When the best of me is barely breathing
When I'm not somebody I believe in,, hold on to me
When I'm miss the night, the light is stolen, hold onto me
When I'm slamming all the doors you open, hold on to me
Hold on to me
Hold on to me when it's too dark to see you
When I am sure I've reached the end
Hold on to me when I forget I need you
When I let it go, hold me again
When I don't feel like I'm worth defending
When I'm tired of all my pretending
Hold on to me
When I start to break in, desperation
underneath the weight of expectation
Hold on to me
Hold on to me when it's too dark to see you
When I am sure I have reached the end
Hold on to me when I forget I need you
When I let go, hold me again
I could rest here in your arms forever
Cause I know nobody loves me better, hold on to me
Hold on to me
Hold on to me when it's too hard to see you
When I let it go, hold on to me
Hold on to me when it's too hard to see you
When I let it go
I'm feeling me
When I'm tired of all my spending
When I'm tired of being
I'm feeling me
You are the amazing light
Jesus, when you're through, the world becomes so hard to see
The world is bound to break you, but the truth will be
Always looking around and never looking home, so I'll never find it
A plague has stung the body and the heart is divided
Oh Jesus, when you're in us, open your eyes to the world
At the end of our 30 feet, let all eyes see
Let my glass see, from the sea, open eyes and go and see
Oh Jesus, when you're in us, break my heart for a drink
Oh Jesus, when you're in us, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, when you're through, the world is rising in his hand
We've arrived and turned away, and the storm's all around the heaven
Tell us to remember, our heart will lead to peace, if the battery of your phone
Leaves your people to their knees
Nobody knows why we're quarreling over again when we charge to our death
But if we put down our phones, phone to the line, we'll have a life you'll get
Oh Jesus, when you're in us, open your eyes to the world
At the end of our 30 feet, let our hearts beat
Let my glass see, how much we've grown behind the broken heart
Oh Jesus, when you're in us, break my heart for a drink
You love every last word, you reach for the outcast
For the life of your name, never reaches that you hit
But I was the love of the heart, and I was the outcast
But you've got to accept I'm just like me, I'll wait forever at your feet
Cause you are God, you're holy, and you're loved, and loved forever
You are God, you're holy, and you're loved, and loved forever
You are God, you are God, and you're loved, and loved forever
Jesus, when you're in us, open your eyes to the world
At the end of our 30 feet, let our hearts beat
Let my glass see, how much we've grown behind the broken heart
Oh Jesus, when you're in us, break my heart for a drink
And I was the love of the heart, and I was the outcast
But you've got to accept I'm just like me, I'll wait forever at your feet
But if the chord, if I need to lead into that, there's no chord before the pickup
So when I doubt, just play the chord, I think it's actually easier
When I lift my eyes, I hear the music ring
And when the storm's break'n, I am falling on to the rock I hear
How can I keep from singing your praise? How can I ever say no?
I will make things right now, how can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am loved by the King, and it ain't what I want to see
I will lift my eyes in the darkest night, for I know I'm staying your list
And I will walk with you, knowing you'll stay with me through, and sing a song to you
How can I keep from singing your praise? How can I ever say no?
I will make things right now, how can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am loved by the King, and it ain't what I want to see
I can sing in the trough of time, sing when I will
I can sing when I look up there, and fall down again
I can sing, but you take me home, sing from your bed
I can sing, but you hear me look, when I call to you in prayer
I can sing with my last breath, sing for I know
That I've been with the angels, I've sang through the night
How can I keep from singing your praise? How can I ever say no?
How amazing your love, how can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am loved by the King, and it ain't what I want to see
I am loved by the King, and it ain't what I want to see
I can sing
The worksheets are coming around real quick. While that's happening, I wanted to mention to you two names.
One is Zereta Foster. She's a client of the LifeStation.
She called requesting prayer today because things are just really chaotic and difficult in her life right now.
Health concerns, relational, that kind of thing.
And another is Rachel Bauer. Rachel had eye surgery yesterday, surgery on her eye, and it's really puffy and she can't see.
And she's really worried that if it doesn't heal properly or whatever that she won't be able to see out of one eye.
So she was asking for prayer for calmness so that she's trusting in the Lord and also for the Lord to heal.
So if you bear those names, it's Rachel Bauer and Zereta Foster are the two names.
So this lesson that we're going to do tonight begins our series on the locks.
We're going to talk about things that block prayer between you and God and things that open prayer as a tool between you and God.
And so it's a little bit different kind of a worksheet or whatever.
And I'm going to kind of try to do a little bit differently as I go and teach in the gaps instead of having like usually at the end I'll kind of like summarize things.
So first what we're going to do, the first lock is on the upper right.
So when you're looking at your page, that over there is your right, that's your left.
OK, so the lock is on the upper right.
And this probably will not come as any great surprise to you, but we're going to show kind of talk about how we know it.
So right. And the first lock is I'm going to give it to you right now, praying without knowing God through Jesus.
When I was a non-Christian, I would pray about things and I would say, God, please help me with this, please help me with that.
And I think there were times when God did, you know, when there were miraculous interventions.
I remember praying as I jumped my motorcycle over the tracks or praying when I was dealing with a major relationship.
Issue that kind of thing and asking God to get me through.
It's praying without knowing God through Jesus.
And then the reference comes right after. Yes, the J is for the reference.
It's John 14 six. And you might know John 14 six.
It is where Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the father but through me.
So coming to someone means access. It does not mean physically only.
Right. So obviously we go to heaven and be with God. That's access to God.
We will go to have to be with God. Right.
But we have access to God now.
Praying without knowing God through Jesus.
You do not have access to God now.
So if this kind of hurts a little bit.
But if somebody says they're not a Christian and they prayed.
Right. So pray for God to stop a storm, heal something, whatever like that.
And you say and they ask you, doesn't God hear all prayers?
Doesn't God listen to everything everybody says? Yes, ma'am.
John 14 six.
And so if a person asks and says, doesn't God hear all prayers?
The truth is no. God does not have to hear all prayers.
In fact, the Bible says that your sins place a barrier between you and God.
And so you do not have access to this wrong room. God now can can God hear all prayers?
Yes, absolutely. He can. Right.
And so can God hear the prayer of somebody who is not saved and doesn't hear God's prayer?
Who is not saved and intervene on their behalf? He can.
Absolutely. And probably does.
And remember that God knows when you're not saved whether you will eventually be saved or not.
Even though you want to say, well, that's confusing to me because if it's free for me to choose to be saved.
If I get to make the choice whether I'm going to be a follower of Jesus or not.
Then if God right now, if God knows that next year you're going to be truly a Christian.
Then you say, well, then I'm not really free to choose not to be truly a Christian.
Well, you are. You're completely free.
However, in that moment, because God is already present in the future.
He can see that in that moment as a free person, you will choose to be a Christian. He can see that.
So does that mean that you have full access to God now?
No, you do not because you have not come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ the Son.
If you're not a Christian, if you're a Christian, you have full access.
Even a Christian who has sin, we'll talk about that a little bit later,
can have a barrier between him and God, a different kind of a lock, if you will.
So we're working our way down that lock.
The first part was praying without knowing God through Jesus.
That's the lock.
So if you pray, your prayers could be blocked, could not go to God, could not be answered.
Because you do not know God through Jesus.
And then there's a CG there and that CG stands for common ground. Common ground.
So when you're having a conversation with somebody, if you have common ground with them, the conversation goes pretty well.
If you do not have common ground with them, you'll have a hard time understanding each other.
You might argue. It might get violent.
Especially if the common ground, like you are a peaceful person and the other person is an axe murderer, for example.
There's no common ground there. So it could go very badly.
Jesus is our common ground with God.
God sent Jesus to be the way, the pathway of life, the truth and the life.
And so Jesus is the common ground.
If you talk to God and you're thinking about Jesus and you're thinking about what Jesus would want and you're coming to God through Jesus,
then you have a common ground with God.
You love Jesus and God loves Jesus.
That's the common ground.
People say, well, can't I have this common ground? God loves me and I love me.
Well, guess what actually happens when you're not saved.
You do lots of things that are not loving towards yourself.
You do things that to meet your desires.
Right. So I want the taste. I want the feel.
I want to think this thing about myself or about my friends or my family.
You do things for the taste to fulfill the desire.
But if it's not good for you, then it's not loving.
Right. So we can eat lots and lots and lots of proverbial chocolate cake because it tastes really good.
If you eat three, four chocolate cakes while you're eating it over, hopefully over several weeks, you're going to be mad.
I like life. I like chocolate cake and I feel good and I've got chemicals flowing in my brain and my heart's really pumping.
Every time I eat this chocolate cake, I get a little pepped up, you know.
But at the end of that, you suffer for having eaten it and maybe even through the middle of it.
Right. And so suffering is not the intent.
If you love somebody, you do not cause them suffering.
So the truth is lost people don't really know how to love themselves.
They're trying, but they really do not have a common ground with God.
OK, so that doesn't work.
You say, what about loving creation? Could I have a common ground with God with loving creation?
God's crowning achievement of creation, the top of creation is man.
If you can't love man, you're going to have a problem with loving God.
Right. So there's no common ground. So you love trees. People love trees.
A lot of people out there, the Arbor Society, people of Gaia, the spirit of the earth, it's all kind of fictional, but it's there.
Right. And so, or fictional rather, but it's there.
The point is you need a common ground. OK.
Once you have a common ground, then you can have open conversation.
That's OC, the next line. OC. Open conversation does not mean you will always agree.
OK, so you're praying to God and you might ask God for something and God might or might not give you what you ask for.
God may disagree. You say, God, it would be right for me to get this promotion, paycheck, healing, free car.
Praise from my friend. Right. Whatever you ask for from God.
And God might say, we can have a conversation about that because you come into me through Jesus.
But the truth is, let me show you what's better for you. Let me show you a better way.
And so a lot of times we're praying to God, we're having open conversation, but we're actually learning and growing and figuring out what's right.
We come to God thinking we know what's right and God is informing us of what's actually right.
Open conversation happens because we have common ground. What is the common ground?
Knowing God through Jesus. So the lock is if you don't know God through Jesus and you pray, you do not have common ground with them.
You will not have an open conversation with him.
And then that means to think that you're going to have your prayers answered is an unfair or an unrealistic expectation.
And that's where the world is at.
And that means to think that you're going to be in the foxhole. God save us. Please save us, God. Right.
At test time, Lord, please give me an A. God, not Lord usually. Right. God, please give me an A. Right.
And those are unrealistic expectations to just be able to cry out to God.
You have to remember that John 3, 17 says they are condemned already by what they have done with the son of God.
They're being sentenced to a life of uselessness, destined for hell. Right.
And so a person who's confined to uselessness and destined for hell cannot realistically say when I ask God for something that he's going to give it.
Why should he? What purpose or what right do you have to ask?
Right. And so the one of the locks is not coming or praying without knowing God through Jesus.
So I bet you know now what the key to that lock is. What do you think that KJ
stands for? Knowing Jesus. That's absolutely right. So the lock to this or
the key to this lock is knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus opens the lock of
praying without knowing God through Jesus. Right? So when we go to Jesus, Jesus
makes sure the connection is there. Yes ma'am.
Unrealistic expectations or unfair expectations. Those are probably kind of
big words but basically just means we don't really have a right to expect open
conversation if we don't have common ground and we don't have common ground
if we don't have Jesus. Working it backwards. Alright? So now we're gonna
we're gonna kind of figure out from John 14 6 we're still using that same verse
it says this Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father through me. That's about access. It doesn't mean physically
it does mean physically going there but it also means prayer right because we
have access. In fact my idea, your idea, people's idea of physically going to
heaven probably isn't very good. Like we don't really understand it. You know that
you're you die they're gonna bury your body. So what does your soul look like?
Right? So we don't really know. But we kind of see that a resurrected body
in Jesus after he was resurrected and we see that he still had his scars. But he
did he just still have his scars so that he could show them? So they I mean no
probably not. He wasn't a ghost. It wasn't a ghost
resurrected because he ate with them to prove he wasn't a ghost right. So we get
some hints toward it but we really don't know exactly what it's gonna be like. So
knowing Jesus now the question is this based on these verses if we want to come
to God in prayer I'll read the verse one more time I am the way and the truth and
life no one comes to the Father but through me. So that I'll give you the
capital T it is truth. So what do you think the E and the T are? What do you do
with the truth? Say it again. Okay that's a good word but it actually starts with an A.
But that is a very good word. You could I could have put an A there I think.
Somebody got one with an E? Okay yeah I think you could do explore. Say it again.
Could do examine. Those kind of sound like they're early on. Go ahead. Okay I
like that. Expose that sounds like later. So early on we examine it explore it.
Later we expose it but in the middle we embrace it. Okay so first you got it you
got this has to be your truth. Jesus has to be your truth right. You're gonna dig
into Jesus. So now I go I got a new situation. I hadn't expected this. Now how
do I know Jesus in this situation right. It's pretty easy to think of like Peter
coming out of the boat and he started walking. Then he took his eyes off Jesus
and the storm came up and then he started to sink and he's like oh crud I
was walking on water now I'm sinking what do I do and he reached up and Jesus
pulled him out of the water. Well that's embracing right. He was reaching for
somebody to save him ain't nobody gonna save him but Jesus because Jesus was the only one
walking on the water. So that's it. We embrace the truth. Whenever we figure
out what it is we take it in and make it part of us and make it part of our
thinking and you don't just go I sat and the preacher preached but at the end of
it you know I didn't get nothing out of it because that doesn't work that way.
It's God's Word. You go to God's Word you always get something. If the preacher
doesn't say it you're getting supposed to get it directly from God right. So
we're embracing the truth word. We're adding it to our person and then we're
absolutely right exploring and examining it to figure out what it really is and
exposing it because now we know it's not just for us it's everybody right. And if
you fail to acknowledge it to use Caleb's word even though that's an A not
an E if you fail to acknowledge it you certainly aren't gonna embrace it or
examine it or explore it or expose it you're just gonna say it's not there.
Right so embrace the truth. So you I'm gonna submit to you that you cannot know
God through Jesus if you are not willing to embrace Jesus in your life. I think
that's true. I think that's the truth. Okay all right and so then anybody want
to take a stab at the next one it's LTL. Live the life. That's right. You're gonna
live the life. So when you talk about knowing Jesus on a daily basis is I'm
oversimplifying this so we get our minds wrapped around it I'm trying to anyway
you're going to live the life that God has given you right. Why do you have this
life? Because Jesus died for you right otherwise you're dead. You're still dead.
If Jesus didn't die for you you're still dead in your trespasses and sins. That's
what the Bible says. So we have this life to live because Jesus paid for it for us.
So we're going to live the life. So what are some ways that we can live our life?
Practical things. What could you do to live your life if you're saying I'm
gonna live the life that Jesus has given me. What are some things you could do?
Study the Bible. That'd be good. What else? How about lying? Let's cut that out.
That doesn't have a place in the life that Jesus has given me. How about loving
other people? Let's do that. Let's get good at that. Let's major in that. Let's
work hard at that as if it were a new command and truthfully when you are
saved it is a new command because as we talked about when you're not saved you
have a hard time even understanding what love is right or to do it well anyway. So
you live the life by just figuring out okay if if I'm letting Jesus live and
I've embraced the truth of Jesus he's living in me now what do I do next? What
do I become? How do I not just polish the surface of this vessel but make all this
hot mess into something that honors God? Live the life. Okay and then one more.
You want to take a stab at it? Walk the walk. That's it. And so it's not
complicated. I understand there's a lot more to it. We can study the Bible. We can
learn a lot more things we're supposed to do. We can sit under preaching and
we can dig in theology. Go ahead. Yes you can walk the way. Yeah and actually
here's what's interesting. The word there is hadas and it means the way but it
means the walk that you walk on the way you're going or the road that you're
walking down. It's the pathway if you will. So anything that represented the path
that you're traveling there would be it. So people say you walk do you you talk
the talk but do you walk the walk? But that's just a funny kind of a fun
co-oculism that people use right? They don't even really understand what it
means when they're saying it. They mean you talk about being a good person but
then are you really a good person? That's what they're saying. Just trying to check
you for irony if you're are you a hypocrite? Talk about being good but
you're actually bad basically. But Jesus would take it one step further than that
because Jesus is the walk. Okay so basically what you're gonna do is you're
gonna say I'm gonna go where Jesus is gonna take me and we look at like okay
let's say Jesus wanted to take us to Swanton. About how many different ways
could we get to Swanton? A lot. A dozen at least right? There's gotta be about 12
different ways. If you put it in Google I guarantee it'll come with at least five
routes that say there's no more than three minutes difference right? There's a
bunch of different ways you can get there. But Jesus doesn't say I'm gonna
take you to Swanton. Just go however you want to go right? The walk means you take
the path like this is me walking for Jesus. It's one step. As soon as you lift
your foot right? You right away are thinking about the way, the method, the
how. It's not a it's not a means to an end like we're going to heaven so with
Jesus we'll get there someday and that's what people do a lot. They like well I'm
going to heaven anyway so I can do this that and the other and I'll get around to
it and yeah I can't go to church or I can't do that because I got this other
thing going on you know or I can't put enough importance on what Jesus wants me
to do today so I put that back I put a pin in it I'll get around to it or I'm
getting saved but I'm keeping some things that I do that don't honor Jesus
in my back pocket so whenever I'm feeling a little down I can whip that
bad boy out and indulge in it and I'll feel better. None of that is acceptable.
The things that you used to do and be are not even on the way with Jesus. It's
like you know like Google says or iPhone Maps says search along the route you
search along the route that Jesus is taking you you will not find those
things. They're not there. That's why Isaiah calls it the highway of holiness
because they're not there. Also guess what else is not there? Evil spirits,
demons, they can't get on the highway of holiness so when you're truly walking
with Jesus or as we tend to coin the phrase of when we're in Christ we're
doing the things that God wants to do being the kind of person that God wants
us to be and so on when it's like that you're virtually untouchable. So the
first thing to do if you feel like because we got a lock and a key here
right if you feel like your prayers are not getting through to God the first
thing to do is to check yourself and make sure that you're submissive that
you're humble and willing to go the way that God is is taking you and that you're
actually embracing the truth that is Jesus you're living the life that is
Jesus and walking the walk that is Jesus and then just ask God for whatever you
want because open communication God will help you to understand what's really
right what's really best right so you can ask for the new car but don't be
surprised when God says we listen should you be praying for this instead isn't
there was something more kingdom useful you know that you could be asking me for
right now because there's an open conversation if there's a genuine open
conversation like prayer all the time then you get like God will actually
interrupt you so you'll be doing things and God will say hey yo let's go this
way instead right and you'll be like it doesn't make any sense why would I even
do that but you know God's voice you're familiar with it because you have open
conversation with him on a regular basis so you get a feeling of what he wants
something different you realize that is the way so you embrace the truth live
the life and walk the walk and go the way he's taking even though it kind of
seems dorky or weird or missing the point or whatever and then he gets his
way and you may not even in this lifetime even understand why he took you
that way or why your life looked like that during that time or why you had to
embrace that truth during that time but the lock stays open it's the point okay
going to the second lock is down to the right there are ten of these ten locks
and ten keys and to my knowledge I believe all ten keys actually fit the
same locks so they always kind of like pair up so we'll probably do pairs as we
go the key and the lock so we're not going like oh no the lock and I can't
get past and then but you get the key each time okay all right so the reference
on the right hand side at the top of the lock is the first thing it's Psalm 66 18
Psalm 66 18
I'm gonna go read it once I get there it's all sick to fix 18 okay and it
says if I regard wickedness in my heart the Lord will not hear okay and so in
other words this psalmist is saying if I if I have wickedness and I think it's
okay I acknowledge it's there I embrace the wickedness I accept it I'm not
fighting against it I'm not trying to kick it out whatever it's okay right the
Lord will not hear that's what he says okay then Psalm 103 14 which you see I
already gave you that reference so these are the blanks I'm gonna read the verses
and then you can tell me what the blanks are once I get there Psalm 103 14 says
as follows for he himself that's God both both the he and the himself are
capitalized for he himself knows our frame he is mindful that we are but dust
okay and so you got just the last word got a D on the last word which is
probably what yeah so the D is dust so you got four blanks to put in front of
that say it again he knows we are dust yes that's what I have on my paper
exactly he knows we are dust you could put it another way if you like another
way and you can get four four words in there you can put four other words in
there you can even draw an extra blank for yourself you really wanted to as
long as you get the truth he knows we are dust you know we're dust right did
you had yes we know we're dust we're made from dust he made Adam from dust and
then Adam generated a body out of his body with Eve really out of Eve's body
with with her and then every time it's always dust we're made of the same
things that Adam and Eve were made of it's just dust brought to life right
dust imbued with the Spirit of God and so God made us a living being he made
Adam a living being they made us but he understands that we are dust so this
this is why it is the way it is if you go back for one second and think about
needing to come into God through Jesus if you come directly to God if you have
access to God and you're dust and you're sinful dust what happens if sinful dust
comes directly to God and he's perfectly holy knowing his power what would happen
to the sinful dust blows away be destroyed right so there needs to be a
door a key if you will a way to come to God with something's out of standing
between us that's gonna protect us but at the same time let us do like an air
lock right in a lab or in a spaceship it's like that or in a submarine it has
to be a connecting point where his holiness is not gonna destroy our
unholiness if that makes any sense okay and so God knows we are dust that's why
he set it up the way it is now Psalm 51 17 says the sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart oh God thou will not despise okay
so God knows or he knows if what God knows if we are what God
knows if we are take a stab at it we think Chris
buddy the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart oh
God thou will not despise say it again nope but but you're kind of on the
right track so God listen to the verse it says a broken and a contrite heart
the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit so remember we're remember where
we're coming from we're coming from he knows that we are dust so we have sin
we're human if you will so he knows if we are broken right broken over our sin
so he knows if we are broken over our sin God knows whether you are or not
because in case you hadn't noticed you do have sin in fact all humanity has sin
all have sin Paul short of the glory of God what makes the primary thing that
makes us different over the rest of humanity that has sin is that we embrace
God through Jesus does that change the fact that we have sin no does it change
the fact that we had sinned no you can't go back and change the past that's not
gone even the effects of it we're still suffering I like after I got saved ten
years after I got saved I took glucose me for four months to try to stop the
pain of my hands because I did so much punching and fighting and beating up
cars and doors and everything else in high school my hands hurt every single
day that was the wages of my sin you could say I was going to hell that's true
but I was feeling the pain in my hands from all the sinful things I had done
when I was in high school and right after high school okay so there was a
lasting effect we were probably still physically feeling things that we did
when we were children that were sin right so there's a lasting effect of sin
the question is not do you have sin or do you not have sin because everybody
has sin God knows that we are but dust the question is are you broken over your
sin does it matter to you do you care and I don't mean do you just think oh
it's kind of bad I shouldn't do that right or have you told people that you
know I could never do it because I I'm always late or always mad or always
lying because I'm just a bad person and you know you're a bad person and so
you're just always gonna be like that that's not being broken over your sin
all right being broken over your sin is when you know it's wrong and you're you
really would like to see something done about it you're really willing to see
something done about it maybe you're struggling with it you think of Romans
7 where Paul says the things I know I should not do I do I'm trying but I don't
want to do them but sometimes I still do them if you're broken over them when you
still do them that's one thing but if you regard them or you embrace them
that's a lock that's the lock that we're talking about okay so the lock then UH
remember take a stab at it the lock actually would be called a what say it
again perfect an unbroken heart if you have an unbroken heart there is a lock
between your prayers and God just the same as if you don't know him through
Jesus same kind of lock right and I submit to you if you have encountered
Jesus somewhere in there you became convicted of your sin somewhere in there
you realize oh no I'm not actually a good person you know I've done things
that I should never do and you might have done things that are not nearly as
bad as somebody else somebody else your your parents your friends whatever might
have done way worse things than you've ever done but it doesn't matter if you
have sin that's enough in fact Paul said that my sin is the worst sin I have my
sin of lying that I used to do before I got saved and even for a couple years
after I got saved and really really was broken over it for about two and a half
years after I got saved and now I'm super super careful all the time try to
make sure I don't do it like I'll even like restate what I'm saying because I'm
being careful not to lie even unintentionally right and but that person
that I was as a liar that's just was like who I was right but then if I got
caught in a lie or if I hurt somebody with a lie like oh that's terrible I
wish I didn't do that you know I wish I hadn't gotten caught I wish nobody knew
I wish I hadn't been exposed that's not an unbroken heart a broken heart is when
you care and you're doing everything in your power maybe it's not enough but
you're doing everything in your power to bring it to an end okay so restated then
an unbroken heart would be indifferent toward the word and our transgressions
so in other words you say yeah the preacher preached against exactly what
I'm doing today I remember what that sermon very well God brought it back to
mine or I was reading in my Bible and it said don't do that anymore and I
shouldn't do it anymore I don't want to do it anymore but you know it's really
not that big of a deal now because I'm saved so we're the word because we're
not worried about it not convicted by it not searching I wouldn't want to search
out the word anymore because we keep finding things that we shouldn't do or
things that we should be so we become indifferent toward the word and our
transgressions but we don't mind that we're breaking the rules and when you
do that God will not hear your prayers it does not say God might not right he
said God will not hear that's what he said okay now we got a key so the key is
re re reworded in a positive sense we're going to the left and the key is simply
to pray in repentance to pray in repentance and what is repentance talk
about it I wrote a book on it yeah if you don't know it well I'll read my book
okay yes so turning to God right you might say it again from all sin to God
yes right so the because what the the problem is if I let's say I turn away
from lying is that repentance just if I just turn away from lying the answer is
no that's not repentance but if I turn away from lying cheating stealing murder
and adultery and for notification yeah if I turn away from all of those things
is that repentance no it's not enough because you all basically what happens
you turn away from one sin you just replace it with another one if you turn
away from a whole bunch of sins you replace it with arrogance like the young
rich ruler who said well I've kept all those things since my youth what do I
still need to be saved and Jesus said go and give all that you have to the poor
and come and follow me and instead of coming instead of doing what you just
told him to do he went away sad see he'd been a good person and maybe even God
had blessed him out of that goodness he really had been prosperous they call him
the young rich ruler right so he really had been prosperous and he was giving
and maybe even kind and he did take care of the poor some surely he was not
adulterous he did not lie he was not a murderer he was a lot of very good
things but money had become his his God essentially money had become so
important to him and Jesus knew if he could just give that up then he could
come to God through Jesus rather than coming to God through his prosperity or
through the successes that he had or whatever like that and so when it says
pray and repentance you're turning away from all sin all bad things which will
leave you with a broken heart because you'll you'll find a list of things that
you're having a hard time giving up basically so you're gonna be broken over
your sin and as Josh said turning to God so it's turning from all sin turning to
God in my book think again and I'm not trying not to do any kind of promo or
whatever but I said it will this choice will and the the writers of the New
Testament understood this concept it will make you think differently about
everything so now everything even things that are not sin even things that the
Bible says are not sin can be sin Paul said all things are permissible meaning
even lying or stealing would be technically permissible because I'm
saved in Christ I'm paid my sins are paid for so now it's all permissible but
not all things are profitable and I will not be mastered by any of them that's
what Paul said so you begin to think of everything good bad ugly whatever you
think of it new you think of it differently so you're asking yourself
well what if this thing could be getting a grip on me what if this is becoming
too important to me and it's interfering between me and God like that that's
repentance and so we pray in repentance and then that opens the lock that's the
key that opens the lock because we will probably have a broken heart at that
point but if you don't have a broken heart repentance will substitute because
you're turning from all sin and turning to God okay and then okay so do not give
this is the next phrase here do not give God the cold shoulder and cling to your
sin that's the definition of opening this lock if you will because this is
what people do they say well I have this thing that I do that I kind of need I
can't give it up and they feel the conviction of God saying you got to give
that up I need I need to be first in your life I need to have the rule of
your heart whatever like that right and and instead of giving it up for example
they cling to it and they give God the cold shoulder how's that go by the way
you ever had a friend or a family member and you give them the cold shoulder for
a while how much communication goes on and then when you try to talk to them
what's the first thing you have to do the very first thing you have to yeah
apologize or at the very least acknowledge your cold shoulder that you
were giving them right make an excuse say something at least in a tone of
reconciliation there's got to be some kind of if you give somebody
cold shoulder for about three days and then you go back and try to talk to them
like nothing ever happened you may have conversation but you will not have good
communication you will not have open communication and that's the problem the
the channel of communication between humans closes narrower and narrower the
more we ignore the other person until eventually they don't want anything to
do with you they're not gonna hear from you unless you'd come begging them for
forgiveness and then maybe not even then right so we think we can treat God that
way we can cling to our sin and give God the cold shoulder and then we're gonna
come to God in time of need or asking for what we want it's not the way it
works the problem is guess what happens this is where the rock really comes into
play life gets tough life always gets tough I don't mean maybe sometimes it
could happen whatever life always gets tough and when life gets tough first
thing we do is we start looking for things that we can give up cut out time
consuming things things that are hard work or whatever right and so one of
those things becomes God so we need money here's a job now we're gonna work
every Sunday we don't go to church anymore so but we need money so we've
needed money for a while now so we solve this problem we take the job you know
we're God and then we turn then the job doesn't pan out or you put like then
Sherry and I did this once we we said we're gonna take this job both gonna
work full-time over 50 hours a week whatever and at the end of the year
we'll pay off all our debts we'll make we'll we're making forty thousand now
we're gonna make eighty thousand this year we'll be able to flow at least 20
of that to pay off all our debts and we have about fifteen thousand dollars of
credit card debt at the end of the year we had made forty thousand dollars more
and the credit card debt had doubled they go away it had doubled but see we
weren't tithing because we didn't understand what tithing was and we
weren't there were times where we had it you know we couldn't get up to go to
church we worked too many hours or we didn't serve and we like oh we can't
sing in the choir because we're working and things like we kept having things
that we couldn't do for God and at the end of the year and I'm not saying God
put the hex on our money I'm just saying that's what we do we thought we were
gonna make it better by forcing the issue and just kind of giving God the
cold shoulder for a while and it just doesn't work that way when things get
tough what do you got to do you go back to the the John 14 six method embrace
the truth live the life walk the walk go step by step second by second so let's
say you've got hobbies you've got recreational things you've got things
you're spending money on you've got relational things that you're doing like
you're dating or you're you're visiting somebody on a regular basis or having
conversations or playing games or whatever and all of a sudden life goes
to crap you don't cut Bible study you don't cut reading you don't cut your own
personal study time you don't cut your meditations you don't cut your your
journaling you don't cut anything you got something you're with me okay so he's
saying he's with me I got it now so the point is you you look at all of that
other stuff to cut before you cut anything that has to do with God because
as soon as you cut God you lock the lock you're gonna cut it a little bit you
lock the lock doesn't change the fact that you're saved if you're saved you're
saved but you're locked the lock and once you lock the lock and come to God
with an unrepentant heart there's only one way to fix it and that's repent and
put God back on top right okay so what does God want to do so the next one it
starts with the G so that's God God something to something something C and
you want to take a stab at it's like a little puzzle riddle kind of thing what
is God's goal in this he does not want you to give him the cold shoulder that's
not what he wants so what does he want to do
it's already gave you the second word pretty much God wants to three words the
last one starts with a C what it would you say the middle two were help you I
like that that's not what I put but I like it a lot you could definitely do
that he wants to help you communicate I actually make it better than what I put
so anybody else take a stab at it three words blank blank see you change I like
that too I think he will see it if you change he'll see it he sees it all he
sees it all that's good okay so what I put was draw you close God wants to draw
you close man we're talking about access okay so you can put any of those things
or your own thing there you can even cross out my see if you really feel like
you need to put something else there it's fine sure worksheet okay now
remember where we started with the lock Psalm 66 18 that's where we started at
and interestingly enough as is often the case the key is also found in the same
verse Psalm 66 18 if I regard wickedness in my heart the Lord will not hear okay
which doesn't mean that he will hear if you don't regard wickedness necessarily
but if you do regard wickedness or you cherish it you hold it you keep it there
make it important allowed to be important allowed to take a place whatever
in your heart then the Lord will not hear so if you do not want the lock shut
drop the wickedness in your heart repent turn onto the Lord okay so now we're in
that middle section right there it's all we have left okay a couple of fun little
crazy things here so look at the arrow at the top of the slant starts with a G
see that piece in the middle it's like it looks like a funny looking arrow okay
so that's a capital G for God so if it's God and two words and ones an I and ones
an S what do you think God is God is there's only one verse in the entire
Bible that says God is and has an S we think the reference is John 14 18
anybody is it jumping in your head now it will John 14 18 says oh that's not
John 14 18 we're gonna use John 14 18 a minute but it's not that that's not the
reference
I can tell you what it says but I can't tell you the verse reference right this second
so it is God is spirit God is spirit okay and the reference is John 4 24 God
is spirit okay and then right under that there's something versus something so
both of these two locks have that key piece that we were talking about they
are connected together they make sense together because of this thing that we
talked about God remembers we are but dust God knows we have sin so what we're
dealing with if we come to God with our sin he has an attribute that stands
against our sin and it is holiness so it's holiness versus sin so the problem
of these locks are and why you want to it sounds like so doesn't it sound like
it's a trap like we can't pray to God if we do these things that's what it sounds
like right and I submit to the world that's how they think of it if we you
explain that to something in the world who doesn't know Jesus then they're
gonna say oh well you're telling me I can't pray to God because I don't believe
in God exactly the way you do so you're telling me there's a trap I'm trapped I
can't unless I do exactly what you want me to do unless I follow Jesus follow
God through Jesus I can't so it sounds like a trap sounds like a block when you
look at it that way but guess what it actually is it's actually a shield right
like a wall of force or an armored car or armor on the side of a tank if I'm
sitting inside a tank and there is a soldier with a bayonet outside the tank
next to the track we can spin that thing on the top and try to get a port get a
port facing him so we can do something about it but if he ducks down and we
can't see him we can't touch him our armor is stopping us from hurting the
man who's trying you know hiding against the tank trying to hurt us right the
enemy and it's like that so armor is like that these locks are a protection
they are a protection for people if people come to God in their sin God's
holiness will destroy them that's the bottom line so you need the key to the
lock to open the lock because you can only have the key if you have what will
protect you from being destroyed when you open the locks that makes sense so
I'm saying so you can't open the lock to have access to God without the key and
the key is the very thing that will protect you if you have access to God
otherwise God's gonna destroy you is the bottom line and it's very real and even
like you see it all over the Old Testament right people encounter just
angels or messengers from God and they're on their face blubbering in the
dirt because they realize or you hear the prophets say woe is me I am an
unclean man with an unclean mouth right the prophet who was everybody recognized
he was the holiest man around right so you come into impact with God's
holiness your sin will be your destruction but if you have the key to
the lock you have a safe way to come to God right you're ready all right now
we're over in the left part of the arrow then there's an equal sign and
the equation is life equals war life equals war you have two verses left we're
almost done doing good okay so it's Ephesians 612 it's a kind of a common
verse for people to study about support spiritual warfare and it says for our
struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the
powers against the world forces of this darkness against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places and most theologians or commentaries will
tell you that where it says against the spiritual forces of wickedness that
that's sort of a summary of the previous three but it could be a little different
so yet rulers powers and world forces right yeah world of the darkness and so
if you look on here you've got three enemies next to three enemies you got
three blanks you can do however you want what the Bible says is powers world
forces rulers that's the words that are actually in the text okay and so now
notice I skipped a little phrase and they're right next to Ephesians 612 so
if life is war and those are our enemies then prayer is battle Ephesians 612
prayer is battle yep because life equals war prayer is battle and then three
enemies powers rulers world forces or however you want to restate it okay so
the three the four blanks on the left are the final fill in and then there's a
separate over on the right that I already filled in for you where it says
fight exclamation point so obviously what God wants us to do is to be able to
fight that's what he wants us to do so when you pray that's battle you are
fighting and God wants you to be able to pray and your prayers to be able to
reach him so he has provided us with the understanding of the locks and the keys
okay they're in his word he wants it to work he wants to draw you close he wants
to make you a better communicator with him right the locks are there the keys
are there for your safety use the keys open the locks be safe pray do battle
win the fight that kind of thing and then the last blank I'm gonna read John
14 18 and then I'll let you tell me what goes in there John 14 18 here we go I
will not leave you as orphans I will come to you that's John 14 18 so we've
got W a and O so the O is we are not orphans okay so I submit to you that we
are not orphans even if the locks are closed that makes sense so even if you
cannot pray and have your prayers guaranteed heard by God because the lock
is closed because you don't have a repentant heart because you you're
clinging to your sin and giving God the cold shoulder or because you're not
coming to God through Jesus even if that were true God still loves you God still
wants you to be his child and for the lost person they technically are kind of
like an orphan because they don't have God as their father right but for a
saved person you can't have and you can't ever be an orphan again you've
been invited into the family that makes sense so no matter if you screw up or
not but think about the prodigal son for a moment he went away spent all his
money that he got from his dad all his retirement money whatever inheritance
spent it all want it with nothing feeding the pigs wishing he could eat
some of the food that he was feeding the pigs and he said I'm gonna go back to my
dad and beg if I could just be a servant in his house I'll serve it in his house
is doing better than I'm doing but on his way back his dad was on the porch
watching for me to come and run down and fell on him hugged him give him a kiss
on the neck give him a ring and a robe and sandals power purpose all of that
and then ordered that they have a huge party to celebrate his return killed the
fat cat which is his sustenance right his providence he provided for him and
then we are not orphans we belong with God we belong to God God is trying to
draw us close our job is to participate in that I submit to you you have the
keys open the lock and pray and win the battle that's how it's done now if you
have sin in your life that you kind of like you realize according to what we
learned you got to let it go and say well I can't I tried I tried I tried okay
so don't stop trying don't become chased about it don't be going like oh it's
okay I'm just tolerating it I've been dealing with this for years I never have
been able to get past it or whatever no you have a broken heart about it and
keep having a broken heart about it keep coming to God repentant of all sin and
turning to him and let him continue to inform your thoughts about that thing
and about any other thing it could be that you have a sin in your life that
you're fighting against your broken-hearted over it you go to God and
God hears you God still doesn't take that sin away Paul had a thorn in the
flesh and in Romans 7 he said I keep doing the things I don't want to do
right and so he had sin that he wanted to defeat that he had not defeated but
he kept a broken heart over and he kept going to God and God kept doing things
and you can be the same way God could say to you my grace is sufficient for
you just like he did with Paul he could say to you I'm not going to take that
thing away from you you're that desire that you don't like or that thing that
you did and the effects of it I'm not gonna fix it but what I am gonna do by
not fixing it I'm gonna give you a better outcome your outcome is going to
be even better you can't have what you really think you want but you can have
what's so much better down the road that makes sense and if you just if that's
if that's okay with you if it's okay for God to be the one who's in charge and
to leave you with a kind of a thing that you don't really like while he continues
to provide you with everything you do right so your cars broke down you can't
drive it you don't get in and drive the car you don't get hit by truck you don't
die today but if you insist you absolutely insist no God is an evil God
because he won't give me what I want then you're coming to God with an
unbroken heart right then God's not gonna hear your prayers because it's
locked because you're not safe at that point so that's how it
How can I keep from singing your praise?
How can I ever say no?
I will make you sing your love
How can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am not by the king and it ain't what I wanna sing
I will lift my eyes in the darkest night, for I know I'm staying your list
And I will walk with you, knowing you'll stay with me through, and sing a song to you
How can I keep from singing your praise? How can I help but let you know how amazing is your love?
How can I keep from shouting your name? I know I am loved by the King, and the King's word won't stay
I can sing in the strongest time, sing when I win, I can sing when I'm lost but fair, and fall down again
I can sing, cause you make me hope, sing cause you're there, I can sing cause you hear me look, when I call to you in prayer
I can sing with my last breath, sing for I know, and I'll sing when the angels sing to the ground
How can I keep from singing your praise? How can I help but let you know how amazing is your love? How can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am loved by the King, and the King's word won't stay
I can sing
Right, I'll probably start with that one
And then
Um
What's that song we used? Oh, I got it
Uh oh