Transcription
All right family, listen. Pastor Darus here. You're about to watch a message that I pray is going to add value to your life. It's called "Third Way Prayer." Three ways you can pray: culture's way, church's way, and the King's Way. We want to move to the King's Way because He gives us an uncommon way to pray that's going to get us uncommon results.
And speaking of uncommon, uh, we're just a few days away, well, depending on when you're watching this, I'm recording this a few days away from my Uncommon Calling Conference. I want you to understand that many of us have callings that the church doesn't have language for yet. But what you've been called to do is to do the thing you've been created for, and then worry about the labels that you use to describe it later. I want to help you have confidence in that uncommon calling. I want to help you get clarity on what an uncommon calling is and what yours is. And then I want to give you competence to actually carry it out. And, uh, two days with me. The dates are on the screen. Free registration. I hope to see you there. But enjoy the message. Make sense?
All right. Luke chapter number 11, verse number one says, "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'" And He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father, Hallowed be Thy name, Your kingdom come."
We're talking from this subject today. We're in a series called "Goated." We're calling this "Third Way Prayer." Third Way Prayer. Yes. Uh, family, I, I want to leap into this lesson today by communicating a statement that was shared by a mentor of mine a couple of years ago. And, um, he shared this statement to increase our teachability. And here's what he said: "Don't let what you do know get in the way of you learning what you don't know."
I'm going to say that one more time. He said, "Don't let what you do know get in the way of you learning what you don't know." He argued, you don't know what you don't know, and what you don't know can hurt you. Yes, sir. Ignorance is expensive. The prophet said, "My people are destroyed," come on church, "for a lack of knowledge." Whatever area we are uninformed in is an area we will suffer in. If I'm uninformed relationally, I'm going to end up suffering relationally. If I'm uninformed on how to manage my life emotionally, I'm going to end up suffering emotionally. If I'm uninformed on how to manage my life professionally, I'm going to end up suffering professionally. If I'm uninformed on how to manage my resources financially, I'm going to end up suffering financially. Because whatever area I am uninformed in is an area that I will suffer in.
Therefore, we shouldn't allow what we've learned in the past to make us unwilling to relearn in the present. Because our willingness to relearn what we think we already know determines if we're able to go places God's called us to go. I'm going to say that one more time. 11:45. I want to make sure you heard me. Our willingness to relearn what we think we already know determines if we're able to go places God has called us to go. For my note-takers: new levels require new learning. New levels require new learning.
And this is why it's essential and imperative to expand our understanding of Jesus, which is what we're trying to do in this series, from just Redeemer to Rabbi. You see, the Redeemer gets me to heaven, but the Rabbi teaches me how to live on earth. The Redeemer seeks and saves lost lives. The Rabbi saves the life that was lost. The Redeemer gives me peace about going to the next life. The Rabbi shows me how to have peace on this one. The Redeemer saves me from my sin. The Rabbi saves me from my silliness.
And if you've never had any silly seasons, be quiet. But if you had some seasons where you look back and you say, "I was rich in zeal but poor in wisdom," but somehow, someway, despite the absence of wisdom, the presence of God kept me protected, kept me sane in the member brain. And when I look at where I am and look at where I could be, I have to say, "If it had not been for the Lord that was on my side, where would I be?" Therefore, the cry of our heart in this season, in this house, shouldn't just be, "Lord, save me." It should be, "Lord, teach me." Teach me. I know Jesus the Redeemer. I need to get to know Jesus the Rabbi.
And the text today is an amazing example of this truth. This text reveals to us Jesus reteaching something that the disciples think they already know. Right? Did you hear what I just said? This text reveals Jesus teaching, reteaching, excuse me, the spiritual discipline of prayer, okay, so that they can increase their spiritual conditioning, so they can carry out their spiritual calling. That's good. Did you hear what I just said? He is reteaching the spiritual discipline of prayer so that he can increase their spiritual conditioning so they can carry out their spiritual calling. Did you hear what I just said, sir? He is reteaching the spiritual discipline of prayer so he can increase their spiritual conditioning so they can carry out their spiritual calling. Their calling required conditioning, 'cause there are some things He calls you to, you have to be in shape for. Did you hear what I just said? Because if you're not in shape for what He's called you to, you'll find yourself in a situation similar to an Old Testament prophet named Jeremiah, who was fulfilling part of his assignment, but because he wasn't properly conditioned for the rigor and the ridicule, ridicule and rejection, he began to become depleted and defeated. And in chapter 23, he even said, "I'm tired of making all of these prophetic proclamations and receiving this rejection from the people I've been anointed to help."
And God speaks to him in chapter 12 and gives him a revelation that shifts him into reality. He says, "Now, if you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with the horses?" Y'all missed it. He said, "If you're worn out now, you're not going to be able to stand underneath the pressure of where I'm getting ready to take you." And many of us are shouting over prophetic words we should be preparing for. Somebody help me preach, please. At the 12th, we're writing down things on our vision board that we should be preparing for. And the question that God would ask us is, "Are you in shape for what you're praying for?" Lord, increase my influence. You in shape for that? 'Cause more influence means more attacks. You in shape for that? "Whomsoever much is given, much is required." Am I making sense here?
This is why we're starting this "Goated" series, dealing with what Jesus says about spiritual disciplines. Because the way you grow spiritually, one of the ways, y'all got time today, okay, one of the ways we grow spiritually is through what the Bible calls spiritual disciplines or spiritual exercises. Paul told Timothy, "Exercise yourself toward godliness." And the spiritual exercises are the spiritual disciplines. They're called means of grace, is what God chooses to use to help you and I grow spiritually. Am I making sense? And prayer is one of those spiritual disciplines because Jesus knows you cannot carry out His commandments without His conditioning. Some people aren't in shape enough to love their enemy. Let me go to this side. So you think you're just going to wake up and and and and love them and mean it? Let me go to this side. Some people are not in shape enough to really pray for those that use you. My God. If we could really hear how you pray for those that use you, it'd be some very generic prayers. Lord, well, do do something for them, I guess. I don't, I don't know. Deuce, I guess. Lord, deuce. Some, uh, that will be done. Am I making sense here?
The Apostle Paul uses the analogy of running a race to describe the spiritual journey. You have to be in shape to run this race. Prayer is one of the disciplines that helps you get in shape. And so Jesus is reteaching His disciples this spiritual discipline of prayer because, remember, Third Way Prayer. There are three ways to do anything: Church's Way, Culture's Way, King's Way. Way of the world, way of religion, the way of the Rabbi. Am I making sense?
And last week, we taught you the three, the three types of prayer. We said culture's way is this: It's an approach to prayer that treats God as a vending machine, not a vicarious Savior. It uses prayer as a form of crisis management and not Kingdom advancement. It is driven by an obsession for personal wants and not God's will. That's so good. Culture's Way. Church's Way: This way views and treats prayer as a religious duty as opposed to a personal delight. It is inundated with superficial sentences, religious rhetoric, and vain babbling. It confuses volume with power and conflates the length of a prayer to the strength of a prayer. It may include praying to Jesus, but it is not praying like Jesus. This is the kind of prayer Jesus taught against. See, when the Rabbi teaches you, He has to very often take you through a season of unlearning what you learned through religion. Did you hear what I just said? Sometimes the Christ has to unteach you what church taught you.
I got Bible in Matthew chapter 6. Watch what Jesus does. He uses this phrase, "When you pray, do not be like..." Not, let me read it again, Doc. "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray standing in church." That's what it, what it, "and on the street corners to be seen, to be seen by others." Come on here. He calls them hypocrites because they're unconscious of their own motives. They're doing something that only works through sincerity in an unincidental way. He says, "They have received their reward in full." They want to be seen, and that's what they get. They get seen. But the prayer doesn't get heard. He's teaching them. Third. He said, "No, don't do first way. Don't do second way. Third Way: Oral, mental, or written communication with God the Father, in the name of Jesus the Son, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. It's relational, not just ritualistic, and it focuses on advancing God's purposes rather than merely fulfilling personal desires. It is prayer that is rooted in faith, grounded in scripture, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. It's not just praying to Jesus, it's praying like Him. And when we pray this way, we see His results. This is water-walking prayer. Yes. Mountain-moving prayer. Jericho wall-falling prayer. Red Sea-splitting prayer. Shutting lion's mouth prayer. Prayer that makes Goliath fall. Prayer that sets the captives free. Prayer that makes the sick healed. Prayer that causes dead things to come back to life. It is this kind of prayer that gets this kind of results. He's teaching them Third Way.
So Luke says this. Luke, the physician. Luke, who's detailed. Luke, who includes something that Matthew does not include. When Matthew's writing this story, Luke says, "One day when Jesus was praying in a certain place." I don't have time, but if I had time, I'd talk about making a place for prayer. You'll never find a place, you got to make one. The enemy doesn't want you to find a place, you got to make a place. You got to make space in your schedule. Come on, through the through the ebb and flows of the day. I, if I had time, I'd talk about making space, not only practically, but making space mentally, clearing the clutter in your mind so that there's a connection between the words coming out of your mouth and the sentiments of your heart. Because it's possible for the mouth to be moving and the mind to be on the other side of town. So I got to make space in my mind so I can talk to Him. I wish I had a little time. And I'd talk about making space, not only mentally. I would talk about making space spiritually. He was at a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us." May God give you friends like the one, because he didn't say, "Teach me." They missed the keys. They missed. He didn't say, "Teach me how to pray." He said, "Teach us how to pray." I'm praying that God sends some people in your life that has some "us" on them. Some people are saying, "Bless me." But may God send you some friends that say, "Bless us." Oh, open a door for us. Make a way for us. I want to know, do I have anybody in the room that prays for the "us"? Who prays for my family? Who prays for my group chat? Who prays for my co-workers? I'm believing God for us.
Woo! I sense an "us" season. I sense He's getting ready to do it for us, not just for me. He's getting ready to do it for us. We don't have time, but boy, if we had time, I would say take about 15 seconds and praise God for what He's getting ready to do for us. For my children. For my mom. For my church. For my friends. For my pastor. Do it for us.
When they finished, they said, "Uh, teach us. Teach us how to pray." Yes. Jesus didn't ask, "Do you want me to teach you how to pray?" They asked Him, "Teach us how to pray." Look at Pastor, 'cause some evolution, that means you're getting better. Some elevation, which means something going higher is on the other end of your investigation. Some things that's worth getting have to be sought after. He said, "Teach us how to pray."
Here's what's so profound about this question. These are grown Jewish men. They are sons of the commandment. They had been gone through, they gone through Bar Mitzvah, son of commandment. So they knew the majority of the Old Testament. They could quote it to you. They had been praying since they were teenagers. But looked at Jesus, and they didn't realize that they were doing it in an inferior way until they got exposed to superior. See, just because you don't know another level exists doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Did you hear what I just said? They have been doing something a certain way their whole life, and they didn't even know it was a better way to do it until they got exposed to somebody who was doing it in a superior way. When He finished, they said, "Teach us how to do that." He said, "You want me to teach you?" They say, "Yeah." He said, "You really want me to teach you?" They say, "Yeah." He said, "You really want me to teach you?" They say, "Yeah." So He said, "Okay, when you pray, say: Our Father."
We know what you are in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Now watch what they say. They say, "Teach us to pray." They didn't say, "Teach us a prayer." We've been treating the text like Jesus, all of these years. Come on here. Come on. I'm talking about a second way now. All of these years, we've been treating the Lord's Prayer like it was a prayer. They didn't ask, "Teach us a prayer." They said, "Teach us to pray, like John taught his disciples." Did you hear what I just said? So with many of us, we treated the Lord's Prayer like Jesus was giving it for the purpose of memorization. But He wasn't giving the Lord's Prayer for the purpose of memorization. He was giving the Lord's Prayer for the purpose of education. It wasn't a prayer to pray. He was teaching you how. Oh, gosh. He's saying, "This is a framework. This is a pattern. When you pray, these things need to be included in your prayer."
So, good. So the question is, can you repeat it? The question is, do we have a revelation of it? Are we all right? This Third Way. So when He says here, watch what He says. He says, "Now, what I'm doing, I'm going to teach this from the perspective of Luke and Matthew." Matthew tells this story, and Luke tells this story. Matthew, Mark, Luke got me. John's the gospel. But these gospels are called the synoptic gospels, similar. So here it is. If I, and I can't, but if I went across the stage and turned the cartwheel, I can't. And I said, "I want you, and you, and you to write about it." All of you are going to have some things that are similar, but depending on your wiring, they're going to be details that are different. There're going to be some things that you left out that you put in, and some things that you put in that you left out. So when you're reading the Gospels and you see these similarities, they are writing from their perspective. So Luke is a physician, he's detailed, he pays attention to the little things. So when Matthew tells this story, Matthew doesn't say, "When Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said." Matthew just has Jesus telling a prayer. I see it. I see it. So when you're reading the Lord's Prayer, there are some things that Luke leaves out that Matthew has in, and some things that Matthew leaves out that Luke has in. I'm teaching it from the perspective of both.
And so both of them start, start with, "When you pray, say: Our Father." This is what this means. Don't just say the word, get the revelation. This is what this means. Our Father. It means to pray relationally. Relationally. Here's a revelation, family. It means that when I'm praying, I need a revelation of who I'm praying to. I am not praying to some distant deity. Okay? Now, whenever I say stuff like this, I'm not insulting anyone, I'm just teaching truth. All right? I'm not praying to some impersonal power. So I'm not praying to a universe that's impersonal. Why am I praying to a made thing? I'm not praying to a made thing. I'm praying to the One that made the thing. How? I'm praying to the One that is so meticulous and so detailed that He said, "The hairs on my head are not counted, they're numbered." If they're counted, it means how many. He knows how many I have. If they're counted, He knows what order they're supposed to be in. I'm praying to Him. Why would I pray to an impersonal force? He says, He says, "No, no, no. I'm not praying to some distant deity. I'm praying to a loving Father who's anxiously awaiting an opportunity to give good things to His children." Where'd you get that from? The Bible. Jesus says in Matthew 7, "Asking, it will be given. Seeking, you'll find. Knocking, the door will be open. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to the one that knocks, the door will be open." Then He says, "Which of you, if your son asks you for bread, will give him a stone? Or if your son asks you for fish, you'll give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?"
Here is a revelation of whether or not you got a revelation of the Father: Are you begging or asking? I don't hear anyone talking back to me. You may have to beg a daddy, but you don't have to beg a good Father. Let me go to this side. And there's too much begging in our prayers to a God God who says, "If it's good, I'll give it to you. If it's not, I won't." And your begging will not make me give you something that's not good for you. Come on in this room, Holy Ghost. Yes, sir. The Bible calls for persistence in prayer. Yeah, yeah. Not begging. Persistence. He says, "If it's good, I want to give it to you. If I don't, it's not good, or it's not good for you, or it's not good for you." Now, you beg strangers. Y'all better come get me today. Jesus says this first because every other commandment regarding prayer in the New Testament has to be built on the foundation of the revelation of the Father. You cannot go boldly before the throne of grace if you don't think He's your Daddy. And every parent should be saying amen now, 'cause your children, many of us have to tell our children, "Knock before you come in my room." You missed it. You missed it. You missed it. You missed it. You have to tell them, "Knock." They come boldly. They don't pay one bill, no light bill, no gas bill, no grocery bill, but they come boldly because this my Daddy's house. This my Mama's house. And you can only go boldly to the throne of grace when you have a revelation: This is my Daddy. I messed up, but this is my Daddy. I made a mistake, but this is my Daddy. I fall short of the glory, but I'm going to my Daddy. I feel like something's getting ready to break out in here. Somebody praise your Daddy.
It's the revelation of the Father. It changes everything. Now, I just want you to think about this. I want you to listen to your prayers. I want you to just, no judgment here, no judgment. Growth. You can't raise people up talking down. Fussing isn't forming. Fussing isn't forming you personally. You don't have to be formed to fuss, but you have to be formed to form. Anyway, here's my point. No, no, no judgment. I want you to listen to your your prayers. I want you to think about it and ask yourself, "Do I sound like I'm talking to my Dad, or does it sound like I'm talking to a stranger?" That's my Dad. He don't play, but that's my Dad. But that's my Dad, though. So it shifts you from from begging to simply asking, to requesting. Now, does God require persistence? Yes. But He requires persistence not because He needs it, you need it. You need it. He requires, right? So, does He make you contend in prayer? Yes. Not because He needs you to ask Him seven times for Him to hear. He doesn't need you to contend in prayer because He needs it to work. He needs you to contend in prayer because of the work it does in you. Let patience, they better come get me, preacher. I feel a Baptist fit getting ready to happen up here on this stage. Let patience have its perfecting work. So saying the wait is working on you. I'm making you wait because it's working on you. It's building temperance and self-control in you. It's building discipline in you. It's building long faith, not just strong faith. It's building long faith. I don't want to know how strong your faith is. I want to know how long your faith is. I don't want to know how big you can believe. I want to know how long can you believe? And can you keep on believing when it seems like believing ain't working? I got to go, but I still believe God. I got to go.
He makes us persist 'cause of what it does in us. I don't have to beg my Dad. It affects the tone of my prayer. It affects the type of prayers I pray. It affects the timing of my prayer. See, every command regarding prayer can't be fulfilled without this. So good. So the Bible says, "Pray without ceasing." You can only pray without ceasing when you pray relationally. Praying without ceasing is what I learned. I learned this years ago. God consciousness. Is that right, Elder? Am I right about it? God consciousness. God consciousness. My pastor in college taught me that. God consciousness. Yes, sir. This is a, this expands prayer from a formal, scheduled activity to an ongoing awareness and conversation with God. Yes. So praying without ceasing doesn't mean I'm walking around like this all the time. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I'm done. The other night, me and P was going somewhere to get something to eat. So we riding. It was like a 15-minute, 15-minute drive. So Alex, we not talking every minute of the 15 minutes, but in the 15 minutes, there were a few conversations. I'm going to see y'all missed it. We driving, we not talking the whole time, but anytime any one of us wanted to say something, we could say it and be heard 'cause we conscious that somebody's in the car with me. Y'all missed it. Have you ever been in the house with somebody you thought you were in the house alone, and he was like, "I didn't even know you were in here"? So there was no conversation, even though y'all were close. You weren't conscious. They missed it. It's not the closeness, it's the consciousness. God's like, "I've been here. You weren't conscious." It wasn't that I wasn't close, you weren't conscious. So when you live with this God consciousness, you're conscious. You're not just with me in church, you're with me in the gym, you're with me in the car, you're with me when I'm walking. So at any moment when I need to get to you, I can. And at any moment where I need to hear from you, I can. I don't have to work my way into a word. I'm not going to bother that. I get a word right now. I get a get a word at Costco 'cause that's where we shopping right now. I get a word. Yep. I'm going to leave. That's where we at. Yes. That's what we on right now. Yeah. Yes. But I, I, I can get a word anywhere. God consciousness is what happened with Nehemiah when he's standing in front of the king. Yes, sir. King says, "What do you want?" And from the time the king answered, asked the question, and the time he answered, he said, "I prayed to the God of heaven." Jesus, he didn't have time to go on a three-day fast. The king needed an answer right then. He had to send up a prayer right then. It was probably quick too. Jesus, help me. Lord, give me what to say right here. I got to say something, and I need it quick. Give me what to say. God consciousness. Our Father. Pray relationally. Who art in heaven? Pray locationally. Pray knowing, watch this, that my Father has a vantage point I don't have. You sit where I don't sit, so you see what I can't see. Oh my God. So I need to cease to be upset when you don't answer my prayer the way I want you to answer my prayer 'cause I want you to answer it based off what you see, not what I see. 'Cause there are some stuff I saw and I thought I wanted, and You didn't give it to me, and I'm glad You didn't. Hallowed be Thy name. Pray reverently. Hallowed means to set apart, to honor, to appreciate. So I cannot hallow names I don't know. I'm going to do a series later this year called "Name Dropping," and we're going to go through the Old Testament, and I'm going to show you the names of God. You cannot properly understand the significance of the name of Jesus in the New Testament if you don't know all the names of Yahweh in the Old Testament. Because when you say the name of Jesus in the New Testament, it is the consummation of all the names of Yahweh in the Old Testament. So when you say, "Lord, Hallowed be Your Name," you're saying, "Your name is Jehovah-Jireh, You're the God that provides." I'm praising that name. When I say, "Hallowed be Your Name," I'm saying, "Your name is Jehovah-Shammah, You're the Lord that is there." So sometimes when I ask you for something in prayer, you don't give me something, you give me Yourself. You say, "I can't give you that, but I'll give you Me." And when I give you Me, I make up for that. When I say Jesus, I'm saying all these things. Hallowed be Your Name. You're not hallowing His name because He needs to be reminded. When you pray, you need to be reminded. I'm talking to Jireh, my Daddy is Jireh. Y'all better come get me. My Daddy is Shammah. My Daddy is Rapha. When I say Jesus, y'all better come get me. Car getting ready to go off the road. Jesus. I'm saying Ni. Come here. Adonai. Come here. Shalom. Come here. Father. Relationally. In heaven. Locationally. Hallowed be Thy Name. Reverently. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. Corporately. I like it. And submissively. Thank you, Jesus. Corporately, I'm praying, realizing that God has a Kingdom agenda beyond my personal needs. The world does not revolve around me. He's doing something bigger than what's happening in my life, and He wants me to pray into that. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Submissively, I'm praying to You what I want, but I submit to Your will. "If it is possible, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will." Now, now, first way prayer and second way prayer. First way prayer will tell you, "God will fulfill all your dreams." Second way prayer will probably tell you, "God will fulfill none of your dreams." Third way will say, "He might or he might not." He might have you alter your dream, not a-l-t-e-r your dream, a-l-t-a-r your dream. He might say, "Put that on the altar. I need you to sacrifice that." You could do it, but don't you smart enough? But no. You good enough? But no. And you watching them do more and they got less talent, but the answer still no. Put it on the altar. Give me Isaac. Not my will, but Your will be done. I surrender. Oh, when you're praying Third Way, you're saying, "Lord, I really want this, but You know what's best for me. So if what I want is not what I need, don't give it to me." Let me cry a little bit now so I won't have to cry a lot later. Right now, in this moment, go ahead and give it to Him. Surrender. Father, would You give us the grace, the wisdom to release what You want us to alter, like You did for Your disciples? Teach us how to pray. We surrender.
Oh, well, family, I hope this message blessed you and stirred your faith as it relates to prayer. I'm asking now, one specific request: If it blessed you, would you just send it to someone else? And if you want to sow back into the field that you're harvesting from, if you want to bless the ministry that's blessing you, ways to do that are on the screen. Take care.