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Well you can open up 
your Bibles to Ecclesiastes.

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I don't intend to stay there

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only make a point from there;

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only draw forth a principle 
from there actually.

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Ecclesiastes chapter 4.

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Father, I pray that You would feed us

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from Your Word,

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totally dependent upon You

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to make it convicting,

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to make it powerful,

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to reach our hearts,

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and reach our consciences.

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Lord, please reach our hearts,

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our souls,

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with this message.

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I pray in Christ's name.

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Amen.

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I was really thinking about 2018,

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that if that if I could 
preach a message today

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that would somehow 
flavor this year for us.

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that's what went into my thinking.

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Ecclesiastes 4:9

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It's really a proverb.

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Ecclesiastes 4:9

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"Two are better than one."

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That's the preacher Solomon.

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"Two are better than one,"

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and he's going to tell us why.

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"...because they have a good reward

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for their toil."

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And even like the Geneva translation

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actually brings out that the good reward

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is probably that they have a better reward

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than they would have 
if they stayed separate.

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That's kind of the idea there.

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V. 10 "For if they fall,

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one will lift up his fellow."

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Now you can see the reality of that.

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If these two guys are separate,

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and one falls and can't get back up,

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obviously when you're 
together with somebody else

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and they can come help 
you and pick you up,

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what's been accomplished -

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the greater good -

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is far beyond what the two could have

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achieved separate,

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because if they're separate and they fall,

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and they can't get back up,

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they've lost everything.

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They've lost the whole day.

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"If they fall, one will 
lift up his fellow,

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but woe to him who is alone when he falls

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and has not another to lift him up."

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And you know that could be spiritually.

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Undoubtedly, that's why the Lord has

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put us all together in the church

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to lift up one another.

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Again, "if two lie together,

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they keep warm,

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but how can one keep warm alone?

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And though a man might prevail

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against one who is alone..."

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Here you have adversaries.

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One guy against another guy.

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And you might be prevailed 
against by one guy,

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but if there's two of you,

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"two will withstand him."

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And then he throws in 
the proverbial saying,

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"a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

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He actually takes it from one to two,

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and then three.

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A threefold cord.

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The title of my sermon:

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"A Threefold Cord."

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Solomon's point is clear.

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Two are better than one.

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Not two separate, but when they're

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brought together,

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to get the advantage,

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the two must be working together.

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Their bodies must be close together

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to retain the heat.

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They must withstand a foe together.

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And even more, if you take three strands -

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like if you braided hair

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or you took three threads

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and you wound them all together

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to create one cord,

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the reality is it's even better than two.

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And the thing is it's not quickly broken.

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There's a strength.

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Now, I totally intend to spiritualize

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this truth today.

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Totally.

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The threefold cord is your life.

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One strand in that cord: secret prayer.

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Craig came very close to that one today.

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It's right there with secret fasting.

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That's one strand.

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Because one of the things 
I want to emphasize today,

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look, this prayer and fasting

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isn't just for a week 
of prayer and fasting.

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This is your life.

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This is our life.

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One strand: secret prayer.

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But wrapped, brought close together,

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the second strand: doing good.

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Third strand wound in there:

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self-denial.

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(incomplete thought)

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Listen, prayer without doing good

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and without self-denial

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has no feet.

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It's no good to pray that God

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make the Gospel advantageous to souls

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in our community if we're not willing

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to take that message to 
those ears of those people.

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But you know what happens

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if you have works without self-denial?

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It's just cheap.

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All it will result in is cheap, little

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demonstrations of religion.

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Brethren, if you try to do 
works without prayer,

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they'll just be powerless.

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It will be a demonstration of the flesh.

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Prayer is our dependence on the Lord.

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You wrap all three of these together.

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You wrap them all together.

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You see, the principle here is

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they need to lie together

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to really produce the warmth.

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They need to be close.

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You know, the thing here is

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if an adversary comes

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or if you're working and one of you falls,

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the other one lifts up the other.

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These lift each other up.

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These bring strength to one another.

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They prevail together.

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That's the issue.

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They fail otherwise.

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But God helping us,

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what I want us to do is -

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look, I'm going to show you from Scripture

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this threefold cord is absolutely

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something that God wants us

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with the hand of faith

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to reach up and grab hold of.

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Brethren, I just think

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how fruitful we might be;

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what a church we might be

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if you really take this threefold cord

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into the grips of your own faith;

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lay hold on this

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and seek to live this out.

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The first strand in this threefold cord:

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secret prayer.

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Let's look at it.

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Matthew 6:6

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Let's go to Matthew 6

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a second time this morning -

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now this afternoon.

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Matthew 6:6

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"But when you pray,

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go into your room..."

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King James: "enter into thy closet."

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If you ever wonder where that idea

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of the prayer closet - it's right there.

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"Enter into thy closet."

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You see, again, just like with Craig

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in the first message,

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this is something that Jesus assumes

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is going to be a reality in your life.

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The closet. The secret place.

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And notice: "shut the door."

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Why do you shut the door?

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Well, not just so that you're

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not the hypocrite;

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so that the people in the 
other room can't see you.

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It's because this is about

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shutting out the disturbances,

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shutting out the distractions,

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and just your soul

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alone with the living God.

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"Go into your room..."

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"Enter into thy closet..."

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"Shut the door and pray."

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Don't get on your phone.

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Don't get on your computer.

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And if you don't have a place

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that you can go to get away from those,

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then you need to have one.

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Many of you know

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that Susannah Wesley -

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her secret place was under her apron.

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She put it over her head

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and the children knew,

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don't go there.

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"Pray to your Father Who is in secret,

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and your Father Who sees in secret

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will reward you..."

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And I'll just add openly.

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Brethren, we're talking about

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shutting ourselves away to God;

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to where God and your soul

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are alone.

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Where we depart from here;

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we go into the presence where

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our own soul flies away to where He is;

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where there's a connection.

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This is what I was talking about

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when I was talking about fasting.

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Brethren, I find there are seasons

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when something happens.

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There is a connection with the Lord -

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yes, there are times when it's difficult,

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when I feel cold.

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There are times when connecting with God

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just - it seems like He's far away.

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It seems like my thoughts are wandering.

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I start to pray and then 
I wander off here.

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Or I'm out walking somewhere,

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and I see something,

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and my mind's gone over there.

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Or I start thinking about some situation

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that I need to deal with

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and it's difficult.

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But there are other seasons,

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there is a connection with the Lord.

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That's the issue.

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Your Father - He sees in secret.

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He's there in secret.

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Brethren, secret prayer is not to be

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some mere duty of the Christian,

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like taking out the garbage

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or getting the oil changed on your car

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where it's this check list.

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You know, all the things 
I've got to do today.

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Well, I need to make sure that I do that.

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So you run over and you pray,

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"Lord, I want this, this, this, this..."

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Well, yeah, I did my prayer thing today.

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Brethren, that isn't it.

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We must consider secret prayer

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to be one of the great works of our life.

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When you think about your life,

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do you even think that way?

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Does that enter into your mind?

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That when you think about the things

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that you want to do well in life -

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and you know this,

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you know.

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If you're ever going to 
do anything well in life -

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you know, somebody's a chess champion.

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Did that just happen?

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Or they play the violin extremely well.

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Somebody can play a sport.

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Can you cook well?

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Sew well?

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Weld well?

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Can you problem solve

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issues on your computer?

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Well, that's well and great,

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but the question is can you pray?

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Do you even regard this

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as the great work of your life?

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I mean, listen, when you have

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the great apostle himself

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coming along to those Gentile churches

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and saying 1 Thessalonians,

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"Pray without ceasing."

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Craig's been dealing 
with the Colossian letter.

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To the Colossians, he says,

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"Continue steadfastly in prayer."

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To the Romans, "be constant in prayer."

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Listen to what God is telling you.

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This man is under inspiration.

278
00:13:46,206 --> 00:13:47,525
God is telling you,

279
00:13:47,525 --> 00:13:49,258
be constant in this.

280
00:13:49,258 --> 00:13:51,418
You know the words of Jesus Christ Himself

281
00:13:51,418 --> 00:13:53,643
there in Luke 18.

282
00:13:53,643 --> 00:14:01,298
He says (yeah, you can grab that brother);

283
00:14:01,298 --> 00:14:02,958
What does He say?

284
00:14:02,958 --> 00:14:08,098
He says that we need to be

285
00:14:08,098 --> 00:14:10,469
steadfast in prayer.

286
00:14:10,469 --> 00:14:15,528
"Men ought always to pray and not faint."

287
00:14:15,528 --> 00:14:18,063
These are the calls of our Savior,

288
00:14:18,063 --> 00:14:19,465
this apostle.

289
00:14:19,465 --> 00:14:20,712
(incomplete thought)

290
00:14:20,712 --> 00:14:22,899
It's like to everyone 
of the Gentile churches,

291
00:14:22,899 --> 00:14:24,876
he needed to say this to them.

292
00:14:24,876 --> 00:14:26,169
You need to pray.

293
00:14:26,169 --> 00:14:27,366
Not just a little.

294
00:14:27,366 --> 00:14:29,886
You need to pray constantly.
You need to persevere in it.

295
00:14:29,886 --> 00:14:31,949
You need to be about it.
You need to not faint in it.

296
00:14:31,955 --> 00:14:34,226
This is something that we need
to give ourselves to.

297
00:14:34,226 --> 00:14:37,004
How often do you think this way?

298
00:14:37,004 --> 00:14:40,861
This is the great work 
of the Christian's life

299
00:14:40,861 --> 00:14:43,335
that we pray, we pray, we pray.

300
00:14:43,335 --> 00:14:45,096
Secret prayer.

301
00:14:45,096 --> 00:14:49,462
The desire of secret communion with God.

302
00:14:49,462 --> 00:14:53,514
Brethren, it's one of the great evidences

303
00:14:53,514 --> 00:14:56,714
that you've become a Christian.

304
00:14:56,714 --> 00:14:58,523
Listen. I prayed some

305
00:14:58,523 --> 00:15:03,332
when I was a nominal Catholic.

306
00:15:03,332 --> 00:15:04,918
But when God saved me,

307
00:15:04,918 --> 00:15:06,762
I wanted to commune with Him.

308
00:15:06,762 --> 00:15:09,253
I spent hours communing with Him.

309
00:15:09,253 --> 00:15:10,527
Why? Something happened.

310
00:15:10,527 --> 00:15:12,263
Something in the desires happened.

311
00:15:12,263 --> 00:15:14,340
If you don't have a desire to be

312
00:15:14,340 --> 00:15:16,576
communing with the Father in secret,

313
00:15:16,576 --> 00:15:18,740
you need to go back and start over again,

314
00:15:18,740 --> 00:15:20,109
because something's wrong

315
00:15:20,109 --> 00:15:21,914
and something's broken.

316
00:15:21,914 --> 00:15:23,912
But see, I know with a lot of you,

317
00:15:23,912 --> 00:15:27,795
there's a desire there.

318
00:15:27,795 --> 00:15:30,076
But you know what?

319
00:15:30,076 --> 00:15:33,153
The longer we go on 
in the history of mankind,

320
00:15:33,153 --> 00:15:35,073
and the more gadgets we develop

321
00:15:35,073 --> 00:15:37,539
and devise and the way technology is

322
00:15:37,539 --> 00:15:39,520
and the distractions of this world,

323
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:41,508
we are in the communication age,

324
00:15:41,508 --> 00:15:42,838
and the problem with it is

325
00:15:42,838 --> 00:15:45,844
all this communication floods us.

326
00:15:45,844 --> 00:15:48,428
And I know there's a desire 
in some of your hearts,

327
00:15:48,428 --> 00:15:50,089
but listen, if you're going to be

328
00:15:50,089 --> 00:15:51,467
men or women of prayer,

329
00:15:51,467 --> 00:15:53,254
you've got to be disciplined.

330
00:15:53,254 --> 00:15:55,599
And you've got to learn 
to say no to things.

331
00:15:55,599 --> 00:15:58,916
You are going to have to make time

332
00:15:58,916 --> 00:16:00,993
in your day.

333
00:16:00,993 --> 00:16:02,447
I'll tell you this,

334
00:16:02,447 --> 00:16:04,936
when something is important to somebody

335
00:16:04,936 --> 00:16:06,807
you can typically see

336
00:16:06,807 --> 00:16:09,197
the level of importance that it holds

337
00:16:09,197 --> 00:16:11,074
in a person's life by the sacrifices

338
00:16:11,074 --> 00:16:15,114
that they are willing to 
make for it to happen.

339
00:16:15,114 --> 00:16:17,608
And if you're not willing 
to make those sacrifices,

340
00:16:17,608 --> 00:16:20,278
that says an enormous amount

341
00:16:20,278 --> 00:16:24,518
about how important you think this is.

342
00:16:24,518 --> 00:16:27,241
Strive, brethren, strive

343
00:16:27,241 --> 00:16:29,658
to make this one of the great works

344
00:16:29,658 --> 00:16:31,249
of your life.

345
00:16:31,249 --> 00:16:33,995
This is your life: Prayer.

346
00:16:33,995 --> 00:16:36,905
Constant. Always.

347
00:16:36,905 --> 00:16:39,207
Secret place.

348
00:16:39,207 --> 00:16:44,417
Do any of you not even have that place?

349
00:16:44,417 --> 00:16:51,792
Whether it's under the apron, ladies...

350
00:16:51,792 --> 00:16:55,417
whether you actually find 
a closet somewhere,

351
00:16:55,417 --> 00:16:58,494
or whether it's out 
under the stars at night.

352
00:16:58,494 --> 00:17:01,279
Is there that place in your life

353
00:17:01,279 --> 00:17:06,880
where you go and shut the door?

354
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,532
If that's foreign to you,

355
00:17:10,532 --> 00:17:14,054
listen, then stop.

356
00:17:14,054 --> 00:17:17,545
Forsake your way.

357
00:17:17,545 --> 00:17:19,827
Because if that's foreign to you,

358
00:17:19,827 --> 00:17:22,442
the way that you are on

359
00:17:22,442 --> 00:17:24,412
needs to be forsaken

360
00:17:24,412 --> 00:17:25,598
because it's a bad way.

361
00:17:25,598 --> 00:17:26,584
It's a wrong way.

362
00:17:26,584 --> 00:17:27,832
It's a backward way.

363
00:17:27,832 --> 00:17:29,499
It's a powerless way.

364
00:17:29,499 --> 00:17:37,118
It may be very likely an un-Christian way.

365
00:17:37,118 --> 00:17:44,397
The secret place.

366
00:17:44,397 --> 00:17:47,791
"Men ought always to pray."

367
00:17:47,791 --> 00:17:49,704
This needs to be our life's work,

368
00:17:49,704 --> 00:17:51,833
no matter what else God has called you to.

369
00:17:51,833 --> 00:17:55,699
You say, God has called me to 
do this and this and the other.

370
00:17:55,699 --> 00:17:57,623
That's ok.

371
00:17:57,623 --> 00:17:59,903
But God has called you to this.

372
00:17:59,903 --> 00:18:02,042
And so matter what else 
He's called you to,

373
00:18:02,042 --> 00:18:07,253
He has called you to 
make this a life's work.

374
00:18:07,253 --> 00:18:10,051
Because, brethren, this is where

375
00:18:10,051 --> 00:18:18,895
your life derives power.

376
00:18:18,895 --> 00:18:20,899
When you watch people

377
00:18:20,899 --> 00:18:23,457
in the Christian life,

378
00:18:23,457 --> 00:18:25,765
and you marvel,

379
00:18:25,765 --> 00:18:30,881
wow... what patience!

380
00:18:30,881 --> 00:18:34,544
What holiness!

381
00:18:34,544 --> 00:18:37,117
What power they have in their lives!

382
00:18:37,117 --> 00:18:39,811
What power they have

383
00:18:39,811 --> 00:18:42,800
demonstrated in some way!

384
00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:44,728
Brethren, the power of God

385
00:18:44,728 --> 00:18:47,489
is channeled into the Christian life

386
00:18:47,489 --> 00:18:48,660
through prayer.

387
00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:52,322
Prayerlessness does not produce power,

388
00:18:52,322 --> 00:18:55,705
because prayerlessness is basically

389
00:18:55,705 --> 00:18:56,840
avoiding God.

390
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,885
It's not going to God in the secret place.

391
00:18:58,885 --> 00:19:03,419
And you're not going to 
experience the reward.

392
00:19:03,419 --> 00:19:06,925
Brethren, you know very well this reality.

393
00:19:06,925 --> 00:19:13,007
Moses' face shined only when

394
00:19:13,007 --> 00:19:15,979
he was in the presence of God.

395
00:19:15,979 --> 00:19:17,373
And I can use that.

396
00:19:17,373 --> 00:19:19,476
You say, well, that's an 
Old Testament thing

397
00:19:19,476 --> 00:19:21,128
and we don't actually 
go into His presence

398
00:19:21,128 --> 00:19:23,358
in the Shekinah glory like he did.

399
00:19:23,358 --> 00:19:25,932
Brethren, if that's what you 
think, you think wrong,

400
00:19:25,932 --> 00:19:28,859
because Paul used that very example

401
00:19:28,859 --> 00:19:32,296
and brought it out in 
2 Corinthians 3 for us.

402
00:19:32,296 --> 00:19:33,788
For you and I.

403
00:19:33,788 --> 00:19:36,340
Because there's a reality in that truth

404
00:19:36,340 --> 00:19:39,708
that when we behold the glory of the Lord

405
00:19:39,708 --> 00:19:41,806
and when we're standing in this presence,

406
00:19:41,806 --> 00:19:44,657
there is where the change takes place.

407
00:19:44,657 --> 00:19:46,261
People that spend much time

408
00:19:46,261 --> 00:19:47,569
in the presence of God

409
00:19:47,569 --> 00:19:51,976
end up unlike people that don't

410
00:19:51,976 --> 00:19:54,593
spend that time.

411
00:19:54,593 --> 00:19:57,699
This is where we derive that power.

412
00:19:57,699 --> 00:20:00,146
Brethren, you know what happens

413
00:20:00,146 --> 00:20:05,145
when you go into the secret place?

414
00:20:05,145 --> 00:20:08,215
Look, if you go and your mind,

415
00:20:08,215 --> 00:20:13,429
your heart, your spirit lifts up to God -

416
00:20:13,429 --> 00:20:15,513
something happens.

417
00:20:15,513 --> 00:20:17,288
I'll tell you one thing that happens.

418
00:20:17,288 --> 00:20:18,572
There's an awareness

419
00:20:18,572 --> 00:20:19,931
that you're speaking to God.

420
00:20:19,931 --> 00:20:21,559
And oftentimes what that does is

421
00:20:21,559 --> 00:20:24,800
it produces an awareness of yourself.

422
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,784
Because it's a place where you come

423
00:20:26,784 --> 00:20:28,609
and you put your conscience

424
00:20:28,609 --> 00:20:32,447
under the very gaze of omniscience -

425
00:20:32,447 --> 00:20:34,308
One Who knows it all.

426
00:20:34,308 --> 00:20:35,968
Do you find that happens?

427
00:20:35,968 --> 00:20:38,088
You go to Him and it's like

428
00:20:38,088 --> 00:20:44,941
you're trying to talk to 
Him about something,

429
00:20:44,941 --> 00:20:47,628
but suddenly your conscience is there

430
00:20:47,628 --> 00:20:49,078
beneath His gaze,

431
00:20:49,078 --> 00:20:51,280
and it's saying something's not right.

432
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:52,832
You see, when we're regular

433
00:20:52,832 --> 00:20:54,520
in the secret places of prayer,

434
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:55,668
you know what it does?

435
00:20:55,668 --> 00:20:57,433
You know what it does with your life

436
00:20:57,433 --> 00:20:59,545
as far as purity and holiness?

437
00:20:59,545 --> 00:21:01,694
(incomplete thought)

438
00:21:01,694 --> 00:21:03,722
The secret place is the place

439
00:21:03,722 --> 00:21:06,016
where we come and we confess.

440
00:21:06,016 --> 00:21:07,439
It's the place where we come

441
00:21:07,439 --> 00:21:09,263
and we lay down our pride,

442
00:21:09,263 --> 00:21:10,866
our lack of gentleness,

443
00:21:10,866 --> 00:21:13,028
our lack of faith,

444
00:21:13,028 --> 00:21:14,183
our irritability,

445
00:21:14,183 --> 00:21:16,948
our lack of patience.

446
00:21:16,948 --> 00:21:19,252
It's that place where 
you cry out for help.

447
00:21:19,252 --> 00:21:21,547
"Lord, take that away."

448
00:21:21,547 --> 00:21:22,966
Have you ever been there?

449
00:21:22,966 --> 00:21:24,226
Where it's like, "Lord,

450
00:21:24,226 --> 00:21:25,823
You have promised in Your Word

451
00:21:25,823 --> 00:21:28,452
to conform us to the image of Christ.

452
00:21:28,452 --> 00:21:30,350
Lord, that's Your promise!

453
00:21:30,350 --> 00:21:31,189
It's right there.

454
00:21:31,189 --> 00:21:32,927
I read it in the pages of Romans 8.

455
00:21:32,927 --> 00:21:36,200
You have promised that I'm predestinated

456
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:37,791
to be conformed to the image

457
00:21:37,791 --> 00:21:41,416
of this firstborn Son.

458
00:21:41,416 --> 00:21:44,620
You have promised in Your Word

459
00:21:44,620 --> 00:21:45,830
to make us blameless

460
00:21:45,830 --> 00:21:47,108
and make us holy.

461
00:21:47,108 --> 00:21:49,114
You have promised that by degrees

462
00:21:49,114 --> 00:21:50,802
that we are going to be conformed

463
00:21:50,802 --> 00:21:53,273
to the image of this Lord

464
00:21:53,273 --> 00:21:55,063
Whose glory that we see.

465
00:21:55,063 --> 00:21:56,265
You've promised that."

466
00:21:56,265 --> 00:21:57,870
It's the place where you go there

467
00:21:57,870 --> 00:21:59,509
and you ask for power.

468
00:21:59,509 --> 00:22:00,962
It's the place there, brethren,

469
00:22:00,962 --> 00:22:03,498
where your heart is lifted up

470
00:22:03,498 --> 00:22:05,921
and you adore Him for not dealing with you

471
00:22:05,921 --> 00:22:07,072
according to your sins.

472
00:22:07,072 --> 00:22:08,217
Do you ever go there

473
00:22:08,217 --> 00:22:10,803
and you're just struck 
by all the blessings

474
00:22:10,803 --> 00:22:11,617
that you have?

475
00:22:11,617 --> 00:22:13,105
And by the fact that He has not

476
00:22:13,105 --> 00:22:14,928
dealt with you according to the things

477
00:22:14,928 --> 00:22:16,395
that you've done in your life?

478
00:22:16,395 --> 00:22:19,923
And you're lifted up to the cross?

479
00:22:19,923 --> 00:22:23,852
And Lord, thank You! Thank You!

480
00:22:23,852 --> 00:22:26,290
It's that place of adoration.

481
00:22:26,290 --> 00:22:29,034
Listen, brethren, it's 
a place of weeping -

482
00:22:29,034 --> 00:22:30,531
weeping over your failures,

483
00:22:30,531 --> 00:22:34,186
but weeping over just gratitude.

484
00:22:34,186 --> 00:22:36,131
It's a place where you connect

485
00:22:36,131 --> 00:22:38,766
with the living God.

486
00:22:38,766 --> 00:22:40,306
Brethren, secret prayer

487
00:22:40,306 --> 00:22:43,211
is where we meet God.

488
00:22:43,211 --> 00:22:46,805
Don't let the busyness of this world

489
00:22:46,805 --> 00:22:49,290
rob you of your God.

490
00:22:49,290 --> 00:22:50,702
Brethren, don't you recognize

491
00:22:50,702 --> 00:22:52,966
that the greatest thing 
we have in salvation

492
00:22:52,966 --> 00:22:54,653
is our God?

493
00:22:54,653 --> 00:22:56,413
It's like what are you going to do?

494
00:22:56,413 --> 00:22:57,832
Live on the broken cisterns

495
00:22:57,832 --> 00:23:01,952
when you have this fullness that is there?

496
00:23:01,952 --> 00:23:04,332
Brethren, the rewards that come

497
00:23:04,332 --> 00:23:06,663
when God says:

498
00:23:06,663 --> 00:23:08,519
You go into that secret place.

499
00:23:08,519 --> 00:23:11,188
I'm going to reward you.

500
00:23:11,188 --> 00:23:12,638
Oh, you better believe it.

501
00:23:12,638 --> 00:23:13,804
He created us.

502
00:23:13,804 --> 00:23:16,241
He knows what the greatest rewards are.

503
00:23:16,241 --> 00:23:18,116
He knows what most satisfies.

504
00:23:18,116 --> 00:23:20,152
He knows what most brings joy.

505
00:23:20,152 --> 00:23:22,962
He knows what's for our greatest good.

506
00:23:22,962 --> 00:23:26,294
Rewards - the reward of the Father.

507
00:23:26,294 --> 00:23:30,331
Don't let the cares of 
this world encroach.

508
00:23:30,331 --> 00:23:31,875
Because I'll tell you this,

509
00:23:31,875 --> 00:23:33,014
you know what happens -

510
00:23:33,014 --> 00:23:34,574
have you ever read in Scripture

511
00:23:34,574 --> 00:23:37,672
about those who get encroached upon

512
00:23:37,672 --> 00:23:42,775
by the cares of the world?

513
00:23:42,775 --> 00:23:45,099
Both places I read about it in Scripture,

514
00:23:45,099 --> 00:23:47,858
it's not a good thing.

515
00:23:47,858 --> 00:23:49,789
One is the cares of this world,

516
00:23:49,789 --> 00:23:54,041
they encroach and there's no fruitfulness.

517
00:23:54,041 --> 00:23:55,412
The other one is a steward

518
00:23:55,412 --> 00:23:57,085
who goes about getting drunk

519
00:23:57,085 --> 00:23:59,974
and beating his fellow servants,

520
00:23:59,974 --> 00:24:02,135
and the cares of this world come upon him

521
00:24:02,135 --> 00:24:04,989
and then the Lord Jesus returns,

522
00:24:04,989 --> 00:24:07,012
and he's not ready.

523
00:24:07,012 --> 00:24:10,142
You know what the cares of the world do?

524
00:24:10,142 --> 00:24:12,849
They make you fruitless.

525
00:24:12,849 --> 00:24:14,862
What do you think Jesus is saying?

526
00:24:14,862 --> 00:24:17,139
You think that guy was 
ready to meet his Lord?

527
00:24:17,139 --> 00:24:19,315
You think it's like he's just going to

528
00:24:19,315 --> 00:24:20,418
get a pat on the back?

529
00:24:20,418 --> 00:24:22,370
Well done, good and faithful servant?

530
00:24:22,370 --> 00:24:24,431
Although, there were these minor things

531
00:24:24,431 --> 00:24:27,289
like you were getting drunk all the time.

532
00:24:27,289 --> 00:24:30,784
And the thing that all of this

533
00:24:30,784 --> 00:24:36,444
is couched in the midst of 
is the cares of the world.

534
00:24:36,444 --> 00:24:39,152
We may think, oh, the cares of this world,

535
00:24:39,152 --> 00:24:41,204
to be distracted sometimes away from

536
00:24:41,204 --> 00:24:45,380
secret prayer a minor thing.

537
00:24:45,380 --> 00:24:47,994
Uh uh.

538
00:24:47,994 --> 00:24:52,601
You're not ready to meet the Lord.

539
00:24:52,601 --> 00:24:54,635
You're not ready.

540
00:24:54,635 --> 00:24:55,956
Don't let the cares of the world

541
00:24:55,956 --> 00:25:01,793
rob you of God or of His reward.

542
00:25:01,793 --> 00:25:05,206
Listen to this. Just listen.

543
00:25:05,206 --> 00:25:08,186
You know these words, but listen.

544
00:25:08,186 --> 00:25:17,314
"Every one who asks receives.

545
00:25:17,314 --> 00:25:19,378
The one who seeks finds.

546
00:25:19,378 --> 00:25:25,274
The one who knocks, it will be opened."

547
00:25:25,274 --> 00:25:27,424
Do you know what the reality is?

548
00:25:27,424 --> 00:25:32,785
Those who pray most, receive most.

549
00:25:32,785 --> 00:25:34,749
You know, if you look at your life

550
00:25:34,749 --> 00:25:39,003
and you wonder, why don't 
I have what they have?

551
00:25:39,003 --> 00:25:43,370
Ok, I'm not saying this 
works all the time.

552
00:25:43,370 --> 00:25:45,097
There are times we ask for things

553
00:25:45,097 --> 00:25:47,796
and the Lord doesn't give them to us.

554
00:25:47,796 --> 00:25:49,045
But I can tell you this,

555
00:25:49,045 --> 00:25:50,733
when you have promises like this,

556
00:25:50,733 --> 00:25:52,474
that if you ask, you will receive -

557
00:25:52,474 --> 00:25:55,917
everyone who asks receives -

558
00:25:55,917 --> 00:25:59,514
if you notice that in 
the spiritual kingdom,

559
00:25:59,514 --> 00:26:03,630
there are some people 
that have a lot more,

560
00:26:03,630 --> 00:26:11,176
there is a good likelihood 
that they pray more.

561
00:26:11,176 --> 00:26:13,596
You take Brainerd -

562
00:26:13,596 --> 00:26:18,566
he was a missionary to 
the American Indians.

563
00:26:18,566 --> 00:26:19,774
You look at his life.

564
00:26:19,774 --> 00:26:21,854
You say, wow...

565
00:26:21,854 --> 00:26:26,202
he reached heights.

566
00:26:26,202 --> 00:26:29,011
But look how he prayed; 
look how he fasted.

567
00:26:29,011 --> 00:26:31,074
And Edwards could say,

568
00:26:31,074 --> 00:26:32,202
maybe not a single time

569
00:26:32,202 --> 00:26:33,959
that he wasn't rewarded -

570
00:26:33,959 --> 00:26:35,722
even sometimes the same day.

571
00:26:35,722 --> 00:26:37,600
Brethren, you know what's happening

572
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,342
if you're not in that secret place

573
00:26:39,342 --> 00:26:40,897
praying every single day?

574
00:26:40,897 --> 00:26:44,036
You're robbing yourself.

575
00:26:44,036 --> 00:26:45,974
You're robbing yourself

576
00:26:45,974 --> 00:26:49,192
of how those times with the Lord

577
00:26:49,192 --> 00:26:51,230
would transform you

578
00:26:51,230 --> 00:26:53,209
into a greater likeness of Christ.

579
00:26:53,209 --> 00:26:55,684
You're robbing yourself of beholding

580
00:26:55,684 --> 00:26:57,379
more of the glory of God.

581
00:26:57,379 --> 00:27:01,338
You're robbing yourself of the rewards.

582
00:27:01,338 --> 00:27:05,732
You're robbing yourself 
of answered prayer.

583
00:27:05,732 --> 00:27:07,741
Those who pray the most,

584
00:27:07,741 --> 00:27:12,173
stand in the presence of God the most.

585
00:27:12,173 --> 00:27:16,083
And just like it was with Moses,

586
00:27:16,083 --> 00:27:17,521
they're going to have the most

587
00:27:17,521 --> 00:27:19,599
glory of God shining from their faces.

588
00:27:19,599 --> 00:27:21,470
Those who pray most walk where

589
00:27:21,470 --> 00:27:24,521
other men don't walk.

590
00:27:24,521 --> 00:27:26,454
They experience what other men

591
00:27:26,454 --> 00:27:28,662
don't experience.

592
00:27:28,662 --> 00:27:34,775
Listen, Jesus says if you love Me,

593
00:27:34,775 --> 00:27:36,322
He says My Father will love you

594
00:27:36,322 --> 00:27:37,485
and I will love you,

595
00:27:37,485 --> 00:27:43,085
and He says I will manifest Myself to you.

596
00:27:43,085 --> 00:27:46,208
But you're not showing much love for Him

597
00:27:46,208 --> 00:27:50,024
if you don't care to spend time with Him.

598
00:27:50,024 --> 00:27:51,688
But He says if you love Me,

599
00:27:51,688 --> 00:27:53,384
it's going to be rewarded

600
00:27:53,384 --> 00:27:57,728
with manifestations of Christ.

601
00:27:57,728 --> 00:27:59,569
That's valuable.

602
00:27:59,569 --> 00:28:03,886
Brethren, the great commandment

603
00:28:03,886 --> 00:28:07,958
that Jesus gives to us:

604
00:28:07,958 --> 00:28:09,878
Follow Me.

605
00:28:09,878 --> 00:28:12,623
You say, oh, I thought it was love...

606
00:28:12,623 --> 00:28:15,271
Yeah, it's hard to separate those two.

607
00:28:15,271 --> 00:28:18,532
Follow Me. Follow Me.

608
00:28:18,532 --> 00:28:22,582
He said if you would be My disciple,

609
00:28:22,582 --> 00:28:25,627
you must follow Me.

610
00:28:25,627 --> 00:28:27,814
You notice when He came 
around to everybody,

611
00:28:27,814 --> 00:28:30,134
James and John: Follow Me.

612
00:28:30,134 --> 00:28:32,645
Peter and Andrew: Follow Me.

613
00:28:32,645 --> 00:28:35,371
Matthew: Follow Me.

614
00:28:35,371 --> 00:28:37,963
Rich, young ruler: Follow Me.

615
00:28:37,963 --> 00:28:39,078
That was always it.

616
00:28:39,078 --> 00:28:40,790
Follow Me.

617
00:28:40,790 --> 00:28:42,595
Do you see Him out there?

618
00:28:42,595 --> 00:28:44,640
Those of you that have read your Gospels?

619
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,645
That's why it's so important to 
be in the Gospel all the time.

620
00:28:47,645 --> 00:28:48,929
Because you see Christ -

621
00:28:48,929 --> 00:28:51,188
the One we're supposed to follow.

622
00:28:51,188 --> 00:28:53,481
Let's follow Him.

623
00:28:53,481 --> 00:28:56,055
Do you see Him?

624
00:28:56,055 --> 00:28:58,391
Follow Him.

625
00:28:58,391 --> 00:29:00,398
"He went up on the mountains...

626
00:29:00,398 --> 00:29:01,902
Matthew 14:23

627
00:29:01,902 --> 00:29:03,749
"...by Himself to pray.

628
00:29:03,749 --> 00:29:07,627
When evening came, He was there alone."

629
00:29:07,627 --> 00:29:09,524
Now think with me.

630
00:29:09,524 --> 00:29:12,805
"He was there alone."

631
00:29:12,805 --> 00:29:15,042
Where? On the mountain.

632
00:29:15,042 --> 00:29:17,585
That was His closet.

633
00:29:17,585 --> 00:29:18,571
Alone.

634
00:29:18,571 --> 00:29:23,475
That's what shutting the door is: alone.

635
00:29:23,475 --> 00:29:28,568
You're not alone today,

636
00:29:28,568 --> 00:29:30,542
even if you shut the door

637
00:29:30,542 --> 00:29:41,974
and you've got this 
buzzing in your pocket.

638
00:29:41,974 --> 00:29:43,681
You know how the King James says

639
00:29:43,681 --> 00:29:46,488
"quit yourself like men?"

640
00:29:46,488 --> 00:29:51,299
Be a man!

641
00:29:51,299 --> 00:29:56,306
Don't be some little 
slave of a cell phone.

642
00:29:56,306 --> 00:30:00,855
Be a man.

643
00:30:00,855 --> 00:30:02,419
You're going to have to be one

644
00:30:02,419 --> 00:30:04,482
if you're going to be familiar

645
00:30:04,482 --> 00:30:08,254
and make it the great object of your life

646
00:30:08,254 --> 00:30:13,557
to pray like some of the 
men and women of old,

647
00:30:13,557 --> 00:30:17,919
whose lives we cherish.

648
00:30:17,919 --> 00:30:21,211
We're moved on when we read them.

649
00:30:21,211 --> 00:30:25,117
But how do you think 
they lived lives like that?

650
00:30:25,117 --> 00:30:27,019
Oh, if you looked at their prayer lives,

651
00:30:27,019 --> 00:30:31,439
you'd have some idea.

652
00:30:31,439 --> 00:30:35,391
Mark 1:35 "Rising very early

653
00:30:35,391 --> 00:30:37,793
in the morning while it was still dark,

654
00:30:37,793 --> 00:30:39,615
Jesus departed and went out

655
00:30:39,615 --> 00:30:44,881
to a desolate place and there He prayed."

656
00:30:44,881 --> 00:30:46,441
Hear Him.

657
00:30:46,441 --> 00:30:50,021
A mountain by Himself.

658
00:30:50,021 --> 00:30:54,204
A desolate place all alone.

659
00:30:54,204 --> 00:30:55,710
Hear His words.

660
00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:57,603
Do you see Him out there?

661
00:30:57,603 --> 00:30:59,324
You know what He's saying to you?

662
00:30:59,324 --> 00:31:05,497
Follow Me. Follow Me.

663
00:31:05,497 --> 00:31:07,159
Luke 5:16 "He would withdraw

664
00:31:07,159 --> 00:31:11,422
to desolate places and pray."

665
00:31:11,422 --> 00:31:13,775
Luke 6:12 "In these days,

666
00:31:13,775 --> 00:31:17,678
He went out to the mountain to pray

667
00:31:17,678 --> 00:31:21,942
and all night He continued 
in prayer to God."

668
00:31:21,942 --> 00:31:24,704
You find Him in these places

669
00:31:24,704 --> 00:31:27,476
before the sun rises in the morning.

670
00:31:27,476 --> 00:31:29,358
You find Him there in the afternoon

671
00:31:29,358 --> 00:31:31,897
all the way till night.

672
00:31:31,897 --> 00:31:34,790
You find Him there all through the night.

673
00:31:34,790 --> 00:31:39,027
Desolate places.

674
00:31:39,027 --> 00:31:43,843
Listen, if you want to excel at this,

675
00:31:43,843 --> 00:31:48,390
you need to arrange your life around this.

676
00:31:48,390 --> 00:31:50,608
It's not going to happen by magic.

677
00:31:50,608 --> 00:31:51,988
Be resolute about this.

678
00:31:51,988 --> 00:31:54,901
Make the sacrifices that are necessary

679
00:31:54,901 --> 00:31:58,426
to maintain one or two or three times

680
00:31:58,426 --> 00:32:00,366
of secret prayer every single day.

681
00:32:00,366 --> 00:32:02,717
You say, two or three times?

682
00:32:02,717 --> 00:32:05,304
I don't even do it once a day!

683
00:32:05,304 --> 00:32:07,753
Then repent!

684
00:32:07,753 --> 00:32:10,161
That's not praying constantly.

685
00:32:10,161 --> 00:32:12,566
That's not showing up in the secret place.

686
00:32:12,566 --> 00:32:16,315
That's not imitating Christ.

687
00:32:16,315 --> 00:32:20,564
Follow Me. Follow Me.

688
00:32:20,564 --> 00:32:25,142
Follow Me.

689
00:32:25,142 --> 00:32:28,602
Brethren, I thought about this.

690
00:32:28,602 --> 00:32:30,680
If I could take every moment

691
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:34,630
that I've ever wasted in my life,

692
00:32:34,630 --> 00:32:38,171
and could have given it to secret prayer,

693
00:32:38,171 --> 00:32:44,555
how different my life would be.

694
00:32:44,555 --> 00:32:47,033
I mean just think of the 
greater sanctification

695
00:32:47,033 --> 00:32:53,085
that you and I might have in our lives

696
00:32:53,085 --> 00:32:56,656
if we took some of the needless,

697
00:32:56,656 --> 00:33:01,359
unnecessary wastes of time out of our life

698
00:33:01,359 --> 00:33:05,573
and replaced it with secret 
communion with God,

699
00:33:05,573 --> 00:33:07,405
just how our lives would be different.

700
00:33:07,405 --> 00:33:12,264
More answers to prayer.

701
00:33:12,264 --> 00:33:14,664
Don't let your friends;

702
00:33:14,664 --> 00:33:16,219
don't let your family;

703
00:33:16,219 --> 00:33:17,866
don't let the cares of this world;

704
00:33:17,866 --> 00:33:19,350
don't let your business;

705
00:33:19,350 --> 00:33:23,554
don't let your pleasure rob you of God.

706
00:33:23,554 --> 00:33:28,271
This is the greatest gift of all.

707
00:33:28,271 --> 00:33:30,485
I'll tell you this,

708
00:33:30,485 --> 00:33:35,118
those who have experienced God come close,

709
00:33:35,118 --> 00:33:36,543
they know it.

710
00:33:36,543 --> 00:33:37,924
They know it.

711
00:33:37,924 --> 00:33:40,614
There's nothing in this 
world that compares.

712
00:33:40,614 --> 00:33:42,994
There's nothing better.

713
00:33:42,994 --> 00:33:46,158
If you say, I don't know that,

714
00:33:46,158 --> 00:33:50,512
listen, if you love Him

715
00:33:50,512 --> 00:33:54,015
and you give yourself to seeking Him,

716
00:33:54,015 --> 00:33:58,654
He says He'll manifest Himself.

717
00:33:58,654 --> 00:34:02,964
And if you're not knowing 
these manifestations,

718
00:34:02,964 --> 00:34:08,669
it's not because He hasn't 
promised to give them.

719
00:34:08,669 --> 00:34:13,944
Look, spend the time to find God.

720
00:34:13,944 --> 00:34:17,033
Spend time - the time necessary -

721
00:34:17,033 --> 00:34:21,694
to find God in ways that thrill your soul;

722
00:34:21,694 --> 00:34:24,531
that cause you to drop on your face

723
00:34:24,531 --> 00:34:25,953
because He's come

724
00:34:25,953 --> 00:34:27,823
and the sense of His holiness

725
00:34:27,823 --> 00:34:32,518
is enough to put you on the floor.

726
00:34:32,518 --> 00:34:34,163
Because brethren, I'll tell you,

727
00:34:34,163 --> 00:34:41,951
you have experiences like Isaiah had.

728
00:34:41,951 --> 00:34:43,794
Yeah, I know he went to the temple;

729
00:34:43,794 --> 00:34:45,837
he saw the Lord; he actually had a vision.

730
00:34:45,837 --> 00:34:47,567
But when you have experiences

731
00:34:47,567 --> 00:34:49,236
where God comes close,

732
00:34:49,236 --> 00:34:51,820
it's life changing.

733
00:34:51,820 --> 00:34:53,838
You ask how to pray?

734
00:34:53,838 --> 00:34:57,308
Listen, I'll tell you from 
my own experience,

735
00:34:57,308 --> 00:35:00,342
have the Word of God involved with it.

736
00:35:00,342 --> 00:35:02,304
Oftentimes, going out -

737
00:35:02,304 --> 00:35:04,092
I like to pray outside -

738
00:35:04,092 --> 00:35:08,210
walking and begin to recite Scripture

739
00:35:08,210 --> 00:35:09,730
that I'm memorizing.

740
00:35:09,730 --> 00:35:14,203
Oh, that so primes the pump for prayer.

741
00:35:14,203 --> 00:35:17,473
Mack Tomlinson - and I'm 
starting to do this now -

742
00:35:17,473 --> 00:35:22,721
he has told me about 
praying through the Psalms.

743
00:35:22,721 --> 00:35:24,037
I'm beginning to do that.

744
00:35:24,037 --> 00:35:26,313
Tremendous help.

745
00:35:26,313 --> 00:35:29,670
Think about the promises of God

746
00:35:29,670 --> 00:35:31,356
when you pray.

747
00:35:31,356 --> 00:35:33,641
Think about reasons as to why

748
00:35:33,641 --> 00:35:36,951
God should give you 
what you're asking for.

749
00:35:36,951 --> 00:35:45,258
Brethren, instead of 
starting your secret prayer

750
00:35:45,258 --> 00:35:48,659
just running headlong into God's presence

751
00:35:48,659 --> 00:35:53,136
with all the things that you want.

752
00:35:53,136 --> 00:35:55,939
You say, I don't know what to pray for.

753
00:35:55,939 --> 00:35:57,960
Just go and get in the presence of God

754
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:02,766
and begin to admit your faults.

755
00:36:02,766 --> 00:36:06,093
Confess your sins.

756
00:36:06,093 --> 00:36:08,778
Have a fresh look at the cross.

757
00:36:08,778 --> 00:36:09,884
Because I'll tell you,

758
00:36:09,884 --> 00:36:11,145
when you begin to go out

759
00:36:11,145 --> 00:36:13,346
and you begin to confess,

760
00:36:13,346 --> 00:36:20,878
and you're being transparent 
before the Lord,

761
00:36:20,878 --> 00:36:24,777
you start to look to the cross afresh -

762
00:36:24,777 --> 00:36:29,115
Christ's sufferings and His death for me -

763
00:36:29,115 --> 00:36:37,293
you're right where the 
Spirit will help you pray.

764
00:36:37,293 --> 00:36:39,826
So, that's one strand.

765
00:36:39,826 --> 00:36:42,684
But hear me, don't get impatient here.

766
00:36:42,684 --> 00:36:50,441
Second strand: doing good.

767
00:36:50,441 --> 00:36:55,537
Brethren, Galatians 6:9.

768
00:36:55,537 --> 00:36:57,049
Don't turn to these texts,

769
00:36:57,049 --> 00:36:58,228
but just listen,

770
00:36:58,228 --> 00:36:59,797
because I'm going to move through

771
00:36:59,797 --> 00:37:02,168
some of these quickly.

772
00:37:02,168 --> 00:37:05,618
But Scripture says, the apostle says,

773
00:37:05,618 --> 00:37:10,176
"Let us not grow weary of doing good."

774
00:37:10,176 --> 00:37:11,371
Or, "well doing."

775
00:37:11,371 --> 00:37:14,505
We are to be well-doers.

776
00:37:14,505 --> 00:37:17,007
"For in due season, we will reap

777
00:37:17,007 --> 00:37:19,230
if we do not give up."

778
00:37:19,230 --> 00:37:21,806
Do you remember what 
was said about our Lord?

779
00:37:21,806 --> 00:37:28,437
"He went about doing good."

780
00:37:28,437 --> 00:37:32,450
Again, He says, follow Me.

781
00:37:32,450 --> 00:37:33,838
See, if we watch Him,

782
00:37:33,838 --> 00:37:35,376
we find Him up on the mountain.

783
00:37:35,376 --> 00:37:37,737
We find Him out in desolate places.

784
00:37:37,737 --> 00:37:39,203
But keep watching Him.

785
00:37:39,203 --> 00:37:40,691
Oh, that's good in itself.

786
00:37:40,691 --> 00:37:44,010
That's doing good, but 
watch Him in between.

787
00:37:44,010 --> 00:37:45,928
Watch what He's up there

788
00:37:45,928 --> 00:37:48,479
getting fresh grace to do;

789
00:37:48,479 --> 00:37:50,828
communing with His Father.

790
00:37:50,828 --> 00:37:52,912
because then He comes down

791
00:37:52,912 --> 00:37:55,106
from the mountain.

792
00:37:55,106 --> 00:37:57,712
He comes away from the desolate place.

793
00:37:57,712 --> 00:37:59,375
And what does He do?

794
00:37:59,375 --> 00:38:04,016
A life just full of good.

795
00:38:04,016 --> 00:38:05,221
That's it.

796
00:38:05,221 --> 00:38:07,007
That's what it is to be His disciple.

797
00:38:07,007 --> 00:38:08,296
Are you His follower?

798
00:38:08,296 --> 00:38:09,739
That's what a Christian is:

799
00:38:09,739 --> 00:38:11,189
a follower of Christ.

800
00:38:11,189 --> 00:38:12,262
Do we follow Him?

801
00:38:12,262 --> 00:38:14,058
Do we follow Him to the secret place

802
00:38:14,058 --> 00:38:18,456
and then follow Him among the people?

803
00:38:18,456 --> 00:38:22,050
To do good. Doing good.

804
00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:23,776
Do you know what sort of Jesus

805
00:38:23,776 --> 00:38:31,007
you do not find in your Bibles?

806
00:38:31,007 --> 00:38:34,101
We do not find the sort of Jesus

807
00:38:34,101 --> 00:38:36,360
Who didn't smoke, didn't drink,

808
00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:38,210
didn't watch R-rated movies,

809
00:38:38,210 --> 00:38:40,234
didn't send His children to public school,

810
00:38:40,234 --> 00:38:42,000
didn't come late to church.

811
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,659
We don't find that Christ.

812
00:38:44,659 --> 00:38:46,956
You say what?

813
00:38:46,956 --> 00:38:50,216
Listen, my emphasis is this:

814
00:38:50,216 --> 00:38:56,308
you don't find this Christ

815
00:38:56,308 --> 00:38:58,810
of negative emphasis

816
00:38:58,810 --> 00:39:02,865
in the pages of your Bible.

817
00:39:02,865 --> 00:39:05,977
Acts 10:38 doesn't say that Jesus

818
00:39:05,977 --> 00:39:12,294
went about not doing evil.

819
00:39:12,294 --> 00:39:14,907
That's not the Jesus of the Bible.

820
00:39:14,907 --> 00:39:17,286
You say, what? You're saying He did evil?

821
00:39:17,286 --> 00:39:23,084
No, I'm just saying that's not the issue.

822
00:39:23,084 --> 00:39:27,296
So often you find religious people -

823
00:39:27,296 --> 00:39:29,692
professing Christians -

824
00:39:29,692 --> 00:39:31,723
"well, what's wrong with that?"

825
00:39:31,723 --> 00:39:34,482
"Well, I don't do that."

826
00:39:34,482 --> 00:39:37,092
You know, the typical 
fundamentalist attitude:

827
00:39:37,092 --> 00:39:38,550
"I don't drink. I don't smoke.

828
00:39:38,550 --> 00:39:41,881
I don't dance."

829
00:39:41,881 --> 00:39:45,145
So?

830
00:39:45,145 --> 00:39:50,349
You say, what, the 
pastor's saying you can?

831
00:39:50,349 --> 00:39:52,562
I'm saying this:

832
00:39:52,562 --> 00:39:56,773
we're called to be followers of Christ.

833
00:39:56,773 --> 00:39:59,388
When you do spiritual inventory,

834
00:39:59,388 --> 00:40:00,902
sure, it's good if you haven't

835
00:40:00,902 --> 00:40:03,213
viewed pornography this week.

836
00:40:03,213 --> 00:40:07,407
It's great if you haven't 
beaten your wife this week.

837
00:40:07,407 --> 00:40:12,016
But brethren, those things are a given.

838
00:40:12,016 --> 00:40:13,533
If that's the level at which

839
00:40:13,533 --> 00:40:15,569
you're trying to live your Christian life,

840
00:40:15,569 --> 00:40:19,742
my friend, you are missing the whole point

841
00:40:19,742 --> 00:40:23,880
of why Jesus Christ saved a people.

842
00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:25,465
Have you ever read?

843
00:40:25,465 --> 00:40:29,045
He saved a people

844
00:40:29,045 --> 00:40:32,122
for His own possession.

845
00:40:32,122 --> 00:40:35,113
And what would chiefly characterize them?

846
00:40:35,113 --> 00:40:37,871
The fact that they don't do bad?

847
00:40:37,871 --> 00:40:41,583
Brethren, that they be 
zealous of good works.

848
00:40:41,583 --> 00:40:44,169
That's it.

849
00:40:44,169 --> 00:40:46,466
Get away from this negative-oriented

850
00:40:46,466 --> 00:40:51,889
kind of Christianity.

851
00:40:51,889 --> 00:40:53,966
You know you ask some people

852
00:40:53,966 --> 00:40:55,677
about their Christianity,

853
00:40:55,677 --> 00:41:00,617
and it's like it's all the negative.

854
00:41:00,617 --> 00:41:02,989
It's all about what they don't do.

855
00:41:02,989 --> 00:41:04,737
Listen, Jesus didn't save us

856
00:41:04,737 --> 00:41:06,931
just to stop doing the bad things.

857
00:41:06,931 --> 00:41:08,403
Of course He did that.

858
00:41:08,403 --> 00:41:10,389
Of course, by the Spirit to put to death

859
00:41:10,389 --> 00:41:11,762
the deeds of the body.

860
00:41:11,762 --> 00:41:15,146
Of course that.

861
00:41:15,146 --> 00:41:17,140
But doing good,

862
00:41:17,140 --> 00:41:20,051
doing good -

863
00:41:20,051 --> 00:41:21,620
this is the will of God,

864
00:41:21,620 --> 00:41:24,095
that by doing good, you should

865
00:41:24,095 --> 00:41:26,802
put to silence the 
ignorance of foolish people.

866
00:41:26,802 --> 00:41:28,956
In the same way, doesn't Scripture say,

867
00:41:28,956 --> 00:41:31,737
"Let your light so shine before men

868
00:41:31,737 --> 00:41:33,463
that they may see your good works

869
00:41:33,463 --> 00:41:35,860
and give glory to your 
Father Who is in Heaven?"

870
00:41:35,860 --> 00:41:37,192
Right there in Ephesians,

871
00:41:37,192 --> 00:41:38,325
we came across it:

872
00:41:38,325 --> 00:41:39,967
"We are His workmanship,

873
00:41:39,967 --> 00:41:42,621
created in Christ Jesus for good works."

874
00:41:42,621 --> 00:41:44,657
Brethren, this is the heart and soul.

875
00:41:44,657 --> 00:41:46,561
Again, when we talk about making it

876
00:41:46,561 --> 00:41:49,322
a primary endeavor of your life to pray -

877
00:41:49,322 --> 00:41:51,632
one of the primary endeavors of our lives

878
00:41:51,632 --> 00:41:53,937
is doing good.

879
00:41:53,937 --> 00:41:55,514
with so many people it's:

880
00:41:55,514 --> 00:41:57,969
Well, I didn't miss church on Sunday.

881
00:41:57,969 --> 00:42:00,637
Listen, church going - well, that's good.

882
00:42:00,637 --> 00:42:03,784
Not forsaking the assembling 
together of yourselves is good.

883
00:42:03,784 --> 00:42:06,059
But why do we come together?

884
00:42:06,059 --> 00:42:10,010
To stir up one another 
to love and good works.

885
00:42:10,010 --> 00:42:11,746
You see, that's the issue.

886
00:42:11,746 --> 00:42:14,664
You being here - that's only to equip you

887
00:42:14,664 --> 00:42:16,607
for the real work.

888
00:42:16,607 --> 00:42:20,221
To go out these doors

889
00:42:20,221 --> 00:42:22,143
and among one another

890
00:42:22,143 --> 00:42:23,811
and among the world

891
00:42:23,811 --> 00:42:25,721
out here in the midst of all this.

892
00:42:25,721 --> 00:42:28,560
Brothers, sisters,

893
00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:30,609
do good.

894
00:42:30,609 --> 00:42:33,781
Let that be the banner 
that flies over your life.

895
00:42:33,781 --> 00:42:35,176
Do good.

896
00:42:35,176 --> 00:42:38,471
Don't just live your life 
not getting drunk,

897
00:42:38,471 --> 00:42:39,913
then selfishly seeking

898
00:42:39,913 --> 00:42:42,188
to live for your own profit

899
00:42:42,188 --> 00:42:43,933
and your own good.

900
00:42:43,933 --> 00:42:45,926
Look for every occasion to do good.

901
00:42:45,926 --> 00:42:47,304
Look for opportunities.

902
00:42:47,304 --> 00:42:48,800
In your secret prayer,

903
00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:51,404
ask God, please, open doors.

904
00:42:51,404 --> 00:42:52,802
It's amazing how many times

905
00:42:52,802 --> 00:42:54,077
my wife has said

906
00:42:54,077 --> 00:42:55,814
I asked the Lord for an opportunity

907
00:42:55,814 --> 00:42:57,758
to evangelize and He brought it -

908
00:42:57,758 --> 00:42:59,251
almost instantaneously,

909
00:42:59,251 --> 00:43:00,837
like that day.

910
00:43:00,837 --> 00:43:02,074
Right away.

911
00:43:02,074 --> 00:43:03,485
I find that to be true too.

912
00:43:03,485 --> 00:43:06,051
You ask the Lord for 
opportunities to do good,

913
00:43:06,051 --> 00:43:08,534
the door will swing open.

914
00:43:08,534 --> 00:43:10,231
Just ask Him.

915
00:43:10,231 --> 00:43:12,876
Ask Him.

916
00:43:12,876 --> 00:43:16,671
Brethren, we are one 
of the richest countries

917
00:43:16,671 --> 00:43:17,824
that has ever lived.

918
00:43:17,824 --> 00:43:19,710
Well, you say, there are oil countries

919
00:43:19,710 --> 00:43:20,866
over in the Middle East.

920
00:43:20,866 --> 00:43:21,883
That doesn't matter.

921
00:43:21,883 --> 00:43:25,905
In light of all of human history,

922
00:43:25,905 --> 00:43:28,525
we are one of the richest countries

923
00:43:28,525 --> 00:43:33,210
that has ever existed.

924
00:43:33,210 --> 00:43:35,792
The average person in this country

925
00:43:35,792 --> 00:43:38,274
is so incredibly wealthy

926
00:43:38,274 --> 00:43:40,355
compared to the poverty you find

927
00:43:40,355 --> 00:43:42,589
in other places.

928
00:43:42,589 --> 00:43:45,302
You know why you've 
been given those riches?

929
00:43:45,302 --> 00:43:47,092
To do good with it.

930
00:43:47,092 --> 00:43:51,443
The rich are told to do good.

931
00:43:51,443 --> 00:43:53,535
Look for every opportunity.

932
00:43:53,535 --> 00:43:55,291
Brethen, look around you.

933
00:43:55,291 --> 00:43:57,007
There are needs everywhere.

934
00:43:57,007 --> 00:43:58,691
You know the Gospel.

935
00:43:58,691 --> 00:44:00,613
What a mess of good you might do

936
00:44:00,613 --> 00:44:03,014
knowing the Gospel!

937
00:44:03,014 --> 00:44:04,338
Look, we have that message

938
00:44:04,338 --> 00:44:05,486
that men need to hear.

939
00:44:05,486 --> 00:44:06,878
How are they going to believe

940
00:44:06,878 --> 00:44:08,838
in a Christ that they've never heard of.

941
00:44:08,838 --> 00:44:10,945
This is the message that empowered by God

942
00:44:10,945 --> 00:44:12,591
is salvation unto men.

943
00:44:12,591 --> 00:44:15,226
Jesus Christ - think 
about the good He did.

944
00:44:15,226 --> 00:44:16,448
He went to the cross.

945
00:44:16,448 --> 00:44:17,614
He laid down His life.

946
00:44:17,614 --> 00:44:18,818
And He's actually made it

947
00:44:18,818 --> 00:44:21,098
that with all that good that was done,

948
00:44:21,098 --> 00:44:23,046
yet people will not believe

949
00:44:23,046 --> 00:44:25,102
unless we do the good of taking

950
00:44:25,102 --> 00:44:27,665
the message of that cross to their ears.

951
00:44:27,665 --> 00:44:30,051
Otherwise, they die in their sin

952
00:44:30,051 --> 00:44:31,268
and they perish.

953
00:44:31,268 --> 00:44:33,480
Think about all the good we can do.

954
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:35,372
You have the Gospel.

955
00:44:35,372 --> 00:44:37,599
You walk through this world

956
00:44:37,599 --> 00:44:39,393
and you come back here,

957
00:44:39,393 --> 00:44:41,620
one week, come back,
one week, come back...

958
00:44:41,620 --> 00:44:44,142
And if you're not taking

959
00:44:44,142 --> 00:44:46,354
that fragrance of the Gospel out there,

960
00:44:46,354 --> 00:44:48,378
look at all the missed opportunities

961
00:44:48,378 --> 00:44:50,685
of enlightening the world.

962
00:44:50,685 --> 00:44:53,036
Brethren, do good to men's souls.

963
00:44:53,036 --> 00:44:54,914
(incomplete thought)

964
00:44:54,914 --> 00:44:56,498
I know James was saying

965
00:44:56,498 --> 00:44:59,087
we need to order some more business cards,

966
00:44:59,087 --> 00:45:00,383
but we've got tracts.

967
00:45:00,383 --> 00:45:01,841
Let's use them up.

968
00:45:01,841 --> 00:45:03,991
No matter what the financial situation is,

969
00:45:03,991 --> 00:45:06,460
use up tracts and we'll buy more.

970
00:45:06,460 --> 00:45:09,501
Keep those things flowing.

971
00:45:09,501 --> 00:45:10,911
Do good, brethren.

972
00:45:10,911 --> 00:45:13,653
Do good at work, at play, 
at home, at school.

973
00:45:13,653 --> 00:45:16,271
Relieve people's poverty.

974
00:45:16,271 --> 00:45:18,392
Brethren, if you see suffering,

975
00:45:18,392 --> 00:45:19,869
try to meet it.

976
00:45:19,869 --> 00:45:22,321
Use the spiritual gifts that 
God has given to you

977
00:45:22,321 --> 00:45:23,994
to help one another,

978
00:45:23,994 --> 00:45:25,792
to serve one another.

979
00:45:25,792 --> 00:45:27,883
Take what God has given to you.

980
00:45:27,883 --> 00:45:29,423
Look for opportunities.

981
00:45:29,423 --> 00:45:31,750
Look for the widow.
Look for the orphan.

982
00:45:31,750 --> 00:45:33,088
Look for missions.

983
00:45:33,088 --> 00:45:34,657
Look, brethren, look.

984
00:45:34,657 --> 00:45:36,286
Get your eyes opened.

985
00:45:36,286 --> 00:45:38,435
We need to open up our eyes.

986
00:45:38,435 --> 00:45:40,961
Look, this is not about 
you being comfortable.

987
00:45:40,961 --> 00:45:43,347
God did not give you the 
riches that He gave you

988
00:45:43,347 --> 00:45:45,056
in this world so that you can just

989
00:45:45,056 --> 00:45:47,038
keep increasing your standard of living

990
00:45:47,038 --> 00:45:48,951
and standard of living, and it goes up,

991
00:45:48,951 --> 00:45:50,422
and you can wear nicer clothes

992
00:45:50,422 --> 00:45:52,666
and live in nicer houses,
and drive nicer cars.

993
00:45:52,666 --> 00:45:53,967
It's not about that.

994
00:45:53,967 --> 00:45:56,831
The rich need to be liberal.

995
00:45:56,831 --> 00:45:58,651
Give and give more.

996
00:45:58,651 --> 00:45:59,534
Go to the jails,

997
00:45:59,534 --> 00:46:00,875
go to the college campuses,

998
00:46:00,875 --> 00:46:02,040
go to the nursing homes,

999
00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:04,309
get involved with this crisis pregnancy.

1000
00:46:04,309 --> 00:46:07,108
Brethren, pray for the 
women's Grace House.

1001
00:46:07,108 --> 00:46:09,957
Be involved in that as you're able to.

1002
00:46:09,957 --> 00:46:11,828
But have compassion on people.

1003
00:46:11,828 --> 00:46:15,412
Try to disseminate some sort of love

1004
00:46:15,412 --> 00:46:16,651
to everyone you meet.

1005
00:46:16,651 --> 00:46:17,965
If you're just thinking

1006
00:46:17,965 --> 00:46:19,786
how can I just show kindness?

1007
00:46:19,786 --> 00:46:24,176
Brethren, sometimes it may just be

1008
00:46:24,176 --> 00:46:27,906
greeting somebody.

1009
00:46:27,906 --> 00:46:29,910
I mean, I'm not saying you have to

1010
00:46:29,910 --> 00:46:33,337
do a full three point sermon

1011
00:46:33,337 --> 00:46:38,223
to the guy that you meet at HEB,

1012
00:46:38,223 --> 00:46:42,507
but it might just be greeting him

1013
00:46:42,507 --> 00:46:44,646
and being nice to people.

1014
00:46:44,646 --> 00:46:52,031
It's good if Christians are just nice.

1015
00:46:52,031 --> 00:46:53,940
But see what happens is

1016
00:46:53,940 --> 00:46:55,577
when you begin to intertwine

1017
00:46:55,577 --> 00:46:57,944
those secret prayers with the doing good,

1018
00:46:57,944 --> 00:46:59,860
what happens is,

1019
00:46:59,860 --> 00:47:03,983
God brings power to that doing good.

1020
00:47:03,983 --> 00:47:05,456
I mean, He begins to bless it.

1021
00:47:05,456 --> 00:47:10,532
There begins to become a reward in it.

1022
00:47:10,532 --> 00:47:12,597
You know, brethren, there are some things

1023
00:47:12,597 --> 00:47:15,678
we do that don't touch men's hearts.

1024
00:47:15,678 --> 00:47:18,099
And there are some things that do.

1025
00:47:18,099 --> 00:47:19,817
And the difference is God.

1026
00:47:19,817 --> 00:47:20,897
The difference is Him.

1027
00:47:20,897 --> 00:47:22,653
And it may have to 
do with the difference

1028
00:47:22,653 --> 00:47:25,279
being in us, but He's able 
to make that difference.

1029
00:47:25,279 --> 00:47:26,744
It comes back to Him.

1030
00:47:26,744 --> 00:47:29,047
Brethren, you only get one life here.

1031
00:47:29,047 --> 00:47:30,010
And the reality is,

1032
00:47:30,010 --> 00:47:31,457
look, if we had two or three

1033
00:47:31,457 --> 00:47:32,547
or five or ten lives,

1034
00:47:32,547 --> 00:47:34,231
we might waste one of two of them,

1035
00:47:34,231 --> 00:47:36,479
but you don't have that.

1036
00:47:36,479 --> 00:47:37,877
And we're to be zealous.

1037
00:47:37,877 --> 00:47:39,954
And you remember how it is on the end.

1038
00:47:39,954 --> 00:47:42,099
Brethren, what was Jesus looking at?

1039
00:47:42,099 --> 00:47:44,383
He was looking at the 
good that people did.

1040
00:47:44,383 --> 00:47:46,120
I was hungry and you fed Me.

1041
00:47:46,120 --> 00:47:49,027
Brethren, go do that.

1042
00:47:49,027 --> 00:47:52,246
I was in jail; you came.

1043
00:47:52,246 --> 00:47:54,343
Brethren, go do that.

1044
00:47:54,343 --> 00:47:56,408
Go do that.

1045
00:47:56,408 --> 00:47:58,504
That's what He's going to be looking for.

1046
00:47:58,504 --> 00:47:59,652
Because you know what?

1047
00:47:59,652 --> 00:48:01,928
That's just like the things He did.

1048
00:48:01,928 --> 00:48:03,423
He did good.

1049
00:48:03,423 --> 00:48:04,876
And He tells us: follow Me.

1050
00:48:04,876 --> 00:48:06,250
He was zealous of good works

1051
00:48:06,250 --> 00:48:07,346
and He wants you to be.

1052
00:48:07,346 --> 00:48:08,586
Not mediocre, brethren.

1053
00:48:08,586 --> 00:48:10,309
Not mediocre in good works.

1054
00:48:10,309 --> 00:48:14,804
He really wants you to 
pour yourself out that way.

1055
00:48:14,804 --> 00:48:16,617
Don't live your life so cheaply

1056
00:48:16,617 --> 00:48:18,140
where you're just going around

1057
00:48:18,140 --> 00:48:19,115
asking all the time:

1058
00:48:19,115 --> 00:48:21,526
what's wrong with this?
what's wrong with that?

1059
00:48:21,526 --> 00:48:26,708
It's just so cheap.

1060
00:48:26,708 --> 00:48:29,235
Brethren, you know what the reality is?

1061
00:48:29,235 --> 00:48:31,124
When you go into that secret place,

1062
00:48:31,124 --> 00:48:32,688
you can pray,

1063
00:48:32,688 --> 00:48:36,886
"Lord, I know it.

1064
00:48:36,886 --> 00:48:38,288
I know I can be insensitive.

1065
00:48:38,288 --> 00:48:40,478
Take away this hard, selfish,

1066
00:48:40,478 --> 00:48:44,891
insensitive heart.

1067
00:48:44,891 --> 00:48:51,155
Make my heart full of love for people."

1068
00:48:51,155 --> 00:48:53,342
Now, the last one.

1069
00:48:53,342 --> 00:48:54,960
The last thread.

1070
00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:55,905
Bear with me.

1071
00:48:55,905 --> 00:48:57,149
Don't get impatient here,

1072
00:48:57,149 --> 00:48:59,073
because this is critical.

1073
00:48:59,073 --> 00:49:01,892
Threefold cord - it's when 
they're all wrapped around.

1074
00:49:01,892 --> 00:49:05,875
Listen, if there's not self-denial,

1075
00:49:05,875 --> 00:49:08,355
you will not make the disciplined

1076
00:49:08,355 --> 00:49:12,950
decisions necessary to get 
into that prayer closet.

1077
00:49:12,950 --> 00:49:15,096
If there's not self-denial,

1078
00:49:15,096 --> 00:49:16,849
like I said before,

1079
00:49:16,849 --> 00:49:19,649
any good works you do will be cheap

1080
00:49:19,649 --> 00:49:20,860
(incomplete thought).

1081
00:49:20,860 --> 00:49:22,891
You know the greatest good that Jesus did

1082
00:49:22,891 --> 00:49:25,954
was laying down His life at that cross.

1083
00:49:25,954 --> 00:49:28,125
The greatest good are the things

1084
00:49:28,125 --> 00:49:30,963
that cost us the most,

1085
00:49:30,963 --> 00:49:33,668
usually.

1086
00:49:33,668 --> 00:49:34,711
Self-denial.

1087
00:49:34,711 --> 00:49:39,111
Craig brought up: it's dangerous.

1088
00:49:39,111 --> 00:49:42,246
It is dangerous.

1089
00:49:42,246 --> 00:49:45,219
And he hit it right on the head: motive.

1090
00:49:45,219 --> 00:49:48,025
Self-denial is dangerous

1091
00:49:48,025 --> 00:49:53,165
because on the one hand,

1092
00:49:53,165 --> 00:49:55,864
the Apostle Paul actually said

1093
00:49:55,864 --> 00:50:02,499
people who are seduced by demonic spirits

1094
00:50:02,499 --> 00:50:08,051
are going to preach abstinence -

1095
00:50:08,051 --> 00:50:10,731
whether that be marriage or food.

1096
00:50:10,731 --> 00:50:12,950
Now, you know what 
the interesting thing is,

1097
00:50:12,950 --> 00:50:15,830
abstinence from food

1098
00:50:15,830 --> 00:50:18,910
is like lent,

1099
00:50:18,910 --> 00:50:22,301
or Catholics who can't 
eat meat on Friday's.

1100
00:50:22,301 --> 00:50:23,959
We look at that and we say,

1101
00:50:23,959 --> 00:50:25,712
well, that's demonic.

1102
00:50:25,712 --> 00:50:27,516
Then here's Jesus over here saying,

1103
00:50:27,516 --> 00:50:30,652
"when you fast..."

1104
00:50:30,652 --> 00:50:35,077
I think you know that's not demonic.

1105
00:50:35,077 --> 00:50:39,313
But isn't it close?

1106
00:50:39,313 --> 00:50:42,333
Abstain from food is what people teach

1107
00:50:42,333 --> 00:50:43,793
who have been influenced

1108
00:50:43,793 --> 00:50:47,678
by these seducing spirits.

1109
00:50:47,678 --> 00:50:54,420
Abstaining from food is 
also taught by Jesus.

1110
00:50:54,420 --> 00:50:59,783
How do we bridge that gap?

1111
00:50:59,783 --> 00:51:01,784
Because there's self-denial involved.

1112
00:51:01,784 --> 00:51:04,904
Listen, Craig alluded to the passage

1113
00:51:04,904 --> 00:51:06,304
in Colossians 2.

1114
00:51:06,304 --> 00:51:08,903
You know what Paul warns about?

1115
00:51:08,903 --> 00:51:10,992
He warns about man-made religion.

1116
00:51:10,992 --> 00:51:14,903
Don't taste. Don't touch.

1117
00:51:14,903 --> 00:51:16,436
Have you ever read that?

1118
00:51:16,436 --> 00:51:18,756
He warns against asceticism.

1119
00:51:18,756 --> 00:51:22,214
Who knows what asceticism is?

1120
00:51:22,214 --> 00:51:24,428
It's self-denial. It's self-mortification

1121
00:51:24,428 --> 00:51:26,652
of the body.

1122
00:51:26,652 --> 00:51:29,371
And he's actually warning against it.

1123
00:51:29,371 --> 00:51:31,805
And yet the same apostle comes along

1124
00:51:31,805 --> 00:51:34,300
to the Corinthians and says

1125
00:51:34,300 --> 00:51:37,544
right at the end of 1 Corinthians 9,

1126
00:51:37,544 --> 00:51:47,361
I beat my body and I keep it under.

1127
00:51:47,361 --> 00:51:50,141
But you see brethren, the thing is here,

1128
00:51:50,141 --> 00:51:54,117
it's all got to do with motive.

1129
00:51:54,117 --> 00:51:56,349
Self-denial.

1130
00:51:56,349 --> 00:51:59,205
That's the last strand 
that I want to bring out.

1131
00:51:59,205 --> 00:52:01,049
This needs to be interwoven

1132
00:52:01,049 --> 00:52:04,081
with secret prayer, with doing good.

1133
00:52:04,081 --> 00:52:06,137
Yes, it's fraught with dangers,

1134
00:52:06,137 --> 00:52:10,340
but the reality is, brethren,

1135
00:52:10,340 --> 00:52:13,726
Jesus Christ said this to us -

1136
00:52:13,726 --> 00:52:16,008
in fact, I want to read you Paul's words

1137
00:52:16,008 --> 00:52:18,077
before I tell you what Jesus said.

1138
00:52:18,077 --> 00:52:20,173
He said, "I do not run aimlessly.

1139
00:52:20,173 --> 00:52:22,620
I do not box as one beating the air,

1140
00:52:22,620 --> 00:52:24,583
but I discipline my body

1141
00:52:24,583 --> 00:52:26,325
and keep it under control,

1142
00:52:26,325 --> 00:52:28,010
lest after preaching to others,

1143
00:52:28,010 --> 00:52:30,462
I myself should be disqualified."

1144
00:52:30,462 --> 00:52:32,343
King James says "cast away."

1145
00:52:32,343 --> 00:52:38,155
The reality of that is 
not standing the test.

1146
00:52:38,155 --> 00:52:40,416
And you know what he's saying?

1147
00:52:40,416 --> 00:52:42,623
He's saying that I beat my body

1148
00:52:42,623 --> 00:52:44,021
and I bring it under control

1149
00:52:44,021 --> 00:52:45,350
and I say no to it

1150
00:52:45,350 --> 00:52:49,235
and I don't let it master me,

1151
00:52:49,235 --> 00:52:51,739
because in the end, I 
don't want to be cast away.

1152
00:52:51,739 --> 00:52:54,276
In the end, I don't want to perish.

1153
00:52:54,276 --> 00:52:57,202
Brethren, you know what I love about Paul?

1154
00:52:57,202 --> 00:52:59,747
He's never the hyper-Calvinist.

1155
00:52:59,747 --> 00:53:03,491
"Oh, well, I'm saved, so 
it doesn't really matter."

1156
00:53:03,491 --> 00:53:06,598
"Well, if I'm one of the elect, 
I'm in, no matter what I do."

1157
00:53:06,598 --> 00:53:09,107
You know, he didn't think that way.

1158
00:53:09,107 --> 00:53:11,489
He recognized this,

1159
00:53:11,489 --> 00:53:14,644
you need to recognize what he's saying.

1160
00:53:14,644 --> 00:53:18,542
He's saying I recognize that my body

1161
00:53:18,542 --> 00:53:22,114
has such appetites that if I give myself

1162
00:53:22,114 --> 00:53:26,895
into those I may perish at last.

1163
00:53:26,895 --> 00:53:31,030
Listen, Jesus said this:

1164
00:53:31,030 --> 00:53:33,434
"If anyone would come after Me,

1165
00:53:33,434 --> 00:53:39,546
let him deny himself,

1166
00:53:39,546 --> 00:53:42,985
take up his cross daily..."

1167
00:53:42,985 --> 00:53:44,813
That means die.

1168
00:53:44,813 --> 00:53:47,094
Cross - death instrument.

1169
00:53:47,094 --> 00:53:49,876
Die daily.

1170
00:53:49,876 --> 00:53:52,447
"...and follow Me."

1171
00:53:52,447 --> 00:53:55,305
See, we keep coming back to that.

1172
00:53:55,305 --> 00:53:58,939
Follow Me.

1173
00:53:58,939 --> 00:54:00,784
Follow Him to the secret place.

1174
00:54:00,784 --> 00:54:03,293
Follow Him in being zealous of good works.

1175
00:54:03,293 --> 00:54:10,625
Follow Him in - you 
talk about self-denial -

1176
00:54:10,625 --> 00:54:13,908
He wasn't born into a wealthy family.

1177
00:54:13,908 --> 00:54:17,767
He could have been.

1178
00:54:17,767 --> 00:54:25,928
He was born into some degree of poverty.

1179
00:54:25,928 --> 00:54:30,226
He went to the cross.

1180
00:54:30,226 --> 00:54:32,653
His own ease?

1181
00:54:32,653 --> 00:54:35,179
He said, I did not come to be served.

1182
00:54:35,179 --> 00:54:36,368
I came to serve.

1183
00:54:36,368 --> 00:54:39,982
I came to pour Myself out for others.

1184
00:54:39,982 --> 00:54:41,958
That's the example that we have.

1185
00:54:41,958 --> 00:54:43,848
John said, "Truly, truly, I say to you,

1186
00:54:43,848 --> 00:54:46,459
unless a grain of wheat falls 
into the earth and dies,

1187
00:54:46,459 --> 00:54:47,507
it remains alone."

1188
00:54:47,507 --> 00:54:50,428
You want to be fruitful? There's dying.

1189
00:54:50,428 --> 00:54:52,875
Death brings fruitfulness.

1190
00:54:52,875 --> 00:54:54,147
Dying to self.

1191
00:54:54,147 --> 00:54:55,410
Deny self.

1192
00:54:55,410 --> 00:54:57,425
Carry the cross daily.

1193
00:54:57,425 --> 00:54:59,735
Brethren, let's face it.

1194
00:54:59,735 --> 00:55:03,823
By nature - I'm talking 
about our lost states -

1195
00:55:03,823 --> 00:55:06,630
we're soft. We love pleasure.

1196
00:55:06,630 --> 00:55:07,562
You know what?

1197
00:55:07,562 --> 00:55:10,091
You could say, what about

1198
00:55:10,091 --> 00:55:11,825
the guy that goes into the military

1199
00:55:11,825 --> 00:55:13,272
and he becomes a seal.

1200
00:55:13,272 --> 00:55:15,586
Does he like just soft things?

1201
00:55:15,586 --> 00:55:17,427
No, he likes the honor.

1202
00:55:17,427 --> 00:55:20,322
He likes the attention.

1203
00:55:20,322 --> 00:55:22,184
But see, we're like that.

1204
00:55:22,184 --> 00:55:24,966
If it makes us look good,

1205
00:55:24,966 --> 00:55:26,159
we'll make some denials

1206
00:55:26,159 --> 00:55:28,197
if it makes us look good;

1207
00:55:28,197 --> 00:55:29,619
we'll make the denials to be

1208
00:55:29,619 --> 00:55:31,223
this kind of athlete over there,

1209
00:55:31,223 --> 00:55:32,740
because we want that applause.

1210
00:55:32,740 --> 00:55:37,775
But by nature, we are honor seeking.

1211
00:55:37,775 --> 00:55:39,840
We are the kind of people

1212
00:55:39,840 --> 00:55:43,502
that we seek self-gratification

1213
00:55:43,502 --> 00:55:45,859
and applause and pleasure.

1214
00:55:45,859 --> 00:55:50,487
That's what we are.

1215
00:55:50,487 --> 00:55:53,487
Brethren, the reality is

1216
00:55:53,487 --> 00:55:56,511
that when we get saved,

1217
00:55:56,511 --> 00:56:00,634
I know that the cross of Jesus Christ

1218
00:56:00,634 --> 00:56:04,204
has dealt our selfishness a mortal blow,

1219
00:56:04,204 --> 00:56:07,801
but you and I know it's not dead yet.

1220
00:56:07,801 --> 00:56:10,390
That principal is still -

1221
00:56:10,390 --> 00:56:12,088
that's in operation within us,

1222
00:56:12,088 --> 00:56:14,738
and that's why Paul has 
to come along and say,

1223
00:56:14,738 --> 00:56:16,251
I beat my body.

1224
00:56:16,251 --> 00:56:17,829
I give it a black eye.

1225
00:56:17,829 --> 00:56:22,063
I keep it under.

1226
00:56:22,063 --> 00:56:23,636
And that's why you get Jesus

1227
00:56:23,636 --> 00:56:24,957
coming along and saying,

1228
00:56:24,957 --> 00:56:25,946
you need to die.

1229
00:56:25,946 --> 00:56:27,695
You need to deny yourself.

1230
00:56:27,695 --> 00:56:30,869
Why? Because, brethren, I'm telling you

1231
00:56:30,869 --> 00:56:33,614
just like I mentioned that 
in regards to Paul,

1232
00:56:33,614 --> 00:56:35,935
there is something in our appetites

1233
00:56:35,935 --> 00:56:37,797
that is willing to carry us away

1234
00:56:37,797 --> 00:56:40,476
if we give place to it.

1235
00:56:40,476 --> 00:56:42,935
This is what it is about the Spirit of God

1236
00:56:42,935 --> 00:56:45,377
and putting to death 
the deeds of the body.

1237
00:56:45,377 --> 00:56:46,577
It is by this Spirit,

1238
00:56:46,577 --> 00:56:48,702
you are putting to death something

1239
00:56:48,702 --> 00:56:50,596
that needs to be put to death.

1240
00:56:50,596 --> 00:56:53,428
There's something in our mortal bodies.

1241
00:56:53,428 --> 00:56:55,400
It likes softness.

1242
00:56:55,400 --> 00:56:57,736
You know, one of the things today

1243
00:56:57,736 --> 00:57:00,584
with all the wealth that we have,

1244
00:57:00,584 --> 00:57:04,874
we have so much softness.

1245
00:57:04,874 --> 00:57:07,405
And we don't really even think about it,

1246
00:57:07,405 --> 00:57:11,459
I'm afraid.

1247
00:57:11,459 --> 00:57:16,619
We are able to keep the temperature

1248
00:57:16,619 --> 00:57:22,295
within very narrow bands 99% of our life.

1249
00:57:22,295 --> 00:57:24,690
And we scream like -

1250
00:57:24,690 --> 00:57:26,207
I know it's graphic -

1251
00:57:26,207 --> 00:57:28,399
I just think of Bob Jennings talking about

1252
00:57:28,399 --> 00:57:30,760
people screaming like stuck pigs.

1253
00:57:30,760 --> 00:57:35,329
But we scream bloody murder,

1254
00:57:35,329 --> 00:57:36,746
like my mom used to say,

1255
00:57:36,746 --> 00:57:38,562
if we just have to walk from the door

1256
00:57:38,562 --> 00:57:42,502
out to our cars and it's 30 degrees.

1257
00:57:42,502 --> 00:57:45,703
Oh, it's so cold out here.

1258
00:57:45,703 --> 00:57:48,217
We are so soft.

1259
00:57:48,217 --> 00:57:50,744
The temperature, the humidity...

1260
00:57:50,744 --> 00:57:54,030
And our food.

1261
00:57:54,030 --> 00:57:57,911
We are a pampered people.

1262
00:57:57,911 --> 00:58:00,140
That's just a reality.

1263
00:58:00,140 --> 00:58:01,656
My great uncle came back from

1264
00:58:01,656 --> 00:58:03,609
fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

1265
00:58:03,609 --> 00:58:06,157
He came in on like day four or five

1266
00:58:06,157 --> 00:58:09,322
after D-day,

1267
00:58:09,322 --> 00:58:12,436
and he fought behind Patton.

1268
00:58:12,436 --> 00:58:14,513
And I went and talked to him -

1269
00:58:14,513 --> 00:58:16,206
he and his wife were in their 90's,

1270
00:58:16,206 --> 00:58:17,577
sharing the Gospel with him

1271
00:58:17,577 --> 00:58:18,434
over in Tennessee.

1272
00:58:18,434 --> 00:58:19,942
His wife said when he came home

1273
00:58:19,942 --> 00:58:21,806
from the war, he slept on the ground

1274
00:58:21,806 --> 00:58:23,612
in the backyard.

1275
00:58:23,612 --> 00:58:25,509
Because he had been so used to that

1276
00:58:25,509 --> 00:58:26,931
during the war,

1277
00:58:26,931 --> 00:58:31,830
that getting in a bed was unheard of.

1278
00:58:31,830 --> 00:58:34,993
We need some of that in us.

1279
00:58:34,993 --> 00:58:36,660
Because brethren, we're soft.

1280
00:58:36,660 --> 00:58:38,613
Doesn't it seem like they're figuring out

1281
00:58:38,613 --> 00:58:41,175
how to make clothes softer?

1282
00:58:41,175 --> 00:58:43,981
And towels softer?

1283
00:58:43,981 --> 00:58:45,444
And if you would have heard

1284
00:58:45,444 --> 00:58:48,006
how we cried when we went to Mexico

1285
00:58:48,006 --> 00:58:50,120
because the water wasn't exactly

1286
00:58:50,120 --> 00:58:53,318
the right temperature in the showers?

1287
00:58:53,318 --> 00:58:54,622
Right, Pete?

1288
00:58:54,622 --> 00:58:56,637
I mean, we are soft.

1289
00:58:56,637 --> 00:58:59,318
And brethren, if we're going to

1290
00:58:59,318 --> 00:59:00,857
live this Christian life

1291
00:59:00,857 --> 00:59:04,363
with the kind of sacrifices that

1292
00:59:04,363 --> 00:59:06,187
we need to be making,

1293
00:59:06,187 --> 00:59:09,598
brethren, you need to deny the self.

1294
00:59:09,598 --> 00:59:12,416
And listen, motive has 
everything to do with it.

1295
00:59:12,416 --> 00:59:15,099
If the motive is, oh yeah,

1296
00:59:15,099 --> 00:59:16,891
I'm going to make these sacrifices -

1297
00:59:16,891 --> 00:59:19,485
so it comes back to the fasting thing.

1298
00:59:19,485 --> 00:59:21,091
You see, fasting fits right in

1299
00:59:21,091 --> 00:59:23,010
with all this self-denial.

1300
00:59:23,010 --> 00:59:25,519
If you do it because you 
want to be seen of people,

1301
00:59:25,519 --> 00:59:27,913
and you want to put a notch
in your spiritual belt,

1302
00:59:27,913 --> 00:59:29,918
and you want to make 
sure everybody knows.

1303
00:59:29,918 --> 00:59:32,395
Listen, I have a friend I 
went to high school with.

1304
00:59:32,395 --> 00:59:33,618
He's now a Jesuit priest.

1305
00:59:33,618 --> 00:59:35,500
He let the whole world know,

1306
00:59:35,500 --> 00:59:37,410
right on the Internet - I saw it there.

1307
00:59:37,410 --> 00:59:39,427
I was kind of finding out what's going on

1308
00:59:39,427 --> 00:59:40,289
with his life.

1309
00:59:40,289 --> 00:59:42,974
He tells the story publicly
in front of the whole audience

1310
00:59:42,977 --> 00:59:44,760
about how when he was 
a kid in elementary school,

1311
00:59:44,760 --> 00:59:46,727
he'd walk - this is back when I knew him.

1312
00:59:46,727 --> 00:59:48,122
I used to be his neighbor.

1313
00:59:48,122 --> 00:59:51,361
And he put rocks in his shoes.

1314
00:59:51,361 --> 00:59:53,130
Why? Well, that's what Catholics do.

1315
00:59:53,130 --> 00:59:54,399
This self-mortification.

1316
00:59:54,399 --> 00:59:57,234
But the thing is, he 
had to tell everybody.

1317
00:59:57,234 --> 00:59:58,851
I'm not talking about the things

1318
00:59:58,851 --> 01:00:00,245
that you go and broadcast.

1319
01:00:00,245 --> 01:00:02,491
Paul was setting himself forth

1320
01:00:02,491 --> 01:00:04,286
as an example, but he didn't tell us

1321
01:00:04,286 --> 01:00:06,929
exactly how he did, what he did -

1322
01:00:06,929 --> 01:00:08,197
that's not the issue.

1323
01:00:08,197 --> 01:00:09,598
But brethren, we need to

1324
01:00:09,598 --> 01:00:13,119
look at our lives.

1325
01:00:13,119 --> 01:00:14,902
Look, I'll tell you this.

1326
01:00:14,902 --> 01:00:18,304
It doesn't help us to make things

1327
01:00:18,304 --> 01:00:21,549
more comfortable, more soft.

1328
01:00:21,549 --> 01:00:24,153
So often we can get this, you know,

1329
01:00:24,153 --> 01:00:26,398
we're in this day where we have

1330
01:00:26,398 --> 01:00:27,532
so much wealth.

1331
01:00:27,532 --> 01:00:30,086
We can eat exactly these right things.

1332
01:00:30,086 --> 01:00:31,537
All these diets, well,

1333
01:00:31,537 --> 01:00:33,971
it's in the name of health,
and I'm going to live longer

1334
01:00:33,971 --> 01:00:35,476
and I'm going to be healthy.

1335
01:00:35,476 --> 01:00:37,892
But I'll tell you this, 
if all the pampering

1336
01:00:37,892 --> 01:00:39,526
makes you soft spiritually,

1337
01:00:39,526 --> 01:00:40,653
it's not helping you.

1338
01:00:40,653 --> 01:00:42,510
You might live a little bit longer,

1339
01:00:42,510 --> 01:00:44,295
but that's not what we need.

1340
01:00:44,295 --> 01:00:45,711
We don't need to live longer.

1341
01:00:45,711 --> 01:00:49,220
We need to live better while we live.

1342
01:00:49,220 --> 01:00:52,439
Brethren, don't go after

1343
01:00:52,439 --> 01:00:55,048
all the self-pampering in this life.

1344
01:00:55,048 --> 01:00:56,645
Don't do that.

1345
01:00:56,645 --> 01:00:57,731
Hudson Taylor.

1346
01:00:57,731 --> 01:00:59,171
Brethren, there was a reason

1347
01:00:59,171 --> 01:01:00,703
before he went to China,

1348
01:01:00,703 --> 01:01:02,439
he went into the inner city.

1349
01:01:02,439 --> 01:01:05,531
And he was eating the 
very meagerest of diets.

1350
01:01:05,531 --> 01:01:07,445
And you know this. You've heard it.

1351
01:01:07,445 --> 01:01:09,057
He slept on boards.

1352
01:01:09,057 --> 01:01:11,435
And he lived in poor housing

1353
01:01:11,435 --> 01:01:12,616
in the slums.

1354
01:01:12,616 --> 01:01:14,631
Why? He was preparing

1355
01:01:14,631 --> 01:01:15,934
to go to China.

1356
01:01:15,934 --> 01:01:17,080
And he recognized this.

1357
01:01:17,080 --> 01:01:18,835
He recognized that if he's going to

1358
01:01:18,835 --> 01:01:20,154
make it over there

1359
01:01:20,154 --> 01:01:23,061
being all lavished with the best food

1360
01:01:23,061 --> 01:01:24,294
and the softest clothes

1361
01:01:24,294 --> 01:01:25,395
and the nice house,

1362
01:01:25,395 --> 01:01:29,032
which really is how he grew up;

1363
01:01:29,032 --> 01:01:40,375
he wasn't going to do well over there.

1364
01:01:40,375 --> 01:01:41,825
(incomplete thought)

1365
01:01:41,825 --> 01:01:44,461
You say, well, Hudson 
Taylor did those things.

1366
01:01:44,461 --> 01:01:45,678
I'm not a Hudson Taylor.

1367
01:01:45,678 --> 01:01:47,888
Yeah, but the thing that 
we have to recognize

1368
01:01:47,888 --> 01:01:49,593
is how did Hudson Taylor get to be

1369
01:01:49,593 --> 01:01:51,208
where he was a Hudson Taylor

1370
01:01:51,208 --> 01:01:53,098
and accomplish the things that he did?

1371
01:01:53,098 --> 01:01:54,837
There was a lot of self-sacrifice;

1372
01:01:54,837 --> 01:02:00,361
a lot of self-denial.

1373
01:02:00,361 --> 01:02:03,351
Now, I don't know where 
I came across this,

1374
01:02:03,351 --> 01:02:06,061
but I believe that this was John Piper

1375
01:02:06,061 --> 01:02:08,973
that basically pointed out -

1376
01:02:08,973 --> 01:02:13,352
he was taking fasting, again,

1377
01:02:13,352 --> 01:02:18,466
which is a form of self-denial,

1378
01:02:18,466 --> 01:02:21,632
and he put fasting

1379
01:02:21,632 --> 01:02:23,519
and young people

1380
01:02:23,519 --> 01:02:28,029
struggling with pornography

1381
01:02:28,029 --> 01:02:31,832
into the same little message.

1382
01:02:31,832 --> 01:02:36,014
And I made a slight 
little effort to find it,

1383
01:02:36,014 --> 01:02:39,391
but I just don't know where it's at.

1384
01:02:39,391 --> 01:02:41,546
But you know what he said?

1385
01:02:41,546 --> 01:02:47,203
He said you take young people today

1386
01:02:47,203 --> 01:02:52,453
who are so wired

1387
01:02:52,453 --> 01:02:56,038
to just gratify everything.

1388
01:02:56,038 --> 01:02:57,959
We get sick. We take the medicine.

1389
01:02:57,959 --> 01:03:02,937
Get sick. Go to the doctor.

1390
01:03:02,937 --> 01:03:06,011
Soft.

1391
01:03:06,011 --> 01:03:07,764
We're supposed to get out of bed.

1392
01:03:07,764 --> 01:03:09,249
You know the Scripture says,

1393
01:03:09,249 --> 01:03:14,215
"consider the ant."

1394
01:03:14,215 --> 01:03:15,905
The ants often out there -

1395
01:03:15,905 --> 01:03:17,693
these fire ants around here are often

1396
01:03:17,693 --> 01:03:18,920
out there - you wonder,

1397
01:03:18,920 --> 01:03:21,470
how did all those piles get out there?

1398
01:03:21,470 --> 01:03:22,834
Well, the reality is,

1399
01:03:22,834 --> 01:03:24,106
they were at work

1400
01:03:24,106 --> 01:03:27,579
when a lot of us were still in bed.

1401
01:03:27,579 --> 01:03:29,425
Get out of bed.

1402
01:03:29,425 --> 01:03:30,997
That's one of the self-denials.

1403
01:03:30,997 --> 01:03:33,217
Just get out of bed.

1404
01:03:33,217 --> 01:03:35,411
You don't need to sleep ten hours a day.

1405
01:03:35,411 --> 01:03:37,877
Get out of bed.

1406
01:03:37,877 --> 01:03:40,086
Stop with all the softness.

1407
01:03:40,086 --> 01:03:41,391
Take up the cross.

1408
01:03:41,391 --> 01:03:45,862
But Piper said these young people -

1409
01:03:45,862 --> 01:03:48,759
instant gratification;

1410
01:03:48,759 --> 01:03:50,834
instant.

1411
01:03:50,834 --> 01:03:52,831
I mean, again, I've been reading

1412
01:03:52,831 --> 01:03:54,169
Adoniram Judson.

1413
01:03:54,169 --> 01:03:56,570
He oftentimes would board a ship

1414
01:03:56,570 --> 01:03:58,516
and because of tides and winds,

1415
01:03:58,516 --> 01:04:00,542
they would often sit there for three days.

1416
01:04:00,542 --> 01:04:03,148
Can you imagine if you got on an airplane

1417
01:04:03,148 --> 01:04:04,865
and you had to sit on the airplane

1418
01:04:04,865 --> 01:04:07,527
for three days before it took off?

1419
01:04:07,527 --> 01:04:10,187
Again, we'd all be screaming like...

1420
01:04:10,187 --> 01:04:11,217
what's going on?

1421
01:04:11,217 --> 01:04:12,876
We'd get off the airplane.

1422
01:04:12,876 --> 01:04:14,851
We'd find some other way.

1423
01:04:14,851 --> 01:04:17,041
We don't have patience 
for that kind of thing.

1424
01:04:17,041 --> 01:04:18,513
We want our food now.

1425
01:04:18,513 --> 01:04:20,001
We want it the way it is.

1426
01:04:20,001 --> 01:04:21,436
Send it back.

1427
01:04:21,436 --> 01:04:23,350
It's not cooked just like I want it.

1428
01:04:23,350 --> 01:04:25,956
It's not the right temperature.

1429
01:04:25,956 --> 01:04:27,320
You know what?

1430
01:04:27,320 --> 01:04:29,875
When you have young people
that are wired that way,

1431
01:04:29,875 --> 01:04:31,811
you have parents that 
give them everything.

1432
01:04:31,811 --> 01:04:34,389
Oh, you want those clothes?
Here, have those clothes.

1433
01:04:34,389 --> 01:04:37,732
Oh, you want that cell phone?
Here, have that cell phone.

1434
01:04:37,732 --> 01:04:38,695
And more and more,

1435
01:04:38,695 --> 01:04:40,907
you know we get away 
from agricultural life,

1436
01:04:40,907 --> 01:04:43,743
and this is one of the struggles 
I've had in the city.

1437
01:04:43,743 --> 01:04:46,624
It's like putting the 
children to work is hard.

1438
01:04:46,624 --> 01:04:49,203
And so you grow up with 
this pampered generation,

1439
01:04:49,203 --> 01:04:51,468
that knows very little about hard work,

1440
01:04:51,468 --> 01:04:54,046
about getting out in rough conditions,

1441
01:04:54,046 --> 01:04:56,869
and what happens?

1442
01:04:56,869 --> 01:05:00,572
You've so trained those young people

1443
01:05:00,572 --> 01:05:03,673
to say yes to their appetites,

1444
01:05:03,673 --> 01:05:05,863
that when their body says:

1445
01:05:05,863 --> 01:05:07,629
"I want sexual gratification."

1446
01:05:07,629 --> 01:05:09,560
It's just like, "yep!"

1447
01:05:09,560 --> 01:05:14,818
Just right there.

1448
01:05:14,818 --> 01:05:17,084
Brethren, if I could desire something

1449
01:05:17,084 --> 01:05:22,386
of this church that there would be -

1450
01:05:22,386 --> 01:05:23,826
not the kind of self-denial

1451
01:05:23,826 --> 01:05:25,036
that you want to parade,

1452
01:05:25,036 --> 01:05:26,450
so that you could tell people

1453
01:05:26,450 --> 01:05:28,520
like putting stones in your shoes.

1454
01:05:28,520 --> 01:05:32,134
But brethren, you don't 
need the softest towel

1455
01:05:32,134 --> 01:05:34,072
You don't need the softest clothes.

1456
01:05:34,072 --> 01:05:36,246
You don't need the most comfortable shoes.

1457
01:05:36,246 --> 01:05:39,176
You don't need the most comfortable
temperature in your house.

1458
01:05:39,176 --> 01:05:42,859
You don't always need to eat
all the fancy food.

1459
01:05:42,859 --> 01:05:45,476
You don't need to live in the nicer house,

1460
01:05:45,476 --> 01:05:49,920
or have the more comfortable car.

1461
01:05:49,920 --> 01:05:51,732
You know, it can almost be like,

1462
01:05:51,732 --> 01:05:54,586
that automobile doesn't 
have air conditioning.

1463
01:05:54,586 --> 01:05:55,890
We need to fix it!

1464
01:05:55,890 --> 01:05:58,228
Well, you know, that 
isn't necessarily something

1465
01:05:58,228 --> 01:05:59,356
that needs to be fixed

1466
01:05:59,356 --> 01:06:01,023
for your automobile to do

1467
01:06:01,023 --> 01:06:03,457
what automobiles are supposed to do.

1468
01:06:03,457 --> 01:06:05,903
Look, I'm the first one 
to like air conditioning.

1469
01:06:05,903 --> 01:06:08,755
I know the heat down about kills me.

1470
01:06:08,755 --> 01:06:13,055
But brethren, we are soft.

1471
01:06:13,055 --> 01:06:14,615
And the truth is that

1472
01:06:14,615 --> 01:06:17,311
there's decisions that we can make

1473
01:06:17,311 --> 01:06:20,150
to keep our body under,

1474
01:06:20,150 --> 01:06:21,857
like Paul did.

1475
01:06:21,857 --> 01:06:26,623
Take up your cross daily.

1476
01:06:26,623 --> 01:06:30,685
Adopt a course of habitual self-denial.

1477
01:06:30,685 --> 01:06:35,614
Basically, what Piper 
was getting at is this:

1478
01:06:35,614 --> 01:06:40,585
When young people

1479
01:06:40,585 --> 01:06:46,072
actually develop the habits of fasting -

1480
01:06:46,072 --> 01:06:49,767
that kind of self-denial -

1481
01:06:49,767 --> 01:06:52,032
it makes it a whole lot easier to say no

1482
01:06:52,032 --> 01:06:54,463
to these bodily appetites when it comes

1483
01:06:54,463 --> 01:06:56,624
to sexual problems.

1484
01:06:56,624 --> 01:06:59,929
And I just wondered hearing that,

1485
01:06:59,929 --> 01:07:04,173
huh, I wonder if a poll could be taken

1486
01:07:04,173 --> 01:07:05,836
and everybody was totally honest

1487
01:07:05,836 --> 01:07:08,297
and we knew all the facts,

1488
01:07:08,297 --> 01:07:10,215
if the young people most likely

1489
01:07:10,215 --> 01:07:14,515
to fall into some kind 
of sexual temptation

1490
01:07:14,515 --> 01:07:16,740
are likewise the ones that are least given

1491
01:07:16,740 --> 01:07:18,920
to fasting.

1492
01:07:18,920 --> 01:07:21,152
I wonder if that correlation is real.

1493
01:07:21,152 --> 01:07:27,026
I suspect there's reality to it.

1494
01:07:27,026 --> 01:07:28,460
You see, the fat guy

1495
01:07:28,460 --> 01:07:36,134
who says, "oh, my stomach hurts," -

1496
01:07:36,134 --> 01:07:38,012
I mean, that's one thing.

1497
01:07:38,012 --> 01:07:41,411
Being overweight - that's 
a good indication

1498
01:07:41,411 --> 01:07:43,486
that you're not saying no

1499
01:07:43,486 --> 01:07:45,648
to these bodily appetites.

1500
01:07:45,648 --> 01:07:46,741
You see, the thing is,

1501
01:07:46,741 --> 01:07:49,042
when you have secret prayer

1502
01:07:49,042 --> 01:07:50,890
and doing good

1503
01:07:50,890 --> 01:07:53,449
and self-denial,

1504
01:07:53,449 --> 01:07:57,026
oh, brethren, that is a threefold cord

1505
01:07:57,026 --> 01:08:00,534
that is not easily broken 
in the Christian life.

1506
01:08:00,534 --> 01:08:02,049
Because what it will do

1507
01:08:02,049 --> 01:08:04,704
is it will free you to make sacrifices

1508
01:08:04,704 --> 01:08:07,265
even when it's uncomfortable to do good.

1509
01:08:07,265 --> 01:08:09,618
And you surround all that with prayer

1510
01:08:09,618 --> 01:08:11,388
and bringing down the power of God,

1511
01:08:11,388 --> 01:08:13,634
brethren, I'll tell you 
what it will produce,

1512
01:08:13,634 --> 01:08:17,182
it'll produce the kind of life 
that we find in Christ.

1513
01:08:17,182 --> 01:08:18,485
And may God help us to have

1514
01:08:18,485 --> 01:08:19,864
as much of the life of Christ

1515
01:08:19,864 --> 01:08:21,956
and the strength of His life in our lives

1516
01:08:21,956 --> 01:08:24,100
that is mortally possible

1517
01:08:24,100 --> 01:08:28,192
for men and women like 
us who've been saved

1518
01:08:28,192 --> 01:08:32,398
to make us as much like Him as possible.

1519
01:08:32,398 --> 01:08:33,783
Deny yourselves.

1520
01:08:33,783 --> 01:08:35,230
You know what Scripture says.

1521
01:08:35,230 --> 01:08:37,339
Sell your possessions 
and give to the poor.

1522
01:08:37,339 --> 01:08:38,450
Is that a denial?

1523
01:08:38,450 --> 01:08:40,232
It is.

1524
01:08:40,232 --> 01:08:41,483
Make time for prayer.

1525
01:08:41,483 --> 01:08:42,454
Is that a denial?

1526
01:08:42,454 --> 01:08:44,332
Rather than doing the 
pleasurable things?

1527
01:08:44,332 --> 01:08:45,207
It is.

1528
01:08:45,207 --> 01:08:46,645
Take more time in fasting

1529
01:08:46,645 --> 01:08:47,800
even beyond this week.

1530
01:08:47,800 --> 01:08:50,120
Make this a year of prayer and fasting.

1531
01:08:50,120 --> 01:08:51,032
Is that a denial?

1532
01:08:51,032 --> 01:08:52,481
That is a denial.

1533
01:08:52,481 --> 01:08:55,229
Jesus talked about all forms of denial.

1534
01:08:55,229 --> 01:08:56,595
Take the lowest seat.

1535
01:08:56,595 --> 01:08:58,451
Don't seek the places of honor.

1536
01:08:58,451 --> 01:09:02,887
Serve the Lord in ways 
that nobody else will know.

1537
01:09:02,887 --> 01:09:04,465
Die to yourself that way.

1538
01:09:04,465 --> 01:09:05,418
Die.

1539
01:09:05,418 --> 01:09:06,671
Go do good things.

1540
01:09:06,671 --> 01:09:10,504
Give in ways that people 
don't even know you do it.

1541
01:09:10,504 --> 01:09:12,502
Make sacrifices that nobody else sees

1542
01:09:12,502 --> 01:09:14,456
but you and the Lord.

1543
01:09:14,456 --> 01:09:16,827
Saying no to your flesh,

1544
01:09:16,827 --> 01:09:19,515
even when by all rights,

1545
01:09:19,515 --> 01:09:21,237
you could pamper it.

1546
01:09:21,237 --> 01:09:23,592
I'm not saying eating a bowl of ice cream,

1547
01:09:23,592 --> 01:09:25,574
having a piece of lemon meringue pie...

1548
01:09:25,574 --> 01:09:26,773
but you know what?

1549
01:09:26,773 --> 01:09:29,467
There can be times and places

1550
01:09:29,467 --> 01:09:32,390
when you say no.

1551
01:09:32,390 --> 01:09:34,793
We're not going to that party.

1552
01:09:34,793 --> 01:09:38,773
We're not going to that get-together.

1553
01:09:38,773 --> 01:09:41,329
You know, several years back,

1554
01:09:41,329 --> 01:09:42,654
an Assemblies of God church

1555
01:09:42,654 --> 01:09:44,445
just south of Monterey asked me

1556
01:09:44,445 --> 01:09:47,037
to come down and preach 
at a missions conference.

1557
01:09:47,037 --> 01:09:49,318
I knew that was risky going in.

1558
01:09:49,318 --> 01:09:52,208
But, I had a group of people there

1559
01:09:52,208 --> 01:09:54,540
and they all wanted to jump and shout

1560
01:09:54,540 --> 01:09:55,763
and clap and scream,

1561
01:09:55,763 --> 01:09:58,822
and I kind of killed that right off.

1562
01:09:58,822 --> 01:10:00,793
But I said to them -

1563
01:10:00,793 --> 01:10:03,283
this was a bunch of people

1564
01:10:03,283 --> 01:10:05,847
that didn't even have their Bibles.

1565
01:10:05,847 --> 01:10:07,803
And look, I had to be honest with them.

1566
01:10:07,803 --> 01:10:09,796
I said we're having a missions conference

1567
01:10:09,796 --> 01:10:11,584
and you don't even have your Bibles.

1568
01:10:11,584 --> 01:10:13,516
I said you're not fit to go.

1569
01:10:13,516 --> 01:10:16,665
This group at large is not fit to go.

1570
01:10:16,665 --> 01:10:18,572
I said you know the people that end up

1571
01:10:18,572 --> 01:10:20,046
making a difference is when

1572
01:10:20,046 --> 01:10:21,938
all the other young 
people are over here

1573
01:10:21,938 --> 01:10:23,857
hooting and hollering
and having a good time;

1574
01:10:23,857 --> 01:10:26,753
it's the person that makes the sacrifice.

1575
01:10:26,753 --> 01:10:28,302
They go grab their Bibles

1576
01:10:28,302 --> 01:10:31,421
and they go off by themselves.

1577
01:10:31,421 --> 01:10:33,518
That's the person who's going to

1578
01:10:33,518 --> 01:10:36,139
end up turning the world upside down.

1579
01:10:36,139 --> 01:10:38,633
Self-denial.

1580
01:10:38,633 --> 01:10:40,930
Sacrifice.

1581
01:10:40,930 --> 01:10:43,093
Threefold cord.

1582
01:10:43,093 --> 01:10:46,051
Oh, brethren...

1583
01:10:46,051 --> 01:10:48,617
Make an immediate beginning.

1584
01:10:48,617 --> 01:10:52,252
Here it is 2018. A good mile marker.

1585
01:10:52,252 --> 01:10:54,062
If there's something that resonates

1586
01:10:54,062 --> 01:10:56,239
in your own conscience,

1587
01:10:56,239 --> 01:10:59,229
don't procrastinate.

1588
01:10:59,229 --> 01:11:01,816
Immediately. Immediately,

1589
01:11:01,816 --> 01:11:03,643
make the determination.

1590
01:11:03,643 --> 01:11:06,989
Monday morning - different.

1591
01:11:06,989 --> 01:11:08,914
Re-order.

1592
01:11:08,914 --> 01:11:12,564
Brethren, this is our life.

1593
01:11:12,564 --> 01:11:14,489
Threefold cord.

1594
01:11:14,489 --> 01:11:15,940
Not easily broken.

1595
01:11:15,940 --> 01:11:18,265
Strong life.

1596
01:11:18,265 --> 01:11:19,550
Father, I pray,

1597
01:11:19,550 --> 01:11:20,325
help us.

1598
01:11:20,325 --> 01:11:21,823
Give us grace,

1599
01:11:21,823 --> 01:11:25,946
in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray.

1600
01:11:25,946 --> 01:11:26,850
Amen.