WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.440 Good morning everyone, good morning, good to see you, good to see you, welcome you if you're visiting 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:13.500 especially. It's at the end of the sermon series, it's called The Ultimate Prayer and I remember 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:22.519 many years ago being in a church where the vicar produced a stepladder and said in trust, 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:30.799 is there anybody, a child here, who would like to climb up this stepladder and throw themselves 00:00:30.799 --> 00:00:39.640 into the hands of a parent or carer who they trust? It went reasonably well 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:48.899 until the parent didn't catch the child. The thing is, I was going to replicate that this morning but 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:56.560 with a 16-page risk assessment to fill out, but you get the gist. The thing about this ultimate 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:04.420 prayer in our scripture this morning is about trust, is about trusting in God and maybe for those of us 00:01:04.420 --> 00:01:11.599 who have been blessed to have a break of some sort, join there. It's been a time and a great series to 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:20.459 reflect during our prayer time on how we trust in God because I'm really encouraged by this morning's 00:01:20.459 --> 00:01:31.419 scripture as we come to that place where Jesus prays not once but three times. That really encourages 00:01:31.419 --> 00:01:40.799 me that he goes back again and asks and pleads and says, is there another way? Have you ever been in that 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:48.500 place where you've prayed and you said, Lord, is there another way to this? If it is, would you show me? 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:55.579 Would you show me please? Lord, is there an easier way out, a more convenient way that suits me? 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:02.840 Maybe, maybe something that you have faced and you or you're facing at the moment and as you pray, 00:02:02.939 --> 00:02:09.699 you're coming back again and again saying, Lord, is there another way? Please, would you show me? 00:02:09.699 --> 00:02:17.259 And this is what Jesus does this morning and in this scripture, so often I've been diverted 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:24.439 by the sleeping disciples. You know, like many of us here, I put a high value on friendship and loyalty 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:32.639 and also to think there that I'm a bit diverted because I'm a bit angry at the disciples. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:40.500 Couldn't you stay awake? Couldn't you just stay awake at this point when Jesus, who is clearly 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:47.839 distressed, clearly wanting an answer from the Lord, clearly pressing in in prayer and you couldn't 00:02:47.839 --> 00:02:56.459 even stay with him? And then I suddenly reflected on that and I thought, how often is that me? How often 00:02:56.460 --> 00:03:04.360 don't I do that stickability with God when I stand with people in prayer? Something for us to think 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:15.020 about. So here we is at this crucial time and so often here we've got here this third time that Jesus 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:22.400 prays. If it's possible, would you take this cup away from me? If it's possible, would you do that? 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:31.719 Because I know what I'm facing. And then, and then on the third time, he gets this response and he says, 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:40.900 yes, but not as I will, but as you will, Lord. What are we like at that? Trusting in God. Handing over 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:46.960 as this ultimate prayer is to say it's about your will, God, not so much about mine. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:54.760 Your will be done. Your will be done in my life. May your will be done. And throw in there, he asks his 00:03:54.760 --> 00:04:02.420 disciples to watch and pray. That's an interesting one to throw in there. Watch and pray that you won't 00:04:02.420 --> 00:04:09.700 be led or fall into temptation. What's that temptation for the disciples? What's that temptation for us 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:19.579 that we don't watch and pray? Probably tempted to abandon him? Which they did. Hide away? Which they did. 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:28.240 Are you tempted to deny him? Which they did? All of those things. Jesus is so perceptive in pointing out 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:34.860 to his disciples the importance of watching and praying, of being present. 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:45.420 Now, there is this word called submit. Submitting to God's word and in his will. And often submission 00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:55.600 has got this connotation of something that's really painful. Now, I don't know, maybe you didn't have, 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:02.520 yeah, maybe it was something to do in my secondary modern education, probably. But we had this thing 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:06.339 in a playground that we did. I don't know whether you'd ever heard of it. It's called a Chinese burn. 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:15.799 You ever did that? Wasn't it cruel? And wasn't it painful? You know? And somebody, if you haven't heard 00:05:15.799 --> 00:05:21.899 of this, somebody would grab hold of your arm and they would move it in different directions until you 00:05:21.899 --> 00:05:31.120 shouted submit. And suddenly this idea of submission is taken on such a strange connotation. Instead of 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:39.040 what I sense scripture is saying to us, that actually sometimes there is a positivity in submitting to 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:47.420 God's will. Because it's less of our own and more of him. You know? I don't know who invented that 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:52.480 mind-numbing game, but no one, I'm so glad that kids have got their heads stuck in mobile phones now. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:06:00.860 No, perhaps not. Is there something in your life where you have sensed God asking you to submit to 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:07.200 his purposes? In this ultimate prayer that we talked about this morning, you know, asking you to do 00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:14.460 something, to give something, to share something, to sacrifice something that involves submitting to 00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:20.759 his will above your own. Have you experienced that? Are you asking for that? Is the Lord asking us 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:28.079 something in that in this season? What are your initial thoughts to God's asks in your life? 00:06:29.539 --> 00:06:37.379 When God asks us to do something, what is our initial response? I guess it depends on what it is, 00:06:37.379 --> 00:06:44.300 really, but maybe it falls into several categories. One, Lord, this is too tough for me. One is, this is 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:52.420 too big. Maybe it's too inconvenient at the moment for me. Or maybe it's just too much. Where do we draw 00:06:52.420 --> 00:07:02.319 the line in responding to God's will and matching him with what he is asking of us in the everyday, 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:10.680 in this ultimate prayer? Where are we in asking? Do we jettison everything we know? Because after all, 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:18.420 we know and believe in God's promises, that he will equip us, enable us, excite us, enthuse us, and empower 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:26.639 us, that he is with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. So what is the reason? Why, why, why, why 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:37.240 are we so reticent about when God asks us to do things, even if they seem too big? Do we trust in 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:43.620 him? And I think that's the ultimate of where we're going. Jesus trusted in the Father. Yes, he went back. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:50.459 Yes, he asked. That's what made Jesus real. That's what makes Jesus real for us. He went back. He asked 00:07:50.459 --> 00:07:56.479 again, Lord, is there another way? Is there another way? No, there's not. This is what I'm asking you to do. 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:02.800 As painful as it is, as painful as it is for me to watch you go through this, but I know that going 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:13.180 through this, your redemptive power of the cross will give us life and will give others life. That's 00:08:13.180 --> 00:08:21.759 what I'm asking you to do. God makes some big asks of us at times. Jesus taught a few chapters earlier, 00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:26.040 the greatest commandment, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:31.060 mind and with all your strength. The second is like unto it, is love your neighbour as yourself. 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:44.639 Big asks. The Lord makes big asks of us. And where are we? When do we stop trusting in God and his promises 00:08:44.639 --> 00:09:04.879 for us? Where have we stop trusting in God? Where are we? When do we trust and let go and trust in God's purposes? 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:08.840 Where are we? When do we trust in God? Where are we? When do we trust in God? Where are we with that? 00:09:10.779 --> 00:09:15.320 Maybe we fall into a scale of one to five. It depends on how we are at the time, you know? 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:20.879 Always, Lord, anything you ask of me, Lord, I will do it. 00:09:23.060 --> 00:09:30.740 Maybe two? Well, sometimes, Lord, depends on what you're asking. Maybe it's three. Maybe, 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:35.379 Lord, you've caught me on a good day. I've just come back from new wine or spring harvest. 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:39.780 I'm pretty good spiritually at the moment, so I'm pretty well up for it at the moment. 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:48.220 Or is it four? Rarely. What's in it for me, Lord? What's in this for me? 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:56.620 Or is it five? You're asking me to do what? You must be joking. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:03.019 The thing is this thing about, I can think of numerous times when the Lord has asked me to do 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:07.259 something and I have prayed and it's been somewhere on that scale of one to five. 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:13.120 But it all ends with, Lord, I trust in you. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:20.759 In this morning's scripture, we see Jesus trusting in the Father. Do we trust in the Lord with all our 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:25.379 heart, with all our mind, with all our strength and all our soul? Let's pause because I think we need 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:34.059 to know that Jesus in his prayer trusted the Father. He trusted the Father in everything, 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:39.939 his purposes, even faced with the cross and the journey to the cross. As painful as that was 00:10:39.939 --> 00:10:49.679 in the asking and as painful as that was in the watching, he trusted the Father. He trusted. 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:58.719 I think it was on a Willow Creek podcast that I heard many years ago about being challenged and 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:07.639 encouraged to make big asks of people because the Lord makes big asks of us. I think the Lord is 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:14.759 making big asks of us, especially at this time. You know, we say yes because we trust in him as our 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:21.820 saviour. We trust in him as our rescuer. We trust in him with all our hope, with my beginning, with my 00:11:21.820 --> 00:11:28.340 ending, with my life, my everything, my redeemer. He will not let us go. He will not let us fall. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:34.660 Even at my last breath, he will be there. 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:44.500 In the film Despicable Me, I don't know whether you've seen the film, if Minions is on at the 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:52.820 cinema at the moment, but in Despicable Me, Gru, who isn't really a great saint, but his heart has 00:11:52.820 --> 00:12:00.280 been changed by three young girls who has come into his care, which is Margot, Edith and Agnes. 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:08.820 And in the point, they've been abducted by this evil villain called Vector, but in order to be rescued, 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:19.800 they need to trust in Gru. They need to be rescued. The ultimate prayer. They have to trust. 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:28.559 Watch and listen for the line. I will catch you and I will never let you go again. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:35.859 I will catch you, but I will never let you go again. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:39.839 Do we trust in him? 00:12:41.599 --> 00:12:46.459 The thing is, what I liked about that clip at the end of the day is that the Minions came down and 00:12:46.459 --> 00:12:53.239 maybe, although I wouldn't refer to the church as us as Minions because we are saints, but there is 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:58.519 something about joining together in God's purposes, isn't there, in order to see people rescued and 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:08.519 saved and be part of God's purposes. Do we trust in him? Jesus, what are you saying to me this morning 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:15.519 in your scripture? What are you saying to me in this ultimate prayer that is about submitting, 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:26.899 letting go, letting go, giving in to our preferences and resistance and hearing your asks in our lives 00:13:26.899 --> 00:13:33.299 and the lives of others around us? Do we trust in him? Do we trust in him when the economy is faltering, 00:13:33.299 --> 00:13:39.579 when fuel bills are rising? Do we trust in him with the big asks of whatever he may be asking us 00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:47.920 in responding to that? Do you trust in me with your life? Do you trust me with your ministry? Do you 00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:54.820 trust me with your family? Do you trust me in the illnesses? Do you trust me in the lives of your loved 00:13:54.820 --> 00:14:02.980 ones? Do you trust me in your finances, in your giving, in your time? And if you do, 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:14.860 walk with me. However tough that might be, stay close to me because I will never let you go. 00:14:16.300 --> 00:14:24.680 Speak with me. Share my hope with others. Let me comfort you. And when you pray and read the Bible, 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:31.320 it's never about what we know, it's who we know. That's why we read the Bible. 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:40.340 It's not about what we know in the Bible. We learn more about who we know, about a God that we trust. 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:47.740 And I'll say we, I just sensed it's Jesus pleaded with his father and it's not wrong to do that. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:53.040 Don't hear me. Don't hear me that I'm saying it's not wrong because a lot of my prayer life is pleading 00:14:53.040 --> 00:14:59.820 with him. And I'm sure yours as well. If we've stopped growing and crying out to him, then it's not real. 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:05.940 But I sensed this morning that there may be people here who have walked away from God 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:13.879 because they felt that they have let him down. Trust him again. Trust him again. There may be people 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:20.000 listening to this podcast who felt that God wasn't there for you and he left you. That's not true. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:30.159 It's a lie. He is always there for you. Ask him. Watch. Pray. Jump back and allow him to hold you. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:42.219 Jesus has a call on each of our lives. Do you know what that is? Do you want to know what that is? 00:15:42.939 --> 00:15:55.059 If you're not sure, ask him, knowing that you can trust in him and he will never let you down. Amen. 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:55.159 Amen. 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:55.199 Amen.