Marks of true prayer and perseverance (Quality: Poor)

[0:00] With the Lord's help, we will continue with the 6th chapter and the epistles of the Ephesians, the 18th verse.

[0:13] Chapter 6 and the epistles of the Ephesians, verse 18. Praying always with all prayer and salvation in the Spirit, and watching day unto with all perseverance and justification for all sake.

[0:41] Not an active night, which is therefore the apostle of speaking on in this last chapter. Not only life of warfare, but a private life of prayer and salvation.

[1:02] They can move beyond a battlefield of life, where they can move, each one can be quite less of one's own home is around.

[1:15] Same time, this exotator covered the whole rest, but we have seen a writing novel to God, the armor of the Christians.

[1:32] This is the best of all. Do we know the Spirit? prayer, as we saw this morning, to distinguish between prayer and suffocation.

[1:51] They'll both spring from the same letter source in the Spirit. A time when there is a deeper note in our prayer, as you read, as you read, or we read together, in the prayer of God's first standard.

[2:14] You can see the rising crescendo, almost one might reverently call it, of the prayer of death.

[2:26] He had endured most of his life, and it is generally reckoned that at this stage, he was something over 90 years old.

[2:42] He'd lived in captivity all his life. Now the time has come for a special pouring out of prayer, according to a certain thing, and that was the Unleashed by Book.

[3:04] That is, the Book of Jerry Mark. That activity was short the end. And at that particular time, God poured out upon him what we've never poured out upon him before, and that was the spirit of prayer and consecration.

[3:35] So that prayer pounded upon what God has said, promised, undertaken, and although everything is dark and all the circumstances remained unawful, and you've had within certain strong and indelible evidence that God was still with his people.

[4:05] His strength was in in his prayer, but he set his faith in a biblical chapter. Well, it's nice but that will you young people get to read, get to know the good chapter for you to know in your early days.

[4:28] It will last you all through your life. The more you understand it through God's teaching and grace, the more you will see how a lovely character bears stander of divine truth and walk alone with God.

[4:51] It is a well-written verse that says dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. On the other hand, it is not a daring powerful spirit but a grace of God so that he had a few if any companions with him but he was not daunted by this and he fed his faith.

[5:25] Straight by prayer he tells us and supplication to things that are in this text. So if nothing else reminds that I wonder this the difference between prayer and Dr.

[5:51] Culloch this degree of real awareness which you have built at times and you are. Some of you have been or seen things.

[6:02] You've seen me. And things were actually encouraged so that there are times when there is a woman in the parable of which Jesus spoke that she because of her in the children kept on asking the answer.

[6:34] And there is that condition water garden souls keeping close to this word in the spirit and the spirit work touched and exercise as this nothing can about it.

[6:51] And if God could measure to prove it again and again in the lives of his people so that you can set your seal and in your various measures I can set mine to this that prayer that I think I said this morning is squeeze out the heart and this is God's blessed life couple.

[7:26] Daniel therefore had the word of God to go on and that was his plan day. He had it all these years he understood by book and the time came when the Lord indicted it in our powerful spirit of peace.

[7:52] You will see in it also such a vein of confession free from any excuses it.

[8:03] It is a notable point in confession it's always free from excuses children which I couldn't help it mummy but they couldn't on the other hand excuses but not very likely from our town and by excuses we think to avoid at least the full consequences of their mistakes and trouble.

[8:44] You'll notice that there's no objection or an excuse in the prayer of Daniel. For that matter neither the prayer of David and others there was an excuse in the prayer or the words of Eve in the garden and so there was and has been ever since through life the easy way out is the excuse of God to give I made the excuse and told the deliberate lie that here it is clean and free from any excuse of so that by this we see the honesty of his confession embracing all those that rid of poverty are kings are free and all who were responsible for the captivity but the sooner this was confessed the prayer was Daniel go on plead and suffocate and his suffocation comes in the 19th verse

[10:14] O Lord dear O Lord forgive O Lord darken and good and you get an O in your prayer and I thought the tribal would let those old words but when you get an O in it you can usually reckon that some wife had voted kindly for me he had an O in his prayer O that thou would bless thee in it you have it in the prayer of Hezekiah O Lord this weight in it brings with it the full intent of the heart thou hear O Lord hear O Lord forgive O

[11:16] Lord help and do defer not for thine own sake O my God for thy city and thy people are called by thy name all this therefore brings together two things Daniel's earnestness his supplication and his faith for it is indeed true that that desperate city of Jerusalem was still called by God's name and you will notice that this 19th word was the end of this prayer I often felt the weakness of an uninterrupted prayer as we have here is a happy sweet tool that commandment came for the beginning of his supplication oh what wonder dwelling this immediately for unworthy guilty sin that was found in such a silly post-cherusia the commander goes for the angel

[12:51] Gabriel was sent to him but he did not interrupt his prayer as I have said so many times in this chapel and in the other one see with me all my life as a sweet tender thought that God doesn't interrupt his people's prayers and you may have prayed long and earnestly and supplicated warm heartedly to your God prayer until you cry into the age until you felt you could cry no longer with thoughts there is such a thing going on and on how are we God's dear servant we have exactly the same as with the apostle called that foundation of what

[13:55] God said is know mind and will and then the unfolding in the case of Daniel of the promise of the Messiah this is what made the Jews so concerned against the book of Daniel they would not accept it of his promised grace to the sire of which you just read was the last thing but they wanted to hear about and know that there he is so the doubt of this there comes the next day in our text watching their uncle watch and pray were the Lord's words in the garden of Getsemane to his disciples watch and pray now take one from the other and look at them separately pray but don't watch who is guilty of this how many of your friends have you never watched the answer forgotten what you prayed for but take the other one watching when is it that you want to answer and again

[15:37] I'm not so liking a clevis between the two words prayer and salvation and in the deeper distresses of heart and mind especially if you go on your sin actually there's not a watching in your supplication prayer to see whether the Lord down here or in what way he answers whether there comes something that gives you ground for hope that he has heard your prayer this is a much neglected part of our preaching at least that it's in the spirit and it is the spirit who encourages watching this is part of a preacher's life you know a watch for your soul as those of the spirit account my life consists in watching watching for the

[16:57] Lord's blessing on your soul watching for an answer to my care watching for spiritual prosperity I've stated not as much as I would as I had watched and not in there but this watching as an individual for your soul is better associated with this watching is something else and that is perseverance perseverance and watching of course go hand in hand it isn't watching for five minutes it's watch watching thereunto with thanksgiving says the apostle and here watching thereunto with perseverance what in praying praying with suffocation the the longer you walk the deeper you are praying the longer the world keeps you waiting the more earnest if this thing is a spirit it's down to do because the jump the angel spoke to

[18:37] Daniel and his prayer was so there and while I was speaking and praying confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel presenting my supplication before the Lord my God while I was speaking in prayer even the man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning being caused to fly swiftly touch me about the time of the evening of life how severe and yet think of his life as much as you can he never spent his life in favor of Israel but all is captive and all behind a foreign yoke is too gone favor it is true that his life was eased very considerably by

[19:41] God's mercy in using him as a prophet at the same time freedom was taken from Daniel never his own master to do as he wanted very much of a Joseph was he in the land of Babylonian captivity as Joseph was in Egypt that didn't hinder when we talk of being a prisoner and one who is bound you only can look at verse 20 to find a third person for which I am an ambassador in bonds says verse 20 that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak to all mysterious God God to use these able men and tie their hands and make them prisoners

[20:50] Joseph would go down into Egypt and bondage and Daniel into Babylonian captivity we do things as we see them God has his own work among his imprisoned servants bound hand and foot so here I persevere with bonds around you that typically stop giving up and say well it's useless I cannot go on like this Lord I'm a Krishna I'm in Babylon what can I do and you might say the Lord is needed to save you take the same history of

[21:51] Esther about the same time and period in her captivity God would she do God would be more to care do not lessons these are for us to persevere people but if they weren't in the scripture just think what they complete impossibility it would be for any preacher to set before you something of a stable nature so that you could say well that's true you can't go home and look at your Bible and say well he made a big mistake today it was all wrong what he told us about perseverance if I told you what I thought and my own simple thoughts apart from the word of God what chaos should rise not confusion in your mind you'd go home with a thousand different thoughts wouldn't you but you can't and the word of

[23:08] God is preached to you out of the word of God you cannot deny that perseverance is the grace God bestows upon his people having obtained help of God I continue unto this day for I persevere unto this day now this is the whole march then or prayer with supplication this is the outcome of holding on your way cleaving to the word of God receiving it in faith in the time when you need it personally young you made it whatever age or condition this perseverance is

[24:13] God's grace to his people engaged in this bitter water between the flesh and the spirit one hybride says of this I'll bear the unequal strife wage the war within this death which puts an end to life put an end to sin and this is the only end we look forward to but not an end of a defeated person but of a conqueror so that this perseverance is provided for in the gospel and that is the word of

[25:14] God as Daniel got it the whole facts are before us as they were before today look at the facts as I felt in prayer this evening of these dark days in which we live to the confusion not to go into any details of the strange time we think we did when it two years ago it was thought that unbounding prosperity would be ever done not only out of the nation but the nations of the earth and all manner of promises were heard out and rose in prospect to what do we find today the Lord's hand of judgment is gone out with amazing and shock and there's not one can point the way to deliverance not even a danger but in these times perseverance is needed it is this perseverance that you need and I need taking a humble special prayer meeting every quarter over the past years perseverance as the

[26:53] Lord heard and answered these prayers of his people up and down the land the undounded mercies that are still ours the liberty and freedom which we still enjoy perseverance holding on one's way not giving up in disappointment and despair and saying of it it's no use going on turning back and walking no more with it I urge you in your own duty citizens of this country not to neglect the prayer for the nation of love and the process of constitution so long preserved to us don't take it for granted don't say of it well our forefathers had it so with and so with our children perseverance in prayer and supplication confection these are the strange things that God puts together in his world and gives a firm foundation for us to take encouragement from God this perseverance is another thing trying again now look at it from youth take the child at school they go up into another class have other books begin to learn different lessons and they can't manage it all new to them they wonder what it's about you can remember that

[29:04] I'm sure I know and it seems almost there is a good impossibility take another step that wasn't persevere it is this which is of such great value after the prayer part of this spiritual persevere going again to the Lord look at all Jacob persevere and how he held on to the last minute before he would let beloved Benjamin go back and in the end he had to say if it must be so then take Benjamin and a little fool and go again to the man he little knew who that man was his beloved

[30:15] Joseph so with such examples as these he now shall persevere followed Elijah everywhere he went so Elijah said to him to the son now he said I'm not going to I'm going to stay with you until the end and he ruled for his persevere now look at the things of the gospel such as the faith not this heavenly of your child to death a remarkable word this is and see what blessings there are in it and at what cost to the flesh this is carried out but it doesn't become a question of liberty and freedom you can go where you need it could soon mark out those who if they have the liberty and opportunity will very well take it sometimes a sad thing when the house of

[31:44] God and the forsaking of yourselves together can be treated with indifference and lightness if you can manage without God in the morning though you want him in need manage without him during the week though you need him on the Sabbath forsake not the assembling of yourselves together here is the perseverance as we read in the revelations this is the perseverance of the faith but also in well doing perseverance in well doing which embraces your neighbouring that neighbour of yours that doesn't hear God that neighbour of yours that is so awful hungry perseverance in showing a gospel spirit a kindly spirit a neighbourly spirit the spirit

[33:01] Jesus activity in the good Samaritan that spirit persevere so well tired you might get inside I don't think I could go much long I'll try and make some alternative arrangement will you would you come and rest if you did these things do that Jesus set such an example for and of being weary with his journey he got as far as the worm and cycle he sat down there he had worked the good and he did it and that going the second mile that's so difficult if he constrained it to go a mile go a second mile the example of the

[34:12] Lord Jesus is so exceeding high that it's perseverance accompanied with prayer and supplication in the spirit and this is the cream of the whole food this is the reality of hoping not a failure and expecting men to turn round to you and say well here you are like this is five pounds for your brother that would spoil it wouldn't it hope things not again not looking for any return this is the gospel strength this is perseverance this is holding fast to that which the Lord

[35:35] Jesus has introduced not only his own ministry but in the gospel so we might go on and now we come again to this word supplication with all perseverance and supplication can't get far away from this can we for all sake how the neighbor who they may fully warrant your health there are those that are called saints there is a peculiar union here a peculiar prayer a peculiar pulling power a peculiar God-given union to all saints those that are designated such having been called by grace whom you feel are union but you might say well of course that is done is it and that that one should have to say it isn't this cold letter that passes by on the other side it says well I'm sorry but I've got too many troubles of my own to think about you

[37:21] I will oh this awful spirit but when the gospel takes part and the prayer and supplication of the spirit is in it then the matter is all together different and this perseverance in these things that I just mentioned are all saints are these saints of only precious to kill the earth in people in fact you may come across one quite unexpectedly have you ever done that and found a person who had little appearance of being among these highly famous people as well by the way it's fact that you were brought into their company there was the evidence revealed of a

[38:31] God fearing person to never know in the dens and caves of the earth a distraxical godliness which you'll never regret on a dying pillow and that all must come under the general perceptive word of god and ask for thee that after may begin to last but not least the apostle they produce it himself what did he ask for after after that's what you're dependent of after a door of life that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel which I am ambassador in

[39:40] God and go back then and over the whole thing this armour is engaged in all this this wrestling is in all this the enemy of souls will keep you away from all these actions enjoyed by Christ there will be a selfishness creeping a cold nest the darts of the wicked one will do what a grave that is you'll feel well I can't do all that and hell shield of faith helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit praying always oh if these things can be prayed over with supplication your service the

[40:44] Lord's name would not be manifesting how well it will be at the self of the son he put the towel after the supper girded himself to a base of water and he went and watched the feet of his disciples they were started because then it was the office of Australia to do that sort of thing so they hadn't traded with him and Peter said that never was likely he just overtained them and taught them a lesson spiritual lesson not literally I was astonished to hear not long ago that there are people on the other side of the

[41:47] Atlantic people believe literally in washing one another's feet how praying the scripture of the mist and spirit but how lovely in the spirit of Christ seeking to wash one another's and divide them your Lord and master wash your feet that's the crunch of the whole being you all know to wash one another's things I give you an example that you could do rather as I have done to you first in view pressure continuing holding on the way not giving up with supplication for all saints to come to the end of the grace of exhortation of the apostles for this favor trans-deprecation and wonder what effect these words had on them had had a powering effect all through the ages have them

[43:15] I believe they still have to them to God grace mercy we try not to hide these things in a thorn but to boldly declare them as being benign in the will of world and of earth heart