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If you'll turn to Matthew chapter 26, please,
in the New Testament.
I want to speak about the time when
even prayer seems impossible.
When even prayer seems impossible.
Matthew chapter 26, verse 36.
Then cometh Jesus with them to a place
called Gethsemane and said unto the disciples, Sit
ye here while I go and pray yonder.
And he took with him Peter and the
two sons of Zebedee, that would be James
and John, and began to be sorrowful and
very heavy.
And then said he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.
Tarry ye here and watch with me.
And he went a little further and fell
on his face and prayed, saying, O my
father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me.
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou
wilt.
And he cometh unto the disciples and findeth
them asleep and said to Peter, What?
Could you not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray that you enter not into
temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh
is weak.
And he went away again the second time
and prayed, saying, O my father, if this
cup may not pass away from me, except
I drink it, thy will be done.
And he came and found them asleep again,
for their eyes were heavy.
And he left them and went away again
and prayed the third time, saying the same
words.
Then cometh he to his disciples and saith
unto them, Sleep on now and take your
rest.
Behold, the hour is at hand and the
Son of Man is betrayed into the hands
of sinners.
I'm trusting with all my heart that I'm
going to be able to convey something that
the Lord's been speaking to me about this
passage of Scripture.
Let me begin by asking a question tonight.
Have you ever been in a place where
something that you have been asked or told
to do, and it's something that you know
and believe that you should do, but you
say to yourself, This is impossible.
For example, to forgive someone that has wronged
you grievously.
And you look at it and sometimes you
even give it your best try.
And you try to say, I forgive you,
but even the words are twisted that come
out of your mouth.
Because it's so contrary to the true feelings
of your heart.
And you give it your best shot, but
you come out and you walk away and
say, I can't do this.
It's impossible.
Or if the Lord asks you to love
someone that is unlovable.
The Scripture says, Love your enemies.
We heard it tonight.
And then you go to work and you've
got a boss or a co-worker that's
absolutely demon possessed.
And you really try to love them in
the capacity that you have to even reason
what this kind of love is supposed to
be.
And you give it your best shot.
You go in Monday morning because you've been
at Times Square Church and you've heard that
you should love your enemies.
And by Tuesday, three o'clock in the
afternoon, you're hanging your head over your desk
and you say, this is impossible.
Or have you ever tried to be something
or do something that you've never been or
done before?
You've read about it or you've heard about
it.
Maybe God's even spoken it to you and
you know this is right.
And this is something you want to be.
You want to do this.
And you remember how you started out with
such enthusiasm?
And you said to yourself, I can do
this.
I will do this.
And just like a boxer, you went into
the ring and you weren't even 30 seconds
into the first round and you were knocked
out.
And you come out of it saying, this
is impossible.
I thought I could do this, but I
can't do it.
And if this is how you're feeling, you're
in good company.
For most of us here have lived through
the same experience.
I remember when I first got saved and
I started reading books on prayer.
If you've not read them, probably do yourself
a favor.
And I would suggest you don't just stay
in the Bible.
But I remember reading about praying patient who,
when he died, they said he wore grooves
into the hardwood floor with his knees kneeling
beside his bed and rocking back and forth.
I remember reading about praying hide and Reese
Howells intercessor and all of these books.
And I remember thinking, I can do this.
I'm young.
I love God.
And I believe that this is the way
the Christian life is supposed to be lived.
But I remember getting up morning after morning
before the sun rose.
And by the time the sun finally did
come up, I'm kneeling like the hardwood was
out of the question.
I'm kneeling on the carpet.
My face is down between the cushions of
the couch and I've just woken up and
I'm saying this is impossible.
I can't do this.
Try as hard as I might.
I can't do it.
I could fill the room with words for
45 minutes at best.
And it was just so hard.
I'm not a morning person.
I'm not like Pastor Neil.
He is a morning person.
He's so much of a morning person.
He can hardly go to bed at night.
And I'm not like that.
I'm a night person.
I function better at night.
I don't do well in the morning.
That's changing for some strange reason as I
get older.
But think of David, now the king.
In 1 Chronicles 13, it says he consulted
with the leadership around him.
Actually, the Bible says in verse 1, he
consulted with the commanders of thousands, the commanders
of hundreds, and the commanders of every leader.
Every leader, actually.
And he said, we didn't inquire from the
ark of God in the days of Saul,
so let's go get the ark of God
and let's bring it to us.
Let's relive history as it is.
In those days, they sought the ark, and
God moved, and, of course, they all knew
the history.
And they all said, this is a good
thing.
Let's do this.
And they went, and the Scripture says they
agreed this was a good thing to do
in their sight, and they went to get
the ark, and the Bible tells us in
verse 7, they carried the ark of God
in a new cart.
Now, the Philistines had constructed a cart, and
they had sent it back when the ark
had been taken captive under the backslidden ministry
of Eli and his sons, and the ark
had come back into the camp of Israel
in this new cart.
And everybody accepted that up to this point,
I suppose, as the proper way to approach
God or to have God approach them.
And they brought the ark of God in
this new cart, and verse 8 says, David
and all Israel played before God with all
their instruments, with all their might.
In other words, they gave their whole heart
and strength to this.
And it seems there can be a time,
beloved, when it seems that what we're doing
is so right, and we can give all
our heart and our strength to it.
And you can see them, the strummers are
strumming, and the trumpeters are trumping, and the
dancers are dancing, and the praying people are
praying, and there's so much sweat going on,
they're all doing it with all their might.
And all of a sudden, this insignificant young
man called Uzzah, in the midst of this
multitude, because David called together all the coast
of Israel, there would be thousands and thousands
of people, and all of a sudden, this
young man, Uzzah, puts out his hand to
try to stabilize the ark when the oxen
stumbled, and God kills him right on the
spot.
And the Scripture tells us in verse 12
that David was afraid of God that day.
As a matter of fact, David was beyond
distressed.
He was angered.
And he called the name of that place
Perez Uzzah, which means there's a breach been
made against Uzzah.
David looked at this and said, God, don't
you seem to understand, we're doing this with
all our might.
We're doing this with the best of intentions.
And this young man just puts his hand
out to stabilize the ark, and you killed
him right on the spot.
And so David said that day, the Scripture
says David was afraid of God that day,
and he said, how shall I bring the
ark of God home to me?
In other words, what he's saying is, how
can I serve God?
How can I know the victory and the
strength that the presence of God among His
people has always brought when I am trying
to serve Him with all of my might,
and yet this seems to be how I
am rewarded, or we are rewarded for our
service.
Now, of course, the Scripture tells us later
in 1 Chronicles 15, verse 13, that David
began to understand that there was a failure,
because he said we did not seek Him
after the due order.
We had zeal, but our zeal was not
according to the righteous standard of God.
There's a way to serve God.
There's a way that God has prescribed that
we should serve Him, in other words.
And David says we entered into service, but
we didn't do it the way that God
prescribed that we should.
In other words, of course, you know in
the Old Testament it was only the Levites,
in a certain prescribed manner, that were allowed
to carry the ark.
We sought His presence, but we didn't seek
His presence in the manner that He has
written that we should seek Him.
Now, that's very important, so remember this.
It's a way that God has prescribed that
those who want to walk closely with Him
must follow.
Now, in our opening text, in Matthew chapter
26, the Scripture says that He asked three
disciples in particular.
He took all of His disciples to the
garden, but Peter, James, and John were the
inner circle as it is.
Peter probably was one of the leaders, the
natural leaders in this particular group.
He took them a little farther than the
others, and then he asked them, he said,
Now watch here and pray with me.
I want you to pray with me.
He was trying to explain to them, I'm
going into an hour of incredible trial, and
I need you here at this time.
Now, Luke 22, verse 45, tells us about
the same scenario.
He said, He found them sleeping for sorrow.
There was a sorrow that had come upon
them.
As I meditate on this, I think that
perhaps they were confused.
They were overwhelmed at the events unfolding around
them.
And of course, you can't misunderstand the depth
of the spiritual conflict that would have been
happening.
There's a spiritual conflict that they're not even,
they can feel it, no doubt, but they're
not aware of what it is.
They have had in their minds a sense
of how God should be operating.
And the way Christ is moving seems to
be going in an opposite way to the
way they think it should be.
Peter himself has stood at one point before
Christ, and he said, No, not you.
You're not going to Jerusalem.
You're not going to be crucified.
No, this is not the way that you're
going to go.
Now, all of a sudden, they see events
already are spiraling all out of control all
around them.
And naturally, you and I, in the same
circumstances, we have the advantage of knowledge today
that they didn't have.
Oh, the word was there, but they weren't
hearing it.
And they were confused.
They were overwhelmed.
I think they're very saddened at the realization
that the Christ that they truly loved might
be taken from them.
I think it might have dawned on them,
perhaps for the first time, not understanding the
whole mission, but the sense that we are
really going to lose Jesus.
Maybe the words were coming back.
The things he had been speaking for the
previous days are all of a sudden unfolding.
They're beginning to realize this really is going
to happen.
There really is going to be a betrayal.
And for some unknown reason, our hope is
going to be overwhelmed in this moment that
we're living in.
And there's a sadness and a sorrow they
don't understand because, of course, they don't see
the whole picture.
And lastly, it's certainly possible that they are
disappointed and discouraged at their own inabilities to
live up to the incredible boasts that they
had recently made.
You see, they had been boasting.
They had been boasting before God.
If you follow with me right back to
just before our opening text in Matthew chapter
26 and verse 31.
Then said Jesus to them, All ye shall
be offended because of me this night, for
it is written, I will smite the shepherd
and the sheep of the flock shall be
scattered abroad.
But after that I'm risen again, I'll go
before you into Galilee.
Now he's telling, now keep in mind, this
is God speaking.
And he's not only speaking, but he's quoting
scripture as well.
And so now they're confronted in a sense
by what God is speaking.
He says to them, now listen to me.
Tonight you're all going to fail.
Tonight you're all going to run.
You're going to be put in a position
that you're not able to stand.
And you're all going to be offended.
In other words, the context of the word
offended is different than the way we read
it today.
It means scattered, afraid.
You're not going to be able to stand.
I'm going to be smitten tonight and you're
going to be scattered.
But I'm going to rise again and I'm
going to go before you into Galilee.
And so here's the word of God.
Now Peter immediately, verse 33, answered and said,
Though all men shall be offended because of
thee, yet will I never be offended.
Now this is an incredible thing.
Now this is religious zeal.
But it's religious zeal that is standing directly
in the face as it is of the
revealed word of God.
Jesus is saying one thing and Peter is
responding in the opposite spirit.
He's actually defying the word of God.
And he's doing it with religious zeal.
Folks, religious zeal does not make something right.
We're living in an age of tremendous zeal.
And there are people out there trying to
serve God with all their might, not realizing
they're standing directly in the face of revealed
Scripture.
And zeal doesn't make it right.
Peter answers and he's indignant and he stands
and he musters his strength and he says,
No, all men may run from you.
I don't care what the word of God
says.
I don't care what you say.
I don't care what's written in the Bible.
All men may fail, but I will not
fail.
Then Jesus said to him, Verily I say
unto thee that this night before the cock
crow thou shalt deny me thrice.
Now again, folks, you've got to understand, this
is the God who created the universe is
speaking to him.
This is Christ who's not arguing.
Even the humility of God to even enter
into this dialogue.
It's amazing when you consider it.
Everything he speaks is absolute truth.
It's not even negotiable.
If he says let there be light, there's
light.
If he says turn the light out, the
light is out.
And here he is arguing with this man.
And Peter said, Though I should die with
thee, yet I will not deny thee.
And likewise said also all the disciples.
Now this is an amazing thing.
They have a choice.
The other eleven can either agree with God
or agree with Peter.
And Peter is such a natural, strong leader.
Plus also, this is what is in the
heart of all men.
We don't want to see ourselves as weak.
We don't want to see ourselves as incapable
of performing something.
We all want to see ourselves as strong
and able.
And so they all agree with Peter.
So here the whole thing, they're all literally
believing a lie about themselves.
Right at the very pivotal point of their
own redemption.
So now we leave from here.
And we go into the Garden of Gethsemane.
And Jesus says, Alright, you all sit over
here.
Now Peter, you, because Peter of course is
the one who led the whole pile of
them into this error.
Of thinking about themselves.
And James and John.
Now John's the one who leaned his head
on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper.
Peter's a man with natural strength.
I will not deny you.
And John may have been resting on the
fact that, well, I love him.
You know I love him.
He knows I love him.
I'm the disciple Jesus loves.
And certainly I can't fail.
And I don't know where James fits in
all of this.
But Jesus calls them all in.
And he says, Come a little farther.
Now he says, I'm trusting you now all
to pray with me.
And then in chapter 26 in verse 40.
He comes out after praying.
And he comes to his disciples and finds
them asleep.
And says to Peter, What?
Could you not watch with me one hour?
Now folks, this is a passage of scripture
that the enemy has used to condemn so
many people for years.
For generations since the day it was written
down.
Because they failed to understand the context of
this.
We look at it and they can't pray
for an hour.
They pray for 48 minutes and walk out
all condemned.
Hearing this voice, What?
Could you not pray with me for one
hour?
Folks, I've lived through this.
I'd pray for an hour and 15 minutes
and I'd get up off my knees.
What?
Could you not pray with me for an
hour and a half?
I'd pray for an hour and a half.
What?
Could you not pray with me for an
hour and 45 minutes?
There's just no end to this.
And the enemy takes this and just literally
grinds the people of God with this scripture.
But it's not as harsh as it sounds.
It sounds harsh.
But folks, it really isn't that harsh.
Now, I want you to consider this just
for a moment.
I don't know when the next New York
marathon is.
But let's say every one of us here
today.
How far is the marathon?
Does anybody know it's 10 miles?
26 miles.
All right.
Well, let's say the next New York marathon.
I want everybody between now and then to
go out and get your finest athletic clothes
that you can find.
Get a nice pair of shoes.
You can get a shirt with a number
on the back.
And show up at the starting line.
And buddy up to some runner that's come
from somewhere around the world.
And I could just envision somebody here.
Now, really get it in your spirit that
you can do this.
I can do this.
I can run 26 miles.
I can do this.
I can keep up with the best of
them.
And go to the starting line and start
up a conversation.
Say, well, where are you come from?
Oh, you're from Kenya.
Oh, that's wonderful.
And what position do you hold in Kenya?
Oh, you are the national champion.
Well, I couldn't have picked a better person
to run this race with.
Now, others may fall behind.
But I'm with you.
I'm going to run with you all the
way.
Everyone else may fail and fall and become
exhausted.
But you can count on me.
I'm going to be there the whole race.
And so the gun goes and away you
go.
And you're running the best you can beside
Kenya's national runner.
And when the race is all over, then,
of course, Kenya's national runner would have to
find you, go back very close to the
starting line where you are on a stretcher.
And the EMS people have got a thing,
a blood pressure thing on you.
And they've got something in your veins.
And you're about a mile into the race.
Let's say three quarters of a mile, and
the Kenya national runner bends down and says,
What, could you not run with me one
mile?
You made such a boast of your strength.
You made such a boast of your ability.
And you were fully convinced.
But, you see, you don't have the inner
resources to do this.
You and I don't have the inner resources
to run that.
Now, there might be somebody here who can
do it.
But I know for sure I don't.
I know for sure Pastor Neil doesn't.
We don't have the inner resources to run
this kind of a race.
Now, I don't care how nice an athletic
uniform I get or how many books I
read.
I am 52 years old.
I do not have the inner resources.
I would die of a heart attack before
getting halfway through that race.
I remember when my boys were young.
Now, this is more a thing for boys.
It's not quite the same for my daughter.
Boys boast of their strength.
Girls are different.
Girls bat their eyes.
They get this lyrical tone in their voice
and they get anything they want.
I remember my wife, Theresa, used to say
to me, Oh, I don't believe it.
You know how she got a new bicycle
out of you.
And I would say, Well, the old one
had a scratch on it.
She told me that she was right.
But boys boast.
Now, I don't remember the exact scenarios.
But they go something like this.
I remember on the farm that I used
to have to bale hay, about 2,000
bales a year.
We'd have to put on a hay wagon
and take it into the barn.
We used to fence most of the farm
by hand because they didn't have a tractor
in the beginning.
And I remember the boys when they were
about three years old and five years old.
And a fresh cedar fence post normally could
weigh anywhere from 30 to maybe 45 pounds.
It would be on the ground.
And my boys would come and say, Dad,
out of the way.
I can lift this.
I can put this on the wagon or
on the back of the truck by myself.
And I'd say, Oh, all right.
No, I don't need your help, Dad.
I can do this all by myself.
So I'd step out of the way.
This is a ritual that goes on all
the time with little boys.
And they get down and they grab that
thing and they grunt and they groan and
they grunt and they groan.
And they give it their best.
And some of you, they got little kids,
you know what this is all about.
And they struggle and struggle and struggle.
And typically they finally collapse on top of
the fence post.
They just give up and they fall on
it or they fall in the grass.
They're absolutely exhausted.
And then you look down at them and
say, Could you not lift it an inch
off the ground?
I thought you were.
I thought you were so strong.
Do you need help?
Do you need someone bigger than you are
to lift it for you?
You see, this is the issue.
Peter made this incredible boast and the rest
followed him and made this incredible boast of
their natural strength and how they were going
to walk with God and how they would
not deny him.
But this is without possessing the inward life
of God that was about to be given
to them through the death of Christ and
the resurrection.
The power of the Holy Ghost had not
yet come.
And Jesus comes out from praying with his
father and looks at Peter and it's in
the context of his boast.
And he says, What, could you not watch
with me one hour?
I thought you were going to go all
the way as it is to Calvary.
I thought you were going to die.
You can't.
You were going to go with me and
you're going to die with me, but you
can't even watch for one hour.
That's the context of what Jesus is speaking
to him.
He's not condemning him.
He's trying to bring him to an understanding
of his own frailty, his own inability, his
own need of a resource within himself much
greater than anything in his natural ability that
he can muster.
And folks, that is where the church...
When David says we didn't seek him after
the due order, that's why so many people
fail and fall and become discouraged.
Because they read the Scriptures and then sit
out in their own power to make it
a reality.
But we are incapable of making it a
reality.
I can't love anybody the way God wants
me to love them.
I can't forgive a single soul the way
Christ wants me to forgive.
The burden is too heavy.
I can't do it.
That's why Jesus said, Come to me, all
you who labor and are heavy laden, and
I'll give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Come, learn of me.
I'm meek and lowly in heart, and you
shall find rest for your soul.
Oh, thank God for this incredible life of
Christ that he's willing to give to all
who place their trust in him.
As Jesus was raised from the dead by
the power of the Holy Ghost, so we
too are raised out of the weakness of
death and brought into the power of an
endless life.
So we too are given strength beyond our
natural strength, an ability far beyond any natural
ability that you and I will ever possess.
And we come to the place where our
testimony is like the Apostle Paul.
I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.
I can be a loving man.
I can forgive my enemies.
I can go beyond the limits of this
natural body and this natural mind.
I can be brought to places where I
could never have gone in my own strength.
You see, this is where the Scripture begins
to make sense.
When the Bible tells us it's a faithful
saying, If we die with him, we'll also
live with him.
If we give up as it is, our
own will.
If we yield our own strength, or so
we think it is, and begin to realize
it for the weakness it is.
Trust in Christ for our salvation.
Allow the power of the Holy Spirit to
come upon us.
And God's life becomes our life.
And all of a sudden, things that were
so heavy are now within the realm of
possibility to accomplish, because his life is within
us.
The end of the verse, that chapter that
we read today, I used to always wonder
about this verse.
In verse 43 it says, He came and
found them asleep again, for their eyes were
heavy.
And I want to tell you something.
When your eyes are focused on yourself, they're
always going to be heavy.
You're always going to be discouraged.
You're going to go home at night and
look in the mirror, and you're going to
feel like a failure.
You go to your knees, you can't even
pray.
You get up in the morning, you have
no joy.
Because your eyes are all focused in the
wrong place.
You're looking at your own strength, and you're
looking for some resource in yourself to even
live as a Christian, and it isn't there,
beloved.
It is not there apart from Christ.
We cannot do it.
Now, in verse 45, it says, He came
to His disciples and said to them, Sleep
on now, and take your rest.
I used to look at that as if
they were completely defeated.
This was an indictment as it is against
them.
Sleep on now.
You came, I needed your help, you couldn't
give it to me, now go ahead and
just sleep.
But you know, folks, that's really not the
context of this verse.
I believe what Christ is saying, Alright now,
fellows, put your human effort to rest.
You've tried and you've realized you can't do
this.
So, put it to rest.
Put it aside.
You see, because help is on the way.
Hallelujah.
Go with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 3.
Folks, help is on the way.
There's so many people here today, you're trying
so hard, and you're walking with your, you
got your teeth gritted, and you're doing it
as hard as you can, and you're getting
so fed up and your eyes are so
heavy.
Jesus says you do not sleep on.
You're never going to accomplish it in your
own strength.
Put this human effort away.
You see, the walk with Christ is a
walk of faith.
It's not that we don't do something, but
we don't do it in our natural strength.
We take the promises of God that He
has given to us, we believe them, and
trust that the life of Christ in us
through the Holy Spirit will make these promises
a reality.
That God will lift us, and God will
take us where He is asking us to
go.
Now, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 17,
Paul says it this way, Now, the Lord
is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of
the Lord is, there is liberty.
Now, the word liberty in the Greek means
generosity.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is generosity.
Now, remember, Jesus said when the Comforter comes,
He's going to take what is mine, what
I'm going to purchase for you as it
is on Calvary, and He's going to show
it to you.
Everything that is mine is going to be
yours.
Paul says where the Spirit of the Lord
is.
If the Spirit of God is within you,
if you are truly a child of God,
if you've been born again by the Spirit
of God, you have within you now an
incredible generosity of God.
This incredible supply of life is now within
you.
Do you understand this?
If you don't understand this, forget trying to
live the Christian life.
You have this incredible supply in Christ that
is given to you by the indwelling power
of the Holy Spirit within you.
But we all, he says, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory, or
that means the weightiness, the abundance as it
is of the Lord, are changed into the
same image from glory to glory even as
by the Spirit of the Lord.
Paul is saying as we behold this incredible
victory of Christ in the fullness of its
weight and the fullness of its resources, we
ask and we trust and we're changed into
the very victory of new life which is
in Christ, which we are looking at.
As we see Him, as we comprehend His
victory, as we see the weightiness of God's
incredible mercy, as we see the incredible scope,
Paul says, of His victory, we just simply
look at it.
We behold it in the Word of God
and we believe it in our hearts.
We are changed into the same image of
that inexhaustible strength and victory even as by
the Spirit of the Lord.
The Christian life is to be a supernatural
life.
It's to be a life that is lived
by God inside of those who have made
the choice to believe Him.
Verse 4, he says, Chapter 4, rather, verse
1, Therefore seeing we have received this ministry
and have received mercy, we faith not.
Here's the source of the Christian life and
the source of our strength.
The ministry and the mercy is Christ in
us, the hope of glory.
Verse 2, he says, But we have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully.
Here's what I believe Paul is saying.
We renounce this inner corruptible image of ourselves
without Christ that we have.
We do not craftily and deceitfully deal with
God telling Him we can even though God's
Word says we can't and we won't.
That's deceitful dealing with God.
When you and I who bear the image
of Christ walk away saying, No, I can
do this.
No, you can't do this.
Only Christ in you can win the victory.
Only Christ in you can walk through that
victory.
We do not craftily and deceitfully deal with
the Word of God.
That's exactly what Peter and the disciples were
doing in Matthew 26.
Jesus was telling them one thing and they
were throwing in the name of religious zeal
and determination and dedication as they saw it
in themselves, they're throwing a contrary statement back
in His face.
He was saying, You can't do this and
they were saying, We can.
Paul says, No, we have received this ministry.
It is a ministry of mercy.
It keeps those who trust in Him.
We renounce these hidden things of dishonesty.
We do not walk in craftiness.
We do not handle the Word of God
deceitfully.
But by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of
God.
This is what Paul is saying, But with
truth in the power of the Holy Spirit
now manifested in us, this truth that carries
us, this truth that enables us, we stand
as a warning to every man's conscience in
this generation that he too who is without
God is incapable of finishing the race.
We stand as a warning.
Folks, you are to stand as a warning
to this generation.
The glory of God is to be in
you.
You and I are to be so changed
by this inward working of Christ.
And our testimony is not how we did
it.
Our testimony is simply that we believe God
who did it for us and does it
in us and through us.
Therefore, we stand as a testimony to our
generation.
This testimony is simply that no man can
change without the Spirit of God.
No man can obey God unless God gives
him the power to be obedient.
Now, I want to finish with John chapter
16.
16, please, if you'll turn back there with
me.
Oh, Jesus, thank you.
Hallelujah.
No wonder Paul said, I fear lest your
minds be converted from the simplicity that is
in Christ.
Some people are offended at the simplicity of
Christ.
Jesus said it this way in verse 20,
Verily I say to you, you shall weep
and lament.
Now, this is, of course, just prior to
what we read in Matthew 26.
But the world shall rejoice and you shall
be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned
into joy.
In other words, the whole world at that
time, of course, is going to rejoice that
the Son of God is crucified and you're
going to be sorrowful.
But your sorrow is going to turn into
joy.
A woman, when she's in travail and sorrow
because her hour has come, but as soon
as she's delivered of the child, she remembers
no more the anguish for joy that a
man is born into the world.
Now, he's telling his disciples there's going to
be a time of great travail for you,
but you're going to come through this travail
with incredible joy and new life.
And you now, therefore, have sorrow.
But I will see you again and your
heart shall rejoice and your joy no man
will take from you.
I'm going to give you a joy that
no one can take from you because, you
see, it's not given by anything of this
world.
It's not given by any man.
It doesn't come from natural strength.
It's a supernatural strength and a supernatural life
and a supernatural joy.
I'm going to give it to you.
You're going to get up in the morning
and say, God Almighty, I'm changing.
I'm changing.
Lord, I'm loving that person that I work
with at work.
And I don't know how it happened, but
I just asked You to do it.
And I'm putting one foot in front of
the other.
I'm believing You, God.
And my heart is changing.
And there's a joy.
Folks, the joy comes from understanding that I'm
living in a supernatural life with Christ.
His life is in me.
Oh, beloved, I feel sometimes like I could
explode even just trying to explain this thing.
It's Christ in us.
It's not a concept about Christ.
It's not you and I trying to prove
something to Christ.
It's coming to one who has finished the
work.
He's finished our redemption.
He's overthrown our enemies.
He's provided strength for our weakness and covering
for our failure and joy for our sorrow.
Everything you will ever want is in Jesus
Christ.
It's all in Him.
He says, I'm going to give you joy,
verse 22, and no man will take it
from you.
Verse 23, and in that day you shall
ask Me nothing.
Actually, the original text says it this way.
You're not going to be confused anymore, if
I can paraphrase it.
You're not going to have any more questions.
You'll not be sort of like Gethsemane theology.
You'll not be sitting there frustrated and trying
to do all of these things in your
own strength.
You will no longer be in this frame
of mind.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you
shall ask the Father in My name, He
will give it to you.
Now folks, you either believe that or you
don't.
You either believe it or you don't.
There's no middle ground on this.
Jesus said it.
It's in red letter.
Whatever you ask.
Now we know in the New Testament we
don't ask for things to consume them on
our own lust or we'll not get them.
But to be asking God for the power
to love and the power to forgive and
the power to stand and the power to
preach and the power to teach and the
power to publish and the power to defend
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not asking
to consume it on our own lust.
He says, ask the Father in My name
and He will give it to you.
Verse 24, He says, Hitherto have you asked
nothing in My name.
And that's exactly what happened.
They were all there saying, We can, we
will.
We will not deny you.
We will walk with you.
I can, I will.
We can, we will.
He said, Hitherto you have asked nothing in
My name.
Ask and you shall receive that your joy
might be full.
Ask, you shall receive that your joy might
be full.
How do I get the victory?
Ask, you shall receive that your joy might
be full.
How do I become a man and woman
in prayer?
Ask, you shall receive that your joy might
be full.
How do I forgive people who have wronged
me and abused me?
Ask, you shall receive and your joy shall
be full.
How do I preach the Gospel in this
generation?
Where do I find the power?
Ask, you shall receive and your joy shall
be full.
Hallelujah!
Thank God!
Thank God that it's not humanly possible to
live the Christian life.
Thank God that the ground is level at
the cross.
Thank God that rich and poor and educated
and uneducated and weak and strong can all
come to the cross and the same life
and the same power is available.
Thank God!
Hallelujah!
Thank God!
All you have to do is ask and
believe and begin to walk in what God
says and the Holy Spirit will make the
promises of Christ a living reality within your
life.
And as Paul says, your life will become
a commendation as it is of God to
every man's conscience in this generation.
Hallelujah!
Oh, God help us!
God help us!
God help us to hear this!
God help us!
Hallelujah!
This is not pie-in-the-sky Christianity.
This is reality.
I've lived this.
Oh, God!
We need a church again in this generation.
We need a church.
A Holy Spirit empowered church.
A church that stands before men and convinces
them of sin and righteousness in the day
of judgment.
We need a church.
We've lived under the Peter ministry for years
now.
Seven steps to this and three steps to
that and four ways to do this and
five ways to accomplish that.
It's all Peter, James and John theology before
the cross.
Oh, God!
I know I've delivered your heart.
Lord, I know it.
Oh, Jesus!
I pray, Lord, for faith to arise.
My God, let this be a house of
faith.
Let this be a church of faith.
I pray for an explosion of faith in
this house.
Oh, God, Lord, that we not just be
a people embracing theories about You, but we
have a living relationship with You.
My God, my God, take us out of
weakness and mediocrity and self-effort.
Bring us into the life of our Christ.
Oh, Holy Spirit, I call to You tonight,
just like Ezekiel called.
I pray, Holy Spirit, You come and breathe
on us.
You've got to come and take us into
the life of our Christ.
We need You, Holy Spirit.
We need Your strength.
We need Your power.
We need Your wisdom.
We need Your mind.
We need Your ability.
We need Your sustaining and carrying power.
We need Your supernatural life to be within
us.
Oh, Holy Spirit, come and breathe on us
again.
Oh, God!
Breathe on us!
Breathe on us, Lord!
Breathe on us, Holy Spirit!
Guide us!
Guide us again into the life of Christ!
Almighty God!
I lift up Your church all over this
country!
Oh, God!
Breathe on Your church again!
We're going to stand.
And as we do, I want to give
an altar call for every failure in this
house, every discouraged person, every person who has
believed that some area of your life is
impossible.
But remember the words of Christ.
With man this is impossible, but with God
all things are possible.
Hallelujah!
If you've got an area of impossibility in
your life, I want you to get out
of your seat.
In the annex, you make your way here
and we'll wait for you.
Get out of your seat and come here.
We're going to pray.
And we're going to send hell to flight
tonight.
Hallelujah!
You are going to win the victory tonight.
It's not in natural strength.
It's going to be in faith and the
finished work done for you.
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!
Oh, Jesus, thank You!
God, thank You!
Oh, take a moment tonight, will you?
Jesus said, ask that your joy might be
full.
I can't really do it for you.
You've got to lift your voice.
You've got to ask Him whatever it is
you need.
If you're doing it for the glory of
God, if you're a true child of God,
if you need to be saved, ask Him.
If you need your sins forgiven, ask Him.
If you need strength, ask Him.
If you need power, ask Him.
Ask Him.
All you can do tonight is ask Him.
Oh, folks, the Holy Spirit is here.
Truth has been spoken.
All you have to do is ask Him.
Lift up your voice and just ask Him
now.
Ask Him.
Do it now.
Just lift up your voice and ask Him.
Whatever you need.
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah, Lord!
You hear the cry of Your people tonight.
God, You hear every heart.
You know, Lord, what the need of every
life is.
Lord, now You're giving victory, I believe at
this very moment, over impossible situations.
You are the victory, Jesus.
You are the One who is the light,
the truth and the way.
You are the open door.
You are the pasture the Scripture speaks about.
It's all in You.
It's all through You.
It's all about You, Jesus.
Hallelujah, Lamb of God!
Thank You, mighty God!
Oh, God, thank You.
Father, I pray tonight, Lord, that people have
come to this altar, that they walk away
here realizing they've had an encounter with a
living and supernatural God.
Father, I thank You for this tonight.
You will never fail.
You will never deny.
You will never forsake those who put their
trust in You.
God, give us hearts to believe You.
Pray with me tonight, Lord Jesus.
Take away my unbelief.
Take away my own strength.
Give me the ability to trust in Your
victory and Your life that You are more
than willing to give to me and to
live through me.
I believe that I'm going to leave this
altar a changed person because I have come
to the God who created me and loved
me and washed me clean in His own
blood.
Oh, God, do such a mighty work in
me that people around will have to take
notice through my life that You are alive.
Hallelujah!
Oh, give Him glory!
Give Him glory!