WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:19.679 Amen, amen. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:20.480 Let's pray together. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:25.519 Lord, thank you that you're near, not just with Jenny and her journey, but you're near to every one of us in this room. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.559 The Bible tells us that the hairs on our head are numbered. 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:32.079 So for those of us who don't have hair, we still take comfort in that. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:37.119 Because you're a God that's intimately familiar with everything having anything to do with us. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:42.880 There's no area of our life that you're not concerned about, that you're not aware of, and can do something about. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:45.920 So why would we not submit everything to you today? 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:53.439 Holy Spirit, illuminate the scriptures today to where we grow and we increase in our capacity to trust you and enjoy you. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:56.240 So we don't walk out of here thinking this is duty. 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:58.479 This is not duty, this is delight. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.920 And so God calls us to delight in what your word says today. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:03.280 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:05.760 And everyone said, Amen, amen. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:08.879 If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it, open up to Philippians chapter four. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:10.799 If you're a guest, let me tell you what we're doing. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:13.439 We're in a series right now called Words to Live By. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:18.799 And each Sunday we just take a word and we just kind of talk about this word from the perspective of the Bible. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:22.879 We talked about rhythm, we talked about contentment, we talked about the kingdom. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:24.799 And today I want to talk about prayer. 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:26.319 I want to talk about prayer. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:32.879 And I want to talk about it in a way uh that that I wanted to change the way you pray, the way you think about prayer. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:37.280 I remember towards the end of his life, Billy Graham, the great evangelist, was interviewed. 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:39.359 They asked him, they said, Do you have any regrets? 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:40.959 And I was struck by what he said. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:44.560 He looked in the camera and he said, I wish I would have prayed more. 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:47.120 And my first thought was, Dang, bro, you're Billy Graham. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:48.719 I thought you were talking to God all the time. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.280 Uh, I don't want to get to the end of my life and say that. 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:53.599 I don't want you to get to the end of your life and say that. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:59.120 And students, I want you, when you meet your husband, uh, and he's not sitting next to you right now, just for the record. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:05.920 When you meet your husband or you meet your wife, I want you to be able to say with integrity, hey, I've been praying for you since I was in the ninth grade. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:07.680 I'm so glad to finally meet you. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:15.599 Uh, because when you understand what the Bible says about prayer, you enjoy praying and you see a consequence for your prayers. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:16.400 Does that make sense? 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:17.439 Say amen. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.879 Uh the Bible talks about in Philippians chapter four. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:22.719 I'll just read verses four to seven. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.280 He says this, because I think a lot of people think, well, praying is just talking to God. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:28.159 Yes, it is. 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:33.599 But there's some things that we do on the way to prayer that inform and elevate the way we pray. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:34.159 All right? 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.719 Philippians chapter four, verse four, verse four. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:38.800 Uh rejoice in the Lord uh always. 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:40.479 And again, I say rejoice. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.039 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:44.319 The Lord is at hand. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:52.719 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:03:00.080 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:04.319 In these like four or five verses, there's six things I want to point to. 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:10.639 Uh uh and just kind of say, hey, could we incorporate this and in into how we pray and how we think about prayer? 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:12.879 And here's the first one: rejoice. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:13.680 Rejoice. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.599 He says, rejoice in the Lord always. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.759 And again, I will say, rejoice. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:27.280 The word picture here around the word rejoice, it means literally to be well and to thrive in the Lord, to be well and to thrive in the Lord. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:39.520 Now we've got to change the way we think about God because our focus is to be well and thrive at everything else, and we come to God for comfort over the things that are not going well and the things at which we are not thriving. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.560 And I want to just submit to you, beloved, that is not prayer. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.800 He says, rejoice is to be well and thrive in the Lord. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.759 And so the first thing that the gospel does is it alters what you find joy in. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:56.960 So to rejoice is to come back to that which exposes you to your deepest joy. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:58.240 Let me say that again. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:02.719 The first thing the gospel does is it changes what we find joy in. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:07.520 There's a lot of things that I used to find joy in that I don't find joy in anymore. 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:08.080 Okay? 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.879 Like I have a friend that smokes weed consistently, habitually, all the time. 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:14.639 Now, that may weird some of you out. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.639 You're kind of like, like, I'm not gonna say who, but there's lady this section right here that just went, oh. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.079 Somebody's gotta be friends with Wade Collier. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.199 But anyway, uh, it's not Wade Collier. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:26.000 Relax. 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:28.240 His kids just looking like dad. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:32.160 Uh no, I have a friend, and my friends always ask me questions about weed. 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:33.759 And he's like, hey, did you used to smoke? 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:36.079 Yeah, like 1982 before I became a Christian. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:42.720 So would you, if they legalized it, and everybody talks about marijuana, well, it's illegal in 21 other states, not Texas. 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:46.000 And he said, Well, if we ever legalized it in Texas, would you ever smoke weed? 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:46.560 I said, No. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:47.680 He goes, How do you know? 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:49.839 I don't find joy in that anymore. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:50.959 I just don't. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:58.000 The first thing the gospel does, and the most consequential thing it does, is it alters the things that you find joy in. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:06.879 It it affects, so when the Bible says rejoice, it basically is saying, come back to that which exposes you to your deepest joy. 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:14.399 And again, the question becomes you should, students, before you go home, by the way, here's the formula: lunch, nap, homework. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:16.800 Don't push through and try to do homework. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.160 Nap first because you're kind of cranky and not enjoyable. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.240 Just eat and go to your room, okay? 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:26.720 Come out about 6:30 or 7, do some homework, call it a night, all right? 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.319 But one of the things you've got to ask yourself is, what is my deepest joy? 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:36.399 Now, mom and dad, if your deepest joy is in your kids, uh, and I get that, my kids are deeply enjoyable. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.920 They were both here this weekend, so my wife didn't talk to me for three days. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.000 Uh, I didn't I didn't think our stove worked until our kids got to then it's like, hey, what do you want? 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:44.399 What do you want? 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:44.879 What do you want? 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.120 I'm like, what about me? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.040 We take every oh shut up, the girls are here. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:49.680 Oh, never mind. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:50.959 Okay, okay, good. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:59.040 Not not a problem, but you have to ask yourself, hey, what is the thing uh that I find my deepest joy in? 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:06.000 Because when the Bible says rejoice to be well and thrive in the Lord, here's a hard question for students. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:10.639 You got to ask yourself, do I really believe that I can be well and thrive in the Lord? 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:16.639 Or do I have to go outside of the context of my relationship with God in order to be satisfied? 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:22.240 This is the nature of sin, is you don't find satisfaction and joy in God. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:24.800 And so the first thing he says about prayer is you have to rejoice. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:26.480 Secondly, he says, be reasonable. 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:28.480 I love that this sentence is in the Bible. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.600 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:35.120 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:39.759 Reasonable means to be affable, mild, moderate, patient. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:41.439 Ask you a simple question. 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:46.800 Are you a reasonable person or are you consistently difficult to deal with? 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:48.800 Because what's that got to do with prayer? 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:57.360 Because a lot of times people come to prayer and you're not reasonable, you're you're eccentric, and it almost gives you permission to believe things that aren't true. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:01.279 But just in the warping move of life, we should be reasonable as well. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.560 Like you saw Ginny, that's Jenny Hardcastle, who is the basketball coach at Logos Prep. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:07.680 Can we get a shout out? 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:08.480 Yeah. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:09.839 Yeah. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.680 Her husband Blake is our spiritual formation pastor. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:16.879 We they started here in June of 2019. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:22.160 However, we hired them in October of 2018. 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:24.800 You're like, What? 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:28.160 Yes, we're in a meeting with the elders, and they were like, Yeah, we think this is a go. 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:29.519 We said, we think this is a go. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:34.240 And they said, Okay, I guess we can go back to Delaware and put our house on the market and fix some holes in the walls. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.079 And I was like, time out, you got holes in the wall? 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:37.439 Yeah, we got teenage boys. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:38.319 Okay, there you go. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:42.639 And and she said, I teach second grade, and I guess they might let them know, and da-da-da. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.879 And my spirit just got grieved, and I was like, Okay, that's an option. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:49.519 Or you could go back to Delaware, you could finish. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.120 Blake's been the BSM director at the University of Delaware for like 21 years. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.959 You can finish next spring, get some free lunches, maybe get a plaque or something. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:58.720 You can finish your teaching contract. 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:03.839 I don't want to get to heaven and some second grade kids come up to me and go, You took me so cancel away. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:10.639 And you can let your boys finish kissing all the Delaware girlfriends and then come to Texas. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:14.319 Which that's what it's like in an elder meeting, by the way. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:15.439 That's how we talk. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:17.519 We don't sit around and go, um. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.319 And I said, which would be better? 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.000 And they were like, Oh my gosh, you're serious? 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:23.120 You would hire us now? 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.319 I'm like, I ain't gonna start paying you till you get here, by the way. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:31.199 But yes, we hired them in October and they started in June. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:31.839 Why? 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.840 Because we try to be reasonable, we try to be reasonable. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:38.080 We try to be win-win. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:39.840 He says, Rejoice, be reasonable. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:42.080 Thirdly, proclaim, proclaim. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:43.679 Look at the text. 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.159 He says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:48.720 The Lord is at hand. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:52.080 The Lord is at hand, and this makes something possible. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:53.039 It's not possible before. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:54.240 We'll get to that in just a minute. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.159 The Lord is at hand, which means near. 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:58.320 He's within reaching distance. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:03.759 And so before you pray anything, you need to declare this one thing over what you're about to pray about. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:05.679 The Lord is at hand. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:09.200 I prayed with some friends last night on the phone, and he just came out of me. 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:12.000 God, you're you're you're at hand, you're near. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:13.360 The Lord is near. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:16.879 When Jenny said, My story is one of the God is near. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:18.559 He's not way off in the clouds. 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:24.399 You're not trying to wake up a sleepy grandpa out of the recliner of heaven to kind of get concerned about your life. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:27.120 He is near, he is concerned. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:31.679 And so before you pray, you just need to kind of proclaim the Lord is near. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:35.440 He's not far off, watching, greeting you from a distance. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:37.759 No, he is very near. 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:40.399 Let me give you a word, a picture in your mind. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:41.919 It's Genesis 1. 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:50.960 Genesis 1, the Bible says that the world, the earth, was formless and void, but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:10:02.639 And so to say that God is near means that you may have some things in your life you don't know what you're supposed to do, you don't know what you're going to do, you're operating on borderline overwhelmingness, and you're like, I just don't know. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.679 Again, you're not trying to get away off distant God. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:14.559 He is near, he's hovering right over it, and he can speak into it and bring form out of formlessness and substance out of nothing. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:20.960 And so when you and I say, the Lord is near, we're not reminding God, we're reminding ourselves. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:26.720 And so ask yourself today: do my prayers reflect the fact that the Lord is near? 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:29.440 That the Lord is near. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.440 Now, this isn't just about nature, it's about proximity. 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:35.519 It's not just about nature. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:37.519 The Lord, that's his nature. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:41.840 By the way, he says in the book of Jeremiah, I am the Lord God of all flesh. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.080 Is anything too difficult for me? 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.639 That's his nature is near. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:49.919 That's his proximity. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:51.759 Now, why do I make a big deal out of that? 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.080 Because you're drawn to one side of that statement or the other. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:56.159 His nature or his proximity. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:03.759 Uh, they're in that order because the nature of the person that is in proximity to you determines the comfort you derive from their presence. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:05.759 Let me say that again. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:14.559 The nature of the person that is in close proximity to you determines the comfort that you derive from their presence. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.919 The Lord, that's his nature, is near. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:20.399 So you can derive a lot of presence. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:26.480 Like students, if you had a bad dream tonight and your little brother ran in the room and said, Sissy, are you okay? 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:27.600 You would not be comforted. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.600 You'd be like, Go get mom, dude, okay? 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:34.879 But if your mom came in there all of a sudden, it's like, oh my, I had a terrible dream. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:35.919 And your mom's up in the bed. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:36.879 Hold why? 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:44.320 Because the nature of that person, you such that it is, you derive a measure of comfort from their presence. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.639 And so the Lord is near. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.000 This is also why you can despise someone you once loved. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:52.960 Y'all like, oh, I didn't see that coming. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:53.840 Where'd you go? 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:56.559 Yes, you can despise someone you once loved. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.720 I talk to people about this in counseling all the time. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:02.720 I may meet with a couple, and the lady's like, I said, Tell me why you're here. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:04.320 I I can't stand him. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.080 Opening salvo. 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:07.039 I just can't stand him. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:08.879 And he's like, Uh, can I have some coffee? 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:10.080 Sure, get some coffee. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:12.080 Uh, I said, What do you mean when you say you can't stand him? 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.399 I can't stand to what listen to him talk. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:15.759 Uh he snores. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:17.120 I sleep upstairs now. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:17.840 I can't stand. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:22.159 This was the love of my life, and I abhor him. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.360 That's a bad word, by the way, kids. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:28.639 And I said, Okay, so is this reconcilable? 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:29.679 She goes, I hope so. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:30.559 That's why we're here. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:35.120 But I mean, I like I have disdain for this man. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:36.879 And the guy's just sipping the coffee. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:37.840 It's pretty good coffee. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.320 And I'm like, focus, focus. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:45.440 Now, how does somebody come to a point where they despise someone they once loved? 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:46.480 Look at me. 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:48.639 You got to know their nature. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:53.919 And I said, What have you discovered about him that you didn't know early on? 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:55.120 Oh my gosh. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:56.720 How much time do you have? 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:57.840 75 minutes. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:12:58.879 Talk fast. 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:05.519 And she said it was starting off here, and then slowly it just eroded and eroded and eroded and eroded. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.759 And now it's just like I would rather be alone than in a relationship with this man. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:14.639 By the way, can you feel what's happening in this room right now? 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:20.639 Some of you are like, oh strangely familiar language all of a sudden. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:25.759 But here's the beauty is that people can change, people can repent. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.360 I said, What's the one thing that he could do that would surprise you? 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:34.480 And she said, uh I don't need much. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.399 How about just say I'm sorry? 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:40.879 And I said, You're you're you're you're you're telling me a lot. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:47.360 But again, the nature of the person that's in proximity to you determines the comfort you derive from their presence. 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:48.799 Yes. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.000 So here's the fourth component of prayer. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:52.879 Respond. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:54.080 Respond. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:58.720 It's not enough to say what the Bible says, like it's a magic potion that makes problems go away. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:04.639 You have to learn to live in light of what you just said, to respond to what you proclaim because it's true. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:06.799 So it's one thing to say the Lord is near. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:16.480 Students, if you're in a relationship and you get sometimes, not all the time, but occasionally you struggle with the physical part of the relationship, just proclaim out loud, the Lord is near. 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:19.440 Could we act like it? 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:20.960 The Lord is near. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:21.679 Okay? 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:23.200 I don't want to play house. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:24.320 The Lord is near. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:30.639 I'm not talking just the students, I'm talking to some of you people that are divorced, and you think because you're divorced, and hey, well, you know, I'm divorced. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.759 And so you know, no, no, the Lord is near. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:36.240 The Lord is near. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:37.919 Yes. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:39.440 So what does that mean? 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:41.840 Our theology tells us that the Lord is near. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:46.720 The application of that truth tells us that I don't have to live at the mercy of my anxiety. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:48.240 Look at what the Bible says. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.399 The Lord is at hand, the Lord is near. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.320 Verse 6 Do not be anxious about anything. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:02.639 This is why it's such a big deal that you and I could understand the nature of this being who is near. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:07.759 Because he has the capacity to say, anxiety, you can't stay here anymore. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:11.120 Now, I'm not digging at people that struggle with anxiety. 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:13.039 It's a real thing. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.799 But I am saying this: we have to learn to respond. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:21.919 Because he says, Hey, uh, do not be anxious about anything. 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:25.759 This is not a dig at people that struggle with anxiety. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:38.639 It's an invitation to all of us to stop future tripping and projecting gloom and doom on ourselves instead of learn to respond to what we know instead of being paralyzed by what we can't know, and yet choose to fear. 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:41.200 Respond. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:49.759 Or as I tell people all the time, could you stop accommodating and accommodating and accommodating and just taking it and taking it and taking it? 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:57.519 And one day you wake up and your soul is bent, crooked, doubled over, and the psalmist question rises in you why are you so downcast? 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:58.879 Oh my soul. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.799 Because you accommodate people and things that you shouldn't. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:05.519 Someone asked me not long ago in council. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:07.120 A lady said, Hey, can I ask you a question? 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:07.679 I said, Sure. 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:09.360 She goes, Do you ever struggle with anxiety? 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:10.960 I said, By the grace of God, no. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:16.000 And not because I'm super Christian, I just don't accommodate people in their junk. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.360 And she's like, Maybe we could plunge on that? 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:22.320 I said, Yeah. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:26.399 Because whatever you accommodate, you have to continue to experience. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:28.720 And you just accommodate. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:34.960 And students, some of y'all have been told since first grade, this week's character trait is tolerance. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:40.320 God made you to be like this. 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:44.240 And so people bring you their nonsense, your boyfriend brings you his stupidity. 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:45.279 I love you. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.879 You know I love you. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:48.399 You know what? 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:48.960 Thank you. 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.200 You should love me because I love me. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.559 So you loving me is a good thing because I love me and I find that enjoyable. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:59.440 But to prove that I love you, I don't have to do this. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.279 I don't have to accommodate you. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:06.480 Because whatever you let in, whoever you let in, you got a process for a long time. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:09.759 So what am I saying? 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.279 Stop accommodating. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:13.039 Stop accommodating. 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:16.880 I said, Yeah, I'm not a harsh person, believe it or not. 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:21.119 But I have to sometimes I have to say, no, absolutely not. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:23.039 What you just said is not true. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:25.200 Here's the fifth thing. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:27.279 It's actually pray. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:29.519 He said, Well, that that that that's great. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:30.720 Look at what he says. 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:34.400 He said, but it's in everything by prayer, and the Lord is at hand. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:41.599 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:47.279 Prayer is fueled by a right understanding of the relationship between anything and everything. 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:49.359 Anything and everything. 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:50.240 What do you mean? 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.119 Be anxious, do not be anxious for anything. 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:54.720 Huge statement. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:55.759 I get it. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:03.039 The only thing that balances that seesaw out is over here, he says, but pray and do not be anxious about anything. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:07.920 But in everything, by prayer and supplication, make your request be known to God. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:16.079 One of the reasons most of us live at the mercy of crippling anxiety is we don't know how to pray with leverage and authority about everything. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:19.440 And it's just like, well, is it's just all I can do. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:20.559 I guess there's nothing I can do. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:21.519 No, no, no. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:23.279 There's a lot you can do. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:27.920 But one of the things you have to do is understand the difference between prayer and supplication. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:28.400 Okay? 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.680 Most people just supplicate, they never actually pray. 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:36.319 Now you're probably thinking, if you tell me what supplicate is, then I'll know if I do it or not. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:37.200 We all do it. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:38.559 Supplicate means to ask. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.000 Here's the difference in it, it's a simple difference in supplication and prayer. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:44.160 Supplication means you ask God for things. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:46.240 And by the way, that's great. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.559 Asking God for things is wonderful. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.000 God has no problem with that. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:57.759 One of our students that goes to church here came up to me after the last service and said, Hey, Pastor Neal, I mean, he calls me at eight in the morning. 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:59.440 You want to go to breakfast? 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:02.480 I'm like, I work for a living. 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.799 You freeload off your parents. 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:06.480 I've got a job. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:08.799 Come up to me right after the service. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:10.400 He said, Hey, I've got a date. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:11.759 This girl's coming to pick me up. 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:12.799 I'm like, at church? 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:14.400 He goes, Yeah, we're going to Jupiter. 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.160 I'm like, oh, that's expensive. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.519 I highly recommend the Ricky Bobby, though. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:21.440 And he goes, I don't have any money. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:26.559 Look at me, you knuckleheads. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:29.519 Don't none of you think this, okay? 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:30.799 None of you think this. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.519 Because he said, Can you give me some money? 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:36.559 And I said, He goes, I'm just gonna buy hers. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:37.359 I said, You gotta eat. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:38.240 I said, How much do you think? 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:38.960 He said,$15. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.200 I said, You've never been to Jupiter, have you? 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:44.480 That'd get you maybe a waffle and a glass of water. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.680 And so I peeled off some money and said, Here you go, pay for hers and yours. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:50.079 If it's a date, you should be paying for hers. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.640 He's like, Okay, Pastor Nil, thank you. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:58.000 Now, somebody was kind of watching, like, I said, I can't think there's nothing you want to ask me for. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.759 And it doesn't bother me. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.839 Now, the rest of you, you're on your own. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:03.519 You got your mom and dad. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:07.119 Uh wh why am I telling you this? 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:10.079 Because he's he don't mind supplicating. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:11.519 He asks. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.960 I mean, called one time, hey Pastor, you gonna play basketball? 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:16.720 No, I'm at work. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:17.680 I can't play basketball. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:18.640 Okay, click. 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.160 So asking is not a problem. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.440 Prayer, see, supplication is asking God for things. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.480 Prayer is a simple enjoyment of talking to God. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:32.559 It's the simple enjoyment of talking to God. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:36.240 There's three components to prayer that He kind of Paul kind of points to here. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:37.680 Let me tick them off for you quickly. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.680 Thanksgiving, authenticity, and vulnerability. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.000 Thanksgiving or gratitude. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:45.759 I prefer the word gratitude. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:47.680 Thanksgiving is an expression. 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:48.559 You're giving thanks. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.880 It's an ex so when you pray, don't just ask, but thank God for things. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:54.640 Thank God for what you already have. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.640 Thank God for how He's worked in your life. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:57.920 Thank God for something. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.519 Don't just be like, oh this week's list of demands is this. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:06.960 And if you don't come through, I'm gonna deconstruct my faith and become some internet theologian agnostic. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:07.599 Thank you. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.359 We've seen that movie. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:19.839 Speaking of Thanksgiving, the great theologian Ray Wiley Hubbard said this in the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, well, I have really good days. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:21.519 Authenticity. 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:22.319 What do you mean? 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:23.279 Your request. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:27.039