Hear My Prayer, O Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about the necessity of prayer?

The Bible teaches that prayer is essential for believers, reflecting our need for God's grace and guidance. The importance of prayer is emphasized throughout Scripture, particularly in the teachings of Jesus, who instructed that men ought always to pray (Luke 18:1). Prayer is our way of expressing our dependence on God, acknowledging that we are needy people in need of His mercy and grace. In Psalm 143, the psalmist cries out to the Lord in desperation, showing that true prayer stems from a heart that recognizes its own brokenness and need for divine intervention. Prayer is not merely a ritual or obligation; it is the lifeline between the believer and God, where we communicate our needs and seek His guidance and strength.

Q: How do we know God's mercy is available to us?

God's mercy is available to all who sincerely call upon Him, as He delights in showing mercy to sinners. God's mercy is a central theme of the Scriptures, reminding us that He is faithful to respond to those who seek Him. In Psalm 143, the psalmist appeals to God's faithfulness and righteousness, recognizing that even though he does not deserve mercy, God has historically shown kindness to sinners. This reflects the overarching narrative of the gospel, where Jesus Christ, through His sacrifice, extends mercy to all who come to Him in faith. The consistency of God's character in scripture assures us that His mercy is boundless and reaches even the chief of sinners, as seen in the experiences of biblical figures like David and Saul of Tarsus.

Q: Why is it important to pray from a sincere heart?

Sincere prayer reflects true dependence on God and a desire for genuine relationship with Him. Sincerity in prayer is crucial because it signifies authenticity in our relationship with God. The psalmist in Psalm 143 expresses his heart's desperate need for God’s intervention, illustrating that true prayer comes from a place of humility and brokenness. When we pray sincerely, we are acknowledging our inability to save ourselves and expressing our need for God to act in our lives. This genuine approach not only deepens our relationship with God but also aligns our hearts with His will, making us receptive to His guidance. Thus, sincere prayer is the bridge through which we seek to know and experience God's presence in our lives.

Q: What does it mean to ask for deliverance in prayer?

Asking for deliverance means seeking God's intervention to rescue us from our sins and the burdens we face. Asking for deliverance in prayer involves acknowledging our vulnerabilities and the various enemies we face, including sin, self, and the devil. The psalmist's cry in Psalm 143 for deliverance illustrates a deep awareness of his own sinfulness and the consequences of a life lived apart from God. Deliverance is ultimately a plea for God to intervene in our circumstances and to free us from the shackles of sin and its power. This reflects the essence of salvation itself, as Christ came to deliver us from our sins through His sacrificial death. By praying for deliverance, we are not just asking for temporal relief but are seeking holistic restoration through Christ.

Q: How can we know God's will for our lives?

We can know God's will by seeking Him in prayer and studying His Word. Knowing God's will is an essential pursuit for every believer, and it often begins with a humble heart that earnestly seeks God through prayer. The psalmist’s request in Psalm 143 for God to teach him His will emphasizes the importance of divine guidance. God reveals His will through various means—His Word, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and counsel from wise believers. By dedicating time to study Scripture, meditating on God's truth, and prayerfully seeking His direction, believers can discern His will in their lives. This heavenly guidance enables us to navigate life's complexities according to His purposes, ultimately leading us into a deeper relationship with Him.

143, Psalm 143. You may recall that
we read this last week, and it struck me then, and it
struck me again as I read it this week, or this past few days. For those of you who have been
here, We've sat in on three consecutive or three messages on the subject
of prayer, and this may be the conclusion of all that, perhaps.
I didn't plan this. But I tried to emphasize in those
three messages how that we need to pray. how
we need to pray. Christ told us, he said, men
ought always to pray, because we're needy people. We're needy people, and oh, how
we need to call upon God. And we need that one thing needful. We need Christ, don't we? Christ
is our life. We need that one thing needful. And if you find me, you find
me one man or woman or even young person, you find me one who is
truly from the heart, truly in sincerity, calling upon God to save Calling upon God, seeking
to know Christ, asking God in sincerity from the heart for
some answers. You find me one, and I'll show
you a saved person or one who's about to be saved. Just one. Oh, that there might be one in
here this morning. It was said of Saul of Tarsus. You remember
when the Lord made that great change in that man, Saul, on
his road to Damascus? Saul was a religious man, wasn't
he? He was a religious zealot. He was a Pharisee. Now, the Pharisees
were known for their prayers. They liked to stand on the street
corner and pray. And Saul of Tarsus being one
of those Pharisees, he prayed all the time. Or did he? It was said when he was finally
converted, what did it say about him? It said, Go to Saul of Tarsus,
you'll find Saul of Tarsus. Behold, he prayed. He's really praying now. He's
calling on Christ for forgiveness of sin. That's something he'd
never done before. He prayed with himself, I thank
thee, Father, I'm not like that publican. I fast twice a week
and tithe and so forth. He never asked for forgiveness
of it, but he was now. And that was a mark of his conversion.
And this here in Psalm 143 is the language of true prayer. And I wish, how I hope, that
somebody, one person in here this morning, two would be marvelous,
three would be wonderful, four would be a revival. How I wish that one person in
here this morning could be saying this from their heart. You know,
the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and I
hope there's somebody in here with a broken heart, a broken
heart. And this is the way it starts. This
is the way a person starts calling upon God. And this is the way
they continue, and this is the way they end up calling on God.
Same way. For mercy. Alright, let's look
at Psalm 143. He says in verse 1, Hear my prayer,
O Lord. Hear my prayer, O Lord. And this is a prayer of a desperate
man who needs some help. He says, I'm desperate, oh Lord,
and you're the only one who can help me. The only one. But he doesn't have to. God doesn't have to. He doesn't
have to. And we must say this, Lord, you
don't have to hear me. You don't have to hear a wretch
like me. I haven't paid any attention
to you all my life. And you don't have to all of a sudden hear
me when I start calling you on you, and I get in trouble. You
don't have to all of a sudden start listening to me and bow
your ear to me, but I sure appreciate it if you would hear me, oh Lord.
I want to be heard. I don't deserve it, but you cried
anyway. Would you hear me? Would you
hear me? And he says here, but don't just hear me for my sake.
Give ear to my supplications in thy faithfulness, answer me.
In thy faithfulness, answer me. Because you're a God, and this
is the way to pray to God, because you're a God that delights to
show mercy, and you faithfully have done
so down through the years, even to the worst of sinners, to the
chief of sinners, because you've had mercy to the worst of the
bunch. Lord, would you show some to me? Hear me, O Lord, in your
faithfulness, because you're a faithful God to hear and answer
prayer. You don't have to, but you do. Now, would you? And in
thy righteousness, in thy righteousness, did David know Christ? Did David
know what it took to stand before a holy God? Huh? You better believe
it. This wasn't, he wasn't uttering
some idle words here. David knew, Sam, that the only
way you could approach a holy God was you got to be righteous. And he wasn't. In whose righteousness
did he approach? Not by works of righteousness,
which I've done, David said, but in thy righteousness. Who
is God's righteousness? Christ. Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. And David
was pleading through the merits of Christ, through Jesus Christ,
a sinner's righteousness before a holy God. And he says in verse
2, Lord, don't enter into judgment with me. Don't enter into judgment
with thy servant. Don't look upon me and try me."
Lord, don't look upon me. Don't look upon my sins and try
me. Look upon Christ and try him. Try me and him. Didn't he say
in Psalm 130, if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who's
going to stand? And this man, and this man has
to say, I'd be the last one, or I'd be the first one to fall.
First one to fall. If he should mark iniquities,
who shall stand? Not me. Not me. If he had marked
iniquities, if God Almighty would charge us with sin, looking for
sin, then nobody in here would stand. There's only one who could
ever stand on this earth and say, who is he that condemns?
Who can find any faults in me? No iniquity, no sin, only one
that could ever say that, wasn't it? And that was Jesus Christ
the righteous. Only one. And so I stand in him,
the psalm said. Lord, if you should mark iniquity,
I wouldn't stand, but I stand in him. He can stand. And if
you look at him as my substitute, as my representative, I stand
in him. Stand behind him, Joe, behind
him. I don't go before him. He goes
before me into the presence of the Lord. Justify me, dear Lord,
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is exactly what David's
saying here. Justify me by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I stand
in him. In thy sight no man living shall
be justified, but in Christ all the seed of Israel shall be justified,
shall be saved. Verse three, Lord, the enemy,
the enemy hath persecuted me. Who's the enemy? Well, Satan
desires to sift you like wheat. If you leave his camp and start
following Christ or looking for Christ or trying to seek God,
he'll be on you like a dog on the Desiring to sift you like
wheat. Satan's sin is your great enemy. It besets you within and without. Self, you're your own worst enemy.
Aren't you, Henry? You're your worst enemy. Self,
the enemy, dear Lord, hath persecuted my soul. I look pretty good on
the outside to you people, don't I? And you look pretty good to
me. But I tell you, on the inside,
sin persecutes my soul. It tears me all to pieces. It persecutes my soul. Satan,
on the inside, I feel like at times like I have, my name should
be Legion, full of devils. How about you? My soul, on the
inside, is where I'm afflicted. If you could turn me inside out,
you'd see chaos. They persecuted me, my enemy
that persecuted my soul was smitten my life down to the ground. Smitten
me. Listen to all these adjectives
he used. I've been in verbs, adverbs. Smitten, down to the
ground, made me dwell in darkness as those that have been dead.
Smitten, dark, dead, verse four, desolate. Dark, dead, and desolate. Does that describe you? Anybody in here? Is that the
way you feel most of the time? And you say, you have to say,
Lord, mine's a desperate case. Seemingly a hopeless case. Is
there any wonder why Terry, he started out calling on the Lord?
Huh? Oh, Lord, you're the only one that can help me. The only
one. My spirit, verse 4, is overwhelmed
within me. My heart is desolate. It seems
like a cold and a dark and a and a damp place, an empty thing. My heart, my heart is desolate
within me because I cannot worship God like I would. I can't pray
like I would. I can't read the scriptures like
I would. I can't hear the preaching like
I would. I can't sing the song from my heart. Lord, it's a desolate
place. It's an empty, dark place. Would
you please enlighten it? Would you please fill it? Would
you? Verse 5, he says, I remember
the days of old. He said, I remember the days
of old. I meditate on all thy works.
I muse, I think about the works of your hands, the days of old.
Lord, I remember back in the days of Adam and Eve. I read
the story back there of Adam and Eve. They sinned terribly
against you. Terribly. But you had mercy on
them. You didn't wipe them out. Oh,
they sinned against perfect love and perfection and holiness,
but you didn't wipe them out. I think about that, Lord. And
Lord, I remember Abraham. You brought him out of Ur of
the Chaldees. He was an idolater for 75 years. He was 75 years
old. Some of you may be fairly old,
you think. Look back. Muse on the days of
old. There was an old man. The Lord brought that old man
out of his idolatry and his religion. It's never too late, as long
as there's breath in it. Lord, I remember Lot. Oh, I feel
so much like Lot. I want to hang on to this Sodom,
you know, and the angel of the Lord has to drag me out. You
drug Lot out, Lord. Would you drag me? Huh? Would
you lay hold on me in thy faithfulness and drag me out? I remember Jacob. I remember the days of old. I
read about it. Old Jacob, he was a sorry... Oh, he was... I'm one of his sons. I'm just
like him, just like him. Moses, children of Israel in
the wilderness. I remember how they tempted you
in the wilderness, the days of provocation, Lord, and I am not
one whip different. Lived nearly 40 years, some of
you over 40 years, just like the children of Israel in the
wilderness, tempting the Lord, trying the Lord, rebellious against
the Lord, unthankful to the Lord. Lord, I remember what you did
to them, but you do the same for me. That's what he's saying,
Brother Henry. They were all sinners. This is
what he's saying. I remember the days of old, and
all sinners, every last one of them, the whole lot, sinners. And they all obtained mercy from
you. You got any more? Huh? They all, Noah found grace. Is there any out there for me
to find? Hmm? Is there room for one more? Noah, you put Noah and seven
others in that ark, Lord. Is there room for nine? 144,000, I read.
Could my name be amongst them? Verse 6, he says, I stretch forth
my hands unto thee. I stretch forth my hands unto
thee. I love that song, In My Hand. No price I bring. Lord, my hands are empty. They're
ringing with the blood of your son, but I stretch them forth
anyway. They're guilty, but I stretch them forth anyway. But they're
empty. I'm not bringing my good work. I'm not bringing my religion.
I don't have any. I'm not bringing my good past
life, telling you how I deserve your mercy. I don't have any
goodness at all. In my hands, no price I bring. Simply to die cross, I cling,
I'm reaching. Lord, I'm reaching out. This
is a cry of a man. This is a prayer of a man or
a woman reaching out for help, isn't it? I stretch forth my
hands unto thee, unto thee. My hands are empty. And I'm thirsty,
he said, my soul thirsteth after thee. Every time I hear the word
thirsty, I want to take a drink. And every time I read and hear
the word thirsty, I think of Christ. I think of Christ, who
is that water of life. You said, Lord, you said it in
Isaiah 55. Ho, everyone that thirsted. This
is the way to pray to God. You said it. God, you said it. I didn't make this up. Ho, everyone
that thirsted. Let him come. Let him come. Buy wine and milk without money.
without pride. Come, you thirsty. That's all
the need he required. The psalm says it doesn't. Thirst.
I'm thirsty. That doesn't take much to be
thirsty. It takes the work of the Holy Spirit. But on my part,
all I've got to do is admit it. I guess it's a hard thing for
some people. You said everyone that thirsts,
come. Well, here I am. Can you say
that much? Just, I'm thirsty. I have two
words. I'm thirsty. Would you give me
a drink? I'm thirsty. And the only thing
I've got to recommend me to you, Lord, is I hunger and I'm thirsty.
Like an old beggar. That describes us. We're just
beggars for the king. Just beggars. And all I am is
one beggar trying to tell another where he got food. That's all
the gospel preaching the gospel is, brother. Trying to tell one
beggar, where you got food and water? Hey, there's corn in Egypt. I can't bring it to you. I can't
bring it to you. You got to go there yourself.
You got to go there yourself. And then he says here, and this
is where I want to dwell, just for about 15, 20 more minutes. He gives five or six things.
He ended verse six with a seal. Think about this. Now think about
this now. Selah, that word selah means
stop, pause. Think about what was just said.
It was a prayer, it was a cry, it was a desperate cry of a needy
man, a needy woman. Is there any needy people in
here? I know some are. I know some who are. I know some
who are and don't know they are. He says, think about it, that
man, the man who seeks Him with all his heart is going to find
Him. Anybody who wants answers, they're going to find Him. Anybody
who keeps knocking, the door's going to be open wide, not a
crack, wide, wide door of mercy. Scripture says, ask and you'll
receive. And if we don't ask, we're not
going to receive. Think about that. And one person,
give me one or two people, and one person in here who really
wants some answers, who really wants to know God Almighty, one
person who really wants to win Christ and be found in Him. I'll
show you somebody the Lord's about to say, or who has already. Like I said, you keep crying
at it. You don't ever quit that. Paul was over fifty years old
when he said, Oh, that I might win Christ. Wasn't he? He said, Oh, that I might know
Him. You don't know Him by now, Paul? Not like I'd like to. Oh, that I might lay hold on
him and apprehend him. You haven't laid hold on him
by faith yet, Paul? Yeah, but not like I want to.
I'm not there yet. And until I'm there, I'm going
to keep crying. Hear me, O Lord. You stop crying,
you're dead. All right, look at verse 7. Through the end there, he gives
five or six things that are very easy to remember. He says, hear
me, cause me, deliver me, teach me, lead me, quicken me. He's not saying that I'm going
to do this, I'm going to do that, is he? He's saying, Lord, you
have to do it all. You have to do it all. Hear me,
cause me, deliver me, teach me, lead me, quicken me. Easy to
follow there. He said, verse seven, the first
thing he does is say, hear me. Speedily. Hurry. Hurry. Why? My spirit's failing. I want to quit. Folks, I'll just
be honest with you. Every time I get up and preach
and I feel like I've failed, I want to quit. But by his grace,
I'm not going to. I'm not carrying around my resignation
papers like some preachers do. Every time they get mad at a
member, I'll just quit. And they'll probably say, well,
we wish you would. But not me. No, I'm not going to quit, by
God's grace. But I say that spiritually, too.
Sometimes, if the Lord doesn't hear me in a hurry, I'm going
to quit. I'm going to fall. Take a terrible
fall. I'm going to go down into the
pit. Feel like I've got one foot in it and one on a banana peel,
as it is. Don't you? Hear me, Lord, speedily,
in a hurry. This is the Christ, the prayer
of a desperate man, isn't it? Ain't no prayin' but this. No,
ain't no kind of prayin' but this. Hear me in a hurry, Lord. Mine's
a desperate case. My spirit's failin'. I'm about
to go down in the pit. Don't hide your face from me.
You ought to, but don't. Please don't. Don't turn your
back on me. You ought to, but please don't.
I've turned my back on you, I know that, but please don't turn your
back on me. Hide not your face from me, hear
me. Oh Lord. That's how he started his psalm,
that was it. And that's how you start this
spiritual life at. And that's how we'll be ending
it, Joe. If you come to visit me on my deathbed, and you get
in on my last word praying, If I'm still a child of God by then,
I guarantee you I'll be saying, hear me, O Lord. Save me. Have mercy on me. Be gracious
to me. Hear me, O Lord. That's our desperate
need. And I can go to this person or
that person. And you can come to me. You can
come to one of the leaders of this church. And I've heartily
counseled you before, don't do it. until you go to the Lord
first. I don't care what who says to
you. You don't come to the pastor
first. You go to the Lord. You know what I'm going to do
when you come to me? All I'm going to do is turn you right
back around and say, you go to the Lord. I've had people come to
me and say, I don't want answers. I need help. And I say, well,
you go home and get in your closet. Yeah, I'll pray for you, but
you go home and you ask the only one that can help you. I can't
help you. I've got my own problems. You
know where I'll take them? Do I call you up, Henry Sword?
I'll call them in the name of the Lord. And that's who you've
got to talk to. I'll be happy to talk with you
and sympathize with you and empathize with you. I can't do anything
about it. Right? I want to bear your burden, but
I can't put them away. Somebody that can. I can go to
this person or that person and they can sympathize and empathize
with me, but they really can't do me any good. They can give
me some hearty counsel. If they really give me hearty
counsel, words of advice, they'll turn me around and tell me, go
back to the Lord. Isn't that what Eli said to Samuel? Samuel came to Eli, didn't he?
What did you want me? I wasn't calling you. Go back. It's the Lord calling you. I need to be heard by somebody
who can do something about my problem. I don't need to be heard
by somebody that can just, you know, sympathize or empathize
with me, I need somebody to do away with my troubles. Huh? Is that good advice? Hear
me, O Lord. Hear me. And I'll hear you. And you'll hear me. But ultimately,
we need to be heard by Him. Right? I'm going down, he said. I'm going down. I'm going down
for the cows. You feel like you're drowning
in your sins? your guilt in this world, I'm
going down like a man just every now and then he gets up for a
gasp of air and he goes down again. Lord, I'm just like I'm
going to be. I am like. I don't look any different
than my workers, my cohorts, my friends and people out in
the world. I look just like them. Don't put me down in the pit
with the rest. I don't want to die. Go to hell with the rest
of them. That's where they're going. I don't want to go there. I know
I look like a hellion. I act like a hellion most of
the time. I don't want to go to hell, though. Man, we can
pray that, can't we? Don't let me go down into the
pit. Deliver me from going down into the pit. How's he going
to do that? Find a ransom, isn't he? That's where I deserve to
go. That's where I'm going to go
unless he finds a ransom. for my sins, let's pay for them.
And he did. He did. Blood was the price. Look at it. Read on. I hear it.
He says, Hear me in a hurry, Lord. Verse 8 calls me to hear
thy lovingkindness in the morning. Hear me. Lord, I need you to
hear me. And then the next thing is, I
need to hear from you. Would you hear me? And then what
I need after that is, I need to hear from you. And you'll
find out later on the reason you called on him because he
first called on you. Hear me. Cause me to hear you. Cause me to hear you, Lord. Real
seeking sinners. This is what I was trying to
say in prayer, in this subject of prayer. Real seeking sinners,
they have to have an answer. Like your children that really
want something from you, they keep coming until they have an
answer. Seeking the Lord is not a one-time thing. Coming to Christ
is not a one-time thing. Coming to Christ is not coming
down a morning's beach in a fit of emotion and sorrow and dedicating,
consecrating, you know, and accepting Jesus. That's not coming to Christ. Coming to Christ is keep coming. Keep coming, day in and day out. Hear me, Lord. Cause me to hear
you. I've got to have an answer. I've
got to have an answer. And many of you, many in here,
I know, I've preached to you many times. And you've heard
from me. And you've heard the sermon.
And you've heard the scriptures read. And you've heard the songs
sung. Now you need to hear from God. You've heard me preach enough.
I've heard me preach enough. We need to hear from God. That's
salvation. We need to hear from God, don't
we? Not the words of Eli. We need to hear God speak. And
we need to hear what we need to hear. Lord, cause me to hear
your loving kindness. It's a good word. It's a good
word, Ed. Loving kindness. Old Testament
word. Not found in the New Testament anyway. Loving-kindness. If you just break it down into
two words, it's easy to understand. Loving-kindness. I need love, and I need kindness. I need God's love, God's kindness. There's only He can give. I need
somebody. You might feel like this. I need somebody to love me. I
mean really love me. Not like I ought to be loved.
I'm unlovely. That's what it is. I need somebody to love me
in spite of the fact that I'm unlovely. I don't see how anybody
could, but I'd need it. You know the most unlovely need
love? I need somebody who will love me freely, not expecting
too much out of me. If you people are thinking about
getting married, this is a good way to start. Love doesn't expect
too much. Real love doesn't expect too
much. I need somebody to love me unconditionally. I need somebody
to love me eternally. Never quit. And my husband, you
know, I don't know so much about him or my wife. I don't know
if she's going to... I need somebody to love me through
thick and thin, all the way to the end. I need love like that. Don't you? I need some kindness. Anybody looking for just a little
kindness? It's a hard, cruel world out there, isn't it? I
need some kindness. I need a kind word spoken to
me. I don't get it when I go to work. I don't get it when
I come home, you may say. I need some kindness. I need
somebody to have some compassion on me. to really enter into my
troubles and feel for me. I need somebody to understand
me. I need somebody to be patient with me, not come down on me
hard. I need somebody to bear with me. I need somebody to put
up with me. I need somebody to just be kind
to me. I'm not very kind. I don't deserve
it, but I just need it. Is there anybody like that? Is
there such a one? Yeah, but there's only one. The
song says the blessed, blessed Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one,
the only one loving. He loves the unlovely. If you
think you're lovely, you're not going to get this loving kind.
If you think you're you deserve some of this kind, I wish somebody
kind to me. I haven't done anything to deserve
this. If that's what you say, you're not going to get this
loving kind. But if you can say, I don't deserve any kindness.
I deserve wrath, but I sure need it. You're going to get some
loving-kindness such as you've never had before. David knew
it, didn't he? In spite of his most wicked sin,
in spite of his most horrible fall, didn't he? David knew it
in Psalm 51, and he used another word for loving-kindness. He
used tender mercy. Oh, have mercy upon me, O Lord,
according to thy loving-kindness. According to thy, the most to
thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions." He didn't
call upon his son. He didn't call upon his friend.
He didn't call upon the captain of the guard, did he? He called
upon his Lord. Oh, have mercy upon me. Oh, Lord,
I need some loving kindness. I can't find it out there. Even
my own friend, my bosom buddy, whom I ate bread with, he lifted
up his heel against me. You need that kind of love. You
need that kind of kindness. He says in the morning. He calls
me to hear a lot of loving kindness in the morning. That's as if
to say he's praying all night like Jacob. I'm not going to
let you go until you bless me and bless God, Jacob, in the
morning. Receive the blessing. Weeping endures for a night and
the Lord will cause you to go through it. You've got to humble, you've
got to make you feel guilty before God, you've got to get you down
before you'll ever look up. This is God's way of saving,
this is God's way of dealing with people. Whoever he humbles,
he'll exalt. Count on it. Weeping may endure
for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Ask Jacob. Ask him. And he's the God of Jacob, the
sons of Jacob. in the morning. And look at this,
what he says, cause me, cause me to know, in thee do I trust,
cause me to know the way. I feel just like old Thomas,
don't you? Huh? When Thomas said, Lord, you know
when the Lord said, I go to prepare a place for you. I've heard that. Huh? I've preached it. I've preached
it. I go to prepare a place, fear
it, be not afraid. You believe God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I wouldn't have told you that.
And I'm going to prepare a place for you, that when I come again,
I'll receive you to myself. Trust me, I'll be back. I'll
be back to get you. I'm going, I've got a job to
do. I'll be back. And in the meantime, I'll send my Holy Spirit,
I'll take care of you, and I'll feel just like Thomas at times.
Oh, Lord, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I don't know where
you're going. I don't know where I'm going.
Would you show me the way?" And then I feel like Philip speaking.
Show us the Father. Show us a miracle. Show me a
sign. Philip, I've been so long time with you. Has the gospel
been preached so many times in here that we've become hardened
and dead to it? Has it been preached so many
times yet you don't hear it? Cause me to know the way. Huh?
I know it here. You know, that sounded just like
that when I hit that to me. Huh? I hear, I know it in here. I want to feel it right here.
Cause me to know the way. What's the way? Not a what, it's
a who. Oh, that I might know Him. I'm religious. To the world I'm
religious. To you I'm religious. I want
to blow Christ. I want to walk with him. Rick,
I want to walk like Enoch did. Walk with God in such a way that
some day I'll just whoop, whoop, whoop on up in the heaven. How
about you? Tired of playing religious games.
Tired of reading that book and not getting an answer. I'm tired
of preaching sermons all alone. Where is he? Where is he? Oh, I need to know Him. Cause
me to know Christ, to win Christ. Deliver me. Look at this, verse
9. Deliver me. Cause me to know the way I should
walk. I don't know how to walk. I just stumble. I go the other
direction. I lift up my soul unto Thee.
Not just my hands, but my soul. Verse 9. Deliver me. Oh, Lord. That's significant. Deliver me. Now, if you want
some carpentry done, You call a carpenter, don't you? If you
want some plumbing done, you call a plumber, don't you? Huh?
If you want some doctoring done, you call a doctor, don't you?
If you want some delivering, who you gonna call? The deliverer. There's only one. There's only
one. That's his name, isn't it? They
that know thy name, Psalm 19, you remember that? text, they
that know thy name will put their trust in thee." What's his name?
Exodus 34, Lord. There ain't no little Jesus in
a manger can save you. You've got to have a Lord. That's
the reason he tells us, I'll get off on Christmas here, the
reason he doesn't tell us to commemorate his birth, nowhere
in the scriptures does it tell us to commemorate and remember
this. to remember his birth. Does it?
Huh? We don't commemorate his birth. Why? He ain't a baby no
more. Thank God, God did. The son,
a child was born. The son was given. Thank God
he did come down here and take upon a seed of woman and the
flesh. But we're not worshiping a baby.
A baby can't save me. I needed a man to grow up and
fulfill all righteousness and become 33 years old like I did,
and fulfill all righteousness for me, and then go to a bloody
Roman tree and pay for my sins and my iniquities before a holy
God, and then go down to the grave where I belong, where I'm
going to have to go, and tell me all about it, and come out
of there. And go back to the right hand of the throne of the
majesty on high and present his blood before the Lord as a sacrifice
well pleasing to God. And then sit down up there and
represent me and tell them, that's my son down there. And so that's
the reason Christ said, if you commemorate one thing, my death,
burial, and resurrection, this do in remembrance of me. Right? Remember that. That's what saved
me. And that's his name, Lord. Not
baby Jesus. Now, don't get me wrong. If you
can enter into it, really, in a real spirit, you can say, away
in a manger, no crib for his head, that little Lord Jesus
laid down his sweet head. Fine, he was a little baby, and
he was the Lord Jesus. Fine. But he ain't no baby no
more. As plainly, as bluntly as I can
say, he's the Lord. He's the Lord. That's the reason
we don't commemorate this Take Christ out of Christmas? I ain't
taking Christ out of everything. That baby, well, let's go. Let's go on. He says, Deliver me, O Lord,
Lord, the Lord God, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abundant
in goodness, true, the Deliverer. Deliver me from my enemies. I
said that before. My greatest enemies are really
two things. My greatest enemies are really
two things. Number one, my sin. My sin is ever before me. It's
a mighty foe that ever stands. It's a leviathan. It's Diabolus. It's like the pilgrim before
that great devil that stood before. Apollyon, isn't it? It's a mighty
monster, three-headed monster before me. Satan, sin, and self. Sin, the big S. It's a mighty,
it's Goliath before me, little David, right? What have I got
to contend with him with, huh? This great big Goliath. What
have I got to contend with him? Five smooth stones. A rock. More than that. A firm foundation. Ah, he gives
me some deliverance, some victory. Thanks be unto God, which always
causes us to triumph in Christ. over this sin. Lord, deliver
me from sin. Deliver me from the law, the
curse of the law. That's enemy number two. It's good, it's holy, it's just,
but it'll send you to hell. The law will. It's what it says
here. Now, cursed is everyone. Everybody
that's under the law is under the curse. It curses everyone.
It continues not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them perfectly. Thought, word, and deed. I haven't done it. So the law
says, condemned to die. Oh, that's my enemy. The law's my enemy. Christ was
made a curse for me. He met him head on, like Boaz
did that other kinsman. Met him head on, threw his shoe
at him. And it's what I say, I flee to
thee to hide me. I flee to thee to hide me," verse
9. Hide me, O my Savior, hide me. I love Colossians 3, verse
3. Anybody quote it? Colossians
3, verse 3? You're dead, and your life is
hid with Christ in God. You're dead. My past life is
gone. He says there are sins and iniquities
I remember no more. Your past life. Anybody want
their past forgotten? I want this morning's past forgotten.
Don't you? Five minutes ago, twenty minutes
ago when I wasn't singing that song from my heart, when my mind
was wandering out there in space, I want that forgotten. I want
that under the blood, Joe. He says you're dead. Crucify
him with Christ. Joe Parks does not exist. Yeah, your life is hidden with
God. Your life is hidden. Your secrets are safe. Isn't
that good news? That's the good news of the gospel.
Your secrets are safe. There's somebody you can confide
in. Don't come confide in me. I want to be a confidant, but
I'll tell you what, it just might slip somewhere down the road.
I'll tell you somebody you can go to, it'll never slip. You'll never slip. You'll never
slip. Your secrets are safe, your past
life is gone, it's forgotten, your sins are all taken. Did
you hear what I said? Huh? Did you hear what Jesus
Christ said to me? He said to you too. They're all
taken away. You're dead. That's a good verse. I'll just preach on that later.
You're dead and your life is hid with Christ and God. In verse
10 he says, teach me. Very quickly now, teach me to
do thy will. I'm so childish in my understanding.
Oh, I've got, I'm wise in the ways of the world. You know,
at an early age, at an early age, we get pretty wise, streetwise,
don't we? But fools toward God. When I
was seventeen, boy, I knew the ins and outs of the street. I
didn't know God. Lord, I'm so carnal, I need spiritual
understanding. I have all I need to know to
get by in this world. I'm thirty-seven years old. That's
old enough to know how to get by in this world. Oh, I've got
a long ways to go to know how to get by in heaven. Spiritual
understanding. How about you? If any man thinks
he knows anything, he doesn't know anything. You say, I've
got it all understood. Well, I know the gospel. Do you now?
Do you now? Oh, man, we haven't commenced
to get started, have we? Teach me. Teach me to do thy
will. Teach me to do thy will. I tell
you, I haven't gotten to the first base, people. I haven't
got the first base. What is the will of God? This
is the Word. This is the will of God that you believe on Christ.
I ain't halfway done that yet. Like Jack said, I ain't halfway
believed in the sovereignty of God yet. He's proved himself
to me time and time and time and time again, hasn't he? Faithfulness
and mercy and providence and grace, and proved himself all
my days. When am I going to believe him,
Dan? When? That's what he said to us. He
said, How long must I suffer you? Teach me, Lord, to believe. Just teach me to believe. Teach
me to live by faith. Teach me. Teach me just to believe,
to do Thy will, and to be willing to submit to Your will under
subjection to You. You're my God. Is He? Is He now? This people, he said, draw near
to me with their lips. Lord, Lord. He said, many will
say that. God forbid that somebody in here
this morning under the sound of my voice should be in the
presence of God Almighty. Lord, Lord. And he's saying to
you, yeah, you had Calvinism down pat, didn't you? Yeah, you
were a sovereign gracer, all right. Your heart was far from
me. I never knew you. I got it all up here. I mean,
it all sank down here. Lord, teach me down here to do
thy will. Thou art my God. You're my God.
Is He? Is He your God? Is He? Thy Spirit is good. Your
Holy Spirit is what led me to repentance. The goodness of God
leads me to repentance. Your Holy Spirit is what gave
me faith to lead me into the land of uprightness. Would you?
Would you lead me? Huh? Would you go prepare a place
for me and then come back again and receive me to yourself? Huh? Would you? Would you come back
and get me and take me and present me faultless before thy throne
of glory? And would you say to the Father, this is one of them?
This is one of those children that you gave me. He's here.
The world didn't think he was going to make it. He didn't even
think he was going to make it. But I had him written on my heart. Here he is. He made it. Why? Because I made it. I live. He's going to live also. Would
you do that for me, O Lord? And would you quicken me? Verse
11, quicken me, O Lord? There's some people in here right
now, at the sound of my voice, that need spiritual quickening
in a bad way. I'm pleading with you. I'm pleading
with God Almighty. Open down my eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. Quicken me. I'm dead spiritually. I feel so dead. How could I preach
with any more fervency and more compassion and more zeal and
enthusiasm for you? Quicken me. You might say this
yourself, though. Quicken me. Quicken me. Make me alive under
God. I'm dead. I'm dark. I'm desolate. This
is a prayer I'm telling you couldn't hear, you couldn't hear anything
better, you couldn't pray a better prayer than just to read Psalm
143 right now. Quicken me, give me a life more
abundant, a life of faith, a life of Christ. And when Christ is,
who is my life shall appear, then shall I appear also with
him. The ten virgins. You remember the story of the
ten virgins? I preach it like Baxter said, as a dying man to
dying men, as one that may never preach again. Ten birds, do you
remember the story? Everybody in here can tell. Five of them,
no oil. Five of them had it. Five of them, they were all asleep.
Blessed God, God woke five of them up and said, The bridegroom
cometh. Why sleepest thou? The bridegroom
cometh. Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
That's what I'm trying to do. Every time I stand up here, behold,
the bridegroom cometh. And lest my sleepers do others,
but let us watch, and wait, and be sober, quicken me." Isn't
that what he's saying there? Verse 11, quicken me. Quick,
quicken me. Make me alive quick, I'm going
down. So he started going down. Folks,
we'll go down if he takes his hand off of us. Why should he? For his name's
sake. For his name's sake. For thy
righteousness. He goes right back where he started,
doesn't he? For thy righteousness's sake. Because Christ came in
the world to save sinners. And I am such. I am such. So bring my soul out of trouble,
would you? And of thy mercy. Of thy mercy, cut off mine enemies.
Destroy all them that afflict my soul. Lord, I am your servant. hear me. And you know, if somebody starts
calling like that, they'll not be satisfied until they hear
an answer. And they'll keep calling until they hear an answer. And
then after they've heard an answer, they're going to follow him.
You want the best definition of a believer in all the Scripture? You'll find it in Revelation
19. There were followers of the Lamb,
followers, disciples, seekers, looking, present tense, calling,
to whom coming, calling, seeking, asking, knocking, following,
discipling, present tense, not past. I've been baptized enough. I've been baptized enough. I
need to be baptized with His Holy Spirit, don't you? I need
anointed with that oil. I need him to quicken me, quicken
me. I've been dead a long time. I
stink. I stink. I need to be made alive unto
God. I need my eyes lightened up. My soul. I'm praying it for you. I hope you'll pray it for yourself.
I'm praying it for me. Hear me, cause me, teach me,
lead me, guide me, quicken me. All these things, Lord. If you
don't, I'm going down. I'm going down.

Hear My Prayer, O Lord

What does the Bible say about the necessity of prayer?

How do we know God's mercy is available to us?

Why is it important to pray from a sincere heart?

What does it mean to ask for deliverance in prayer?

How can we know God's will for our lives?

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Hear My Prayer, O Lord

What does the Bible say about the necessity of prayer?

How do we know God's mercy is available to us?

Why is it important to pray from a sincere heart?

What does it mean to ask for deliverance in prayer?

How can we know God's will for our lives?

Sermon Transcript

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