 and those who are watching and listening, even on radio. 00:52 We welcome you to, to this program. 00:54 It's a special program today and we're going through 00:58 the book Steps to Christ. 01:01 And as I said earlier, there are 13 chapters 01:03 and we're very privileged to have 13 people 01:05 to come and talk to us on each one of these chapters. 01:09 Preparing for eternity means preparing 01:11 and walking with Jesus. 01:12 Now our previous speaker was Adrian Raethal, 01:17 and he spoke on Chapter 10, Our Knowledge of God. 01:21 And if you can recall, he talked about the universe 01:24 and how big it is and how big God really must be. 01:27 And he summarized his talking this way. 01:29 He says, number one, 01:30 God speaks to us through nature. 01:34 Number two, God speaks to us through 01:36 His providential workings. 01:38 Number three, God, speak to us through His Word. 01:42 And today we're very happy to have Charissa Torossian, 01:47 and most of you will remember her 01:48 as Charissa Fong, but you know, 01:50 there's something special here today 01:52 because we've got her teacher when she was in grade three 01:55 and she's going to grade her. 01:56 I don't know whether Charissa realizes that, 01:58 but I'm sure she will enjoy having her teacher here, 02:02 but before Charissa speaks 02:04 and she'll be covering Chapter 11, 02:07 The Privilege of Prayer. 02:08 It is really a privilege because God hears 02:11 and answers prayer. 02:12 And before she does, we have Diane Hope 02:15 and I'm really pleased to have my daughter-in-law. 02:18 She will be singing for us, Walking with Jesus. 02:22 Thank you, Diane. 02:51 For most of my life 02:56 I didn't know about you 03:01 You walking right beside me 03:05 But then your love shone through 03:10 You've changed me from the inside 03:14 And I have never been the same 03:20 I'm covered in Christ righteousness 03:24 He has taken all my shame 03:31 Walking with You, Jesus 03:36 Is the best thing of all 03:41 You always there to pick me up 03:46 When I stumble or fall 03:51 And You're leading me to trust You more 03:55 As I grow in you each day 04:02 So take my hand, take my heart, 04:07 Take my all 04:27 Dear God as I journey 04:32 In this narrow way 04:36 Keep my eyes focused on you 04:41 And I can hear you say 04:46 Dear child walk with me 04:51 And we will make it through 04:56 For I have overcome this world 05:00 And I'll fight for you 05:07 Walking with You, Jesus 05:13 Is the best thing of all 05:18 You always there to pick me up 05:22 When I stumble or fall 05:27 And You're leading me to trust You more 05:32 As I grow in You each day 05:38 So take my hand, take my heart, 05:43 Take my all 05:49 Though I do not always see a thing 05:59 Though the road gets rough and I'm scared 06:09 May I walk by faith and not by sight 06:18 Knowing that Your Word is my light 06:29 Walking with You, Jesus 06:35 Is the best thing of all 06:40 I can't wait to be with You, Lord 06:45 When You come to take us home 06:49 So until I see You face to face 06:55 I'll walk with You each day 07:01 So take my hand, take my heart, 07:06 Take my all 07:11 Please take my hand, take my heart 07:19 Lead me home. 07:35 Amen. 07:36 Praise God for that beautiful message and song. 07:38 Thank you, Diane. 07:40 And we're going to carry on 07:43 in that theme together this morning 07:45 about walking with Jesus 07:47 and how we can have a relationship with Him. 07:49 And so, we're particularly going to focus on prayer, 07:52 The Privilege and the Power of Prayer. 07:55 And so I think we should pray before we go any further. 07:58 Let's pray. 08:00 Our loving Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, 08:02 for the privilege that it is 08:04 to be able to bow our heads and speak with You. 08:08 Lord, as we study this subject this morning, 08:11 we pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts, 08:14 to inspire us, to motivate us, to draw us closer to You. 08:19 And at the end of this time, may we sense that 08:21 we have been close with You 08:23 because we ask it in Jesus' name. 08:25 Amen. 08:27 If you have your Bibles, I invite you to come with me 08:29 to the opening text, which I have for us today. 08:33 And it's Psalm 77:13. 08:37 And Psalm 77:13. 08:39 It's a very brief verse, but the Bible says that 08:43 the Psalmist says, "Your way, 08:45 O God, is in the sanctuary." 08:49 Now the sanctuary was, of course, 08:51 this wonderful 3D teaching tool 08:54 designed by God to show us how His plan of salvation 08:59 for the human family works. 09:02 It's an ancient GPS of sorts. 09:05 It shows us how to come to Jesus, 09:07 stay with Jesus and be ready for Jesus 09:10 when He comes. 09:12 And, of course, if we cast our minds 09:14 back to that ancient sanctuary, 09:16 we would remember that 09:17 the only way to enter it was through the gate, 09:19 which brought you into the courtyard. 09:21 And then as you carried on through the courtyard, 09:24 you would pass the altar of sacrifice, 09:26 which was, of course, 09:27 pointing to the cross of Christ, 09:29 where He sacrificed Himself for us. 09:32 Then there was also the laver, 09:35 which is also a symbol of the washing of baptism 09:38 that comes when we commit our life to Jesus. 09:40 And then we would enter into the Holy Place, 09:44 the first department of that ancient sanctuary. 09:47 And there were three articles of furniture 09:50 in that first apartment. 09:52 There was, of course, the table of showbread, 09:54 which reminds us that God's Word 09:57 is the bread of life. 09:59 By feeding upon God's Word, 10:01 we are sustained and our faith is strengthened. 10:04 Directly opposite this on the south 10:07 was the seven-branched candlestick. 10:11 The basis of light of which was the oil 10:14 pointing us to the Holy Spirit 10:15 and also of our witness for Jesus in this world. 10:19 It is, as our hearts are ignited 10:21 by the Holy Spirit that we are able to go 10:24 and live for Jesus and be the light in the world 10:27 because He is the light of the world. 10:29 And then right in front of us, 10:31 as we entered into this first apartment 10:34 would be the altar of incense. 10:37 And according to Revelation 8:3, 10:40 this represents the prayers of the saints, 10:44 which ascend to heaven with this mingled, 10:47 with the sweet merits of Christ's righteousness. 10:50 That's very beautiful. 10:52 These three things, prayer, Bible study, and witnessing, 10:57 sharing our faith. 10:58 These are the means by which our walk 11:00 with Jesus is daily sustained, 11:03 but I don't know if you've ever stopped 11:04 to think about this. 11:06 At least it's just struck me a fresh 11:08 as I was preparing for this presentation, 11:11 that right in front of the altar of incense, 11:14 on the other side of that veil 11:17 was the Most Holy Place 11:19 where it was located the Ark of the Covenant. 11:22 And on top of that Ark of the Covenant was a lid 11:24 with two cherubim on it. 11:26 And that lid was called the mercy seat. 11:30 It was symbolic of the throne of God. 11:34 Now think about the placement here 11:36 for just a moment because the altar of incense 11:39 was right in front of this sacred chest, 11:42 right in front of the throne of God so to speak. 11:46 Friends, nothing brings us closer to God than prayer. 11:51 Amen? 11:53 Nothing brings us close to God than prayer. 11:54 In fact, I don't know if you've been watching 11:56 some of these beautiful graphics behind us 11:58 here of outer space, 12:00 but Sir Isaac Newton once said that 12:02 he could take his telescope 12:04 and he could look millions of kilometers out into space, 12:08 but then he added this and I'll read my notes. 12:10 He said, "When I lay it aside, I go to my room, 12:14 shut the door and get on my knees 12:16 in earnest prayer. 12:17 I see more of heaven 12:19 and feel closer to the Lord than 12:21 if I were assisted 12:22 by all the telescopes on earth." 12:25 Nothing brings us closer to God than does prayer. 12:30 Think about it. 12:31 Our Lord is only a prayer away. 12:34 Through prayer, we are brought into connection 12:37 with the mind of Christ. 12:38 And as we go through 12:40 this beautiful book Steps to Christ, 12:42 we find that prayer 12:43 is the opening of the heart to God 12:45 as to not his secretary, not his email inbox, 12:49 but as the opening of the heart to God, 12:52 as to a friend. 12:53 I quote from page 97, 12:55 she says, "Unceasing prayer 12:58 is the unbroken union of the soul with God. 13:01 So that life from God flows into our life 13:05 and from our life purity and holiness flow back to God." 13:11 And when we look at the life of Jesus, 13:12 we see that the secret of spiritual power in His life 13:16 was found in prayer. 13:18 It's an amazing thing. 13:20 Jesus lived His life 13:21 between the mountain and the multitude. 13:25 Over and over again the gospel writers tell us that 13:28 Christ withdrew from the multitude 13:31 to pray on a mountainside. 13:33 If you've never known what it is to kneel 13:36 where no human voice can be heard, 13:39 where beneath the tree 13:41 or in the silent starlight or moonlight, 13:43 you can look up and open your heart out to God, 13:46 out to God in prayer. 13:48 If you have never experienced what this is like, 13:51 then you have missed something that words cannot describe, 13:55 something that every child of God 13:58 should know by experience. 14:00 You see our Lord, He prayed early in the morning 14:05 so that no one could interrupt His communion with the Lord, 14:09 with His heavenly Father. 14:10 He wanted to be undisturbed. 14:12 In fact, I go to Mark Chapter 1, 14:14 just one example. 14:16 Mark 1:35, the Bible says, "Now in the morning, 14:22 having risen a long while before daylight, 14:26 He that is Jesus, went out 14:27 and departed to a solitary place, 14:30 and there He prayed." 14:33 Not only did He get up early in the morning to pray, 14:36 but the Bible tells us that 14:37 He often prayed all through the night as well. 14:41 I come over to Luke Chapter 6 and I read verse 12. 14:47 Luke 6:12, the Bible says, 14:50 "Now it came to pass in those days 14:53 that he went out to the mountain to pray, 14:56 and continued all night in prayer to God." 15:01 You look at the life of Jesus. 15:02 And it's something amazing to recognize that 15:05 a night of prayer 15:06 proceeded the ordination of the apostles. 15:09 It also proceeded the Sermon on the Mount. 15:12 It even proceeded the Mount of Transfiguration, 15:16 and it proceeded Calvary, the events that happened there. 15:21 Have you ever prayed all night through? 15:24 It's quite an experience, 15:26 but if there's one thing it teaches you, 15:28 it taught me this that you need to depend on God 15:31 because you are weak and you need His strength. 15:36 Jesus prayed and because He prayed, 15:38 He succeeded where the disciples failed 15:41 because He prayed. 15:43 Jesus could stand unmoved in Pilate's judgment hall 15:47 because He prayed Calvary happened. 15:50 Calvary would not have happened 15:51 had Christ not agonized and struggled 15:54 and gained the victory in prayer in Gethsemane. 15:58 And so every step of His life, 16:00 we find it was prepared for and bathed in prayer. 16:05 Even at His baptism in Luke 3:21-22, 16:10 the Bible says, "That as Jesus prayed, 16:14 the Holy Spirit descended on Him 16:17 as in the form of a dove and the heavens opened." 16:19 That happened as He prayed. 16:22 In fact, before every great achievement in ministry, 16:25 He prayed and after 16:27 every great achievement in ministry, 16:29 He was praying too. 16:31 I was thinking about that last night. 16:33 And I was thinking to myself, you know, I'm good at praying 16:35 before there's a big thing that I have to do for the Lord. 16:39 But how often do I go back 16:41 and spend time thanking Him for what He did 16:44 when He has done something through me. 16:47 Before He ate Jesus prayed. 16:50 And it seems that the busier 16:51 He became in ministry, the more He prayed. 16:55 Spurgeon actually said this. 16:57 He said, "Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray." 17:00 That is a great mistake, 17:02 for praying is a saving of time. 17:06 For all of us time efficient people out there, 17:08 this is a wonderful thing because we have smart TVs, 17:12 smart phones, smart fridges. 17:14 You can even have a smart vacuum. 17:15 I just discovered I'm a bit behind there, 17:17 but you can turn the vacuum on 17:19 and it vacuums your house for you 17:20 and you don't have to touch it. 17:21 We've got all of these times saving things, 17:24 but the greatest time saver of all is prayer. 17:29 R. A. Torrey said, "We are too busy to pray 17:31 and so we are too busy to have power. 17:34 We have a great deal of activity, 17:36 but we accomplish a little, many services, 17:39 but few conversions, 17:40 much machinery, but few results." 17:43 Question. 17:44 Are you too busy to pray? 17:46 Or are you too busy not to pray? 17:50 Jesus prayed briefly when He was with the multitude, 17:54 He would pray a little longer when He was with His disciples. 17:58 And sometimes as we've shared already, 18:00 He'd pray all night when He was on his own. 18:02 We tend to reverse that order sometimes. 18:06 Jesus prayed for Himself. 18:08 He prayed for individuals. 18:10 He told Peter He had prayed for him. 18:12 He prayed for His disciples as a group. 18:14 And He prayed for His enemies. 18:16 Really, when we think about it, 18:18 nothing makes us love someone so much 18:20 as when we are praying for them. 18:23 If you're struggling to love somebody, 18:25 pray for them. 18:27 Through prayer and fasting, He overcame temptation. 18:30 Through prayer He wrought miracles. 18:32 Through prayer He glorified God. 18:34 Through prayer He completed the work 18:37 that the Father gave Him to do. 18:39 His life of prayer even closed with prayer. 18:44 And here is a quotation from Steps to Christ, 93. 18:47 She says, He is our example in all things, prayer included. 18:52 "He's our example in all things, 18:54 His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege." 18:59 And if the Savior of men, the Son of God 19:02 felt the need of prayer, 19:04 how much more should feeble sinful mortals 19:08 feel the necessity of fervent constant prayer. 19:13 That challenges me. 19:15 If the Son of God needed prayer, 19:17 what about me, what about you? 19:20 John 15:7, 19:25 these are the words of Jesus. 19:27 He says, "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, 19:31 you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you." 19:36 There's just a few things I like to pull out of this text 19:39 because nothing is discussed more 19:41 and practiced less than 19:42 the subject that we're talking about, prayer. 19:44 We talk a lot about prayer, but not often pray. 19:47 The measure of any Christian is their prayer life. 19:52 According to what we've just read here. 19:54 If we are abiding in Christ, 19:56 we will pray as Spurgeon said, 19:59 "as stars shine so do abiders pray. 20:03 When we abide in Christ, we will pray." 20:05 Not only that, 20:07 but if we are abiding in Christ, 20:08 we will sense our need to pray. 20:12 You see the more we pray, suddenly we feel dissatisfied 20:15 with what we can do. 20:17 Suddenly we feel dissatisfied with our own strength 20:20 and we recognize our need for total dependence upon God. 20:25 The very posture of prayer. 20:28 When I kneel and I ask God for strength, 20:30 it says that I need help outside of myself. 20:35 If we are abiding in Christ, 20:37 and if we are abiding in His Word, 20:39 reading that Word, believing that Word, 20:42 then He tells us that we will pray 20:45 in accordance with His will and He will answer our prayers. 20:50 Amen? 20:52 Now, there are some conditions to powerful prayer, 20:56 and this is brought out 20:57 in the chapter in Steps to Christ. 20:59 I encourage you to read it 21:00 if you haven't already, but just some of the quotes 21:03 that I'll bring out, 21:04 they're just sentences here and there. 21:06 On page 95, she says 21:08 "One of the first of these that is conditions is that 21:11 we feel our need of help from Him." 21:15 Then she says, and she goes on. 21:17 She says, "If we regard iniquity in our hearts, 21:20 if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us. 21:25 But the prayer of the penitent contrite soul 21:29 is always accepted." 21:31 Amen? That's good news. 21:33 The next condition. So we need to feel our need. 21:36 We must be penitent and contrite before God humble. 21:40 But the next condition 21:42 is we must approach Him with faith. 21:44 The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, 21:47 "That he that comes to God must believe that He is. 21:51 And that he is a rewarder of them 21:53 that diligently seek Him." 21:56 God, doesn't always answer our prayers the way we expect, 22:01 but He knows what is best. 22:03 And He knows what is good for us. 22:05 We can trust Him on that. 22:07 Prayer may not get us what we want, 22:10 but it will teach us to want what we need. 22:13 She goes on. 22:15 And she says in page 97, 22:17 "If we expect our own prayers to be heard, 22:20 we must forgive others in the same manner 22:24 and to the same extent as we hope to be forgiven." 22:28 Wow, that's a powerful one. 22:30 She also goes on to say, "That perseverance in prayer 22:35 has been made a condition of receiving." 22:38 When it comes to prayer don't hang up, 22:41 hang on, hang on to God's promises. 22:44 I don't know if you've ever watched 22:46 somebody trying to, a stone cutter 22:49 trying to make stones break. 22:52 He might hit that stone a hundred times 22:55 and you won't see the slightest crack in it, 22:57 but on the hundred and first strike it'll crack. 23:00 Wasn't that one blow that did it? 23:03 It was all of them together. 23:05 So we must pray, pray, pray, 23:07 tarry at God's promises until He meets us there. 23:11 She says on page 98, 23:12 "That we should seek every opportunity 23:15 where prayer is want to be made." 23:17 We should be looking for prayer meetings 23:19 that we can join. 23:20 We should be looking for people 23:22 that we can pray with 23:24 because it's a privilege to pray. 23:26 And on page 98, she also says, 23:29 "That we should pray in the family circle 23:32 and above all we must not neglect 23:34 secret prayer, 23:36 for this is the life of the soul." 23:39 I like how someone said it. 23:40 The secret to prayer is secret prayer, 23:43 nice and simple. 23:45 Where we speak with God and He speaks back to us. 23:49 It is a two way conversation. 23:51 We must also take time to listen 23:54 to what God has to say. 23:55 And as I look at my Bible, I recognize that 23:58 every faithful follower of God 24:01 who experienced 24:02 the power of God in their lives, 24:04 they experienced this 24:06 because they had a powerful prayer life. 24:09 I'm just going to list some of them here 24:11 to remind us what the Bible says. 24:13 But the Bible says that Enoch walked 24:16 and talked with God for 300 years. 24:20 That's 109,000 days at least. 24:25 He talked with God for 300 years, 24:27 so much so that God loved his company 24:30 and He walked him into heaven. 24:31 That's an amazing story. 24:34 Then there was Noah. 24:35 Noah had a prayer life, didn't he? 24:38 When you look at the life of Noah, 24:40 God talked to him a lot. 24:42 God gave him instructions before the flood. 24:45 And then He made a covenant with Noah after the flood. 24:50 And whatever God told him to do in prayer, 24:53 whenever He was speaking with him, 24:54 we find that Noah always responded with obedience. 24:58 That's the closeness of their relationship. 25:01 Wherever Abraham went, the Bible says 25:04 he built an altar and called upon the Lord. 25:09 Isn't that beautiful? 25:10 He prayed and Lot's family was spared from Sodom. 25:14 He prayed and Abimelech's wife was healed. 25:19 In fact, if I look at the Book of James, 25:21 there's a very beautiful verse here in James Chapter 2. 25:26 James 2:23, it simply says, 25:30 "The Scripture was fulfilled 25:32 which says, 'Abraham believed God, 25:35 and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' 25:38 And he was called the friend of God.'" 25:44 You don't call someone a friend, 25:47 unless there is a level of intimate communication 25:50 between you. 25:52 And Abraham was a friend of God. 25:54 He was someone that he exposed his heart to God. 25:58 He exposed his wants, his fears, 26:00 his thoughts to the Lord and God shared with him 26:03 how He felt and His thoughts. 26:06 And it was a beautiful friendship 26:08 that they shared. 26:09 Then, of course, there was Moses, wow, 26:12 Moses for 40 days 26:14 he was on a mountain alone with God. 26:17 That's six weeks. 26:19 That puts it in a different perspective. 26:21 For six weeks, 26:22 Moses delighted in the unveiled, 26:25 the comparable glory, 26:28 rapturous glory of God's presence. 26:31 And when he came down from that mountain, 26:33 the Bible says his face shone. 26:36 That's how it affected him. 26:38 He loved God's presence so much, 26:40 he didn't want to leave God's presence. 26:43 In fact, in Exodus 33:11, the Bible says, 26:48 "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face 26:51 as a man speaks to his friend." 26:54 There's a common theme there. 26:56 Friendship with God comes through speaking with Him 26:59 and listening to Him in prayer. 27:01 Friends, when you pray, 27:03 does God's goodness captivate you 27:06 as it did Moses, he just couldn't leave. 27:08 Wouldn't, didn't want to leave God's presence. 27:11 Do you listen for God's voice speaking back to you 27:15 when you pray? 27:16 You see in every difficulty that 27:18 Moses encountered on his journey 27:20 to the Promised Land, 27:21 we find him turning to God and asking for help. 27:25 And that should be also our experience. 27:28 Joshua, there's another man of prayer. 27:31 Joshua prayed, and the sun, the Bible says, stood still. 27:36 I read to you from Patriarchs and Prophets. 27:38 She says, "The man who commanded the sun, 27:41 stand thou still upon Gideon and thou moon 27:44 in the Valley of Aijalon is the man 27:47 who for hours lay prostrate upon the earth in prayer, 27:51 in the camp of Gilgal. 27:53 The men of prayer are men of power." 27:57 That's powerful. 27:59 Not only that, 28:00 but because Esther had knelt before God, 28:02 she was able to stand before the king. 28:05 The same goes for Daniel, 28:06 because he knelt before God, 28:08 he could stand before Nebuchadnezzar. 28:11 In fact, Daniel loved prayer so much 28:15 that when king Darius made a decree that 28:18 no one should pray to any God 28:20 except the king for 30 days 28:22 or else they would be thrown into a lions' den. 28:25 What does Daniel do? 28:27 He prays anyway, 28:28 because he preferred to spend a night in 28:32 with the lions than miss a day in prayer. 28:35 That's how important prayer is. 28:38 If you're in James still, James 5:17 says this, 28:44 "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, 28:48 and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. 28:51 And it did not rain on the land 28:53 for three years and six months." 28:56 Elijah stood alone before the king 28:59 and the whole nation. 29:00 He was a man who prayed 29:02 and his prayer affected the whole nation. 29:05 It even changed God 29:07 in answer to his prayer changed weather patterns. 29:09 That's amazing. 29:10 And yet the Bible is careful to highlight for us 29:15 that he wasn't different to us. 29:17 He wasn't made from some different material. 29:19 He was just like us 29:21 because there is no power in us. 29:24 The power is in God. 29:27 And when we pray for God's will to be done, 29:30 for God's name to be glorified for His honor to be vindicated, 29:35 we are praying as Elijah prayed. 29:38 Truly, prayer is a powerful privilege. 29:42 It is the highest use to which our speech can be put to. 29:48 I like what a lady once, 29:50 she came to a preacher and ask them. 29:52 I only take, well, she told the preacher, 29:54 I only take big things to God in prayer. 29:57 I don't take the little things to God. 29:58 I want to bother Him with those things. 30:01 And he smiled and he said anything 30:02 you take to God is little 30:05 because you can bring everything to God, 30:07 because even the big things to you, 30:10 they are little to God. 30:11 You won't burden Him by opening to your heart, 30:15 opening your heart to Him and sharing what is big to you. 30:19 There is a beautiful quotation in Steps to Christ. 30:22 And I read from page 100. 30:25 She says, "Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, 30:29 your cares and your fears before God, 30:32 you cannot burden Him. 30:34 You cannot weary him. 30:36 He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent 30:38 to the wants of His children. 30:40 Take everything that perplexes the mind. 30:43 Nothing is too great for Him to bear for He holds up worlds. 30:48 He rules over the affairs of the universe. 30:51 Nothing that in any way concerns our peace 30:54 is too small for Him to notice." 30:57 There is no chapter in our experience 30:59 too dark for Him to read. 31:02 There is no perplexity too difficult 31:04 for Him to unravel. 31:06 That is one of the many gems I had to pick one 31:08 and I didn't know where to cut that quite 31:10 because it's so good. 31:11 So I read you the whole thing. 31:13 Just recently 31:14 we have a Bible worker at our church 31:16 and he shared with us 31:17 how he went door knocking in our community. 31:20 And he offered prayer to the people 31:23 that he was door knocking. 31:24 And this one lady answered the door and she said, 31:27 "Well, you could pray for my daughter. 31:28 I'm very concerned about her. 31:30 She's not well." 31:32 So he said, "Sure, let me pray." 31:33 So he bowed his head and he prayed with her. 31:36 And as he walked away, the lady got a phone text 31:40 saying from her daughter, and it's saying, 31:42 "Mum, I've never felt better. 31:44 This is the best day, I'm having the best day. 31:46 Thank you. I just wanted to let you know." 31:48 And she was so thrilled with that, 31:51 that she came to our food pantry last Thursday 31:54 and went looking for this young man 31:56 who knocked on her door. 31:58 And she wanted to tell him that God had answered his prayer. 32:01 And so he was so happy, you know, 32:03 we shared with her some things. 32:05 And then before she left, she said to him, 32:08 "Oh, could you pray for something else?" 32:10 So she hands, she tells him another prayer request. 32:13 And our Bible worker bows his head right then. 32:15 And he says, "Let's pray." 32:16 He starts praying 32:18 and I was watching from a distance. 32:19 She did not take her eyes off him. 32:22 Her eyes were glued to him. 32:24 She was watching everything he did 32:25 because she believed that 32:27 this young man had a direct connection with God. 32:32 And, I walked her to her car afterwards and I told her, 32:35 I said, "Well, you must be a lady 32:37 who believes in the power of prayer." 32:39 She said, "All my life I believed in prayer." 32:41 She said, "Whenever I lose something, 32:44 I pray to St. Anthony to help me find it." 32:46 And so, it was just a wonderful connection 32:50 that she has, 32:51 that God answered her prayer and that prayer 32:53 on her behalf of her daughter. 32:55 So we can bring anything to God in prayer. 32:59 And there are many wonderful Christian people 33:02 throughout history who have believed this, 33:05 tested it and found God to be true. 33:08 George Whitfield 33:09 learned the secret of powerful prayer from Jesus. 33:12 He read the Bible, saw what Jesus did. 33:15 He saw that those that are faithful to God, 33:17 how they had this amazing prayer life. 33:19 Seven times, he traveled 33:22 from England to America, between 1738 and 1770. 33:27 And when Whitfield preached in America, 33:29 crowds of up to 30,000 people would come and hear him. 33:33 But guess what? 33:34 Before those meetings, he would spend hours 33:38 and sometimes entire nights in prayer 33:41 before he held those meetings, isn't that amazing? 33:44 Then if you go to London, 33:46 you can visit John Wesley's home. 33:49 And if you go into John Wesley's bedroom, 33:51 as you're coming out of it, 33:52 I believe there is a little room 33:54 directly opposite, 33:55 which was his prayer room. 33:57 In that room, the noise of the traffic ceases. 34:00 It's a very quiet little room, quiet space. 34:04 And in that room, there are two chairs, 34:06 a walnut desk, a Greek New Testament, 34:09 and a candle that sits upon it. 34:11 And if you go to that place, the guide will tell you that 34:15 this little prayer room 34:17 was the powerhouse of Methodism. 34:19 This is how the Methodist Church was born. 34:21 He says, "It was from this little place." 34:24 In fact, I was even excited to be 34:26 reading that in the Adventist home, 34:29 Mrs. White shares a little story, 34:31 how one day her children were wanting to do 34:34 some things with their friends and she didn't approve of it. 34:37 And so she called them to herself 34:39 and she explained to them that as their mother 34:42 she had a duty by God 34:45 to raise her children to be faithful to Him. 34:48 And so she wanted to explain to them, 34:50 why would it be dangerous for them to choose to do this? 34:54 She explained it to them 34:55 and they agreed that they wouldn't do it. 34:57 So you know what she did after that? 34:59 She spent a whole night in prayer. 35:03 Praying for God to work in their little lives 35:07 and for the spell of evil one to be broken. 35:09 I read to you what she says. 35:12 She says, "Although it costs me a night's labor, 35:15 yet I felt richly paid. 35:17 When my children would hang about my neck and say, 35:19 'Oh, mother, we are so glad that 35:21 you did not let us go when we wanted to.'" 35:24 She then adds this a couple of lines later, 35:27 "Parents, this is the way you must work." 35:30 Wow. Prayer just impacts everything. 35:33 It impacts the home. It impacts your private life. 35:36 It impacts your public life. 35:38 It's the secret of spiritual power. 35:41 And it was a secret of spiritual power 35:43 in the early church as well. 35:44 Just think about it. 35:46 The early church wasn't air conditioned. 35:49 It was prayer conditioned. 35:51 Amen? 35:52 Jesus' death on the cross had a tremendous impact 35:55 on His followers. 35:57 The disciples before the cross 35:58 were always fighting over who would be the greatest, 36:01 but after Calvary, 36:03 they humbly knelt together in prayer, 36:05 acknowledging that there was no one greater than God. 36:09 The cross radically changed their lives. 36:12 After the cross, we see them together in 36:14 an upper room for 10 days, praying, repenting, 36:18 committing their lives to sharing God's love 36:21 and to sharing the gospel. 36:22 And on the day of Pentecost, 36:25 Peter stands up and as he preaches, 36:27 he declares that 36:28 the words of Joel have been fulfilled. 36:30 And I'm going to go there. 36:32 Joel Chapter 2, 36:35 I just think this is a very important text. 36:37 Joel 2:23, and then I'll read verses 28 and 29. 36:42 The Bible says, "Be glad then, 36:45 you children of Zion, 36:46 and rejoice in the Lord your God, 36:49 for He has given you the former rain faithfully." 36:53 The King James says moderately. 36:56 "And he will cause the rain to come down for you, 36:58 the former rain and the latter rain 37:01 in the first month." 37:02 He goes on in verse 28, 37:04 "And it shall come to pass afterward 37:06 that I will pour out My Spirit, 37:08 God says, on all flesh, your sons and your daughters 37:11 shall prophesy. 37:13 Your old men shall dream dreams. 37:15 Your young men shall see visions. 37:17 And on My menservants and on my maidservants, 37:20 I will pour out My Spirit in those days." 37:24 On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted these words 37:28 and he believed that Pentecost was the fulfillment 37:31 of these prophetic words. 37:33 But when you think about it, 37:35 the early rain was just the softening of the ground 37:38 for the gospel seed to be planted. 37:40 And when you look at the Book of Acts, 37:42 we see what God did. 37:44 In the Book of Acts, we see 3,000 people 37:47 baptized in a day in Chapter 3. 37:49 In Chapter 4, there's another 37:51 5,000 added to that number. 37:54 And as you keep stepping throughout the book, 37:56 I went through in my Bible 37:57 and underlined every multitude 37:59 and every group of people that was added to the church, 38:02 the number swells and swells and swells. 38:05 In fact, this is just the early rain 38:07 and it's a book of miracles. 38:09 So it should be called the acts of the Holy Spirit 38:12 because it's the acts of God. 38:14 There were miracles 38:15 and angel told a man named Philip 38:18 to chase down a chariot. 38:20 And when he did, 38:22 he found an Ethiopian eunuch there, 38:24 reading the scroll of Isaiah. 38:26 He asked him, 38:27 "Do you understand what you're reading?" 38:29 The man said, "No, I don't." 38:30 So Philip gave him a sermon. 38:32 He shared with him the story of Jesus. 38:35 And at the end, the man was convicted. 38:37 The Holy Spirit moved in his heart 38:39 and he said, "I want it to be baptized." 38:41 So the chariot stopped. 38:43 He baptized him in the river. 38:45 And then the Bible says that just like that, 38:48 Philip was caught away to Azotus something like 38:50 8 to 10 kilometers away. 38:52 Isn't that amazing? This is all because of prayer. 38:56 This is the work of the Holy Spirit 38:58 when we're praying. 38:59 And by the end of this Book of Acts, 39:02 the number of believers is so big. 39:04 We don't even know how many there. 39:07 And it all began with 120 praying believers` 39:11 in an upper room. 39:13 The early evangelists were prangelists. 39:16 They were praying evangelists. 39:18 Prayer is never a substitute for action. 39:21 As we look at the Book of Acts, 39:22 we see that it is the stimulus to action. 39:27 And I think about this. 39:28 And then from the time of Acts right down to our time today, 39:31 there've been many revivals, some amazing revivals, 39:36 and they've all had one thing in common. 39:39 They all began from a prayer movement, 39:43 a recognition of our desperate need for God. 39:47 I think of Evan Roberts, 39:50 you know his story well, I'm sure. 39:52 Evan Roberts was a leading figure 39:54 of the Welsh revival in the early 1900s. 39:57 At the age of 13, he began to hunger for God 40:02 and pray for his country, Wales. 40:04 For 13 years, he prayed for revival in his country. 40:09 And to his understanding, he didn't seem to see 40:13 much of an answer to that prayer, 40:14 but he kept praying 40:16 because he was persisting in prayer. 40:18 He was praying for two things, 40:19 O God, fill me with Your Spirit. 40:22 And, O God, send a mighty revival. 40:25 And I think we could all adopt 40:27 those two prayer points in our own lives. 40:30 O Lord, please fill me with your Holy Spirit 40:32 and O Lord, send a revival. 40:36 At one point in his life, 40:37 he began praying for 100,000 souls. 40:42 Then he went throughout Wales, 40:43 preaching four things. 40:44 Number one, you must confess 40:46 any know sin to God 40:48 and make it right and right any wrong 40:50 that you have done to others. 40:52 Number two, he should put away any doubtful habit. 40:55 Number three, 40:57 you must obey the spirit promptly. 40:59 And number four, 41:00 you must confess your faith in Christ. 41:03 What was the impact of this revival 41:06 that began from prayer in this young man's life? 41:09 We can read about it. 41:11 I'm reading from a book called 41:12 Adventism Greatest Need, page 66. 41:15 If you want to look it up, 41:16 it's one of the best pages in the book. 41:18 This is what happened. 41:19 "The Spirit of God took hold of Wales by storm. 41:23 In five months, half a million people 41:25 became Christians. 41:27 Taverns went bankrupt for lack of patronage, 41:30 unwed pregnancies practically disappeared. 41:34 Judges were given white gloves, 41:36 not a case to try, no robberies, 41:38 no burglaries, no rapes, no murders, 41:41 no embezzlements. 41:42 So many coal miners 41:43 turned their lives over to Jesus 41:45 and stopped using foul language that the horses 41:48 in the mine slowed down production, 41:50 not what was being said to them 41:52 because they only understood swearing. 41:55 The revival spread 41:56 to all English speaking countries, 41:58 including African colonies and the Northern 42:01 and Central Europe, India, Japan, China, Korea, 42:06 Indonesia, and Latin America. 42:08 Its impact we have, may, sorry, 42:11 may have exceeded any known previous awakening in history. 42:15 In Wales, 42:16 one of every 10 citizen was converted. 42:19 That's amazing, isn't it? 42:22 But you know what? 42:23 That's an exciting revival, 42:25 but there's a greater one coming. 42:28 God's end time people will be a people 42:30 who are passionate and earnest in prayer. 42:35 Today with the tanking economy, 42:37 natural disasters, moral meltdown in society, 42:41 could it be that COVID-19 is becoming a catalyst 42:45 towards prophecy's great 42:46 and predicted final awakening, the final revival. 42:51 Because you see the secret 42:52 of spiritual power hasn't changed. 42:54 The secret of spiritual power remains the same 42:57 and it's going to be the same for us 43:00 God's people at the end of time. 43:02 They've been over 2000 years of sowing. 43:05 Since the early rain 43:06 was poured out on the day of Pentecost, 43:08 the world is going to be ripe for revival 43:12 before Jesus comes back. 43:13 And I believe it is ripe today. 43:16 There is a greater rain coming. 43:17 It's called the latter rain. 43:19 God gave, remember the former rain 43:22 moderately he says, 43:24 but the latter rain, this, there's another Pentecost 43:27 coming with 10 times the power. 43:30 And as the world grows darker, 43:32 God's truth is going to shine brighter. 43:35 In Revelation 18:1 speaks of this time, 43:40 the Bible says, and I read it to you and says, 43:44 "And after these things, I saw another angel 43:46 coming down from heaven, having great authority. 43:50 And the earth was illuminated 43:53 with his glory to meet the final crisis, 43:57 the final hour of human history, 44:00 God is going to pour out an abundance of His Spirit 44:04 in latter rain power." 44:06 Revivals like this have always 44:09 begun with prayer throughout history. 44:10 Why would it be any different at the end of time? 44:14 The earth will be lit up with the character of God. 44:17 The gospel is going to spread like wildfire. 44:21 The three angels' messages are going to stir 44:24 the hearts of millions of people 44:26 everywhere as they respond to Jesus. 44:29 And I have to make this point, it's slightly chasing a rabbit, 44:31 but I just think 44:33 it's an important point to make. 44:34 Some people are uncomfortable 44:36 with the preaching of the three angels' messages 44:39 because they feel it is a negative message. 44:43 But you need to remember that on the day of Pentecost, 44:46 part of the spirit filled, 44:48 powerful preaching 44:49 that Peter did included making the multitude 44:53 aware of the fact that they had been deceived 44:56 by the priests and rulers of the day 44:58 as to the true identity of Jesus Christ. 45:02 The Bible says that all true freedom 45:04 is found in Him. 45:06 And if that is the case in the second angel's message, 45:10 it addresses the planet that is bound in lies 45:13 and deception 45:15 that has been spun by Satan himself. 45:18 And God says there's no safety in this. 45:20 That is why we must proclaim this message with its fullness. 45:24 Even if you don't think 45:25 it's a nice thing to tell people 45:27 that Babylon is fallen, it's the truth. 45:30 And there is no safety in Babylon. 45:32 You see, this world is not a playground. 45:34 As Christians we are not part of 45:36 some never ending picnic. 45:38 When we accepted Jesus, we took a stand for Him. 45:42 We joined Him in the greatest battle 45:44 that has ever been fought. 45:46 And from which all other battles stem 45:48 it's called the great controversy. 45:51 But in this battle, we can be assured that 45:54 God's truth and God's message. 45:57 God Himself will triumph. 46:00 His work isn't going to flicker 46:02 and go out like a candle and you just blow it out. 46:05 No, it's going to be an amazing climax 46:09 to what God has been doing throughout human history. 46:12 As Andrew Murray once said, 46:13 "The men who mobilizes the Christian Church to pray 46:17 will make the greatest contribution 46:19 to world evangelization in history." 46:22 Why? 46:23 Because we can't do evangelism unless we pray. 46:26 The two must go hand in hand. 46:28 Only God can change hearts. 46:30 Only God can grow the little seeds of truth 46:32 that have been planted in people's lives. 46:35 One day soon, we're going to see 46:37 this harvest just come to life before our eyes. 46:41 It's a very exciting thing. 46:43 Thousands will share the gospel and thousands will respond. 46:48 I want to know. 46:49 I want you to know that I am seeing 46:51 what God is doing in my own life, 46:53 in my own community. 46:55 And it makes me very excited about 46:57 what is ahead. 46:59 The greatest days are just before us. 47:02 I want to share with you a couple of stories. 47:04 Ten years ago, there was a man named Peter 47:07 who's, who was a meter reader. 47:10 And one day as he was going around 47:12 reading people's water meters, 47:14 he met a man who struck up a conversation with him. 47:17 And 10 years ago, 47:19 this man handed him a little book. 47:21 A book, I believe it was the Great Controversy. 47:24 He read that book years later, was so convicted by that book. 47:28 He went actually and found out ABC 47:30 and started buying other books because he liked the author. 47:33 He read all of those books. 47:35 He started listening to Faith FM, 47:37 and when COVID hit, my husband gets a phone call 47:40 and he says, "Hi, my name is Peter 47:43 and I'm just wondering, can I be baptized?" 47:46 And my husband says, "Well, praise the Lord. 47:48 Yes, we'd love to do that. 47:50 Maybe we could meet and have some Bible studies 47:52 together sometime." 47:53 And you know what he said to him, no, mate. 47:55 He said, "Look, I've read it all. 47:57 I know it all already." He's read everything. 48:00 He has no hang-ups with anything. 48:02 That's the Holy Spirit. 48:04 And I believe that that story 48:06 is just a little foretaste of all the books 48:10 and all the tracts and all the literature 48:13 that has been shared. 48:14 They're just little seeds. 48:16 And the Holy Spirit is working in people's hearts 48:18 and he will draw them to discover truth 48:21 as they read them. 48:23 I have another friend, a lady who I met 48:25 at our food pantry and I've been praying for her. 48:28 I've been trying to share 48:30 the three angels' messages with her. 48:32 And right when we got to sharing some testing truth, 48:36 guess what happened? 48:37 I got a text message saying unfortunately 48:39 I can't do studies anymore. 48:41 I'm too busy. My heart was cut. 48:44 I was so upset, but I prayed. 48:46 I prayed and I prayed and I prayed for my friend. 48:49 Couple of weeks later, I get a text from her, 48:51 Charissa, wonderful news. 48:53 Something wonderful happened in my life. 48:54 She shared what it was. 48:56 Then she says in a text, 48:58 maybe we can start Bible studies again. 49:01 She says, "I know you've been praying for me." 49:04 Amen? 49:06 Like I was, I just couldn't stop 49:08 jumping around the house. 49:09 I was so excited because I knew that 49:11 that was an answer to prayer. 49:13 In fact, just recently 49:15 we had an evangelistic series online. 49:19 When COVID hit, we had to change everything. 49:21 Just like we've changed the 3ABN Homecoming, 49:23 and praise God, we've not stopped. 49:25 We still have this opportunity to gather together like this. 49:29 But when COVID hit, we couldn't do evangelism 49:32 in the same way. 49:33 And so the team at the conference got together 49:35 and they said, you know what? 49:36 We can't gather with people anymore. 49:38 So let's take the message online. 49:41 We put the message online on YouTube and social media. 49:45 And there was a man 49:47 who was watching this in Queensland. 49:49 He somehow got connected with it via YouTube. 49:52 And he started watching the presentations. 49:55 And when he heard the truth about the Sabbath, 49:58 he turned off his computer 50:00 and he knelt down in his room and he prayed. 50:04 And he said, "God, if this is true, 50:06 then I want to follow it. 50:07 I want to keep Your seventh day Sabbath." 50:10 He made a commitment. 50:12 He sent in a request to be baptized. 50:14 I called him and I discovered that 50:17 this man has already been keeping the Sabbath. 50:20 He was actually, when I called him, 50:21 he was getting his house ready for Sabbath. 50:24 He's been watching things on YouTube, 50:27 like the Holy Spirit has been leading him. 50:29 And guess what? 50:31 Just a couple of weeks ago, the beginning of this month, 50:33 Robert committed himself to Jesus 50:36 in the waters of baptism in our church, 50:38 up in Logan Reserve. 50:39 That's the power of the Holy Spirit. 50:41 And I don't know if there's somebody 50:43 that is watching this, 50:44 even this Homecoming presentation 50:46 and this series, 50:47 you've been watching these programs on 3ABN 50:49 and you feel in your heart 50:51 a desire to respond to Jesus. 50:53 That's the Holy Spirit that is speaking to you. 50:56 God is drawing you to come 50:58 and make a full commitment to Him. 51:00 Don't hesitate. 51:02 Reach out, let them know, let us know via the website, 51:05 contact us because Jesus is coming soon. 51:09 There's so many stories that I could tell you, 51:12 but I do need to wrap up in just a moment. 51:14 You see, if revival depended upon your prayers, 51:20 would we ever experience the revival 51:23 that we are looking forward to? 51:25 The definition they say of insanity 51:28 is doing the same thing 51:29 over and over and over and over again 51:31 and expecting different results. 51:33 We get out what we put in. 51:36 We have little prayer, we get little power. 51:38 If we have much prayer, we receive much power. 51:42 If you are a stranger to prayer, 51:43 you are a stranger to power because a prayerless Christian 51:47 is a powerless Christian. 51:50 I still remember being very excited, 51:53 going to the UK. 51:55 And I hopped on one of those two story buses. 51:57 And we went around all the sights of London 52:00 and I got to Buckingham Palace, and I got off the bus there. 52:04 That was one of the only places 52:05 I got off the bus because I was alone. 52:07 So I got off the bus and I took photos. 52:10 And with all my heart, 52:11 I just wanted the queen to come out 52:13 and stand on the balcony and wave. 52:14 I just wanted to see her. 52:17 When I think about prayer, 52:18 I think that this is such an incredible privilege. 52:21 I don't have to wait for God to be 52:24 able to make an appointment with him. 52:27 I can get on my knees and I can talk to God anytime, 52:30 anyplace and have a private audience 52:32 with the King of the universe. 52:36 When I think about when we get to heaven, 52:39 I think we're going to realize 52:41 when we get to heaven, 52:42 when we look back on this life 52:44 and everything that happened, 52:45 we're going to see that prayer achieved so much. 52:50 And we're going to wonder why we didn't pray more. 52:53 If heaven has regrets, 52:55 it will be that we didn't pray more. 52:58 That we didn't spend more time on our knees 53:00 that we didn't take more of the opportunity 53:03 to speak with Jesus in prayer. 53:06 Now is a time for us to redeem the time 53:09 and to live with no regrets. 53:11 Revival will not come unless we seek Him 53:15 personally for ourselves. 53:18 Someone once asked their pastor how to start a revival. 53:21 And his answer is very simple, and I'd like to finish with it. 53:25 He answered, "Go home, lock yourself in your room, 53:29 kneel down in the middle of your floor 53:31 and draw a circle around yourself 53:33 with a piece of chalk. 53:35 And then pray while you're inside 53:37 that chalk mark, that God would send 53:39 a revival beginning in that chalk mark. 53:42 And after you sense, the Holy Spirit light a fire 53:45 in your heart, 53:46 that is the beginning of revival, 53:48 then pray and go forth, share this with others." 53:52 More than ever before, 53:53 it is time for us to be intentional 53:56 and deliberate in seeking God in prayer. 53:59 I want to ask you, would you like to commit 54:01 to seeking God in prayer with all your hearts 54:04 more and more as we see the day approaching. 54:07 Let's pray. 54:09 Our loving Father in heaven, 54:10 I just thank You so much for prayer. 54:13 What a privilege it is that we can speak with You, 54:17 that our prayers are heard by the living God. 54:20 Lord, as we bow, we just pray that 54:22 You would bless each one that was here today. 54:25 And also bless those that will view this message 54:27 later on the various platforms that they will view it on. 54:31 Lord, may You begin a revival in each of our hearts 54:34 so that this revival can spread like wildfire. 54:38 The gospel can go and that Jesus can come. 54:40 And one day soon when He come, 54:42 we will not need to pray with our eyes closed anymore 54:45 because we will see You face to face. 54:47 And the walk that we have begun with you 54:49 in this life will continue on and on and on and on 54:52 until eternity. 54:54 We love You, Lord. 54:55 And we thank You for hearing our prayer 54:56 in Jesus' name. 54:58 Amen. |
Revised 2021-05-06