WEBVTT 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:14.320 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.600 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.820 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:23.000 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.219 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:31.039 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:36.659 by this week's sermon. At the beginning of October, 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:39.619 we started this series called Foundations, which 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:42.700 explores some of the core convictions that define 00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:46.299 how we function at ECB. These are foundations 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:50.560 that shape our way of ministry here in ECB, but 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:53.200 also they shape our own lives. These are things 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:56.659 that we want each one of us to work with, that 00:00:56.659 --> 00:01:02.000 really define how we live our lives with the 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.930 Lord. We started talking about being rooted in 00:01:05.930 --> 00:01:08.450 the Word and then being empowered by the Holy 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:11.430 Spirit. And today we are talking about being 00:01:11.430 --> 00:01:15.950 fueled by prayer. Now I know that depending on 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:18.230 the doctrinal background that you come from, 00:01:18.290 --> 00:01:20.590 the denominational background that you come from, 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:23.950 there are lots of ideas about prayer. And this 00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:27.349 study does not mean to be a summary of all the 00:01:27.349 --> 00:01:33.030 theological views on prayer. But it's trying 00:01:33.030 --> 00:01:36.909 to define how we see prayer in our ministry and 00:01:36.909 --> 00:01:41.590 in our lives. And as I have worked with people, 00:01:41.650 --> 00:01:44.250 I realized too that depending on where you are 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:46.790 in your journey with God, the way you relate 00:01:46.790 --> 00:01:50.530 to prayer changes. I remember leading someone 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:53.250 to Christ many years ago, and then as I was discipling 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:56.670 her, and there were moments in which now I invited 00:01:56.670 --> 00:01:58.930 her to pray into this space. She would say, you 00:01:58.930 --> 00:02:02.019 know, It's hard for me to pray out loud because 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:06.680 I didn't grow up praying. So, in fact, at the 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:08.840 beginning for me to pray was weird. It was like 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:14.319 talking to the air. And so she had to learn what 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.860 prayer was and how to engage in this new dimension 00:02:17.860 --> 00:02:21.039 of her relationship with God. And then I have 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:22.539 talked to other Christians that know prayer. 00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:25.080 They pray and they understand prayer to some 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:28.659 degree. But they treat it like when the doctor 00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:31.139 tells you, you need to eat more fruits and vegetables, 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:34.740 you know. It's like, I know I need to pray. I 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:37.000 know God wants me to pray. But it's like, one 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:40.479 more thing to do. And I just don't have time. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:44.180 So they don't pray because it feels almost like 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:46.360 a burden, you know. And that's why I say like 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:48.000 the fruits and vegetables. Yeah, I know I need 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.740 to eat more fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:55.270 But I just don't. And this person sees prayer 00:02:55.270 --> 00:03:00.310 almost like a thing you do, rather than expression 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:06.129 of who we are. And therefore, one of the things 00:03:06.129 --> 00:03:09.310 that we'll discover in this study is that prayer 00:03:09.310 --> 00:03:14.770 is so essential to following Jesus. Not only 00:03:14.770 --> 00:03:17.650 Jesus talked about it, but the Apostle Paul also 00:03:17.650 --> 00:03:20.990 talked about it, and they give us a picture of 00:03:20.990 --> 00:03:27.860 prayer. That is very profound. If we go to the 00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:31.800 life of Jesus. For instance. We know that Jesus 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:34.680 in many times. During his ministry. He will go 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:39.240 away by his own. To just spend time praying. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:43.659 But there is a particular time. In which actually 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:46.560 we know what we pray. What he prayed. And this 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:51.050 happened at the end of his ministry. Hours before 00:03:51.050 --> 00:03:55.669 he got captured by his enemies and then crucified. 00:03:57.229 --> 00:04:02.370 During that time, after the last supper, he goes 00:04:02.370 --> 00:04:05.449 to Gethsemane with his apostles. And then he 00:04:05.449 --> 00:04:09.770 goes with three of them into this sector of the 00:04:09.770 --> 00:04:13.669 garden. And he is going to start praying to the 00:04:13.669 --> 00:04:16.050 Father. And this is what the Gospel of Mark says. 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:21.519 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:26.860 And he prayed that if it were possible, the awful 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:32.439 hour awaiting him might pass him by. He knows 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:37.459 that if he continues with the plan, what is about 00:04:37.459 --> 00:04:40.800 to happen is going to be terrible. It's going 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:45.180 to require for him to suffer so much. Not only 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:48.420 physically, physical torture, but emotionally 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:52.160 being accused and mocked by the people that he 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:55.000 loves. Being betrayed by those that he served 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:58.680 with. And not only that, but he will now enter 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:02.259 the realm of darkness and go into the very place 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:06.939 to be able to defeat the power of him who had 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:10.360 the power and control over death. That is the 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:13.800 devil according to the book of Hebrews. What 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:18.819 is about to happen is going to be very complex 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:22.000 and require for him to be willing to suffer in 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.660 deep ways that we cannot really understand. But 00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:31.439 as he is praying, in aligning himself with God's 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:34.399 plan, and pursue his calling all the way to the 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:40.959 very end, he says, Abba Father, which is a Hebrew 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:43.990 way of Very intimate relationship with God. He's 00:05:43.990 --> 00:05:48.689 almost saying, Daddy, everything is possible 00:05:48.689 --> 00:05:53.009 for you. Please take this cup of suffering away 00:05:53.009 --> 00:06:00.649 from me. Yet, I want your will to be done, not 00:06:00.649 --> 00:06:06.209 mine. Now, you know that I'm a theologian. And 00:06:06.209 --> 00:06:08.829 this is one of those passages that theologians 00:06:08.829 --> 00:06:11.029 have written for centuries trying to figure out. 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:17.639 How does this work? If Jesus is God. The very 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:21.399 nature of God. And he is God incarnate. He is 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:24.079 the son of God. How can he have a different will 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:26.680 from the father? How does that work? And the 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:32.519 answer is. We have no clue. But one of the things 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:37.379 that we see. Is that as Jesus is engaging in 00:06:37.379 --> 00:06:40.480 this space. He is going to address the apostles. 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:43.240 And he's going to say something about prayer 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:47.439 that completely redefines the way we think of 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:52.899 it. Then he returned and found the disciples 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:57.139 asleep. And he said to Peter, Simon, are you 00:06:57.139 --> 00:07:01.040 asleep? Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:09.509 Keep, watch, and pray. So that you will not give 00:07:09.509 --> 00:07:14.410 into temptation for the spirit is willing. But 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:21.550 the body is weak. And here Jesus is giving us 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:27.129 a window. Into the experience of following God's 00:07:27.129 --> 00:07:31.420 call for our lives. We learned last week that 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:33.560 the moment you come to know Jesus as your Savior 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.000 and you start following Jesus, the Bible says 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.720 that at that moment, God gives you the Holy Spirit 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:40.980 to be now in you until the day of redemption. 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:45.420 So following Jesus now is entering into a deeper 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:48.560 relationship with God by having this deep connection 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:50.879 with the Holy Spirit that needs to be nurtured. 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:56.279 And now Jesus is telling the apostles that this 00:07:56.279 --> 00:08:00.449 dual reality, You have a spiritual connection 00:08:00.449 --> 00:08:03.689 with God. And you want to be aligned with that, 00:08:03.689 --> 00:08:06.910 with God. And pursue His calling. Even if it 00:08:06.910 --> 00:08:10.009 means suffering and dying on the cross. This 00:08:10.009 --> 00:08:14.490 is something that you are willing to. But at 00:08:14.490 --> 00:08:17.470 the same time, you have your humanity in all 00:08:17.470 --> 00:08:22.310 of its rawness. And this humanity wrestles with 00:08:22.310 --> 00:08:26.810 things and desires. And things that are not always 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:31.180 aligned. With what God desires. And he is experiencing 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:34.100 this at this moment. And he says look you have 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:38.340 your humanness. And you also have your spiritualness. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.139 And you have to pray. To bring those two in alignment. 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:51.500 And suddenly we realize that prayer. Is both 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:56.070 simple and complex. Quite simple. Because prayer 00:08:56.070 --> 00:09:01.070 is simply talking to God. So anyone can pray 00:09:01.070 --> 00:09:05.429 in any location at any moment. Because the moment 00:09:05.429 --> 00:09:07.750 you are talking to God, you are praying. You 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:11.429 don't need to know eloquent words and cite Bible 00:09:11.429 --> 00:09:17.049 verses. No. Prayer is simply talking to God. 00:09:18.289 --> 00:09:23.179 But at the same time, it's deeper. Because what 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:26.620 Jesus is telling us is that prayer was designed 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:32.759 as a tool for us to be able to align our hearts, 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:38.600 our inmost being with the Holy Spirit so that 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:44.360 we can pursue His calling freely. And there will 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:48.379 be moments in which you and I will feel the dissonance. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.240 We know what God says. We know what God called 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:56.100 us for, but internally we are not aligning ourselves 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:00.220 with it. And how do I move from this to being 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:06.080 aligned? The answer is prayer. Prayer is that 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:11.059 tool. Now later, Jesus himself is going to appear 00:10:11.059 --> 00:10:15.799 to the Apostle Paul. Who was a man who was persecuting 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:19.159 Christians. He's on his way to Damascus. And 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:23.019 Jesus appears to him. Paul becomes blinded by 00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:27.000 the light. A few days later. A guy called Ananias 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.860 comes and prays for him. And after praying for 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:34.870 him. Then. His eyes become, his sight becomes 00:10:34.870 --> 00:10:37.830 open again. He's able to see. And now he becomes 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:40.370 indwelled by the Holy Spirit. And from that moment 00:10:40.370 --> 00:10:44.190 on, the Apostle Paul starts serving God and pursuing 00:10:44.190 --> 00:10:48.210 Jesus' calling for him. And he writes many of 00:10:48.210 --> 00:10:50.669 the letters that we have in the New Testament 00:10:50.669 --> 00:10:53.509 in the Bible. Telling Christians about many of 00:10:53.509 --> 00:10:57.889 these things. And just like Jesus, Paul will 00:10:57.889 --> 00:11:03.850 experience prayer in a very unique way. Paul 00:11:03.850 --> 00:11:08.049 is going to realize that it is true. There's 00:11:08.049 --> 00:11:12.330 the call to pursue God and grow in intimacy with 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:15.029 the Holy Spirit. But it's also the wrestling 00:11:15.029 --> 00:11:20.070 with our humanity. And they don't always match. 00:11:23.529 --> 00:11:27.730 But what he experiences is that in that wrestling 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:31.950 of aligning our hearts with God's. There's another 00:11:31.950 --> 00:11:37.590 factor, and that is the spiritual reality of 00:11:37.590 --> 00:11:42.570 spiritual oppression. In the book of Ephesians 00:11:42.570 --> 00:11:46.049 chapter 6, he's going to say, hey guys, remember 00:11:46.049 --> 00:11:48.570 that as you are struggling with people, our struggle 00:11:48.570 --> 00:11:51.789 is not just flesh and blood. There are spiritual 00:11:51.789 --> 00:11:57.629 entities in the spiritual realm, forces of darkness 00:11:57.629 --> 00:12:01.820 that are opposing you. And you will have to learn 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:05.399 to engage with that opposition with the right 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:09.039 spiritual tools. And he calls that the armor 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:14.840 of God. And as he's talking about that, he tells 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:19.519 Christians in Ephesians 6, chapter 6, verse 13. 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:23.799 Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:27.159 so you will be able to resist the enemy in the 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:30.769 time of evil. And then after the battle, you 00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:34.909 will be standing firm. You see how he mentions 00:12:34.909 --> 00:12:39.950 that you and I have a spiritual enemy that wants 00:12:39.950 --> 00:12:43.590 to oppose us? And he describes this interaction 00:12:43.590 --> 00:12:48.870 as a battle that feels really much like a wrestling 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:56.590 of will. Where am I going? To align myself with. 00:12:56.830 --> 00:12:59.429 Is this I'm going to align myself with the Lord? 00:12:59.629 --> 00:13:03.169 With my enemy? With my own desires? Where am 00:13:03.169 --> 00:13:07.110 I going to be? And in that place of wrestling. 00:13:07.190 --> 00:13:09.789 He says you need to learn to use these things. 00:13:09.950 --> 00:13:12.970 If you want to stand firm at the end of the battle. 00:13:13.570 --> 00:13:17.269 Because your enemy wants to confuse you. Your 00:13:17.269 --> 00:13:21.509 enemy wants to deter you. Your enemy wants to 00:13:21.509 --> 00:13:30.389 compromise you. Therefore. Engage with this. 00:13:32.710 --> 00:13:35.929 And then he continues. In the following verses 00:13:35.929 --> 00:13:39.429 later. On verse 16 he says. In addition to all 00:13:39.429 --> 00:13:42.090 of these things of the armor of God. Hold up 00:13:42.090 --> 00:13:45.889 the shield of faith. To start the fiery arrows 00:13:45.889 --> 00:13:49.169 of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet. 00:13:49.409 --> 00:13:53.029 And take the sword of the spirit. Which is the 00:13:53.029 --> 00:13:57.230 word of God. And I love this. Because it summarizes 00:13:57.230 --> 00:13:59.409 all of our convictions. In one verse like this. 00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:03.669 It's like look. Follow Jesus. Stand in your salvation. 00:14:04.190 --> 00:14:06.889 Now you have the Holy Spirit. Grow in intimacy 00:14:06.889 --> 00:14:09.809 with him. Now you have the word of God. Be rooted 00:14:09.809 --> 00:14:17.149 in the word. But you will have to remember. That 00:14:17.149 --> 00:14:23.450 this struggle. Is a spiritual one. And you will 00:14:23.450 --> 00:14:33.440 have. To learn to walk by faith. And here. Is 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:39.700 where prayer comes into place. And he will say 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:43.500 here on the following verse. Pray in the spirit 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:50.639 at all times. On every occasion. Stay alert. 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:55.179 And be persistent in your prayers. for all believers 00:14:55.179 --> 00:15:00.539 everywhere. I remember I had a friend that came 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:03.279 from a church that taught him that this verse 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.919 says, everybody has to pray in tongues. And he 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:09.940 prayed in tongues. He had that gift. I didn't. 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:13.940 But then I would say, but I'm not sure that this 00:15:13.940 --> 00:15:15.860 is the right interpretation of this verse because 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:18.820 didn't Paul say in Corinthians that not everybody 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:21.960 has the gift of tongues? There are those that 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:24.629 do, those that don't. But here Paul is saying 00:15:24.629 --> 00:15:26.909 to every Christian, you need to pray in the Spirit. 00:15:29.750 --> 00:15:33.269 And he went like, oh, yeah, that's kind of, I 00:15:33.269 --> 00:15:36.250 hadn't thought about that part of it. Because 00:15:36.250 --> 00:15:40.210 what the Apostle Paul is calling us all is to 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:43.350 learn to engage with prayer for what it was. 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:47.690 It's a tool that has been designed to help us 00:15:47.690 --> 00:15:51.700 align our hearts. With the Holy Spirit. So that 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:57.639 now we can pursue our calling. Freely. And that's 00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:01.220 why you go back to what Jesus was saying. As 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:04.799 he was aligning his desire. For avoiding suffering. 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:11.559 With God's desire. To go through it. He is exercising 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:15.960 in prayer. As a tool to align the heart. To pursue 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:18.820 God's calling. And he tells the apostles, you 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:22.720 have to learn to discover prayer as this. And 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:25.379 the apostle Paul says, you have to learn to engage 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:32.360 with prayer as this powerful tool. So suddenly, 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:36.840 prayer is much more than simply talking to God, 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.700 which we engage with in many ways when you are 00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:43.419 praying for a need. When you're asking God to 00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:45.679 open a door for something. When you're asking 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:48.299 God for a blessing on something. All of those 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:51.799 forms of prayer are part of the biblical mandate 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:55.500 of prayer. But there's a dimension of prayer 00:16:55.500 --> 00:17:01.120 that has to do with aligning our hearts with 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:06.240 Him to pursue God's calling. And to understand 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:10.029 how this works more deeply. I would like to share 00:17:10.029 --> 00:17:14.329 in the following section of this study, the areas 00:17:14.329 --> 00:17:17.769 that I have learned in my own journey with the 00:17:17.769 --> 00:17:21.509 Lord, as well as what I've learned in walking 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:24.710 with people in the context of counseling, to 00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:27.710 see how is that this alignment starts happening. 00:17:28.269 --> 00:17:31.670 And I call this kind of experiencing prayer, 00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:37.069 I call it focus prayer. Because it's really focusing 00:17:37.069 --> 00:17:40.170 on aligning something that has become misaligned. 00:17:41.690 --> 00:17:45.869 But in order to understand that, we have to start 00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:48.970 picturing what the Apostle Paul says, following 00:17:48.970 --> 00:17:51.430 Jesus and pursuing God's calling, a moment it 00:17:51.430 --> 00:17:55.769 feels like running a race. Now, I'm not a runner, 00:17:55.869 --> 00:18:02.049 but I like hiking. And hiking gives me an idea 00:18:02.049 --> 00:18:05.579 of what... looks like to be fueled by prayer, 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:10.779 to enter into this space so I can run freely 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:15.339 into the path that God has for me. And for that, 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.720 I'm going to show you a couple of pictures. I 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:20.339 not only enjoy hiking, but I enjoy photography. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.839 And you will always see me on my vacation anywhere 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.400 with a big camera. And that drives my family 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:29.220 crazy because something that could take five 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:32.240 minutes now takes 20 because there's papi or 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.559 daddy. They're sitting taking 100 pictures, not 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:41.960 just one, but 100. And some of it is nice. This 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:48.059 is from the northwest coast in the U .S., the 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:50.740 area of Washington, Oregon, all that beautiful 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:54.519 region of the country. And this is called the 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:59.029 Olympic. National Park. And this is a path I 00:18:59.029 --> 00:19:01.230 was walking in. And I could see the people ahead 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:03.869 of me. With the light coming down. And I remember 00:19:03.869 --> 00:19:06.390 the word of God says. In the book of Psalms. 00:19:06.410 --> 00:19:10.750 Your word is a lamp unto my feet. It guides us 00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:14.250 into the path. That is dark ahead. We have his 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.890 word. We have his spirit. This other picture. 00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:24.539 Was taken in the area of. Mount Baker. Which 00:19:24.539 --> 00:19:27.799 is also there in the Washington area. And this 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.799 reminds me that sometimes walking and hiking 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.480 is a little bit more hard. Because you have to 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:36.900 go through the rocks. And it's not easy. It's 00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:40.539 not straightforward. And this other one was from 00:19:40.539 --> 00:19:46.519 the Mount Rainier National Park. And this area 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:53.259 was far away from this guy. It looked very unique 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:56.160 because the guy is walking in this path into 00:19:56.160 --> 00:20:00.059 this place that looks very dark. Kind of eerie. 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:03.279 You see the trees, you know, and he's going to 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:07.059 enter the unknown. And that made me realize sometimes 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:10.839 when God is calling you to follow him, suffering 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:14.619 is coming along the way. And yet God is calling 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:20.059 you to it. And this last one was taken in Portland. 00:20:22.829 --> 00:20:25.390 And I was able to see this guy running and right 00:20:25.390 --> 00:20:29.109 at the right curve for the picture. And this 00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:33.569 guy was sweating, but he was cold. And it's like 00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:37.289 that remind me that, yeah, following Jesus, it 00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:39.789 requires discipline. It's not easy, but it's 00:20:39.789 --> 00:20:42.890 committed. You are going because God is calling 00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:45.470 you for it and you just go for it. It doesn't 00:20:45.470 --> 00:20:48.069 matter if it's to call, I'll go for it. It doesn't 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:51.529 matter if we sweat, we'll go for it. And this 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:55.079 is... Where the verse that the Apostle Paul wrote 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:59.839 about. I have run the race. I have finished it. 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:05.759 I have remained faithful. But in hiking and running. 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:10.240 I learned something in Texas and in Thailand. 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:17.720 Texas. Sometimes going in the path. You are pursuing 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:21.279 it. Something happens that is not very pleasant. 00:21:21.829 --> 00:21:24.650 And now this picture is not mine. It's just AI 00:21:24.650 --> 00:21:30.849 for full transparency. This is Chad GPT. But 00:21:30.849 --> 00:21:33.890 if you've experienced this, you know what I'm 00:21:33.890 --> 00:21:38.549 talking about. These sticky seeds that you are 00:21:38.549 --> 00:21:40.990 walking and suddenly it's like, oh, it hurts 00:21:40.990 --> 00:21:42.950 because they're spiking. And you look, it's like, 00:21:43.049 --> 00:21:47.289 what? Now you cannot walk again, you know, keep 00:21:47.289 --> 00:21:50.069 walking. You have to now stop. Remove your socks 00:21:50.069 --> 00:21:53.329 and remove each one. And they're sticky. You 00:21:53.329 --> 00:21:57.150 cannot go like, or shake it, you know. You have 00:21:57.150 --> 00:21:59.589 to remove the sock and you have to remove the 00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:03.210 seeds. Because you have a choice to make. You 00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.789 keep walking and running and following the path. 00:22:06.650 --> 00:22:09.490 With this there. And therefore it's going to 00:22:09.490 --> 00:22:13.569 always hold you back. Because it hurts. Or you 00:22:13.569 --> 00:22:16.190 stop and take care of it. So you can run freely. 00:22:17.430 --> 00:22:20.769 And the other one I learned in Thailand. I'm 00:22:20.769 --> 00:22:22.990 going to show you this only for two seconds. 00:22:24.069 --> 00:22:30.869 Blech. Leaches. Blech. I was hiking in the south 00:22:30.869 --> 00:22:34.890 of Thailand. And there was I had heard about 00:22:34.890 --> 00:22:37.910 and never seen one. Until I saw one in my shoe 00:22:37.910 --> 00:22:41.720 trying to get to my foot. Thankfully, the guy 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:44.859 that was with us helped me before I freaked out. 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:47.819 But just the thought of having one of those bugs 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:50.400 sucking my blood, you know, it's like, how do 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:58.960 you remove it? It's like, ugh. It doesn't matter 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:04.380 whether the path is easy, rocky, leads you to 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:09.900 suffering, or to a very plain ride. If we're 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:14.799 following Jesus, we're following Jesus. But did 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:17.319 you realize that along the way in following Jesus, 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:19.859 you can have leeches that are trying to suck 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:23.720 the energy out of you? You have these sticky 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:27.640 things that try to make it so uncomfortable that 00:23:27.640 --> 00:23:33.400 you decide to stop hiking altogether. These are 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:39.519 things that I call obstructions. And Jesus is 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:44.559 sensing one of them because he knows that he's 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:47.319 not completely aligned in that space. And what 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:50.539 do we call that misalignment? I have no idea. 00:23:51.460 --> 00:23:55.400 But what I know is that Jesus himself did it. 00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:59.440 And he's asking us so whenever we feel any of 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:03.480 these obstructions of any form, we engage in 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:07.579 prayer. So our soul is aligned with the spirit. 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:11.579 So now we're able to freely continue the journey 00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:15.839 of following Jesus. There are four obstructions 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:20.259 that we have observed. The first one is bitterness. 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:24.819 The second one is fear. The third one is shame. 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:27.279 And the fourth one is disappointment with God. 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:32.000 These are the leeches. These are the sticky seeds. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:37.200 These are the... pebbles in your shoes. You know 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:42.420 that you are just not feeling completely at peace 00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:44.940 and you want to follow the Lord, you want to 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:48.099 pursue your calling, but you are not fully there 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:52.460 because these things are holding you back. And 00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:55.000 if we are going to discover prayer and develop 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.339 lives that are fueled by prayer, we have to understand 00:24:58.339 --> 00:25:02.119 how these areas work. The first one, the area 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:05.509 of bitterness. Along the way in following Jesus, 00:25:05.630 --> 00:25:07.470 you will have people that will hurt you, will 00:25:07.470 --> 00:25:10.069 disappoint you, will do things that will make 00:25:10.069 --> 00:25:15.589 you feel harmed. That's unavoidable. But what 00:25:15.589 --> 00:25:17.910 you do about it makes the difference between 00:25:17.910 --> 00:25:22.049 being aligned with the Holy Spirit or not. And 00:25:22.049 --> 00:25:25.269 the tendency that all of us will have is that 00:25:25.269 --> 00:25:29.210 our humanity wants us to become bitter and resentful 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:33.380 towards the people and hold those grudges. The 00:25:33.380 --> 00:25:35.519 Apostle Paul was teaching the Christians in the 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.519 Church of Corinth. And there was a guy that committed 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.059 sexual immorality in the midst of the community. 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:44.700 And that hurt so many people and created a complicated 00:25:44.700 --> 00:25:47.079 thing. And they were trying to figure out how 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:49.700 to deal with this. And as they were dealing with 00:25:49.700 --> 00:25:52.920 it, there was a moment in which things were coming 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:55.380 a little bit more clear. And the Apostle Paul 00:25:55.380 --> 00:25:57.900 writes to them and he says, By the way, have 00:25:57.900 --> 00:26:01.180 you forgiven the guy yet? And this is what he 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:03.980 says, when you forgive this man, I forgive him 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:06.819 too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:10.460 forgiven, I do so with Christ's authority for 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:14.920 your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:17.880 us, for we are familiar with his evil schemes. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:22.460 We know that Satan wants to use bitterness as 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:25.380 a way of infiltrating your heart and infiltrating 00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:30.329 your calling. That's why, hey, We're going to 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:33.789 forgive this guy. Because I'm not going to let 00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:40.150 Satan outsmart us. And this is one of the things 00:26:40.150 --> 00:26:43.309 we realize. Is that in the spiritual struggle 00:26:43.309 --> 00:26:45.849 where Paul says you need to learn to use prayer 00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:49.289 as a place of encountering alignment with God. 00:26:50.569 --> 00:26:54.170 Bitterness will be something that will hold you 00:26:54.170 --> 00:26:57.170 back from really releasing this thing in God's 00:26:57.170 --> 00:27:01.329 presence and pursuing your calling freely. I 00:27:01.329 --> 00:27:05.410 have to ask you, have you forgiven freely and 00:27:05.410 --> 00:27:09.049 completely? Or there's bitterness in your heart? 00:27:10.069 --> 00:27:13.730 And this bitterness can be caused by things that 00:27:13.730 --> 00:27:17.809 are very traumatic. Like being molested as a 00:27:17.809 --> 00:27:22.009 child by someone you trusted. And that can stay 00:27:22.009 --> 00:27:25.009 with you for years that you never forgave. And 00:27:25.009 --> 00:27:27.950 because bitterness is there, your ability to 00:27:27.950 --> 00:27:30.789 pursue God and following Jesus freely is compromised. 00:27:32.710 --> 00:27:37.910 The leech is there in your leg. And you've been 00:27:37.910 --> 00:27:41.609 walking while bleeding. But what you need to 00:27:41.609 --> 00:27:43.750 do is to stop and remove the leech altogether. 00:27:44.690 --> 00:27:50.130 So that you can now freely follow the Lord. And 00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:52.309 there are other things that are not so traumatic, 00:27:52.490 --> 00:27:55.329 like someone being mean to you while driving 00:27:55.329 --> 00:28:01.349 to ECB this morning. And now you're like... On 00:28:01.349 --> 00:28:05.269 one occasion I woke up in the morning to do my 00:28:05.269 --> 00:28:09.029 exercises, because after your 50s you have to 00:28:09.029 --> 00:28:13.029 stretch to be able to work with that back, you 00:28:13.029 --> 00:28:14.769 know, and your legs and everything, that neck. 00:28:16.599 --> 00:28:19.640 I was doing my morning stretches and I was thinking 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:21.940 about this text that I received last night. And 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:24.119 I was thinking, that was not nice. You know, 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:26.880 the person shouldn't have said that. And it's 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:29.700 like, that's so wrong. I'm called for. You know, 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:31.579 and I'm thinking all these things while I'm going. 00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:34.720 You know, my stretches and legs, you know. And 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:37.460 then I realized, why am I thinking about that 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:39.839 text? I don't want to be thinking about that 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:43.980 text. This is the beginning of my day. I just 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:47.140 want my coffee, you know. And at that moment, 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:50.779 I realized, oh, because that text I received 00:28:50.779 --> 00:28:56.519 last night hurt me. Root of bitterness. And I 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:58.240 remember what Paul said. I'm not going to let 00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:03.900 Satan outsmart me. So I stopped my stretches. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:06.279 I went on my knees and said, Lord, this person 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:08.099 sent this text last night. This is what the person 00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:10.880 said. And it was really not nice. It wasn't called 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.420 for. That's not respectful. That's not honoring. 00:29:14.389 --> 00:29:16.369 That's not how we need to talk to each other. 00:29:16.410 --> 00:29:22.769 That was so wrong. I'm bothered by it. But I 00:29:22.769 --> 00:29:25.369 forgive this person for sending that text and 00:29:25.369 --> 00:29:28.210 writing that. Because I don't want that bitterness 00:29:28.210 --> 00:29:30.289 in my heart here. I'm releasing it in your presence. 00:29:30.329 --> 00:29:37.440 Take it. That is focused prayer, you see. I noticed 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:40.160 that as I was walking, there was something in 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:42.900 my sock. And I looked and it was those annoying 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:47.519 seeds. I had to stop. Take it and say, Lord, 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:50.579 here, take this bitterness so I can continue 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:56.329 my hiking with you. I do not know what bitterness 00:29:56.329 --> 00:29:59.029 you may be carrying, but as long as you are carrying 00:29:59.029 --> 00:30:01.490 bitterness of any form, you are compromised. 00:30:01.569 --> 00:30:05.009 Your spiritual effectiveness is compromised because 00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:10.529 Satan has outsmarted you. This is not about you 00:30:10.529 --> 00:30:13.769 forgiving because people deserve it. This is 00:30:13.769 --> 00:30:15.930 you forgiving because you are aligning yourself 00:30:15.930 --> 00:30:20.150 with the Holy Spirit and you want to pursue God 00:30:20.150 --> 00:30:26.220 in that way. Ultimately, it's about spiritual 00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:31.599 alignment. Nothing more, nothing less. The second 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:37.740 area has to do with fear. And as you follow Jesus 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:40.240 in your calling, there are always going to be 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:42.839 moments in which the uncertainties of tomorrow, 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:45.019 the what -ifs of tomorrow, are going to meet 00:30:45.019 --> 00:30:48.650 you here right now. And you are going to start 00:30:48.650 --> 00:30:51.450 being concerned about all these things. And before 00:30:51.450 --> 00:30:54.569 you know it, it's hard to concentrate. It's hard 00:30:54.569 --> 00:30:57.609 to really be completely focused on what you're 00:30:57.609 --> 00:31:01.529 doing because all these fears are competing with 00:31:01.529 --> 00:31:07.349 your devotion and with your attention. And there's 00:31:07.349 --> 00:31:09.190 something that the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy 00:31:09.190 --> 00:31:12.609 about that because Timothy was someone that the 00:31:12.609 --> 00:31:15.180 Apostle Paul mentored. And they served together. 00:31:15.500 --> 00:31:19.559 And Paul tells Timothy, Timothy, this is why 00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:22.440 I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual 00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:25.740 gift God gave you when I lay my hands on you. 00:31:25.859 --> 00:31:30.299 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:36.119 timidity, but of power, of love, of self -discipline. 00:31:36.589 --> 00:31:40.089 So if you are struggling, Timothy, in seeking 00:31:40.089 --> 00:31:43.490 God and pursuing His calling because fear has 00:31:43.490 --> 00:31:46.609 taken hold of you and is trying to deter you, 00:31:46.769 --> 00:31:52.369 then you have to remember that that is not the 00:31:52.369 --> 00:31:55.849 Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit doesn't 00:31:55.849 --> 00:32:00.609 use fear to manipulate you. The Holy Spirit speaks 00:32:00.609 --> 00:32:03.890 power, love, self -discipline. It's empowering 00:32:03.890 --> 00:32:08.720 you. So when you are experiencing fear of any 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:14.000 sort, now you realize, oh, my humanness is wrestling 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:16.680 because I am encountering all these what ifs. 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:19.059 But in reality, this is not the Holy Spirit. 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:23.140 Therefore, I need to go to focus prayer to align 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:25.940 myself with the Holy Spirit. And I need to bring 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:29.819 these fears to the light so that the Holy Spirit 00:32:29.819 --> 00:32:35.819 can help me be free from these things. And if 00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:38.059 you are being held by fear in your life, I have 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:40.980 to ask you, have you renounced these fears that 00:32:40.980 --> 00:32:43.599 seem to be dissonant from what God is actually 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:54.740 calling you to be or do? Many years ago, I went 00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:58.059 to visit a country with a ministry team when 00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:00.740 I was serving in the US. And this country was 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:05.000 far away. It had survived civil war. And it was 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:08.839 a place that was, let me say, not with good reputation. 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:14.519 That was not where you go for vacation. But we 00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:17.339 had prayed about it. The project had developed. 00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:19.680 We had the team from different countries that 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.200 had gathered in Dallas. And we were going to 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:27.140 visit that place. And I remember that when some 00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:29.680 people would hear that I was going to that country. 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:32.599 They would say, are you sure you want to go there? 00:33:33.420 --> 00:33:36.240 But what happens if you don't come back? What 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:38.680 happens if something dangerous happens? It's 00:33:38.680 --> 00:33:42.460 a worst case scenario. It's like, wow, now I'm 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:44.460 all freaking out about all these things. Should 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:46.539 I go? Shouldn't I go? Yeah, it is dangerous. 00:33:46.740 --> 00:33:50.180 What would I do? Now I'm in that space of people 00:33:50.180 --> 00:33:56.160 speaking fear into God's calling. And I remember 00:33:56.160 --> 00:34:01.319 that I had to go on my knees and say, Lord, People 00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:03.859 are telling me all these things. Yeah, now I 00:34:03.859 --> 00:34:08.260 have some concerns about it. But we knew, we 00:34:08.260 --> 00:34:10.380 prayed, and we knew you were calling us to this, 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:15.480 so I'm going. But I'm leaving you with this fear 00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:17.739 because I don't want to be held back by this 00:34:17.739 --> 00:34:21.599 fear. And I remember saying goodbye to my wife, 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:24.280 getting in the airplane, and seeing the city 00:34:24.280 --> 00:34:27.039 of Dallas becoming smaller and smaller as we 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:29.530 flew away. And the thought crossed my mind, what 00:34:29.530 --> 00:34:32.630 if I never come back? Because that was a possibility. 00:34:33.409 --> 00:34:36.349 I mean, just driving in Sukhumvit, you may never 00:34:36.349 --> 00:34:40.429 come back. So it's like going to anywhere, you 00:34:40.429 --> 00:34:46.250 may never come back. But I remember facing that 00:34:46.250 --> 00:34:53.329 fear until it went away. Because I learned that 00:34:53.329 --> 00:34:57.949 fear, if you take the fear and you turn it, To 00:34:57.949 --> 00:35:00.389 the other side. You will realize that every fear 00:35:00.389 --> 00:35:04.929 is a lie. It's a lie from the enemy. God is saying. 00:35:05.170 --> 00:35:07.809 You should go. Because I'm with you. I have a 00:35:07.809 --> 00:35:10.170 purpose for you. And the lie says. You should 00:35:10.170 --> 00:35:12.269 not go. Because too dangerous. God is not going 00:35:12.269 --> 00:35:16.230 to protect you. You know. God is not going to 00:35:16.230 --> 00:35:19.210 be there for you. There's always a lie behind 00:35:19.210 --> 00:35:21.429 it. You're afraid of the finances. You don't 00:35:21.429 --> 00:35:24.909 have. And the lie is. God is not in your future. 00:35:25.130 --> 00:35:27.829 He does not know your needs. He doesn't see you. 00:35:27.889 --> 00:35:30.769 He doesn't care for you. You see? Every fear 00:35:30.769 --> 00:35:34.670 we have is a lie. And that's why we come in prayer 00:35:34.670 --> 00:35:38.670 and we renounce the fear and we express it with 00:35:38.670 --> 00:35:41.230 our words exactly what is the fear that I am 00:35:41.230 --> 00:35:47.869 feeling. What are the fears that are holding 00:35:47.869 --> 00:35:52.010 you back? Is there a leech in your leg that you 00:35:52.010 --> 00:35:54.409 need to remove because it's sucking the energy 00:35:54.409 --> 00:36:01.880 out of you? Focus prayer. Then there's the other 00:36:01.880 --> 00:36:05.940 struggle with shame. When we have engaged in 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:08.659 shameful things in the past, and now we are following 00:36:08.659 --> 00:36:11.260 Jesus, and we believe that he has forgiven us, 00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:14.000 but for some reason there's a disconnect. And 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.380 the Bible says that Satan, the devil, is called 00:36:17.380 --> 00:36:20.360 the accuser, because he wants to constantly accuse 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:23.880 you and make you feel... That you are unworthy. 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:27.219 That you do not deserve to do this. That how 00:36:27.219 --> 00:36:30.940 can God ever could use someone like you. After 00:36:30.940 --> 00:36:33.860 what you have done. And all of those thoughts. 00:36:34.260 --> 00:36:37.199 All of that wrestling with your raw humanity 00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:42.260 is real. But that's not the Holy Spirit. Because 00:36:42.260 --> 00:36:45.780 the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. And he 00:36:45.780 --> 00:36:47.920 wants you to experience the healing power of 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:52.369 grace. So therefore, in this space, when dealing 00:36:52.369 --> 00:36:55.769 with shame, we really bring it to the Lord. And 00:36:55.769 --> 00:36:57.769 we call it for what it is. And there's something 00:36:57.769 --> 00:36:59.949 we repent. We repent of it. If there's something 00:36:59.949 --> 00:37:04.829 we need to confess, we confess it. There was 00:37:04.829 --> 00:37:08.429 a moment in the life of King David where he committed 00:37:08.429 --> 00:37:10.349 adultery. And not only that, he got involved 00:37:10.349 --> 00:37:16.269 in politics and plot a murder. And then he was 00:37:16.269 --> 00:37:20.960 caught in all that mess. And he writes his prayer 00:37:20.960 --> 00:37:27.900 in Psalm chapter 51. And he says, God have mercy 00:37:27.900 --> 00:37:32.860 on me. Because of your unfailing love. Because 00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:36.980 of your great compassion. Blot out the stain 00:37:36.980 --> 00:37:42.139 of my sin. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify 00:37:42.139 --> 00:37:47.340 me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion. 00:37:48.090 --> 00:37:50.570 And I'm going to call it for what it is. I rebelled. 00:37:51.170 --> 00:37:58.409 I was rebellious. I recognize it. And it haunts 00:37:58.409 --> 00:38:01.329 me day and night. I regret it every single day. 00:38:01.449 --> 00:38:04.389 If I could just go back in time. It is against 00:38:04.389 --> 00:38:08.309 you, Lord. It is against you and you alone that 00:38:08.309 --> 00:38:11.090 I have sinned. And I have done what is evil in 00:38:11.090 --> 00:38:13.050 your sight. Yeah, because it is evil. I'm going 00:38:13.050 --> 00:38:18.460 to call it for what it is. But Lord. Will you 00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:22.219 create in me a clean heart? Will you renew a 00:38:22.219 --> 00:38:28.280 loyal spirit within me? Now, we're taking focused 00:38:28.280 --> 00:38:32.300 prayer. You see, focused prayer is not like this 00:38:32.300 --> 00:38:36.079 prayer before you eat lunch. Lord, thank you 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:39.139 for the food. Forgive us for all of our sins. 00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:43.940 In Jesus' name, amen. No, if you are dealing 00:38:43.940 --> 00:38:46.860 with shame and regret and guilt in your life, 00:38:47.719 --> 00:38:50.400 What you need to do is that you need to come 00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:54.340 to the throne of grace. Confess, call things 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:56.820 for what they are. Repent for it, bring it to 00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:59.699 the light. And invite God's grace now to encounter 00:38:59.699 --> 00:39:02.579 you in that place. So that that leech that is 00:39:02.579 --> 00:39:05.159 sucking the life out of you can be removed by 00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:10.420 God's power. And when it does, you can stand 00:39:10.420 --> 00:39:14.179 up from that place. Standing in God's grace, 00:39:14.380 --> 00:39:17.840 firm against the attack of the accuser. That 00:39:17.840 --> 00:39:21.179 wants you to remain lying down on the ground 00:39:21.179 --> 00:39:24.119 eating dust. Because you are just a worm and 00:39:24.119 --> 00:39:33.840 nothing else. Have you experienced the peace 00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:37.199 of God's grace? Have you received it? Or there's 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:39.440 this area in your life that has not been touched 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:42.519 by God's grace. And the enemy is using it to 00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:46.739 try to persuade you from pursuing God's calling. 00:39:52.460 --> 00:39:56.619 Finally, the last dimension of obstruction as 00:39:56.619 --> 00:39:59.400 we are following the Lord that has to be addressed 00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:03.739 through focused prayer is the aspect of disappointment 00:40:03.739 --> 00:40:08.300 with God. Because just like people do not meet 00:40:08.300 --> 00:40:10.460 your expectations and do things that sometimes 00:40:10.460 --> 00:40:14.039 will hurt you, following God sometimes feels 00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:17.019 like that. You have expectations of what God 00:40:17.019 --> 00:40:20.599 will do. You have prayed to God about certain 00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:23.539 things that you think He should answer in a certain 00:40:23.539 --> 00:40:26.619 way. And when He didn't answer it the way you 00:40:26.619 --> 00:40:29.840 thought, when things did not go the way you hoped, 00:40:29.980 --> 00:40:34.980 then you feel disappointed with God. And as you 00:40:34.980 --> 00:40:37.619 feel disappointed with God, your ability to trust 00:40:37.619 --> 00:40:41.099 God gets weakened. And therefore you are trying 00:40:41.099 --> 00:40:44.809 to follow God. You keep walking in the path. 00:40:45.090 --> 00:40:47.230 But this time you are not walking next to him. 00:40:47.349 --> 00:40:51.349 You are a mile away. And your heart is not in 00:40:51.349 --> 00:40:57.710 it. That aspect of disappointment with God. Is 00:40:57.710 --> 00:41:02.230 addressed through lament. And what that means. 00:41:03.019 --> 00:41:05.440 Is that you bring your disappointment with God. 00:41:05.619 --> 00:41:07.559 And you call it for what it is. And you open 00:41:07.559 --> 00:41:09.860 your heart to the Lord. And you say God this 00:41:09.860 --> 00:41:12.820 is how I'm feeling right now. And this is why 00:41:12.820 --> 00:41:18.460 I feel so disoriented and disappointed. It was 00:41:18.460 --> 00:41:23.079 a group of people called the sons of Korah. They 00:41:23.079 --> 00:41:26.139 were Levites. Who were people who served God. 00:41:26.260 --> 00:41:30.000 And they wrote many psalms. And one of the famous 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:32.719 songs that they wrote. was this psalm that says, 00:41:33.099 --> 00:41:35.900 As the deer panted for the water, so my soul 00:41:35.900 --> 00:41:41.239 is thirsty after you. Famous psalm, famous song. 00:41:41.420 --> 00:41:44.539 But you realize that that song, that psalm, is 00:41:44.539 --> 00:41:46.539 something that they wrote about the experience 00:41:46.539 --> 00:41:49.599 that they were going through with depression 00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:54.900 in their life. They were feeling downcast. And 00:41:54.900 --> 00:41:58.619 as they write, they say this, Oh God, my rock, 00:41:58.840 --> 00:42:06.920 I cry. Why have you forgotten me? Why must I 00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:10.599 wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies? 00:42:10.699 --> 00:42:16.519 Lord, I'm grieving right now and I'm tired. And 00:42:16.519 --> 00:42:19.039 I really feel like you have forgotten about me. 00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:22.539 I have asked you to remove these enemies and 00:42:22.539 --> 00:42:25.139 you have done nothing. And the problem is that 00:42:25.139 --> 00:42:30.530 these people... Their tongues break my bones. 00:42:30.829 --> 00:42:33.650 They scoff and they keep saying, where is this 00:42:33.650 --> 00:42:37.869 God of yours? Lord, you're not answering my prayer. 00:42:38.349 --> 00:42:43.389 And I'm tired. Why am I so discouraged? Why my 00:42:43.389 --> 00:42:46.269 heart is so sad? If you would do something about 00:42:46.269 --> 00:42:49.050 it, I will be happy and I will be encouraged. 00:42:49.289 --> 00:42:55.030 But you're doing nothing. And as they are expressing 00:42:55.030 --> 00:43:00.440 their lament before God, Suddenly, truth emerges. 00:43:01.139 --> 00:43:04.300 And they're able to see beyond their pain. And 00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:08.239 they are reminded by the Holy Spirit. Now that 00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:12.719 God is on their side. And they write at the end, 00:43:12.760 --> 00:43:16.079 I will put my hope in God. I will praise Him 00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:19.239 again, my Savior and my God. Because Lord, I 00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:21.480 don't understand what you're doing. I'm exhausted. 00:43:21.760 --> 00:43:27.960 I'm tired. But one thing I cannot deny. Is that 00:43:27.960 --> 00:43:31.280 I know who you are. And I'm still committed to 00:43:31.280 --> 00:43:36.699 following you. But will you help me? Because 00:43:36.699 --> 00:43:44.260 I'm tired. This is what lament looks like. This 00:43:44.260 --> 00:43:48.639 is how we engage with disappointment. Therefore 00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:51.400 I have to ask you. Have you lamented? Before 00:43:51.400 --> 00:43:54.800 God. Or there's this lament. There's this disappointment. 00:43:55.280 --> 00:43:58.880 That has attached to you. And is draining you. 00:43:58.980 --> 00:44:01.780 And that's why you don't feel. Just like free. 00:44:02.659 --> 00:44:05.380 To serve the Lord freely. Because these things 00:44:05.380 --> 00:44:07.940 are holding you back. If any of these things 00:44:07.940 --> 00:44:11.360 are holding you back. Any of the obstructions. 00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:14.440 Are part of your current journey with God. I 00:44:14.440 --> 00:44:18.019 want to bring them to your attention. Because 00:44:18.019 --> 00:44:22.360 to be filled by prayer means that prayer is an 00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:26.619 expression of who I am. And every time that I'm 00:44:26.619 --> 00:44:29.800 experiencing these obstructions in my walk with 00:44:29.800 --> 00:44:32.739 God, I'm going to stop, I'm going to remove that 00:44:32.739 --> 00:44:34.940 sack, and I'm going to take each one of these 00:44:34.940 --> 00:44:39.239 four things so that they will not continue to 00:44:39.239 --> 00:44:45.300 interfere in me following Jesus fully. Whether 00:44:45.300 --> 00:44:47.900 it be bitterness, fear, shame, or disappointment 00:44:47.900 --> 00:44:52.039 with God. If this is something that you're wrestling 00:44:52.039 --> 00:44:56.119 with, I want to encourage you to rediscover the 00:44:56.119 --> 00:45:01.780 amazing power of prayer. That's why the Apostle 00:45:01.780 --> 00:45:05.420 Paul wrote these words. And I'm going to invite 00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:09.420 you to stand up and read them out loud with me 00:45:09.420 --> 00:45:16.070 together. Pray in the Spirit. At all times. And 00:45:16.070 --> 00:45:20.289 on every occasion. Stay alert. Be persistent 00:45:20.289 --> 00:45:24.050 in your prayers. For all believers. Everywhere. 00:45:26.409 --> 00:45:33.949 Anytime. Any reason. Everywhere. God is inviting 00:45:33.949 --> 00:45:40.869 you. For a journey of intimacy with him. So is 00:45:40.869 --> 00:45:45.820 your life. Fueled by prayer. If not, it's time 00:45:45.820 --> 00:45:49.300 to rediscover the amazing power of prayer in 00:45:49.300 --> 00:45:52.440 our lives. Lord, as we stand in your presence, 00:45:52.579 --> 00:45:57.820 we know that you have spoken to us today and 00:45:57.820 --> 00:46:01.960 I'm asking you if there's anything that is an 00:46:01.960 --> 00:46:04.820 obstruction right now to following you. These 00:46:04.820 --> 00:46:08.000 things have accumulated. Maybe all four of them 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:13.489 are there interfering. It's like our humanity 00:46:13.489 --> 00:46:17.530 is not aligned with you and we want to, Lord, 00:46:17.690 --> 00:46:23.030 break through those things today in your presence 00:46:23.030 --> 00:46:28.210 so that we may be free to follow you and follow 00:46:28.210 --> 00:46:37.349 you well. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for 00:46:37.349 --> 00:46:41.170 tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast. Whether 00:46:41.170 --> 00:46:44.170 near or far, if you are looking for community 00:46:44.170 --> 00:46:48.070 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 00:46:48.070 --> 00:46:52.909 by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia. 00:46:53.449 --> 00:46:56.530 If God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:46:56.570 --> 00:46:59.250 you will find giving options on our website. 00:47:00.070 --> 00:47:03.510 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:47:03.510 --> 00:47:03.750 you.