CAPITAL BIBLE CHURCH November 22, How to Keep on Praying Powerful Prayer Part 3 Matthew 26:41

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1 CAPITAL BIBLE CHURCH November 22, 2009 SERMON NOTES PASTOR BILL HAKEN Perseverance How to Keep on Praying Powerful Prayer Part 3 Matthew 26:41 Daily activities which used to take days or weeks, we now expect to happen instantly. Federal Express delivers packages overnight. LensCrafters makes eyeglasses in an hour. At Walgreens, you can get film developed in an hour. Applying for a loan used to take several days; now banks are advertising loan approvals in thirty minutes or less. In fact, it s difficult to identify any area of daily life that hasn t been accelerated. Think about it. Microwaves. ATM machines. E- mail. On-line stock trading. America s involvement in World War II lasted almost four years. Yet only a few days after we started bombing in Afghanistan, journalists were already referring to it as a "quagmire" and asking "how much longer is this war going to drag on?" The point is that we ve gotten used to having all our desires instantly gratified, and as a result we ve become impatient. We ve grown intolerant of any kind of delay. We expect to get what we want, when we want it. Now. Now. Now. Faster, faster, faster. How about this one -- what s the smallest interval of time scientists have so far identified? No, it s not a millisecond or a nanosecond. It s a "honkisecond". That s the amount of time between when the light turns green and the driver behind you honks his horn. We have the attention span of a gnat. Have you ever noticed, when you watch an old movie, that they used to put the credits at the beginning? Not any more. These days, no one would sit through five minutes of credits before the movie. And have you ever noticed how much time the people in those old movies spent talking? Not doing anything, just talking? Not any more. We don t have the patience for it. Which explains why the Biblical virtue of perseverance is so rare today. Because perseverance runs directly counter to this mindset. Perseverance takes a longterm perspective. It focuses on the future, rather than the immediate present. Perseverance is patient. It keeps waiting, and believing and trusting, even when things take longer than expected. It keeps working, and seeking and striving, even when things turn out to be more difficult than anticipated. It remains faithful, even when there are ample opportunities to throw in the towel, to give up and move on. Perseverance means sticking with something for as long as God calls you to do so, no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult or painful it becomes, no matter how many discouragements and disappointments and obstacles you encounter along the way.

2 Why is perseverance so important? First of all because it takes time to discover the true nature of things. As the old proverb states, "truth is the daughter of time." For example, it takes time to know if a project or enterprise is going to succeed. Appearances can be deceiving. In fact, as we search the Scriptures, and study the history of God s dealings with His people, we see that He has often been pleased to bring success and victory out of apparent failure and defeat. He likes to demonstrate his power and might by turning around seemingly hopeless situations. If we give up too soon, we may miss the blessing. The supreme example of this is the crucifixion of Christ. By all appearances, his mission had failed miserably. What could be more hopeless than a dead savior, a lifeless leader? But three days later came the resurrection. And that changed everything. By the same token, it takes time and testing to reveal a person s true character. Many people begin well, but relatively few finish well. In fact, when it comes to the issue of faith in Christ, perseverance is so important that only the one who finishes well, only the one who continues to the end, will be saved, because perseverance is of the essence of faith. John the apostle, referring to those in his day who had left the church and denied the gospel, writes, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." -- 1 John 2:19 In other words, these people had never been genuine believers, although for a while it must have seemed that they were. During the time they had been a part of the fellowship, they likely gave every evidence of possessing genuine faith in Christ. They were baptized. They knew all the religious terminology. They could give a convincing testimony of their "salvation" experience. But when they left, the truth was finally revealed. Their leaving showed, not that they had lost their faith, but that they never had true faith to begin with. Their failure to persevere revealed the emptiness of their profession. Listen to these words of Christ: "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22) And listen to what the author of Hebrews teaches: "But Christ is faithful as a son over God s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast...we have come to

3 share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." (Hebrews 3:6, 14) Notice that He doesn t say, "We will share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end." He says, "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end." In other words, if we hold on to the end, if we persevere in faith, it will prove that what we have now is real and genuine. Our remaining in the faith demonstrates the authenticity of our faith. And likewise, if a person abandons the faith, it shows that they never truly had it to begin with. Not only does perseverance reveal the truth about situations and people, it also reveals the truth about God. It s through perseverance that we come to know Him as He is. So if we abandon hope when trials come, we will never experience God s power to sustain and strengthen us in the midst of suffering. If we yield to sin, we won t experience God s grace as sufficient for us to resist temptation. The only way to know God s grace is to persevere in a situation in which we need his grace. If we flee, we may avoid the pain, but we will also be avoiding the chance to know God. If we give up on Christ too soon, then we will only see the tragedy of the crucifixion, and never the victory of the resurrection. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9) If we continue in following Christ, we will reap a harvest. We will find his grace and mercy to be sufficient. We will find his rewards to be worth all the suffering, and sacrifice, and labor, and tears. But we must not become weary and turn aside from following Him, or else we will never know God as He truly is. Perseverance in the midst of trial reveals who we truly are. It also reveals to us who God really is. Let s take another example. Marriage. God insists that marriage is a lifetime commitment; that with a few exceptions, once a man and woman take their vows, they are obligated to persevere with one another. Why? Well, obviously God knew that there would be many difficulties, many disappointments, many reasons to quit, many opportunities for both the husband and wife to persuade themselves that a mistake had been made, and they would be better off starting over with someone else. He knew that without that lifetime commitment, we sinful people would be very unlikely to stick it out, very unlikely to voluntarily weather the storms and persevere through the pain. He knew that sometimes the vow is all that keeps people from taking the next bus out of town. But I think there s something else going on. I think God wants us to persevere with one another because that s the only way to get past the garbage to the glory. You have to be willing to stay together through the revelation of your sin, through the process of learning to forgive and

4 ask forgiveness, learning to repent, learning to serve instead of being served, learning to bear with one another s weaknesses -- you usually have to go through a lot of difficult, painful, unpleasant stuff in order to get to the really good stuff. To get to the place where you and your husband or wife, are loving one another as God intended, and serving Christ together, where you can truly appreciate one another, instead of just tolerating one another. As with most things in life, it s only by persevering through the trials and troubles that you can enjoy the deepest blessings and pleasures of marriage. Is perseverance easy? Of course not. Otherwise, it wouldn t be perseverance. No one talks about "persevering" through a hot fudge Sundae. Sports fans don t need "perseverance" to make it through Monday Night Football. We don t need God s grace to "persevere" in the things we enjoy. The Bible exhorts us to persevere because God knows there will be times we want to quit. Perseverance implies difficulty. But it s difficulty with a purpose, and that purpose is godly character, and hope, and joy. "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." -- Romans 5:3-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." -- James 1:2-4 What s the end result of persevering in faith? What s the goal of continuing to follow and obey Christ? Spiritual maturity. Christlikeness. I don t want to give the impression that perseverance is a matter of grim determination; that following Christ means a lifetime of joyless toil and drudgery; that we get up every day and grit our teeth and clench our fists, trying somehow to brace ourselves for the misery and pain the day is certain to bring. If you re approaching perseverance in that way, you will fail. You won t be able to continue, because that s not what God intended. We need to understand, first of all, that perseverance isn t a matter of self-reliance. The power to persevere doesn t come from ourselves, it comes from God. "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." -- Philippians 2:12-13 And second, remember that God intends the life of faith to be a life of joy and contentment. This is true even in the midst of difficult circumstances, even when

5 we are struggling and suffering; because our joy doesn t come from our circumstances. It comes from the Holy Spirit. What did Jesus say? "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -- Matthew 11:28-30 And Paul also reminds us, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." -- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Our hearts can always be lifted up, because we re not bearing our burdens alone; Christ is bearing them with us and for us. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) Perseverance and Prayer I said that perseverance is important because it reveals the truth, about us and about God. And this is certainly true in prayer, because our perseverance, or lack of it, will reveal how much faith we have that God will answer. If we pray about something a few times, and then give up, it shows that we never really thought God would answer in the first place. It was worth giving prayer a shot -- why not, after all? What s the harm? But after a while, when we don t receive what we re seeking, if we have little or no faith, we abandon the effort as a waste of time. God doesn t answer that kind of half-hearted, faithless praying. As James tells us, "6 But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 They can t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.." -- James 1:6-8 God answers the prayer of faith. And perseverance in prayer is a sign of faith. Perseverance says, "Lord, I know you can do this. And I m going to keep asking until you do." But when we give up praying, we re saying, in effect, "Lord, I never thought you would do it anyway." In fact, if you don t have faith, I predict that you won t be able to persist in prayer. Over time, you just won t be able to discipline yourself to do something that, deep down, you think is useless. By the same token, persistence in prayer reveals the truth about God. It reveals him to be a powerful, loving, wise, and good heavenly Father who hears and

6 answers our prayers. But we can only know and experience him as a prayeranswering God if we persevere in faith and persevere in prayer. "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You parents--if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." -- Matthew 7:7-11, NLT In closing, let me encourage you to persevere in faith. Remember, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9). Persevere in prayer. Keep praying when you re discouraged; keep praying when it seems God isn t listening; keep praying when your faith is weak; keep praying when you want to give up; keep praying when it seems that there s no hope. But whatever you do, don t stop. Don t stop believing and don t stop praying. Matthew 26:41, Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. How to Persevere in prayer: 1. Change our attitude about prayer Proverbs 23:7, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Wrong attitudes about prayer: 1) Prayer is only for the sick and those who are dying 2) Prayer is only for the lame 3) Prayer is only for those with big problems 4) Prayer is only for those with no hope 5) Prayer is a waste of time What should be our attitude towards prayer? 1) Prayer is a command 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing. 2) Prayer is power

7 Joshua prayed and the wall came tumbling down Jonah prayed and he was delivered from the belly of the fish Elijah prayed and rain was withheld for three years in Israel Daniel prayed and the lions mouths were shut Shadrach, Meschach, and Abegnego prayed, and they were delivered from fire. Jairus prayed, and his daughter was healed 3) Prayer is our lifeline to God Many times we allow our lifeline to be shattered 2. Recognize our need for prayer Romans 8: 22-23, For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 1 Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. Daily activities, we need God s guidance Jacob recognized his need for a blessing and so he wrestled with the angel The woman with an issue of blood realized her need and so she pressed toward Jesus in spite of the crowd. 3. Remove things that interfere with prayer Matthew 6:24, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and money. Exodus 20:3, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. These other gods will interfere with my worship to the true God 1) Material things 2) Job 3) Pleasures 4) Comfort 5) Freedom of everything 6) Unbelieving relatives/spouses

8 e. Joshua 24:15, And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. 4. Set a time and place for prayer Matthew 14:23, And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Luke 6:12, And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Luke 9:28, And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. The poem No Time illustrates the point. I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do. I had to hurry and get to work For bills would soon be due. So I knelt and said a hurried prayer, And jumped up off my knees. My Christian duty was now done My soul could rest at ease. All day long I had no time To spread a word of cheer. No time to speak of Christ to friends, They d laugh at me I d fear. No time, no time, too much to do, That was my constant cry, No time to give to souls in need But at last the time, the time to die. I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with downcast eyes. For in his hands God held a book; It was the book of life. God looked into his book and said "Your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down... But never found the time"

9 5. Record and testify about answered prayers Make a memorial of God s goodness / Keep a prayer Journal Joshua 4:20-24, And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. Remember your answered prayers and give a prayer of thanksgiving. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane Salvation was wrought in the Garden of Gethsemane Calvary was the result of Gethsemane Without Gethsemane there is no Calvary Like Jesus who persevered in prayer, may we persevere in our prayer life also.