In this series, we've been talking in depth about Jesus. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, the Bible says Jesus emptied himself of any advantage that might have been afforded him as the Son of God.
Philippians 2:6-8 says, ". . . [Jesus] had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death--and the worst kind of death at that--a crucifixion."
At the beginning of the gospels the devil tempts Jesus to use his divine advantage. Come on Jesus call in the angels! Give the people a spectacle! Turn these stones into bread to fill your hungry belly! But Jesus refused. He didn't use his divine advantage. He had to rely on God just like us.
One way we must learn to rely upon God is by walking with the Holy Spirit. Our relationship w/Holy Spirit makes the life of Jesus accessible and possible for us. Religion is all about what you can do, in the power of the flesh. But Christianity is different. There is another way. The Lord says, "not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit." John 6:63 says, "It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is of no help at all." God never intended us to live a godly life apart from his Spirit.
In John 14:15-17 Jesus says, "If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you."
We're not talking about RED BULL, an extra shot of espresso, or some 6 hour energy drink. You don't need a bump here and there. We must completely rely on the Holy Spirit, like Jesus, to live this new life. When you study the life of Jesus, he lived a pretty ordinary life up to the age of thirty. But when he got baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended upon, and the Holy Spirit anointed him, it's only then that we see the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit doing what flesh can never help us do.
Another way we rely upon God like Jesus is prayer. It's so important we understand this point. Hebrews 5:7 says, "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." At the darkest moment of his life, Jesus pleaded with his disciples to "stay" with him, "keep watch" with him, and "pray" for him (show Matthew 26:38). On the cross he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." Jesus wasn't exempt from relying on God.
If you are in a small group, going to Bible class, or doing the Walking As Jesus Walked study guide your going to unpack the prayer life of Jesus. Dann Spader points out that prayer was central to who Jesus was, central to his being fully human. It was a way for Jesus to renew his energy and determine his next step. Prayer was a priority that at times demanded that he withdraw from the crowds. At every critical junction of his life. Before every major crisis. The busier Jesus became, the more he prayed.
Imagine what it would have been like to be a fly on wall, listening to Jesus pray? You know, there are several prayers of Jesus recorded in the Bible. (1) There is the Lord's Prayer (show Matthew 6:9-15). (2) There are countless breath prayers, or one sentence prayers where Jesus offers thanksgiving, or cries out to God. (3) There is Jesus' prayer for his own life, his disciples, and for the church, in John 17.
But I wonder if you have ever read the Psalms in your Old Testament? The Psalms brilliantly capture the essence of fervent, reverent, heart-felt, tear-filled, submissive, death-defiant, Hebrews 5:7 kind-of-prayer. My concern is that if you never read the Psalms, you may never understand what it means to rely upon God, calling upon his name, in prayer, like Jesus. The Psalms foreshadow and foretell the often agonizing prayer-life of Jesus.
Take Psalm 22 for instance. Jesus himself alludes to this Psalm as he wrenches in agony on the cross. "My God my God, why have you forsaken men? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest... I'm a worm not a man... scorned... despised... all who see me mock me, they hurl insults, shaking their heads... Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hand and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment... but you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouths of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen."
Our staff and shepherds prayed over 50-60 prayers cards this past week. Some of you are struggling against addiction. Some of you are overwhelmed by sadness and grief. Some of you are at wits end with your spouse, a child, a relationship, a work situation, school. Some of you are struggling with chronic pain, or failing health. This side of glory, I suppose we'll agonize about many things. But the question isn't whether we agonize but whether we'll get on our knees and agonize over these things before God--because God loves us, and cares for us, and longs to hear from us.
You know, it's impossible to summarize everything Jesus taught about prayer, so let me summarize a couple of really big ideas we ought to consider as we pray.
First, God Knows You. We don't have to babble on and on with God about what is going on. Jesus taught that the Father knows what you need before you even ask him. We worry about what we'll eat, drink, our body, our clothing, our labor. Not only does the Father know what we need, the Bible tells us that Jesus intercedes on our behalf in heaven (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25). Not only that, but the Holy Spirit also intercedes on our behalf!
Romans 8:26 says, "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." You were a point of conversation between the Father-Son-Holy Spirit yesterday, today, and every day.
Second, God Loves You. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable of a persistent widow who keeps going to a ruthless and godless judge to plead her case. He turns her away again and again, but she keeps bothering him. Finally the judge gets worn out and gives in to her. The paradigm shift is that [A] God is not an angry, ruthless judge. [B] If a ruthless judge is inclined to respond how much more will God respond when we pray? In another parable Jesus ask, "what Father if a son asks for bread gives him a snake?"
Third, Believe Bigger. Jesus never once lowered our expectations in regard to prayer. No, he launched them through the stratosphere. "Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you... Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours... Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." How radically different might your life be if you'd prayed bigger and bolder, not smaller? The greatest miracles come to those throw away inhibition and ASK BIG in the gospels.
Fourth, Stay in Faith. Jesus made it clear that we don't do so well judging God. John 9:: Jesus, who sinned that this man was born blind? Him or his parents? Ah, neither, this happened that the glory of God could be revealed in his life... Luke 13:: Jesus, why did the tower of Siloam fall over, killing all those people? We're they worse sinners than other Galileans? Ah, no... do you think they were worse sinners than you? You all need repent just same as them!
God's timeframe is eternal. His perspective is eternal. God doesn't ask us to see/know/figure everything out, he asks us to stay in faith. We don't always understand God (ask Job's friends). We don't always see the larger plan of God (ask Joseph). We're not so great at helping God along (ask Abraham). We can't always anticipate how fast God can act (ask Nehemiah). We're not so great at seeing the bigger picture of God's mercy and grace toward our enemies (ask Jonah.) We pray from a very small, finite place. The most God can sometimes give us isn't a WHY but rather a peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7). God's invitation, Psalm 46:10, is sometimes to, "Be still, and know that I am God."
Fifth, Be Kingdom-Centered. We are too will-full, or full of our own will. What is God's will? 1 John 5:14-15, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."