Collierville First Baptist Church

01;00;02;13 - 01;00;24;20
Speaker 1
As you know, we are going verse by verse of the sermon on the Mount. We're in the disciples prayer. And I said last week that Jesus cannot pray this prayer. He cannot pray this prayer. And many of you are sharp. And you figured out why Jesus couldn't pray this prayer because he has no sin to ask forgiveness for.

01;00;24;25 - 01;00;54;44
Speaker 1
Right. So Jesus gave the disciples this prayer to help shape their prayer lives and to make their prayers effective and effectual. So we've covered so far on verse, page two, we've covered, our father. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done. We're going to we're going to dig a little deeper into your will be done tonight.

01;00;54;45 - 01;01;16;17
Speaker 1
I had a lot of new stuff there, because I think that's a question that so many believers struggle with. How do I pray according to the will of God? All right. And tonight we're going to start there with your will be done. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts. Do not lead us into temptation.

01;01;16;22 - 01;01;43;18
Speaker 1
For yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. All right. Now, we talked about the first part of the prayer. Number one, we delight in the father's position. We have an amazing privilege. And Jesus gave us this. He said, I want you to pray. Our father who art in heaven, do you realize what an unbelievable privilege he is for us to call the God of the universe?

01;01;43;18 - 01;02;11;25
Speaker 1
Our father? We are part of his family because we have believed in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter one, verse 12. Okay. And then we delight in the father's praise. How hallowed be your name. Hallowed means to be set apart as holy as you all. Reverence. First Peter 315. The Bible says, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.

01;02;11;30 - 01;02;49;06
Speaker 1
That's what this little phrase is referring to. All right. Then we talked about delighting in the father's purpose. Your kingdom come. Hey, do you realize how much of the Bible is devoted to teaching us about the Kingdom of God? Old testament, new testament. It's all about the kingdom of God and delight in the father's purpose. Now, we talked about we cannot pray for God's kingdom to come unless we're willing for our kingdom to go.

01;02;49;11 - 01;03;16;57
Speaker 1
Amen. We have, but we have to put it in neutral. We have to empty our hearts if we want. Really want to know the will of God for our lives. This feeds right into the will of God. If you really want to know the will of God in your life, you've got to empty yourself of your will. And that emptying is a prelude to God filling you with his will.

01;03;17;02 - 01;03;34;04
Speaker 1
Okay. Now look at page six. I got a lot of new stuff starting right here on page six. For those doubters who doubted me tonight.

01;03;34;09 - 01;03;41;10
Speaker 1
I won't point which table it was. Okay. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

01;03;41;15 - 01;04;13;00
Speaker 1
All right. Look at this phrase. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now look at first John chapter five, verse 14 and 15. This is the confidence which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will, you ought you ought to underline that according to his will, according to his will he hears us.

01;04;13;05 - 01;04;41;29
Speaker 1
And if we know that he hears us, and whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him. Circle. Circle the little word. No. Okay. You know, w it appears twice here in verse 15. There's some things that you can absolutely know for sure in your prayer life. And if we know that he hears us.

01;04;41;33 - 01;05;12;45
Speaker 1
Can I tell you that your Heavenly Father loves you, and your Heavenly Father loves it when you pray for him, when you pray to him. I understand this. He never gets weary of our prayers. Now, I remember I've been around people before who repeat themselves a lot that they they beat dead rabbits. You know what? I'm told that.

01;05;12;49 - 01;05;38;13
Speaker 1
And they just keep on and keep on. And sometimes, to be honest with you, in my flesh, I get tired of it. But the Heavenly Father never wearies of us coming to him in a spirit of humility and praying to him. The Bible says in in Matthew seven seven, and we'll get to this later on in our study.

01;05;38;18 - 01;06;08;39
Speaker 1
Ask and you shall receive. Seek and ye shall find. Knocking. It should be open to you. And the interesting thing about those three verbs, they're all in the present tense. Literally it means keep asking, keep seeking. Keep knocking. Very important principle. He never gets tired of our pray. Now the word confidence here in verse 14 speaks of free and fearless confidence.

01;06;08;43 - 01;06;37;15
Speaker 1
Cheerful courage. Boldness and assurance that we as believers can have when we go to our Heavenly Father in our prayer life. Listen. This idea of confidence was picked up by the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 416. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

01;06;37;17 - 01;07;13;09
Speaker 1
Now, let me ask you a question. When you pray, do you approach the father's throne with confidence? Confidence? I another I guess a synonym might be with faith. With boldness. Is that the way you approach your prayer life? I think there are too many believers who have bought into the devil's lie. You know, the devil is a master at reminding us of our failures.

01;07;13;14 - 01;07;40;36
Speaker 1
You know the stuff you did 25 years ago. And he drags that mess up for the past, and you remind you about what a sorry person you were 25 years ago. And he does that so that that you will never be able to approach the throne of God's grace with confidence. I talked to a young man today, and, and we talked about what happens when we are born again.

01;07;40;41 - 01;08;02;09
Speaker 1
When you are born again, when you place your faith in Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. The Bible says in Psalm 103 that he separates our sin from us as far as the east and west. I've said that so many times, you're probably sick of hearing it. And I asked the young man, I said, tell me, what's the distance between east and west?

01;08;02;14 - 01;08;33;39
Speaker 1
He said, well, it's infinite. I said, that's how far God separates your sin from you. When you place your faith in Jesus. He forgives you, not part of your sins, but all of your sins. Hey, James, can you give me a little bit more? Okay. So he. He forgives our sins. That's good. Thank you. And then not only does he do that, but according to the scripture.

01;08;33;40 - 01;09;02;53
Speaker 1
Second Corinthians 521 he imputes to us the perfect righteousness of his son Jesus. So Jesus takes all of our sin away from us, separates it from us as far as east and west. And then Jesus imputes his perfect righteousness into us. And you know what? If you want to know why, you can have confidence going to the throne of the father's, grace and with confidence.

01;09;02;58 - 01;09;32;01
Speaker 1
There's your confidence right there, because you have the perfect righteousness of Jesus. See, when God the Father looks at you, he doesn't see all your past failures. In fact, he sees none of your past failures. He sees the perfect righteousness of his son that he gave to you as an act of grace and mercy. And that's why we can have confidence.

01;09;32;05 - 01;10;05;40
Speaker 1
I remember a story, back when Abraham Lincoln was president, there was, a man who wanted to see the president about a very important matter. And this man was distraught, and he was being stopped by the Secret Service back in those days, and they wouldn't let him in. And Abraham Lincoln, a little boy, walked by and he heard the man talking, and he grabbed the man by the hand and said, hey, follow me.

01;10;05;45 - 01;10;36;47
Speaker 1
And Abraham Lincoln's son took this man, this distraught man, by the hand and brought him into the president, into the president's Oval Office. That's what Jesus does for us. You realize what a blessing that is? Drew laughs. What a motivation that should be for us in our prayer lives. So let me ask you a question. How's your prayer life?

01;10;36;51 - 01;11;10;08
Speaker 1
How's your prayer life? Think about that just a moment. Is it healthy? Does it require work? Can I be honest with you? I never feel like my prayer life is where the Lord wants it. I never do. I'm hard on myself. Okay. And that's not a good recipe for a prayer. I have to remind me. I have to preach the Word of God to myself sometime and remind myself that all my sins are forgiven.

01;11;10;15 - 01;11;35;55
Speaker 1
I've got the perfect righteous of Jesus, and God the Father loves it when I pray to him. And I had to remind myself of that stuff. And by the way, I would encourage you to do the same thing. That will give a boost to your prayer life. Okay. All right. All right. Notice this next phrase that if we ask anything according to his will.

01;11;36;00 - 01;12;06;49
Speaker 1
Now the verb here, the the verb ask is present tense, which speaks of continuous action. Now, now you know that the Bible, says that we're to pray without ceasing. Right. Continuous spirit a prayer. And we talked last week about the fact that you can pray driving down the road, as long as you keep your eyes open. Right.

01;12;06;54 - 01;12;36;55
Speaker 1
Man, I've had some great prayer time driving down the road. I promise you, I don't close my eyes. I keep my eyes wide open. And I can pray with my eyes wide open. And you can too. I told you last week there. There have been times when I've been preaching. And I just sense from the Holy Spirit that there's somebody out there that really needs to hear what I'm about to say.

01;12;36;59 - 01;13;01;16
Speaker 1
And in my spirit. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter six to pray in the spirit, and I can. Now you say, what does that mean? It means you, you you pray without talking. That's what Hannah did, right? Hannah, remember, she would just moving her lips, but she wasn't making any noise, right? And Eli thought she was drunk. Right?

01;13;01;18 - 01;13;31;02
Speaker 1
Maybe the priest. Eli thought she was drunk, but she would pray in spirit. Amen. There have been times I've been praying. I said, Lord, in my spirit I'm preaching. I'm talking in my spirit. I'm saying, Lord, help them. Help that person understand that. Use this in your lives. Help them to believe in Jesus. Help them to gain victory over that stronghold.

01;13;31;07 - 01;14;07;28
Speaker 1
And I tell prayer. It is an amazing opportunity. George Mueller I've read his biography. If you ever want to read a good biography, read George Mueller's biography. George Mueller fed thousands of orphans with food and water and took care of them, clothed them and answered prayer. You know, he would not take any money from people who wanted to to, underwrite his his ministry.

01;14;07;32 - 01;14;29;10
Speaker 1
He depended on God. And he prayed. And he looked in that, in that biography. There is some amazing examples of times that God came through at the rat at the last moment to provide food for those orphans.

01;14;29;14 - 01;14;57;58
Speaker 1
George Mueller said prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying a whole laying hold of God's willingness. Remember that. That's important. Ron Dunn said, there are some things God will do if we if we ask him that he will not do. If we don't ask him. Let me repeat that. Very important. Have you ever had anybody say, well, why?

01;14;58;10 - 01;15;32;33
Speaker 1
Why should we pray about that? If God, God knows that's what he's going to do anyway. If that's his will. Well, Ron Dunn's got a great point here. There are some things God will do if we ask him that he will not do. If we don't ask him. Amen. Why? Because God wants us to ask. It's a part of our spiritual relationship with the father, and it's a part of our spiritual growth.

01;15;32;38 - 01;15;41;09
Speaker 1
If we don't ask, how are we ever going to know that God answered our prayer?

01;15;41;14 - 01;16;05;10
Speaker 1
All right. John Stott said this. Page seven. Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God. Can I just be honest with you? You're not going to change the will of God. Not at all.

01;16;05;15 - 01;16;32;26
Speaker 1
Or for bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his. It is by prayer that we seek God's will, embrace it, and align ourselves with it. Every true prayer is a variation of the theme. Your will be done.

01;16;32;31 - 01;16;51;16
Speaker 1
Look at the promise. The Bible says he hears us. Look back at. Just take your Bible. Flip over to first John. Go to revelation. Take a left. First John.

01;16;51;20 - 01;16;58;13
Speaker 1
Chapter five.

01;16;58;18 - 01;17;35;36
Speaker 1
Look at verse 13. These things I've written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. Now that is a precondition for answer prayer. God does not promise an unbeliever that he's going to answer their prayer, but he does promise a believer. The first thing you have to do if you want to get in on the ground for a prayer, you've got to become a believer in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

01;17;35;40 - 01;17;58;44
Speaker 1
And in verse 14, this is the confidence which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will. Look at this. He hears us. Have you ever prayed and wondered if your prayers bouncing around off the roof?

01;17;58;49 - 01;18;26;40
Speaker 1
The Bible says that if we're born again believers, we can have confidence before the father that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, try it. Says it twice, right? If we know that he hears us, and whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him.

01;18;26;45 - 01;18;48;08
Speaker 1
So the key to to making sure that our prayers are heard and answered is to make sure that we pray within the framework of God's will. Now, let me ask you a $64,000 question. How do we know God's will?

01;18;48;12 - 01;18;59;59
Speaker 1
You know God's will by studying your Bible. If you want to know the will of God. Look in this book.

01;19;00;07 - 01;19;49;04
Speaker 1
I've had some people in the past ask me about God's will for things that are not remotely in the Word of God. They're not. Now, there are times when the Bible does not say that if we if we pray that our parents are going to live forever. Don't say that. And yet people get mad at God if they pray that their spouse or their dads or mom would live and they die and they get mad.

01;19;49;09 - 01;20;16;20
Speaker 1
Do you realize that the Bible says that everybody's going to die? Do you realize that? And the Bible says, if you want to be ready, believe in his son Jesus, right. The Bible says, look at the Bible says, Peter wrote this. It's not the will of God that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. He said, it's the will of God.

01;20;16;25 - 01;20;36;39
Speaker 1
Take your Bible. Look at, first Thessalonians chapter four, first Thessalonians, chapter four.

01;20;36;44 - 01;21;11;10
Speaker 1
Look at verse three. Now you going to get down to the nitty gritty of knowing God's will is when the Scripture says, This is God's will. This past Sunday, I preached a message entitled A Word of Truth and we talked about missing the obvious. Remember that? Missing the obvious? Well, you had to really be missing the obvious. If you missed verse three, for this is the will of God.

01;21;11;14 - 01;21;31;16
Speaker 1
Now how can we miss that? But look at it, for this is the will of God, your sanctification. It is God's will that every single believer within the sound of my voice be sanctified. You say, what does it mean to be sanctified? It means that you were made holy. It means you are conformed to the image of Jesus.

01;21;31;21 - 01;22;02;14
Speaker 1
It does not happen with a snap of a finger. It's a process that begins the moment you're born again, and it continues until you are glorified with Jesus in heaven. It is God's will. Right here it says it that every born again believer be sanctified. Okay. You ought to be able to look and see that in the last year you have grown spiritually.

01;22;02;19 - 01;22;27;39
Speaker 1
You ought to give yourself a test. Have you grown spiritually in the last year? Have you grown spiritually in the last five years? Is there different? Are you more like Jesus today than you were last week? That's a part of it. Now and I look at verse three again, for this is the will of God, your sight vacation.

01;22;27;44 - 01;23;00;09
Speaker 1
That is. And Paul explains it that is that you abstain from sexual immorality. You abstain from it. It's the will of God. And that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lust for passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. And that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as he.

01;23;00;13 - 01;23;18;38
Speaker 1
We also told you before and solemnly warned you. He ought to you you ought to take every time that the Bible says, this is the will of God. And you ought to take a yellow highlighter and highlighter.

01;23;18;43 - 01;24;02;56
Speaker 1
And then move from that. And there are other ways to know the will of God from the Word of God. Okay. We'll talk about that in just a moment. So he hears us now. There are times I remember when my mom was approaching death. And Darlene, myself, our family was around my mom and and I prayed. And I said, Lord, if it's your will.

01;24;03;01 - 01;24;11;02
Speaker 1
Let my mom live. But let her live with quality of life.

01;24;11;07 - 01;24;29;46
Speaker 1
There are some things we just had to put in the hands of God. We don't know what his will is. But the Bible says that when we don't know how to pray, that the Holy Spirit prays for us. Romans chapter eight.

01;24;29;50 - 01;24;56;40
Speaker 1
He intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be heard. You have been there. I mean, your your your heart is just in turmoil. You you you want to pray. You don't know how to pray. And you pray. Oh, God, please let your will be done. I'm telling you, the Holy Spirit intercedes for you with groanings that cannot be heard.

01;24;56;45 - 01;25;04;03
Speaker 1
And that's a powerful thing.

01;25;04;08 - 01;25;09;09
Speaker 1
But now let let let's just be quick to say this.

01;25;09;14 - 01;25;24;06
Speaker 1
There's a lot more times that we can know exactly what God wants us to pray, and know that he hears us and know that that he will answer. Now, his answer might not be exactly what you want.

01;25;24;11 - 01;25;31;41
Speaker 1
If you pray about something, you realize there are three answers that God can give you.

01;25;31;46 - 01;26;10;21
Speaker 1
Yes. No, wait. Hey! God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah, right? You know, you know how Abraham was when God made that promise that they would have a son and that son would be the son of the promise? He was 75 years old. I don't see many 75 year old having children today. But, you know, when that son came, 25 years later, God kept his promise.

01;26;10;26 - 01;26;25;15
Speaker 1
25 years later, Abraham was 100. Sarah was 90. I haven't seen many hundred year old and 90 year olds welcome a baby and have a reveal party. I've never seen that happen.

01;26;25;20 - 01;26;30;55
Speaker 1
But you know what? God kept his promise.

01;26;31;00 - 01;26;45;26
Speaker 1
Sometimes we have to wait. For the answer to prayer that we're we're dying to have. Okay.

01;26;45;30 - 01;27;00;05
Speaker 1
So, no, if you're if your grandchild came to you and said, hey, granddad, can I play with your pistol?

01;27;00;10 - 01;27;25;37
Speaker 1
What's your answer going to be? No, no. But did you answer him? Do you realize that when God says no to you, he's answered your prayer and he answered it in the best way for you and for his glory? Amen.

01;27;25;42 - 01;27;45;31
Speaker 1
Do you remember when you were about 16, 18 years old, and you pray that you could marry that that guy or that girl and and God said, no. And you look at him now, you say, Praise God. He said, no.

01;27;45;36 - 01;28;19;24
Speaker 1
You know what I mean? Well, let me tell you, every time God says no. He does it because he loves you. You're a part of his family. You're his child. He cares about you and that he is glorified by. Amen. Okay, so this idea of praying in the will of God is so important. Now notice that next phrase in verse 15.

01;28;19;24 - 01;28;40;40
Speaker 1
And we know that we have the requests which we have asked from him. Talked about Abraham there and look at your Bible in James chapter four, verse two. Go to Hebrews and take a right. James chapter four, verse two.

01;28;40;45 - 01;28;46;56
Speaker 1
Look at it.

01;28;47;01 - 01;29;08;47
Speaker 1
You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain. So you fight and quarrel. Look at this. You do not have because you do not ask. That's what Ron Dunn was talking about with that quote a moment ago.

01;29;08;52 - 01;29;40;43
Speaker 1
You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasure. So if you're not getting an answer to the prayer that you're praying, you're crying out to the father. You're not getting an answer. Look at your motives. Check your motives. Make sure that your motive is for the glory of God and not for your happiness or your joy or your fulfillment.

01;29;40;48 - 01;29;55;11
Speaker 1
Everett, listen. Everything about our lives. We're to glorify God in everything, glorifying God. All right.

01;29;55;15 - 01;30;26;35
Speaker 1
Look at Mark 1124. Jesus said, therefore I say to you all things which you pray and ask. Believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. We've got to pray in faith. Look at Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11.

01;30;26;40 - 01;30;59;24
Speaker 1
Look at this. Now faith. Verse one. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by the men of old gained approval. Do you remember the story of Gideon in the Old Testament? Gideon was one of the judges that God raised up during the period of the judges, and the enemy had come against the Jewish people.

01;30;59;29 - 01;31;04;59
Speaker 1
And Gideon. He's an unlikely hero.

01;31;05;04 - 01;31;36;02
Speaker 1
When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, where was Gideon? He was in the down in the winepress, threshing out wheat or barley. Heidi and the angel of the Lord came to him and called him a mighty man of valor. He must have looked around. Who are you talking about? But God saw something in him that he didn't see in himself.

01;31;36;07 - 01;31;51;14
Speaker 1
Can I tell you this? God sees things in you and me that we don't see in ourselves. And he can use you in incredible ways, if you will just submit yourself to him.

01;31;51;19 - 01;32;30;39
Speaker 1
Well, anyway, Gideon was asking God for his will about whether he should attack the enemy or not. And so he he designed a way that he could know God's will. So he took like a animal skin. And he thought, Lord, if it's your will. And I might have these backwards. So don't, don't, don't crucify me. Lord, if he's your will, let let the animal skin be wet and all the ground around it be dry and have no do you own it in the morning?

01;32;30;44 - 01;33;05;50
Speaker 1
He got up the next morning. That animal skin was so wet he could ring the dew out of it, and the ground was dry. The gourd. And then Gideon said to God, God, don't. Don't get impatient with me. And he reversed it. He said, Lord, if it's your will that I attack this army. Then let the animal scan be dry as a gourd and let the ground around it be wet with you got up the next morning.

01;33;05;55 - 01;33;38;59
Speaker 1
Animal skin was dry, the ground around it was wet. And then, Gideon decided that he had had enough. And he knew the will of God. And he did exactly what God was calling him to do. And he had a great victory. I tell you, there's something about knowing the will of God and obeying God. I know that that you get tired of hearing this story, but I'm telling when darling and I surrender to the ministry.

01;33;39;04 - 01;34;03;02
Speaker 1
It was a moment we were crying out for the Word of God. I remember going to Doctor Anderson, our pastor, and we went to he had his house and we met with he and Miss Judy, his wife. And I told Doctor Anderson, I said, Doctor Anderson, I'll do whatever the Lord wants me to do. I just wish you would write it in the sky.

01;34;03;06 - 01;34;09;07
Speaker 1
And he looked at me and say, Chuck, he's not going to write it. God.

01;34;09;11 - 01;34;30;13
Speaker 1
I said, well, I wish you would. I said, he said it not. And I'm going to tell you this. The process that the Lord took us through to discover the will of God for our lives was some of the most deep spiritual growth we've ever had in our lives.

01;34;30;17 - 01;34;45;21
Speaker 1
And when we moved to New Orleans to go to seminary, we knew that we were in the will of God. And I have look, I've been in ministry now for.

01;34;45;25 - 01;34;58;00
Speaker 1
50 years, and I have never doubted my call. The ministry, because God made it so powerful.

01;34;58;04 - 01;35;10;19
Speaker 1
I tell you, when you search for the word God in Jeremiah 2913, you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

01;35;10;24 - 01;35;42;07
Speaker 1
I bet Ed and Kathy has a similar story about going to the mission field. Ed was you were an engineer, weren't you? A would you agree? There's something about that process of finding the will of God that just. There's nothing to replace it. Am I right that you be a good play for it? Amen. Ha ha.

01;35;42;12 - 01;36;21;43
Speaker 1
So we gotta pray in faith. Now, this concept of praying within the framework of God's will work. Page eight is essential. Look at Ephesians 515 to 17. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then, do not be foolish. Notice at verse 17, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

01;36;21;48 - 01;36;53;20
Speaker 1
It's essential to know the will of the Lord. Paul wrote about this in his letter to the church at Colossae. Colossians one 9 to 14. Look at it for this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may look at this, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

01;36;53;25 - 01;37;24;27
Speaker 1
So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power according to his glorious might. For the timing of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the father. Do you realize that everything in this paragraph hinges on us being filled with the knowledge of his will, and all spiritual wisdom and understanding?

01;37;24;32 - 01;37;29;29
Speaker 1
Everything hinges on that.

01;37;29;34 - 01;37;55;10
Speaker 1
God wants people to know his will. And he gave us a book for us to discover. His word. I remember when I was first say that Mississippi State I would just devouring the Word of God. Man, I'm tellin ya, when he saved me, he gave me a desire to absolutely read and study the Word of God.

01;37;55;15 - 01;38;09;23
Speaker 1
And the more listen, the more I read and study the Word of God, the more I understood God's will for my life. Right?

01;38;09;27 - 01;38;43;20
Speaker 1
The same thing is true for you. That's why your quiet time is so important. When you read your Bible and you pray, the Holy Spirit locks and things into your heart and your spirit. And when something comes up, you know whether it's God's will or not. I read about. I'll just name his name. He's a false prophet. False teachers name Jesse Duplantis.

01;38;43;25 - 01;39;18;01
Speaker 1
You know what he said in a sermon? He said we have the same DNA of God. I took that article and I ran it off. He said, we have the same DNA of God. We can create our own world. He said, that's heresy. But. But how many believers are sending him $10 and $20 so he can buy that $54 million jet?

01;39;18;02 - 01;39;49;49
Speaker 1
He's trying to buy. It. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you want to know the will of God, if you want to have spiritual discernment, you gotta feel your mind in your heart with the Word of God. So you have something to base the decisions you make on. That makes sense to you. I hope it does. So God wants people to know his will.

01;39;49;54 - 01;40;17;59
Speaker 1
Do you see that word field and Colossians chapter one filled with. Look at it says, filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding. The word fail literally means to be so permeated with the will of God that it has a controlling influence over our lives.

01;40;18;04 - 01;40;28;05
Speaker 1
All right. Now we're going to go to page nine, and we're going to finish.

01;40;28;10 - 01;40;56;12
Speaker 1
The disciples prayer one way or the other. Because I don't want these guys getting on me next week. All right. Number four desire the father's provision in the book of Proverbs. The Bible said, now look at chapter six. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.

01;40;56;17 - 01;41;01;58
Speaker 1
That's what this section's about.

01;41;02;02 - 01;41;33;54
Speaker 1
In the book of Proverbs, the Bible says, the prayer of the upright is God's delight. You say, pastor, does that really apply to me? Yes. If you're a born again believer, if you're walking with God, this applies to you. He delights in your prayers. So why would we withhold that from God?

01;41;33;59 - 01;42;11;27
Speaker 1
So Jesus taught his disciples to pray for daily bread. Martin Luther, the great reformer, said this everything necessary for the preservation of this life is bread. Including food, a healthy body, good whether house, home, wife, children, good, government and peace. It's it's God providing everything you need as a believer. Paul wrote, and my God shall supply part of your needs according to your riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

01;42;11;27 - 01;42;44;46
Speaker 1
Right. And then no, look at it again. And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Let me ask you, is there any need you could possibly ever have in your entire life that God could not meet? No, because he has an endless warehouse. In Christ Jesus, to provide anything you need at the moment, you need it.

01;42;44;51 - 01;43;19;57
Speaker 1
It's amazing. When we do that, we are, in essence, saying, here's a, an example of a prayer. Here's what we're saying. Father, I trust you to meet my deepest needs. Now, your deepest need might be to handle the grief that you're going through because your spouse died or your child died. Or you've got a financial problem, and it looks like it's going to swallow you whole.

01;43;20;02 - 01;43;34;19
Speaker 1
Father, I trust you to meet my deepest need. Let me ask you a question. Do you think you can trust your Heavenly father?

01;43;34;23 - 01;43;40;33
Speaker 1
Glorify yourself in my daily provision.

01;43;40;37 - 01;44;08;43
Speaker 1
I look, I'll never forget when, darling, I surrendered to ministry. And not until we surrendered to ministry. God just began to to meet some needs in our lives. My pastor at my home church that said that God's not going to ride it in the sky. He came to me, said, church, our church is going to pay your tuition the whole time.

01;44;08;48 - 01;44;25;48
Speaker 1
And seminary. My pastor at Columbus, Mississippi, Joe McKeever, called me. He said. He said, church, our church, First Baptist Club, is going to pay for your books the whole time you're in seminary.

01;44;25;53 - 01;44;56;06
Speaker 1
It's amazing. Now, none of that happened until we obeyed the Lord in the call to ministry. And if we had if we had dug our heels in, we would have missed so many blessings. The blessings of God hinge on our obedience.

01;44;56;11 - 01;45;26;13
Speaker 1
So let me read the prayer. I'm stopping to my father. I trust you to meet my deepest needs. Glorify yourself in my daily provision. Display your power and and the glory of your eternal kingdom, as you did when you provided the manna and the meat for the Jewish people in the wilderness. Man. Number five desire the father's purity.

01;45;26;17 - 01;45;58;09
Speaker 1
Here, here's the phrase, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. A desire for purity. This is why I say we should really not call this Lord's Prayer. This is the disciples prayer. So why did Jesus include this prayer of confession as he's trying to shape the prayer lives of those who would be his followers?

01;45;58;14 - 01;46;43;03
Speaker 1
Let me take confession is an important part of your prayer life. You remember the old acronym or whatever you call it, a CTS. Remember that adoration. What c. Confession, Thanksgiving and supplication. Okay. Confession is a part of every believer's prayer life. You know one thing I pray constantly. I ask the Lord, Lord, help me to be so sensitive to sin that even the tiniest sin, the Holy Spirit, will make me know it, so I can confess it and forsake it and be clean before.

01;46;43;08 - 01;46;50;10
Speaker 1
Have you ever been? Have you ever been walking and you got a rock in your tennis shoe?

01;46;50;15 - 01;47;14;48
Speaker 1
How is it? Well, you know that rocks there, don't you? And you got to get to a tree or something. Hold on to it and and take your shoe off and get to rock out so you can walk without pain. Right? And I don't literally. I pray that the Lord would make me so sensitive to sin and let it be like a rock in my tennis shoe.

01;47;14;53 - 01;47;24;25
Speaker 1
Look at these verses here. Proverbs 2813 he you conceals. His transgression will not prosper.

01;47;24;30 - 01;47;57;07
Speaker 1
When you tell you that Hebrew word prosper and you put a negative with it not, it's a picture of a rotten piece of cloth. If we do not keep our lives clean before God, our lives are ruined. Look at this. I love this. But he who confesses and forsakes him will find compassion. Look at Second Corinthians seven one.

01;47;57;12 - 01;48;25;14
Speaker 1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh in spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now let me tell you something that is not written to an unbeliever. That is written to believers in the church in Corinth. You see, a moment ago we looked at First Thessalonians chapter four, and the will of God is your what?

01;48;25;19 - 01;49;03;50
Speaker 1
Fill in the blank is your what? Scientific being made holy. And confession is a part of you being right with God. Look at first John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now understand this. The issue here in this prayer request is not salvation is fellowship.

01;49;03;55 - 01;49;16;17
Speaker 1
All right, guys, let me ask you a question. As your wife, ever been mad at you in your marriage? Do you get the silent treatment?

01;49;16;21 - 01;49;53;35
Speaker 1
Or maybe something worse. Now, in order for things to get right again, you've got to confess to your wife that you said something, did something, or failed to do something, or failed to say something, or failed to buy the gift that she wanted. Right? And you have to say, honey, please forgive me. Forgive me. Well, if that's true in a marriage.

01;49;53;40 - 01;50;33;59
Speaker 1
Think about your relationship. With a holy, holy, holy God. Listen, just because you've been given the gift of eternal life does not mean that you're free to sin. And let sin pile up in your life. No, not at all. If you really want to walk in the fullness of the spirit of the living God and experience the power of God in your life, you have got to cleanse yourself from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

01;50;34;04 - 01;50;38;17
Speaker 1
You got to do it.

01;50;38;21 - 01;51;16;51
Speaker 1
Look, like John MacArthur said, I have Saint Christian judicially forgiven and eternally secure, who for a time can be hardened by willful sin. This can happen to a believer. I never will forget. This is before I surrendered to ministry. We were in a church and. And I noticed the chairman of deacons. There was a change. And come to find out that he was having an affair with a woman in the church.

01;51;16;56 - 01;51;48;03
Speaker 1
And I believe he's a believer, and I believe she's a believer. MacArthur says I have seen Christian judicially forgiven and eternally secure. You know one thing. Let me say this. If you're truly a believer and you get involved in willful sin, the that the Lord, the God the Father that loves you so much will discipline you. He'll discipline you for your good and for his holiness.

01;51;48;04 - 01;52;14;51
Speaker 1
The writer of Hebrews said so. MacArthur said, I've seen Christians judicially forgive and eternally secure, who for a time can be hardened by willful sin. So impenitent so one confessing, so insensitive to that sin, so totally joyless that they do not even know the meaning of a loving, intimate fellowship with God. By the way, I preached a revival in a church where this couple that had had the affair and they had married each other.

01;52;14;58 - 01;52;31;51
Speaker 1
They were there. They were so faithful. They were serving God. And they got it right with God. Now, I tell you, there was a lot of ripple effects in those families.

01;52;31;56 - 01;52;38;57
Speaker 1
Notice the condition. If you want God to forgive you.

01;52;39;02 - 01;52;55;06
Speaker 1
Look at verses 14 and 15. For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your father will not forgive your transgression.

01;52;55;11 - 01;53;13;29
Speaker 1
Now we're talking about praying in court the will of God. If you want to know about praying the will of God, it's very plain right here, right? God, your heavenly father, expects you to forgive people who hurt you.

01;53;13;34 - 01;53;31;57
Speaker 1
You can never allow the hurt that other people have injected into your life mean more to you than the glory of the forgiveness that Christ has provided for you on the cross.

01;53;32;01 - 01;54;10;13
Speaker 1
I preach a sermon one time at First Baptist Richland entitled Forgiveness is Him. I am possible. It's impossible with us, but it's him. Possible with God. He, the Holy Spirit, will help you to forgive people. I think one of the greatest sins that holds back revival in local New Testament church is today is a sin of unforgiveness. And we got to forgive people.

01;54;10;18 - 01;54;36;09
Speaker 1
Is it easy? Not. It's not easy at all. All right. Number six I gotta finish this scripture. Going to get me if I don't desire the father's protection. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver for me. Let me ask you a question. Will God ever tempt you to do this? No way. Well, how do I know that?

01;54;36;14 - 01;54;59;48
Speaker 1
I mean, really, how do I know that? Am I shoot from the hip? No. I'm going to rock from the word of God. Look at James 113. Let no one say when he is tempted. I'm being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and He himself does not tempt anyone. Here again, the Word of God informs my prayer life, and I know the will of God.

01;54;59;52 - 01;55;38;20
Speaker 1
Well, if God's not tempted me, who's tempted me? If, say, the devil in first, first, first Corinthians 1013 says, I love it. Just let's just go there. First Corinthians chapter ten, verse 13. I want to show you something. You will know the will of God. Look at this. No temptation has taken you. Verse ten. First Corinthians 1013. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man, and God is faithful here.

01;55;38;20 - 01;56;17;11
Speaker 1
Amen. Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able? Don't you love that? Amen. But with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure. Your heavenly Father that loves you. And when the enemy tempts you, the Heavenly Father provides an escape hatch. Now, here's what we've got today.

01;56;17;16 - 01;56;26;09
Speaker 1
We got to run through the escape hatch. We can't mess around with sin.

01;56;26;14 - 01;57;06;12
Speaker 1
Now. All right, look at, page 11. Last page. The other is an appendix. And it's extra information for you to study and to to help you in your prayer life. So why are we to incorporate this request into our prayer life? Well, it's an expression of a believer who would rather avoid temptation rather than defeated. Let me let me repeat that.

01;57;06;17 - 01;57;43;35
Speaker 1
I don't know about you, but I'd rather avoid a temptation than to defeat attempts that make sense to you. Do this, if that makes sense to you. Everybody got it. Okay. Now remember this. Paul wrote this in Ephesians six, verses 10 to 13. Finally, be strong in the Lord in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God, that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

01;57;43;40 - 01;58;07;28
Speaker 1
Underline. Stand firm. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you will be able to resist in the evil day. And having done everything to stand firm.

01;58;07;32 - 01;58;30;57
Speaker 1
You got to understand that the enemy wants you to go down. The enemy wants to destroy your family. The enemy wants to rob you of your integrity, of your reputation.

01;58;31;02 - 01;58;43;34
Speaker 1
But I'll tell you, dear friend, you and I can only be strong and stand firm. When we ask God to deliver us from temptation.

01;58;43;39 - 01;58;57;40
Speaker 1
It's a prayer. I guarantee you this. If you're tempted and you ask the father to deliver you from that temptation, you know that you're praying according to the will of God.

01;58;57;44 - 01;59;31;23
Speaker 1
Look at the doxology here. For yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. Amen. Now, this doxology really is saying three things. Number one, it's an expression of holy and joyful praise. Goodness. Praise God. Aren't you looking forward to the day when the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is consummated once and for all? When the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

01;59;31;24 - 02;00;02;15
Speaker 1
Aren't you looking forward to that? And the power and the glory forever. So it's an expression of holy and joyful praise. It's also a plea for God to carry out these petitions that he's list that Jesus has listed here in this prayer, as a confirmation and declaration of confidence that we can know that we know that we know that our Heavenly Father will hear this prayer.

02;00;02;20 - 02;00;33;46
Speaker 1
And he will answer our prayers according to his will. Okay, so boy, we spent two weeks on the, on the on the disciples prayer, but I think it's well worth the time we spent. It's almost like a prayer conference we've been through. I hope and pray that you will take this God that, got questions? How can I be sure?

02;00;33;46 - 02;00;58;29
Speaker 1
I'm praying to the will of God, man. Some good stuff right there. I gave you that for your benefit. The appendix with all the names of God that you can incorporate in your praise and your adoration of God is right there. And I just pray that your prayer life will be strengthened and that God will use your prayers to advance his kingdom.

02;00;58;33 - 02;01;23;12
Speaker 1
Amen. Let's pray. Father, thank you for our time together. What is always so good being here with these dear believers and study the Word of God and just take it phrase by phrase, verse by verse and just see what you're saying to us. Lord, I pray that our prayer life would be strengthened. And I pray, Lord, that this church would be a praying church for your glory.

02;01;23;12 - 02;01;26;15
Speaker 1
In Jesus name, Amen. Thank you.