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characteristics of prayer

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Teach us will you teach us to pray like

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You pray and here’s the fascinating

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thing Jesus taught them now what that

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means for us is that prayer is

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something that we can learn.

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Welcome to, Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.

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I’m David Pick and Colin I think many of

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us find our prayer life can be a

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struggle so it’s encouraging to know

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that prayer is something we can learn

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and improve. Yeah I’ve never met a

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Christian who felt that their prayer

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life was everything that they wanted it

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to be. We’re all trying to grow in that.

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I think one of the best ways to learn

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about prayer and grow in prayer is

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simply through the prayers in the Bible.

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I’ve been so helped by some of the

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prayers of the Apostle Paul and today

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we’re going to look at a marvelous

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sample of the prayer life of Isaiah the

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Prophet and just to look at how he came

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before God, how he prayed, what he asked

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for. I found so many things to learn

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simply from this one prayer that we’re

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looking at today and I found it very

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very encouraging and helpful in order to

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stimulate my own prayer life. And we see

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that prayer in Isaiah chapter 63. So if

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you can please open your Bible as we

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begin our message, Restore Prayer.

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Here’s Colin. It’s often said, and there’s

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some truth in this that the best way to

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learn to pray is by praying with other

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people. But while there’s some truth in

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that there’s also this limitation. That

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if you learn to pray only from other

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people you will never learn to pray

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better than the other people from whom

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you learn. And that is what happens

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frankly to many Christians. We we reach

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a certain level with regards to prayer

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and then we get stuck there. And then

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once in a while we encounter someone who

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seems to pray more effectively, more

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authentically, more perceptively. And

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when that happens,

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you begin to feel, boy I would really

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like to pray better than I do.

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Now that of course is what happened

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classically with the disciples of the

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Lord Jesus. Remember that as Jewish men

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they had been praying all their lives,

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brought up to pray. But when they heard

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and saw Jesus praying, they realized that

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His prayer was at a whole other level.

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And so they come to the Lord Jesus

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Christ and they say to him,

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teach us, will you teach us to pray like

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you pray? And here’s the fascinating

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thing.

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Jesus taught them. Now what that means

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for us is the prayer is something that

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we can learn. You can, whatever your

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stage in the Christian life, you can grow

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in your ability to pray, in your language

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of prayer, you can grow in your faith,

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in your passion, your confidence and your

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effectiveness in prayer. And I would

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suggest at the beginning of a new year

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that we need to grow in regard to prayer.

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Because honestly folks, when the history

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of the early part of the Church in the

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twenty-first century, the Church in

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America is written, they will probably

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say that we were very organized.

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That we had marvelous programs but I doubt

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that any historian looking at the first

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part of the 20th century of the

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Christian Church in America will say

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they were absolutely outstanding when

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it came to effectiveness in prayer.

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Now I think we know that. And so what I

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want to do this weekend is to encourage

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us to show a path in which we can grow

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in prayer and to do that from Isaiah

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chapter 64 that is open in front of us.

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I have to say to you that for all of

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the opportunities that lie ahead of us

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and I believe there are many as a

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congregation in this new year, for all

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the people that we might seek to reach

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and all the dreams that we have in that

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regard, if I could settle for just one

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goal for this year it would be that we

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grow in faith and that we grow in

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prayer. You say that sounds like two

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goals. It’s not two goals, it’s one goal

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because when faith increases prayer

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will follow. The greater our confidence

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in God as a body of believers, the more

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we will ask of him. I love the way John

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Newton puts this in an old hymn that he

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penned. It’s obviously old because he

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wrote it in his lifetime. He says this,

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you are coming to a king, large

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petitions with you bring, for his grace

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and power are such that none can ever

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ask too much. See what you pray tells you

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what you really think about God. If you

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don’t think your king is very great, you

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will not ask him for very much. But as

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you come to know that you have a great

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king, you will find yourself asking more

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and more of him. Now just as we get into

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this, it’s actually worth taking a look

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at your own prayers, just review your own

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prayers or lack of them. And looking at

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your own prayers will help you to

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discern what you’ve grasped well and

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what you have grasped poorly in regards

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to God. It will help you to know how

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you know him. Let me give you one or two

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classic examples. I’ll just put names on

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them that I’ve chosen at random so no

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connection intended. Let’s take Kathy.

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Here’s Cathy who is a lady who prays

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regularly and she always prays for all

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her family and all her friends. What

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that tells Cathy is that she knows well

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that God cares for the details of every

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individual life. But what Cathy has not

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yet learned well is that God cares for

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more than her family. God cares for the

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world and when she gets to know that God

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cares for the world her prayers will get

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broader. Here’s John. Super organized.

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John he’s got everything organized

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including his prayer life. He prays every

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day. He’s incredibly disciplined about it.

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He gathers all kinds of prayer letters

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and prayer requests and there’s a file

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for them. And he even keeps track of the

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answers that come to his prayers. He

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really has got it disciplined down to a

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fine art. What does John know about God?

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Well, John knows that God is the giver of

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every good and perfect gift and

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therefore he wants to bring to God the

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many needs and requests that he gathers

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and amasses. But, what is John yet to

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discover about God? That he is the

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sovereign Lord who is to be worshiped,

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not just to be asked. And when John

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discovers that about God he will have

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communion with God so that his prayer

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will be more than asking. One more

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example here’s Ben. Ben is a Christian

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but, like many Christians, he doesn’t

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often actually pray at all. He really

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doesn’t. What does Ben know about God?

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What Ben has grasped is that God

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saves those who have faith in him. Ben

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knows that and he believes that. But

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what Ben hasn’t really grasped is he

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doesn’t think that God really does

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anything very much in the life of a

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Christian believer. He thinks basically

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it’s faith and then we’re on our own and

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when Ben grasps that God works and moves

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in the life of a Christian believer then

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Ben will begin to pray. He’ll be more

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than a guy with a set of beliefs about

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Jesus. So what I want to do today is to

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try and encourage you in prayer to help

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you to grow in confidence and to grow in

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your ability to ask great things of God

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because we’re coming to know him better

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as our great and glorious king and

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therefore to expect great things from

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God. You’ve been listening to Open the

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Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a

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message called Restore Prayer. It’s part

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of our series Restore My Soul and if

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you’ve missed any of the series don’t

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forget you can always catch up or go

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back and listen again online. At our

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website, openthebible.org.uk or

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if you want to catch us as a podcast on your

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favourite podcast site, search

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for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to

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receive regular updates. Back to our

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message now. We’re in Isaiah, chapter 63.

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Here’s Colin. There are just two simple

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divisions in the message and from the

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passage today. I want us to look at what

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we should pray and Isaiah gives us a

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wonderful glimpse of a way that I want

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to encourage us all to be praying in the

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church this year. Then the second is

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going to be very practically how we

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should go about praying. So first of all

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then, what should we pray and I wanted you

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look at verse 1, where Isaiah launches

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into this marvellous request of God. He

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says, oh, there’s passion there. Oh that you

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God would rend the heavens, tear the

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heavens open and come down in such a way

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that the mountains, he says, would tremble

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before you’. Now, Isaiah’s prayer is

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flowing out of two things. The first is

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what he knows from the Bible and the

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second is his own experience. See, Isaiah

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knew from the Bible that God’s presence

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came down hundreds of years before on to

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the mountain called Sinai when God’s

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people have been brought out of the land

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of Egypt. You can read about it in

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Exodus and chapter 19 and there from

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verse 17 where it says that Moses led

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the people out of the camp to meet with

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God and they stood at the foot of the

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mountain and Mount Sinai I was covered

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with smoke because God descended on it

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in fire and the whole mountain trembled

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violently. So can you imagine standing at

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the bottom of Mount Sinai, it must have

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been like an earthquake the whole

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mountains moving. And Isaiah knows that

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that physically, literally happened

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hundreds of years before his own

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lifetime. And he’s thinking imagine the

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impact of that if God’s people today

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could see and experience the presence of

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God with that kind of power! But it

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wasn’t just history for Isaiah because

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if you know the other part of the book

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you’ll remember that Isaiah had actually

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seen the Earth-shaking glory of God in a

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vision himself. And you can check that

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out in chapter 6, in the year that King

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Isaiah died, Isaiah saw the Lord high and

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lifted up and his train, his robe

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filled the temple. And above him were

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seraphs, these angelic figures and they

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were singing, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

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God almighty! And Isaiah says at the

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sound of their voices the doorposts

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and the thresholds of the temple

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they shook, they shook. So Isaiah has in

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his own experience felt the weight of

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the glory of God. He’s seen it in the

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Bible but he’s also known it in his own

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life and now he’s saying, Lord I have

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seen your power and your glory, I’ve seen

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it in the Bible but I’ve also known it

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in my own experience. But I live among a

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people who do not know you, even the

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people who bear your name, do not seem

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to feel the weight of your presence or

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to think you very great in their lives.

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Lord, you have done, you can do more than

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any of us have seen you do in our

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lifetime. So here Isaiah says is my

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prayer, I’m asking that you will tear the

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heavens open and come down. That you

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make the kind of impact on us today

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that you made on ancient Israel, and

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that you made in my life when you called

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me to be a prophet.

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I want you to visit your people today

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like you visited your people at Mount

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Sinai, all that you would give to us a

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glimpse of your glory.

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You get the feeling of his prayer.

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Now Isaiah’s prayer then is a passionate

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longing for a felt sense of the presence

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of God, that will change things among

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God’s own people.

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Come among us, Lord, he is praying.

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You’re the God who shakes mountains.

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Why can’t you change us?

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You will change us if you come down and

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presence yourself among us.

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So come he says in this first verse,

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Come like the fire that sets twigs ablaze.

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Come like the fire that causes water to boil.

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Come in a way that shakes us Lord.

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Come in a way that boils up, the lukewarm

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faith that’s so often characterizes us and

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fill us with a new and afresh and a holy

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passion for your gospel.

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Now that’s the prayer.

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What would this look like in a local church?

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There’s a fascinating passage in at the

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end of I Corinthians in chapter 14

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where Paul talks about an unbeliever

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coming into the worship service of the

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local church in Corinth and the sense of

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the presence of God is so evident to

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this unbelieving person and the power

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of the word of God is so present for him

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that in that service he comes to

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experience God, become aware of his own

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sin and then to worship God and to say

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truly God is among you. I think that’s

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what Isaiah is praying for. Lord come

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among your people in such a way that

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even someone who doesn’t yet know you

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may experience that you are here and

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that something more is happening among

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the people of God than simply a

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gathering. Simply a routine. See this is

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what revival is and for any of you who

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have read the history of revival you

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will know this well already.

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Revival is an intensification of the

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presence of God among his people. O that

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you would round the heavens and come

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down. Now I want to suggest and to ask

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you that we make this our prayer that

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you would join with me in asking of God

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that we may know his presence among us

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in such a way that a year from now the

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sorts of things people would say about

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this church are not oh that’s a church

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where they’ve got great programs or

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that’s a church where they’ve got good

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preaching or that’s a church where

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they’ve got good music or that’s a

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church where you can meet lots of great

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friends but that’s a place where you

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meet with God. that’s what Isaiah is

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asking for. Lord make this place a place

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of life-changing encounters with you for

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many people. rend the heavens and come

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down. now you say what kind of things

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could we expect to happen if this prayer

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were answered. problems in the

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foundations of the building. no. but let’s

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think through together what this could

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mean in your life if Gods presence were

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in fresh measure to be poured out by the

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Holy Spirit among us. see Isaiah explains

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what he’s getting at here in verse 2

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Oh that you would rend the heavens and

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and then he explains it he says come

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down to make your name known. To make

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your name known. Verse 2 now as soon as

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you read about God’s name being made

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known and you it’s in a prayer we’re

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obviously on the ground of the first

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petition in the Lord’s Prayer what is

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that? hallowed be your name. In other

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words lord what Isaiah is longing for is

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that God’s people would know who he is

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Lord

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so many of the people who gather for

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worship don’t really have a felt

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experience of who you are now Lord make

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your character known make who you are

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clear and he says you’ll notice there

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that he is praying for this to extend

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even to those who do not yet know the

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Lord even to God’s enemies let your name

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be known to your enemies he says but

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God’s name becomes known to his enemies

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when it is known to his friends which is

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why revival happens you see not outside

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the Church in the culture but it begins

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with an intensification of God’s

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presence among those who know and love

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him and call upon his name come down and

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make your name known let us who bear

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your name know who you really are let

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me try and boil that down a little more

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so that we have a clear sense of what

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we’re talking about here knowing who God

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is that would include for example God

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coming down and making his love known

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see here we are a group of people vast

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majority of us believe in God we

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confess the gospel and some of us after

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00:18:51,479 –> 00:18:55,939

years do not feel that God loves us you

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honestly feel that God looks down on you

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with a frown that he tolerates you at

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best and that is why you do not find

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00:19:02,380 –> 00:19:06,619

very great joy in him at all do you know

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00:19:06,619 –> 00:19:09,020

that even in the early Church Paul was

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praying Paul praying that Christians

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would have a more intense experience

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of the love of God you find it in

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Ephesians chapter 3 in verse 17 if you

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want to check that out in the New

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Testament Ephesians and Chapter 3 and

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verse 17 Paul says I pray that you will

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grasp our wide and high and long and

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00:19:32,439 –> 00:19:34,680

deep is the love of Christ I’m praying

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00:19:34,680 –> 00:19:36,479

that you’ll know this love and he’s

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praying for Christians because the

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reality is that there are many who bear

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00:19:41,000 –> 00:19:42,959

the name of Christ who do not feel the

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00:19:42,959 –> 00:19:46,839

love of Christ it all seems distant from

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00:19:46,839 –> 00:19:50,719

you it seems cool to you Paul was

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00:19:50,719 –> 00:19:52,560

praying Isaiah’s prayer Lord to come

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down and make your name known because

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your name and your nature is love Oh God

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bring people here into a felt experience

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00:20:04,599 –> 00:20:09,239

of your love and for God to come among

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00:20:09,239 –> 00:20:11,839

us and move by the Spirit to make his

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00:20:11,839 –> 00:20:14,520

name or his nature known would mean not

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only that he would come to make clear

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his love to us but that he would make

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00:20:20,359 –> 00:20:24,420

known his power to us now think about

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00:20:24,420 –> 00:20:29,760

this many Christians are persuaded in

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their minds that God can resurrection

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from the dead and bring them into

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00:20:34,800 –> 00:20:36,920

everlasting heaven after they’ve died

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00:20:36,920 –> 00:20:40,699

but they’re not convinced that God is

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able to give them victory over what they

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call a besetting center while they’re

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still alive think about that we talk

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about our besetting sins our pride our

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laziness our discipline our luster greedy

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00:20:54,199 –> 00:20:57,319

what happens is that because we know so

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00:20:57,319 –> 00:20:59,599

little of the power of God in our lives

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we find a way of accommodating to live

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00:21:01,839 –> 00:21:03,800

with our sins we say that’s just the way

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00:21:03,800 –> 00:21:05,819

I am I can change at least in this area

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00:21:05,819 –> 00:21:09,280

and therefore we quickly lose hope when

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I say is says all lord come down come

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and make your name known come like the

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fire that sets tweaks ablaze and causes

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00:21:18,199 –> 00:21:21,680

water to boil he is saying Lord come in

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a way that causes us to experience your

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00:21:23,900 –> 00:21:28,260

power in our lives and again you find in

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the New Testament that this is precisely

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00:21:30,520 –> 00:21:33,380

how Paul prayed for ordinary Christians

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like us in Ephesus Ephesians and chapter

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1 and verses 18 through 20 their

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Ephesians 118 through 20 I pray that

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the eyes of your heart will be

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enlightened so that you may know the

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hope to which he’s called you and so

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00:21:48,560 –> 00:21:50,739

that you will know the incomparably

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great power of God for us who believe

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because the power of God for us who

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believe Paul says is like the mighty

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power he exercised when he raised Jesus

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from the dead and caused him to ascend

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into heaven now Isaiah knows from his

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own experience that the vast majority of

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quote believing people have no sense of

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that power of God being at work in their

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lives which is why they’re always

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00:22:15,000 –> 00:22:17,160

complaining about being so weak and

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incapable of victory so I’m wanting to

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00:22:21,680 –> 00:22:27,239

stretch your vision to pray bigger

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00:22:27,239 –> 00:22:32,060

prayers what a good way to stretch our

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00:22:32,060 –> 00:22:33,959

prayers and make them bigger

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00:22:33,959 –> 00:22:35,640

Pastor Colin Smith with the message

463

00:22:35,640 –> 00:22:38,319

restore prayer and it’s part of a series

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restore my soul series that is designed

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to encourage revival today focusing on

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00:22:44,859 –> 00:22:48,119

Isaiah chapter 63 and 64 if you’ve

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00:22:48,119 –> 00:22:49,739

missed any of the series or you want to

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00:22:49,739 –> 00:22:51,339

go back and listen again don’t forget

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00:22:51,339 –> 00:22:53,560

you can alwas do that online come to our

470

00:22:53,560 –> 00:22:57,239

website openthebible.org.uk or find

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00:22:57,239 –> 00:22:58,880

us as a podcast on your favorite

472

00:22:58,880 –> 00:23:01,180

podcast site search for open the bible

473

00:23:01,180 –> 00:23:03,359

UK and subscribe to receive regular

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00:23:03,359 –> 00:23:06,959

updates open the bible is supported

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00:23:07,040 –> 00:23:09,380

our listeners and if that’s

476

00:23:09,380 –> 00:23:10,959

something you’ve been considering doing

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00:23:10,959 –> 00:23:13,520

then this month we have a great offer

478

00:23:13,520 –> 00:23:16,060

for you if you’re able to set up a new

479

00:23:16,060 –> 00:23:18,560

donation to the work of open the Bible

480

00:23:18,560 –> 00:23:20,520

in the amount of five pounds per month

481

00:23:20,520 –> 00:23:23,239

or more we’d love to say thank you by

482

00:23:23,239 –> 00:23:25,859

sending you a copy of CH Spurgeon’s book

483

00:23:25,880 –> 00:23:29,060

Encouragement for the Depressed. Colin

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00:23:29,060 –> 00:23:31,859

who is this book for? Well this book is

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00:23:31,859 –> 00:23:34,199

really for anyone who is discouraged or

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00:23:34,199 –> 00:23:36,199

going through a dark time and I can’t

487

00:23:36,280 –> 00:23:38,079

imagine that there’s any Christian who

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00:23:38,079 –> 00:23:40,280

doesn’t experience that at some point in

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00:23:40,280 –> 00:23:43,359

life. What’s so striking to me about this

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00:23:43,359 –> 00:23:45,800

book is that it’s written by a man who

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00:23:45,800 –> 00:23:49,160

was known for his extraordinary faith I

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00:23:49,160 –> 00:23:51,859

mean the Spirit of God rested on the

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00:23:51,859 –> 00:23:54,920

life and ministry of ch Spurgeon and yet

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00:23:54,920 –> 00:23:57,079

he knew what it was to go through times

495

00:23:57,079 –> 00:23:59,819

of extraordinary darkness and even a

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00:23:59,819 –> 00:24:02,800

sense of despair at some points. You know

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00:24:02,800 –> 00:24:05,640

he suffered from smallpox, gout,

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00:24:05,900 –> 00:24:08,599

rheumatism, inflammation of the kidneys

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00:24:08,599 –> 00:24:11,000

and his wife was bedridden for decades.

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00:24:11,000 –> 00:24:13,160

I mean this man really knew what it was

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00:24:13,160 –> 00:24:15,640

to suffer and yet he found in all of

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00:24:15,640 –> 00:24:18,520

this that he was forced closer to the

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00:24:18,520 –> 00:24:21,199

Lord Jesus Christ. I love what he says.

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00:24:21,199 –> 00:24:25,359

He says I’ve learned to kiss the waves

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00:24:25,959 –> 00:24:29,079

that throw me up against the rock of

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00:24:29,079 –> 00:24:32,060

ages. I love that. Kiss the waves that

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00:24:32,060 –> 00:24:34,199

throw me up against the rock of ages.

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00:24:34,400 –> 00:24:37,599

Here’s biblical wisdom from a man of

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00:24:37,599 –> 00:24:39,640

faith who knew what it was to really

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00:24:39,640 –> 00:24:42,939

struggle in dark times and I have found

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his writing to be wonderfully

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encouraging, refreshing and uplifting and

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that’s why I’m really grateful that we

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have the opportunity of getting this

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book out this month

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CH Spurgeon’s book, Encouragement for the

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Depressed is our gift to you if you are

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able to set up a new donation to the

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00:25:00,160 –> 00:25:02,400

work of Open The Bible this month in

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the amount of five pounds per month or

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more. For full details and to give online

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go to our website openthebible.org.uk

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For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin

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Smith

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I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll join us

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again next time

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Are you having trouble getting your

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prayer life off the ground? Find out

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where to begin next time on Open The

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Bible