You have to go to work you have to put on your suit put your tie and you're
ready and if you're Rambo you just need to put that thing on your head and
you're ready to fight right you put on something you get ready you get pumped
up but it's prayer there's no required nothing required other than you willing
to give up the time to speak to God all right
there's no location prescribed you can pray anywhere no particular clothing no
title you don't need to be the priest to be prayerful or something another title
or an office to hold you can pray yet you'd think we're wrestling with the
greased pig I saw this before Sesame Street and I always wanted to do it
until I really saw a pig I'm like never mind
you know when they wrestled those greased pigs and their games they
release it somebody tries to tackle it but it's so greasy you can't take it you
can't grab it it's so greasy speaking of pigs Satan seeks to
interrupt our prayers our battle with prayer is not entirely our fault the
devil knows the devil knows the power of prayer the devil knows the stories he
knows the stories when when dough and he witness when the angel was the age of
release Peter in jail he knows about the revival that happened in Jerusalem after
all the disciples pray the earth shook because their prayer was so powerful he
knows what happens when we pray he knows it Satan is not troubled when you read
books okay not even trouble when I'm preparing my sermons I get my allergies
just troubled me but his knobby knees tremble when I pray when you pray
because there's power in prayer there's a there's power in the prayerful Chris
amen but that's what we lack we lacked prayer a sincere and devoted prayer time
we are no longer prayerful Christians the church now is no longer a prayerful
Christian and we wonder why we're attacked and we wonder why we fail and
we wonder why everybody else fails because we fail to get down on our knees
because we can't stand the trials anymore we need to get down on our knees
demons are not flustered when you read a book even if it's a Christian book but
the walls of Hell shake when one person with an honest heart and faithful
confession says oh God How Great Thou art
how can use not pray knowing that you how can you be not prayerful if you're
going through troubles at home and you know that Satan is behind it you're
experiencing problems with heaven we're aware the powers of within the heavenly
realms and the only way that you can protect yourself is from God all right
God is the one that is the only one that can protect you and get you out of that
trouble it should lead you to prayer it should lead you to prayer if you've done
all the things you need to do to teach your child not to live the way they're
living but they still do it it should drive you to prayer how can
you not be prayerful after knowing this truth Satan keeps you and me from prayer
inefficiency said pray for all the saints because all of us we get attacked
we all get attacked different ways in different times
so why be prayerful pastor I pray okay good
keep praying if you're not praying enough I I submit to you the need for it
we need to be prayerful we need to be prayerful Satan tries to position
himself self between us and God but he scampers like a spook dog when we move
forward let's move forward let's be powerful going back to Paul we demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God
and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ and we will
be ready to punish every act of a disobedience
once your obedience is complete have it here not by human wisdom but by the
spirit
it says here taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Paul
speaks a great deal about training the mind to think in a way that honors God
because the mind is the primary battlefield for spiritual warfare
remember what you focus your mind on has lasting ramifications this is because a
thought reaps an action do we agree once you put your mind into it
you're gonna take action some of you are just lazy you think and you're like
never minds too tired but some when they think about they doing because the
thought reaps an action and action reaps a habit a habit reaps your character and
your character reaps your destiny therefore we must reject anything that
does not honor Christ in our thinking do we agree it somebody said that you can
have all the laws in the country just give me the music and I will influence
the culture the music that you listen to influences your thinking the movies that
you watch influence your thinking the books that you read influences your
thinking and then what we said character habit everything else Philippians 4:8 9
and now dear brothers and sisters one final thing fix your thoughts on what is
true and honorable and right and pure and lovely in admirable think about
things that are excellent and worthy of praise keep putting into practice all
you learned and received from me everything you heard from me and saw me
doing then the God of peace will be with you I think Philippians 4:8 9
Colossians 3 to think about the things of heaven not the things of Earth think
about the things of heaven not the things of Earth my filipino brothers and
sisters here we always think of the Philippines if you grew up there right
we always fantasize about going back to the Philippines and retire there and
live happily ever after and we agree but then I'm gonna say there's nothing wrong
with that but it becomes wrong it if it becomes more important than your
relationship with God and when I say that relationship with God means is
there anything that God has been telling you to do for him or give up for him
that you haven't done or still doing but because of your goal to go back to the
Philippines and retire a happy life you forget anything that's when it becomes
wrong for those of us who are still raising children if if if their success
is more important to us than than what God is telling us to do for him for his
kingdom and for his people then it becomes wrong because our mindset needs
to be to heaven about heaven and that goes for our pockets to where your heart
is there where your treasure is there your heart will be also look at your
bank account and you will see what meat or to you for me it's eating out
Tennessee well this is we ate a lot we out a lot this month you know it you'll
see it there you will see what means more to you think about the things of
heaven not the things of Earth verse 6 his approach to this particular
confrontation in Corinth was twofold first it was necessary that the current
Church express their subjection to Christ by demonstrating loyalty to Paul
all wanted them to say that all wanted them to express that Paul wanted them to
show a loyalty to Christ and to him because the false teachers were very
aggressive in discrediting Paul and his teachings it's the same thing with us we
need to know now tonight at least to whom our loyalty belongs to are you
living for the world or are you living for God I'm I spoke to this young man
this this week he has full of potential full of potential both for the world and
for God he's very young 21 good-looking guy I told him you have a choice he can
spend your life for the world and be great at it and you can spend your life
for God and be great at it too our lives are full of choices amen but those these
are the choice this is the one choice for us believers that we need to answer
every day and when we answer it with the loyalty for God hopefully and we will
follow with an action not just an idea that's the difference between successful
people and they're not so successful people they're not so successful people
have a lot of ideas but no actions the successful people has an idea and they
take action and then enough successful people a lot of comments whoa here we go
again right they throw rocks that somebody's
trying to go up you get those haters right we have to have the idea we have
to have the idea and then move forward but you know what Christian life is not
an idea okay obedience to God is not an idea
it's a lifestyle it's a lifestyle we need to be obedient to God because it's
our love relationship with it we love it we love to obey Him there's a difference
if we have to obey because we're told to obey and we have to obey and there's
consequences but we don't really want to compare do I want to obey because I love
God so the loyalty here has again Paul telling them they need to show their
loyalty to Christ and to him in this way their obedience would be complete
because if we're obedient to Christ were complete second when Paul was sure that
they had abandoned his opponents the false prophets he could then directly
deal with the false prophets knowing that the church supported him it's hard
for me to really minister to people if I know that they're not completely in love
with God what do I mean if somebody approaches me with their issue or their
problem and I know that they're not completely in love with the Lord I tread
that water very so lightly but if I know that they love God and they just made a
blunder I give it to them hard as God wants it I give it to them as God says
it some people just can you can only handle milk and they're wondering why
they're not growing sometimes I go hard a little bit a
little bit of meat a little bit maybe the truth sometimes a little bit more
than usual sometimes they submit most of the time
they don't but here once Paul once Paul has the security the church is with him
then he will address the false prophets that's why that's what he says here
about the punishment the punishment will go to the false
prophets the same thing with God God will punish the false prophets those who
have misled many people punishment goes to them punishment goes to them I'm on
my 45-minute mark here I still have another hour ok he could directly deal
with the false apostles knowing that the church supported him he was ready to
punish their acts of disobedience to Christ the word punish could be more
translated to avenge and closing we're gonna go with this not by human wisdom
but by the spirit we're gonna go back to 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 13 to 14
when we tell you these things we do not use words that come from you and wisdom
instead we speak words given to us by the spirit using the spirit's words to
explain spiritual truths but people who aren't spiritual can't receive these
truths from God's Spirit it all sounds foolish to them and they can't
understand it for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit
means if you can all please turn your Bibles to the book of John chapter 14
we started with this and we're gonna we're gonna end with this verse 15 if
you love me you will obey what I command I don't know if your Bible is in red ink
has a red egg but that is Jesus speaking so I'm making you read it from the Bible
so that you know it's just not on your computer on your phone it's true and I
will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever
for us believers when we accepted Christ the Spirit the Holy Spirit now in to us
in us the Spirit of Truth the world cannot accept him because it neither
sees him nor knows him but you know him for he lives with you and will be in you
I will not leave you as orphans I will not come to you I will come to you
before long the world would not see me anymore but you will see me because I
live you will also live on that day you will realize that I am in my father and
you are in me and I am in you whoever has my commands and obeys them he is the
one who loves me he who loves me will be loved by my father and I too I love him
and show myself to him verse 25 verse 23 jesus replied if anyone loves
me he will obey my teaching my father will love him and we will come to him
and make our home with him he who does not love me will not obey my
teaching these words here are not my own they belong to the father who sent me
all the all this I have spoken what still with you but the counselor know
whom the father will send in my name will teach you all things and will
remind you of everything I have said to you amen everyone if you have accepted
Christ as your Lord you have the Holy Spirit
you have the power to resist temptation you have the power to obey you have the
power to serve God as God wants you to serve him you have it you just have to
be willing the unfortunate thing is we are not willing for those of us they
have not accepted for those of you have not accepted Christ a lot of these
things are not making sense to you because the Holy Spirit is the one that
gives you the truth but if something is all of a sudden making sense to you
tonight that's the Holy Spirit clarifying it for you
clearing it for you and speaking to you the Spirit of God has just opened your
eyes in your minds I submit you finally surrender your life to him tonight the
object of pause warfare was to make people obedient
that was his warfare to make the corinthians obedient said they will grow
so that they will be profitable for the lord so there will be great witnesses
for the lord to bring more people to the Lord it's the same thing for us we are
to be obedient Paul was not interested in making them subject to him to himself
or any other man for that matter or for the matter of the world but Paul wanted
us them and us to submit to God's will to be obedient to God's will for us to
grow and glorify Him amen 2nd Corinthians 1:2 for 1:24 but that
does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into
practice we want to work together with you so you will be full of joy for it is
by your own faith that you for it is by your own faith that you
stand firm if you are not obedient to God you will struggle if you are
struggling all the more we need to surrender to God all the more you need
to be prayerful if there are problems coming it could be it could be a test
from the Lord it could be a consequences from our sins
but at the end of the day we need to be obedient believers
amen amen please join me in the word of Prayer father we thank you for your word
tonight we thank you for your truth father father we ask for forgiveness for
all of our sins them many times that we have failed you know many times that we
have given given into our fleshly desires father help us story god help us
grow father help us to see why we need to be willing to be obedient to you
father help us to get down on our knees there God and be prayerful to you father
help us to take our walk with you more seriously guide us father and be
glorified in our lives Lord father I pray for blessings for everyone here
tonight and you guide them father guide them to the truth and help them Lord God
set their minds on you and fall more in love with you so that we can be or beat
into you in Jesus name we pray
you
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