Brave Enough to Believe - Live with Lon!

Welcome to Live with Lon. We're so glad to have you today and today we are gonna press on after our four-week little mini-series on brokenness that we have just finished and I hope that it was helpful and spiritually encouraging to you. Remember, every bad thing that happens to us is not because we did something wrong or we've sinned or God's upset with us. Remember some things are part of the process of breaking and building us into the people God can really use and that's why when we pray there are some things that are emergencies that really are crises that we need fixed right now and we need God to intervene right now and there certainly are those things and then there are some things that are part of process. You know you don't get to be a man or a woman of God without God putting you through his process and the process is not an emergency.

The process is not a crisis. The process is the process and part of the wisdom we need is to know when we have an emergency that we need God right that second to relieve it and when we're in process and we simply have to endure as James says we have to endure and our endurance produces patience and patience produces spiritual growth in our life etc. So I hope that was all helpful for you remember this brokenness this is process and that's why sometimes God doesn't heal us and this is why sometimes God doesn't heal our loved ones like my daughter Jill and this is why sometimes God doesn't lift of what's putting pressure on us whatever it might be because it's all it's it's part of process. Okay these are the more discerning parts of our walk with God is getting to recognize the difference. Okay now we're ready to move on in John's Gospel actually we're gonna move on in all four Gospels as we work them together during the last week of Jesus's life but we're gonna stay in John's Gospel for the next several weeks because what he said about brokenness immediately transitions into some other things that he's gonna say that are very important and we're gonna look at those here in John chapter 12 but let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father open our hearts today that the scripture might powerfully speak to us that we might learn from your word how to better communicate and interact with you today from your word and we pray this and give me power and anointing to teach your word in Jesus name we pray amen and what a men now let me read you the verses for today John chapter 12 verse 27 now my soul is troubled Jesus said and what shall I say father save me from this hour is that what I should say but for this purpose I came to this hour this is why I came into the world he's talking about the cross what does Jesus say verse 28 father glorify your name bring glory and honor and attention and renown to your name then a voice came from heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it again therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it thundered and others said an angel spoke to him and Jesus answered and said this voice did not come because of me but for your sake now here we have in an instance an example of the Lord Jesus Christ praying and of the Lord Jesus Christ requesting something from God so we should pay attention I mean in his prayer we learn how to pray in his approaching God for help in in crisis we learn how to approach God in crisis the crisis is the upcoming cross it's six days away he knows what's coming and he said what am I gonna say Lord take the cross away from me is that what I'm gonna say well he could have remember what he said to the Peter he could have called 10,000 angels to come and rescue him folks we'll come back to this but you have any idea what 10,000 angels could do I don't know how many angels there are but there's at least 10,000 two angels completely destroyed the city of Sodom and Gomorrah brought down fire and brimstone from heaven destroyed two cities two you know what 10,000 angels could do haha holy smokes he said I could do that but how then would the scripture be fulfilled Jesus said and here he says what I'm gonna ask God to deliver me from the cross no this is why I came into the world to do miracles yes to preach the gospel yes but primarily to go to the cross because it was on the cross that he shed his blood to pay for our sin it was on the cross that he gave his life to substitute for your life and my life in the sight of a holy God it was on the cross that he purchased the plan of salvation for you and me and every human being who will avail themselves of what he did was on the cross that he secured heaven and eternal life for his followers in the sight of a holy God and then the resurrection of course Jesus said I can't ask God to take this away from me it's why I came and then he praised this father glorify your name that's what I'm asking not asking you to take the cross away from me I'm asking you through the cross and through my suffering and through my death and through my resurrection and burial will burial and resurrection bring glory to yourself Lord bring renown bring attention bring majesty to yourself now God has all those things but he's talking about bringing those things to God bringing those things to himself in the sight of people here on earth and the angels who are watching that's the end of our passage we're gonna stop right there and we're gonna keep this short and ask the question so what so you ready come on now one two three so what oh yeah baby and you know I got my buddy here he is Jackie and what does Jackie say what does he say how sweet it is we say how sweet it is right to be teaching God's Word and how sweet it is the Lord Jesus did not ask God to take the cross away from him and did not call on 10,000 angels to go back to heaven but paid the price so you and I can be saved and have eternal life and spend eternity in heaven instead of hell okay now what's the so what here what's the takeaway what does what's the not a sermon just a thought well it's very simple here we see Jesus praying and telling us showing us how to pray when we're in crisis is it okay in front in crisis to pray father please take this away sure absolutely Paul prayed that three times he says that God would take away his thorn in the flesh sure if Paul can pray it we can pray it and that's okay but more important than that Jesus prayed father glorify your name through whatever happens to me good bad or ugly bring glory to yourself not to me but to yourself this is an amazing prayer that he does here and it's an amazing template an example that he gives you and me this is how we should pray Lord I'm praying that you deal with this I'm praying that you take it away I'm praying that it's not part of the process of brokenness which you won't take away right now until it's finished its work but whatever it is above what I might ask doesn't matter what I might want for my comfort father through what's happening to me bring glory to your name in the sight of people here on this earth bring renown and fame and majesty to your name now this is the highest motive for prayer this is the stuff that the greatest prayers in the Bible are made of let me show you this is why David says in the Psalms not to us not to us o Lord but to thine own name bring glory now here's the prayer of Elijah first Kings 18 up on Mount Carmel when he was facing down the 400 prophets of Baal that Jezebel had brought to the Northern Kingdom in the 450 prophets of Baal's consort a she ra and here's what he prays he prays listen to this now I'm in first Kings chapter 18 verse 37 he prays answer me Oh Lord answer me that this people may know that you Oh Lord are God and that you've turned their heart you're back to you answer me Lord answer me why so people will know that I'm your prophet and I'm a big shot no answer me why so I'll be vindicated and all in front all these people know answer me so that people watching will know that you are God father glorify your name in answering this prayer mine that's my highest motive and how about Hezekiah when Sennacherib the king of Assyria had surrounded Jerusalem listen to what he prayed he got up and he prayed and now Oh Lord our God deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone Lord our God and then Isaiah came to him and said here's what God says verse 21 first Isaiah 37 because you have prayed to me about Sennacherib the king of Assyria this is the word the Lord has spoken because of your raging against me verse 29 this is about Sennacherib and your arrogance therefore I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your lips and I will turn you back by the way you came I will verse 35 defend this city to save it for my own sake and my for my servant David's sake and then the Lord went out and killed 185 soldiers Sennacherib went home he never did capture Jerusalem and we have proof of this yeah we do we discovered the Sennacherib prism and let me show you a picture of it the Sennacherib prism prism because it's a prism and on here he says I shut up Hezekiah in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage well he did do that he surrounded the city but you know what after he says I captured this city I captured this city I captured this city I shut up Hezekiah like a bird in the cage he never says he conquered Jerusalem because he didn't it's a complete break with all of the cities he conquered that he's talking about on this prism he never says he conquered Jerusalem which he certainly would have said if he did it because he didn't do it just like the Bible said but what was Hezekiah's prayer let's go back look at it again Isaiah 37 verse 20 deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are God not so we'll be comfortable not so we won't die not so that he won't take us captive not so that he won't destroy the city yeah all those things are true but look at the motive the high motive of Hezekiah upon which he appeals to God God above all of that answer us so you can glorify your name so that all the nations will know that you are God and you will get renowned and fame and the spotlight from all of the nations my point and we're done when we pray Jesus has given us an example yes we can ask God to relieve us of these circumstances for all of those human reasons but ultimately we need to get to the place in our heart where we can say God answer me answer me please above everything else so that in your answer you will get glory for your name one quick story and I'm done my son my oldest son James who I'm I'm very proud of all my sons God has given me three incredible sons by his grace but James I'm proud of and he's an anesthesiologist in the Navy he's almost done almost ready to retire he's an o6 in the Navy stationed at what used to be Bethesda Naval now Walter Reed here in Washington when he was beginning his medical career in the Navy he went up to Boston Children's Hospital to do a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia which he did he was in Boston for a year and the promise the Navy made him was that after that year he would be coming back to Washington with my grandchildren to live back here in Washington well about halfway through the year the Navy told him that that probably wasn't gonna happen that he was gonna be sent somewhere else and they decided to send him to Portsmouth Virginia to the Naval Hospital there I grew up in Portsmouth Virginia I know about that city and I I want but I wanted him to come back to Washington with my grandchildren so I began to pray Lord please let him come back please change their hearts I said Jamie I want you to know it's what I'm praying please do this Lord strike me close to my grandchildren anything wrong with that prayer no no please do this so I could be close to my son and my daughter-in-law anything wrong with that prayer no perfectly good prayer well a couple months later like February ish of that year that he was in Boston he got orders to Portsmouth and he called me said dad it's over I've got my orders I'm going to Portsmouth I said James Solomon it is never over with God no no I'm sorry I don't care orders are no orders God can still change it and send you back to Washington and he said dad you don't understand I got my written orders it's over and I said James Solomon it's never over with God he said you are so frustrating and any hung up and I said okay baby I got on my knees and I said now Lord Jesus you know what I'm gonna pray what I should have prayed from the very beginning but I'm really gonna pray it now Lord I want you to bring this boy and his family back to Bethesda and not because I want to be close to my grandchildren that that's true and not because I want to be close to him and his family that's true but I want you to do it to show this boy and everybody else watching your glory your power your ability to change even written orders in the military that you are bigger you are greater you are more powerful than his written orders so for the rest of his life he never limits you and says it's over never teach him Lord bring glory to your name by doing this well now baby I'm cooking with gas as my dad used to say now I finally got down to what well with the way to pray like Jesus did like hezekiah did like like Elijah did so about three weeks later I get a phone call from my son James and he says dad you'll never believe what happened I said you know what I might what happened he said well I get a call I get a beep on my beeper while I'm in the operating room I need to get come out and give a call to the guy in San Diego the Navy guy who decides which anesthesiologist in the Navy go where so I did it and he said hey James he said have you bought a home in Portsmouth Virginia yet Jamie said no he wanted to but I talked him out of it I said don't do that yet God isn't done he said have you rented a home in Portsmouth James said no he said well don't he said because I think I've got a way to get you back to Washington and so he said just sit tight he said if this works out I'll send you new orders and you're going back to DC like we originally promised and that's exactly what happened he sent him new orders he came back to DC where incidentally he's been for his whole career praise the Lord living ten minutes from me and Brenda and after that happened I said to him James Solomon I want you to listen to me look at me God did this for you to teach you don't you ever limit God don't you ever decide that it's over till he says it's over I don't care what the human obstacle is if he can change written orders in the Navy he can do anything James and this was for you my son this was to teach you my son that and this is for you to teach your children my son and your grandchildren to tell them this story and teach them about the majesty and the glory and the power of Almighty God that you saw exhibited and on display in your life in real time praise the Lord praise the Lord let the earth hear his voice praise the Lord praise the Lord let the people rejoice oh come to the Father through Jesus the Son and give him the glory great things he has done Danny Crosby folks when we pray let's try to get down to the real real heart of the matter Lord whatever you may decide to do with me more than anything else glorify your name in it and I'll be okay let's pray Lord Jesus teaches today to come to you like Jesus did to pray to you like Jesus did to ask from you like Jesus did and what did Jesus say father glorify thy name change our prayer life change the way we approach you in our prayer life because we heard the Word of God today and we pray this in Jesus name and everybody said amen and amen the Bible the whole Bible nothing but the Bible that's what we do live with long god bless you look forward to seeing you next week Lord willing