Pastor Mark's Blog

Archive for February, 2012

Have you ever wondered when you clicked the “send” command on your computer if your e-mail actually got to its destination? Have you ever thought, “Will someone be there to receive it? Will I get a response?”

You may have had those same questions in another realm of communication–prayer.  Look at what the Bible says about the promise of prayer.

Jeremiah 33:3  Call to me and I will answer you…  (NIV)

Psalm 138:3  When I called, you answered me…  (NIV)

Does this mean that God will answer our every prayer and that He is at our beckon and call to answer our requests? I think a lot of people have that idea and never consider that God has placed very specific restrictions or limits on how He answers us.

Lots of people wonder why their prayers are not answered and think God isn’t real. The problem with unanswered prayer isn’t with God but with us.

For your e-mail to arrive, your equipment and programs must function correctly. Sometimes your prayer life can have a “glitch” in it.  What does God promise then concerning our prayers?  What are the conditions that need to be met in order for God to hear and answer our prayers?

First, we must ASK

One of the most important elements of prayer is asking.  If you don’t ask you can’t get an answer.  A lot of people are just too stubborn and proud to pray and ask God for anything.  Prayer is a sign of dependance upon God and not on yourself.

James 4:2c You do not have, because you do not ask God. (NIV)

Second, we must have the RIGHT MOTIVES

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (NIV)

God doesn’t promise to answer a selfish prayer or a prayer that is prayed with the wrong kind of motives. Selfishness is one of the biggest barriers to prayer.  You can’t live a self-centered life and expect God to answer your prayers.

Third, we must pray ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.   15 And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. (NIV)

Notice in verse 14 that if we  “ask anything according to His will, He hears us”.  The only prayers that God will listen to or hear are those that are according to His will.

Fourth, we must pray IN THE NAME OF JESUS

John 14:13-14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.   14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?  To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray based on his power and authority.  Imagine if you will a police officer comes to your home and he knocks on your door and says, “Open up in the name of the law.”  The officer is not asking you to open your door based on his own power or authority, he is asking you to open your door based on the authority of the law.

When you pray to God in the name of Jesus you are asking God to do something not because of your power or authority, but His.  God promises that if we will pray in the name of Jesus He will answer.

Fifth, you must pray BELIEVING

Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (NIV)

What does the word “believing” mean?  It means to trust and not to doubt.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (NIV)

James 1:5-7 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.   6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.   7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. (NIV)

Today many people have the idea that God will answer anyone’s prayer no matter how they pray or who they are?  Does God promise to answer anyone’s prayer no matter who they are?

Sixth, you must BE OBEDIENT

1 John 3:19-22 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence   20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.   21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God   22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. (NIV)

According to this passage God will not answer a person’s prayer or even listen to a person’s prayer if they aren’t willing to obey His commandments or do the things that are pleasing to Him.

Psalm 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (NASB)

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV)

Proverbs 28:9 God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to him. (MSG)

These are very strong words and make the point that we do not come to God in disobedience. The prayers of the disobedient are an abomination to God.  God does not promise to answer a person’s prayer when that person isn’t obeying the Lord and is living outside of God’s will.

Seventh, you must be AT PEACE WITH OTHERS

Family problems can surely cause our prayers not to be answered. Arguing, bickering, fighting in the home will destroy it. It will rob a home of peace and joy. It will destroy the peace and security of the marriage.

Matthew 18:19 Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. (NIV)

Eight, you must BE PERSISTENT

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.   8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (NIV)

The words “ask, seeks & knocks” are all in the continual mode meaning that we are to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking.

Clearly the Lord is teaching us that we should be persistent in our prayers. There have been things that Christians have prayed for, for years and God in His time answered. It is not that God does not want to answer and that He wants to withhold the answer to our prayers, but God knows the time when it is best. Our persistence shows our faith in God and His promise to answer prayer.

My grandfather passed away when I was a child.  I remember one day my father and I went to his garage to clean it out.  My grandfather had many old tools.  One was a hand drill. I could barely get the wheel to turn. The gears were clogged with dirt, and the pieces that held the drill bit in place were missing. But I wanted to see if I could get it to work.

I wiped it clean, oiled it and kept working the handle back and forth until it finally started turning smoothly.

Working with that old drill can teach us all something about prayer. If we don’t meet God’s conditions, our prayers will be ineffective – just like that old drill.

If your prayer-life is malfunctioning, make sure you’re meeting the conditions. When you do, you can be confident that your prayers will be effective.

If you want your prayers to reach heaven, make sure you have a good connection.

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear their prayer from heaven, forgive their sins,  and heal their country. (GW)

Today we’re going to look at God’s promise concerning your needs.  In this day and time a lot of people are probably interested in this promise but they may not like what the Bible says about it.

Matthew 6:31-33  Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?” 32Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these. 33But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.  (CEV)

When you put God first and trust Him, He will take care of all your needs.  Put Him at the center of your life and everything else will be taken care of.

The problem is we try to share that number one position with God we then end up with nothing.  Try this at home on your own.  Get a can of soda and pour into a glass.  Then get a straw and take a sip of the soda through the straw.  Was it satisfying?  Good… that’s what it’s like when you put God first in your life.  Putting God first is the secret to living a satisfying life!

Now, I’d like you to get a second straw and take another sip but this time you’re going to use both straws, one on the inside of the glass and the other on the outside.  Now take a drink.  What happened?  You can’t drink anything.  It doesn’t work.

That’s what happens in your life when you try to put both God and the things of this world first in our life.  You end up with nothing.  You end up being unsatisfied.

The real reason so many people are unhappy, unsatisfied, and unfulfilled in life is because Jesus Christ is not the center of their lives.  They’re looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. They run from this to that… looking for something that’s going to satisfy them.  They go from relationship to relationship, from job to job, from church to church looking for the key.  Yet, they’re still not content or satisfied.

The problem is, none of these things can give you lasting satisfaction.  Only Jesus can give you lasting satisfaction.  Only Jesus can satisfy your life.  If you’re discontent it means Jesus Christ isn’t at the center of your life.

Today in this world of economic woes, when unemployment is up around 8.3%, many people are wondering where their next meal is going to come from, how they’re going to pay the rent or make the house payment, or how they’re going to feed and cloth their families.

What does God promise those who are in this condition?  Does God promise to supply everyone’s needs no matter who they are and no matter if they are following the Lord or not?  Jesus tells us to seek put Him first and then God will supply our needs.

How many times have we said or heard someone say, “God, if you will get me through this time of trouble then I will serve you and follow you?”  God wants us to follow Him first and then He will supply our needs.  God promises that if we will put Him first in our lives, then He will supply our needs.

Philippians 4:19  And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  (NIV)

Paul didn’t say God was going to meet all your greeds, but rather all your needs.

When I buy an insurance policy I read through it and find out what’s covered.  Then, when I know what’s covered, I don’t worry about it because I know it’s covered.  The Bible is God’s insurance policy.  Did you know there are over 7000 promises in the Bible?  Many of you can’t claim them though because you don’t even know where they are.  That’s why you need to get into the Bible and read it and study it everyday.  That’s why you need to have a daily quiet time.  As you read God’s policy manual (The Bible) and get familiar with what guarantees God has made in your life, you stop worrying.

What percentage of our needs does God promise to supply for us?  Does God promise to supply only 25% of our needs?  Does He promise to supply only 50%?  Does He promise to supply only 75% of our needs?  No, God promises to supply 100% or “all” of our needs, “according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus”.

God supplies our needs “in Christ Jesus” not outside of Jesus!  You can’t expect God to meet your needs while you live your live apart from Jesus.  It’s only when Jesus becomes the Lord of your life that God then promises to meet your needs.

Psalm 23:11  The LORD is my shepherd. I am never in need. (GW)

Today we are going to look at God’s promise concerning eternal life.  There are lots of great verses in the Bible about this promise.

1 John 2:25 And this is what he promised us–even eternal life. (NIV)

Titus 1:22 My message is based on the confidence of eternal life.  God, who never lies, promised this eternal life before the world began. (GW)

God has promised us “eternal life.”  Does this mean though that just because God has promised it, that all mankind at this very moment in time has eternal life?  Today at this very moment I have eternal life, yet there are many today who do not have eternal life.

Someone might say, “Mark, your not going to live forever, everyone has to die sometime.”  Yes, at sometime the outer shell of our body will die and be buried in the ground and turn back into dust, but God also gave us a spirit and a soul and God has promised that I will live forever.  That’s because God created us with the capacity to live forever.

Ecclesiastes 3:11b He has also set eternity in the hearts of men… (NIV)

Even though my body dies, God has promised us eternal life.  The question is how do you get it?  How do you claim this promise from God if you haven’t already?  You do it through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

Throughout the years man has made various claims about knowing the secret to eternal life.  These have been anything from dipping in a fictitious fountain to taking a wonder pill.

Throughout the years man has searched for a way to live eternally and has failed miserably.  Yet God has promised us eternal life, and there is only one way in which we can have it.  That way is Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (NIV)

God promises to everyone who will trust in Jesus as their personal savior, that they can have eternal life.

Romans 10:9 If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved. (GW)

God has promised us eternal life, but that life can only be yours by trusting in Jesus.

1 John 5:11-12 God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son.   12 And so, if we have God’s Son, we have this life. But if we don’t have the Son, we don’t have this life. (CEV)

Something else that God has promised concerning eternal life is that it is “eternal.”  That means it has no end.  That means it’s not temporary.

Today there are many who believe and would have us believe that once you have eternal life, you can then lose it by sinning against God.  God promised us “eternal life” not “temporary life.”

God has promised those who are saved, that they will always be saved no matter what.  That’s because eternal life is based on what God does, not on what we do.

Hebrews 7:25a Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. (NLT)

If you are saved, God has promised that you always will be saved and nothing can cause you to lose your salvation or the eternal life that He has given to you.  That means you don’t need to be saved over and over.  When Jesus died on the cross for your sins, he died for “ALL” of them.  Those you committed in the past, those you commit in the present or any of the sins you might commit in the future.  And so nothing is able to take away what God promised to give to you.

John 10:27-30 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me,   28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand.   29 My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands,   30 and I am one with the Father. (CEV)

That’s how great this promise is from God!