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Knock, and It Will Be Opened To You (Luke 5:12-16)
69 Plays3 years ago
Knock, and It Will Be Opened To You (Luke 5:12-16)
Gospel of Luke: Examining Our Spiritual Health
Sunday Message recorded 24 April 2022
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction to Prayer and Worship
00:00:05
Speaker
What a blessing already that we've received. It's just worshiping together and praying together. It's good
Exploring Luke 5:12-16
00:00:13
Speaker
to see you this morning. I would like to invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke to chapter 5. We're going to look at verses 12 through 16. Luke chapter 5 verses 12 through 16.
00:00:28
Speaker
You'll recall that the Bible says Luke was actually a physician. He was a part of Paul's missionary team at one point, but before that he was a doctor. And so he's going to give us a checkup today. We're asking the Lord to use the Word of God
Self-Assessment on Discipleship
00:00:46
Speaker
as an objective instrument to say, Lord, how am I doing? How am I doing in my discipleship? How am I doing in following you? And one of the things that I think we need to ask the Lord about is our prayer life. How is our prayer life going? Zachariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child in Luke chapter one, verse 13.
Instances of Prayer in Luke
00:01:09
Speaker
The angels said, your prayer has been heard. Anna.
00:01:13
Speaker
It says of her in chapter 2, verse 37, that she was fasting and praying night and day. Jesus was praying at his baptism in chapter 3. In chapter 6, we haven't reached that point yet, but later you'll find that even when he was choosing his disciples, he spent all night in prayer to the Lord.
Persistence in Prayer
00:01:37
Speaker
He prayed the night before his crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane. Sometimes he would teach parables about prayer. At least Luke records three of them. In Luke 11.1, a disciple comes up to Jesus after Jesus had just been praying. And he thought, can you teach us how to pray like that? Would you teach us to pray?
00:01:59
Speaker
And so Jesus began to teach them about prayer. Of course, you know the Lord's Prayer. That's found in Luke 11, verses 2 through 4.
00:02:09
Speaker
But he also introduced them to a parable after that. You know, a parable was like something with a spiritual lesson, a heavenly meaning, but he would make a practical daily comparison so that they could understand it. And so in this parable in Luke 11, he compares prayer to being like a friend who has an unexpected guest who comes over to the house and arrives at midnight.
00:02:39
Speaker
He knocks on the door. Now we know this wasn't in Texas where you'd have big trouble if he was causing some kind of commotion outside the door that late at night. But verses five through seven says that the friend is knocking on the door because he doesn't have any food to serve the unexpected guest at his house. So he goes next door to his friend's house and he begins to knock on the door. And the friend says, don't bother me.
00:03:06
Speaker
The door is shut. Families in bed. I can't get up and give you anything. But there was a lesson in that parable.
00:03:15
Speaker
about persistence. Have you ever given up on praying for something, praying for someone? Jesus wants us to continue. As a matter of fact, He transitions from the parable into application by saying we need to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. And He said, if you will keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, He will answer.
00:03:41
Speaker
I think God wants to answer. He wants to answer our prayers. He does not always answer our prayers like we want Him to answer our prayers, but He will answer. His ways are above our ways. His ways are higher than our ways.
00:03:57
Speaker
So sometimes we get discouraged, but we need to remember he's actually the one drawing us in. And that's what I pray happens as we look at this particular thing that happened in Jesus' life
00:04:11
Speaker
in Luke 5, 12 through 16.
Faith and Healing: The Leper's Story
00:04:14
Speaker
Someone is going to come to him, and I believe that what we see taking place here, this should be taking place daily in each of our lives. When you're facing a problem, when you're facing a closed door, what do you do about it? Do you just panic? Do you go and knock on other people's doors? Or do you go to the door of heaven and say, Lord, I really need you to help me with this one?
00:04:38
Speaker
I want you to look with me at Luke chapter 5 verses 12 through 16. Would you stand in honor of God's word? Here's what he says, while he, this is Jesus, was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
00:05:08
Speaker
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him and he charged him to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing as Moses commanded for a proof or a testimony to them.
00:05:31
Speaker
But now even more the report about him went abroad and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw.
00:05:45
Speaker
to desolate places and pray. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, just like that disciple, would you teach us to pray? I pray you would take the Word of God that has been recorded here for us so that we can learn from it. How should we pray? What should we do when we encounter problems that we do not have the ability to resolve?
00:06:07
Speaker
I pray that you would lead us to your throne of grace. Bless us as we look at your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated.
Strength in Prayer During Difficulties
00:06:18
Speaker
I want us to see five truths about prayer that I hope will change and affect and deepen, strengthen your prayer life. The first one is this, whenever a problem is permitted to enter our lives. You see, when you see verse 12, while he was in one of the cities, there came a man, and that man that came to Jesus, he had a problem.
00:06:43
Speaker
You know, when God made man, when he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, there were no problems. He didn't want us to have problems like that. But you know what we did? We disobeyed him. And because we disobey him, because we still disobey him,
00:07:02
Speaker
There are all kinds of problems that we encounter here on this earth. But the good news is that in Christ, we are offered the opportunity to once again go to a place where there will be no more suffering, no more problems, no more sin, no more Satan. All of these kinds of things will be a part of the past, no more sorrows.
00:07:25
Speaker
But Jesus did say to his disciples in John 16 verse 33, in the world, you will have tribulation. But he goes on to say, be of good cheer because I've overcome the world.
00:07:39
Speaker
So what we have to say is, okay, God is sometimes going to allow us, as his followers, to encounter tribulation. Hard times, difficulties, problems. This man certainly had a problem. The problem is identified by the medical doctor, Luke, when he says this man had leprosy. Leprosy was a skin disease.
00:08:03
Speaker
It's not always Hanson's disease that maybe you've read about Hanson's disease that's quite serious. When I was a missionary in Japan, Jody and I, our first assignment was on the island of Okinawa. I invited the two tenors to come. They've come to sing for us before, and they actually sang that song, Worthy of Worship.
00:08:23
Speaker
But whenever the two tenors came to Okinawa, we had a unique opportunity. We were invited to go to a leper colony, and that was my first time to ever actually see not just one leper, but many people that were dealing with leprosy. But you know, the problem was identified. Have you ever identified what the real problem is in your life?
00:08:47
Speaker
Not only was this problem leprosy, but notice one other word that is given in this text that describes the magnitude. He magnifies this problem to look at it through the microscope, and the doctor says, he didn't just have leprosy, he was full of leprosy. Maybe that's how you feel. Maybe you'd say, man, I don't just have one problem.
00:09:13
Speaker
It's like I'm surrounded. I'm pressured. I'm going down. I feel like this is too much for me. How would you describe the problem or the problems that are facing your life?
00:09:28
Speaker
What are you doing with those problems? That leads us from the first truth to the second truth that I saw here. This man, when he had a problem, look at what he did with the problem. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and he begged him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
00:09:50
Speaker
So when you have a problem, what you can say is, Lord, I would like to submit this problem to you in prayer. Sometimes we want to talk to everybody else under the sun about our problem rather than the one who can actually do something about the problem.
00:10:09
Speaker
David said in Psalm 55 verse 22, cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. So what we have to learn to do is when I encounter problems in my life, I need to take them to God in prayer. And so there are two simple things about this man's praying that I didn't want you to kind of overlook.
00:10:36
Speaker
The first one is the humility within his praying.
00:10:41
Speaker
Did you notice that it says he fell on his face? That was an act of worship. You know, for you, for me, for any of us to kneel down by our bedside and to say, Lord, I just want to say, I'm humbling myself before you because I can't solve this problem with my children, with my grandchildren. I can't solve this problem in my country. I can't solve this problem at work.
00:11:07
Speaker
Lord, this problem at school, it's beyond me. I can't solve this problem myself. So when we have those kind of problems, it's a call to humble yourself. Humble yourself before God like this man. You know, normally a leper was not supposed to approach other people.
00:11:26
Speaker
This guy can't help it. This guy knows you're the only one in the whole universe that can help me. And he comes and he just bows down before this man. Have you done that? Have you humbled yourself before God and offered up a simple prayer about your problem? Notice also the intensity, not just the humility, but the intensity within his praying. It says he begged him.
00:11:51
Speaker
He begged him. This is not someone that's doing a drive through. Hey, I just need a quick blessing here. I'll give you a one minute prayer. Oh, it didn't work. So you drive away and you assume because you prayed for one minute.
00:12:08
Speaker
that it doesn't work. He does work. He works. Prayer works because it gets us in touch with Him. But we have to show Him that this is real. This is in our hearts. It means something to us. So that's why David often said, I pour out. I pour out my soul to God in prayer. Do you pour it out if you bottle it up?
00:12:31
Speaker
It's liable to take you down. And I wonder if this man was really hurting. And so this man, he couldn't help it. He falls down. He begs him. He implores him. He's desperate.
00:12:45
Speaker
You know, do you remember in Gethsemane? If you were to look over at Luke chapter 22, you would see, oh, wait a minute. I see these same principles about prayer in the life of my Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to what it says in Luke chapter 22, verse 39, and he came out and went as was his custom to the Mount of Olives and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place,
00:13:15
Speaker
He said to His disciples, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw. And get this, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, He kneels down before the Father. He kneels before the Father.
00:13:38
Speaker
And he prayed. He said, Father, if you are willing, doesn't that sound so familiar to what we just read? Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him. Now was Jesus just kind of saying a rote prayer? No, listen to the next verse. And being in agony,
00:14:08
Speaker
He prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. You see the passion, you see the agony, you see how he's coming to the Lord. And I mean, he is praying with intensity. I think whenever we pray with that kind of intensity,
00:14:31
Speaker
The Lord is going to notice. And so he was praying to the Father with the same exact things, that condition where blood actually came out of the sweat glands and out of the pores. There's actually a medical term, hematidrosis.
00:14:47
Speaker
So just know the Word of God is so accurate. That's how serious that Jesus was in asking the Father, Father, I'm asking
Faith and God's Will in Prayer
00:14:56
Speaker
you about this particular situation in my life. Have you prayed that way? Have you been humble? Have you been intense? Have you said to the Lord, Lord, this really means something to me? I'm telling you, it will draw his attention.
00:15:11
Speaker
There's a third thing, though, that I think we can learn from this passage and this text that we're looking at in Luke chapter 5, verse 12, where he says, Lord, if you will, you can. Boy, he was not doubting the ability of God, was he? Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
00:15:34
Speaker
I thought to myself how important it is that we come with faith, that we actually come knowing God's able to do this. Now whether it is God's plan to do it, whether He is willing to do it, that's another issue. But we need to come to Him saying, I know that this is within the scope of your ability.
00:15:58
Speaker
Chuck Swindoll points out in his commentary that the Greek grammarians describe the leper's request as, this is a quote, a third class conditional clause. Maybe you're saying, what is a third class conditional clause? I didn't know either. So here's what he said. It means that you're not presuming upon the willingness of God, but you're certainly convinced of the ability of God.
00:16:26
Speaker
That's a great way to go to God in prayer. You're not trying to force God to do anything. Who are we to force Almighty God to do anything? But one thing He cannot overlook is when anybody kneels before Him in humility, comes to Him with intensity, and they say, Lord, you know what? This is beyond my ability here.
00:16:49
Speaker
but it's not beyond yours. It's not beyond yours. And so the leper's prayer, it was only nine words long. Did you get it? I mean, this is just nine words, but his brief transmission
00:17:03
Speaker
tells us the kind of knocking, the kind of knocking, the kind of asking, the kind of seeking, the kind of praying that God simply cannot ignore. I believe two things stood out to me about this man's prayer I wanted to point out to you. I believe that God is attracted to surrender. Whenever God sees we're just playing a game with him,
00:17:29
Speaker
There's nothing that binds him to listen to us, but whenever God sees that we're surrendering and we say to him, Lord,
00:17:40
Speaker
I don't know that this man, I don't know how much this man knew about Jesus, but he knew one thing, he's Lord. Have you ever bowed your knee to turn from your sin, from say, Lord, I'm sick and tired of lying. Lord, I'm sick and tired of living in deception, or I'm sick and tired of stealing, or I'm sick and tired of being angry and selfish and prideful, and on and on it could go. Lord, I pray.
00:18:10
Speaker
that Lord, you would conquer this in my life. When you surrender to Him as Lord and you say, you know what? I don't know what your will is going to be about this problem, but I just want you to know that I surrender to your will, whatever it is. He doesn't even know what it is. And He simply says, Lord,
00:18:30
Speaker
if, if it is your will. I love that. If you will. But then the second thing I noticed is that's just simply attractive to God is when we not only come to Him in surrender, but we come to Him in faith.
00:18:46
Speaker
He said, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. You can make me clean. Do you remember when the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary to tell her that the Holy Spirit was going to place
00:19:03
Speaker
Jesus within her womb. Do you remember what he said to her? He said, for nothing will be impossible with God. This was an impossibility for a Virgin Mary to have a baby. This would require something only God could do. And so the angel says, nothing will be impossible with God.
00:19:27
Speaker
I wanna show you a couple of cross-references just so you know that I'm not just trying to sound religious here in what I'm trying to say to you. In James chapter one, anybody here ever pray for wisdom? You ever say, God, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think about this. Well, in James chapter one, verse five, he says, if any of you lacks wisdom, so this guy's knocking
00:19:54
Speaker
He's knocking it on heaven's door, saying, Lord, I need wisdom. Then here's how you ask. Let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But, there is a qualifier here, but let him ask in faith.
00:20:18
Speaker
with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person was not supposed that he will receive anything from the Lord. He's a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
00:20:36
Speaker
If I made that up, you would think that I was just trying to be religious, right? That's not my words. This is the Word of God. It's not the only place. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6, it says, and without faith, it's impossible to please Him. For whoever would draw near to God,
00:21:00
Speaker
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. You see the connection here? There's a connection between our surrender and a connection between our faith and saying, Lord, I really believe that this is within your scope, within your ability. So now let's think about the whole process. Back up with me. Go back to Luke chapter five and let's look at the whole thing.
00:21:29
Speaker
If God really loves you, if God really loves you, if God loves me, why would He even allow some incredible need to enter into our lives? Why didn't He just solve them without us even asking? He wants a relationship. He wants our need to draw us to Him, right? But there's even more than that. Have you ever considered the whole process is like God?
00:21:57
Speaker
giving you a platform. It's like he, Taylor, makes a platform just for you and him. And so there you are in your world, your family, your job, all your problems. And God says, I want to show those around you who I am. I want to display
00:22:19
Speaker
my power and my ability through your inability.
Problems as Opportunities for God's Power
00:22:23
Speaker
Isn't that what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12? He said, I kept on asking God, remove it, remove it. And he says, no, in your weakness, I'm going to show myself strong. So I want us to think about the possibilities for him
00:22:38
Speaker
is a platform outfitted for you. And so I want you to learn to see your problems. Don't see them as obstacles. See them as platforms. This week, when something happens in your life, say, you know what? I believe that this is a platform for me on which God's going to display something. What will God display through your life?
00:23:01
Speaker
Well, I want you to look back at the text and I want to show you some things that you might not have thought about this. I mean, I went through this thing all week long, running back over and over through my life. And here's what I noticed. Verse 13, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. That may not seem like a lot, right? But wait a minute. Who did he just touch? Are you supposed to touch a leper?
00:23:29
Speaker
Jesus stretched out his hand, the guys at his feet, and he touches him. You know what I think the touch said? I'm welcoming you. I'm welcoming you. Do you know that whatever problem you're going through, you can display that God loves you or you know what you can display? It'll make you better or it'll make you really bitter. So you can display either one you want
00:23:57
Speaker
But on that platform, God is saying, tell them before you know how it's going to turn out, tell them that I love you. Tell them that you love me. Tell them that I'm a God of grace. Tell them I'm a God of holiness. Tell them that I'm God of judgment. Tell them that I'm a God of salvation and forgiveness. Tell them who I am.
00:24:20
Speaker
And so I thought, wow, the platform will display his welcome, but also the platform will display his will. Because before you know what it is, he's saying, Lord, why did you allow this in my life? And God says, I allowed this in your life so I can display my will. Will it always be your will? Well, I just go back to the Garden of Gethsemane.
00:24:45
Speaker
when Jesus said, not my will. He said, I pray the cup will be removed from me, but not my will.
00:24:52
Speaker
your will be done." I'm telling you, that kind of praying, when others are watching, it's powerful. It is extremely powerful whenever you're saying, I just want God's will to be displayed, whatever it is. And I want God's Word to be displayed. You know, he was given this guy a platform. Did you catch what Jesus says to him?
00:25:15
Speaker
I will be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him and he charged him to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing. Don't miss this part. As Moses commanded for a proof or a testimony to them. Wow. So he's saying,
00:25:41
Speaker
Mr. Leppard, I want you now that you're cleansed to go and show yourself to the priest. I don't want you to go and tell anybody. I want you to go and show yourself to the priest. Let my work in you do the talking. So this man goes out and what does he do?
00:26:01
Speaker
He goes out, verse 15 says, but now even more the report about him went abroad and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. You know, in Mark chapter 1 and verse 45, we find out who leaked it. Who leaked this?
00:26:21
Speaker
It was that guy. He just couldn't help it. It says, but he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places and people were coming to him from every quarter.
00:26:41
Speaker
You know what? God was displaying his word. If this man would have done what he was told, great things would have happened. But instead this man goes out and says, you know what? I had leprosy. I don't have leprosy anymore. You should go and see that guy. So suddenly a lot of people are going and all they want is a miracle. All they want is, I just want to be healed. They're not interested in maybe following Jesus. They just want to be healed.
00:27:10
Speaker
Jesus knew this. Did you catch what I read in Mark 1.45? John MacArthur points this out in his commentary. This man's disobedience brought new limitations on Jesus' ministry. He couldn't go into some places because he would just be mobbed. And so I'm thinking to myself, Lord help me.
00:27:31
Speaker
No matter how excited I am about what you do in my life, help me to always stay lined up properly with your word. Because the platform that I've been given in my life is a platform for obedience to the word of God. That's part of it.
00:27:48
Speaker
But then there's one other thing I noticed on the platform, and that is, it's a testimony. It was intended to be a testimony to the priests. If you were to read in Leviticus chapter 14, you would find out that it was an eight-day process. They'd go and present themselves to the priests. There are several different steps in that whole process, but this man said, I don't need it. I'm fine, so I don't need it anymore.
00:28:15
Speaker
But you know what? He was going to display a witness to those priests, and they didn't get to see it. And so I just wonder who's not going to see it if we're not obeying Him, if we're not the witness that God would want us to be. I want to close with one last truth. It's found in verse 16, and I don't want you to miss it.
00:28:39
Speaker
It says that, but he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Jesus' Example in Prioritizing Prayer
00:28:47
Speaker
Now let's get that verse right before it one more time so we don't miss the context. Great crowds are gathering to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities, but he would withdraw. Great crowds are gathering, but he would withdraw.
00:29:07
Speaker
Listen, we are so busy in this day and time, right? We all got a lot of stuff going. The one thing that we don't need to short circuit is the priority of our daily time with Jesus. The daily time to pray, daily time to look into God's word, daily time to write in a journal what God is saying to us. That's one thing, don't skip it no matter how busy you get because there was nobody busier than the Lord Jesus.
00:29:37
Speaker
But I just find it so amazing that he actually places prayer, be ready for this one, above popularity. Prayer was above popularity. Is our greatest desire in our congregation to just be packed out? Well, there's all kinds of things churches do these days just to draw crowds, just so you can keep the crowd. You've got to keep things going. Or is it?
00:30:04
Speaker
to say, Lord, our greatest desire is to be with you, to worship you, to surrender to you, to obey you, to glorify you. It's all about you. That's why prayer should be a priority. No matter what's been going on, no matter how much is happening, no matter how many people are knocking on your door, you ought to say,
00:30:25
Speaker
You know what? I need to keep prayer a priority in my life. You know, you can see in this verse how there was this privacy of daily prayer. Look again at verse 16, but he would withdraw to desolate places, desolate places. It's not a lot going on in desolate places, and he would pray. But how about in chapter four?
00:30:47
Speaker
Chapter four, you have the same exact thing in verse 40. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many crying, you are the son of God. But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. Now watch what he does. Big crowds, right?
00:31:16
Speaker
And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place and the people sought him and they came to him and would have kept him from leaving them. Don't leave me. But he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. How do you know what your assignment is? How do you know?
00:31:44
Speaker
because you've been with God every single day. You're meeting with God in His word, you're praying, asking God for direction. That's not only the privacy of prayer, that's the promise of prayer. Would you say that prayer is like a leftover?
00:32:02
Speaker
Is it just tacked on to your life? Or would you say, no, prayer is one of the most important things that I have going in my whole entire life. I'll never forget hearing a true story of Billy Graham. He went to a hotel room and he called the front office and they came and he had pulled the TV off the wall.
00:32:22
Speaker
And they're like, what in the world? It was one of those that was kind of, you know, up there on a frame. He had jerked on that thing and pulled it off. He set it outside the door and they came and they said, did the TV not work? And he said, no, the problem is it worked. He said, I didn't want that TV to distract me from spending time with the Lord. He said, I'm here to preach the good news. And so he removed the TV and he said, send the bill to my office. I'll be glad to pay for it to be put back up there. Man.
00:32:52
Speaker
You see, this man's problem was not the only time Jesus cleansed leprosy. Only Luke records in chapter 17, verses 11 through 19, chapter 17, verses 11 through 19, the account of the cleansing of ten leopards at one time.
00:33:14
Speaker
cleansed them all at one time. If you were to go through this thing, you would notice the same sequence. A problem was permitted into their lives. They took the problem to the Lord in prayer. They offered their prayer with the possibility, hey, he can do something. Their need was a platform to display all the things that God had done, all that was possible for him. But here's the thing, only one out of 10 went back
00:33:41
Speaker
to spend time with the Lord and say thank you. I just want to ask you, let's be honest, is God just poured out blessing after blessing on your family, on your life. He's given you so many answers to your prayers. He's been so good to you.
00:33:56
Speaker
And are you cutting him out of your schedule these days? Really? We have to understand that the priority of prayer is the secret to more platforms, more opportunities.
Prayer as Central to Life
00:34:12
Speaker
And whenever we feel like, hey, I'm too important to pray, then God may say, you know what? Then we may have to decrease the amount of opportunities that we give you because you're not spending time with me.
00:34:26
Speaker
So I want to close you and ask, I'd like to ask if you close your eyes, that way you're not distracted by other people. As we go into this time of imitation, here's what I want you to think about. First question is this, are you discouraged over a certain problem that God has permitted in your life? What is that problem? Can you just identify it? Are you taking that problem
00:34:52
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to the Lord in persistent, passionate prayer. If not, why don't you say, Lord, I'm sorry about complaining about something that I'm not even praying about. Third, do you knock in faith, trusting in God's ability, or would you say, to be quite honest with God, I've given up?
Testifying God's Greatness Through Problems
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because you can't solve the problem. You think prayer's not worth it anyway. So just because you're unable, you think he's unable. Let me go to a fourth thing. Have you considered that your need is actually a platform for God's glory? Your need is a platform for your obedience. Your need is a platform for you to testify to the greatness of God, to the goodness of God.
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Have you received the goodness and the mercy of God? And are you forgetting to make prayer, thanksgiving, praising the Lord a priority in your life? Why don't you take time during this invitation time to just simply reconnect with Him to say, Lord, I'm sorry. You know what? You really spoke to me today through that message about prayer. And I realized I'm not where I need to be.
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So I want us to stand together and some may need to come and kneel down at the altar. Some may need me to pray with you or something like that. But the main thing is if there is a closed door between you and God, it could be that you've not confessed your sin, you've not repented of sin and trusted Jesus Christ the very first time.
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And so that's why you feel like I'm cut off between God. So all you need to do is say, Lord, I'm tired of that. I want there to be an open line between me and God. And I know that's why Jesus died on the cross for me was so that I could find a new and a living way to the throne of grace. So I'll be standing down here. You may need to just pray there or you may want to come to the front, whatever, but let's just respond however God lays on our hearts, Lord.
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I thank you so much. Prayer is really a privilege. It really is. And I didn't want people to feel guilty today. I just wanted people to be honest today. I pray we'd be honest. And if there is a need for repentance,
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Help us do it. Maybe there's prayerlessness and we just need to simply say, Lord, I hadn't been praying like I should. Or maybe there's something else. Maybe somebody's here and they don't know Christ yet as Lord and Savior, but today could be the turning point.
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Today, they know that they just need to pray that first prayer, saying, I'm sorry for my sin. I'm willing to turn in repentance away from that and to trust in what Jesus did for me on the cross. That could be it. Whatever it is, Lord, you speak to us as we go through this time of invitation. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milan Street, Columbus, Texas.