“Lord,
Teach Us to Pray” by Bob Heirtzler June 24th,
2018
Amen, amen, amen! What a beautiful—You can be seated. What a
beautiful spirit
we have here, today. And, yes, we're missing a few things. But, you
know what?
God’s still the same. God is still here with us. You know? And, I like
what he
said that, even though we got no words on the wall, we sing from our
heart, and
you know, we might forget this and that, but that's okay. You know?
Because I'm
not Brother Parrish, and I'm not Brother Andy; I'm Bob. Plain old Bob.
And, if
you spell it backwards, it's Bob. And, if it's upside down, it's Bob.
And, if
it's backwards, upside down, it's Bob. Plain old Bob. You know? I was
named
after my dad; his name is Bob. You know? So I'm thankful to be here.
And, I
don't plan on being long. I plan on—I've been praying that God, “Please show me what to
share. Please
show me what to say. Now, I don't want to go on what I want to say, and
what I
want to do.” I want God to move today, in the midst of us. And, I don't
see any
visitors, so we're all family here. You know? And, I'm thankful for
that. Any
visitors walk in, that would be great. You know? I'm glad we had one
sister
came back, Jailed; I'm glad to see her here. Not sure where she's at,
but I'm
glad she's here. Most likely, she's in class. But, I'm thankful for
that. So,
we know that the Scripture theme of the month is in Mark, nine,
thirty-three through
thirty-four: Mark 9:33-34 And he came to Capernaum: and
being in the house he asked them, What was
it that ye
disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their
peace: for by
the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And, I remember my sister and I would be talking nonsense in
the
backseat of the car, and my dad would ask the question, “What are you guys talking
about?” “Nothing.” Same old same
old. “Nothing.” Or, we'd be out in the yard talking, and Mom would ask, “What are you guys talking
about?” “Nothing.”
“Sure making a lot of noise for nothing, out there.” You know? Because,
we
didn't want to repeat what we were saying to Mom and Dad. And, even
though
Jesus knew what they were saying, and I'm pretty sure my parents knew
what we
were saying, you know? But, who is the greatest among them? And, we
know the
theme of this month is about the questions asked from the disciples.
And, today's
sermon is, “Lord, Teach
Us How to
Pray.” but, first, I want to share a story, how my mom taught me how to
pray.
Back in the early sixties, I lived in Stafford Springs, Connecticut,
which was
across the girl scout pond at Sweetheart Lake. And, we lived in a house
that
was light tan, and the other house across the way was red; so, we lived
in both
houses. But, I remember, two or three years old, mom would come into
the room
at night, and sit down on the bed, and we would pray. We would pray for
our
grandparents, We would pray for our cousins, We would pray for our
uncle, We
would pray for Mom and Dad, we pray for forgiveness, safe sleep through
the
night, we pray to wake up in the morning. And, we just prayed every
night, to a
point that, a couple of years past, that I was leading those prayers
while my
mom was sitting there. To a point where I was in a kneeling position at
that
time, praying, and, I recall, God quickly reminded me, two things that
happened
during that time that I really believe that God protected me because of
those
prayers. Is I fell through the ice at a pond out of sight of the house.
So, my
mom did not know, or my dad did not know where I was at, but I fell
through the
pond of ice. And, I was so thankful, of course, I'm standing here, I
had to
find the hole to get back out, and I rushed home, and my mom had mixed
emotions. She was scared, she was afraid, she was thankful, she was in
tears,
but we prayed that I was okay. So, I was thankful for that prayer and
the other
time, I decided to drag home a poisonous snake by its tail. And, I
remember,
dragging the snake, and I was happy to show my dad, “Dad, look what I got!
Look what I got!” And, my dad did a
dance that I had never seen before in my life. He was at home; he
recognized
that it was a poisonous snake. But, I didn't know. He said, “Why don't you toss that
over there,
and get in the house and get cleaned up.” You know? And, after that, I
don't
know where the snake went after that, but my dad took care of the snake
after
that. It was a coral snake. We had a lot of them in that area. My dad
actually
took a photo of it, brought it to DNR; I don't know what they were
called back
there in Connecticut at the time, Ken, but it was like the same—it was
like
Forest Rangers. But, my dad took a picture of the waterfall by the
Sweetheart
Lake where the Girl Scouts were at, and they spotted a huge nest of
coral
snakes so they shut the pond it down. You know? And, I thought I did
something
wrong that day, because I ran down there,
“What are you doing, Dad?” “Get home!” So, I did the natural
thing, I
went home, went to my room, and waited. You know? I saw my dad with
shotguns,
and camera—the instamatic, you know, one of those type? And, then, I
hear Bam!
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! You know? And, all the snakes were gone, but, you
know
what? They took the picture—back then we didn't have camera phones, of
course,
this was the 60s—but, they put the picture on the wall and the forest
ranger
spotted the ones that my dad shot, but,
“Did you get these over here?” that my dad didn't see. So that
picture
pulled in a lot more poisonous snakes. It's just that I was thankful
that
because of those prayers, I strongly believe that God protected me, and
protected
our family. And, of course, within a few short months we moved out of
that area
to another area of Connecticut. It was just because, us kids would just
grab
anything and drag it home, you know? And, play with it, you know? So I
was very
thankful for that. So, but, even yesterday, I was driving on Wadsworth Road, I
was
approaching 41 intersection, you know how you just passed Dilley, and
you go up
and down a hill, to the stop sign, I was not near the light, I was
maybe twenty
cars back. And, I was sitting there, and I seen this van come over the
hill,
fast. I said, “Well,
I'm about to
get hit. He doesn't see me. He's not paying attention to the road.” So,
okay, I
just turned into the—instantly turned the car into the embankment,
hoping that
he’d bounce off me, and not plow me into the car in front of me. So,
I'm there,
and my eyes are closed, “Well,
here we go. You know?” And, I hear (Bob makes the sound of brakes
squealing) I
open my eyes; he's next to me. No one got hit. I was thankful. We waved
to each
other. We were like, “You
okay?” “Yeah,
we're okay.” I was thanking God that that didn't happen, too. It's the
prayers
that we pray, protects us on the road. You know? All the time. You went
down a
one-way street, the wrong way. I've done that too. I wondered, “Where's all the stop
signs?” You know?
But, I'm thankful. So, the Scripture thought for today is going to be in Luke,
eleven, one
through four. Luke, eleven, one through four: Luke 11:1-4 And it came to pass, that, as
he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples
said
unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
And he
said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our
Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as
in
heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us
our
sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us
not
into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And, I want, Brother Greg, if you could say a prayer, please. Greg: Gracious,
heavenly Father. Father, we come to you right now, Lord. In
the hour where Bob is going to bring the message, Lord God, your
message,
Father. Father, we ask that You open our hearts to receive from You,
Lord.
Lord, I know from experience that this is a time when a lot of
distractions
like to come up, and we miss what's said, or miss something. Lord, let
that not
be so today, Lord God. Let us pay close attention to what You have for
us
today, Lord, as we're taught to pray, Lord, teach us. Let us not leave
this
place the same way we came. And, we thank You for this in the name of
Jesus
Christ, amen. Thanks, Brother Greg. This message has four points: 1.
“Why Could We
Not Cast Him Out?”
(Mark 9:14-29) 2.
“Letting Go”
(Philippians 3:4-14) 3.
“The Bonus
Prayer” (Acts 3 and 4) 4.
“Instructions
When We Pray”
(Matthew 6:1-15) Point
1: “Why Could We Not
Cast Him Out?” The disciples asked the question,
“Why could not we cast him out?” We see in the Scriptures, Mark,
chapter
nine, verses fourteen through twenty-nine. Mark 9:14-18 And when he came to his
disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes
questioning
with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were
greatly
amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the
multitude
answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath
a dumb
spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth,
and
gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples
that
they should cast him out; and they could not. They couldn’t do it. Sometimes, when we pray, maybe the
condition of
our heart is not what it should be, maybe our prayers are repetitions,
maybe
our prayers are not sincere, but, maybe, sometimes we don't know what
to pray
for, to make things happen. Because, he brought him to the disciples,
and they
couldn't do it. Were the disciples bad people? No, they're just human
like us.
As we continue to read the story: Mark 9:19-24 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with
you? how
long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought
him unto
him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell
on the
ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How
long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a
child. And ofttimes
it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him:
but if
thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said
unto
him, If thou canst believe, all things are
possible to
him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child
cried out,
and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. It just brings me back to prayer meetings we have here, that
we're in
tears when we're seeking things for God. “God, show us the way. We've
done
everything we possibly can. Show us the way, God. Increase our faith.
God, If
there's anything wrong in me, just remove it. God, if I need to repent
of
anything, please let me know so that I can move forward. Whatever the
obstacle that's
in the way, God, please move it out of the way.” You know? in verse
twenty-five: Mark 9:25-26 When Jesus saw that the people
came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out
of him,
and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him
sore, and
came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is
dead. Now, they think the man is dead. Since the spirit of God
moved upon
him, and the evil spirit left him, and he appears to be dead.
Sometimes—the
only direction this man has is up, right now. You know? And, you know
what the
next verse, verse twenty-seven, says? Mark 9:27
But Jesus took
him by the
hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. How many times in our lives, has God came along, and took us
by the
hand, and we arose? There's many examples in the Old Testament, where
Moses was
on his knees, praying, for the Children of Israel, and then God spoke,
and then
Moses stood up and shared what was mentioned to him. Sometimes, God
answers our
prayers, and sometimes the answer is no. And, sometimes the answer is, “You need that.” Sometimes
the answer
is, “Not now, you're
not ready.” Sometimes
the answer is, “Stay
faithful.” Sometimes
the answer is, “I got
this. Just
wait.” It's a faith walk for us. But, we do know that, “Teach us to pray.” When
we ask God to teach us to pray, it
seems like all hell will break loose, and everything will come against
us to
cause us not to pray. But, us Christians, turn around and start praying
even
more. You know? Think about it, in the battles that we went through, if
we were
in the world today, we would have threw in the towel a long time ago.
But, God
has given us the strength to keep going, and keep moving forward, in
prayer.
Amen? Amen. So, then it says, here, in verse twenty-eight: Mark 9:28-29 And when he was come into the
house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him
out? And he
said unto them, This kind can come forth by
nothing,
but by prayer and fasting. So, the lesson, here, that they were being taught, was, “Hey, I've got to do some
more prayer
and fasting to see God move.” Maybe just maybe the disciples were
hanging on to
Jesus's coattails for a long time and thought Jesus was going to do
everything,
but, Jesus was, in turn, teaching them, “Hey,
you've got to do this, too,“ Because they didn't know he was leaving in
a
couple of years. You know? It's going to be all on them. You know?
Teaching them
things that I was taught a long time ago, pray the before the storm
hits.
Because praying during the storm might be a little too late. But, pray
before
the storm hits. And, what's the storm? I don't know what the storm in
everyone's life here in this room, but, if we're always praying, and
praying
before the storm hits, we'll be ready when it does hit. You know? It
could be
anything from getting rear-ended in an accident or going down a one-way
street,
or, our job falls through, or a bill comes in unexpected, whatever that
is,
pray before the storm hits. Some of us have kids in school, and your
kids are
exposed to a lot of different nonsense out there in the schools. And,
you've
got to find out, basically, how their day is when they come home. You
know? To
change them, and if we teach them right—I’m saying, “we,” because I'm a Sunday
school teacher—when they get
older, they’ll know the right ways. Jennifer is going to college in
Massachusetts, which is a great state, I believe that's the state I was
born,
you know? And, it's got a great team, which I won't mention those. But,
she's
going out there, and her parents instilled in her the things of God, to
keep
her encouraged. Aaron, you went down to Florida. You were away from the
nest,
too. And, God kept you while you were down there, until you came back
here.
Keep in mind, that God has something for us. And, the other point,
here, I was
saying, sometimes our prayers don't seem like they go anywhere. They
just
bounce off the wall, come back down. But, God does hear them. He's
going to
answer, accordingly. Just be faithful. Bob, I prayed ten times for
this.” But,
we heard from this pulpit, Red shared, he prayed for something that he
was
fighting for decades, and God gave him the victory. What happened if he
threw
in the towel on the sixth year? Or the fifth year? Or the seventh year?
But, he
kept praying until he got the victory. And, he finally got the victory,
over,
like, eleven years, I think he was saying, over whatever he was dealing
with. And,
it seems like God doesn't hear us, either. But, God does hear us. He
does hear
us. You know? Sometimes, I pray for catch a fish. So I can brag about
it? Or,
do I really want to catch a fish? You know? I want to catch the largest
Northern
Pike, so that I can post it on my Facebook page, to win the bet that's
going on
at work. Who’s going to catch the largest northern pike this year?
God's kept
me humble this whole year so far. Everybody else is catching Northern
Pike, but
not Bob. You know? You know? And, God knows that I might get a big
head. He's just
keeping me humble. You know? Amen? Amen. I know it's a little warm in
here or
I'm warm. But, everybody doing okay? All right? I'm going to take a sip
of
water, is that okay? I really, really respect this podium. I'm really,
really
thankful that the leadership trust me to stand up here, today. You
know? I
don't take this lightly. At all. I really don't. You know? There's a
story in
the Old Testament, where someone was at the altar and had a rope tied
to them,
and they passed away at the altar, and people were afraid to go in at
and yank
him out, they yanked him out by the rope. Because he wasn't right with
God. So,
when I come up here, I want to make sure I'm right with God. Doing
these
things, you know? So, the next point, now, is, “Letting
Go.” Point 2: “Letting
Go” Another story. In the early 90s, I went and visited my dad.
I was about
30 years old, 32 years old at the time. He said, “I've got something to
show you.” so he jumped in the Jeep,
drove down, and he went into the woods. There's no road, just decided
to drive
in the woods, down to a creek, called Salmon Brook. One of our family
friends, Mr.
Rudy, passed away, but he was an excellent carpenter. And, he knew how
to build
homes, two sheds, the dog houses, Fords, to tree forts, to cabinets, to
dressers, to tables; he could do anything with wood. Very, very good.
And, keep
in mind, this was back in the ‘90s; he didn't have all the fancy tools
that
people have today. But, his trade was carpentry. He built this covered
bridge,
down there. Beautiful covered bridge. It just seems odd to be in the
middle of
the woods with this beautiful covered bridge when you can actually jump
across
the creek in the middle of summer. Not in spring, but in the summer.
So, we're
standing on this covered bridge, and my dad starts to share with me. He
says, “On this side of
the river, it's
coming at you, and on this side of the bridge the water's flowing away.
Isn't
that just like life? We’ve got things coming at us all the time, and,
this way,
we have things leaving us. So, we cast our cares in the water.” He says, “We've got to let things
go.” And, my
dad had no clue that I was dealing with a situation, because I was just
visiting him from here. And, he shared that with me, how God sent my
dad, to
let things go, especially my past; to let things go. You know, letting
go my
past. And, a lot of us understand letting go our past, because, when
you go to
Philippians chapter three, verses four through fourteen. Philippians,
three, four
through fourteen: Philippians 3:4-5
Though I might
also have
confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might
trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of
Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the
law, a
Pharisee; He was rattling off his credentials. I did this, this, this,
this,
this. You know? He says: Philippians 3:6
Concerning
zeal, persecuting
the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. He thought what he was doing was the right thing for God. He
was
persecuting Christians. He thought he was doing God a service. You
know? As we
keep going on: Philippians 3:7-8
But what things
were gain to
me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all
things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I
have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may
[what?] win Christ, Now, dung is what your dog leaves on your front yard, or
your
neighbor's yard, you know? That's what he compared all of his
knowledge, was
that. He let it all go. Why? Because in verse nine he said: Philippians 3:9-13
And be found in
him, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by [what?] faith: That I may know
him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain
unto the
resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either
were
already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for
which
also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to
have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, A lot of us come from different religious backgrounds. We
have to let
that go. A lot of us come from different ways of thinking, before we
met
Christ. We had to let that go. When we realize the word of God, we said, “Oh.” Some of us were
enlightened by
the Scriptures when we read it for the first time, how God just changed
us
overnight. Our verbiage changed; we didn't swear anymore. We didn’t
hang out
the same places as we hung out before. God gave us a new mind, a new
heart, a
new sight, we saw things we never saw before. We had to let go of the
past to
obtain all that. When we got baptized in Jesus name, and came out
clean, god wiped
away all our sins, to remember no more. That's what remission means, to
remember no more. He gave us a fresh start, a fresh slate. Now, what
happens
when we make mistakes today? We take it to God to forgive us, and,
then, move
forward. Satan will cause us to stay down. “Oh, you made that mistake!
You
can't do that no more! Ah, you messed up!” you tell Satan where he
belongs, and
move forward. Because Satan doesn't have us; we're not children of
Satan, we're
children of God. And, he's our King. You know? We're His servants. Make
sense?
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. Then, he says: Philippians 3 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. Everybody doing okay? I've never done a full service before,
in a long
time, I’m used to, usually, twenty minutes. You know? They said, “Nah, you’ve got to do at
least thirty.”
I said, “Oh, okay.” If
it's about
fishing, no problem. Point 3: “The
Bonus Prayer” But, let's go to Acts, chapter three and four. In the
beginning of
three, I'm just going to do an overview, so that you'll know why they
prayed
the way they prayed in Acts chapter four. It said, in the beginning of
Acts,
Peter and John are heading to the Temple. And, I need your help: So,
they're on
their way to the Temple, and what happens? What do they see when
they're at the
Temple? Mike: a lame man
sitting out there on the gate called beautiful. He put his hands out to receive something from Peter and
John, and
Peter and John said, “Silver
and
gold have I none, but such as I have, give I unto thee.” He said, “In the name of Jesus rise
up and
walk.” This lame man was instantly healed on the spot, he stretched his
legs,
and started leaping and praising God on the way to the Temple. He's
about forty
years old, so, I don't know how long he lay there at the Temple, but he
was forty
something years old. All right? Imagine all the people that walked by
him every
day, into the Temple, knew who he was. Now he's in the midst of them,
praising
God. it was a Facebook moment. Everybody would be snapping pictures and
posting
what they saw, today. Right? But, they didn't have Facebook back then.
They
spread the word quickly, even to the religious people of the Elders of
that
time. Of the other churches. Brought them into questioning. Let's go to
Acts,
chapter four, now. I think it's around the beginning, he asked, “By what power, or by what
name have
you done this?” (Acts 4:7) And, Peter answered him, “By the name of Jesus—God
did this act—the name of Jesus,
the One that you crucified.” (Acts 4:10) He put a jab in there. “Hey,
you're
the one that bumped him off.” You know? And, they were strictly told
not to
teach, or talk in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18). They were given
instructions.
Peter and John replied, “Is
it
best to listen to you, or listen to God? Judge ye. We can only talk
about what
we've seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20) So, the power of God was moving.
A miraculous
healing just happened. And, the man was standing in the midst of them,
whole, walking.
And, if you go down to Acts chapter twenty-three, it begins, verse
twenty-three.
What kind of prayer do you think they were going to be praying? You
know? Some people
think Christians are sissies. Right? We ain't got a backbone. We don't
know
nothing. You know? You're just one of those church people. I've heard
that a
lot in the years I've been here. But, you know what? When God is
faithful, and
I'm faithful to God, it's amazing how those people turn around later in
life and
ask for prayer. Because we're solid on the faith of God. Arman, you
were
working as extrusion or something at Ekko. We invited—fifty-something
people
came out from that place. Eleven of them got baptized in Jesus name.
And, here's
Arman, one of the eleven. Where's the rest? I don't know. They moved
on. But,
he was faithful. He noticed us, he heard about the church, he heard
about the
negativity of the church, which caused him to look closer. You know?
And, then God
dealt with him one day. It's amazing. Ken Avellino, I remember us
sitting over
on Belvidere, no, that was Eighth Street, just sharing, when he first
got
saved. And, how God has so many things for us. I remember meeting the
Shacklefords
through their son, who was in my classroom. You know? Sarge, I remember
when
you came in, you were excited and you got baptized. I know you're in
your
seventies. Just look twenty, but I know you're in your seventies. You
know?
Matthew, I remember you came in as a little guy. You were little one
time. Your
mom brought you. I remember Vince came, many years ago, as a Navy guy,
visiting.
And, the family here got bigger and bigger and bigger. Todd Bostwick, I
remember you coming out. Octavio, I know you're the perfect one. I
always tease
you about that. But, I remember people coming out. You know? Ann, I
remember
picking you up for church, with your son Steve, many, many moons ago.
How God
is built this family together. I remember, Virgie, when you came out,
because
Arman was super excited. You know? Ashley wants to be a—she's not here,
right?—she
wants the heart of Ruth. That's what she was saying one time. “I want
the heart
of Ruth, because I know God's got something for me to do.” Mike K, I
remember
you came out as a teenager, to discipleship groups, years ago. I
remember that.
You know? Jennifer, I remember when we went fishing for the first time,
and you
didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Spanish, but we caught fish.
We
understood that. But, the family of God is growing and growing. We see
it,
we're spreading it here. I remember the bonus prayer, here. It's just that, in Acts
chapter four,
verses twenty-three through forty-one: Acts 4:23-29 And being let go, they went to
their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders
had said
unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God
with one
accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and
earth, and
the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David
hast
said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The
kings
of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against
the Lord,
and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus,
whom thou
hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and
the
people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy
counsel determined before to be done. [Verse
29] And now, Lord, behold their threatenings:
and grant unto thy servants, [that we would be able to hide, as
quickly as
possible, in caves? No. That we’re going to throw in the towel and
quit? No.
We’re not going to do this no more? No. They asked for what?] that with all boldness they may speak thy
word, More boldness to speak the word. Acts 4:30-31 By stretching forth thine hand
to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy
child Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were
assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake
the word
of God with [what?] boldness. We know the story of Paul, went three times to Jesus, to ask
to remove
something out of his life, a thorn in his life. He was bold about it.
Did Paul
get his answer? Yes, the answer was, “No.
You need that to stay humble.” You know? I was sitting in a hospital,
Jim
Martin was in an induced coma, and I just saw them inject that medicine
the
keeps you in an induced coma. And, Yvette would stay through the night
with Jim
because she wanted people to stay during the day, because she didn't
want her
husband to wake up without no one in the room that he didn't know. So,
she's sitting
there next to me, and she says,
“You
know what? I wish God would just show me a sign that he's going to be
okay.” As
soon as those words came out, Jimmy just woke up. They just gave him
the
medicine to knock him out. He woke up, he couldn't say a word, his eyes
were
teary, he had a big smile on his face, Yvette ran there and, “Hi Honey, hi honey,
everything's
okay, okay.” And, he just looked at her, and he nodded his head and he
went
right back into the coma. You know? Sometimes, in desperation, God just
shows
you these little signs, “Hey,
I'm
still here. I've still got this under control.” You know? “I'm still
around.”
We get those nuggets of gold, we hear about other people; it's not just
for
those other people, it's for all of us. Does that make sense? Amen? God
has
something for all of us. You know, I've been told no a lot of times
from God, “No, you need
to stay humble. No, you
don't need the bigger fishing rod and reel. You'll be fine with what
you have.”
You know? And, I realized that when you reach out to people, you only
can use
what you have. You only can use what you have. You know? We connect
with people
through our trades, and through our jobs, and, different things. You
know? Pat
Taylor shared in service; I think I said this earlier, that he couldn't
be a Parrish
Lee. You know? I can't be a Jay Hunemuller. I can't be a Pastor Lantis.
Pastor
Lantis was sharing last night, too. That guy's loud, too. But I'm not
Pastor
Lantis. You know? But, I'm coming down to the last point, here. It says
to
instructions when we pray. Point 4: “Instructions
When We Pray” Just a moment. Everybody doing okay? Is it warm in here or
is it just
me? Okay. Holy Ghost. Holy Ghost is all over us. Am I nervous? Yeah. Do
I want
to do the right thing? Yeah. Am I thankful for my family, here? Yeah,
because
no one threw any eggs at me or tomatoes yet. I'm kind of happy about
that. You
know? Towards the end, maybe. But, Matthew, chapter six, one through
fifteen.
He was teaching us what not to be, when we pray. Matthew 6:1-2 Take heed
that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye
have no
reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest
thine alms,
do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and
in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you,
They
have their reward. You know? Sometimes come we all know people, or have come
across those
kind of people that like to brag about everything they do for God. You
know? I
have them where I work at. I pray for this, I pray for that, but the
next word
out of their mouth is a bad word. Or the next mouth is, “I went drinking last
night.” You know? How can you be
bragging all about that, and then say things like that? My cousin
was—sang
acapella songs at my grandmother's funeral, back in the ‘80s. And, she
was
dripping with sugar, being really religious, about this, she's doing
all kinds
of things for God, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on. And, I think
that's
called the repast, right? when you go to dinner afterwards? That was at
my
aunt's house, lo and behold, I walked into the kitchen and she was
drinking
vodka and soda. She hid it behind her, you know? I said, “Hey, I'm just your
cousin. Don't worry about me. But, if
God convicts you, that's God, not me.” You know? And, I was sitting in
a room
where everybody was just trying to be super religious, but I knew their
background. You know, they were just like, you know, my godfather was
being
super religious, and I'm like,
“Dear
God, I've got to get out of this room.” So, I went to the other side of
the
house, where all the people were drinking and acting normal, and I
walked over
there, and it was God just moved among them. I didn't judge them, what
they had
in their hands, God does that already. You know? God does that already.
I don't
have to correct anything; God corrects at all. They're still my
uncle's, still
my aunt's still my cousins, they still see—what's important to me is
that they
see me not doing that. You know? Let the light shine in my life. My
family come
on both sides of my family are made up of preachers, and singers, and
entertainers, you know? You guys know Jimmy Swaggart? You ever heard of
him?
That's my cousin. You know? Do you think he's teaching baptism in Jesus
name?
Nope. You know? You guys know Jerry Lewis? The entertainer? The singer?
That's
my cousin, also. You know? him and my dad used to hang out together all
the
time, in the military, but Jerry went on his own way. You know? Jimmy
Swaggart.
But, this guy here, wants to preach the truth. You know? And, I pray
that one
day—I am, it’s amazing that I am talking to one of Jerry Lee Lewis's
relatives,
a lot, quite a bit, now, through Facebook. And, she sees a difference,
you
know? You know? Amen for that, you know? So, just be yourself. You
know? Just
be that candle, and not the spotlight, according to what Pastor Hubert
Ulysse
was saying. Matthew 6:3-4 But when
thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That
thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret
himself shall
reward thee openly. When you're praying at night time, two in the morning, God's
going to
reward you openly. Your light’s going to shine so bright that you might
get
that promotion, you might stand out at work, because they see your good
works.
They see you doing your job. They see you not taking shortcuts. You're
finishing your work. That stands out. You're not swearing, or carrying
on with
bad jokes, or nasty jokes, that stands out. You showing up on time to
work.
That stands out. They see that, you know? It said in verse five: Matthew 6:5-8 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. 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. He's just waiting for us to ask Him. And, verse nine: Matthew 6:9-13
After this
manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give
us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors. 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. “Our Father, which art in Heaven” recognizing who our Father
is, our Spiritual
Father. Verse eleven, give us our daily needs. Give us our daily bread.
Give us
our daily needs that we need. And, forgive our debts, and forgive those
who sin
against us, and forgive our sins, too. You know? Lead us not into
temptation.
Even though temptation will come, that we’ll have enough God in our
lives to
not follow that temptation, or to even go that way. You know? And, he
said, “For thine is the
kingdom and the
power and the glory forever, amen.” Verse number fourteen: Matthew 6:14-15
For if ye
forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you: But
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your
trespasses. Amen? So when he asks to teach us to pray, there's a lot to
pray about.
And, I could have gone on and on, even to repentance prayer, where
David said, “Create in
me a clean Spirit, oh
Lord. renew a right Spirit in me. When you forgive me, God, I'll teach
others, too.”
(Psalms 51:10-13) Teach us to pray. When we ask God to teach us how to
pray, or
teach me how to pray, things are going to happen in our lives, that's
going to
cause us to pray. You know? Amen? Amen. Brother Jesse? Thank you.
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