Sermon

What Do You Pray For?

Pickens First Baptist Church

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  1. What have you been praying about this week?

  2. I'm going to assume that just about everyone in this room,

  3. we have prayed at least once this week.

  4. Well, what specifically have you asked God to do in your life

  5. or in the life of the people you pray for?

  6. Now, from my observation,

  7. from what I've heard as a pastor for many years,

  8. and I'm going to say a lot of you know this,

  9. being in prayer meetings, being in Sunday school,

  10. most Christians make physical health,

  11. physical needs their top priority in prayer,

  12. or at least their top priority when it comes to

  13. making a public prayer request or praying publicly.

  14. Why is that?

  15. Why do we mostly pray about, at least publicly,

  16. physical things?

  17. Well, sometimes it's very obvious

  18. that we need to pray about physical health and issues.

  19. COVID-19, for example,

  20. that has been a central focus of many people's prayers

  21. over the last 10 months.

  22. And if you haven't prayed about this,

  23. I don't understand you.

  24. I cannot imagine how any Christian has not

  25. been praying that God would bring about

  26. an end of this pandemic.

  27. I know a lot of you are like me.

  28. I have prayed that my family members

  29. and this church family would be spared,

  30. that we would not come down with it.

  31. If we did, we would not, you know,

  32. have any serious or long-lasting effects from it.

  33. It's natural for us to pray about some physical health issues,

  34. matters, physical needs at times.

  35. I mean, who wouldn't?

  36. But at the same time, we need to understand,

  37. that is not the biblical focus of prayer.

  38. The Bible does not make physical needs

  39. the priority of prayer,

  40. either by instruction or by example.

  41. Jesus taught us about how to pray.

  42. Matthew chapter 6, Luke chapter 11.

    Matthew 6 chapter mention Luke 11 chapter mention

  43. When Jesus taught, this is how you should pray,

  44. He said, in effect, that our priority

  45. should be to focus on God,

  46. to honor Him,

  47. to seek His will,

  48. and to ask for help

  49. to live in a right relationship with Him

  50. and other people.

  51. That's why there's such a strong emphasis

  52. on forgiveness,

  53. and especially on forgiving other people.

  54. Now, when you read the prayers of the apostles

  55. in the New Testament,

  56. and I'm thinking specifically of Paul,

  57. their top priority

  58. is for Christians

  59. to honor God

  60. and seek to grow spiritually

  61. in their prayer requests.

  62. Now, I want to reemphasize.

  63. I am not in any way saying

  64. that it's wrong,

  65. that it's unimportant

  66. to pray about physical needs.

  67. It is not.

  68. In fact, Jesus did teach us

  69. to ask for our daily bread

  70. in that model prayer, didn't He?

  71. And when He was talking about

  72. praying for our daily bread,

  73. He wasn't talking about

  74. literally just bread,

  75. but daily necessities.

  76. Paul sometimes

  77. asks Christians to pray

  78. for His safety

  79. or for His deliverance.

  80. So,

  81. don't take what I'm saying here

  82. at the beginning wrong.

  83. It is not wrong.

  84. It is good.

  85. It is healthy.

  86. It is normal

  87. for you to pray

  88. for physical situations,

  89. health,

  90. needs,

  91. in your life,

  92. in the life of people

  93. that you know and love

  94. and care about.

  95. But most of what we see

  96. in the New Testament

  97. about prayer

  98. is that spiritual needs

  99. take priority

  100. over physical needs.

  101. And we need to apply that

  102. to ourselves

  103. and how we pray

  104. and then how we pray

  105. about other people.

  106. Paul provides us

  107. with a great example

  108. of this kind of prayer

  109. in Philippians chapter 1.

    Philippians 1 chapter mention

  110. I want you to turn with me

  111. if you would

  112. because I'm not going to put

  113. all of these verses

  114. on the screen at this time.

  115. We will look at them

  116. individually

  117. a little bit later on.

  118. Let's look at

  119. Philippians chapter 1

    Philippians 1:9–11

  120. verses 9 through 11.

  121. I only referred

  122. to this last week.

  123. We didn't get into it at all.

  124. We're talking about

  125. how to make the best

  126. of the bad situation.

  127. And one of the ways

  128. we need to,

  129. one of the things

  130. we need to do is pray.

  131. Well, now we're going to look at

  132. how we should pray.

  133. Look at this.

  134. Philippians 1, 9.

  135. And it is my prayer

  136. that your love

  137. may abound more and more

  138. with knowledge

  139. and all discernment

  140. so that you may approve

  141. what is excellent

  142. and so be pure

  143. and blameless

  144. for the day of Christ,

  145. filled with the fruit

  146. of righteousness

  147. that comes through

  148. Jesus Christ

  149. to the glory

  150. and praise

  151. of God.

  152. I want us to look at this

  153. as an example

  154. of the kinds of things

  155. that we need to be

  156. asking God for

  157. for ourselves

  158. and for the people

  159. in our lives

  160. that we really

  161. are concerned about

  162. and praying for

  163. on a regular basis.

  164. I'm talking about

  165. your family members,

  166. your friends,

  167. this church family.

  168. Let's look at it.

  169. First,

  170. pray for yourself

  171. and others

  172. to grow in love.

  173. First prayer request,

  174. pray for yourself

  175. and others

  176. to grow in love.

  177. Look at it in verse 9,

  178. the first part.

  179. And it is my prayer

  180. that your love

  181. may abound

  182. more and more.

  183. We need to

  184. make it a practice

  185. to ask God

  186. to help us

  187. to grow

  188. in our love.

  189. Now I want you

  190. to know that Paul

  191. does not ask

  192. for us

  193. to develop love

  194. and there's a reason

  195. for that.

  196. He's writing

  197. to Christians.

  198. He knows

  199. these Christians.

  200. You can read

  201. verses 3 through 8

  202. and see that

  203. he has a good

  204. relationship with them,

  205. he loves them

  206. and they love him.

  207. But Paul knows

  208. that people

  209. who are Christians,

  210. they've been born again

  211. by the Spirit of God.

  212. The Spirit of God

  213. lives within them.

  214. And the Spirit of God

  215. when he comes

  216. to indwell us,

  217. he plants

  218. what we could consider

  219. seeds of love

  220. within our heart.

  221. If you are a Christian,

  222. there is love

  223. within you

  224. by virtue of the fact

  225. that the Holy Spirit

  226. lives within you.

  227. So we don't have

  228. to pray

  229. for love

  230. if we're Christians.

  231. It is there.

  232. But what we do

  233. need to pray for

  234. is that it will grow

  235. more and more

  236. every day,

  237. abounding

  238. more and more,

  239. that it will mature.

  240. Now,

  241. note that Paul

  242. does not specify

  243. the object

  244. of our love.

  245. He doesn't say,

  246. you know,

  247. pray for,

  248. that we'll love God,

  249. love people,

  250. or whatever.

  251. He just says

  252. that our love

  253. will abound

  254. more and more.

  255. And so we can

  256. apply that,

  257. at least initially,

  258. broadly.

  259. We need to pray

  260. that we'll love

  261. God more.

  262. We need to pray

  263. that we'll love

  264. other Christians more.

  265. We need to pray

  266. that we'll love

  267. people in general

  268. more.

  269. You know,

  270. love is to be

  271. the defining characteristic

  272. of us

  273. as followers

  274. of Jesus,

  275. isn't it?

  276. It is the essential

  277. Christian quality.

  278. There's a strong

  279. emphasis in the New Testament.

  280. especially

  281. that we will love

  282. our brothers and sisters

  283. in Christ.

  284. I really believe

  285. that's what Paul

  286. is specifically

  287. thinking of

  288. as he writes this.

  289. There were some

  290. problems in this church,

  291. a lack of unity.

  292. There was some division.

  293. And we'll see

  294. some of that

  295. as we go through

  296. this letter

  297. over the next

  298. several weeks.

  299. This is surprising.

  300. But in chapter 4,

  301. Paul calls

  302. two women

  303. by name

  304. and basically

  305. tells them

  306. tone it down.

  307. Now you can imagine

  308. church gathering.

  309. There's two women there.

  310. And Paul calls them out

  311. for their lack of,

  312. for a better way

  313. to express it right now,

  314. loving one another

  315. as they should.

  316. They don't get along.

  317. You think you've had

  318. your toes stepped on

  319. by some preacher before?

  320. Never,

  321. most likely,

  322. have you had your name

  323. called

  324. and say to stop

  325. sinning like this

  326. publicly.

  327. But Paul did.

  328. So there are some problems.

  329. But overall,

  330. this is the best church

  331. that Paul has

  332. a relationship with.

  333. It's a positive letter.

  334. There's a lot of gratitude

  335. and love expressed.

  336. But he is emphasizing here

  337. our love

  338. for one another,

  339. brothers and sisters

  340. in Christ.

  341. It should be growing.

  342. Our relationship

  343. should be deepening

  344. is what he's talking about.

  345. Jesus said

  346. this kind of love

  347. would be the distinguishing

  348. mark

  349. of his followers.

  350. Look at this

  351. from John 13.

  352. By this all people

  353. will know

  354. that you are my disciples

  355. if you have love

  356. for one another.

  357. Now think about that.

  358. Jesus told his disciples

  359. all the things

  360. that he had taught them

  361. about how they should think,

  362. how they should believe,

  363. how they should live.

  364. The thing that should

  365. set you apart

  366. as uniquely

  367. as being my disciple

  368. is your love

  369. for one another.

  370. Your love

  371. for your brothers

  372. and sisters in Christ.

  373. John,

  374. the apostle,

  375. emphasizes this

  376. in his first letter.

  377. Look at it.

  378. And this commandment

  379. we have from him,

  380. whoever loves God

  381. must also love

  382. his brother.

  383. Now think about that.

  384. Sometimes we might think

  385. to ourselves,

  386. well I truly do love God.

  387. It's people I have

  388. problems with.

  389. I can say that too.

  390. But we can't

  391. accept that.

  392. John is issuing

  393. a command.

  394. Look at it.

  395. And this commandment

  396. we have from him.

  397. Whoever loves God

  398. must also love his brother.

  399. By describing love

  400. as a commandment,

  401. he's talking

  402. about it being,

  403. about love as being

  404. more an act

  405. of the will

  406. than a,

  407. what you'd call

  408. feeling of the heart.

  409. Christian love,

  410. when you think about

  411. what it is,

  412. it is not

  413. hallmark

  414. kind of love.

  415. It's not

  416. the,

  417. you know,

  418. the fuzzy,

  419. warm feelings

  420. that you see

  421. on the hallmark channel

  422. or in hallmark cards

  423. or anything like that.

  424. Now hopefully

  425. we have some

  426. healthy,

  427. appropriate feelings

  428. of love

  429. for people.

  430. But this

  431. is a commandment.

  432. We're talking

  433. about how we act,

  434. how we treat people.

  435. One of the best

  436. definitions I've ever

  437. heard of Christian love

  438. is seeking

  439. to meet

  440. people's needs.

  441. Now,

  442. that's why

  443. Paul prays

  444. that the Philippians

  445. love will grow.

  446. we need it to.

  447. It's an act

  448. of the will.

  449. It's not always

  450. how we feel.

  451. But I want you

  452. to note,

  453. it's not open-ended

  454. about our love

  455. growing more and more.

  456. He says that

  457. our love should grow

  458. in knowledge

  459. and discernment.

  460. Look at this.

  461. Ask God to help

  462. your love

  463. to grow in knowledge

  464. and discernment.

  465. Verse 9,

  466. it is my prayer

  467. that your love

  468. may abound more

  469. and more

  470. with knowledge

  471. and all discernment.

  472. Our love

  473. needs to be

  474. an informed love.

  475. We need to be

  476. growing in knowledge.

  477. James Boyce,

  478. the pastor

  479. and commentator,

  480. says that the word

  481. translated knowledge

  482. here always means

  483. spiritual knowledge

  484. when it is found

  485. in the New Testament.

  486. So here's what

  487. we need to pray.

  488. We need to pray

  489. for ourselves

  490. and for other people

  491. that we will grow

  492. in our knowledge

  493. of God,

  494. who He is,

  495. in our knowledge

  496. of His will,

  497. knowledge of His ways

  498. so that we might

  499. be able to obey Him,

  500. please Him,

  501. serve Him.

  502. Now,

  503. how are we going

  504. to acquire

  505. such knowledge

  506. of God?

  507. It's not that you

  508. strain and pray,

  509. Lord,

  510. help me to know

  511. You better.

  512. We study His word.

  513. See,

  514. God has revealed Himself

  515. as He wants us

  516. to know Him,

  517. His ways

  518. and His will

  519. in the Bible.

  520. And so if we're

  521. going to grow

  522. in our knowledge

  523. of God,

  524. of spiritual things,

  525. we've got to

  526. read and study

  527. the Bible.

  528. We should pray

  529. that God will help us

  530. through His indwelling

  531. Spirit,

  532. help us to understand

  533. what we read.

  534. It's not enough

  535. just to read the Bible.

  536. You know,

  537. if you do your,

  538. if you're doing,

  539. it is good to read

  540. through the Bible

  541. in a year.

  542. It is good to have

  543. a planned reading program.

  544. Don't misunderstand.

  545. But never open

  546. your Bible in the morning

  547. and just read it

  548. so you can say,

  549. I read it.

  550. Read the Bible.

  551. If you don't have time

  552. but to read

  553. a verse or two,

  554. read the Bible

  555. with a prayer.

  556. Lord,

  557. help me to understand

  558. what You are saying

  559. in this passage

  560. and how I can apply it,

  561. how I can do it,

  562. how I can obey You

  563. in it.

  564. So let me just ask you.

  565. Pause right here

  566. for a minute.

  567. Are you praying

  568. such prayers

  569. for yourself?

  570. God,

  571. help me grow

  572. in my love

  573. for You,

  574. for people.

  575. God,

  576. help me to grow

  577. in my knowledge

  578. of You

  579. and Your ways

  580. and Your will.

  581. Help me to know

  582. You better.

  583. Help me to know

  584. how to please You

  585. in just

  586. my everyday living.

  587. Are you praying

  588. such prayers?

  589. Are you praying

  590. those kind of prayers

  591. for the people

  592. that,

  593. let's just say,

  594. you pray for every day

  595. or you pray for regularly?

  596. Is that the kind of prayer

  597. you're praying

  598. for your children,

  599. for your grandchildren,

  600. for your parents,

  601. for good friends?

  602. don't just pray

  603. that they won't

  604. get sick.

  605. Don't just pray

  606. that they won't die.

  607. Pray that they will

  608. truly grow

  609. if they're Christians

  610. in their love

  611. and in their knowledge

  612. of God

  613. and His ways

  614. so that they can

  615. live their life

  616. in such a way

  617. as to please God.

  618. God,

  619. that's what all of us

  620. need to be doing

  621. on a regular basis

  622. when it comes

  623. to how we pray.

  624. We're also,

  625. notice here,

  626. we're to pray

  627. for ourselves

  628. and others

  629. to grow in our ability

  630. to express Christian love

  631. in our relationships

  632. with others.

  633. I'm just throwing this in.

  634. This is not actually

  635. a part of the text.

  636. What I'm doing

  637. is applying this.

  638. I sort of got ahead

  639. of myself.

  640. God is not impressed

  641. with us just having knowledge.

  642. It's not enough

  643. to read the Bible

  644. to be able to quote it.

  645. God wants us

  646. to be able to understand

  647. and put it into practice

  648. in our lives.

  649. Now,

  650. we're talking about love.

  651. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13,

    1 Corinthians 13 chapter mention

  652. Paul describes

  653. what love looks like

  654. when it's practiced

  655. among Christians.

  656. I want you to look at this.

  657. Love is patient and kind.

  658. Love does not envy

  659. or boast.

  660. It is not arrogant

  661. or rude.

  662. It does not insist

  663. in its own way.

  664. It is not irritable

  665. or resentful.

  666. It does not rejoice

  667. at wrongdoing,

  668. but rejoices

  669. with the truth.

  670. Love bears all things,

  671. believes all things,

  672. hopes all things,

  673. endures all things.

  674. Are you asking God

  675. to help you

  676. to love like that?

  677. Are you asking God

  678. to help you

  679. to be more patient

  680. with certain people

  681. in your life?

  682. Are you asking God

  683. to help you

  684. to not be irritable

  685. and a grouch

  686. and just a negative person?

  687. Are you asking God

  688. to not gloat,

  689. to not feel good

  690. when someone

  691. that you really don't like,

  692. something bad happens to them?

  693. Do you ask God

  694. to help you

  695. to rejoice

  696. with those who rejoice?

  697. People who get a promotion

  698. even above you.

  699. People who excel

  700. at sports.

  701. Are you asking God

  702. to help you

  703. not to be resentful,

  704. not to be jealous,

  705. but to genuinely rejoice

  706. with the good fortune

  707. of your brothers

  708. and sisters in Christ?

  709. That's the kind of love

  710. we need to be praying

  711. that we will be growing in.

  712. If we really understand it,

  713. if we have this kind of knowledge,

  714. we need to be putting it

  715. into practice.

  716. Are you helping

  717. your children,

  718. people you have influence over,

  719. are you helping them

  720. to develop and grow

  721. in that kind of love?

  722. Are you modeling,

  723. look at it,

  724. are you modeling it,

  725. putting forth the effort

  726. to help your children,

  727. whoever,

  728. people in your home,

  729. people in your Sunday school class,

  730. people you work with,

  731. are you helping them

  732. to see

  733. this is what Christian love

  734. looks like?

  735. Our love needs to be growing

  736. in knowledge,

  737. practical knowledge,

  738. we put it into practice,

  739. and our love also needs

  740. to be growing

  741. in discernment.

  742. That means we need to know

  743. how to apply love

  744. in different situations.

  745. Sometimes discerning love

  746. will require us

  747. to exercise tough love.

  748. You know, being loving

  749. is not just having a smile

  750. on your face

  751. and just thinking,

  752. don't rock the boat.

  753. Whatever goes, goes.

  754. If I came in here

  755. one Sunday morning

  756. and I said,

  757. we've been making

  758. too much of the Bible.

  759. It's really just

  760. an old book

  761. written by a lot

  762. of old people.

  763. There's some good ideas here,

  764. but mainly

  765. it needs to be updated.

  766. Let's just forget it.

  767. As a member of this church,

  768. you need to exercise

  769. tough love and fire me.

  770. If a Sunday school teacher

  771. does that,

  772. they need to be fired as well.

  773. It is not loving

  774. to just let anything go

  775. as a parent.

  776. It's not loving

  777. to allow your young child

  778. or teenager

  779. to be disobedient,

  780. disrespectful

  781. to you

  782. and your home.

  783. Christian love

  784. should compel you

  785. to take action,

  786. to not allow it.

  787. Take control.

  788. Exercise discipline.

  789. That's part of your

  790. God-given responsibility.

  791. That's what God

  792. wants you to do.

  793. And in the long run,

  794. that'll be what's best

  795. for your child.

  796. Sometimes,

  797. Christian love

  798. requires

  799. us to do hard things

  800. because tough love

  801. is needed.

  802. But then on the other hand,

  803. if we're going to be discerning,

  804. sometimes

  805. our love

  806. is going to be real,

  807. give that person

  808. the benefit of the doubt,

  809. gracious.

  810. We're not going to take,

  811. we're not going to be

  812. easily offended.

  813. We're not going to take

  814. what somebody says

  815. or does

  816. to some kind of

  817. slight,

  818. whether they meant

  819. for it to be or not.

  820. Sometimes Christian love

  821. just requires us

  822. to keep our mouth shut,

  823. to not say anything,

  824. to not do anything,

  825. just to go on,

  826. give them the benefit

  827. of the doubt.

  828. That helps

  829. some

  830. many situations

  831. many situations

  832. among your friends

  833. at school,

  834. at work,

  835. in a church,

  836. even in the home.

  837. It's not always easy

  838. to know how love

  839. should respond.

  840. That's why we need

  841. to pray.

  842. That's why we need

  843. to pray that our love

  844. will be growing

  845. in discernment

  846. and that we will be

  847. willing to

  848. do what needs

  849. to be done.

  850. Sometimes the most

  851. difficult thing to do

  852. is to say something.

  853. Sometimes the most

  854. difficult thing to do

  855. is to not

  856. say something.

  857. So,

  858. this is how

  859. Christians should pray.

  860. Are you praying

  861. like this?

  862. For yourself.

  863. For your children.

  864. For other people.

  865. Maybe you know

  866. some people.

  867. They really need

  868. to have a more

  869. discerning love.

  870. Pray for them.

  871. Ask God to help

  872. them to see the need

  873. and to be able

  874. to grow.

  875. Paul's prayer

  876. requests in these

  877. verses really

  878. build on one another.

  879. The most important

  880. Christian quality

  881. is love.

  882. And so,

  883. Paul prays

  884. that it will

  885. always be growing.

  886. Growing in knowledge

  887. and discernment.

  888. And then the next

  889. request,

  890. build on that.

  891. Number two,

  892. pray for yourself

  893. and others

  894. to develop

  895. Christ-like character.

  896. That's sort of

  897. the heading

  898. for everything

  899. he says now

  900. in verses 10

  901. through the first

  902. part of verse 11.

  903. It seems

  904. that there are

  905. Christians

  906. who think

  907. that the purpose

  908. of salvation

  909. is to keep us

  910. out of hell

  911. and get us

  912. into heaven

  913. when we die.

  914. That's not true.

  915. God saves us

  916. for much,

  917. much more

  918. than rescue

  919. from hell

  920. and getting us

  921. into heaven.

  922. God saves us

  923. for the purpose

  924. of making us

  925. like Jesus.

  926. And we've looked

  927. at that

  928. and how many times

  929. over the years.

  930. It's in Romans

    Romans 8 chapter mention

  931. chapter 8, 29.

  932. God is working

  933. in us

  934. to conform us

  935. to the likeness

  936. of his son.

  937. I want to read

  938. something.

  939. It's from Ephesians

    Ephesians 1 chapter mention

  940. chapter 1.

  941. It's not on the screen

  942. because I didn't think

  943. about putting it in

  944. until it was too late.

  945. Ephesians chapter 1

    Ephesians 1 chapter mention

  946. is in verse 4.

  947. Remember last,

  948. two weeks ago,

  949. we looked at

  950. Philippians 1, 6.

  951. And I referred

  952. to this verse

  953. and talked about

  954. how if we're Christians,

  955. that means God

  956. has chosen us

  957. to be his children.

  958. God chose us

  959. because he wanted

  960. to choose us.

  961. All within him,

  962. nothing about us.

  963. He chose us

  964. before the foundation

  965. of the world.

  966. But I want to read

  967. this verse.

  968. Even as he chose us

  969. in him

  970. before the foundation

  971. of the world

  972. that we should be

  973. holy and blameless

  974. before him.

  975. God's intent

  976. when he saved

  977. you and me

  978. was to so work

  979. in us

  980. throughout our lives

  981. that we would grow

  982. and develop

  983. in Christ-like character.

  984. And as time goes on,

  985. we become more

  986. and more holy

  987. and blameless.

  988. That doesn't mean

  989. perfect.

  990. It means that we

  991. live a life

  992. above reproach.

  993. We seek to obey God.

  994. Those kinds of things.

  995. We need to think

  996. of God as being

  997. like a father

  998. who has many children.

  999. He's happy

  1000. that he's got each one

  1001. but he's not just content

  1002. just to have

  1003. all those children.

  1004. He wants each child

  1005. to grow,

  1006. to mature,

  1007. to be a good

  1008. and productive

  1009. member of society.

  1010. God,

  1011. our Heavenly Father,

  1012. he wants

  1013. each one

  1014. of us

  1015. to grow

  1016. and mature,

  1017. to grow

  1018. and develop

  1019. holiness,

  1020. purity,

  1021. and to

  1022. be a fruitful

  1023. member

  1024. of his family,

  1025. of his kingdom.

  1026. We need to pray

  1027. to that end

  1028. as Paul does

  1029. in these verses.

  1030. Look at this.

  1031. Number one,

  1032. ask God

  1033. to help you

  1034. and others

  1035. discover what is

  1036. excellent.

  1037. That's the first part

  1038. of verse 10

  1039. so that you may approve

  1040. what is excellent.

  1041. There's two key words here.

  1042. The word approve

  1043. means

  1044. to put to the test,

  1045. to find out,

  1046. say,

  1047. from experience,

  1048. to discover.

  1049. The word excellent

  1050. literally means

  1051. things that differ,

  1052. things that make

  1053. a difference,

  1054. make a difference,

  1055. the best things.

  1056. The NIV

  1057. translates this phrase

  1058. so that you'll be able

  1059. to discern

  1060. what is best.

  1061. What's your real

  1062. desire for yourself

  1063. as a Christian?

  1064. How are you praying

  1065. and asking God

  1066. to work in your life?

  1067. Now,

  1068. you would never say this,

  1069. none of us

  1070. would ever say this,

  1071. but do your prayers

  1072. sort of sound like

  1073. your goal

  1074. is just to be mediocre,

  1075. stay out of trouble,

  1076. stay healthy,

  1077. and don't go

  1078. overboard

  1079. with excitement

  1080. about being

  1081. a follower of Jesus.

  1082. The way you pray,

  1083. the kind of things

  1084. you pray for,

  1085. could it be

  1086. that's what

  1087. it really boils down to?

  1088. Or,

  1089. do you pray

  1090. that you will grow

  1091. in your relationship

  1092. with God?

  1093. That you will really

  1094. develop Christ-like character?

  1095. Do you pray

  1096. that you'll have

  1097. a strong Christian influence

  1098. on other people?

  1099. And are you praying

  1100. that for your children,

  1101. for your grandchildren,

  1102. for your friends,

  1103. for the people

  1104. that you really

  1105. do care about

  1106. and you do pray for?

  1107. You pray that

  1108. for our church,

  1109. our church family.

  1110. We need to pray

  1111. that we

  1112. will discover

  1113. from experience

  1114. that the best way

  1115. to live in this world

  1116. is to love

  1117. and serve God,

  1118. to love

  1119. and serve

  1120. other people,

  1121. and not just enough

  1122. to get by,

  1123. but to excel

  1124. at it,

  1125. to seek

  1126. to do

  1127. our best

  1128. to please

  1129. God,

  1130. to impact

  1131. other people.

  1132. The next thing

  1133. Paul teaches

  1134. about prayer

  1135. is this,

  1136. ask God

  1137. to help you

  1138. and others

  1139. become pure

  1140. and blameless.

  1141. The phrase

  1142. in the last part

  1143. of verse 10,

  1144. and so be pure

  1145. and blameless

  1146. for the day

  1147. of Christ.

  1148. To be pure

  1149. and blameless

  1150. is really talking

  1151. about

  1152. the inward

  1153. and outward

  1154. parts

  1155. of our lives,

  1156. our character.

  1157. pure

  1158. is something,

  1159. a word

  1160. that can be

  1161. translated

  1162. as sincere.

  1163. It refers

  1164. to what we are

  1165. on the inside.

  1166. Blameless

  1167. refers to what

  1168. we appear

  1169. to be,

  1170. how others

  1171. perceive us,

  1172. both inward

  1173. and outward,

  1174. is what we're

  1175. talking about here.

  1176. Another way

  1177. to describe

  1178. being pure

  1179. and blameless

  1180. is to be real,

  1181. be genuine,

  1182. be on the inside

  1183. what you are

  1184. on the outside,

  1185. be on the outside.

  1186. Or put it another way,

  1187. Paul's teaching us

  1188. to pray

  1189. not to be hypocrites.

  1190. You know,

  1191. we pray for God

  1192. to help us to have,

  1193. we need to pray

  1194. that God

  1195. would help us

  1196. to have right motives

  1197. and then act

  1198. on those motives.

  1199. I need to pray

  1200. that God

  1201. will help me

  1202. to prepare

  1203. and get up here

  1204. and preach

  1205. for the right reasons.

  1206. You don't know

  1207. why I'm here.

  1208. Brian needs to pray

  1209. before he gets up here

  1210. and leaves

  1211. and sings like he did.

  1212. God,

  1213. help me do it

  1214. from the right

  1215. kind of motives.

  1216. You don't know,

  1217. I don't know

  1218. what his motives are.

  1219. But God does.

  1220. And we do as well.

  1221. So we need to pray

  1222. that way.

  1223. God,

  1224. help me to be

  1225. pure,

  1226. sincere,

  1227. genuine

  1228. on the inside

  1229. and on the out.

  1230. You know,

  1231. another way to say this

  1232. is we need to ask God

  1233. to help us

  1234. to hate hypocrisy

  1235. and never

  1236. allow ourselves

  1237. to be hypocrites

  1238. who don't practice

  1239. what we

  1240. profess.

  1241. And you know,

  1242. by being here

  1243. this morning,

  1244. by being a member

  1245. of this church,

  1246. by coming to a worship service,

  1247. we are making

  1248. some kind of profession

  1249. that we're Christians.

  1250. We're God's people.

  1251. We've been born again

  1252. by the Spirit of God.

  1253. We need to live like it.

  1254. But we need God's

  1255. help to live like it.

  1256. So we need to pray

  1257. for ourselves

  1258. and for the people

  1259. we care about

  1260. that we will

  1261. grow in our love,

  1262. in our knowledge,

  1263. in our discernment,

  1264. and that we'll be

  1265. the real deal.

  1266. We'll grow inwardly,

  1267. develop in Christ-like character.

  1268. And we'll display that

  1269. in all of our relationships.

  1270. There's one more

  1271. Christ-like character,

  1272. quality,

  1273. we need to pray for.

  1274. Look at this.

  1275. Ask God to fill you

  1276. and others

  1277. with the fruit

  1278. of righteousness.

  1279. The first part

  1280. of verse 11.

  1281. Filled with the fruit

  1282. of righteousness

  1283. that comes through

  1284. faith in Jesus Christ,

  1285. what comes through

  1286. Jesus Christ.

  1287. We need to pray

  1288. that God would help us

  1289. to produce

  1290. the kind of fruit

  1291. that comes

  1292. from having

  1293. a right relationship

  1294. with Him

  1295. that is through

  1296. faith in Jesus.

  1297. Now the first thing

  1298. that might come

  1299. to your mind,

  1300. it does me,

  1301. the first thing

  1302. that might come

  1303. to our minds

  1304. when we say that word

  1305. fruit,

  1306. it's something like

  1307. the fruit of the Spirit.

  1308. Love, joy, peace,

  1309. patience, kindness,

  1310. goodness, faithfulness,

  1311. gentleness,

  1312. self-control,

  1313. those kinds of qualities.

  1314. This prayer is not really

  1315. that we will develop

  1316. such fruit,

  1317. but that we will

  1318. demonstrate,

  1319. put it on display

  1320. in our lives.

  1321. We, you and me,

  1322. we need to ask God

  1323. to help us

  1324. to put love and joy

  1325. and peace

  1326. and these things

  1327. that are mentioned

  1328. into practice.

  1329. in the way

  1330. that we relate

  1331. to the people

  1332. in our homes,

  1333. at church,

  1334. at work,

  1335. at school,

  1336. every place

  1337. in our lives.

  1338. We need to specifically

  1339. ask that God

  1340. will help us

  1341. where we fail

  1342. the most.

  1343. Just think about it.

  1344. You know,

  1345. sitting here right now

  1346. or sitting at your home

  1347. reading the Bible

  1348. yourself,

  1349. you think about

  1350. the fruit of the Spirit

  1351. is love,

  1352. joy,

  1353. peace,

  1354. patience,

  1355. kindness,

  1356. and when you

  1357. sort of mellowed out,

  1358. chilled out,

  1359. just sort of sitting

  1360. back and reading

  1361. and thinking good

  1362. thoughts,

  1363. it's not hard

  1364. to be patient

  1365. in my room

  1366. by myself.

  1367. It's not hard

  1368. to have,

  1369. you know,

  1370. some kind thoughts,

  1371. be self-controlled.

  1372. People mess it up,

  1373. don't they?

  1374. people just bring out

  1375. the worst in us.

  1376. No.

  1377. People,

  1378. stressful situations

  1379. just help us to see

  1380. what's really on the inside,

  1381. how mature we are.

  1382. If you have a problem

  1383. with patience,

  1384. ask God,

  1385. Lord,

  1386. Lord,

  1387. help me.

  1388. Help me to desire this more,

  1389. to work on this more.

  1390. If you have a problem

  1391. with self-control,

  1392. pray about that.

  1393. Ask God to help you.

  1394. Now,

  1395. the people in your life

  1396. that you love,

  1397. that you know well,

  1398. you know where they struggle.

  1399. don't beat them up,

  1400. but pray

  1401. where they are weak,

  1402. where they struggle.

  1403. Ask God to help them.

  1404. Do what you can do

  1405. to help them.

  1406. We need to

  1407. ask God to help us

  1408. display the fruits

  1409. of righteousness.

  1410. And we need to be praying this

  1411. for other people

  1412. in our lives as well.

  1413. The final part

  1414. of Paul's request

  1415. is really

  1416. the end result

  1417. of everything else.

  1418. Look at this.

  1419. Pray for yourself

  1420. and others

  1421. to glorify God.

  1422. For the glory

  1423. and praise of God

  1424. this outends.

  1425. This is the ultimate

  1426. purpose of our lives,

  1427. isn't it?

  1428. We know that.

  1429. It's the goal

  1430. of everything that we do

  1431. to bring glory

  1432. and honor

  1433. and praise to God.

  1434. That means

  1435. this should be

  1436. the ultimate request

  1437. of every prayer

  1438. we pray

  1439. for ourselves

  1440. and for

  1441. other Christians.

  1442. Doesn't mean

  1443. it's always easy,

  1444. but it's what we should

  1445. pray for.

  1446. Are you praying

  1447. like this?

  1448. When you face

  1449. a major decision

  1450. in life,

  1451. do you pray

  1452. among other things,

  1453. Lord,

  1454. bottom line,

  1455. I want you to do

  1456. what will enable me

  1457. to most glorify you?

  1458. As you think about

  1459. serving the Lord

  1460. here in this church

  1461. or somewhere,

  1462. do you pray,

  1463. Lord,

  1464. it's not about me.

  1465. What people say

  1466. or think about me,

  1467. help me to do

  1468. what I do

  1469. in a way that

  1470. will honor you,

  1471. bring glory to you.

  1472. and when you pray

  1473. for people

  1474. who are close

  1475. to you,

  1476. do you pray

  1477. that God

  1478. will use

  1479. them

  1480. for his glory?

  1481. Whatever that

  1482. may mean

  1483. and that may mean

  1484. that your child's

  1485. looking for a job

  1486. and if you pray,

  1487. Lord,

  1488. will you not just

  1489. let them have the job

  1490. but let them have the job

  1491. if that's what will most

  1492. enable them to serve

  1493. your purpose.

  1494. If that's what

  1495. will bring glory

  1496. to you the most.

  1497. See,

  1498. it's not always easy

  1499. to pray such a prayer

  1500. but it's how we're called

  1501. to live and pray.

  1502. Now,

  1503. in light of what we see

  1504. in Paul's prayer,

  1505. do you need to make

  1506. any changes

  1507. in the way

  1508. that you pray?

  1509. Let me say it

  1510. one more time.

  1511. Don't misunderstand.

  1512. We all need to pray

  1513. all kinds of prayers.

  1514. We need to be praying

  1515. about things related

  1516. to the coronavirus

  1517. for people to get well,

  1518. for the pandemic

  1519. to end.

  1520. We need to pray

  1521. for our country

  1522. especially this week

  1523. that there will be

  1524. a smooth,

  1525. peaceful transition

  1526. of power

  1527. on Wednesday

  1528. when President-elect

  1529. Biden

  1530. takes the oath

  1531. of office

  1532. and becomes actual

  1533. President Biden.

  1534. We need to pray

  1535. for widespread

  1536. repentance

  1537. in this country.

  1538. Reconciliation.

  1539. We need it.

  1540. prayer for our prayer.

  1541. But both the teaching

  1542. and the examples

  1543. in the Bible

  1544. clearly show us

  1545. that when we pray,

  1546. spiritual needs

  1547. need to take priority

  1548. over the physical needs.

  1549. We need to work on that

  1550. privately

  1551. in our private prayers,

  1552. but also publicly

  1553. as we pray in groups

  1554. here at church.

  1555. church.

  1556. There's no doubt

  1557. that praying

  1558. such prayers

  1559. will make a difference

  1560. in our lives

  1561. and it will make

  1562. a difference

  1563. in the lives

  1564. of the people

  1565. we care about.

  1566. And when we pray

  1567. the way Jesus

  1568. taught us,

  1569. the way Paul

  1570. models here,

  1571. it will make

  1572. a difference

  1573. in the number

  1574. of prayers

  1575. that we see

  1576. answered.

  1577. Let's pray together.

  1578. Dear God,

  1579. help us to see

  1580. right now

  1581. what changes

  1582. need to be made

  1583. in our prayer lives.

  1584. Father,

  1585. for some people,

  1586. convict them

  1587. of their prayerlessness,

  1588. of their failure

  1589. to pray regularly,

  1590. of their failure

  1591. to really believe

  1592. that prayer matters,

  1593. that it makes

  1594. a difference.

  1595. Father,

  1596. for people

  1597. in this room

  1598. who just about

  1599. exclusively pray

  1600. for physical things,

  1601. help them to see,

  1602. Father,

  1603. that their priority

  1604. is wrong.

  1605. Help them to see,

  1606. dear God,

  1607. that while they may

  1608. need to continue

  1609. to pray about everybody

  1610. and everything

  1611. they're praying

  1612. about right now,

  1613. they need to,

  1614. first of all,

  1615. focus on you,

  1616. your way and will.

  1617. They need to focus

  1618. on true Christian love,

  1619. growing in it,

  1620. becoming more knowledgeable

  1621. and discerning.

  1622. Lord,

  1623. help us all

  1624. to see that we need

  1625. to be praying

  1626. about the development

  1627. of Christian character

  1628. and that all things,

  1629. in all that we do,

  1630. we seek your glory.

  1631. So,

  1632. Father,

  1633. just show us,

  1634. help us to leave

  1635. here today

  1636. better equipped

  1637. to pray in a way

  1638. that will truly

  1639. please you

  1640. and make a difference

  1641. in our lives

  1642. and in the lives

  1643. of people we pray for.

  1644. let's just now,

  1645. all of us,

  1646. in attitude of prayer,

  1647. let the Lord speak,

  1648. listen,

  1649. obey Him

  1650. and respond to Him.

  1651. whatever you who

  1652. you or not.

  1653. I think you

  1654. willfox

  1655. verses

  1656. but in the 수가

  1657. of Israel

  1658. high

  1659. until man

  1660. vive

  1661. ganz

  1662. .