[0:00] Amen. Yeah, praise the Lord we can gather this morning.!
[0:30] That is a blessing that you could share it with us. And I, you know, the things we go through as we go through these tests and surrender all, I think the Lord wants us to pay attention to those things, the little things that bring us from one point to the other.
[0:54] I was noting that, you know, in the last, earlier this year, there was different messages when Jeff was here, and also the youth meetings, there was different messages on surrendering our lives.
[1:06] So how do we do that? Young people, you heard the message on surrender there in youth meetings. And I like to hear how that's going. How is that going in your life?
[1:18] There's a struggle at times. Laverne shared that. There was some struggle in that surrender. There were some times when you were just, God, where are you at? You know, and we go through those times.
[1:33] But keep on. Keep on in that daily surrender. That daily, those little things that we give up, the little things that come along that we can lay down and surrender.
[1:45] And we find more of Him when we surrender. So may the Lord bless you as you keep sharing that. I just, yeah, I was encouraged. You shared what you did this morning.
[2:02] Praise the Lord for that. I guess what I'm going to share this morning is, again, out of maybe some prayer that I've had and just some question of how to walk, how to pray and where we're at as a church right now.
[2:22] And it's kind of been on my mind often. How do we pray? How do we pray when we go through situations that we're going through?
[2:33] With, you know, ones that have left the church here and just the different things that we are facing and up against. How do we pray?
[2:44] And as I was thinking of that thing, I thought, you know, this morning, I just hope that God can just make things plain. That was something in my heart.
[2:55] And I was reading in 1 Corinthians. I'm just going to tell a little bit how I came to what I want to share. I was reading in 2 Corinthians. And verse 4, or chapter 4, verse 7 says, We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
[3:25] And it was, you know, we're just earthen vessels here. We're just, we're creatures of clay.
[3:38] And as we go through this life, God just simply wants to use just these earthen vessels as a demonstration of His power.
[3:51] There's a word here. I thought, you know, make it plain here today, Lord.
[4:02] Just help us to make it plain. And there's a word that stood out to me in 2 Corinthians here, 3. Paul said, We use great plainness of speech.
[4:13] And so I said, What is that? What's he talking about? Plainness of speech there. And it took me to some verses in John.
[4:27] So I want to go there a little bit. John chapter 16. And, uh...
[4:43] I read through, I'm just looking through these couple of verses here because Jesus said something to them.
[4:58] I'm starting in verse 24. John 16, 24. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.
[5:12] 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.
[5:26] At that day you shall ask in my name, and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you. I was reading those verses, and it just...
[5:39] You know, it... What does he say in here? Because I... Right away the thought comes, and he said, You haven't asked in my name. Ask, and you shall receive.
[5:50] If you think about the disciples as they followed him, they did ask him questions. They were asking things of him.
[6:05] Just look back in some of the previous verses here. Simon Peter, he's got a question for Jesus. He said, Lord, where... He said, Whither goest thou?
[6:16] He had that question that came up. Jesus, he had been talking about his departure, and he said, Whither goest thou?
[6:28] Where are you going, Lord? Jesus answered, Where I'm going, you can't follow me now. He almost invites another question there. He just seemed like he...
[6:40] Jesus is just pulling more questions out of him. And then... He goes on in chapter 14.
[6:50] You know, In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.
[7:06] And whither I go, you know, and the way you know. So... It would seem that he was making that plain.
[7:20] But Thomas says, Lord, we don't know where you're going, and how can we know the way? And then on down, Philip says, of course, Jesus answers that question. He almost invites the question because...
[7:32] Thomas has that question. How can we know the way? Jesus said, well, here I am. I'm the way.
[7:43] And then Philip says, Lord, show us the Father. And that'll be enough. We'll be satisfied. Show us the Father. It's... I think Jesus... He...
[7:55] He's bringing them to places where they'll ask the questions. And... He answers in ways maybe they didn't expect.
[8:07] Philip, have I been so long time with you, and yet you have not known me. But this... This word he has here in John 16, hitherto you have asked nothing in my name.
[8:19] And this answered a question for me, I guess, in some of these things that we're walking through. Jesus simply said, up to this point, you've asked nothing in my name.
[8:33] And... I felt like for me, okay, Lord, what... Teach me then. Teach me to pray. Teach us to ask in your name.
[8:46] What... Because he says, asking you shall receive that your joy may be full. So how do I go on in this? How do I go on in asking? This is a simple... A simple word of asking here.
[9:00] You know... He had said it earlier. Matthew 7, he said, asking you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened.
[9:11] So he had been encouraging the prayer. He had been encouraging them to ask at this time. But... You know, how do we ask? You know, children know how to ask questions.
[9:26] They learn well from early up. They do. And... Parents, you know, children will ask mom, and if they don't get the answer they want from mom, they'll go to dad.
[9:40] They'll keep asking because they know... They know that they can get an answer. So they'll keep... They'll keep asking. Sometimes it'll work. Sometimes it won't.
[9:51] Sometimes dad, mom, both catch on, but other times, we've had it happen. You didn't catch on. So they get a no here, but they go over here and they get a yes. They know how to do that, right?
[10:02] They know how to ask. Children do that. They know how to come with that question. But why do they... Why do they come and ask parents? Because they know parents have an answer for them.
[10:14] It could give them something, what they need. They have that within them. And I... You know, I was thinking on that. And when a... You know, when a child gets to the point where they no longer come to you and ask for things, that's...
[10:28] You start to... You start to wonder what's going on there if the child doesn't come because that's part of the relationship of a parent and a child is that they can come to you and ask.
[10:41] They can come with their desire, whatever they have need of. They'll come with that and make that request. And they know how to do it. They just learn early how to ask.
[10:54] And I just... You know, Jesus is just saying that. Just come and ask. Ask in my name. Though they knew that, they heard his voice many times saying it, inviting him to come with their prayer, come with their request.
[11:11] but he's still saying now, just look, ask and you'll receive. So it's speaking to me. This is where I want to go forward.
[11:22] I want to go forward with that desire to ask God to be as a child and simply learn to rely on him. I could look at a few different things there on how, you know, in the book of Acts there, that first, just the beginnings, the church, when they were being tested and tried, they just came with their request to the Lord.
[12:01] written down a couple places here where they, they came with their prayer and I just really liked how they, so Peter and, Peter and John had faced the, the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees and so forth after they had healed the man there by the temple, the lame man and, so after, afterwards, after they're back with the church, they spent, I guess, a night in prison and then the Lord just brought them out quickly, but they, they came together as a church and they said, Lord, behold their threatenings and grant now thy servant that with all boldness they may speak thy word and you look down here just the next verse, it says, and then when they prayed, the place was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word with boldness and so, you know, that was their request they just simply asked God,
[13:25] Lord, give us boldness to speak your word and that's what came forth and they, they went forth from there and there was a witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and it says, great grace was upon all of them as they went out touching lives around them there was a lot of things that went on there but, you know what, we have these great and precious promises Ephesians the third chapter there, Paul's prayer he said, he said, you, you can't even think let alone pray you can't even think of enough things let me just turn to that quickly okay, in Ephesians 3.20 unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think all that we ask or think he's able to do above all that according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the church through Christ
[14:44] Jesus he's able to do these, these things that we're asking and I have to have the confidence and faith to hope when he, when he comes that he, he comes with an answer he comes to, to, as Laverne said this morning to meet the need because he cares Romans 8 what shall we say of these things if God be for us who can be against us he that spared not his son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things and I will say that yes he wants to give us all things out of his abundance of his goodness but it will be in his time and his way as, as brother Laverne said shared this morning it didn't come when he wanted just how he wanted it but it did come and he waited and God answered that prayer but here is one thought you know the widow in Luke 18 was determined he kept she kept coming to that unjust judge and kept asking shall not
[16:07] God avenge his own she just kept coming and asking and that judge finally said I don't fear God or man but I'm going to give what that widow wants because she keeps coming she's determined and then Jesus said will the son of man find faith will the son of man find faith when he returns he's looking for that faith that will ask I want to just think about the revelation the message to the church of the Laodiceans here in chapter three this is that this is what kept them from asking this is what kept them from coming to God with their need thou sayest verse 17 of revelation 3 thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing there's that's that's a place that we can get to so easily we just we have need of nothing and so we we don't you know probably another thing we do and I found myself here often you know there's some things come up we need something and you start well
[17:36] I guess in the physical thing if you need something for the car you need something what do I think of right away I think well I go online I'm gonna go I'll google that I'll go find it there and that's all right some of those things you just need to go go get them but your mind where does your mind go when you need something is that is my mind going God what do you want to do here what do you want to supply he's asking he's saying to us if you'll ask if you'll ask at this point you haven't asked in my name but ask that your joy may be full and so the words here to that church the Laodicean church I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed and that thy shame of thy nakedness not appear and anoint thine eyes with eyes that thou mayest see and so he has he has so much for his people if we can see our need if we can see our need and that's what prayer is and that's what asking is we we sense our need and we come out of that need and we ask and I want to move forward with that you know
[19:09] I think we still have some some things concerning the church building let's ask God let's ask God for these things as we move forward he we have been praying we've been laying those things before him yeah I'm looking forward to God leading us forward he has a plan and so in each of our lives let's bring those requests to him and let him meet those needs I want to thank you brothers for sharing it's both very good I think we have had enough to take home with us and rejoice in and maybe
[20:10] I'll just comment on some things here and just keep part of the thing I was going to share maybe in my heart for another time too but but there is still some time so just ask God to lead us Lord we thank you for being with us here today thank you for speaking to us today through our brothers and just through your word that came and I just pray that you would continue Lord to guide us and lead my thoughts here and just help us Lord to see you Jesus we pray in your name amen I don't have a message put together but just there's a verse you shared Dan out of Romans what was that verse not the one no condemnation but actually I might come to it do you remember what that was yeah that's the one
[21:22] God is for us who can be against us that's good want to talk a little bit about suffering and I'd say Laverne kind of covered that pretty much what was on my mind thank you for sharing your story your testimony with us Jesus told us that he will be with us just surrender everything to the hand of God pain and suffering in the Christian life and I what I want to share is I realize too that some of our pain and suffering is self afflicted you know some of it we bring on ourselves just by our own ignorance sometimes or things we do or say that are wrong or so on and I don't
[22:22] I don't want to defend that in any way or say that everything we face is the devil or somebody else or some of it it's you know okay I caused that right so that's not necessarily what I want to talk about because and neither you know I remember back in Ohio many years ago there was a man that he just thought that Christians just persecute him all the time and then there was a debate about well do Christians persecute other Christians and I never found the answer to that totally but other than this that our adversary is the devil and he is the accuser of the brethren now the question becomes okay can he use Christians to do that and then I would say okay sure yeah he might use one of you to hurt me or he might use me and my ignorance to hurt you and so on so that
[23:27] I think we can acknowledge but but anyway that's not my message it's just something I remembered a long time ago so and while we should never be enemies to each other as Christians I do believe that Satan knows our imperfections he knows our shortcomings and he likes to use those things to attack us or to discourage us or to bring us down or to hurt us or whatever and I think he successfully does that and let's remember he is the accuser it's not our battle is not flesh and blood but powers and principalities why is there pain and why is there suffering after we give our life to Christ God could just as easily have made so that we are good without that right
[24:33] God's God he created us he made us he made us he gave us life he gave us spiritual life and Christian life and so why why is there pain and suffering almost more after we become a Christian especially deep inner pain or rejection or so why if God so let's not question God but why is it so why is it so hard if God could have made it just perfect like everybody just loves each other and now you're a child of God and no more suffering Aaron everything's easy now right but God chose otherwise he also chose that but it's just not here yet we're not there yet we're not home yet there is a day coming where there will be no more pain no more suffering no more rejection no more sorrow no more tears and yeah
[25:42] I look forward to that very much but suffering or crosses in our life today is what God chose for the Christian not all suffering there's a lot of joy too a lot of happiness a lot of rejoicing I don't want to make this a doom and gloom ending here but God chose that there are trials there's hard things to go through sometimes I think we fail in our gospel message that we give the impression maybe that if you would just become a Christian you'll have this glorious life and it is it is glorious there are things that are there are things I would never trade to be a Christian versus not but the trials and pain and suffering that
[26:44] Christians go through I think is an antidote it's like a medicine to our self life to selfishness take up your cross and come and follow me how would it how would we end up if there would be no trial we would become so self sufficient we wouldn't need God anymore really it would just be easy and we wouldn't be broken we wouldn't be humble we would become independent and not dependent on Christ so the question is not whether or not we will suffer the question is what will we do with it how will we respond to it and this is an area that I believe God has shown me lately in the last month that instead of embracing it and even like the disciples it says they rejoiced in it
[27:51] I want to read some of that but they actually rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer with Christ and you know there's a lot of verses about suffering as a Christian but when we reject it then many times I believe we also reject people when we reject suffering we reject our cross we often tend to reject those that might cause it right does that make sense we begin to actually reject people when we really don't want to but we do those that we love so the sooner we embrace the cross sooner we embrace disappointments and suffering like Laverne was sharing the sooner we can rejoice in it where we thank the Lord for that thank the
[28:52] Lord for the cross or the crosses that you allow in our lives Jesus will be with us he will finish the work that he started and in first Peter chapter four he says in verse twelve beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you that fiery trial that will test us it will try us it will see what we're made of but we're not supposed to think that it's strange as though some strange thing happened to you okay now you're a Christian and now you have this fiery trial you go through and yeah don't think that's strange but rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed you may be glad also with exceeding joy you know there's there's a lot of different things there are things like just maybe deep sadness or a hurt a wound or a hurt or something we just have never really totally been healed for there's so many different ways that that we can suffer it could be physical it could be emotional or just mentally things even that that in this life we suffer but
[30:40] I'm talking more about suffering as a Christian in fact let's read on here in verse 15 it says but let none of you suffer as a murderer as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busy body in other men's matters yet if any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God on his behalf on this behalf for the time is coming that judgment must begin at the house of God and if it first begin at us what shall the end of them what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God and if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful creator Peter just saying look if you suffer as a
[31:44] Christian commit it to the Lord he's the one that is the keeper of our souls so yeah just Jesus also had warned us in John 15 he said if the world hate you you know that it hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would have loved you but because you are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you and then he reminds us that we're not greater servant is not greater than the master or of the Lord so if the world persecuted you they will also persecute you and in Philippians Paul wrote for unto you is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake in
[32:52] Acts when the apostles when they departed from the presence of the council remember they were told by the leaders that they have to stop speaking the name of Jesus no more preaching in the name of Jesus but when they and they told him well we can't do that when they departed the presence of the council they were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name you know how would I respond to that I mean I I'm afraid that in my past life already Christian life that I would have responded too much with rejection or feeling sorry for myself but here it says they rejoiced that they were counted worthy so when we have these trials we have these things of painful experiences in life where we feel rejected but if it's because we are following
[34:06] Jesus we can rejoice in that just like they did and I believe that's what God is trying to teach me to rejoice in things that sometimes there's things deep in our heart that we can't even explain that I can't explain it's deep and it's nobody would really maybe understand that is painful and maybe it's just a cross I need to carry not your cross it's my cross and vice versa and so let's encourage each other to rejoice anyway I believe that's our calling is to rejoice in conflict Paul told Timothy ye and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution just reiterating what
[35:09] Jesus had already said blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner evil things against you falsely for my sake rejoice and be exceeding glad for when that day comes great shall be your reward in heaven he says so let's not be discouraged I'm saying these things to you all but really to myself to not be discouraged but to be encouraged and when things are difficult things are said against you that you know aren't true and that's not your heart at all but you've been accused to take courage and just give it to
[36:13] God I feel like Laverne you were an example of that back in the day when things didn't feel right didn't seem right wasn't fair but you took courage to follow through anyway and to trust God and then to see how God worked in your life is amazing and it brings courage to others back to what Dan shared about that if God is for us who can be against us I read a little article about that let me just I'm going to read that in closing here or at least part of it if a bully twice your size is picking on you you have a reason to fear but if you have a friend twice the bully size standing next to you the bully has a reason to fear when you know that someone greater bigger greater and more powerful than your enemy has your back confidence is the result and perhaps this is why the apostle
[37:45] Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote a letter to the believers in Rome reminding them of that truth so there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus and because you belong to him the power of the living giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin and death because the Roman believers belong to Jesus they no longer had to live in fear God causes all things to work together for good to those that love him one day he will make everything including our dying bodies brand new!
[38:28] God says what shall we say then such wonderful things as these if God is for us who can ever be against us the creator and sustainer of everything that exists has put himself on our side who can be against us if he has done that who can even touch us who would think of picking a fight that you know you can't win somebody might hurt our feelings or even our bodies but they cannot touch our souls they cannot come against the living God and succeed they cannot turn against God's chosen people without answering for their decisions we can rely on our God as our defender and our righteous judge amen
[39:37] I think I'll just stop there but I just thought I was encouraged by that writing and if we're afraid maybe somebody's afraid this morning scared of the future we have our creator with us standing next to us defending us and saying that anything that comes any trial that comes to us has to pass through him first he allows them and they are for our good and so I want to rejoice in that and embrace the trials embrace suffering and not reject it so amen I'll praise the Lord hello welcome and yeah I guess
[40:37] Joe did you want to come up and just why don't you come up and close and then I guess we'll have that little picnic over there just one reminder is they wanted a deposit I didn't have money to give them so told them we'll make sure it's clean so we don't have to go give them money so when we're all done at the park there that we clean up after ourselves so that's all blessings!
[41:06] Joe?