"Sound Doctrine: Prayer and Fasting" By Jesse Rairdon July 19th,
2015
Please
remain standing while Scott
comes to lead us in prayer for the message. Amen. Please be seated. Sound Doctrine. How many are enjoying this
series of Sound
Doctrine this month? Amen,
I tell you
what, there’s nothing like Sound Doctrine.
Kind of keeps us on the right path.
I came to this ministry because of Sound Doctrine. God drew me to it, but I
came to it because I
was hearing what I wasn’t hearing everywhere else; I was hearing the
Truth. I stayed
because I’m hearing the
Truth: Sound
Doctrine. Our
Scripture theme: Titus 2:1
But
speak thou the things which become sound
doctrine: The
first week, Parish covered,
his three points were: “Our
Godly
Heritage,” and he went to Psalms 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose
God is the
LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” His second point was,
”God’s Word Is a More
Sure Foundation.” And
his third point
was, “God Doesn’t Change.” Last
week Chris talked about three
points. He talked
about “Holiness;” he
said holiness without charity is just religiousness.
He talked about “Gods Laws Are Not Man’s
Laws,” and, even though sometimes our laws in our country gives us
certain
rights and privileges, that doesn’t mean that it rides off of God’s
laws, and
we’ve got to heed to God’s laws first and foremost, amen? His third pint was, “Without
Holiness, No Man
Shall See God.” So,
this week, we’re going to talk
a few things about prayer and fasting.
Now, this is not the end-all for prayer and fasting. You could cover this
topic, probably, for a
whole month in itself. Probably
for your
whole life, and never learn everything you need to.
Normally I cover three or four points, and
kind of build up those points, but there was just so many as I was
going
through this, I’d probably have to give you about twelve points, but I
didn’t
write them all down, so, we’re just going to go, and take it as we go. Amen? So,
the two main thoughts are: 1.
A
few things about prayer 2.
A
few things about fasting This
is not an easy topic for me; in
one area, I think I fall the shortest in; especially the fasting part. I like to eat.
Some people live to eat, and some people eat to live. I think I live to eat. But, I’ve found through
praying and studying
and seeking God on this, and I’ve had more fasting time, my prayer life
has
improved tremendously, tremendously.
And
God has shown me things about myself, about my own nature, and my own
flesh,
that I could do without in my life.
Amen? 1.
How Should We Pray? This
is Jesus speaking, so, it’s
important that we take note of that.
If
you have a Bible that has His words in red, these words will be in red: Matthew 6: 5-6 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be
as the hypocrites
are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the
streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their
reward. But thou,
when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy
Father
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee
openly. Prayer,
your personal prayer, is
between you and God. You
don’t need
anyone else’s attention but God’s.
If
you want to appear to be religious, then that’s what you will be, to
everybody
else and that is your reward, is you will just be religious. But, if you do it in secret,
God, who sees in
secret, will reward you openly, and then you’ll be fatter, Amen? Matthew 6:7-8 But when ye
pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like
unto them: for your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. Keep
it short and to the point with
God. Don’t use a
bunch of filler. He
knows He’s God, He knows He’s the father;
you don’t have to fill it with a bunch of Father Gods. He knows who He
is. Sometimes
people will spend five minutes
praying, but only send one word in that prayer.
Pray to the point with God.
He
knows what you need; make your list and pray, “God, these are my
needs.”
Amen? When you went
to your dad for
something, did you always say, “Dad, dad, dad, dad,” or, ”Dad, I need
the keys
to the car.” He
knows who He is. A
bunch of words doesn’t impress God.
Keep it simple.
Amen? Matthew 6:9
After
this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed
be thy
name. So
here is that part about
acknowledging God and who He is. Scott
talked about it when he was talking about the God of the universe, the
creator
of Heaven and earth. He
spoke light into
existence; He breathed life into everything.
That God. That’s
who we’re
acknowledging. When
you come to God,
remember who you’re talking to.
Amen? He
is God; we are not. He
is higher than us; we are on the earth, He is in Heaven. Reverence His name, honor
His name, know His
name. By using His
name, Jesus, we
understand who has that power. All
power
has come in the name of Jesus. Amen? Matthew 6:10
Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. This
is commonly misspoken as “on
earth,” but this is, “in earth.” It’s
“in earth” for a reason; we are earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7);
“God, let
Your will be done in me, as it is
in
Heaven. I want Your
spirit in me, in my
life, as it is in Heaven.” So,
this is where
you seek ye first the kingdom of God in your prayer.
“God, what is Your will?
What would You have me to do in my life
today? Where would
You have me to
go? Who would You
have me to talk
to? How would You
have me to pray?” A
big part of this requires listening, too.
Stop and listen to the still, small voice of
God. He wants to be
heard. As a young
Christian, we might not understand
that that’s God, at first. You
might be
like, “What was that? Was
that just a
thought? Hmmm.” God’s trying to speak to
you. And the longer
you walk along, and walk with
God, the more you understand and hear His voice.
He said, “My sheep follow me, and they hear My
voice, and they know My voice, and a stranger they will not follow.”
(John
10:1-5) God, I want
Your will to be done
in my life, not mine. Jesus
prayed, even
in the Garden, He said, “Lord, I’d like this cup to pass, nevertheless,
not My
will, but Thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:39) Matthew 6:11
Give
us this day our daily bread. Give
me today Lord, what I need to
sustain me spiritually this day. Notice he didn’t say, “Lord, Give me
today, so
it will last the rest of the week.”
If
all you’re getting from God is what you’re getting
today--Sunday’s—you’re
cheating yourself. Just
like when the
children of Israel were in the wilderness, God gave them manna every
day, just
enough for that day. Not
for the next
day; just enough for that day. Your
personal prayer and study time should be every day. There
are things you will face that day, that
you will need the strength to get through, that day.
Remember when you were first saved, how you
couldn’t pull yourself from the Scriptures?
TV wasn’t even a factor.
I think
for the first few years, I didn’t watch hardly any TV at all. I didn’t go see any
movies; I had nothing but
just, “Get into the Word.” Every
minute,
I was into the Word. Anytime
you’d see
me, I had a little pocket Bible, I was into that I can hardly read the
words of
that, they’re so little, but I was into the Word.
That’s the foundation that’s lasted until
this day. Greg
texted this morning about a
child that had asked him this week, that he may as well read the Bible,
because
it’s the only thing in this world that really makes it ?accurate?10:12?. I really appreciate that,
Greg. I was
thinking about that because, if you
read the Bible every day—and I hope our youth don’t leave that; I hope
they
take that and see that true happiness comes from God.
It’s not a bunch of do’s and don’ts just so
we can make us unhappy, this is what Scott was sharing about, it’s
about how
God can give us true happiness and joy.
That’s real happiness.
Real
fruits of the spirit. Amen? Matthew 6:12
And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. This
is not always the easy one,
right? But it’s in
there for
importance. Forgiveness
is necessary;
not only do I need to be forgiven I need to forgive others. Jesus said, “Forgive me,
as I forgive
others.” Sometimes
we leave that second
part out. Try not
to forget what the
day-to-day say the wrong thing voice is for.
When we didn’t return a phone call or a text as
timely as we
thought. So, now,
that seed of
bitterness is starting to creep up. We’ve
got to take care of that before God’s going to accept anything from you. And me.
I’m in this boat, too.
Trust me,
I’ve found that a grudge was a heavy thing to carry.
A heavy thing to carry.
Amen?
That’s how it works with God. We
are not going to be forgiven, unless we forgive. You
can do all the things right, and get up to
Heaven, and not forgive one person, and we can be totally wrong, miss
the
boat. Amen? Matthew 6:13
And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. When
I used to smoke, that used to
be a strong grip on me. When
I came to
the church, I remember it well, it was February first, 1996. It as the little church in
Norfolk—a
store-front church. Not
much bigger than
the size of this congregation at the time.
Pastor Thomas as preaching, and people were
worshipping, and this was
new to me; there was a lot of joy and happiness.
Next morning, I woke up; I’m in my barracks
room. I haven’t
been saved, or asked God
to save me, I walked over to my friends room—back then you could smoke
in the
barracks—and I lit up a cigarette. And
a
voice said, “You don’t need that anymore.”
I heeded that, so I put that out.
I was leaving my friend’s room, and my friend said,
“Where are you going?”
I said, “I
don’t need this anymore,” and
I walked out. That
was God speaking to
me, telling me I did not need cigarettes anymore.
Whatever temptation it is, or whatever
yielding you’re dealing with, you do not need it anymore. If you really want
deliverance, you can get
deliverance, but you’ve got to seek God to get deliverance from it. Amen?
Maybe yours is laziness.
Maybe
it’s lust. Maybe
it’s arrogance. Maybe
it’s pride. Maybe
it’s jealousy. Whatever
it is you need deliverance from, get
deliverance from it. I
don’t need that
any more. I don’t
need that sin any more. Paul
said, “I will not be brought under the
power of anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12)
Whatever it is that’s holding you, and keeping you
from doing what,
truly, God wants you to do, you can be delivered, by seeking God for it. You have to have that in
your prayer. Sometimes
a baby may like that
certain toy or that certain blanket. Like
our daughter, she has these certain
things that she just needs to fall asleep with.
Call it little lovie, or whatever.
If I’m watching the baby, if I’m putting the baby to
sleep that night,
if I don’t have that thing, I’m in trouble.
That baby’s going to scream, get mad at me, look
around for that
thing. Sometimes we
treat sin like that;
we’ve got to have that. Whatever
that
little part is, “This makes me comfortable; this makes me happy,” you
know? You’ve got to
get rid of
that. You can’t
have that. Amen? Whatever it is that you keep
allowing yourself
to be tempted with, allow God to deliver you. And then remind the devil
that
you don’t need that anymore. Verse
number fourteen… Now, He
already said, “Amen,” but He goes on to make a point about forgiveness. So,
you have to forgive. And
just in case you didn’t get that point earlier,
Jesus breaks it down again. Forgiveness
is important; it’s essential. Ask, Seek And Knock. Now,
Parrish didn’t know that I
was going to do this; I’m going to ask him to come up and share the
testimony
that he shared Friday night, about asking.
Sorry to put you on the spot, brother, but I felt it
was important to share
this point about when we ask. Give
the
Lord a praise. 1.
to
seek in order to find 1.
to seek
a thing 2.
to seek
[in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire
into 3.
to seek
after, seek for, aim at, strive after 2.
to
seek i.e. require, demand 1.
to
crave, demand something from someone So,
that’s a little different than
just asking. You’re
going a little bit
further; you’re putting a little more effort into your prayers. You’re seeking. If I lose my keys, I’m not
just going to ask
for them; I’m going to diligently look around for them, because I’ve
got to get
to work on time. If
I’m late, I’m going
to be docked some pay. Amen? So, what does it mean to
truly seek? Seeking
is different than asking. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please
him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is
a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Seeking
requires diligence. Knocking Once
you see God's promise in
clear view, you no longer have to ask or seek.
Then comes the knocking part.
“Hello?” Keep
knocking until the
door opens. If you
already know that God
has it for you, if you know He has that particular job for you, if you
know He
has that thing for you in your life, keep knocking.
“I’m back, God; I’m back.” If
you’re seeking a new job and you know in
your Spirit that it’s a perfect match. Knock
and knock again, and God will open the
door. Revelation
3:8 says that He opens
doors that no man can close. He’ll
let
you know if it’s for you. Jesus
wants to open the door. Scripture
even reminds us that Jesus is the
Door. He said, “I
am the door. If you
try to come up some other way, you’re a
thief and a robber.” (John 10:1-9)
You’ve got to go through Jesus, if you call yourself
a Christian. Luke
chapter eighteen, verses one
through eight. This
is another parable
that Jesus spoke. Luke 18:1
And he
spake a parable unto them to this
end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; That’s
a good point, there. Always
pray, and not faint. Luke 18:2
Saying,
There was in
a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: So,
this person didn’t care what
God thought, and he didn’t care what anybody else thought, this judge. So,
knocking requires faith. You
don’t know what’s on the other side of
that door. You know
God’s got something
for you, but you don’t know exactly, so you’ve got to knock. Amen? 2.
A Few Things about Fasting. Not
everybody’s favorite subject,
but this is the quick stop, you can read more, as well.
Amen? Isaiah 58: 3
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and
thou seest not? … So,
these people are fasting, and
they say, “God, You don’t see us.” Isaiah 58: 3
…wherefore
have we afflicted our soul, and
thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find
pleasure, and
exact all your labours. You
take a break; you go up on a
mountaintop. You
meditate. Fasts
aren’t like that. You’ve
got to get up and go to work; live
your life in front of everybody, and appear not to fast. Amen? Isaiah 58: 4
Behold,
ye fast for strife and debate, and
to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this
day, to
make your voice to be heard on high. Fasting
is not to prove whether
you’re right or wrong, or whether somebody else is right or wrong. It’s not for debating;
it’s not for hitting
the Bible on somebody’s head. Fasting
is
not for this. God’s
not going to hear
you. Isaiah 58:5
Is it
such a fast that I have chosen? a day
for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush,
and to
spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and
an
acceptable day to the LORD? In
verse number six, He brings it
into what is acceptable. Now,
let’s talk about the results. Isaiah 58:8
Then
shall thy light break forth as the
morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy
righteousness
shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Isaiah 58:9
Then
shalt thou call, and the LORD shall
answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away
from the
midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking
vanity; Verse
number ten; this is key: Isaiah 58:10
And if
thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and thy
darkness be as the noonday: There’s
a lot of examples of
fasting and praying in the Bible.
Take
some time to go over that on your own.
Esther’s a good one; where the Children of Israel
needed deliverance,
and they were all going to be wiped out.
Esther said, “Fast.
Proclaim a
fast. I and my
maids will fast
also.” Nd God
delivered them. Isaiah 58:11
And the LORD shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones:
and thou
shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose
waters fail
not. Do
you always feel like you’re
running out of the spiritual things?
Fast, and it will get you on track, and keep you
there. I
wasn’t going to go to this; I
was going to ask you to read this, but I think it’s important that we
kind of
go over what Jesus said. This
doesn’t
mention fasting, but it talks about what’s in Isaiah fifty-eight, too. This is in Matthew
twenty-five—Parrish did
mention this when we were praying for our sister, visiting the sick. Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall
he sit
upon the throne of his glory: And
before
him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats:
And
he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say
unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you
from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me
meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye
clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave
thee
drink? When saw we
thee a stranger, and
took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or
in
prison, and came unto thee? And
the King
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an
hungred,
and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me not in:
naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me
not. Then shall
they also answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked,
or
sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these,
ye did it
not to me. And
these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
God
desires to use you, fully, all the time.
We allow God to use us.
A big
part of that is our sacrifice of our fasting, our time spent with God,
our time
when we’re in fellowship with one another, but, to really, truly feed
the
hungry, to clothe the naked, to do the things that God wants us to do
when we
turn our backs on sin… See,
most of the
time, the righteous didn’t even know they were doing it, when they did
all
this. It’s like it
was all just done
naturally; it was part of what they were always just doing. They were always visiting
the sick, they were
always calling, and praying with their brothers and sisters, and
sharing the
Scriptures, and encouraging each other; they were always doing those
things. The same
answer for those who
were not; “When did we…?” When
you did
it not to the least of these, My brethren.
So, let prayer and fasting take it to the next level
in your life. Be
encouraged to do this daily. Seek
God for how it fits in your life, and
how He can move in your life and allow you to be the minister, the son
or
daughter that He’s called you to be.
Amen? Give
the Lord a praise.
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