WEBVTT

NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Prayer
Publishing Date: 2022-05-15T06:00:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/prayer/

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Let's move on then.

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I want to talk about one of the things I've noticed is sometimes we, at least I forget that some of us were not here 16 years ago

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and some of the topics we talk about now may not have been heard four years ago, five years ago.

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And so this is one of the topics I wanted to pull up.

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We're going to talk about prayer, but prayer revisited, or however you want to title it.

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Just a few things on prayer.

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Another topic that I want to touch on is suffering, because over the last two, three weeks I've been listening to people talking about suffering

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and the things that they attribute to God as suffering that is being put on us from God.

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When I'd like to say to you that your suffering when it comes to what you think is God must line up with the things that Jesus suffered.

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So Hebrews chapter 5, verse 14 and 15, if that is something that you are talking about, or verse 14 to 17,

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where it says Jesus, because he was obedient, suffered and cried with tears, yeah, that is something if you suffer from, that's a legitimate suffering.

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How about 1 Peter 2, verse 14 to 18, where it talks about how he was insulted and when he was insulted he did not complain, he did not strike back, he suffered quietly.

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How about 2 Corinthians 6, where Paul talks about how he suffered because he was persecuted for standing up for the gospel.

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These are the things that allow us to partake and complete the sufferings of Christ according to Paul.

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But you cannot take other things that happen to you, sometimes because of the fallenness of the world, sometimes because of discipline,

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sometimes because of the consequences of your actions, sometimes because of sin, sometimes because of attack from the enemy.

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We cannot take that and say that I am suffering for Christ. You cannot.

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That just falls under this huge scripture called, there will be trials and tribulations in this world but I have overcome the world.

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So you can't take it all and say this is suffering for Christ. No.

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Because then what happens is the devil can pull a number on you and you won't be able to do squat about it because you think it's coming from God.

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How do you deal with suffering if God is the one who is making you suffer?

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So we got to be aware of these things. But that's for another day.

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Long ago we did a teaching on suffering. Sometimes I forget that those that were here in 2006 are few.

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So let's talk about prayer. Prayer.

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And so one of the ways I want to look at it is our ability to grasp, our ability to grasp and then enforce, grasp and then enforce the design of God.

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The design of God.

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Grasp and then enforce the design of God from the fullness of time, as in from where God plans things, from the fullness of time into the seasons of the earth.

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That's not a complicated explanation really.

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It is that hey guys, when it comes to prayer let's think of prayer as grasping. Let's think of prayer as grasping the design of God.

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What is the will of God or the design of God for a particular situation, for a particular year, for a particular circumstance in your life, for a particular nation?

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What is the design or the will of God? And then after you know the design and the will of God, how do you enforce the design and the will of God?

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Where do we get this from? What scriptural backing is there for it? Very simple. Matthew chapter 11.

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Die will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. As in it's not just die will be, die will be done.

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So there is a grasping and an enforcing here on earth as it is in heaven where it is this idea of grasping things that are being hatched, plotted, strategized in heaven.

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Or let's forget all those words. Things that are in the mind of God in heaven that are now being brought into the seasons of the earth, into your situation or circumstances.

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That will require accessing the storehouse of God. And by the storehouse of God I mean all his principles, all his truths.

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The storehouse of God as in his truths, his principles.

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Both in the Bible and through our knowledge of him by the spirit.

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It's very beautiful to be able to say that.

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That our storehouse is not just the truths and the principles that are in the Bible but they also come from our knowledge of him by the spirit.

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That it's not extra biblical but it is based on now our renewed understanding of Christ through what we read in the word.

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But we get to know how he thinks.

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Any questions on that? Because I don't want us to think that we are going extra biblical.

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And so what you're doing is you pull out from the storehouse as it says in Matthew 13, 52.

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You pull out new things that God hasn't done yet or said yet.

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And you pull out old things as in things he's done in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

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And then you in the process are able to access the heart, the mind and the hands of God.

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Matthew 13, 52.

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You pull out the new and the old as in there are things that God has done that we couldn't see yet.

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And suddenly God says this is why I did it.

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And you pull out the new and the old.

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I mean a classic example is that of Joel chapter 2 where it says I'll pour my spirit upon all flesh.

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Nobody knew what that meant.

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And then one day Peter went and pulled out the old and presented it as new.

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There is nothing new in God because everything is in God from the beginning.

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But there are new things in God because old things in God are presented as new.

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And this way we get to access his heart, his mind, his hands, what he wants to do, how he's thinking, what he's feeling.

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What then transpires or not transpires, what is then conveyed through prayer or made to happen through prayer.

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So it's not a new take on the idea of prayer but it's a new way of looking at how to grasp it.

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Any questions on that?

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Any questions?

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Okay, so let's look at five different things.

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How to struggle with prayer.

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When it comes to prayer, the struggle with it, how to engage it, how to crank it up, how to avoid, what to limit and what to shun.

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We look at those five things.

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What are some of the struggles?

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What can we engage?

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How do we crank it up?

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What should we limit?

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And what should we shun so that we are able to practice what we defined earlier on saying,

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hey, what if we could grasp and enforce the design of God from the fullness of what God is thinking in heaven right now to the seasons of the earth.

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And guys, sometimes God conveys it through ways that only you can understand, where he'll keep pressing a certain thing saying,

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hey, pay attention to this, pay attention to this, pay attention to this.

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And suddenly you think, okay, let me pay attention to this.

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Yeah.

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So, struggle.

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One of the struggles we have when it comes to prayer is we struggle through condemnation.

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Struggle.

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One of the struggles we have when it comes to prayer is we struggle through condemnation.

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Struggle through condemnation.

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One of the reasons we are not able to pray the way we freely could pray is because the Christians are some of us,

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this is very sad, but the Christians are Xiao of the most guilty people on earth.

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This is very sad, but Christians are some of the most guilty people on earth.

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It is so sad that we who are supposed to be redeemed, we who are supposed to be restored, are some of the most guilty people on earth.

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Hey, let me put out something else and this might offend some of you, but this is to help you.

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If you're listening to Paul Washer and people like that, stop it.

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You'll only feel more condemned.

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Just throw that out there and you might say, but Jacob, you shouldn't name people.

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I'm naming them for your sake so that condemnation is something you completely avoid.

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There's enough. I can condemn you. Just come to me.

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Don't listen to professionals. Let me do my unprofessional condemning.

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Yeah.

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So, struggle through condemnation.

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Struggle through condemnation because it stops us from prayer.

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We are some of the most guilt-ridden people on earth, even though we have a God who says there is no condemnation.

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Part of the reason is because we continue to try living in the Old Testament and New Testament.

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Part of the reason is pastors make us feel guilty, leaders make us feel guilty.

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We've grown up in a guilt-ridden Christian context and it so stifles prayer.

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Guys, one of the things that I struggle with is this thing of condemnation.

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Father, can you please bring me to a place where I don't walk in condemnation?

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It's back.

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So, I should focus more on violation of relationship.

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Not on the guilt of sin.

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Why? Because the guilt of sin has been taken away.

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We think that God forgives us because we are really sorry.

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God forgives us not because I'm really sorry.

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God does not forgive me because I'm really sorry.

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God forgives me because his son Jesus Christ paid a price for my sin.

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We think confessing my guilt and shame is what takes away condemnation.

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No.

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It is not confessing my guilt and shame that takes away my condemnation.

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It is wanting to fix my relationship that takes away my condemnation.

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If we as Christians could begin to think of the violation of a relationship rather than the act of sin,

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then you would stop acting out in sin if the relationship became more important.

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Without knowing it, we are continuously cultivating a culture of condemnation, guilt, shame, repentance.

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Condemnation, guilt, shame, repentance.

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It is how we grow up. It is how our families were.

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It is now how the Christian family is.

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And yet we are supposed to be a forgiven and restored people.

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What would it be for me to walk this earth never thinking that I wasn't forgiven or fully restored?

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But that the thing that is being violated again and again in my sin is my relationship.

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And what if that became so important to me that I would constantly work towards restoring my relationship?

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Because being apart from him sucks.

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So repentance then would be defined as wanting to get back into relationship.

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So repentance no longer is can I get rid of my guilt and condemnation and shame.

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Repentance is can I get back into relationship with you.

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For us repentance has become can I get rid of the shame, I'm feeling the guilt, I'm feeling the condemnation, I'm feeling.

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And that's what the world does say.

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Every religion offers you that.

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Take a dip in the Ganges, you'll be your condemnation will end.

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Go to Mecca, your condemnation will end.

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Sit, practice meditation, your condemnation will end.

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Ours is not so much the condemnation, sin and shame that has to be affected first.

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It is yes what I have done may be that but I need to fix my relationship with you and you are a good God.

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So as I fix my relationship with you I realize over a period of time that that becomes more critical for me because you're not condemning me anyways.

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Therefore there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ.

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It is such a scary place to enter because this is what we think keeps us on the straight and narrow.

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But what should keep me on the straight and narrow is my relationship with the Father.

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Out of my relationship with the Father comes this idea of I can't bear this, I got to go repent.

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I got to go say sorry to God saying Father really can't live without you, did something wrong, violated relationship.

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You've given me your standard of holiness, I want to re-enter that.

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Sorry about this.

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That is how we work it out.

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It is a violation of relationship that we should be after, not cleansing our sheet of handwritten accusations.

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Because Colossians says that was nailed to the cross but every time we go over it again and again and again,

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it gets in the way of prayer.

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Because may I suggest this to you, in a really good church, most of us are almost always walking under some kind of condemnation

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because we are never meeting the requirements most days.

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This is why we were taught right from when we were kids, before you go to pray, ask God to forgive your sins.

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So the first step in prayer is ask forgiveness for sins.

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Nothing wrong with it but I'm trying to remove training wheels off our bicycles so that we can cycle better.

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Otherwise we will always follow this pattern, it will be either like this or like this or like this.

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There will be some pattern, right?

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Nothing wrong with patterns.

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First think of yourself, then think of God, then I forgot the third finger.

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So it was this thing which you were taught and it was a pattern.

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But patterns are good when you are learning but it should get to a place of relationship.

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Any questions?

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So you have to tell me by words, we have to work towards getting back to relationship and we have to do something.

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But I think it's how if you don't have a relationship, you want to get back to it.

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And I'm saying, Father, this is more important for me than anything else so put me back in.

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He does all the work.

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He does all the work.

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I'm just saying, I mean Chad preached on this, I think this morning and he called me to ask me about this story that you've heard many times where my sister scolded her son, my nephew.

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And my nephew is standing there crying because he just got rebuked.

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Then he's standing there and he's saying, Mama, I'm feeling bad, do something.

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Here is a child who knows he's out of place, out of sync, not in connection with his mother.

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And instead of finding some way to fix it, he looks at the very one who's rebuked him and saying, Mama, I'm feeling sad, do something, make the sadness go away.

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For me that is a classic way to repent.

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Makes prayer much easier.

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Otherwise it's so hard to pray because you're always thinking maybe there's something here that will work against me because God might be upset with this.

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Man, at least you guys started off well.

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When I started I thought you had to repent with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

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All my prayers had to be three times.

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Then I would first go tell the Father I was sorry, then I think better tell Jesus too because he paid the price.

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So then would tell him, then I think now if I leave out the Holy Spirit that won't be good.

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So I'd go tell the Holy Spirit too.

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And the days I would sin a little extra, man those days most of the time would be taken up in repentance because you had to do it three times over.

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We'll always have failures guys.

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And these are not even sin.

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I'm talking about failures, shortcomings.

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We'll always not meet what is required.

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But I cannot let that take away from God's desire to do things here on earth in terms of me praying and seeing what I need to access in terms of his designs for situations and implement them.

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Ask yourself this question, do I walk the earth like a restored, forgiven person?

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We don't know what it is to have a president give us a pardon or the government take a long list of jail sentences and things that you've done and remove it.

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When I think of Pawan, I think of the miracle of God.

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Everything that he did was just swept away under the carpet as if it didn't exist.

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He probably knows what it is to walk free, what it is to get a passport, what it is to get a license.

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After all the things he did, he still gets to walk free.

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We don't know what it is because we haven't borne the weight and then been pardoned.

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But what would it be to walk fully pardoned?

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What would it be to always walk in this place that Gloria Gaither wrote in that song?

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I know my name is clear before my father.

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I am his child and I am not afraid.

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That is what it means to be forgiven and restored.

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And I want to tell you that I'm not there.

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I am so ashamed of it that after all these years I'm still struggling with it.

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I can quote scripture, I'm a child of God, I'm a co-heir with God and I'm all that.

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And then after standing in front of a mirror and quoting all that I can still feel this way.

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There's a gap. It's here and here that have to work.

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Yeah, what people fear is if you take away this element of repentance and all that stuff,

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then wouldn't that lead people to commit more sin?

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Probably, which is why relationship is critical.

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You find it very hard to break the heart of someone you love.

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Remember the definition of the fear of God.

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The fear of God is the dread of offending the one you love.

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The fear of God is the dread, the absolute dread of grieving the one you love.

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You can't bear it.

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To bring that much hurt to someone is so unbearable for you that you would rather pay the price than hurt them.

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I've had such relationships in my life, man.

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You have that with your children sometimes.

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Struggle through condemnation.

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Next thing is struggle through confidence.

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Struggle through confidence.

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One of the problems we have when we come to prayer is we lack the confidence,

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either because we've had experiences that didn't prove God,

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or because we are illiterate when it comes to the word,

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or to the usage of the word or the wielding of the word,

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or because we are armchair theorizers who haven't tried it out in battlefields.

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Struggle through confidence.

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Confidence is sometimes lacking because of my experience.

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Because of my experience.

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Sometimes I prayed it didn't happen, and so the experience then begins to affect me.

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The second thing is sometimes I'm just illiterate.

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I may know the word, but I don't know how to use it.

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Or sometimes I want to use the word, but I don't know the word.

00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:13.000
I love it when I tell stories and see people not knowing that story.

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:16.000
Not I love it. It tickles me.

00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.000
I guess that is I love it.

00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:22.000
But when you tell a story and you're watching the person and you realize,

00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:28.000
hasn't heard this one before, we are very illiterate when it comes to stories.

00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:30.000
And sometimes we have to become literate,

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.000
and sometimes it's not enough to know the word, we have to wield it too.

00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:37.000
And so these are the reasons why there's a lack of confidence.

00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:39.000
And the third one is armchair theorizers,

00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:43.000
where you know the word and you can quote it, you can teach it, you can preach it,

00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:47.000
but put you out in the field and you wouldn't know how one end of the spear from the other.

00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:57.000
And so how do we deal with this?

00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:03.000
By really devaluing this.

00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.000
Your experience doesn't matter.

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.000
Your experience of failure does not count.

00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.000
It is a fear that you have to deal with immediately.

00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.000
You let that grow.

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:18.000
You let that grow roots and it's very, very difficult.

00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:23.000
When something that you pray for does not happen and it begins to grow roots,

00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:25.000
that's how doubt begins.

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:26.000
And doubt is a very simple thing.

00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:33.000
Doubt is Satan's attempt to distort or deny the intent, nature and the voice of God forever.

00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.000
Doubt, and we talked about doubt some weeks ago.

00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:41.000
Doubt is Satan's attempt to distort or deny

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:46.000
the intent, the nature and the voice of God through an experience.

00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:50.000
Because of this experience now, could I make you, Jacob,

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:57.000
come to that place where you either deny or distort forever the intent,

00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:01.000
the nature and the voice of God so you can never trust him again for the rest of your life?

00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:07.000
So much so that you will go and find theology to support your position.

00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:11.000
You will go and find scriptures to back up your position.

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:16.000
It's crazy how we can back up doubt with scripture.

00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:27.000
Always remember, guys, the way to see God is see him through his nature, not through the word.

00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:30.000
The word should give you an understanding of his nature.

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.000
His nature should be experimented with.

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:35.000
Now having experimented with his nature and known his nature,

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.000
read the word through his nature, not read the nature through the word.

00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.000
It's not complicated.

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.000
If I know his nature, then when I read what he has written,

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:49.000
I will know the tone, the heart, the mind behind every word.

00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:57.000
If I don't read the... This is the death knell,

00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:04.000
the bell toll for academic institutions that read the word through the heart.

00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:09.000
Read the word without the nature of God.

00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:14.000
And hundreds and hundreds of Tunis are being slaughtered.

00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:19.000
Thank God we got him before he went down that route.

00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:24.000
Where you will teach them the Greek and the Hebrew,

00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:28.000
but you will not show them the nature of God.

00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.000
Places like that should be shut down.

00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:37.000
It's evil man. It's taking rich, potent people of God

00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.000
and not teaching them the nature of God.

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:48.000
Is it important? Absolutely.

00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:51.000
Is systematic study important? You cannot do without it.

00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:53.000
But you read the word through the nature of God.

00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:56.000
You don't read the nature of God through the word

00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:58.000
because you will not understand the nature of God

00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.000
just because you understand Greek and Hebrew.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:13.000
Let me get off my hobby horse.

00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:21.000
Discount your experience. Do not let the roots of doubt grow in.

00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:27.000
The solution to this is obviously becoming literate.

00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.000
So there's no choice there.

00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:36.000
And this, the safest place to run a hockey game from

00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.000
is from your recliner in front of your TV.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.000
Get in there and you will see how much it hurts.

00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.000
How your teeth go flying, your knee goes this way,

00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:51.000
guys elbow you and then we will see whether you really have

00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:56.000
what it takes to play seven games and he's not here.

00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.000
You lose.

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:06.000
I told Evan I wouldn't say a word about the Leafs' loss today.

00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:10.000
The Leafs lost again. It's 14 years in a row.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.000
But since he's not here we can talk about it.

00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:17.000
But I said I wouldn't bring it up while he was here.

00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:20.000
But yeah, let's move on.

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:23.000
I'm glad he's teaching the kids today.

00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:26.000
Though today might be about hell and stuff like that.

00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.000
Someone should go and check on what he's teaching them.

00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.000
Okay, struggle through conflict.

00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:47.000
Struggle through conflicting schedules and so on.

00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:51.000
One of the reasons I find it so hard to pray is because

00:28:51.000 --> 00:29:00.000
my time, my calendar does not allow me to move from

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.000
being relational with God in prayer

00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.000
to being intentional with God in prayer.

00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.000
It's great to be relational in prayer

00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:14.000
where you pray unceasingly.

00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:16.000
You have these conversations with him.

00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.000
And that's an important part.

00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:21.000
At some point if I don't go from being relational in prayer

00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:25.000
to intentional in prayer, then I'll never get to that place.

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:27.000
Never get to that place.

00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.000
Most of us don't have enough time to pray.

00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:40.000
So what if I could be intentional about it?

00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.000
Is it possible? Some of you are good at it, eh?

00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:47.000
Some of you are good at it.

00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:50.000
The ones who are older are usually better at it

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.000
because they grew up at a time when things were systematic

00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:56.000
and they dedicated time to prayer.

00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.000
But some of us are not.

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.000
I wish I could pray more because I don't pray intentionally enough.

00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.000
I pray relationally a lot but intentionally not enough.

00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.000
And that's dangerous for you as a church, eh?

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.000
Because if the pastor does not set aside intentional time

00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.000
for these things, the church begins to suffer at some point.

00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.000
We've been afraid.

00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:18.000
Pardon?

00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:19.000
We've been afraid.

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:23.000
All righty, send her down to Sunday School also.

00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:30.000
I mean, you misbehave when Mike is not here, eh?

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:31.000
I've noticed.

00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:39.000
All righty, lots of Sunday School teachers today.

00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:47.000
Yeah, struggle through this conflict of time and schedule.

00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:49.000
Struggle through this conflict.

00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.000
Okay, next one, engage.

00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.000
Engage, and this is the flip side of it.

00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:04.000
Engage in conversation first before you go prayer.

00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.000
Probably most of us know how to do that, but in case we don't,

00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:17.000
remember that this intentional time of prayer should be preceded by conversation.

00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:19.000
And conversation is unlimited.

00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:21.000
Conversation is unlimited.

00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:23.000
It just goes on and on and on.

00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:27.000
And in our conversations with God, there might be intentional times of prayer,

00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:29.000
but conversation must be developed first.

00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:35.000
It is in conversation that you begin to develop a relationship.

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.000
It is in conversation that you begin to think like God.

00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:49.000
It is in conversation that God gets an opportunity not to answer.

00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:52.000
I'll explain that.

00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.000
When you ask God a question in conversation and he doesn't give you the answer,

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.000
now you have to engage him in more conversations before you get there.

00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.000
You do that with your children and your parents did that with you.

00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:11.000
When you ask your dad a question, he could give you the answer,

00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:14.000
but instead of giving you the answer, he takes you down another route

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.000
so that at the end of the day you find the answer yourself.

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:19.000
It's in conversation that these things happen.

00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:21.000
And if you can get it right in conversation,

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:25.000
and conversation cannot be the typical intentional time of prayer,

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.000
father, I pray for this, now I pray for this, now I pray.

00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:30.000
No, it is father, what are you thinking of?

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:31.000
Father, this is what I was thinking of.

00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:32.000
Father, how come this happened?

00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.000
It's like a child and a dad conversing.

00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.000
Out of that must come intentional times of prayer.

00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:44.000
I guarantee you if you went up with Jesus up the mountains in the book of Mark

00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.000
when Peter was going looking for him,

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:50.000
man, it would have been amazing to be a fly on the mountain

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.000
where you could hear his conversations.

00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.000
And in between there'd be intentional times of prayer.

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:57.000
Which 12 should I pick?

00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:00.000
Matthew 11 is a conversation.

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:03.000
Father, all I have is yours and all you have is mine.

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:13.000
And then in between the conversation he begins to pray,

00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.000
thank you for these ones that you have given me.

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:17.000
And then from the conversation to intentional prayer,

00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:22.000
he then moves into actual, he moves into actual prayer.

00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:23.000
Thank you for these ones that you have given me.

00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:25.000
And then from the conversation to intentional prayer,

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.000
he then moves into actual speaking to his disciples and he says,

00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:33.000
come to me, all you that have weary and I will give you rest.

00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:36.000
It moves from having a conversation with the father

00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.000
to being intentional about praying

00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:43.000
and then from that into this is what God is saying now.

00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:46.000
This is how it moves.

00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:49.000
Any questions on that one?

00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:52.000
Okay, engage in compassion.

00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:56.000
Engage in compassion.

00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:59.000
When you pray, engage in compassion.

00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:01.000
When you pray, engage in compassion.

00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.000
Even if you're praying judgment, engage in compassion.

00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:09.000
Even if you're praying for something that is evil to be turned around,

00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:11.000
engage in compassion.

00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:16.000
Compassion is the dynamo that generates power.

00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:25.000
Compassion is the dynamo that generates power.

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:35.000
Very often Jesus would do things because he was moved with compassion.

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.000
So even when I'm praying judgment,

00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:42.000
I must be moved with compassion because there might be a lot.

00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.000
There might be someone in Sodom that needs to be spared.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:48.000
So compassion generates power.

00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:55.000
Compassion generates power.

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.000
Any questions?

00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:03.000
It is important to deliberately take compassion and fit it in your heart.

00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:06.000
Like Iron Man has a thing that he fits into his heart.

00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:10.000
In the same way you're going to take compassion and...

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:15.000
Because once you fit it, then everything that you pray comes from heaven.

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:18.000
Heaven is a highly compassionate place.

00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:22.000
I'm Yahweh, gracious and compassionate.

00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:25.000
That is the first revelation of his name.

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:30.000
That is the first revelation of his name in Exodus 33.

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.000
You've got to take it and put it in,

00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:42.000
and it allows you to pray like you've never prayed before.

00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:44.000
Third, engage in contention.

00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:47.000
Engage in contention.

00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:55.000
As I'm writing this, I'm sure you're aware that this is not your emu.

00:35:55.000 --> 00:36:03.000
Engage in contention.

00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:06.000
Engage in contention.

00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:15.000
Can you be persistent like God invites us in Isaiah 62, verses 8-6?

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.000
I know it should be 6-8, but if you read verse 8-6 and go that way,

00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:21.000
it says, Hey, do not give me rest.

00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:25.000
I want you to come to me and begin to pray and be persistent.

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:27.000
Do not give me rest.

00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:35.000
God is inviting us to be persistent.

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:37.000
The battle has never been between God and the devil.

00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:40.000
The battle has always been between man and the devil.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000
Christ came to return to man the authority that he has.

00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:46.000
So sometimes persistence is necessary.

00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:51.000
It is not that God cannot wipe out the entire Satanic army by blinking his eyes.

00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:53.000
He doesn't even need to do anything.

00:36:53.000 --> 00:37:03.000
But because the battle has always been between the sons of Adam and the devil,

00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:07.000
the victory also will come through the sons of Adam, sons of the second Adam.

00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:11.000
So sometimes we have to be persistent.

00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:23.000
Persistence, engage in contention.

00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:27.000
Aggression.

00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:31.000
Aggression must be emotional.

00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:34.000
Aggression must be emotional.

00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:38.000
Aggression that is not emotional is not aggression.

00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.000
Jesus didn't say, Ah, there's a whip on the wall.

00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:42.000
Let me just take that whip.

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:44.000
Come now. Go. Go.

00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:46.000
He didn't do that.

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.000
Aggression is emotional.

00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:57.000
When I hear an aggressive prayer, I know it.

00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:07.000
Oh, by the way, the Bruins lost too.

00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:13.000
It is then that we get to inflict.

00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:15.000
That's an old wound from 2011.

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:21.000
You inflict loss on the enemy.

00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:26.000
It is through contention that you inflict loss on the enemy that he is.

00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:35.000
It is through contention that you inflict loss on the enemy that you provoke hostilities.

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:42.000
That you smite the lion and the bear like David did.

00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:48.000
So my question is, is this a normal part of your praying?

00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:51.000
And if it is not, why is it not?

00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:54.000
Is it because I am not literate?

00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:57.000
Is it because I am an armchair theorizer?

00:38:57.000 --> 00:39:00.000
Is it because I don't know how to?

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:05.000
And if that is the case, what are you going to do about it?

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.000
Don't answer. I'm just asking these questions.

00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:16.000
There's a place in Exodus 17, or Numbers 17.

00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:21.000
Exodus 17, verse 9, where some version says that

00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:29.000
God says to Israel, hey, go and provoke hostilities with the Amalekites.

00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:33.000
Go needle them. Go irritate them so that they rise up.

00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:37.000
And when they rise up, I'll just put them down.

00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:41.000
But go do something to get their mojo going, get their goat up.

00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:46.000
It is almost like God saying, come on, these guys did great harm to you.

00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:49.000
And now I want you to go and needle them so that they rise up.

00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:52.000
And when they rise up, I'll slap them silly.

00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:04.000
So the question is, is this kind of prayer something you engage in at least once a month?

00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:07.000
What do you engage in it for?

00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:09.000
And are these things happening?

00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:11.000
And if it's not happening, is it because I'm not literate?

00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:13.000
Is it because I don't know how to?

00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:17.000
Is it because I'm an armchair theorizer who never gets put in situations where this happens?

00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:20.000
And if so, what am I going to do about it?

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:33.000
Smite the lion and the bear?

00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:37.000
No smiting Goliath till I smite the lion and the bear.

00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:43.000
One of the things you cannot say in this church is that you don't have opportunities.

00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:46.000
You can only stay away from opportunities.

00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:49.000
There won't be a dearth of opportunities.

00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:53.000
Next one, limit.

00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:59.000
What can we limit so that we pray better?

00:40:59.000 --> 00:41:01.000
Limit commitments.

00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:04.000
Limit commitments.

00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:09.000
As in limit the number of people you pray for.

00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:15.000
If they say, please pray for me, don't reply if you don't plan to.

00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:22.000
My poor niece, she said she's got exams yesterday at 7 in the morning.

00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:25.000
Then at 8 o'clock she might be listening.

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:28.000
At 8 or 8.30 she said, I've got exams today.

00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:32.000
Then she said, please pray.

00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:33.000
I'm still not responding.

00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:36.000
So finally just now she said, you will pray, right?

00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:38.000
So I finally said, okay.

00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:40.000
So I'm not saying do that to your niece.

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:43.000
But I'm saying limit commitment.

00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:46.000
There's only so many people you can pray for.

00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:50.000
So Jacob, what about the ones who ask?

00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:54.000
It's sometimes impossible, guys.

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:57.000
There's a way that we can go about it.

00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:00.000
Limit the number of people you can pray for.

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:07.000
Have you noticed how it's only when it's absolutely required that we send prayer requests.

00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:11.000
Because I know that you're on at least four prayer chains.

00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:14.000
And that you're praying like crazy.

00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:16.000
And you don't have enough time to pray.

00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:18.000
For yourself or for most things.

00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:21.000
This is a terrible way to teach about prayer.

00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:30.000
So people, prayer requests, calendars that you maintain.

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:35.000
Where in the olden days, and I'm talking about when you were in the olden days,

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:37.000
and I'm talking about when I was young,

00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:42.000
you would take people in a church directory and begin to pray for them.

00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:43.000
And it was good.

00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:44.000
It was intentional.

00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:45.000
It was systematic.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:50.000
But while I'm doing that, there should be days when I have to do other things too.

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:53.000
Where I don't follow a calendar or a schedule.

00:42:53.000 --> 00:42:54.000
It's not one or the other.

00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:55.000
It's both.

00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:59.000
So how do I then deal with this if I'm saying limit commitments?

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:10.000
Focus on your present role that God appoints you to.

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:21.000
In terms of people, places, functions.

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:26.000
That's how you look at it.

00:43:27.000 --> 00:43:28.000
Yeah.

00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:30.000
Yeah.

00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:38.000
So again, if I'm an intercessor, I have to find out what am I supposed to intercede for?

00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:40.000
So focus on your role.

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:41.000
What am I supposed to intercede for?

00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:45.000
Let's say at present, let's pick on Derek.

00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:47.000
Let's say Derek's focus is Wally.

00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:51.000
So most of his time must be spent on interceding for, praying for things of Wally.

00:43:51.000 --> 00:43:53.000
It's not that if I ask him to pray, he won't pray.

00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:56.000
But he needs to know where his commitment is.

00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:05.000
Because it will allow me to pray more for things with more time, more understanding, with a deeper insight than otherwise.

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:07.000
Otherwise, Prashanth said, let's pray.

00:44:07.000 --> 00:44:08.000
Oh, Father, Prashanth said pray.

00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:09.000
Father, I just pray for him.

00:44:09.000 --> 00:44:10.000
Just bless him.

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:12.000
And then Remy comes and says, please pray for me also.

00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:13.000
OK, Father, please pray for her.

00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:15.000
I forget what he asked for prayer.

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:16.000
So you've got to go check.

00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:18.000
You've got to go through scrolls of text messages.

00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:19.000
Finally, you find.

00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:20.000
Oh, Remy said pray for him.

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:21.000
OK, you pray for that.

00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:24.000
Reality, I'm telling you what you actually do.

00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:28.000
Or we gather them all together.

00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:30.000
This is the easiest way to pray.

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:32.000
Collect them all together.

00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:33.000
Put your hands on the Father.

00:44:33.000 --> 00:44:34.000
Bless them.

00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:36.000
Meet them at their point of need.

00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:38.000
It is the easiest way to pray.

00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:40.000
Thank God this church is small.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:42.000
But even in a small church like this, I could do that.

00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:44.000
Meet them at their point of need.

00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:47.000
And I could do that quite sincerely.

00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:52.000
But this is not a good thing to be live streaming.

00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:58.000
But the thing is, what if I know my function and role at present?

00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:02.000
And that becomes the main focus while I'm praying for other things too.

00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:05.000
So there'll be a time when I have to ask God, Father,

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:08.000
are there things that I'm missing out that I need to pray for today?

00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:10.000
Can you bring them to mind?

00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:13.000
That you want me to pray for.

00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:17.000
And when he begins to highlight it, you take time aside and you say, OK, Father,

00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:19.000
so how do I pray about this?

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:22.000
Because remember our initial definition of prayer.

00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:24.000
Can I get the design of heaven?

00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:26.000
Can I grasp it?

00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:27.000
Can I enforce it?

00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:32.000
Can I bring to pass what God has in the fullness of time here in seasons of the earth,

00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:35.000
in lives, in situations, in nations, in peoples?

00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:39.000
So I spend a lot of time praying for nations.

00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:41.000
Why? Because I know my role.

00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:46.000
So I'll know when to change plans, when to go another place.

00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:50.000
Does it mean I don't pray for people at Acts of the Land?

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:52.000
I do.

00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:56.000
But it's not just your job to pray for everybody here.

00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:57.000
Yeah.

00:45:57.000 --> 00:46:00.000
Though if we had a few more deacons serving tables,

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:05.000
then I could dedicate myself to more teaching and praying, like Acts, Chapter 6.

00:46:09.000 --> 00:46:12.000
Yeah. So it is important that the leaders pray,

00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:15.000
but this is why the idea of a house tour is so inviting,

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:20.000
because the people that you focus on are so much lesser.

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.000
Dealing with nine kids is harder than dealing with two kids or one kid.

00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:30.000
If you don't agree with any of this...

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:38.000
Peter, could you give us an example of the people of present function that you direct and focus on?

00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:03.000
You focus on the ones that are placed in your chart.

00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:07.000
You focus on the ones that have been given to you, say like a city called Wally.

00:47:07.000 --> 00:47:09.000
You focus on the role that you play.

00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:14.000
If my role is one of going to different nations and breaking nations open so that things happen in nations,

00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:17.000
then I have to focus on that more than everything else.

00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:20.000
In your workplace, why don't we find this difficult?

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:23.000
Why aren't you doing every job in your workplace?

00:47:23.000 --> 00:47:26.000
Why aren't you doing some admin too while you're teaching?

00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:28.000
Why don't you help the janitor?

00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:34.000
Some after school training. Surely you have time for that.

00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:48.000
At work, we don't have a problem with this.

00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:50.000
I'm not saying we become specialized.

00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:56.000
The danger of being specialized is you only focus on what you're good at, and that is not kingdom.

00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:03.000
The kingdom of God is a place where the architect has to carry bricks on his head,

00:48:03.000 --> 00:48:06.000
and the bricklayer has to try and design.

00:48:06.000 --> 00:48:11.000
So you don't get specialized in this, but you also know your role and try to focus on it.

00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:22.000
Engage, sorry, limit words, limit words, limit words.

00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:26.000
As in, check on a couple of things.

00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:30.000
Any wasteful words in your praying? It takes too much time then.

00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:36.000
Any rehearsed words? Words that you have been saying for the last 20 years.

00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:41.000
Any patterns in your praying that haven't changed?

00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:45.000
Check.

00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:51.000
People learn what they hear, eh? People learn from how you pray.

00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:54.000
People learn from how you pray.

00:48:58.000 --> 00:49:03.000
It happens to worship leaders, it happens to intercessors, it happens to pastors.

00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:08.000
Some words they get, they've been saying for the last 20 years.

00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:10.000
You remember when Darlene Sheck first came?

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:13.000
Every woman worship leader looked like Darlene Sheck.

00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:19.000
They all wore that long thing, and they would say the same thing.

00:49:23.000 --> 00:49:30.000
Limit words. Some words are wasteful, some words are rehearsed, some words are patterns.

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:35.000
If it's continuing in my life for years, then my prayer will...

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:40.000
Guys, here's the thing. Your prayer will betray your relationship with the Father.

00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:48.000
Not betray, will expose. Your prayer will expose your relationship with the Father.

00:49:48.000 --> 00:49:52.000
If you heard me talking to Derek, and if you heard me talking to Sade,

00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:57.000
you would instantly know who I am more friendly with and who I have known longer.

00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:04.000
Why? Because I've only known Sade for a year.

00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:10.000
I've known Derek from the moment he sent me an email saying, praise the Lord, Pastor.

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:13.000
Yeah. That was many, many years ago.

00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:16.000
That was many, many years ago.

00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:29.000
Yeah. And when you say this is the way you should pray,

00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:36.000
we just thought that the way he suggested the Lord's prayer is a pattern.

00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:41.000
And it wasn't. In that one prayer, he shows you so many elements that take a prayer.

00:50:41.000 --> 00:50:45.000
So there's the evil part there. There's the deliverance part there.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.000
There's the will of God in heaven as on earth. There is the hallowing of the Father.

00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:52.000
There is the need to know that grace is sufficient.

00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:55.000
There is also the need to know that even though grace is sufficient,

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:58.000
you can still ask for provision. But a greater place would be to know,

00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:01.000
why run after the things that the pagans run after?

00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:08.000
And all of it, then... We take the Lord's prayer and we just encapsulate that.

00:51:08.000 --> 00:51:11.000
But we forget what he said before that and what he said after that.

00:51:11.000 --> 00:51:13.000
It is this continuous thing that is happening.

00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:16.000
And in between, he also introduces the Lord's prayer.

00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:20.000
And so, on one hand, it says, give us this day our daily bread.

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.000
And on the other hand, daily bread is the grace that he supplies anyways.

00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:26.000
And he says before that in Matthew chapter 5,

00:51:26.000 --> 00:51:29.000
why do you pursue after the things that the pagans pursue after?

00:51:29.000 --> 00:51:31.000
They look for food and shelter and clothes.

00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:35.000
Don't you know that your Father will provide them for you regardless of whether you ask or not?

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:37.000
He gives you before you ask. Look at the birds of the air.

00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:42.000
They don't do anything. And so it's this double thing, eh?

00:51:44.000 --> 00:51:46.000
What happened, Phoebs?

00:51:49.000 --> 00:51:51.000
Oh my Lord, they're all coming.

00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:01.000
I was going to say the barbarians are here, then I thought, no, these are children.

00:52:01.000 --> 00:52:06.000
The next one is limit identifying.

00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:09.000
This is an important one and this will ruffle a few feathers right now.

00:52:09.000 --> 00:52:11.000
Limit identifying.

00:52:11.000 --> 00:52:18.000
When we pray, we have a tendency to identify and sympathize.

00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:26.000
We identify with our experience.

00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:33.000
We identify with our experiences that others might be going through.

00:52:33.000 --> 00:52:37.000
We identify with reasoning, saying, hmm, I understand.

00:52:37.000 --> 00:52:42.000
And we identify with equity or justice where we want justice for someone else.

00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:49.000
And what this does is it clouds intercession.

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:57.000
Because at the end of the day, intercession is defined as interceding on behalf of someone based on God's agenda.

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:16.000
But what happens to most interceders is because they identify with the ones they are praying for,

00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:22.000
they begin to fight for the person based on the person's agenda.

00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:27.000
Intercessors should identify with God's interest, not with a person's interest.

00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:35.000
That is so critical. Otherwise we identify with these empathy and sympathy that arises.

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.000
It's not wrong, but it is not what fuels or directs it.

00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:41.000
Otherwise we identify with justice causes.

00:53:41.000 --> 00:53:45.000
Those of us who have a thirst for justice, it is great.

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:50.000
God has given you that quality. But don't let your passion for justice begin to cloud your intercession.

00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:55.000
Some of us have experiences we have been through.

00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.000
I've been through a drug experience, you're going through a drug experience, therefore I know how to pray for you.

00:53:59.000 --> 00:54:03.000
You don't. Your experience is completely different from mine.

00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:09.000
I have to intercede based on God's agenda for you, not based on how I experienced it.

00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.000
Limit identification.

00:54:27.000 --> 00:54:31.000
So many times I want to say, yeah I really understand, let me just...

00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:37.000
No, and then you've got to stop and say, Father, I really understand, but I really don't, so what are you thinking?

00:54:37.000 --> 00:54:41.000
OK, next one. Crank up. Crank up the prophetic.

00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:48.000
Crank up the prophetic.

00:54:49.000 --> 00:54:52.000
Hear God, speak the will of heaven.

00:54:52.000 --> 00:54:54.000
Hear God, speak the will of heaven.

00:54:54.000 --> 00:54:56.000
In prayer, hear God, speak the will of heaven.

00:54:56.000 --> 00:54:58.000
If you can't, start small.

00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:00.000
If you can't, try.

00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:02.000
If you can't, in prayer, start small.

00:55:02.000 --> 00:55:04.000
If you can't, try.

00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:09.440
If you can't, try. If you can't, insist on trying. If you can't get too many words,

00:55:09.440 --> 00:55:12.880
if you can't get too many hearings, if you can't get too many ideas of what God wants,

00:55:12.880 --> 00:55:21.360
try the little word that you've got and stop. Don't add more to it. Be desperate. Be embarrassed.

00:55:21.360 --> 00:55:27.080
Be foolish. But try to hear heaven. Two words from heaven are far more powerful than 300 words from

00:55:27.080 --> 00:55:31.840
your mouth. They mean nothing when those words come from your mouth and they're not in agreement

00:55:31.840 --> 00:55:37.040
with God. Your prayers are useless anyways. The person feels better. That's about it till they

00:55:37.040 --> 00:55:45.600
leave your presence. Crank up the prophetic. Hear God. Hear the will of heaven. Isaiah 50,

00:55:45.600 --> 00:55:51.360
verse 4. He wakes me up every morning to instruct me so that I may have the tongue of a ready

00:55:51.360 --> 00:56:05.600
learner. Isaiah 50, verse 4. Try that, eh? Let him wake you up with a word that instructs you

00:56:05.680 --> 00:56:19.360
every morning before you grab your phone. Crank up the prophetic. Crank up purity.

00:56:21.200 --> 00:56:29.840
Crank up purity. It's amazing how 1st Timothy 2.8 says, I want men everywhere to raise up holy hands

00:56:30.800 --> 00:56:36.320
when they pray. I don't know why this holy hands thing is so important in the Old Testament, eh?

00:56:38.320 --> 00:56:46.320
Psalm 24. Who can open the ancient gates? Who can open the gates so that the king of glory may come

00:56:46.480 --> 00:57:04.480
in? Those that have clean hands and pure hearts. Crank up purity because purity allows you to pray

00:57:04.560 --> 00:57:12.160
with great force. This is why it says in James 5, the fervent prayer of a righteous man.

00:57:19.360 --> 00:57:24.960
Crank it up and you get great results with minimal effort.

00:57:27.200 --> 00:57:28.880
Maximum result with minimum effort.

00:57:28.880 --> 00:57:40.560
There's a scripture in 2 Samuel 23, verse 6, where David is talking about sons of bellyala,

00:57:40.560 --> 00:57:45.840
sons of wickedness. He says, when you go against the sons of wickedness, don't handle those thorns

00:57:45.840 --> 00:57:51.200
with your bare hands. Make sure you have spear or shaft. There again is this idea that there are

00:57:51.200 --> 00:57:57.920
certain things you cannot deal with your bare hands. Holy hands on the other hand have the

00:57:57.920 --> 00:58:02.400
ability to deal with bellyala, the sons of wickedness. Bellyala is just another name for

00:58:02.400 --> 00:58:08.080
Beelzebub, kind of. It's basically worthless. Worthless wickedness.

00:58:11.680 --> 00:58:12.800
So crank up purity.

00:58:15.440 --> 00:58:16.080
The last one is

00:58:18.800 --> 00:58:23.200
crank up expectation. Crank up expectation.

00:58:24.160 --> 00:58:27.120
As in prayer, my expectations should be crazy.

00:58:29.440 --> 00:58:32.640
Otherwise, I might only go to a mid-sized god.

00:58:34.640 --> 00:58:40.160
A mid-sized god does not enjoy doing mid-sized stuff because he just ate mid-sized and so I miss

00:58:40.160 --> 00:58:46.320
out. So crank up expectations. One of the ways we crank up expectations is by being

00:58:46.320 --> 00:58:48.640
expressive about what we expect.

00:58:48.880 --> 00:58:50.400
Expressive about what we expect.

00:58:59.280 --> 00:59:06.800
Expressive about what we expect. How do I know what your expectation is unless you don't express it?

00:59:06.800 --> 00:59:14.960
So when you don't express what you expect as a result, then your expectations are pretty low

00:59:14.960 --> 00:59:17.840
or pretty hidden or pretty not sure.

00:59:20.960 --> 00:59:26.800
What is your expectation? Every time someone had an expectation, they would say it.

00:59:29.680 --> 00:59:33.600
They'd have to hear God, otherwise they would look foolish. But regardless, foolishness is

00:59:33.600 --> 00:59:37.520
part of this kingdom. Cannot survive in this kingdom without looking foolish.

00:59:37.520 --> 00:59:42.800
So what is your expectation? Expectation is always expressed. Expectation is expressed

00:59:42.800 --> 00:59:50.320
because it's faithful. Expectation is faithful because they are your God words.

00:59:55.440 --> 00:59:56.800
Crank up expectation.

00:59:57.440 --> 00:59:58.720
Crank up expectation.

01:00:06.880 --> 01:00:12.000
I'm not here to convince you about an expectation that I have in God. I'm here to tell you about

01:00:12.000 --> 01:00:18.160
it and you will see. You will either disbelieve it now and not eat of it or you will believe

01:00:18.160 --> 01:00:21.280
it now and eat of it. But mine is not to hold it back.

01:00:21.280 --> 01:00:27.440
Tomorrow morning, Elisha said, these very rivers that you see will be filled with water

01:00:27.440 --> 01:00:33.040
and the fact that you have been under siege for months will end and there'll be enough grain

01:00:33.040 --> 01:00:39.520
to eat it. And the servant who the king was leaning on told Elisha, shut up, you're not

01:00:39.520 --> 01:00:44.720
supposed to say something like this. Elisha said to him, you will see it but you will not eat it.

01:00:44.720 --> 01:00:49.440
And the next morning the sun comes up and the river flows. And the river flows.

01:00:49.440 --> 01:00:53.440
And the next morning the sun comes up and the river looks red like blood.

01:00:54.560 --> 01:00:58.560
And the enemy flees thinking their armies have been slaughtered.

01:00:59.200 --> 01:01:04.640
And three lepers go into the enemy camp and see tons and tons of food and spoils.

01:01:04.640 --> 01:01:09.040
And they come and tell Israel. And Israel goes and eats the very next day.

01:01:09.440 --> 01:01:15.440
What if Elisha did not express what he saw? But he expresses it.

01:01:15.440 --> 01:01:21.440
Please understand, if your faith does not express your expectation, please don't call it faith.

01:01:45.760 --> 01:01:53.120
Yeah. Yeah. I would expect, I don't even expect things this year. I expected

01:01:53.120 --> 01:02:00.000
this afternoon and often it doesn't work out. So then I have to recalibrate timelines but it

01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:06.240
doesn't recalibrate my expectations. My expectations have to be based on faith and my faith has to be

01:02:06.240 --> 01:02:14.720
based on what God has said. So this is where I start. This is what happens and then this is how

01:02:14.720 --> 01:02:30.560
it's expressed. The timeline is already not yet. As in, believe that you have already received it

01:02:31.520 --> 01:02:35.120
and yet if you ask me to show, I wouldn't be able to show.

01:02:44.960 --> 01:02:51.680
Yeah. How do you remain firm in prayer when timeline keeps getting pushed back?

01:02:52.560 --> 01:02:56.880
One. Father, why is the timeline being pushed back?

01:02:56.880 --> 01:03:06.800
Father, where have I heard wrong? Or where have I or did I hear a miss?

01:03:08.880 --> 01:03:16.720
Those are my first two questions. Father, connect me with people.

01:03:17.600 --> 01:03:20.880
Who know how to walk between immediacy

01:03:23.920 --> 01:03:25.360
and eventuality.

01:03:28.880 --> 01:03:35.200
Father, let me go to Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit,

01:03:35.200 --> 01:03:46.640
could you help me practice Romans 4, 17 to 20?

01:03:49.600 --> 01:03:56.640
When he considered his own body, he was not able to do it. He was not able to do it.

01:03:56.960 --> 01:04:00.080
So, 17 to 20.

01:04:03.840 --> 01:04:09.040
When he considered his own body, he realized he was absolutely important but he was fully

01:04:09.040 --> 01:04:15.760
persuaded that God was able to do what he said he would. Therefore, even though he was hopeless,

01:04:15.760 --> 01:04:22.160
he began to hope against hopelessness and was not discouraged but began to praise God,

01:04:22.240 --> 01:04:25.200
giving him praise saying, what you have said will come to pass.

01:04:30.400 --> 01:04:33.040
Father, connect. Oh my God, that's terrible.

01:04:34.000 --> 01:04:40.800
Father, connect me with, even reading it here is difficult. Father, connect me with people who

01:04:42.080 --> 01:04:42.800
understand.

01:04:47.520 --> 01:04:51.280
Yes. I mean, if they don't give me an honorary doctorate, this is what I have to do.

01:04:52.480 --> 01:04:57.200
Who understand immediacy and eventuality.

01:05:07.440 --> 01:05:11.520
You're getting really emotional about this teaching, Erin. Sorry.

01:05:15.920 --> 01:05:21.920
Yeah, it is faith with patience. It is believe that you have received it and yet.

01:05:22.800 --> 01:05:29.280
You're waiting. But Jacob, this is so hard. Yes, but it can become a habit.

01:05:29.840 --> 01:05:35.840
Once something becomes a habit. Remember how hard it was to ride a bike? Oh my God, my dad sent

01:05:35.840 --> 01:05:41.360
people to teach me. He sent three people from work to teach me and that'd be this

01:05:42.160 --> 01:05:45.600
pudgy little young fellow on a bike and he would go three and then he'd fall and then they would

01:05:45.600 --> 01:05:50.160
pick me up and put me. Three guys, man, they literally quit their job. They said, no more,

01:05:50.160 --> 01:05:56.160
we can't teach your son because I couldn't stay on the bike. It was so hard, so many scrapes

01:05:56.800 --> 01:06:06.080
and then one day, what do you know, I sat on it and it kept going and since then it's been quite easy.

01:06:10.640 --> 01:06:11.520
You want to learn how to?

01:06:20.960 --> 01:06:30.880
Father, where have I, where did I hear a miss? Come on, you know this is a miss. It could be amen too,

01:06:30.880 --> 01:06:42.000
but it is a miss. Hear a miss. A miss doesn't mean a spouse. A miss as in I heard wrong.

01:06:44.080 --> 01:06:47.200
With so many single guys, you got to be careful. Go ahead, Nick.

01:06:50.160 --> 01:06:55.600
I was like, wow, this is great.

01:06:57.040 --> 01:07:00.400
Oshak's father, two people have been asking me whether I'm going to Perth.

01:07:01.280 --> 01:07:04.880
You're trying to say something because I had absolutely no intentions of going to Perth

01:07:04.880 --> 01:07:09.920
because it's five hours that way and it's going to cost me much more. I'm already flying to Australia.

01:07:09.920 --> 01:07:15.440
Surely you didn't mean Perth. I know you didn't mean Perth. What? This person says Perth again,

01:07:15.440 --> 01:07:19.280
maybe I need to consider Perth. So I'm going to sleep now. If you want to talk about Perth,

01:07:19.280 --> 01:07:24.000
let me know. A dream would be just the perfect way like you do with Eric, but you never give me

01:07:24.000 --> 01:07:29.520
dreams. You always make me work hard for it. Wake up this morning. Still Perth on my mind,

01:07:29.520 --> 01:07:33.600
but you didn't give me a dream. I knew you wouldn't give me a dream, but if you want me to go to Perth,

01:07:33.600 --> 01:07:40.720
I'll send Sheldon to Brisbane. So maybe during worship, oh God, I'll catch a glimpse. Oh,

01:07:40.720 --> 01:07:44.240
shucks, I caught a glimpse. So I have to go to Perth. It's going to cost me a lot. Okay,

01:07:44.240 --> 01:07:48.320
I'll go to Perth. Well then, now that I'm going to Perth, I better tell the church about it. Why?

01:07:48.320 --> 01:07:52.640
Because I need to express what I believe in faith you want me to do. What about telling them what

01:07:52.640 --> 01:07:56.880
you're going to do in Perth? Not yet? Okay, I won't say it yet, but I'm going to Perth. Alrighty,

01:07:56.880 --> 01:08:00.400
I'll cancel my ticket to Brisbane. It's going to cost me again, but then you're paying the bills

01:08:00.400 --> 01:08:17.760
anyways and I'm going to Perth. So that's how it works. Cool. So you're going to Brisbane.

01:08:19.120 --> 01:08:35.600
Any other questions? Okay, last bit. And it's be it Perth or be it White Spot. The process is the same.

01:08:38.880 --> 01:08:46.480
White Spot. Catch a glimpse is in Father, what are you showing? You're teaching in your class and

01:08:46.480 --> 01:08:50.800
suddenly you see something about a child. You don't actually see it, but inside your heart,

01:08:50.800 --> 01:08:57.360
you just know, shucks, this child has had a bad day today. I've got to be careful not to push this

01:08:57.360 --> 01:09:01.200
child's button. You don't even know what's wrong with the child, but you know there's something

01:09:01.200 --> 01:09:05.920
that's amiss. I think to myself, I'll be particularly careful and tender with this child.

01:09:05.920 --> 01:09:09.840
Did you see an image? No. Did God say anything? No. Did you hear an audible voice? No. Did you

01:09:09.840 --> 01:09:12.720
dream last night? No. But something just, you know.

01:09:17.280 --> 01:09:24.080
Shun. Shun resentment and complaining. Shun resentment and complaining.

01:09:25.440 --> 01:09:33.440
This is not very helpful when you pray. If you are resentful or if you are in a very complaining

01:09:33.440 --> 01:09:42.000
mood, best to get out of it because a bitter heart, a bitter heart clogs prayer.

01:09:44.640 --> 01:09:54.000
That looks like dog's prayer. Clogs prayer. A bitter heart clogs prayer and dulls your spirit.

01:09:54.000 --> 01:10:01.600
Remember when Israel was at Marah? Marah means bitterness.

01:10:03.760 --> 01:10:08.960
Nothing was working. They were complaining. God named the river Marah or the pond. He named it

01:10:08.960 --> 01:10:17.760
Marah. So shun resentment and complaining. It really cuts you off. So whenever you're

01:10:17.760 --> 01:10:21.600
resentful about your circumstances, resentful about people, resentful about

01:10:21.920 --> 01:10:26.400
ones that you're connected with, try to get rid of it. It's not that God isn't hearing,

01:10:26.400 --> 01:10:33.920
but it just clogs your ability to connect and to do whatever is necessary and it dulls your spirit.

01:10:35.520 --> 01:10:38.960
I remember saying this ages ago. I was at Richmond Pentecostal waiting for a

01:10:39.920 --> 01:10:44.320
care group to start and I was going to teach on bitterness. One of the questions I asked God,

01:10:44.320 --> 01:10:48.400
because I had really good notes on bitterness, but I still couldn't get the

01:10:48.400 --> 01:10:55.040
gist of why is bitterness so bothersome to you, God? Why do you say bitter devouring is bad?

01:10:55.040 --> 01:10:58.960
Why do you say root of bitterness must be eradicated? Why is it that you have such a

01:10:58.960 --> 01:11:02.720
problem with bitterness? And I'm pacing up and down because I've come early and then

01:11:02.720 --> 01:11:09.440
here's what God said, Jacob, there is nothing that I have in common with you when you are bitter

01:11:09.440 --> 01:11:13.840
because everything I was on the cross was the opposite of bitterness. I had all the reasons

01:11:13.920 --> 01:11:19.680
to be bitter on the cross. The father had closed the heavens. People had walked away. Everyone had

01:11:19.680 --> 01:11:24.560
betrayed me. If there was any reason to be bitter, I had reason to be bitter. But when you are bitter,

01:11:24.560 --> 01:11:29.920
you have nothing in common with me. You can be sitting next to me and it'll be like a huge wall

01:11:29.920 --> 01:11:39.600
between you and me because the cross and bitterness have zero in common. Zero. And so he said that's

01:11:39.600 --> 01:11:43.440
why I find bitterness so difficult because when you are bitter, Jacob, you could be... It's like,

01:11:43.440 --> 01:11:47.280
haven't you seen husbands and wives who are sitting in a car and there's hardly a foot

01:11:47.280 --> 01:11:54.400
separating them? But when you look, it's like the Berlin Wall or the... It's a wall so thick

01:11:55.120 --> 01:12:00.720
that even Iron Man wouldn't be able to crack it. Why? Because even though there's a foot apart,

01:12:00.720 --> 01:12:06.880
it is so thick. That is how God feels sitting next to you when you're bitter or when I'm bitter.

01:12:07.520 --> 01:12:12.880
Oh boy, aren't we bitter every so often. I clog, see? You're not able to relate.

01:12:15.840 --> 01:12:25.120
Shun ill treatment. Shun ill treatment. I'm so glad... I better not say stuff like that.

01:12:25.120 --> 01:12:27.360
Shun ill treatment of your spouse.

01:12:27.360 --> 01:12:29.360
Spouse.

01:12:32.480 --> 01:12:41.680
1 Peter 3.7. One... And in those days, it was more common for men to treat women

01:12:42.720 --> 01:12:48.000
poorly without respect, but those days are not these days. It flies both ways now. So I'm not

01:12:48.000 --> 01:12:53.040
going to say man to woman. I'm going to say spouse. Shun ill treatment of your spouse because it says

01:12:53.040 --> 01:13:00.080
in 1 Peter 3.7, a man who does not treat his wife with respect will end up having his prayers

01:13:00.080 --> 01:13:08.400
unheard or hindered. So man or a woman who does not treat his husband or wife with respect,

01:13:09.200 --> 01:13:15.120
because in the context of 1 Peter 3.7 was because she's the weaker sex, but sometimes today,

01:13:16.480 --> 01:13:20.720
things are different. And so if you do not treat with respect, your prayers will be hindered.

01:13:21.440 --> 01:13:23.440
Crazy, eh?

01:13:25.840 --> 01:13:30.720
I was just going to say there are some things I don't have to worry about. Shun ill treatment of...

01:13:35.280 --> 01:13:40.720
Shun ill treatment of the poor. Proverbs 21 verse 13.

01:13:43.280 --> 01:13:47.520
One who treats the poor well... One who does not hear the cry of the poor

01:13:47.520 --> 01:13:52.000
will not have their cries heard when they appeal to God. Proverbs 21 verse 13.

01:13:52.640 --> 01:13:55.360
So shun ill treatment. Two more and we're done.

01:13:58.320 --> 01:14:00.080
Shun disorder.

01:14:04.880 --> 01:14:07.920
Disorder is internal or external

01:14:11.040 --> 01:14:11.600
rebellion.

01:14:11.600 --> 01:14:12.160
Rebellion.

01:14:14.320 --> 01:14:20.880
Sometimes rebellion is not external, it's internal. I just resent and rebel and resist you

01:14:20.880 --> 01:14:23.760
within me. I don't do it externally.

01:14:29.680 --> 01:14:38.800
So the idea of submission to authority relationships is critical for prayer.

01:14:42.000 --> 01:14:44.800
Where do we see this? We see this in the story of the centurion.

01:14:47.040 --> 01:14:51.760
I'm a man under orders. I say to one, go and he goes, I'm also a man under order.

01:14:52.560 --> 01:14:57.360
And therefore I know Jesus that if you come and say this, it'll happen. So this idea of

01:15:00.960 --> 01:15:05.040
shunning disorder is so critical to having prayer answered.

01:15:05.360 --> 01:15:08.080
It's so critical to having prayer answered.

01:15:09.680 --> 01:15:15.120
I wrote this line, I don't know where, from some old notes. Powerful warriors who don't submit to

01:15:15.120 --> 01:15:21.760
order fall in the battlefield because Satan resists their authority, prolonging and exhausting them in

01:15:21.760 --> 01:15:28.240
battle. Powerful warriors who don't submit to order fall in the battlefield because Satan now

01:15:28.240 --> 01:15:35.280
finds room to resist their authority, prolonging and exhausting them in battle. As in, if the

01:15:35.280 --> 01:15:41.040
devil knows that I am not submitted to authority, he will resist the authority that I exert in the

01:15:41.040 --> 01:15:44.800
name of Jesus Christ. Any questions on that?

01:15:44.800 --> 01:15:45.360
Yes.

01:15:54.640 --> 01:15:59.360
What does Philippians 2.14 say?

01:16:09.840 --> 01:16:11.360
Yeah.

01:16:11.680 --> 01:16:12.960
Yeah. Yeah.

01:16:32.720 --> 01:16:33.200
Last one.

01:16:33.200 --> 01:16:41.920
Last one. Shunned out. Shunned out. Already talked about it. James 1 verse 5 to 8.

01:16:42.880 --> 01:16:49.040
One who doubts is like a piece of wood tossed to and fro and he, I've never heard a scripture that

01:16:49.040 --> 01:16:54.160
has absolutely no encouragement in it. It says, he should not expect that he will get anything.

01:16:54.800 --> 01:17:00.000
Come on, give us a small break. James say like he may get something. No, he should not expect that

01:17:00.000 --> 01:17:11.840
he will get anything. It is so point blank. Doubt is when the enemy succeeds in his attempts to deny

01:17:12.400 --> 01:17:18.720
in my life or distort in my life the nature, the intent and the voice of God so that in that area,

01:17:18.720 --> 01:17:21.840
I will never be able to stand.

01:17:24.400 --> 01:17:26.880
And James 1, 5 to 8.

01:17:26.880 --> 01:17:37.920
Oh, the attempt the enemy makes is to try and distort or deny God's nature, God's intent, God's voice.

01:17:40.800 --> 01:17:46.720
Once that is distorted or that is denied, what happens to my prayer in that area is it becomes

01:17:46.720 --> 01:17:51.760
a religious, meaningless exercise

01:17:54.480 --> 01:18:00.480
that I even find scripture for, that I can even theologize.

01:18:03.680 --> 01:18:05.680
That I can even theologize.

01:18:08.160 --> 01:18:13.360
What you think or what you experience is not who you are.

01:18:13.360 --> 01:18:21.360
What you think or what you experience is not who God is. I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million times again before I die.

01:18:21.360 --> 01:18:31.360
What you experience or what you think is not how you define God. God has a nature, he has defined it.

01:18:31.360 --> 01:18:39.360
Your experience, your theology, your training does not define who God is. He is constant, you are not.

01:18:39.360 --> 01:18:43.360
And if you try to theologize that, you will give account.

01:18:45.360 --> 01:18:47.360
On that happy note.

01:18:49.360 --> 01:18:51.360
Oh, happy day!

01:18:53.360 --> 01:18:57.360
Hey, so let's just pray for Sheldon and me.

01:19:01.360 --> 01:19:03.360
Guys, pray for Ukraine too.

01:19:03.360 --> 01:19:09.360
I'm praying too. Jill just sent me a text. She's watching online.

01:19:11.360 --> 01:19:13.360
Oh shucks, she sent me a lot of texts.

01:19:15.360 --> 01:19:17.360
Now I'm in trouble.

01:19:19.360 --> 01:19:23.360
What do you mean by praying relationally versus intentionally? Could someone answer her?

01:19:23.360 --> 01:19:27.360
Do you mean setting aside specific time? Please answer her.

01:19:27.360 --> 01:19:29.360
Oh, she says I think you kind of answered it.

01:19:31.360 --> 01:19:33.360
The Ukraine-Russia situation.

01:19:33.360 --> 01:19:45.360
So Heidi is going on the 28th to Budapest from Germany to meet a lady called Tanya who works with churches inside Ukraine.

01:19:45.360 --> 01:19:47.360
And then Heidi will tell us how it went.

01:19:49.360 --> 01:19:51.360
So let's just pray for Sheldon and me.

01:19:51.360 --> 01:19:53.360
Sheldon and me.

01:19:55.360 --> 01:19:57.360
Let me ask.

01:20:09.360 --> 01:20:13.360
So let me ask May to come up.

01:20:13.360 --> 01:20:17.360
Let me ask Diana to come up. I'll ask them to pray.