Session 4 The Blessings Through Prayer

Well, a wonderful day in the Lord. Let's get right to our text this evening. In Matthew chapter 6, we've looked at several different things. It started out, as you know, last night with the barriers to prayer and the time not to pray but a time to act. The burden of prayer, how to pray for our congregations and for each other. the Beloved in Prayer, How Jesus Prayed for the Elect.

And here's probably the most familiar passage we're looking at, the blessing through prayer. Most people call this the Lord's Prayer, but we read the Lord's Prayer a few minutes ago. This is really the disciples' prayer, isn't it? This is the Lord teaching us how to pray, how to honor Him in prayer. And this is nothing new, but yet wonderful truth for us to remind ourselves with.

Scripture is replete with repetition because we need to hear it again on how we are to pray. And though it may not be these exact words, it's certainly a model to guide us in our praying together. Let's just read this here together in Matthew 6, verses 9 to 15. He says, Our Father, pray then like this, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And then as you know, some manuscripts don't have the following, but some manuscripts do. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Amen.

Familiar words. Six great truths. His praise, His promise, His provision, His pardon, His protection, and His providence. We just completed a four-month journey, maybe a few extra weeks an 18 series on the attributes of God We did a three series at our church on the authority and sufficiency of God Word and then this Lord's Day we begin our study of the book of Galatians.

It's a wonderful time. Previous to that we did about a year and a half in the book of Daniel, and it was a wonderful journey in that great revelation of the Old Testament. And it's wonderful because one of the things that we learn through this idea of the attributes of God, His patience, His goodness, His mercy, His grace, His wrath, His justice, His righteousness, and on and on, His holiness, that we learned one key thing.

That no one ever lives greater than their view of God. No one ever lives greater than their view of God. Our view of God determines everything. If you have a casual view of God, you will live in a casual way. If you have a transcendent view of God, simply meaning He's divinely other than who we are and loftier than who we are. His ways are not our ways.

His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is greater in every respect. He is the transcendent being of Yahweh. That's the divine name. In three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each member of the Trinity is referred to as Yahweh in the Scriptures. So one being, three persons.

Co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential, co-existing. From all eternity. So our view of God determines everything. The psalmist in Psalm chapter 50 brings this to a reality to us, a familiar psalm. But by way of introduction this evening, Psalm 50, here God is confronting the waywardness of Judah, of Israel, and He is displaying Himself as the divine judge.

You know, that's one of the marks of a post-modern society. They don't believe in absolutes. They say that absolutely, by the way. They don believe in truth Everything is subjective They don believe in a divine judge that we accountable to and therefore they do not believe in a divine judgment But here we see this in Scripture continually. There's one that we are morally accountable to in this life and the next.

And here throughout this wonderful psalm, there's a few things that come, beginning in verse 16, but to the wicked God says, what right have you to recite My statutes? He can say that. Or take My covenant on your lips. There is no right for the unregenerate to even think of this, let alone God's covenant people who had drifted into idolatry. For you hate discipline.

Here's their waveredness. You cast off My words behind you. No truth, no conformity to that truth. You see a thief, you are pleased with him. You keep company with adulterers. You give your mouth free reign for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.

You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother's son. No dedication to friend or family. these things you have done and I have been silent. In other words, He didn't come and bring swift judgment. And then He says this, You thought I was just like you. I was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. Mark this then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart and there be none to deliver. The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me. To one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God. What is he saying? Some people, because God does not bring judgment, whether to his covenant people in the Old Testament, or whether it be to those today, even non-believers, who hear the word of God but resist it. because God does not intervene upon man's sin in a swift way, they bring the false conclusion.

You thought I was just like you They have recreated God in their own image They dumbed Him down to their own personality to their own character They want a God of convenience, but not a God to whom they must reckon with. Not a God to be worshipped. A back burner Jesus. A plastic Jesus. One that they can recreate in their own image, but here, even to the covenant people of Judah, He brings this charge against them.

In word and in deed. You might say, what does this have to do with the Lord's Prayer? It has everything to do with the Lord's Prayer because He begins where all prayer should begin and that's with a right view of God. A high view of God. A transcendent view of God. A sovereign view of God.

A holy view. of God. So let's look at this here together here this evening. Six things, six characteristics of this wonderful prayer. But a wonderful opportunity for us to see it afresh. No one lives greater than their view of God so the Lord begins with how we are to approach God in prayer. The first thing is praise.

Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. You know, names do not mean much to us in our society, but God is called by several names in Scripture. And He refers to Himself in these names because the name of God defines who God is. We are told that those who are in Christ Jesus to be sure may pray this prayer. May pray this prayer. God is rightly referred to as the Creator of all men, but He's only the Abba Father of those who know Him as such through Christ.

A wonderful verse in 2 Corinthians 6.18, And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty. You see, we have this promise. Galatians 4.6 and because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

Romans 8, 14-17 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry again, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

In other words, faithful in this life. And so we see these great truths. The last being 1 John 3, 1 and 2. What kind of love has the Father given to us that we should be called children of God? And so we are. What kind of love?

What manner of love? Has the Father, that word given there literally means to be lavished upon. That He has just overflowed our hearts with His salvific love. This is not a benign love. This is not a worldly love. As Larry Norman used to say, the Beatles said all you need is love and then they broke up.

It's not that kind of love. It's not the love of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. You can't be with the one you love. Love the one you're with. Not a good praise chorus, is it? And we're not to be given over what our generation is consumed with.

Self-love. Self-love. I have so many people come through for counseling in and out of the church that say, you know, if I can't love myself, how can I love somebody else? Well, that's satanic love. Self. Just be consumed with self.

Just look inward and navel gaze and that kind of love. But you see, the Scriptures call us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The Scriptures calls us to love our neighbors, ourselves. Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church. And even more so, we are to love our enemies. Do good to them that hate you.

Pray for those that abuse you. Bless those who curse you. That's a love of a different kind. I like what Sproul calls it. It's an alien love, a foreign love. A love that is out of this world that is not common It is a different kind of love And so here in 1 John 3 He says what manner of love that we should be called children of God the reason why the world does not know us, it did not know Him.

Blessed are we as God's children. Beloved, now what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in himself purifies Himself as He is pure. So you see, when we approach the Father, we are coming to Him on the basis of His name. Our Father who art in Heaven, it's a confession that He is sovereign.

It's a confession that He is Lord. And it's a confession that He is in control of all things. Would you just turn with me briefly just to read it, but in the book of Daniel 2. And here's one of the greatest prayers we can ever read in Scripture. Daniel chapter 2, and it's a great prayer of sovereignty and the greatness of our God and the hallowedness of His name.

And it's a good prayer for us to remember in the days that we live in. Daniel chapter 2, verses 20 to 23. Listen to Daniel. It says, then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever. El Shaddai, Almighty.

Adonai, Lord. Yahweh, I Am That I Am. Elohim, the ever-present God. The Creator. Blessed be the name of God. His name defines His character.

Forever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. when we had a hurricane Irma come through it was heading right for us and it was a cat 4 cat 5 hurricane at 150-175 miles an hour everything in that path would have been toothpicks and we had just given our property over to the Lord and our church and more importantly to protect the people but we just said Lord if you devastate the place it's yours we give it to you have at it we will be gracious in whatever you do and he protected it the hurricane turned it was interesting going in the long lines where gas was no longer plentiful and water had been taken off the shelves and even health food products like Ho and you know Twinkies They're back on the market, I don't know if you know. Everything was going in rapid fire pace.

And I was in a checkout line and waiting there at Home Depot and, you know, this one guy, he kept saying, man, Mother Nature, she's having at it. She is really having at it. And I tapped him on the shoulder and I said, hey, I couldn't help but notice something that you kept referring to Mother Nature. And he goes, yeah, she's just having at it. I said, can I encourage you?

Mother Nature has a Father. And he said, well, I hope she's listening to him. And I said, God is in control. He changes times and seasons. He can have the hurricane hit or not. The winds belong to Him. he removes kings and sets up kings he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding he reveals deep and hidden things he knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with him to you, oh God of my fathers I give thanks and praise for you who have given me wisdom and insight and might and have now made known to me what we asked of you for you have made known to us the King's matter.

What a prayer. See, this is what our Lord is saying to us in Matthew. This is what He is saying. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. He is holy. He is holy.

So when we come before Him, we must come before Him in the beauty of holiness and treat Him as holy. we should not be playing marbles with diamonds we should not treat the precious name of our God as a pedestrian street level item we should treat Him with the hallowedness the honor and worship that He deserves Nadab and Abihu learned this the hard way didn't they they offered strange fire in the presence of the Lord in Leviticus 10.1 we don't know what that strange fire consisted of but we know what it didn't consist of. It says that they did not do what God had commanded them. God executed them on the spot Worship is a serious matter And then it was interesting Aaron goes over to Moses and rather than comforting him and consoling him because two of his sons just died for approaching God in a profane manner.

And then Aaron says this, Moses says this to Aaron, Thus says the Lord, all who approach me must regard me as holy. And then he said, and before all the people I must be glorified. That's worship. That's worship, isn't it? Three things. We do worship according to what God has commanded us in His Word.

We do worship by treating and approaching Him as holy, as hallowed. And before all the people, He must be glorified. It's dangerous to approach the worship of our God as entertainment or in a casual affair. Can I just say for a moment, this is one reason, and I don't say it boastfully, but just out of a deep desire for my friends in Christian music. It's the reason I left Christian music a little over 20 years ago.

I wrote a thing called 107 Theses, and we sent out 10,000 copies to every bookstore and record company and manager and agent and radio station and a lot of churches. I wasn't trying to better Luther. I just had more ground to cover than papal indulgences. I remember seeing the boys of DC Talk at a golf tournament and they said well you got us talking man we're wondering what it is and the bottom line was the industry had become unequally yoked one of the top music executives in the world approached me at a party and he said are you the kid and I love that fact he said are you the kid that's causing me sleepless nights and I said I hope so and he said, man, he had just bought up a record company I had been with for 10 years.

And I said, sir, you have to understand something. You're trying to turn Jesus into a widget. And he says, well, isn't the point of getting the message out I got all this money and great distribution networks? I said, no, the point is he has to be hallowed. He has to be glorified. He has to be honored.

And He doesn't stoop to commercial trends. I said, what, you think God is short of cash? That He needs you to help market Him? The Creator of the universe? He needs you? I don't think so.

And I said, mark it down, sir. You need to repent of this or God's judgment will be on you. that was at a country music gathering and here it was interesting I saw him a couple of years later he had discovered Garth Brooks and Garth had ousted him out of the industry I saw him on a plane going to LA he was on his way to Hawaii and I said sir I don't know if you remember me he says no I remember you he said I think your words have come true and I said what do you mean And he says, I developed some unique form of throat cancer and it's prohibited me from talking clearly. He was talking like this the whole time.

And he said, I've been ousted out of the industry. One of the most powerful men, one of the top three music moguls in the world, bar none. And God just moved him right out of the way. See, it happens. When Christian music companies and Christian publishing companies, especially those that print Bibles, become unequally yoked because they think in order to market the latest study Bible, they have to give up their rights to non-believers to help make it famous.

Just remember when you're in your favorite study Bible, there's wonderful study Bibles out there, I don't need to mention them, but can I just encourage you to remember that the words at the bottom of the page are not inspired. It's just the words above the page. Christian music's had its problems but no artist has put his name on a bible and sold it for a profit hallowed is his name you see when we become unequally yoked with the non-believing world I don't fault the world for acting like the world I fault Christians for partnering with Simon Magnus thinking that they could buy the gift of the Holy Spirit and market Jesus we have to we have to be clear on this thing.

It saddens me when I see nationally known pastors many of whom I know and have ministered to in their churches and love dearly at conferences and they have their own bodyguards And they all being brought over to their own roped area They have their own autograph lines to sign their latest book. Everyone wants to be a rock star, right? That's uncanny to me.

We're pastors. We're not promoters. We're prophets. We are not raconteurs, storytellers. We are here to proclaim the Word of God. And some have turned that into a cult of celebrity.

You see, when we come to this prayer, we cannot give in to that, brothers. And I say this with brokenness in my heart. I've been there. I understand this. but Jesus begins with honoring God the Father with a hallowedness of who His name is and we must approach Him in the beauty of holiness of His word we must approach Him that He is holy He is not to be trifled with and that He must receive all the glory this is the praise due His name that's why Daniel began blessed be the God of heaven.

That's why we must begin our prayer through Christ of the holiness and exaltedness and transcendence of our God. Number two, He takes us from praise to promise. We know this. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know the kingdom spoken of here is not an earthly kingdom.

His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom. If His kingdom were of this world, John 18.36, He told Pilate, my disciples would be fighting. And two and a half million people entered Jerusalem during the last days there of the Passover to see the Messiah. If He wanted to, He would have overthrown Roman soldiers, Roman governments. he could have destroyed the Sanhedrin and taken over.

But he did not enter Jerusalem on a great white stallion. He entered on the back of the foal of a donkey as a lamb led to the slaughter His kingdom had come He fulfilled Isaiah 9 1 and 2 and Matthew 4 And then He said, He began His ministry with these words, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He's not talking about a thousand years of a bunch of guys on earth reinstating Old Testament sacrifices in a rebuilt temple violating the words of Christ, it is finished.

This isn't about a utopia on earth. This is an eternal kingdom. This is an eternal kingdom. And Christ, with Him, came the kingdom. It was promised in Daniel 7. It was realized in Jesus.

His kingdom come. His will was being done on earth as it already had been done in heaven. This is the great promise being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He was a light to the Gentiles. He came to the Jew first, but His own received Him not. But He came as a light to the Gentiles, again fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant.

The Father of many nations. His kingdom had come. His kingdom had come. And so he gives us this great promise. He reigns now, beloved, at the right hand of the throne of God, not as a promised king, but as King of kings and Lord of lords. He reigns and rules now.

There is no despot or marnock or corrupt world leader that can overthrow his eternal purposes. As Nebuchadnezzar learned in Daniel, that heaven rules. There is no one greater. He's King of kings, Lord of lords, God of gods. And He rises up, according to Romans 13, rulers under His sovereign control to do two things, restrain evil and to keep peace within the culture and to punish evildoers.

Government was never meant to be the welfare state. But God raises up in power who He may. And that why as Christians we are to pray for all of those in leadership over us And so therefore that includes public school teachers park officials our men and women in blue, police officers. It includes whoever is president, vice president, the cabinet members, the Supreme Court, and then federal and state congressional leaders.

Years ago, I had a chance to lead a Bible study before Congressman Newt Gingrich came up to me and he said, Steve, did you see the Wall Street Journal today? They called me the pastor of the United States. He goes, isn't that funny? And I said, yes, it is. And I said, Newt, can I tell you? Because he stood for God, family, and country, and he's a very smart man, probably the most brilliant man in politics today.

But I said, you know, brother, there's something more important as a prerequisite for becoming a pastor than God, family, and country. He said, what's that? I said, you first have to be a Christian. How do you do that? I had a chance to share with him the Gospel of Grace. You see, His kingdom has come.

He honors all rule and authority. He controls it. He controls it to His end. They are not free agents. Even the wicked, He will use for His day. He is sovereign in other words.

His kingdom come, His will be done on earth. And with the kingdom comes the Gospel and the church and the work of the body of Christ. We need to keep the main thing the plain thing. The kingdom of God. This is our duty. This is our duty.

I just touched on it the other night, but that's why the concern of social justice warriors, a lot of them are just clueless. They're both feet planted firmly in mid-air. they're looking for a cause they haven't done diddly squat in a long time, that's in the Greek by the way diddly squat, it's here you know but those of us who have been out there a length of time of course are we concerned about the poor? Yes and that's why we do a lot with them are we concerned for those that are trapped with HIV?

Yes we are, are we concerned for those in the gay community and then the gay, lesbian, LGBTQ LGBTQ community. You'll see it these days, LGBTQ+. The plus sign means anything goes. I don't know if you saw this in the news the other day. They said that people are now pedophilia. That it's not a choice, it's part of their nature.

They want that protected by law. That it's a normal thing. That's how sick and twisted this includes anything from that to bestiality. The plus sign goes on and on and on. And that's why you give a license to this and it all starts to fall. Should we have compassion for people trapped in those things?

Yes, absolutely. I had a chance to do an event recently in Spokane, Washington called the Church at Planned Parenthood. Not the Church of Planned Parenthood, but the Church at Planned Parenthood. A friend of mine started it a year ago when I was out there with him. He had about 15 people come the first time and then we had about 800 come this last time.

I had a chance, I was honored to do their year anniversary. The police that they usually had was six or eight people because they're just a few feet away from the building there at Planned Parenthood. And so they would shout, the F-bomb wasn't standing for faith. And they would call people names and they would honk and try to disrupt and so forth. And it was interesting, the policeman said, Steve, we've tripled our police force tonight.

And I had bought 40 coffee cards from a local coffee establishment and I thought, let's go over and give him some coffee cards. I love coffee. And so it's a sign of goodwill. He says, I can't allow you to do that. He said, we did have some credible threats on your life from three or four individuals that are armed and said, we don't care if we go to jail or not.

We want to silence this guy, put him down. So he says, we tripled our police force tonight in order to have you here. He goes, we have two plain guys that are plainclothesmen that are following me around. I said, I was wondering who those guys were. No matter where I moved, I said, it was kind of a weird thing. I said, I'm glad to know they're police officers.

Well, here, long story short, I sang to this group here this way, and then right over here across the street were these protesters. And I told the people there, I said, listen, when they're dropping the F-bomb, these things, it's just their pagan way of saying, we love you, man, keep going. It's all good. And people were honking their cars, and it was really interesting.

After about a half hour of singing and some speaking, Again I just turned to the group and the Lord just intervened They put down the bull horns They put down the music they lowered their signs and they listened for 20 minutes They said it was the first time in a year that this had happened, and all praise to the Lord. I had a chance to share the Gospel with them, and I said, listen, they're not our enemy, they're our mission field. Well here, I turned then back to our group that was pro-life, and I said, you know, the abortionist needs to come to Christ. they need to know of the saving power of the gospel and they are all shouting amen and it was a vibrant evening but then I said what about you?

I said you're on the right side of the issue morally you're on the right side of the issue politically but if you don't know Jesus supporting a pro-life agenda and them supporting the killing of an unborn child will yield the same result you will both meet in the eternal hell forever. Being pro-life doesn't save you. Boy, the air just went out of that room.

We were outside. And so I said, I need to call you to repentance. Not because of your political convictions, but because if you don't know Jesus, this is just a good, bad thing. It's good that you're doing it morally, but it's bad. It has no eternal results. you see this is the thing the kingdom of God we must speak the truth to all people see them come to Christ so number three here provision verse 11 give us this day our daily bread our daily bread I don't know if you've ever been there boy I've been there Lord meet our needs again I work hard If a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat.

This is not a call to socialism. Bypassing the current work ethic that we all should do. We don't give out handouts at our church. If someone comes looking for income, we'll put them to work. And we'll give them a fair wage at the end of the day and then we'll help them spend that wisely. But here it's give us this day.

Here's the humility of us as God's children that we want to come before Him even for our daily sustenance. Our daily bread. Just a piece of bread. We want to honor Him with that We want to glorify Him with that It a prayer that we need to come before Him that He provides everything that we have Can I tell you what a blessing it is that if the cupboard's a bit bare and there's not money for the date night and the electrical bill is due and the car payment is behind and we get to say, Lord, help us that we're managing your funds well that you're bringing in, but we've gotten behind.

There are some other needs. There may be some emergency issues. But we need to be reminded of that daily sustenance that He's in control and giving provision for us. And the Lord provides. I had a friend of mine going through a very terrible divorce years ago. He called and said, I have to pick up my kids from school, but I don't have any food.

I spent my last dime keeping the electric going. so I was going to connect and in the meantime a friend of ours both at this friend he was out playing golf and he likes to make his own golf clubs he buys the driver head and the shaft and the grips and so forth and he showed up unexpectedly at this man's home and he said the Lord just put you on my heart while I was out there golfing and he said a guy wanted to buy my driver for 300 bucks but I didn't want to sell it to him I just made it but I thought you know what if I sell it to him I could give this money to my friend. Do you have a need for some money? He goes, yes, I'm going to be picking up the kids in about an hour and I don't have any food.

He said, here you go, man. Here's $300. Go have a feast tonight. The Lord provided. He worked hard, faithfully serving the Lord. He just come to his last nickel, but isn't the Lord good that way?

He put that need. Give us this day our daily bread. There's his provision. But then notice that daily provision. Now the Lord addresses a pardon. Forgive us our debts.

Some of your translations might say trespasses. The debt of sin or the trespass of sin. As we have forgiven our debtors. Notice the play. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Forgive us our debts.

There's the greater debt. As we also have forgiven our debtors. To forgive literally means to hurl away the debt To forgive someone means to hurl away the debt I not going to hurt you for hurting me I don mean to make light of it but it considered a frisbee and a boomerang It's taking a frisbee and you throw it and it just stays out there. The boomerang we throw and it comes back and we get to use it again.

If we hurl away the debt, we've forgiven it. The Lord has separated our sin according to Psalm 103 as far as the east is from the west. He hides it behind His back. He has cast it to the bottom of the sea. He remembers it no more. He no longer holds it against us.

And this is a sovereign, omniscient, holy God that could recall our sin to us, but He has totally forgiven us our debt. And He wants us then to forgive others accordingly. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. You see, there's a wonderful principle there. Jesus tells this story of a man who had a debt owed of the national treasure and then one that owed about $10,000, $12,000.

And one, the master forgave, and the other wanted to throw his friend in prison. And he called him a wicked servant. You see, this really couples with the aspect of verses 14 and 15. If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

These are connected. There's a pardon that we receive and we are to issue that in prayer to God and in thankful hearts, hallowing His name, praising Him for His will and kingdom coming. Praise Him for His provision daily in our lives that all things He comes and He gives to us. As one gentleman in our church said years ago, he said, Steve, I thought I had the gift of giving.

And he said, I thought I'd test the Lord. I said, oh, that's dangerous. He said, I'd saved up quite a bit of money. I said, what'd you do? He goes, I gave it all to the Lord. And I said, what happened?

He goes, he kept it. He didn't let me have more. I said, well, you probably don't have the gift of giving, but praise God you gave it to him. Now don't be bitter and praise the Lord that he kept you from further mistakes here. But interesting, here the forgiveness is related to the debt. I'm going to run into 8 o'clock a little bit.

We're going to have dessert and Q&A together so I have a few minutes leeway. I won't take much. But I need to share this. story with you. When I was living in Nashville, there was a young gal named Diane that a pastor came up and said, would you go see her at this Parthenon Pavilion, a psychological counseling center, a hospital of sorts as well. I said, certainly.

I went in and before I got into her room, the nurse told me her story. She said, you need to know what this girl has been through. From the age of five to about the age of 17, she was brutalized. I don't need to go into detail. You will assume the right conclusions, but she has been brutalized by her father, her uncle and her brothers. Repeatedly.

Repeatedly. She goes, that was so painful for her, it led to a life of drugs. She snorted anything, shot anything, popped anything, everything from coke and heroin and fentanyl and mollies and we were concerned that innocently she might OD and just check out. Fentanyl is dangerous, so dangerous these days. And so she just became an alcoholic. She tried to deaden the pain.

And before we judge too harshly, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you try to numb those voices? Those memories? What a hellish thing done to this lady. she got out of high school and she was looking for a job so she went into the armed forces she went to a chaplain for help and he ended up raping her on the base this led again to more sustenance abuse when I met her she was down to about 85 pounds just wanted to die no hope no life comatose I walked into her room and there was just doll's eyes doll's eyes she just stared she couldn't blink no life and in my heart of hearts I was praying Lord your gospel is real now it has to be It has to be.

If any man in Christ he a new creation All the old things pass away All things become new Could this be Diane future New life New mind New memories. New hope. Forgiveness. Restoration. Well, here we talked. She didn't say a word.

I spoke to her for about 30 minutes and we just showed her pictures of the kids. sang her a little chorus, read her a few verses and I said, Diane, I'd like to come back. I said, we will be praying for you that you come to Jesus. There's hope for you. Your life is not over. I'm so sorry about those that treated you as refuse, as debris rather than a woman created in the image of a holy God that needed to be shown tenderness and care.

I'm so sorry. I started to walk out of that room and she said the first thing to me she said, excuse me what makes you happy? and how come you don't kill yourself? the thing that immediately came to mind was that wonderful old Bill Gaither song because he lives I can face tomorrow that's it I said to her, I said, Diane, I was wanting to share some scripture with her, and I said, Diane, do you like pizza? I know it's not the most biblical thing you've ever heard, but I said, do you like pizza?

And she said, yes. She hadn't eaten in a long time. And she goes, you don't get it. I just want to die. I said, you don't get it. There's a lot of people that are praying for you right now.

We want you to live. and she goes if you bring me some will you bring me a chocolate shake too I have a Jones for it and I said you got it we came back a few nights later I brought some of the kids we brought some ladies in from the church and she was just eating a tiny morsel and just she would dip her finger in the chocolate shake and she would wipe her lips with it and then lick it with her tongue and she just couldn't do a whole lot but the doctor came in and she says Diane is eating I'm dumbfounded. I said, I know you are and I'd like to talk to you about that. They wanted to load her up on all kinds of drugs and electroshock therapy you know the warm kind loving response And so here she we kept doing this We played ping pong we sang songs we just a couple of times a week did life.

I want you to know some great news. A few of the ladies that came in shared some more Gospel with Herb. God was gracious to her. He softened her heart to confess Christ as Lord of her life, and she became a Christian. She got out of the hospital, and I was there to meet her, and she goes, well, I guess you've done your good deed. Thank you.

I said, oh, it doesn't work that way. Girl, you're family now. We'll walk with you. She wasn't sure what that meant, but it was wonderful. I got a postcard in the mail. I got several and she would tell me how her day is going.

And then she would say, rather than love Diane, she would say, I tree you, T-R-E-E, I tree you, Diane. And I said, what does this mean, you tree me? I saw her around town, you tree me, what does this mean? And she says, I can't bring myself to say the L word, love. Everyone that's told me they love me has always severely abused me. So she goes, I just have a thing for trees.

I love it in you know in the autumn when they turn beautiful color I love it when the snow comes and it decorates the tree I love it in spring time when the snow melts and the buds come out in the summer time you get under a big old shade tree with a glass of lemonade and you're singing some songs and checking out some Doobie Brothers you know whatever it may be that's an old band from the 70's but they're really good and so here so she said I just want you to know man I really tree you and I said well Diane I'll reciprocate I tree you too I said does this mean we're out on a limb together I had to do something and so we got talking and the thought occurred to me I said Diane do you know how much the Lord had loved you through Christ in his death on the tree eternal love and affection for you. She goes, I know that. I trust Him.

I got a card that Christmas More of a letter actually And she was telling me about her Christmas time and all of this going on And then she said I tree you and your family Diane And then the tree was X'd out. And she goes, P.S. I'd been talking to her about forgiveness. And she said, as a step of faith, I want you to know because of the great debt that my sin that was placed upon Christ because He's forgiven me the greater debt I can forgive those that did these things to me which are the lesser debt compared to my sin.

Think of that. It was so wonderful it was so wonderful the conclusion was six months later I had a chance to minister at Diane's wedding the Lord brought her a wonderful man to cherish I just saw her two years ago at one of my son's weddings it was so wonderful to see her living for Christ and I said boy the Lord has been good to you hasn't he She said yes, and it came down to this thing of forgiveness. You see, when we get a hold of that, brothers and sisters, that frees us, doesn't it?

No matter what's been done, when we get a right view that our sin is the greater debt than whatever else someone does, and believe me, this doesn't justify an ounce of what happened to Diane by those wicked men. but what it does do it freed her up to saying if the Lord can forgive me then I need to forgive others the debt the debt pardon pardon two quick other things here lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil we know that God cannot be tempted He will not tempt anyone we know our temptation comes from the wickedness born in our own heart James 1 says it's a powerful verse He simply says that when we are tempted, in James chapter 1, and in verse 13, let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil. He Himself tempts no one.

But, each person is tempted when he is lured. It means to bait the hook and entice by his own desire. and then desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown gives birth to death. You see, this is it. Lead us not into temptation. Guard the way, Lord. Guard the way.

He will always provide a way of escape. 1 Corinthians 10.13, right? For every temptation on a man there is a way of escape. He provides that. The question is, do we take that? Deliver us from evil.

Some translations might say from the evil one. whether it's translated here in the neuter or the masculine, from evil in general or from the evil one. Guard our steps. Guard our steps. Deliver us. There's protection there, similar that we saw in the Lord's Prayer in John 17. And then lastly, y'all, to the extended words here of providence.

Of providence. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. What great hope. What great hope. We come to Him in Halloween His name.

He leaves us with a promise. His is the kingdom. His is the power. His is the glory forever and ever. We serve the King. We serve the King of kings.

We don't have to strive after things. if we seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, He'll provide for us. That's not the prosperity gospel. It just means, as what the Scriptures say, He's never saw the righteous forsaken, striving after bread. You see, there's a provision there. Even in the toughest of circumstances, the Lord can move hearts to provide.

This is how we must pray this is how we must pray I just have to ask as we close out tonight we going to sing that wonderful song referred to earlier, Above All. But before we're dismissed here, I just have to ask, maybe just in the quietness of this time, are there any Dianes here? I've got to ask that. This is what stirred my heart when Dr. MacArthur referred to Beth Moore by saying, go home.

This is what stirred a visceral reaction to that. Making her the punchline of a night. knowing that she as a young girl went through abuse and the Lord has brought her through that? Are there issues surrounding Beth and the way she does ministry? Yes, I'm not poo-pooing any of that concern. But where's the heart of compassion for our sister in Christ that simply has a compassionate heart to share the Gospel and to encourage others into finding their healing and contentment, their joy, their satisfaction, their hope, their life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Should she be preaching in churches? No. Scripture forbids that. Should she be teaching men even at gatherings in public areas? No. Scripture forbids that.

But to treat her in such a visceral way, I think, goes beyond the pale. It's one thing that we take time to doctrinally talk with her about issues of real concern. It's another thing to mock her. It's another thing that she becomes the punchline of a joke. It's another thing that the host, Todd Friel, would say, let's do a little word association. Beth Moore, ha ha, everyone laughs and then they come out against her.

How dare they as men treat a woman like this I love my brother but can I tell you something He got it wrong I left a message for him I haven heard back yet I hope to. She's been through what Diane went through. Brothers, have we become so consumed with being doctrinally right that it's voided us of compassion for someone that is doctrinally wrong? oh may our theology be marked with charity not compromising truth but coming alongside those that need help this is our hearts we're shepherds aren't we we go to people that need help we want to walk alongside them there's the time for a strong rebuke and it could have been that night but here we know these verses.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness, that God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth that they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will. That's our heart, isn't it? That's our heart.

That's our heart. So I just want to ask, if there's anyone that's been through Diane, you don't have to respond. I'm not asking for a hand raised. This is too crucial to be that expedient. But I would like for us to just bow our hearts and minds here before the Lord and just to seek Him quietly on behalf of those that have been through this horrific thing. the best the world can do is me too.

That's not a biblical response and it's a feigned liberal emotion. But the whole point is this, are we willing to go to the lost, to the hurting, to those who have been discarded by society and to let biblical love, compassion, holiness and godliness guide our steps. And especially for a sister in the Lord that needs correction not mockery She needs doctrinal correction So you can pray that way for Beth, that she would bring her ministry under the Lordship of Christ in a way that's consistent with the truth of Scripture to be used mightily in the future for the Lord, but never at the hands of a punchline or a mockery by one as revered as our brother is.

He's my friend. This is personal. Can we just pray for a moment, quietly in our hearts? This prayer, we come before Him tonight with a hallowedness, with forgiveness in our hearts, with trusting Him for every need in our lives. Thanking Him that His kingdom has come, His will is being done on earth as it is in heaven. Can we thank Him for protecting us in ways we've never known and that when He provides a way of escape that we'll take it.

And can we end then with singing above all that His is the power and the kingdom and the glory forever. if you've been through what Beth has been through, if you've been through what Diane's been through, could I encourage you, if you've never given that to Christ, could you just roll that care on Him tonight? Because, hear me, He cares for you. He cares for you.

Amen. Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You so much for the provision of the Gospel and for our new life in Jesus Christ. to enter into Your presence on behalf of others with prayers of intercessions, of prayers of supplication, of prayers of petition, of prayers of praise, and of sharing desperate needs. You hear it all. Lord Jesus, we pray for those that are hurting in our lives, that need a Savior.

They don't need social justice reform. They don't need a right political view of intersexuality or whatever that they're struggling with, Lord. They need Christ. That's the solution. This is not an intellectual thing to us. This is a Gospel issue.

These are Gospel concerns. And forgive us, Lord, for playing politics with Your Word to try to be culturally relevant rather than biblically honoring to You. Lord we pray for the hurting folks that come to our churches may we come out of our studies some days and may we get into the streets with them and walk a mile in their shoes and go to their homes and take the hits for you because you took the hits for us may we be faithful to show up to share you with the transgendered person working at a Starbucks because they've just lost their identity and in their Creator and they're desperate, but yet they think that doing physical surgery and taking hormone tablets and altering their physicality will bring them peace but the suicide rate goes up tenfold They need Christ Lord, to those in the LGBTQ community, we don't need to virtue signal as they try to do.

We need to go to them with the Gospel. We need to let them know the Creator can bring them back to a right view of their life. But that You're the only hope for salvation for all eternity, but the corrective can be given. Lord, we pray for the poor in our community that we would not be silent and say, be warm, be filled, be on Your way, but we'd go to them with some bread and some food that we practice hospitality as this wonderful church here has practiced for us. and that, Lord, that we would go to those that are caught in the occult, caught in different faiths masquerading themselves as Christianity, that we would go to the Satanists as well as to the Islamicists, and that we wouldn't just stage a debate thinking that we can win it and talk about Islam versus Christianity.

How adolescent. How arrogant. May we go to them with the Gospel striving for their salvation. As Paul said, I do all things for the sake of the elect. He didn't know. We don't know who that is, but we share the Gospel in the highways and byways to all people In the marketplace In the church At work At school On the streets Do we see?

Do we see all the people sinking down? Don't we care? Are we going to let them drown? How can we be so numb not to care if they come? Let's not close our eyes and pretend the job's done. bless me Lord bless me Lord it's all we ever hear no one aches no one hurts no one even sheds a tear he cries he weeps he bleeds and he cares for our needs and we just sit back and keep soaking it in can't we see it's such sin Jesus rose from the grave but we we can't even get out of bed Lord forgive us for our slothfulness for our wastefulness, for our tiredness, for our apathy, for our comfortableness.

Oh Lord, strip us clean. Bring us out of our comfort zone so that we can be light and salt to a generation that thinks that everything is dark and that everything has lost its savor. Give us a burden for lost people that no one will care about. may we not consider our carefully cultivated reputations more important than the salvation of somebody else may we give up all rights to ourselves to see someone hear the gospel of Christ Lord I thank you for these faithful men here it been a joy to meet some of them and get to talk with some of them This is the real deal.

These are real shepherds. And I'm humbled and honored to be numbered with them this week. Bless them. May their tribe increase. Bless their churches. May they grow, deepen for their congregation and add to their numbers such as being saved and to those that need to hear the truth of God's Word rightly divided.

Lord, together as we pray for each other, these prayers may we be strengthened as we go into a lost world. And Lord, for whatever time we have left on this earth, whether it's one day or whether it's another 15 years, 20 years, whatever the case may be, may we just say, Lord here am I. here am I, send me forgive us for qualifying our obedience to you have your way have your way with us and we can say that because you are the king, you are the sovereign you are the true Lord of all above all there there is no other except you You wore our sinner's crown so that we could have the crown of life we love You Lord Jesus for it's in Your name we pray Amen