(Mt Pleasant) 5. Prayer in the Old Testament - Part 1 — Gerhard Du Toit

Prayer, Accountability, and Dying to Self

I was reminded once reading about this old pastor in a church in the United States and he was never able to get his people to come and sit in the front of the services. They always sat at the back and so one Sunday morning he became so desperate that he took the pulpit and he put it in the back of the church and he asked them all to turn around.

So they walked out of the service with bended backs and bended necks and probably bended minds also for all you know. But we appreciate doing, you know because we are involved in different countries on the subject of prayer, I sometimes come across some wonderful little things about prayer.

And I was reading some time ago about this family that would have family prayers every day. And they had a wonderful dad. Every day when the dad prayed there was something that he would thank God for that happened during that day.

And so the children were always looking forward when daddy is going to pray tonight, when they have family prayers, what is he going to thank God for today? And then one day absolutely everything went wrong.

I mean nothing went right that day. From the morning, the moment that they woke up right through the day until the evening, absolutely everything went wrong. And so the children were all excited and they said now when dad prays tonight, what is he going to thank God for today because nothing went right.

And so that day, that night when they prayed, the daddy said, Lord I thank you that every day is not like today. So then I was reading about these two elderly men who were praying. They used to pray together and the one fellow, they would pray all over the world.

And the one man would pray for different countries. And his prayer got so intense and so long that the man that prayed with him fell asleep. He just couldn't take it anymore. And when he closed his prayer, the fellow that was praying looked at him and he realized that he was asleep.

So he woke him up and he said, when did you fall asleep? And he said, I think it's when you were in India. So there you are. We mentioned to you last night and yesterday in the sessions together that we have some great material that we would like to put into your hands.

And if you have not taken one of these sheets on accountability, they really deal with four weeks that you can take five questions every week. And just systematically go with them in your quiet times.

And I would encourage you, if you haven't taken one, to make sure that you take one. And we've got quite a group of other material. We put them at the back and we would like you to take them if you will.

We've got sheets of this if you are interested. When do you know when you have died to yourself? You know, the Apostle Paul said, I'm crucified with Christ. And he said, nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

And he said, the life which I now live in the flesh, how do I live it? I live it by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It's quite significant if you go to the life of Christ and you study the teachings of Christ and look at every word that Jesus said and discover how much Christ said about faith.

And then lay the foundation for the understanding of faith coming from the teachings of Christ. Exploring the acts of the Apostles as it relates to faith. And then go to the Apostle Paul and his epistles and explore the understanding of faith.

The general epistles and of course the book of Revelation. And you will discover three aspects of faith. Faith to be saved. Faith to be sanctified. And faith for service. And when you explore those three aspects of faith, you discover the secret of what the crucified life is all about.

And so the Apostle Paul said, the life which I now live, which life is it? It's the crucified life. How do I live a crucified life? I live it by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me.

And then in Hebrews chapter 11, we enter into what we would consider as the heroes of faith. But when you study the New Testament epistles, you will discover that the majority of the New Testament epistles can be divided up into two sections.

A doctrinal section and a practical application. And that's why we are so emphatic in saying to you that when it comes to the Christian life, that you cannot go from your experiences to the exposition of Scripture.

You cannot interpret Scripture in the light of your experiences. Because you will isolate the Word of God. And as you isolate the Word of God, you will interpret God's Word in the light of your experience.

That's why there are movements today, they are so experiential orientated. And everything is manifestations and experiences and all these kind of things. And brother and sister, they last for 3 or 4 or 5 years and then they blow up like a balloon.

And you pick up these psychological, spiritual wrecks all alongside the road of the Christian life. And it takes them 5 or 10 years to recover. Why is it? Because they have interpreted Scripture in the light of experience.

I mean this is my, if I may be allowed to say that this is my criticism of books on holiness. I mean I properly have every book on holiness that you would be able to find the last 100 years or longer that has been written.

And of all my books on holiness that I dearly love and appreciate, 70 to 80 of them are experiential orientated. And the problem is, you know, Christian maturity is not Christian purity. When God cleans us and fill us with the Spirit of God, it's going to take you a lifetime to develop Christian maturity.

And one of my problems as a young Christian worker in Africa was that I listened to people who would speak on the subject of sanctification and they would preach a message that took them 25 years to get there themselves.

And I would sit there in the inadequacy of my simplicity listening to this and I said, OK, if I need to trust God to cleanse me today and fill me with His Spirit, I need to experience what this man is speaking about tomorrow.

Didn't realize that it took him 25 years to be able to get to that place in his relationship with God. And so what are we speaking about? You see, if God is dealing with us in a drastic way and He cleanses us and we surrender ourselves to God and He fills us with His Spirit, brother and sister, that's not a goal, that's a gateway.

You see, a crisis without a process is an abscess. And so in the Christian life, you will discover when you study the New Testament and we speak about surrender, and if I would be allowed to say this and you say, why do you do that?

You know, I've made a commitment in my life and I'm not saying this to impress you, but I'm passionate about discovering what the Word of God is saying and I've made a commitment in my relationship with God and I've asked my wife to hold me accountable that every 12 months I say, Janice, I want you to help me.

I want to go through the New Testament 35 to 40 times for the next 10 years. And I said after those 400 times of systematically going through the Scriptures, writing the New Testament out about every 12 to 15 months, to come to grips with what God's Word is saying.

And so that's what the New Testament is about. You study the word sin and you need to ask yourself, what is the Gospel of Matthew saying about sin? What is Mark saying about sin? What is Luke saying about sin?

What is John saying about sin? You say, how do you study this when you look at that? You study the Gospel of Matthew together with the little epistle of James. You say, why do you do that? Because James is the commentary on the servant and the mount.

Those wonderful 105, 108 verses, you put them with the 1071 verses of the Gospel of Matthew, you study them together. Then you take the Gospel of Mark. And how do you study the Gospel of Mark? Those 678 verses, you study the Gospel of Mark with 1 and 2 Peter.

So why would you do that? Because theologically speaking, the Gospel of Mark had the relative influence of the apostle Peter behind it. You say, to what degree? Because it relates in the Greek New Testament with 1 and 2 Peter.

That's why the key word in the Gospel of Mark is the word, uses in the Greek language, which is the word immediately. That's why it's so difficult to analyze the Gospel of Mark. Because you discover how Peter, theologians are saying to us, dictated to Mark.

And that's how the Gospel of Mark. So I study Mark with 1 and 2 Peter. And incidentally, I study it also with the first 12 chapters of the book of Acts. So why would you do that? Well, you see, the first 12 chapters of the book of Acts was dominated by the ministry of the apostle Peter.

And then you study the Gospel of Luke. 1 ,151 verses with the Acts of the Apostles, which is 1 ,007 verses. And I study that with the Epistle to the Hebrews. And you say, why would you do that? Well, I'm not going to tell you, but that's the way I'm doing it.

Because, let me just say this. If you study the Gospel of Luke in the Greek New Testament, you know Luke was a physician. And there are about 50 technical medical terms in the Gospel of Luke and in the Acts of the Apostles.

Now, when you study the Gospel of Luke in the book of Acts in the Greek New Testament, and you study the Epistle to the Hebrews, you discover that in the Greek language there are deeply underlying corresponding concepts that are coming together that is unique in the style of those three New Testament books.

And so you say, who wrote the Gospel of Luke? Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? I'm not going to tell you, but I give you a piece of my mind that I can't afford to lose. So, I remember when I was a student, one of our professors said to us, I want you to find out who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews.

And so I had 50 arguments how I discovered that it was the Apostle Paul. And the morning when our professor asked us and said, So, who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? I was a very zealous student, you know.

And I jumped up and I said, I know exactly who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. And so he said, who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? And I said, I have 50 arguments it was the Apostle Paul. And he just pointed his finger at me and said, you are absolutely wrong.

And so I was kind of hurt in the arrogance of my young student days. And I jumped up again and I said, so who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews? And he turned to me and he said, it was the Holy Spirit.

He wasn't prepared to make a statement. I still believe it's Paul. You say, did he write it in Greek? I don't think so. You say, how did he do that? I think he wrote it in Hebrew. But someone translated it for him.

And in the Acts of the Apostles, you come across the we sections. You know, Luke was the physician of the Apostle Paul. And from Acts chapter 16, three times you discover that he speaks of we, we, we.

So, you say, what happened? It's obvious that Luke must have been with him. And Luke became, I think, his personal physician. And so, if you have an interest in the Greek language, and if you are interested, I can give you the Greek New Testament on audio.

And I can give you the Greek New Testament in English. You say, what do you mean in English? They've translated the Greek New Testament from Koine Greek into English so that you look at the Greek words and they are spelled in English.

Which makes it really easy to come to grips with it. And I like to do this when I sit in a plane. I sit with my Greek New Testament and I sit with the English translation of the Greek New Testament. And I listen to it on audio.

And it's just wonderful as you systematically. You know, there's only 5 ,250 words in the Greek language. And there are about 140 of those words that if you come to grips with it, they are the skeleton of the Greek language.

You know, you all sit here this morning like a bunch of seminary students. I mean, Kevin, we could only, we can honestly give him an honorary doctorate for looking after all the sheep on the farm for all you know.

Anyway, let me tell you something. Brethren and sisters, it's so rich. And you know, when you study the scriptures, it's so wonderful. I mean, you know, it's just precious. You take one word, the word blood, in the Greek language.

Ninety-nine times we find it. And you systematically go to the Bible and you study it in its context. And you will never go wrong in your interpretation of scripture. Because you always deal with the context of what scripture is about.

The work in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 261 references in the Greek language speaking to us about the Holy Spirit. The word for sin, which means missing the mark. And it's different context in its structures and its tenses.

And when you come to grips with it, you discover the fullness of what the scriptures is all about. And so that's how you study the Word of God. And let it become part of your life. And when you pray, you know what the Holy Spirit does?

He brings God's Word into your life. And you pray the scriptures back to God. And you discover what does it mean to pray in the will of God. And systematically exploring what this is all about. So how do you know when you've died to self?

When you are forgotten or you are neglected. When you are purposely set at naught and you do not sting and hurt with the insult or oversight. But your heart is counted worthy to suffer for Christ. That's when you've died to yourself.

When your good is evil spoken of. When your wishes are crushed. Your advice are disregarded. Your opinions are ridiculed. And you refuse to let any form of anger rise in your heart. Or even defend yourself.

And you take it patiently and lovingly with silence. That is when you've died to yourself. When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder. Any irregularity. Any unpunctuality. Or any annoyance. When you stand face to face with waste.

Folly, extravagance, spiritual insensitivity. And endure as Christ endured it. That's when you've died to yourself. When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation. Or to record your own good works.

Or each other's commendation. When you can truly love to be unknown. That's when you've died to yourself. When you are content with any food. Any offering. Any raiment. Any climate. Any society. Any solitude.

Any interruption. By the will of God. That's when you've died to yourself. When you see your brother prosper. And you see how his needs have been met. And you can honestly rejoice with him in spirit. And feel no sense of envy.

Or never question God. While your own needs are far greater. And in a desperate circumstances. That's when you've died to yourself. When you can receive correction. And reproof. From one of less stature than yourself.

And you can humbly submit. Inwardly as well as outwardly to that person. Or to God. Finding no rebellion. No resentment. Rising within your heart. That's when you have died to yourself. So are you dead?

In these last days the spirit will bring us to the cross. That I may knowing. And being conformable to his death. So we want to make sure that we are able to put these materials into. You know Judson the great missionary to Burma.

He was one of the greatest men in the mission field. And they referred to him as the Apostle Paul of Burma. And so when Judson came back from Burma to the United States. And there were many reports written about the great ministry that God gave him.

And so when he came back from the United States. And the ship that he was on came into Boston Harbor. When word came out that Judson was on the ship. Many Christians. Many, many Christians went. Because they wanted to meet this man that was so mightily used of God.

And he didn't know what was happening. He was just coming home. He was old in life. He was coming to spend his last years back in the US. And so when people came on the ship. Judson was there in his cabin.

He was preparing and getting things together. And people were waiting. And somehow he didn't come. And they were looking for this man. They were looking for some marvelous spiritual giant that was going to come down from the ship.

And so he never came. It was just a small little inadequate insignificant man. And eventually they thought well maybe he's not on the boat. And so they found out. And they said no he's in there. He's just getting his stuff together.

And he came out. And so the reporters and Christian leaders were so anxious to see him. They began to board the boat. And they said we want to go and meet him. And we want to bring him down. And they came down.

And he was in this cabin. And they just filled this cabin. And they were all there and talking to him. And they said oh you are the modern apostle Paul. And you are the great missionary to Burma. And he just broke and wept and wept and wept.

And he wouldn't even look at them. And so when they got under the conviction of sin because of what they were doing. He began to pray in their presence you know. And he began to pray. And he said God I never wanted them to compare me with the apostle Paul.

But I always wanted to be like the Lord Jesus you know. Well I tell you that got them out of the hurry didn't it you know. So brother and sister you know we are really nothing. Don't you ever think. Listen you know what breaks my heart about the Christian life.

And I am so glad you know there is not a ton of people here these days. Because it is wonderful we can look one another in the eyes. But you know what breaks my heart about the Christian life. God don't need any one of us you know.

He don't need any one of us. Let me tell you something. God can do his work far better without us you know. Far better without us. So you say why isn't he doing it? The angels would love to do what he has given us to do.

But God wouldn't give him permission. And so we are precious to God. And he wants to use us. And our lives are important to him. Don't you ever sit there in a chair and think you know. I am just a little nothing.

You are not a little. You are very very important to God. But don't ever come to the place where you think you are indispensable. I always smile at the life of Elijah you know. There at Mount Carmel. After three and a half years of preparation.

And the fire of God fell upon the altar. And when the fire of God fell upon the altar and devoured it. And God manifested himself as the God of Israel. Elijah thought you know this is it. And it wasn't it.

And he had to flit for his life. Hour after hour after hour. And then you know how God took him. And took him to this place all on his own. And then the voice came and said. What are you doing here Elijah?

And he said I am the only one left. I am the only one left you know. And you know. I wish I could translate to you the Hebrew understanding of that statement. Because you know what God said to him. So what?

So what? You know what God said to him? You are not the only one left. There are many of them who have never bowed their knee to Baal. And Elijah. My work will just continue the way that it has. Even if you are not there you know.

So don't you ever think that you are indispensable. You know I am amazed that God can use donkeys in scripture. I tell you. God can use donkeys in scripture. And by the way you know. When Balaam talked to the donkey.

The most incredible revelation. When the donkey spoke back to him. I mean he was a donkey. Because he understood what the donkey was saying to him. It was amazing you know. So just be you very careful you know.

We are precious to God. You are not indispensable. You say so. So how does God use us? You know what? God used broken people. I have often said to my dear and my precious wife. I said to her my darling.

The day when I lose the brokenness of the spirit of God in my life. Will you have the courage to nail me in the corner and say to me. Don't you ever go near ministry again. God used broken people. And if you don't serve God with a broken heart.

You are not going to get far. You are going to get so hurt. You are going to get so offended. You are going to get so upset. You are going to become so bitter. That no one would be able to get near you.

You say what are you talking about? You need to learn to kiss the hand that is holding the knife. And if you learn to kiss the hand that is holding the knife. You will never be able to look at people.

You will always be able to look at people with the grace of God. And you will always be able to see yourself without the grace of God. And if you see yourself without the grace of God. And you see people with the grace of God.

Brother and sister, you never will be able to criticize people. Never. Never be able to criticize people. Because why? You see them with a heart that has become broken. I wonder this morning, you know, I tell you, it's such a blessing to be in Australia because I know there's a burden of God for this country.

And it was amazing when I came into Sydney the other day. It was just like being here nine years ago. Because, you know, we've been praying. We've got around more than 500 people in different countries of the world who are praying for every one of these meetings.

They don't know your faces. They don't know your names. But I tell you, these people are praying for you every day. And what a blessing to be in this country to sense the burden of God and to ask God to come and visit us with revival.

Persistent Prayer for Family and Friends

So, let's spend some time in prayer together and then we can attend to the Scriptures. If you are new with us this morning, we've been praying together at every one of these sessions. And this is what we are going to do.

I want you to meet in groups of five and just get into a little circle. If there's something that you really want us to pray about, we want you to share it. So, what I want you to do is to look at the person and say, how can I pray for you?

If it's a family member, if it's an issue at your church or whatever it is, we want to pray with you about it. You know, the longest that George Muller of Bristol prayed for someone was 63 years. So, when did he become a Christian?

Three weeks after George Muller died. The great Andrew Murray prayed around 400 of his descendants into the ministry. But you know what happened to Andrew Murray? Every one of his children found Christ, went into the ministry except one.

He was the youngest boy. He was a rebel all his life. Never came to Christ. Andrew and Emma Murray prayed for him. God gave him promises. They sought the face of God. Stood upon the promises of God. But he never gave his life to Christ.

The war broke out in South Africa. And when the war broke out, this young man in his thirties went to the war. Didn't know Christ. Andrew and Emma Murray prayed for him and prayed for him. Went to the war, totally lost.

And you know what happened during the war? He was killed. And when he was killed, Andrew and Emma Murray said, we don't understand this, but we can't question the promises of God that He has given unto us that our son would come to Christ and that will be born of the Spirit of God.

And they got the message that their son was killed in the war. And for six months they went through awful darkness. They never knew what happened to him. They didn't know if he came to Christ. All they had was the promises of God.

No word about this youngest son of the Murrays. And you know what happened? Six months later, a knock was at the door of the parish in South Africa. And Andrew Murray opened the door and a man stood in front of him and he said to him, are you Dr. Andrew Murray?

And he said, yes. And he said, I need to talk to you. And Andrew Murray said, about what? He said, I need to talk to you about your son. He said, what do you mean? He said, your son that went to the war.

And Andrew Murray said, come in. And they sat down and Emma Murray came in and he said to him, what is it about our son? And the man turned to him and he said, I was in the trenches right next to him when he was shot.

And he said, he was wounded. And he said, he fell into my arms. And he said, for the last five minutes of his life, I held him in my arms. And he said, sir, I need to tell you, I led him to Christ. In the last five minutes of his life.

Because I'm a born again Christian. And he got saved. Don't you ever give up, you know. Don't you ever give up, you know. And sometimes, you know what we need to do? We need to confess and say, God, I've given up.

But you've never given up on people. You've got family members this morning and they are lost. Don't you give up. You've got children and they are lost. Don't you give up. So why are you saying that? The tide goes out, and brother and sister, the tide turns and comes back.

And people need to get bottom, hit bottom, before they turn. And things need to get worse before they're going to get better. And so you say, what is it? Don't you ever give up when it comes to prayer.

So let's pray. Break together in our little groups. And if you've got a family member that you want us to pray for, it would be a great time for us to do it. Find four or five people and just break up in little groups.

And that's what we're going to do. Okay? This is a great time for us to pray for our families. And so why don't you just share about your family or some of your friends. And then we pray together. Our Heavenly Father, as we have bowed this morning in the greatness of Your presence, has it been a tremendous encouragement for us to know that in Thy presence there is fullness of joy and at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

We thank You that Your Word is said unto us that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. And they shall walk and they shall not faint.

And Father, we confess this Saturday morning that there is nothing that is so valuable to us and there is nothing that is so refreshing to us to be able to linger in the presence of God and just to become conscious of the encouraging blessing of recognizing that the Lord is in the midst of His people.

Father, I was reminded again of Solomon in the Old Testament when at the dedication of the temple and how Your Word is said to us that when he came to the place and he prayed and he said, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.

And we are so grateful this Saturday morning that we are Thy people, that we have been called by Thy name. And Father God, we want to humble ourselves before You. Your Word said that You dwell with those who are of the humble and the broken heart and the broken spirit.

And You said unto us, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. And Father, we confess today that in the best of our understanding and our comprehension and our perception of what humbling ourselves before God really means, is it still so inadequate in that which God really wants us to do.

Lord, we thank You that Oswald Chambers said that we need to learn the secret that to humble ourselves before God is not just a discipline, but it needs to transform itself into a disposition and a lifestyle of an awareness of our inadequacy in the presence of God.

And Father, we confess today that we have never learned the art that when You said to us, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, how we come to the understanding of how far we come short of the glory of God.

And Lord, we are not speaking about unconfessed sin, but we are coming to grips with the depravity of sin and the fact that we are missing the mark and that we come so far short of the glory of God. And as we humble ourselves before You, that the Spirit of God is able to come and show us the unbelievable depth of our need in the presence of God.

And Father, teach us the secret of what it means to sit in the dust before You, not in a sense of depression, not in a sense of introspection, not in a sense of being disillusioned, not in a sense of discouragement, but in the consciousness that if You withdraw Your presence from us for one split second, that we will simply disintegrate it in the greatness of the majesty and the centrality and the supremacy of the life of the Lord Jesus.

And God, we pray that You will teach us these marvelous secrets. Lord, I have been so blessed in recent months by this little book by Andrew Murray on humility and how we expound the humility in the life of Christ and how the Son of God learned obedience by the things that He suffered.

And how He said unto us, The Son can do nothing unless He sees the Father doing it. And how in His submissiveness to His Father, He said unto us, My Father work hitherto, and so do I. And God, we confess this Saturday morning we don't know a thing because of the awfulness of sin and its impact upon our lives and what it has done to us that we do not know a thing about what it means to fast and pray and to come to grips with the Hebrew understanding of sitting in the very ashes and the dust before God.

But I pray that you will teach us afresh this weekend that one of the greatest attributes and one of the most marvelous aspects of the sanctified life and one of the most beautiful consequences and characteristics of this fullness of the life in Christ in us is when you bring us to the place where we will be able to sing with the hymn writer of old when he said, Nothing in my hands I bring, but simply to the cross I cling.

Teach us humility, dear God, so that out of our purity and the cleansing efficacy of the blood will flow the vision of the risen Christ who submitted Himself, who became conformed to the image of man and who gave Himself to us.

And when you said unto us that you are in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and that He gave Himself for us and, Father, that we would recognize that the understanding of our surrender to God leads us to the comprehension of our depth of need and humility and brokenness and transparency and vulnerability and a total abandonment and being sold out to every aspect of what the life of Christ is all about.

God, we confess that it is not these times that we are spending with you, but, Father, it is these times that you are spending with us. And help us never to lose the vision of the possibility that God has promised to us household salvation.

Help us this morning never to lose the vision of the Christ that is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God and is ever interceding for us. Help us never to lose the understanding that we are not on our own, but that you have said unto us, my little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not.

But, if any man sins, we have an advocate to the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteousness. And He is the propitiation for our sins. And not just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. Help us never to lose sight of the fact that you said to us that we do not have a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who is touched in all points just like us we are, and yet without sin.

And help us never to lose sight of the fact that you said unto us, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace and mercy, so that we might be able to receive mercy and grace in the time of need.

And I am so glad, Father, that the Greek New Testament is really saying to us that God will step in in the nick of time just when we need it. And you have said unto us that no temptation has taken you, but such as is common to man.