WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.240 Psalm 145. For just a moment, I'll give you a 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:10.019 couple of other places that you can look to later 00:00:10.019 --> 00:00:16.640 today or this week. Deuteronomy 6, 6 and 7. 2 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:29.059 Timothy 2, 2. We're getting ready to... Approach 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:33.820 the throne of grace. Remember Brother John Austin 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:38.079 received a message this morning. They were taking 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:41.539 him back over to Erlanger to do some chest x 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:49.399 -rays. He's on that roller coaster of recovery 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:55.859 from a massive stroke. It's like one good day, 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:00.130 a couple, two, three. Struggling days is just 00:01:00.130 --> 00:01:04.590 a long road for recovery. But we know the Lord 00:01:04.590 --> 00:01:09.469 is able. Amen. And had it not been for the Lord, 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:14.890 he may have prayed him back from being in the 00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:19.909 presence of the Lord. But I know God is more 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:26.189 than capable. Amen. So we want to remember Brother 00:01:26.189 --> 00:01:29.879 John. this morning as we get ready to pray in 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:33.040 just a moment. Remember Sister Carolyn, Sister 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.400 Chrissy, and the boys. You know the toll that 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:39.939 this can pay. Traveling back and forth in the 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:44.920 hospital and stays. The lack of rest, amen? So 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:48.400 we just pray the Lord's hand on them all. Psalm 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:52.680 145. We'll go ahead and start at verse 1. I will 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:57.129 extol thee, or I will praise thee. My God, O 00:01:57.129 --> 00:02:00.049 King, and I will bless thy name forever and ever. 00:02:01.549 --> 00:02:06.069 Every day will I bless thee, and I will praise 00:02:06.069 --> 00:02:10.069 thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, 00:02:10.110 --> 00:02:12.810 and greatly to be praised, and his greatness 00:02:12.810 --> 00:02:19.909 is unsearchable. One generation shall praise 00:02:19.909 --> 00:02:25.469 thy works to another, and shall declare thy name. 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:29.080 mighty acts I will speak of the glorious honor 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:34.740 of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works men 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:40.219 shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts 00:02:40.219 --> 00:02:44.259 awesome acts and I will declare thy greatness 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:50.180 on who with the help of the Lord this morning 00:02:53.930 --> 00:02:57.590 I want to speak on the thought. Hand -me -downs. 00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:03.370 Hand -me -downs. Giving to the next generation. 00:03:03.949 --> 00:03:09.150 Amen. In the future, in our near future, we've 00:03:09.150 --> 00:03:13.050 got some housekeeping stuff we're going to make 00:03:13.050 --> 00:03:16.110 all of us aware of, some good changes and some 00:03:16.110 --> 00:03:20.490 things that we're doing, putting forth effort 00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:25.310 to... greater serve you, amen, to be of service 00:03:25.310 --> 00:03:29.990 and do our due diligence over the household of 00:03:29.990 --> 00:03:35.229 faith, amen. Knowing all too well that as you 00:03:35.229 --> 00:03:38.710 grow, there's pains in growing, amen. There's 00:03:38.710 --> 00:03:41.849 growing pains. Sometimes it hurts a little, amen. 00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:46.789 But we'll be getting us up to date here before 00:03:46.789 --> 00:03:49.409 long and seeing all the good things the Lord 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:53.840 is doing. And God is at work. The Lord is at 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:58.080 work in our midst. How many of you actually recognize 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:04.460 the depth of the stirring and the presence of 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:09.460 the Holy Ghost these last few months? We're at 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:15.400 a reservoir level that in my seven years we haven't 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:18.579 reached, and we're getting there. There's a depth 00:04:18.579 --> 00:04:22.459 of the presence of the Lord. Showing up in this 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:26.199 place. God is coming to meet you, to meet me, 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:33.839 to meet us in life. Amen? And so I, for one, 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:37.720 am excited about it. Amen? I was kind of stirred 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.839 a little deeply this morning with this message. 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:45.680 Hand -me -downs. Giving to the next generation. 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:48.639 I'll pray for you, and you definitely need to 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:51.600 pray for me. To keep us short, if somebody would 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:53.860 want to hold the last two pages, I won't even 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:56.860 try to get on them. And we wouldn't have to worry 00:04:56.860 --> 00:05:00.939 about going there. And I'm going to try to restrain 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:08.439 from that today. Father, I love you. Thank you 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:12.920 for your goodness and your mercy. I thank you 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:19.250 for your presence in this house. And I ask, oh 00:05:19.250 --> 00:05:24.050 God, that your will truly be done in this place. 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:28.870 For we surrender our will to yours. Lord, we 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:32.949 surrender ourselves as vessels. I ask God that 00:05:32.949 --> 00:05:35.529 you use me. And I know what you've placed in 00:05:35.529 --> 00:05:39.430 my heart. So just help me relay it to your people. 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:45.730 As you speak to us together. Because you are 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:49.750 ever mindful. Ever are you mindful of us, oh 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:54.709 God. And truly your eye, your eye is upon the 00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:58.269 earth. Your ear is ever stretched earthward to 00:05:58.269 --> 00:06:01.910 hear and to see. So be with us this morning and 00:06:01.910 --> 00:06:04.269 we'll be quick to praise you for it all. In Christ's 00:06:04.269 --> 00:06:06.170 lovely and mighty name. And the church said, 00:06:06.430 --> 00:06:10.069 amen and amen. You can be seated. Hand -me -downs. 00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:16.509 If I've picked up on a theme, if you will, from... 00:06:17.930 --> 00:06:22.370 Camp meeting this summer, and from what I've 00:06:22.370 --> 00:06:28.310 got to see and to hear concerning the General 00:06:28.310 --> 00:06:32.629 Assembly, which concluded Friday in Orlando, 00:06:32.730 --> 00:06:38.529 the thing that seems to stand out to me, normally 00:06:38.529 --> 00:06:42.290 I like to come back with the General Overseer's 00:06:42.290 --> 00:06:45.930 address. Because I have always felt like that 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:50.470 he is my pastor. And if the Lord speaks to him 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:54.970 a word for the church, it's just like sending 00:06:54.970 --> 00:06:58.310 a letter to the Galatians. And Paul said, don't 00:06:58.310 --> 00:07:00.730 just read it to them. Take it on down the road. 00:07:00.850 --> 00:07:03.350 Let it be heard. I want everybody to know. And 00:07:03.350 --> 00:07:06.600 so that's kind of the way I feel when... When 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:09.199 my pastor speaks, I like to hear from the Spirit 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:12.000 of the Lord as far as direction toward the church. 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:17.519 But the way the services went this year, the 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:24.240 theme seemed to be the next generation, preparing 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:30.660 the next generation. Unless you're an only child, 00:07:30.899 --> 00:07:33.639 and probably not even then, Unless you're an 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:37.459 only child or the only boy or girl in your family, 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:43.220 you probably have been given some type of a hand 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:48.399 -me -down through the course of your life. If 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.360 you're the middle child and your older sibling 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:55.720 was of same gender, yeah, you know exactly what 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:00.050 I'm talking about. But most likely every one 00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:03.410 of us in this room has at one point, sometime 00:08:03.410 --> 00:08:07.209 or another, been giving something from a previous 00:08:07.209 --> 00:08:10.310 owner that was still good. No sense in throwing 00:08:10.310 --> 00:08:19.350 it out. Still good. If we kindly bring this across 00:08:19.350 --> 00:08:23.930 spiritually, spiritually speaking, every generation 00:08:23.930 --> 00:08:29.540 has a responsibility. That responsibility being 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:33.899 not only are they to experience God for themselves, 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:40.600 but it's even that we've been mandated to hand 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:46.379 it down, to pass it on. We are responsible to 00:08:46.379 --> 00:08:52.240 pass on more than buildings. Amen? We are responsible 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:57.500 for more than just programs. We are responsible 00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:02.200 for more than just traditions or denominations. 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:04.860 Hopefully we're responsible for more than that. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:14.899 But we must hand down the distinctives. We hand 00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:18.860 down distinctives that ensure a continued experience 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:24.700 with the God of all creation and glory. Amen? 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.940 And in the emphasis that our state bishop brought, 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:35.120 that advancing beyond limits, you remember, and 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.279 it's part of behold, I do a new thing that we 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:41.720 have as our yearly emphasis. In advancing beyond 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:46.379 the limits, there is a portion of that designated 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:52.659 to advancing in generational relevance. Advancing 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:58.799 in generational relevance. meaning it is rooted 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:03.840 in God's plan for the church, where every generation 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:10.940 is valued and engaged, creating a vibrant, unified 00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:18.419 body, honoring heritage and molding for tomorrow. 00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:25.000 When we stop and think back, we have... We span 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.820 the generations of all that are alive today. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.820 We have a representative from every living generation 00:10:31.820 --> 00:10:37.440 in our church. I'm not going to have you oldest 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.299 to stand, but you know the generation that you're 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:45.700 in. The boomers. We still have some boomers booming 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:50.080 and kicking. And what is this new one? We've 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:54.629 done past Z. What is this new generation? since 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:58.590 2020. We've got them all. We've got them spanned. 00:10:58.710 --> 00:11:03.049 We've got every generation bridged within our 00:11:03.049 --> 00:11:07.610 congregation. And it's important that each generation 00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:13.610 model for the one following it the distinctives 00:11:13.610 --> 00:11:19.250 which make us the body of Christ. And through 00:11:19.250 --> 00:11:23.580 the course of this week, on Friday night, Bishop 00:11:23.580 --> 00:11:29.299 Lewis had Dr. Arrington pass a torch, a baton, 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:34.539 to pass it on to a young teenage evangelist to 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:37.980 symbolize that the next generation, the following 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:42.720 generation, has the torch and ready to bear it. 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:47.100 And so when we begin to think about hand -me 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:50.299 -downs, we chuckle a little bit because you remember 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:53.559 some article of clothing or something that you 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:58.460 had handed down to you. But I want to call your 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:02.139 memory to be stirred to your spiritual attributes 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:06.860 and the distinctives of your faith. And I have, 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:10.600 man, been stirred and challenged this week in 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:12.860 my own thinking and the processing of my own 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:16.539 mind young ministers that are being called, young 00:12:16.539 --> 00:12:20.259 people being called by God into the ministry. 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:24.919 And I begin to think within myself, okay, I've 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:27.799 got to pass down some distinctives. I need to 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:31.179 pass some things on. I need to instill in this 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:34.399 generation that is coming up, they need to know 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:38.000 the distinctives that what make us who we are. 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:40.730 Amen? And when we begin to think about who we 00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:42.850 are as the church of God, that's been a big emphasis, 00:12:42.990 --> 00:12:45.809 amen, who we are as the church of God. We go, 00:12:45.990 --> 00:12:50.990 we preach, amen, we teach, we go about, we evangelize, 00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:53.350 we do all these things. That's who we are. It's 00:12:53.350 --> 00:12:56.450 part of our distinctive. But the main distinctive 00:12:56.450 --> 00:12:59.870 of the church of God is that we are a Pentecostal 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:02.769 group of people. In other words, we believe in 00:13:02.769 --> 00:13:05.909 the whole counsel of the word of God, the old 00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:08.690 and the new. We don't take any of it out. We 00:13:08.690 --> 00:13:11.409 don't leave any of it aside. We believe God said 00:13:11.409 --> 00:13:13.690 what he said and meant what he said, and he's 00:13:13.690 --> 00:13:16.529 offered to all what he has made available in 00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:19.250 his word, and it is available. We believe him 00:13:19.250 --> 00:13:23.289 from the glossary in the back all the way through 00:13:23.289 --> 00:13:26.529 the maps to the first page in your Bible where 00:13:26.529 --> 00:13:29.169 you write your name in it. It's all in there, 00:13:29.190 --> 00:13:32.389 and all between those pages are what God has 00:13:32.389 --> 00:13:35.789 in store for his people, and that is the distinctives 00:13:35.789 --> 00:13:38.860 that we believe. We believe. in the whole counsel 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:42.200 of God. We believe in the word of God rightly 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:46.399 divided. Amen? And we take the words of God and 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.120 we apply them to the heart of our own being and 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:52.980 that we let those distinctives come forward when 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:55.940 we begin to think about how each generation that 00:13:55.940 --> 00:14:00.559 follows must be motivated by the distinctives 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:05.039 which are about receiving and encountering the 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:08.419 presence of God and that we are filled and ready 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:11.460 to fulfill the purpose of God on the face of 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:14.720 this earth. It's not about our will. It's not 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:18.120 about what we desire. My God church is not about 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:22.340 you. Amen. You are the church and we have to 00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:25.120 understand the distinguishing markers there. 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:28.200 We are the body of Christ. We are the bride. 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:32.120 Amen. We are those called separated and not for 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:35.440 our own will whim but for his purpose and for 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:38.990 his divine directive that whosoever believeth 00:14:38.990 --> 00:14:42.330 on him should have everlasting life. It's that 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:46.009 we prepare the next generation for the reception 00:14:46.009 --> 00:14:49.429 of the gospel. And the gospel is the good news 00:14:49.429 --> 00:14:52.289 that God loved the world and he sent his son 00:14:52.289 --> 00:14:54.990 and his son surrendered his life but the power 00:14:54.990 --> 00:14:58.929 of the spirit raised him up again. Amen. Amen. 00:14:58.990 --> 00:15:02.129 Knowing that we are able to come through full 00:15:02.129 --> 00:15:05.230 pardon because of his sacrifice of his death. 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.019 his burial, his resurrection, and we come into 00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:18.120 full pardon that the world may know that. There 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.679 are some distinctives. There's no way to cover 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:22.539 them all, but there's some things that has to 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:28.009 be passed down to the next generation. The generations 00:15:28.009 --> 00:15:30.590 that are coming after and follow must know how 00:15:30.590 --> 00:15:34.070 to pray. We think we needed to know how to pray 00:15:34.070 --> 00:15:36.549 with what this bunch is having to face. They'd 00:15:36.549 --> 00:15:39.769 better know how to get a hold of God in an hour 00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:43.230 of need. Amen. Used to, you could call a neighbor 00:15:43.230 --> 00:15:45.950 or two or a church member or two, and you'd have 00:15:45.950 --> 00:15:48.470 a prayer chain going like that. And the bells 00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:51.149 of heaven would be ringing with the voices of 00:15:51.149 --> 00:15:54.230 the intercession of the saints. Amen. And we've 00:15:54.230 --> 00:15:57.330 got to pass on to the generation. that are following 00:15:57.330 --> 00:16:00.889 us that nothing is accomplished in God's kingdom 00:16:00.889 --> 00:16:04.129 without the power and the purpose of prayer. 00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:08.730 Oh, Lord, help us today. Help me this morning, 00:16:08.870 --> 00:16:12.110 Lord. We have to find ourselves driven. Now, 00:16:12.110 --> 00:16:14.529 this is going to be a very pastoral, probably 00:16:14.529 --> 00:16:17.809 not a big shouty thing, but we have to get back 00:16:17.809 --> 00:16:20.269 to the roots of the distinctives of being the 00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.409 people of God. I'm not just talking about being 00:16:22.409 --> 00:16:25.049 a denomination. I'm talking about being the people 00:16:25.049 --> 00:16:28.649 of God. The people of God ought to have a desire 00:16:28.649 --> 00:16:32.590 to pray. If you do not have a desire to pray, 00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:36.250 check yourself in an altar and don't get up until 00:16:36.250 --> 00:16:39.570 you do. Because if there's no desire to talk 00:16:39.570 --> 00:16:42.070 to God, then there's definitely no desire to 00:16:42.070 --> 00:16:48.289 read his word. The distinctive of prayer, the 00:16:48.289 --> 00:16:50.470 next distinctive that we'll hopefully get to 00:16:50.470 --> 00:16:53.889 at some point over the next hour or weeks. is 00:16:53.889 --> 00:16:57.529 the distinctive of praise. Amen. One of the distinctives 00:16:57.529 --> 00:17:00.450 of the church of God is that they are a praising 00:17:00.450 --> 00:17:03.870 people. Not only are we a praying people, I remember 00:17:03.870 --> 00:17:07.509 growing up knowing people would not step foot 00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:10.410 in our church door because of what we believe 00:17:10.410 --> 00:17:12.690 in the power of God that was present. But you 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:15.390 let hell break loose in their family. You let 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:17.789 a diagnosis come down that their church don't 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:20.630 have the power to stir up a healing touch for. 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:23.579 They begin to call upon people. who attended 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:27.059 the church of God and say, would you please pray? 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:30.299 Why? Because they knew that a distinctive of 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:33.180 our church was that somebody would get in a prayer 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:36.380 room and not come out until they had touched 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:39.160 heaven. My God, I've seen my pastor come home, 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:42.500 my brother running 104 fever, laying in the bed, 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:44.559 scalding and burning up, and you couldn't even 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.299 touch him. I've seen pastor come home. Mama called 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:49.740 him about 10 o 'clock on a Sunday night. Pastor 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:52.640 came in, and in about 10 minutes, When heaven 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.940 began to ring, out come my little brother running, 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:59.380 cool as a cucumber. Why? Because of the power 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:04.359 of prayer in a powerful God. Amen. It's not simply 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:07.119 the act of prayer, but it's the one in whom is 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:14.400 being entreated. Praise is a distinctive. Worship 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:24.049 is a distinctive that cannot be lost. We're getting 00:18:24.049 --> 00:18:30.210 caught up in our culture today. People want to 00:18:30.210 --> 00:18:32.609 praise and worship a God they no longer serve. 00:18:33.009 --> 00:18:39.369 And that don't mesh up. We're in a culture that 00:18:39.369 --> 00:18:44.849 wants everything set for the ambiance. I got 00:18:44.849 --> 00:18:51.569 to get in the mood. No, you don't. The very instant. 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:56.220 We insert that personal pronoun I into anything 00:18:56.220 --> 00:18:59.460 that has to do with praise or worship. It's already 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:02.579 tainted and turned to idolatry because, honey, 00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:05.819 it ain't about you or I. It's not whether I like 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:07.960 the song. It's not whether I like the rhythm. 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:11.440 It's not whether I like the genre or the words 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:14.920 edifying and glorifying to God. Then it's to 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:18.859 him and not to us anyway. Get our hearts purified 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:22.289 and motivate ourselves in a distinct way. of 00:19:22.289 --> 00:19:25.690 worship because we praise him and then we're 00:19:25.690 --> 00:19:27.769 going to go through this distinctive of worshiping 00:19:27.769 --> 00:19:30.650 him and the fourth dimension of this would be 00:19:30.650 --> 00:19:34.490 faith. We must pass along the dimension of faith. 00:19:34.650 --> 00:19:37.769 The distinctive of faith to generations that 00:19:37.769 --> 00:19:44.369 are following us. Faith is like a well. It's 00:19:44.369 --> 00:19:46.630 so deep you'll never get to the bottom of it. 00:19:49.349 --> 00:19:53.910 So this distinctive of prayer, that first hand 00:19:53.910 --> 00:19:57.509 -me -down has got to be prayer. Billy Graham 00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:00.250 said prayer is the Christian's greatest weapon. 00:20:01.990 --> 00:20:08.150 And before prayer changes others, it first changes 00:20:08.150 --> 00:20:14.019 us. The very moment that you and I resist The 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:17.000 changing hand and the humbling hand of God on 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:21.660 our life. The very moment we resist it, we are 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:25.180 standing in direct opposition and are quenching 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:29.059 the power of life that is able to convert us 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:32.940 and change us and mold us and put us in the position. 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:35.859 Amen. The very moment that you're stepping up 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:40.220 and you refuse to bow a knee, my God, and we 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:44.349 refuse to pray, it changes you. Amen. I don't 00:20:44.349 --> 00:20:47.009 know that prayer has ever changed God's mind, 00:20:47.130 --> 00:20:50.250 but what it does for the one who is on their 00:20:50.250 --> 00:20:53.589 face is it causes their heart to be surrendered 00:20:53.589 --> 00:20:59.390 and conditioned to accept the will of the one 00:20:59.390 --> 00:21:05.589 to whom they are praying. We like to think that 00:21:05.589 --> 00:21:08.349 we can manipulate God with prayer. No, that's 00:21:08.349 --> 00:21:11.359 not the way it works. Because if you're like 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:13.460 me, you've prayed more that you didn't get what 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:23.420 you asked for than you did. Oh, way more. He 00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:29.200 said no way more than he ever said yes. But what 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:31.920 prayer does is it causes me to be surrendered 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:36.579 to his will because after all, Father knows best. 00:21:41.009 --> 00:21:47.349 Huh? Corrie Ten Boom said this, any concern too 00:21:47.349 --> 00:21:50.690 small to be turned into a prayer, oh, I love 00:21:50.690 --> 00:21:54.829 this, is too small to be made into a burden. 00:21:57.630 --> 00:22:01.529 Mic drop, we all ought to just shout glory, thank 00:22:01.529 --> 00:22:03.990 God, and walk out the door knowing we've been 00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:07.049 ministered to by the Spirit of God today. Anything 00:22:07.049 --> 00:22:10.910 that is too small to turn into a prayer is too 00:22:10.910 --> 00:22:15.410 small to let be made into a burden. My God, if 00:22:15.410 --> 00:22:17.329 you can't take it to the Lord in prayer because 00:22:17.329 --> 00:22:20.150 you don't want to bother him, then honey, don't 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:23.289 let whatever that is bother you because you and 00:22:23.289 --> 00:22:27.009 I are masters at making mountains out of molehills. 00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:30.849 Amen? We make larger things and larger issues 00:22:30.849 --> 00:22:34.130 out of things that we won't even go to God in 00:22:34.130 --> 00:22:36.680 prayer about. Why? Because you know. You know 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:39.299 good and well when you get to God in prayer and 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:41.799 you finally humble yourself and you stay down 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:43.920 there long enough to you pray into his presence, 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:46.740 he begins to melt your heart. And that thing 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:49.619 you've turned into a burden isn't really supposed 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:55.259 to be a bother. If you knew much about her testimony, 00:22:55.380 --> 00:23:00.500 my Lord, that statement right there, you just 00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:04.039 write her name down and go. Do your interweb 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:06.099 search on Corrie Ten Boom and see her story. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:10.200 And then remind yourself of this statement that 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:14.720 I just made to you. Anything, quote, any concern 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:18.079 too small to be turned into a prayer is too small 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:21.259 to be made into a burden. You go read her story. 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:23.940 You go look into her life and her trust and her 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:27.190 confidence in God. Matter of fact. I watched 00:23:27.190 --> 00:23:30.730 another, just a testimony. She was sitting in 00:23:30.730 --> 00:23:33.230 an interview with, of all people, Catherine Kuhlman. 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:38.269 She's interviewing Corrie ten Boom. And she's 00:23:38.269 --> 00:23:41.470 talking to her. And they're talking about forgiveness. 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:47.009 And she's talking about, she's testifying when 00:23:47.009 --> 00:23:52.069 she encountered one of those German guards who 00:23:52.069 --> 00:23:56.440 just terribly mistreated her sister. So much 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:58.940 so that her sister ended up dying. And she's 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:01.440 telling Catherine Kuhlman right there in this 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:04.799 interview that she had to forgive this man. Why? 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:09.400 This man approached her and asked for forgiveness. 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.779 He said, I have found a Bible, and I have come 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:16.079 to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. And 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:18.440 here's this humble woman, a woman of prayer, 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:21.720 a woman of power, saying how much she struggled 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:25.500 with being able to release this man. Finally, 00:24:25.539 --> 00:24:28.019 when she tells this testimony, it's so powerful. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:30.980 In prayer, the Lord touched her heart. And she 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:34.000 said, I stuck my hand out and said, brother, 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:36.960 my Lord, I want you to know something today. 00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:41.019 If someone can be humbled by the hand and the 00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:43.660 power of God through prayer, it's because she 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:47.420 prayed and God changed her before every others 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:50.140 are changed. He changed her heart. And she accepted 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:53.099 the hand of a man who asked for forgiveness and 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:56.519 called him. brother. That's the power. Look, 00:24:56.680 --> 00:25:00.359 my God, we live in a society today with feelings 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:03.819 so readily offended that people are so hurt. 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:08.059 And my God, for any and everything. That's why 00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:16.779 they call this the snowflake generation. We got 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:19.259 to pass down. Look, it's not your feelings that 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:26.569 matter. They crucified Christ. Look in the mirror 00:25:26.569 --> 00:25:28.809 and say to yourself, well, who are you to be 00:25:28.809 --> 00:25:41.329 offended? Wow. Prayer will get you there. E .M. 00:25:41.349 --> 00:25:46.970 bounds on the topic of prayer. No learning can 00:25:46.970 --> 00:25:53.349 make up for the failure to pray. No learning. 00:25:54.670 --> 00:25:57.769 Can make up for the failure to pray. You can't 00:25:57.769 --> 00:26:00.589 learn enough about God's word. To make up for 00:26:00.589 --> 00:26:05.269 the failure in prayer. You can't try to know 00:26:05.269 --> 00:26:09.130 enough. Because knowing. You know what knowledge 00:26:09.130 --> 00:26:11.910 does. According to the word. Knowledge puffs 00:26:11.910 --> 00:26:18.410 up. Prayer humbles down. My Lord. Prayer will 00:26:18.410 --> 00:26:21.950 put you on your face. Prayer will put you humbled 00:26:21.950 --> 00:26:25.289 before the almighty of heaven, the creator of 00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:28.950 all things, amen, the author, the finisher, everything. 00:26:29.130 --> 00:26:32.170 Prayer will put you in your own perspective. 00:26:37.109 --> 00:26:41.910 Spurgeon said, groaning which cannot be uttered, 00:26:41.910 --> 00:26:46.410 groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers 00:26:46.410 --> 00:26:55.059 which cannot be refused. Let that sink in a minute. 00:26:56.359 --> 00:26:58.759 When's the last time you prayed long enough till 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:03.220 you groaned in the Spirit? Huh? Well, I don't 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:05.000 know that ever happened. You're missing something. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.779 You're missing something. You're not going to 00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:10.900 get there in two minutes. I'm sorry. If you're 00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:13.180 like me, about five minutes, my bony knees begin 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:16.640 to hurt on a hard surface. And then the devil 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.759 begins to remind me of my physical discomfort 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:20.660 and say, well, you just need to get up. You got 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:22.359 this and this and this and that to do. Hello, 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:24.799 come on, somebody. You think you're the only 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:27.700 one that's not challenged to pray? No, I am challenged 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:31.980 every single day to pray. Amen. I'll kneel down 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:35.099 here on Saturdays, and in order to keep my knees 00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:37.460 from hurting on that concrete, I end up going 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:40.359 prostate before God. I just stretch, plumb out 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:44.019 on my face, and I stay there a while. Amen. And 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:46.480 sometimes, in the peacefulness of his presence, 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:49.400 I might take me a little slobber mouth nap down 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:51.980 here. And that's all right too because there's 00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:58.400 no greater peace than in his presence. And prayer 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:05.019 puts you in his presence. Oh, the devil's going 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:07.680 to remind you of every discomfort and everything 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:10.279 that you've put off for six months and all of 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:13.119 a sudden it's urgent because you've got down 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:20.460 to pray. Now you tell me I don't know what I'm 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:24.960 talking about. I know what he says. He says to 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:29.500 me what he says to you. But what I have learned, 00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:33.960 the one thing that I have learned is that if 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:36.940 I will carry on through and stay down there, 00:28:37.869 --> 00:28:41.309 Amen. And get my heart set on God's face and 00:28:41.309 --> 00:28:44.829 beyond his hand and just begin to love on God 00:28:44.829 --> 00:28:47.890 and tell him how much I appreciate him and give 00:28:47.890 --> 00:28:51.309 him glory and honor. Amen. Jesus had it right 00:28:51.309 --> 00:28:55.750 in Luke 11 when the disciples, you go read Luke 00:28:55.750 --> 00:28:58.470 11 and 1 and 2 down through there. And when Jesus 00:28:58.470 --> 00:29:01.849 had finished praying, his disciples came to him 00:29:01.849 --> 00:29:05.470 and said, Lord, Lord, would you not teach us 00:29:05.470 --> 00:29:08.890 how to pray? Evidently. They were just in awe 00:29:08.890 --> 00:29:12.329 of his prayer life. Amen. They were just sitting 00:29:12.329 --> 00:29:15.410 over there. I want you to listen to him pray. 00:29:16.220 --> 00:29:18.599 So much that they could ask the Lord to give 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:21.839 us power to do miracles. Put power in our hand 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.079 to cast out evil. That's not what they ask him. 00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:27.440 Would you teach us to pray like that? Why? Because 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:31.119 when you understand what happens in prayer, in 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:34.220 you, it's not what turns out in others. It's 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:36.900 what happens in us in prayer. It's what happens 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:40.099 for me. It's the transformation of my own faith 00:29:40.099 --> 00:29:43.740 and my own life. When I pray, I understand that 00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:47.839 God is greater. sits up above and his ways are 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:50.839 not my ways and they are higher than mine and 00:29:50.839 --> 00:29:53.819 I learn not to lean onto my own understanding 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:57.319 because it seems so foolish in his presence. 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:09.440 Man, this is ringing me like a dish rag. How 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:12.140 many know what I'm talking about? Ringing me 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:16.640 like a wash rag. I remember as a kid, we had 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:22.099 the washer outside. Some of you have no clue. 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:27.299 You might see one if you go antiquing or you 00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:30.420 get out in the country. You'll see that old white 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:34.160 tub, porcelain tub washer with a ring of rollers 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:37.380 up on top. You say, well, what's that for? It's 00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:42.220 to wring it out. You crank it through. You squeeze 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:45.259 all of the moisture out of it right before you 00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:48.220 pop it three or four times and pin it to the 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:51.279 line. My God, if there's not imagery there, I 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:53.480 don't know where I can preach to you this morning. 00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:56.180 Let yourself go through the ringer of prayer. 00:30:56.460 --> 00:30:59.420 Let the Holy Spirit pop you and snap you once 00:30:59.420 --> 00:31:02.460 or twice and pin you to the line. And then let 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:13.480 the glory rays of God shine on you. I'm glad 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:17.359 we got some of them. I'm glad I got some of you 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:20.200 baby boomers in here. You know what I'm talking 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:23.660 about this morning. You've been wrung out and 00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:29.019 hung on the line to radiate in his glory until 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:38.099 you have been dried. I hung one of the bedspreads 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:40.019 out the other day across the porch railing in 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:44.049 the sun. I mean, remember when it's spring cleaning 00:31:44.049 --> 00:31:46.670 when you was kids, you drug every mattress and 00:31:46.670 --> 00:31:52.470 every box spring in the house outside. Your hands 00:31:52.470 --> 00:31:57.490 got burnt because mother had a warm bowl of Clorox 00:31:57.490 --> 00:32:02.130 bleach water sitting right there. What's that 00:32:02.130 --> 00:32:05.930 for? Kill the germs from the winter. Clorox, 00:32:05.970 --> 00:32:07.789 that's the reason mattresses ended up eating 00:32:07.789 --> 00:32:10.430 up, but that's side of the point. The germs were 00:32:10.430 --> 00:32:15.839 killed. You scrubbed it. You wiped it down with 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:19.960 Clorox. You let that side dry, and you flipped 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:21.759 it over, and you didn't have your water poured 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:24.180 out yet. You went out and done the other side. 00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:29.259 And then, never forgetting, that night, that 00:32:29.259 --> 00:32:31.420 first night when you laid down to go to sleep, 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:34.119 because not only were the mattresses out there, 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:38.980 but the pillows were out there. Hello? The pillowcases, 00:32:39.059 --> 00:32:42.430 you had to get them off the line too. And the 00:32:42.430 --> 00:32:46.210 sheets and the bedspreads. And that night, as 00:32:46.210 --> 00:32:50.309 I'm standing right here in front of you, I can 00:32:50.309 --> 00:32:56.630 smell the aroma. Pulling those sheets up and 00:32:56.630 --> 00:33:01.430 burying my face in a clean, sun -dried pillow. 00:33:02.890 --> 00:33:05.769 Amen. Just think about the savor in the nostrils 00:33:05.769 --> 00:33:09.119 of God. When we come before him after we've been 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:11.160 through the ringer of prayer and then we've been 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:14.660 dried by his glory and our prayers are offered 00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:17.259 up as incense according to the word of God. They 00:33:17.259 --> 00:33:20.799 go before him as incense. It becomes a sweet 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:23.799 smelling savor in the nostrils. Would somebody 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:29.740 be willing to offer up some incense? Oh Lord. 00:33:34.119 --> 00:33:36.099 Somebody just praise him a minute. Let me take 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:40.359 a moment. Love on him like you love him today. 00:33:54.480 --> 00:34:04.849 Oh, God, ring us. Put yourself through the ringer 00:34:04.849 --> 00:34:11.449 of prayer. Let the residue of life be squeezed 00:34:11.449 --> 00:34:20.090 out of you so that you're prepared to be dried 00:34:20.090 --> 00:34:31.820 by His glory. Modern convenience is... Taken 00:34:31.820 --> 00:34:37.139 away a lot of the good things of life. This generation 00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:46.119 today will probably never know the aroma of a 00:34:46.119 --> 00:34:51.340 sun -dried pillowcase and sheet. It wasn't so 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:55.539 fun when I was having to do all that. I wasn't 00:34:55.539 --> 00:35:00.199 feeling as nostalgic as I am right now. Probably 00:35:00.199 --> 00:35:02.679 having borne the stripes on the back of my calves 00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:08.579 to make sure I bleached the mattress. I wasn't 00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:15.159 a very compliant youth. But mother had the alignment 00:35:15.159 --> 00:35:23.619 tool. Prayer. This generation over here, scattered 00:35:23.619 --> 00:35:27.000 all across the house, who's going to teach them 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:31.550 to pray? Huh? Who's going to teach them to pray? 00:35:32.309 --> 00:35:34.570 Here's what your culture and our culture is teaching 00:35:34.570 --> 00:35:38.230 them. Run to a psychologist. I'm not saying that 00:35:38.230 --> 00:35:40.050 they don't have their place. There are those 00:35:40.050 --> 00:35:43.949 places. But they would be a lot less full on 00:35:43.949 --> 00:35:45.989 their calendar if we would go to the Lord in 00:35:45.989 --> 00:35:50.969 prayer. Old songwriter had it right. Oh, what 00:35:50.969 --> 00:35:54.789 the peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless 00:35:54.789 --> 00:35:58.599 pain and grief we bear. All because. We do not 00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:03.599 carry everything, everything to the Lord in prayer. 00:36:04.420 --> 00:36:07.420 You'd be amazed what the devil would do with 00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:11.559 just a small, minute issue in your life and how 00:36:11.559 --> 00:36:14.460 he'll make you worry over it. He don't have to 00:36:14.460 --> 00:36:17.539 create mountains for you to fret over. You'll 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:20.639 fret over anything that puts you at dis -ease. 00:36:20.659 --> 00:36:25.079 We are just that way naturally. It's our nature. 00:36:25.929 --> 00:36:28.570 That's the reason our nature must be transformed. 00:36:33.170 --> 00:36:36.489 And so long as we live and breathe in this flesh, 00:36:36.530 --> 00:36:40.889 we will always struggle with the shortcomings 00:36:40.889 --> 00:36:45.590 of our flesh. Your flesh doesn't want to pray. 00:36:47.190 --> 00:36:50.250 You don't have time to pray. I'm just going to 00:36:50.250 --> 00:36:52.110 slide something in here about half sideways. 00:36:52.230 --> 00:36:55.050 Do with it what you want. Some of you are way 00:36:55.050 --> 00:37:00.010 too busy for your own good. How do you know that, 00:37:00.070 --> 00:37:01.949 Pastor? How can you tell? Because I've been that 00:37:01.949 --> 00:37:05.309 busy, and now looking back, I see where I lost 00:37:05.309 --> 00:37:10.309 out a lot with God. You, Pastor, yes, busy doing 00:37:10.309 --> 00:37:16.650 the things of the church. Busy. Now we don't 00:37:16.650 --> 00:37:19.230 have to get you to sin. He just got to get you 00:37:19.230 --> 00:37:25.550 occupied. All he's got to do is get you distracted 00:37:25.550 --> 00:37:29.250 enough so that you don't pray. And like I told 00:37:29.250 --> 00:37:32.230 you earlier, if you don't pray, you will not 00:37:32.230 --> 00:37:39.590 read. Why? Because our spirit gets a little haughty. 00:37:40.989 --> 00:37:52.380 Prayer keeps us humble before God. Humble yourselves 00:37:52.380 --> 00:37:55.679 under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt 00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:58.820 you in due season. We won't exalt it without 00:37:58.820 --> 00:38:02.840 the humbling. The psalmist said in our text, 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:06.480 I extol thee, I praise thee. For four verses, 00:38:06.519 --> 00:38:10.519 he is just reminding God that he knows who God 00:38:10.519 --> 00:38:14.099 is. How many of us have truly remembered and 00:38:14.099 --> 00:38:17.239 remind ourselves daily who the God of heaven 00:38:17.239 --> 00:38:25.190 is that we claim to serve? We've got to call 00:38:25.190 --> 00:38:35.829 ourselves back. Too busy running after the cares 00:38:35.829 --> 00:38:38.650 of life and the riches of this world. And where 00:38:38.650 --> 00:38:47.550 does it get you? Tennessee Ernie Ford said, Oh, 00:38:47.690 --> 00:38:54.860 my soul to the company store. Don't you know 00:38:54.860 --> 00:38:58.320 that the more that you try to acquire, you don't 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.119 save it. You try to figure out another way to 00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:05.039 spend it. And end up being worse off than you 00:39:05.039 --> 00:39:06.599 were before you got the raise. Oh, I'm going 00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:12.699 to go buy another new car. Prayer keeps us humble 00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:16.980 before God. Mindful of the priorities of life. 00:39:17.219 --> 00:39:20.840 I'm just trying to challenge you. Slow down. 00:39:22.639 --> 00:39:38.019 Slow. Renew your relationship with God. Echoing 00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:43.559 in my mind is always those words where Jesus 00:39:43.559 --> 00:39:47.599 said when they came to him and he said, you will 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:53.400 come to me saying, Lord, Lord. Did we not cast 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:56.329 out? devils in your name did we not this and 00:39:56.329 --> 00:39:59.469 did we not that and didn't we this and did we 00:39:59.469 --> 00:40:05.110 that yeah you were being very busy but may I 00:40:05.110 --> 00:40:08.130 share with you what he declares is the most important 00:40:08.130 --> 00:40:19.730 to which I will respond depart from me I never 00:40:19.730 --> 00:40:23.820 knew you I just want to know you. Look it up. 00:40:23.860 --> 00:40:27.059 Do the word study. It's an in -depth, it's an 00:40:27.059 --> 00:40:30.539 intimate relationship that God is desiring to 00:40:30.539 --> 00:40:34.460 have with you. And you can't do that passing 00:40:34.460 --> 00:40:36.539 yourself on the highway and high -hatting your 00:40:36.539 --> 00:40:44.840 own self. Busy. And the whole time, the devil's 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:46.960 sitting off over here in the shade laughing. 00:40:49.739 --> 00:40:52.239 Because all he's got to do is wait. He don't 00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:56.980 have to do or cause any type of effect. All he 00:40:56.980 --> 00:41:01.579 has to do is sit by and watch life run its course. 00:41:04.260 --> 00:41:06.760 Are you saying that the devil is not the cause 00:41:06.760 --> 00:41:08.739 of everything that happens in my life? That's 00:41:08.739 --> 00:41:12.800 exactly what I'm telling you. Oh, he gets all 00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:17.579 the blame. But sometimes you and I are our own 00:41:17.579 --> 00:41:24.480 worst enemies. It's your fault. It was my fault. 00:41:29.420 --> 00:41:37.420 And there are those times that God, hello, God 00:41:37.420 --> 00:41:41.360 himself will allow our faith to be challenged. 00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:47.349 It's just life. Sometimes it actually stinks. 00:41:51.570 --> 00:41:59.710 Anybody care to prove me wrong? Life isn't fair. 00:42:01.329 --> 00:42:03.389 Well, whoever said it's supposed to be fair? 00:42:05.590 --> 00:42:07.949 Equality went out when sin entered the garden, 00:42:08.050 --> 00:42:13.349 the first bite. And we got people arguing about, 00:42:13.389 --> 00:42:20.250 well, it wasn't an apple. Who cares? A banana, 00:42:20.610 --> 00:42:28.489 a plum, a rutabaga, whatever that thing is. We 00:42:28.489 --> 00:42:31.670 get hung up on semantics. God's scratching his 00:42:31.670 --> 00:42:34.650 head, you're still not getting this thing. Where'd 00:42:34.650 --> 00:42:41.389 Cain's wife come from? Who cares? Well, don't 00:42:41.389 --> 00:42:47.199 you want to know? Really, no, I don't. Well, 00:42:47.219 --> 00:42:49.559 who's Antichrist? I really don't care. I'm not 00:42:49.559 --> 00:42:51.119 planning on staying around long enough to know 00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:57.500 him personally. Well, who's that harlot on the 00:42:57.500 --> 00:43:02.719 beast? I don't want to know her either. We'll 00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:08.360 not be exchanging contacts. Some of you are probably 00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:10.280 offended I've not accepted your friend request 00:43:10.280 --> 00:43:21.070 on Facebook. They're there, I just don't. No 00:43:21.070 --> 00:43:27.329 offense. Please don't take one. I love you. It's 00:43:27.329 --> 00:43:33.530 got nothing to do with all that. We get so caught 00:43:33.530 --> 00:43:36.030 up in the things of this world, Jesus is going 00:43:36.030 --> 00:43:37.369 to say, you're going to miss out on the most 00:43:37.369 --> 00:43:42.630 important thing, knowing me. That's the reason 00:43:42.630 --> 00:43:45.210 he said, consider the lilies of the field. They 00:43:45.210 --> 00:43:50.190 toil not, nor do they spin. Some of you are spinning 00:43:50.190 --> 00:43:53.449 like a top, just trying to make ends meet in 00:43:53.449 --> 00:43:56.030 life because you got yourself head over heels. 00:43:59.610 --> 00:44:02.010 What do I do? Start getting rid of some stuff. 00:44:04.750 --> 00:44:08.949 Here's another novel way to find rest and peace 00:44:08.949 --> 00:44:11.920 in your life. Look at me right here. I'm going 00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:14.860 to try to enunciate really well. Is that light? 00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:21.579 Yeah, it's right here. No. Try that with me. 00:44:21.639 --> 00:44:26.159 Try that with me. No. It doesn't hurt like you 00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:31.920 think it will. You don't have to say yes to everything 00:44:31.920 --> 00:44:34.320 and everybody. Your children come up and want 00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:35.800 to run all over Tarnation. Look here, look here, 00:44:35.800 --> 00:44:42.630 look here. No. Stand home. Let them kick and 00:44:42.630 --> 00:44:45.650 scream for about 10 feet. If they go 15, reach 00:44:45.650 --> 00:44:57.750 and get them. And look at them and say, no. D 00:44:57.750 --> 00:44:59.969 .L. Moody said about prayer, I'd rather be able 00:44:59.969 --> 00:45:05.889 to pray. You've got to take this from who it's 00:45:05.889 --> 00:45:10.510 coming from. He said, I'd rather be able to pray. 00:45:11.699 --> 00:45:19.519 than to be a great preacher. That right there, 00:45:19.559 --> 00:45:21.480 forever preacher in the house, that means a lot. 00:45:22.019 --> 00:45:30.119 It did to me when I jotted it down. For the fact 00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:32.219 of it sounding the way it's about to sound because 00:45:32.219 --> 00:45:36.320 we like to pride ourselves in being decent orators 00:45:36.320 --> 00:45:42.349 anyway. Don't we? We like it when people like 00:45:42.349 --> 00:45:46.510 what we've had to say or how we've had to say 00:45:46.510 --> 00:45:49.989 it. Until you get to the point you say things 00:45:49.989 --> 00:45:54.829 how I say them and it really don't matter. But 00:45:54.829 --> 00:46:00.150 we want to be known as good preachers. Why? Because 00:46:00.150 --> 00:46:01.929 that's what God's called us to do. We want to 00:46:01.929 --> 00:46:07.670 hone our craft. Amen? And that's a distinctive 00:46:07.670 --> 00:46:09.789 to these younger preachers. If you're going to 00:46:09.789 --> 00:46:11.769 be a Pentecostal preacher, come up around me. 00:46:11.809 --> 00:46:13.409 You're going to preach in the power of the Holy 00:46:13.409 --> 00:46:20.829 Ghost. You're going to learn to pray. So get 00:46:20.829 --> 00:46:30.730 ready. Because I've received the mandate to hand 00:46:30.730 --> 00:46:38.460 you some things down. I want the generation, 00:46:38.940 --> 00:46:42.619 best I see it, I ain't got too many more years 00:46:42.619 --> 00:46:49.340 to go. So I figure, I've made this determination. 00:46:51.139 --> 00:46:53.320 I'm going to try with all the strength that's 00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:58.699 in me to go out as hot as I came in. Preachers, 00:46:58.800 --> 00:47:00.960 that's my goal. I don't know what yours were 00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:03.000 when you were getting ready and thinking about. 00:47:04.480 --> 00:47:09.980 People about ready to hang you up. I just want 00:47:09.980 --> 00:47:19.139 to go out as hot as I came in. My passion for 00:47:19.139 --> 00:47:22.579 His Word and His presence hasn't changed other 00:47:22.579 --> 00:47:27.079 than increased over almost 30 years. I just want 00:47:27.079 --> 00:47:34.079 more of Him. They didn't know what I was preaching 00:47:34.079 --> 00:47:35.820 this morning when they were setting their song 00:47:35.820 --> 00:47:37.840 list up. They didn't know all that until after 00:47:37.840 --> 00:47:39.340 they got here and knew what I was preaching. 00:47:41.480 --> 00:47:46.039 I called on the God of Jacob. Those generations. 00:47:47.860 --> 00:47:50.800 To understand the distinctives. Everything we 00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:56.920 have we acquire through prayer. Luke 18 and 1. 00:47:58.340 --> 00:48:01.780 The directive is that men ought always to pray. 00:48:03.760 --> 00:48:08.539 And not to faint. We faint. We falter. We halt. 00:48:09.500 --> 00:48:14.800 Because we don't pray. You'll not have a fervent 00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:17.840 praise which we'll talk about. Not today. Somebody 00:48:17.840 --> 00:48:23.579 say thank you Lord. You won't have a depth in 00:48:23.579 --> 00:48:27.239 your worship. You won't have enough faith to 00:48:27.239 --> 00:48:33.139 tie your shoes. If you don't pray. Men ought 00:48:33.139 --> 00:48:38.300 always to pray. In Luke 11, Jesus gave them that 00:48:38.300 --> 00:48:41.119 example, not the exact prayer. He just wanted 00:48:41.119 --> 00:48:44.260 them to hear the illustration. Our Father who 00:48:44.260 --> 00:48:50.139 art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Right? And 00:48:50.139 --> 00:48:52.500 then begin to invoke his will. That's what prayer 00:48:52.500 --> 00:48:54.840 does. We talked about it earlier. That's why 00:48:54.840 --> 00:48:57.500 the model prayer is there. Thy will be done on 00:48:57.500 --> 00:49:01.989 earth. As it is in heaven. Then it talks about 00:49:01.989 --> 00:49:05.710 transgressions. Forgiving others as we have been 00:49:05.710 --> 00:49:12.050 forgiven. Dependence is demonstrated. Give us 00:49:12.050 --> 00:49:24.150 this day our daily bread. It's all exemplified 00:49:24.150 --> 00:49:32.039 in that model of prayer. But we adapt the model 00:49:32.039 --> 00:49:35.440 to our own unique situations. Every one of us. 00:49:38.400 --> 00:49:41.780 I tell everybody, God loves me more than he does 00:49:41.780 --> 00:49:48.500 you. I am his favorite. It leans this way. God 00:49:48.500 --> 00:49:54.760 loves me. And the very moment I don't think and 00:49:54.760 --> 00:49:57.360 I begin to allow the enemy to say he doesn't 00:49:57.360 --> 00:50:03.050 love me the most. It leaves a chink in my faith 00:50:03.050 --> 00:50:13.590 and my trust. But I'm getting close to what David 00:50:13.590 --> 00:50:17.469 said. Stand. I'm quitting. Stand. He said, I 00:50:17.469 --> 00:50:24.750 was young, but now I'm old. And I've never seen 00:50:24.750 --> 00:50:28.869 the righteous forsaken. I've seen the righteous 00:50:28.869 --> 00:50:30.969 have to fast because there wasn't enough money 00:50:30.969 --> 00:50:35.610 to buy groceries. I've seen the righteous have 00:50:35.610 --> 00:50:38.010 to light candles because they turn the power 00:50:38.010 --> 00:50:41.630 off. I've seen the righteous have to haul water 00:50:41.630 --> 00:50:44.730 because they cut the meter off, put a padlock 00:50:44.730 --> 00:50:47.909 at the meter. But I've never seen the righteous 00:50:47.909 --> 00:50:55.880 forsaken. See, we, we, we. We get it all wrong. 00:50:56.000 --> 00:50:57.960 We think God forsakes us because we don't have 00:50:57.960 --> 00:51:02.820 all the amenities of life. You know what would 00:51:02.820 --> 00:51:04.780 make me feel like God has forsaken me? Not have 00:51:04.780 --> 00:51:10.539 all of that stuff and not encounter Him. Oh, 00:51:10.539 --> 00:51:14.300 and there's countless people in this world that 00:51:14.300 --> 00:51:19.619 have everything. Everything. Mountains of money. 00:51:19.920 --> 00:51:22.139 They've got more money on paper because there 00:51:22.139 --> 00:51:28.929 ain't enough printed. If they called in all the 00:51:28.929 --> 00:51:35.789 cash, they can't get it to them. But yet, live 00:51:35.789 --> 00:51:41.829 in misery. That's what David's saying. I was 00:51:41.829 --> 00:51:45.650 a shepherd boy. The youngest, by the way. Mistreated 00:51:45.650 --> 00:51:49.489 by all the older brothers. That's just the way 00:51:49.489 --> 00:52:01.369 that goes. Mama's boy. Anointed, the prophet 00:52:01.369 --> 00:52:09.570 of God, Samuel, the man of God, uncorked a horn 00:52:09.570 --> 00:52:14.010 of oil. I can hear David. He poured it over my 00:52:14.010 --> 00:52:18.289 head. There must have been a gallon in that horn. 00:52:18.389 --> 00:52:20.610 That was the biggest goat horn I'd ever seen. 00:52:23.880 --> 00:52:27.360 He poured so much oil over me, it got in my eyes, 00:52:27.440 --> 00:52:30.380 it got in my mouth. I spit in this stuff, it's 00:52:30.380 --> 00:52:35.059 in my ears. My clothes got soaked. I was actually, 00:52:35.219 --> 00:52:38.460 by the time it was over, was standing in a puddle 00:52:38.460 --> 00:52:43.199 of oil. Took me weeks to get this stuff off of 00:52:43.199 --> 00:52:48.179 me, but he never got it off of me. Why, Pastor? 00:52:48.260 --> 00:52:50.599 Because the Bible says that the Spirit of the 00:52:50.599 --> 00:52:54.639 Lord came upon him from that place. Moment forward. 00:52:58.320 --> 00:53:06.340 Anointed king, but running for his life. Look, 00:53:06.440 --> 00:53:09.840 don't equate trouble and hardship with God forsaking 00:53:09.840 --> 00:53:17.239 you. Pray, and you'll realize God's right there. 00:53:22.800 --> 00:53:29.179 It's true, wisdom is wasted on age. I needed 00:53:29.179 --> 00:53:35.739 this stuff 35 years ago. I needed to know 35 00:53:35.739 --> 00:53:39.619 years ago about God, what I know about God now, 00:53:39.760 --> 00:53:41.900 and what I'm trying to tell you, you don't have 00:53:41.900 --> 00:53:46.360 to live through to know it. And there's others 00:53:46.360 --> 00:53:48.769 in here, that boomer generation. They can tell 00:53:48.769 --> 00:53:50.869 you some things about God that you've been sweating 00:53:50.869 --> 00:53:53.369 over life about that you really don't have to 00:53:53.369 --> 00:54:04.269 panic about. The generations that are following, 00:54:04.349 --> 00:54:08.230 look here, guys. Nobody's going to believe it 00:54:08.230 --> 00:54:14.610 for you. It's going to be a day where Pastor 00:54:14.610 --> 00:54:18.110 Brian, myself, and others. are not going to be 00:54:18.110 --> 00:54:20.309 around to lay hands on you and pray for you. 00:54:24.130 --> 00:54:26.610 Life is going to come by and the next thing you 00:54:26.610 --> 00:54:28.250 know, you're the one that's supposed to be doing 00:54:28.250 --> 00:54:38.750 the hand laying. You. I know you're young and 00:54:38.750 --> 00:54:43.230 you think, well, that's a long time, is it? No, 00:54:43.230 --> 00:54:48.840 it's not. It's now. That's why how you live matters. 00:54:51.440 --> 00:54:56.139 Hello? The distinctive to this church, you need 00:54:56.139 --> 00:55:00.619 to learn how to pray and practice it. That's 00:55:00.619 --> 00:55:03.840 the reason people say, well, we'll pray for you. 00:55:03.880 --> 00:55:05.679 I say, well, good. We need to pray and you need 00:55:05.679 --> 00:55:12.239 to practice. Practice prayer like you lift weights, 00:55:12.460 --> 00:55:18.699 like you condition for a competition. Practice 00:55:18.699 --> 00:55:21.980 prayer, fellas, like you do on Thursday when 00:55:21.980 --> 00:55:27.219 you go out to hit 9 or 18, whatever you get. 00:55:27.380 --> 00:55:33.940 Practice. Practice prayer like you do any and 00:55:33.940 --> 00:55:37.159 everything else, like some with the intensity 00:55:37.159 --> 00:55:40.719 you sit down at a table to eat with. Pray like 00:55:40.719 --> 00:55:45.039 that. I'm about to do some damage to some groceries. 00:55:48.900 --> 00:55:58.559 Whatever your thing is, you follow me. Get on 00:55:58.559 --> 00:56:01.780 the interweb and look up a video about an old 00:56:01.780 --> 00:56:06.019 -timey ringer washer. Watch it so you know what 00:56:06.019 --> 00:56:09.739 pastor's been trying to tell you. And you're 00:56:09.739 --> 00:56:14.280 going to say, oh, I get it now. That's a problem 00:56:14.280 --> 00:56:28.349 being hung between the generations. Prayer is 00:56:28.349 --> 00:56:33.969 not simply a ritual or exercise. It's our lifeline. 00:56:39.510 --> 00:56:42.070 And the distinctive of Pentecostal people is 00:56:42.070 --> 00:56:46.030 that we have always been known as people of prayer. 00:56:50.259 --> 00:56:52.659 Prayer ushers the power of God into your life. 00:56:53.639 --> 00:56:55.840 I know we pray for others, but it's not about 00:56:55.840 --> 00:57:01.000 others. It's about what God does in you. We intercede 00:57:01.000 --> 00:57:03.400 on behalf of others to see that God put his power 00:57:03.400 --> 00:57:06.780 in their life and on their life. But it's about 00:57:06.780 --> 00:57:08.860 you and I experiencing God.