WEBVTT

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 Good morning, everyone. Today we are continuing on our theme of prayer and I've been asked to talk about faithful prayer.

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 But before I begin, let's just bow our heads and pray together.

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 Lord, we thank you for the amazing gift of prayer.

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 And Father, amazing though that gift is, sometimes it feels really confusing to us because our prayers are not apparently answered in the way we want.

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 And so Lord, we pray today that you would teach us from your word, that we might truly understand afresh what it means to pray faithfully.

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 And we ask this in your son's name. Amen.

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 Mark chapter 11, Jesus says these words, have faith in God.

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 Have faith in God.

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 In the year of my birth, 1949, a remarkable intervention of God happened on some islands north of Scotland called the Hebrides.

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 An elderly couple of women who were sisters, Christine and Peggy Smith, have been praying together for a very long time,

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 based on a verse in Isaiah chapter 64, which inspired them to pray week in, week out.

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 And this is the verse.

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 The Lord says,

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 Meeting together, praying around this promise of God in Isaiah.

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 At the same time, a group of men had been meeting in a barn on the Hebrides, not far away,

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 and they'd been praying faithfully.

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 That God would intervene.

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 That he would bring about what theologians call revival.

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 That is something only God can do.

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 One of the men who was a minister, in somewhat despair, said one night,

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 he said, I think we're wasting our time praying.

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 He said, because it says in Psalm 24,

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 who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

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 In other words, who will come into the Lord's presence?

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 He who has clean hands and a pure heart.

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 I think, he said, we're wasting our time praying that God will intervene in our islands,

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 unless we seek forgiveness of our sin.

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 That night, at 2 a.m. in the morning, God broke through.

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 All over the island, in the cottages, the cross as they call them up there,

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 lights went on.

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 And people were found in the streets of the Orkneys,

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 repenting and seeking God.

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 That's what revival is.

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 It's an intervention of God.

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 And only God can intervene.

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 We're thinking today about faithful prayer.

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 What a challenging idea that is for many of us.

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 I want today just to say three things.

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 I've been told my time is limited.

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 I mean, I don't mean I'm going to die.

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 Anything's possible.

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 What I mean is

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 that

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 during the summer months,

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 we kind of abbreviate the services a bit.

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 So three things.

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 The first thing is

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 have faith in God.

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 Very interesting.

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 You will realize that

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 Jesus spoke the language of Aramaic,

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 which is a kind of variation of Hebrew.

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 The New Testament in its original form

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 was written in Greek,

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 and then it's been translated into English.

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 So by the time we get it,

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 it has been slightly

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 mangled, maybe.

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 But one thing that's very clear

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 is from the Greek grammar

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 of that sentence,

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 the emphasis on that sentence

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 is on the word God.

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 And I say that because

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 I think many of us

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 place the emphasis,

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 a lot of preachers do this,

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 place the emphasis on the word faith.

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 So we all go home

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 feeling terrible,

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 thinking our faith

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 is not big enough,

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 whereas in fact,

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 what Jesus was saying

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 to his people is,

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 look,

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 put the emphasis,

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 when you pray,

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 think about God,

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 not about the size

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 of your faith.

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 You remember that

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 elsewhere,

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 Jesus says,

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 if you have faith

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 the size of a mustard seed,

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 you'll be able to say

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 to that mountain,

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 go throw yourself

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 into the sea,

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 and it will happen.

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 You know how big

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 a mustard seed is?

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 It's tiny.

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 Jesus said,

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 even if you have

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 a tiny bit of faith,

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 amazing things

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 could happen.

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 Have faith

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 in God.

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 Nowhere in the Bible

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 does it encourage people

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 like us

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 to have faith in faith.

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 I think there are

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 some people

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 who think like that,

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 but that's never

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 what the Bible teaches.

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 The Bible teaches

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 not how big

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 is your faith,

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 but how big

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 is your God.

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 When you read

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 sentences in Scripture

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 like,

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 without God,

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 with God

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 all things are possible,

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 do you believe it?

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 Don't put your hands up.

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 Do you believe it?

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 So the first thing is,

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 if we're going to pray

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 faithfully,

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 our focus needs

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 to be on God,

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 and we need,

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 in our minds,

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 in our souls,

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 in our hearts,

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 to imagine

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 that this God

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 can do anything.

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 The second thing

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 about faithful prayer

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 is that people

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 who pray faithfully,

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 like the old girls

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 in the Hebrides,

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 pray persistently.

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 in Luke chapter 11,

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 the disciples

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 come to Jesus

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 and they say to Him,

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 Lord,

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 teach us how to pray.

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 And Jesus

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 gives them

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 the Lord's prayer

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 for starters.

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 And then He says,

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 a curious little parable,

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 He says,

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 what about

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 if you're lying

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 in bed one night

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 and somebody comes

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 and hammers on

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 your door

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 at midnight,

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 and you shout

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 out of the window,

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 and here I'm paraphrasing,

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 clear off,

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 it's midnight

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 and I've already

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 locked up.

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 Come back tomorrow.

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 And the friend

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 keeps on hammering

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 on the door.

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 And eventually,

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 says Jesus,

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 the owner of the home

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 will go downstairs

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 and open the door.

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 Why?

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 Because persistence

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 pays off.

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 There is a danger,

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 another danger,

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 which Jesus talks about

00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:00.779
 in the Sermon on the Mount,

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 where He actually says,

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 don't babble

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 like the pagans do.

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 But persistence

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 is a very big

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 New Testament word.

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 We need to learn

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 what it is

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 to pray persistently.

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 Like Peggy and Christine,

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 like those men

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 meeting in a barn,

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 we need not to give up.

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 Which will be a challenge

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 for some of you

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 because you've never

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 got started.

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 Be persistent

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 in prayer.

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 The third thing is,

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 and this may be

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 the most challenging

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 and most important

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 thought of all,

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 it's this.

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 In that passage

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 we read from Mark's Gospel,

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 again,

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 in the Greek,

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 it's full of

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 conjunctions.

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 It is

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 joined up

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 thinking.

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 There's a flow

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 of thought here.

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 Jesus says this,

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 look,

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 have faith in God.

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 When you pray,

00:09:09.819 --> 00:09:10.579
 believe that what

00:09:10.579 --> 00:09:11.779
 you pray for

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 might happen

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 and it will be done.

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 And the third thing is,

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 when you stand praying,

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 if you have anything

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 against anyone,

00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:25.239
 go and seek

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 their forgiveness.

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 Wow.

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 I could

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 weigh my hands

00:09:31.959 --> 00:09:32.559
 in the air

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 and shout

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 hallelujah

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 for the first two,

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 but

00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:36.719
 going to seek

00:09:36.719 --> 00:09:37.259
 forgiveness

00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:38.319
 from other people?

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 That is really

00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:42.739
 hard yards,

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 isn't it?

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 The faithful

00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:47.339
 prayers

00:09:47.339 --> 00:09:48.279
 understand

00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:49.679
 that our

00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:50.419
 horizontal

00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:51.359
 relationships,

00:09:51.579 --> 00:09:52.379
 one with another,

00:09:53.179 --> 00:09:54.339
 will have an impact

00:09:54.339 --> 00:09:54.779
 on our

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 vertical

00:09:55.259 --> 00:09:56.159
 relationship

00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.059
 praying to God.

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 I wonder

00:10:01.479 --> 00:10:02.939
 if there's

00:10:02.939 --> 00:10:03.699
 anybody in the

00:10:03.699 --> 00:10:04.099
 house

00:10:04.099 --> 00:10:06.000
 who needs

00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:06.500
 to pick up

00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:06.959
 a phone

00:10:06.959 --> 00:10:07.919
 and make a

00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:08.239
 call,

00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:10.439
 get a pen

00:10:10.439 --> 00:10:11.359
 out or write

00:10:11.359 --> 00:10:11.899
 a letter,

00:10:13.579 --> 00:10:14.699
 get a computer

00:10:14.699 --> 00:10:15.259
 out and do

00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:15.779
 an email.

00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:19.899
 and just

00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:20.279
 say,

00:10:20.819 --> 00:10:22.039
 I'm sorry.

00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:24.259
 Because if you

00:10:24.259 --> 00:10:24.799
 want to be a

00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:25.600
 faithful prayer,

00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:26.860
 you really need

00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:27.379
 to keep a

00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:29.019
 guard on your

00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:29.600
 horizontal

00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:30.600
 relationships,

00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:31.360
 says Jesus.

00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:32.819
 When you

00:10:32.819 --> 00:10:33.579
 stand praying,

00:10:34.579 --> 00:10:35.539
 if you have

00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:36.459
 anything against

00:10:36.459 --> 00:10:36.919
 anyone.

00:10:38.079 --> 00:10:39.039
 The Bible is

00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:39.539
 even more

00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:40.299
 challenging than

00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:40.740
 that.

00:10:41.459 --> 00:10:42.000
 In that,

00:10:42.079 --> 00:10:42.480
 it says,

00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:43.279
 if you have

00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:44.000
 something against

00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:44.620
 your brother,

00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:45.559
 you go and

00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:46.159
 put it right.

00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:47.059
 And the second

00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:47.500
 thing is,

00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:47.879
 it says,

00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:48.620
 if your brother

00:10:48.620 --> 00:10:49.100
 has something

00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:49.980
 against you,

00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:51.519
 you still go

00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:51.980
 and put it

00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:52.279
 right.

00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:57.460
 Have faith in

00:10:57.460 --> 00:10:57.779
 God,

00:10:58.860 --> 00:10:59.879
 be persistent

00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:00.419
 in your

00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:00.899
 praying,

00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:03.519
 and be sure

00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:03.960
 that your

00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:04.840
 praying will be

00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:05.580
 regulated

00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:07.500
 by your

00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:08.220
 willingness to

00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:08.940
 forgive others.

00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:10.940
 God's

00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:11.600
 God's

00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:12.400
 peace.

00:11:12.400 --> 00:11:13.520
 I wonder

00:11:13.520 --> 00:11:15.680
 if there's

00:11:15.680 --> 00:11:16.360
 any other

00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:17.340
 soul in this

00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:18.040
 church who is

00:11:18.040 --> 00:11:19.840
 troubled as

00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:21.680
 I am by

00:11:21.680 --> 00:11:22.280
 the way the

00:11:22.280 --> 00:11:23.100
 world is going

00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:23.800
 in the West.

00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:26.360
 I wonder if

00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:26.840
 there's anybody

00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:27.680
 else in the

00:11:27.680 --> 00:11:28.700
 house who

00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:30.020
 wonders what

00:11:30.020 --> 00:11:30.740
 can be done

00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:31.040
 here.

00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:31.760
 We've heard

00:11:31.760 --> 00:11:32.860
 politicians leap

00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:33.660
 up making wild

00:11:33.660 --> 00:11:34.540
 promises just to

00:11:34.540 --> 00:11:35.200
 attract our

00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:35.600
 votes.

00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:37.580
 We're looking

00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:38.320
 around this

00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:39.080
 society in

00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:39.440
 which we

00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:39.780
 live, and

00:11:39.780 --> 00:11:40.360
 we're wondering

00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:41.140
 to ourselves,

00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:42.040
 has the

00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:42.660
 Western world

00:11:42.660 --> 00:11:43.180
 lost its

00:11:43.180 --> 00:11:44.000
 moral compass?

00:11:45.280 --> 00:11:45.960
 We're looking

00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:47.000
 at institutions

00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:47.560
 which are

00:11:47.560 --> 00:11:48.020
 broken,

00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:49.379
 sometimes beyond

00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:49.900
 repair.

00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:50.960
 Does it ever,

00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:52.020
 ever, ever

00:11:52.020 --> 00:11:52.580
 cross your

00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:53.240
 mind that

00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:53.960
 maybe only

00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.400
 God can

00:11:56.400 --> 00:11:56.940
 sort this

00:11:56.940 --> 00:11:57.240
 out?

00:11:59.360 --> 00:11:59.740
 Listen,

00:11:59.900 --> 00:12:00.240
 friends,

00:12:00.920 --> 00:12:01.740
 this may be a

00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:02.340
 wake-up call

00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:02.660
 for you,

00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:03.840
 but today I

00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:04.740
 think we need

00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:05.500
 to commit

00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:06.660
 ourselves to

00:12:06.660 --> 00:12:07.280
 praying for

00:12:07.280 --> 00:12:08.300
 revival in

00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:08.879
 our time.

00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:09.419
 Some of

00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:09.919
 you do that

00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:10.559
 already, I

00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:11.039
 know that.

00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:12.559
 May God

00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:13.199
 bless your

00:12:13.199 --> 00:12:14.219
 persistence in

00:12:14.219 --> 00:12:14.559
 prayer.

00:12:16.219 --> 00:12:17.039
 I cannot

00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:18.279
 myself see a

00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:18.979
 way out of

00:12:18.979 --> 00:12:20.059
 these intransigent

00:12:20.059 --> 00:12:21.399
 problems that we

00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:22.000
 have in our

00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.000
 culture without

00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:23.799
 the mighty

00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:24.839
 intervention of

00:12:24.839 --> 00:12:25.159
 God.

00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:29.859
 And if you

00:12:29.859 --> 00:12:30.759
 agree with me,

00:12:30.939 --> 00:12:31.879
 and I can't

00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:32.599
 make you agree

00:12:32.599 --> 00:12:33.139
 with me,

00:12:33.139 --> 00:12:36.639
 prayer, I

00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:37.319
 think we need

00:12:37.319 --> 00:12:38.139
 to think very

00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:40.439
 carefully about

00:12:40.439 --> 00:12:41.299
 this faithful

00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:41.840
 prayer.

00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:45.279
 I think we

00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:46.019
 need to think

00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:48.059
 very carefully

00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:49.259
 about whether

00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:49.980
 we commit

00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:52.639
 ourselves to

00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:54.480
 praying faithfully,

00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:55.620
 persistently,

00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:57.620
 with an eye to our

00:12:57.620 --> 00:12:59.100
 horizontal relationships,

00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:01.019
 for God to

00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:01.879
 visit our

00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:02.360
 land.

00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:03.600
 Come down,

00:13:03.680 --> 00:13:04.100
 oh love

00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:04.600
 divine,

00:13:05.340 --> 00:13:06.460
 come down.

00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:10.460
 And who

00:13:10.460 --> 00:13:12.060
 knows what

00:13:12.060 --> 00:13:12.759
 might happen.

00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:15.139
 That revival

00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:16.879
 in the Hebrides

00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:18.519
 lasted over a

00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:19.620
 three-year period.

00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:20.820
 Interestingly,

00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:22.360
 the biggest town

00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:23.100
 in the Hebrides,

00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:24.019
 Stornoway,

00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:24.740
 was not

00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:25.779
 impacted at

00:13:25.779 --> 00:13:26.000
 all.

00:13:26.079 --> 00:13:26.299
 Why?

00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:28.139
 Because the

00:13:28.139 --> 00:13:28.860
 ministers in

00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:29.460
 that town

00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:33.039
 were sceptical.

00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:36.299
 Good Lord,

00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:37.840
 deliver us

00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:38.279
 from our

00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:39.019
 scepticism.

00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:41.879
 Good Lord,

00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:43.019
 rekindle our

00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:44.879
 faith in the

00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:45.620
 God with whom

00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:46.460
 all things are

00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:46.939
 possible.

00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:50.740
 Good Lord,

00:13:51.699 --> 00:13:52.840
 send your

00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:54.000
 fire upon

00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:54.820
 your church

00:13:54.820 --> 00:13:56.179
 that we

00:13:56.179 --> 00:13:57.440
 truly might

00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:58.399
 pray faithfully

00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.399
 and God

00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:01.120
 might visit

00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:02.019
 us afresh

00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:03.799
 and bring

00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:04.419
 us alive

00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:05.080
 in the power

00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:05.399
 of His

00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:06.159
 Holy Spirit.

00:14:07.460 --> 00:14:08.019
 And people

00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:08.740
 in this town,

00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:09.259
 in other

00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:09.679
 towns,

00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:10.200
 in any

00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:10.759
 town where

00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:11.059
 there is

00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:11.960
 no cynicism

00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:12.679
 will be

00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:13.240
 saved.

00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:15.679
 And the

00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:16.100
 world will

00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:16.559
 become a

00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:17.379
 different place.

00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:20.539
 Come down,

00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:21.659
 oh love

00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:22.139
 divine.

00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:23.440
 Fill thou

00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:24.460
 the soul

00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:24.900
 of mine

00:14:24.900 --> 00:14:25.400
 and visit

00:14:25.400 --> 00:14:25.780
 it.

00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:26.800
 With

00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:27.620
 thine own

00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:28.060
 ardour

00:14:28.060 --> 00:14:28.440
 glowing,

00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:29.380
 oh comforter,

00:14:29.920 --> 00:14:30.560
 draw near.

00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:32.340
 Within my

00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:33.280
 heart appear

00:14:33.280 --> 00:14:34.040
 and kindle

00:14:34.040 --> 00:14:34.220
 it,

00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:36.100
 thy holy

00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:37.200
 flame bestowing.

00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:39.400
 In the name

00:14:39.400 --> 00:14:39.780
 of our

00:14:39.780 --> 00:14:40.540
 amazing God,

00:14:40.660 --> 00:14:40.960
 Father,

00:14:41.160 --> 00:14:41.360
 Son,

00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:41.840
 and Holy

00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:42.240
 Spirit,

00:14:42.400 --> 00:14:42.800
 and the

00:14:42.800 --> 00:14:43.200
 people who

00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:43.540
 agreed,

00:14:43.540 --> 00:14:44.280
 said together,

00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:44.980
 singing,

00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:46.079
 Amen.

00:14:46.079 --> 00:14:46.459
 Amen.

00:14:46.459 --> 00:14:47.039
 Amen.

00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:50.299
 mnie

00:14:50.439 --> 00:14:50.959
 chodzi o