James 5:15-16 “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
If you want to get God’s attention, you must give Him your attention.
James 5:17-18 “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”
You will get sucked into the world’s mindset if you allow yourself to compromise. ‘Come out from among them…’
God is not running for election. He is God and there is no one beside Him. The Word of God will not change. It is forever settled in heaven.
There is a war on for your mind and for the truth. ‘Earnestly contend for the doctrine…’
I’d rather be a part of the true church than the biggest one. ‘Broad is the way that leads to destruction.’
You are in a war. ‘The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.’
‘We wrestle not with flesh and blood…’
‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
People used to preach against TV when it was ‘I Love Lucy.’ Now, it’s much, much worse. Be careful what kind of garbage you allow into your home!
You are in a battle. We’ve got to create an atmosphere. God inhabits the praises of His people. When you get up say, ‘This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.’ We need an atmosphere where God can work and flow. We need prayer and the Bible study at home. Create an environment where God is welcome.
Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
The devil does oppress people. ‘In the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy.’ We’ve got the answer and know where the answer is. It’s in the presence of the Lord. Something is missing that can’t be fixed with a drug, legal or illegal. Jesus wants to take out everything the devil tried to put in you. God wants to restore what was taken.
War. You aren’t asked to be in a war, you’re just there. The devil came to steal, kill, and destroy. The devil doesn’t like me. Jesus came that they might have life and life more abundantly.
How do you get that life? ‘The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man.’ ‘The Lord is a rewarder of them that seek Him.’ Jesus said, ‘Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.’
You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything. There is stuff going on in the spiritual dimension. Elijah prayed, ‘Open my servant’s eyes that he may see.’ God opened his eyes and he saw that there was more that be with them than they that are against them.
When a person dies they weigh less.
A man invented a machine to measure brain emanations. A person praying in a hospital had brain emanations equal to 50 kilowatts.
If someone doesn’t like you, just pray for them, bless them, love them.
Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”
It is time to press in. The devil doesn’t want you to get to the next level. Press through and touch God. The devil knows, once you break through and touch the hem of His garment, you will come into a new level, a new dimension.
We’ve got to get over just being a part of a religion. Do more than go through the motions. Get a personal contact with God. It is a privilege to communicate with God. ‘When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.’ If you can get ahold of Jesus, He can change your life and your circumstances.
Our circumstances don’t determine whether or not we pray, but prayer can change our circumstances.
Any power you have comes from God. In you dwells no good thing in your flesh. Even Jesus got up and prayed every day.
Luke 6:19 “And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.”
Luke 6:12 “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
Could there be a correlation between verse 12, continued all night in prayer, and verse 19, the whole crowd sought after him because there was power? You become like who you hang out with. Jesus has power, joy, gifts, fruit of the Spirit.
The devil doesn’t want you free from your oppression. I’m too blessed to be depressed.
Prayer isn’t some drudgery. Prayer is like unlimited free passes to your favorite restaurant or resort. ‘I may continually resort to Him.’
Psalm 71:3 “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.”
People say, “God is in control.” Of what? “Everything.” Oh really! What about the rapist? Or the drive-by shooting? He gave people choices. God’s will is not always done.
‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ Why would Jesus have us pray this if it was already done all the time?
‘God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ But, does everybody come to repentance? It’s God’s will, but His will is not done all the time. There is a war going on.
Daniel fasted and prayed for 21 days. Finally, an angel came to him and said that God heard him on the first day he prayed. The prince of Persia withstood the angel and there was war.
The greatest asset you have is your connection to God. You have unlimited access and connection to the God of the universe.
Paul said, ‘I am the chief of sinners.’ But he knew there is power in prayer. He knew he was called and he repented and was forgiven. Prayer brings guidance and joy in your soul.
You are a spiritual being. You’re not just chemicals, cells, and atoms. God breathed into Adam the breath of life. Your dog is not going to heaven, nor your cat. People demonstrate about chickens but don’t care about human life. We are in a war. We must stand for truth and for the spirit.
God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. God is one. “Hear Oh Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord.” God is a Father, He is a Counselor, He is the Savior. Jesus is God manifested in the flesh (I Tim 3:16). Thomas said, ‘My Lord and my God.’
Jesus is the root and the branch. He is the Father and the Son. Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Peace means happiness, wholeness, fulfillment.
Jer 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Psalm 29:11 “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.”
‘Study to show thyself approved unto God.’ God loves you exactly as you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way. You can either fall on the stone and be broken or the stone will fall on you and you will be ground into powder.
Mat 21:44 “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Excerpted from a sermon preached by Brandon Mocas.
For the full audio of this sermon (and other great sermons!) click here.
If you are in the Chicagoland area, come to The Life Church located at 3030 Central Road in Glenview, IL. Services are Sundays at 1pm and Wednesdays at 7pm.
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