Let me have you turn in your Bibles this evening or this morning to Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18.
!
Praying always, praying at all times in the Spirit.
Let's do just that.
Heavenly Father, as we come this morning to take your Word in hand, we are thankful that
we who know the Lord Jesus Christ may ask you to work in us through your Holy Spirit, who
you have given to us, that as the psalmist prayed, that your Word would be opened that
we might see wonderful truths in it.
And we ask this because of Jesus.
I'll tell you at the beginning that I am not going to cover the whole verse.
I am going to leave the remainder for your studies personally.
I think we have spent a fair amount of time in Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 10 and carrying down here to 18.
And I trust you are not overly labored by the fact that I'm going to leave the second half of the verse because as we study the first half you will find it to be supremely important.
And I trust its value plays out in your life as a result.
Let me say ahead of time that I have a goal or objective that I think fits the Scriptures and it is this.
That as the result of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God with the enabling of the Spirit that your prayer life...
I mean there should be an outcome to preaching.
Would you agree with that?
That your prayer life is improved.
When I say that our prayer life is improved I suppose everybody is sitting here well okay that's alright.
Let me say that if I were to begin this sermon on the subject of prayer and start out by confessing that prayer is one of those areas in my life that I'm still working at you'd probably not be all that bothered.
Would you agree with me?
Last week as I was sitting with my father in the nursing home out of the clear blue he said to me,
Tim, what's your greatest challenge?
Well I have to confess that I have a fair share of them.
Being me is really hard.
And I remember after I thought for a moment I said, Dad my prayer life is my greatest challenge.
And I know my dad prays for me.
Even though he has Alzheimer's and has moments where probably his lucidity is not as sharp and acute as it should be.
Nevertheless, I know he prays for me because when I would come in following that he would talk to me about his prayers for me.
And I tell you that when I stand up here to preach on the matter of prayer and I say to you,
that's an area that I have some challenge and difficulty in.
It probably doesn't faze you but to help you understand and make a comparison.
Listen, were I to come this morning to this pulpit and say,
I am going to preach this morning about drunkenness and I would say,
and I'm having a real problem with it.
You'd probably say, well who are you to talk to me about that?
Right?
Or if I were to come up here this morning and say,
I am here to preach this morning about moral purity and I'm just not on top of that one.
That would be very unsettling to you, wouldn't it?
Agreed?
Yes.
When I come to you this morning and say, listen, prayer is the area in my life that I continue to work at
and I need his help.
The fact of the matter is, is that you identify so closely with me because your lives are struggling with the same thing.
And I want us this morning to understand just how important it is that our prayer life is governed and controlled
and enabled by the Spirit of God.
Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 10 and carrying on down to verse 18 is really about spiritual warfare.
And we can get all caught up in the armor.
But I want you to understand that this morning what we really are here to focus on is this matter of the priority of prayer.
It is supremely important in the believer's life.
When I was a young boy, you know, most of you know that I grew up as a missionary's child in India.
And this was in the days, I remember when we went from New York to Bombay by ship.
And on our first return from the field, it was a many weeks journey.
We came by steamer and my parents were bound and determined to find the cheapest way to travel.
And it was by some tramp steamer that made its way across the Indian Ocean and down.
Actually went around the Cape of Good Hope.
Can you imagine what that was like?
And then came up.
And eventually we landed somewhere in England.
And then we journeyed and visited different missionaries in that area.
And one of the things that my parents were bound and determined is that I should grow up with a little bit of enculturation.
And so they took me to every conceivable place that had historic significance.
One museum after another.
I was intrigued by one particular thing in museums.
I was always intrigued by the military parts of those museums, you know.
I'd want to go out and put my hands on the cannons and look at these great big balls that they shot out of those cannons.
And you'd walk through the museum and you would see these suits of armor.
I was just enthralled by suits of armor.
I thought, man, when I grow up I want to wear one of those things.
In fact, I'll remember my parents actually gave me a little bit of pocket money.
And I spent all of my pocket money on a piece of aluminum, briefly, very flimsy.
It was a breastplate.
It looked like armor.
You know, it's shiny.
And my brother and I played with those things until I, being much older than him at that point and larger than him,
I could take significant advantage of him.
So we stopped doing those things.
You know, sword fighting is pretty dangerous when you're big and, you know.
But I just loved the idea of armor.
And, you know, you'd walk through these museums and you'd see these great big suits of armor.
And I have to tell you, I thought, these are pretty neat.
This is nifty.
This is nice.
You know, they didn't frighten me at all.
They didn't bother me.
But I want you to imagine that if in the ancient world some great big hulking knight had put on that suit of armor,
armor, and torn out after a set of serfs in a village, it would have been pretty terrifying, wouldn't it?
You see, it's not the armor itself that makes all the difference in the world.
It is the person who's inside it and the one who gives the armor its energy that makes the difference.
And so this morning as we think about the subject of the believer being well-armed against the enemy,
I want you to understand at the very outset that the Holy Spirit wants us to get a grip on the fact that our battle is not our own and that we must have his help.
That's what we're looking at this morning when at the conclusion of this lengthy passage on the subject of spiritual warfare,
the Spirit of God says there in verse 18,
praying at all times in the Spirit.
I want you to go back just for a moment, if you will, back to verse 10.
And pick up, if you will, there the argument that Paul begins.
He says,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
As Paul brings this wonderful book to a conclusion,
he wants us to understand that we are going to face adversity and difficulty
and we have an adversary that is very interested in our harm and our destruction
and if we are going to endure and we're going to survive his attacks,
we can't do it on our own.
And so verse 10 is the beginning of the argument
and verse 18 is the conclusion.
There is a sense in which you have bookends in which at the beginning and the end of Paul's argument,
he helps us understand that this battle is not our own.
I trust that as we've worked our way through Ephesians chapter 6
and dealt with this matter of spiritual warfare,
that you've not been all caught up in the armor and the details
and forget that spiritual armor without the spirit is worthless.
You can actually have a head full of Bible verses.
You can have a firm grip on some of the theological truths that are foundational to us.
You can know every point about the nature of God.
You could be ready to pass a theology exam
and the truth of the matter is,
is you could still be readily overcome by the enemy
because in the face of all the information that you've gathered,
you really don't have a dependence upon the spirit
and the enemy loves when you're in that condition.
And so Paul begins to tell us here at the beginning in verse 10
that our strength must be in the Lord
and here at the end,
he highlights the fact that our spiritual strength is inseparable from our prayer life.
Our spiritual strength is inseparable from our prayer life.
And so he makes this statement, he says,
praying at all times in the spirit.
And his emphasis here is on the centrality of prayer in spiritual living
and he wants us to recognize that this is a foundational matter
for every one of you as believers.
Prayer is really at the center of spiritual living and success
and apart from prayer,
we are just an accident looking for a place to happen.
Can I say that again slowly so you understand it?
Apart from prayer,
we are just an accident looking for a place to happen.
So how important is prayer in the Bible?
Just touch on a few illustrations.
I could spend the remainder of our time
going through one after another,
but let's pick up on several that make it clear
that prayer for the believer is absolutely essential.
Turn in your Bible back to Exodus chapter 17.
Exodus chapter 17.
This is early in the Exodus
when God took the nation of Israel out of Egypt
and he was taking them on their journey
to the promised land
where they were going to be involved in conflict.
Earlier, actually, in Exodus,
we are told that God did not take them the short route
because they had not been toughened up
and they had to endure some hardship
and difficulty in battle
so that when they came into the land of promise,
which they were going to have to capture with their sword,
they were ready for the conflict.
Here in Exodus chapter 17,
we find one of their early battles.
And if you pick up there in verse 9,
we read that,
So Moses said to Joshua,
Choose for us men and go out and fight with Amalek.
Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand.
Now, sometimes those who are generals
are distantly removed from the battle
and do you know why they're distantly removed?
They don't want to risk being caught and killed.
That was not the reason that Moses did what he did.
And as we read through the passage,
we discovered that what happened
is that while Moses had his hands lifted up,
what was going on with the battle down there
on the plain with the people of Amalek?
The nation of Israel was enduring.
They were succeeding.
They were being victorious.
And Moses eventually got tired
and he put his hands down.
And as soon as he put his hands down,
what happened with the conflict?
The nation of Israel began to suffer.
And Moses, seeing this,
he learned that there was something going on
that was directly connected with his time of prayer
and his hands being lifted up
for the people that were down there in the conflict.
And as a result of that,
what we have is that Aaron and Hur
grabbed a stone,
had Moses sit down on the stone,
and then they stood on either side
and had Moses' arms up in the air.
And as a result,
the people of Israel succeeded in the battle.
Why?
Because of prayer.
I'm reminded also of what we read over in 1 Kings 17-18.
You don't need to turn to that passage.
But if you would remember,
in 1 Kings 17-18,
we're given a little picture of the power of prayer
because it tells us that Elijah prayed,
and it tells us in the book of James
that for three years it...
Does anybody know what happened?
It didn't rain.
And God uses that
to bring Ahab and all the nation together,
and they end up on top of this mountain,
and here is Elijah and the prophets of Baal,
and they're having this little contest,
and Elijah prays down fire from heaven,
and then he prays rain into the nation.
And it tells us over in that passage in James
that it was because of his prayer
that these things took place.
I'm reminded also of what Jesus taught his disciples
on the matter of prayer
and our dependence upon him.
And over in John chapter 15, verse 5,
there's a passage that I trust
is just woven into your life.
Without me, you can do what?
You can do nothing.
So I want you to think just for a moment this morning
of just how important,
how significant the matter of prayer is
in your life as a believer,
and recognize that here you are,
you are faced with the reality
that you have a spiritual enemy
that is desperately determined to destroy you.
And it's not the armor in itself
that is by itself that essential.
Apart from prayer, it's just a suit.
And there are some of you here this morning
that as I, as your shepherd,
as your pastor, think about your life,
I am aware of some of the heartache
and the difficulties,
and as I look at what's going on in your life,
one of the things that I would plead with you
is that your prayer life would change
so that you're not harmed as you have been.
I want you to understand
that your enemy is after you.
And I want you to understand
that prayer must be your heart's great defense.
Well, let's stop and think about the passage
because it says they're praying.
Praying.
I don't need to break down the issue of prayer for you
because you understand what it means.
It is coming to the Lord
with a dependence upon Him.
It is coming with a recognition
of the promises that He's made.
It is coming believing that He is,
as it says in Hebrews chapter 11,
He is and He is the one who is the rewarder
of those that do diligently seek Him.
You understand what prayer is.
So let's think a little bit
about what it says there.
It says that at all times,
we're to pray at all times.
That little word always,
or at all times,
as we have it in the ESV,
is a word that is talking
not so much about the length of time.
There are two different ways
that time is used in the Greek here.
One is talking about the length of time.
Like, I prayed for 39 minutes.
That's not what's being said.
It is talking about praying
at all kinds of circumstances,
all kinds of settings,
all kinds of moments.
And it's recognizing that praying 10 minutes
or reciting the Lord's Prayer for 20 times
or whatever is,
is not what is in view here.
It is talking about the fact
that every setting
and every circumstance,
every issue in your life
is worthy of prayer.
prayer.
So when should we pray?
For one,
we should pray
when we are being tempted.
I want you to remember
what Jesus said to His disciples
in Matthew chapter 26, verse 41.
He, knowing what was coming,
went off to pray.
And He made statement to them.
He said,
listen, pray
that you enter not into temptation.
And so let me ask you the question,
how often are you challenged
and tempted by the enemy?
Is it something that only happens
very rarely and occasionally,
or is it something that is incessant?
I know that it's incessant
because it happens to me.
It happens to you.
My temptation may not be the same
as your temptation,
and some of the things
that you are battling with
may be completely different
from the things I am enduring.
But here's the truth of the matter.
All of us are tempted
incessantly by the enemy
who is interested
in our demise
and our harm.
And so what we should do
is be people
that are praying all the time.
All the time.
We should pray
before we open our mouth.
We should pray
before we open our mouth.
I want you to turn back
in your Bible
just for a second
to Nehemiah chapter 2.
Look at verse 4.
Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 4.
By the way,
if you've been tracking,
we're teaching,
we're studying the book
of Nehemiah
in Wednesday evening,
but at the outset
of the book,
it starts out
by Nehemiah discovering
the condition
of the nation of Israel,
in particular,
the city of Jerusalem,
and we know
that he had spent
a long time
in prayer
for the condition
of the city
and what had happened
to the people of God.
I believe
as a result
of his incessant prayer
that God opened the door
and gave him
an opportunity
to present his concern
to the king.
He'd prayed
for a long time.
He'd been fasting.
Weeks had passed.
It had been front
and center
on his life,
but the moment
that the king
asked him,
what is it
that you would like,
do you know
what he did first?
He took a second
and he prayed
one of those
bullet prayers.
How many of you
prayed a bullet prayer?
A year and a,
well,
not last winter,
the winter before last,
I was driving
in the city
and I had come
to a left-hand turn
and there I was
waiting.
It had been snowing
pretty bad
and I am waiting
at the stoplight
for the opportunity
to go.
And there was a guy
that came skating around
making a,
how was it,
a left,
a right-hand turn
and as I'm watching him,
it became quite evident
that his tires
were not going
in the direction
that he was cranking
the wheel.
I was actually
at the stoplight
talking to my wife
saying,
honey,
I'll be home
in a,
I'm going to have
a wreck.
Do you follow that?
And I remember
in that same frame
saying,
oh Lord.
That's a short prayer.
Do you understand that?
Could anybody add
a couple other words
along with that?
Oh Lord,
help me to whatever.
You know,
it's like,
those are known
as bullet prayers.
It's like,
help me.
So when should you pray?
How many of you
would admit
that you would be
well served
if you never opened
your mouth
without praying first?
James tells us
that the tongue
is the toughest
thing to handle.
Am I right?
And so,
I would encourage you,
when should you pray?
Well,
pray when you are tempted.
Pray when you are tempted
to open your mouth.
Pray instead of fretting.
I want you to look
in your passage,
in your Bible,
to Philippians chapter 4,
verse 4 through 7.
When should I pray?
I should pray
when I am tempted
to fret.
And some of us
are better fretters
than others.
We have more practice.
But listen to what it says
there in Philippians
chapter 4,
verse 4.
He says this,
he says,
rejoice in the Lord always,
and again I say rejoice.
How many of you
really enjoy
being around grumpy Christians?
You know what
a grumpy Christian is like?
It's one of those persons
who,
you know,
everything is just
not going well
and they're kind of
frowny and unhappy
and,
you know,
they've missed
the truth,
the sweet blessing
of their relationship.
Well,
we're reminded here
in Philippians,
it says,
hey,
rejoice in the Lord.
Verse 5,
it says,
let your reasonableness
be known to everyone.
The Lord is at hand.
And then verse 6,
do not be anxious
about anything.
But in everything,
by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving,
let your requests
be made known to God.
So,
when should we pray?
That's the question
that the Bible verse
brings to our attention
when it says,
pray at all times.
When should we pray?
We should pray
when we are tempted
to fret,
to be anxious.
When else should we pray?
We should pray
at the start of our day.
Isn't that right?
The start of your day
as you are waking up
and you are beginning
to ponder the things
that lie in front of you
and you're thinking
through the responsibilities
that you have
and some of the challenges
that you're facing,
that's the time
to come to the Lord
in prayer and say,
listen,
I want you to be
the one that I look to
and I trust
and I depend upon
this morning
rather than get caught up
in my own thing.
I'm reminded of what it says
over in Luke chapter 18,
verse 1.
Men ought always to pray
and not faint.
So,
why don't you do this
before you turn on the TV?
Why don't you pray?
Before you decide
you're going to check Facebook,
why don't you pray?
Before you decide
that you want to make
some scuzzy little comment
about somebody else's
statement on Facebook,
how many of you
know what I'm talking about?
I have deleted
more of the brilliance
that I have produced
from this little pea brain
that I've decided
after the second read
is like,
that is not going
to be good to say.
How many of you there?
Okay?
It would probably be
a little prophylactic
or preventive
just to pray
before you even
open Facebook, right?
Go ahead and pray
before you decide
you're going to surf
the internet.
Go ahead and pray
before you're going
to indulge in that
thinking,
that bitterness
or that irritation
or you begin to fret
about the way things
are devolving in your life.
Why don't you decide
before you entertain that
that you're going to pray?
Why don't you pray
before you decide
that you'll refresh
your memory
with some of the hurts
that you've endured
from other people
in the fellowship?
So as we look
at this part
in the beginning,
I want you to recognize
that what the apostle
is saying is that
the prayer life
of the believer
is to be something
that is robust
and profound
and covers
the broad range
of everything
going on
in our life.
Praying always,
all the time.
But now let's come
to the most important piece.
Praying in the spirit
is what Paul
is very interested
that we care for here.
And so as we are
addressing the issue
of spiritual warfare,
I want you to understand
that as we come
to this piece,
we're talking about
the very most important part
in the equation,
we are to pray
in the spirit.
We're instructed
to pray
through the enabling
of the spirit of God
and I cannot overstate
the importance
of doing so
in the power
of the spirit of God.
Let me help you understand
just how important
it is that we live
in the spirit,
walk in the spirit,
and rely upon the spirit
for our daily spiritual life.
You're in the book
of Ephesians.
Turn back just a little bit
to Galatians chapter 5.
In Galatians chapter 5,
it says this,
it says,
I say,
walk by the spirit
and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh.
Walk by the spirit
and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh.
Now, is the issue
of gratifying
the desires of the flesh
a gender-specific problem?
How many of you understood
what I just said?
Not at all.
Men, women, boys, girls,
all of us have issues
where we are tempted
by the enemy
and we look to gratify
the desires of the flesh.
And what Paul says
is that we are to walk
by the spirit
and we won't do that.
So I want you
to understand this morning
that it makes sense
that our prayer life
should be utterly dependent
upon the spirit of God.
And I want you
to ask yourself the question,
is that what characterizes
your prayer life?
Let's stop
and think carefully.
Is spirit dependence
the thing
that characterizes
your prayer life?
Some of us
are fairly good
with prayer lists.
How many of you understand
that prayer lists
are helpful?
If we don't have prayer lists,
guess what we're going
to pray for generally?
A little bit like this.
Dear Jesus,
help mommy and daddy.
Help all the missionaries
in the world.
Help me to have a good day.
Amen.
Our prayers,
if we don't have
a list that's a little
more robust
and a little far thinking,
a little further thinking,
we tend to be
pretty self-focused
in our prayer life.
Would you agree with that?
Prayer lists help us
to get a broader picture,
but here's the danger
of a prayer list.
You can crank
through your prayer list
and never think
one bit
about how
all of it
makes sense.
Have you ever done that?
Have you ever prayed
through your prayer list
and when the end of the day,
you just checked it off,
but there was nothing
really resonating?
So what does
praying in the spirit mean?
Let me talk first of all
about what it does not mean.
Praying in the spirit
does not mean
mouthing
an unintelligible
collection
of vowels
and consonants.
I have dear friends
that are quite caught up
in the supposed exercise
of speaking in tongues.
And I want to tell you
with gentleness
and clarity
that the New Testament
gift of tongues
undeniably
in the scriptures
was the ability
to communicate
in other dialects.
Interestingly enough,
when the charismatic movement
came back
into popularity
in the early 20th century,
that was like 1916
or something like that,
at Azusa Street Mission,
those who began teaching
the issue
of the charismatic
gift of tongues
made the supposition
that the gift
was actually
the ability
to speak
dialects
or foreign languages.
And as a result,
this is history,
this is fact,
they sent out
a wave of missionaries
without any language
training.
Now,
it makes sense,
do you follow me?
It makes sense
if what they thought
they had
was actually
the New Testament
ability
to speak
foreign languages.
Guess what happened
when they got to India
and China
and Burma
and Malaysia
and wherever else
they went?
Guess what happened?
All the nationals
in all those countries
had no idea
what they were doing
when they were going
blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, whatever.
And they came back
and rethought
their theology
and it became
a matter of,
well,
this is
spiritual
praying
and nobody
understands it.
I want you
to understand
that praying
in the Spirit
is not a collection
of unintelligible
vowels and consonants,
nor is it
being
exceptionally moved
by emotion.
Now,
sometimes we think
that just because
we have been moved
by emotion
that that necessarily
is the work
of the Spirit.
How many of you
understand that emotions
are pretty fickle things?
Huh?
I, once again,
bear with me
on Facebook,
but I have people
that will every now
and then post
these little cute things
about cats and dogs
and tell me that
if I just watch this clip,
it will break me down
into emotions.
You follow that?
Nah.
I mean,
I can get carried away
with emotions
and I think you know that,
but cats and dogs
don't do it.
And we ought to be careful
that we don't assume
that just because
we have a little
emotional surge
that it's the Spirit
of God.
You can
work up
emotions.
And that's not
necessarily the work
of the Spirit of God.
Just as an example,
when was the last time
you thought about people
going to hell
and you broke down
in tears?
That's the Spirit.
So,
let's talk about
what it is to pray
in the Spirit.
Praying in the Spirit
is praying with,
number one,
a sense of blessing
in our relationship
with Him.
I think about the passage
in Romans chapter 8,
verse 15.
I want you to look
at that passage.
One of the sweet...
Romans chapter 8
has a lot to say
about the love of Christ
and the Spirit of God
who is at work
in the believer.
If you were to ask me
what are some of the
most significant things
that the Lord has done
in my life
in the last 10 years
spiritually,
I would tell you
that it has been
His working
in helping me
slowly grow
in appreciating
the love of Christ
and appreciating
the work of the Spirit
of God
in the life
of the believer.
And here in Romans
chapter 8,
verse 15,
it says this,
you have received
the Spirit of adoption
by whom we cry,
Abba, Father.
When was the last time
that in your prayer life
you just had this
abiding sense
that the God in heaven
is your Father
and He cares about you
in a way that is
beyond your comprehension
and you rest
in the goodness
of that relationship.
To pray in the Spirit
is to pray
with a sense
of blessing
in our relationship
both with the Spirit
of God
and with the Father.
To pray in the Spirit
is also to pray
with a thankfulness
for His indwelling.
I think about the passage
over in John chapter 15
or 16
where Jesus said this,
it is to your advantage
that I leave.
That had to be
a mind blower
for the disciples.
Do you follow that?
They had no idea
that things were going
to end up
the way they did.
And we know that
because even after
the Last Supper
as Jesus went through
breaking the elements
and said,
this is my body
which is for you
and this cup
is the cup
of the New Testament
in my blood
and He explained
the fact that He
was going to die
for them.
As they left
that time
they were
bickering
with who was going
to be number one
in the kingdom.
They didn't get it.
Jesus says,
I'm leaving.
But it's a good thing
I'm leaving
because when I leave
you're going to get
the Spirit.
And so to pray
in the Spirit
means to pray
with a thankfulness
that He indwells me
that I have
the blessing
of the Spirit
of God
abiding in me.
When was the last time
that you found yourself
tempted
and as you were
struggling with that
temptation
you thought to yourself,
listen,
if I do this sin
I am going to grieve
the Holy Spirit
who abides in me.
Do you follow that?
Think with me.
Your eyes are going
where they shouldn't go
and you think
to yourself,
the Spirit
is looking
and seeing
and grieved
by that.
To pray in the Spirit
is to pray
with a conscious
dependence
on His person
and His work.
When was the last time
that you let Him know
how glad you are
that He is there
to help you?
Do you follow that?
I am so glad
that I have
the Holy Spirit
abiding in me.
I can tell you
that earlier
in ministry
I found
that
I spent
a great deal
of time,
in fact,
more time
in study
than in prayer
over a passage.
I wanted to understand
the Greek,
I wanted to understand
the structure,
I wanted to understand
the flow of the sentence
and context
and all of those things
are supremely important
but as I have grown
older in the Lord
I have found
that praying
in the Spirit
is as valuable
if not more valuable
in comprehending
the Scriptures.
So praying
in the Spirit
is to be
dependent
upon His work.
I want to tell you
another thing
that to pray
in the Spirit
means to pray
with a deference
to His Word.
What do I mean
by a deference?
To pray
in the Spirit
means to pray
with the enabling
of the Spirit
of God
doing something
in my thinking.
Do you follow that?
And if we follow
the passage
in John chapter 16
we understand
that the work
of the Spirit
of God
is to bring
the Scriptures
to mind.
And if I am
praying in the Spirit
my prayer life
will be enriched
and characterized
by the Scriptures.
To pray in the Spirit
is to pray
with an amplified
focus on Christ.
Turn in your Bible
turn in your Bible
and I close with this
to John chapter 16
verse 14.
I have made
repeated references
this morning
to the book
of John
in particular
to chapter 16
because in John
chapter 15
16
you find
John giving us
perhaps
the most complete
study of the doctrine
of the Spirit's ministry
in our lives
as Jesus explains
to the disciples
the benefit
they're going to have
after He leaves.
But look at
John chapter 16
verse 14
as Jesus
is explaining
to His disciples
what the Spirit
of God
will do
when He comes.
He will glorify me.
How do I know
that I'm praying
in the Spirit?
How do I know
that I'm walking
in the Spirit?
How do I know
that I'm rejoicing
in the Spirit?
How do I know
that the Spirit
of God
is at work
in Tim Kenoyer's life?
I know it
when Jesus Christ
is the one
that is exalted
and lifted up.
Why?
Because that's
His work.
He
will glorify
me.
He
I want you
to think
with me
for a moment.
Paul is
greatly
concerned
for believers
in Ephesus
whose lives
were threatened
by an enemy
that wanted
to trash
them.
Do you
follow that?
And as
that passage
was being read
I have no doubt
that as
perhaps Timothy
don't know for sure
but as
whoever was reading
that passage
of Scripture
was reading it
with the enabling
of the Spirit
of God
I have no doubt
that he could look
out on the congregation
and see the faces
of people
that he loved
as a shepherd
and he saw
them there
harmed
and wounded.
And his heart
was with them
as he prayed
oh I hope
they get it
and they pray
always
in the Spirit.
Do we have
an enemy?
Yeah.
Has he wounded
you before?
Yes.
Am I more
fearful of him
today than I
used to be?
Yes.
Am I more
conscious of
the Spirit's
enabling
and sufficiency
and power
and blessing?
Yes.
And where
are you in
that?
Let's close
in prayer.
Holy Spirit
work
in the lives
of people
that know
the Lord Jesus
Christ
are blessed
with salvation
and desperately
need victory
over an
enemy
that hates
their soul.
And let
the thing
that characterizes
the outcome
of the
preaching
of the
word of God
today be
this
God
that we
be a
people
who pray
at all
times
in the
Spirit.
Amen.
Let's
stand together
as we
close
and as we
are singing
our closing
song
God
I want
to
encourage
you
if you
are here
this
morning
and
there's
a matter
that you
need
to
settle
and