Knocking on Heaven's Door

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A new title, Prayer is. Now it's amazing to me that the God of Heaven, the great God of glory of Heaven and Earth would have interest in our needs.

But He does. He has an infinite interest in each one of us. The thought is mind boggling isn't it? Job raised the question in Job 7 verses 17 and 18. What is man that you make so much of him?

That you give him so much attention that you examine him every morning and test him every moment. It is incredible the idea that God Almighty would be interested in each one of us and our needs. The model prayer or the Lord's prayer as many know it is a template for prayer. It's an outline if you will, a structure upon which we can hang our thoughts and express our needs to God. It begins with our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It begins with the focus of Matthew 6 33 to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

And then all of the things that we need in life will be added unto us. In other words we seek heavenly things. We seek the things of the kingdom and our ultimate allegiance.

Our greater allegiance in life is the kingdom of God. And so we pray for God's kingdom and God's glory and God's name and God's will. But then the prayer takes a turn in verse 11 of chapter 6 of Matthew.

And we move from the heavenlies to the earthlies. For he talks about our personal needs and how we can find God's provision and blessing for our lives. He says in verse 11 give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Three requests that we can ask of God. Give us, that is God's prayer for provision.

Forgive us, that is our plea for pardon. And protect us or deliver us, that is our cry or our prayer for protection. When we ask Him to give us this day our daily bread, that is a prayer for food.

To ask for forgiveness and pardon, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, that is our prayer for forgiveness. And lead us not into temptation when we say, Lord, deliver us, that is our prayer for our frailties. So our food, our forgiveness, and our frailties are encompassed within this prayer.

Let's look at these today. Number one He said give us, it is a plea or a prayer for provision. Now it may not seem all that spiritual to pray, Lord give us this day our daily bread.

Now remember that God is interested in your physical needs just as He's interested in your spiritual needs. And so we are to pray simply for plain ordinary bread. Give us this day our daily bread.

Of course this is a very simple and yet a very profound teaching. It points out our Lord is underscoring our need to call upon God even for the most basic necessities of life, for everything that we have even the bread on our table is a gift from God. And no matter how much we may earn, no matter how hard we may work, no matter how cleverly we may invest and save and buy, even the abilities to work, the smarts to invest, all of that is a gift from God.

We cannot live in pride. We must live in dependence upon God to know that every breath we take, every bite we eat is a gift from God. It expresses our dependence upon God. Give us this day our daily bread. It expresses our gratitude. It also points out this brief text, our need to live every day, one day at a time. Just as God delivered manna bread to the children of Israel day by day, it was bread for the day and they were to use it up.

They weren't to store it because when they tried to store it up it spoiled. So God gave them just enough bread for every day. And we are to live that way every day asking God for daily bread. And the miracle of His blessing and our need for Him, to depend upon Him, to live from God's hand to our mouth is the principle of this point. Give us this day our daily bread. Did you know that Jesus is committed to meeting your personal needs, your physical needs?

Yes, your material needs. Let me just give you a few scriptures that you may want to note, Mark, underscore in your Bible. And I want to encourage you to follow along with these. This is Romans 8 and verse 32 where Paul says, I do not know that he who spared not his own son will freely give you all things. He delights to give to us. Our Father comes to us not with closed or clenched fists but with an open hand and an open heart.

He hears the cries of His children. He is a Father who has given us His Son and therefore don't you know if He has given you His Son He will also give you everything that you need. And then of course Philippians 19 which is a passage that is familiar to most, But my God shall supply all, A double L, all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ. All that we need and more is multiplied in our lives when we call upon Him.

And then look in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 10 and 11. Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed that you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness while you are enriched in everything for all liberality which causes thanksgiving through us to God. Paul is saying we are overcome with the blessings of God. He has blessed us abundantly and why? God has blessed us abundantly with others.

We are so thankful for the abundance that God has supplied to us. And then let's take an Old Testament scripture, Psalm 37 and verse 25. I've been young and now I'm old, yet I've not seen the righteous forsaken nor his descendants begging bread.

Why? Because God supplies our needs when we call upon Him, when we ask. One more, 1 Chronicles 29 verse 13. But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer so willingly as this for all things come from you and of your own hand have we given you? Because what we are to do with the bread that we are given as we depend upon God every day is to eat what we need, to use what we need, but then to share generously and bountifully with others.

God's provision, pray for it. It means that we're trusting Him every day. And the joy of life is receiving from the hand of God these great blessings of life. Of course the greater bread is the Lord Jesus Himself who is the bread of heaven.

And He said, If you eat of Me, you'll never be hungry again. The joy of life is discovering Jesus is Jehovah Jireh, that He provides all that we need and more, that He is sufficient to sustain us and to strengthen us. Can I get an Amen on that? God will provide.

It is a prayer for provision. Today's Power Point being broadcast and shared with all over the world. Our core mission of our Christian faith support has enabled us to pursue our core mission of preaching the Gospel worldwide, with increasing impact. Today Power Point is broadcasting truth on TV in 113 countries. We're sharing God's love on the radio in over 800 cities. And over 5000 people visit our website to watch messages full of biblical truth every week. None of that would be possible without our amazing Power Point partners. And that's why I'm inviting you to to be a part of today.

Thank you and I can't wait to see all God does through your faithful support. Call today and get invisible as our thank you for your gift. When you sign up as a PowerPoint partner, we'll also send you a copy of Dr. Graham's book, Unseen. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627 or text the word PowerPoint to 313131.

That's PowerPoint to 313131. Now let's get back to today's message, knocking on heaven's door. But then the next prayer is a prayer for pardon.

Lord, forgive us. And every person, yes, every Christian needs forgiveness because we have all sinned. Now sin is described in the Bible in numerous ways. For example, sin is described as a disease.

It is a disease that produces spiritual death. The Bible describes sin as disobedience to God. The Bible describes sin as darkness, spiritual darkness. The Bible describes sin as a defilement.

Therefore, the psalmist David cried out, wash me thoroughly. The Bible describes sin as defiance, trespassing against God, transgressing, rebellion against the will of God. Sin is also described in the Bible as deceit or a deception. That's why it's so hard for people to admit their sin or to admit the severity of their sin. Many will admit their sin but they don't see the big deal. But with God, sin is huge.

And therefore we cannot spend our days hiding and lying and covering. We need to come clean with God on a daily basis, to keep short accounts with God. Because David said in Psalm 66 in verse 18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear me.

There are many promises to answer prayer in the Scripture. But this is the verse, Psalm 66, 18 where God says, I promise not to answer your prayers if you regard iniquity in your heart. That is if you hold on to sin, if you keep sin as a pet, if you regard sin and live in sin rather than confessing your sin and coming clean with God, then God says, I'm just going to hold you off and I'll not hear you.

Some people don't think they need forgiveness. But Jesus said, that's a lie, that's deceit. So sin is described in various ways. But when Jesus chose a word to describe sin and our need for forgiveness, he said, sin is like a debt. Sin is a debt. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Now, if you're in debt materially, financially, one thing you can do is go to a financial counselor in order to get help.

And I assure you, if you're in debt and you need help, the first thing that financial counselor is going to do is to help you measure the full extent of your indebtedness of this bankruptcy, of this debt. So God in His love, His grace, gave us the forgiveness of sin, made it possible by the blood of Jesus, God's Son who died on the cross to pay our sin debt, to forgive us of our sins past, present, and future. We are in God's eternal debt because we have been forgiven fully and freely.

It's illustrated so powerfully, so beautifully in the story of the prodigal son when that son who rebelled against God and who was broken came home and that father ran to him and welcomed him home and embraced him even as God our Father welcomes us home when we come back to Him. The apostle Paul in Colossians said that Jesus took the debt that was against us, what we owe, and He nailed it to the cross. No wonder the hymn writer, Philip Bliss, it is well with my soul, said my sin not in part but in whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul. We have been forgiven and therefore we come to Him continually bringing our sin and sins and asking Him to forgive and when we turn from our sin and trust in Him and His forgiveness we not only have eternal life but we've been given abundant life rather than living in the defeat of sin and the debt and the weight of it. We're set free from the bondage of sin. Don't tell me that any person is in such bondage to sin that they cannot be forgiven and changed and cleansed from within.

Don't believe the lives of a culture and of a society which has given in to Satan himself to suggest that some are born in a manner of life that they cannot change or that anyone must be in bondage to their sin. You can be set free from the debt and from that bondage in Jesus Christ no matter what the sin and no matter what the debt. So we come to Him not only for provision but every day for pardon. But He goes on, He says, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Now it's very important that we realize that Jesus was not suggesting that in order to be forgiven we must do something else to be forgiven. His grace, His forgiveness is available to all who call upon Him.

It is not a matter of a condition for salvation but it is a characteristic of a person who knows Jesus and has been forgiven. Or put simply those who have been forgiven will forgive. And being a forgiver is essential to your well-being as a believer, as a person, to harbor resentment or anger or hatred will bring your spiritual life and your prayer life to a standstill. I tell young couples when we're talking about marriage and preparing for marriage that every marriage needs two things, two good givers and two good forgivers.

Because in every relationship there will be hurts and there will be insults and there will be problems and difficulties and so on. And the only way to survive in a relationship and to thrive in a relationship is to forgive and to extend forgiveness. And so Jesus says because we're going to be hurt and hurt one another intentionally or unintentionally be ready to extend that forgiveness. We live in a culture that exalts vengeance but we're to forgive even as Christ has forgiven us. And you're never more like Jesus than when you're extending the forgiveness and the love and the grace that He has given you. There's one final petition in this prayer and that is again back in Matthew 6.

It is a petition, a prayer, a plea for protection. Lord give us, Lord forgive us and Lord deliver us from the evil one. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Satan is a powerful enemy.

He determines now that you're a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ if you are to sabotage your every effort for God, to subvert the witness of Christ in your life. And every day is a battle. But listen every temptation, every time we engage in spiritual battle with our enemy, the enemy of our soul it is an opportunity for us to grow stronger in our faith. When we recognize our frailties and our vulnerabilities and our temptations and because we recognize we're weak we pray for spiritual power to defeat the enemy.

We pray for protection and God delivers and delivers us. You'll never grow temptation. Remember it's not a sin to be tempted. The fact that you're tempted in one sense consider it a privilege because Satan considers you worth attacking and there's a target.

There's a contract on you if you will. So it's vitally important that you know what your weaknesses are, that you don't give the devil a stick to hit you with, that you're willing to pray that God would protect you, that He would guard and guide your steps and to deliver you from evil. John MacArthur in his New Testament commentary on this passage says that this prayer is an appeal to God to place a watch over our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our feet and our hands that in whatever we see, hear or say and in any place we go and in anything we do He will protect us from sin.

Let him that stands take heed lest he fall. This is why it's so important to pray in the morning because we are to pray in advance of our temptations. So often we get beaten and bruised and knocked down and whipped every day and then we fall on our knees at our bedsides and say, Lord I did it again. Please forgive me of all our sins. And our God is a God of grace and He will forgive us. But wouldn't it be much better if God would protect us that we would cry out that in temptation that He would provide that exit strategy for us because God will never put on us any more than He can put in us to overcome every obstacle of faith and failure. You know God will forgive us of our sins.

He's promised that. But isn't it better even to be delivered of sins? We hear wonderful testimonies, powerful testimonies of changed lives, how Jesus meets a person at their lowest depths and delivers them out of the depths and the dregs of sin and bondage and all the rest. Praise God for that.

Thank God for that. But isn't it better even to pray that God would deliver us from sin and the slavery of sin? He delivers us from the tragedies of a wasted life.

So pray for God's protection. He closes this great model prayer with a doxology. Praising God for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. It is an echo of the Old Testament prayer in 1 Chronicles 29 as a matter of fact when David said almost the same thing, for thine is the power and the kingdom and the glory and the majesty forever and ever. This prayer which begins with a father who hears us and sees us in secret and in sympathy closes with a sovereign, a king who hears us with sovereignty and delivers the answer that we need. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, Knocking on Heaven's Door. The devil will stop at nothing to control your mind through lies, doubts and fears that enslave you to sin and rob you of life.

But you can experience freedom and victory when you let Jesus renew your thoughts with his truth. Dr. Jack Graham will teach you how in his message series, Invisible. This powerful resource is our thanks for your best gift today. And this month, we're asking for your help to meet an important goal of adding 100 new PowerPoint partners. If you become a PowerPoint partner with your first monthly gift today, we'll send you a special bonus gift of Dr. Graham's book, Unseen. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627.

You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit JackGraham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is JackGraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Over and over again in the Bible, we are assured that we can be confident when we pray. One of my favorite prayer promises is found in 1 John 5 and verse 14. This is the confidence that we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of him. What a great promise.

And the scripture is just full of promises just like that one. And this is the promise that you have in Jesus Christ. It is vitally important that believers pray. Prayer is essential. It's essential in developing your walk with Christ, your personal relationship with Christ and growing up in your faith. Prayer does so much for you and in you and also beyond you. John Bunyan once said, he who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find him the rest of the day. The fact is if you want God's presence, the sense of his presence in your life throughout the day, then you need to begin each day in prayer asking him to meet your needs and to fulfill his mission and purpose in your life that day.

It's really a matter of reporting for duty, isn't it? To stand before our Lord God, our Commander in Chief and say, Lord, here I am. Fill my life. Walk around in me.

Wear me like a suit. May I minister and love and serve and overcome temptation and every obstacle in life through your grace today. As I mentioned in the message, God wants to forgive you of your sins. God wants to protect you and deliver you from sin and temptation.

But first you must ask. So often we get beaten up in the world because we simply don't prepare or ask for God's protection. I'm reminded of a story about God's provision. Dr. Helen Rosevear, a missionary to Zaire, told the following story. She said a mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister. One of the little girls prayed, Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today.

Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won't feel so lonely. Well, that afternoon, a large package arrived from England and the children watched eagerly as we opened it. And much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle. And immediately a little girl who prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming, If God sent that, I'm sure he also sent a doll.

And she was exactly right. The Heavenly Father knew in advance of that child's sincere request. And five months earlier, he had led a ladies prayer group to include both of those specific articles. It truly is amazing what God does through us when we pray. Begin asking, seeking and knocking.

God is faithful and He will answer your prayer. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's powerful message series, Invisible as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about the secret of how you can pray effectively. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint ministries.