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ABC Prayer Crusade

Glenn Coon

Getting Through to God

01-Oh God, Do You Care?

02-I Have Trouble Everywhere

03-My Drowning Brother Saved

04-Sincere Sinners

05-Hallelujah 6000 Dollars

06-Then Everything Went Wrong

07-The Agony Was Great

08-Satisfying Fellowship

09-Legalism Be Gone

10-Answers Delayed, Why?

11-Jesus Disobeyed Me

12-Converted Against Her Will

13-Stake Your Claim

14-Eternal Life Now?


There are conditions to every promise in the Bible. We learned that 30 years ago. But something bothered me very much for in my early ministry, in fact from the time I was a boy, it seemed to me that individuals who talked about conditions to answer prayer were inferring, if not saying, that conditions are something that I am to fulfill before the Lord can be talked to and sought for in regard to strength. Now friends, there are many conditions to answered prayer. Let's deal with just 2 or 3 at this hour.

Number 1, faith is a condition to answered prayer, isn't it? The Bible says without faith it is what? Impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So faith is a prerequisite it is a condition and many people say well I don't seem to have the faith that it takes listen. I've good news for you Not merely is faith a condition But faith is already a promised gift and more than that When you and I were born into this world, we're born in a little package of which faith was a part.

No person was ever born into this world without faith being born with him. Where does the Bible say that? It's found in Romans, the 12th chapter and the third verse. It says, God hath dealt, hath dealt, to every man the measure of faith. Every living soul already has faith.

In a later study, we want to deal with the question of how faith can be increased and strengthened. But every 1 of us has faith and Jesus said if we have faith like a grain of mustard seed great mountains could be moved so let nobody ever say to you again and of all things don't let the devil say you don't have the faith I have a mustard seed of faith. That's very very tiny and Jesus said you just just use that little bit of faith that you have and Mountains can be removed So faith is not merely a condition. It is a gift. It is not merely a gift for the future, it's a gift that we received at birth.

Here's another condition to answered prayer. Repentance. I used to hear many times as a boy back in church this text read and it's a good text it's a biblical text it is Psalm 66 18 it says if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me so if I fail to repent of cherished iniquity I can't expect answers to prayer but just a moment 2 features number 1 is this Many people come to me and they say, I have iniquity in my heart. God can't hear me. I say, wait a minute, it doesn't say that.

It doesn't say if we have iniquity, it says if we cherish iniquity. There's a world of difference between having sin in our life, having iniquity, and holding on to it and saying, Lord, I will not let go. I will not let you release me if I cherish it, if I hold to it, if I stubbornly refuse to let go when the Lord wants to take it away. Repentance of cherished iniquity is a gift. It's a condition, but it's a gift.

Acts 5 31 listen to this. The Apostle was speaking to the people he said him speaking of Jesus him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a Savior for to give repentance. Repentance for a serious sin is not something that a man works up from within. It is something that the Lord God of hosts gives us as a free gift. This is why we say to people often in our audience, If at any time you sense that the Lord is impressing you with repentance, if the Holy Spirit is saying, I want to give you repentance, don't turn, don't turn away, don't turn him away, don't turn repentance away.

He's handing repentance. If you sense that he's saying to you, aren't you sorry? I'll give you a godly sorrow for that sin. And you say, thank you Lord for the gift of repentance. I do repent.

Thank you Lord for giving me hatred for the thing that I naturally love. It's a gift. Here's another condition to answered prayer, obedience. We're told again and again, if you love me keep my commandments. We're told in 1st John 3 22 and 23 that what we ask of him we receive because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

So obedience is a condition but friends listen to this, Obedience that is a condition is an absolute free gift from the hand of the Lord. Where do you find that? There are many passages that tell us this. You see, if we can understand these passages and these promises of obedience as a free gift, we can reach up and say, Lord, you give me obedience. In this certain area of life, I'm not obedient, but you've promised to give me obedience.

Where has he promised it? Here it is. Ezekiel, the 36th chapter and the 26th and 27th verses. Here's what it says, A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh.

I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes." The Lord said, look, obedience is a condition but you can't obey without me. Obedience is a promised gift. I will give you a new heart free of charge. I'll give you a new spirit without charge. It's free.

I will put my law in your heart. I'll cause you to obey. Isn't that wonderful what God will do? If we were to wait until we fulfilled all the conditions before we could ask God to come to our rescue, well my friends, if we could obey without the Lord, We wouldn't need the Lord for obedience at all. The facts are we need the Lord totally for obedience.

You see, we even need him to give us the will to obey. Philippians 2.13, it is God that worketh in you both the will and to do of his good pleasure. So God gives me the will to obey. God gives me the hatred for sin. God gives me a new heart that can obey.

If my heart isn't new, I can struggle as long as I want to, and I can obey. I remember years and years ago of hearing of 1 aged minister that was telling about how many Christians try to obey when they haven't had a change of heart. He told of a timber wolf that a hunter had captured and put among the sheep, just a little baby wolf. And this little wolf lay down with the sheep so pleasantly and so joyfully, almost like it was a sheep, so tender, so innocent. But he said, 1 day, much to the amazement of the 1 who thought it was now his pet, this wolf grabbed 1 of the lambs and ran off to eat it.

He said the reason was the wolf had a wolf's heart. And lying down with a sheep wasn't enough to be called by a pet name like a sheep wasn't enough what the wolf had to have was a Different heart than a wolf's heart For an Individual to try to obey God to work himself up to obedience Before he reaches up and ask God to give him a heart of obedience is wasted time. It's legalism So here we have in our lessons we have about 12 General conditions to answered prayer Every 1 of these is just like the 3 that we've shared as examples. Every condition to answered prayer is God's free gift. If we'll reach up, he promises it, and the gift is in the promise.

Now, let me share with you an example of this. And you remember in our last study, perhaps it was, we mentioned prayer partnerships where 2 would meet together and then they would seek out a third and they'd pray with this third and ask the Lord to give this person faith and ask this the Lord to give this person obedience to ask the Lord to give this person repenancy 2 people praying if 2 of you agree it shall be done so long as it conforms to God's promises. So let me share with you how the Lord gives obedience, how God gives a man hatred for sin, As 2 people meet together and meet this third person. And my friends, I pray the Holy Spirit will impress us to enter upon this joyful fellowship of prayer partnerships as we learn about conditions as free gifts. Before my wife and I had started in this exclusively traveling ministry, we were traveling some before, I was pastor of a church where a young man Was working at a hospital and he became enamored of a young girl about 19 years of age single girl This young man was married and had 2 lovely children of his own In their spare time You know someone has said the idle man is the devil's workshop In their spare time they kind of played around a little bit and you know we just touch our little bit and before they realized it they were involved.

He had never planned to become infatuated. The thought had never occurred to him that he wanted to be mean or cussed or devilish. Not at all. He was a good Christian. He loved the Lord, but he didn't realize the precautions that we should take.

And now he was involved with this girl as he studied over he decided that to be consistent he shouldn't have 2 girls and so he decided that he would divorce his wife Now you see how when we become involved with sin, how the devil takes over. Instead of the devil saying, cease your fellowship with this single girl, the devil said, divorce your wife. Isn't Satan the devil? And so he felt the consistent thing to do would be to divorce his wife. 2 of the deacons of my church went to see him.

I hadn't heard a thing about him yet of this situation. They went to see him and I call them 1898 deacons. By that I mean those that used to give it right from the shoulder instead of giving the love of God from the heart. So they met him and they told him, you realize what you're doing? You better sin the way we sin, or you better stop sinning.

And reporting it next weekend as 1 missionary visit. For whom? For the devil. Of course, they didn't accomplish anything. A few days later, I heard about it, and I got ahold of a young minister who's a friend of mine And I said, would you like to go and visit this young man?

With me. He said yes. Now there are 2 of us. We were prayer partners and While we're talking about prayer partnership, don't forget my friends that we're talking about the conditions to answered prayer being free gifts. We're praying together that God would give that young man repentance as a free gift, not something he'd work up from within but that God in his mighty love and tender mercy would give him.

That God would give him obedience as a free gift. God would give him a hatred for sin as a free gift, you see. If 2 of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. I claimed, even before I saw the young minister and picked him up to go with me, I claimed James 1, 5 for wisdom. It says, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men, liberal enough, brave enough not, it shall be given him.

So I said, Lord, I ask, I believe, I claim the wisdom. I claim 1 John 5, 16, which says, if any man see his brother sin a sin that's not unto death, I may ask and God will give him life. And if 2 of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that you will ask, it shall be done. We're to bring to him the fellowship of 2. I claim the promise of Luke 11 13, If you then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him I needed the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is God's agent in conversion and reconversion What good it would do for us to go unless we're instruments of the Godhead, you see?

I claimed the promise of Genesis 3.15 that God would give him a hatred, a repentance for that life, and the young lady as well. When the young minister and I went down to his home, the young man was in the back of his house. He had a little garden. The sun was just setting. And in that country, when the sun sets, darkness comes almost immediately.

And there he was just ready to leave his garden. His wife had just come into the kitchen, which looked out toward the garden, turned the lights on, we saw that lovely little wife, a beautiful Christian. And I said, now, brother, we've come not to scold you, because soul winning is largely what? Spiritual fellowship, spiritual courtship. I said we haven't come to scold you.

I wouldn't belittle you for the world. I wouldn't embarrass you for anything. Not at all brother, but I said I've learned something wonderful about a new kind of prayer and we want to share it with you. I said you you know that we won't belittle you for the world. He said I know it and I appreciate it pastor but he said I want to be fair.

Pastor I don't want to give the girl up. Now what would you do? You'd claim the promised gift of repentance. God says he has uplifted his son to give repentance. So we would be praying that God would give him a change of heart.

So when he said I don't want to give her up I will not give her up that the Lord would work in him. Philippians 2 13 both the will and to do of his good pleasure and when he said I don't want to give her up I was stumped for a second and I darted a prayer to heaven and it went something like this dear Lord I don't want to force this man to do right. What shall I do? And the Lord doubted back this promise. It is God that worketh in him both to will and to do.

I'll give him the repentance. Thank you, Lord, I said in my heart. And you know what? Inside of 5 minutes, that young man smiled in my face and he said, you know, I've thought it over. I am willing to give her up.

Now, don't get the impression that it always happens that fast. But also, friends, let's not forget this, that when you and I go in a prayer partnership to work for a soul, if we will go to him with love and fellowship, the heart opens much more quickly than when we go as though we were higher than he, more spiritual than he, as though we were good and he wasn't quite as good, do you see? He saw that we were not putting ourselves on a pedestal at all and the Holy Spirit that way could work through us. He said, but she won't quit, I know she won't. I said, yes she will.

I'm claiming a promise that God will give her repentance, that God will give her hatred for this life. He said, I know she won't. I said, yes, she will. I'm claiming a promise that God will give her repentance, that God will give her hatred for this life. He said, I know she won't.

I said, let's go down to see her. She lived about 15-20 miles away. I said, let's go down and see her. He said, well, we'll go, but he said, I know she won't. I said, I know she will.

Now, friends, I think only 5 times in 50 years have I ever given God a deadline. Don't ever give God a deadline unless you're absolutely sure the Holy Spirit is leading. I said, I know she will. He said, but I'm telling you she will not. She told me if we broke up she'd commit suicide.

And I said, no she won't. I didn't tell him why, But I knew there are 2 reasons why. 1 is no man is worth committing suicide over. And the second is God promises to give repentance. If 2 of you shall agree, I said she will change.

She will change tonight. He said, well, we'll go. But she won't. He said, if she doesn't, what will you do? I said, you blame me.

So we jumped in the car, we went down. When we got there, it was, they'd gone to bed. All the lights were out. And then I detected that the young man was weakening. He said, oh, they've gone to bed.

I could read between the lines. He was saying, let's go home. He didn't say it, but that was between the lines. Now, when you ask God to fulfill a promise and you believe he'll do it, and you say, thank you, you're doing it, are you going to bank out on God? Oh no.

And when he said, they've gone to bed, I said, they'll wake up. And I bounded out of the car, rushed up the front door, knocked at the door, And as I knocked at the door, I claimed a promise. Knock and the door will be what? Opened! And whether it's the bars of the iron gates where Peter was imprisoned, or whether it's a door, a wooden door to home, or whether it's a door of circumstances.

Our God is mighty. I heard a gruff voice inside saying, who is there? I said, I'm the preacher and there's another preacher with us. I thought then they would know we weren't robbers. But we were robbers.

We were gonna rob the devil of his prey. He said, she's gone to bed. I said, she'll wake up. Ask her. I heard him call through, Alice are you willing to get up?

She said, yes. I said, thank you Lord, so far so good. In A few moments she was dressed sufficiently. She came out went down sat in the car with us Then I claimed these promises all over again. Why we need the Holy Spirit My friends it's a tragic thing for a Christian to go out trying to win a soul to Jesus Christ, trying to bring him to repentance, when that's the business of the Holy Spirit, to get him to obey, when that's the business of God, to get him to hate the life that he lived, that's the part of the Holy Spirit.

He creates the new birth. So I claimed the promises all over again and as I did for wisdom also the Lord impressed me. Listen son you treat this young lady as my child. How about that? You mean you treat a girl who had fallen, you treat her as God's child?

Yes or no? Yes! Yes! And so as I broached the subject to her, I mellowed my voice. I weighed my words.

I slowed my voice down And I kind of bowed a little, because I was in the presence of royalty. She was God's child. That made her what? A princess. I was talking to a princess, a fallen princess.

And I said, we have come in the interest of this young man's home. And we wondered, he has a lovely wife and 2 lovely children. We wondered if in the interest of his home, if you would be willing to break up. And I just got the words out of my lips. And what do you suppose she said?

Yes, sir. Now this was in the southeast where people are very gracious and courteous and sometimes we aren't quite sure they mean what they say. So I thought, well maybe she's just being gracious. I said, that's about what I said. Just about like that.

I wanted to say, did you mean it? Oh, that's wonderful, really? She said, yes, sir. And the young man then spoke up. He said, I've really loved you.

She said, I know you have, but we're through. He said, I've been very sincere in my love. She said, I know it, but we're through. And then he began to whimper. Bless his heart.

He said, if you ever need me, let me know. You know, I pity a whimpering man, don't you? You know, if there's anything I hate to see, it's a rooster being picked on by a hen. You know, he loses his crow. And every time he said a word, she said, yes, but we're through.

I said, listen, tell me this. When did you make your decision? She said, before you ever came. Tonight! And the nearest I can figure was the time we were back in that man's yard claiming the promise of repentance as a free gift to her, of Obedience as a free gift to her hatred for sin is a free gift to her isn't God wonderful We thank the Lord took the young man home he wakened his wife we had a dedication a Reconsecration a new home was built friends 2 great lessons this if this hour 1 is every condition to answer prayer is a free gift.

It's a promise of God. Second, get some person of your own sex to go and pray with someone who's having a rough time. Claim the promise of wisdom and the promise of the Holy Spirit and ask God to help us to bring the fellowship, not condemnation, not criticism, not a holier-than-thou stance, but the sweetness of Jesus. Will you do it? Shall we pray?

And as we bow our heads in prayer, With every head bowed and every eyes eye closed in the audience and anyone back home Did you come in tonight anyone Feeling the guilt and the power of sin and you want god now to deliver you to give you a hatred for the thing that's wrong, if so would you lift your hand. Dear Lord in heaven, thank you in Jesus name. We're asking that you will bring that deliverance, Hebrews 2 14 and 15. We believe you're bringing that deliverance and we thank you that we are receiving. Now Lord, send us out as little prayer partners to find another heart that's passing through great trouble and bring that heart to the feet of Jesus.

Thank you for hearing us in Jesus name amen. If you would like to know more about Audioverse, or if you

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Series

Getting Through to God

09-Legalism Be Gone

Parent Series

Sponsor

Other Teachings in Series

01-Oh God, Do You Care?

02-I Have Trouble Everywhere

03-My Drowning Brother Saved

04-Sincere Sinners

05-Hallelujah 6000 Dollars

06-Then Everything Went Wrong

07-The Agony Was Great

08-Satisfying Fellowship

09-Legalism Be Gone

10-Answers Delayed, Why?

11-Jesus Disobeyed Me

12-Converted Against Her Will

13-Stake Your Claim

14-Eternal Life Now?

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