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When God Prays- Yeilding

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Jesus had to Yield to the Fathers will….

Matthew 26:36-46 (NLT) Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”


Yielding to Father

  1. 1. Yielding is a process

“Yielding to God is a lifetime process not a one time payment.”

-“He Is working IN us”

  • Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT) Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

  • Mathew 13:13 (NLT) ”The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

-He is not done….

  • Philippians 1:6 (NIV) He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.


2. There is tension in the process

  • (v. 38)“My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.”

John 12:24-25 (NIV) I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.


3. The process only works if we endure.

  • Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

A. Don’t bail during the tension
“Because Jesus was willing to pray “your will be done” he was able to pray “Father Forgive them” & “It Is Finished.”

Why would Jesus Go through all this?

Romans 5:6-11 (NLT) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.


When God Prays- May they be one

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John 17: 20-26 (NLT) “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”


“FRIENDS WE GET THE INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO ANSWER WHAT GOD PRAYED FOR!”

Realities concerning unity:
1. Jesus gives glory for unity
“God is most glorified when we are unified.”
2- Unity is a non-negotiable
“Unity is a priority for God, it should be a priority for us.”

Ephesians 4:2-6 (NLT) Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
3-The incredible ability of Unity
Psalm 133:1-3 (NIV) How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

Answering the prayer of Jesus:Growing In Unity.
1- Loving & Honoring one another.
John 13:35 (NIV) "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
“I am convinced that the spirit of comparison and criticism has robbed the church of her power!”
Ephesians 5:27 (NIV) …To present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

2- Being together
Unity flows from community
Colossians 3:16 (NIV)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

3- Accomplish together
Genesis 11:6 (NLT) “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!

What can we do if we share a common goal for Gods glory!

When God Prays- Spirit of Truth

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John 17:1-19 After Jesus said this, He looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.


Jesus is praying….
1-To be our comfort
2-To be our Joy
3-That we be set apart for him

How truth sets us apart:
1- Establishes Authority
Truth: the true or actual state of a matter.
Ephesians 6:14 (NASB)
Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH…

2- Defines our identity
Our authority is dictated by our identity.
“It is important for us to be grounded in truth because everything the enemy does is a lie. He will lie about your identity, your security, and your destiny. “
“When we believe the lie we empower the liar.”
- Bill Johnson

3. Advances our liberty
“If our holiness is not rooted in purity of heart it feels like bondage not freedom.”
John 8:31-32 (NLT) Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

HERE IS THE KEY:
The influence of truth in continent upon exposure to it.

Mark 7:32-35 (NLT)
A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!

"When we encounter Jesus we encounter the truth."
John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.”

When God Prays- Matthew 11:25-30

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WHY DID JESUS PRAY?
1- To be an example.

2- To yield to the Fathers will.
The Incarnation:
John 1:14 (NLT)So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.
Colossians 2:9 (NLT) For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

3- To connect.
Luke 5:15-16 (NIV) The news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

4- To reveal God’s heart for us.

Matthew 11:25-30
(NLT)
At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

1- His intention is intimacy.
(v26)“Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!”
Luke 10:21 Jesus filled w the joy of the Holy Spirit….
“We often see the need to pray as a matter of urgency driven by fear, lack or need. However, prayer is a matter of intimacy driven by love.”

2. His institution is identity.
(v27)“no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
John 1:10-12 (NLT)
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
"We can approach God with the same confidence Jesus had because positionally we have the same connection with the father."

3. His invitation is rest.
"We don't experience him by carrying the weight but by letting him carrying it."

Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT) “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Love: A Conversation

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Ephesians 5:21-33 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another. Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.


-A Love that is not cultivated is a love that will die.
-Love is intentional, a choice.


How is Love cultivated?
1- Contribution
The goal of marriage is not personal happiness but the joint pursuit of fulfilling Gods purposes.

Matthew 18:19-20
If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

-If God is love then love cannot be complete without him at the center.
-Agreement can always be found by focussing on the purposes and the presence of God.


The love bank- Deposits & withdraws
-Deposits-
Celebrating each other, laughter/fun, expressing in a way they like love(love languages), affirmation, affection, dates(quality time) gifts, acts of service.
-Withdraws-
Disappointments, frustrations, fighting, lying, simply the lack of deposits.

2. Communication
Amos 3:3 Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?

-This is the way I FEEL VS This is how you ARE.
-Feelings are a indicator of attention needed not a decision rendered.
-55% of communication is body language, 38% is the tone of voice, and 7% is the actual words spoken

3. The Rhythm of Love and Respect
“When a wife feels loved she respects her husband, when a husband feels respected he expresses love.”

Love IS worth fighting for
Romans 12:10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.