Moraine Valley Church

Revelation

OVERCOMERS: Revelation in One Sermon
Rev 1:1-22:21 May 26, 2019
I. Introduction:
A. Today I have a large assignment – Preach from a PANORAMIC view the
WHOLE book of Revelation in ONE MESSAGE.
B. To do this you need to know where I am COMING FROM and WHY. There
are PRIMARY 4 WAYS people interpret the book of Revelation.
1. Preterist - Revelation is like an ANCIENT NEWSPAPER.
Events already fulfilled in the first century AD.
2. Idealist - see Revelation as a non-historical and non-prophetic allegorical
DRAMA about the struggle between the kingdom of God and the powers of
evil.
3. Historic
a) Revelation is like a HISTORY TEXTBOOK understanding the events in
Revelation as symbolic descriptions of historical events throughout
CHURCH history.
b) Spiritualize the Covenant Promises to be fulfilled by Church.
4. Futurist
a) Revelation is like a ROAD MAP that describes the end of time and the
years leading immediately to the end, things yet to occur.
b) Take Covenant Promises Literally to be fulfilled by Israel
c) Church Participates in Promises through the seed of Abraham and David
– Jesus Christ.
C. I PERSONALLY HOLD the 4th view Futurist, which some call
DISPENSATIONAL. This is the same view MVC has held for over the last 60
years and the same view that MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE teaches. Let me
give you just 3 REASONS WHY I interpret the book this way.
1. 1st as I said last week the ROOTS of all prophecy are found in the Covenant
promises that God made to Israel. And since the covenant promises and
many prophecies have ALREADY BEGUN to be FULFILLED
LITERALLY it is reasonable to EXPECT THE REST of them to be
FULFILLED LITERALLY.
2. 2ndly Because of Israel DISOBEDIENCE and REJECTION of Jesus as
Messiah – many say that the Church now REPLACES Israel as the New
Israel and thus SPIRITUALIZE many prophecies as being symbolically
fulfilled by the Church. They believe that ISRAEL FORFEITED their right
to these promises.
a) Not only does Romans 11 indicate that God has a FUTURE PLAN for
Israel but Listen to what God says about this in Ezek 36 right before He
talks about GATHERING Israel from the nationS and BRINGING
THEM BACK into their own land in the FUTURE!
(1) at a TIME WHEN:
(a) The land will be FRUITFUL and BLESSED
(b) it will be like the GARDEN OF EDEN again
(c) a time when it will be FORTIFIED, and at PEACE
b) As I read note that God does not ACT or REFRAIN from acting
DEPENDING upon Israel’s good or bad PERFORMANCE but to
VINDICATE THE HOLINESS of His great NAME.
(1) Read Ezek 36:22-24
(2) Then he talks about the NEW COVENANT of forgiveness and a
new Heart with the Holy Spirit inside of it
(3) Read V28 – My friends this is EXACTLY what we see happening
in the book of REVELATION after JESUS RETURNS
3. Finally The CHARACTER of God – His HESED = His FAITHFULNESS
to keep His Covenants and GRACE. – If God could TURN HIS BACK on
Israel when He made COVENANT PROMISES to Israel and BREAK HIS
PROMISES with them what KEEPS HIM FROM DOING THAT to the
Church today.
a) I will tell you what KEEPS Him from not BREAKING HIS PROMISES
with ISRAEL or the CHURCH – it is His FAITHFULNESS and
GRACE. His HESED – His OWN LOVE to FULFILL His covenant
Promises
• So now let’s jump into
II. The Book of Revelation in One Message
A. The Basic OUTLINE of the Book is simple: Read Rev 1:19
1. Things Have SEEN – Ch 1 (VISION of the Glory of Jesus)
2. Things That ARE – Ch 2-3 (7 CHURCHES)
3. Things Which WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER These Things – Ch 4-22
a) TRIBULATION 6-18
b) RETURN of Jesus in Glory 19
c) KINGDOM of God 20-22
B. We learned last week:
1. Theme – The RETURN of Jesus Christ in GLORY as Judge and King to
destroy EVIL and set up His KINGDOM
2. Purpose – To encourage the 7 Churches to persevere in HOLINESS,
ALLEGIANCE to and WORSHIP of Jesus.
C. Let me show you HOW I came up with those, let’s start with the THEME!
1. We saw in verse 1 the book STARTS with these words “The Revelation of
Jesus Christ” – we saw the book is PRIMARILY ABOUT Jesus.
2. Now look at v7 where his FIRST WORDS after he finishes his
INTRODUCTORY words! Read
a) Now look at the END of the book as he COMPLETES THE HEART of
the book and TRANSITIONS to his closing words! Read 22:7
b) The HEART OF THIS BOOK is about Jesus COMING BACK, the
RETURN of Jesus Christ.
3. Now turn to 11:17-18 it reveals to us the heart of WHY HE IS COMING
BACK. As he starts with the WORSHIP of the 24 elders then moves to the
RESPONSE of the nations. Read
4. Thus the THEME of this book –The RETURN of Jesus Christ in GLORY
as Judge and King to destroy EVIL and set up His KINGDOM
D. PURPOSE – To ENCOURAGE the 7 Churches to PERSEVERE in Holiness,
Allegiance to and Worship of Jesus.
1. Read 1:3 Heed
2. We must REMEMBER the book was WRITTEN TO the 7 Church who
currently were experiencing external persecution from Rome and internal
struggles of apostasy and immoral behavior
3. Letters to the 7 Churches
a) The letters to each Church are STRUCTURED basically the SAME –
Essentially it is
(1) VISION of Jesus in His glory
(2) COMPLIMENTS about what they are doing well
(3) CRITICISM of where they are coming up short
(4) EXHORTATION to do something or a WARNING
(5) PROMISE to OVERCOMERS
4. Note that each one of these PROMISES has something to do with a
REWARD in the future KINGDOM!
a) V2:7 – Eat of the TREE OF LIFE in Paradise
b) V2:11 – Will not be HURT by the SECOND DEATH
c) Cr 21:7 – This is DURING the time of the FUTURE KINGDOM of
God
5. This is important because God is encouraging CHURCHES to
PERSEVERE and live HOLY LIVES with full ALLEGIANCE to God
because it is WORTH it, the eternal REWARD FAR OUTWEIGHS the
current STRUGGLE and pain.
6. PAUL would have said it this way Read 2 Cor 4:17-18
E. Then we move to the 3rd section of the book and the LARGEST section – “the
things that TAKE PLACE AFTER these things.” Read 4:1
1. In Chapter 4 we get a vision of the THRONE Room and the one who SITS
ON it followed by WORSHIP of Him.
a) Read v2
b) PURPOSE of this is to REMIND them who is on the THRONE or
simply who is RULING and in CHARGE of these MESSY things going
on earth!
2. Then Chapter 5 we get a vision of Jesus as the one who is WORTHY TO
OPEN the scroll and WORSHIP of Him and the Father.
a) Read v1-5
b) PURPOSE is to show that Jesus is the ONLY ONE WORTHY to bring
about the JUDGEMENT upon the earth that is about to take place.
3. We have MODELED for us from this section and the 7 interludes of
WORSHIP that take place in chapters 6-19 during the severe judgment
upon the world that the proper and natural and HEAVENLY RESPONSE
to Jesus as Judge and King is WORSHIP!
4. And they are there to REMIND us that Jesus is the BACKDROP by which
we should READ ALL OF THESE EVENTS. Reminder it is about Jesus
PRIMARILY and the events SECONDARILY!
F. Then in Chapter 6 the JUDGMENTS BEGIN as Jesus BREAKS the first SEAL
of the scroll. Read v1
1. What we are going to see in Chapter 6-19 are a series of JUDGMENTS.
2. But there are BREAKS IN THE CHRONOLOGY of these judgments by
INTERLUDES that are like side bars that explain a bit more to us what is
going on like
a) Key CHARACTERS and INSTITUTIONS,
b) And 7 interludes of WORSHIP that show us the PROPER RESPONSE
of Heaven and God’s people to these times
c) and then finally we see the RESPONSES OF MAN on earth at the
time of these judgments!
G. So the 1st series of JUDGMENTS are the seven SEALS – These judgments are:
1. Seals:
a) First Seal: White Horse—Conqueror by AntiChrist
b) Second Seal: Red Horse —War
c) Third Seal: Black Horse—Famine
d) Fourth Seal: Pale Horse—Death 1/4th of the Earth
e) Fifth Seal: Martyrs under the altar
f) Sixth Seal: Earthquake, signs in the Heavens
2. Listen to the RESPONSE OF MANKIND to this – read 6:15-17
3. Note the Last Phrase in v17 “WHO WILL STAND?”
Chapter 7 is an interlude in the action that answers that for us telling us
about the 144,000 JEWS who will be SEALED and the great MULTITUDE
from every nation that will be SAVED!
4. Then the multitude breaks into WORSHIP declaring that SALVATION
belongs to God.
H. At the start of Chapter 8 the 7TH SEAL was BROKEN which INTRODUCED the
7 TRUMPETS and their was complete silence in heaven for ½ hour.
1. Trumpets:
a) First Trumpet – Hail, fire, blood
b) Second Trumpet – Fiery mountain in sea, 1/3 of sea becomes blood
c) Third Trumpet –Star falls, 1/3 of rivers Bitter
d) Fourth Trumpet – 1/3 of sun, 1/3 moon, 1/3 stars turn dark
e) Fifth Trumpet—Demon locust from the Abyss to torment mankind
f) Sixth Trumpet—200 million man army kills 1/3rd of mankind
2. Again note MAN’S RESPONSE to all of this read 9:20-21
3. Then in Ch 10-11 we see another INTERLUDE about
a) Ch 10 - a LITTLE BOOK that had 7 PEALS OF THUNDER in them
but the content of these were SEALED and John was not to write about
them
b) Then the 2 WITNESSES in Ch 11 who for 3 ½ years will PROPHECY
for God, be KILLED by the beast and then RAISED again to life and
CAUGHT up into heaven. Read v13
4. Then the 7TH TRUMPET Sounds and Christ’s REIGN right here on
EARTH is foreseen. Listen to 11:15-19.
I. Then in Chapters 12-14 there is another interlude to explain who some of the
main characters are in this tribulation and what their roles are! We learn here
about:
1. The WOMAN – Israel
2. The Red DRAGON – Satan
3. The MALE CHILD – Christ
4. Michael and his angels WAR with Satan and his angels.
5. The BEAST from the SEA – AntiChrist
6. The BEAST from the EARTH – False Prophet
7. The GREAT REAPER – Jesus
J. Then in Chapters 15-16 we move into the FINAL JUDGMENTS the seven
Plagues/Bowls. Read v1
1. Then in v3 we see WORSHIP again where they declare just how GREAT,
MARVELOUS, RIGHTEOUS and TRUE are His judgments
2. The Bowls of WRATH
a) 1st Bowl Painful SORES
b) 2nd Bowl Turns sea into BLOOD
c) 3rd Bowl rivers and springs - BLOOD
d) 4th Bowl—Sun SCORCHES people
e) 5th Bowl—Plunges kingdom of the beast into DARKNESS
f) 6th Bowl—DRIES UP the Euphrates for Battle of Armageddon
g) 7th Bowl—Judgment against BABYLON
3. Note MAN’S RESPONSES to these judgments. Read: 16:9, 11, 21
K. Then in Chapters 17-18 we see the judgment of the Babylon the GREAT
HARLOT her RELIGIOUS and POLITICAL systems during the Tribulation
along with CITY itself and its great COMMERCE!
1. And note the RESPONSE OF MANKIND to this – Read 18:17-19
2. But the SAINTS are actually called to REJOICE over this, listen – v20
L. Then we start Chapter 19 with a great MULTITUDE WORSHIPPING God
1. Read v1-2
2. Then we see the MARRIAGE FEAST of the Lamb with His bride, the
Church
3. Then the Lord appearing as a WARRIOR for His FINAL ACT of judgment
as He RETURNS with the saints and the angels to DEFEAT the anti-Christ
and all his allies who have gathered together for WAR AGAINST the
Lamb.
M. Then finally we move into the KINGDOM of God in TWO FORMS
1. 1st in Chapter 20 – 1000 YEARS here on earth while Satan is BOUND then
at the end of that time he is RELEASED and he deceives the nations into one
more LARGE WAR against the Saints and he is DEFEATED and thrown
into the LAKE OF FIRE where the ANTI-CHRIST and the FALSE
PROPHET already are.
a) This is followed by the GREAT WHITE THRONE Judgment where
everyone whose name was not written in the BOOK OF LIFE will be
thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE
2. In Ch 21-22 we see the ETERNAL ASPECT of the Kingdom of God as a
NEW Heaven and earth is created and God DWELLS right here on this new
earth WITH His people.
a) Read 21:3-4, 7
b) Read 22:1-5
3. This is the CONCLUSION of God’s STORY and the FULFILLMENT of all
His PROMISES!
4. These 2 aspects of the Kingdom are ESSENTIAL because it will REQUIRE
BOTH a 1000 year earthly kingdom and an eternal Kingdom with a new
heaven and earth to FULFILL all the promises and prophecies made by the
PROPHETS in the Old Testament and the promises in the New!
N. And in the final section we see Jesus again PROCLAIMING that He is
COMING Quickly and that His REWARD is with Him.
1. The CRY and PRAYER of the Church, the Spirit and John who wrote this
book was “COME”
2. And the INVITATION to those who are thirsty is “COME”
3. And all of this was written for them, for the Church for you and me who live
in a CULTURE THAT IS NOT FAVORABLE towards Christianity,
(Rome/United States) to persevere in HOLINESS, ALLEGIANCE to and
WORSHIP of Jesus because Jesus Christ is RETURNING in GLORY as
Judge and King to destroy EVIL and set up His KINGDOM
O. PRAY

Overcome

Introduction to Book of Revelation
Revelation 1:1-4 May 19, 2019
I. Introduction:
A. When I think that I am starting a series this morning on the book of Revelation
there are two polar opposite thoughts in my mind:
1. First, the excitement of learning together each week from this very amazing
and important book
2. Secondly, is terror thinking “Am I nuts thinking I can preach through this
very amazing and important book”
B. Let’s jump right in as this week I want to introduce you to the book, then next
week I want to preach through the whole book in one message.
• Turn to Rev 1:1 – the last book of the Bible.
II. Introduction to Book
A. Read 1:1a- Note this is not the book of Revelations but the Revelation! That
means to properly understand this book we need to look at the book as one whole
revelation rather than a series of different revelations throughout the book.
1. Read 1:1a-b – The revelation is concerning Jesus Christ.
2. Now listen to 1c.
3. To get our heads on straight about this book we need to understand right from
the beginning that the book is foremost about Jesus and the future events
reveal something to us about Jesus. This will become even clearer as we see
the book as a whole next week.
4. But so many people miss God’s intended purpose of this book because they
are so intrigued by the end time prophecies that they miss that these
prophecies are revealing something to us about Jesus!
B. We see in this verse that God gave this Revelation to Jesus, who gave it to an
angel, who gave it to John to show God’s bondservants! Read 1b and d.
C. In v2, we see what John will be doing in this book. Read v 2
1. Testified – That means that a person with direct knowledge of something
provides information about what they know, heard and saw!
2. He is going to provide for us two things he has direct knowledge of:
a) The Word of God – He is not referring to the Bible here but the idea of a
prophetic utterance from God just like it is used in the Old Testament
when God spoke inspired utterances to prophets.
b) Secondly, the testimony of Jesus – this is the content about what he
learned about Jesus through the things that the angel showed him.
3. This reinforces again that this book is primarily about the revelation of Jesus
not the end time events. Actually, the end time events reveal Jesus to us and
it may be said that at the heart of all prophecies, they point to Jesus; they are
teaching us something about Jesus!
a) Read Rev 19:10d
b) Robert Deffinbaugh says this – Christ is preeminent in prophecy. Things
to come are incidental because all of those things which are to come
occur at the power, the authority and the dispatch of Jesus Christ
Himself!
1. Some are going to be troubled by what they learn about Jesus in this book.
a) If you like the picture of Jesus we get in the gospels, a true picture of
Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, the one who is closer to us than a brother,
the one whom I can put my head on his shoulder at the beach as we listen
to Christian music together about God’s love for me, you might be a bit
trouble by the revelation of Jesus in this book
b) The same John who put his head on Jesus’ chest at the last supper is the
same one who wrote this book and this time when he saw Jesus in His
glory he fell at His feet like a dead man.
c) In this book, we will see Jesus as a judge pouring out His wrath upon all
of mankind who has rejected Him. We will see Him as a warrior who
sheds a lot of blood, we will see Him as a king who rules the nations
with a rod of iron and we will see Him as our shepherd who protects,
blesses and rewards His followers!
B. Look at the blessing that is promised to us as we go through this book. Read v3.
1. The key to the blessing is not just reading or hearing this book but heeding it,
keeping what it teaches us.
2. So that raised a question for me – what is there to heed in this book, as it just
seemed to be a book about a lot of information about Jesus and end times.
C. Actually, the next verse gives us some insight into this question. Read v4a,11
1. This book was written to the seven churches in Asia. Note the whole book
was written to them not just chapters 2 & 3.
2. When we learn a bit more about these churches, we will understand a bit
more of what we are to heed and why this book was written.
3. This book was written approximately in 95-96AD during the reign of the
Roman emperor Domitian.
4. His reign was chiefly known as a reign of terror
a) It is alleged that he insisted on his own divinity, demanded worship of
himself and persecuted Christians who did not participate in the imperial
religion.
5. And while they were suffering persecution from the outside, they were
struggling on the inside with their own purity and loyalty to Jesus.
D. So when you put all of this together this is my stated theme and purpose of the
book:
1. Theme – The return of Jesus Christ in glory as judge and king to destroy evil
and set up His kingdom
2. Purpose – To encourage the seven churches to persevere in holiness,
allegiance to and worship of Jesus.
3. Thus, the “heeding” in this book is made up of the exhortations to the seven
churches and visions and interludes of worship throughout the book.
4. Again, we will see this a bit clearer next week in one message of the whole
book at once.
• There are
II. Two other key purposes for the book of Revelation!
A. The consummation of all the Biblical prophecies are found in the book of
Revelation.
1. Apart from the book of Revelation, we find no complete prophetic
fulfillment.
a) Listen to 10:7
b) Read 1 Peter 1:10-11 – The two major categories of prophecies can be
broken down into prophecies about Jesus’ suffering or prophecies about
Jesus’ glory!
(1) The book of Revelation is prophecies about His glory!
(2) In His first coming, He fulfilled the prophecies about His
sufferings.
c) Turn to Acts 3:
(1) Read 17-19 – suffering prophecies fulfilled - first coming
(2) Read 20-21 – When Jesus returns He will fulfill the prophecies
about the restoration of all things. Thus the book of Revelation
2. The major categories of prophecies are found in the covenants that God made
with Israel, the particular prophecies in the Old Testament find their roots in
these covenant promises. We learn in Revelation about the fulfilment of
these covenant promises. We see from:
a) Abraham – a land forever, God being their God forever
b) Deuteronomy – restoration to the land, Israel’s enemies being judged and
the nation receiving full blessings
c) David – a forever king, reigning forever over a forever kingdom
d) New Covenant – Israel being saved and abiding blessings in the land.
B. And that leads us to the other key purpose of the book of Revelation and that is
the consummation of the story of the Bible. We learn the end of the story that
God restores to man what was lost at the fall and much more! Without the book of
Revelation, the Bible would be incomplete.
1. In the beginning of the story we see in Gen 1-2 that …
a) God created the heavens and the earth – a perfect and fruitful
environment
b) God created man with a body perfectly suited for this earth
c) God created man with a soul perfectly suited for a relationship with God,
self and others.
d) God created man with a spirit that was alive to and walked with God.
e) God ruled as king over man
f) Man was a loving subject of God’s kingdom
g) God gave man the responsibility to reign over His creation.
2. But something happened in Genesis 3 that changed everything; Satan, God’s
#1 enemy, who rebelled against God, was seeking to get man to rebel against
God’s rule over them as his king. He succeeded by deceiving man to drink
the poison – sin which left deep consequences upon himself and the earth.
a) The earth was cursed and subjected to futility resulting in it not being as
fruitful as God intended.
b) Man’s perfect body was subjected to death and all the sickness and
diseases that come with it.
c) Every area of man’s soul was affected, it became depraved.
d) Man’s spirit, the source of life with God died. Life with God was cut
off.
e) Satan became the god of this world
f) Man’s membership was transferred from the kingdom of God to the
kingdom of Satan
g) Man’s reign over God’s creation was perverted.
3. From Genesis 3 on we read about:
a) Both man and the earth being under a curse and our relationship with
ourselves, others and God has been deeply affected!
b) But we also read a story about the fulfillment of a promise that God
made that He would send a ‘seed’ someone born of a woman who would
totally crush Satan and deliver man from the mess that sin created in his
life!
4. For many thousands of years this condition and conflict continues until we
come to Revelation 19 & 20 where God finally, fully and forever deals with
sin and Satan.
5. Then we come to Revelation 21-22, where once again sin and Satan have no
part just like Genesis 1-2. The curse upon man and the earth will be totally
removed forever. And we find:
a) A new heaven and a new earth, this is a perfect and fruitful environment
for God’s eternal purposes. Read Revelation 21:1
b) We will have resurrected bodies that are perfectly suited to live on this
eternal earth.
c) With sin removed, we will live in perfect fellowship and harmony with
God, self and one another. Read 21:3
d) Man shall live with God forever Read 21:4b
e) God will be king forever with His throne right here on earth among His
people. Read 22:1,3
f) The only people there will be members of God’s kingdom. Read 21:27
g) Man will be reigning with God forever and ever. Read Revelation 22:5
C. The story of the Bible is God glorifying Himself through Jesus the Redeemer by
restoring His original plan for man and the earth by reversing the effects of sin
and the curse upon them and God Himself reigning forever as King.
III. Conclusion
A. In closing, I want to pray for us Titus 2:11-13. Read.
1. May God give MVC a heart to focus on Jesus and not trying to solve the end
times puzzle of who’s who and when will it happen!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! We were blessed to hear from our Director Of Women's Ministry, Ava Perry.

Here, There, Everywhere

Pastor Gary Olson

Prayer Review

Prayer Review
Passages April 28, 2019
I. Introduction:
A. E. M. Bounds in his book “The Power of Prayer” says this, “The Church is
looking for better methods; God is looking for better men and women.” “What the
Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or
more and fresh methods, but men and women whom the Holy Ghost can use –
men and women of prayer, mighty in prayer."
1. The power of prayer should not be underestimated. Listen to James 5:16-18
2. Over the past 3 months, MVC has taken prayer very seriously! We not only
preached about this on Sundays but we also studied and discussed it in small
groups and practiced it over 21 days!
• We started this series by
II. Review
A. Learning a foundational principle of prayer: God has established asking as the
means of receiving in His kingdom
1. Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive.”
2. James 4 says, “You have not because you ask not!”
B. Then we learned in John 15 that our attitude in prayer should be humble desperate
dependence upon Jesus rather than a complacent self-sufficiency we saw in the
church in Revelation 3
1. One says, “I can do nothing apart from Jesus” The other says, “I have need of
nothing.”
2. One “God, I need You for this” The other says, “I can handle this”
C. Then we learned that the true motive in prayer is to bring glory to God
1. Remember this quote:
“Too often our prayers are intended to inform God of what we believe He
needs to do to structure the universe in compliance with our desires for a
happy and comfortable life. Because most of us have been taught that the
primary purpose of prayer is to ask God to meet our temporal needs, we
continue in this routine without the thought of something greater and more
powerful.” Daniel Henderson
D. Then we learned that to pray in Jesus’ name actually has three aspects to it.
1. Access to God through Jesus
2. Ambassador – ask what Jesus would ask
3. Authority – the legal right to ask for that with all of power of Jesus to back up
His name
E. Then we took two weeks to answer the question, “What should we pray about
other than God meet my needs and bless my family?”
1. We learned from the Lord’s Prayer that we should pray first and foremost for
God’s agenda (His glory, His kingdom and His will) along with our personal
and spiritual needs.
2. We learned from Paul’s prayers that he prayed kingdom focused prayers for
the spiritual needs of the church at large.
3. We learned from Timothy Keller’s research on revival that one of the
primary means God has used to bring about revival was corporate prayer for
kingdom centered needs. That is the kind of praying we learned from Jesus
and Paul
F. Then we learned that there is no simple answer to unanswered prayer and we need
to be careful about giving nickel answers to million dollar questions for people
who are struggling deeply with unanswered prayers
1. We learned sometimes it is a matter of not now
2. We also learned there could be a variety of different reasons why God would
say no. And they should be prayerfully considered when no answer is
received.
3. And sometimes the best answer is I do not know – as we learned from Job
that sometimes it is a mystery bigger than I am smart!
G. Then we saw one reason we should persistent in prayer is because God uses
prayer to change us as we pray. We saw at Jesus’ baptism that as He prayed Holy
Spirit came upon Him, at the transfiguration as He prayed He was transfigured
and in the garden as He prayed angels ministered to Him. All this happened as he
prayed!
H. Then finally we learned about the priority of God’s Word in prayer as we learned
the simple and life changing method of Martin Luther
1. Capture the heart of the text
2. Praise, thank, and worship God from the text
3. Admit/confess sin from the text
4. Petition/ask God to do for you in light of the text
I. The most important part of the series was when we sought to put into practice the
things we learned in 21 days of prayer
1. We learned in Hebrews 11:6 that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him
2. I was so moved to see a church full of over 100 people come out for 21 days
at 6:00am in the morning to seek God in an hour of prayer.
3. I not only heard of answers to prayer but of many people who said they were
changed as they prayed these three weeks!
II. Celebrate
III.Going Forward
A. An old preacher Samuel Chadwick said this, “The one concern of the Devil is to
keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless work and
prayerless religion! He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles
when we pray!
B. MVC has no desire for prayerless work and wisdom. We want prayer to become
a part of the DNA of MVC and the people of MVC.

Palm Sunday

The Setting for Palm Sunday

Various Passages April 14, 2019
I. Introduction:
A. The setting for any story is a crucial element of the story.
1. Just think if you missed the first 15 minutes of the Wizard of Oz and all you
saw was the rest of the story without being introduced to key characters, the
tornado that knocked Dorothy out and not know why she was trying so hard
to get back to Kansas!
2. That setting helped us better understand the events, characters and the
conclusion to the story of the Wizard of Oz!
B. The setting is also important to the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus into
Jerusalem. It helps us get some context as to what was really going on, helps us
see the importance of that event, we learn more about Jesus from it, and finally
the theme of that event that we celebrate today on Palm Sunday.
C. My goal this morning is to show “what is the big deal” with this event that kicked
off …
1. The most important week in the history of this whole world which resulted in
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. And it kicked off a series of events that eventually led to Jesus’ departure
from this world, His ascension when He went back to heaven.
• To accomplish this goal let’s look at …
II. The setting to the Triumphal Entry
A. Turn to Luke 9:29-31.
1. This passage was the time that Jesus was transfigured on the mountain while
He was praying. It goes on to tell us that two men appeared at that time and
were talking with Jesus, those two men were Moses and Elijah.
2. Wouldn’t you have loved to be in on that conversation and listen to what they
were talking about?
3. Read 29-31.
4. They were talking about His departure, His departure from this world after
He died, rose and ascended to heaven. And it was going to take place in
Jerusalem.
5. I would say since that was their discussion during the transfiguration of Jesus
Christ then it would put that topic right at the top of importance list!
B. Look at Luke 9:51 and read
1. We see here that the days were approaching regarding His ascension which
He talked about with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.
2. In light of that, Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem. It literally means
He “set His face” to go to Jerusalem. That means Jesus had a strong, firm
and unchanging commitment to go to Jerusalem
C. Then in Chapters 13 and 17 it makes a point of telling us about Jesus teaching and
doing miracles while He was on his way to Jerusalem.
D. Turn to Luke 18:31-34 where Jesus told the twelve disciples why He was going to
Jerusalem. Read v31-34
E. Turn to Luke 19:11 as they now were getting real close to Jerusalem. And the
twelve disciples had a whole different idea as to why they thought they were
heading to Jerusalem.
1. Read 19:11
2. They thought it was time for the kingdom of God to appear
3. But in the next verse Jesus starts to tell them a parable that indicates He is
going to be going on a long trip, receive a kingdom, then return back again.
Read v12
4. No, that earthly kingdom of God is not going to start now but after a long
period of time when I return!
F. Look down at 19:28 where we see that they were so close that Jesus sends two of
His disciples ahead to get a donkey, actually a colt – a young male donkey, to
bring to Jesus.
1. Read v28-35
2. And now we are ready for the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
• So it is clear that this entry is important. But to understand why this is the
significance and Jesus had to do this we need to see
III. The setting behind the setting
A. We find this by looking at three key Old Testament passages that actually refer to
“this” event of Jesus coming into Jerusalem. And these will help us understand
why this is so important, exactly what was going on that day.
B. Turn to Psalm 118:22-26. This is what is known as Messianic Psalm – simply a
Psalm that speaks of the Messiah, the Christ, the coming Savior and King, not
only of Israel but of the whole world.
1. As I read watch for
a) The rejection of the Messiah, the stone, by the builders but God taking
that rejected stone and making it the chief corner stone for His building,
His church, His kingdom.
b) Also note that the psalmist calls upon Him to save them, and they give
their blessing upon this one, this corner stone who comes in the name of
the Lord
2. Read
3. Note in Acts 4 that Peter told the rulers and elders of Israel, their leaders,
their builders, that they had crucified Jesus the Christ whom God raised –
then he said this. Read Acts 4:11-12
4. So we learn in this passage that there is going to be a rejection by the leaders
of God’s Messiah, His Christ, His King and a praise of Him by the people!
C. Turn to Daniel 9:25-26
1. And it is important to realize this book was written 600 years before Jesus
came!
2. Here we see what I believe is the most amazing prophecy in Scripture where
God tells Israel the exact date the Messiah will come to them. I did a sermon
on this 16 years ago where I broke down the whole passage phrase by phrase
(April 13, 2003) – I am sure you all remember it. But if you forgot it will be
attached along with these notes on our church web page. Also CDs
available!
3. Actually from this verse if you do the calculations you will see the exact date
the Messiah, God’s anointed King will come to Israel.
a) When the calculations are done you will see the date is April 6, 32 AD –
the exact date of the Triumphal Entry we are looking at today in Luke
19. The day that Jesus officially presented Himself as the Messiah!
4. Then the next verse tells us what will happen after this date. Read v26
a) The Messiah will be cut off – the Hebrew word used to indicate a violent
death. – An obvious reference to the Cross of Christ
b) Then after this violent death the city of Jerusalem and the Temple will be
destroyed by enemies. –
(1) We know from history that the city of Jerusalem and the Temple
were destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman army under the leadership
of General Titus.
D. Final prep verses I want you to see is in Zechariah 9:9-10. A book that was
written 500 years before Jesus came! Read and point out
1. Their king was going to come to Jerusalem bringing salvation and riding on a
donkey, specifically a colt a young male donkey. v9
2. And note that He is coming to bring peace v10
a) He is going to cut off the chariot, horse and bow – all instruments of war.
b) He will speak peace to the nations
3. His reign will be over the entire world!
• Now let’s go back to Luke 19 and read the account with all this setting now in our
minds.
IV. Triumphal Entry
A. We already saw in the setting to this that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem and He
is going to be on the colt of a donkey, just like Zechariah 9 says and He is also
coming in on the exact date Daniel 9:25 told us that the Messiah would come to
Jerusalem. April 6, 32 AD
B. So let’s read this – Read Luke 19
1. Read 35-37a
2. Remember we learned in Psalm 118 that the people will praise him but the
leaders will reject Him.
a) Listen to 37b-39
b) They actually quoted the very words of Psalm 118 but changed it from
one who comes to the King who comes. Because of the miracles they
saw they knew He was the Messiah
c) The religious leaders told Jesus to stop the people from calling Him the
King. They rejected Jesus as the King.
3. Note Jesus’ response to what just happened as he was approaching Jerusalem.
Read
a) V41-42
(1) “This” day – this specific day – April 6 32 AD the date that Daniel
had told you about.
(2) This day with a proper response would have brought the peace that
v10 of Zechariah 9 spoke of, cut off war weapons and bring peace.
4. Now in the next few verses we see the enemies and destruction that Daniel
9:26 told us would happen after the Messiah came to Jerusalem and would be
violently killed. Read 43-44b.
5. The reason for all of this is found at the end of v44. Read 44c
a) They did not recognize that they just got a visit from God, from the
Messiah who would bring them peace and salvation.
b) Rather than accepting and worshipping the Messiah the leaders of the
nation rejected Him and actually sought to put Him to death – Read v47
a fulfillment of Daniel 9:26 the violent death of the Messiah.
C. Palm Sunday was the official presentation of God’s King to Israel, who came to
bring peace and salvation and while the people recognized who He was the
official leaders of the nation rejected Him.
• There are two possible responses to this major event in Jesus life. First….
V. Application
A. The religious leaders rejected Jesus because they did not recognize who Jesus was
or what was going on
1. Read v44.
2. Do you recognize that King Jesus is actually here at MVC this very morning?
You can’t see Him but the Bible teaches very clearly He is with us when we
gather in Jesus’ name
3. And do you recognize what is going on here today is you just heard clearly
who Jesus is as proven by this very special event, the Triumphal Entry? And
He is here today to bring you salvation and peace!
4. John 1:9-13
B. Is your response like the common people who recognized and praised Jesus as
their King?
1. Read v37c-38
2. Read v40 – If they did not praise Him the stones on the street would have
because this event was so big and important. This entry demands praise!!!!

Word of God and Prayer

Word of God and Prayer

2 Samuel 7:18-27 April 7, 2019
Introduction:
A. I could not think of a better day to wrap up our series on prayer than on a child
dedication and communion Sunday because:
1. Throughout our lives as parents there is not anyone we pray for more than
our children
2. Communion is the time when remember our relationship with Jesus and what
He has done for us. And I believe the primary purpose of prayer is to build
our relationship with God.
B. So, this morning I want to close this series on prayer by talking about - prayer and
God’s Word! We will look at – the priority of God’s Word in prayer, how to
pray God’s Word, then a simple method for praying God’s Word!
• Let’s start with the
I. Priority of God’s Word in Prayer
A. Start by introducing the final book I would recommend on prayer – Tim Keller.
1. This book is the one I recommend for those who have been praying for a
while and understand the foundations of prayer. This is the book that will
stimulate you to excel to the next level of prayer and addresses some of the
misguided practices of prayer today.
2. And, really, my first and last point today are addressed in greater depth in his
book.
B. Many today are setting the Bible aside when it comes to prayer and are looking
for a mystical experience in prayer where they are seeking to get beyond words in
prayer, a wordless prayer where they just experience the tranquil presence of God.
Much of this is right on the edge of some practices called contemplative prayer or
centering prayer.
1. I know a woman, who use to come to MVC, who would practice this by
setting a chair in the center of her living room, putting the Bible up on the
shelf, pulling the drapes and turning off the lights and just clearing her mind
of everything until she experienced the presence of Jesus.
2. When she left MVC, she told me very clearly that I have a sinful trust in
God’s Word!
C. Listen to what Keller says about this these practices. Read p56 & 57
D. Prayer in God’s Word uses words and is based on truths about God and life that
are shaped by God’s Words.
1. Yes, in the Psalms we are told to contemplate the beauty, the glory and love
of God. But, Biblical contemplation is an engagement of the mind based on
the truth of God’s Word, not a setting aside of the truth.
2. Read P62
E. Another thing I hear a lot from people is “God told me this” and “God told me
that”
1. Listen to this amazing story about George Whitefield, the man God used to
spearhead the Great Awakening.
2. Read p63
F. My point here about the priority of God’s Word in praying is that a conversation
“with” God in prayer is a conversation primarily built off of God’s Word as He
speaks to us through His Word and we speak back to Him through prayer about
the things He has said to us in His Word,
1. Hear me clearly – that does not mean God never speaks to us through our
thoughts and prompting in prayer.
2. But rather the Bible teaches and models that God’s Word should drive our
prayer life.
• Secondly, let’s look at…
II. How to pray God’s Word
A. Turn to 2 Samuel 7
B. Context – great promise that God made to David that he would have a descendant
who would be a king forever who would reign forever over a forever kingdom!
C. Now listen to David’s prayer after God gave him this promise, that teaches us
how to pray God’s Word and promises
1. As I read v25-26 note that David has his motives right in this prayer! Read
2. Point out
a) V25a-b word You spoke … confirm it
b) V25c – do as You have spoken
D. The best way to pray God’s Word is simply to ask Him to confirm what He said
He will do or has done in your life.
1. The way to see God’s promises and truths moved from the pages of Scripture
into our lives or from our heads to our hearts is through prayer!
2. Asking God to fulfill, to accomplish, to bring about, to carry out, to perform,
to do in your life what He said in His Word He would do or has done
• Finally, I want to close this series on prayer with a simple ….
III. Method of Praying God’s Word
A. This method is SIMPLE and LIFE CHANGING.
1. It is the method I wish I learned this 46 years ago when I first started having
devotional times with God in His Word.
2. It is the method that I have been practicing more and more since I first read
of it in Keller’s book,
3. It is the method I am going to encourage people with from now on when they
ask me how do I have a daily devotional time with God in His Word,
4. It is the method that Martin Luther used, the man who turned the church and
the world upside down in the 1500’s.
B. We learn of his method in a letter that he wrote to his barber when his barber
asked him how he prayed. Here is his answer summarized simply in my words.
CPAP
1. capture the heart of the text
2. Praise, thank, and worship God from the text
3. Admit/confess sin from the text
4. Petition/ask God to do for you in light of the text
IV. Communion
A. Let’s start by practicing it in preparation for communion. Consider the text I put
on the screen as communion is being passed. Ask God is there anything you
should thank or worship Him for, anything to confess, anything to ask Him to do
or confirm for you all in light of that verse.
B. Passage 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
C. Pass

When to Persist and When to Let Go

When to Persist and When to Let Go
Various Passages March 31, 2019

Introduction:
A. In Luke 18:1 Jesus says we out to pray and not lose heart!
1. Does that mean we should persist until we get our answer?
B. Last week we learned that when God does not answer prayer it could mean not
now, no for about five different reasons or more often, than we think simply, we
do not know why!
• This morning I want to try to answer the question, “When do I persist in prayer and
when should I let go?” I want to answer this by looking at three passages where we
see Paul, Jesus and David persisting in prayer and then just some pastoral counsel!
I. Paul, Jesus and David!
A. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 regarding Paul
1. Context – Paul in his humility speaks of himself and the great revelations he
received from the Lord when he was years earlier caught up into heaven. He
says here he will not speak of himself regarding this but he will speak about
his weaknesses.
2. So listen to what he says from here. Read v7-8
a) Paul said he received a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan to
keep him humble because of these great revelations.
b) He said this tormented him so much that three times he asked the Lord
earnestly to remove it.
3. Note what happened. Read v9a
a) God spoke to him – “He has said to me”
b) Note what He said – Read 9b-d
4. Now look at the new disposition that Paul learned as a part of this prayer
experience – Read v10
5. His prayers changed, he stopped asking for deliverance from his tormenting
problem, when God spoke to him.
6. I remember a time a long while back that I was praying repeatedly and
intensely about one of my daughters who was just not doing well at that time.
I was begging with God to change my daughter and as clear as a bell God
spoke to my heart, no outward voice but that still small voice in my heart –
the problem was not my daughter but her father. That moment my prayers
changed as I let go of asking God to change my daughter and began to pray
about Him changing me!
B. Now let’s consider the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane. Turn to Luke 22
1. I think you remember the story – It was right before the cross and Jesus went
to the Garden of Gethsemane along with Peter, James and John to pray about
it.
a) That prayer time was very intense – Listen to v44.
b) Three times He prayed about this cup of the cross being removed but He
wanted God’s will not His own
2. He persisted in that prayer that night but there is no record of God speaking
to Him as He did with Paul. But God did use that time of prayer to prepare
him for the cross.
a) Listen to v43 – He was strengthened by angels as He prayed
b) Then in v47-48 when the betrayal came He calmly walked right into it
having been strengthen in prayer.
3. Jesus came out of that prayer “just knowing” what was God’s answer to that
prayer. Sometimes as we pray on we “just know” in our hearts, a
strengthening to face, a sureness, an understanding in our hearts and minds
that this prayer is done and it is time to move on.
4. Sometimes God uses that persistent prayer to change us as we pray. God not
only uses prayer to answer our request but also to do things in us as we pray.
Jesus’ baptism as he prayed Holy Spirit came upon Him, transfiguration – as
he prayed he was transfigured. Garden – as he prayed angels ministered to
him. All this happened as he prayed!
5. So during the 21 days of prayer we should expect that God will not only
answer many prayers, not only that MVC will have a greater impact for Jesus
as a result of these 21 days but also that God will do something inside of us
as we pray! That’s transformation.
C. Remember the story in 2 Samuel 12 where David’s son was very sick and God
sent word through the prophet Nathan that his son was going to die.
1. David knowing God was a gracious God he still prayed to God for the
healing of his son. He fasted and prayed with his face to the ground for
seven days for his son to live but on the seventh day, he died.
2. When that happened David got up washed himself up, changed his clothes,
went to the house of the Lord, and worshiped!
3. In this case, the circumstances put an end to the persistent prayer. No need to
continue because the circumstances made it clear that the Sovereign God is
doing something else. Not a time to persist but to let go.
• Let me add a fourth way with just a word of pastoral advice.
II. Pastoral Counsel
A. I put two verses of Scripture together.
1. Psalm 37:4– says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the
desires of your heart”.
a) It means that as I delight myself in the Lord, He will shape within me the
desires of my heart. Delighting in the Lord will cause godly desires to
be shaped and birthed within you by God.
2. Philippians 4:6 – says, “Let your request be known to God.”
a) We should not just pray the right things but we should pray the real
things. What is your real heart desire at this moment? God wants to
hear that from us.
B. Here is my answer when I put those two verse together – “As long as you have
the desire for it keep on praying for it, but keep your heart open for God to change
or remove that desire.”
C. So we get insight into whether to persist in our prayer or to let it go. When either
God speaks to us directly about it, or we just know by what God is doing in my
heart to prepare me to face this situation, or the circumstances clearly bring an
end to that prayer or when God changes or removes that desire!
D. If none of those happens to you, I recommend you keep on persisting in that
prayer.
E. And right now you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to have your church join
you in your request for next 21 days

Unanswered Prayer

Unanswered Prayer

Various Passages March 24, 2019
I. Introduction:
A. Unanswered prayer is one of the most discouraging and perplexing aspects of
prayer, maybe even of the Christian life!
1. Believers are told right from the beginning of their relationship with God that
God answers prayers! We are told to pray, we are taught promises about
prayer, and we hear amazing stories about answers to prayers for others. and
yes they themselves have even experienced some answers to prayers
2. Then comes along something that deeply burdens our hearts, so we start
claiming His promises, persisting in prayer, praying in faith and yet they have
not seen one shred of evidence of God doing anything or answering their
prayers.
3. And when it goes on over a long period of time with no answer from God
a) Some their practice and belief in prayer really cools down thinking why
go to Him in prayer because He does not answer my prayers anyway!
b) Some begin to question God’s faithfulness or His word and find it
difficult to trust Him.
c) Some start to feel abandoned by God, let down by Him and that He
really does not care about my concerns.
d) And even some who have turn away from God hurt, angry and
disappointed.
B. Then comes along that Christian who learned the “company line” when it comes
to unanswered prayer as they say “God does answer prayer, sometimes it’s yes,
sometimes it is no and sometimes it is not now!”
1. While there is truth to this line, I do not think it communicate the complete
truth when it comes to what the Bible says about unanswered prayer.
2. And I personally feel that answer can be very insensitive for someone who
has been deeply, deeply disappointed by unanswered prayer. To them it can
feel like “a nickel answer to a million dollar question!”
• This morning I am going to try to fill out a bit more of what it means when we say
yes, no, not now and let me add a fourth one “I do not know” Let’s start with
II. Yes
A. When we get a yes we celebrate, our faith in strengthen in God and His word and
our hearts are lifted high with joy! Read Ps 118:5-6
B. But sometime we do not recognize the yes because it is not exactly what I asked
for, the time I asked for it or in the way I asked God to do it. In other words it is
a yes but it is a different answer than I expected.
C. I love what Tom Yeakley says about this– When you pray do not tell God how to
do it, just ask Him to do it and allow Him to do it in a way that brings glory to
Him.
1. When I pray that way, it opens my mind to see God working in ways of His
choosing rather than mine!
• Let me next address the second easiest part of that phrase to answer
III. Not now
A. Simply that is saying God will answer but not in my timing.
B. Listen to what Jesus said about this:
1. Read Luke 18:1
2. Then Jesus tells them the parable of a widow who pleaded with an unjust
judge. He finally gave in to her request after she wore him down by her
determination. Then Jesus said, “How much more will God, the righteous
judge, listen to the persistent prayers, day and night of His loved ones?”
C. There are things I have prayed for years, and some even for decades that God did
answer like the salvation of my parents, something that I prayed for over 20
years!
• Next is the hardest part of that phrase to answer or maybe to accept – when God’s
answers to our prayers are:
IV. No
A. This is the heart of unanswered prayer - I asked God for something and He
answered it with a no!
1. I do not want to leave it at that this morning but expand on that a bit. I think
a no needs a bigger explanation for someone who is wrestling with
unanswered prayers.
B. Sometimes that No is because God is a loving wise father is saying “no” for my
benefit
1. Greatest example of this in scripture is Job as two times he asked God to let
him die. Job 6:8-9
2. And often we do not see it at the moment but God’s no is the most loving and
wise answer you can get to your prayers. Usually I do not see that right away
but times I look back over my life and say I am so grateful that God did not
answer that prayer with a yes as what I have now is exactly what I need and
is actually better for me.
C. Sometimes the no is because what I asked for was not God’s will.
1. Obviously, Jesus is the greatest picture of this when He said His soul was
deeply grieved to the point of death then He asked the Father three times that
if it was possible for this burden of the cross to pass from Him; yet not as I
will but as you will!
2. As we, all know that request was not God’s will and Jesus went to the cross.
When we have Jesus’ heart for God’s will in our prayers a no is much easier
to accept!
D. Sometimes the no is because God has a greater way to display His glory!
1. Three times Paul asked God to remove the thorn in the flesh he had - listen to
what God said. Read 2 Corinthians 12:8-9
2. I think of someone like Joni Erickson Tada who became a quadriplegic as a
result of a diving accident.
a) In my way of thinking how much glory God could have gotten if he
healed her. But look at the way God has displayed Himself and used her
by not healing her.
b) She is a beautiful picture of this verse and of God receiving greater glory
by not healing her.
E. Sometimes we get the answer no because our motives are all wrong in our
prayers.
1. Read James 4:2d-3
2. Remember this quote “Too often our prayers are intended to inform God of
what we believe He needs to do to structure the universe in compliance with
our desires for a happy and comfortable life.” Daniel Henderson.
F. Let me give you one more reason for a no that is not discussed often enough but
Scripture does refer to it. Simply that while being a child of God, my life and
walk are out of whack with God.
1. There are various Scriptures that refer to this but I just will show you a few.
First :
a) Read Psalm 66:18
b) To regard sin in my heart means that I know that there is a serious sin in
my life but I do nothing about it!
c) God is not even listening to that prayer as He is concerned about what is
of first importance - getting your heart right with Him
2. You might say – that is Old Testament stuff. Listen to 1 John 3:22
a) He says here his prayers are answered because He obeys God and does
the things that please Him
b) What does this imply about the child of God who is in blatant
disobedience to God and involved in things that are displeasing to God?
3. Try this one on – it is for married couples, especially husbands!
a) Read 1 Peter 3:7
b) Some husbands here today are not getting their prayers answered
because you are not treating your sister in Christ, God’s daughter, your
wife sensitively, gently and with honor.
c) I get that because if some guy does not treat my daughters right but
rather harshly then comes and asks for a bunch of good things – what do
you think is going to happen.
• Finally let’s look at my addition this morning to yes, no, not yet and it is
V. I do not know
A. Job is the greatest example of this. Turn in your Bibles to Job 7
1. Actually, in the book of Job there are two prayer requests that he had, each
request he asked for two separate times. The first one we referred to earlier –
his request two times to die. The other prayer request Job asked two times
was – Why are you doing this to me?
2. Read 7:19-20 – Why have you set me as a target?
3. Read 10:2 - Let me know why you contend with me?
B. Job makes it very clear that God does not answer his prayers!
1. Read 19:6-7 – but I get no answer
2. Read 30:19-20 – You do not answer me
3. Read 31:35-36 – let the Almighty answer me.
4. We can see in Job the pain and frustration of unanswered prayer. It got to
the point where Job, being a righteous man, struggled so much with what was
happening to him that he began to find fault with God and accuse Him of
being unrighteous in the way He dealt with him!
C. Now listen to how God answered Job
1. Read Job 38:1-4 – Oh, oh Look out as it took God four chapters of questions
to Job for him to get the point.
a) Then in chapter 38 God pummels him with questions about his ability to
know and understand the great mysteries of the heavens and the earth?
He says tell me if you understand, surely you know!
b) Then in chapter 39 - Focus now switches from the great mysteries of the
heavens and the earth to the great mysteries of the animal world as the
Lord questions him about his ability to understand these things.
c) Then at the end of this section we see Job’s response – Read 40:1-5
2. Then in chapter 40 – God turns to Job’s strength and authority to overcome
and control things! Read 40:6-9.
a) Then in Chapter 40 He uses the hippopotamus and in chapter 41 He uses
the crocodile to show him just how small his strength is.
3. In summary God showed Job a major lesson that would be good for all of us
to let sink deep within our hearts - that there are things in life that are smarter
than he is smart and stronger than he is strong.
D. Jobs final prayer of repentance reveals to us this final answer to the question of
unanswered prayer
1. Read 42:1-3
2. Job is broken at the core of his being as he sees God’s sovereignty and his
inability to overthrow what God wants to do.
3. He also learned that God’s purposes are just too high for him to understand.
E. The answer “I do not know” is a way of saying - sometimes the reality of
unanswered prayer is a mystery, something that is bigger than we are smart,
bigger than we can understand –
F. Bottom line at times it is a very biblical answer to the question “Why God does
not answer my prayer?” is “I do not know” It is a mystery!
VI. Application
A. My prayer for today’s message is that those who are presently struggling with this
million dollar question may discern a bit more what God may be doing in their
lives in not answering their prayers. And those who are not struggling now may
be equipped to more sensitively and wisely serve those who are struggling with
this!
B. Next week in many ways will be part two to this question of unanswered prayer
as it raises some other questions – primarily - how do I pray now.
1. I have this unanswered prayer, and I see that God isn’t against me, but rather
is doing something for His glory. So does that mean I stop praying for this? Is
it wrong to pray for this?
2. Should I be the persistent widow or should I let go and move on?
C. Before Josh closes us, I just want to give a few minutes for those who have been
wrestling deeply today with this question to sit before the Lord to see if there
something God wants to impress upon their heart today.
1. Not now – Persist in Prayer
2. No
a) Not best for me in the long run
b) Not God’s will
c) God has a greater way to display His glory
d) Wrong motives
e) Undealt with sin in my life
3. I do not know – It is a mystery bigger than I am smart!

Pauls Prayer

Paul’s Prayers
Ephesians 3:14-21
March 17, 2019
I. Introduction:
A. Last week, as we looked at the Lord’s Prayer, we were answering the question
I got from two men “What kind of things do we pray for other than God bless
my family and fix these problems?” Today I am continuing to answer that
question by looking at the prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed to see the kind
of things about which he prayed.
B. As I was preparing I did some studying to see just what people do pray about
here in North America. I found two different studies that addressed this. The
Barna Group and Lifeway Research
1. Let me tell you about a few interesting things I found people have prayed
for at some time in their life.
a) 21% - Winning the lottery
b) 13% - Your favorite sports team would win
c) 7% - Good parking spot
d) 7% - Not get caught speeding
e) I have prayed for three of those four, anyone else?
2. Here is a summary of what people pray about most often:
a) Barna group said, “Primarily the immediate needs and concerns of the
individual. Corporate needs are less compelling drivers in people’s
prayer life!”
b) Lifeway Research said – “Most Americans (82%) typically focus on
their friends and family. (74%) on their own problems. (54%) pray
about good things happening in their life. (36%) pray for their future
prosperity.”
C. Tim Keller writing on revival said that while Holy Spirit is the ultimate cause
of revival but He does use “secondary causes.”
1. And he said one of the three primary causes He uses is corporate prayer,
which is focused upon extraordinary, kingdom centered prevailing prayer!
2
2. Sounds like what we learned in the Lord’s Prayer guide last week –
praying with others and praying, first and foremost, for God’s agenda (His
glory, kingdom and will).
3. This is interesting because what Jesus called us to and what Keller tells us
brings about revival are the same ----- corporate kingdom centered
praying! That is just the opposite of what these studies found – only 4%
of the people most often pray with someone else and the majority of our
prayers are for needs and concerns of the individual, and very little
concern for the kingdom needs of the Church of Jesus Christ!
D. And I guess it would be no surprise to find that Paul’s prayers recorded in
Scripture were for the corporate body, the local church and they were
kingdom centered prayers!