Participants: C. A. Murray
Series Code: POF
Program Code: POF000023A
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00:24 Well hello and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center
00:28 right here in beautiful Thompsonville, Illinois 00:31 for the third part in our series of, Walk This Way, 00:35 as we continue in this message that is coming 00:39 to us from, Pillars of Faith. 00:41 So we want to encourage everyone of you to 00:44 get your Bibles, take notes, listen as Pastor Murray 00:47 brings you this third part in this series. 00:50 The first part in this series was, Stay This Way. 00:53 The second part was, The Wise Way. 00:56 Now this one tonight is, Pray This Way. 00:59 So all of these, he's showing us how to walk this way, 01:03 which is walking the way of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 01:06 You know, something I would like to encourage you to do 01:10 is to take the Scripture to heart that says, 01:13 "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word." 01:17 Get every one of these sermons, listen to them over and over. 01:21 Allow Christ to form Himself in you 01:24 as you listen to the anointed Word. 01:26 Pastor Murray has been with us now for 11 years. 01:29 We love him and we appreciate him. 01:32 He has studied to show himself approved. 01:35 And something that we all know is that Pastor Murray 01:38 is a true man of God. 01:39 So receive him now as he comes to present the 01:43 message tonight, Pray This Way. 01:46 Pastor Murray. 01:57 I'm very happy and very thankful once again 01:59 to be able to open up the Word as we look at the subject, 02:05 Pray This Way. 02:07 And I'm going to ask you to turn with me, if you will, 02:10 to the New Testament, 02:13 the book of James, for our consideration. 02:17 The book of James, James 5. 02:21 And we want to consider verse... 02:30 Let me just check. 02:31 I've got two or three I want to look at. 02:33 So let's look at James 5:16. 02:45 James 5:16 02:49 In fact, let's start with verse 15. 02:57 In fact, let's go all the way back to verse 13. 03:00 I think we'll do that. 03:01 Verse 13. So we're in James 5:13. 03:04 But before we open God's Word, let's pray 03:06 and talk with Him for just a moment. 03:07 Father God, we praise You and we thank You 03:12 for Your Word, the power of Your Word, 03:16 for the entrance of Your Word which brings light 03:21 to our lives and to our souls. 03:24 Bless our sitting here just now as we open Your Word. 03:30 Feed us from that Word, fill us with Your Spirit. 03:35 Fit us for heavenly habitation, we do pray. 03:40 And we thank You, mighty Father, in Jesus' name, amen. 03:46 I want to read this particular passage from the New King James, 03:53 then I want to read the same passage from The Clear Word 03:57 to give you just a different shade of understanding. 04:00 So I'm in James 5 and I'm beginning at verse 13. 04:05 Join me, if you will. 04:07 For the Bible says, "Is anyone among you suffering? 04:11 Let him pray. 04:13 Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 04:17 Is anyone among you sick? 04:20 Let him call for the elders of the church, 04:22 and let them pray over him, 04:26 anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 04:30 And the prayer of faith will heal the sick, 04:34 and the Lord will raise him up. 04:36 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." 04:42 Now I want to read that same passage from The Clear Word 04:48 paraphrase, which I enjoy reading so much 04:51 for inspirational purposes. 04:55 The Bible says, "Are you suffering? 05:00 Are you suffering misfortune? 05:02 Take it to the Lord in prayer. 05:10 He'll give you strength to get through it." 05:13 I like that. 05:15 "He'll give you strength to get through it." 05:17 Now you will note in this paraphrase that the author 05:21 doesn't say He will necessarily remove you from it, 05:26 take you out of it. 05:28 But you do have a guarantee that God, in answer to the 05:33 prayer of faith, will give you strength to get through it. 05:39 "Are you happy? 05:41 Sing about it and praise the Lord. 05:45 Are any of you sick? 05:48 Call the elders of the church and ask them to pray for you. 05:55 They'll anoint you with oil and call on the name of the Lord 05:59 to heal you. 06:02 If the Lord sees fit, this kind of prayer 06:07 offered in faith will heal the sick 06:11 and restore them to health." 06:13 Now you'll note the slight shade of difference here 06:17 as the Word is mined through The Clear Word. 06:20 "If the Lord sees fit..." 06:21 And God is always sovereign. 06:23 God can say yes, God can say no. 06:26 God can say, not now. 06:29 "But if the Lord sees fit, this kind of prayer 06:31 offered in faith will heal the sick 06:34 and restore them to health." 06:36 God does indeed answer the prayer of faith. 06:41 And so in Matthew 6 and in Luke 11, 06:47 both record a particular interlude that we want to 06:52 discuss a little bit today 06:54 between Christ and His disciples. 06:58 And their discussion centered on prayer. 07:04 I like a very important statement that one of my 07:07 favorite writers says. 07:09 She says, "Prayer is the key in the hand of faith 07:15 to unlock heaven's storehouse, 07:18 where are treasured the boundless 07:21 riches of Omnipotence." 07:23 Now that's a short saying that says so very much. 07:28 It says prayer is the key in the hand of faith. 07:32 So prayer and faith must go hand in hand. 07:38 And I'm going to give you a text in just a little bit 07:40 to reinforce that. 07:41 Prayer and faith unlocks the door. 07:47 Prayer without faith is not going to help you. 07:51 Faith without prayer is not going to do you much good. 07:56 They've got to go hand in hand. 07:58 You've got to believe in Him and you've got to talk to Him 08:02 if you want to get things from God. 08:05 "Prayer is the key in the hand of faith 08:09 to unlock heaven's storehouse..." 08:11 So if you want to get in and get the goodies, 08:14 and get what God has to offer you, 08:17 you need to pray, and you need to pray in faith. 08:22 "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God," 08:24 as Mollie said so rightly said some time ago. 08:28 You need to believe. 08:29 So Matthew and Luke both record this intimate discussion, 08:38 this little interlude, between Christ and His disciples. 08:42 You will find, interestingly enough, Christ did not 08:46 address His disciples directly many, many times. 08:51 He allowed them to glean from His discussions 08:55 with the public the truths that He wanted them to know. 08:59 There were times when He said things rather cryptically 09:02 in parables, and the disciples were asked to, or encouraged to, 09:08 take from that and make application. 09:10 But in this particular instance a question was asked, 09:14 and Christ took the time to answer that particular question. 09:19 And the subject was the subject of prayer. 09:21 Now what I like about everything in Jewish life, 09:28 there were always times when Christ had to, 09:35 how shall I say, demystify or de-mythologize. 09:42 You know, just about everything in Jewish life, 09:45 by the time of Jesus, had become enshrouded in 09:49 or darkened by man-made traditions. 09:53 Matthew talks about teaching for doctrine 09:56 the commandments of men. 09:57 Or teaching for commandments the doctrines of men. 10:01 And so everything that Christ had given for 10:03 the benefit of His people had been... 10:08 Oh, what's the word I can use? 10:10 ...had been clouded over by a lot of man-made tradition 10:14 that turned a lot of the freedom given by God 10:18 into bondage given by man. 10:22 So the sentiments expressed in the model prayer, 10:26 not necessarily the words, are what Christ gave to them 10:31 in answer to their particular query. 10:37 Prayer is a way of contacting God. 10:41 Prayer is a way of communing with God. 10:43 It is an essential discipline when it comes to 10:48 walking with Jesus. 10:52 So let's look at what inspiration says. 10:55 All that Christ had given was good. 11:01 And Jesus acknowledged that in Matthew 5:17. 11:05 This was true of this prayer that we're going to discuss. 11:10 And perhaps I should have you turn with me now, 11:11 even now to Matthew 21. 11:16 Matthew 21 11:20 And we'll use that as our entrance into 11:25 our discussion of prayer. 11:27 I'm in Matthew 21. 11:30 This prayer, this model prayer that we call, the Lord's prayer, 11:35 was really modeled on prayers that existed 11:41 since Old Testament time. 11:43 Prayers that had come from the rabbis 11:47 and Old Testament times. 11:48 People taught them to learn, recite and repeat these prayers. 11:54 But I need to say here parenthetically. 11:57 A repeated prayer or a learned prayer 12:00 or a ritual prayer doesn't really help you. 12:04 Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. 12:09 When you talk to God, you want to talk to God 12:13 as somebody who loves you and who knows you, 12:16 and who you know and love. 12:19 You don't want to just repeat words. 12:21 You don't want to just repeat phrases. 12:23 And one of the mistakes that the Old Testament rabbis 12:26 had made, and which we do sometimes, is you say a prayer. 12:31 There is a difference, brothers and sisters, 12:33 in saying a prayer and praying. 12:38 Saying a prayer is a ritual recitation 12:42 of a bunch of words. 12:44 But praying is talking to God as to a heavenly Father and Friend. 12:52 So in the Protestant dispensation or the 12:56 Protestant churches, we don't say a prayer. 12:59 We don't say a, "Hail Mary," or a prayer. 13:03 What we do is pray. 13:05 And there is a difference between saying a prayer 13:08 and praying. 13:10 Because praying is talking to God 13:12 like you're talking to a Friend. 13:15 So we don't recite prayers. 13:17 And I always get a little antsy when somebody says, 13:20 "Well, just say a prayer." 13:22 No, you don't just say a prayer. 13:23 Pray. 13:25 And you talk to God from your heart rather than 13:28 reciting formal words. 13:30 Even the Lord's prayer. 13:32 When God, when Jesus gave this model prayer 13:37 to His disciples, He wasn't saying, "Say these exact words." 13:43 He was trying to get them to understand 13:46 how a prayer was put together, and how to construct a prayer, 13:52 and how prayers are wont to be made. 14:02 He also tells us that if we have faith and do not doubt, 14:07 then our prayers become powerful and become acceptable 14:11 to a holy God. 14:15 So in a moment or two we're going to parse 14:17 the Lord's prayer and take a look at what the Lord has for us 14:24 in this particular prayer. 14:27 Praying in Jesus' name makes our prayers powerful 14:32 and takes advantage of the work of Christ in our lives 14:36 and the work that He is doing in the course of glory just now. 14:40 So by the time that Christ came, prayer had degenerated, 14:45 it had become opaque. 14:47 It had turned into personal liturgical, phraseology 14:51 which had no real meaning or heart. 14:54 They had nice sounding words, 14:56 but they lacked sincerity or spirit. 14:58 And one of the things Christ came to do when He talked 15:00 with His disciples was to tear down that mindset, 15:05 to tear down that mindset that you just say words. 15:09 What Christ wanted you to do was to pray, 15:13 not just say a prayer. 15:16 Because prayer is effectual communication 15:20 between God and man. 15:23 Jesus restored prayer to what heaven had intended it to be. 15:29 Jesus restored prayer to the communication between 15:34 God and man, and not just a bunch of words 15:36 that someone is saying in an obligation 15:39 or in a way to try to wrench something from God. 15:42 The Adventist commentary adds this 15:45 in talking about this prayer that we find in 15:49 Matthew 6, and we begin with verse 8. 15:54 But the Adventist commentary says this... 15:56 It has something very interesting to say. 15:58 It says, "The universal acceptance of the Lord's prayer 16:06 reflects the fact that it expresses more perfectly 16:11 than any other prayer the fundamental needs 16:15 of the human heart." 16:16 That's why God's prayer, the Lord's prayer, 16:19 the prayer that Jesus recited to the disciples, 16:22 was never intended to be something that you just say. 16:26 These words express the need of the human heart, 16:31 of the human soul. 16:32 And when we pray, that's what God wants from us. 16:35 He wants us to express the deepest needs of our heart 16:39 and our soul. 16:41 As long as it takes, as many words as it takes, 16:46 you break through to heaven and you talk to your Father. 16:49 And I guarantee you, your Father in heaven will talk back to you. 16:55 Christ then was addressing Himself in intimate terms 17:01 to the twelve charter members of the nation church. 17:10 They asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." 17:16 Now you would think that these men already knew how to pray. 17:20 No, they had been taught to say prayers. 17:24 Jesus now was teaching them how to open their hearts 17:29 to the Father in heaven and to pray in a new way, 17:35 saying, "When you pray, pray this way." 17:40 So go with me, if you will, to Matthew 6. 17:48 And while you're doing that, let me say this: 17:51 If James 5 is true, then Hebrews 11:6 must also be true. 17:56 And maybe we ought to just take a look at Hebrews 11:6. 18:00 Because this is a prayer prerequisite. 18:05 So I'm turning over with you to Hebrews 11 18:10 and we want to take a look at verse 6. 18:13 Hebrews 11:6 18:25 "But without faith," the Bible says, 18:28 "it is impossible to please Him..." 18:30 Now I want to stop there. 18:32 Because we read in James that fervent, effectual prayer 18:37 avails much with God. 18:40 So we're getting a little road map for prayer here. 18:44 One, prayer has to be fervent. 18:50 You've got to agonize with God for what you want. 18:53 Not just a casual something thrown up. 18:56 And let me say this also: 18:58 For those of you who have ever fallen asleep during prayer, 19:03 or had your mind wander during prayer, 19:10 prayer does not necessarily have to be the last thing 19:16 you do at night before you go to sleep. 19:22 Usually we wait till we're ready to go to bed. 19:28 Many of us get in bed and then pray. 19:33 And we offer up to God a bunch of words 19:39 that are the product of a tired mind that is ready 19:44 to go to sleep. 19:47 And I've had it happen to me before. 19:49 We use to tease each other when I was dating my wife, Irma. 19:52 We always talked in the evening before going to bed. 19:57 And usually the last part of the conversation 20:01 we took some time out for prayer. 20:03 And I can remember... 20:05 And I'm sort of talking out of school here, but it's the truth. 20:09 I can remember talking to Irma, and then praying with Irma, 20:15 and then getting to the, "Amen," 20:18 and hearing no corresponding, "Amen," from the other end. 20:24 Unusual for just silence on the phone. 20:28 And that was indication to me that Irma had sort of 20:34 left the building, as it were. 20:35 She had gone to sleep. 20:38 And if I tell the truth, there were one or two times 20:42 when she would pray, and I would sort of exit the conversation 20:47 before her prayer was over. 20:49 And she would say, "Amen," 20:51 and wait for the corresponding, "Amen," 20:54 from my side of the phone that never came. 20:57 So prayer does not necessarily have to be the last thing 21:02 you do before you go to bed. 21:04 Because usually when you go to bed, your mind is centered on 21:09 sleeping, not praying. 21:12 So what I invite people to do or encourage them to do 21:16 is to push your prayer up a little earlier in the evening. 21:21 Take a little time with the Lord before you jump in the bed 21:26 so that you can be awake and alert, 21:31 and you can spend some quality time with God. 21:34 Not time that is burdened by sleep 21:37 and your desire to get some rest. 21:39 You will find that your prayer life is sweeter, 21:44 you are more refreshed, and you're not so sleepy 21:49 that you can't concentrate on the Lord. 21:52 Number two, how many have ever had a thought 21:57 come into their mind while they're praying 21:59 that is unlike God or unlike your prayer? 22:02 Sometimes you pray, you say a statement, 22:05 your mind wanders, you come back, 22:06 you say the statement again, and you find yourself 22:08 struggling against your own mind to try to talk to God. 22:12 That is because your mind does not make hard right turns 22:16 or hard left turns. 22:17 Before you go to the Lord, you've got to divorce yourself 22:21 from the world a little bit and then open yourself up to God. 22:26 One good way to do that is to sing a hymn, 22:29 or sing a little song. 22:31 Or to spend a moment or two in praise to God. 22:34 And that ushers you out of the worldly mindset 22:37 and ushers you into the presence of God. 22:41 We've had that happen. 22:42 People who work right up to the edges of the Sabbath, 22:45 and then they try to open the Sabbath. 22:48 And those weekday thoughts, those six days of work thoughts, 22:52 encroach on the Sabbath hours because your mind hasn't had 22:56 any wind down time to separate itself from the Sabbath, 23:02 or from the world, and move into the Sabbath. 23:05 So before you go to the Lord, it's always good 23:08 to do some exercise that separates you from the world 23:13 or from your thought pattern so that when you come 23:16 before God, your mind is stayed on and focused on Him. 23:20 And a great way to do that is to praise Him 23:24 before you pray to Him. 23:25 Is to talk with Him in praise before you pray. 23:28 And also, praise before you make requests. 23:32 So many people make their prayers 23:34 basically a shopping list. 23:37 "Lord, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me. 23:40 Amen." 23:41 Well thank Him and praise Him. 23:43 And that will bring you into His presence. 23:45 Then you can ask for things. 23:47 But make sure you usher yourself into the presence of God. 23:50 Now it's just a little obiter dictum that I threw in here. 23:53 Not necessarily my notes. 23:54 But I know that many people, and I've heard it from people, 23:59 and I've wrestled with it myself, 24:01 struggle with talking to God and concentrating on God 24:07 and focusing on Him as we pray. 24:10 So we're in Hebrews 11:6. 24:12 Hebrews 11:6 24:15 The Bible says, "But without faith it is impossible 24:19 to please Him..." 24:20 So faith is a prerequisite to coming into the presence of God 24:26 and having the smile of God shine upon you. 24:29 "...for he who comes to God must believe that He is, 24:36 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 24:43 Now what is the Bible saying? 24:46 One, a prerequisite for having your prayers heard 24:51 and answered is the belief that God will hear 24:56 and answer your prayers. 25:00 God has got to know that you believe that when you 25:06 bow your knee and lift up your voice in prayer 25:10 that there is a God on the other end who is ready, 25:15 who is willing, and certainly able to answer your prayers. 25:20 So before you go to God, "he that cometh unto God 25:24 must believe that He is." 25:27 You've got to believe that God exists. 25:29 That there's somebody on the other end of that prayer 25:31 who can help you. 25:33 More than that, or certainly as much as that, 25:38 you've got to believe that "He is a rewarder 25:43 of those who diligently seek Him." 25:46 Now that's a mouthful. 25:47 What's it saying? 25:50 Got to believe that when you ask, He will answer. 25:57 There used to be an old ball player, I'm trying to think of 25:59 his name, when I was back in New York. 26:01 He use to play for the New York Mets. 26:04 I think it was Tug McGraw. 26:06 And his statement was, on the year that they won 26:09 the World Series, I think 1969 or so, 26:12 "You've got to believe." 26:14 And that was the statement that took them through 26:17 to the world championship of the World Series. 26:20 "You've got to believe." 26:21 Well, Paul is saying in the book of Hebrews the same thing. 26:24 "You've got to believe." 26:25 You've got to believe that when you come to God 26:28 He's going to listen, He's going to hear, He's going to answer. 26:30 And if you don't believe that, why go? 26:34 Why pray if you don't believe that someone's on the 26:38 other end of that prayer that wants to help you. 26:42 So a prerequisite to fervent effectual prayer 26:46 is the belief that God will answer fervent effectual prayer. 26:50 When you're lonely, when you're crying, 26:52 when you're on your knees, you've got to believe 26:55 that God is going to help you. 26:57 And God will indeed help you. 26:59 So you've got to "believe that He is, 27:03 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 27:08 Now let me parse that just a little bit. 27:12 You've got to believe that when you stick with God, 27:18 God will stick with you. 27:22 That when you agonize with God, that God respects the fervency, 27:28 the agony, the strength, the energy, the exigency, 27:34 call it what you will, that God respects everything you pour 27:38 into that prayer and will give you what you need 27:43 in answer to the energy, the urgency, the exigency, 27:47 of that prayer. 27:50 Not just a casual prayer, "Lord, help me. Amen." 27:55 That's a casual prayer. 27:56 When you really need something, you ask and you keep on asking. 28:01 When you really want something, 28:03 you request and you keep on requesting. 28:06 And so the Bible says God answers prayer 28:09 when you stick to it. 28:11 I'm so sad to see how many times people lose their blessing 28:15 or fall short of their blessing 28:16 simply because they don't stay with God. 28:18 We live in this world where everything comes quick 28:21 and you want to have it your way like Burger King, 28:23 and you want it fast. 28:24 And you want fast food and you want it quick. 28:26 So you pray some little motto prayer 28:29 and you figure, "Well, God heard it. 28:30 Or God already knows what I need. 28:32 That's enough." 28:33 But God says, "No, no, no, no. 28:34 You want a blessing? 28:36 Your fervency, your energy has to be in concert 28:39 with the blessing that you want." 28:41 If you want a blessing real bad, you need to pray real hard. 28:46 Um-hmm. 28:48 And if you want to get a big blessing, 28:51 you've got to pray a big prayer. 28:54 And you've got to exercise a lot of faith. 28:57 And you've got to stay with God. 29:00 You've got to "believe that He is, 29:02 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 29:10 Be diligent in your prayers. 29:13 Pray, and keep on praying. 29:15 I must admit, I have not done it lately, 29:20 but there was a time in my ministry, 29:22 particularly my pastoral ministry, 29:24 when I would spend all night or most of the night in prayer. 29:28 I'm not saying that to pat myself on the back. 29:30 Because the amount of time you spend in prayer 29:33 really is a consequence of the burden you have. 29:36 And if you want something real bad, you pray real hard. 29:39 And you also pray real long. 29:42 And I've done that. 29:44 I've sat myself in the chair and prayed, and prayed, and prayed 29:48 all night long. 29:50 And I've had other prayers, other nights where I prayed, 29:53 dosed off, got up and prayed, dosed off, got up and prayed, 29:56 dosed off, got up and prayed, but I never went to bed. 29:59 I sat in the chair all night long. 30:01 And I prayed for an hour and slept an hour, 30:04 and prayed for an hour and slept for an hour. 30:06 Some nights, prayed straight through. 30:09 But when you've got a burden on your heart 30:12 and you need something from God real bad, 30:15 you find that you pray real hard. 30:18 And the Bible says God answers diligent prayer. 30:23 That's the way to pray. 30:24 Pray this way. 30:26 Pray believing, pray in faith, pray diligently, 30:31 and stay with God, and He will answer your prayer. 30:36 "He that cometh must believe that He is, 30:39 and that He is a rewarder..." 30:43 Matthew 7 and Luke 11 both assert that the God we serve 30:52 is more willing, more willing, to give us good gifts 30:59 than human parents are to their own children. 31:04 And I like the way the Bible puts it. 31:06 "If we being evil give good gifts, how much more 31:16 is God willing to give good gifts to those who ask?" 31:21 You know, I enjoy giving gifts. 31:27 Most people do. 31:29 You know, you get the chance to play Santa Clause 31:32 at Christmas time, and you tell your young children that, 31:36 "There's no such thing as Santa Clause. 31:38 He's not real. 31:39 Daddy went in his pocket and paid for these gifts." 31:44 And you like to do that. 31:46 When we go home to my in-laws, Irma and I tend to 31:52 kid of pool our pennies so that we take some 31:54 gifts down to Panama. 31:56 And we really enjoy it. 31:58 One of the times we have... 32:00 And I'm taking a little side step here, but. 32:02 One of the times we really like... 32:04 See, in Panama they open their gifts, their Christmas gifts, 32:07 the night before. 32:09 Because Christmas day everybody goes to the beach. 32:12 So you have a big dinner, and it's usually pretty late. 32:16 Around about eight o'clock, everybody sits down to eat. 32:19 Which we know that's not good or healthy for them, but 32:21 it's only once a year. 32:23 Well twice a year, because they do it on New Year's Eve too. 32:25 But we sit down to eat, and about midnight 32:30 everybody opens their gifts. 32:32 And it is such fun to see the grand kids opening their gifts, 32:36 and to see the adults exchange gifts. 32:39 And you like to give good gifts. 32:41 And you really like when your gifts are appreciated. 32:45 You know, you give something and they say, 32:47 "Man, that's just what I needed. 32:50 So what we tend to do is we call my brother-in-law 32:53 and ask him what his wife would like, 32:55 and then we call my sister-in-law and ask 32:57 what her husband would like. 32:58 So we get just the right gifts. 33:00 Because you want your gifts to be perfect. 33:02 And of course, when you take a gift down to Panama, 33:04 you can't bring it back and exchange it. 33:06 That's the gift they're going to have. 33:07 So we like to give good gifts. 33:10 It makes you feel good to be able to give good gifts. 33:13 And Ellen White says in her writings, it's pleasant 33:16 to give a good gift to those that you love. 33:20 Well, if we being evil can get such joy out of giving gifts, 33:27 Matthew 7 and Luke 11 are saying, if we who are evil 33:33 like that kind of thing, just think how God feels, 33:38 who is righteous and holy and just, when we ask 33:42 and He, out of the abundance of heaven, 33:44 can give us good gifts that makes our hearts swell 33:49 in gratitude to the God who gave them. 33:52 So if you being evil can do good stuff, 33:56 then God who is righteous and holy can do even better stuff, 34:00 and really enjoys answering your prayers 34:03 and giving you good things. 34:06 And He who sacrificed His Son, the Bible says 34:09 He's not going to withhold anything good from you. 34:10 If He gave up Jesus for you, you can be assured 34:13 that He's going to give you what you need when you ask. 34:18 So the mindset here is that someone receiving 34:22 something good ought to be thankful to God, 34:25 and the recipient of the gift ought to draw closer to God, 34:30 because you realize and know that it was God who gave you 34:35 that good thing. 34:37 Jesus said, "Ask believing." 34:42 Prerequisite number two, faith is belief. 34:47 You've got to believe that God will do this for you, 34:51 and that He's willing. 34:54 You don't have to arm twist Him, 34:56 you don't have to beg as though you're trying to 35:00 wrench something from Him. 35:03 Just ask, and keep on asking, because you're asking a God 35:08 who is willing. 35:12 So let's take a moment and parse the Lord's prayer 35:17 as found in Matthew 6. 35:20 I want to go back to Matthew 6. 35:22 And in our closing moments together, 35:24 I've got a little time, we want to walk you through 35:27 the elements of the Lord's prayer. 35:31 Because the disciples asked Jesus... 35:34 You're in Matthew 6 with me. 35:36 And they asked Him... 35:42 I'm at verse 8, "Therefore do not be like them." 35:47 Now Christ is saying, "Don't get into this vain repetition stuff. 35:51 Just talk to Me. Don't get liturgical. 35:54 And don't do like the heathens do and figure you've got to just 35:57 go into a mantra or some transcendental state. 36:00 Just talk to Me and ask." 36:03 "In this manner, therefore, pray..." 36:06 In other words, I'm in verse 9, "In this manner, 36:09 therefore, pray," He's saying, "Pray this way." 36:14 So let's parse it. 36:16 Again I need to say that Jesus didn't say, 36:20 "Pray these exact words." 36:22 He didn't say, "Say these words." 36:25 He said, "Pray this way." 36:28 Which simply means, "What I'm going to give you now 36:31 is a template, is a model for your prayers." 36:35 You don't have to say these exact words. 36:37 And when we were young, we learned, 36:38 "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. 36:39 Thy kingdom come..." 36:41 We did that. 36:42 That's not what Christ is telling His disciples to do. 36:44 He didn't say, "Say these words." 36:46 He said, "Pray this way." 36:48 So what Christ is giving you now is a model prayer 36:53 along which lines you are to follow. 36:56 You don't have to say these exact words. 36:58 So let's parse this prayer for just a moment. 37:00 "Our Father which art in heaven..." 37:04 Why, "Our Father which art in heaven"? 37:06 Well, "Our Father," is giving recognition that we are 37:10 the children of a holy God. 37:12 And I know in modern days there's this idea 37:17 to think of God as, and even though the Bible says 37:19 call Him, "Abba," which is, "Daddy," 37:22 but it's still a term of respect. 37:25 God is not your homeboy. 37:28 He's not your buddy, He's not your sidekick, 37:33 He's not your street pal. 37:35 He's a holy God. 37:37 And although He is close and wants to be close, 37:41 and wants a Father-son or Father-daughter relationship, 37:44 let's never make the mistake and think that we're dealing 37:47 with one of our mates, or one of our buddies, 37:49 or one of our homeboys from the street. 37:52 You're dealing with a holy God. 37:54 And so addressing Him as, "Our Father," 37:57 is your way of saying to God, "I recognize who I am 38:03 and who You are. 38:05 You are holy, I am not. 38:08 You are righteous, I am not. 38:11 You have everything, I am nothing. 38:15 I am coming to You because You've summoned me. 38:18 And in response to Your call, here I am. 38:21 You are my Father." 38:23 Now, "Our Father who art in heaven..." 38:28 Well that's pretty simple. 38:30 He's in heaven... 38:32 ...and you're not. 38:34 So you're recognizing His exalted position. 38:41 You know, we say, "Our Father." 38:44 I really believe in my heart that He wouldn't be upset 38:46 if you said, "My Father." 38:48 In fact, I kind of think He'd like it. 38:50 A little less formal, a little more intimate. 38:53 And I know many people who, when they pray, 38:56 they say, "My Father." 38:58 Because He is your Father. 39:02 So when we come to heaven to God, heaven rejoices. 39:09 It's like the prodigal in Luke 15:21. 39:12 Isn't it interesting, I look at my own dad's life. 39:16 My father only gave his heart to the Lord 39:21 one month before he had a heart attack and died. 39:24 And my wife Irma's dad, he gave his heart to the Lord 39:30 one week before he had a heart attack and died. 39:34 But if you read the story of the prodigal there in Luke 15, 39:38 you will note that when the prodigal turned and came 39:44 to meet his dad, the father came running. 39:47 And isn't it wonderful to know that when you come to the Lord 39:51 in prayer, heaven stops everything 39:54 to listen to your petition. 39:56 And when you give your heart to the Lord, 39:57 regardless of how long you've run after the devil, 40:00 when you make that turn and come to the Lord, 40:03 praise God, heaven rejoices for one soul 40:08 that gives their heart to the Lord. 40:09 So when you pray, when you come to the Lord in prayer, 40:13 heaven rejoices and heaven bends a listening ear 40:17 to hear your prayer. 40:20 So, "Our Father which art in heaven..." 40:27 Heaven is His dwelling place. 40:30 And one day we will be there. 40:35 I need to add also while I'm thinking about it, 40:37 when you say, "Our Father who art in heaven," 40:39 it inspires reverence for God. 40:44 Ecclesiastes 5:2, maybe I'll take just a moment 40:47 and turn to that for a second. 40:49 Ecclesiastes 5:2 40:52 We'll find it in the Word. 40:58 I'm thinking... 41:02 Ecclesiastes 5:2 41:11 Looking at Ecclesiastes and thinking about Ephesus. 41:15 "Do not be rash with your mouth, 41:18 and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. 41:22 For God is in heaven, and you on the earth. 41:25 Therefore let your words be few." 41:30 What's being said here, what the wise-man is saying 41:33 is that, don't make a lot of promises and say a lot of things 41:37 and try to bargain with the Lord. 41:39 Because He's up there and you're down here. 41:42 You cannot make the sun shine or the rain come. 41:45 You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. 41:46 So don't throw a lot of promises to God. 41:49 "Lord, if You..." 41:50 And I've heard people and have done this. 41:51 "Lord, if You get me out of this fix, I promise You 41:54 I'll straighten up, I'll fly right." 41:56 I know a good friend that I grew up with, 41:59 every time he gets sent to jail, he gets converted. 42:02 And when he gets out of jail, he gets unconverted. 42:05 And he's always making promises to God. 42:07 "If you get me out of this fix, oh Lord, I'll take care of You. 42:11 I'll put You first in my life," until he gets out of the fix. 42:14 Then he forgets about the promises that he made to God. 42:16 So the wise-man Solomon is saying, 42:19 "Don't be rash with your mouth." 42:21 Don't try to bargain with God, don't try to dicker with God. 42:23 Don't try to pull some sort of fast one on God. 42:27 Let your words be few. 42:28 Don't let your mouth get you into trouble. 42:31 Just surrender to Him. 42:33 Ask for what you need. 42:34 And then, ladies and gentlemen, when you're finished praying, 42:38 stop talking and listen. 42:42 That's the part of prayer that so many people fail upon. 42:46 "Lord, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me." 42:51 And then you're gone. 42:53 And you never let God have a chance to talk to you. 42:57 Listening to God is as important as talking to God. 43:04 Spend some time in listening. 43:06 Because God has much to say that we need to hear. 43:10 So Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 5:2, 43:12 "Don't be rash with your words. 43:17 Because God is in heaven and you are on the earth." 43:21 "Our Father which art in heaven, 43:25 hallowed," or holy, "is Your name." 43:30 God is holy. 43:33 Never forget that even in the face of Abba, 43:37 you're dealing with a holy God. 43:39 "Holy is Your name." 43:44 In today's world names don't really mean too much. 43:48 It's kind of just a handle that you call people. 43:51 You get named after aunts and uncles. 43:54 You get named after different kinds of things. 43:57 People name their children some pretty strange names. 44:00 I am a junior; my father was Clement Augustus Murray. 44:03 I am Clement August King Murray, Jr. 44:07 You know, so names don't really carry that much weight. 44:11 It's just a name. 44:13 But in Bible times, names were intimately connected 44:17 with character. 44:19 When a parent saw a character trait in the child, 44:24 or perhaps a character trait that they hoped would exist 44:29 in that child, they associated the name with that identified 44:35 or perceived or anticipated or revealed character trait. 44:42 So God's name is holy. 44:47 "Holy is Your name." 44:50 God is holy in two ways. 44:52 He is holy, one, because of what He is. 44:56 He is holy. 44:59 He is holy, two, because of what He does. 45:03 He acts holy. 45:06 God is holy and He acts holy. 45:09 Now He is not holy because He acts that way. 45:14 He acts that way because He is that way. 45:19 So holy is God's name. 45:23 You recall in Exodus 34:5-7, the Bible says 45:29 God's name stands for His character. 45:30 Now I want to take a moment just to go to that. 45:32 Come back with me to the book of Exodus 34. 45:36 I like this. Exodus 34. 45:38 I'm in Exodus 33, and now we're in 34. 45:41 And we want to pick it up at verse 5. 45:44 The Word of God says, the Bible says, 45:46 "Now the LORD descended in the cloud 45:50 and stood with him," that is Moses, 45:53 and proclaimed the name of the LORD." 45:55 Proclaimed the name of the Lord. 45:57 So we get a little context here. 45:59 "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 46:02 'The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, 46:07 long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 46:12 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity 46:15 and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, 46:21 visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 46:23 and the children's children unto the third 46:26 and the fourth generation.'" 46:28 So God, in declaring who He was, in declaring the pedigree 46:35 of His name, said, "The LORD, merciful and gracious, 46:42 long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth..." 46:47 So God is worthy of praise. 46:51 God is holy because of what He is and what He does. 46:57 As a holy God, God can only be holy. 47:03 And He can only act holy. 47:06 And He can only relate to us in a holy way. 47:10 So when you ask God His name, what you're going to get is, 47:16 "...gracious, long suffering, abounding in goodness and truth, 47:23 and keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving 47:26 iniquity and transgression and sin..." 47:29 So why is God holy? 47:31 Because He acts holy. 47:34 Why does God act holy? 47:37 Because He is holy. 47:40 And so when we pray, we have to acknowledge 47:43 early on, early on, that we're dealing with a holy God. 47:48 Now you'll notice, everything that we've done so far 47:50 in this model prayer precedes asking for stuff. 47:56 So if your prayers are what we like to call, 47:59 shopping lists, then something is wrong. 48:04 Because it's not God's will that you just come and request. 48:09 Before you request, you've got to acknowledge 48:11 who God is and who you are. 48:14 You know, if you had a friend, and every time you saw that 48:17 friend his hand was out, after a while you'd start 48:23 trying to find someplace else to go. 48:25 If every time you saw your friend he's always 48:28 asking for stuff, after a while I doubt if 48:31 he'd be your closest friend. 48:33 Because every time you'd see him, you know, "Here he comes. 48:35 Here she comes. 48:37 She's going to ask me for something." 48:39 You know, if every time you see that person, they're borrowing 48:42 money from you and never paying back, 48:45 never saying thank you, after a while you're going to 48:47 get a little irritated. 48:50 Always asking for stuff. 48:52 Well God doesn't get irritated, because He's 48:54 too loving for that. 48:55 But if you want an intimate relationship with God, 48:58 you've got to spend a little time acknowledging who He is 49:03 and who you are before you start asking for stuff. 49:09 Pray this way. 49:11 "Our Father which art in heaven, halloweth, holy is Your name. 49:20 Thy kingdom come. 49:22 Thy will be done..." 49:24 Jesus came to bring entrance to the kingdom of heaven. 49:31 Revelation 11:15, "The kingdoms of this world will one day 49:36 become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ." 49:42 Jesus' message, the message preached by John, 49:48 is that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 49:53 And this is repeated in Matthew 3:2, Matthew 10:7 49:59 and Mark 1:15. 50:02 John came to preach, and Jesus came to affirm, 50:07 that you can participate in the joys of the 50:11 kingdom even now. 50:13 "Thy kingdom come." 50:15 And I submit to you, brothers and sisters, 50:17 that the kingdom comes the moment you get Jesus. 50:21 Now you may not get entrance into heaven at that point, 50:25 but you get entrance into heavenly realms 50:29 and into the heart of Jesus, and Jesus into your heart. 50:33 And so the kingdom of heaven visits you, 50:37 resides with you, when you accept Jesus into your life. 50:43 That's what John's message was, as the forerunner of Christ. 50:47 The kingdom of God is at hand in the presence of Jesus Christ. 50:53 So, "Thy kingdom come." 50:55 Not only is that a request for the second coming of Christ, 50:59 that's a request for Christ to come into your heart 51:01 and dwell there here and now. 51:05 And praise God, when we surrender ourselves 51:07 as a living sacrifice, as Romans 12:1 says, 51:11 we get Christ in all of his fullness through the power 51:16 of the Holy Ghost, and we begin to experience 51:21 the joys of the kingdom even before we get 51:25 residence in the kingdom. 51:27 Because at that point, the kingdom becomes 51:30 resident in you and in me. 51:35 So the quickest way to get into that kingdom 51:38 or to get that kingdom in you is to ask God for it 51:44 through prayer. 51:46 Is to request God to give it to you through prayer. 51:51 "Deliver us from evil." 51:54 Lord, don't we need to be delivered from evil? 51:58 There are two deliverances from evil. 52:03 One is deliverance from the power of evil. 52:08 The other is deliverance from the presence of evil. 52:14 Um-hmm. 52:16 When you give your heart to the Lord, 52:19 when you ask Jesus to come into your life, 52:22 you get deliverance from the power of evil 52:27 right then, right now. 52:31 That's the justifying experience, 52:35 moving into the sanctifying experience, 52:38 of God in answer to your prayer. 52:40 When you say, "Jesus, come into my life. 52:44 Take residence on my throne. 52:47 Take control of my life," 52:50 He gives you deliverance from the power of evil 52:56 so that the old man is slain, the old desires are destroyed, 53:03 the old life is put to bed, and you become new in Christ Jesus. 53:09 So sin no longer has dominion over you. 53:14 It no longer has power over you. 53:17 It no longer has an attraction to you. 53:21 You are delivered from the power of evil. 53:26 The Bibles says if we sin, if we make a little mistake, 53:30 we have an Advocate with the Father. 53:33 Deliverance from the power of evil: immediate. 53:36 Deliverance from the presence: 53:38 probably take a little while longer. 53:40 Won't get that until Jesus comes. 53:43 But you can overcome it by being delivered from the power. 53:46 One day when sin is destroyed, the presence will be gone. 53:50 We'll be sitting with God in heavenly places. 53:53 But for now, we can crush the power of sin 53:58 and be delivered from the power of sin 54:01 through the indwelling Jesus Christ, 54:03 who will one day takes us away from the presence of sin 54:08 when sin will exist no more. 54:12 "Deliver us from evil." 54:15 "But keep us in Thy way." 54:19 Let's go back to Matthew. 54:20 I want to go back before our time runs away from us. 54:22 I'm looking at the last few minutes here. 54:24 I want to run to Matthew real quick. 54:26 Go back to Matthew 6. 54:29 "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. 54:31 Thy kingdom come. 54:32 Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 54:37 Give us this day our daily bread. 54:40 But deliver us from evil. 54:43 Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." 54:45 When I was young, we learned it as, "Forgive us our trespasses, 54:48 as we forgive those who trespass against us." 54:50 Basically the same thing. 54:52 Basically you're saying, "Lord, forgive me, 54:54 and then help me to pass that forgiveness onto others." 54:58 That's like, "Give me a forgiving heart, 55:00 just like You have a forgiving heart for me." 55:03 Forgive me my sins, and then help me to be big enough, 55:07 grown enough, Christian enough, 55:09 to forgive those who trespassed against me. 55:12 Because just as I wound You through my actions, 55:17 there are going to be those who wound me through their actions. 55:20 And as You are so kind and gracious to forgive me 55:23 of my misdeeds, allow me, Lord, enough Christ in my life 55:28 to forgive others of their misdeeds. 55:31 In fact, the Bible says you're going to be forgiven 55:33 in proportion to your willingness 55:36 and desire to forgive others. 55:37 You forgive, and you will be forgiven. 55:39 If you don't forgive, then it's going to be hard for heaven 55:42 to give you a break if you're not going to give others 55:44 the same kind of break in their lives. 55:46 So Lord, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 55:50 Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those 55:53 who trespass against us. 55:56 "For Yours is the kingdom, the power, 56:01 and the glory, forever. Amen." 56:06 It's just stating a fact. 56:09 Yours is indeed the kingdom. 56:11 Now you'll notice that I did jump over one verse. 56:16 It's verse 11. 56:18 "Give us this day our daily bread." 56:22 That's the request list that's tucked in the middle 56:26 of that prayer. 56:27 It's just one line. 56:30 How interesting it is that for so many of us 56:33 the request list takes up most of our prayer. 56:38 But I submit to you, if you praise God, 56:43 if you worship Him, if you acknowledge your 56:46 dependence upon Him, your praise will get longer, 56:50 your requests will get smaller, and your prayer will draw you 56:55 closer to the power of Omnipotence. 57:00 Then He closes that prayer with these wonderful words, 57:03 "For Yours is the kingdom..." 57:06 You're surrendering your heart. 57:08 "...and the power," praise God, "and the glory..." 57:13 All glory belongs to Him. 57:15 "...forever," from now on, "and ever. Amen." 57:21 And amen. 57:23 Pray this way. |
Revised 2016-12-05