1
00:00:02,180 --> 00:00:07,000
My Bible reads in Mark 1.35, And

2
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,100
in the morning, rising up a great while

3
00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:13,980
before day, he went out, and departed into

4
00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:17,740
a solitary place, and there prayed.

5
00:00:18,460 --> 00:00:21,400
This verse speaks volumes to me, friends, on

6
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,760
the significance of having a daily, vital, quiet

7
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:27,960
time with God in prayer.

8
00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,060
I say daily because it must be a

9
00:00:31,060 --> 00:00:33,340
regular habit in our Christian walk.

10
00:00:33,780 --> 00:00:36,700
I say vital because we go there to

11
00:00:36,700 --> 00:00:41,060
refuel and reignite our love relationship with our

12
00:00:41,060 --> 00:00:42,120
Lord Jesus.

13
00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,860
And I say quiet time because as Christ

14
00:00:45,860 --> 00:00:49,600
got away from those in his company, the

15
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,280
disciples, so he could be alone to communicate

16
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,700
with the Father, so we as well need

17
00:00:56,700 --> 00:00:59,360
to have a regular meeting place with our

18
00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:00,480
God each day.

19
00:01:01,060 --> 00:01:03,840
This message is not on prayer per se.

20
00:01:04,260 --> 00:01:07,260
It is on the necessity for prayer every

21
00:01:07,260 --> 00:01:07,760
day.

22
00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,820
This message is on the devotional life of

23
00:01:10,820 --> 00:01:14,300
a believer, the importance of it, the necessity

24
00:01:14,300 --> 00:01:17,400
of it, and the benefits gained from it.

25
00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,500
I normally don't do a three-point message,

26
00:01:20,660 --> 00:01:23,100
but in this case, if the shoe fits,

27
00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:23,780
wear it.

28
00:01:24,220 --> 00:01:27,420
There are three vital aspects to the daily

29
00:01:27,420 --> 00:01:29,260
quiet time I want to share with you

30
00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:30,260
today, friends.

31
00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:31,400
1.

32
00:01:32,540 --> 00:01:34,480
The priority given.

33
00:01:35,300 --> 00:01:36,040
2.

34
00:01:36,380 --> 00:01:37,740
The person sought.

35
00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:39,140
3.

36
00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,140
The benefit gained.

37
00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:44,480
Let's examine these friends one by one as

38
00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,880
they pertain and fit together like a well

39
00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:48,880
-worn glove.

40
00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,820
Let's look at the first of these, the

41
00:01:51,820 --> 00:01:52,800
priority given.

42
00:01:53,500 --> 00:01:55,720
When I examine the lives of men and

43
00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,360
women that God has used in former times,

44
00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,280
I see a common denominator between them.

45
00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,200
They each had a vital life of prayer.

46
00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,580
George Whitefield read his Bible on his knees

47
00:02:08,580 --> 00:02:12,680
every day alongside Matthew Henry's commentary.

48
00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:16,540
Well, one day I decided to give that

49
00:02:16,540 --> 00:02:17,140
a try.

50
00:02:17,460 --> 00:02:19,320
I still have the date I wrote my

51
00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:24,700
Bible when I attempted this, June 1, 2008.

52
00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,060
I'll be very frank with you friends.

53
00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:30,500
I'm no George Whitefield, for I soon abandoned

54
00:02:30,500 --> 00:02:33,380
that idea of reading through my Bible on

55
00:02:33,380 --> 00:02:34,520
my knees each day.

56
00:02:35,100 --> 00:02:38,040
Perhaps Whitefield was a much younger man than

57
00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:39,560
I when he did that.

58
00:02:40,140 --> 00:02:43,060
But it got me to study the prayer

59
00:02:43,060 --> 00:02:46,380
lives of saints that God had used, and

60
00:02:46,380 --> 00:02:49,160
it encouraged me as I read about them.

61
00:02:49,540 --> 00:02:52,060
That's why I'm a firm believer in reading

62
00:02:52,060 --> 00:02:53,340
Christian biography.

63
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,000
It's a deep well to dip into for

64
00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:56,900
refreshment.

65
00:02:56,900 --> 00:03:00,000
I read about the prayer life of John

66
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,120
Sung, and it shamed me.

67
00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,220
I'll quote you what his daughter wrote about

68
00:03:05,220 --> 00:03:05,660
him.

69
00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:09,900
He would kneel and pray every night, even

70
00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:13,260
after a long and grueling day, during this

71
00:03:13,260 --> 00:03:15,840
period of his convalescence.

72
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,900
And this was, friends, after Sung underwent surgery

73
00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:21,420
for cancer on his colon.

74
00:03:22,340 --> 00:03:26,000
He would pray on his knees for hours

75
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,820
after Bible study sessions with fellow workers.

76
00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,520
Five hours at a stretch were not too

77
00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:33,500
long for him.

78
00:03:33,980 --> 00:03:36,680
He also prayed with his wife every morning

79
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,860
after she had changed his dressings.

80
00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:42,960
In the evenings, he led his family in

81
00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:44,320
prayer and Bible study.

82
00:03:44,700 --> 00:03:46,720
He would kneel on one knee when he

83
00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,620
found his wounds too painful to do so

84
00:03:49,620 --> 00:03:50,520
on both.

85
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:52,940
Well, that shames me.

86
00:03:53,060 --> 00:03:54,880
I don't know about you, friends.

87
00:03:55,380 --> 00:03:57,960
But my own testimony in regard to the

88
00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,120
reasons for having a daily quiet time go

89
00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,580
back to my friendship with my homiletical mentor,

90
00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,140
Dr. Stephen Oldford, who taught me how to

91
00:04:08,140 --> 00:04:10,480
have a daily quiet time with God.

92
00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:14,140
It was Dr. Oldford's influence of the necessity

93
00:04:14,140 --> 00:04:17,660
of the daily quiet time that so transformed

94
00:04:17,660 --> 00:04:18,680
my own life.

95
00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,140
He wrote a little booklet entitled Manna in

96
00:04:22,140 --> 00:04:22,680
the Morning.

97
00:04:23,260 --> 00:04:25,820
It's only a few pages long, but it's

98
00:04:25,820 --> 00:04:27,300
worth its weight in gold.

99
00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:30,580
So there is a priority given to having

100
00:04:30,580 --> 00:04:31,960
a daily quiet time.

101
00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:34,460
We must make it a regular habit in

102
00:04:34,460 --> 00:04:35,240
our lives.

103
00:04:35,860 --> 00:04:38,420
Secondly, the person sought.

104
00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:42,180
We see the intimacy between Christ and his

105
00:04:42,180 --> 00:04:45,680
disciples, with the disciple John with his head

106
00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,860
nestled in his bosom as they recline at

107
00:04:48,860 --> 00:04:52,920
the table with Jesus, resting there, delighting there,

108
00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,860
feeling the safety and security there, beneath the

109
00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:58,820
master's shadow, so to speak.

110
00:04:59,180 --> 00:05:03,740
As Psalm 91-1 intimates, He that dwelleth

111
00:05:03,740 --> 00:05:06,820
in the secret place of the Most High

112
00:05:06,820 --> 00:05:10,420
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

113
00:05:11,180 --> 00:05:13,920
The disciples sought out Jesus and they found

114
00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:14,620
him praying.

115
00:05:15,130 --> 00:05:18,000
We read in Luke 11-1, And it

116
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,780
came to pass that, as he was praying,

117
00:05:21,180 --> 00:05:24,360
in a certain place, when he ceased, one

118
00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,940
of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach

119
00:05:27,940 --> 00:05:30,620
us to pray, as John also taught his

120
00:05:30,620 --> 00:05:31,180
disciples.

121
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,860
I had for years discipled men in my

122
00:05:34,860 --> 00:05:38,240
home, often twice a week with different groups

123
00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,740
of men, and the main purpose I felt

124
00:05:40,740 --> 00:05:43,740
led to host a discipleship group was to

125
00:05:43,740 --> 00:05:47,320
influence the men to incorporate a daily quiet

126
00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,660
time in their home and to grow in

127
00:05:49,660 --> 00:05:51,400
the knowledge of Christ Jesus.

128
00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:55,220
The person sought in that daily quiet time

129
00:05:55,220 --> 00:05:55,800
a prayer.

130
00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,300
I placed great emphasis on the daily quiet

131
00:05:59,300 --> 00:06:00,220
time with them.

132
00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,580
As I do now to you, friends, I

133
00:06:02,580 --> 00:06:04,360
know the benefits of it.

134
00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,580
And that brings us to my final point,

135
00:06:07,940 --> 00:06:09,260
the benefit gained.

136
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,680
Let me share with you my introduction to

137
00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:17,660
my biography on the evangelist, Rolf Barnard, so

138
00:06:17,660 --> 00:06:19,620
you can get a sense of this, friends.

139
00:06:20,620 --> 00:06:22,960
And it's a word of encouragement to my

140
00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:24,820
preacher brethren as well.

141
00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,980
The germination of this project is the result

142
00:06:28,980 --> 00:06:30,300
of the following story.

143
00:06:30,700 --> 00:06:34,980
While rereading David Wilkerson's book, The Cross and

144
00:06:34,980 --> 00:06:38,040
the Switchblade, I was impressed by a facet

145
00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:39,900
in Wilkerson's life.

146
00:06:40,460 --> 00:06:43,140
Early in his ministry, he was a country

147
00:06:43,140 --> 00:06:46,300
pastor who spent the hours of midnight to

148
00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:50,500
2 a.m. watching television to unwind and

149
00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:51,160
relax.

150
00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,960
One evening, God challenged Wilkerson to give that

151
00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,000
time to him.

152
00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,860
Wilkerson sold his TV and never replaced it.

153
00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:03,720
From that point forward, he gave God midnight

154
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,140
to 2 a.m. And it was during

155
00:07:06,140 --> 00:07:09,300
this time that God called Wilkerson to New

156
00:07:09,300 --> 00:07:12,760
York City to minister among teen gang members,

157
00:07:13,140 --> 00:07:15,100
eventually starting Teen Challenge.

158
00:07:15,580 --> 00:07:18,720
I realized that God did not reveal this

159
00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,660
wider ministry opportunity to Wilkerson until he chose

160
00:07:22,660 --> 00:07:25,740
to go deeper with God in a sacrificial

161
00:07:25,740 --> 00:07:27,700
daily quiet time.

162
00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,220
I had maintained a regular daily quiet time

163
00:07:32,220 --> 00:07:35,200
for many years, but lately my time with

164
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:36,740
the Lord was missing something.

165
00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,120
There was no sacrifice attending it, and the

166
00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:45,380
God of the Bible delights in sacrifice, for

167
00:07:45,380 --> 00:07:47,500
he sacrificed his only son.

168
00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:52,320
Well, during this time, after reading Wilkerson's story,

169
00:07:52,740 --> 00:07:55,440
I made a covenant with God to rise

170
00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,340
at 4.30 a.m. and give God

171
00:07:58,340 --> 00:07:59,980
the first hour and a half of each

172
00:07:59,980 --> 00:08:02,000
day walking with him.

173
00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,560
It's amazing how God honored that time.

174
00:08:05,980 --> 00:08:08,520
During this period, I became familiar with a

175
00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,460
man I never heard of, Rolf Barnard.

176
00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,580
No man told me about Barnard, but God

177
00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:15,020
did.

178
00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,120
God called me to write this biography on

179
00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,620
Barnard and gave me great assistance in performing

180
00:08:21,620 --> 00:08:23,620
this most impossible task.

181
00:08:24,020 --> 00:08:26,060
This book would not be in your hands

182
00:08:26,060 --> 00:08:28,760
had it not been for a willingness to

183
00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:30,120
go deeper with God.

184
00:08:30,860 --> 00:08:33,559
Let me ask you a question, and please

185
00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:34,799
be honest, friends.

186
00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,960
Does your daily quiet time with God have

187
00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,220
a sacrificial aroma attending it?

188
00:08:41,419 --> 00:08:44,840
Is your sweetheart love for Christ more passionate

189
00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,620
today than yesterday?

190
00:08:47,380 --> 00:08:50,140
His desire is to spend time with you.

191
00:08:50,620 --> 00:08:53,040
God is looking for a man to walk

192
00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:53,500
with.

193
00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:57,300
Those Enochs would be translated to a deeper

194
00:08:57,300 --> 00:09:01,600
walk and wider usefulness to him for his

195
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:02,160
glory.

196
00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,400
Well, I hope this little message on the

197
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,180
daily quiet time has been helpful to you,

198
00:09:08,420 --> 00:09:10,480
friends, as it has been to me.

199
00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,800
It is my prayer that your own life

200
00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,580
will dramatically take on new spiritual dimensions from

201
00:09:18,580 --> 00:09:21,860
the time you spend walking with God in

202
00:09:21,860 --> 00:09:24,320
the cool of the day as Adam did

203
00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:25,440
in the garden.

204
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:27,480
Let us pray.