WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.449 here. Hey everybody, welcome back to the sanctuary. 00:00:17.489 --> 00:00:20.929 It's great to have you with us as always. So 00:00:20.929 --> 00:00:23.329 I'm going to tell you what, I'm just going back 00:00:23.329 --> 00:00:25.510 and I'm going back through my notes and everything 00:00:25.510 --> 00:00:29.449 and re -recording the message from Sunday because 00:00:30.010 --> 00:00:32.670 Well, frankly, the way the audio is coming through 00:00:32.670 --> 00:00:35.270 on the recording, as I've been going back and 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:38.299 listening. I just don't feel it's quite up to 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:40.060 par. So until it is, I'm just going to keep re 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:43.500 -recording. If things do sound good or whatever, 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:47.000 then I'll go ahead and just load it up from our 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.520 live stream. But otherwise, you're going to hear 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:53.060 a little bit more of this. And quite honest, 00:00:53.140 --> 00:00:55.219 as I've said in the past, I like this. I like 00:00:55.219 --> 00:00:56.600 sitting down, having a little bit of peace and 00:00:56.600 --> 00:00:58.659 quiet around me, grabbing my cup of coffee and 00:00:58.659 --> 00:01:02.659 talking to you. Now, at Cross Christian Fellowship 00:01:02.659 --> 00:01:06.980 Route 66, we are a prayerful... That is a mouthful, 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:09.939 isn't it? Prayerful church. Say that 10 times 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:14.299 real fast. Now, prayer is our direct line of 00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:18.400 communication with God. And really, it's our 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:21.560 focus today as we're going to look at some important 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:25.120 principles of prayer. Now, this is important 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:29.579 because far too many people out there are... 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.200 Very much like that song by Jelly Roll, right? 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:35.140 And they only try to go to God when they need 00:01:35.140 --> 00:01:38.879 or want something. However, that's not the way 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.439 it's supposed to work. You know, you think about 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:44.319 the relationships we have. We all know that one 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:47.159 person who comes around and the only time they 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:48.620 do it is when they need something. And the first 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:51.159 thing that comes to mind is, oh man, not this 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:55.140 guy again. What does he want now, right? We all 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:59.519 know that person. As soon as we hear their voice, 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:03.099 sometimes that's really all that we need. We 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:05.980 get irritated. We get frustrated. We get annoyed. 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:10.759 I'm the first to say, there's that one person 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.060 who's coming down the hall, and as soon as I 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:14.460 hear their voice, I'm just sitting there like, 00:02:14.580 --> 00:02:18.659 oh, what do they want now? We all have those 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:21.520 moments. In the Marine Corps, it's one of those 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:24.000 moments where we would say, you want to throat 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:29.120 punch somebody? Let's be honest. I mean, that's 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.960 just the way it is. And usually when it happens, 00:02:32.979 --> 00:02:36.879 it's because we don't have the relationship with 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.639 them that we should have. Maybe we do have a 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:44.000 relationship, but it's not a good one. So with 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.520 that said, let's turn to our first verse of the 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:48.819 day. Our first piece of scripture comes from 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:57.009 John 9, verse 31. So in John chapter 9, Verse 00:02:57.009 --> 00:03:01.650 31, the word says, Now we know that God does 00:03:01.650 --> 00:03:04.750 not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:09.889 of God and does his will, he hears them. You 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:13.969 know, people want to live worldly, sinful lives, 00:03:14.430 --> 00:03:18.069 right? They just want very selfish lives. But 00:03:18.069 --> 00:03:21.210 then something happens and they expect God to 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:23.210 just drop what he's doing and listen to them 00:03:23.210 --> 00:03:26.259 on a dime and just give them. Whatever it is 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.159 that they're asking for. Unfortunately, it does 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:32.919 not work that way. If you do not truly repent 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:35.560 of your sins and establish a relationship with 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:38.719 Jesus, guess what? He's not going to listen to 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.840 you. You want to get right with him? It's easy. 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:44.710 It's real simple to do. Repent of your sin. That 00:03:44.710 --> 00:03:47.530 means change. Repentance is actual change. Not 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:50.469 just, oh, I'm sorry. Sorry doesn't cut it. You 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:53.069 have to actually change and break free of that 00:03:53.069 --> 00:03:55.349 sin. Turn your life around, whatever it is that 00:03:55.349 --> 00:03:58.349 you're doing. And you have to profess Him as 00:03:58.349 --> 00:04:02.210 your Lord and Savior. And turn to Him for everything 00:04:02.210 --> 00:04:06.960 in your life and prayer. Is that any different 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.300 from how we react? There's that person that comes 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:10.680 around and it's only when they need something. 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:14.080 It's like, no, go away. Get away from me. Get 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.399 out of this room. Go apologize to the trees for 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:19.800 wasting their oxygen. That's the attitude we 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:23.420 all have. Granted, ours is much more bitter than 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:26.319 that of Jesus. Jesus is just like, no, when you're 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:31.100 ready to repent, come back. So we're a little 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:35.370 bit more petty, if we're honest about it. But 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:37.850 Jesus is not petty. He just wants us to make 00:04:37.850 --> 00:04:40.490 that honest of goodness change. Come to him and 00:04:40.490 --> 00:04:43.610 repent of our sin. Now, I'd like you to open 00:04:43.610 --> 00:04:45.209 your Bibles and turn with me. And this is going 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:46.750 to be the meat and potatoes of what we're going 00:04:46.750 --> 00:04:51.569 through today in Romans 8. So in Romans 8, specifically, 00:04:51.569 --> 00:04:56.569 we're looking at verses 26 through 29. So Romans 00:04:56.569 --> 00:05:05.149 8, 26 through 29. In Romans 8, verses 26 -29, 00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:09.149 the word says, Likewise, the Spirit also helps 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:13.370 in our weaknesses, for we do not know what we 00:05:13.370 --> 00:05:16.689 should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself 00:05:16.689 --> 00:05:21.490 makes intercession for us with groanings which 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:26.569 cannot be uttered. Now, he who searches the hearts 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:31.920 knows what the mind of the Spirit is. Because 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.040 he makes intercession for the saints according 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:40.060 to the will of God. And we know that all things 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:44.540 work together for good to those who love God, 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:48.920 to those who are the called according to his 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:55.800 purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined 00:05:55.800 --> 00:06:07.990 to be. Alright, so we're going to go through 00:06:07.990 --> 00:06:10.889 some principles here. Look at these verses. Just 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:12.990 a couple of verses, but there's a lot in there 00:06:12.990 --> 00:06:15.930 as you're going to see, and I love that. Principle 00:06:15.930 --> 00:06:19.149 1. Really, these first two principles are going 00:06:19.149 --> 00:06:24.339 to come from the first verse. Verse 26. So in 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:26.720 Romans 8 .26, the first principle we're going 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:29.959 to pray from is the Holy Spirit helps us to know 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:36.019 how to pray and what to pray for. So if you're 00:06:36.019 --> 00:06:38.439 taking notes, the Holy Spirit helps us to know 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:42.680 what to pray for and how to pray. Starting with 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:44.800 verse 26 there, like I said, that's where we're 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:49.519 at. Our real prayer is reflection. of the Holy 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:51.459 Spirit within us. You know, those honest to goodness 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:54.120 prayers, not the just, you know, idle words like, 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:56.160 oh, you know, thank you for this food or any 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:59.600 of that or, you know, that kind of stuff. It's 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:03.060 those legit prayers that we have with things 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:06.319 that are really weighing us down. You know, and 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:09.180 they reflect, again, they reflect our relationship 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.620 with Jesus and they reflect the Holy Spirit who 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:18.160 fills us. In order to do that, In order to do 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:21.759 that, we have to deny the things of the world. 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:25.459 It doesn't matter how tempting they may be. We 00:07:25.459 --> 00:07:28.579 have to deny them. The Holy Spirit is the one 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:33.560 in the back of your ear. He's like that little 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.220 voice that's always nagging at you. You shouldn't 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:38.319 do that. You shouldn't do this. You know that's 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:39.939 wrong. You know that's going to hurt their feelings. 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:42.040 You know that's going to upset this person. You 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:43.540 know that isn't the way you're supposed to be 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:48.959 doing it. Kind of like a conscience, I guess, 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.720 would be the best way to put it, right? He's 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:53.300 not our conscience. He's separate. But, I mean, 00:07:53.300 --> 00:07:55.319 it's the same thing. He's that voice, like Jiminy 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:57.420 Cricket, right? With Pinocchio, I'm a real boy. 00:07:57.500 --> 00:07:59.680 No, you're not. Pinocchio, go chill out, sit 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:00.939 down, or I'll turn you into kindling, right? 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:04.439 No. That's how the Holy Spirit is for us, though. 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:08.279 He kind of is. He's that voice of reason. However, 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:11.639 we don't go to him like we should. We don't listen 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:14.699 to him like we should. We don't talk to him like 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:19.170 we should. And because of that, we're not able 00:08:19.170 --> 00:08:22.930 to get that spiritual nourishment that we need 00:08:22.930 --> 00:08:26.649 in our lives. And as a result, what happens? 00:08:27.110 --> 00:08:31.910 We start going to our own selfish, sinful desires 00:08:31.910 --> 00:08:35.740 and we just start devouring. That sinful, guilty 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:37.720 pleasure, right? Whatever it is, whether it's 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:41.299 alcohol, gambling, whatever, you know, and that's 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:43.139 just how we are, you know, because all of a sudden, 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:44.960 you know, we find, hey, there's this hole here. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.159 It's meant to be filled by the Holy Spirit, but 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:50.799 we're pushing him out and we're feeling unfulfilled. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:52.779 It needs to be filled. So what do we do? We fill 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:55.320 it with sin. You know, we just keep pushing the 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.919 Holy Spirit out, which is not the right thing. 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:02.720 That's not what brings us into that connection 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:07.200 with him. So, you know, the other way of looking 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:10.240 at this, if we turn to Galatians chapter 5, verses 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:13.580 19 through 21, again, that's Galatians 5, 19 00:09:13.580 --> 00:09:16.480 through 21, the word tells us, Now the works 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:19.360 of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:23.120 fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:28.200 sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:33.480 of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 00:09:33.909 --> 00:09:39.049 Envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the 00:09:39.049 --> 00:09:44.009 like. Of which I tell you beforehand, just as 00:09:44.009 --> 00:09:47.809 I also told you in time past, that those who 00:09:47.809 --> 00:09:50.590 practice such things will not inherit the kingdom 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:54.769 of God. We cannot live in sin. We cannot live 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:57.409 in the ways of the world and expect God just 00:09:57.409 --> 00:10:01.840 to drop everything and give us things. But that's 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:03.320 what we do, right? We act like a bunch of spoiled 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:06.679 brats. Come on, give me. Why won't you give it 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:10.480 to me? Why do you hate me? Right? It's not hate. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:14.419 It's love. But it's just like that brat throwing 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:15.940 a temper tantrum on the floor at the grocery 00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:18.919 store. You got those good parents who aren't 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:21.620 going to give in to it. And God's not going to 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:23.519 give in to us when we're doing the same thing. 00:10:24.659 --> 00:10:29.820 However, if we, again, repent of our sin, and 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:33.000 have a meaningful relationship with him, not 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:34.620 just a once in a while, you know, hey, how you 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:38.139 doing? Like actual relationship, things change. 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:40.740 Just like our relationship, you know, when we 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:42.679 have that with other people, that person only 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:44.379 comes around when they want something, things 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:47.879 change with them too, right? You know, you can 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:50.159 start having a great friendship and they don't 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:52.019 just come around when they need something or 00:10:52.019 --> 00:10:53.379 want something. They actually just start coming 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.320 around for other things, you know, because friendship 00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:00.440 and love and all that kind of stuff. But like 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.360 I said, things change when we repent of our sin 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:05.860 and we come to God, we come to Christ, we have 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:10.820 that relationship with Him. And it's beautiful 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:15.090 because when we do that, God has promised to 00:11:15.090 --> 00:11:19.509 produce a great work in you. And I mean absolutely 00:11:19.509 --> 00:11:21.690 amazing things. He will do things with you you 00:11:21.690 --> 00:11:24.409 never ever thought he would be doing. He will 00:11:24.409 --> 00:11:26.590 take you places you never ever thought you would 00:11:26.590 --> 00:11:29.149 go. Absolutely incredible, beautiful, wonderful, 00:11:29.429 --> 00:11:33.730 just fantastic things, right? Absolutely fantabulous. 00:11:35.889 --> 00:11:39.509 And the beauty of it is he's not going to condemn 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:42.940 you because of your weaknesses. He's not going 00:11:42.940 --> 00:11:45.139 to condemn you because of the things you've done 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:47.799 in the past. If you repent and you condemn, guess 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:49.299 what? You're washed by the blood of Christ. You're 00:11:49.299 --> 00:11:52.600 forgiven. Instead of condemning you, what he's 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:54.779 going to do is he's going to reach out his hand 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:58.879 and he's going to lift you up. Your life will 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.720 suddenly have so much more meaning and you will 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.500 find happiness in places you never thought you 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:11.039 would. That's because when we're in a relationship 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:14.799 with Christ, and we're filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.299 we start falling more in alignment with what 00:12:19.299 --> 00:12:21.419 God wants. We fall into alignment with the will 00:12:21.419 --> 00:12:25.700 of God. Therefore, our prayers are more in alignment 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:29.340 with what He wants for us. It's just like Jesus 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:32.320 when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane before 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.700 He was about to be taken away to be tortured 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:37.019 and crucified and everything with the sham of 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:39.480 a trial. If He could have His prayer, what did 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:42.620 He pray for? God, or Father, if it's in your 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:44.960 will, take this cup from me. Because even he 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.899 realized, hey, the human part of me is praying 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:49.419 right now, and this might not be in the will 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:54.059 of God. Right? As a son praying to the Father. 00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:00.259 So the better the relationship we have with Jesus, 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:04.679 the more in alignment we get or become, and the 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:08.240 more you start to see answers coming from your 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:13.669 prayers. Again, it's all because we're praying 00:13:13.669 --> 00:13:15.309 for the things that are in His will and less 00:13:15.309 --> 00:13:17.870 of our will. Which brings me to the next point. 00:13:18.049 --> 00:13:20.330 And again, we're still in Romans 8, verse 26 00:13:20.330 --> 00:13:27.350 here. Principle number two. So principle number 00:13:27.350 --> 00:13:32.269 two is the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. That's 00:13:32.269 --> 00:13:34.490 right. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He 00:13:34.490 --> 00:13:38.639 acts on our behalf. is constantly at work for 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.159 us in our best interest, both here in our earthly 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:44.720 realm and in the spiritual realm. And this is 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:46.379 really important to know. This is good stuff. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:50.860 Because as believers, things happen in life and 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:55.299 we still need assurances. And it's because of 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:56.759 the things that we're going to suffer. We're 00:13:56.759 --> 00:14:01.500 going to suffer. Jesus even warned us. Just because 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:03.240 we come to him doesn't mean life is going to 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.509 be all... A bed of roses and candy and all the 00:14:06.509 --> 00:14:10.750 good stuff. No. He warned us. Life's going to 00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:13.610 be tough. We're going to face trials. We're going 00:14:13.610 --> 00:14:15.649 to face tribulations. We're going to have pain. 00:14:15.809 --> 00:14:18.889 We're going to have losses. And so much more. 00:14:19.490 --> 00:14:23.990 Life is hard. It's tough. And our endurance, 00:14:24.230 --> 00:14:28.330 it's going to be just downright stretched out, 00:14:28.389 --> 00:14:33.320 beaten, worn. tested, and exhausted at times. 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:37.460 Utterly just exhausted. Those times when you 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:39.620 just can't pick up your feet and keep going. 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.120 You need help. And Jesus is there to help you. 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:50.220 Which is why in John 14, verse 26, Jesus said, 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.240 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:56.909 will send in my name, he will teach you. All 00:14:56.909 --> 00:15:00.110 things. And bring to your remembrance all things 00:15:00.110 --> 00:15:03.669 that I said to you. So again, Jesus is helping 00:15:03.669 --> 00:15:07.629 us. The Holy Spirit is helping us. So when the 00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:10.610 Holy Spirit is working on our behalf, this is 00:15:10.610 --> 00:15:12.830 something that should bring us all a lot of comfort. 00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:15.970 It should bring us a great comfort. Kind of like 00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:17.649 a weighted blanket and you're just like, oh. 00:15:19.169 --> 00:15:22.309 We should find that comfort in the reminder that 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:25.460 we're not... alone we don't have to do everything 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:28.460 by ourselves we're not being left to our own 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:31.679 devices because if we we face facts when we're 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:33.299 left to our own devices and we try to do things 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:36.240 on our own we just make a huge mess i do it you 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.720 do it everybody does it um so you know instead 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:43.120 we turn to the holy spirit we trust in him and 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:45.700 we follow him and things turn out so much better 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:50.169 this that's why Paul encourages us here as believers 00:15:50.169 --> 00:15:54.269 to go to the Holy Spirit, to go to Christ. Sometimes 00:15:54.269 --> 00:15:57.350 the other part that's here is we just don't have 00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:03.149 the words. We are left utterly speechless. And 00:16:03.149 --> 00:16:05.789 that's the part that the Holy Spirit's talking 00:16:05.789 --> 00:16:13.830 about here too. There are those times when it's 00:16:13.830 --> 00:16:15.750 easy to talk and you just go da -da -da -da -da 00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:18.240 -da -da -da. And then there's other times where 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:22.259 words just utterly elude you, which is going 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:25.039 to bring us to our next principle as we move 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:30.700 from verse 26 into verse 27. All right. So principle 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:34.539 three is coming to us from Romans 8, verse 27. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:39.559 And that principle is God hears our hearts more 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:44.100 than our words. So God hears our hearts more 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:46.870 than our words. You know, like I said, sometimes 00:16:46.870 --> 00:16:50.269 we just don't know what to say. Try, try, try 00:16:50.269 --> 00:16:53.350 as we might. It just doesn't happen. Sometimes 00:16:53.350 --> 00:16:55.710 our thoughts and our words are kind of like my 00:16:55.710 --> 00:16:59.330 desk here at home and just an utter mess, right? 00:16:59.429 --> 00:17:02.090 A total disaster, right? Like you look at it, 00:17:02.110 --> 00:17:03.950 like, you know, my wife looks at it and she's 00:17:03.950 --> 00:17:05.950 just like, really? How do you find anything in 00:17:05.950 --> 00:17:07.190 there? And I'm like, oh, it's a system. It's 00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:11.569 a system. Really? Really? It's like, yes. It 00:17:11.569 --> 00:17:15.529 might take me a few minutes, but yes. The beauty 00:17:15.529 --> 00:17:18.509 of this is God continues to work for us even 00:17:18.509 --> 00:17:21.630 when we don't know how to verbalize things. And 00:17:21.630 --> 00:17:23.549 that's because the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit's 00:17:23.549 --> 00:17:25.230 right there close to our heart. He hears and 00:17:25.230 --> 00:17:34.710 knows what's on our heart. I want to share with 00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:37.670 you a little bit about a Christian musician from 00:17:37.670 --> 00:17:39.509 back in the 90s. You may have heard of him. You 00:17:39.509 --> 00:17:43.980 may not have. Unfortunately, he was involved 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:48.460 in a tragic accident and lost his life back in 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:53.019 the late 90s. But you may recall the name of 00:17:53.019 --> 00:17:56.740 Rich Mullins. He had some big hits back then. 00:17:57.460 --> 00:18:01.519 So during one of his concerts, Rich made some 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.339 interesting comments about how we get caught 00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:11.180 up in our words when it comes to God. And here's 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:18.930 what he said. We often try to impress God with 00:18:18.930 --> 00:18:22.609 all the right words. You don't have to impress 00:18:22.609 --> 00:18:25.269 God because he's already knocked out by you. 00:18:25.490 --> 00:18:28.390 He already loves you more than you can imagine. 00:18:29.509 --> 00:18:32.829 He continued on saying, Good taste is the enemy 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:36.130 of great art. Good taste has all to do with being 00:18:36.130 --> 00:18:40.450 cultured and being refined. If art has to do 00:18:40.450 --> 00:18:43.470 with anything, it has to do with being human. 00:18:44.410 --> 00:18:46.309 One of the reasons I love the Bible is because 00:18:46.309 --> 00:18:49.029 the humans in the Bible are not very refined. 00:18:49.789 --> 00:18:52.349 And he went on to talk about how when he was 00:18:52.349 --> 00:18:55.069 a teenager and dealing with depression and that 00:18:55.069 --> 00:18:57.789 kind of stuff, people would try to encourage 00:18:57.789 --> 00:18:59.950 him by saying things like, oh, God loves you. 00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:03.670 And much like teenagers, myself included at the 00:19:03.670 --> 00:19:07.250 time, he'd respond as a typical teenager saying, 00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:08.970 you know what, that just proves he doesn't have 00:19:08.970 --> 00:19:12.720 any taste. And so, you know, with that, Mullins 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:16.440 went in and he said, and I don't think he does. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:22.400 Thank God for that. Because God takes the junk 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:25.519 in our lives and he makes the greatest art in 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:29.519 the world out of it. If he was cultured, if he 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:34.019 was as civilized as most Christian people wish 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:38.559 he was, he would be utterly useless to Christianity. 00:19:41.009 --> 00:19:45.210 Amen, right? Amen. So because of he that's in 00:19:45.210 --> 00:19:48.609 you, God knows exactly what's in your heart, 00:19:48.710 --> 00:19:51.349 what it's crying out for, what it desires, what 00:19:51.349 --> 00:19:56.549 it needs, what it's starving for. And he can 00:19:56.549 --> 00:19:59.829 and he does take that pain and that suffering 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:05.930 and he uses it for good. As the word says, the 00:20:05.930 --> 00:20:08.950 Lord took what you meant for evil and he used 00:20:08.950 --> 00:20:11.970 it for good. And he does. He uses it to bring 00:20:11.970 --> 00:20:14.829 about change. He uses it to mold you and your 00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:19.329 character. And what he does is he helps us to 00:20:19.329 --> 00:20:21.309 bring this more into alignment with the Holy 00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:23.210 Spirit and help us to become more Christ -like 00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:24.950 because we're all called to be more Christ -like. 00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:28.250 So when we're in that alignment with the Holy 00:20:28.250 --> 00:20:30.170 Spirit and when we're praying for those things 00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:33.230 in God's will, the Holy Spirit's right there 00:20:33.230 --> 00:20:38.190 praying with you. He's right there praying with 00:20:38.190 --> 00:20:44.349 you. So you're not alone. Just as Jesus prayed 00:20:44.349 --> 00:20:46.769 for us on the cross, the Spirit's with you and 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:52.849 He's praying for you now. So you can say what 00:20:52.849 --> 00:20:55.849 you need to say. Have faith. In other words, 00:20:55.869 --> 00:20:57.970 trust, because that's what faith is. It's trust 00:20:57.970 --> 00:21:03.109 that God can and will take the words that you 00:21:03.109 --> 00:21:06.410 have and the words that you don't have and turn 00:21:06.410 --> 00:21:11.829 them into something absolutely Wonderful. And 00:21:11.829 --> 00:21:13.250 again, it's because the Holy Spirit's right there. 00:21:13.269 --> 00:21:17.769 He's praying with you. God already knows what 00:21:17.769 --> 00:21:21.089 you need. So if you don't have the words, don't 00:21:21.089 --> 00:21:25.390 worry about it. Say what you can. Trust that 00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:28.009 God will understand what you're saying and he'll 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:30.730 take care of things. All right, which is going 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:32.589 to bring us to our final principle of the day 00:21:32.589 --> 00:21:36.680 here. And we're going to find it in verses 28 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:41.880 and 29. So again, Romans 8 verses 28 and 29 for 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:45.519 our fourth and last principle. And that is prayer 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:52.039 is always answered, but not always answered in 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:56.279 the way that we want. So prayer is always answered, 00:21:56.339 --> 00:22:00.220 but not always in the way that we want. God always 00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:02.920 answers prayers. Maybe not as fast as we like. 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:05.920 Maybe not in the way that we'd like. Matter of 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.880 fact, sometimes what we perceive as an unanswered 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:13.059 prayer is the answer. We're over here and we're 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:15.519 expecting this response over here. And that's 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:17.920 what we're focused on. And we're so focused on 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.900 it, we miss the actual answer, which is all the 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:22.700 way over here on the other side. Right? It happens. 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.349 I believe it's... Garth Brooks, who sang the 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:30.950 song, said one of God's greatest gifts is unanswered 00:22:30.950 --> 00:22:35.250 prayers, right? God is always at work. He's constantly 00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:39.690 there. And it was Bill Hybels who actually taught 00:22:39.690 --> 00:22:42.549 that God typically is going to answer a prayer 00:22:42.549 --> 00:22:46.630 in one of four ways. God's answers come in one 00:22:46.630 --> 00:22:49.549 of four ways typically. This is not a comprehensive 00:22:49.549 --> 00:22:53.190 list. It's just the most common. Typically, it's 00:22:53.190 --> 00:23:00.579 no, slow, Grow or go. So again, that's know, 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:05.319 slow, grow, or go. And we're going to go through 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:09.460 these one by one. So know, meaning that your 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:13.279 request, what you're praying for, is not in alignment 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.619 with his will. Remember what I said earlier in 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:17.779 the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was praying and 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:20.440 he asked if it was in the Father's will that 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:22.200 he wouldn't have to go through what was about 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.660 to happen to him? So our prayers have to be in 00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:28.660 accordance with his will, or kind of like this, 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:41.940 it will fall flat. I lost my place there, but 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:43.880 I'm going to come back to it. It's okay. So slow. 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:51.059 Our next one is slow. Your request isn't God's 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:55.200 will at this time. We have to remember he works 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.440 in his perfect time and not our imperfect or 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:02.720 impatient time. So it's not that necessarily 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:04.440 that your request isn't in God's will at all. 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:08.200 It's just not in his will for this time just 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:11.720 yet. You know, oftentimes our timing is imperfect. 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:15.240 It is impatient. Most of the time it's just impatient, 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:18.539 right? It's like, oh, it's my answer and I want 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:24.559 it now. No, slow your roll. So we have to have 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:26.700 trust. When God sends that answer, it's going 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:30.539 to be at the right time. The next one is grow. 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:35.380 Grow, and this is more of what I was thinking 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:36.960 for a moment ago when I kind of lost my track 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:40.380 of thought. Grow, meaning your motives are all 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:44.700 wrong. You're being selfish, in other words, 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:47.579 right? You're not thinking properly. You're wanting 00:24:47.579 --> 00:24:50.089 something that goes against God. God's will or 00:24:50.089 --> 00:24:53.970 God's characters, more specifically. If we turn 00:24:53.970 --> 00:24:58.869 to James 4, verse 3, again, that's James 4, verse 00:24:58.869 --> 00:25:02.490 3, the word says, You ask and do not receive 00:25:02.490 --> 00:25:06.460 because you ask amiss. that you may spend it 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:09.819 on your pleasures. So we're very selfish, right? 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:11.779 Or we ask for things that are not in God's character. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:15.619 A prime example, there's that Mel Gibson movie 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:18.839 back in the early 2000s. We were soldiers, right? 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:22.119 And there's a scene where he's trying to comfort 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:24.500 one of his troops and they pray together. And 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:27.240 it starts off, you know, the typical things and 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:29.319 everything. And it's, you know, a good prayer. 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:34.119 And it gets all the way to the end. He shifts 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:37.619 gears and says, oh, but for all those heathens, 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:41.059 just forget their prayers and help us blow as 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.299 many of them away as possible. Just blow them 00:25:43.299 --> 00:25:45.720 all away is what he's praying for, is to kill 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:50.119 them all. And last I checked, that's not in God's 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:52.059 will. That goes against his will. That goes against 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:53.880 his character because God doesn't want all of 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.819 us just to die. He wants all of us to have the 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:01.160 opportunity to come back to Christ and be reunited 00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:07.710 with him. So, you know, sometimes it's just a 00:26:07.710 --> 00:26:09.970 matter of growing. We need to grow in our relationship. 00:26:10.109 --> 00:26:11.769 We need to grow in our understanding of what 00:26:11.769 --> 00:26:15.650 God's will really is. Which brings us to the 00:26:15.650 --> 00:26:19.410 fourth and final answer that is typically given, 00:26:19.490 --> 00:26:25.269 which is go. Go is really easy. Go means your 00:26:25.269 --> 00:26:28.910 request is right, your timing is right, your 00:26:28.910 --> 00:26:33.289 spiritual condition is right. So the answer, 00:26:33.390 --> 00:26:37.130 in other words, is yes. Go for it. Green light. 00:26:37.549 --> 00:26:42.650 Punch it. Right? But here's the thing. Don't 00:26:42.650 --> 00:26:47.309 get hung up on getting the answer. Because the 00:26:47.309 --> 00:26:49.349 answer isn't always going to be what you want 00:26:49.349 --> 00:26:53.049 or what you expect it to be. God knew you were 00:26:53.049 --> 00:26:56.029 going to make mistakes well before you were born. 00:26:56.529 --> 00:27:01.799 But he still chose you. He still... loves you. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:04.799 He still wants what is best for you, so much 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:08.200 so that he sent his only begotten son to die 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:12.339 on the cross for you, to rise again and to ascend 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:14.799 heaven and is coming back for all who believe 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:18.599 in him. So even when you don't know the best 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:22.039 way to say what's weighing you down, you really 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:24.740 don't know how to put things to words, don't 00:27:24.740 --> 00:27:27.220 worry about it. Go to him nonetheless. Go to 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:30.140 him with the words that you do have. Say what 00:27:30.140 --> 00:27:34.779 you can say and trust in him. And that's all 00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:38.180 that he really needs to be able to bless you. 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:42.640 Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:45.859 this time and fellowship and worship of you. 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:50.240 We thank you for these simple principles of prayer, 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:55.519 as well as these most basic of answers and how 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:59.529 you typically will answer us. We ask that you 00:27:59.529 --> 00:28:02.230 continue to work through us and through the Holy 00:28:02.230 --> 00:28:06.250 Spirit and help us to become more like you and 00:28:06.250 --> 00:28:10.150 less like the world and continue to teach us 00:28:10.150 --> 00:28:13.799 how to... understand your will and what your 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:18.220 will is for our lives and how to apply all this 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.200 to our lives so that we could be better ambassadors 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:24.039 for you in this dark world and to carry your 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:26.000 light, your will, and your glory out for others 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.500 to see. We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:33.480 Remember, you are loved and you are blessed. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:29:01.410 Now go and be the church. Until next time, take 00:29:01.410 --> 00:29:02.970 care and God bless.