Wartime Prayer

The church this morning. We're not going to be looking at just one passage of scripture. I but I would encourage you to have your Bibles out and handy because we will be looking at several now if I get to go in a little bit stew quick then we'll have them on the screen as well. But I think it's worthwhile for you to see the consistent emphasis of scripture on prayer and that it's continually brought up before us as we walk through the word of God. We're taking like I said earlier we're taking this month August to focus ourselves on prayer as a church. We want to be people of prayer, but it's not enough to just say we want to be people Affair we need to desire. That's enough to change the lives. We live we need to commit ourselves to it as dancer last week. It's a critical that we pray as an aspect of our relationship with God this week. I want to talk about why it's critical that we pray as a part of our engagement with God's Mission. And what is God's Mission? I would say that it is restoring all of reality 2 it's created purpose. The purpose of God is to reinvigorate restore redeem everything and bring it back to what he intended it to be. Unfortunately, the church has largely in this country giving up on this vision of God's Mission. We have instead settled for a tendency to retreat from this world instead of seeking to bring restoration bring Redemption. Bring healing to the world. Now if 20/20 convinces you if nothing else it should at least you can convince you of this if there is something fundamentally wrong with the world around us. If it is convince you of nothing else. It should convince you that there is something wrong with the reality. Something is broken and yet the church. To sit in and to listen to sermons that are preached every Sunday in churches around this nation has buying large seemed to retreat from that broken reality. We sought to slap Band-Aids over things that need surgery. We've misunderstood the depth of the problem. We're like the the meme that you've seen going around. This is fine. You guys have seen this right now. I am totally not Savvy when it comes to memes. And so I don't know if this is part of a larger context that has entirely negative connotations, but just this Frame you mean it's right the room is burning the dog is sitting there with his cup of coffee and saying this is fine. That is the church in America today.

It's burning around us and we say this is fine, but it's not fine. It's broken and and not only is the world broken but we are broken right we can slap a plastic smile on and walk in these doors on Sunday and say this is fine. But in reality, it's not we need help the world needs help but we don't see it so long as we blind ourselves to the reality with this fake optimism with this fake piece that we've created. We're pretending like living in a peaceful situation, but the reality is that as Those whom God has United to his cause of redeeming and restoring all things. We are living at War. The moment that we enter Christ King the moment that we submit and say Jesus is King. We don't only adopt the kingdom in all of its benefits and all of its blessings. We adopt as well the mission and purpose of the king for his kingdom we enter into this reality. where the World the Flesh and the devil seeks to keep things broken and Christ seeks to bind up the broken and restore and heal it we cannot ignore this reality the by submitting to Christ. We don't only find individual salvation, but we find a purpose and a call to impact the world around us. To bring peace where there is none to bring order where there is chaos to restore. What is broken. That's what we do when we say I'm a Christian. What where do it saying is we're with him. We're with him in this struggle for rights and for beauty and for truth. We're uniting our cause with that of Christ now, I've never served as a soldier right? I know that some of you have I've never served but I can't even imagine it but I have watch Saving Private Ryan. I'm pretty sure that doesn't count. But it gives me a visual that I can kind of understand this idea of war and you watch that. This is the scene in Saving Private Ryan where they're storming the beach, right? And I've heard from others who have served. That's an accurate depiction. And you look at that and you think man that is awful. I don't want that. I don't want my life to be about some sort of conflict like this. I don't want there to be real consequences to my actions. I don't want to put my life on the line for the sake of something else. But that's not your choice to make. That's not the choice that those soldiers made as they were storming the beach. They made their decision back before when they said. Yes. I will serve as my country sees fit. Church, we don't get to pick the circumstances of Our Lives once we submit to the king we don't get to decide. You know, what the world is burning but that's okay. We've got our little holy huddle and our coffee. We're good. That's not enough. Can you imagine how different the movie Saving Private Ryan would have been? In the midst of that chaos of the battle. The soldier had simply thrown a blanket out on the beach pulled out his picnic baskets and started buttering his bread.

We look at that mixtape. That's ridiculous. What kind of movie is people acting War?

The book of Hebrews says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses the faithful Saints who have gone before. What do you think? They think when they see the American church not praying not telling the gospel. not impacting their communities not changing their lives 1iota for the gospel. They see us building a picnic on the beach as the shells are falling in the bullets are flying. We have abdicated the call that God has given us by entering into his kingdom. We don't just enter this place. We're suddenly we are now free from the weight and burden of Eternity separated from God. We enter into a reality that says Jesus is King and he's beginning that rain here and now and there will be opposition to it and we're on the front line. Put the picnic basket away.

Pick up BMO Church. That's why it matters that we pray because we are not living at peace. We are living in a war-torn world and it is our responsibility and our duty to engage that battle not with bullets and bombs.

with prayer With faithfulness with forgiveness with repentance. That's what we've been called to becoming a Christian changes everything. How we live? And it changes how we pray. You would be hard-pressed to find anybody in this world.

Who says prayer doesn't matter? There are those out there but even non-believers think prayers a good thing. Robert Louis Stevenson how many of you know that name? Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson was a writer he was so far as we know not a faithful Christian. He did not attend church. He did not profess any of the historic doctrine of Christianity, but what he did do was pray every night. He pray that I don't know what he was praying to or 4. But he said this is essential prayer is essential in a young Robert Louis Stevenson to The Story Goes ran up to his mom one day and said mom did you know we can't be good without prayer. And she said oh, that's really good. You know, why do you say that because I've tried He didn't believe but he noticed prayers making a difference in his life. Now if somebody who does not submit to Christ as king. Does not recognize the purpose that Christ has for those who follow him which is to be conformed to His Image in to adopt his mission as their own says prayer matters.

Why do we not pray? We are his we are Christ prayer matters. It changes that reality. When we recognize we are Christ's it changes how we approach for the first thing that it does. I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 4 with me Hebrews chapter 4 gives to me one of the key reasons why as Christians it matters that we pray. Why it matters that we pray? We can have confidence when we pray that Jesus understands what we're praying about. We can have confidence when we pray that Jesus understands what we're praying about and this is critical when you sign up for the Christian cause when you say I'm following Christ, he's my king. This is the kind of thing that you're getting Hebrews Hebrews chapter 4 verse 14 since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help in time of need.

Church, I want you to understand this. Jesus is not some sort of backline General. Just standing back there and say and go throw yourself into The Fray go Dodge some bullets. Sorry about that. You caught one. Jesus is not standing back and saying I know it's tough, but do it anyways, because I told you so He's saying I walked where I'm calling you to walk. I engaged the struggle that I'm calling you to engage in. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are yet without sin. Do you know what confidence that gives us? It gives us confidence because we have some connection with Christ. He understands where we've been he understands the difficulty of this life. So we draw near with confidence to the throne of grace when we pray church. We do not pray as those who have to bring something to God's attention hate, you know, I screwed up down here God. Let me tell you all the ways this world is broken just in case you were unaware know he lived the Brokenness. He wept the tears if you if you memorize scripture that's the verse to memorize right and John Jesus wept shortest verse in all scripture and get the most profound verse Jesus wept the creator of the world weeps at the condition of the world. Why do we hold back from going to him and say hey God said things are kind of screwed up right now. Why would we hold back and say well guy doesn't want to hear about my problems. No, we go to God because he understands he's with us when you submit to crisis. Can you look at the world? You say something's broken. And you go to Jesus and he agrees. And you find connection some of you know this summer. If you don't I grew up in Idaho and for lack of a better way of putting it Idaho's not known for much in our country when I went to school in Kentucky. I would get you know, it was a common thing cuz he got a Bible College there and people are coming from different states. Most of them are coming from the south in the East but occasionally, you know, they'd meet somebody from another state that everybody asks. That was one of the first things like Hi, how are you? My name is X where you from and I would always say, Idaho and they say, Iowa. No, Idaho potatoes, right? Yeah. That's it. That's all we've got is just nothing but one big potato filled up there. I tell you what. And you should feel a little bit lonely in that setting where you from. I'm from Idaho. Where's that somewhere in the midwest? Right? Yeah, but people didn't understand. So imagine my joy when I'm sitting in class and the professor starting as a first day of class and first aid class. You never really do anything right teachers. Can I get an amen the first day of class you get to know people and that's what the professors Jamie's trying to get to know who's in his class. And so he he says now What's your favorite sports team? What's your favorite football team football team now, we're talking about the south. They were talking about a place where football is King and not the NFL college football is King right in Kentucky basketball probably would have been a more appropriate question to ask but he asked for football. And so you're getting these, you know roll Tides coming out right? You got a few Seminoles. You got a few others who have got their teams and two voices cry out in unison Boise State. One of them was me.

And my new best friend in the world. My fellow Boise State fan. No Ali literally our friendship that started in and has continued to today started with that exclamation of fandom Boise State. We felt like foreigners in a Strange Land everybody. Talkin SEC everybody talkin ACC and was like Mountain West go.

All of a sudden I had connections with somebody they didn't have before and actually as we begin to talk, we got to know one another and that's how we found our church home in Louisville was through the relationship with no Elite and now bring the story full circle. That's where I met a guy named Jared Jenkins was at that church Jared Jenkins is on staff at a church up in Salt Lake Jared. Jenkins is the one who sent my resume to Red Hills four years ago. So you have Boise State to think For me being here. You have this sense of camaraderie based off of a common experience with somebody and who knows what God's going to do with it Boise state connected me with a friend in Ministry and in life. We have a common cause with Christ. He's not remote from us. I also don't think of the Boise State fan but he's not he's not unable to sympathize with what we're facing the understands that we feel like strangers in a Strange Land. That's how he felt. He was the Jewish Messiah and he was rejected by the Jewish people. You don't get much more rejection than that and he walked through it. He faced hunger. He faced the law loss of loved ones. He faced death. Do we understand this Jesus knows what we're going through we have confidence when we go and we pray to him because he walked through the same thing. So let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, right we pray with confidence because Jesus has been there where he is as he is. We not only have confidence when we pray, but we must continue in prayer because when we sign up, Under his Banner. We're going to receive the same attacks that he did. We're going to receive the same attacks that he did Jesus said if they persecuted me they're going to persecute you. If you adopt my mission as your mission, guess what you also bring on the same consequences the world hated. Jesus really hard to imagine why they hated Jesus because he did nothing but good. Did nothing but Point people back to what is lovely. What is true. What is right and they killed him for church. Why do we expect that? We're going to get anything different. Why do we think that when we come to Christ that all of our problems are gone and everything's going to be Rosie knows coming to Christ being his pants the same Target on our backs it was painted on his That's what we're facing 1st Peter 5:8. You can turn there'll be on the screen Be sober-minded Be watchful your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Church This is our reality. The reality of war is it when we sign up under that Banner we are now open to attacks.

We're going to need to pray for that. We're going to need to come to God and say I know it's coming prepare me. I know it's coming. Make me ready. There's no days off in the Christian Life. There's no days off in the Christian Life. Do we understand what that means? This is a 24-hour a day 7 days a week 365 days a year except for leap years, but everyday every moment. We are on and we are open to attack. We don't get to take a day off. I mean guys are referred of the Christmas Truce of 1914. Just shortly after World War 1 breaks out Christmas Day comes along and unofficial truth cease-fires announce and the soldiers crossed the lines and you have French soldiers and British soldiers exchanging Christmas gifts with German soldiers the day before they were shooting at each other trying to kill one another.

The day after they'll go back to it, but Christmas Day. hostilities are off That's not the Christian Life. That's not the Christian Life. We don't get it. We don't get a truce just because it's Sunday. Like I'm so glad we made it to Sunday again. Nobody's going to attack me. I won't be tempted. There's not going to be anything in me that wants to lash back at my spouse when they speak to me over lunch. There's nothing in me. That's going to want to gossip or talk about the pastor after the sermon right? I wish that was the case the joke the joke down south was that everybody had the same thing for lunch after on Sunday afternoon. Everybody had roast preacher, right?

But this is this is the reality that we live in there's no day off. There's no moment at which we may not face Temptation. There's no moment at which we may not have to confront the Brokenness of the world around us or the Brokenness in a every single day. We've got to be ready.

We got to pray. God make us ready not just today because I know today is going to be hard not just tomorrow because I've got this on my plate. But praying Lord everyday. I'm open to attack because I'm yours. I need you fill me change me protect me help me persevere. We are more than conquerors through him. The roaring lion has nothing on the king of creation. We must pray to remind ourselves of this reality. As his we not only have confidence when we pray. We not only must continue in prayer, but we pray because we're not sufficient part of the recognition of our openness to attack brings with the recognition that we are not sufficient when the attack comes we don't have what we need to endure the trials that come our way. We don't have what we need to fix. What is broken. We are insufficient think about the disciples the original disciples the 12, there's more of them that we can kind of look at the 12 most. Okay. These guys were with Jesus for 3 years. The last week of Jesus's life those disciples are with Him continually. And he goes out to the garden. Knowing what tomorrow brings for him? Brings his disciples with them. And what does Jesus do when he recognizes? What is coming? He praised what are the disciples? Do they sleep? He says, could you not keep watch with me for just a few hours? And then did Matthew chapter 26 verse 41 Matthew 26:41. I'd encourage you to turn to this one cuz I'm alluding to a lot of the context. 2641 jesus takes them to Gethsemane me to sit here. I'm going to go and pray. He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and he began to be sorrowful and troubled any phrase father. If it is possible. Let this cup pass from me nevertheless. Not as I will but as you will and he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter so could you not watch with me one hour then verse 41 in this is the key for us watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Watch and Pray not watching do Bible studies. Not watching sing worship songs not there's anything wrong with Bible studies or worship songs, but watch and pray Church. What are we known for? Generally speaking. Bible studies or sermons? And worship songs. How do we evaluate whether or not a service was good. I liked with the preacher said today. I really like that song they thing.

Jesus doesn't say that just when we recognize the fact that temptation is coming and the Temptation for the disciples are going to be what to deny Jesus. The Temptation is going to be run away from the suffering that following him brings. The world is broken and it's about to get even broken her. I don't think that's a word. What he says watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation church. If the disciples needed that reminder that reminder if they needed to recall that following Jesus was going to bring cost was going to bring a temptation to run away from the discomfort of being obedient to him. How much more do we today who haven't spent the last three years walking literally side-by-side with him. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. We need to pray because we are not sufficient. In ourselves in our flesh we are not able to endure. The price of following Christ we will not be faithful to the cause. if we do not pray as his we need to pray because we are not sufficient and when we stop praying The reality is we probably think we are sufficient. The prayer list Christian is one who thinks they don't need God. We will only resume praying when we are convinced that we need him that we are not sufficient for the task ourselves. There's a story that comes out of the the gospel when it was first moving back in the eighteenth Century. It was moving into Africa and there was this village where the spirit had moved with power and basically the whole village had converted and they they began to be fervent in prayer as followers of Christ. I don't know if the story is made up or not that I didn't make it up but I read about this and then there's this Village in their their fervent prayers will time goes on the gospels come they've been changed they've been praying and each villager had their spot to go and pray outside of the town and they would go and spend hours and pray and they would go everyday and they would wear a path to their individual spots and everybody kind of knew. Well, that's so and so's path and that's where they pray and that's so and so's path and that's where they pray the time goes on. And one by one they would stop praying and the past that have been worn with start to have grass grow up in it and a gentle rebuke from a brother or sister in that Village would be to go to the one who used to pray there in just a brother the grass is growing in your path. Church the grass is growing in our patch in our path. Church there's no path left.

We've either become convinced that we're sufficient. We don't need God so we don't need to pray.

or

we forgotten God entirely because what we're doing we can do in our own strength. I don't want the grass to grow in our path. We are not sufficient for the task to which God has called us. We must pray. Ask his we have confidence that he understands what we're going through. We continue in prayer because of the attacks that come at us we pray because we are not sufficient for what is coming. We ought to when we pray so if it's nothing else, I hope that you understand like as Christians we must pray. Hope you understand that. But I now want to move beyond that. And talk about what it is in prayer that we ought to be seeking because if we are his we need to understand what we ought to pray for as his we do not pray for what we want. We pray for what he wants.

If we want any certainty that he will answer. God answers prayers according to his will not ours in Matthew. That's what Jesus models for us. Right as he's in the garden. He praised I'd really rather not do this. But not my will thy will be done. And yet you've got an entire movement within Christianity today saying that what the Christian needs more is just Faith to pray hard enough and God will have to answer that if you have enough faith in you ask God for $1000000. He'll give you a million dollars as long as you send a thousand to the televangelist first. Understand how that works, by the way. Accident that's heresy will go so far as to call it that. But you have this assumption that if I can just pray hard enough, I'll bend God to my will I'll get God to do what I want. Not how prayer Works prayer is not about bending God to your will how many of you guys have seen the movie Togo? You seen this about sled dog up in Alaska parently were the only heathens with the TV. Sorry. This movie Togo. There's this scene where this guy is driving his dogs across this Frozen Bay and as he's in the middle of it at the ice starts to break up. And what they do is this ice has broken away from the shore and that's the only way they can get to safety is to get onto the shore. And so one dog goes and pulls the rest with them, right? That's prayer. Prayer is not about casting our line to the ground and pulling it to us prayers about us casting a line to God and him pulling us to him. We're not trying to drag the Earth to where we're at. We're trying to drag ourselves to wear gifts that God is not about giving us whatever we want just because we want it. It's not how that works. We don't ban God the our will we don't pull them into shape with our intentions we seek to be bent into his intention. We say to be where he wants us to be not where we want to be. You know what I want. I want a billion dollars. I want that million dollars that televangelist said I could have

God may want for me to be broke. So that all be forced to live. In the neighborhood where he knows the gospel is needed. God may want me to be sick so that I'll be in the hospital to pray with the nurse whose husband just left. God may want me Too Faced The hardships of living away from family and Country for the sake of the gospel because it's not about what I want our prayers need to change from God. Give me what I want health wealth Comfort security to God, give me what I need to be yours. The song that we saying was all about that. Did you mean it when you sang it? even if the rain comes Give me what brings you glory?

even God if the storm hits and it washes away everything that I've accumulated and everything that I think is needed in my life. Bring yourself Glory. Whatever pain is attendance on my circumstances through it. When we pray. Give me what I want. God has no obligation to listen to us. He has no desire to meet that.

Instead in James chapter 4 we read a pretty stunning condemnation of that approach of asking for our own sake. In James chapter 4 verse 3 James is talking about this is what's broken in the church. This is what causes quarrels and fights among you this is why you're at war with one another. This is why there's no peace in the body of Christ because you desire and do not have you covered and cannot obtain and then in verse 3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions Church how many people have walked away from the faith because God didn't answer their prayer. Well who gave him the idea that prayer was about them in the first place? IBS instead James is pointing us to this reality prayer isn't about getting what you want from God. Prayer isn't about bending God to your will. prayer is God change me. Change my attitude. Make me God what you need me to be people say don't pray for patience. Cuz God will give you circumstances. It will develop it in you right I say pray for patience. pray for contentment pray for peace pray for boldness to preach the gospel. pray for a desire to Pray For Heaven's Sake

but pray for the right reason as his people recognizing that when we come to him and say your king your lord recognize that what we've done is we've taken on the cause of Christ as our own. And our every intention needs to be what's going to drive this Mission forward.

The officer at the front line sending back for 24 cases of champagne.

Probably isn't going to get the requisition. if the battle still going an officer sending back for more troops

more ammo more supplies

that's going to be granted. Jesus says look at the fields are white unto Harvest pray therefore for the Lord to send laborers into the Harvest. That's what we've been called to that's what God wants to provide for his his mission. Not ours his vision not ours his plan his purpose. Yes. My plan my purpose only insofar as it lines up with his we need to recognize what we ought to be asking for prayer. It was said it is strange that while praying we seldom asked for a change of character. But always ask for a change in circumstances. Church let's ask for a change in character. Let's ask for reinforcements. Not for comfort. as he is we have confidence when we pray as his we continue in prayer because of the attacks coming against us as his we pray because we are not sufficient as his we ask for what he wants not what we want in prayer and ask his we pray and live as he prayed and lived Christ is the example for the Christian but Christ is so much more than just an example Christ is not Sent by God to this world to show us the things we ought to do. He is sent to show us what we ought to be. He does not set out for us a religious checklist rituals that we perform to make him happy with us. Instead he invites us into an entirely new kind of Life a life that is filled with and invigorated by the presence of God with his people. Jesus said I don't do what I want to do. I do what the father wants me to do that ought to be our cry. Jesus said that the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head no place that he claims is mine. against any country claim from God Church, that is us. Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 in this is the last passage that all asked you to turn to Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. I'd encourage you to turn the galatian chapter 2 in Galatians. Paul is talking about what is the gospel? And what does it mean for our lives in the book of Galatians Paul is riding to oppose those who think they're by doing good works. They can earn the favor of God.

He's riding to say you got the wrong idea if you approach your life is something that you're trying to earn God's favor with you're going to miss the boat entirely if you approach your life though with the recognition of Christ dying for you Rising for you. It will change your life. And the reason he says it's because of this verse 20 of chapter 2. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer. I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life, I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul is saying the kind of life that Christ calls his people to the mission that he calls us to engage on is one that will cost us everything but it's not like we're really paying a price for it anyways. Because Jesus already paid the price and it's not it's not my life anymore. It's now Jesus is life. If Christ died and resurrected in his Proclaim to all to be king of all and I come to him and I submit and say yes, you are Lord. That means whatever the life I live from that moments of submission on is no longer mine. It is now christ-life to do with as he wants. And it means that we take our cues from The Life of Christ. Christ God In the Flesh God himself Christ Jesus prayed Jesus prayed

if he prayed. How much more are we to pray? If he lives a life that shunned comfort for the sake of service to others. How much more are we to do the same?

And yet as Thomas Watson. Old dead guy in Christ said Christ went more readily to the Cross then we go to the throne of grace.

Hebrew said because of who Christ is we have confidence to draw near to the throne of grace and yet this Observer centuries ago looking at the church said Christ was more willing to die on the cross than we are to pray. Church there's something fundamentally wrong with that picture. As Christ we pray and we live as Christ prayed and live Christ lived and died gladly for the sake of others as Paul said he loved me and gave himself for me and it is entirely appropriate. It's not changing scripture to put yourself in that into say He loved Brandon and gave himself for Brandon. Not just for Brandon. You didn't just love Brandon, but I'm included in the love of Christ in the sacrifice that he made. So this life is no longer. Mine. It is now Christ I owe him everything. If Christ lived and died for us. If he sets us this example, not too Earnest favor with God but to show us allies that is radically filled with God. Can we not pray? Can we not trust him confidently run to him? Seeking mercy and peace and what we need for the battle ahead. Yes, we can because of who he is not because of our faith because of what he's called us to not because of what we want we can go to him. We ought to go to him. They move it be on docks in cans church. We should go to him. We must pray. We can start right now.