Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Pray With Purpose Pt.5

Praise You, Jesus! Let's turn to Matthew and continue our study on prayer--praying with purpose. Those that come to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him, the Scripture says. So we pray with a purpose: to have our prayers answered. And we saw that the reason that we pray is not for our own personal gain or ease but that God could be glorified.

Prayer is that vehicle given to us to access the presence of God so that we could, in encountering Him, be changed more and more into His image and represent Him more effectively. The disciples came, and they said, Lord, teach us to pray like John taught his disciples. The Lord responded and said when you pray, you're not to be like the heathen and pray in vain repetitions or like the Pharisees who love to pray to be seen of men. We don't pray to be seen; we pray to have God seen. So He says make sure that you pray this way or after this manner, and then the very familiar model prayer was given to us: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

We've been talking the last number of sessions about that aspect of it--being able to pray with a total awareness of our dependence on God for everything because John 15 said without Him we can do nothing. In that prayer chapter of John 15--the abiding in the vine, if we abide in the vine, if His words abide in us, we can ask what we would, and it would be done--we saw that it was to enable us to bring forth fruit, and if we brought forth fruit, the Scripture says He would purge us that we might bring forth more fruit. And it's in that much fruit, the Scripture says, that our Father is glorified. So prayer really is for the purpose of glorifying God, and we've been looking at that aspect of it: the ability to walk in dependence upon God as the source, and to make sure then that as we approach Him we're not praying to try to enact our agenda but to find out what the real eternal purposes of God are.

Prayer is that way of clearing up our vision and allowing us to see what God's doing when natural eye can't see it. Prayer let's you begin to see with your spirit. We don't know how to pray as we ought, the Scripture says, but the Holy Ghost prays through us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Your prayer will never be effective if you think you know what you're praying about. We don't know how to pray. Whenever you have confidence that you've got it all figured out, and you're just going to give God an opportunity to come and attach His name to it, you're not praying effectually. We don't know the beginning to the end; we don't always see clearly. We're governed by those temporal things and by those that in our limited sight move us--and God always moves beyond the obvious. God always is moving for eternal purposes. This one who is omnipresent and omniscient is not limited to the time and space that you and I walk in and the little temporal things that we're concerned about.

God is dealing with your life and mine through eternity, from the beginning to the end. God cannot hear one of your prayers and answer it if it affects something in the eternal realm, if it affects something five, ten, fifteen years from now. We're so limited in our scope, and we need to begin to rely in Him, and because of that we can pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." So I hope that you're getting more confident in being able to pray that way and just resting in the fact that you don't have to give God all the specific instructions of how and when you want it done and in all of these different things. But you can pray knowing that if He wants you to recite details, He'll give them to you--they'll rise up in your heart. He'll speak to you and you'll pray with that limited understanding, but it will be in the Spirit. It won't be something that originated in your mind. It's not something that you can comprehend; it's something that you're being brought into as He reveals it in His Word and Spirit flowing through you.

We left off Wednesday night in John chapter 11--you remember the chapter that we were making reference to of the Lord raising Lazarus--and talking about how great that testimony was that the Lord had and that you and I should be looking for. In this 11^th chapter, Jesus speaking in verse 40 says, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" We want to talk again this morning about God being the object of the glory and that God answers prayer to honor His own name and to glorify Himself in the midst of His creation. God does not answer prayer to glorify you; it's not about you, it's God! It's for the glory of God! "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen."

So we realize then that God uses this as a way of showing Himself mighty and to receive the praises of men. And Jesus said didn't I tell you that if you wouldn't faint, if you would just believe...don't let the circumstances dictate you...I know things look bad...you said, if I'd only been here, he wouldn't have died...I'm right on time! How many of you understand that when you're moving in faith--the Spirit of God's ordering your prayer life--you're never in a panic; you're aware that God's always on time, amen? Prayer doesn't say, "Oh God, if you'd only been here, then they could have done something, but now it's too late!" With God all things are possible. Do you believe that this morning? So that's how we pray, and prayer is never limited by the circumstances, it's never limited by time and space.

Jesus spoke in the 11^th chapter here over in verse 4. He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God." Get it down! These circumstances that you're involved in this morning, they're not for death; they're for the glory of God. God's put you in a place to where you can pray and His name will manifest and those that are around you will see the visitation of the living God in delivering you and answering your prayer, and God will be glorified! You're not in this thing for death; we're in it to show our dependence upon God and His name to deliver us. That's what prayer is all about. And that's why we count it all joy when we're in the midst of different temptations, because when God moves in our midst and answers, His name is glorified.

This is "for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" verse 4. Well, how is He going to be glorified? Well, look at the testimony. He said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." We begin to see His majesty manifested. "Said I not unto thee, [verse 40] that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" Take away the stone. "And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me."

God's interested in the testimony of answered prayer that those that are viewing our lives might know that Jesus was sent of the Father, John 17 says. They see the works and glorify our Father. They know through the love that we have one for another, the dependence that we have on the presence of God, that Jesus was sent of the Father. So the prayer is about the Lord being glorified in our midst and those that are standing by watching. When everything looks hopeless, God comes and delivers us, and the testimony is that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

Go over to Kings for just a second. Let me show you something over in Kings. The very familiar passage of course in I Kings 17; a passage that we always enjoy. In the 17^th chapter of I Kings, the great prophet Elijah, the Lord speaks to his heart, and he makes the great decree that we know of shutting the heavens. And he says, verse 1, "...As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."

Now I want you to understand something: there is a boldness that comes in our hearts when God speaks to us and we decree a thing. And in fact, as the agents of God and the vessels of God, we become partakers of that glory; we share in it. And when the prophet speaks and says, "according to my words" we know that he's speaking as the representative of heaven. We know he's speaking as an ambassador. We know he's moving in the same realm that Jesus did when He came and said, I didn't come to speak my own words, but the words of He that sent me. Oh beloved, what confidence there is when we know we're speaking the words of God and you can make these statements: according to my word it's not going to rain. Then the word of the Lord came to him and gave him direction and said, I want to preserve you in the midst of this thing so go down by the Brook Cherith and wait. "And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; [verse 4 says] and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there."

It's always interesting, as you study this out, how God provides and in the midst of serving in ministry for Him, how He chooses to show Himself. Now here He is anointing the servant, the servant making the bold decree that the heavens would be shut up, and then God says, Now I want you to go down by the brook. Beloved, the obedience to go to the brook is just as supernatural--the providing from the natural brook--because God said to go there, and we're there by guidance. It's just as supernatural as drinking water from the rock. It doesn't have to be spectacular to be supernatural. It's supernatural when God's the source. He told you what drinking fountain to go to. If God tells you to go back here in the hallway to the cooler and get a drink, it's supernatural. Why? Because it's obedience, and God is the provider in that He gave the direction for the provision.

We need to understand that and to have ears to hear and not be caught up always in the spectacular. But you'll see there are limitations many times to the natural that we partake of under supernatural direction. And when the natural that we're partaking of ends, then God will provide the spectacular, supernatural provision, but it's no more supernatural than the brook. So go and drink; it's God. Don't mistake--beloved, listen to me this morning. Don't mistake what you're partaking of this morning as something that you've provided for yourself or that man has given you. If God is the source, if He's ordered our steps into this arena, then He is the provider, and it is supernatural.

"And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook." And so here is the supernatural supply. Here's evidence that you don't need to eat more than twice a day. As God's providing for him that that was necessary, I think it's interesting what He was using to bring about the provision--scavengers! Have you ever watched these thieves called blackbirds? They're no different than vultures--not quite as ugly--but it's against their nature. God will many times choose that that's unnatural and there's going to be those things that would rather in the natural not be a provision for you, but God can turn the hearts of any king or of any other source to bring provision to you. Those that would rather lavish it upon themselves, God will turn their hearts and see that His prophets and His kings are provided for. And we are a generation of kings and priests, are we not?

So the Scripture speaks to us here, and I love this, and the ravens then are bringing him this source, this supernatural provision. The brook dries up because there had been no rain. Wonder if God knew that was going to happen? Then, I love this story as it goes on and it says, so the Lord spoke to him and said I want you to go forth now and "behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." I would have preferred it be a multimillionaire. A widow woman? I wonder what the resources are? Who is this woman? Surely when I get there, surely this is going to be a woman of abundance and that has more than enough. Praise God. We'll go in and just enjoy the abundance that God has given her. So he arrives at Zarephath, "And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks."

Isn't that a bummer? When you have it all figured out how God's going to do it and you get there, it's not quite what you expected. You all know what I'm talking about. "...and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, [big fire] that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, [a widow woman is going to sustain thee--I'm gathering for my son and I] that we may eat it, and die."

Answered prayer is not always exciting in the beginning. Answered prayer, God moving in our lives so many times leaves us in this exact position to where we say, "It looks like I'm worse off than when I started! Where's God in the midst of this thing? God said He's going to sustain me; it's getting worse! And everybody He sends to help is in worse shape than I am!" "Sure, I'll be glad to help you out. You can die right along with us; we'll be happy to share our death with you." And Elijah said unto her, I recognize this, I recognize this place that God has me, beyond my own ability. A widow woman will sustain you--a woman who will be willing to obey God; the woman who would give of her two mite to honor God--all that she had. God is looking for people that will lay it all on the line and trust Him and be willing to die in His presence for His honor, for His glory, and He's looking for those people here this morning.

"And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first..." Just like those preachers, man. They're always wanting the first cut, the first fruits, the best part, and that's what God said was His portion. Let me ask you something: in the midst of trial and adversity, are you always willing to give to God first? Do you not have enough time? Then you'd better give time to God first. Do you not have enough money? Then you'd better give to God first. Do you not have enough strength? Then you'd better give to God first. I want to tell you something: if you're going to miss something, miss work, don't miss church! Because this is the secret, beloved, to knowing the supernatural provision and seeing God answer prayer. It's seeking the glory of God, it's giving to God first, it's honoring Him with our lives as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. "and after [you've made for me, then] make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth."

So we begin to see the spirit here that God is taking His prophet in. Now remember, these are all circumstances that are bringing about experience in his life. Before we can ascend Mount Carmel and see the great miracles of God, you're going to see the natural provisions in our life, and God is our source in so many different areas. Before God sends you out as a champion over Goliath, you're going to have to deal with the lion and the bear in secret--in the secret place of the Most High. You're going to have to spend time communing with God on the mountaintops as you're singing the psalms and worshipping the greatness of your God. And then you can go armed with the weapons that He's given you--not the weapons of men but that little slingshot--and I come against you not in the arm of the flesh or the armors of Israel, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God!

That's what prayer is all about: in the secret place, the communion with God, so that when you come into the conflicts of the Goliaths and you ascend the Mount Carmels, you're already familiar with that voice that has sent you there. And you're very familiar with the weapons of our warfare which are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. So we see the fulfillment of this great passage and the miracle of the sustaining of the prophet with the barrel and the oil that didn't fail, verse 16 says.

Then we see another miracle in verse 17. This young man becomes ill, and we know how the story goes. It says that he dies, verse 17. It's amazing how people respond. "What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?" What would have happened if the prophet hadn't have come? They were going to make a little bit of food, eat it, and what? [Die] Isn't it interesting how we respond to God? It was the very presence of God, it was the power of God, it was through the prophet of God that he was alive! And now we're wondering, why is it that you've come? Have you come to bring my sin...is God judging us? God had already preserved you; you should have already been dead.

How many of you are feeling sorry for yourself this morning and wondering whether God has forsaken you, and you should have already been destroyed, and it's only His mercy and grace has you alive here this morning! The goodness of God that has you alive here this morning, answered prayer that's sustained you and has you here this morning, and you wonder if God's deserted you.

So the prophet then, hearing the cry of this mother's heart and representing the God that's longsuffering and full of tender mercies, says, "Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived." "And the woman said [verse 24] to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth." Well, you know, she had pretty high standards, didn't she? "Now I know that thou art a man of God." "Oh, you mean all I had to do was raise the dead? Okay."

We have pretty high standards, don't we? We're always wanting God to prove Himself, again and again. We sang it this morning, "How I've proved thee o'er and o'er." That doesn't mean we make God prove Himself, but we've experienced His answers to prayer. We have that spirit, don't we, of Gideon to where we just want to keep laying the fleece out there, just one more time. Make the fleece wet, make the fleece dry, make the fleece jump! Show me Your presence, confirm Your word, give me a sign, give me two signs, neon signs! And we are so frail aren't we? We're so unbelieving and fearful. We're so, so quick to judge God based on our own character. We seem to think that God slumbers and sleeps like we do. We seem to think that God is selfish and unmerciful like we are, and He continues to reveal His lovingkindness and His tender mercies. We seem to think that somehow God's arm is short, and that He's weak like we are.

So in the midst of the foolishness of His people, of His prophets, when we cry out and want Him to prove Himself again and question Him: "What's going on? God, I don't understand. You sent me down here to be sustained. You did the miracle--the cruse and the oil didn't fail. You sustained the child's life; now he died. Lord, are you judging them? God, what's going on?" We don't know how to pray as we ought. So why don't you stop trying to figure it out and realize that the judge of all the earth does right, that God's for us, therefore nobody can be against us. He hasn't forsaken you yet, and He won't, praise God! So let's not start questioning Him now. So that's part of this message; that's what's going on through this 17^th chapter.

So the word of the Lord then comes to the prophet into chapter 18 and says, "Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth." We know the story of how Elijah would be caught away and the messengers that were sent were fearful and God was smoking them. So finally the Lord allows the prophet to remain in his place, and a showdown is established by God. Oh beloved, as we continue to pray and believe God, I want to encourage you with something. You don't always see the presence manifested immediately. You don't always see the spectacular at every turn, but I want you to know if you'll study the Scriptures, God is always bringing us through prayer--when we don't faint, we will reap. If you don't faint, you will reap. The time of the showdown is coming. God will confront principalities and powers. He'll confront His enemies and glorify His name if you don't faint. So the prophet establishes this point of contact.

Verse 15 says, "...I will surely shew myself unto him to day." And so now we come to the showdown. The principalities and powers send their representatives, 850 false prophets--those that are really the messengers of the Kingdom are always just the remnant. The majority always has other gods that they serve and powers that they trust in. Some of the false gods are just the imaginations of men, and others the Bible tells us very clearly are idols that have demonic powers associated with them. As the enemy opposes true prayer and opposes yours and my walk in the Spirit in supernatural, they try to get us to believe there are other supernatural means. In doing so, they'll want to incorporate our God in the midst of them, and say, "Of course we believe in the supernatural." When you talk about God's ability to answer prayer and do miracles and heal the sick, a lot of the people in the occult say, "Yeah, we understand that. We do that in our religion too. What's the big deal about that? Come on to one of our meetings and watch whatever it is levitate across the room. Did you all do that in your church last night? Who levitated at your place last night?"

We understand that God isn't Barnum and Bailey. The devil doesn't mind putting on these cheap shows to try to prey upon the lust of man--man's curiosity and appetite for the supernatural--and because of that people are caught into the occult. But I want you to understand something: Satan's power is real; demons are real. These false gods do answer prayer, these false gods do war on behalf of their kingdom, and when you and I are praying, beloved, we aren't just reciting little bedtime chants. We're speaking into the heavens and we're doing warfare. You'd better understand when you're praying, beloved, that you're going to war. If you're going to pray in the name of Jesus, you're going to catch the recognition of all of the enemies of the hosts that are around us, and they are going to say, "There's a man that's trusting God. Somehow we've got to stop them. God cannot be glorified; nobody can begin to think that God answers prayer in the name of Jesus. We've got to hinder them."

Every time you and I speak the name of Jesus, we bring against us enemies in the spirit realm. Do you understand what prayer is? Prayers don't just go unhindered to God, and then He just sends the answers down! The angels that are sent to answer are many times warred with in the heavenlies; the answers are detained as our hearts are being proven in our ability to trust God. We don't know all the reasons why there are delays and what's going on in the warfare in the heavens and what God's trying to teach us in our own hearts, but prayer doesn't go unhindered--it's not without challenge in the realm of the heavenlies.

As you pray you need to understand that we're going in the power of His might. I shared with you that just a few years ago as God had spoken to us to go to India, how all of that was supernaturally orchestrated. I shared with you at that time, there couldn't have been a worse time for me to go as David stopped by the house and said, "When can you come to India? I've been asking you for ten years. When can you come? When? You've been saying for ten years that when God said you could go, you would go; now when are you going to go?" I said, "Next month." I had no intention, didn't know David was coming. God just spoke to me right at that moment and said, "Go!" I said, "Okay." "We have," Dave said, "a General Counsel next month. When are you going to go?" I said, "I'll go to that."

As I heard the words come out of my mouth, I thought, "Dear Lord, there couldn't be a worse time!" I shared with you that the morning that the plane was leaving, I can still remember, I was sitting on the little vanity chair that Janet uses. I was just sitting there just kind of slumped over and put my head in my hands and I told her, "I don't think I can make it. I don't feel like I have enough strength to get to the airport." "Go in this [the power of my might]...have not I sent thee?" were the words to Gideon. As we rose up in the power of His might and in a depleted spiritual and physical condition, obeying God, got to India, praise God, and guess what? It got worse!

That night the reality of the powers of darkness, the demons of hell that govern India--I tangibly wrestled with them through the night, all night, as I walked the floor of that hotel room 3, 4 o'clock in the morning praying in the Spirit, warring with demons. I began to physically get ill in my body, and a fever began to rage in my body. The next day we had planned on going to see the Taj Mahal. We went to the airport; I had about 102^o temperature, but it was like 118^o or more at the Taj Mahal. Barely able to put one foot in front of the other as we walked around that place and sat in those stinky airports--warred with principalities and powers. And God sustained and visited us. I don't ever remember a time in my life--I've seen more spectacular things in the natural perception, but I have never known a time of being in the perfect will of God and sustained by His grace more than when we went into those meetings and saw the answer of prayer as He sustained us and we warred in the heavenlies.

The false prophets that we contended with--I can't tell you the whole story, but there was something that was taking place, and there was actually going to be an overthrow of the Assemblies of God in India in that General Counsel. I had no clue of what was going on at that juncture. As we spoke the Word of God and brought the message that God had given us, He turned the enemies against themselves and thwarted that that was in the arm of the flesh. And that that seemed inevitable, nobody could stop, they stood in awe of the power of God and what the presence of God did in their midst as we spoke toward these men directly and their satanic motives and God brought them down. The men that stood by, the leaders of that nation, were humbled and fell broken before God and said, "We've been trusting in the arm of the flesh. We were so fearful, we saw no political way to stop it, and God came into our midst and delivered us!" Oh that we could return to the old paths! It was for the glory of God!

As you stand on the mountain, verse 19, and the 850 false prophets show themselves, the prophets of the groves, those that did eat at Jezebel's table, the Scripture says, came and were in opposition to the man of God. There's real power there; there's supernatural power. I want you to know, we've wrestled against these demons many times, and the power is real, their destruction is real, and only one thing can thwart their power and that's the visitation of God. And so Elijah comes, verse 21, and says, "How long halt ye between two opinions?"

So the question to you and I this morning is this: how long are we going to halt between two opinions? Are we going to come to believing in the power of prayer, the purpose of God, the provision of God, the glory of God, or are we going to continue in our religion, to trust in the arm of the flesh, and put God's name to it? Are we going to continue to trust in our own abilities and say, "It's God who is my provider," or are we going to allow the Spirit of God to order our steps whether it be to the Brook Cherith or the widow of Zarephath?

Religion has it's own power. There are demons of religion that will somehow do that that's spectacular, and yet the emphasis is always for man and not God. When you move in the power of God and He gets all of the glory, there are some interesting things. A couple of biblical encounters that are cool that will help you understand what I'm talking about. You all remember Dagon. This was a god that was given great credibility, but when the presence of God came into Dagon's midst and the priests rose up the next morning to go into their temple, they found Dagon on his face, didn't they? Now it's interesting what man does. Here's the presence of God, the power of God. The god of the world's system, the god of the occult, is on its face. I love that picture don't you? The priests come in there in the morning, man, "Let's go. We've captured God." We've overcome the living God, we've overcome the God of Israel; we've taken the Ark of the Covenant; and now we put it into the temple so that Dagon can stand and show himself victorious. And they come in the next morning and there is their god, bowing down. So what does man do? Bow down? Props their god back up.

How many times have you propped up the god of self and trusted in the arm of the flesh and trusting in man's means--your job, your abilities, the government, or whatever else it might be? So we prop the god back up, and you come back the next time and there he is--head and hands broken off over the threshold. So man then falls down before the living God and worships Him! No, he says, "We've got to get this out of our presence." Now many times we're not capable of moving the presence of God, so what do we do? We just leave the presence and go somewhere else. You can find a lot of churches without the presence and be comfortable. You can find a lot of relationships without the presence and still have religion attached to it, but the presence of God demands the death of every other god. All the idols got to come down, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

If we're going to pray effectually, if we're going to be able to come into His presence with confidence and boldness, then there can be no other source that's being given any credibility in our lives. How long are you going to halt between two opinions? "If the Lord be God, follow him." How long are you going to trust the arm of the flesh? "If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him." And the people just kind of looked at him like, man, what are we going to say? It says they didn't say a word. Who are you going to follow? Are you going to follow Jehovah or Baal? No answer.

"Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men." The priests 400 - 850. "Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves." We'll use your bullocks, and you can have the first choice. You dress it and make your offering. "And call ye on the name of your gods, [verse 24] and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God." Now we've all come to understand that this god that they worshipped was the god of fire, and they've got home field advantage--it's their bullock, their god of fire.

It's obvious, as we're going to see in one of the other illustrations, probably this evening now, that these gods on many occasions lent great power to those that they possessed, whether it be the Gadarene demoniac or Simon the sorcerer. There are those that can divine and speak into your life. There are those that are able to counterfeit words of wisdom and words of knowledge and working of miracles, signs and wonders, and they gather to themselves, just like Simon--and this is how you begin to see the difference. They gather to themselves, and they themselves are perceived as some great being. But beloved, when it's God that's answering prayer, His disciples, His prophets step back and say, Why look on me as though by my own power or by my own righteousness I've done this thing? You need to understand that it's in the name of Jesus whom you killed, whom God has raised from the dead that this man stands here before you whole. Answered prayer is for the glory of God. It's for the glory of God!

How long are you going to halt between two opinions? Let the god that answers by fire be God. Now we know the story. I wasn't going to go through it in detail, but since we don't have the time to go on to the next point, let me just point out a couple of other things here. It's interesting that as believers we never have to fear that somehow that which we're opposing in the name of Jesus...that which we're decreeing about our God who does exceeding abundant above anything we can ask or even think, the God that we stand before the world and say, "Hey, nothing is impossible with God. All things are possible to he that believeth. What things soever I desire when I pray, if I believe that I receive them, I shall have them. I can ask anything of the Father in His name, and He'll do it. Praise God! It's the effectual fervent prayer of righteous men that does avails much." We declare the boldness that we have to access the throne of God and His promises to answer and His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. And we make that decree before men, and they're going to want to watch our lives. Don't be afraid of what their gods might produce. In many of these showdowns, a lot of times the Lord won't even let them manifest.

In this instance, not even a spark, man. These guys are there and they are doing their thing, and like so many of the pagan worship, they begin to dance and beat themselves and cut themselves and call on their god, verse 26, clear till noon. "O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar..." They're boogying around, dancing and beating drums and beating themselves. "And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud..." Cry louder! Maybe he's talking--he's on the phone; Baal has a cell phone. He's pursuing; he's in a journey; maybe he's asleep. Cry louder; wake him up!

Isn't that what people think about God? Their gods? Do you approach your God that way, or do you understand that before you call He knows what you have need of--it's your Father's good pleasure. Ask and you receive, seek and you find, knock and it's opened unto you. What's your God like this morning when you pray? Is he on a journey, is he pursuing, is he asleep? Maybe he's talking to someone else. Aren't you glad this morning that God doesn't have just one line! "Dear Lord, busy again. Every time I call God--busy signal. Who is that whose always got Him tied up?" People see God that way: "God's too busy to answer my prayer." "God's so far away, He's on a journey." "You know, every time I pray I think God's asleep. I never seem to get through." I tell you what: if you've got faith in the blood of Jesus, you've already got bold access. If you believe that the work is finished in Jesus, we have confidence. If you're not trying to set forth your own agenda, then 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, then whatsoever we ask, we know that He's going to provide the petitions that we've desired of Him.

The prophet's mocking them, and they cried louder and cut themselves. The blood gushed out upon them. Midday has passed, they prophesied until the time of the evening sacrifice--that time of worship and praise to God--and they wore themselves out. "...that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded" verse 29 says. "And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him." They had built one of their special altars, super duper high flame, heat-intense altars. And here's a secret beloved, verse 30, "And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down." You see, many of our lives--our altars--are fallen down. Our prayer lives have collapsed. Our ability to simply believe God and trust in the power and the authority of the name of Jesus and the Word of God--that altar is in need of repair this morning. We used to be so quick to pray, and now prayer is just part of our arsenal. How long halt you between two opinions?

Elijah the prophet then repairs this altar. He took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes--the twelve apostles, twelve being a number of foundation--and realized that prayer was foundational to success. Men ought always to pray and not to faint...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...pray without ceasing...and when you pray, pray after this manner. It's foundational. They lay the stones, "And with the stones [verse 32] he built an altar in the name of the Lord." If you ask anything in My name, I will do it...a cup of cold water in My name. It's all about Him, beloved. It's all about God receiving the glory.

That's why it's really kind of sad to see so many Christians as they go--many times you see it at ball games and football games or sometimes at the races we'll be out there and you'll hear it. They'll have this prayer and they'll pray, and as they get ready to finish their prayer, it will be "in the name of the Lord," or, "in His name." I've never heard anyone yet say, "in the name of Jesus." That name has power. It divides asunder all of the other gods from the one true God; there is only one name given under heaven whereby men can be saved. It's not that the prayer of the name of Jesus is magic; it's that it's exclusive. We're identifying the God in whom we're trusting. We're saying there's no other name--there's no other name! By His name this man stands here whole! Oh beloved, while you're out sharing the gospel in the workplace this week, let it be known very clearly what name we believe in and pray in. There are a lot of lords.

So they built it in the name of the Lord and then they removed--and this is important for us, not only for those who are viewing. I think maybe I've missed it a few times over the years. I really do. I think I've missed it on a few occasions, but I think I've been fairly accurate in most when I've had them bring four barrels of water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and then have it done a second time and a third time. I think maybe I have missed it in trying to make things too difficult at times, but beloved, when we pray, we need to take the question out of anybody's mind that this is anything other than supernatural. There needs to be the removal of anything that might be a hoax. When they built that altar, he put a little detonation device under there. Yeah, he had that quick-burn cow. Let's take it out of everybody's thoughts, including your own, when the accuser of the brethren would come and try to bring doubt into your mind later on. Take all the doubt away and douse it a third time.

"And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, [that this great prayer is offered up] that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God..." Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, amen. It's about God receiving His glory. Why is Lazarus sick? For the glory of God. Why are you experiencing trials this morning and tribulations? For the glory of God. Are you going to make it known to those around you that God is your source? Are you going to make it known in the midst of whatever it is that you're involved in right now that you're not leaning to the arm of the flesh, but you're looking to God, and you're not halting between two opinions, but you've already made that determination of who your deliverer is and in what name you're going to trust?

"...let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again." Get that, beloved. God shows Himself mighty in our midst that the people could know that God's wanting to draw them back--this is the living God. And then we stand there and say, "Yeah, and He loves you and He's not willing that you would perish. He's here to turn your heart back again. He's here seeking to save those that are lost. He's not an impersonal God, He's not on a journey, and He's not asleep--He's present. If you reject Him, you'll stand before Him one of these days--you will give an account. But you need to understand that you can't any longer remain neutral. Choose this day who you're going to serve."

Father, we thank you for the Word of God. We ask that as we continue our study tonight that you would speak clearly to our hearts. This afternoon, read II Kings 19 and prepare yourself for the teaching tonight--II Kings 19. And Father, as we study that, make it real to us. We're going to hammer along these lines again tonight. I'd rather spend time in overkill than for you to miss it. Are you going into His presence seeking His glory? Are you praying consistent with the answer to your prayer being the glory of God? That when the answer comes it's not about you being healed or eating a meal from the barrel, but it's the evidence of the living God wanting to turn the hearts of men back to Him again. He answers our prayer to show Himself mighty in men that He might reconcile a people back to Himself. That He would be seen as great and known greatly to be praised. Father, make it real to us we ask, in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand this morning.

Answered prayer is one of the great vehicles of evangelism. People are watching our lives. They're saying, "Why are you different?" You say, "Because I have a God that I trust in. He's the reason I live. You see, I don't worship the gods that you do, and I don't have the same treasures you do, and I don't have the same supplier you do. I'm perfectly content where God has put me and the course that He's chosen for my life. I don't know better than my God." And they can't identify. And you tell them, "Look, I'm no different than you are. I have the same appetites and the same thoughts and tendencies. I just choose to crucify them daily and to reckon them dead and my life alive in Christ. But you're going to have to choose. You can't remain double-minded; you're unstable in all of your ways. If God be God, then trust Him, glorify Him, obey Him, and keep His commandments."

Let's sing this together as we worship the Lord. If Danny and Collette will get Noelle, we're going to just pray with them this morning also and rejoice in the goodness of the Lord and the heritage of the children that have been given to us. Another new one this week, I think another Caleb in our midst. Let's sing it together. "I will come and bow down..." As the brethren come, we're going to pray. Just sing it again and worship Him.

Even at these times we can pray, and we can say, "Lord, bless the child and bless the family, and make them experience prosperity and peace," and we desire all of those things for this household. But it's not just for their ease; it's for the glory of God. It's that it would be very obvious to those around us that our trust is in the supernatural, it's not in the perceived. It's in that realm of the Spirit that the natural mind cannot comprehend. We walk as a peculiar people, separate, holy; and that's how we raise this next generation.

As we pray, beloved, we commit ourselves to raising up a generation that knows nothing but trusting God. We're coming into a time when I've talked so much about our affluence and medical science and all of the advances in medicine and all of these things that want to rob our simple trust in the power of prayer. We have retirement accounts, we have health insurance, and there's a time and a place for that, but not to rob from God. You can't let it rob the glory of God. We can't raise a generation that would trust in that and not in prayer and not in the name of Jesus and not in the promises of God's Word.

Oh, Father, make us jealous for Your Word and Your presence that we might leave that inheritance to our children. If we don't leave them that--we can leave them millions and we can leave them technology--if we don't leave them that, we've failed. Oh Father, make it real in the name, in the name of Jesus.

Let's pray for the family in the presence of God. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Father, we do delight in You. As we speak with Danny and Collette now and this little precious Noelle, Father, we speak upon them the peace of the name of Jesus. Father, the anointing of God to come and to bring that comfort and that joy and that strength. So, Father, we come and offer back that that You've given us. We thank You now that that blessing of the Lord will come upon this house and You'll make them rich and add no sorrow, Father, because You are the source. Father, cause us to leave our children the greatest heritage of all: the ability to trust in your name--a godly seed. And for that we just want to say, thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Praise God. Aw, she's getting her work out this morning. Okay, let me show you this little Noelle. Leave that baby alone; I got her. There you go. It's a miniature Danny. Hey! I know Collette's in there somewhere. What a blessing, amen? Father, we do thank You and ask again for the ability to rest and to come to You as a little child that you might be glorified, and for that, Father, we say thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.

Yeah, that light's not any fun is it? Praise God. Before you go, be sure to come up and see this precious bundle. Greet one another in the name of the Lord. Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "In His name."

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