1
00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,359
 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.

2
00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,079
 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.

3
00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:26,560
 Thank you for joining us today.

4
00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:42,079
 We're looking at Acts chapter 12 this morning, and you might say, wait a minute,

5
00:00:42,460 --> 00:00:49,679
 Acts chapter 12. I thought we just did 13 the last two weeks. John taught on the balance of

6
00:00:49,679 --> 00:00:57,640
 Acts chapter 13 and Jamie from verses 1 to 12. Usually, we go from one chapter to the next,

7
00:00:57,740 --> 00:01:01,740
 but if you recall, three weeks ago, I had chapter 12 all wrapped up and ready.

8
00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,439
 I hit the print button, and when I went in to make coffee, all of a sudden,

9
00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:10,239
 the kitchen counter started going like that way repeatedly, and that's when I realized

10
00:01:10,239 --> 00:01:17,000
 something ain't right. I laid down for a while. That was probably like six something laying down

11
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,879
 for like an hour and a half just waiting to see, and I'm thinking, I don't think this is

12
00:01:21,879 --> 00:01:29,299
 every time I sat up. Finally, I said, we have to pull an audible. We got to do something else.

13
00:01:30,299 --> 00:01:34,159
 Reached out, the first person I called, Danny Jackson, reached out to him.

14
00:01:34,379 --> 00:01:39,840
 Danny hears the situation, and almost before I could finish, would you consider his absolutely.

15
00:01:40,620 --> 00:01:45,079
 I mean, that's just so awesome. If you know Danny, he goes where he's called to go,

16
00:01:45,079 --> 00:01:50,519
 and nothing's about him. That's what I love about him. He's so humble, and he said yes,

17
00:01:50,659 --> 00:01:57,359
 and I just think he did an amazing job. Danny just filling in first Samuel chapter 3.

18
00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:02,560
 He just really brought the word. We're so blessed with amazing teachers here,

19
00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:09,080
 and there's more to come, and it's just awesome to see how the Lord uses the body of Christ

20
00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,580
 and sees all kinds of seasons. He did an amazing job, so we're kind of doing a rewind,

21
00:02:14,580 --> 00:02:19,900
 because the other two guys already prepared for their message, and we're going to do a rewind,

22
00:02:20,020 --> 00:02:23,659
 a flashback. We're kind of used to that. Aren't we in all of our shows suddenly like,

23
00:02:23,659 --> 00:02:26,740
 wait a minute, when's this from? He looks younger. What's going on here?

24
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:32,159
 And this is what we're used to in shows and so forth. It jumps around. We're going to jump back,

25
00:02:32,460 --> 00:02:39,340
 and in real time, it's about two years before what Jamie and what John covered the last two

26
00:02:39,340 --> 00:02:44,939
 weeks. It's about two years prior, and this chapter that we look at, it's pretty profound,

27
00:02:44,979 --> 00:02:51,419
 because it's the last time we're going to read events in Peter's life.

28
00:02:51,879 --> 00:02:58,759
 There's only one more time he's mentioned in Acts, and that's in chapter 15, when it mentions him

29
00:02:59,359 --> 00:03:04,400
 weighing in on how the Gentiles have come to Christ, because really, he was the first one

30
00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:09,900
 to preach to the Gentiles at Cornelius's house, and so he shared, we have to realize this is a

31
00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:15,400
 different thing that God is doing for the Gentiles, and so don't trouble them with circumcision and

32
00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:20,080
 these kinds of things. So we're going to read about Peter, but it's only in that one brief

33
00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:28,300
 moment, but really, it's shifting to Paul and Barnabas and Paul and many others, and that's

34
00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:33,800
 how we're going to read the rest of the book of Acts, and so this is a significant chapter

35
00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:39,699
 where we really read a lot of verses about Peter and what he was going through.

36
00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:48,300
 And so today's message is praying to a sovereign God, praying to a sovereign God. What do we

37
00:03:48,300 --> 00:03:55,099
 mean by sovereign? The actual Greek word, really, dunas, means powerful, all-powerful,

38
00:03:56,460 --> 00:04:02,219
 all-knowing. I mean, he's over everything. He has all authority. I love the song that

39
00:04:02,219 --> 00:04:08,900
 Devon was leading us in about God's authority and all power. He has the preeminence over everything.

40
00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:14,340
 Wouldn't you say that? Does anything happen under his nose that he doesn't already know is going

41
00:04:14,340 --> 00:04:19,620
 to happen and has happened? He sees it all, right? And so sometimes when you think about

42
00:04:20,379 --> 00:04:28,000
 why then pray to a God who can do everything and anything he wants, isn't God going to do

43
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:36,379
 whatever he wants to do? That's a trick question in a sense. Does God do everything and anything

44
00:04:36,379 --> 00:04:43,360
 he wants to do? Well, does God want all men to know and love him?

45
00:04:45,779 --> 00:04:49,459
 Does he force that to happen? Does he cause that to happen?

46
00:04:50,259 --> 00:04:53,360
 Does God want all people to love one another?

47
00:04:54,879 --> 00:05:01,959
 We see that happening, right? Does God want marriages to stay together?

48
00:05:04,180 --> 00:05:09,180
 Is that happening about 50% of the time, whatever the statistics are these days?

49
00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,779
 Families, you get the idea. Does God want pain and suffering in this world?

50
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:22,220
 So does God do everything he wants to do? What his will would be to do? You know,

51
00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:29,519
 there's a sovereign will of God, right? And there's a permissive will of God. He permits things.

52
00:05:30,300 --> 00:05:33,860
 And why is that? Well, someday we'll fully understand when we get there.

53
00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:41,519
 But really, I believe that some of God's will is set aside for man to assist in him fulfilling.

54
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:51,000
 Wouldn't you agree? I mean, God's will in a sense depends on man's obedience to fulfill his will.

55
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,800
 And I don't think that's blasphemous at all. I think it's true. And we're going to,

56
00:05:54,959 --> 00:06:00,040
 there's so many examples of this actually in scriptures that we can read again and again

57
00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:05,319
 and again, how God uses even, especially in the Old Testament, the patriarchs, you know,

58
00:06:05,519 --> 00:06:11,300
 God only moves if that person responds to what his will is to do. Remember Abraham,

59
00:06:11,879 --> 00:06:17,519
 when God is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham because of his nephew,

60
00:06:17,519 --> 00:06:22,220
 Lot, and his family is down there and is like, well, will you destroy the city if there are

61
00:06:22,220 --> 00:06:27,959
 50 righteous people? No, I won't if there's 50. How about 45? How about 40? How about 30? How about

62
00:06:27,959 --> 00:06:33,480
 20? How about 10? You know, I mean, wow, you know, God, his patience doesn't run out, right? He just

63
00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:39,199
 kept on saying, no, I won't destroy the city if there are that many left. And so there were less

64
00:06:39,199 --> 00:06:45,160
 than that. And he did. But he allows man to intervene and be part of his will. How about

65
00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:53,680
 when Moses and Joshua at the top of Mount Sinai, and as he was receiving the 10 commandments, right,

66
00:06:55,060 --> 00:07:03,480
 the people of Israel were down crafting a golden calf to worship and sacrifice to. And God knew it

67
00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:08,199
 was happening. He told Moses and he says, you know what, I think I've had it with these people.

68
00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:13,839
 This is God speaking. Okay, I'm paraphrasing too, by the way. Why don't I make a new people

69
00:07:13,839 --> 00:07:23,199
 out of you? Now, you could say, was God just testing Moses? I think so. But then Moses just says,

70
00:07:23,779 --> 00:07:29,579
 no, no, God, don't do this. What would the Egyptians say? See, he led them out to the desert

71
00:07:29,579 --> 00:07:37,040
 to destroy them. And here, Moses is pouring it out to like intervene for God's people.

72
00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:46,319
 Because God wants us to be involved with what his will is. He invites us in. How about Elijah?

73
00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:53,120
 You know, unless he prayed to bring back now, God told him to. But it wasn't until Elijah prayed

74
00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:59,480
 that the rain came back. How about Hezekiah? Remember Hezekiah? He was a great king for God.

75
00:07:59,879 --> 00:08:05,600
 And he came down with an illness. And Isaiah went to him and prophet Isaiah. And he said,

76
00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,800
 all right, get your house in order, because you're going to die. This disease is going to take you out.

77
00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,319
 And Hezekiah just turned to the wall and just cried on his bed. Lord, Lord,

78
00:08:15,579 --> 00:08:18,480
 you know how always did your will please spare me this and that.

79
00:08:18,899 --> 00:08:26,180
 Before Isaiah was even left the courtyard of the palace, he was told, go back. I changed my mind.

80
00:08:26,879 --> 00:08:35,580
 And he went back. Okay. And he said, actually, God has given you 15 more years. Hezekiah

81
00:08:35,580 --> 00:08:43,759
 gives God's will a just. Doesn't it just? This is touching. Okay. He allows his permissive will

82
00:08:44,379 --> 00:08:51,100
 to be partnered with mankind. He wants us to be part of his will. There are some things he's just

83
00:08:51,100 --> 00:08:55,539
 going to do. There's going to be the end of the ages. There will be judgment, you know, for all

84
00:08:55,539 --> 00:09:00,360
 those who never received it. There's going to be just a sovereign will that he's just going to do.

85
00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:08,000
 When it's over, it's over. But in the meantime, a lot of God's will that is fulfilled depends on

86
00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:14,580
 man participating in his will. Right. I know. Does this sound touchy to you? Okay. And, you know,

87
00:09:14,899 --> 00:09:19,399
 later, if you want to ask me after the service, I had a problem with that. You know, look,

88
00:09:19,580 --> 00:09:25,139
 we all can learn, you know, and clue to me, you know, but I just see this play out in scriptures.

89
00:09:25,139 --> 00:09:32,740
 Jonah, go to Nineveh. Well, if Nineveh's that way, I'm going that way. Okay. You know, no. Right.

90
00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:39,279
 And so what did he do? Finally, Jonah repented and he went back. And it was because of Jonah's

91
00:09:39,279 --> 00:09:46,240
 message that thousands of people got saved. Right. Because they surrender to the Lord. Right.

92
00:09:46,620 --> 00:09:53,899
 It's just the way God does it. He chooses to use us. I love the fact that Jesus compares

93
00:09:53,899 --> 00:10:01,980
 God the Father. Now, listen to this with an unjust judge. Do you remember that probably says, you know,

94
00:10:02,379 --> 00:10:08,659
 it was an unjust judge and there was a widow who was being taken advantage of and and manipulated.

95
00:10:08,980 --> 00:10:13,259
 They didn't get into the details. And the widow said, you know what? I got to go to the judge

96
00:10:13,259 --> 00:10:18,740
 and get and get justice. So she goes to the unjust judge who didn't fear God or man. And

97
00:10:18,740 --> 00:10:22,539
 the widow just said, please, you got to help me. You got to help me. And he's like, he's like,

98
00:10:22,539 --> 00:10:28,179
 just, you know, go away. And finally he says, if I don't help this lady, she's never going to let up.

99
00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:34,639
 And then Jesus said, in the same way, your father in heaven and so much more does your

100
00:10:34,639 --> 00:10:39,799
 father respond to you. Now, does that mean he sees you as a nagging widow? No,

101
00:10:40,379 --> 00:10:47,379
 but he wants us to ask, seek and knock. Right. So when we pray to a sovereign God,

102
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,519
 you might say, what does it matter? Isn't he going to do whatever he's going to do?

103
00:10:51,399 --> 00:11:00,080
 In a lot of cases, no, he depends on us to participate in fulfilling his permissive will.

104
00:11:00,659 --> 00:11:07,080
 Right. So today we're going to read Acts chapter 12. And in this, we're going to see four

105
00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:15,039
 things happen that are pretty significant. One, James, the son of Zebedee, the son of thunder,

106
00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:20,799
 one of the 12 original apostles and one of the three of the inner circle,

107
00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:25,820
 the guy who was up on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus when he was illuminated,

108
00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:35,860
 the guy who was with Jesus when he raised Jairus's daughter back to life, the synagogue leader,

109
00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:41,340
 and the one who was in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying to his father

110
00:11:41,980 --> 00:11:47,879
 for possible relief from what he was going to undergo through crucifixion.

111
00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:54,620
 He was one of those three, well, he is going to be martyred, killed, execute, probably beheaded.

112
00:11:55,779 --> 00:11:59,919
 I mean, can you imagine what the rippling effects that would have had through the early church,

113
00:12:00,460 --> 00:12:05,659
 like James, like the G. Now, Stephen was stoned at death, but he was kind of like

114
00:12:05,659 --> 00:12:09,940
 an auxiliary actor in the whole thing. Right. Yeah. He wasn't one of the primary

115
00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:20,740
 James. And then next, Peter is arrested. Finally, the Lord is going to strike Herod with a disease,

116
00:12:21,620 --> 00:12:26,399
 a worm, a parasitic disease that's going to take his life. And you're saying all these

117
00:12:26,399 --> 00:12:33,559
 crazy things happening, and yet God is sovereign under all of it. But there's one line, one verse

118
00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:41,179
 we're going to come to that really sets Peter's rescue apart from everything else that's going on.

119
00:12:41,759 --> 00:12:48,840
 And that's the early church was praying specifically for Peter, praying for Peter.

120
00:12:48,980 --> 00:12:55,879
 Can you imagine that? Like, James just was beheaded. Now, Peter is arrested and he's

121
00:12:55,879 --> 00:13:01,620
 waiting to be beheaded. And you're thinking, wow, it didn't work out well for James. Like,

122
00:13:02,259 --> 00:13:08,720
 this looks pretty, I'm pretty pessimistic about what's about to happen. And yet they pressed in

123
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:16,179
 and prayed anyway to the sovereign God. So let's dive in. And we're going to read these verses.

124
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:21,299
 We're going to read through the whole chapter. We say what? But we're going to, it's reads like

125
00:13:21,299 --> 00:13:27,120
 a wonderful story. So I think that's the best way to do it, to capture it all together. So

126
00:13:27,759 --> 00:13:36,039
 you're ready? So Father God, anoint this word. May it penetrate us and just completely

127
00:13:37,100 --> 00:13:43,519
 bring revelation and illumination to our thoughts and minds and help us apply it to our own lives.

128
00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:51,440
 In Jesus' name, amen. Chapter 12. Now, about that time Herod the King stretched out his hand to

129
00:13:51,580 --> 00:13:57,679
 harass some of the church. And then he killed James, the brother of John with the sword.

130
00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:04,139
 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also.

131
00:14:05,460 --> 00:14:10,440
 And now it was during the days of unleavened bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him

132
00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:18,200
 in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring

133
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:24,620
 him before the people after Passover. Verse five. Peter was there, kept in prison,

134
00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:33,179
 but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. See, this is the,

135
00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:39,139
 that's the centerpiece of this chapter. And then Herod was about to bring him out. That night,

136
00:14:39,559 --> 00:14:45,580
 Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers and the guards before the door

137
00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:53,179
 were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the

138
00:14:53,179 --> 00:15:00,340
 prison. And he struck Peter on the side and raised him up saying, arise quickly. And his chains fell

139
00:15:00,340 --> 00:15:08,240
 off his hands. And then the angel said to him, gird yourself and tie on your sandals. And so he

140
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:14,179
 did. And he said to him, put on your garment and follow me. And so he went out and followed him

141
00:15:14,179 --> 00:15:21,200
 and did not know what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. And then

142
00:15:21,899 --> 00:15:29,779
 they were past the first and second guard posts. And they came to the iron gate that leads to the

143
00:15:29,779 --> 00:15:36,940
 city, which opened to them of its own accord. And they went out and went down the street and

144
00:15:36,940 --> 00:15:43,240
 immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, now I know

145
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:49,580
 for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me from the hand of Herod.

146
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:56,840
 Verse 12. So when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John,

147
00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:03,799
 whose surname was Mark, where they were, where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter

148
00:16:03,799 --> 00:16:10,779
 knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. And when she recognized

149
00:16:10,779 --> 00:16:16,980
 Peter's voice because of her gladness, she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter

150
00:16:16,980 --> 00:16:22,899
 stood before the gate. But they said to her, you are beside yourself, meaning you're out of your

151
00:16:22,899 --> 00:16:30,519
 mind. Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, it is his angel. So they already

152
00:16:30,519 --> 00:16:35,980
 concluded what probably happened, right? And verse 16. Now Peter continued knocking,

153
00:16:36,539 --> 00:16:40,399
 and when they opened the door, they saw him and they were astonished,

154
00:16:40,899 --> 00:16:47,580
 but motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had

155
00:16:47,580 --> 00:16:54,720
 brought him out of the prison. And he said, go tell these things to James and to the brethren.

156
00:16:55,259 --> 00:17:01,740
 And he departed and went to another place. And then as soon as it was day, there was no

157
00:17:01,740 --> 00:17:09,359
 small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. But when Herod searched for him

158
00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:15,920
 and did not find him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.

159
00:17:16,660 --> 00:17:23,119
 And he went, meaning Herod, down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. Verse 20.

160
00:17:23,579 --> 00:17:29,259
 Now Herod had been angry with the people of Tyre and Sedan, but they came to him with one

161
00:17:29,420 --> 00:17:36,279
 accord and having made Blastus, the King's personal aid, their friend, they asked for peace

162
00:17:36,279 --> 00:17:42,259
 because their country was supplied with food by the King's country. And so on a set day,

163
00:17:42,559 --> 00:17:49,000
 Herod arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.

164
00:17:49,339 --> 00:17:54,599
 And the people kept shouting the voice of a God and not of a man. And then immediately,

165
00:17:54,599 --> 00:18:02,480
 an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms

166
00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:13,500
 and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied. So here we see again, four things happening.

167
00:18:14,059 --> 00:18:19,539
 And it could almost seem like chaotic, doesn't it? Like, is God aware of like all these things?

168
00:18:19,539 --> 00:18:26,519
 Like, James, how could he permit James to be executed and martyred? Okay, we can ask God that

169
00:18:26,519 --> 00:18:31,700
 someday, but we believe that all things work for the good of those who are called, who love God,

170
00:18:31,779 --> 00:18:37,599
 who are called according to his purpose. We know that God has the best will in mind, right?

171
00:18:37,980 --> 00:18:44,380
 So yes, he permitted that to happen. But yes, he chose to rescue Peter.

172
00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:53,000
 They make the Lord made a special point that they were praying for Peter. So he wants us to know

173
00:18:53,000 --> 00:19:00,200
 that in the midst of this mayhem, of James being martyred, of the Roman soldiers, you know,

174
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,640
 being executed for something that God actually arranged, the rescue of Peter, right? That's

175
00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:11,240
 kind of weird. Someday we got to reconcile that with God. Wow, Lord, you know, but he's under

176
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:18,519
 control of all of it. And then of course, Herod. Josephus the scribe explained that whole situation

177
00:19:18,519 --> 00:19:25,359
 with Herod. He said, Herod arrived early in the morning with the glistening sun. He arrived in

178
00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:32,619
 like a sequin garb. It was all like silver. He was covered with silver, like glittery things,

179
00:19:32,660 --> 00:19:37,559
 right? And he arrived and the way the sun struck it, they said, look at how marvelous

180
00:19:37,559 --> 00:19:43,920
 and amazing Herod. He looked Godly, you know, as he was speaking. And they were just so overwhelmed

181
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:51,579
 by him. And they just started praising him. And that's when the angel struck him. And Josephus

182
00:19:51,579 --> 00:19:57,380
 said it took him about five days to finally die from this parasite that the Lord struck him with.

183
00:19:58,099 --> 00:20:02,460
 But so you know what struck me in this chapter, the word struck.

184
00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:10,880
 Okay. And I'll just tell you why your version might say smote, he smoted him. It's a very,

185
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:19,200
 I don't know, nightly thing. I will smite you, right? But it's two places, right? In this chapter

186
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:30,819
 one, an angel smited or struck Peter to wake him up. And then the other angel smited or struck

187
00:20:30,819 --> 00:20:37,279
 Herod to bring disease upon his body. Now, I don't know, I don't want to make too much of this,

188
00:20:37,420 --> 00:20:43,380
 but it's interesting because it's the same Greek word, potosimus. Can you put that up, JT, that

189
00:20:43,380 --> 00:20:53,859
 picture? The angel struck Peter for good. He struck Herod for bad, for Herod's bad. Okay,

190
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,859
 not for God's bad, but for Herod. But it's interesting, you know, as I was just pondering

191
00:20:58,859 --> 00:21:06,359
 that for a minute, I just thought like sometimes we can think God is smiting us for something bad,

192
00:21:06,380 --> 00:21:13,819
 and actually he's doing it for our good. He's correcting our course, or he's giving us a wake

193
00:21:13,819 --> 00:21:19,740
 up call. Rise up, man, what you're doing here, you're wasting time here. It's time to move on

194
00:21:19,740 --> 00:21:25,660
 and do something different, right? And sometimes we might say, you know, we're getting smited by

195
00:21:25,660 --> 00:21:30,859
 something and say, well, God's going to do whatever he's going to do anyway. Oh, well. And we just let

196
00:21:30,859 --> 00:21:35,519
 it go. You know, so many people in the Bible did that. They just said, well, God, he's in control

197
00:21:35,519 --> 00:21:41,359
 if that's the way he wants to do it. You know, Judas, you know, gave up on himself. Would God

198
00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:46,960
 have forgiven Judas? Of course, even though he was the son of perdition, yeah, he was destined

199
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:53,319
 for, but you know what? He's all foreknowing, right? But so a lot, you know, God smites

200
00:21:53,980 --> 00:21:59,680
 all of us at times, not in the same way, but in a wake up call, like, hey, stay,

201
00:21:59,940 --> 00:22:04,740
 stay alert, stay with me here. You know, it's kind of like, I was even thinking of example, like

202
00:22:05,740 --> 00:22:10,839
 you ever drive down the road and suddenly someone's in your way and you have just a slam

203
00:22:10,839 --> 00:22:17,000
 on the brakes, you know? And I don't know what it is, but if there's someone next to you,

204
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:22,180
 your arm just flies over to stop them. You ever notice that? You parents definitely notice it.

205
00:22:22,180 --> 00:22:27,119
 But Jill, I'm always just smacking her. I say, look, there's a car in front of us, honey.

206
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:34,180
 Yeah, no. But like, it's because there's something that just like stops. You want to just stop the

207
00:22:34,180 --> 00:22:38,859
 person, you know, even though they're seatbelted to, whatever it is. But it's like, but imagine

208
00:22:38,859 --> 00:22:44,839
 if she and I were coming into the church, okay, and we're walking in the front door and rocky or

209
00:22:44,839 --> 00:22:50,180
 someone at the door opens up the door to let us in. And I go like that to Jill. Hey,

210
00:22:50,180 --> 00:22:53,059
 my arm's feeling pretty good. You see that shoulder movement there? But anyway,

211
00:22:53,480 --> 00:23:00,180
 so I stop her and I walk in in front of her. She'd be like, what's that? You know, like,

212
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:07,920
 it's not the same thing, right? Because one is in protection and the other is in selfish pride,

213
00:23:08,180 --> 00:23:12,539
 arrogance, whatever you want to say it is, you know, there's a difference. Like God, it might even

214
00:23:12,539 --> 00:23:20,160
 seem like the same thing to each of us. Like, you know, what's the difference? Well,

215
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:25,000
 what God is doing, you know, so I just wanted to point that out because as we're praying to a

216
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:30,779
 sovereign God, we want to be aware, well, I can understand now why this is happening. I have time

217
00:23:30,779 --> 00:23:36,619
 to get into details, but I just experienced that business. This really is not working out well.

218
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:43,059
 I need to stop doing it and start doing something different, you know, because God's showing me

219
00:23:43,059 --> 00:23:47,720
 that I'm wasting my time. He's giving me a wake up call. He's smiting me in a sense,

220
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:52,740
 you know, like, come on, let's move on from here. And so anyway, as we're reading through this,

221
00:23:53,059 --> 00:23:59,279
 we see that God is always sovereign in the midst of all of it. And the thing that separated,

222
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:07,119
 the good thing that happened in this chapter, God wanted us to realize prayer was connected to it.

223
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:13,740
 Now, you see, was no one praying for James? We can assume they were. But for now,

224
00:24:13,740 --> 00:24:19,700
 we're focusing on what the word did tell us this morning. And that is they were praying for Peter

225
00:24:20,279 --> 00:24:25,680
 and he was released. Did you ever hear of the heavenly man? Some of you might have read that

226
00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:34,559
 book. His name is Brother Yun. He was in the early church. He was in the early underground

227
00:24:34,559 --> 00:24:41,099
 church in China. And he writes a story about he was, he was tortured, beaten. He was, you know,

228
00:24:41,299 --> 00:24:48,740
 held in prison. And he actually was released miraculously, like a miracle by an angel out of

229
00:24:48,740 --> 00:24:53,779
 prison. And there are many testimonies about Brother Yun, how this happened. You know,

230
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:58,160
 he was never the same after that. Can you imagine that? You were miraculously rescued

231
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:05,599
 supernaturally from prison. You know, so things happen that are miraculous when it seems

232
00:25:05,599 --> 00:25:13,559
 impossible. How about fly Dubai? Flight 1073. Is that like insane? You know, I'm talking about that,

233
00:25:13,559 --> 00:25:24,519
 that flight that was leaving Dubai and going to Tel Aviv. Okay. And the pilot is flying the plane.

234
00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:31,039
 Okay. And his co-pilot says, do you mind if I go and pray? He's like, okay. So as he's steering

235
00:25:31,039 --> 00:25:37,700
 the plane, the guy who goes behind him, the Muslim, begins to pray, I guess it was that time of day.

236
00:25:39,839 --> 00:25:44,980
 And as he's praying, the pilot, all of a sudden he just feels a whack on the back of his head.

237
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:50,640
 He's like, what is that? Another one. Here the guy went in and got the axe of the cabin

238
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:57,460
 and started whacking, like chopping the pilot's head with a, with a, with a, with a hatchet.

239
00:25:58,199 --> 00:26:02,160
 That's the last report I had. I thought he was stabbed in the stomach. Maybe he was that too.

240
00:26:02,900 --> 00:26:09,839
 But anyway, so he had the wherewithal somehow to go and open up the cabin door. Okay. And did you

241
00:26:09,839 --> 00:26:13,660
 hear this story? Just give me a little nod. If you did, you probably heard about it in the news

242
00:26:13,660 --> 00:26:19,859
 and all of a sudden all these people start charging. But in the meantime, the co-pilot

243
00:26:19,859 --> 00:26:26,099
 who was fired from Dubai, no, no, he was fired from some other airline because he was weird.

244
00:26:26,099 --> 00:26:34,460
 Okay. And fundamental, you know, uh, Islamist, right? He, he started steering it down to crash

245
00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:39,759
 the plane into the ground and it dropped. I forget how many thousands of feet so fast.

246
00:26:40,319 --> 00:26:45,039
 And it was like just, they said the G force it's miraculous. Anybody could even like think

247
00:26:45,039 --> 00:26:51,480
 people are hitting the ceilings. Somehow people charge the cabin. Okay. After the pilot opened

248
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:58,799
 up the cabin door and they went and they wrestled down this co-pilot. Okay. Who was evil. And they

249
00:26:58,799 --> 00:27:06,299
 held them down. And a guy who saw in a TV show, somebody pulled the stick back up,

250
00:27:06,619 --> 00:27:14,460
 just said, I think I should try this and re steered the, the plane, the jet and saved,

251
00:27:14,460 --> 00:27:20,799
 I forget almost 200 people in that, in that airline. Like that, no, that come,

252
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:27,599
 well, that didn't happen. That's, that's like a James Bond movie. No way. It happened. It's

253
00:27:27,599 --> 00:27:35,299
 a miracle. It's a modern day miracle. God is doing miracles all the time. But you know,

254
00:27:35,299 --> 00:27:39,819
 what was happening during that people were praying. I heard interviews with a bunch of

255
00:27:39,819 --> 00:27:44,859
 people, you know, they, they pray to Yahweh. Okay. They don't pray in the name of Jesus yet.

256
00:27:45,779 --> 00:27:51,279
 Maybe they will after an incident like this, but they're praying to Yahweh, please save us.

257
00:27:51,799 --> 00:27:57,299
 And he did. And that's miraculous, right? This seems impossible that that could happen.

258
00:27:58,519 --> 00:28:05,220
 Yet God is doing those things all the time for us as well. So praying is so important.

259
00:28:05,940 --> 00:28:13,000
 I want to say just before we get into communion, if you have that slide JT that says, why pray?

260
00:28:13,299 --> 00:28:20,420
 Something about why prayer. If you have that, how about before that? There we go. If God is sovereign,

261
00:28:20,779 --> 00:28:26,559
 why pray? Like if we just discussed, is he going to do everything he wants to do?

262
00:28:28,599 --> 00:28:34,980
 Maybe under conditions, right? It depends. It depends. Is man going to be part of that

263
00:28:34,980 --> 00:28:39,359
 will? He will do a lot of great things in your life if you allow him to do them, right?

264
00:28:39,819 --> 00:28:45,740
 But if we don't, he can't, he won't. You won't force himself, right? But in the midst of all

265
00:28:45,740 --> 00:28:50,839
 these things happening, we see that God was always sovereign. So let's talk just a few

266
00:28:50,839 --> 00:28:55,680
 things quickly about why pray to God. Well, first of all, for relationship.

267
00:28:56,980 --> 00:29:02,779
 Thank you, JT. Why pray? Because relationship. I was on a great long walk, a five mile walk this

268
00:29:02,779 --> 00:29:07,220
 morning, just praying through things. I go through my whole family and pray for them.

269
00:29:07,619 --> 00:29:13,079
 And many of you popped into my head. I was praying for you. And it's awesome. Just praying to the

270
00:29:13,079 --> 00:29:19,099
 Lord and just walking along and going through things, even with this sermon. And it's awesome

271
00:29:19,099 --> 00:29:32,759
 to just walk and pray with God. You can just pray any way you want to, to the Lord. I always

272
00:29:32,759 --> 00:29:38,160
 pray for relationship's sake. You know, you know what happens to a marriage where the spouses don't

273
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:45,599
 talk much? It's not a healthy marriage. Or when families don't communicate, it's not healthy,

274
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:52,819
 right? Things fall apart. Your relationship with God depends on you talking to him. You

275
00:29:53,819 --> 00:29:58,940
 vetting to him, just like David, you know, David's Psalms are loaded with discontentment

276
00:29:58,940 --> 00:30:04,180
 towards God. And yet he still prayed and said, Lord, why don't you ever listen to me? You ever

277
00:30:04,180 --> 00:30:08,740
 noticed that? Lord, you never hear me. You never listen to me. By the end of the Psalm is you

278
00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:15,119
 always hear me. You always listen to me. Something happens through prayer that as we're even praying,

279
00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:20,920
 we're like, this sounds pretty stupid. I sound like a fool right now saying these things to God.

280
00:30:21,599 --> 00:30:26,920
 And we repent. It's by the end of it, we're repenting to God for saying those foolish things

281
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:34,059
 that we started our Psalm with, right? Because it's communication. It's relationship. You know,

282
00:30:34,359 --> 00:30:41,660
 I love how Paul tells the Romans when you don't even know what to pray, let the Holy Spirit pray

283
00:30:41,660 --> 00:30:47,420
 through you. I believe in praying in tongues. I do whenever I don't know what to pray for,

284
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:54,319
 I just start praying in tongues. And I love it, you know, but praying in tongues is not a prerequisite

285
00:30:54,319 --> 00:31:01,900
 or a requirement or necessary for a believer to be saved because we all have gifts. We're all

286
00:31:01,900 --> 00:31:07,119
 supposed to be prophesying, you know, speaking the word of God into situations that are happening

287
00:31:07,119 --> 00:31:14,119
 around us, you know? So, but it's just the idea is being in communication with God. And that is

288
00:31:14,119 --> 00:31:20,619
 prayer. He's sovereign, but he wants you to have fellowship with him. How about the next thing?

289
00:31:20,619 --> 00:31:29,440
 Why pray to a sovereign God? Well, the next thing is to bring ourselves in line with him so that we

290
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:34,779
 think like he thinks. You know, he says, my ways are not your way, says the Lord. And yet we're

291
00:31:34,779 --> 00:31:41,599
 told in the New Testament that we have the mind of Christ, right? Like we can come into understanding

292
00:31:41,599 --> 00:31:49,000
 of God's thoughts. And we can come into understanding of his will, you know,

293
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:54,759
 by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to discern the good, then you will be able to prove

294
00:31:54,759 --> 00:32:02,380
 the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, right? As you pray, he transforms you into his

295
00:32:02,380 --> 00:32:08,759
 thinking. Suddenly you're in the same wavelength. Now you say, oh, this is the way it has to go.

296
00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:13,900
 Look, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he's praying, look, if there's any way to spare

297
00:32:13,900 --> 00:32:24,559
 me of this cup, but not my will, yours be done three times. He's like, isn't there any way, Father?

298
00:32:25,079 --> 00:32:31,059
 Like thinking about this to the point of bleeding droplets of blood saying there has to be another

299
00:32:31,059 --> 00:32:37,940
 way, but he's knowing that there really isn't. You are the Son of God. You need to die for the

300
00:32:37,940 --> 00:32:44,720
 sins of the world. You need to rise again to defeat death, as Jill said earlier, and you need

301
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:51,279
 to ascend to heaven and you need to release the Holy Spirit upon and in all of your saints. It has

302
00:32:51,279 --> 00:32:56,779
 to be done this way. And by the end of it, your will be done. Come on, it's time they're coming.

303
00:32:57,180 --> 00:33:03,460
 Let's go. You know, I mean, Paul found that himself. He prayed three times and we have that.

304
00:33:04,100 --> 00:33:10,900
 If you have that next slide, as he prayed in 2 Corinthians 12.9, Paul talks about how he prayed

305
00:33:10,900 --> 00:33:17,779
 three times. Lord, release this infirmity, you know, this thorn in my side from Satan.

306
00:33:18,180 --> 00:33:24,640
 Many speculations and conjectures about what it is, but whatever it was, it was a problem he

307
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:31,220
 was having. Sickness, opposition, all kinds of things. And he's like, can't you just take this

308
00:33:31,220 --> 00:33:36,119
 away? We know he started losing his sight as time went on, probably through the beatings and

309
00:33:36,119 --> 00:33:41,839
 the stonings and everything else. He's like, can't you take this away? By the third time, he's like,

310
00:33:42,799 --> 00:33:51,599
 no, actually, it's through my weakness. I become strong in you. You are strong in this broken

311
00:33:51,599 --> 00:33:59,559
 vessel, right? He just, he understood, like, this is why I need, this is why I need to be

312
00:33:59,559 --> 00:34:05,380
 in this condition to bring forth your perfect will, whatever the situation was, you know?

313
00:34:05,980 --> 00:34:13,119
 And what's the last reason why we pray to God is the last reason is because it makes a difference.

314
00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:22,039
 When we pray, we accomplish things. I love James 5 16, confess your trespasses to one another and

315
00:34:22,039 --> 00:34:28,139
 pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man

316
00:34:28,139 --> 00:34:38,099
 or woman avails much. Prayer matters. Our prayers are powerful weapons. You know, our weapons are

317
00:34:38,099 --> 00:34:45,699
 not carnal and flesh and blood, but they're mighty and tearing down strongholds, defeating arguments

318
00:34:45,699 --> 00:34:51,300
 that are false and lying. You know, praying, there's been so many times that prayer in my life

319
00:34:51,300 --> 00:34:57,880
 has been just such an amazing outcome. Like, wow, prayer. I remember one time,

320
00:34:59,099 --> 00:35:03,940
 a couple of times, people in our fellowship, I mean, the Lord has led them other places,

321
00:35:04,039 --> 00:35:12,460
 other states in a couple situations, but they couldn't have a baby, okay? And so, one guy,

322
00:35:12,559 --> 00:35:18,880
 I remember, you know, we met for lunch and he said, you know, my wife and I, we can't have

323
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:24,500
 a child. And like, well, let's pray. You know, so we prayed, you know, and so he reached out to me,

324
00:35:25,079 --> 00:35:31,559
 maybe like, almost two months later. Guess what? You know, I forget her name, actually, but

325
00:35:31,559 --> 00:35:37,219
 so-and-so is pregnant. I'm like, oh, that's great. Now I forgot, you know, because, you know,

326
00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:41,739
 you're always praying for people and stuff. And I didn't remember. So I'm like, that's great.

327
00:35:41,980 --> 00:35:46,840
 Congratulations. No, don't you remember? I'm like, no, what? He goes, well, he said,

328
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:55,579
 you know, my prayers, any prayer that is filled with belief has power. But he said, you prayed

329
00:35:55,579 --> 00:36:01,840
 for me. I'm like, wait a minute. Oh, yeah, I remember we prayed. Wow. Okay. Yeah, that's great.

330
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:09,900
 Wow. Okay. Well, how many weeks is she? And he told me. So I'm like, I look back on my phone

331
00:36:10,679 --> 00:36:15,300
 just before that, days before that is when we met at the diner for lunch.

332
00:36:15,860 --> 00:36:22,340
 And, you know, I'm thinking, wow. And that has, you know, God moves in power and might. I can't

333
00:36:22,340 --> 00:36:28,940
 understand why sometimes he chooses to say no or maybe, but you know what? We know that we have

334
00:36:28,940 --> 00:36:34,860
 what we need. I love what the apostle John, the brother of James, who we just read was martyred,

335
00:36:35,179 --> 00:36:40,559
 he still had faith for all kinds of prayers. And he said, first, John five, 14 to 15.

336
00:36:42,019 --> 00:36:49,000
 He says, now this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will,

337
00:36:49,199 --> 00:36:55,800
 he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have

338
00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:02,820
 the petitions that we have asked of him. Long wind, long way to say, if you ask, you can know

339
00:37:02,820 --> 00:37:09,760
 what that you will receive, what you need. Now, Mike doesn't always look exactly like we asked for

340
00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:16,440
 right. Doesn't always turn out the way we thought it should, but it turns out the right way. It turns

341
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:23,500
 out God's way because he is sovereign. Amen. So we know why we should pray, but you know,

342
00:37:24,099 --> 00:37:31,219
 as far as how to pray, if you can put that slide up JT, you know, first we need to pray specifically.

343
00:37:32,420 --> 00:37:38,619
 You know, I really believe pray to praise for specific things. Because if you just pray it,

344
00:37:38,619 --> 00:37:46,780
 you know, with random vagueness, how is there any way to confirm that your prayers are being answered?

345
00:37:46,900 --> 00:37:55,360
 If you don't pray with purpose and with details, Lord, I pray. Now he might change them over time,

346
00:37:55,619 --> 00:38:01,760
 but Lord, I'm going to pray specifically that this happens. I want to pray for this situation.

347
00:38:02,820 --> 00:38:10,179
 Please resolve it. This relationship, Lord, come on, bring a solution. We have to pray specifically.

348
00:38:11,199 --> 00:38:17,239
 We have to pray expectantly. We have to expect things to happen. If you're praying and thinking,

349
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:22,179
 it probably won't happen. Now, it is interesting that in Peter, they're expecting his angel to

350
00:38:22,179 --> 00:38:27,920
 be showing up, not him. You know, maybe they didn't have, it just goes to show you can have,

351
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:33,400
 you shouldn't have doubt, but he can override some of your doubt. Right? Remember,

352
00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:38,079
 the one guy said to Jesus, I believe would help my unbelief. We could pray that way. Look, Lord,

353
00:38:38,780 --> 00:38:46,739
 I can't imagine this happening. I'm just saying, but Lord, please, I'm begging you override

354
00:38:46,739 --> 00:38:53,960
 my unbelief right now, because I want to believe that you will do this. Expect it to happen.

355
00:38:53,960 --> 00:39:02,139
 Expect it, you know, and he answers it. Amen. And then finally, pray faithfully. Just

356
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:08,760
 make prayer and every morning thing laid out. I'm telling you, I think praying should be like

357
00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:16,000
 purposeful and with intention. And, you know, I highly recommend laying on your face,

358
00:39:16,219 --> 00:39:22,480
 just laying down on the floor, prostate, prostrate. I do that every time.

359
00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:30,360
 Leave your prostrate alone. You can pray with your prostrate too, but

360
00:39:34,119 --> 00:39:40,860
 but pray prostrate, prostate, you know,

361
00:39:42,460 --> 00:39:46,960
 and you can pray with your appendix too, whatever you got to do, but just pray. Okay.

362
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:53,679
 Lay down and pray, right? Humble yourself, you know, because the Lord said humble yourself

363
00:39:53,679 --> 00:39:59,340
 beneath the mighty hand of the Lord and he will lift you up. You know, just be humble. Lay down

364
00:39:59,340 --> 00:40:05,519
 like a doormat. Lord, I'm just laying down. I'm humbling myself. I am the lowest thing,

365
00:40:05,519 --> 00:40:11,940
 and yet you think so highly of me, but Lord God, I just want your power to move through me,

366
00:40:11,940 --> 00:40:17,699
 Lord God. I just want you to just do whatever you want. I'm your putty. I'm putty in your hands,

367
00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:24,440
 Lord God. Just whatever you want. Pray that way. Pray pacing. You know, we see evidence of this,

368
00:40:24,519 --> 00:40:28,800
 by the way, in scriptures all over the place. Lay kneeling with your head down to the floor.

369
00:40:29,260 --> 00:40:35,739
 You know, there's so many postures. Pray kneeling. I love that picture of Solomon praying

370
00:40:35,739 --> 00:40:41,380
 before the temple. He started praying, standing up by the end of it. He's praying down on his

371
00:40:41,380 --> 00:40:47,260
 knees, just like this, like totally overwhelmed by the glory of God, because he was just praying,

372
00:40:47,340 --> 00:40:54,380
 and the holy fire came down upon the temple. Just pray any way that the Lord leads you to pray

373
00:40:54,380 --> 00:41:04,639
 with power and might, and pray specifically. Pray expectantly and pray faithfully. Amen.

374
00:41:05,340 --> 00:41:08,719
 So as the worship team comes up, we're going to have communion together.

375
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:22,880
 I just want to mention that thing about praying in tongues. You know, it's interesting because,

376
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:32,119
 you know, I knew a couple of people at my old church that did it. But no one really talks too

377
00:41:32,119 --> 00:41:37,079
 much about it. It's kind of an uncomfortable thing, you know, because of the bad connotations

378
00:41:37,079 --> 00:41:42,760
 that some people have about it, and their experiences in churches maybe that said you

379
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:47,599
 can't be saved if you're not praying in tongues, and things like that. And, you know, I don't

380
00:41:47,599 --> 00:41:51,579
 believe that's biblical at all, you know, and you guys can bring it up if you want.

381
00:41:53,579 --> 00:42:01,179
 But I remember hearing a pastor on TV talking about praying in tongues, and he really

382
00:42:01,179 --> 00:42:07,340
 taught the word really clearly, and he said just start doing it. Just talk to God,

383
00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:14,000
 and just let the Lord God, and just babble. You know, just Lord, and just open up my mouth to just

384
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:22,940
 pray, and just allow the Lord to work through your prayers, and don't even have an agenda.

385
00:42:22,940 --> 00:42:31,920
 So about 20 years ago, I went into my closet, okay, and unbeknownst to anybody in my family,

386
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:38,159
 because I felt very embarrassed. And I went in, and I just kneeled down, I just started murmuring,

387
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:43,820
 and I'm not going to do it here, because that will cause another, you know, issue.

388
00:42:45,099 --> 00:42:51,679
 But just praying, and just Lord, I just don't even know, but I'm just going to trust what I'm

389
00:42:51,679 --> 00:42:57,420
 doing right now, you're going to occupy. And I just started praying in tongues, and you know what,

390
00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:05,900
 I started like seeing a slideshow of like, and I'm like, I guess that's what I'm praying about

391
00:43:05,900 --> 00:43:10,179
 right now, okay. And I just start praying, and all of a sudden another slideshow, and another

392
00:43:10,179 --> 00:43:14,860
 time I'm like, all right, this is going a little too fast here, you know, and just one thing after

393
00:43:14,860 --> 00:43:20,699
 another, another slide, and I'm like, Lord, I, you know, like, I don't even know how to do this,

394
00:43:20,699 --> 00:43:27,639
 like, this is too much, Lord, I can't be effectively praying about this, I must have been

395
00:43:28,619 --> 00:43:32,599
 slacking off, because if there's this much stuff that I have to catch up on,

396
00:43:33,559 --> 00:43:40,219
 then Lord, I'm not, I'm not praying enough. And more and more, I'm just praying in tongues,

397
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:44,480
 Lord, just you know what you want to pray for. And then when I see it, I'm like, yeah,

398
00:43:44,739 --> 00:43:48,940
 I've even thought of that person in years, that person, I should call them.

399
00:43:48,940 --> 00:43:54,199
 Yeah, that's another thing. Oh, and there's another one. And just, and he's just,

400
00:43:54,340 --> 00:44:01,840
 he's filling your mind with what you need to be praying for, because he wants to occupy your

401
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:09,519
 prayers. He wants to feed, he wants to feed the fuel, he wants to fuel your prayers with what he

402
00:44:09,519 --> 00:44:18,920
 wants to do, not only through you, but for you to participate in. And so if you don't pray in

403
00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:25,400
 this, I've known many people that kind of were in the same circle as me, more of a

404
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:32,800
 kind of conservative background, you know, and maybe, maybe didn't honor that gift,

405
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:38,159
 but it was kind of silly or whatever. And just go by yourself and say, Lord, you know,

406
00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:44,199
 if you want me to just humble myself and be a fool for you,

407
00:44:46,340 --> 00:44:51,699
 I'm ready to do it, because Lord, I don't want my will, I want yours to be done.

408
00:44:52,860 --> 00:44:58,579
 And he will do it. He will just start speaking through you. And it's so awesome to say, Lord,

409
00:44:58,780 --> 00:45:04,519
 wow, I've been missing out on this gift. I've been missing out, you know, we can all pray,

410
00:45:04,639 --> 00:45:10,019
 I love praying, but a lot of times it's our mind doing the praying. And we're assuming God's in

411
00:45:10,019 --> 00:45:15,019
 agreement with whatever we're saying. Like, Lord, do this. And by the way, did you get that?

412
00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:20,840
 Break that down. And Lord, I want you to, you know, we're giving him the list of what we want

413
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:27,739
 him to do instead of him giving us the list and not even what we should do, just what we should

414
00:45:28,380 --> 00:45:33,940
 be in prayer for. Amen. Amen. So let's have some communion.

415
00:45:43,220 --> 00:45:50,199
 Yeah, Lord, as we celebrate together, we thank you for this very moment of time,

416
00:45:50,239 --> 00:45:55,920
 this little slither, you know, the last couple of minutes we have together in this room, Lord.

417
00:45:57,739 --> 00:46:05,980
 And we believe, Lord, the God that you want to reside in us. As we eat this bread, Lord God,

418
00:46:06,260 --> 00:46:12,420
 we believe that this represents your body of Christ that was nailed to the cross,

419
00:46:13,780 --> 00:46:21,360
 that became sin on the cross for us. And as we eat this, we remember that we are no longer

420
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:28,079
 sinners. We are saints. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's eat.

421
00:46:32,380 --> 00:46:37,179
 And Father God, as we drink this cup, we thank you, Lord,

422
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:43,219
 that is by the shedding of your blood that our sins are washed away.

423
00:46:44,340 --> 00:46:55,079
 And Lord, we are now new creations with all the iniquity and cleansed us of all of our sins.

424
00:46:55,940 --> 00:46:58,460
 We thank you in Jesus' name. Let's drink.

425
00:47:05,940 --> 00:47:12,699
 After the service, please, if you want some prayer, come on up. Love some prayer counselors up here.

426
00:47:13,700 --> 00:47:19,719
 And also, just make sure you stick around and enjoy the saints and the time together, you know,

427
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:25,679
 because after today, we go back into our routine and our world, and this could be the most

428
00:47:28,619 --> 00:47:33,739
 fortifying time of the week right now is where you get rejuvenated by the saints

429
00:47:34,700 --> 00:47:40,500
 and build up by the prophet of the gifts of the Spirit. Amen.

430
00:47:44,300 --> 00:47:49,800
 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His word.

431
00:47:50,460 --> 00:47:55,940
 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.

432
00:47:55,940 --> 00:47:59,039
 Be blessed and have a great day!