The Believer and his Prayer Life

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning to James chapter 5.

James 5 · chapter mention

And while we're getting the cross, I'm so excited about our Bible study on campus starting soon.

Sunday after Labor Day.

It's going to be awesome.

It's going to be awesome.

We have a men's class taught by Sylvester.

The ladies' class with Susan and Marquita be involved together, leading that in our whole ladies' ministry.

We're so excited about that.

They already got something planned all the way through December for the ladies.

So, ladies, y'all gonna have a ball.

Sylvester, we're gonna have to catch up Sunday.

They're out of the gate already.

We'll catch them.

We'll catch them.

But hey, if we can get our women and our men discipled and growing in the likeness of Christ and praying for God to show up and show out, God, hey, God's gonna do it.

He's gonna bless.

Hey, he doesn't have a choice.

Do you understand that?

He says, if my people call unto me, I will answer and show thee great mighty things which thou knowest not.

Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great mighty things which thou knowest not, Jeremiah 33, 3.

So it's it's gonna happen.

And it's happening.

And boy are we excited about that.

So, and then David and David Roper, uh we got uh I think uh one of the girls' homes, they're all at the beach this weekend at a conference.

But David Wilson and David Roper are gonna be doing the couples class with young and what do you constitutes a couple with parents of young children?

And so that could be anywhere from 40 down.

And and if you got an oops, it could be over 40, but just a thought, just a thought.

But anyway, uh it's gonna be awesome.

It really is.

And uh, so hey, listen, it ha hey Sarah, how old was Sarah?

90.

Don't say it can't happen.

But anyway, anyway.

You say, Lord, yes, hallelujah.

But uh, it's gonna be it's gonna be exciting as we see what God does in our Bible study.

And one of the things we've been praying for God to do is to really disciple our church.

So that's gonna be fun.

It's gonna be great.

8 45 Sunday morning.

I said uh we have coffee and stuff like we always do, and then come right back in here about no later in a quarter to nine, uh 10.

And so it's gonna fit perfectly.

Uh, by the way, have children's classes too going on for your children, uh, for you.

So we got nursery, all the everything's ready.

But what we do need is, is it in the bulletin today?

I think you have a uh all right, thank you.

Let me see that, honey.

You have this in your worship guide.

Every once in a while I go back to my young days bulletin, it's a worship guide.

Uh you know, I know we've even tried, you know what we've tried to do?

We've even tried to get politically correct, even in saying stuff in the church.

You know, I grew up on Sunday school.

Some of these meet on Wednesday night, okay?

It's not just Sunday.

Thank you, thank you.

But uh, these are classes.

So, got it?

But anyway, please let us know, especially on Sunday morning, is what we really need to know.

So we can be prepared on that first Sunday that you know 50 people show up with 30 kids and we only have one worker prepared for five kids.

We just need to know, that's all we need, and give us an idea uh uh on what we need to be ready for on that first Sunday Bible study, and we would appreciate that.

If you come, you're gonna love it.

And uh, it's just taking our church to that next level.

We're ready, we're going, and we're already working on uh more educational space as we're taught.

God has provided we uh so by November we'll have about five or possibly six more classes, classrooms, should I say.

So uh we're getting ready to, I could say in a year, I'd like to see a Sunday school over 200 or a Bible study over 200 people right here on Sunday mornings from 845 to 945, growing in the likeness of the Lord, and each Sunday school adopting some area of ministry and us working together as a Sunday school project.

Uh uh Brent and I talked earlier, even a project of cleaning up our community, uh, doing ice cream, just doing a lot of, doing it through our our our Bible study.

That's I'm telling you, we built one of the greatest churches I've ever had the privilege of being with.

Uh when I was at Open Door Baptist Church for all those years, you've heard a lot of stories about Open Door, the Wilsons, all of us, the the uh Sonia and all of them, and how how we God built such a great church in in about 14 years.

I mean, we went from 30 people to 12, 14, 1500 high days in in eight years.

And we had a Sunday school of 800 to 900 people, and we really turned that community aside.

And that's what we want to do here by ministering and helping it.

Uh Bible study becomes the the tentacles of the church, the arms of the church as it reaches out.

And we'll just multiply so as we reach hundreds of people with the gospel.

So it's gonna be exciting.

And uh we're gonna be studying the book of Joshua.

You'll be worried, as you're studying it, I'll be preaching.

And the title of it will be A Country in Crisis.

And it is gonna be timely for the times that we're gonna be faced all the way up to the lecturer.

And we'll be right there looking at what Israel faced and how they handled very similar circumstances, folks.

There's nothing new under the sun.

Can I get an amen?

It was just as bad back then, and we'll see that.

But we'll also see the answer.

But today, we want to look at the last part, the last paragraph in James, chapter 5.

James 5 · chapter mention

The title of the message this morning, The Believer and His Prayer Life.

Now, let me tell you where we're going.

As I finish this last section of the book of James, there's the last two verses I'm gonna hit today, but I'm not gonna hit them totally in detail because there's two words there that God so gripped my heart that I have seen over the years in the church, and I've really never heard anybody deal with it.

And if you look at verse 19 and 20, it says, Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, one and one convert him.

That has been so misunderstood, I think, because a lot of times people think that he's talking about the lost there.

And by the way, the lost need to be converted.

Can I get an amen?

But in the text, he's really writing to the church and the Christians.

So you're saying a Christian can be converted?

Absolutely.

Not converted to salvation, but converted back from waywardness from the Lord.

And that's what he's talking about there.

And so I'm gonna take, because I didn't want to start Joshua right before our community awakening.

So we're gonna look after today, the next two Sundays, and you don't want to miss it.

I've titled it, The Conversion of an Erring Brother.

The Conversion of an Erring Brother.

We all have them in our families, our friends.

We all have them.

And we're gonna look at part one and part two.

We're gonna look at the truth and what the key to converting our wayward brothers back is the truth of the living God being all in you and for you, and just just using it and speaking the truth in love to bring them back, the value of it, and then we're gonna look at the signs.

Don't miss it.

The signs of a brother or sister that's beginning to air.

It's gonna be powerful.

I couldn't, I couldn't, I spent about seven hours, I couldn't even get up from my desk taking those words and looking at it.

So, and then we'll go right into the community awakening, and then we'll start our series on a country in crisis.

But these next two Sundays, you do not want to miss it.

It will enlighten you, it will give you the insights that you need.

Hey, for each of us not to go away, can I get an amen?

But it also give us warning signs when our conscience and our hearts beginning to stray.

We'll know it.

We'll know it.

I'm telling you, it's gonna be good.

But today, the believer and his prayer life.

Jesus started out in Matthew 21, 13, and he said, My house shall be called the house of prayer.

We see in Isaiah chapter 56, verse 7.

Isaiah 56:7

Do we have that one, Jason?

Can we throw up Isaiah 56, verse 7?

Isaiah 56:7

In the Old Testament, he went on and he said, That my house shall not only be a place, you know, to come and to worship, but it shall be a place of prayer.

It's a house of prayer.

And then Ephesians chapter 5, I believe it is, or I know, excuse me, Ephesians 6.18, he talks about us praying in the supplication for the saints and always.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

And Paul's talking about the key here is being filled with the Spirit of God, and when we're filled with the Spirit of God, we are praying fervently, fervently unto God for all the saints.

So this is the background of this whole context.

Now that he's writing to the church at Jerusalem, he's saying now that the tongue, and we've been talking about the tongue, he says James here has a great deal to say about the tongue.

If you remember, he mentioned some of the lowest uses of the tongue, and they were found in James 5, 9, where he talks about grumbling and complaining, and then he went on to talk about, hey, belittling and criticizing each other in verse 10.

So we see the lowest levels, but then he brings the tongue to the highest level, and he says in verse 10, the highest level is to proclaim God's word, and then in verse 13, praying.

So he's saying, preaching and praying, and also earlier praising in the book of James 5, this last section, these last two paragraphs in James, he says, here's what the church is to be about.

One, praising God, two, preaching God's word, the truth, and three, praying.

Those are the key elements to a church, if God's going to show up and show out, no doubt about it.

And so we see this is what God tells us.

Prayer is certainly a high and holy privilege for the church and the children of God.

Seven times in this paragraph, in this chapter, we see prayer mentioned.

The mature Christian is prayerful in troubles of life, and instead of complaining about his situation, he goes to the Lord in prayer.

Now, most of us grumble and complain a little bit, then go to the Lord in prayer.

Guilty?

I am guilty.

We start complaining about the situation instead of praying about the situation.

And what he's saying here, don't grumble, don't grudge, don't complain.

Pray.

Pray and go to the Lord in prayer.

Uh he says, the righteous cry out and the Lord hears.

Now watch.

And delivers them from all their troubles.

Psalms 34, 17.

Hey, and verse 19.

The righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

I don't know about you, but that's one where, that's one place I love the little word all.

Amen.

All their troubles.

Not some, but all.

So that's a powerful statement.

So, we see four situations in which God shares and teaches us that we ought to pray.

Number one, here it goes.

Number one, we are to pray for the suffering.

Look at what he says.

Verse 13.

We are to pray for the suffering.

Is any among you afflicted or sick?

Let him pray.

Is any merry?

Let him sing Psalms.

Man, wow.

What is he saying?

He's saying there's going to be good times, there's going to be bad times.

If you don't hear that, you miss the whole point.

He says we are to pray in bad times, but we're also to pray and give thanksgiving in good times.

Amen.

And um and I know it's easy to, but you know what I've learned in my own life?

Even when it's good times, great times, I have to really kind of be sensitive that I don't take those good times for granted and forget to thank God for even the good times.

Amen.

Amen.

It's so easy.

You know, it's not really hard to get on your knees when you're in trouble.

But is it hard to get on your knees?

Hey, when everything's going great, everything's great, everything's fine, and just thank him for who he is and what he's doing in your life.

So that's what he's saying here.

And then, but the word afflicted is the word.

It means to be in trouble.

It means to be in trouble.

Paul used this word to describe his circumstances.

Look at 2 Timothy 2.9.

Are we having trouble back there?

There we go.

Thank you, Jason.

And he says, look at verse 9, wherein he says, I suffer trouble as an evildoer.

Uh-oh.

That's important.

Can I say something?

As Christians, when we start doing evil things, trouble's coming.

Hey, hey, you can be sure, Numbers 32, 27, you can be sure that your sins will find you out.

Trouble, hey, is coming.

That's what he's saying.

Even unto bonds.

In other words, I get bound up.

I get in trouble.

I get bound up.

My sin bounds me up.

But the word of God is not bound.

But he says, but the word of God, you shall know the truth in what?

The truth shall set you free.

It sets you free of those sins and those bonds that sin so easily bounds us in.

So he talks about that right there.

As God's people go through life, we're often enduring really difficult situations.

In fact, 2 Timothy 2.3 says, Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

So they're coming.

And then the Lord says, men ought to also, hey, men ought to always pray and not to faint.

Luke 18.1.

In other words, don't give up.

Even when the trouble comes, when the trying times come, you just go to prayer.

You pray.

You pray.

When Elijah was facing all those 450 false prophets on Mount Carmel, he prayed endlessly and fervently, and we'll see that.

And the word fervent there means he put himself into his prayer.

In other words, he wasn't just doing repetitious, and the Lord talks about vain repetition, or just saying spiritual words, or reading a prayer.

He was, his whole heart and soul and might was into that praying because he knew that God had to show up or he was through.

He was through.

Let me tell you, you'll start praying when the hey, you know for sure this is it.

You'll start praying.

Amen.

You'll pray.

Hey, hey, when you get bad news, your prayer life changes, doesn't it?

Hello?

You get a bad report at the doctor's office, your prayer life changes, doesn't it?

Man, you start saying, now where are those scriptures?

Huh?

Where are those scriptures?

Wouldn't it be good to have those scriptures already in there and saying, okay, God, hey, I know we're going through it now, but that's okay.

Bless God, you're in the fire.

You're with me.

You're in the lion's den with me.

And that's what Paul meant when he said, What should we do when we find ourselves in such trying circumstances?

Not grumble, don't criticize, but pray.

We should ask God.

He says, I love Romans 12, 12.

It's not on there, but God gave me this one.

Rejoice in hope, patience in tribulation.

Continue in constantly in prayer.

Constantly.

Memorize that this morning early.

Hey, again.

Rejoice in hope.

Patience in tribulation.

Continue in constant prayer.

Romans 12, 12.

That is so good.

We are to be praying for the suffering.

Prayer can remove affliction.

James 4, 6, look at what he said.

Remember James 4, 6?

Oh, this is awesome.

He said, but he giveth more grace.

See what we see here, God can transform troubles into triumphs because he gives more grace.

You've got to see this.

2 Corinthians 12.

7 through 10.

This is powerful.

This is powerful.

Paul is talking about where he's been praying, and he's been praying for his thorn.

You remember the story?

2 Corinthians 12.

Let's look at it.

7.

And here's what he said.

Oh, this is powerful.

And what he's basically looking at, and what he's seeing is, he says, Hey, I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations.

There was given to me a thorn in my flesh.

Now watch.

He says right here, a thorn in my flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

Uh-oh.

Satan's gonna come after you.

Satan's gonna, hey, Satan's got methodologies.

Hey, Satan's got tricks and traps ready to come after you.

He wants to stop you from being, hey, a mature, dynamic, living testimony for God.

He really does.

He wants to stop you.

And he's gonna try to stop you, and just like Satan's in our computer today, but that's okay.

That's okay.

He's trying to buffet me, but I hey, I got it memorized, Satan, so take that.

And then look at verse 8.

For this thing I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

It's okay to pray for God to remove it.

In fact, you should.

Jesus, by the way, prayed three times that the cup would pass for him.

But what did he say at the end?

He said, But Lord, not my will, but thy will be done.

Same way with Paul.

And then notice what he said.

Verse 9.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect, and weakness, woo! Watch this.

Most gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasures in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, he is strong.

In other words, he says, I glory in my problems and my troubles, because I know God's with me, and I know God's going to see me through, and it's for my benefit.

Now you can't do that and believe that if you're not in the book and walking with God.

What happens when we're in, we're not, we're carnal, we're not in the book, we're not, and we panic.

And Satan says, Yes.

Because when we panic, he's got us.

Because he knows we're going down.

But God's grace is sufficient.

Paul prayed right here that God might change his circumstances.

But instead, God says, No, I'm not going to change your circumstances.

I'm going to give you my grace.

So here's the exciting news.

And by the way, one of the reasons he wasn't going to change it, he wanted to keep Paul humble.

Troubles and trials keep us humble.

Amen.

But he said, hey, I'm not going to get rid of your trials and your troubles, but I'm going to give you my grace.

Can I say something?

God's grace is greater than any trouble you got.

Amen.

That's good, church.

God's grace is better than any trouble you got.

And we see that.

The mature Christian knows how to sing while he's suffering.

Say that with me.

I want to learn to sing while I'm suffering.

Let's say that together.

I want to learn to sing while I'm suffering.

Oh, listen to what Job said.

Job said, Hey, I've got songs in the night.

Job 35, 10, when all hell was coming against Job.

He had lost everything.

He says, I got songs in the night.

I like Psalms 35.

Weeping may endure, hey, for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Why?

Because of God's grace.

God's grace.

Oh, hey, Paul and Silas, they were singing in jail.

I mean, they were singing in jail.

They've been beaten, but they're singing.

Why?

Because they knew God's grace and God was with them.

While they were in their troubles.

And it has to come from our heart.

Number two, look what else were they praying?

They were praying for the suffering.

Where to pray for the suffering?

You know people that are suffering right now.

We're to be lifting them up.

Praying for them.

But more than that, we ought to be walking beside them, bearing their burdens with them.

Can I get an amen?

Let me say something.

That's why you want a church family, you want a church home.

Amen.

Now I know you have your intimate family.

I understand that.

But beyond your immediate family, you need a church family.

And the reason you need a church family, they will, hey, they'll get a hold of God, they'll be there for you.

They'll be there.

Hey, they'll laugh with you, they'll cry with you, but they'll be there with you when nobody else is.

Amen.

That's why you join.

Somebody say, Oh, I can worship God without going to church.

Yeah, you go ahead.

And what are you going to do when you go through that first major trial?

Huh?

You'll wish you had a church.

And by the way, those are the same folks that say, nobody cares.

Where are you?

We don't even know.

Amen.

I get real upset when I hear.

And by the way, let me please, please listen to me.

This isn't as loving as I can say it.

You're in trouble.

You're in.

Please call us, let us know.

I'm not, I'm, I'm, I don't, I, I'm not a fortune teller.

I can't.

Sometimes I don't know.

Some of you've been, hey, you've been you've been in hospital now, and I didn't even know it.

I'm ready.

Call for the elders.

That's what it says.

Call for the elders.

I'm not a hound dog trying to sniff out if you're in trouble.

Hello?

Actually, I am, kinda.

Y'all know I am, because some of y'all know I show up and say, How'd you know that, preacher?

I knew it.

Holy Spirit tells me a lot.

Or I get a check in my spirit and I say, I gotta go see something something's not right.

I'm serious.

I wish I didn't have that spirit because sometimes I don't like it.

But I do.

Do I not, honey?

I say something's wrong.

Something's wrong with it.

Something's wrong.

Yeah.

So we call.

Call for the elders.

And that's what we're talking about.

We need each other.

Can I get an amen?

We need each other.

And we're to pray for one another and care for one another.

Oh.

That's so beautiful.

Number two, pray for the sick.

Verses 14 and 16.

Now, I do not think James gave us a blanket formula here for healing all the sick.

In fact, let me tell you why.

Sometimes it's not God's will for everybody to be healed of that trouble.

I just gave you the example.

And that's why I gave you Paul.

I just gave you the example.

No, Paul never.

And I think, I can just tell you what I think it was.

We really don't know what it was.

We know it was an element.

Sickness.

Something.

I think it was his eyes.

I think he had bad eyesight.

Here's why.

He always had somebody writing for him and doing his uh, you know, ledgering for him when he was talking.

So, hey, I think it was his eyesight.

And sure, wouldn't it have been nice for Paul's eyes to have been healed here as a preacher, writer, studier, if that be the case.

Or it was some kind of element that we know that was hindering Paul in his work, he thought, but in reality, what he thought was a hindrance, God considered, oh, I'm about to have a spell.

God considered it a blessing.

Because it kept him humble.

So what you and I think is a major hindrance could be the greatest blessing we've ever had.

That's good, preacher.

I miss I will.

He's going on vacation too.

All y'all are watching by streaming, y'all sure I will say, Amen, preacher.

That's good, preacher.

But that's so true.

It's not a blanket formula.

But other times he has seen fit to heal people, take them from those troubles.

What is the spirit, really the special characteristics of this case that James is describing?

I want you to look.

Three things.

James is talking about a Christian person, brother or sister.

He says, number one, the person is sick.

Now, watch this.

The person is sick because of sin.

Look at it.

In fact, the Greek text there is the word there in verse 15.

Look at what he says.

In verse 15.

He says, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and right here at the end, the second part of verse 15.

And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Now, the the committed sins there is in what we call the tense is passive and the voice is active, which literally means, and here, and I wrote it out so I could read it to you.

What he is saying here is that the, hey, right here, that the this person was continually living in sin.

Even though he was a Christian.

He was continually living in sin.

Now, folks, you can't do that and get away with that.

Judgment's coming.

And I'm going to show you why here.

It's coming.

In fact, the Greek text says, if he has been constantly and continually sinning.

Now, look at the parallels.

1 Corinthians, if we have that, Jason, 11 30.

Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, if you remember.

1 Corinthians 11 is the Lord's Supper's chapter.

And I deal with this when we do the Lord's Supper, and it's coming up soon.

Hey, we deal with this.

We deal with this.

But you remember they were partaking of the Lord's Supper.

Some were wrongly.

And that's, by the way, 1 Corinthians, somebody asked me the other day, where do we somebody said, Y'all feed people every week.

I said, every week.

I said, it's one of our core values, intimate fellowship.

But I said, it's also biblical.

It said biblical.

Where does it say that?

I said, I'm glad you asked.

1 Corinthians 11.

They fed every time they met, and they called it the love feast.

And plus in Acts 2, they went house to house breaking bread together.

But when they organized and came together at the church at Carth, it was the love feast.

And they were misusing the love feast.

They were not battle filled with the Spirit, so they were having some problems there.

And Paul said, hey, because you are misusing your hey, you're carnal, you're not, you're not, hey, listen, you're not living for me.

I've been warning you.

I've been giving you, I've been preaching to you.

Look at what he says here.

For this cause, many are weak and sickly, same word, right there used in James.

Okay?

Among you.

And many sleep.

Now that doesn't mean they just went to sleep.

That means they died.

You understand that?

That's pretty powerful, folks.

You cannot make a mockery of God.

You cannot make a mockery of God because God will chasten those whom He loves.

Can I get an Amen?

He will chasten those whom He loves.

So we see, first of all, the person is sick because he's got sin in his life.

He's constantly sinning.

Number two, the person confesses his sin.

Look at verse 16.

Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed.

In the early church, the believers practiced church discipline.

Going back to the church at Corinth.

The church at Corinth in Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 5 is a good example.

Paul told the believers at Corinth to dismiss the sinning member from the assembly until he repented of his sins and made things right.

In fact, the little word therefore belongs in James 5.16.

Confess your sins, therefore, one to another.

Pray for one another that you may be healed.

That's a literal translation.

The word false there is the Greek word hamartia, hamartia, that James uses as the word which means sin.

It's the same word used in James 1.15 where he says, When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.

So.

We see how important and powerful that is about us confessing our faults.

The person confessed his sins.

The word again means to, as you confess, but it means from your heart that you are confessing because the Holy Spirit has convicted you with the truth of the Word of God.

You know you're wrong.

You know what you're doing's wrong, and you're going to ask God to forgive you, and you're going to turn from it.

And you know why you're going to turn from it?

One reason you're having a lot of troubles.

Can't get away.

For the wages of sin is what?

But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

So we see that, and you'll see some more in a minute.

But now notice the third thing the person is healed by the prayer of faith.

It is not the anointing that heals.

Now you've got to get that right.

In fact, the word anointing there is a powerful word, and that you I could bring a message on that one word there, the anointing.

But uh the word anointing there also can refer to oil, especially like olive oil, medicine.

It can be used for medicine, and also the word anointing there can be used for massage.

Uh, like you're, you know, when you go to a uh a therapist and they massage you where you're hurt and work with you to help bring healing there.

But the third uh symbolism that I think is so important means right here, and by the way, I think that's a good way to say that we use medicine as well as healing, that God heals directly, but he also uses doctors to heal.

Can I get an amen?

And medicine.

That's that's symbolic of the word oil there for medicine.

And then, but also another symbolic symbol that's used there is the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit of God.

So we see both.

I think this is a beautiful picture of both.

God uses medicine and God uses his own power to heal.

He can heal either way.

Can I get an amen?

Beautiful, right?

It's right there.

And so I think that's tremendous insight to biblical truth that sometimes we take one side and we don't deal with the other.

But the key is that the person is healed by the prayer of faith.

It's not by, hey, hey, it's not the medicine, hey, it's God, it's the praying that brings the power of healing, whether use medicine or God does it directly.

God is the author of the healing.

That makes sense?

Boy, that's good.

And that's exactly what he's talking about here.

So the question should be: what is the prayer of faith that heals the sick?

That was my question I asked me.

The answer is found, I want you to see this in 1 John 5, verses 14 and 15.

1 John 5:14

This is powerful.

This is the key.

In other words, the prayer of faith that heals the sick.

Where's the answer?

Here it is.

And this is the confidence that we have in him.

Here it is.

And this is the confidence that we have in him.

That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him.

The prayer of faith is a prayer, watch, offered, write it down, when you know the will of God.

Now, how do we know the will of God?

There's only one way to know the will of God, and that's by knowing what?

The word of God.

See how it comes back to the truth?

He says, if you abide in me, my words abide in you.

You should ask what it will, and it shall be done.

But you're praying in accordance to God's will.

The elders would seek the mind of God here in a matter, and then pray according to his will.

And I've done this, I've been here, and I've seen people healed as we prayed over them as elders.

Then I've seen people not healed.

And you know what?

One group will say, if they're not healed, well, you you're just lacking in faith.

Now let me ask you something.

Who's faith?

Your faith?

The elders' faith?

Who's faith?

We might be all the people's faith.

Here's the key.

This is where God helped me this year's ago.

You think people heal?

You think people not healed?

You gotta confess your sin and be right with God before you'll be in the healing.

But here's what I do.

God will heal.

Because there is perfect healing.

Nobody ever deals with it.

There's no one commentary.

He healed and brought Lazarus back from the dead.

But he died again.

That was healing, but it wasn't perfect healing.

Perfect healing is going to be with Jesus for an eternity.

There'll be no more helmets up there, there'll be no more tears up there, there'll be no more crying up there, there'll be no more cancer up there, there'll be no more arthritis up there, there'll be no more anything up there.

That's perfect healing.

So when you're praying for somebody to be healed physically to stay with you, that's one thing.

But if God takes them on, don't get bitter, don't be mad, don't hey, be joyful and say, Thank God He's with Jesus.

It's over, the suffering's over.

It's over.

That's why we have a pet rally for Jesus at a funeral.

Amen.

I was just went to her uncle's funeral Thursday.

97 years old, joined the church 1934.

That's faithful.

Same church.

He didn't let Sister Fluffy Head and Deacon Potato Head run him off.

Here, man, something happens, you get your feelings hurt, you're gone.

You go to another church, bounce around like a basketball.

Hey, you can run, but you can't hide.

Can I tell you something?

There's a deacon potato head and sister fluffy head in every church.

And either you deal with them head on and work it out like mature Christians, or you just take your bone and go home.

And you know who loses?

You do.

I do.

Like preachers, a lot of times they get into major trouble, and man, they, oh, God's calling me to another church.

Oh, the pastors look so green over there.

Can I tell you the same cows are in that pasture?

Hello.

Just a thought.

I don't think I need to elaborate on that one.

Amen.

Same cows.

Just different location.

You don't run, you deal with it.

And we see that right here.

Hey, you gotta deal with your situations and your troubles.

I love what he says.

And when they prayed, you know, and sometimes guess what?

We don't know how to pray.

We really don't.

And a lot of times I don't.

When I'm praying for somebody that's sick physically, right here.

You know what I pray?

I pray Romans 8 26.

Here it is.

I don't know what to pray.

So likewise the Spirit also helps me.

And with my infirmities for when we know not what we should pray as we ought.

So I pray God to heal them physically, but God, if it's, but then I always end, but God, it's your will be done.

Just like Jesus prayed, I want this cup to pass for me, but not my will, but thy will be done.

And then if God takes them on, then I, you know what I do?

I turn and rejoice and say, Praise God, that's perfect healing.

Because guess what?

You can be healed if you're physically sick right now.

You can be healed physically right now, but I got news for you.

You're still gonna die.

Or you're gonna be raptured.

I pray for the rapture.

But the older I'm getting, I'm thinking, well, baby, my time's coming.

And as it's appointed unto man wants to die.

And after that, the judgment.

But you know what?

Guess what?

You know what Otis did?

Hey, I'd never seen this before at a funeral, and I've been doing funerals for 35 years.

At the end, there was a little preacher boy that had been taping all the testimonies of the little people.

There's only about 40 people in the church, but he had put them on tape about a year ago, a year and a half ago.

And Uncle or Uncle Wilburn had given his testimony how he got saved.

And he said, I was in an old-timey tent meeting, and we had benches, and he said, the Holy Spirit just got all over me.

He said, Not me good.

He said, and I got up, I couldn't get up to the front, so I just started walking on the benches to get to the front to get saved.

Did he not?

I'm sitting there, amen.

And by looking at me, I'm saying, Amen.

Yeah, walking on the benches.

34 years.

And then he said, God changed my life, and I've been serving him ever since.

And I got a song in my heart.

And I knew right then, I said, Ah, yes.

I've been telling my wife for 35 wonderful years, I'm gonna preach my funeral.

And bless God, I'm gonna do it.

Come on, Danny.

I'm gonna get somebody, Benji, we're gonna record my funeral.

When I die, you're gonna sit there and put some pretty pretty slides together and all that was so wonderful.

Wish you would hear songs.

I can only imagine all that.

But then at the end of that, for you, for whoever gets up and preaches my funeral, actually, you won't have to do anything.

Get up and give it.

You won't even have to give an imitation.

You can just get up and say, I hope you enjoyed that and I hope you got saved.

Because I'm gonna say, hello, I'm in heaven.

My name's Pastor D.

Woo!

I wish you were here walking on the streets of gold.

I'm gonna take them through the gospel.

Woo! Amen.

I'll be cheering you on.

Amen.

You may go for me though.

I'm picking there.

I want you to cure me on.

But really, really, that's what I'm talking about, folks.

Amen.

That's the way it ought to be.

That's the way it ought to be.

Praying for the sick to be healed.

But if he heals them perfectly and takes them home, rejoice.

Rejoice.

You can't threaten me with death.

To be absent from the bodies, to be present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5.8.

James.

As I stand O grave, where's their victory?

1 Corinthians 15 57.

Thanks be unto God who gives us victory.

Woo! The prayer of faith.

There it is.

Faith moves God into action.

And that's what we see right here.

There's some practical lessons, though, we got to learn right here that we must not overlook.

First, don't you miss this.

It's not there, but find a little place to write this down.

This is so good.

One thing disobedience to God can lead to sickness.

I want you to understand that.

Disobedience to God.

Can lead to sickness.

We saw that in Psalms 32.

Write that verse, that whole chapter down.

Read verses 3 through 5 when you get home.

David was sick.

He was troubled on every side.

He felt pressed down.

I mean, until he confessed to sin.

Then he was made well.

Psalms 32.

Alright, second thing we got to take notice.

Sin affects the whole church.

Ooh, did you hear me?

Sin affects the whole church.

That's why he's writing to this church body.

He's saying you got to deal with sin.

There are very few churches today that do church discipline anymore.

We are a church that does do church discipline.

And all that means is if we know there's something that's ungodly, wrong going on, that we're going to come and we're going to sit down with you in a loving way.

Galatians 6.1, those who are spiritual, you know, do it in love and meekness to restore your brother.

By the way, that's what it says.

Read it, Galatians 6.1.

But he also says, don't go there judging.

See what happens.

We get up in the pulpit or we get we start griping and complaining and gossiping about people that are living it maybe in a bad situation instead of going to them in a loving way and saying, How can I help you get out of this?

Can I bring you back?

I don't want you to keep you headed for the destruction.

I love you too much.

Please repent.

Amen.

That's what you do.

And that's what he's saying.

And notice this person was so sick they couldn't even come to church.

And he says, So you call for the elders.

He couldn't come.

So you call for the elders.

And that is so important.

So true.

Right there.

And then the third thing disobedient to God can lead to sickness.

Second, sin affects the whole church.

Thirdly, there is healing, physically and spiritually, when sin is dealt with.

Can I get an amen?

Boy, that's good.

Proverbs 28:13.

Proverbs 28:13

He that covers his sin, listen, he that covers his sin shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy.

Isn't that good?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9.

1 John 1:9

Man, that's good.

Now, but we must also confess them to those who have been affected.

Not only do we confess it to the Lord, if we've done it to somebody, we confess it to them.

Let me say this.

The sin only needs to be confessed as far as the effect of the sin.

In other words, if it's just between you and God, that's the only confession.

You don't need to get up here and tell me all your bad stuff.

I don't need to hear that.

I don't want Satan glorified.

It's between you and the Lord.

If it's you and you hurt your wife, your wife, you hurt it, then you confess to them.

As far as it needs to go.

But now if you've done something openly, the whole town knows it, the whole city knows it, I'm telling you, you need to stand.

If you really want to get right with God, whether it's this church or whatever church you come in and say, Pastor, do you mind if I ask the church to forgive me?

And the first thing you're going to think right now, and Satan's telling you, oh, oh, oh, who does he think I am?

I would never do that.

Well, can I tell you something?

Everybody already knows it.

I've been doing this a long time.

Oh, don't tell anybody.

I said, Well, who how many people have you told?

Three.

I said, everybody knows it.

Am I right?

And here's how it happens.

All right.

Susan tells me.

Now don't tell anybody.

Okay.

Darren and I are here fellowship.

Oh, by the way, Darren, I don't want you to pray for something.

But now don't tell anybody.

Then Darren goes to Todd.

Now, Todd, don't tell anybody.

Then Todd goes to Bob.

Bob, don't tell anybody.

Next thing you know, and then we make the mistake of, no, I'm not going to say that.

I was going to say make a mistake telling their wives.

I'm not saying that.

My wife does not do that.

But next thing you know, it's going everywhere.

I had a lady tell me, but that's my ministry.

I got the, hey, I got the, my ministry is telephone gossiping.

Hello?

So what I'm saying is, folks, listen to me.

Very few churches do this.

I've been involved in this three times now in 30 years.

Okay?

I've been involved in a lot of more situations than that.

But I've been in three that actually did it, James 5, what, right, and God has used them and one marriage put back together.

Oh, it was unbelievable.

And I just advised a pastor, he when I told him what he needed to do, you know what he said?

There is no way I'm doing that.

I said, I called him by name.

He was one of my students.

I said, you better listen to me.

He said, Well, it's getting out of hand.

I said, listen to me.

He said, Well, I'm going to let him call you.

Can can will you talk to him?

I said, Yeah, tell him call me.

Because he's a young man studying for ministry.

And I called him and talked to him, gave him a heart, told him everything.

If you'll do this, I promise you.

I know it's a but but but but and I know you're gonna feel shame and it's gonna be humiliating.

I said, guess what?

Sin does that.

Hello.

But I said, if you'll trust me and just if you're really sincere and you really want to ask God to forgive you and be used greatly again, like David was, it wasn't until David, after a year, confessed to sin about Bahesheba and brokenhearted, wholehearted, and God restored him and made him a man after God's own heart.

Is that not good?

But you gotta do it.

Anyway, long story short, he did it.

Revival broke out in the church.

People started coming down.

There was a couple of couples living together, and they came and confessed it and said, No, I'm not doing this anymore.

We want to be used by God.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

I'm telling you.

Confess your faults one to another.

The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

What I'm preaching, no preacher preaches.

They're scared to preach it.

They don't want to preach it.

But that's your gospel truth.

And it's the same way with the pastor or anybody else.

Pastor can't hide, he's got to confess it and get it right.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

If he really wants to repent.

Now what happens?

Most people just leave and go somewhere else.

Think it's, you know, I'll run away from it.

You can't run away from it.

The eyes of the Lord in every place, behold, the evil and the good.

Can't run away from it.

Confess it, get right.

And you know what?

There's not a person that loves God that's not going to get excited and put their arms around you and say, we love you.

Thank you.

We're here.

What's our motto here?

We're not interested in your past.

We're interested in your future.

And God's got a fantastic future for you.

Can I get an amen?

Can we give God a hand for that?

You confess, you put your past behind you.

Paul said, this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind.

He killed Christians.

Doesn't get any worse than that.

He was the chief of sinners.

Doesn't get any worse than that.

And he wrote most of the New Testament after he confessed.

Number three.

Private, again, private sin requires private confession.

Public sin requires public confession.

Prayer for the sick, hey, prayer for the suffering, prayer for the sick, now prayer for the nation, verses 17 through 18.

Elijah is an example of a righteous man who prayed and released God's power.

Now, I've already told you a little bit in the warm-up.

You already know the story.

He prayed, fire fell.

He asked God to close up heaven, not to send rain for three and a half years.

He did.

He did.

Then after he meets with the prophets of Baal, God sends down the fire.

He knows it's got to rain again.

Now, one thing, the people saw the fire Godfall, but they still got to eat.

They still need to have their crops bed, or they're going to die of hunger and all.

So now he says, now watch this.

He goes back up to Mount Carmel and 1 Kings 18, they said he gets on his knees and actually puts his head down between his legs and starts praying out loud, crying out to God, his whole heart, everything he's got in him.

He's praying, oh God, send rain, send rain.

Now watch what he did.

He started praying and he took his service and said, Go, go see if there's a cloud coming yet.

See, you can pray, but if you're not expecting to do anything, what good does it do?

Hello.

You can pray and say words, but are you really praying for him to move?

Hudson Taylor was on a ship going over to India and it was a sailing ship and the wind had stopped, and they were getting close to this barrier of reefs of where the rocks were.

The captain knocked on Hudson Taylor's door and he came to the door, and there was the captain.

He said, I heard you, godly man.

He said, You you need to start praying because he says, if we don't get any wind, we're gonna run on this reef and we'll sink and everybody'll be dying.

He says, Okay, he said, okay, go snap the sails.

He said, What?

He said, Why am I gonna slap the sails?

There's no wind.

He said, You just asked me to pray, didn't you?

He said, You go set the sails, he said, but the sailors are like I'm crazy.

He said, You owe the wind, yes sir.

He got out on his knees and started praying and praying and crying out for God about 45 minutes later.

The captain and I told him it's gone.

And then he opened the door.

No, he didn't even get up.

He's still praying.

Captain opened the door.

He said, Oh, Mr.

Taylor, quit praying.

We got more wind, we know what to do with it.

Woo! That's what I'm talking about.

We're gonna watch coming biddle every bit of it.

We got all this, all this is happening because we just said God's gonna do it and we started acting like he's doing it.

Amen.

I said, What are we gonna do?

I said, Well, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

What do you want to see accomplishment?

I said, Well, we gotta get dirt.

We gotta fill in that thing.

He said, Well, it's gonna cost a lot of money.

I said, Well, we're just gonna keep praying.

We don't have any money, just keep praying.

And now we're getting almost five, um, twenty-something dump truck loads of dirt every day.

You just keep praying.

But hey, hey, you know what he did?

He put his machine out there.

There was no dirt when he put his machine out now.

Every day he's moving dirt.

Hello, are you with me?

Stay in here too, David.

Yeah, but we just I said just leave the sucker there.

We're going to keep digging.

Amen.

Set the sail.

Set the sail.

That's what we're talking about, church.

We gotta start praying.

We're not what's wrong with America.

Praying people aren't praying enough fervently.

We got to.

Elijah prayed.

You know what Dr.

Robert Law, a great theologian, said?

When you pray, it's not getting man's will done in heaven, but it's getting God's will done on earth.

It's not getting man's will done in heaven, but it's getting God's will done on earth.

When you pray it.

The word of God and prayer is the key.

Elijah was not unbelieving in his praying, but he was persistent.

Oh, and by the way, he had to send his servant seven times before there was a cloud about the size of a hand.

Ain't nothing there.

Ain't nothing there.

He said, go again.

He came back, but but Elijah, there's no, there's not there's not a cloud in there.

He said, go again.

And he kept praying.

Come back.

There's no go again.

The seventh time.

Can you imagine?

I'm thinking, is he crazy?

I think I just stay there till I saw a cloud, then come tell the prophet.

Because if he's not gonna, he's gonna send me back every time, he's not gonna get up from that praying ground till God moves.

You got wayward kids.

I tell you what, you find the place in uh the little closet that in that movie we had, war room.

You get you a room and you get on your knees and you start praying for that husband, you start praying for that wayward kid, you start praying for that, and I do you say, God, I'm not coming up or coming out till you move.

I love the one where they knocked on the door, knocked on the door, and kept knocking.

The guy wouldn't get up.

He finally got up and said, What in the world do you want?

Whatever you want, I give it to you.

I want to go to sleep.

You have not because you ask not.

Seek and you shall find.

And then the last thing.

And by the way, praying for a nation, let me give you these verses real quick.

Psalms 33, 12 is there.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

And then Proverbs 14, 34.

I love that verse.

He says, When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.

But when the wicked bear through, the people mourn.

Righteousness exalts a nation to greatness, but sin is a reproach to any people.

Proverbs 29 2.

And then the last thing, and I'm through.

Pray for the straying.

Now, James did not specifically name prayer in this verses, but the implications there.

If we pray for the afflicted, if we pray for the sick, if we pray for the nation, then we must pray for the wayward.

The word air means to wander.

It means to wander.

It's it's uh it's the Greek word there means to be led astray, to seduce, to deceive.

It's it's uh plan ao.

Plano.

That's the Greek word.

It means to be led astray.

The Old Testament uses the word backsliding.

Galatians 6.1, overtaken in a fault.

Do we have that verse?

Galatians 6.1, look at here.

Brethren, if any man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such as one in the spirit of meekness, considering that.

You know what he's saying?

Well, you know why you go to a person that you know is wandering and led astray?

Because hopefully you would want them to do that for you.

To keep them from headed to destruction.

That's what we're doing.

To total death.

Maybe death, hey, even spiritual death, but physical death too.

That's so important.

So important.

As we pray for them.

And here's why number it's dangerous to the offender.

Because he may be three things.

Ready?

One, disciplined by the Lord.

Look at Hebrews 12, verse 5 and 6.

Hebrews 12:5

Here's what he says there.

He who he loves, he chastens.

Hey, and ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children.

My son despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou rebuked of him whom the Lord loves, he chastens.

Now watch, and scourges every son whom he receives.

He also faces the danger of committing sin unto death.

We've already looked at that.

And then number three, the black the backsliding is also dangerous to the church.

Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 8, what he says.

Ecclesiastes 9:8

One sinner.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Wow.

Wow.

This is why the spiritual members of the church must step in and help the man or woman that's wandering away.

And do it in love and meekness.

Notice the origin of the problem, and I'm through.

It's found in the word wander from the truth.

The truth means, of course, the word of God.

Thy word is truth.

John 17, 17.

Secondly, look at the outcome of this wandering is sin and possible death.

Verse 20.

So what's the answer?

We're to convert them back to the ways of the Lord.

So the believer in his prayer life, we're to pray for the suffering.

We're to pray for the sick.

We're to pray for the nation.

We're to pray for the stray.

And you know what I love?

Notice what he says right here.

And it's so important.

He needs to be converted.

Do you know what that word means?

It means to gain.

It means to be won back.

It means to bring back.

And that's what we are to do.

Pray for the wandering Christian.

Now, let me go ahead and say, and I hope you took that by the implication.

That's not saying we don't do the same for the lost, ever much so.

As much we pray, not just for the straying, but for the lost.

Because, see, the only advantage for the straying compared to the lost is when they die, they go to heaven.

But for the lost, they die, they go to hell.

So we've got to pray just as fervently for the lost as we do for the straying.

We want to convert the lost and convert those that are strayed, that have been deceived, that have been seduced, that have been, hey, taken away from the path of the Lord.

Now let me tell you something, folks.

If this church becomes that church at Jerusalem, Katie bar the door.

That's my grandmother's old saying.

Her name was Kate.

You say, Katie, mama, bar the door.

You know why?

No church does this.

You've been in a lot of churches, a lot of you.

Have you heard?

No, they don't do that.

Preachers, preachers don't preach on chapter 5 a lot and four, the tongue.

They don't preach James a lot.

Because it's so convicted.

It really is.

Let's use our tongue for praying, not gossiping.

Can I get an amen?

Let's get back on our knees.

And let's grab a hold.

Let's go to the war room, our war room.

I want to start a prayer room on Wednesday nights.

I know we have a lot of kids coming and all, but we we got a small group on Wednesday night.

But I want I want some of us to show up on Wednesday night and at 6:30 while a lot of things are going on.

Just pray.

Just pray.

Have a prayer sheet and just pray.

Pray for 45 minutes to an hour.

Just pray.

I'm telling you.

And if you'll bring things in your own needs, I'm telling you, you'll see God answer.

And the next week we'll we'll celebrate how He answered it.

We got to get back to praying.

The believer and his prayer life.

My house shall be called the house of prayer.

Amen.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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