WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.079 Here's something crazy. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.160 Um, last night I was working with my daughter. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:36.479 My daughter was working all day long and for weeks, and we hit send on her very first college application. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:41.840 How is that possible? 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:44.640 Oh my goodness, I'm like nervous. 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:46.159 I'm just as nervous for her. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:54.399 Like she got sent in for the early, you know, um admissions for her top school and uh working through all that. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:55.920 It's like mind-blowing. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:57.679 I'm like going, how is this even? 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:01.759 I have a senior in high school, she's 18, she just applied to college. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.239 What is going on with my life, right? 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:11.040 And and for those, you know, who you're in my stage or even further, it doesn't it just feel like a blink? 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:13.680 Like just yesterday, they were a baby. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:16.640 Just yesterday I was holding her in my arms. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:30.480 And what's fascinating, what's interesting, is to look back 18 years ago, uh, when my daughter was six months old, um, she had, we didn't know it at the time, but she had an intestinal disease. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:35.200 She was incredibly uncomfortable, in constant pain. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:47.359 Like you just see this little being, six months old, can't communicate, the only thing you can do is cry, and we're trying to figure out what's wrong with this little baby that got all of our hearts. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:57.680 And I mean, we're going to doctors and then specialists, and over a few months they finally get the diagnosis and they say she has this disease and she's gonna need surgery. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:12.080 And you can only imagine, as brand new parents, like, wait, you're telling me you're going to have to put my six-month-old under and cut her open and cut out parts of her, like, oh my gosh. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:28.960 I mean, we had our entire church at the time praying, and um she was scheduled for a Monday, um, a Monday surgery, and our entire church were fasting and praying, and and like God showed up. 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:33.840 I mean, I this is like one of those moments where you're going, like, whoa, God showed up. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:38.159 And I'll spare you the details, and partly because I don't want to embarrass my daughter either. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:40.960 It's her story to tell, but like, God showed up. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.280 We called the doctor and like, hey, this happened. 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:45.360 Is what do you think about Delaney? 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:53.759 Do you think and they're like, absolutely, he healed our daughter 18 years ago, like miraculously. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:55.599 Isn't it amazing? 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.680 Like, God does those things still today. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:15.599 When my daughter was five, uh, my wife and her uh saw a pastor that's down south, that they just saw that their daughter um was diagnosed with um kidney cancer. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:53.520 And both my daughter and my wife, and then it's soon our entire family, we just started to pray with this pastor's family for their daughter, Daisy, who for three and a half years battled cancer, had a whole community praying for them, who like did all of the best procedures, and yet three and a half years she lost her fight and she went home to be with Jesus. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.639 We're both pastors, both daughters, in fact, our daughters of the same age. 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:08.319 Why is it that it seems like God heals sometimes, but not all the times. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:35.120 You know, this past summer, my son and I, actually, our whole family was in Mexico with our high school mission to Mexico trip, and my son was out with a group and they're ministering in um the uh the towns, and and as they were doing this, this lady had a hand that was shriveled up and just unusable. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:37.920 And so they pray for her and nothing happens. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.040 They pray again, and miraculously God heals her hand. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.839 And she's what a hand that she wasn't able to use. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:48.000 Now she's able to pick things up, and like my son sees God heal. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:59.279 And then there's a family in our community, some of our best friends that we have been praying for six years for God to heal. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:08.959 And she underwent brain surgery a year and a half ago and still didn't see the healing through that, and then it even got worse. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:13.040 She just had surgery a week ago and found a tumor. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:20.160 Why does God heal seem to answer prayer some of the time? 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:22.720 But not all the time. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:31.680 Why did God choose to heal my daughter then, but not Daisy? 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:38.639 That lady's shriveled hand, and then my friend. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:44.160 Why does it seem like it's just getting worse? 00:05:45.519 --> 00:06:15.920 Today we're actually going to dive into the deep waters of unanswered prayers, knowing that as we step into this room, we all in some way have deep longings and places where we have just longed for God to speak, long for God to move, and yet it just felt silent. 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:25.519 And I want to navigate as best and as wisely as I can, and I also acknowledge this is a big subject. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:29.759 This isn't a sermon, this is a series. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.560 And so we're not going to try to cover all of it. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.319 And I want to resource you. 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.720 I've been reading this book for the last several weeks. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:39.839 It's called God on Mute by Peter Gregg. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:46.560 Um, it's a great book, engaging the silence of unanswered prayer and talking about his journey. 00:06:46.800 --> 00:07:08.959 He's uh a charismatic Anglican in England who led this 24-7 prayer movement, global international movement, and seeing God heal, and then at the same time, his wife had a brain tumor, and then after the surgery, he has debilitating seizures and seeing God not heal in that circumstance. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:12.399 And just a powerful, incredible resource. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:22.800 And so, if you're in the season of those deep waters, I hope today brings some clarity and some encouragement, but I also encourage you to dive deeper. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:29.439 You know, last week Ashley talked about intercessory prayer, and she did a great job, didn't she? 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:30.959 Uh, and it was so good. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:39.839 And she read a passage that I think is a problem passage when it comes to like uh unanswered prayer. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.680 Uh she read, well, she took the John 15, but I'll go all the way back. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:45.839 John 14, 13 through 14. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:08:03.519 She says, and this is what Jesus is saying the night he is betrayed, before he's about to be crucified, his final words to his disciples, and he's encouraging them, strengthening them, equipping them for what's ahead. 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:14.480 And he says, This, and I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:20.639 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I'll do it. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.920 And isn't that the tension of our soul? 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:42.320 Is you're like, okay, Ryan, I get like we've talked about in his name, like that's in the line with the character and the will of God, in the line of his character and name, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't it seem like the healing of this incredibly young girl would have been in his character and name? 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:47.440 Like I've been praying for healing from my marriage and I haven't seen it yet. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:53.519 Maybe you were a kid and you were praying that your parents would get back together. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:00.799 And you prayed every night that somehow God would restore, and he didn't do it. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:09.840 Like we get stuck in this world of these promises, these passages. 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:23.360 That what how incredible that Jesus actually says that when you pray, it affects change and God actually moves on our behalf, and you're like, yeah, but why is it just some of the time? 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:28.559 We have the stories and we've seen it. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:39.759 And for many, you probably have experienced a tangible answer to prayer, but why is it some of the time not all of the time? 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:50.000 In our time together, I want to just ask a couple questions and then leave us with Jesus' unanswered prayer. 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:51.759 A couple questions. 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:55.039 The first one is why some prayers go unanswered. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:00.000 The second question is, how do we live in the tension of unanswered prayers? 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:11.919 And then we're gonna conclude with actually Jesus himself had an unanswered prayer and how it forms us in our daily lives today. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:16.480 Well, why are some prayers uh go unanswered? 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:26.480 Now, I want to give us a framework, and actually, Peter Gregg actually gives 15 different reasons for unanswered prayers, and we're not gonna go into all of those. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.799 And and I don't, I'm not talking about just stupid prayers, right? 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:31.919 You know stupid prayers? 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.960 I'm a Cowboys fan, so I'm used to stupid prayers, right? 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:41.919 But stupid prayers are like when you're praying for your sports team to win. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:43.679 I don't think God cares. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:45.840 Or contradictory prayers. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:50.960 Did you notice that um Dave, our new exp, he's from Philly. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:53.440 That means he's an Eagles fan. 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:56.799 The Cowboys and the Eagles play tonight. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:03.039 We will have contradictory prayers in the same room as we watch, and we're gonna see who God listens to more. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:04.000 I'm just kidding. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:05.039 Just kidding. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:07.919 But why? 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:12.960 So we're not talking about those kinds of prayers, which we can kind of step back and understand. 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:18.399 But why some prayers, why do they go unanswered? 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:20.399 Why do some prayers go unanswered? 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:30.799 And these are more, I want to just go over some conditions of our heart that actually create barriers or roadblocks in our prayer. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:36.720 The first is simply this, and it's so obvious, but it's it's really true, is we simply don't pray. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:42.159 We worry, we worry a lot about it, don't we? 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.480 We uh we we anxiously hope. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:47.840 I wish. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:50.159 We talk a lot about it. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:55.600 We tell everyone about it, but we don't pray. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:58.559 Jesus said in Matthew 7, 7, ask and it'll be given. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.399 Seek and you'll find. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:02.159 Search. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:07.440 You know, we just gotta celebrate Dave joining our team. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.960 As a staff, we prayed for a year and a half and we fasted every Thursday. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:22.000 So when we see him up on stage, like like there's literal jubilation in our hearts because like he's an answer to our prayer. 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:29.200 But we prayed and we prayed, and like Ashley said last um week we prayed persistently. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:34.960 First question: why some prayers go unanswered is have I really prayed? 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:38.320 I mean, have you really brought it before the Lord? 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:40.080 Have you really come before? 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:41.120 Have you sought him? 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:49.759 Have you said, no, no, no, I'm setting my face towards you, and I'm gonna cling to you, and I'm gonna search after you, and I'm gonna call upon you. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:51.759 Have you really prayed? 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:56.559 The second reason some prayers go unanswered is we have unconfessed sin. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:04.000 Psalm 68, 18 says, If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:05.519 He wouldn't hear me. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:20.799 If I'd cherished sin in my heart, if I live in a way that is contrary to the wills and the way of Jesus, if I have habitual, consistent sin, we're not talking about perfection here. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:29.120 We're talking, though, about being honest and confessing and repentant. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:37.600 1 John 1 9 says, if you've confessed your sin, he is faithful and just and will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:41.279 1 Peter 3 11 says, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:48.080 He's quoting a psalm here, and his ears are attentive to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:14:03.840 Now, if you read the context of 1 Peter 3, men, in particular husbands, listen up because Peter addresses husbands and says, Husbands, if you do not honor your spouse, God will not hear you. 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:05.519 Mm-hmm. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:11.279 That should have been like amazing amen by like a number of you ladies in here, by the way. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:23.200 Like there's a way that when you treat another human being, there's a way when you treat your spouse that it actually breaks connection and creates a barrier in your prayer life. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:28.720 See, first reason some prayers go unanswered is because we simply don't pray. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:32.480 The others is we harbor sin in our life. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:39.679 We have unconfessed sin where we need to come before he's eager, eager to cleanse us. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.120 Third is we come with the wrong motives. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.519 We come with the wrong motives. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:51.039 James, the brother of Jesus, writes this you do not have because you do not ask God. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:15:01.039 And then when you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:05.039 Come with the wrong motives. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:17.279 It goes something like this God, if you give me this job, then I will bring you so much glory in it. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:24.159 God, if if I if I close this deal, I'll be able to give so much more to you. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:27.519 And we have this. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:29.679 Here's the honest, let's just be honest. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.440 None of us pray with a hundred percent pure motives. 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:45.440 So, for example, this morning, as I'm preparing, one of my prayers is God, would you speak powerfully through me? 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:52.000 That your word uh would bring life and hope and shape those who hear it. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:16:09.440 Now, at the same time, there is a motive inside me that I have to be honest about that, yes, I long for God to speak through me, but I also at the very same time long for him to speak through me so that you think well of me. 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:16.720 Isn't it amazing how we can pray very spiritual prayers and yet still have this tension of motive? 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:24.320 See, if unconfessed sin, you ask the question, is there anything in me that's not of you? 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:30.159 With our motives, you simply begin to ask, Do I have any anything in me? 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:32.320 Like, is there any motive that's not of you? 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:33.840 Where's the mixture? 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.279 Let's just be honest, most of our prayers have it. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:39.200 That's okay. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:40.799 Here's what you do with it. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.000 You go, God, and this is what I did this morning. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.799 This is a really deep water subject, and I long for you to speak. 00:16:48.960 --> 00:17:02.480 And at the same time, I acknowledge myself and my brokenness and my proclivity that I want people to think well of me, and I just use proclivity as a big word to impress you that I know words. 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.039 Hello, sinful, human. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:08.160 Right? 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:14.240 And you acknowledge that motive and you bring it before your heavenly father. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:19.920 Have I honestly evaluated my motives? 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:24.640 We just don't pray, we have unconfessed sin, we come with the wrong motives. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:27.119 The final one will kind of shock you a little bit. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.599 We fail to practice generosity and justice. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:39.599 You find this throughout the Old Testament, specifically Proverbs, Psalms, prophets. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:41.920 You see it in the life of Jesus. 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:49.920 Proverbs 21, 13 says this whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:56.319 Jesus would give us the great commandments. 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:00.000 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:01.359 And the second is like it. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:09.759 That and is a conjunction in which it is in the tense that we'd say um the second cannot be taken from it. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.119 It is it is intricately linked. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:17.599 Like you cannot love God and not do the second. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.119 And we think we can. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:22.880 The second is and love your neighbor as yourself. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:35.519 My vertical love and relationship with God always expresses and love to his people and to the world around me. 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:52.400 When we fail to do justice, to love mercy, to be generous, when we think that all that we have is just ours for our own sake, instead of all that we have has been given by God. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:19:02.720 We're simply a steward, and so my time, my talent, my treasure, all that I have is yours, and you place me on this planet, you place me in Silicon Valley for such a time as this. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:09.440 You've equipped me, and so I am going to unleash generosity because you've been so generous to me. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:24.240 And the heart of the Father is to bring about justice, to restore those who are broken and hurting with no voice and no hope. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.480 And so, why do some of our prayers go unanswered? 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:29.680 We just don't pray. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:31.279 We have unconfessed sin. 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:37.119 We come with the wrong motives, or we fail to practice generosity. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:44.240 Now the reality is those first two stories, those prayers were unanswered. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:51.359 They prayed, we prayed, they confessed their sin, we confessed our sin. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:57.680 They evaluated motives and living generous, just lives. 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:05.359 And so the reality is, is how do we live in the tension of unanswered prayers this side of eternity? 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:25.119 And what I want to do is just real briefly outline some theological ideas and hopefully whet your appetite to go deeper because we don't have time to dive into the depths of these waters. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:33.039 But I hope to just like get you like your toe in it just a little bit, you know, so that you go like, oh, there is there is more. 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:36.960 There's more than what I've thought there was. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:44.160 And so I want to talk about three theologies we need to embrace in the tension of unanswered prayers. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:48.160 The first theology is a theology of pain and suffering. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:55.039 Church in America, we need a theology of pain and suffering. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:58.079 And we've adopted bad theology. 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:01.920 Bad theology will corrupt you and kill you. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.160 The American theology around pain and suffering is if I follow Jesus, my life will work out right. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.240 That is not true. 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:14.319 The belief is God exists to meet my needs and make me happy. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.839 God exists for his own glory, not yours, by the way. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:22.559 Pain, hardship, and suffering means that God has failed me. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:29.279 And so this produces a fragile faith that cannot withstand the storms of life. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:36.960 That is the theology that we have adopted in American Christianity. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:45.279 That if my life is not working out right, God has somehow failed me. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:58.240 And yet, no other world religion has a better explanation of the problem of pain and suffering than Christianity. 00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:04.960 And No other world religion has a God who suffered as well. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:12.319 And we worship the suffering servant who came and suffered on our behalf. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:22.000 Well, the theology of pain and suffering, we're not going to go real deep into this, but let me just give you uh one uh little kind of banner, if you will. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:25.920 First, we live in a fallen world. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:27.279 Can you just write that down? 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:29.039 We live in a fallen world. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.000 I want you to jot next to it, Genesis chapter three. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:35.119 Genesis one, it begins with God's creation. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:39.039 And he says, after each time of acts of creation, it was good. 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:40.559 Then we created humankind. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:42.240 He said it was very good. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:49.279 Genesis 2, we see just the intricacies of God's uh creative work. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:56.319 And then Genesis 3, he created humanity with free will to be able to choose him or not to choose him. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.480 That's what all love and relationship requires is the ability to choose. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:04.720 Humanity, Adam and Eve said, My will be done. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:07.599 I want that and not you. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:11.200 And we now live in the fall. 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:19.680 We live in a world that was not the way God designed it to be. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:21.119 It's broken. 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:27.839 In fact, if you got your Bible, slip over to Romans chapter 8. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:30.480 Romans chapter 8. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:37.759 Um, and by the way, we have some of these trite sayings in Christianity because we rip them out of their context. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:42.640 And when we rip them out of their context, they're trite instead of being these truths of God's word. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:52.640 The trite saying that we pull out of it is uh Romans 8, 28, and God works all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purposes. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:24:03.359 And people say, and God works all things together, and people say it, and it becomes it's cliché, but it's cliché because it's pulled out of its context. 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:06.000 Let's get to the context. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:08.400 I consider verse 18, 8. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:11.839 I consider that our present sufferings. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.160 So Paul is undergoing present suffering. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:22.079 He is writing a letter to the church in Rome who is undergoing present suffering. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.799 They're in the will of God and they are suffering. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:36.240 Those aren't contradictory, are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:46.559 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:54.160 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed, for the creation was subject to frustration. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:54.799 Why? 00:24:55.119 --> 00:25:04.160 Back in the garden when humanity chose their own way, creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:05.039 Us. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:15.039 In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from the bondage to decay and brought into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:23.680 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up into this present time. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:47.839 And even in the midst of a fallen, broken world where this does not work the way God designed it to be, God's still actively working and orchestrating and saying, even in the midst of evil, and in the midst of injustice, I will work for your ultimate good. 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:55.680 And that's the reason Paul could say, I consider this present suffering not worth comparing to what's awaiting us. 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:59.920 Because what's awaiting you is worth whatever you're going through. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:10.640 But we have to understand, in this life, someone once said famously, you will have, thank you, four of you. 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:12.720 Isn't that funny? 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:15.599 That's the promise of Jesus we don't quote a lot. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:19.680 Like we're banking on all these other promises. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:21.200 Jesus promised it. 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:23.839 In this life, you will have trouble. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:25.920 Life is hard. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:27.759 In fact, think about this. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.880 In the Lord's Prayer, notice what Jesus prayed. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:38.079 You ever thought about it? 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:38.640 The reality? 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:41.119 Where is God's perfect will done presently? 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:42.079 In heaven. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:48.319 Where is God's will done imperfectly, brokenly, inconsistently? 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:49.839 On earth. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:59.440 And so much of what we see and experience is the result of a fallen, broken world. 00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:03.759 We got to have a theology of pain and suffering. 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:07.599 One last thing. 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:09.839 Flip over to Colossians chapter three. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:12.640 Like I said, I just want to give you hookholds. 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:15.599 Colossians chapter three. 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.200 This is interesting. 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:26.319 As um 10 through 11. 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:32.480 I think I wrote down the wrong. 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:37.279 It's Philippians 3, guys. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:40.799 Philippians 3, 10 through 10. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:41.519 I wrote down the wrong. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:43.599 I was like, that doesn't look right. 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:50.079 Notice Paul's prayer here and how different it is than ours. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:53.759 I want to know Christ. 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:55.200 Yes. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:58.799 To know the power of his resurrection. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:02.559 And there ain't nobody in here that ain't gonna say amen to that. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:04.960 Absolutely. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:10.240 The next phrase we could live without. 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:12.880 Let's just drop it. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:14.000 Let's stop there. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:30.880 And participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:37.839 I want to know the power of the resurrection and participation in his suffering. 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:44.640 Because if I'm going to follow in the ways of Jesus, I follow a suffering servant. 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:49.119 A theology of pain and suffering. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:53.599 The second theology that we need is the theology of the character of God. 00:28:54.480 --> 00:29:04.880 I think three fundamental questions come up, and we we did a series called Broken God that I want to point you back to on this, but three big questions in unanswered prayer. 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:06.480 First, is God good? 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:09.599 Is God great? 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:11.200 And does God care? 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:16.720 Those are the three existential questions that we begin to wrestle with. 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:26.079 Is God really good in the midst of a broken world where bad things happen to good people? 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:28.880 Is God great? 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:37.599 Like, is he big enough to be able to solve the problem, to answer and to show up? 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:39.759 And does he care enough? 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:42.960 Am I even on his radar? 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:48.240 There's three core characteristics of God. 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:53.599 And actually, under a theology of pain, if I could give you a little book on that one, it would be C.S. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:56.240 Lewis's uh The Problem with Pain. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:57.599 The problem of pain. 00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:03.519 It's a little book, it's not too intimidating, but an excellent book there. 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:07.279 Under a theology of the character of God, a little sin book, A. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:07.440 W. 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:09.839 Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy. 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:14.960 The wisdom of God, the sovereignty of God, and the goodness of God. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:22.640 The wisdom of God, Tozer says, all of God's acts are done in perfect wisdom. 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:29.519 First for his own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:33.200 All of God's acts are done in perfect wisdom. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:40.319 First for his own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time. 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:50.880 In fact, my dad's sermon on the wisdom of God this last year during that series, uh Broken God, one of the best sermons I think I've heard all year. 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:53.119 Go back and listen to it. 00:30:53.359 --> 00:31:05.119 Powerful as we begin to zoom out, because we begin to filter everything and filter God through our own personal realities and feelings instead of zooming out of like, no, you're God. 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:12.240 And you're actively at work and you are sovereign and you're moving in this space and time. 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:25.039 And by the way, your wisdom and the way you see all things possible and actual and how you're working, I gotta say, your ways are not my ways, and your thoughts are not my thoughts, and I don't understand it. 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:30.880 And there are some things I just won't understand this side of heaven. 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:52.720 Peter Gregg in his book Uh God on Mute says this says, When we are scared and hurting, when life feels chaotic and out of control, it is more important than ever to anchor ourselves in the absolute eternal truths that we are dearly loved and deeply held by the most powerful being in the universe. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:32:01.839 Let this be the great non-negotiable in our lives, the platform for all our other thoughts, and the plumb line for our prayers. 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:05.200 How do we live in the tension of unanswered prayers? 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:10.000 First, we have to develop a theology of suffering and pain. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:13.759 And then we have to get rooted in a theology of the character of God. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:16.160 Who is God really? 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:21.519 Not who we think he is, but who has he revealed himself to be? 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:28.160 And finally, a theology of salvation and sanctification. 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:31.759 Theology of salvation and sanctification. 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:35.519 Tim Keller writes this the gospel is this. 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.039 You ready for the gospel? 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:38.559 Gospel means good news. 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:39.920 Good news number one. 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:43.920 We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dare believe. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:45.359 Welcome to church. 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:48.319 You are more broken than you ever thought you were. 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:54.240 Yet at the same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. 00:32:55.359 --> 00:33:08.799 See, I think we have so in American Christianity belittled salvation to something that happens when you die, that it's like this, you know, little ticket that goes to heaven. 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:29.200 Instead, the reality that it took God stepping into humanity, the incarnation, taking on flesh, being beaten and hung on a cross, that he would go to that extent and length because he so loves you and wants to bring you back into his family. 00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:34.960 That he is the God who leaves the 99 for the one, and you and I are the one. 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:49.200 Salvation, God's rescuing, redeeming work of bringing humanity back into relationship, back into right relationship, back into the garden in relationship with him. 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:56.720 Sanctification is the process by which God works in our lives to help us become more like Jesus. 00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:59.839 It's the process of life. 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:05.279 In fact, in Romans chapter 5, you get both of these salvation and sanctification. 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:08.400 If you got your Bible, slip over to Romans chapter 5. 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:10.719 Notice this. 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:17.039 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:18.079 We've been justified. 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:21.599 That word means just as if I'd never sinned. 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:22.320 Justified. 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:23.440 It's a fun way to remember it. 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:25.599 Just as if I'd never sinned. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:27.519 It's your right standing with God. 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:35.599 No matter what you walked in with, when you receive Jesus as your Savior, your standing with God is justified. 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:38.719 Just as if you had never sinned. 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.480 When God sees you, he sees Jesus. 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:54.719 He says, therefore, since we've been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we've gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:59.119 And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:00.079 Amen. 00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:03.440 Okay, let's read the next line. 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:09.599 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings. 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:11.360 Ooh. 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:15.119 I don't like that part, Paul. 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:18.559 That's not very American. 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:20.880 We don't do suffering here. 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:22.320 We ignore it. 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:26.000 We push it down. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:27.519 Oh, why? 00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:42.079 Because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us. 00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:46.800 God will not waste your pain. 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:57.199 He is not the cause of your pain, but he will not in his sovereignty waste your pain, and he will allow it and work through it to help shape you more into his likeness. 00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:02.880 James 1, 3 says, Consider it all joy, or reckon it joy when you face trials of many kinds. 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:03.119 Why? 00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:14.480 Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work so that you'll become mature and complete, not lacking anything. 00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:15.280 C.S. 00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:16.239 Lewis. 00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:23.039 He said, I'm not sure, he wrote, that God wants us to be happy. 00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:26.639 I think he wants us to love and be loved. 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:32.320 But we are like children thinking our toys will make us happy and the whole world is our nursery. 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:35.920 Something must drive us out of that nursery into the lives of others. 00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:40.079 And that something is suffering. 00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:45.360 How do we begin to live in the tension of unanswered prayers? 00:36:45.599 --> 00:37:07.039 Friends, one of the things that's been so devastating for us as Western followers of Jesus is we've adopted a health and wealth prosperity gospel that says if you experience suffering, then something's wrong with either you or your God. 00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:16.639 We have to develop a theology of pain and suffering, the character of God, and then fundamentally get back to the reality of the resurrection. 00:37:16.800 --> 00:37:17.599 Think about this. 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:23.199 He goes on and says, you see at just the right time when we were still powerless. 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:24.960 This is your salvation. 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:31.760 When you were powerless to change anything, you had no ability to do anything. 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:35.280 Christ died for the ungodly. 00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:43.920 It's only until you admit it that you need know you need it. 00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:51.199 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 00:37:51.440 --> 00:37:54.719 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. 00:37:54.880 --> 00:38:06.880 While we're still sinners, while we're still enemies, while we're still far from him, while we wanted nothing to do with him, while we thought we knew better, while we said, no, thank you, God. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:13.039 He said, I'm still gonna come for you and I'm gonna offer it to you, whether you want it or not, is yours to receive it. 00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:14.719 If you want to receive it, that's wonderful. 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:19.119 I'll never force my way upon you ever, but I'll at least do the work and pave the way. 00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:23.039 So in case you might come to your senses, I say, Here it is. 00:38:23.679 --> 00:38:29.760 That's the salvation, that's gospel, that's new life. 00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:32.400 And the pathway. 00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:38.960 The pathway for us to experience that was actually Jesus' unanswered prayer. 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:45.760 Did you know Jesus didn't get every prayer answered the way he wants? 00:38:47.039 --> 00:38:54.079 See, it's been said God answers every prayer, yes, not yet, and no, and the no's are the hardest ones. 00:38:55.840 --> 00:39:05.840 In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night Jesus was betrayed, in the very same three chapters where Jesus said, Ask whatever you want. 00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:09.440 Jesus asked whatever you want. 00:39:10.400 --> 00:39:12.320 And it went unanswered. 00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:17.280 They went to a place called Gethsemane, which means the oil press. 00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:23.519 Jesus is in intense pressure physically, practically, spiritually, emotionally. 00:39:23.760 --> 00:39:27.519 Jesus said to his disciples, Sit here while I pray. 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:33.679 He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:38.559 My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them. 00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:40.880 Stay here and keep watch. 00:39:41.360 --> 00:39:47.760 And one of the other gospels tells us he's so stressed out and overwhelmed. 00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:50.719 He's starting to sweat drops of blood. 00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:59.280 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if it's possible, the hour might pass from him. 00:39:59.519 --> 00:40:00.239 I love this. 00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:04.480 This is the humanity and deity of Jesus all together, that he's fully human. 00:40:04.719 --> 00:40:12.559 He understands the weight, he understands the cost, he understands what's about to happen and how painful it's gonna be. 00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:17.199 And he says, Abba, father. 00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:22.880 He begins with the goodness of God and relationship. 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:28.800 Because that's where we begin with your goodness, your Abba, you're a good father. 00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:31.840 I'm related, I'm your kid. 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:35.039 Everything's possible for you. 00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:39.440 The sovereignty of God, your great. 00:40:40.719 --> 00:40:46.239 And then his personal request: take this cup from me. 00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:49.440 It's all possible. 00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:52.639 Would you take this cup from me? 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:55.920 I don't want to go through this. 00:40:56.079 --> 00:41:03.840 I'm right up to the point, and it's only hours away, and I don't want to go through this. 00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:16.000 And yet, what Adam said in the garden when he was confronted with the apple was, my will be done. 00:41:17.119 --> 00:41:20.800 That brought devastation and destruction. 00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:31.840 The second Adam, Jesus, in the garden, said, Yet not my will, but your will be done. 00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:36.159 Which brought death to him but brought life to us. 00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:44.880 It was actually Jesus' unanswered prayer that paved the way for our answer to prayer to step into the family of God. 00:41:48.320 --> 00:42:04.960 And if you're here this morning, and I don't ever want to underestimate the amount of pain that's in the room, and you're walking with unanswered prayers, I want to invite you to just follow the example of Jesus. 00:42:08.960 --> 00:42:10.559 All things are possible. 00:42:10.960 --> 00:42:12.480 Here's my plea. 00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:16.880 And then this act of surrender. 00:42:18.079 --> 00:42:19.519 I want my way. 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.000 And from my perspective, this is the way I think it should work. 00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:28.960 But I'm gonna trust that you're good, that you're wise, that you're all sovereign. 00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:31.360 Yet not my will be done. 00:42:33.280 --> 00:42:34.559 Your will be done. 00:42:35.760 --> 00:42:40.559 So would you just take a moment and let us pray the prayer of Jesus? 00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:45.760 Would you just begin with Abba Father? 00:42:45.840 --> 00:42:55.199 Start with relationship, that you're his kid, that he's your perfect heavenly father who loves you, delights in you, longs for your best. 00:42:55.760 --> 00:43:06.320 Even as a good father hates to see his kids go through heartache and pain, but knows those are things that are part of the journey of this troubled life, it breaks his heart. 00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:13.039 Call on him Abba, Abba, Papa, Father. 00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:18.000 Could you remind yourself that everything is possible for him? 00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:22.400 That he's great, he's all powerful. 00:43:27.599 --> 00:43:29.760 Where do you want him to take this cup? 00:43:32.639 --> 00:43:36.159 Maybe his answer is a yes, maybe his answer is a not yet. 00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:38.480 It might be the most painful no. 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:41.039 What is the cup? 00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:49.920 Maybe it's with your marriage, maybe it's with your health, maybe it's with a relationship, a dream. 00:43:52.639 --> 00:43:53.360 A longing. 00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:10.639 Maybe it's the reality that you're living in an aftermath. 00:44:11.599 --> 00:44:12.960 A devastation. 00:44:16.239 --> 00:44:17.760 Maybe a divorce. 00:44:35.519 --> 00:44:36.559 Yet not my will. 00:44:36.719 --> 00:44:37.920 Your will be done. 00:44:42.639 --> 00:44:43.920 I want my way. 00:44:44.480 --> 00:44:46.079 That's the reason I'm praying. 00:44:47.440 --> 00:44:49.360 But I'm gonna trust your way. 00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:52.000 That's what Jesus is saying. 00:44:52.320 --> 00:44:53.599 I want my way. 00:44:54.639 --> 00:44:56.480 But I'm gonna trust your way. 00:44:56.880 --> 00:44:58.719 Help me to trust your way. 00:45:03.199 --> 00:45:04.559 In Jesus' name. 00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:05.440 Amen. 00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:08.719 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:13.360 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:45:13.519 --> 00:45:15.599 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:45:15.760 --> 00:45:21.679 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.