WEBVTT 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:05.982 Good morning. 00:00:05.982 --> 00:00:07.147 Thanks for being here today. 00:00:07.147 --> 00:00:09.829 Can we thank our worship team for leading us so well this morning? 00:00:09.829 --> 00:00:16.724 Kids, why don't you all head down the hall to the kids' men, let's give it up for our kids. 00:00:16.724 --> 00:00:17.889 Is there rolling out today? 00:00:20.759 --> 00:00:28.852 I know we just prayed, but let's let's pray again this morning, because one of our core values here as a church is that prayer changes everything. 00:00:28.852 --> 00:00:37.946 And what we're going to learn today, what we're going to see today from the scriptures, is that there's more power in prayer than we often think that there is. 00:00:37.946 --> 00:00:43.743 So, father, we pray And we ask you to move. 00:00:43.743 --> 00:00:53.701 We don't just want to hear human words or concepts or ideas or Be entertained, father. 00:00:53.701 --> 00:00:57.671 We want an encounter with you by the power of your spirit. 00:00:57.671 --> 00:01:00.969 It changes everything. 00:01:00.969 --> 00:01:03.565 So, god, we give you this time. 00:01:03.565 --> 00:01:05.968 It all belongs to you anyway. 00:01:05.968 --> 00:01:07.868 We give you our attention. 00:01:07.868 --> 00:01:09.746 We were designed and created for you. 00:01:09.746 --> 00:01:17.406 So, father, in this space today, have your way in our hearts in Jesus' name, amen, amen. 00:01:17.880 --> 00:01:23.847 So we're kicking off a new series today called The Path, and it's going to lead us all through the summer. 00:01:23.847 --> 00:01:29.847 We're going to go, pretty much verse by verse, through the book of Colossians, and I've never talked through Colossians before. 00:01:29.847 --> 00:01:31.326 I'm excited about this. 00:01:31.326 --> 00:01:39.426 Colossians gives us this beautiful picture of who Jesus is, and you need to know if this is your first time with us. 00:01:39.426 --> 00:01:41.031 We are a Jesus church. 00:01:41.031 --> 00:01:43.347 We believe that he's the way, the truth and the life. 00:01:43.347 --> 00:01:47.191 The words of the song that we just sang are spot on. 00:01:47.191 --> 00:01:50.948 We believe he's got the power to do far more than we can do. 00:01:50.948 --> 00:01:57.689 He can heal, he can save, he can set free, he can redeem, he can give us life today and forever. 00:01:57.689 --> 00:02:04.814 And Colossians has this theme of discipleship that runs through the whole book. 00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:14.133 If you've been in church, you've probably heard the word disciple, and oftentimes in today's world we use the word disciple as a verb. 00:02:14.133 --> 00:02:29.080 In other words, what I mean by that is we say things like oh so and so is discipling me, or I am discipling this person that I met in my work that gave their life to Jesus, and I'm discipling them on being discipled. 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.460 And we use it as a verb, which is fine. 00:02:31.460 --> 00:02:33.167 That's a great way to use it. 00:02:33.167 --> 00:02:39.974 The interesting thing is that in the Newt's estimate, the word disciple is always a noun. 00:02:39.974 --> 00:02:47.939 In other words, it's not just something that happens to you, it's someone that you become. 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:50.260 You become a disciple. 00:02:50.260 --> 00:02:53.719 As you're being discipled, you're becoming a disciple. 00:02:53.719 --> 00:03:06.740 There's an end in mind, and it's not just the retaining of information, it's not just the gaining of knowledge, it's not just the observance of wisdom from the scriptures. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:08.599 It's becoming something. 00:03:10.664 --> 00:03:16.036 Our definition for discipleship that we're going to use throughout the summer is really it's a three word definition. 00:03:16.036 --> 00:03:23.075 Discipleship is knowledge, conviction and obedience. 00:03:23.075 --> 00:03:25.039 So discipleship is all about it. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:26.420 It is about knowledge. 00:03:26.420 --> 00:03:29.920 There is a learning component that is involved. 00:03:31.085 --> 00:03:39.479 Jesus called 12 men out of their everyday, ordinary lives And his invitation to them was follow me. 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:39.800 And they did. 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:53.771 They literally followed Jesus around for three years as he taught, as he healed, as he walked, as he traveled the area around and surrounding Jerusalem and Bethlehem and Judea, as he went. 00:03:53.771 --> 00:03:56.739 They went with him, they learned from him, they listened to him. 00:03:56.739 --> 00:04:03.813 They gained knowledge, but they also they developed convictions. 00:04:03.813 --> 00:04:08.680 One of the disciples said it like this we believed and have come to know. 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:14.520 So we heard you, we heard this knowledge that you were offering us and we believed it. 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:28.694 But but it's turned into conviction, it's gone from our head to our hearts And now we are are banking our life on you, Jesus. 00:04:29.902 --> 00:04:41.459 There's a moment where Jesus actually talks about to this great crowd of people that have watched him multiply a few fish and some bread and feed thousands of people. 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:44.747 They've watched this happen And so they're drawn to Jesus. 00:04:44.747 --> 00:04:47.637 And Jesus gives this speech. 00:04:47.637 --> 00:04:51.090 That is not the speech that you would give if you want to retain a crowd. 00:04:51.090 --> 00:04:54.839 He looks at this crowd of people and he says Hey, here's, here's the game plan. 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.971 You got to eat my flesh and drink my blood. 00:04:57.971 --> 00:04:59.967 And they're like this is weird. 00:04:59.967 --> 00:05:06.796 And a lot of the crowd leaves and he's given us a preview, actually I think, of of the Lord's supper. 00:05:06.796 --> 00:05:20.179 He's giving us a glimpse into what's coming in the future that post death, burial and resurrection of Jesus will take the Lord's supper together and remember his death, burial and resurrection until he comes. 00:05:20.179 --> 00:05:23.009 But in the moment everybody's like this is just weird. 00:05:23.009 --> 00:05:25.572 We knew you were strange without. 00:05:25.572 --> 00:05:25.733 Now. 00:05:25.733 --> 00:05:26.599 This is really strange. 00:05:26.599 --> 00:05:29.338 And so a lot of the crowd disperses, they leave. 00:05:29.444 --> 00:05:34.864 The cost of discipleship seems a little bit too confusing and too high, and so they're like we're out. 00:05:34.864 --> 00:05:38.560 And Jesus looks at the rest of the 12 and says Hey, what about you? 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:43.399 Are you with me or are you going to go away too? 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:48.799 And one of the disciples again looks back at Jesus and says Jesus, where else would we go? 00:05:48.799 --> 00:05:54.919 You have the words of eternal life translation. 00:05:54.919 --> 00:06:08.995 There's been knowledge that's been imparted to us, but it has developed in our heart this deep level of conviction, and then it produces obedience. 00:06:08.995 --> 00:06:10.178 It's knowledge, conviction, obedience. 00:06:10.178 --> 00:06:12.757 It's head, heart, hands. 00:06:12.757 --> 00:06:16.859 It changes the way that we live. 00:06:16.859 --> 00:06:18.429 It changes what we say. 00:06:18.429 --> 00:06:27.120 It changes how we act, how we respond when life presses us and we're under pressure. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:35.679 We are obedient to the truth of God's word Because we've become someone new. 00:06:35.679 --> 00:06:56.167 Now, the interesting thing about Colossians this is all context The interesting thing about Colossians is that Paul doesn't just give us this list of things to do and Colossians, in fact, he actually does something, maybe a little unexpected. 00:06:56.488 --> 00:07:04.442 At the center of Colossians is this portrait of Jesus Translation. 00:07:04.442 --> 00:07:11.207 What we're going to see throughout this series is that the fuel for discipleship is the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:07:11.207 --> 00:07:21.408 It's not just knowledge for knowledge sake, it's not just conviction for conviction's sake, it's not even just obedience for obedience's sake. 00:07:21.408 --> 00:07:31.627 At the center of this life of a disciple, this well-formed life of a follower of Jesus, is the person of Jesus Christ. 00:07:31.627 --> 00:07:38.510 He's the goal, he's the prize, he is the, in the language of Scripture, the pearl of great price. 00:07:38.510 --> 00:07:43.050 He is the treasure that surpasses anything this world has to offer. 00:07:43.050 --> 00:08:02.382 What Paul does is he says hey, if you want to be a disciple, you want to follow Jesus and become like Jesus and do what Jesus does, then get a glimpse of who Jesus is and learn to see him as more beautiful, more amazing, more spectacular than anything this world has to offer. 00:08:02.382 --> 00:08:05.986 That's where discipleship begins. 00:08:07.039 --> 00:08:19.242 I love the song that we just sang God, show us your glory, show us who you are, and then, in wonder and surrender, we'll fall down and we'll lay our crowns at your feet, because it's not about us, it's all about you. 00:08:19.242 --> 00:08:22.587 So, with that in mind, let me tell you a quick story. 00:08:22.587 --> 00:08:47.649 So yesterday, my boys and I well, my whole family was in the upstate, but the females in the family went to a baby shower, and the boys and I and Tara's dad, we went fishing, because that is better, and so we're on a river trying to catch some trout and whatnot, and all day long it's like Judah, my three year old Judah, back up from the edge. 00:08:47.649 --> 00:08:48.712 Judah, back up from the edge. 00:08:48.712 --> 00:08:50.206 Judah, quit jumping on the rocks. 00:08:50.206 --> 00:08:51.665 Judah, you're going to fall in. 00:08:51.665 --> 00:09:01.447 Judah, you've already scraped your knees running down the driveway today, judah, you're covered in mud, judah, you're going to fall in, and so I'm reeling in this brim. 00:09:01.447 --> 00:09:02.891 That isn't even worth talking. 00:09:02.891 --> 00:09:05.087 I can't even make a fish story about this fish. 00:09:05.087 --> 00:09:05.903 It was so small. 00:09:05.903 --> 00:09:07.745 I was like, judah, you might as well catch this. 00:09:07.745 --> 00:09:08.582 I don't even want it. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:17.329 And so I called Judah over to me and, as he's like bouncing from rock to rock, he hits the edge of the rock and goes off into the river. 00:09:17.329 --> 00:09:20.670 Now, it wasn't that deep and it was still water, so I wasn't that worried about it. 00:09:20.670 --> 00:09:22.285 I just knew he was going to be ticked if he fell in. 00:09:22.285 --> 00:09:25.850 And so and he was he falls in and he like catches himself on the side. 00:09:25.850 --> 00:09:38.360 So I'm holding this little tiny brim on this little tiny fishing rod in one hand and I reached down on my other hand and I grabbed Judah and I pull him up and I sit him on the rock and he's soaking wet and the tears are in his eyes and you can see it Like he's not happy And he goes. 00:09:38.761 --> 00:09:40.548 What am I supposed to do now? 00:09:40.548 --> 00:09:55.451 And I was like, well, you should have listened on the front And I was a parenting moment, i probably didn't respond as good as I needed to in the moment, but the question, what am I supposed to do now is a great question, is it not? 00:09:55.451 --> 00:09:59.949 And it's a question that I think we all ask from time to time. 00:09:59.949 --> 00:10:03.365 Getting back to, maybe, when you got married. 00:10:03.365 --> 00:10:07.679 You get married, you go on your honeymoon, you get back and then real life begins. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:08.602 It's like what do I do now? 00:10:08.602 --> 00:10:14.731 Or maybe you thought a wedding was in your future and then you were single again. 00:10:14.731 --> 00:10:17.007 It's like what do I do now? 00:10:17.007 --> 00:10:20.828 Or you start a new job and it's like what do I do? 00:10:20.828 --> 00:10:21.764 What do I do now? 00:10:21.764 --> 00:10:24.948 I got the job, but now what happens here? 00:10:24.948 --> 00:10:27.465 Or maybe you lost a job You thought you'd have forever. 00:10:27.465 --> 00:10:29.505 It's like what do I do now? 00:10:29.505 --> 00:10:35.191 You get the call that nobody wants to get and tragedy is at your door. 00:10:35.191 --> 00:10:39.605 The diagnosis comes and that's the question What do I do now? 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:48.850 We ask that question in so many arenas of life And I think, if we're honest, that's a question we ask a lot of times in our faith. 00:10:48.850 --> 00:10:51.660 Well, what do I do now, god? 00:10:51.660 --> 00:10:54.809 what are you looking for from me now? 00:10:54.809 --> 00:11:15.626 And sometimes, as the church, we're really, really good at the front end of faith, helping people get from a lack of faith, to explaining who Jesus is, demonstrating the gospel and saying, hey, here's how you cross the line and step into the grace of God, through faith and the finished work of Jesus. 00:11:15.626 --> 00:11:21.367 But then that question pops up again Well, what happens now? 00:11:21.367 --> 00:11:23.163 What now? 00:11:23.163 --> 00:11:25.665 Where do we go from here? 00:11:27.319 --> 00:11:29.627 Today we're going to talk about prayer. 00:11:29.627 --> 00:11:36.332 If we're going to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we've got to be people of prayer. 00:11:36.332 --> 00:11:44.990 Again, one of our core values is that prayer changes everything, and today the title of this message is prayer that lights the path. 00:11:44.990 --> 00:11:50.411 If you're trying to become a disciple, you're asking the question what do I do now? 00:11:50.411 --> 00:11:53.268 Prayer is not our last result. 00:11:53.268 --> 00:11:55.146 It's our last option. 00:11:55.146 --> 00:11:57.286 It's our first priority. 00:11:57.286 --> 00:11:59.826 So let's go to Colossians, chapter one. 00:11:59.826 --> 00:12:03.490 We're going to read the first 14 verses. 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:10.288 Today We're going to talk about prayer in general and then we're going to make some applications from the text this morning. 00:12:10.439 --> 00:12:13.608 The context of Colossians this is the apostle Paul. 00:12:13.608 --> 00:12:17.688 He's riding this from a Roman prison around 60 AD. 00:12:17.688 --> 00:12:22.327 He's riding by the way to a church that he's never visited. 00:12:22.327 --> 00:12:24.111 He hadn't been there. 00:12:24.111 --> 00:12:25.444 He didn't plan it himself. 00:12:25.444 --> 00:12:27.886 He wants to go, but he hadn't been. 00:12:27.886 --> 00:12:32.331 But how this church got to Colossae is actually phenomenal. 00:12:32.331 --> 00:12:34.548 It's worth telling the story really quickly this morning. 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:44.951 So Paul was in Ephesus, about 75 miles from the city of Colossae, and while he's in Ephesus, a man named Apaphrys comes through Ephesus. 00:12:44.951 --> 00:13:11.928 You don't know why he was there, whether it was business or he's on vacation, or maybe he had family there But Apaphrys comes through Ephesus, meets Paul, as Paul does, he shares the gospel with Apaphrys whether it's in a large group context or one on one, we don't know But Apaphrys gives his life to Jesus, he becomes a disciple, begins to be transformed and then he goes back to Colossae. 00:13:11.928 --> 00:13:15.340 And when he goes back to Colossae, i love this. 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:19.169 He doesn't have a church staff, he doesn't have a building. 00:13:19.169 --> 00:13:23.509 Maybe he pulls a trailer up somewhere on Sunday morning and unloads and loads in and loads out. 00:13:23.509 --> 00:13:24.381 I don't know. 00:13:24.381 --> 00:13:24.970 I don't know how that works. 00:13:24.970 --> 00:13:28.129 He doesn't have a budget, no building, minimal staff. 00:13:28.591 --> 00:13:33.675 But all of a sudden there's a thriving church in the middle of Colossae. 00:13:33.675 --> 00:13:45.057 Because a Paphras was faithful as a disciple of Jesus Christ And God used him in his everyday, ordinary life as he went about his business. 00:13:45.057 --> 00:13:50.169 And all of a sudden a thriving church springs up in the city. 00:13:50.169 --> 00:13:50.872 Isn't that beautiful? 00:13:50.872 --> 00:14:02.598 And, by the way, that, to me, just encourages me And I hope it encourages you this morning too That we don't need a building or a massive budget or a giant staff to make an impact in the world. 00:14:02.598 --> 00:14:08.994 What we need is the finished work of Jesus, and we have everything that we need to do, everything God has called us to do. 00:14:08.994 --> 00:14:18.755 And so if we, as the church, say hey, we're not waiting for one day when to carry the gospel, we're going to start where we are with what we have And we're going to be a disciple of Jesus. 00:14:18.755 --> 00:14:24.856 Imagine what God could do through a room full of apaphras as we live our lives. 00:14:24.889 --> 00:14:40.559 So this is Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, timothy's, maybe helping Paul at least deliver or write some of this letter to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colossae. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:44.158 Grace to you and peace from God. 00:14:44.158 --> 00:15:19.970 Our Father Paul says we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven Of this, this hope, you've heard before, in the word of the truth, the gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world, the gospel is bearing fruit and increasing, as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God and truth, just as you learned it from apaphras, our beloved fellow servant. 00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:26.318 He's a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit. 00:15:26.318 --> 00:15:46.778 And so Paul says, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 00:15:46.778 --> 00:15:59.737 May you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience, with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. 00:15:59.737 --> 00:16:10.918 The Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. 00:16:13.909 --> 00:16:15.850 So let's talk about prayer. 00:16:15.850 --> 00:16:20.658 This is what Paul is telling the church, he says, hey, i'm praying for you. 00:16:20.658 --> 00:16:25.069 I want you to know that I'm praying for you. 00:16:25.069 --> 00:16:27.358 There are a couple of definitions of prayer. 00:16:27.358 --> 00:16:37.725 The New City Catechism says prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin and thanksgiving. 00:16:37.725 --> 00:16:38.829 I like that. 00:16:38.829 --> 00:16:43.976 Praise, petition, confession of sin, thanksgiving That's what prayer is and that's a great definition. 00:16:43.976 --> 00:16:46.636 But I would also say it's a little bit incomplete. 00:16:46.636 --> 00:16:51.158 So when you read the scriptures, here's another definition we can use. 00:16:51.470 --> 00:17:01.319 What we see in the scripture is that prayer is an opportunity to participate with God in God's work in the world. 00:17:01.319 --> 00:17:16.242 Yes, we're talking to God, we're offering our thanksgiving to God, but it's also an invitation from God to essentially partner with God in the work that God is doing in the earth. 00:17:16.242 --> 00:17:17.456 What an incredible thing. 00:17:17.456 --> 00:17:19.213 I mean that's amazing, is it not? 00:17:19.213 --> 00:17:28.115 That Almighty God, creator of Heaven and Earth, says hey, i want a relationship with you, i want to hear from you, i want to talk back to you. 00:17:28.115 --> 00:17:31.720 I want this to be like you have a relationship with a friend. 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:33.716 Think back to Exodus. 00:17:33.716 --> 00:17:50.099 One of the amazing things that the Israelites could not get past was the fact that Moses, a human man who had failed and fallen and messed it up over and over and over, spoke face to face with God like we speak to our friends. 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:53.893 That's the invitation. 00:17:53.893 --> 00:18:11.259 Maybe you're not going to enter the tabernacle and see God face to face and walk out with your face glowing, but God wants to communicate with you, god wants to relate to you like a friend. 00:18:13.690 --> 00:18:22.080 So a couple of thoughts this morning on assumptions we make in prayer that lead us to pray in strange ways. 00:18:22.080 --> 00:18:29.496 The first assumption is this assuming that our prayers don't really change anything. 00:18:29.496 --> 00:18:34.872 In other words, well, god is sovereign, and he is, that's true. 00:18:34.872 --> 00:18:43.461 But because God is sovereign, which means he's overall and in control of all, well, isn't God just going to do what he wants? 00:18:43.461 --> 00:18:46.599 Anyway, he's in control. 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:48.336 It's his will, not mine. 00:18:48.336 --> 00:18:55.798 So why pray if he knows it all and he's all powerful anyway, and he's going to accomplish his plans in the earth, like with or without me? 00:18:55.798 --> 00:18:56.259 Why? 00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:58.332 Why would I What I pray? 00:18:59.074 --> 00:19:12.518 Dallas Willard says this the idea that everything would happen exactly as it does, regardless of whether or not we pray, is a specter that haunts the minds of many who sincerely profess belief in God. 00:19:12.518 --> 00:19:19.956 It makes prayer psychologically impossible, replacing it with a dead ritual at best. 00:19:19.956 --> 00:19:23.716 And of course God does not respond to this. 00:19:23.716 --> 00:19:25.073 You wouldn't either. 00:19:25.073 --> 00:19:32.253 So we don't want to go that far and say, well, because God is sovereign, prayer doesn't change anything, so why pray? 00:19:32.253 --> 00:19:39.112 We also don't want to assume that because we prayed it, it has to happen. 00:19:39.112 --> 00:19:43.057 Yes, god's sovereign and yes, we're responsible. 00:19:43.057 --> 00:19:58.955 But but the thought process that says, well, because I prayed it and God's got to do it, that's treating God like he's the genie in the lamp in the cave of wonders where, if we treat it just right and we rub it in exactly the right spot, we get three wishes, no holds barred. 00:19:58.955 --> 00:20:00.834 And that's not right either. 00:20:00.834 --> 00:20:01.074 Right? 00:20:01.074 --> 00:20:05.258 So where do we find the balance? 00:20:05.258 --> 00:20:07.917 translation What happens when we pray? 00:20:09.090 --> 00:20:11.797 Well, god hears and God responds. 00:20:11.797 --> 00:20:14.711 And I want you to hear that today. 00:20:14.711 --> 00:20:22.438 When you pray, god hears, he cares, he's interested. 00:20:22.438 --> 00:20:28.721 If you want to get God's attention, pray Somehow, some way. 00:20:28.721 --> 00:20:30.506 He's almighty, all powerful, god. 00:20:30.506 --> 00:20:42.929 If all eight billion people on the planet begin to pray at once, god's got the power and the capacity to hear and to notice and to care about every single prayer that's lifted up. 00:20:42.929 --> 00:20:48.884 It's been said that if it's on your heart, it's on God's mind. 00:20:48.884 --> 00:20:53.544 He cares, he hears and beyond that, he responds. 00:20:53.544 --> 00:20:56.243 Now, he doesn't always respond like we think he should. 00:20:56.243 --> 00:21:00.083 He doesn't always respond like we want him to. 00:21:00.655 --> 00:21:04.125 Sometimes, in my prayers, i have a tendency to tell God how he ought to run the world. 00:21:04.125 --> 00:21:06.541 Hey, god, let me tell you the plan. 00:21:06.541 --> 00:21:09.142 Let me offer you my interpretation. 00:21:09.142 --> 00:21:11.522 Here's the game plan for the next 48 hours. 00:21:11.522 --> 00:21:15.464 It's not the kind of prayer that God's looking for from us. 00:21:15.464 --> 00:21:18.783 God's looking for the kind of prayer that says God, i trust you. 00:21:18.783 --> 00:21:22.311 And here are my thoughts, here are my feelings, here are my emotions. 00:21:22.311 --> 00:21:29.487 But at the end of it all, i trust you And I trust that in your way and in your will and in your time, you're going to respond. 00:21:29.487 --> 00:21:32.542 So, to sum it up, when we pray, something happens. 00:21:32.542 --> 00:21:34.927 Something happens. 00:21:34.927 --> 00:21:41.905 Louis Giglio, i heard him say it like this If we could see what happens in heaven when we pray, we would never cease to pray. 00:21:41.905 --> 00:21:55.781 We don't always understand it, it doesn't always make sense to us, we don't always know everything that God knows, but what we know is that when we pray, prayer makes a difference. 00:21:56.738 --> 00:22:06.099 A couple of quick examples Abraham in Genesis 18, he begins to intercede, to talk to God on behalf of a city that has gone off the rails. 00:22:06.099 --> 00:22:11.126 And Abraham says, okay, god, if we find 50 people in this city, will you spare the city? 00:22:11.126 --> 00:22:12.541 And God says, sure I will. 00:22:12.541 --> 00:22:15.461 Oh God, what about if we find 40 people in this city? 00:22:15.461 --> 00:22:15.883 Will you spare it? 00:22:15.883 --> 00:22:17.006 And God says, sure I will. 00:22:17.006 --> 00:22:18.218 What about 30? 00:22:18.218 --> 00:22:24.447 And Abraham just keeps like praying, like more bold prayers, and God keeps responding to Abraham's prayer. 00:22:25.315 --> 00:22:30.181 Moses in Exodus 32, the golden calf incident Moses comes down off the mountain. 00:22:30.181 --> 00:22:31.480 He's got the 10 commandments. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.342 The Israelites have built a golden cow. 00:22:33.342 --> 00:22:35.362 They're worshiping a false God. 00:22:35.362 --> 00:22:43.923 The true God has led them out of Egypt, split the Red Sea and they've built a cow to worship it instead, because they want to worship something they can see and touch and understand. 00:22:43.923 --> 00:22:51.682 And God's like this isn't good And he's ready to wipe out Israel and start over with Moses. 00:22:51.682 --> 00:22:59.662 And Moses prays to God and says no, no, no, god, you're slow to anger, you're abounding instead, fast love and faithfulness. 00:22:59.662 --> 00:23:03.585 Will you forgive and relent? 00:23:03.585 --> 00:23:12.877 And God says I will, on behalf of this nation and the promise that I've made to bless the world through this nation. 00:23:12.877 --> 00:23:14.081 God says I will. 00:23:14.081 --> 00:23:17.644 God does it again in numbers 14. 00:23:17.644 --> 00:23:25.601 We read this last week Moses prays in the wilderness on behalf of the nation of Israel And, once again, god forgives. 00:23:25.601 --> 00:23:32.486 Maybe you're here today and you're like, well, didn't God know he was going to forgive and didn't God know? 00:23:32.486 --> 00:23:40.026 Well, yes, he's sovereign, he's overall, but still Abraham prays and Moses prays and it changes things. 00:23:40.026 --> 00:23:44.363 God's inviting us to partner with him. 00:23:44.363 --> 00:23:50.044 James 5, 16 and 17 says this the prayer of a righteous person has great power. 00:23:50.044 --> 00:23:51.607 As it is working. 00:23:52.394 --> 00:23:56.586 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, old Testament prophet. 00:23:56.586 --> 00:23:58.321 He was like us. 00:23:58.321 --> 00:24:02.065 He was a person, a human being with a sin nature like ours. 00:24:02.065 --> 00:24:08.081 And Elijah prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 00:24:08.081 --> 00:24:09.706 Don't pray that. 00:24:09.706 --> 00:24:11.680 It's hard to clarify. 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:12.463 We need rain. 00:24:12.463 --> 00:24:13.980 Don't pray that prayer. 00:24:14.295 --> 00:24:25.766 But the point is that Elijah was human And when he prayed, god heard and God responded when people pray in faith. 00:24:25.766 --> 00:24:38.409 So our God's responses to our prayers reciprocated upon the nature of our faith. 00:24:38.409 --> 00:24:44.915 In other words, the more faith we have, is God more likely to respond to our prayers. 00:24:44.915 --> 00:24:48.065 If I have more faith, it's God more likely to do what I want him to do. 00:24:48.065 --> 00:24:48.858 Is that how it works? 00:24:48.858 --> 00:24:52.220 No, i don't think so. 00:24:54.605 --> 00:24:57.934 God responds not because of us. 00:24:57.934 --> 00:25:02.774 God responds because of the object of our faith. 00:25:02.774 --> 00:25:05.470 It's not about me. 00:25:05.470 --> 00:25:09.554 It's not about the formula that I use to pray. 00:25:09.554 --> 00:25:11.833 It's not about the words that I say. 00:25:11.833 --> 00:25:17.535 It's not about, like, mustering up enough faith before I go to God to get God to notice my prayer. 00:25:17.535 --> 00:25:24.711 It's about praying to the Father in the name of the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:24.711 --> 00:25:29.134 Again, jesus is at the center of all of this. 00:25:29.134 --> 00:25:32.375 My prayers are not powerful because I'm full of faith. 00:25:32.375 --> 00:25:45.665 My prayers are powerful because Jesus is faithful And I'm praying to the Father by the Spirit, in the name of the Son And on behalf of his finished work in my place. 00:25:45.665 --> 00:25:49.685 The object of my prayer is what makes prayer powerful? 00:25:49.685 --> 00:25:50.367 It's not me. 00:25:50.367 --> 00:25:51.993 I'll be honest y'all. 00:25:51.993 --> 00:25:58.627 I am a terrible prayer And I feel like I am a terrible prayer For me. 00:25:59.168 --> 00:26:03.574 I can sit down and read the scriptures and I can study the Bible, but prayer it's like I'm praying. 00:26:03.574 --> 00:26:04.869 And next thing, i know, it's like ice cream. 00:26:04.869 --> 00:26:10.256 Or like you know, did I lock the door on my truck four days ago? 00:26:10.256 --> 00:26:11.430 Where's my wallet? 00:26:11.430 --> 00:26:12.811 Have I lost my keys again? 00:26:12.811 --> 00:26:15.845 Is Noah, you know, dangling from the tree in the backyard? 00:26:15.845 --> 00:26:19.269 like trying to be Tarzan, like what is happening, like that's prayer for me. 00:26:19.269 --> 00:26:20.648 Sometimes You ever been there. 00:26:20.648 --> 00:26:25.292 It's like you're praying and that's like everything you forgot when you start praying automatically comes to mind. 00:26:25.292 --> 00:26:30.752 Or you like wait and pray, like right before bed and you start to pray Next thing you know your alarm's going off. 00:26:30.752 --> 00:26:31.507 You're like what happened? 00:26:31.507 --> 00:26:35.471 We struggle with prayer. 00:26:35.471 --> 00:26:38.511 Maybe one of you in here is like nope, i actually am a great prayer. 00:26:38.511 --> 00:26:38.846 Like. 00:26:38.887 --> 00:26:40.745 I pray consistently, i pray constantly. 00:26:40.745 --> 00:26:44.265 I pray about everything first and foremost, and for you that's amazing. 00:26:44.265 --> 00:26:51.892 We all want to be more like you, but for the rest of us, prayer can feel like a struggle, and so I want to encourage you today. 00:26:51.892 --> 00:27:19.633 It's not about you when you pray, it's about the one that you're praying to, so you can have confidence, when you approach God and prayer, that he hears, he responds, he cares, not because of you, in spite of you, because of Jesus And because the spirit of Jesus, as followers of Christ, lives in your heart and is praying on your behalf at the same time, and that's beautiful. 00:27:19.705 --> 00:27:24.758 So Paul in Colossians one, he prays two things for this church. 00:27:24.758 --> 00:27:29.307 He prays one that they would be filled with the knowledge of the will of God. 00:27:29.307 --> 00:27:39.129 Translation, that they would know what God wants them to do so that they can live this walk that bears fruit. 00:27:39.129 --> 00:27:41.476 It's prayer number one. 00:27:41.476 --> 00:27:50.968 The second prayer that Paul prays in Colossians one is is that the church would have the power to endure with patience and with joy. 00:27:50.968 --> 00:27:55.234 So, one, the church know what God wants you to do. 00:27:55.234 --> 00:28:16.691 And two, when it gets hard and you're being pressed and in the day and time in which Paul's writing there was some heretical teaching about Jesus that was infiltrating the church Paul says you need the power to endure in the face of opposition with joy and patience, a spirit of Thanksgiving. 00:28:16.691 --> 00:28:24.565 Paul says that that flows from the grace of God And I love this Like. 00:28:24.565 --> 00:28:26.894 That's a great prayer for a vibrant church. 00:28:26.985 --> 00:28:40.935 Is it not that the church would be a place full of people that know what God wants us to do and then walk it out in the face of opposition with joy and patience and gratitude? 00:28:40.935 --> 00:28:45.315 You want to talk about the ability to change, some reveal. 00:28:45.315 --> 00:28:49.732 Let's begin to be that kind of church And, by the way, i think you are that kind of church. 00:28:49.732 --> 00:29:05.334 This is the kind of place that when people walk in, i think they want to be in the room, and that's all about the spirit of God working through your lives to mold us into a place where it is evident that God is at work. 00:29:05.334 --> 00:29:07.252 And that's what Paul says to the church. 00:29:07.252 --> 00:29:09.333 He says, hey, a path was told us. 00:29:09.333 --> 00:29:12.710 The love of God is evident when you gather together. 00:29:12.710 --> 00:29:19.130 There's a unity there, there's a hunger for the presence of God, there is a working of God's spirit. 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:28.253 That is not from human strength, it's the strength of God's power working through you. 00:29:30.785 --> 00:29:36.894 Jesus was talking to his disciples one day and they ask him to teach them to pray. 00:29:36.894 --> 00:29:43.765 And I love that because they could ask Jesus a lot of stuff Teach us how to help people, teach us how to do miracles, teach us how to walk on water. 00:29:43.765 --> 00:29:46.954 But their question to Jesus was will you teach us how to pray? 00:29:46.954 --> 00:29:48.884 And we're not going to read that today. 00:29:48.884 --> 00:29:52.829 That's in Matthew 6, sermon on the Mount, if you want to read that. 00:29:52.829 --> 00:30:01.475 But I do have a couple of quick thoughts before we enter into a time of communion for practical application to a life of prayer. 00:30:01.525 --> 00:30:06.117 Number one is this pray like you talk, pray like you talk. 00:30:06.117 --> 00:30:07.788 The goal is not to impress God. 00:30:07.788 --> 00:30:12.913 You don't have to pray in King James English. 00:30:12.913 --> 00:30:14.670 You don't have to pray in perfect. 00:30:14.670 --> 00:30:22.506 You know patterns of speech, your verbs in the right places and all that Like you just talk to God, like you talk to the people in your life. 00:30:22.506 --> 00:30:33.333 The goal is not even just to communicate to God Like you can communicate well to someone without necessarily having a relationship with that person. 00:30:33.333 --> 00:30:36.680 The goal of prayer is to be with God and to know God. 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:39.070 So just talk to it. 00:30:39.070 --> 00:30:41.845 Be honest about what's going on in your heart. 00:30:41.845 --> 00:30:44.225 Be honest about where you are in your life. 00:30:44.225 --> 00:30:50.565 Don't try to impress him with your big words or making it sound like you got it all figured out. 00:30:50.565 --> 00:30:57.015 John Mark Comer, in God Has a Name, says it like this God is not nearly as scared of honesty as we are. 00:30:57.015 --> 00:31:04.585 Prayer is when you talk to God with the edit button in the off position and you feel safe and heard and loved. 00:31:04.585 --> 00:31:07.530 It's the kind of relational exchange you can't get enough of. 00:31:08.386 --> 00:31:13.093 Number two pray the scriptures, take God's word and pray it back to him. 00:31:13.093 --> 00:31:15.585 I love praying through the Psalms. 00:31:15.585 --> 00:31:26.125 I came across this practice a couple of years ago, at a time where I was struggling in my prayer life and I began to learn that the early church would pray the Psalms to God. 00:31:26.125 --> 00:31:31.355 They would literally just open the Bible to the book of Psalms and pray the Psalms. 00:31:31.355 --> 00:31:39.245 And it's amazing how, when you pray God's word back to him, you are encouraged by what was written thousands of years ago. 00:31:39.245 --> 00:31:44.331 Every human emotion that we experience is recorded in the Psalms. 00:31:44.331 --> 00:31:46.585 Pray it back to God. 00:31:46.585 --> 00:31:48.990 Talk to God Again. 00:31:48.990 --> 00:31:51.810 New City Catechism says it like this what should we pray? 00:31:51.810 --> 00:31:57.392 The whole word of God directs and inspires us in what we should pray. 00:31:57.392 --> 00:32:08.655 What we find is that when we pray God's word back to him, his word shapes not just our prayers, but it shapes and defines all of how we experience life. 00:32:08.655 --> 00:32:11.553 We hide his word in our heart. 00:32:12.486 --> 00:32:14.113 Number three pray spontaneously. 00:32:14.113 --> 00:32:16.813 Someone comes to mind pray for him. 00:32:16.813 --> 00:32:19.953 Something comes to mind pray about it. 00:32:19.953 --> 00:32:27.655 You're walking down the hall at the office and anxiety strikes pray. 00:32:27.655 --> 00:32:32.205 Fear grips you as you watch the news pray Pray spontaneously. 00:32:32.205 --> 00:32:33.364 You pray with your eyes open. 00:32:33.364 --> 00:32:35.288 If you're driving, please pray. 00:32:35.288 --> 00:32:40.384 Pray with your eyes open, but like if something springs up pray. 00:32:40.384 --> 00:32:43.045 Number four pray on a schedule. 00:32:43.045 --> 00:32:58.953 So we want to pray spontaneously, but we also want to schedule intentional moments of prayer to where we're sitting down and we're pausing the busyness of life and we're saying God, i'm carving out time and space, time and space to meet with you. 00:32:58.953 --> 00:33:05.517 Then, number five pray prayers that require God to show up. 00:33:08.685 --> 00:33:15.509 In other words, pray things that are way too big for you to accomplish in your own strength and in your own power. 00:33:15.509 --> 00:33:28.673 It's a path for us in Colossians, one I feel like a path for us was pray and to reach a city, and a city was transformed through a church that sprung out of the life of a man named Apathras. 00:33:28.673 --> 00:33:33.115 So let's be people that pray big prayers. 00:33:33.115 --> 00:33:44.430 We've been talking about this for a few months, but 100,000 people over the next seven years will move to Somerville and they will not have a church family, no relationship with Jesus. 00:33:44.430 --> 00:33:58.013 Based on the data that we're seeing 100,000 people What if we begin to pray as a church for God to allow us to reach 1% of those people with the good news of Jesus 1,000 people over the next six years? 00:33:58.725 --> 00:34:01.093 I don't know, i can't accomplish that. 00:34:01.093 --> 00:34:06.086 There are about 210 seats in this room, but guess what? 00:34:06.086 --> 00:34:14.173 Every day, the church scatters into the community And we're gonna come across people that don't know Jesus. 00:34:14.173 --> 00:34:15.630 What if we begin to pray? 00:34:15.630 --> 00:34:26.382 God, use my life to reach people who are far from you, and as we go, let's see what God does. 00:34:26.382 --> 00:34:33.166 We're here to build relationships with Jesus that bring other people to His love, y'all. 00:34:33.166 --> 00:34:36.028 That's a vision that we cannot accomplish in our own strength. 00:34:36.028 --> 00:34:47.590 I can't even change myself in my own power And you can't change you, but Jesus has the power to change it all. 00:34:49.052 --> 00:35:03.325 Paul ends this passage that we read this morning by saying that God, the Father, has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 00:35:03.325 --> 00:35:06.269 This is the anchor point for Paul's prayer. 00:35:06.269 --> 00:35:17.943 God has done something on our behalf that we could not do, and the way God did this was through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:35:17.943 --> 00:35:25.557 And so today we're going to move into a time of celebrating the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. 00:35:25.557 --> 00:35:30.454 We're going to take the Lord's supper together, and Paul in 1 Corinthians. 00:35:30.454 --> 00:35:48.742 He says when you do this, you remember the sacrifice of Jesus, his blood shed for our forgiveness, you remember His grace, you celebrate the gift of life, and you do this until He returns As a reminder. 00:35:48.784 --> 00:35:51.376 Guess what That we didn't get here in our own strength. 00:35:51.376 --> 00:35:59.349 It's not about us, it's all about Jesus, and so at Summerville Baptist, we practice something called an open table. 00:35:59.349 --> 00:36:05.302 So if you're a follower of Jesus, it doesn't matter what tradition you grew up in, what church you're a member of. 00:36:05.302 --> 00:36:16.349 If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you're invited to participate with us in celebrating the Lord's supper, and so we've got some folks in the room that are going to help us pass this out this morning. 00:36:16.349 --> 00:36:27.023 So, you guys, if you all go ahead and make your way down to the front, i want to pray, and as we pray, i want you to pray where you are that God would prepare your heart for this moment. 00:36:28.010 --> 00:36:31.750 There's any sin that you need to repent of in this moment. 00:36:31.750 --> 00:36:34.137 This is a moment to say God cleans my heart. 00:36:34.137 --> 00:36:38.110 There's someone you need to pray for in this moment. 00:36:38.110 --> 00:36:39.376 This is a moment to do that. 00:36:39.376 --> 00:36:46.184 But let's prepare our hearts in prayer to remember the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. 00:36:46.184 --> 00:37:04.884 Father, we come before you confessing that we have sinned and fallen short of your glory, fallen well shy of your standard of perfection. 00:37:04.884 --> 00:37:16.124 But, god, we're so grateful in this moment for your grace, for the finished work of Jesus that allows us to boldly enter your presence, to extend our hands in worship. 00:37:16.124 --> 00:37:19.778 Father, we can pray to you, knowing that you hear and respond. 00:37:19.778 --> 00:37:35.293 So, god, as we remember Jesus this morning, remind us that our lives are not our own, that we were bought with a price and, because of that, all of life belongs to you, in Jesus' name amen.