Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:04 Good morning Village Church. Good morning. Good morning. So you, you all, unlike the 9:00 AM you're fully rested, I expect full attentiveness throughout the entire message because now some of you like, raise your hand if you're usually at the 9:00 AM but you decided you're gonna come a little bit later. No one admitting it. Three of you, five of you. There we go. Um, alright. One, one of the most intimidating moments of church life is when someone asks you to pray out loud for the very first time. Do you guys remember when that happened? So what, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna randomly call on some people. I'm gonna have you pray. I'm kidding, <laugh>, I'm not gonna do that to you. What do I do? What do I say? What if I look dumb? The, the first time that I prayed out loud in front of a group was probably one of the most nerve-wracking events of my life.
Speaker 1 00:01:01 Um, I started to sweat profusely and then the sweat began to make its way down my armpits and I had armpit stains and it was so humiliating, my voice, it quivered. I was like, pray and, and, and it, it was like a moment I remember vividly and I would never want to go back there again. The first time I actually prayed, uh, in front of a church, I was on staff at a church in Missouri and my mom and dad were in the front row and all I had to do was give announcements and pray for the service. And a little bit about my backstory, like I had crippling anxiety of speaking in front of people until I was 27 years old. And so I'm, I'm, I'm 19 or 20 years old at the time, and I'm in front of this small church in Missouri and I am quivering and s sweating and I am a hot mess.
Speaker 1 00:01:55 And there's my mom and dad and I am so embarrassed. Now, if you have never had to wrestle through that kind of anxiety, you're a lucky duck. Praise God for you. That is not most people's story. Now, one of the, one of the other most vulnerable times is, is when you find yourself for the first time praying for another person, do you, do you remember the first time you actually ever prayed for somebody? Some of you, if you grew up in a Christian home, you're used to this. But if you didn't, the first time that you might put your hand on someone's shoulder and pray over them can be very awkward. Do I ask them, if I do, will it be weird? What if they say no? Our pastors the only one allowed to pray for other people ish. The answer is no. What would they think of me?
Speaker 1 00:02:43 And one of our former pastors, Mike Boyle, he, he says this, it's one of my favorite one-liners and I remember this often, whenever you are in doubt, follow your good intentions. Just for a moment, I want you to think about if there's one thing somebody could pray for you about today, what is it? Capture, capture that in your, in your mind. If somebody were to ask you, what do you need prayer for? And you're being completely honest, what is, what is the one thing as you have this thing, if somebody comes up to you today and and, and they say, can I pray for you? Are you gonna tell them? No, not at all. In, in fact, I have asked hundreds or maybe thousands, I have no idea people if I can pray for them. And do you know that I have never, ever once had a single human being look at me and say, no.
Speaker 1 00:03:37 And if you have know this, that circumstance is the rarity. I I have been around multiple non-Christians and, and moments and, and I'll just look at them and say, can I just take a minute and pray for you 100% of the time people have told me yes. Okay, let's say you're, you're here and you're like, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna pass over the awkward threshold cuz awkward is awesome and I'm gonna take this moment and I am going to step out on a limb and I'm gonna ask them, Hey, can I pray for you? But what do you say, <laugh>? Uh, have you ever like prayed? And you're like, I don't even know what words should come outta my mouth right now. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna look to Jesus for some guidance on this. If you have a Bible open up to John 17, this entire chapter, it's documenting Jesus' longest recorded prayer.
Speaker 1 00:04:33 So there are multiple lenses through which we can look at this passage and I can preach through it. Um, there are three kind of very common lenses. Here's the first one that we could look at this lens through. It's the lens of teaching. So what you can look at is see the different things that Jesus is teaching his disciples through his prayer. Now here's what's interesting about John 17 is there's literally nothing new that he says that he hasn't already taught on earlier in the Book of John. There's like no new information. So we've already taught through most or all of what Jesus is praying about. So we're gonna not focus, um, our sermon today on the teaching. Uh, we could look at this through the lens of theology. You may have heard, if you're familiar with scripture or John 17, this is called the high priestly Prayer.
Speaker 1 00:05:19 And every year the high priest of Israel would take two sacrifices. One would be a scapegoat that they would let go into the wilderness. And the other, the priest would lay his hands on the scapegoat if you or or on the, on the sacrifice and would pray and confess the sins of Israel. And then they would sacrifice that as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel. And so people say Jesus is a, he's the Passover lamb. He's about to be sacrificed and they call this a high priestly prayer. Um, I think that's a fine designation, but I would expect that if this was really a high priestly prayer, Jesus would've been confessing the sins of the disciples or the people of God. You're not gonna really see any of that here. The third lens, and I think this is the most compelling lens, is looking at this through the lens of shepherding.
Speaker 1 00:06:05 And what I find really just most meaningful about this chapter is how Jesus shepherds his disciples through what is a very, very stressful 24 hours. I want you to put yourself in the disciple shoes for a moment, because for them, their entire world is falling apart. I think this is a fair question. So how do I pray for somebody when their entire world is falling apart? How do, how do I shepherd somebody when they are filled with anxiety or fear about what's coming up? And I I want to help center them on the person of Jesus Christ, not their fear and anxiety. So this is a, a really stressful night for the disciples and for Jesus. Jesus is now just hours, maybe even minutes. We don't know the exact timeframe, but it's a short period of time. Later this night, Jesus is gonna be betrayed and arrested.
Speaker 1 00:07:09 And John has already told us about the emotional state of the disciples. They are troubled, they're afraid, they're anxious, they're confused. Uh, but they're not the only ones. Jesus' body and emotions are under an unusual amount of, uh, stress. Uh, in just a little while he's gonna pray. And one of the other gospels teaches us that when he prays, he's so filled with anxiety and stress that his body starts sweating blood and he pleads to God. If there's another way, could you please provide it? If not, of course your will be done. But, but Jesus is becoming more and more aware, at least physiologically, that he is about to bear on his body's soul and emotions, the full weight of the full wrath of God for all the sins of the entire world. This is no small event. It's not just a crucifixion and the physical realm.
Speaker 1 00:07:56 There are deep, deep wrath filled realities that are gonna be taking place in the cross. And Jesus seems to be becoming more and more, at least physiologically aware of what he's, he's going to endure. Uh, John 16. Here's how John 16 ends. Jesus said, I, I have said these things to you that in me you might have peace and, and he's addressing their felt needs right now. They don't have peace. And then he says this, in the world, you're gonna have tribulation. Okay, Jesus, how does that make me feel? More peaceful, but take heart. I have overcome the world. And then we enter John 17, one, the teaching of John 14, 15 and 16. It's done and it's time for Jesus to pray. It's time for him to shepherd these hurting friends of his and to help them keep the main thing, the main thing.
Speaker 1 00:08:49 So this, this morning and next week, we're gonna walk away really with four, um, principles and encouragements to help you meaningfully pray for those in your life. All right, John 17. The first one is, when you pray for someone, be confident in your relationship with God. John 17, one, when Jesus has spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said, father, the our has come glorify your son, that the son may glorify you since you have given him all, you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. So I wanna talk about Jesus' prayer life for a moment. To put this in context. When people heard Jesus pray, they were shocked. They were taken back. Uh, when the disciples heard Jesus pray, they said, oh, something's going on. We need you to teach us how to pray like you do because we've never seen this before.
Speaker 1 00:09:49 Because standard operating procedure for a Jew or a Jewish rabbi is you don't pray off the cuff heartfelt, authentic prayers. You pray the Psalms or you pray pre-written prayers. And you do this in a way that's not really private between you and God. You do it publicly so that people can see and say, oh, look how godly he or she is. Jesus obliterated all of these rules. And and there's a couple things about Jesus's prayer life that I think just shocked everybody listening. Number one, he, he prayed with this deep sense of intimacy with God the father that they had never, ever heard another Jew preach with. It was like God was with him and not just transcendent and distant and out there. And then the second thing that I think was just shocking for people is that Jesus's prayers were spontaneous. They were off the cuff, they were the overflow of his heart.
Speaker 1 00:10:48 When you, when you read John 17, if you're gonna try to organize John 17 into some linear, cohesive way, you're not gonna be able to do it. It's very haphazard. It goes here, it goes there. But what you're getting is really stream of consciousness. You're getting to really see Jesus' heart on a page. It's very beautiful. And so when he prays, what is so striking to me is that Jesus has no insecurity in his relationship with the Father. There there's also no false humility. Uh, Jesus is 100% confident when he prays that, that he's gonna receive glory. Now look at verse one. It says, father, the hours come glorify your son, that your son may glorify you. Now by the way, this is a huge statement for all the Jews, for the disciples because in Jewish theology, and we'll just say objective reality, is anybody else allowed glory other than God himself?
Speaker 1 00:11:42 The answer is no. In fact, Jesus is here saying, father glorify me that that is sacrilege. If he is not God in the flesh, he, he just says, no hesitation whatsoever that God the Father is gonna glorify him. Jesus is also a hundred percent confident that he is the final authority over all of humanity. Verse two, he says, since you have given him, he's talked about himself there authority over all flesh and, and, and who is the only being in the entire universe who has authority over all flesh, his name is God. And, and so already in this prayer, if you are not convinced that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, God's son, he is a heretic, Jesus is 100% confident that he is the only way to heaven. Verse two goes on says, since you have given him authority to give eternal life to all whom you have given him, no, no hesitation whatsoever, Jesus Christ has been given authority to save him and Him alone.
Speaker 1 00:12:46 But lastly, Jesus is a hundred percent confident that he is God's beloved son. Go back to verse one. Here's what he says, father, the hour has come glorify your son, that the son may glorify you. Uh, I wanna invite you into some study that I've done. I want to ask you if you want to go double and triple check this, please do. But here's what I have not been able to find one single instance of in the entire Old Testament. Never have I been able to find a single instance where a person prays to God and calls God his or her father never once in the entire Old Testament. Now, I might have missed it, so I commissioned you to go find it. And if there is, I might take an exception. Now, is God referenced metaphorically as a father? Absolutely. Does God reference himself at times as the father of Israel, almost exclusively in a plural sense over the nation?
Speaker 1 00:13:46 For sure. But there has never been as far as I have been able to find one instance where a Jewish person prays to God and calls him personally. Father, in John 17, six times, Jesus refers to God as his Father. In the entire book of time, do you know Book of John? Do you know how many times the father is called the Father by Jesus 113. This is a massive statement being made by Christ modeled for these people today. The word Father, it's been, um, formalized and liturgic and, and what's striking is that for most people, when they hear you pray confidently and authentically as a beloved child praise or talks to a dad, most people are blown away. Do you know why? Because so many Christians and people from even false religions, they only understand prayer as formal. They need some kind of method to follow.
Speaker 1 00:14:53 They need some pre-written prayer to pray because authenticity before a holy God is a petrifying experience. And when you pray and you say, Hey Father, I love you, and you just talk to him like a beloved son or daughter would talk to their dad, it is striking and unforgettable for religious people who have never heard anything different. And so what we find here is Jesus is just like he is modeling something utterly new for the Jewish people. Way long time ago, I was in a wedding, uh, with a friend and um, the pastor got up. He was young, he was in his probably late twenties, and he gave one of the weirdest prayers I've ever heard. Now, I am going to impersonate the prayer, but I have to tell you however awkward I sound, it was more awkward being in the room. And so here's, here's what he does, he prays and he says, oh, father, we besie the, and then he ends it with, there was a whole bunch of weirdness in the middle, but how he ended it was striking too in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 00:16:11 Ah, man. And I looked at my friend outta the corner of my eye and I was like, who is this guy? What is happening? He goes like this to me. He goes, I don't know, <laugh>. And I'm like, is your pastor, you picked him to whatever? And it was interesting because as I got to, I spent a little bit of time with the pastor and I just realized this guy had no gospel understanding whatsoever, whatsoever. And if I told you the denomination, you go, oh yeah, of course. But I, I'm sitting there and I'm like, all this guy knows is how to pray, have hyper formalized liturgical prayers. And I was so struck because I'm like, this is what you are modeling for people. And it's interesting cuz Jesus seemed to pray a little bit differently. Jesus seemed to pray with this unusual, authentic confidence as a beloved son or daughter would pray before or talk to their dad.
Speaker 1 00:17:03 Now, the original language that Jesus is praying in is Aramaic. And and you probably heard the word, it's Abba, and it it communicates a deep personal relationship between a child and their father. This, this is not hyper formalized. This is actually unusually intimate. And we get this, we get the sense that one of the things that made Jesus so unique, and you watch this in, in his prayer life, is that he prayed to God with this unusual confidence, with this unusual authenticity and unusual intimacy. So we agree, though you and I are not Jesus sounds good. Um, I I, you and I don't get to be heir of all things. And we're, we're not perfect and sinless. We're not God in the flesh. We don't get to get glory, right? So who am I when I pray to God? What do, what do I learn about Jesus's confidence?
Speaker 1 00:17:55 Well, because you and I have trusted in Christ like Jesus, I am God's beloved child, which means my Father loves me and he wants to respond to me. It's gonna blow your mind. And I can talk to him normally because I've trusted in Christ like Jesus. I am baptized in and filled with the Holy Spirit, which means I can talk to God wherever I want. And he always hears me because I've trusted in Christ like Jesus. I am God's representative, which means I have God's undivided ear and attention whenever I call on him because I've trusted in, in Christ like Jesus. I am a priest, which is what the book of Hebrews teaches, that he's our high priest and we are all priests. And we, because we're priests, have full access to God without hesitation. That's a crazy thought because in the Old Testament, you didn't get full access.
Speaker 1 00:18:58 One high priest got restricted access once a year if he lived. But you and I, if we have trusted in Christ, we have full, complete and total access to God. Now, pray like it, pray as beloved sons and daughters who have full unrestricted access to their Heavenly Father because he loves you. And never underestimate the power of praying for someone with that level of confidence that your relationship with God is secure because he loves you and he's your heavenly Father. And number two, when you pray for someone, point them to his glory first. I mean, all of us, we, we waiver between false humility and narcissism. It's a kind of a hard tension to live in, but I find is most people probably lean more towards the narcissism side. Um, you can say amen, but don't kick the person you're sitting next to. Many years, many years ago when I was a youth pastor here, um, the worship team, um, we would practice before youth group and then we'd go into the kitchen of the 6 0 1. That's the room right over there. And we'd go into the kitchen and we would pray, um, we'd pray for the, the, the evening. We'd pray for non-Christians who were coming. And, and I'll never forget this, this kid, it was his first time drumming and he, here's his prayer. God, I'm so thankful all of these students have come to hear me drum <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:20:26 This was another one of those moments where, where everybody not praying opens their eyes and go, what? <laugh>? And, and I, I I I get it. Narcissism is easy, okay? It's easy for all of us because I'll be honest, the only thoughts I think are my thoughts. I live in my body, I have my feelings everywhere I go, it's gonna be shocking. There I am. And so like I get it. There is a natural obsession with the self. And whenever something isn't going right, what, what do I want? I want for the thing that's not going right to be gone so that my life can be easy. Anyone else with me on that? And so it it's understandable that when we pray or go through life, like my first, like my first words to God are, gimme, gimme, gimme not, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 00:21:12 And, and I love asking God for a whole bunch of things. And I want God to make my life incredibly easy. But I'm telling you when people are going through it, when people are suffering, when people are in pain, when people's lives are falling apart, when nothing is turning out the way they wanted, their heart inclination, my heart inclination is towards narcissism. Me, me, me, me, me. And here's, here's one of the most powerful things you have the ability to do, to come alongside of somebody and remind them in prayer that the most important part of your life is you giving God glory. God allows ordas or permits all things. And this thing that your in had to go through him before it got to you. And, and the primary chief purpose of your response in this thing is first and foremost to give God glory.
Speaker 1 00:22:00 Here's what I know. When I pray for somebody, I can pray for healing. I can pray for ease. I can pray that all the bad stuff would go away. I can't guarantee you that that is God's will. I can guarantee you it is God's will that in this thing you give him glory, period. That is a prayer that I consent to heaven, that God will respond to. Because here's what I know, he wants you in the thing to bring him as much glory as humanly possible. Look at John 17, one Father, the hour has come glorify your son that the son may glorify you. Jesus is comfortable in this space. The father's obsession is to bring glory to the Son. Do you want to be on the same page with Jesus? Bring glory to the Son. And when you pray over someone, it is foundational and fundamental to pray.
Speaker 1 00:22:58 God, would you help this person make much of Jesus? Now, verse four, I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And it's this glory cycle. The Father is obsessed with glory. Find the Son, the Son points glory back to the Father. The Father points it back to the Son. And so we give glory to the Son who gives glory to the Father still stands. The chief purpose of what you are going through is first and foremost, not exclusively, but first and foremost that you might bring God glory in this moment. Verse five says, now, father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I, I think this is just a really important sentence because what Jesus is acknowledging is before the incarnation, before we celebrate at Christmas, that Jesus eternally existed in all of his glory.
Speaker 1 00:23:59 And when he became incarnate or human, he laid aside so much of this glory God, God is showing us, uh, here that unlike every other counterfeit false religion, God is as humble as he is glorious. And I want you to just park on this for a moment. I want you to consider the weight of what Jesus has just said in, in the greatest act of humility. Jesus didn't, he didn't just lay aside the privileges of deity. Jesus didn't just lay aside the blinding glorious light that emanated from his very being. He didn't, he didn't just press pause on receiving constant 24 7 worship and adoration from angels. He didn't just walk away from fellowship with dead sames. He didn't just walk away from perfect communion with his heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit where there was no drama. And he didn't just walk away from a place of perfect peace and sinlessness.
Speaker 1 00:25:09 He does all of this. And he goes to a fallen world and he experiences everything that you and I have experienced from being in the womb to adolescence. God help us adulthood to a murderous and gruesome death. And he remains sinless. And now he has been glorified in heaven. Jesus doesn't just deserve glory because he's God, he deserves glory because there has never been a greater act of love and humility in all of human history. And it will never be matched again. We don't just look at him and say, we give you glory because you are God. We give him glory because without what he did, we would be in hell. We give him glory because there has been no greater act of love sacrificed and humility, and there never will be. We give him glory because he did what nobody else could and honestly what nobody else would, even if they could.
Speaker 1 00:26:07 So my big question, when I'm, when I'm praying for somebody, God, how can I make Jesus look good in this h h God, how in this circumstance can my friend or this person, I'm praying for God? Would you just show them ways to just make Jesus look incredible when you pray for somebody? Number three, ground them in the gospel. Look, look at verse three. Jesus says, this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you've sent. Okay, has he already taught the disciples on this? The answer is yes. Is this new information for them? No. Why does Jesus pray such simple gospel realities over these disciples? Because when you and I are in the thick of it, what's the first thing we forget? Gospel essentials. Let lemme give you an example. Do do you know one of the strongest tendencies of a Christian is when they're in pain or suffering?
Speaker 1 00:27:16 God, if you were good, why did you let this happen? Already in this moment, fundamental gospel realities are being forgotten. And, and, and when I pray over somebody, I wanna remind them, God, I just thank you that you're good. I don't, I don't get all this. I don't understand the nuances. I I do know this will make sense one day, but I just wanna stop in this moment and say, you are holy and good. And somehow if we knew what you knew, we, we would've, we would've let this happen as well. I don't get it. Like these are hard things to pray, are they not? But what are the first things to go when life is hard? Gospel realities. We forget what we really deserve. We forget what Jesus has done for us. We forget what he laid aside and what he did on the cross.
Speaker 1 00:28:04 We forget where we're going. These are so foundational, and I just so appreciate sprinkled throughout Jesus's prayer, our basic fundamental gospel realities yet, yet that yes, they should know. But th these, these, these young men, their entire lives are unraveling before them. Look at verse eight, for I've given them the words that you gave me and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you and they have believed that you sent me Verse 24. Father, I, I desire that they also, whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. He, he's reminding them of what is awaiting for them. If you stick with me, you know the glory that I keep talking about. You're gonna see it face to face.
Speaker 1 00:28:52 And because you're gonna have resurrection bodies, it's not gonna incinerate you and kill you. And so he is praying the future and hope over them. When the Apostle Paul, um, prays for the churches almost every time he, he'll pray and respond to a felt need. But almost every single time he prays the gospel, thank you for Christ. And what he has done because of the blood of Christ shouting your behalf. You read every one of his prayers and they are just integrated with gospel realities. It's almost like he knows how easily these believers forget in the middle of their trials, the most basic truths. God is good. I am a sinner. I deserve nothing. Everything I have is from Him. God save me. We just forget these basic, basic things. The gospel, it centers us. It kills narcissism, it kills boasting, it kills self glorification.
Speaker 1 00:29:44 I mean, the gospel itself tells you you weren't saved cuz you were better than someone else. The gospel reminds you, you are not the most important person in the entire world. Jesus is. I mean the, the continual proclamation of the gospel keeps us humble. But it doesn't just kill things. It builds, builds things up. It builds in us humility, a heart of worship, gratitude it. When you are reminded of the gospel on a regular basis, it is hard to be bloated with narcissism. And so what should happen, particularly when we think about the communion, we celebrate communion every week and we center our minds in the gospel. My hope is that there's a confession of sin and there's an overwhelming sense of gratitude because of what God has done for you and I and Jesus Christ. The Book of Job, chapter one, verse 21, I think Job really just summarizes so much of this.
Speaker 1 00:30:32 He says, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. Every, everything job has at the end of the day between birth and death is from God. He says, the Lord gave and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Joe gets it. Nothing I have ultimately got to me unless God approved it. Nothing that I lost was taken from me unless ultimately it went through the Lord. And whatever it is, whether it is loss or it is gained, I will bless the name of the Lord. That's his way of saying, I will give glory to God. And number four, when you pray, seek, seek to discern both the felt need and the ultimate need. But we're not gonna talk about that this morning. That's gonna be to be continued for next week. So if you actually want to hear about that, this will move from the here are the big things to how do I discern the will of God in this moment and in this trial as I pray for somebody.
Speaker 1 00:31:35 All right, so what number one, healthy prayer should keep narcissism in check. Every one of us has the po in narcissism. Everyone narcissists believe that they are in control. They believe they're the most important person they deserve. They, they believe they deserve to be the center of, uh, of attention. By and large narcissists don't have personal prayer lives because they don't need anything. And when they have public prayer lives, it's mostly so that you think they're godly and wonderful. But every single time we choose to pray, we are communicating this. I don't believe that I have control. I can't fix this. Uh, I am not the most important person in the world. God. You are prayer, regular prayer. It is a death blow to narcissism. And as we said earlier, we are all tempted. By the way, I am very tempted to make most of my prayers gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
Speaker 1 00:32:31 And what I try to do is when I pray for other people, I am reminded, I'm reminded first to remind them to give glory to God. God, I'm reminded to ground them in the gospel. And then I ask God for things. But don't I also need to be reminded that in and of myself, Hey God, there's all these things I want. But first and foremost, whatever doesn't glorify you, would you just ground me in that and, and God, unless I become an entitled self-centered jerk, thank you for saving me because I didn't deserve any of that. All right, now I'm grounded. Would you help me <laugh>, please? But what prayer does is it grounds us. And as you're praying for somebody else, you're trying to pull them out of their understandable self-centeredness and obsession with the thing right in front of them. And you're trying to help them elevate above this and say, God, I don't know what your will is yet for this thing, but would you help me bring glory to you?
Speaker 1 00:33:21 Would you not let me forget Gospel essentials? You are good. You are good. Number two, overcome the awkward and ask if you can pray for someone again. Awkward is awesome. Almost always. I found that the Lord loves to move and do some really interesting things in awkward moments. So if you're a friend or your family member, if they need prayer, ask them. Put your hand on their shoulder. Kids, it's okay to pray for your mom and dad and to ask them if you can pray for them. You're not gonna get a mom and dad who rejects you old kids. You can pray for your mom and dad too. There is something really funny that happens when sometimes when you're in the organizational chart of a family, you're the kid. We don't look up to serve and to pray. And, and I would say pray for your parents and pray for your children. Put your hand on their shoulder or hold their hand. If you don't know them, don't touch them. Fair enough. That's when awkward doesn't become awesome. <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:34:42 Years ago, um, somebody asked me if they could pray for me. And I'll be honest, I despised this person. I know I'm the only one. You've never had this, when they, of course I'm not gonna say no, don't touch me <laugh>. I wanted to, it was interesting as they prayed for me, my despising melted into compassion. And I, I can't quite explain it. It was just a, a powerful thing where they actually had no idea what God was up to in that moment. They just, with good intentions, came to me to pray over me. I was upset about something that happened years ago and I was being foolish and stubborn and it just melted. And, and it's interesting because that person walked away and they had no idea the impact of that moment. They thought they were praying for me about something else. Lo and behold, the Lord was up to something very different in my heart in that moment.
Speaker 1 00:35:36 Never, never underestimate what God might be up to. And never underestimate the power of prayer where you center people on the glory of God and the gospel. James five 16 says this, therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Never underestimate the power of God when the people of God walk into awkward moments and bring the glory of God and the gospel to a trauma or to a moment or to a pain. Never underestimate what God might be up to in that moment. And so my encouragement to you is walk into the awkward. You might be on the phone. Hey, could I just take a minute and pray for you? By the way, it doesn't need to be perfect. You might even be nervous.
Speaker 1 00:36:33 That's okay. But, but I've never got done praying for somebody and then said, man, I wish I wouldn't have asked him if I could pray. Number three, never forget full access to God in prayer is only given to those who believe in Jesus. God hears everything. He knows everything. He's not unaware. But but what scripture's clearly teach is that the ones who have full access to God as beloved children are only the ones who have personally trusted in Christ. And so what we found actually semi-regularly is people are like, I, I feel like God doesn't respond to me or hear me when I pray. And then sometimes we dig a little bit deeper and it's like, have you, have you trusted in Christ yet? And they're like, well, I go to church. I'm a Christian. No, no, no. Have you ever like personally trusted in, in Christ?
Speaker 1 00:37:24 And and what we find is that some people, they, they feel like there's this block between them and God, not because of unrepentant sin in their life, but because they've never personally trusted in Christ. And so maybe you're here today and you have never personally trusted in Jesus Christ. And and I'm telling you before, until that happens, until you are forgiven of your sins and reconciled to God and given the Holy Spirit, there is a block in your prayer life. You throw them up and he knows what's going on. But you're wanting more responsiveness. And responsiveness of a loving father to a beloved child only happens if they're his child. And what we know is this, is that we need to be adopted through faith in Christ in order to become his legal children. So today, you, you may for the first time realize, man, I've never actually personally trusted in Christ.
Speaker 1 00:38:10 And do you know when the best time to trust in Christ is now, not tonight when you go to bed, not when you walk out the doors. And anybody who believes in Jesus and asks them to forgive them of their sins and save them, they will be saved and forgiven. And so today, do you, do you believe that Jesus is your God, that he died on the cross of your sins, was raised from the dead? Are you done trying to earn your way to heaven? You can in your heart, in your mind right now, pray. God, I believe in Jesus that he died for my sins and was raised from the dead. Save me and forgive me in his promises that anybody who sincerely believes they will be forgiven and given the Holy Spirit and you from this point on, will have full access to the throne room of God.
Speaker 1 00:38:52 Every time you lift your voice in your brain or out loud in prayer, your heavenly Father loves to hear you and you can pray to him with confidence. Amen. If that's a decision you wanna make today, please tell somebody you came with that you have trusted in Christ for the first time. And I'll tell you, we would just love to celebrate with you and to help you take whatever next steps the Lord has for you. Let me pray for you. Father, what a privilege we have to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. What a, what a privilege. We have to pray for those in our life who don't know you.
Speaker 1 00:39:28 The prayer of a righteous person has much power. Lord, may we never forget that, Lord, we all stand here. None of us are perfect. But Lord, you, you love when your people pray. And we have been declared righteous because of faith in Christ. So what I I, I pray that you would help us cross over the awkward spaces. You would, you would give us unusual confidence as we open our mouth to you, that you love us and hear us. Lord, would you not only ground others, but ourselves to make giving you glory no matter what's going on? The main thing. And may you, may you never let us or those we pray for, forget what is ultimate, real and true in the gospel. God, I know that the evil one would like nothing less than for the people in this room to go intentionally and regularly pray out loud for their brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that he does not want that to happen. And so Lord, the fear and the awkwardness can become paramount in our brains. Lord, I I don't pray that it would be easy. I don't even pray that you would take away fear and anxiety. I pray you would give us courage to walk into the awkward, to open our mouths and to intercede for our brothers and sisters in Jesus' name, we love you and we just count absolute joy to be your children through faith in Jesus. Amen will church. Amen. Amen.
