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Thank you for taking the time to listen to one of the recent sermons preached at Wilton Baptist Church. It is our desire as a church to strive together in building a faith, family, and future that honors and glorifies our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If we can be a help to you in any way, please visit our website at wiltonbaptistchurch.com. John chapter 16. Thank you for that good song. The only way to heaven through Jesus Christ. And I hope that you know that. in your heart today as well. John chapter 16. Well, it's good to see each of you here this morning. We appreciate you coming out. It's a beautiful day God's given to us. And you may have something going on this afternoon. I invite you to come back tonight as we continue our sermon series through the Sermon on the Mount. That's at six o'clock. Really epic teaching that Christ gave. And so we invite you to come back for that as well. Well, I know that at least one person listens to my messages online. Mama, my mom called, or actually she texted and said from last week's message, I thought that you were supposed to read three chapters of the Bible before playing games. I think she was right. I said at least one, but she listens to the messages and I'm thankful that you're here. today to hear this one in person, but you can always encourage people. Sermon audio, we actually get a lot of traffic on that. People listen to our messages, everything preached from this poll, but just about everything is posted on there, so I encourage you to find that for yourself and then tell other people about it as well. There was a new recruits, an army recruits, who was given guard duty, it was 2 a.m. in the morning. He did his best for a while, but about 4 a.m., he went to sleep. He awakened to find the officer of the day standing before him. Remembering the heavy penalty for being asleep on guard duty, the smart young man kept his head bowed for another moment. Then he looked up and said, amen. We're gonna talk about prayer. today, and not just convenient prayer, we're acting like I'm praying, but real prayer. As we look in John chapter 16, we'll find Jesus teaching really a new way, to that point, it was a new way to pray. We all face the temptation to quit, to give up fighting with sin. We give up, we have the temptation to quit being faithful, to participate in church life. We have the temptation to neglect reading the Bible. We have the temptation to neglect spending time with God in prayer. Now, we have a lot of things to pray about. We have relationships. We have kids. We have work. We have our house. We have financial issues. We have stress and difficulties. We have health needs. And a lot of us have physical needs. And I appreciate your prayers for this cough that I've been battling with for several months. And so I appreciate that. We have, and all of you have, as you walked in this morning, I saw you. I saw your faces. And I know a lot of the prayer requests that you've shared. And there's a lot for us. to lift up to God in prayer. I would want to encourage you with this, that we should be encouraged in prayer. We should be encouraged when we pray. How can we have victory in a world that is against our fellowship with God? We need to pray. We need to pray even more. One preacher said, there's more you can do after you pray, but there's nothing you can do until you pray. Well, we could try to get a lot done without prayer, but really we don't get much done. If anything, we need to stop and pray. Hudson Taylor, a famous missionary. It said the prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure, and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge. Call unto me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. And it was Abraham Lincoln who said that I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all of me seemed insufficient for the day. As we're open to this passage, John chapter 16 verse 16 is where we'll begin reading Jesus is in the upper room. And Judas has already left. It's dark outside. This is right before they sing a hymn. And then go on to the Mount of Olives. He actually teaches them and expounds on some incredible truths for several chapters of the Bible. And some of that teaching is about prayer in this passage. Notice John 16, 16. A little while, and ye shall see me. And again, a little while, and ye shall see me. So they will not see him in just a little while, but then in a little while they'll see him again because I go to the Father. So Christ is getting ready to go to the cross and then He'll be resurrected three days later. He'll walk on the earth for another 40 days, and people will see him, and then he'll ascend into heaven. So that's what he's referring to in this passage. So you'll not see me, but then you'll see me again. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, what is this that he saith unto us a little while, and ye shall not see me? And again, a little while, and ye shall see me. And behold, or because I go to the Father. They said, therefore, what is this that he saith a little while? We cannot tell what he saith. So they were still kind of confused about what's taking place. Now, Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them, do ye inquire among yourselves of what I said? A little while, and ye shall not see me. And again, a little while, and ye shall see me. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice. and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." While people were celebrating the crucifixion, the disciples were sorrowful about the crucifixion. Three days later, as people were still thinking that Jesus was dead, the disciples were excited that Jesus Christ was alive because he came back from the dead. So they're gonna lament, but it's gonna be turned to joy. A woman when she is in travail, she's going to deliver a baby, hath sorrow because her hour is come. But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish or the joy that a man is born into the world. All that pain and effort was worth it once you hold that baby in your arms. It's the illustration he gives. So Christ was gonna suffer and bleed and die, and then, of course, later be resurrected. He paid the price for our sin. And he says in verse 22, and ye now, therefore, have sorrow. But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto, or to this point, Have ye asked nothing in my name? Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day, ye shall ask in my name, and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you. Be encouraged in prayer. Jesus proceeds to teach prayer and about prayer in the rest of this chapter. Chapter 17, he continues the lesson on prayer, and he gives an example prayer, if you would, and that chapter is known as the High Priestly Prayer, where he's interceding and praying for us. So what should I do, and what should you and I do, when we are discouraged? Because Jesus said, you're gonna have problems as well, and you're gonna have difficulties and temptations, and you're going to look at the crucifixion and all the things leading up to it and have great anguish in your spirit. I would suggest to you that what they experience and what we experience, we have the same solution to it, and it's the word prayer. That no matter what we face or what we're going through, God is with us through all of that, and we can talk to him in prayer. What do we do when we're discouraged? I call someone or I talk to somebody. Why not pray? What do we do when the world is against us and the problems are overwhelming to us? We could Facebook it, we could tweet it, we could talk about it to everybody else, but why not pray? Why not take moments with God in prayer? Be encouraged. in prayer. Now in verse 24, verse 26, Jesus says that I'm teaching you something and I'm telling you something heretofore you haven't been able to pray or you haven't prayed this way to this point. And so it was new for them. It's something that maybe it's new for you, but it's how we talk to God and it's how we approach God the Father. And it's through the authority and in the name of Jesus himself. We have this new way to pray that Jesus gives. Before this, the disciples could talk directly to Jesus. They could say, Lord, why is it that this man is filled with a demon? They could say, Lord, what about this child who is not able to walk? And they could say, Jesus, could you tell us more about this parable that you just gave and let us know more. They could talk directly. They could beseech God or pray directly to God because he's right there in their presence. But he said, I'm leaving now. I'm going to be gone for a little bit, and then you'll see me again for just a short while, and then you'll not see me again. And in the meantime, here's how you're going to pray. You haven't been able to pray like this before, but you're going to pray to God the Father. You can see it more in the next chapter. I'm going to pray to God the Father, but here's how you come to him. It's through my name. It's with my authority. It's praying through the name of Jesus. No one prayed like this before. No one prayed like this before. This is kind of amazing for us to think. If you've been saved for a while, maybe you just kind of assume, well, this is the way it's always been. People didn't pray like this before Jesus said, here's how you pray. It's through my name. Dallas Theological Seminary, years ago in its early days, was in critical need of $10,000 to keep the seminary going. During a prayer meeting, the renowned Bible teacher Harry Ironside, maybe you have a commentary at your house that has his name on the side of it. He wrote a lot of books and commentaries. He was a teacher at the school and he prayed in that prayer meeting, Lord, you owned a cattle in a thousand hills. Please sell some of the cattle so that we can meet this need. Shortly after that prayer meeting, a check for $10,000 showed up in the mail. On a memo line, the rancher said, I sold some cattle. They prayed, they prayed. James told us he had not because he asked not. And so I would suggest to you that no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, what shortcomings there may be in your life, or what needs are so overwhelming, that you would take a moment and talk to God in prayer. Notice the way that prayer affects the situation. In verses 22 through 24, we have prayer changes their sorrow into joy. Prayer changes their sorrow into joy. Now you therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. In your joy, no man taketh from you. And in that day, you shall ask me nothing, verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you ask the Father in my name. He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." There'll be a day where you have great sorrow and anguish, and I don't know where else to go or who else to turn to. And Jesus said, I'm going to be gone physically from you, but you can still go to God the Father in my name through this medium called prayer, through this avenue, this roadway. called prayer. Prayer changes sorrow into joy. Now it's very apparent that we're going to have sorrows in life. And you have a burden right now. You have something that you're carrying right now. There's sickness or distress or a relationship difficulty. You don't know what to do about a situation. We're all going to have sorrow. Now this word for sorrow here means sadness or grief. Could we all admit this? Life is tough. Can you say that? Isn't that true? Life is tough. All right, life is tough. Disappointments are many. Disappointments are all around us. Now, here's a by the way for this. It's even harder when we misplace our expectations. A lot of times we make it even harder on ourselves because we have faulty expectations. We hope that having a spouse or having a child or getting a new relationship would change our setting. Or if I had a different situation or a better circumstance, that would change my outlook. We must have less fulfillment expectations in people, in stuff, and possessions, and positions, and have more expectations in our relationship with God. Because if our hope is in the next person, or the next job, or the next house, or the next whatever, you will be disappointed time and time again. But Christ never disappoints. Sometimes we may not understand, but prayer is something that expresses a dependence and a desire for God. Lord, you can work this out. I'm not gonna depend on this person. I'm not saying don't be a dependable person. But my hope isn't in a person. My hope isn't in a bigger paycheck. My hope isn't in a new medicine. My hope isn't in these things. My hope is in the Lord. My walk is with Jesus Christ. So prayer changes my sorrow into joy. And it can replace the sorrow. And you can see the replacement of sorrow with joy. Joy cannot be stolen by another person. Jesus even makes it very clear. Your joy, in verse 22, no man taketh from you. So it can't be taken away from someone else or by someone else. You can have joy in your life that is full. That means overflowing, overflowing. Now, we are the culprits who give our joy away. and maybe we let the circumstance or the sickness or whatever it is rob us of our joy, but no man himself, no woman herself can take it from you. The word joy means tearfulness or a calm delight or a gladness. And if you read through the book of Philippians, you can understand this definition of joy, Jesus, others, and you. I'm living for Jesus, I'm serving others, and I'm down there, the third one. Jesus, others, and you in priority and in outlook. Joy is deeper than the mere outside happiness. Joy is a peace of mind and a calm delight in the heart. Inner contentment. Listen, this is made possible by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said before he left, I'm gonna go, but I'm gonna send you another comforter. A comforter, it's the Holy Spirit. So you can allow the Holy Spirit to create this joy in your life. And I would suggest to you very strongly this morning, this is a strong and a true statement. You cannot have Bible joy without a consistent prayer life. You can't have it. You know what, if you're down and out all the time, if you're discouraged, disappointed, people are disappointed in you and you hate this and you hate that and you're against them and against that, you're not praying like you should. You're not talking to God like you should. There's something wrong in your prayer life with the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot have joy without consistent talks with God in prayer. Now, I'm with you on this. I'd like a better circumstance. Or I'd like my health to get better. Or I'd like this to change over here. But here's what happens with joy and the Holy Spirit and this sorrow turning into joy. God, by your grace, I can accept this. See, it's a perspective issue. The circumstance may never change, but your heart changes. People may never change, but your heart changes. And the sorrow is turned to joy. Oh, it'd be terrific if people were dependable. But God, I know you're always dependable. Lord, I would love to have less physical pain, but your grace is sufficient. It's a perspective issue then. We can replace sorrow with joy. Sorrows will come and sorrows will go, but joy can always remain. It can always remain, and that's what Jesus is pointing out to these disciples. How does it remain? How do you sense it? Well, we have prayer. Because of prayer. Because of this confidence in God that's expressed in prayer. Because of committing the situation to the Lord, that takes place in prayer. Because of resting in His Word, that's relying on the Bible. Because of accepting His will. It was George Washington who said, I have learned from experience that the great part of happiness or misery depends on our disposition, not on our circumstance." It's a good statement, and it's very true. So if you have some sorrow today, thank God that can be turned into joy because of prayer. Prayer changes sorrow into joy. Number two, verse 25 and 26, prayer causes Jesus to pray for us. To think, if you study Christology or the doctrine of Christ, that God the Son, who's seated at the right hand of God the Father, when you pray, he looks to God the Father and prays too. He prays for you. This is just an amazing thing to think about. But look at verse 25. These things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day you shall ask Him my name, and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you. For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from God." Prayer causes Jesus to pray for us. Now, we already have considered this statement, we pray in Jesus' name. Very clear in verse 23, 24, 26 as well. You pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus. Now, does this mean that at the beginning or ending of the prayer, Every time I have to say, here's my prayer request, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. It doesn't actually mean that you have to chop, chop, chop, say exactly like that. What it means is we come to God the Father in the authority and by the name and through Jesus himself. Now, I like to pray, Lord, we come to you because of Jesus. And I, in my prayers, I'll say, Lord, we come before you because of and in the name of Jesus Christ. That's the way that I pray. And it's not exactly those words, but it's the idea of authority that because of Jesus and through his name and by his name, we come. It has to do with access that comes by his authority. It's not my rights. by His rights. It's not because of me that God hears my prayer, but it's because of Jesus. Kind of like the police officers, I don't know if they say this anymore, but you stop in the name of the law, okay, in the authority of The law. A king had a signet ring back in the day, and they would stamp that on something, and whatever they were stamping, that was given approval. This is authorized by the king. Today, we would say a presidential signature. This authorizes this. We come in the name of Jesus, through his authority, and by his position as the risen son of God. So we pray in Jesus' name, and then he prays for us. Now, think about the prayer of salvation. When you pray for salvation, you ask Christ for salvation. It's not the prayer, but it's the faith in your heart, believing in the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection. In Revelation 3, 5, he that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name. out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels." So Christ confesses Christians as being saved to God the Father. In Luke chapter 12, verse 8, also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the son of man also confess before the angels of God. So Jesus, when you pray for salvation, God the Father, through Jesus, and Jesus says to God the Father in his prayer, This man, this woman, is believing in the death, burial, and resurrection. And because of my sacrifice on the cross, this person is forgiven, God the Father. He sees the blood of Christ. He sees you cleansed. He sees you covered by the blood of Christ. And he sees you now being at peace with God through Jesus Christ. and prayer of salvation. How about 1 Timothy 2.5? In 1 Timothy 2.5, the Bible tells us that there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so Jesus prays for us. When you get saved, he prays for you. There's a go-between. He's the mediator. Jesus is the go-between. And he prays for you when you pray to God the Father through the name of Jesus. Now, he's the mediator. It's not a man. It's not a man. Now, you can intercede for somebody, but you're not the mediator between God and man. It's Jesus Christ. You can still pray for someone. That's intercession. Thank God for intercession. You pray for me and I pray for you. And those are good things. But Jesus is the mediator. It's not a priest. It's not a pope. It's not a preacher. It's not even parents. The mediator is Jesus. And when you pray, he looks directly to his left hand side where God the Father is. He prays for you. Now the disciples, they were going to see Jesus in person. one more time after this. And notice how he says this prayer at that day. At that day. There's going to be a day when they needed to pray for God's help. They were going to see the crucifixion. And then they were going to see Jesus resurrect three days later. And they were going to rejoice for a little bit. And then they followed him around a little bit more as he would allow them to. And they would see him again for a little bit more following the resurrection. And then they would Watch him ascend into heaven. And so at that day, at that day, I'll no longer be on this earth. At that day, you'll need to pray and call out for help whenever there's struggles and whenever you're going to be persecuted because of your faith and your walk with me. And so at that day, and so we live in the same time period, Jesus isn't physically on this earth. But he can be in your heart if you're saved. And He can take your prayer to God when you pray. And He wants to do that. We can pray to God the Father directly because of and in and through the name of Jesus. You see, the disciples were going to be on their own, but they were not really alone. And friends, the same is true for us. You may be on your own, but you are not alone. you can talk directly to God. Jesus is right there with you in His Holy Spirit. And so before he went up to heaven, He suffered and died. Those disciples needed the hope of prayer. And so he's teaching them about it. And folks, we need the hope of prayer as well. We need it for several reasons. It's depending on the great God. It is releasing our burdens to him. It is looking for God or to God for a solution. It is looking ahead that he has a plan through it all. And it lets us know when we pray, I am not really alone. It may look like it, sometimes it may feel like it, but I am not really alone. Because when you pray, Jesus prays right along with you and God hears his prayer. Number three, prayer creates a connection to God the Father. Verse 27 and 28, for the Father himself loveth you because you have loved me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father and am coming to the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father. Prayer creates a connection to God. There was a fisherman at sea with his companions. They were godless companions. And a dangerous storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. His friends begged him. They said, go ahead and pray. He said, it's been a long time since I've done that. It's been a long time since I've been in church. They kept saying, pray, pray. At their insistence, he finally cried out. He said, Lord, I haven't asked anything of you in 15 years. And if you help us now and bring us safely to land, I promise I won't bother you again for another 15 years." That was his prayer. Isn't that sad then? Sometimes we use prayer just as an escape route. Get out of jail free. I had been with God for a long time, really messed things up, you know, but Lord, would you fix it? Would you fix it? And we should pray in times of trouble. We should, but we should also pray when there are no troubles. We should continually be meeting with God. We are connected in presence when we pray because Jesus is actually in the presence of God the Father. He's actually right there. Now, I may not be physically in heaven, but Jesus is right there on my behalf, taking my prayer as if that was me right there. He's mediating that prayer to God the Father. Hebrews 10, 12 says, but this man, speaking of Jesus, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. He, that is, as God, is with or beside God the Father. Jesus is God, and He's right beside God the Father, and He's connected, and we're connected to God in the presence of Jesus. Not only that, but because He's right there, we're also connected with the power of prayer, because prayer is very powerful. And Lord willing, maybe next week or maybe another couple weeks from now, we'll look at the power of prayer. And there's a lot for us to pray about. We have the revival meeting coming up, and there's Vacation Bible School, and there's the Teen Youth Rally, and there's things going on in your life. There's a lot for us to pray about. And so we're going to emphasize prayer for a little while that will get closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're connected in presence, but also connected with the power of prayer. Think about the magnitude of this simple statement. the God who created everything, the God who loves you, died on the cross for you, the God, I mean, just think about all the incredible things about God. He hears your prayer. How many billions of people have ever lived and he hears your prayer? That's mind boggling to us as human beings. We're connected. with his power, God hears your prayer. He answers your prayer. Sometimes it's yes, sometimes it's no, I have something better. Sometimes it's maybe later. It's generally the three responses that we get, but God hears every one of those prayers. connected with power, how about connected with priority? Notice it should be a priority, where he says in verse 24, Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. So I'm just going to pray for a million dollars, and I'm going to waste it on riotous living, just go have a good time. God won't answer a prayer like that. We are to pray according to the will of God. We ought to pray according to the desire that God has for you. It's nothing outside of the Bible. It's always in accordance with the Scriptures, with how He would answer a prayer. It's not to consume upon your own lusts or desires, but to give out the gospel and tell people about Jesus and honor the Lord Jesus Christ. So He'll answer your prayers in some way if you're praying the way that Christ instructs, especially when you look at the next chapter then as well. But we're connected in priority. He says, ask and receive. The book of James says, he have not because he ask not. Jesus wants you to pray. Look back a few pages to Luke 11, please. Luke chapter 11. God wants you to pray. He enjoys it when his children call out to him in prayer. Luke 11, verse 9. Jesus again is teaching and said, I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give For a fish, give him a serpent. I've always loved this teaching. It kind of comes across sarcastic. You know, if a kid is hungry, here, have a rock to eat. God doesn't do that. A human father wouldn't do that for his kids. Or if you ask an egg, you know it's breakfast time, and you ask an egg, will you offer him a scorpion? Here, just don't touch the stinger on that scorpion. He's not going to offer him that either. But notice verse 13. If you then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? God wants us to pray He wants to respond to prayer. God loves it when His kids pray like a son or daughter to their parents, asking for something. Thank the Lord for that. He wants you to pray. So prayer changes sorrow into joy. Prayer causes Jesus to pray for us. Prayer creates a connection to God the Father. And prayer confirms peace with God. Look in verse 29, his disciples said unto him, Lo now, speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now we are sure. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." Friends, we will have conflict in this life. There's going to be conflict in this world. Sometimes it's also with this world. There's problems because of the sin nature. But Christ has overcome that. Romans 8, verse 35 and 36. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, for thy sake, We are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. There's problems of the sin nature, but we have this power of prayer. We have this peace with God. It's confirmed because God hears our prayer. He accepts our prayer. How about proving to grow us? We'll have problems that prove us. and can change us. 2 Corinthians 12 verse 7, And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. And I don't know what it would be in my life or in your life. Maybe it's a cough, who knows? But God will allow things into our lives to prove us, to grow us, to nurture us, to help us develop into a better Christian, walking closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I can pray all that time, and it confirms I have peace with God. Sometimes there's punishment to correct us. We're just talking about the conflict in this world. Sometimes there's punishment, Hebrews 12, six, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Well, he received me by grace through faith, I'm saved, but now I'm living a life of rebellion, I'm living a life of sin. And God can scourge you, but whenever you turn back and say, Lord, please forgive me, he hears your prayer. You repent, and you turn around from that, and you can talk to God. He'll hear that prayer. We will have conflict in the world, but listen, all the time we can have confirmation that we have peace with God. All the time we have conflict, we can have communion with the Lord. How do we have communion? Well, it's with prayer. Jesus said, I gave you these things, I spoke you these things that you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. So how would these disciples know that they're at peace with God? It's what Jesus has been teaching them the whole time. They have this consistent prayer life. Go ahead and keep praying. Keep praying. He illustrates it then in the prayer in the next chapter. You see, we have communion with God. We have peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all sin. Amen for that. We have cheerfulness through the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. We need to have that right perspective of joy, no matter the circumstances. And yes, we have victory through faith. Faith in the gospel, faith in the resurrection, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5, verse 4. So let me ask you a question. When we consider how prayer confirms that we have peace with God, are you closer to God today than you were last week? Are you closer to God today than you were a month ago? Are you closer to God today than you were one full year ago? And if the answer to that is, I don't think so, or no, why not do something about it today? And a way to do that is to commune with God, to communicate with God in prayer. Perhaps you need to spend more time in prayer. When a man is dating a woman and receives a letter or a text or a card, it's from the woman that he loves. He reads it. He don't just put it on a shelf without opening it. He opens it up and he looks at it. When that text chimes, he looks at it very quickly. He wants to see, what does the love of my life say? When we go to the Bible, This is a love letter that God has given to us. God loves you, He loves me, and it's a love letter that He has given to every one of us, and since we love God, we love Him because He first loved us, you would think that. it would be good motivation then that he's given us this love letter that I would read it. We talked about that last week, I'll read it. Let's say the same man reads the letter or the text and he enjoys what he read, it's helped him know, it's given him assurance of her love for him, and he's excited, and then he doesn't write back. He doesn't reply back. He doesn't respond in any way back to the love of his life. Would you say, wow, he's really in love with that girl? No, you wouldn't. You see, prayer is our response to this book, Back to God. That's what it is. If you love God, you'll read this book. And if you love God, you want to have a growing relationship with him, like a man dating a girl. If you want to have a growing relationship, then you want to respond from this book by praying back to God, talking to Him, communicating with Him in prayer. It's because we love the Lord that we respond to His letter with prayer. Bible reading and prayer go together, and that's how you grow as a Christian. That's how you know the Lord Jesus in a greater way. Bible reading, So today, be encouraged in prayer. Prayer changes sorrow into joy. It causes Jesus to pray for us, and it creates a connection to God. And yes, it confirms that we are at peace with God. Let's bow together for a moment of prayer, a time of invitation. Maybe you're a friend here today, and you say, Pastor, you spoke about the gospel for just a moment. And Jesus died and rose again. He's alive in heaven. I would like to know more about the gospel. I would like to know more about how my sins can be forgiven, so that I would know for sure that when I die, that I would go to heaven. Is there anyone like that that would say, I would like to know more about salvation? No one's looking around. This is what we call an invitation. It's a personal time. I would like to know more about salvation. Anyone like that, just raise your hand. I want to pray with you about that. Anyone at all, just raise your hand very quickly. All right, thank you. Then maybe as a Christian, answer this question in your heart. Are you closer to God today than you were last month? How about last year? If you say, I feel like I'm distant or I'm apart, recommit to Bible reading and recommit to prayer today. Make time in your schedule to spend with God in prayer. Maybe, Christian friend, you say, I see the need for more prayer in my life. Maybe I've been praying, maybe I haven't, but I see the need. I see its benefits. I see how God wants me to pray. I see the need for more prayer in my life. Can you testify? Just wave your hand at me. Let me know you see that. God bless you. Anyone else? Thank you. Many hands. Good. And our last question is this. Maybe you want to pray this to the Lord. Lord, with your help, I want to pray maybe five more minutes every day. Maybe I'm starting at five minutes, but with your help, I want to have this prayer connection with God. There's this open line of communication. I need to use it more. God, help me to spend more time with you in prayer. I'm committing right now to five minutes or five minutes more than what I've already been spending with you in prayer. You include the Bible with that. Bible reading and prayer. Lord, help me to spend at least five more minutes. Can you make that promise to God? Anyone like that? Just raise your hand around the sanctuary. God bless you. Good. Let's do it. Let's do it. God help you with that. And if you raise your hand, some of you didn't. Let's be a people of prayer. In our invitation time, we invite you to respond. You can come to the front. You can pray at the front. You can kneel. Let's take some time with God right now. Father, we thank you for your word and for this challenging passage and message about prayer. Let us take this avenue of communication with you so serious that we would practice it more each day. Take these decisions that have been made all for your glory. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Would you please stand as the piano plays? On however God's working in your life, maybe you want to talk to God about praying more. Just do it. Just do it. Maybe you need to read the Bible more. Maybe you're not as close as you used to be. Get that right with Him today.
A New Way to Pray
Series Hope in God
Sermon ID | 723171212210 |
Duration | 42:30 |
Date | |
Category | Sunday Service |
Bible Text | John 16:16-33 |
Language | English |
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