of James as we will be concluding our series there today. For those of you that are new with us, we have spent the last several months going through a verse-by-verse study through the book of James and we will, as I said, be concluding that this morning. And so it's been a a very eye-opening and a very good learning experience, not only for me, but I believe for our church, as James has really challenged us with a lot of different topics and subjects. And this morning, he is going to challenge us, as we conclude, with one that I feel is vital to our life as believers and vital to our church. And one area, if I was to be critical this morning as pastor, to where we fall well, well below the standard according to the Word of God, and that is in the subject of prayer. Whether it be that we don't do it enough, We don't reverence it enough or we don't believe in the power of it enough. I think that prayer is vital to us experiencing God's power and God's hand upon everything that we do. And I believe it will be where we stand or fall as a church moving forward. God's blessed us immensely already. And yet I know and I believe with all my heart that God can and will do much greater works than these if we will pray and seek his face as a burdened people expecting and desiring God to do more. And so I'm glad that James concludes with this subject because it's one that has certainly been on my heart for several weeks. And so look with me this morning, James chapter five, the title of the message is the power of prayer. We're gonna look at verses 13 to 20. The Bible says there, is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise or literally sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. And for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. Heavenly Father, God, we thank you for your Word this morning that is powerful enough to convict, to change, to pierce, and to heal. So, Lord, I ask that today your Word would do exactly that, that through that Holy Spirit that is alive and active and present in this place, that God's sinners would be brought face to face with the seriousness their sin with the hope that only can come through Jesus Christ and the reality that without them we are hopelessly lost and yet in great mercy and love God sent his son to die for us so that we might be reconciled to him by faith and Lord I ask that you would speak to the backslider today to those that have been apathetic and lukewarm for too long that God they would examine their heart to see if they truly are children of the faith and if they are that they would not be satisfied to be in a far country any longer but they would come home today. And God, for the saints here that just need encouraged and edified, I pray that your spirit would lift them up so that as a body together, we can be focused on one thing and one thing only, and that is to glorify Jesus Christ and to share the gospel with the lost and dying world. So Father, I pray that this morning you'd forgive me of any sin in my life, that I might be used by you, that you would increase and I would decrease, Father, and we just give you all the thanks for everything you'll do here today. In Jesus' name, amen. One of the things that we talk about a lot of times in church is traditions. There's a lot of opinions on traditions. Some are good, some are man-made, and probably should be shoved aside. But I believe that one tradition, if you want to call it that, I would call it rather just a biblical instruction, that we've gotten away from, as I said, is prayer. We have prayer meetings, we have prayer gatherings, if you consider 5% of the congregation showing up at gathering. Because, quite frankly, in every church, including ours, prayer time and prayer service is by far the least attended service that we can have. And that troubles me as it should trouble you. Because we understand intellectually the importance of prayer. But our hearts don't show the reality that we think it's that important, or we would spend more time together. Now, the immediate objection is, I do pray. I pray at home. I pray in my car. Wonderful. You should. But there's something special about God's people coming together. You read about the early church in Acts, and every time they were gathered together, Being in the Word of God in prayer and fellowship and breaking of bread were the things that were central to what happened. There's something important that God does when we gather together corporately to pray. And to neglect that is to neglect a fundamental part of your Christian faith and walk. It is so important for us to do. The Bible continually speaks about the church, the body of Christ, being a place of prayer. In Isaiah 56, 7, it says there, These I will bring to my holy mountain, God's people, to make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. You remember Jesus reiterated that when He cleansed the temple. He quoted that very verse. God's people should be people of prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5, 17. Pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. Romans 12, 12. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Luke 18, 1. Jesus told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. I'm glad he connected those statements. Ought to always pray and not lose heart. As long as you're able to pray to your Heavenly Father, you ought to never be discouraged that an answer won't come. It's an expectant kind of prayer, which is a whole nother sermon. We pray, but we pray with such doubt and such uncertainty, and we look at God as being unwilling or perhaps unable to answer. Oh, it's the prayer of faith that God hears. For without faith, it's impossible to please Him in anything that we do. And when you come to God, you come as a child, humbly and reverently but expectantly, that a good and loving Heavenly Father is concerned for your need and wants to meet your need in His way. That's a joyful hope that we have. And so when we look at this scripture this morning, as you look down through there, especially verses 13 to 18, every single one of those verses mentions prayer. Go down and look through those. You see that word mentioned in every verse from 13 to 18. It's obviously the theme of this section of scripture that James is trying to drive to us. He's challenging us. to pray. And in verse 13 he begins by saying, is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing songs. And quite frankly, James uses those two topics because is there any other position that you can be in life? You're either in the high or in the low. You're either in a peak or you're in a valley. You're either celebrating or you're suffering. And so James is saying whatever position that you're in in life, Whether in the good times, praise him in prayer. Sing psalms. As I said, literally, psalms can be poetic things, but they are also many times songs that were sung in poetic nature. And so he's saying, celebrate to God. Come to him and rejoice in thanksgiving for what good blessings are upon your life. And when you suffer, you should pray as well. No matter where you're at, in what circumstance, pray. Now, this is where it gets difficult. We understand that, but the application part is where we mess up badly, do we not? I think that a lot of Christians understand many doctrinal things, but the application part where we stumble and struggle. Getting the reality from our mind to our hearts to affect our actions is where things get lost in translation. And so he says we need to pray, but that's not the automatic response for us. When, what does it say? You're suffering. That word doesn't just mean suffering in the sense of a physical illness, that word literally means difficulties in any area of life. Difficulties. Anybody here have difficulties? You didn't hear me. Anybody have difficulties? Okay, I thought that's a little better. If you don't, I'd like to talk to you and find out your secret after service. We have difficulties and the natural response is not for us to pray. It's to grumble. It's to complain. It's to question. It's to get angry and bitter. Many other things is the natural response. May I ask you this? Let's delve a little bit deeper. When you have a conflict, with your spouse? Do you stop and pray for wisdom and a calm spirit? When you're wronged by someone, do you stop and pray for gentleness and a willingness to forgive? When things get bad at work or when you're driving or when you're in church and you get angry Do you pray that God would remove that spirit from you and help you to have self-control? You see, all those practical positions that we put ourselves in or we get put into, and if we're honest, in those situations and many others, prayer is not the first response that we give. We get angry, like I said, we complain, we get bitter, we lash out, we react. Reaction always comes from the flesh. Be slow to speak, slow to anger, right? James taught us that earlier when we went through these studies. It takes patience. It takes patience, which is something that we learn because what are the themes of James? Authentic faith, spiritual maturity. Those are things over and over that James is driving home, and prayer is, once again, an evidence of both of those things. A true believer will pray, a mature believer will use prayer first and foremost in all situations. It's something, and so, again, I know I'm covering a lot of stuff that maybe you've heard, but some people are new here. And James is a tough book because he hammers away at so many things in our life that we fall short in that by the time you go through these five chapters, you can wonder if you're even a Christian anymore. You can look at your life and feel so down, discouraged and defeated that you wonder, I'm so far off the mark and I don't even know any more about my faith. And it's good to examine yourself. We should. We're called to. And perhaps there's something to that. Maybe your faith is just a verbal profession and not a real change on the inside. But James is teaching us about the holiness of God and our inability to do it in our own strength. And James is showing us the evidences of what a real faith looks like. And the point is not perfection. I've said this many times. The point is not perfection. It's progress. You're looking for a life that is consistently, although it will go up and down, but is the pattern moving towards holiness? Is it moving towards Christ-likeness? Or is it just a flat line for you? Or maybe just an all-out decline consistently? There's a problem there. There is a problem with your life that shows no evidence of fruit, no evidence of maturity, no evidence of faith, and no evidence of holiness. James is steering us back to look into that mirror, to look into the word of God and see and be honest about evaluating where we are. And we all need to work on the fact that when difficulties come, God calls us to pray and we're not good at that. And you have to acknowledge that if you ever want to get better about it, because it will never be our natural response to do. And now let's think about this. What if God allows problems in your life at times, because that's the only time you communicate with him. Let's be honest. Sometimes God has to drive us to our knees because that's the only time we'd go there. And for your benefit and for his glory, the problems are worth it if it causes you to seek his face. Thank you. It's worth it if God has to drive you to your knees to seek his face. Absolutely, absolutely it is. You say, well, that's awful extreme to get my attention. And I would say to you, do you know of a better way? Because everything else that God has done, he's poured out blessings upon your life. He's been good to you. If you're a Christian, he saved you. Prayer ought to be something that you relish and enjoy and look forward to. And you know where your help comes from. If God brought a dead sinner back to life, do you think there's anything else you can bring to him that's too big for him? Man, that's the greatest miracle that the world has ever witnessed, is to see a dead man live, to see a lost sinner saved. If God can do that, what else can he not do? He can do all things. He can. He's able. With men it's impossible, but with God all things are possible. To what? To Him that believes. To Him that believes. Faith is the key that unlocks it. And so when we suffer, we pray. And prayer is not our first priority, but often our last resort. And God will never accept that. He'll never accept that. The great author and pastor of the 16th century, John Bunyan, who wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, among many other things, said this. He said, you can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you've prayed. Prayer isn't just an excuse to not do anything, but you should never do anything until you pray. That's what he's trying to say there. Prayer should be the beginning of any action that you take. It should always start there. And he also says in the Good Times, sing. And I won't go into a lot of detail with that, but I think that's harder for us than praying when we suffer. Because at least when we suffer, we get to a point, it may take us a while, but hopefully we get to a point where we pray. But when everything's grand, and life is good, and there's no troubles, or at least the troubles we can't see, or things that we've kind of pushed down under the surface and they're not bothering us at that moment, then prayer is really off the radar. Because we don't have an eat. We think, boy, this is great. Life is good, and I'm okay. And that is the ultimate deception that we believe. We're never okay. We always need God. But we fail to recognize it when things are good because we often look at God as the spare tire. We're glad it's in the trunk. When we have a blowout, we'll get it out. But other times, we don't even think about it. And that's how God is with most of us. We're glad he's there. We know he's around. But when things are good, we just really don't need him. And it's very difficult for us to rejoice things are going good and what I say by rejoicing is to go to God and rejoicing and singing and praising and praying thanksgiving to him. It's very tough for us to be God dependent unless we're intentional about it and we need to be focused on it and that's what James is trying to drive home and then he goes into a little bit different angle of things and these verses are some of the most difficult verses in the New Testament to interpret, and people have given various explanations, and we could spend days debating the meaning of those passages of Scripture, and probably not come to a consensus on what they mean. So I'm going to give you, just briefly, a little bit about two of the predominant opinions, and then I'm going to give you what I believe Scripture says here, just for you to chew on. Come to your own conclusion as you study the Word of God yourself. But he says in verse 14, is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Like I said, a lot of opinions about this. This is the passage of Scripture that the Catholic Church has gotten their last rites from when they go and pray with someone that's about to die. That is where this originated for them from. And many other beliefs, some very, very wrong and some maybe very, very right, have come from. So it's a very, very confusing portion of Scripture. What he's saying, some people believe, is the obvious, what we would look at on the surface and say, yes, I see that, that's what I believe, I see here, is that in cases of an extreme illness, when someone is suffering with something debilitating, call for the elders to come and pray over that person and anoint them with oil. Now again, that gets sticky because some churches say that the oil is essential, some churches say it's not necessary. Now let me explain something to you. The Bible is God's word. It's inerrant and infallible and given to us for instruction. But the Bible is also filled with historical accounts, it's filled with cultural accounts, and it's filled with language that was speaking to specific people at specific times. So, saying all that, I mean this. There are things in the Bible that are recorded for our learning, but are not commanded by God or approved by God. If I was to go through the Old Testament and look at how many times we see polygamy, for example, mentioned in the Bible. Just because it's mentioned does not believe it was sanctioned by God, does not mean it was sanctioned by God or approved by Him. But the Bible is an honest account of the life of people from creation to glorification. And along the way, we see things in Scripture that are given for our benefit and our learning, but not are always necessarily commands from God. all of the ceremonial laws and the rituals that were given to the nation of Israel were not given to the Gentiles. So that's another portion of Scripture. When we read that, we don't conclude that we ought to be going out and sacrificing animals and have ceremonial washings and wear priestly garbs and garments and all those things. It was given to a specific people for a specific time, for a specific purpose. The Old Testament was God forming a nation. The New Testament is God's covenant people coming together under the grace of Christ. There's a difference that happened at the Last Supper, which we'll celebrate next week. This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Something changed. There was a transferring. The Old Testament, the shadows passed away and things were fulfilled in Jesus. And so not everything in the scriptures is a commandment of God, including the use of oil. It was a cultural thing. that they did at that time. It was a medicinal thing that they did at that time. We see all through the scripture where people are anointed as oil, as they come in as guests, they would put oil on them. It was used to set someone apart for service and ministry. The priests were anointed with oil to set them apart. And so it has various meanings throughout the Bible. But it is no more a command to the church than when Paul says, for example, to greet one another with a holy kiss. We don't do that in America, for the most part. Many cultures still do. They greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. That's not a commandment, even though it's in the Bible, for us to necessarily have to do. It's not that we can't do it. It's just not mandated to do it. We don't cast lots. We don't command women, at least here, to wear head coverings. And on and on and on, there are things in scripture that God used for a specific time and purpose but are not mandated for people of all times and all places. Does that make sense? And so there's no problem whatsoever if you believe in calling someone forward because they're sick and praying over them and using oil. Amen. But know this, the oil, with or without it, is not the key to them being healed. It has no less power than if we were to put holy water stations as we come in. There's no power in the element. The power is in Jesus Christ. And another opinion... Another opinion is that that is figurative language and that the oil represents the Holy Spirit, which is, again, another interpretation. Let me quickly tell you what I believe the Scripture is talking about, and if you've been in this church or if you've been to our Bible studies, you'll know that I hammer this point continually. When you study the Bible, context is key. Context over and over again will keep you in proper interpretation and without it you'll get in a mess. And so if you read James 5.14 and pull it out and keep it by itself, you come up with any interpretation you want. But when you read it contextually in the passage that it's in, in chapter 5, and in the whole book for that example, James over and over is teaching these people patience in the midst of suffering and tribulation. Remember, in the beginning of chapter 5, he talked about workers that were being taken advantage of by rich men who were using them to get gain while mistreating them. And after that, he goes on in verse 7 and he says, Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. And he encourages them in the midst of their suffering to be patient, to endure. Didn't he open the book with that? Talking about patience? Go back later today and read chapter 1 again. Patience. Patience. You're suffering. You're going through things. Endure. Hang on. That's over and over what James is trying to teach us. Now verse 14 he says, and this is where the confusion comes in I believe, is anyone among you sick? We immediately think cancer, disease, illness. Possibly. But that word in the Greek, never means that. In every instance that is used in the Bible, it never means physical illness. It means weakness, spiritual weakness. It's what the word over and over again, let me give you several examples of that preview, I'm not just pulling that out of thin air. This is the same word for sickness, Romans 14 1, as for the one who is Weak, that's the same word here that's translated sick in the Greek. For the one who is weak, where? In faith. The one who is weak in faith, welcome him. But not to quarrel over opinions. Romans 5, 6, speaking of Christ coming and saving us while we were still lost. For while we were still weak, sick, spiritually sick, sin sick, without hope, without Christ, while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 1 Corinthians 8, 9, where Paul is encouraging them to support those that are struggling and weak. He says, but take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. not the sick in a physical sense, the weak, those that are struggling in the faith, those that are discouraged and doubting and wondering. Over and over and over again, that word translated sick means a spiritual weakness. Never in the Bible. Does it mean a physical illness? And I think that's key for us because scripture interprets scripture, correct? And context is key. And so I'm not going to die on this hill if you disagree with me, but I'm just trying to make a point of what I believe the Bible is teaching here. He says, if you're sick, if you're spiritually weak, if you're fatigued, if you're going through tribulation and you're to a point where you cannot even pray anymore, where your faith is almost gone, and you need someone to lift you up, you need to call on someone that is spiritually strong to encourage and lift you up when you need it. That's what the elders are for. That's what the church is for. We are a body that is to bear one another's burdens, to encourage one another, to lift up the weak, the struggling, and help them when they almost are ready to give up, because that's what Jesus does for us. He finds those in their lowest valley and their deepest hurt, and he lifts them back up again, and he dusts them off, and he puts them back on their feet. And he says, we say, well, what about the oil? What about the oil part there? That literally means to crush over someone. When he says anoint, It's not the anointing that the Bible uses when it anoints someone to set them apart for, say, the ministry. It's a different kind of anointing. It's a rubbing. Like if you took oil and rubbed down furniture or rubbed leather, it's literally to bathe that person, to submerge that person in oil, to take care of their needs. Remember, oil in scriptural times was used for medicine. It was a medicinal thing. It was something that was very valuable and very precious. What I believe James is saying here is when someone is spiritually weak, when they're struggling, the elders ought to go to them and pray for them and lift them up and encourage them spiritually. Yes. But if they're suffering physically and they need help, care for them in that sense too. Take care of their physical needs as much as possible also. Provide the care on both ends. Because doesn't James also speak about in chapter 2? that when we see a brother in need and we simply walk by and say, I'll pray for you, and we don't do anything to meet the need, our faith is dead because it doesn't have any works. Prayer is so vital and so important, but put feet to your prayers. Sometimes prayer is an excuse for us. Someone comes to us with a need and we say, I'll sure pray for you, knowing that we could meet that need for them, but we don't want to get messy. We don't wanna get involved. We don't wanna sacrifice a little time and a little effort and little finances or whatever it takes to help them. So the cop out is I'll pray for you. Sure they need our prayers, but they need our help too, if we can give it. And I believe that's what James is saying. He says, come pray for them. Anoint them with oil in verse 15 and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. Again, a lot of confusion with this. Churches teach that anyone that asks in faith will be healed. That's not true. If it was true, then I would like to know why Paul didn't tell Timothy, instead of taking a little wine for his stomach, to just pray in faith and God would heal him. I don't know why he said, I've left Trophimus and Miletus sick in Philemon. Because why didn't he just say, pray and you'll get better if you just have faith. It's a terrible, terrible thing to tell someone that God will absolutely heal you if you just have faith, and then to demean them if God doesn't heal them by saying you just didn't believe. I've prayed with too many saints of God that have more faith than I'll ever hope to have, that they would be healed, that their child would be healed, that their mother or father would be healed, and it didn't happen this height of heaven. And I don't believe it's because they didn't have enough faith. I believe it's just because it wasn't God's time and God's will. But they're healed now if they're a believer in Christ. It's not that he didn't answer. He just didn't answer now, and he didn't answer in our time. But an eternal God has all the time in the world. And that's why it's so important for you to prepare for eternity. And so James is saying that when someone is struggling spiritually, and you go to that person and encourage them and lift them up, that prayer of faith will save that one who is, see that word sick again? That is a different Greek word, but the same meaning. Fatigued in spirit is what that means. Again, not a physical illness. It's someone that is spiritually down. Here's that word, Hebrews 12, 3, speaking of Jesus. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary, sick. It's the same word, and fainthearted. Don't grow weary. Be encouraged. And when you pray for people, and when you go to people, and you meet their needs, and you help them, their faith is strengthened, and you will bring them up out of that place, and God will minister to their hearts and restore them. And that is a guarantee. That's not just, well, maybe. That is a guarantee because I've seen it over and over and over again. God will meet that need. And there's confession that's involved. He says if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Isn't it wonderful to know that when we go to someone and pray with them and encourage them to confess sin and to repent if there's anything there that that is part of the healing process. That's part of the reconciling process. You see, that's what I believe these verses James is saying here is trying to teach us. It goes much, much farther than just the surface physical need. It goes to the heart. which is where James is always trying to get us because that's where the Bible is always trying to get us. There's nothing wrong with interpreting it on a physical sense, but I don't believe that's really what it's about. It's a spiritual sense, a spiritual need that the elders can meet. So if you're struggling, if you're down, call on those, call on the elders, call on those that can lift you up and encourage you and pray for you in your time of need. That's what the body is for. That's what I'm here for. And it's a joy to do that. So now, getting that under our belts, I want you to see in verse 16 as we go on. He says, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. Now look at the end of that verse. The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its working. The King James says, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I like both translations, but sometimes the effectual fervent is not language that we understand. So the ESV, literally it translates it literally which means great power it's where we get our word G from it's where the word energy comes from so let me let me give you an example there's great power in prayer right so here's here's the example we've got a light it's plugged in we've got a source of power the plug being plugged in We have a source of power spiritually with God. We have something that needs that power. The light needs the power. We need to get the power of God to our need. What is going to have to happen to get the power from here to here? The switch. To get the power of God from Him to the need, you're going to have to flip the switch. And what is the switch to activate that power? It's prayer. It's prayer. That's what it's going to take for God's power to find its way, need that we have. We have got to activate that by prayer and not just any prayer, but a prayer of faith, a prayer that believes. And he says, When you pray, there should be confession involved. There should be some heart searching involved. Because he says, what? The effectual fervent prayer of who? Righteous man, a righteous man. Now watch this. We have to go to God with confession and repentance and then obey what he's telling us to do. But hear this. You and I will never be good enough. And so when we read that verse and we think, oh, God only hears the prayer of a right man. And I certainly don't feel right. I certainly don't always live righteously. And for many people that that causes them to think that they have to earn God's favor, that they have to work on some things first before they can pray to God. And if that's how you feel, my friend, Mattel, you don't understand the gospel. You just don't understand the gospel yet. If you think it's up to you to work on anything first for God to do something for you. Because over and over, the Bible teaches that it is by grace through faith that we're saved. And it's God's working in us that causes the change. The Pharisees were very, very moral people. They were very, very externally driven. On the outside, everything looked good. He said they're like whitewashed tombs. The outside of the cup was clean, but the inside was filthy. And when we try to clean ourselves up, we can make a very good show of it externally. But the problem is our hearts are still not right with God. And so he's challenging us to go to him with confession and repentance, because we're already made righteous in Christ. You see, it's not our righteousness, but His. When God looks at us, if He still sees us, we're in big trouble. But if He sees Jesus in our place, then there is no condemnation anymore that could ever befall me for my sin. because he has paid for it, he has washed it in his blood, and he has forever removed it from my life, and he has canceled that debt that was against me. He has fulfilled the law for me, and he has made me whole, and he can do that for you, but he is the only one that can do it. He is the absolute only way of salvation. There are many, many paths that you can try to take, but there's only one straight and narrow one. There are many, many claims to salvation, but there's only one name given under heaven among men that you can be saved by, and that name is Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man or woman, boy or girl, can come to me, come to the Father except by me. He is the Way. He is the Substitute. He is the Savior. He is the Great I Am. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He's the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. there is no other name that you'll call upon no other name sweeter than Jesus that can save you and that is the truth and it's his righteousness in Philippians 3 9 Paul says and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ righteousness that comes from God depends on faith that was the words of Paul And then he closes with, James is gonna close with an example, and I'll close with that too. Verses 17 and 18, it says, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. Boy, isn't that good news? We read the Bible and we see these saints and all the apostles and stuff and we think, man, what giants of the faith. I would never be able to be like them. They're just like you. They're just like me. They struggled, they doubted, They sinned. He uses Elijah, but we could probably put anybody in that place. Peter, David, Samson, Moses. Put a name in there. They all were men that God used, but they still struggled with all the things that you and I struggle with. You see how encouraging that is? It tells me that I don't have to try to get to some super elevated status before God can use me. He takes the weak to confound the wise. He takes the foolish things of this world and uses them for His glory. He creates in us a new spirit and He makes us new creatures and He uses us despite our shortcomings and failures and sins and brokenness. And that ought to be something that lifts your heart this morning. If you feel that God can't do something with you, may I tell you to repent of that and trust his word and believe what he says. Elijah was a man just like us. He had all those faults, but he prayed. He prayed. God told him to go to that wicked king Ahab and cry out against him and tell him for three and a half years it will not rain. And Elijah just obeyed. And it doesn't tell us in Kings that he prayed, but here it does. And he prayed that God would be faithful to his word and it didn't rain for three and a half years and then Elijah prayed again and it rained. It rained, according to God's word, according to God's faithfulness, according to God's timing. Elijah, in all of his mess and all of his failures, even when he ran from Jezebel and hid in the woods and said, God, just kill me because my life isn't worth anything anymore. In that moment of weakness, God never quit on him. And maybe you're here this morning and you are so weak and so discouraged and so feeble that you wonder if God would ever, ever take you back and use you again. He did it for Elijah. He did it for David and Moses and Peter and on and on and on. And He'll do it for you if you will humble yourself and come back and cry out to Him in prayer and believe Him. And I'll say this, and Jeff, you can come. If we want to see the power of God on Freedom Baptist Church, and if you want to see the power of God in your life, it is going to have to be because you are broken and burdened for the lost, you're broken and burdened for the kingdom of God to advance, and you get on your knees and cry out to God until he answers. It's not just a one-time deal. It's not just mouthing something quick and then forgetting about it. It's going to Him over and over and over until you get that answer that He promises. E. M. Bounds, who is a writer that has written some of the greatest works ever written in prayer, said this, What the church needs today is not more machinery or better and new organizations, not more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use. Men of prayer, men mighty in power. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, and men who are men of prayer." That was the faithful words of E.M. Bounds, who lived that kind of life. and he experienced it. And I can tell you right now that the first prayer that you need to pray today, if you don't know Jesus, is, Lord be merciful to me, a sinner. If you're lost and without Christ, the prayer that you need to pray this morning and the prayer that God will hear is, Lord, I'm lost. And if I die tonight, I know for without a shadow of a doubt that I'm going to die without Christ and be condemned eternally. Not because the preacher said it, not because he's trying to scare me, but because the Word of God has proclaimed it. He that believes in the Son of God is not condemned that he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he's not believed in the only name and Son of God. That is the truth. The truth from the Word. And if you'll cry out to Him, He'll save you. If you'll come to Him and repent, He'll forgive you. If you'll come to Him and give Him your burdens, He will move in His time and way. Now you may wonder why the crosses are up here. Here's what we do as people. We come up here to the altar and we pray, and we pour out our hearts to God and we give Him all our needs and all our concerns, and then we get up from praying and we pick them back up and we take them right back with us. We walk right back out the door with everything we just came and prayed about. So here's what I want you to do if you're ready to come and pray this morning. There's post-it notes all around the altar and black markers. I want you to write on there what it is you're praying for, who it is you're praying for. If it's somebody in this church and you don't want to embarrass them, just stick their initials on there. and put it on the cross and leave it there. And every time you're tempted to take it back up and carry it back out of here again, look up here on the cross and say, no, I left it there. And I'm trusting Jesus to do something with it. And Jesus is gonna answer those things. And there's red pens on top of these crosses. And for the next months, as God answers, we're gonna mark a mountain red to show that the blood of Christ still saves, the blood of Christ still restores, and the blood of Christ makes us worthy to come into his presence boldly. And so this morning, let's stand. And as the Holy Spirit speaks to you, He's already speaking to you. Do you need to come? For whatever reason, you come. Come and pray. Come and give your life to Christ. Let Him save you. Let Him use you. Let Him heal you. What's your need this morning? Have you heard His voice this morning? Is He speaking to you? Is He calling you this morning? If your life was to end tonight, do you know where you're going? Are you sure that you're saved? That's the most important decision you'll ever make. And all it takes is a step of faith. All it takes is to say, God, I need you. Jesus saved my soul. He'll do that for you. Are you willing to come? Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side. Will you come? Come to it. Consecrate me now to Thy Spirit. I know you're scared. I know you've got a million excuses in your mind right now why you can't come, shouldn't come, won't come. Not one excuse is worth it. Will you pray for me, Chris? Yes, I will, brother. Dear Heavenly Father. Be lost in my coming in. Nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Call me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, To Thy precious bleeding side. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour that before Thy throne I spend. When I kneel in prayer and with Thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend. Let's bow your heads for a moment. Nobody's looking around while we have those up here that are going to the Lord in prayer. Writing down their needs. Seeking God's face. I still believe that some of you that are standing out there have needs. I believe that some of you this morning are concerned about many things. I pray that one of the things you're concerned about is your soul. I pray that God this morning has spoken to you and given you a glimpse of your heart and shown you that maybe things just aren't as good inside as you thought. When the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that didn't exclude you, that very much included you. And now you might be a little bit troubled and you might be a little bit concerned. If that's you this morning, if you're worried about your eternity, if you would like me to pray for you, would you just raise your hand? Nobody's looking around. Please close your eyes and bow your heads. But just slip up your hand this morning so I could pray for you. Nobody's looking. Nobody at all. I see your hand over there. Someone else this morning? Are you concerned about your soul? I see your hand. In the back, I see you over there, I see your hand. Someone else? There's no shame in that. It's a wonderful thing to know that God's dealing with your heart. It's a scary thing when your heart's so hard you don't feel Him anymore. Anyone else? I see you over there. Father, We come to you this morning, God, thankful that your Holy Spirit still convicts. Thankful for those that have acknowledged, God, that you're working in their heart and you're doing something there. And God, I pray that you'll continue that work. I pray that you would continue to convict and that you would continue to show those that raised their hands and those that didn't. But I know that you're working on them too. That God, they need you and that you're willing to receive them. You love them. You proved that on the cross. You gave your son because you care for him so much and you want to be reconciled to them eternally. So God, I ask that you would just bring them back the next appointed hour so they could hear your word again. Or even more than that, that they would be so troubled and so burdened that they would call someone this week, whether it's me or someone they know as a believer, and that they would ask them to show them how to be saved. That someone would sit down with the Bible and open up the scriptures and just lead them to Christ. So God, continue to do a great work in this church. And God, for those that have come, and all week long as I've come in here and prayed and looked at the names on this cross, my heart's been burdened, because every single name and request is a person. It's a need. It's not just a sticky note with writing on it. It represents someone that's hurt, someone that's lost, someone that's in need. And so God, I pray that we'll get burdened, and I pray that these notes that are on the cross are a constant reminder of our dependence on you, And I pray God that not only will we bring these needs to you, we'll leave them there and that God will trust you. And I'm already rejoicing because I know that you're going to answer and you're going to show this church once again that you're mighty to save, that you're able to meet all our needs according to your riches and glory in Christ Jesus. And that God, we're going to cross off these needs one by one and celebrate and praise every time we do it. And so Lord, thank you for what you're doing here. Thank you for this church. Thank you for your word. And thank you most of all for Jesus Christ. God, as we conclude this service in just a few moments, if your spirit's still working, I pray that you would continue to draw and move as only you can. We give you thanks in Jesus name. Amen. Jeff, we'll do one more verse and we'll close if nobody comes. We need to count this one. This might be your last chance. Till I rest in peace with Thee. Draw me nearer, nearer, blest Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blest Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side. I want to thank you for being here today. It's always a blessing to have visitors with us, so I appreciate seeing you this morning. It's always great to see our regulars, too. We love you guys. Don't forget the announcements that Jeff made this morning about the Christmas in July fundraiser and Friends and Family Day and different things that are going on in the meeting after service. There is no service tonight. I know a lot of people are traveling. A lot of you have plans and family in, so celebrate and enjoy that time together. Thank you to everyone that serves our country. Continue to pray for our country. It sure needs it. And we just thank God for the things that he's doing here and for this church and all that he means to us. Brother Jeff, do you mind to close this out and pray this morning, brother?