David Bailey – Talking With God – Class 2 – The Requirements of Prayer

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Excuse me?
We understand from Psalm 141

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that incense represents prayer
and, and elsewhere revelation as

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well.
And incense being.

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Part of the Tabernacle we find
there, while God in that

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Tabernacle service, He provides
a basis for what He requires for

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acceptable prayer.
So in Exodus 30 and in verse

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three, the first thing we notice
about the altar of incense is

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that it’s all gold.
It says, And thou shall overlay

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it with pure gold, the top
thereof and the sides thereof

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roundabout, and the horns
thereof, and thou shalt make

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unto it a crown of gold
roundabout.

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The first thing you notice about
the Psalter is that it’s all

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gold.
And we understand from the Bible

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also that gold is a symbol of
faith, as as Peter says.

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Let’s hope this works.
Yes, the trial of your faith

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being much more precious than of
gold that perishes.

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And there are several other
passages as well that express

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this fact.
So the primary principle of

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prayer is faith, as Hebrews 11
says this well known passage,

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verse six.
But without faith it is

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impossible to please him.
Now listen to the implications

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of prayer here.
For he that comes to God must

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believe that He is and that He
is a.

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Rewarder of them that.
Diligently seek Him.

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Both those expressions coming to
God and seeking Him, are

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expressions that refer to prayer
as well as the word of God in

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the In the case of the second,
we’ll consider that a little

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later.
So if we come to God in prayer,

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we’ve got to believe that God
exists.

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God must be real.
He is who he says he is and what

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he’s like.
We understand that.

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And ultimately the the only
assurance that we have that God

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exists is in the Bible.
It’s because of what he has said

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that word must convince us.
And the second point was is that

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God rewards those that
diligently seek Him.

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Seeking Him requires our faith
in God and that He rewards us.

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It must believe in the reward
itself.

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So what’s the reward?
Well, the passage itself gives

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us the answer.
You see, God is the rewarder of

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those that seek him.
He’s the reward.

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So that means we it implies that
we can find him.

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So what does it mean to find
God?

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Is it not in a relationship with
him the one that we seek?

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Now let’s illustrate this.
There are several passages, but

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we’re going to use the same
passage that we’ve just been

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considering in Josiah in Second
of Chronicles.

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No, it isn’t.
Actually.

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It’s concerning ASA, But anyway,
Second of Chronicles 15.

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I am coming back to Josiah, but
I think it’s in our next study.

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Second Chronicles 15
and in verse two.

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And he went out to meet ASA and
said unto him, Hear ye me, ASA,

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and all Judah and Benjamin,
Yahweh is with you while ye be

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with him.
And if you seek him, there’s our

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expression He will be found of
you.

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But if you forsake Him, He will
forsake you.

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So God is with us while we are
with Him.

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So this describes this fragile
relationship.

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And the fragility is ours while
God is the stable and responsive

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1 to our efforts.
God is with us while we be with

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Him.
If you seek Him, He will be

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found of you.
Seeking him means seeking him in

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prayers, in prayer, and finding
God in in his word.

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It’s in this case it’s prayer.
That’s what he’s talking about.

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So while you seek Him, he will
be found.

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How will he be?
Found by responding, He will

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listen to you.
He’s listening to your prayer

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while you’re seeking Him.
So it’s all done in faith and

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it’s faith in God’s Word hearing
him.

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Faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the Word of God.

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So we’re listening to Him, and
He will respond when we seek

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Him.
Our relationship is one of faith

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and trust.
I want to come back to Exodus

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chapter 30.
In fact, it might be an idea to

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keep a marker there, because
we’ll be constantly coming back

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here, right?
Exodus 30 and verse seven.

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And Aaron shall burn thereon
sweet incense every morning.

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When he dresseth the lamps, he
shall burn incense upon it.

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And when Aaron lighteth the
lamps of even, he shall burn

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incense upon it.
A perpetual incense before

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Yahweh throughout your
generations.

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Now see what he’s saying here
concerning times for prayer.

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There are set times and prayer
is to be offered constantly or

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continually.
So there’s two things regarding.

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Prayer.
Here there’s constant prayer and

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there are set times for prayer.
So we’re going to look at each

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of these.
First of all, we’ll look at set

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times for prayer.
It would be.

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Very easy, wouldn’t it, brothers
and sisters, if we simply pray

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to God whenever we lead it and
turn God into a bit of a crisis

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genie who we call upon at our
will?

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But the law in the Tabernacle
provides set times.

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Now we know what those set times
were because it was in the

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morning and in the evening.
That’s what it says.

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Those are the set times that the
oil, sorry, the the incense was

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replenished.
And we know from elsewhere that

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in Acts chapter 3, it’s called
the hour of prayer.

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So there was a specific time for
prayer morning and evening, and

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there were others that went
beyond the law, and they

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included another time at noon.
David, Daniel, and Peter

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followed this practice.
In an actual fact.

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The Jews did also, probably
following the example of David

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and Daniel.
So they have set a set time for

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prayer at noon as well.
Now most of us have probably

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tried this practice of set times
for prayer with some mixed

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success.
So what happens is our brother

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arrives home late from an
evening class or he finishes.

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His Bible class talk.
In his study, or he’s serviced

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his wife’s car, or after hours
on the phone about some

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ecclesial matter.
It’s late.

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He’s tired.
He thinks I’ve got that early.

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Morning meeting tomorrow.
Morning I’ve just got to get to

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bed.
Oh, I’ve got to give him a

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prayer.
And then he feels guilty about

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his attitude, but he’s so tired.
He sits on the, the, the, the

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his bed and perhaps it’s very
cold.

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So he gets into bed.
And to keep his mind on track,

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he resorts to his usual default
phrases and pattern and he gets

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through it so that at least he’s
given his prayer or he wakes up

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and he’s too tired.
I’ll just.

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Have to do it in the morning.
And even if he reached Amen, he

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feels it was lackluster and not
that close to God.

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The next night is the same.
And the next, actually, the next

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night He doesn’t get past our
father.

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As the saying goes, a prayer
invaders never said, or our

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sister, a feeding mother or a
working mother.

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The day is never her own.
At the day’s end, she’s

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absolutely exhausted and feeling
stressed.

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She goes to bed and relaxes with
a book and wakes up several

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hours later with her glasses
Askew and a book digging into a

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face.
I’ll just have to.

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Give my prayer tomorrow.
Or our young sister with all

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those young people’s activities,
school homework, varsity studies

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or work that she’s brought home
from the office and she’s got,

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she’s committed to all the young
people’s activities and she’s

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trying to catch up with an old
friend, perhaps someone who’s

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struggling.
And of course, she’s got to have

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time for a boyfriend.
So it’s all essential and tiring

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and prayer.
Is a little.

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Bit hit and miss.
And at best squeezed.

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In As for a morning prayer, the
alarm sounds and we hit the

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snooze button, and after several
times it’s a race to get through

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everything.
So prayer becomes sort of, if

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possible, squeezed into giving
thanks for the breakfast.

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As for a midday prayer, it often
gets subdued into giving thanks

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for lunch and for many a lunch
break.

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What’s that?
We find it hard to fit prayer

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into our day.
Think about what I just said.

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We find it hard to fit prayer
in.

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What that means is we find it
hard to fit God into our day.

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It’s hard to fit God into our
daily schedule, but prayer is

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not a thing we do, brothers and
sisters.

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It’s talking with God, with God.
Now part of our problem is, is

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fitting or off fitting God in is
is how we view prayer.

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Prayer becomes like the poor
cousin to the word it There’s

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the subtle hierarchy that we
have we we read our Bibles and

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we know that we ought to give a
prayer before we open our

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Bibles.
And while prayer is important,

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the most important thing to us.
Is studying God’s Word.

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Perhaps it’s because we get a
lot out of studying God’s Word.

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At least we learn principles and
we get moved and motivated by

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it.
But prayer we struggle with and

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it sort of gets tacked on and
sometimes becomes a little bit

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of a nuisance.
You know, even in the ecclesial

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games nights, it’s a time of fun
and activity with our.

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Children and family and.
Brothers and sisters, and to

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sort of give it a bit of
spiritual legitimacy, we feel

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the need to tack a prayer on at
the beginning and then we get on

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with the fun.
And that’s how we tend to view

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prayer.
We tack on prayer and tick it

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off.
It’s almost as if prayer is a

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bit of a nuisance.
It’s the thing we’ve got to do

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before we get on with the real
stuff.

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Now I want you to have a look at
Exodus 30 there and verses 7 to

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8.
Can you find any hierarchy

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there?
The lampstand oil represents the

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word of God.
It is replenished at exactly the

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same times as the incense is
replenished.

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Twice a day.
Together the word and prayer go

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together.
It’s not fitting in at our

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convenience now.
Set times were part of Israel’s

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national religion, so everyone
stopped for prayer, those that

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were spiritual at least.
And we live in a totally

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different world.
Our lives are productivity

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driven.
Efficiency demands that we

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compartmentalise our lives,
including God, and then we

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prioritise those compartments,
God included.

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See who’s at the.
Centre of this.

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It’s not God, it’s us.
We’ve got to fit all those

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things in.
Is God first in our lives like

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we profess?
Is he our priority?

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I think he comes off second best
in fact.

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Not just second, but 3rd, 4th,
5th, last.

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Often just a phone call can
interact.

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It’s our readings or even a
prayer or a time for prayer

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because we have so many
competing priorities.

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God is just one of them.
Like everything else, He gets

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put where it suits us.
The daily readings get done if

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it suits.
Prayer more than anything else

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gets done at our convenience.
A phone call or text someone

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drops in the meeting for our
job, our games, our hobbies, our

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family, our friends, our
neighbour, our health, our

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exercises, our tiredness, our
disappointments, our trials, our

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triumphs, our discussion.
A discussion, a book, the

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Internet all interrupt, and we
put them before God.

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Our problem isn’t fitting God
in, brothers and sisters.

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It’s more that we’re crowding
God out.

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You would think.
Excuse me, this is a tiredness

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sort of catching up, I think.
Sorry, I forgot to bring some

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water out.
You would think that.

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Stipulating set times for prayer
would create a mindset that

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compartmentalises our lives and
fits God in.

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But that’s not so.
You examine those set times,

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What were they again?
Well, there they are on the

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screen, just even taking the two
set and the law.

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Thank you very much.
Thank you.

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Just look at those morning and
evening or evening and morning

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is as it is there.
They’re not as soon as we get up

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or the last, the very last thing
at night.

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00:18:37,720 –> 00:18:45,880
Now, the third of the night
there, that’s 9:00 AM and 3:00

220
00:18:45,880 –> 00:18:50,600
PM.
They’re the best times of the

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00:18:50,600 –> 00:18:59,440
day, when we’re awake, when
we’re alert, we’re energized,

222
00:19:00,160 –> 00:19:01,920
when we can put thoughts
together.

223
00:19:04,240 –> 00:19:07,800
Oh, I see another.
It’s you.

224
00:19:07,840 –> 00:19:09,920
You went to Bethlehem to get
there.

225
00:19:10,760 –> 00:19:21,160
Do I call it?
Thank you, they’re the best

226
00:19:21,160 –> 00:19:28,360
times is not when we’re dropping
off to sleep last thing at

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00:19:28,360 –> 00:19:33,880
night.
God is first and we centre our

228
00:19:33,880 –> 00:19:36,760
days around him.
It’s very hard in in the world

229
00:19:36,760 –> 00:19:42,120
which we live in, but we’ve got
to fit him in to that world

230
00:19:43,120 –> 00:19:46,000
instead of God fitting ourselves
around him.

231
00:19:48,520 –> 00:19:54,040
God deserves to be the best.
We say that, but we’ve got to do

232
00:19:54,040 –> 00:19:56,480
it.
Really think about that.

233
00:19:57,320 –> 00:20:03,360
It’s not the end of the day.
Nor is it.

234
00:20:03,440 –> 00:20:05,240
Fitting them in when it’s
convenient.

235
00:20:05,840 –> 00:20:09,680
Now think about those times that
occurred in an Israelite’s life.

236
00:20:09,960 –> 00:20:14,760
9:00 AM is mid morning and 3:00.
PM mid afternoon.

237
00:20:15,320 –> 00:20:18,400
And if we add in the midday,
well, that’s middle of that,

238
00:20:18,600 –> 00:20:24,160
that time, middle of the day.
Now think about those times in

239
00:20:24,160 –> 00:20:34,880
an Israelite’s day.
They’ve already started work.

240
00:20:34,880 –> 00:20:37,000
They’ve got to stop work to
pray.

241
00:20:37,200 –> 00:20:40,000
They then carry on and they’ve
got to stop work to pray.

242
00:20:40,000 –> 00:20:42,480
Then they’ll carry on and stop
work.

243
00:20:42,520 –> 00:20:48,080
It’s not it’s fitting God in.
Well, it’s not fitting God in.

244
00:20:48,520 –> 00:20:55,200
It interrupts their day
labourers would reach this

245
00:20:55,200 –> 00:20:58,320
momentum and they had to stop
and think about God.

246
00:20:58,440 –> 00:21:02,840
This is morning tea break and
lunchtime and afternoon tea time

247
00:21:02,840 –> 00:21:05,760
for us.
It was I, I believe for them

248
00:21:05,760 –> 00:21:08,680
too.
But they didn’t stop to fill

249
00:21:08,680 –> 00:21:11,520
their bellies as it were.
They did perhaps did at

250
00:21:11,520 –> 00:21:20,280
lunchtime.
But first came God in prayer, so

251
00:21:20,280 –> 00:21:22,400
they got their sustenance from
Him.

252
00:21:22,400 –> 00:21:25,280
They really meant it.
Well, that’s what it’s in the

253
00:21:25,280 –> 00:21:27,960
law.
That’s why it was put there.

254
00:21:28,160 –> 00:21:33,040
God interrupts their day for
their spiritual benefit.

255
00:21:33,400 –> 00:21:36,640
That’s exactly the same with the
Sabbath, wasn’t it?

256
00:21:36,640 –> 00:21:40,600
It interrupted their work week
and they had to stop.

257
00:21:40,600 –> 00:21:43,880
And for the disgruntled knows
that weren’t spiritual, it was a

258
00:21:43,880 –> 00:21:49,120
bit of a nuisance, but for the
spiritual it was, it was a

259
00:21:49,120 –> 00:21:52,080
delight.
It says inside in Isaiah 58

260
00:21:52,080 –> 00:21:54,720
concerning the Sabbath.
It’s the same here.

261
00:21:57,120 –> 00:22:00,680
So God through his law
interrupted their day.

262
00:22:00,680 –> 00:22:08,920
Now you think of the benefits of
this, of putting our times for

263
00:22:08,920 –> 00:22:12,840
prayer at times that are the
best.

264
00:22:13,400 –> 00:22:16,000
Sure, we’re going to have to
arrange it because everyone’s

265
00:22:16,000 –> 00:22:19,480
circumstances are different.
It’s not like we’re in Israel

266
00:22:19,480 –> 00:22:23,280
where everything was more set
nationally.

267
00:22:24,000 –> 00:22:27,800
We can’t do that, but we can
take it’s spirit, can’t we?

268
00:22:30,280 –> 00:22:37,280
I remember when I worked in an
office environment and just life

269
00:22:37,280 –> 00:22:39,440
was consumed.
Your mind was consumed.

270
00:22:39,440 –> 00:22:42,320
You’re on a screen all day and
you’re it was full of

271
00:22:42,320 –> 00:22:46,320
interruptions and meetings and
schedules and preparing notes

272
00:22:46,320 –> 00:22:50,320
and, and, and various things for
other people and in your job.

273
00:22:50,600 –> 00:22:55,880
So I had no time to think about
God in the midst of this, but

274
00:22:55,880 –> 00:22:57,600
interrupt it.
And you can.

275
00:22:57,600 –> 00:23:03,360
Refocus and sure I had to find
a.

276
00:23:03,360 –> 00:23:05,040
Place where I could.
Go I could.

277
00:23:05,040 –> 00:23:07,640
Book A room.
Sometimes, sometimes I had to

278
00:23:07,640 –> 00:23:11,640
use the bathroom and lock myself
in a cubicle because there was

279
00:23:11,640 –> 00:23:17,000
no other place but to give break
my time to give it to go.

280
00:23:19,440 –> 00:23:22,840
That’s what the Lord did.
That’s what God has hinted at in

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00:23:23,000 –> 00:23:31,000
His Word now.
This is what God intended, and

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00:23:31,000 –> 00:23:37,600
it’s what Christ did also.
He set times aside to spend with

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00:23:37,600 –> 00:23:40,960
God.
Mark One, verse 35.

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00:23:41,200 –> 00:23:44,440
And in the morning, rising up a
great while before day, he went

285
00:23:44,440 –> 00:23:47,760
out, and departed into a
solitary place, and there

286
00:23:47,760 –> 00:23:52,720
prayed, Matthew 1423.
And when he had sent the

287
00:23:52,760 –> 00:23:57,920
multitudes away, he went up into
a mountain apart to pray, And

288
00:23:57,920 –> 00:24:01,000
when the evening was come, he
was there alone.

289
00:24:02,240 –> 00:24:07,560
Luke 6, verse 12 to 16.
It came to pass in those days

290
00:24:07,560 –> 00:24:10,320
that he went.
Out into a mountain to pray and

291
00:24:10,320 –> 00:24:14,920
continued all night in prayer to
God and Luke Chapter 9.

292
00:24:14,960 –> 00:24:17,040
Whoops.
Oh dear.

293
00:24:21,440 –> 00:24:26,200
And it came to pass about an 8
days after these sayings, he

294
00:24:26,200 –> 00:24:29,480
took Peter and John and James
and went into a mountain to

295
00:24:29,480 –> 00:24:33,680
pray.
Now I think there’s something

296
00:24:33,680 –> 00:24:38,960
about all of those passages that
indicate that Christ was a bit

297
00:24:39,000 –> 00:24:45,000
busy.
He was extremely busy and

298
00:24:45,000 –> 00:24:50,920
finding time was obviously very,
very difficult, but he made the

299
00:24:50,920 –> 00:24:54,440
time.
Brothers and sisters, he’s

300
00:24:54,440 –> 00:24:58,200
constantly being badgered and
pressed, constantly healing and

301
00:24:58,360 –> 00:25:05,200
and teaching and and mentoring,
advising, preparing, debating.

302
00:25:06,560 –> 00:25:09,080
He was always on the go.
We talk about our lives being

303
00:25:09,080 –> 00:25:12,880
busy and fitting God in well.
He made time.

304
00:25:17,840 –> 00:25:23,640
And he prayed for long periods
of time because he knew he

305
00:25:23,800 –> 00:25:29,240
needed his Heavenly Father and
time with now in our topsy turvy

306
00:25:29,240 –> 00:25:33,240
world, how do we make that kind
of time?

307
00:25:33,760 –> 00:25:39,880
Well, you’ve already been given
this point.

308
00:25:39,960 –> 00:25:44,280
I accidentally put it up before.
We make an appointment.

309
00:25:44,280 –> 00:25:47,080
With him, if we make an
appointment to go and see the

310
00:25:47,080 –> 00:25:53,200
dentist, do we put it off
because it’s not, you know, very

311
00:25:53,200 –> 00:25:58,120
convenient or a nice experience?
We don’t because we know we need

312
00:25:58,120 –> 00:26:05,600
to, despite the pain.
But we do with God and we’ve got

313
00:26:05,600 –> 00:26:08,840
to make that appointment and
we’ve got to keep it.

314
00:26:12,280 –> 00:26:15,800
So the phone goes quite sure
what’s happening there, but just

315
00:26:16,280 –> 00:26:25,600
ignore it, interruption.
The phone goes, you don’t answer

316
00:26:25,600 –> 00:26:27,640
it because you have an
appointment with God.

317
00:26:28,640 –> 00:26:34,080
Your boss wants to call around
9:00 AM say sorry I I have

318
00:26:34,080 –> 00:26:40,920
another appointment I can make
it at 10 little Julie wants time

319
00:26:40,920 –> 00:26:45,240
with her dad sorry love you know
I have an appointment with God

320
00:26:45,240 –> 00:26:49,400
but I’d love to spend time with
you on that after I’ve given my

321
00:26:49,400 –> 00:26:52,720
prayer an.
Appointment with God is

322
00:26:52,720 –> 00:26:56,560
sacrosanct.
Remember Daniel in Daniel

323
00:26:56,560 –> 00:27:01,640
chapter 6?
And the jealous officials, they

324
00:27:01,640 –> 00:27:06,240
knew exactly what time to go and
check and see if Daniel was

325
00:27:06,240 –> 00:27:10,520
still praying to his God instead
of bowing down to the island.

326
00:27:11,840 –> 00:27:15,120
They knew exactly what time
because it was a set time.

327
00:27:15,120 –> 00:27:22,800
And sure enough, there he was
praying even though it could

328
00:27:22,800 –> 00:27:29,640
cost him his life.
God wants us to be constantly

329
00:27:31,360 –> 00:27:34,800
conscious of him.
So there’s this other idea of

330
00:27:34,800 –> 00:27:42,640
continuing in prayer, or a
continual prayer He wants us to

331
00:27:42,640 –> 00:27:45,120
be.
Constantly conscious of him.

332
00:27:47,200 –> 00:27:52,000
So he interrupts that day, but
there’s also this other thing in

333
00:27:52,040 –> 00:28:08,040
verse 4.
Can I just that verses four and

334
00:28:08,040 –> 00:28:12,960
five of Exodus 30 speak of
staves and and these staves were

335
00:28:12,960 –> 00:28:19,000
never to be taken out of the
those rings and these these

336
00:28:19,000 –> 00:28:22,960
staves.
Why it was such a small little?

337
00:28:22,960 –> 00:28:30,320
It was only about a meter high,
and it was just a small little

338
00:28:30,320 –> 00:28:33,520
piece of furniture that someone
could put on their shoulder.

339
00:28:34,960 –> 00:28:38,440
But they had staves and four.
People would carry it.

340
00:28:39,440 –> 00:28:42,960
And that the point is, is that
these states represent our

341
00:28:42,960 –> 00:28:45,440
travels through the wilderness
of life.

342
00:28:45,680 –> 00:28:50,840
They’re also covered in gold.
And so it’s wherever we go in

343
00:28:50,840 –> 00:28:55,200
faith, it should be accompanied
by prayer.

344
00:28:56,160 –> 00:29:01,840
Whatever we do in life should be
accompanied by prayer at the

345
00:29:01,840 –> 00:29:06,360
beginning of a journey, a move
to a new town or ecclesia, a

346
00:29:06,360 –> 00:29:15,840
move to a new job, contemplating
marriage, each meal, each Bible

347
00:29:16,000 –> 00:29:20,560
readings, perhaps a phone call
to encourage a sister or a

348
00:29:20,560 –> 00:29:28,280
brother, greeting a brother or
sister and preparing for the

349
00:29:28,280 –> 00:29:31,320
memorial meeting.
Or a Bible.

350
00:29:31,320 –> 00:29:39,920
Class, going to work, or perhaps
even a walk in life’s journey.

351
00:29:40,960 –> 00:29:43,000
Each step should be one of
prayer.

352
00:29:43,000 –> 00:29:45,440
That’s what the staves are
telling us.

353
00:29:46,720 –> 00:29:50,160
Prayer must be an integral part
of our lives because it brings

354
00:29:50,160 –> 00:29:53,720
God into our lives.
It’s been conscious of Him.

355
00:29:53,840 –> 00:29:59,760
It’s reminding ourselves of Him
every living moment, walking and

356
00:29:59,760 –> 00:30:04,960
talking with God wherever and
whenever.

357
00:30:06,400 –> 00:30:15,560
But it’s more than that.
You see these set times for

358
00:30:15,560 –> 00:30:21,160
prayer speak of this perpetual.
It’s in verse eight.

359
00:30:21,440 –> 00:30:26,040
There a perpetual incense before
Yahweh.

360
00:30:26,880 –> 00:30:33,560
And a perpetual incense means a
continuous stream of incense

361
00:30:33,920 –> 00:30:38,080
from that altar.
And in actual fact, even morning

362
00:30:38,080 –> 00:30:43,400
and evening is a Hebrew idiom
which means continuous, even

363
00:30:43,400 –> 00:30:46,880
though it was also representing
set real set times.

364
00:30:47,920 –> 00:30:52,800
It’s continuous.
Paul says it this way in Romans

365
00:30:52,800 –> 00:30:56,000
12 and verse 12.
Rejoicing in hope, patient and

366
00:30:56,000 –> 00:31:00,160
tribulation, continuing instant
in prayer.

367
00:31:01,280 –> 00:31:06,920
It means ready for prayer at an
instant, ready to pray at an

368
00:31:06,920 –> 00:31:10,200
instant at any moment.
Now we’ve got many examples of

369
00:31:10,200 –> 00:31:11,600
this.
One of the most famous, of

370
00:31:11,600 –> 00:31:14,960
course, is in Nehemiah.
Let’s let’s turn to that in

371
00:31:14,960 –> 00:31:26,320
Nehemiah and chapter 2, Nehemiah
2.

372
00:31:27,240 –> 00:31:29,960
Nehemiah had prayed in chapter
one, hadn’t he?

373
00:31:30,840 –> 00:31:36,000
And he prayed to God be with him
this day, this particular day.

374
00:31:38,600 –> 00:31:41,880
And now he goes before the king
as the King’s cup bearer.

375
00:31:42,240 –> 00:31:47,840
And as he’s handing the wine to
the king, the king notices

376
00:31:47,880 –> 00:31:51,800
Nehemiah’s face that it was sad.
And you don’t do that in the

377
00:31:51,800 –> 00:31:57,040
presence of a Persian king God.
So it says in verse two.

378
00:31:57,120 –> 00:32:01,200
Wherefore the king said unto me,
Why is thy countenance sad?

379
00:32:01,520 –> 00:32:05,440
Seem thou art not sick.
This is nothing else but sorrow.

380
00:32:05,440 –> 00:32:08,960
Hard.
Then I was very sore afraid, and

381
00:32:08,960 –> 00:32:11,920
said unto the king, Let the king
live forever.

382
00:32:12,320 –> 00:32:16,040
Why should not my countenance be
sad, when the city, the place of

383
00:32:16,040 –> 00:32:19,800
my father’s settle, gives lies
waste, and the gates thereof are

384
00:32:19,800 –> 00:32:23,600
consumed with fire?
Then the king said unto me, For

385
00:32:23,600 –> 00:32:28,840
what dost thou make request?
So I prayed to the God of

386
00:32:28,840 –> 00:32:36,280
heaven, and said unto the king,
If it pleased the king, it can’t

387
00:32:36,280 –> 00:32:38,320
have been a long prayer.
He couldn’t have got down on his

388
00:32:38,320 –> 00:32:42,280
knees and and gone through a
ritual.

389
00:32:44,520 –> 00:32:51,360
It was obviously a help.
Me a cry and I have a.

390
00:32:51,360 –> 00:32:57,400
Presence of mind in such a
situation, it shows that this is

391
00:32:57,400 –> 00:33:02,160
a practice of Nehemiah.
It was something he was used to,

392
00:33:03,640 –> 00:33:10,440
something he did now, Nehemiah
wrote in his.

393
00:33:10,960 –> 00:33:13,920
The book after his name, I
believe it was really an

394
00:33:13,920 –> 00:33:20,840
official diary, and he includes
these little prayers all the way

395
00:33:20,840 –> 00:33:24,720
through, these short spontaneous
prayers, through the record.

396
00:33:25,760 –> 00:33:29,320
And we find the same thing in
the epistles as well, don’t we?

397
00:33:29,400 –> 00:33:34,680
The apostle Paul in particular,
but also Peter and John likewise

398
00:33:34,840 –> 00:33:40,200
insert these spontaneous prayers
into what they’re writing about

399
00:33:42,640 –> 00:33:46,840
in their letters.
It was a practice by these

400
00:33:46,840 –> 00:33:51,760
people, these Jews, these
spiritually minded Jews.

401
00:33:51,960 –> 00:33:56,040
That’s how they thought.
They naturally just brought

402
00:33:56,040 –> 00:33:59,480
these little prayers into what
they’re talking about.

403
00:33:59,600 –> 00:34:02,640
In other words, they were
conscious of God and brought

404
00:34:02,640 –> 00:34:06,880
them into what they’re doing.
Come with me to Matthew Chapter

405
00:34:06,880 –> 00:34:24,760
11,
Matthew 11, verse 25.

406
00:34:27,320 –> 00:34:30,000
Jesus is standing with the
disciples and he brings this

407
00:34:30,239 –> 00:34:35,199
blistering attack upon Corazon,
Bethsaida, and Capernaum.

408
00:34:35,679 –> 00:34:39,880
And then it abruptly says in
verse 25.

409
00:34:39,920 –> 00:34:44,719
At that time Jesus answered for
he responded what to what he was

410
00:34:44,719 –> 00:34:49,000
just doing.
He was He was pronouncing these

411
00:34:49,000 –> 00:34:53,960
judgments upon these cities, and
he responds and says, I thank

412
00:34:53,960 –> 00:34:57,040
thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because there has

413
00:34:57,040 –> 00:35:00,200
hidden these things from the
wise and the prudent, and has

414
00:35:00,200 –> 00:35:03,920
revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father, for it seemed

415
00:35:04,200 –> 00:35:07,680
good in my sight.
All things are delivered unto me

416
00:35:07,680 –> 00:35:11,520
of my Father, and no man knows
the Son, but the Father neither

417
00:35:11,520 –> 00:35:14,760
knoweth any man the Father
saved, and he’s speaking to the

418
00:35:14,760 –> 00:35:17,880
disciples.
It’s like he just inserts, he’s

419
00:35:18,160 –> 00:35:21,840
he’s lambast in these nations,
gives us prayer and he carries

420
00:35:21,840 –> 00:35:26,200
on talking to his disciples.
It’s like God is included in the

421
00:35:26,200 –> 00:35:29,880
conversation.
It’s how he thought.

422
00:35:31,480 –> 00:35:37,800
It’s how near my thought, how
the apostles thought, how they

423
00:35:37,800 –> 00:35:42,800
could bring God into their
speech, their activities.

424
00:35:47,320 –> 00:35:49,000
They were conscious of God at
all times.

425
00:35:49,000 –> 00:35:52,000
And we can do this too, brothers
and sisters, but we need to get

426
00:35:52,000 –> 00:35:55,320
into that kind of habit Now.
What about the prayers

427
00:35:55,320 –> 00:35:56,240
themselves?
What?

428
00:35:56,360 –> 00:35:58,320
What makes?
An acceptable.

429
00:35:58,320 –> 00:36:01,400
Prayer and coming back to Exodus
30.

430
00:36:02,120 –> 00:36:04,720
I’m going to have to move on
here.

431
00:36:04,880 –> 00:36:11,560
Exodus 30 What makes a.
Prayer.

432
00:36:11,560 –> 00:36:14,680
Acceptable to the Father.
This is sort of like that

433
00:36:14,680 –> 00:36:18,680
getting it right thing.
But I want you to notice what

434
00:36:18,680 –> 00:36:26,800
God tells us is acceptable.
Verse 9 Ye shall offer no

435
00:36:26,800 –> 00:36:30,280
strange incense on this golden
altar.

436
00:36:38,120 –> 00:36:45,600
He’s telling us what can’t go on
the older, and he can reverse

437
00:36:45,600 –> 00:36:47,280
that.
And it tells us that prayer must

438
00:36:47,280 –> 00:36:51,800
be to God, not ourselves, like
the Pharisee who prayed thus

439
00:36:51,800 –> 00:36:54,720
with himself.
God, I thank thee that I’m not

440
00:36:54,720 –> 00:36:57,560
as other men.
Now that’s a prayer to show how

441
00:36:57,560 –> 00:37:02,720
religious he is.
And they prayed on street

442
00:37:02,720 –> 00:37:07,200
corners and made long flowery,
flowery prayers to be seen of

443
00:37:07,200 –> 00:37:09,520
men.
These are prayers to the God of

444
00:37:09,520 –> 00:37:13,000
self.
And James says you ask and

445
00:37:13,000 –> 00:37:16,160
receive not because you ask and
miss that you may consume it

446
00:37:16,160 –> 00:37:18,760
upon your own lust.
It’s all about ourselves.

447
00:37:22,440 –> 00:37:27,120
And the second part in in
chapter 30, verse 9 is nor burnt

448
00:37:27,400 –> 00:37:31,240
sacrifice, nor meal offering,
meat offering, neither shall we

449
00:37:31,240 –> 00:37:40,000
pour drink offerings thereon.
So what are those offerings?

450
00:37:40,000 –> 00:37:41,360
Why aren’t those offerings
allowed?

451
00:37:41,360 –> 00:37:43,480
They’re allowed on the altar and
in the outer court.

452
00:37:43,480 –> 00:37:48,360
They’re obviously acceptable
offerings to go up, but they’re

453
00:37:48,360 –> 00:37:50,680
not allowed on this altar.
Why?

454
00:37:50,720 –> 00:37:55,040
That seems strange.
Well, the burnt offering refers

455
00:37:55,040 –> 00:37:57,720
to total dedication, and the
meal and drink offerings

456
00:37:57,840 –> 00:38:03,240
represent our own laborers, our
own efforts dedicated to God.

457
00:38:05,160 –> 00:38:06,760
So what’s the point that’s been
made?

458
00:38:08,840 –> 00:38:12,760
Our service and the ecclesia
cannot replace prayer.

459
00:38:13,840 –> 00:38:18,520
They’re good things, but they
can’t replace prayer.

460
00:38:19,600 –> 00:38:21,240
You can’t put them in place of
prayer.

461
00:38:21,360 –> 00:38:24,000
And that’s what quite often what
happens, doesn’t it?

462
00:38:24,760 –> 00:38:26,760
At least I’m doing all these
things in the ecclesia.

463
00:38:26,760 –> 00:38:30,160
I might not be very good at my
prayers and I’ll fit them in

464
00:38:30,160 –> 00:38:33,360
whenever I can because I’m so
busy in the ecclesia doing all

465
00:38:33,360 –> 00:38:36,000
these wonderful things.
And God says, no, that’s not

466
00:38:36,000 –> 00:38:38,960
good enough, you have no
relationship with me.

467
00:38:38,960 –> 00:38:46,360
If we don’t pray, it’s
worthless.

468
00:38:48,680 –> 00:38:52,920
So let’s investigate this, this
incense and we find the incense

469
00:38:52,960 –> 00:38:56,120
described and we’re just going
to have a fleeting look at it in

470
00:38:56,200 –> 00:39:00,080
verses 34 to 38, the incense
itself.

471
00:39:00,320 –> 00:39:04,160
This is what God wants.
We’ve seen what he doesn’t want.

472
00:39:04,440 –> 00:39:06,560
Now we’ve got to see what he
actually wants.

473
00:39:06,680 –> 00:39:09,200
And we have a list of each of
the ingredients there in verse

474
00:39:09,440 –> 00:39:12,760
34.
And Yahweh said unto Moses, Take

475
00:39:12,760 –> 00:39:17,480
unto these sweet spices, stacked
in on again, and Galvan these

476
00:39:17,480 –> 00:39:22,000
sweet spices with pure
frankincense of each, Shall

477
00:39:22,000 –> 00:39:26,880
there be a lightweight?
Now God specifies the quantity

478
00:39:27,000 –> 00:39:30,800
of each ingredient of each Shall
there be a lightweight?

479
00:39:30,960 –> 00:39:34,360
It’s literally, it literally
means part for part.

480
00:39:35,560 –> 00:39:39,080
So what does that mean?
Well, there’s an emphasis on two

481
00:39:39,080 –> 00:39:40,440
parts in.
Particular.

482
00:39:40,880 –> 00:39:46,080
Here’s what this this is saying
here take out to the these sweet

483
00:39:46,080 –> 00:39:52,240
spices that Deonica and gilbane,
these sweet spices with pure

484
00:39:52,400 –> 00:39:55,320
frankincense.
So this is what I believe it’s

485
00:39:55,320 –> 00:39:59,480
really sad.
Those 3 sweet spices are one

486
00:39:59,520 –> 00:40:03,440
part and frank pure frankincense
is the other part.

487
00:40:03,600 –> 00:40:07,080
And that’s why sometimes it
seems is described simply as

488
00:40:07,240 –> 00:40:10,120
frankincense, because it’s the
major part.

489
00:40:11,480 –> 00:40:13,840
But the point that I wish to
make out of this is that there

490
00:40:14,160 –> 00:40:25,040
is distinctive quantities,
distinct quantities, there’s

491
00:40:25,040 –> 00:40:30,920
order and there’s balance here.
So does that mean that our

492
00:40:30,920 –> 00:40:33,200
prayers have got to be ordered
and balanced?

493
00:40:34,280 –> 00:40:38,520
Now you could find no better
example of a prayer that has

494
00:40:38,640 –> 00:40:40,680
order and balance than the
Lord’s Prayer.

495
00:40:41,480 –> 00:40:43,560
So come with me to Matthew
chapter 6.

496
00:40:44,400 –> 00:40:45,840
Don’t.
Forget to put the marker in

497
00:40:47,480 –> 00:40:53,800
Matthew chapter 6, I’m.
Going to put this up on the

498
00:40:53,800 –> 00:40:56,640
screen, but we are going to be
reading from Matthew 6 so it’s.

499
00:40:56,640 –> 00:40:59,120
Worth.
Looking at now, I’ve broken this

500
00:40:59,120 –> 00:41:02,480
up into there’s all sorts of
different break UPS of the

501
00:41:02,480 –> 00:41:04,800
Lord’s Prayer, but this is as I
see it.

502
00:41:05,040 –> 00:41:09,720
It’s opens with a an invocation
it it closes with.

503
00:41:10,720 –> 00:41:13,400
Really.
And well, you’ve got three sets

504
00:41:13,400 –> 00:41:16,720
of, sorry, two sets of
petitions.

505
00:41:16,720 –> 00:41:20,000
As I mentioned yesterday, there
are three petitions relating to

506
00:41:20,000 –> 00:41:22,080
God’s glory.
There are three petitions

507
00:41:22,080 –> 00:41:25,200
relating to man’s need.
And then there’s these three

508
00:41:25,200 –> 00:41:33,360
statements about God’s assurance
and his ability to to perform

509
00:41:33,360 –> 00:41:35,680
this.
And then there’s the final

510
00:41:35,680 –> 00:41:37,760
confirmation.
In the word Amen.

511
00:41:38,200 –> 00:41:41,640
Now this this prayer breathes
order and balance.

512
00:41:43,600 –> 00:41:45,160
So as I asked.
Before.

513
00:41:45,800 –> 00:41:51,920
Does that mean that our prayers
must be structured, must contain

514
00:41:51,920 –> 00:41:57,560
this kind of balance, follow the
same order as the Lord’s Prayer,

515
00:41:59,080 –> 00:42:04,000
or be only on these subjects?
Is this how we get it right?

516
00:42:05,440 –> 00:42:09,640
And some would point to the
structure to highlight that the

517
00:42:09,640 –> 00:42:12,840
Lord’s Prayer opens and closes
with praise.

518
00:42:12,880 –> 00:42:17,000
And they conclude therefore,
that our prayers ought to as

519
00:42:17,000 –> 00:42:19,200
well.
Now I mentioned this in our

520
00:42:19,200 –> 00:42:23,680
opening remarks.
Opening and closing prayers with

521
00:42:23,720 –> 00:42:25,360
praise would must be a good
thing.

522
00:42:27,320 –> 00:42:33,760
But we cannot use the Lord’s
Prayer to justify that, To

523
00:42:33,760 –> 00:42:38,400
justify that we must do it and
everyone must do it.

524
00:42:38,440 –> 00:42:42,600
I’ve heard even brethren say
that they could not say Amen to

525
00:42:42,600 –> 00:42:46,920
a prayer because it did not.
A prayer did not open and close

526
00:42:46,920 –> 00:42:54,920
with praise.
And as I’ve said yesterday, the

527
00:42:54,920 –> 00:42:59,640
Lord doesn’t always do that.
And you can find so many psalms

528
00:42:59,640 –> 00:43:02,960
and prayers in the Bible that
are simply just petitions.

529
00:43:03,840 –> 00:43:08,360
And so is this prayer.
I’m going to come back to the

530
00:43:08,360 –> 00:43:10,720
fact that it breathes.
Praise.

531
00:43:10,720 –> 00:43:15,920
But this is a prayer.
It’s asking.

532
00:43:15,920 –> 00:43:19,520
There is no opening praise to
God.

533
00:43:20,680 –> 00:43:24,080
Sure.
Praise for God’s Kingdom.

534
00:43:24,080 –> 00:43:26,480
But they are.
Petitions, all of them are

535
00:43:26,480 –> 00:43:30,400
petitions and this in in point
number four, trust in God’s

536
00:43:30,400 –> 00:43:31,880
assurance and ability to
perform.

537
00:43:32,000 –> 00:43:35,720
It’s just saying yours is the
Kingdom, it’s yours.

538
00:43:36,800 –> 00:43:40,640
And there’s a kind of
acknowledgement there of God and

539
00:43:40,640 –> 00:43:42,640
praise, but it’s not praising
God.

540
00:43:42,640 –> 00:43:47,280
This is a prayer.
It’s asking God for something.

541
00:43:53,720 –> 00:43:58,200
And the fact is that in the
Lord’s Prayer, the second time

542
00:43:58,200 –> 00:44:02,320
he gave it, Luke, he drops off
the second part of what some

543
00:44:02,320 –> 00:44:05,240
would describe as being praise
all together.

544
00:44:05,240 –> 00:44:08,000
So it’s just simply just
petitions.

545
00:44:13,420 –> 00:44:17,220
He’s not teaching praise first
and last in this prayer.

546
00:44:18,300 –> 00:44:21,540
And yet for all that, brothers.
And sisters, the whole prayer

547
00:44:21,540 –> 00:44:25,540
breathes praise to God, as we
shall see.

548
00:44:25,980 –> 00:44:31,980
Why then did Christ provide this
prayer twice a model prayer, and

549
00:44:31,980 –> 00:44:34,740
why is it so structured?
Well, I believe, brother and

550
00:44:34,740 –> 00:44:39,720
sister, when?
When Christ gave this this

551
00:44:39,720 –> 00:44:43,880
prayer, he gave it, we call it a
model prayer because, well, what

552
00:44:43,880 –> 00:44:49,800
was it that he was modelling?
Well, he gave it for the

553
00:44:49,800 –> 00:44:53,280
disciples to learn.
And how did they learn in those

554
00:44:53,280 –> 00:44:54,600
times?
You just need to look at the

555
00:44:54,600 –> 00:44:57,000
sounds.
You’ve got these acrostic sounds

556
00:44:57,000 –> 00:44:59,360
and they’re very structured and
ordered.

557
00:45:00,720 –> 00:45:04,240
He wanted them to commit it to
memory, not so that they could

558
00:45:04,240 –> 00:45:09,320
just recite it, but for another
reason, not just quote it

559
00:45:09,320 –> 00:45:13,040
verbatim.
I believe he gave it brothers

560
00:45:13,040 –> 00:45:17,160
and sisters to learn to memory
because they had to do the same

561
00:45:17,160 –> 00:45:22,440
with the Bible and they had to
commit it to memory so they

562
00:45:22,440 –> 00:45:25,200
could think about it.
Think.

563
00:45:25,280 –> 00:45:27,080
Upon it to.
Meditate upon it.

564
00:45:27,280 –> 00:45:33,400
Have you ever noticed why
Matthew 6 here the Lord as soon

565
00:45:33,400 –> 00:45:37,480
as he finished the prayer he
refers to part of?

566
00:45:37,480 –> 00:45:38,240
That.
Prayer.

567
00:45:38,480 –> 00:45:43,080
Look at this 14 It says, For if
you forgive me their trespasses,

568
00:45:43,080 –> 00:45:44,760
your heavenly Father will also
forgive you.

569
00:45:44,920 –> 00:45:47,320
Why does he just bring that out
of the prayer?

570
00:45:49,720 –> 00:45:51,320
Was that what the prayer was
about?

571
00:45:52,240 –> 00:45:56,360
No, the context shows.
This is how you pray, not like

572
00:45:56,800 –> 00:45:59,240
the Gentiles and not like the
Jews.

573
00:46:02,360 –> 00:46:07,840
So why did he just bring out
that that statement out of the

574
00:46:07,840 –> 00:46:11,880
middle of the prayer?
Because it was an example, an

575
00:46:11,880 –> 00:46:16,120
example of what’s there, if you
think about it.

576
00:46:16,960 –> 00:46:22,560
And the same goes for Luke and
Luke 11 there in, in verses two

577
00:46:22,560 –> 00:46:27,880
to four afterwards, he, he, he
expands on the need for

578
00:46:27,880 –> 00:46:34,800
continual, persistent prayer.
Just need to keep track of the

579
00:46:34,800 –> 00:46:36,120
time.
I’ve got to finish, don’t I?

580
00:46:37,360 –> 00:46:48,190
All right, OK, I’m just going to
finish by going back into Exodus

581
00:46:48,190 –> 00:47:06,560
30, verse 35.
One of the things about the

582
00:47:06,560 –> 00:47:09,920
Lord’s Prayer is there are two
things that stand out.

583
00:47:11,040 –> 00:47:20,480
It’s simplicity and it’s
sincerity and that it’s God

584
00:47:20,480 –> 00:47:24,680
centered.
The whole prayer is totally God

585
00:47:24,680 –> 00:47:26,920
centered.
So talk about praise.

586
00:47:27,120 –> 00:47:29,760
Everything is about God.
We need God.

587
00:47:29,760 –> 00:47:33,240
Even in the in the petitions,
it’s all about God, the whole

588
00:47:33,240 –> 00:47:37,240
prayer.
So there’s the structure of it.

589
00:47:37,240 –> 00:47:39,360
It’s all about God, everything
about it.

590
00:47:39,600 –> 00:47:44,320
I think I had it there.
It is all about him.

591
00:47:46,320 –> 00:47:52,080
But secondly, it’s simplicity
and sincerity.

592
00:47:52,480 –> 00:47:54,920
The words.
This is so beautifully simple

593
00:47:55,760 –> 00:47:59,120
and sincere.
And here it is in Exodus 30

594
00:47:59,400 –> 00:48:04,000
verse 35, it says they’re
tempered together, pure and

595
00:48:04,000 –> 00:48:06,360
holy, and that it means the word
temp.

596
00:48:06,760 –> 00:48:10,240
Tempered means salted the
covenant.

597
00:48:11,760 –> 00:48:15,160
Salt of the covenant.
Is it’s mixed in with it.

598
00:48:15,240 –> 00:48:20,720
It’s God sent it and it was pure
and holy at the end of verse 35.

599
00:48:21,880 –> 00:48:26,040
Pure.
It’s unadulterated, it’s

600
00:48:26,040 –> 00:48:30,200
sincere, it’s holy, it’s totally
dedicated to God.

601
00:48:30,560 –> 00:48:35,600
It’s God sent it and it’s simple
and sincere and in verse 36 it

602
00:48:35,600 –> 00:48:39,440
says and thou shall beat of it
very small and put of it before

603
00:48:39,440 –> 00:48:43,040
the testimony of the Tabernacle
of the congregation where I will

604
00:48:43,040 –> 00:48:45,360
meet with thee.
It’s beaten small.

605
00:48:46,320 –> 00:48:51,080
It means it’s the most refined.
It’s the best and they use.

606
00:48:51,080 –> 00:48:55,840
The thing, brothers and sisters,
about this is that God isn’t

607
00:48:55,840 –> 00:48:57,840
looking for in these
ingredients.

608
00:48:57,840 –> 00:49:00,680
He’s not looking for the right
way.

609
00:49:00,880 –> 00:49:02,840
He’s looking for a right
attitude.

610
00:49:03,080 –> 00:49:06,560
Everything about those things is
about attitude.

611
00:49:07,080 –> 00:49:11,640
And the other thing is there’s
this meticulous preparation.

612
00:49:13,200 –> 00:49:18,320
It requires the correct
ingredients mixed with the right

613
00:49:18,320 –> 00:49:22,360
proportions, without impurity,
seasoned with salt, very fine

614
00:49:22,600 –> 00:49:26,640
flour.
Sorry, ground, very fine.

615
00:49:27,080 –> 00:49:32,600
God tells us that preparation
makes acceptable praise.

616
00:49:33,000 –> 00:49:37,600
And if you think about it,
brothers and sisters, we want to

617
00:49:37,600 –> 00:49:40,680
praise God.
Do we just go to the memory

618
00:49:40,680 –> 00:49:44,320
banks of the phrases that
express praise to God?

619
00:49:46,320 –> 00:49:51,320
Does that praise Him?
Or do we think about it, prepare

620
00:49:52,000 –> 00:49:55,080
and really think who He is, what
He’s like?

621
00:49:55,240 –> 00:49:57,840
That’s what Christ was doing in
that Lord’s Prayer.

622
00:49:59,920 –> 00:50:03,240
And we are leaky vessels,
Brothers and sisters, we need

623
00:50:03,240 –> 00:50:07,480
constant reminding.
So to prepare our minds for

624
00:50:07,480 –> 00:50:11,080
prayer, we need His Word, the
2GO together.