Praying Like Paul

This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang.! Thank you for joining us. Philippians chapter 1. Let's read this together, starting in verse 9.

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

With school having started just a few weeks ago, I've had a part of several different conversations with church members who some have had children going to school for the first time, others who have had their children maybe going to a different school, and some who have taken their sons or daughters to college for the first time and left them in a dorm room.

I remember those days very well. When we took our oldest son to college for the first time, I could not have been more excited just as a father.

I loved college. College was a huge part of my life. It's a huge part of my call to ministry. It's where I met Marcy. College was such a wonderful, wonderful time.

And I was so excited for my son to get to go to college, to learn, to be challenged, to grow, to struggle, all the things that happened. I could not have been more excited for him.

And yet, we had finished everything in the dorm room. Things were hung on the walls and put up, and parents here will know what it's like when you're finished with that.

And you just kind of piddle around, just trying to prolong the inevitable. And it finally came time to, let's pray with him, and let's leave. And so we prayed, and we left, and we walked out of the dorm room.

And I grabbed Marcy's hand, and we were walking, just holding hands. Neither one of us sang a word. And we heard both of us just crying, excited. But teary, you guys have been through it. You remember it.

We went to a restaurant in Norman, and we're both just sitting there in silence, kind of teary. And I said, let's just not talk. Like, let's not just, let's just be free to sit here.

So we sat there in silence. And we came back to the house, and we sat at our kitchen table. And she was sad, and I was sad. And when your bowl's sad, it's really sad.

And so I said, I'm just going to go to the office and work. And I was sad for about three or four days. And then it got fine and normal, and it was good. Then two years later, our youngest son went to college.

And instead of going to Norman, we went to Stillwater, and we moved him in there. And same thing, everything was done, everything was wrapped up. And Marcy had made up a thousand reasons to stick around for a few more minutes, and we got to go.

And so I had this beautiful prayer in my mind. I could get zero words out. And so I just prayed the shortest prayer in history because I couldn't speak. We drove home.

She had to drive home because I couldn't see. And for three or four days, I was so sad. And then it was good. It was okay.

It was normal. We were excited. The hardest thing for me in those two transitions is that I could talk to them and encourage them and text them.

I could check up with them, see how they're doing. But I couldn't really fix anything. Now, my sons by that point didn't really need me to fix anything.

But you have been through that understanding as a parent. You like being available if your child needs something. And very quickly, I could pray like crazy for them.

It's not that I didn't pray before for them. Of course I did. But before, it was a mixture of prayer and then tangible things you're doing.

When they move out of your house, move out of town, prayer becomes something that is extremely important. And you hear people say things like, I couldn't do anything.

All I could do is pray for them. And we understand as Christians, prayer is a powerful thing. But we also understand for those of us who have been parents, that you are used to being able to help or fix or solve.

And you get to the place where prayer becomes not a last resort, but prayer becomes the primary way by which you can serve somebody.

And I will tell you as a father, in those times, those seasons of my sons growing up, becoming men, going out on their own, there were a lot of wonderful joys.

There were some struggles. There's always a mixture of all of that in life for all of us. But above all of it, I'll tell you what it did for me, is it grew my prayer life unlike anything else.

And I'm so thankful for the way the Lord and His providence arranged those seasons of life for me to grow and build within me a joy to pray for my family, unlike anything I had known before.

And when you come to Philippians chapter 1, here is Paul physically removed from the church. He's under house arrest. He's not physically present with them.

He can't physically solve a problem for them. He can't physically help anything. What he can do is he can pray for them.

And in verse 9, he says, it is my prayer. And then he describes how he prays for them. And so I just want to encourage every parent here, every grandparent, every aunt and uncle, every Sunday school teacher, every school teacher, every one of you that has someone in your life that you're praying for.

Maybe it is a loved one that's a part of a ministry or a loved one that's in your family, whatever it may be. If you're wanting to know, how can I pray a biblical prayer?

How can I pray the kinds of things that I know would honor the Lord? How can I pray for things in a different way, in a unique way maybe than you normally do?

What is the kind of prayer you could pray that would be helpful for them, honoring to the Lord, and that you know would bring glory to Christ? That's Philippians 1, 9 to 11.

Let me just lead you to see the specific things Paul prays for. And you can make note of these and each of us can begin to pray like Paul in this way.

Number one, he prays that they would have love, joined with knowledge and discernment. He prays they would have love joined with knowledge and discernment.

It comes straight from verse 9. It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment. I want you to notice that what he's praying for here is not mere sentimentality.

He's praying that he would have a love for them and that they would have a love in their life and that that love would be joined with truth, that that love would be joined with faith and convictions.

Let me just challenge those of us who are parents and grandparents here this morning, as you're praying for the younger generations in your life. Pray for spiritual things for them.

Pray for things for your children and grandchildren that only Christians would pray for. And specifically, the wording he gives us here is he's praying that they would have love that's abounding, that they would be people that truly love the right things, love the Lord, and that they would love each other, but that love would be filled with knowledge and discernment.

Knowledge is about knowing principles. Discernment is how to apply that knowledge. So it's just praying for the people in his life to be loving, to have knowledge, and to live in wisdom, the application of that knowledge.

I think for us in this church that this is a helpful prayer for us because whatever ministry you're in in our church, you're going to be flooded with knowledge.

We're a church that's going to strive to teach and train and equip you. And every ministry of our church, no matter what it is, is going to be a ministry that's flooding you with biblical content.

Wisdom is the ability to take that knowledge and then apply it, to live it out, to actually do something with what you've learned. This is the idea in James, to not be hearers of the word only, but do what it says.

Knowledge and discernment. And when Paul prays for them, he's praying that they would be a loving people filled with knowledge and filled with discernment, filled with wisdom, filled with obedience to that word.

And notice he says specifically, I'm praying that your love may abound more and more. He's praying they would have an ever-increasing love. What a great thing to pray for the people in your life.

That they would not just love the Lord, but have an ever-increasing love for the Lord. They wouldn't just love the word of God, but have an ever-increasing hunger for the word of God.

They wouldn't just love their spouse, but have an ever-increasing love for their spouse. If you're looking for ways to express your heart, to pray for the people in your life, pray that they would be filled with love, ever-expanding, ever-increasing love, and that that love would be joined with great knowledge and discernment, with knowledge and obedience.

This is the way we can pray for each other. He prays for a second thing in verse 10, and that is that they would approve what is best.

That they would approve what is best. Verse 10, So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

So that. Why are we praying for them to have love? Why are we praying for them to have knowledge? Why are we praying for them to have discernment? So that. Here's the reason why. So that they can approve what is excellent.

So they can live by the highest standard. So they can give affirmation to that, which is most important. This is the ability to identify things in life that should be our top priority.

My guess is, most, at least, maybe all of us in this sanctuary this past week had plenty to do, and plenty of demands in our time, and plenty of people that needed something from us.

The question is not normally, do I have things to do? The question normally is, am I living by my highest priority? Am I making time for what's most important?

He says, pray this way. Pray that the people in your life would approve what is excellent. To approve means to subject something to scrutiny, and then endorse it.

And then endorse it. So do that with your schedule. Scrutinize it. And then endorse living by the most important parts.

Do that with your finances. Scrutinize how you spend your money. And then endorse spinning it in the wisest way possible. Do that with how you treat people.

Scrutinize your words. Scrutinize your actions. Scrutinize your attitudes. Scrutinize your actions. And then endorse responding in a way that is most Christ-like.

I'm praying you would have love. I'm praying you would have knowledge. I'm praying you would have discernment. So that you will live according to godly priorities.

This is the call to live with excellence. Excellence in our work. Excellence in our study.

Excellence in our preparation. Excellence in our rehearsals. Excellence in our organization. Excellence in our time management.

Scrutinize all aspects of your life. And live by your highest priority. And if you want to know how to pray for the people in your life.

Who's praying for them to have that? There's nothing wrong with praying for your child to be healthy. Or to make good grades.

Or to, if they're in college. If they're looking to find a spouse. There's nothing wrong with praying for those things at all. Those things are fine to pray for. Just understand. An unconverted person would want those same things for their kid too.

There's nothing uniquely Christian. About praying for your child to be healthy. Or to make good grades. Or to be safe. Or to find a spouse. Those are good to pray for. There's nothing wrong with praying for those things.

But those things anyone could pray for. But who's praying for your children? Who's praying for your grandchildren? Who's praying for the people in your Sunday school class?

To evaluate their life. To scrutinize every part of their life. And to choose to live by the priorities of God. You want a powerful ministry?

Pray like that for people. If you have someone in your life praying like that for you. You are blessed. The next time you can't sleep.

And you're laying there at night. And you're thinking to yourself. I wish I could do something to redeem the time. Pray this way for the people in your family. Because not many people are. Pray for your child.

Pray for your grandchild. Pray for your friend. Pray for your co-workers. Pray for those in your ministry team. Pray that they would evaluate all parts of their life. And then approve what is excellent.

Live by what is most important for the cause of Christ. Here's the third way to pray. We pray that people in our life.

That they would live holy lives. That they would live holy lives. Verse 10 again. That you may approve what is excellent. And so be pure.

And blameless. For the day of Christ. The wording here is interesting and insightful for us. To be pure here.

Says so be pure. It means to be sincere. To be sincere. If you kind of trace that word back.

It means to be without wax. We're going to pray for the people in our life to be without wax. What kind of prayer is that? Well, in the ancient world, pottery was big industry.

Pottery. And what would happen is that you would make your pottery. And the best pottery. The most valuable pottery was thin.

But because it was thin, it was fragile. And because it was fragile, that pottery could crack. Now, if the pottery cracked.

The proper thing to do is to discard it. But what people would do to try to make money. Is they would take that cracked pottery.

And they would fill it with wax. It had already been broken. It had already been compromised. But they would fill it with wax. And if you're just going by.

And looking at the pottery they're selling you. And you picked it up and held it. You wouldn't be able to tell if there was cracks. And you couldn't tell if there was wax. That was hiding the cracks. The only thing you could do.

Is you could take that piece of pottery out. And you could hold it up to the sunlight. And when you held it up to the sunlight. That would expose if the pottery was pure.

Or if it was with wax. That's the phrase where we get our word for sincere. To be without wax.

To be pure. We want to pray. That we would live holy lives. So that. When examined. It would be shown.

That our lives are pure. That's important. You are to live your life in such a way. Someone can scrutinize how you live.

Someone can look. Someone can ask questions. Someone can watch. Someone can evaluate. How do you treat your wife? How do you treat your husband? How do you treat your kids? How do you treat people when others are looking?

How do you treat people when no one else is looking? If you take a look at someone's life and examine it. What would be revealed?

And Paul says. I am praying for you. That you would be pure. That you would be holy. That you would be blameless.

The word blameless is interesting. The root of the word blameless here means to stumble. The Greek word has the a. As we would call it in front of it.

So it negates it. So he's praying here that you would not stumble. So be pure. That's to be holy. And to be blameless.

That is to not stumble. That's how we want to live our life. That we don't stumble. And we don't cause other people to stumble.

Now. We understand. We're going to see this as we get later on in chapter 1. Verse 15. He said. Some preach Christ from envy and rivalry.

Others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love. Knowing I'm put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition. Not sincerely.

But thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. Paul says. There's people I hear who are attacking me. There's people I hear who are criticizing me. There's people I hear who are lobbing things against me. He says.

That's no matter. The only thing I care about is that Christ is preached. But when you hold his life up to the sun. That's verse 10. When you examine his life. He says.

I want to be found pure and blameless. He's not going to busy himself. With the accusations that come from verse 16 and 17. He says. I want to live my life.

So that if you examine my life. It would be clear that I am pure and blameless. That's how we want to live. And that's how we want to pray for other people. That we ourselves wouldn't stumble into sin.

And that other people wouldn't stumble into sin. But that when our lives are inspected by the sunlight. It would be shown that we are pure. That we are holy.

That we are blameless. Now again I want to say. I don't know how many people are praying that way for you in your life. But what a gift if someone is. And what a gift you can give to someone else.

To pray like that for them. Pray for their grades. Pray for their health. Pray for their education. Pray for those things. Absolutely. Please moms and dads and grandparents.

Don't forget to pray for your kids. What only Christians would pray for their kids. Pray that they would live holy lives.

One man put it this way. To be pure and blameless does not mean someone may not accuse you of something. Or lump you in with the group of wicked people.

But when your life is examined by the son. By the truth. You will be proven to be pure before the Lord. And walking in integrity before people. That's how we want to pray for each other.

Holy lives. Not stumbling into sin. Not stumbling into sin. Not leading others to stumble into sin. This is how we pray.

For the day of Christ. In light of the return of Christ. In light of the truth that we're going to be with him. Let's pray that we would live holy lives.

So we think about the cross. We think about the resurrection. We think about the gift of salvation. We think about his return. We think about our eternal home.

With all of that theology in mind. How should you live? Well this links us back to the very first prayer point. Knowledge and discernment.

Knowledge is your theology. Discernment is your obedience. So you are to pray that we would live holy lives.

Because of the day of Christ. Our theology of the return of Christ. Our theology of the last days. Our theology of eternity. Informs how we pray.

And influences how we live. This is why there's no separation in the Bible. Between theology. And application.

It's all linked together. How do you pray for each other? Pray to have love joined with knowledge and discernment.

Pray to approve that which is best. Pray to live holy lives. Then a fourth thing in verse 11.

Pray to the people would be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Verse 11. Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

To the glory and praise of God. In nature fruit is the result of a lengthy process. That's true in the spiritual realm too, isn't it?

Some of you are raising little children at home. Takes time. Some of you are raising teenagers at home. Takes a lot of time. Be patient.

Be patient. Spiritual fruit is a result of a long process. So be diligent in your teaching. Be diligent in your training.

Be diligent in your prayers. Pray that they would love the right things. That they would have knowledge. That they would apply it.

Pray that they would live by the most important things. Pray that they would be holy. Pray that they would not cause others to stumble. And pray that they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness.

This is the fruit that righteousness produces. When you live a righteous life. There's fruit from that.

Now don't think. Don't think. That if you are obedient to the Lord. That you're exempt.

From the pain of the world. Or the darts of the enemy. Let's keep in mind. Who's writing this letter. Humanly speaking. This is Paul. Writing. Under house arrest.

So don't have this idea. That if you are. Righteous. The fruit that comes from that. Is going to always make your life convenient.

Will always make you. Well liked. No. Paul says. With his very life. I'm writing this from house arrest.

Circumstances may be painful. Verse 16 and 17. He's falsely accused. Circumstances may be painful. But. There is a fruit. That comes from righteousness.

That produces a joy. That no circumstance. Can take away. That's how we pray for each other. That we would so love Christ. And walk in such.

Honesty and purity. Before the Lord. That no matter our circumstance. The joy would remain. Because that is the fruit. That comes from our. Righteousness.

I've heard it said this way before. You be faithful. Let God make you fruitful. You be faithful. faithful. The Lord will take care of the fruit.

That comes from that. Peter was faithful. He saw 3,000 converts. Stephen was faithful.

He had stones hurled at his face. Don't think that your faithfulness. Don't think that your faithfulness means. That everything's going to be. In an earthly sense. Fair. It does mean.

That there's a fruit. That comes from your faithfulness. That produces a joy. So real. And so lasting. That no. Earthly circumstance. Is a threat. To it.

The opposite of this. Would be to live by the flesh. And the fruit of the flesh. First John 2.16. Says for all that is in the world. The desires of the flesh.

And the desires of the eyes. And the pride of life. Is not from the father. But is from the world. I will tell you how the world. Wants your children to live.

Indulging the flesh. Sinful eyes. And sinful pride. That's how the world. Wants your children. And grandchildren.

And you. To live. Paul says. Let's pray against that. Let's pray. That we would not bear. The fruit. Of the flesh. But the fruit.

That righteousness. Produces. Now let me say again. How many people. In your life. Are praying. Fervently. Like that. For you. And what I want to say is.

If you want to be. A true. Difference maker. In the kingdom. You start praying. For other people. Just like that. If you've been teaching.

The same Sunday school class. For two years. Five years. Fifteen years. And you want to kind of. Revolutionize your ministry.

Start praying like this. For the people in that class. Fervently praying. Like that. Moms and dads. If you need a voice.

And a thought process. To help you. To pray. For your children. Where you're saying things. That are heartfelt. And biblical. That you know. God affirms.

Pray like that. For your children. That they would not. Indulge. The flesh. That they would not. Indulge. In sinful pride.

But instead. That they would live. In a way. That would make them. Faithful. That God would make them. Fruitful. And whatever.

In the providence of God. That leads to. It will be. For the glory. Of God. Which is the end of verse 11. We pray all these things.

To the glory. And praise. Of God. This reminds us. We are to seek. The glory of God.

Above all else. The ultimate goal. Of your life. Should not be. A life of convenience. Should not be. A life of ease. The goal of your life. Is not a life of luxury.

The goal of your life. Is that your life. Would be. Found. To bring glory. To God. God. The children. You're raising.

The ultimate aim. Of your life. For them. Mom and dad. Is not. That they would be. Intelligent. Or four point students. Or have a college scholarship. Or get a good job. One day. Those things are wonderful things.

That's not the highest priority. You should have for your children. It's that they would live. For the glory. Of God. Now this world. Is going to do everything.

It can. To distract. You. And your family. From living with that focus. But we. As the church. Are going to pray. For each other.

If we're going to be obedient. To Philippians 1. We're going to pray. Like this. For each other. So if you're wondering. How can I. Energize my prayer life.

How can I pray. Biblical things. In a way that is new. And fresh. And interesting. Here it is. Philippians 1. 9 to 11. Pray.

Like this. In the original text. Verses 9 to 11. It's all one sentence. It's just one. Long sentence. And so when you get to the end.

Of verse 11. It's the culmination. Of this lengthy. Extended sentence. And the culmination. Of the prayer. And the motivation. Is all about.

The glory. And praise. Of God. Let that be. The culmination. Of everything. In your life. The glory.

And the praise. Of God. How do we do that? Let me give you. Four things. Of application here. This morning. To help us with this.

How do we live. For the glory. And praise of God. Number one. Surrender. Every part. Of your life. To his providence.

And his will. Surrender. Every part. Of your life. To his providence. And his will. understanding.

Understanding the providence. Of God. Is in one way. Highly theological. In another way. It's deeply practical. This past week.

I had the privilege. I went back down. To the church. I grew up in. Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Down on 25th and Harvey. It's now. A different congregation. But. The building's still there. And I met a couple.

Of friends of mine there. And. Our goal. Was to get into the church. And. And to walk around. I hadn't been to that church. In 40 years. I was there. From 78.

To 85. From like. Kindergarten. To sixth grade. I hadn't been there. In 40 years. And. We wanted to get there. And look around. The doors were locked.

No one was answering the phones. But I've worked at church. Church is long enough. To know you can get in a church. Like there's. There's a way. May or may not be legal. But there's a way. To get in the church. I didn't break any laws.

We waited till. Someone. Came out of a door. And then. Interjected ourselves. Into that. Situation. By God's providence.

We met up. With the guy. Who did maintenance of the church. And he was kind of unsure. Who we were. Why we were there. Once he figured out. That we were on the up and up. He. He was very interested. In showing us around. We spent an hour and a half.

I just walked the halls. And the doors. All three stories. Of this church. I was raised in. You know. You go back sometimes. To like an old house. Or an old playground.

You're like. This used to be so much bigger. Right. It seems small now. Well this wasn't that way. The church was as big to me. This week. As it was when I was a kid. This massive structure. Beautiful structure. And I was walking.

Every. I hadn't been there in 40 years. And I knew my way around the whole place. There was one part. And. And. He was like. I'm not sure what's down there. I said. I know what's down there. I'll tell you what's down there.

And. We went through. It was just. It was this amazing thing. Well the highlight for me. Was. There was one classroom. I wanted to find. And I found it. It was a classroom.

Where. When I was a fifth grader. On a winter's day. There was bad weather. Teachers weren't there. Our teachers weren't able to show up. We had just a few kids in the classroom. But I used to write sermons at home.

I have no idea why. I just enjoyed doing that. I wrote sermons as a kid. And I had it in my Bible. Something new I had written that week. And so I just gathered the few kids who were there. In a. In a line. Got a music stand.

Put my Bible on it. And began to preach to. My peers. And. A few minutes into it. The teachers next door. I guess had heard. There was no teachers in our class.

So they came next door. And saw. There was no adult. In there. I'm like 11. And. They said. You guys need to come to the class with us. And I said. I'm in the middle of my sermon.

Like. What are you doing? I said. I got it. And they were probably afraid. That. A. What was I saying? And B. What we're going to do. When I was going to get done. I assure you.

Class ended before I did. And so. I spent the entire hour. Preaching to this class. The sermon I had written that week. Didn't intend to be a preacher.

Didn't think I was going to be a preacher. Had no thought of being a preacher. I just loved the Bible. The Lord gave me a desire to write sermons. Even as a little child. And I wanted to go see that classroom.

Because that's the first time I had preached to somebody. Outside of my own family. I had preached in my living room. To my family. But. I had not preached to people. Who didn't have to love me.

And so. That room. Was so special to me. And the room. This past Wednesday. Was the same as it was.

Except the chairs weren't out. As when I was in that room. In 1984. 1985. Paint was the same. Tile was the same. Smelled the same.

Nothing was different. And I look back at that. And I say. For whatever reason. In God's providence.

For reasons I don't know. And cannot explain. The Lord. Was calling me. To spend my life. Being a preacher. And teacher. Of God's word.

Not because of skill. Not because of. Of anything other. Than his grace. And I looked at that room. This past Wednesday. And I thought to myself.

40 years ago. This was just. A Sunday morning. Where some weird kid. Had written a sermon. And stood up. And taught class.

To four or five kids. On a winter's day. Who was there. And yet. In God's providence. He was. Preparing me. For what I would do. The rest of my life. That picture.

To anybody else. Is just a classroom. To me. It's the work. Of the providence of God. You have rooms like that.

In your life. You have places. And people. That God brought. Into your life. That in the moment. Just felt. Random.

You look back. And you say. That wasn't random. That was the kind. Providence of God. Leading me. Preparing me.

Helping me. My friends. If you want to live. A holy life. Surrender. Every part of your life. To his providence. And to his will.

And the more. You embrace. The theology. Of the providence. Of God. The more practical. Trust. And joy. You'll have. In your life. Every. Single.

Day. Number two. Make his desires. Your desires. If you want to live. A life that brings. Glory to God. Make his desires.

Your desires. How do you know. His desires. You got to be in the word. And then you pray. To live by them. Number three. In every circumstance.

Don't first ask why. Instead ask. How can I glorify God in this? Something hard comes your way.

Something dreadful comes your way. Something unfair comes your way. Something particularly difficult comes your way.

Don't let your first question be why. Because your first question is why. You're just going to spin your wheels. Here's a better response. How can I glorify God in this?

There will always be an answer to that question. I don't know why everything happens. I mean ultimately it happens for the purposes of God. I get that. But why does God do or allow this one thing that feels painful?

Or why does God allow this one thing that feels unfair? Or why does God allow this certain thing that is so difficult? I don't know. I can't answer that. But I can answer this question.

What could I do in response that would bring glory to God? If you want to live for the glory of God. Train your heart and train your mind to not first ask why.

But to first ask how can I bring glory to God in this? And then fourth. Give thanks for every blessing.

As you confess your dependence upon him for every need. And as you trust him in every loss. If you want to live for the glory of God.

Give thanks in every blessing. As you confess your need and dependence on him. And even as you trust him in every loss.

If you would seek and pursue these things. And pray these things for those in your life. And those in your family.

And those in your church. You will see and experience the blessing that comes from knowing. That you are praying for the very things God has asked us to pray for for each other.

That only a Christian would pray for. And it may just be the people you pray this way for in your life. You may be the only person on the planet who's praying for these things for them.

Pray fervently. Pray passionately. Pray continually. And make his glory.

The highest desire of your life. And the thing that you faithfully pray for in the lives of those around you. If you don't know Christ as your savior.

Can I say to you the first prayer you should pray. Is not for somebody else. If you don't know Christ as your savior.

The first prayer you should pray today is. Lord be merciful to me a sinner. Lord would you forgive me of my sin and save me. Lord would you change my heart.

And would you grant forgiveness to my soul. If you're not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You've not been saved by grace through faith.

You don't need to think for one second about what you need to do. You need to think for one second about submitting yourself to the Lordship of Christ. And those who call upon him.

He will save. He will give you a new heart. That comes with new passions. And new desires. And then because of his grace. Not your works. You are freed up to go.

Impact lives for the kingdom. And if you need a way to pray. To help you do just that. Philippians 1, 9, 10, 11. Should put jet fuel into your prayer life.

And propel you this next week. Into deeper and greater depths of prayer and ministry. Than you've ever known. I pray that will be true for each of us. Lord thank you that your word floods us.

Not only with knowledge. But the ability to discern. To live out. And to apply. I pray you would help us. To grow in love.

To grow in knowledge. And to live in discernment. We pray it for the sake. In the name of your son. And for your glory. Amen.

Amen.