Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Sermon Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today.

Our program is called Ye Shall Have Them. We're going to begin in just a few minutes. We're going to begin in just a few minutes.

We're going to begin in just a few minutes. Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple. And when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the even tide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came. If haply he might find anything thereon, and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves.

For the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it.

Now that's important for you to understand what went on. Jesus came to this tree. There wasn't any fruit on it. And so Jesus spoke to that tree and he says nobody's ever going to eat from you again.

Now, alright preacher, you say what is, you know, give me some Danielology instead of Bibleology. I've often wondered when I read things like that, I wonder if that tree is still there. Alive, but no fruit. We don't know exactly where that tree is, we'll never know. But I believe in so much in the power of God, that he can keep a tree alive, but he can also keep fruit from coming on it. Wouldn't that be interesting? Now don't get a ticket and go spend five months trying to find that tree.

It's not going to work. Notice if you would, as we have to understand that, to understand where we're going now. Verse fourteen, And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it. And they come to Jerusalem. And Jesus went into the temple. Now he had just been in the temple. He had looked around. He had observed. They went out and he saw this tree. We know what happened there. Now he is going back to Jerusalem, back into the temple.

Notice this. And began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple. I believe when he went into the temple the first time and observed, he saw this going on.

And listen to me. The Bible says that you can be angry and sin not. We know that Jesus was angry and we know that he turned the tables over and we're going to read about this.

But I'm going to be honest with you. I think when he first went, I can't prove this and if you don't agree with this, it's not a problem. We're still going to heaven. If you've been saved. We're still going to heaven.

Even if you don't agree with me, it's not a problem. But I think that he went into the temple, saw this going on and so that he did not act in any wrong anger. I believe he went, prayed and figured exactly what the father would have him to do. And I believe that he went back into the temple and the Bible says when he went back in this time, notice, he began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them that sold doves and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. Notice this, and he taught saying unto them, is it not written my house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?

But ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy him for they feared him because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. And when even was come he went out of the city and in the morning as they passed by they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots and Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him master behold the fig tree which thou cursed is withered away and Jesus answering saith unto them have faith in God.

Now look at me, what was the whole point of all this? The whole point of all this is that when Jesus went by that tree and saw there was in fruit, he said hey from now on forever nobody is going to eat fruit off of this tree. And then he went on to do other things and then when they came back by and the disciples saw that they had withered and that there was no fruit on it they acted as if hey it really happened what he just said. And that's why Jesus said have faith in God.

Did I not say that's what I was going to do? And you know what I say the same thing to you and to me this morning. Often times we look when things happen we say well God really did it.

That's what he said he would do. Well man I did this in my life and I've had to suffer for some of those things and buddy I blew it and I had to pay for some of those things. Isn't that what God said sin will do? Often times people say man I prayed and prayed and prayed and God answered my prayer.

Have faith in God. So you say preacher in the middle of all this what's the whole point of the money changers? Well here he found men that had taken something God had designed to be done his way and man had come up with somehow how they could make money out of it. And they twisted something that God had made and they used it to try to do something for themselves.

Everybody got me so far? Do you know you and I have done exactly the same thing to prayer? We have taken something that God designed for us to accomplish his will. Prayer has always been about us doing and finding out what God wants and praying for that to be done. And over the years you and I have twisted that to now we use prayer to try to get what we want. We use prayer to try to get God to do what we want God to do. Then all of a sudden they come back to the tree and it's exactly what God said. So listen have faith in God. If I said it I'm going to do it. Now where does all that go from there?

Hey hold on this is all part of the plan. Look at verse 23. For verily I say unto you, now this is now how God makes the application.

They see the tree and they say hey the tree has withered away. He said have faith in God. Look at verse 23. For verily I say unto you that whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass.

Now hold on right there. Let me tell you where a lot of people get lost. Notice if you would in verse 23. Verily I say unto you whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed and be cast into the sea. That's the individuals saying that.

That would be like us saying that to the mountain. Now notice and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass. It does not mean those things that those individuals say. It means the things that God said would come to pass will come to pass.

Now you cannot miss this. Does everybody understand that? God is saying if you go to a mountain and you say mountain be removed and be cast into the sea and don't doubt one bit that God said he would put that mountain in the sea. Often times people take that verse to say well if I look at that mountain and say get into the sea and I don't doubt one bit what I said. It's you don't doubt one bit what God said. That means if God didn't say for that mountain to get into the sea you can pray it all you want to but that's not going to mean that mountain is going to go into that sea. It means if God said the mountain is going to go into the sea then you pray and you believe God said he would do it and I believe God is going to do it and I'm not going to doubt it.

God said then it will happen. See you and I are trying to come up with what we want done and because we said it we think God ought to do it. That's not what prayer is. Prayer is us being close enough to God to find out what God wants and what God said he's going to do and then we begin to pray God do what you said you were going to do.

And then it's done. Everybody wants to write books on how you can get exactly what you want in your prayer life and dear friend that is not biblical. Prayer is about you getting what God wants in your life. We're not even reading the key verses yet and I'm already started. Look at verse 24. Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them. Now the problem is we don't start reading early enough to understand this verse and we don't read long enough. Look at verse 25. And when ye stand praying forgive if ye have ought against any that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But if ye do not forgive neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. A little phrase ye shall have them. Let's talk about prayer a little bit this morning. Lord we love you. Bless our time together.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Number one.

If you're keeping notes this will be on the screen. Number one. In verse 24 I want you to understand this principle.

Number one. The activation of prayer is desire. The activation of prayer. What makes us pray?

What activates that? What is it that is going to get you and I to do what God told us to do anyway and that is to pray and to go to God on our behalf. Look at me once you get this. Let me tell you what makes you pray your desires. Do you know what you're going to pray for?

What you desire. That's what you're going to pray for. That's where prayer always begins in the desire of the heart. That's why I get down and I pray and I go to God. Why? Because I have a desire for God to do such and such.

Whatever it might be. Now I'm going to get down as I did last night and I'm going to pray God would you heal Ray Tester. God if that's your will and if that's what you want done I believe in your word you have told us and proven that you can do whatever you want to do. And so God we want your will whatever it is. But God if it's your will heal Ray Testerman.

And look at me folks. If it's God's will to heal Ray Testerman then God will heal him. Desire. Listen I want you to get this. We begin to pray for the things that we have begun to desire. Now I'm going to give you some statements and I want you to get this this morning. Answered prayer is birthed out of godly desires.

Now I'm going to go back and explain this. Number two godly desires are birthed out of godly living. And number three godly living is birthed out of a close relationship with God.

Let me say it all again because you've got to understand this point. Answered prayer is birthed out of godly desires. Look at me God's not going to answer prayer that's not according to his will. So for me to get answered prayer in my life means that I've got to start asking for things that are according to God's will. Does that make sense to everybody? Now listen get this now.

Put it on your thinking caps. Answered prayer is birthed out of godly desires. So how do I get godly desires? Godly desires are birthed out of godly living.

If you're not living right you're not going to want what's right. Number three okay so for me to get answered prayer I've got to have godly desires. How do I get godly desires? You get godly desires by living in a godly way. Alright well how do I get godly living in my life? Godly living is birthed out of a close relationship with God.

Let me tell you how prayer works. You get real close to God and you begin to have a personal thriving relationship with the Lord and that begins to change how you live. And as that begins to change how you live it changes how you think.

And then all of a sudden look at me folks it begins to change the things you want. All of a sudden people that didn't want to go near church now they want to be in church. All of a sudden people didn't want to read the Bible. Now they want to read the Bible in the mornings.

All of a sudden people that you know they didn't want anything to do with a Christian life or clean living or any of this stuff. All of a sudden because now you've begun this close relationship with God and it has produced godly living and now you begin to have these godly desires that now we begin to desire things in our life that God wants for us. And then when we get down on our knees and we begin to say God would you do such and such we are now asking God for the desires of our life but our desires are godly. And when our desires are godly now God can answer prayer. The problem is you and I are asking a holy God for unholy things. The problem is you and I are going to God asking for what we want but we haven't been living close to him and we've not had godly living and that godly living has not produced godly thinking and godly desires. So we're still praying for things that are carnal instead of praying for things that are godly. Number one, the activation of prayer is desire. Verse 24, what things soever ye desire. God knows that's what you're going to pray for. So you and I have got to live in a way where we begin to have godly desires. Look at me folks, the closer you get to God the less you're going to be worried about that God provides such and such type of car for you. The closer you get to God the more you're going to pray God.

Would you say Mark that works with me? God would you save John that lives next door to me? God would you somehow soften their hearts?

I'll tell you how God can change your desires. I'll give this quick illustration. I was flying home Friday from Florida. I had to leave five in the morning to drive to the airport. It's about two hours from my dad's house and then I had to take back a rental car and then I went through security and it was a wild morning. I mean it was just one of those mornings. Everybody's mad, everybody's angry, everything's lined up. And for some reason I was just calm and I'm normally not.

I think I was just worn out and tired or whatever the case might be. And so I was just calm and I got in the plane and I was one of the first ones to board the plane. I was three rows from the back.

31C was my seat. And it was a plane where there's two seats and three seats. And I was in the two seat and I always get an aisle because I can exit, I can, you know, if somebody stinks I can get up and walk around a little bit. You know, it's easier to get to the bathroom if you need to go.

I don't have to step over people, whatever the case might be. And so I had an aisle and so folks were starting to load on that plane. And I was sitting way in the back and way up. This lady came in and she had a big old bag and had this car seat thing and she walks in and the stewardess stops and says we gotta check that car seat thing. And so they went back out and she comes in and she's got this baby, looks like, and this baby was seven months old. And she had this baby and she had this big old bag, she had a blanket, she's carrying all this stuff walking down the aisle. And when somebody gets on the plane with a baby, what is everybody sitting there thinking?

Please, not me. But when you've had children or you have babies, you look at it different. And I've never done this, I'm not one that says I don't want them to sit with me, I'm not one that says I want them to sit with me.

It's just whatever. But that lady got on that plane, I've never done it in my life and I don't know why. But I said God let her sit with me.

I could just see it on her face. I said let her sit with me. Now this is a long way back in an airplane. And I was just kinda watching.

And seat after seat after seat after seat after seat. And she got all this stuff, got right to the seat in front of me, she says I'm in there. And I said good, you got the baby, I wanted to hold the baby and help you.

I am so glad and she just kinda. So I got up and I said here let me get you a bag, you wanna help it under there? I said I know I'm a stranger, I'm not a weirdo.

I said but if you need me to hold. I said the little girl and she looks, she's a spitting image of Kyrie in our church, Nicole and Jeremy's baby girl, Kyrie. And I said I got a girl in our church, looks just like this girl. And I said, she goes okay, so I held her. And so she got the bag underneath, got her blanket, got in there and she was holding the baby in her seat. And I said oh good, good, good. I said I got three boys of my own and I was just talking and I said my wife flew with our babies one time and I said there's a couple men that were near her that she had our baby and then our infant with her and I said those men really helped her out.

I said what a blessing. And she's just kinda looking. And I'm sure she's thinking this guy's out there crazy. And so we got in the plane, we're sitting there, we're just talking and I said yes, we got a girl in our church. I said I pastor a church in Kernersville and here we are leaving Tampa. She says well I live in Winston.

And I said oh do you? I said I pastor a church in Kernersville. She goes well I'm familiar with Kernersville, what church is it?

I said it's Kerwin Baptist Church. She goes I've heard of that. I said she says where is it?

And I said well we're on 66 between Kernersville and Winston, that's why they called it Kerwin you know. And she goes oh I know exactly where you're talking. And she goes I go to Unity Baptist in Winston Salem.

I said where is that at? And she was saying it's kinda Peter's Creek Parkway 150 area over in Winston and I said I don't know exactly where that's at but we were talking and then we just began to talk about church, different things and I talked about my wife. I pulled a picture, showed her my three, told her all about Caden, what Caden's been through and then by this time I was holding, Eleanor was the little girl's name and I was holding Eleanor and she was just you know kind of a thing and this lady's trying to make the bottle so she's making a bottle we're getting ready to take off you know and I'm holding Eleanor and so that she gives me the bottle and I'm feeding the bottle to Eleanor. And we're just sitting there talking and you know people sitting around, you know they're just kinda, and I'm gonna tell you something, we flew from Tampa all the way, that little girl never made one sound.

Got done feeding, gave it back to the mom, mom's holding the baby, Eleanor goes out, falls asleep, sitting there the whole time. You know we were just talking every once in a while and I got my Bible out and I was trying to work on this message of all things and I was just working a little bit here and there and we got to where you could tell the plane and you could just feel the plane kinda going down. We're still about 20 minutes away and the pilot got on and he said well we've begun our descent whatever and this girl's name is Tiffany and she just said can I just say something?

And I said yeah. She said God is so good. She just began to cry.

I said what do you mean? She said I had to drive two hours to the airport and I was just so anxiety bringing this baby, it's my first baby, my first time flying with the baby, I've been taking care of my great grandmother for a month and a half, haven't seen my husband for a month and a half, my baby started crawling and has started saying some words and my husband hadn't seen any of it and she goes I've had to go through security and all that they went through and I just thought if I gotta sit by a mean person on a plane again and she said God put me right here in this seat and you've been such a help. She said God is so good. And I said yes he is Tiffany. I said God is so good and I began to tell some things in our life and she said I need to come visit Kerwin sometime and I said don't get your pastor mad. I said if it's sometime you're not having church we'd love to have you. And I just thought you know what?

It used to be when somebody get on a plane like that be like oh I don't want it in my seat. But godly living brings godly desires. And I wanted her to sit with me. And what God did in my heart in just an hour and a half, dear friend listen to me I'm here to tell you what things so ever ye desire. I'm asking you this morning what are you desiring? What is it that we really want in our lives? Are we asking for flesh based things?

Or are we finding out what God wants and then going to our knees and saying God do it I know it's what you want. I know it's what you've laid on my heart. I know you want me to do such and such.

Somehow make a way for it. Tell you something I remember those days I knew God had called me to do something. I didn't know what. And I'm just getting down to say God I know you called me and I don't know what it is but whatever it is do it.

And he did. It all starts folks. Prayer answered prayer is activated by godly desire. What are you desiring?

Look at me. God had created the temple to accomplish his will and now these men had used it to accomplish their will. Don't you use prayer to accomplish your will. You use prayer to find out what God's will is and to get God's will accomplished.

Number two. The activity of prayer is practice. Number one the activation of prayer is desire but number two the activity of prayer is practice. Notice what he says in verse 24. When ye pray.

You know what that means? You gotta pray. You know why a lot of people don't have answered prayer cause a lot of people aren't praying. I mean you say well that's just common sense preacher makes sense. Oh yeah I wish we would realize that. When ye pray.

We've gotta pray. Duh. There are things happening in my life sometimes I'm like God why'd you let that happen? I thought man I didn't spend one minute asking God to do it different.

Why wouldn't he do it that way? I didn't ask for anything different. I didn't pray about it.

I didn't seek his face on it. It's my fault not his. Listen when ye pray which means this. This is only gonna work if you're praying. You know the only time you get prayers answered is when ye pray. You know the only time you really get a marriage put back together is when ye pray. You know the only time you really see God perform a financial miracle in your life is when ye pray. You know the only time you really see spiritual growth in your life is when ye pray.

We don't even go any further. There's no sense doing anything else until we understand we've got to pray for any of this to work. Folks we're not praying.

That's the bottom line. The activation of prayer is desire. The activity of prayer is practice. Number three, the action of prayer is faith.

Look at verse 24. Believe that ye receive them. Receive what? Well preacher the things I've asked. No, no, no, no, no.

It's not that simple. Receive what? Well it's the things I've asked.

No. It's the godly desires that God put in your heart. And it's the things that are according to God's will because now that you are living according to God's will now you're beginning to desire things that are according to God's will and that's what you're gonna have when you pray.

Ye shall have them. Ye shall have what? God's will is what you're gonna have. Why are you gonna have God's will? Because you were praying according to God's will. Why were you praying according to God's will? Because you were desiring the things of God's will. Why were you desiring the things that God will? Because you've been living according to God's will. Well why have you been living according to God's will?

Because you've been spending time with God. Answered prayer is rooted in a growing relationship with Christ. Dear friends, prayer is not us convincing God to do what we want.

When we get so close to God we begin to ask for what he wanted in the first place. Faith. Listen, let me tell you something. Everybody says well I don't have a lot of faith. Well let me tell you something, you do.

You do. You sat down in that seat this morning you're sitting in right now. You didn't get under and check it.

You didn't see if it was put together correctly. You put everything you are, you had so much faith in that seat that you just plopped it all down right there. Some of us have more faith than others.

What I mean seriously is this. You have more faith than you think. Look at me. You want to talk about faith. When you know God wants something, you know that God wants it. And you have been praying for it. There is nothing that can change your mind and nothing that can move you when you know what I'm praying for, God wants it. Buddy, you're gonna get it. And you are gonna believe it.

Why? You know why you and I doubt a lot? Because we're asking for things we're not real sure if God wants.

When you begin asking for things you know God wants. Buddy, that's faith. All of a sudden you're gonna find out your faith is real strong. People are gonna say, hey, you might as well just quit praying for that. Ain't gonna stop you from praying. Because you know God wants it. So I'm praying for it.

You can say I'm wasting my time all I want to. I know God wants this so I'm gonna keep praying. Why? That's faith. Because I know this is what God wants. That gives you so much confidence in prayer when you know it's what God wants.

Number four. So many things I could say. Oh, let me say this. I can't bypass this for sacred time.

We still got 12 minutes. Listen to this. I want you to get this. Faith is simply believing God will do what he said he will do. When it says believe you shall receive him. I have to use this application because I made you read verse 11 and on. That's why God said about the fig tree, he said have faith in God. I said that that tree would not bear fruit anymore and all of a sudden I did what I said I would do and you act surprised. And dear friends, when you know it's of God, if God said he's going to do it, he's going to do it, you can believe him. God bless you.