Bridge Church Virginia Beach

0.000000 2.000000 Good morning, bridge church.
2.000000 6.000000 How many of you am I just meeting for the first time?
6.000000 8.000000 Raise your hand if it's the first time I've ever met you.
8.000000 11.000000 Where have you been my whole life?
11.000000 12.000000 Nice to meet you.
12.000000 13.000000 I've got new friends.
13.000000 15.000000 How many have I met before when I was here last time?
15.000000 16.000000 It's good to see you.
16.000000 17.000000 I'm glad to be back.
17.000000 20.000000 I just want to tell you, you can pray for me
20.000000 23.000000 because I am a brother-in-law of Archie Callahan.
23.000000 29.000000 And it's not that bad except that I am a sealer's fan.
29.000000 32.000000 (Applause)
32.000000 34.000000 I've got to go back and tell him if he's watching online.
34.000000 37.000000 Pastor, you have infiltrated.
37.000000 39.000000 You have infiltrators in your church.
39.000000 41.000000 But I always tell him, you know, it's okay.
41.000000 43.000000 You know, God loves sinners.
43.000000 45.000000 He's a Cowboys fan.
45.000000 47.000000 And it's really good to be here.
47.000000 49.000000 We're always honored to be here.
49.000000 53.000000 This church, bridge church, is really one of the reasons why our church exists.
53.000000 56.000000 Back in 1999 when I was dating my wife, Kimberly,
56.000000 61.000000 who is Tangy's sister, you were meeting at Greenrun High School.
61.000000 64.000000 And I think the church name was harvest outreach back then.
64.000000 67.000000 And I had never seen church done that way.
67.000000 70.000000 I had never seen church so relevant, so impactful.
70.000000 75.000000 And while we're thinking about it, can we go ahead and give a hand clap for our worship team?
75.000000 77.000000 What an amazing job you guys did.
77.000000 80.000000 (Applause)
80.000000 84.000000 Pastor Archie and Tangy have greatly impacted our lives.
84.000000 88.000000 My wife and I and our church and Pastor Scott just want to thank you.
88.000000 91.000000 So can we give a hand to Pastor Archie and Tangy,
91.000000 93.000000 who are probably going to watch online later?
93.000000 95.000000 We appreciate you guys.
95.000000 98.000000 If I could have a little bit of monitor in this mic, that'd be great.
98.000000 103.000000 I want to go ahead and I'm going to do something really quick as best I can.
103.000000 106.000000 Because I feel like I don't have a sermon.
106.000000 107.000000 I have a message.
107.000000 112.000000 And I know that this is for you back in November last year.
112.000000 117.000000 I've been spending some time with the Lord and as I was spending time with him,
117.000000 122.000000 God downloaded this message and I had a sense that I would teach it here.
122.000000 124.000000 I had no reason to believe that.
124.000000 126.000000 I had no invitation.
126.000000 128.000000 I just saw myself preaching it here.
128.000000 134.000000 And I feel like what the Lord wants to do is to fan into flames something that's already in you.
134.000000 136.000000 This is not new material.
136.000000 140.000000 This isn't something that's going to wow you as far as you've never heard this before.
140.000000 148.000000 I believe that I'm coming with a message that will encourage you wherever you are in your walk with Christ.
148.000000 150.000000 So I'm going to go ahead and get started.
150.000000 154.000000 I'm going to read back to back three passages and then we're just going to dive in.
154.000000 155.000000 Are you ready?
155.000000 156.000000 All right.
156.000000 157.000000 Two people are ready.
157.000000 159.000000 How many else?
159.000000 162.000000 You're going to have to help me today or it's going to be long and boring.
162.000000 165.000000 Luke chapter 11 verse 5, Jesus speaking.
165.000000 172.000000 He says, "Then Jesus said to them, 'Suppose you have a friend and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend lend me three lobes of bread.'
172.000000 176.000000 'A friend of mine on a journey has come to me and I have no food to offer him.'
176.000000 178.000000 Let's read that part again.
178.000000 181.000000 'I have no food to offer him.'
181.000000 184.000000 And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me.'
184.000000 187.000000 The door's already locked and my children and I are in bed.
187.000000 189.000000 I can't get up and give you anything.
189.000000 193.000000 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of a friendship,
193.000000 199.000000 yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
199.000000 205.000000 So I say to you, asking it will be given to you, seeking you will find knocking the door will be open to you.
205.000000 211.000000 For everyone who asks receives the one who seeks fines and to the one who knocks, the door will be open."
211.000000 218.000000 Now, 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 1, "As God's co-workers, we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.
218.000000 223.000000 For he says, 'In the time of my favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you.'
223.000000 225.000000 I want to pause for a second."
225.000000 232.000000 What he's saying is that we're in an eon of time, an epic of time, in the kingdom where God is saying yes.
232.000000 236.000000 Now, maybe that doesn't excite you, but that excites me.
236.000000 246.000000 That tells me that we're in a time where God is saying, 'Look, he's basically saying, 'We're in a season of favor where I'm going to hear your prayers and I'm going to help you.'
246.000000 250.000000 How many need God to hear your prayers and to help you?
250.000000 253.000000 This is God's Word. This isn't something I've made up. This is God's Word.
253.000000 257.000000 And Paul is saying here, don't miss this grace.
257.000000 265.000000 Basically, don't miss what's available to you because we're in a season where God wants you to ask.
265.000000 270.000000 You know why God wants you to ask? Because he wants to answer.
270.000000 279.000000 God wants to answer. So let's go on. James chapter 4, and this is the last passage, and then we'll get into the Word.
279.000000 285.000000 What causes, I'm going to start in verse 1, I think I gave the team verses 2 and 3, but I'm going to go ahead and start from verse 1.
285.000000 288.000000 It says, what causes fights and quarrels among you?
288.000000 291.000000 Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
291.000000 294.000000 You desire, but do not have, so you kill.
294.000000 298.000000 You covet, but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
298.000000 303.000000 You do not have because you do not ask God. I'm going to say that again.
303.000000 313.000000 You do not have because you do not ask God, and when you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives that you maybe spend what you get on your pleasures.
313.000000 317.000000 Today, I want to talk to you a few minutes about the key to persistent prayer.
317.000000 322.000000 Let's pray. Father, I thank you that your Word is life.
322.000000 328.000000 Your Word is mana. God, I'm asking that you would give us bread this morning, fresh bread.
328.000000 331.000000 Lord, you know the needs that are represented in this church.
331.000000 337.000000 You know the needs represented for those watching online, and I'm asking that you would give us fresh bread from heaven.
337.000000 341.000000 Don't leave anyone hungry in Jesus' name, amen.
341.000000 351.000000 I've had a love-hate relationship with prayer, and I say that almost as cliche, not that I hate prayer, but I will say that I love prayer because
351.000000 357.000000 in many ways I would not be here without a prayer answering God.
357.000000 362.000000 I just want to tell you, if you have a praying mom, you might as well just go ahead and lay down.
362.000000 365.000000 You might as well go ahead and give up. I'm going to have a praying mom out there.
365.000000 371.000000 You have a praying grandma, give up now. Surrender now. Just save yourself a whole lot of time, money, and energy.
371.000000 378.000000 You've got to pray, someone praying for you, you might as well just give up. I am a product of prayer.
378.000000 386.000000 My family has seen many, many miracles. I've inherited the stories of miracles of prayer.
386.000000 397.000000 I love prayer because prayer invites me into the ability of God when I don't have what I need.
397.000000 405.000000 Has anybody been there? And we often say things like, "Well, all I can do now is pray."
405.000000 411.000000 Can I just tell you that's an indictment? The first thing we should do is pray.
411.000000 420.000000 In Him we live and move and have our being. And so I'm so thankful for prayer. It encourages me. It reminds me.
420.000000 429.000000 God has met me time and time again in moments of need and moments of crisis and in moments of poverty, absolute poverty for what I needed in the moment.
429.000000 434.000000 So God has met me and I'm thankful for prayer. Why I say I hate it, I don't hate it.
434.000000 443.000000 I struggle with it is because as much as God has done in prayer in my life, you would think that I would get it by now.
443.000000 453.000000 You would think that if I knew such miracles were dependent on my prayer life, that I would make prayer the largest priority of my life.
453.000000 459.000000 And that ministry would never get in the way and kids would never get in the way and life would never get in the way.
459.000000 466.000000 But as hard as as much as I've watched God do miracles in my life and He's done miracles, I still forget.
466.000000 478.000000 And as much as I've learned about prayer, I still feel like a baby. I know that there are heights and depths in prayer that I have not touched.
478.000000 486.000000 Or if I have experienced them in some way, I've only visited and come back, coming to know what I'm talking about.
486.000000 497.000000 I've often told my wife that when I am so old that they put me in a retirement center and I can no longer preach, I will have graduated to becoming an intercessor.
497.000000 502.000000 And I will make it my life mission, who I feel weepy right now, I'm telling you God's presence is here.
502.000000 508.000000 I will have graduated to make my goal in my life to lift up the needs of God's people.
508.000000 516.000000 I was with another pastor several years ago and this is what came to mind, just now someone might need to hear this.
516.000000 525.000000 He went to visit an older woman who was in a retirement center and they were talking and all of a sudden she stopped and said, "Oh wait, I've just got to be still."
525.000000 531.000000 And she closed her eyes and was just sitting there and he thought, "You know, did she fall asleep?"
531.000000 538.000000 And after a few minutes she opened her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry." She goes, "Well, what was that all about?" She said, "Oh, don't worry about that."
538.000000 542.000000 She said, "When I first came here, I was depressed and I didn't feel like I had a mission."
542.000000 551.000000 And God showed me that every plane that goes over my room when I hear that plane, I'm to pray for everyone on board.
551.000000 571.000000 I wonder how many people whose name is not known on earth but their name is known in heaven because they were a prayer, a prayer person, a person who said, "I might not speak much to men but I can speak much about men to God."
571.000000 592.000000 And I believe that in many ways I've tasted this, I've tasted the power of prayer, I've tasted the difference when I preach, I've tasted the difference of when I feel like I've got to force it by my energy or by my ingenuity versus when I have spent quality time with God and the anointing does the work.
592.000000 603.000000 I've sensed that, there's almost this mentality that I want to get to and I'm not there but that I can pray more and speak less.
603.000000 609.000000 Can I tell you that there are things in your life that will not shift until you learn to pray?
609.000000 619.000000 There are some relationships, another conversation will not do it and there are things in situations where prayer can go that a conversation cannot.
619.000000 643.000000 You know what I'm talking about, I'm talking to parents and grandparents that has a child or a grandchild that you can no longer touch you, they've canceled you, they've closed you out but how many know you can still take them to the Father, to the throne and say, "God, meet them, send them a prophet."
643.000000 660.000000 I came this morning to fan the flame, that gift that's already within you, that God wants to use your prayers, He wants you to pray, He wants you to ask some of you, you have assignments, the God has called you to, you're called to business.
660.000000 670.000000 You've tried business, you've tried to, you've tried to go out on your own and it hasn't worked and the reason is because God is going to try to teach you how to pray and then when you learn to pray.
670.000000 685.000000 And I want to tell you something, I feel like this is powerful, one of my friends said this, we've had often, we've asked the businessman to be a part of the board meeting at church but we haven't had the businessman asked the pastor to be a part of the board of his business.
685.000000 693.000000 And I believe the Lord showed me, and this is for free, this is not in my notes, the Lord showed me that what he's raising up in this day are entrepreneurs and intercessors.
693.000000 711.000000 And that he's going to teach the intercessors to be entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurs to be intercessors. And when those two meet, listen, listen, that's what happened with Nehemiah, one had a sword, one had a trial, one was there to build, one was to battle, but I want to tell you something, God's going to teach his men how to prosper through prayer.
711.000000 719.000000 Hallelujah, man, this was not in first service, so you're getting something else.
719.000000 731.000000 The disciples recognized there was something about Jesus that the source of his power was his ability to sneak away with the Father.
731.000000 744.000000 The source of his ministry and the miracles was not the inflection of his voice, but the authority that was dripping on his vocal cords because he had been away with the Father in prayer.
744.000000 752.000000 And so they said, "Teach me, teach us to pray." I think that should be all of our prayers, Father, teach us to pray. Jesus, teach us to pray.
752.000000 773.000000 And Jesus responds in Luke 1 with the model prayer, we all know it, we say it around in the huddle after the game, I'm laughing because I remember one of our church attenders, I went to one of his football games, he was a coach at Williams.
773.000000 780.000000 And at the end, they had won the game and he looks at me and this is my pastor and he's going to lead us in the Lord's Prayer and my mind went blank.
780.000000 785.000000 I'm like, "I forgot the Lord's Prayer." I was so nervous, I didn't plan on it, I was like, "What's the Lord's Prayer?"
785.000000 792.000000 I was trusting someone to start it and then it would get going and I would say, "All right, let's pray." Our Father and they all started.
792.000000 808.000000 Very famous prayer, it's a model prayer and there's a lot of meat in that. You can learn a lot about prayer from the model prayer that Jesus gave, but the very first lesson that he teaches right after the Lord's Prayer is this parable.
808.000000 816.000000 And the lesson I had read it many years and keep in mind as I'm spending time with the Lord back in November, I was wanting to grow in prayer.
816.000000 826.000000 Little frustrated with myself that I know the power of prayer and yet I give so little value to it at times. Am I the only one?
826.000000 834.000000 You ever felt like you just get knocked off course with prayer and the Lord has to remind you, so I just, "Lord, teach me to pray."
834.000000 844.000000 And I read that passage that we just read about the three friends. The friend that comes to his friend at midnight says, "Friend, give me some bread."
844.000000 856.000000 I have another friend that came at midnight, came at a bad season, a bad time, a bad moment. Jesus said, or God said, "That were to be instant in season and out of season."
856.000000 866.000000 So he says, "Give me bread, give me bread." I always read that and I knew that the lesson was persistence. This version says shameless audacity.
866.000000 876.000000 That the effectiveness of prayer is often going to be tied to the willingness to persist. I thank all two of you.
876.000000 891.000000 The willingness to persist is one of the vital aspects of effective praying. So I knew that lesson, but when I was reading this, it caught my attention that I had never seen before.
891.000000 900.000000 And it made it very personal. I won't go into the reason why it was personal, but I'll just say that it became very personal and hopefully in a second it will become personal to you.
900.000000 912.000000 How many have ever felt like God has given you an assignment that's bigger than you? Two people, praise God. We've got a lot of work to do. I'm going to say it again. How many have ever felt like God has given you an assignment that's bigger than you?
912.000000 936.000000 Yeah, most of us. And when I saw about this persistence in prayer really encouraged me because I realized that Jesus was teaching persistence in prayer, but was He not only teaching the need for persistence of prayer, but was He actually teaching the way you get persistence in prayer?
936.000000 948.000000 See, in the church world, the statistics used to be, and I believe it's changing. I believe there's a move of God moving upon the young adults. I believe the college age students. We're seeing a move of God.
948.000000 958.000000 There's a hunger within that generation that wants something real. They don't want church. They don't want something hyped. They want something that is genuine and real.
958.000000 970.000000 They want the supernatural. They want to know is God real. I want to have good news. God is still on the move today. He's still on the throne this morning. Change. Prayer still changes things. I'm telling you God's real.
970.000000 988.000000 When we first started ministry, there was usually this large gap between high schoolers and young married couples. Because the college students, when they'd go to college, I believe there's a reason for that.
988.000000 1002.000000 In the college, they go to college and they get indoctrinated and discipled into doubt and unbelief. But then they start making their way back to church and usually it's at a certain time in their life.
1002.000000 1017.000000 When is that certain time? When they have kids. Because there's something about the nature of being responsible for someone else that drives you into being doing what you always knew you should be doing.
1017.000000 1031.000000 Does that make sense? One of the greatest gifts that God can give you to teach you to pray is to give you an assignment where someone or something knocks at your door that you don't have the resources to meet their need.
1031.000000 1048.000000 So they come and they knock at the door and your first response is to go check your cupboard. Talk. I should have made more bread. We ate the last bit but then we're not here.
1048.000000 1065.000000 You know why you're laughing because you did this, you sorry thing. Hey, don't let them know. But when you look out the curtain, you realize that's a friend.
1065.000000 1078.000000 That's what I love. And you realize that this is not just something as an optional moment of hospitality. This is a moral obligation.
1078.000000 1090.000000 I'm obliged. I'm responsible for the person outside that door. And the problem is I don't have what it takes to meet their need.
1090.000000 1109.000000 And why would God do that? Why would God send someone or something an assignment your way that you don't have the ability to meet because he wants to teach you how to go to him even at the midnight hour when you would not have done it on your own.
1109.000000 1126.000000 In fact, you start asking for bread in a desperation that you did not have if it was just you you could have gone hungry, but because you were calling that person saying, Hey, I'm hungry. I need you. I'm required to meet that need your desperation becomes intercession.
1126.000000 1146.000000 See there's different types of prayer. There's Thanksgiving prayer. There's adoration prayer. There's alone prayer. There's corporate prayer. There's petition petition is asking God. How many know that's good that we can ask God for anything we need. He said to be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and petition with Thanksgiving make our request known to God, that's petition.
1146.000000 1158.000000 But there's something about intercession where I am no longer asking for bread for me. I'm now asking for bread for someone else.
1158.000000 1165.000000 And it positions you in a moment of desperation where you cannot look away from the assignment.
1165.000000 1183.000000 You cannot turn away if you don't learn to pray. Listen to this. If you don't learn to pray, you're going to turn people and assignments away that God has sent to you because you've been looking at your cupboard instead of his.
1183.000000 1203.000000 Now, when he gives the illustration of the persistent man at first glance, it looks like God is unwilling to answer, but what I've discovered is he's teaching the principle of desperation. See, when you're responsible for your grandchild, who's not serving Jesus.
1203.000000 1221.000000 If it was just you, you'd stay in the back at the altar call. But because you feel the desperation of someone you love, you'll shake out of your weave.
1221.000000 1231.000000 You'll let those fake eyelashes come off. You don't care if you have the ugly cry. Why? Because your desperation isn't about you.
1231.000000 1249.000000 Your desperation is them. And God positions us and teaches us how to pray by giving us assignments. Years ago, this should make you feel better about yourself.
1249.000000 1265.000000 Years ago, I was a pastor. We worked with the link with youth that would come from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and Detroit. A lot of them were drug dealers and they were awesome kids. I actually had a great time with them. We loved them. They loved us. I believe. I think they loved us. Maybe they're faking it.
1265.000000 1279.000000 Some of you right now, when you say amen. If you know anything about those settings, if you get one wrong, one bad apple, it can upset the whole atmosphere.
1279.000000 1287.000000 So we had this new kid that came in. He was six foot three. I won't say his name because he never knew he might see this someday.
1287.000000 1308.000000 Six foot three Muslim kid. The moment he walked in, our cottage went haywire. Good kids started acting up. Bad things started happening. And he was slick. He was so slick. I knew it was him, but I could not pin it on him. Don't look at me like that. I knew it was him. And I didn't like him.
1308.000000 1325.000000 You said, Pastor, no, you probably just didn't feel no. No, I didn't like him. I know me. I didn't like him. And it got to a point where I just wanted it as a man, meet him out back.
1325.000000 1338.000000 Now, he would have sent me to the hospital, but I promised you he would have been limping in the morning. I delayed some licks on him, but I knew that wasn't Jesus.
1338.000000 1348.000000 So they would every day they would go to an activity. This was in the summer. And I thought, well, I'm going to go and I'm going to go and get underneath this in prayer.
1348.000000 1367.000000 So here's what it looked like. I went to my office. They left. I went to my office. There's an old couch there. Got down on my knees. And this was my pathetic prayer. God, both you and I know he's the problem. Get him out.
1367.000000 1379.000000 I know why you're laughing because you've done the same thing. Get him out. God, you and I both know it's him. He's a jerk. God, catch him. Catch him.
1379.000000 1383.000000 And there was no anointing on that prayer.
1383.000000 1395.000000 There was no presence, no authority, no power. And the Lord had just begun teaching me from scripture and from experience about the power of my prayer language.
1395.000000 1402.000000 I thought, well, I can't pray in English because all I got is anger. So I began to pray in my prayer language. Five minutes goes by. I'm just angry.
1402.000000 1407.000000 Ten minutes goes by. And I'm starting to feel something move in me.
1407.000000 1421.000000 Fifteen minutes comes. And I remember the intake papers that his father, he had hardly ever seen his father because he had been locked up most of his life.
1421.000000 1439.000000 And now I go from anger to compassion. I start thinking, what if God sent him here to me and I might be the only godly man he ever sees in his life.
1439.000000 1452.000000 I might be the only father figure he ever sees. And here I am asking God to send him away when God is asking, will you reach one of my hungry ones?
1452.000000 1458.000000 Will you open your door to someone who doesn't know me?
1458.000000 1472.000000 And now, instead of anger, I'm repenting and I'm desperate. My desperation was this. I knew God was asking me to love someone I didn't like.
1472.000000 1484.000000 I mean, have you ever felt the gravity of the responsibility to love someone? Can you imagine being, well, some of you can't imagine being in a relationship with someone you don't like?
1484.000000 1492.000000 And yet God is saying, forgive them, love them, serve them, be kind to them when they curse you, bless them.
1492.000000 1511.000000 Church, this is our calling. And I remember feeling so absolutely desperate. God, I know the assignment is to give him bread, but I don't have any bread.
1511.000000 1524.000000 And I'm weeping and it wasn't the nice weep. It was the ugly desperation. God, I know you've brought him here, but I can't do it. I have no bread.
1524.000000 1533.000000 And I don't remember God speaking to me in that moment. I don't remember anything other than a cry of desperation and repentance.
1533.000000 1542.000000 "Give me bread." And I hear a knock. I hear the door open as the boys return. It felt like I'd been in prayer for five minutes.
1542.000000 1554.000000 How many know that there's a time when you're praying to God? But when God shows up, it's almost like He says, "Give me the mic." And He starts praying through you. That's when prayer gets fun.
1554.000000 1569.000000 And so I hear them walk in the door. I got up. I cleaned myself off. I opened my door and there's a long hallway. The first person I see is this young man. I never said a word to him. He never said a word to me.
1569.000000 1582.000000 But from that moment on, everything changed. It was as if God gave me new eyes and enveloped me with love for him that he felt.
1582.000000 1599.000000 It was a communication from spirit to spirit. I wondered to myself, is that one of the reasons why prayer is so hard and why it's so difficult, why we need to hear sermons on it, why you need to be reminded of it is because Jack Hayford said this, all prayer is spiritual warfare.
1599.000000 1612.000000 I wonder, as I got before God and He met with me in my office, is if there wasn't things shifting in the spirit that whatever He came in with, I now had the upper hand.
1612.000000 1623.000000 And it wasn't me rebuking and casting things out. It was God filling me with love and the power of love overflowed to Him. And there was nothing said.
1623.000000 1638.000000 And from that point on, that young man became a delight. We loved Him, He loved us. We found out later that He would beat up other kids from other cottages if they even said anything wrong about us.
1638.000000 1647.000000 How many know God can make your enemies bless you if you will serve Him. He could make even your enemies live at peace with you.
1647.000000 1660.000000 And what am I talking about? I'm talking about being willing to take the assignment God gives you and letting the responsibility of it drive you to prayer.
1660.000000 1675.000000 See, Jesus is teaching persistent prayer, but was He actually teaching that disciples, I want you to understand this, that there's going to be many times in your life that the assignments I bring, the needs that I bring will outweigh your resources, but I'm going to give you an insight.
1675.000000 1683.000000 You can keep coming to the Father, your Father, and saying, "I need bread." And He says, "I'm so glad you asked, I'm going to give it to you."
1683.000000 1693.000000 There's nothing God has called you to that you cannot do through Christ. Nothing.
1693.000000 1700.000000 So I didn't have cute little points this morning, but I am going to give you a cute little point. Is that right?
1700.000000 1706.000000 So all right, if I just be me, is that okay? All right, I'm going to give you, I think four things.
1706.000000 1712.000000 Number one, if you're writing down, God wants you to ask. God wants you to ask.
1712.000000 1723.000000 You have not because you ask not. How many miracles are you not experiencing because you haven't asked?
1723.000000 1732.000000 Ask and you will receive. You have not because you asked not. Number two, God wants you to ask big.
1732.000000 1737.000000 I almost entitled this, wait, stop writing and look at me so I don't get anybody to get in trouble.
1737.000000 1748.000000 I almost entitled this message, big-ask prayers.
1748.000000 1753.000000 If Pastor Archie says anything about it, I got permission ahead of time.
1753.000000 1763.000000 God doesn't want you to ask small. He wants you to ask big, bold prayers honor God, honor God, honors bold prayers.
1763.000000 1769.000000 That's what Mark Batterson says. Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers.
1769.000000 1776.000000 The more specific you pray is the more bigger you ask, more bigger, bigger you ask.
1776.000000 1782.000000 Be specific when you pray. Do you need healed in your body? Where? Where do you need healing?
1782.000000 1787.000000 You're looking at a man that had two heart attacks at age 38.
1787.000000 1794.000000 I lived exhausted for three and a half years. I went to every healing conference I could go to.
1794.000000 1800.000000 Had every person I could lay hands on me. I went to every altar call.
1800.000000 1810.000000 Nobody, nobody ever called out heart. Long story short, but in May of 2017, as I was about to give up praying.
1810.000000 1816.000000 An altar call was made for anyone sick in their body and for the first time I said I'm just going to sit here.
1816.000000 1821.000000 And I sat in my seat, did not move and God started speaking to me.
1821.000000 1825.000000 Started a whole conversation. He said, are you happy with the fact that you can't run a mile?
1825.000000 1832.000000 Are you happy with the fact that you can't play with your kids on the trampoline? Are you happy with the fact that you think every day you have chest pains every day?
1832.000000 1837.000000 That the ministry might kill you, that your wife might be a widow. Are you happy with all these things?
1837.000000 1841.000000 I said no, no, no. And this is the way God spoke to me in that moment very forcefully.
1841.000000 1844.000000 Then get your butt out of the seat and get to the aisle.
1844.000000 1848.000000 The moment I got to the seat, I was in a large auditorium.
1848.000000 1855.000000 The moment I got to the aisle, the speaker at the time was all the way on the other side, I was sitting on this side. The speaker was over here.
1855.000000 1858.000000 I had been having my head down, having this conversation with God.
1858.000000 1865.000000 As soon as I got to the aisle, I still didn't see where the speaker was. I hear him say, there's a man in this section right here, God says he's giving you a new heart.
1865.000000 1875.000000 I thought I would look up and he was on this side, but he was right in front of me about 20 feet in front of me pointing right at me and say, God says pray for that man. God's giving him a new heart.
1875.000000 1887.000000 I was having chest pains at the moment. He said pray again and the second time the people that were around me prayed, I felt the smallest twinge in my heart and I felt like God gave me a new heart.
1887.000000 1893.000000 It's a much longer story, but I'm just telling you, we serve a miracle working God.
1893.000000 1906.000000 If you're sick in your body, be specific. God wants you to ask, God wants you to ask big, God wants you to ask again.
1906.000000 1915.000000 Don't give up praying. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it's not going to happen. Persist.
1915.000000 1926.000000 Let your desperation be on display. See, when your life is not about you and about the calling and the assignments God has given you, it will cause you to be desperate.
1926.000000 1930.000000 More desperate than someone that says, I just don't want to look bad right now.
1930.000000 1934.000000 See, if you're the one with cancer, you're the one that's going to be coming to the altar at the end of this service.
1934.000000 1943.000000 If you're the one who's got a teenager that is going into drugs, you're going to be a little more desperate.
1943.000000 1947.000000 You've got a spouse that's not serving Jesus. You're going to be a little more desperate.
1947.000000 1953.000000 See, I think we need to lose our dignity a little bit in church. It's not about us anymore.
1953.000000 1958.000000 Shameless audacity is, I don't care what I look like anymore. I'm going to keep on asking.
1958.000000 1963.000000 I'm going to keep on seeking. I'm going to keep on knocking. I didn't make the promise he did.
1963.000000 1972.000000 God wants us to ask. God wants us to ask big. God wants us to ask again. And I believe God wants us to ask now.
1972.000000 1982.000000 Don't put it off. You have not, because you ask not. Paul said this, don't receive God's grace in vain.
1982.000000 1990.000000 For then, in the time of my favor, I heard you, in the day of salvation, I helped you.
1990.000000 1995.000000 Every head bowed, every eye closed.
1995.000000 2005.000000 I never liked to close a meeting without giving people an opportunity to return to Christ or make him their Lord.
2005.000000 2009.000000 See, you might have come here today and you're not even sure why you came.
2009.000000 2016.000000 Maybe a friend brought you or a family member brought you and it's been hard for you to come because it's just hard to be in a new environment.
2016.000000 2021.000000 But I want to encourage you. You didn't come by accident.
2021.000000 2028.000000 Even as the music has been playing in worship, that emotion that you're sensing, it's not emotionalism.
2028.000000 2033.000000 That's the Holy Spirit. No man comes to the Father except the Spirit draw him.
2033.000000 2041.000000 Saints, you're praying right now.
2041.000000 2047.000000 And God is drawing you. Maybe you've never come to church or maybe you've never given your life to Christ.
2047.000000 2051.000000 And I want to tell you, he loves you so much.
2051.000000 2057.000000 You might think, well, I have to turn over a new leaf. I've got to change this. Listen, you don't have to get cleaned up to take a bath.
2057.000000 2061.000000 You come as you are.
2061.000000 2065.000000 You say, how do I give my life to Christ? A, admit that you're a sinner.
2065.000000 2073.000000 B, believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son who died for you. The Bible says that we have all sin fallen short of the glory of God.
2073.000000 2079.000000 And that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
2079.000000 2085.000000 In other words, Jesus, the one who knew no sin, became sin for us.
2085.000000 2088.000000 There's no one too far gone.
2088.000000 2096.000000 So you admit that you're a sinner. B, believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son who was crucified, buried and rose again on your behalf.
2096.000000 2104.000000 And then you confess with your heart, with your mouth. Believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.