Psalm 143. Actually, I want you
to hold your place there and turn with me to Proverbs 15. Proverbs 15. Our subject this morning and
our subject tonight is the believer's prayer. This morning it's going to be
on the attitude of the believer's prayer. And tonight it's going
to be ten requests of the believer's prayer. And all of it's going
to come from Psalm 143. We're going to do the first six verses
this morning and the last six verses tonight. Prayer, the ability to truly pray in spirit and in honesty and
in sincerity from the heart is a gift of God. And we're going
to see that in just a minute. It's a present from God. Proverbs 15, look at verse 29. It said, the Lord is far from
the wicked, but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. The wicked are praying too, but
the Lord is far from the wicked. But he heareth the prayer of
the righteous. I hope that the Lord will hear
me. We have prayed three times this morning. Brother Tony prayed,
Brother Chris prayed, and I prayed. I hope the Lord heard us. You
know what I mean? Go to Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28, look at verse 9. He that turneth away his ear
from hearing the law. What is the law? We hold it in
our hand. The law of God. He that turneth
away his ear from hearing the law. If you hear something in
the law and you turn your ear from it, I don't want to hear
that. Even his prayer shall be abomination. He prays. He's religious. But if he doesn't gladly hear
every single word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, every
single word in God's law, his prayer shall be an abomination. I don't want that. I don't want
that. I really don't. Saul of Tarsus was a religious
man. Saul of Tarsus eventually became
the Apostle Paul. He said, I was a Pharisee of
Pharisees. He was a religious man. He prayed. He was in big religion with the
government. Big time religion. Go with me
to Acts chapter 9. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the
church because of the Word. He killed the followers and believers
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He held the coats and watched
them stone Stephen to death. Acts chapter 9 verse 1 says,
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples
of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters
to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this
way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound
unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came
near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light
from heaven. And he fell to the earth and
heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me?" I saw a cartoon one time on a religious station. A kid's cartoon, Saturday morning
cartoon. And it showed this fellow with a thing on his head riding
a donkey and kind of out in the desert. And all of a sudden,
you know, the sun came and the little sun lights were shining
and you heard this voice and it said, Saul, why persecutest thou me? You think that's how God spoke
to Saul. It knocked him off his horse.
And he said, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And
Saul answered, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus. whom thou persecutest." What
happened was the Word Himself stabbed him like a two-edged
sword and it hurt. And the Lord said, it's hard
for thee to kick against the pricks, isn't it? Can't do it. It's irresistible. And he trembling
and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And
the Lord said unto him, get up. Arise and go into the city, and
it shall be told thee what thou must do.' And the men which journeyed
with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And
Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened, he
saw no man, but they led him by the hand and brought him to
Damascus." He was blind. And he was three days without
sight, and neither did eat nor drink. He's just sitting there,
blind, astonished at what just happened to him. I was a Pharisee. I was in religion. And there was a certain disciple
at Damascus named Ananias. And to him said the Lord in a
vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I'm here,
Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street
which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas
for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he's praying. For the first time in his life,
that man started praying. Do you think that was the first
time he ever prayed? He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He's praying now. He's seen a
vision. He hath seen in a vision a man
named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might
receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord,
I've heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to
thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from
the chief priest to bind all that call on thy name. But the
Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he's a chosen vessel. I chose that self-righteous sinner
to break Him, knock Him off His horse, blind Him by me, so that
He could see nothing and think on nothing and dwell on nothing
but me. Now you go preach to that man.
The Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel
unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and
the children of Israel. I will show him how great things
he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way,
and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him, said,
Brother Saul." I love that part. Brother Saul. The Lord, even
Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath
sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with
the Holy Ghost. says, and immediately there fell
from his eyes as it had been scales. And he received sight
forthwith and arose and was baptized. When you saw the truth, when
you saw the King of glory in the Scriptures, when you saw
the God of heaven for who He is and that the pages became
three-dimensional life, did it seem like scales fell from your
eyes? And you started going, I see
it. It's on every page. Brother Saul, your chosen vessel. Oh man, the Lord said now he's
praying. He was religious before, but
now he's praying. True prayer cries out to God
for help. That's what true prayer does. You know that story of the Pharisee
and the publican in the temple? You know that story? Luke 18? Saul used to pray like a Pharisee. He was so proud of himself and
religion. I go to church. I drive by all these people in
my chariot and they don't go to church. But I do. I'm so proud of me. I go to church.
I do so many good things for people. Thank you for making me so good. This man Saul is blind and he's
sitting there worried because he's thinking about Stephen.
He's looking at Stephen in his mind. And he's thinking about
all those men and he's going, you're going to kill me, aren't
you? You're going to kill me, aren't you? And rightfully so. I'm a sinner. Now he's praying
like a sinner. God be merciful to me. I'm just
a sinner. OK, now go to our text. Psalm 143, the attitude of a
believer's prayer. OK? Psalm 143, verse 1 says,
Hear my prayer, O Lord. First and foremost, I don't even
expect you to hear me. I don't know if you will. It's
up to you. It's your purpose and mercy if
you would even hear my prayer. I know I don't deserve it, but
hear my prayer, O Lord. Give ear to my supplications. Oh, I have supplications deep
inside. Please. Lord, I come knowing
that the only way You will hear me and answer me, verse 1 says,
is in Thy faithfulness and answer me in Thy righteousness. I understand
that that's the only way You're going to hear me and answer me,
is in Thy faithfulness and in Thy righteousness. Thy faithfulness,
Lord, is Christ. That's Thy faithfulness. Christ
is the true and faithful One. Lord, Thy righteousness is Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only One who is righteous. Hear me in Christ, Lord. Hear me in Christ. He said, no man cometh to the
Father but by Me. That's it. So I pray to you in
Jesus' name. That's why we say in Jesus' name.
I pray to you for Christ's sake. We ask these things for Christ's
sake. I'm only able and allowed to pray to you because of Christ. There's a sign here in Kingsport
that I pass every time I drive here, and I can't remember exactly
what it says, but something about Christ being the mediator between
God and man, and that's scriptural. But the way they have it worded
is it's like, try Christ, He's your best chance. Christ is God. The only way that I'm able or
allowed to pray is because of Christ. Because of what He did,
He left His throne in heaven and He came down to this vile
and sinful place. That's the only reason I'm even
allowed to pray to You. Because Christ hath regarded
my helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for my soul. Lord,
would you hear me? Because He did that, would you
hear me and answer me? Verse 2 says, And enter not into
judgment with thy servant. Oh, don't enter into judgment
with me, Lord. Please don't look upon me to
judge me. It says, For in thy sight shall
no man living be justified. I cannot justify my actions. I can't justify my actions. And I might as well get honest
because you see everything. I can't hide anything from you.
I cannot justify the words that come out of my mouth. I'm sorry.
I cannot justify my thoughts. I'm sorry. I cannot justify my deeds. Turn with me to Job 14. Job 14. Verse 1 says, Man that is born
of woman is of few days and full of trouble. Few days and full
of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower.
He springs up beautiful. That new baby Chris is so beautiful. And our children are so beautiful
and they're just shooting up like weeds. Can you believe how
big they're getting? They just shoot up like a flower. They've got the whole world in
front of them. And they're smart. He cometh forth like a flower
and is cut down. It's sad, isn't it? He fleeth
also as a shadow and continueth not. And dost thou open thine
eyes upon such and one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Death
is inevitable. Death is coming. And when I get
there, you're going to open your eyes upon me and look upon me
and what I've done. Verse 4 says, Who can bring a
clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. Lord, here's my attitude approaching
you. Unclean. Unclaimed. I'm unclaimed. When a man had leprosy, by law,
if he saw somebody else walking down the street, he had to go
to the other side of the street, hollering, unclaimed. I'm unclaimed. Don't come near me. I'm unclaimed. Oh, enter not into judgment with
thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. Nobody. None good, no not one. But I do plead justification. I just sang a song that says,
Justified, O blessed dog. I do plead justification. I do
plead words. I do plead thoughts. I do plead
deeds. I do. That song said, complete
in thee. No work of mine may take, dear
Lord, the place of thine. Thy blood hath pardon bought
for me, and I am now complete in thee. Yea, justified, O blessed
thought, And sanctified salvation wrought, Thy blood hath pardon
bought for me, And glorified I too shall be." I plead justification. I plead words. I plead Thy Word. I plead Thy Word. This is how
I come. This is my attitude. I'm a sinner,
and I'm unclean, and I can't do anything right, and I don't
even know if you'll hear me, but would you hear Your Word? Would you hear your own word?
I plead thoughts. I don't plead my vile, sinful
thoughts. But thanks be to God, your thoughts
are not like my thoughts. I do plead deeds, the work of
redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm pleading
His blood. That's all I have. That's all
I have. Let me show you that in Scripture.
Go to Galatians 2. Galatians chapter 2. Look at verse 16. It says, knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law. This is
God's law. You've got to obey this law. And I agree with that. Knowing
that a man is not justified before God by the deeds of this law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. It doesn't say, by my faith in
Jesus Christ. It says, by the faith of Jesus
Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. That's
what we believe in. I don't believe in my faith. I don't. I do not believe in
my faith. I believe in His faith. That's what I believe in. It says, it's not by the works
of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be
justified. If my flesh could do everything
in this book, then I would be justified, but I can't. So to
say, well, I did most of them, that's not good enough. You're
not going to be justified. When our Lord walked this earth,
He did them all. Everything He did was that the
Scripture might be fulfilled. He did it. It says it all the
time that the Scripture might be fulfilled, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled. He was justified by the deeds
of the law. I'm not. I'm justified by the faith of
Him. by His faithfulness to me. No work of mine complete in Thee. I'm just complete in Thee. Salvation
is of the Lord. Okay, back to our text, Psalm
143. Verse 3 says, For the enemy hath
persecuted my soul. Now we have many enemies, and
the first one we think of is the great adversary. I don't
even want to mention his name. We have many enemies. I have
many enemies. But I do not have to point the
finger very far at all. I've got more enemies right inside
here than I even know what to do with. I don't need to point
those. My flesh has persecuted my soul. God made Adam, He formed him,
and he became flesh. And after he was laying there
flesh, the Lord God, Jesus Christ, walked up to him and went... And man became a living soul.
And my sinful flesh has persecuted my soul. He, my flesh, it says
in verse 3, hath smitten my life down to the ground. He hath made
me to dwell in darkness as those that have been long dead. When
a person gets a hold of his sin, that is the biggest eye-opening
experience. You talk about scales falling
from your eyes. When a person understands, I'm
a much worse sinner than I thought I was. When a person gets a hold of
his sin, he'll acknowledge, I'm a dead man. I'm a dead man. I'm a dead man walking. What
do you mean I'm a dead man? I drove myself over here this
morning. I got up, I put my clothes on, I ate some breakfast, I drove
myself over here. What do you mean I'm dead? That's not what
I'm talking about. A true sinner will say, I am
a ruined soul. I'm a ruined soul. We're here
to find out what's going to happen to our soul. This is how I approach
God, the Father. Lord, I've ruined my soul. There's no soundness in me. Verse 3 says, The enemy hath
persecuted my soul. He's smitten my life down to
the ground. He's made me to dwell in darkness
as those that have been long dead. I'm a dead man. Verse 4,
Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed in me. My heart within me is desolate.
That's what it causes in a person. I'm overwhelmed. I've never experienced
this before. I feel desolate. I feel empty. I was so full of myself before
and now I'm so empty. When I look within my own heart,
within myself, I just see emptiness. And I'm just being honest. I'm
just being honest. This is the attitude that a sinner
approaches God with. I'm just being honest. I'm not
holy. I'm not holy. I feel empty. And Lord, when
I look to me, if I have to keep this law, I have no hope. I have
no hope. I feel desolate. That's how I approach you, Lord.
I'm a sinner with no hope in need of a Savior. I'm just asking. I have nothing to offer you.
I have nothing that I can do for you. I need to do all the
taking if you'll do all the giving. What will the Spirit of God lead
a sinner to do who has that attitude? He'll cause him to do something. What will the Spirit call a sinner
to do? Instruct a sinner to do who has
that attitude. Verse 5 says, I remember the
days of old. I remember the days of old. I
remember the Word that's been passed down from generation to
generation. I remember that the God of heaven
said, I change not. That's why you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Go with me to Jeremiah chapter
6. Jeremiah chapter 6. Verse 16 says, Thus saith the
Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see. Stand and see. Don't just blindly follow the
crowd. Stand and see and ask for the
old paths. Where is the good way? And walk
therein, and you'll find rest for your soul. If you're feeling desolate, if
you're feeling empty, if you're feeling overwhelmed, thus saith
the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you're
going to find rest for your souls. Remember the unchanging Word
of God and you'll find rest for your souls. Our text says in
Psalm 143 verse 5, Remember the days of old. Don't give me anything contemporary. Don't give me anything contemporary. Don't give me anything new. any new work, any new way. Verse
5 says, I meditate on all thy works, the things that you have
done. What must I do to be saved? I
can't do anything. I can't do anything. By nature,
we just said, I'm dead. I can't even believe. Believe
on the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. I can't. I'm
dead. Walk up to a casket and say,
if you believe I have the strength in me to pick you up, I will.
He's dead. I can't believe it's not of myself. The ability to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ is a gift of God. It's a gift of God. Salvation
has absolutely positively nothing to do with me. Nothing. It has
nothing to do with what I do. It has nothing to do with what
I think. It has nothing to do with what I know. It has nothing
to do with me. You know what I am? I'm just
a guilty bystander. That's it. Salvation is totally
of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is of the Lord. Oh, I believe salvation is of
the Lord, but I believe I have to do this. Well, then it's not
of the Lord. If I'm dead, then I can't even
cry, Lord save me lest I perish. Can you even cry that? If I'm
dead, I can't cry. But if I cry, if I cry, then it means God has
made me alive. Does a baby cry in order to be
alive or because it is alive? Well, you just delivered the
child and it's not alive yet. We're just waiting on it to cry.
As soon as it cries, then it'll be alive. If I cry, then it means God has
made me alive. God's people do not remain dead
in their sins. They don't. They approach God saying, Oh
Lord, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. And God answers them and
says, No, you're not. You're praying, aren't you? Behold,
you prayeth. That means I've made you alive.
Let me remind you of what I've done. David says here in verse
5, I remember the days of old, I meditate on all Thy works,
I muse on the work of Thy hand. That word muse means I converse,
inwardly and outwardly. It means I utter, I declare,
I speak on the work of Thy hands. That's what I do. And verse 6
says, I stretch forth my hands unto Thee. This is how I approach
in prayer. I stretch forth my hands unto
Thee. My Father, my Savior, my help, my one thing needful, my
pearl of great price, my love, my life, I stretch forth my hands
unto Thee. That makes me think of a little
child. I have a little child and she just walks up Our Lord said, except ye be converted
and become as little children. Little children. Here's the attitude of a believer's
prayer. Lord, I'm a child. I'm just a
child. I don't know anything. I'm just
a child. But I'm Your child. If You'll
have me, I'm Your child. And I stretch forth my hands
unto Thee. It says, my soul thirsteth after
Thee. My soul doesn't thirst after
the world. My weak, sinful flesh does. My
flesh does. It thirsts after the world. It
thirsts after the money, the fame, whatever the world has
to offer. It's sad to say, but it's just
honest. It thirsts for every vain thing
this world has to offer, but thanks be to God, my soul The
soul you gave, the soul you redeemed, the soul you called, I can honestly
say, I need you. I want you. It thirsts after thee as a thirsty
lamb. David said in Psalm 42, as the
heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee. When we get to it, I'll finish
reading it to you. My soul thirsteth for God, for
the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while
they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember
these things, I pour out my soul in me, for I had gone with the
multitude. I went with them to the house
of God with the voice of joy and praise with the multitude
that kept holy day. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? And why art thou disquieted in
me? Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him for
the help of his countenance. My soul thirsteth after thee
as a thirsty land. And then our text, we're going
to stop, it says, Selah. And that means pause right there. Just pause right there. I'm a
child. I am nothing. I have nothing. I have nothing to offer. But
I just need you. I just need you. Just pause right
there. Stop right there. Stop and think. Just stop and
think. One of these days, We have a hope of being in glory. That's why we're here. What is my hope of glory? What is it really? Ask a lot of people that question,
and you'll hear every answer under the sun. I gave my heart
to Jesus. I wrote down the date. So that's
my hope of glory. But did He accept it? What's my hope of glory? What
is my desire? When all this is over, and this
is so sure, man's days are just few and full of trouble. Seventy
years. Seventy years is nothing compared to a hundred billion
trillion smillion, which is only a fraction of the first second
of eternity. When all this is over, what is
my desire? What do I want? What is my rest? What causes me to just settle
down? What is my comfort? Lord, would you put it in me
to say it's Thee? Would you put it in me to say
it's Thee? What do I want? You. It's Thee. I stretch forth my
hands unto Thee. My soul thirsteth after Thee. It's a thirsty land and let's
just pause right there. That's enough. Let's pause. We're going to come back tonight
at 6 o'clock and we're going to pick up verses 7 through 12.
That's 10 requests of the believer's prayer. Stand together with me.