Matt. 6:1 Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no REWARD from your Father in heaven...

In the next 8 verses Jesus lists the 3 Christian Displays of Righteousness that GOD REWARDS: Praying, Giving, & Fasting

Jesus didn’t say IF, but WHEN you Give, Pray & Fast
GOD Expects us to Fast because He Plans to reward it.

2Chr. 7:14 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 will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

There can be no doubt that GOD desires to Forgive the sins of His people and Heal our lands. But there must first be a Humbling, Seeking, and Turning, on our part.

Fasting empowers Humbling, Seeking, and Turning by redirecting our dependence on natural food into desire for greater closeness with the LORD.

Fasting repositions our desire over our dependence
It's simply curbing the appetite of the flesh in order to increase our appetite for the things of GOD.

DANIEL —
In Daniel’s 1st fast (ch 9) he prays with repentance for Israel’s sins, after discovering Jeremiah’s prophecy of 70 years of captivity is completed. And is visited by the angel Gabriel.

In his 2nd fast (ch 10) Daniel prays 21 days (fasting) for the explanation of a vision. An angel is dispatched with the answer, on day one, but fights the demon of Persia during the 21 days, before breaking through!

How many Answers, Breakthroughs, and Deliverances, have not reached us because we don’t fast, or quit too soon?

In many areas we receive partial blessings without complete victories, because our faith needs to be applied with fasting...

The disciples ask Jesus why they couldn’t cast the devil out of a seizure-ridden boy. And He replies...

Matt. 17:20 “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.

Mark 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.

Sometimes the answers from GOD that we seek remain beyond reach, waiting for Faith through Fasting to hit critical mass and vault over the walls of impossibility.

Fasting Is a way of reprioritizing yourself; making the demands of your body subservient to your spirit.

In Jn 4, when the disciples brought food to Jesus, he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t understand. My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to complete His tasks.”

Paul writes in Ro 12:1-2, Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God–which is your reasonable service.
Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

GOD has perfect plans for your life, your family, ministry, and job. Don't you want to know what they are and apprehend them?
Fasting is a holy & healthy way for you to make your body a sacrifice to GOD, so that your Mind can be renewed, and you can KNOW THE PERFECT WILL OF GOD.

Fasting...
• Clears plaque from your spiritual arteries,
• Trims the excess weight of guilt from your soul,
• Frees your sluggish mind from the toxin of fear,
• Sharpens spiritual receptivity & restores boldness.

Fasting Targets CLOSENESS, DELIVERANCE, & SUCCESS

CLOSENESS -- Repentance, Drawing Closer, & Receiving Answers from GOD

People who got close to GOD by fasting...

MOSES — Ex 34:27-28 On 40 day fast, receives the 10 Commandments

HANNAH - Fasts in her grief over barrens and GOD gives her the Prophet Samuel for a son

NEHEMIAH — Neh 1:4 Learns of the broken and depressed condition of Jerusalem and the Jews left behind during the exile. He fasts and repents for the nation and GOD gives him favor with Artaxerxes, to go and rebuild the walls.

PAUL — Ac 9:1-9 Fasts and repents for 3 days after his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, and exchanges blindness and error for a relationship with Jesus.

CORNELIUS — Ac 10:30 A Roman Centurion is fasting and seeking GOD when he receives a visitation from an angel, instructing him to send for Peter, which leads to him (and his entire household) becoming the first Gentiles to be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.

DELIVERANCE -- From Satanic Holds, Patterns Of Bondage, & Destruction

ESTHER — Esth 4:14-16 A Jewish wife of Xerxes, king of Medo-Persian empire, learns of a plot to annihilate all the Jews, so she proclaims a 3 day fast that leads to their deliverance and elevation instead.

JEHOSHAPHAT & JUDAH — 2Chr. 20:3-25 Are invaded by a huge Moabite-Ammonite army and threatened with annihilation. After fasting and humbling themselves before the Lord, they send out the Praise Team against the invaders and they all turn on each other. Takes 3 days to gather the spoil!

DANIEL - Escapes the lion’s den as King Darius fasts through the night. Discovering Daniel’s deliverance the next morning, King Darius makes a royal proclamation that the LORD is the true Living GOD and and must be worshipped throughout the empire.

NINEVEH — Jonah ch 3 120K Ninevites (men, women, children, animals) fast and repent 40 days, and are spared from judgment.

SUCCESS -- Taking Territorial Assignments & Achieving GOD’s Goals in Ministry

JESUS - Repels Satan’s temptation and gains power for ministry

Luke 4:1-3 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God...

(Satan tempts Jesus with the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life)...

Luke 4:13-14 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee,...

ANTIOCH ELDERS — Ac 13:1-4 Are fasting and seeking GOD when the Holy Spirit speaks to send Paul out on the ministry he was called to. After more fasting Paul is sent by the power off the Holy Spirit.

Faith Christian Church will be entering 2018 with a 21 Day fast!

We are going to Fast & Pray for...

Our Closeness with GOD, Deliverance from sickness and oppression Success in our ministry assignments

I’ve provided a copy of Jentezen Franklin’s book, “FASTING—Opening the door to a deeper, more intimate, more powerful relationship with GOD” for each of you to begin reading and preparing yourself.

Over the next few weeks I want you to plan out your fasting schedule, and I’m going to create a Fasting Calendar with everyone’s commitment on it, so we can cover the entire 21 day period.

Pick the Frequency & Type of your fast.

Pick the Frequency of Your Fast...

Full 21 Days Certain Days Each Week (3 Weeks)

Pick the Type of Your Fast

Full Fast - Water Only or Water & Juices Only “Daniel Fast” – No Meats. No Sweets. No Bread Partial Fast – Sun Up to Sun Down

PREPARATION TO PRAY

GOD laid out 10 Requirements with which Aaron was to Prepare himself to enter His Presence in prayer and receive His blessing of Atonement.

Since GOD’s standard of Holiness has not ended, these 10 Requirements remain in place today.

Only, we no longer perform these symbolic rituals, as Aaron did, but we practice their actual fulfillment through our relationship with Jesus.

APPROPRIATE GOD’S GRACE PUT ON RIGHTEOUSNESS PUT ON TRUTH & HONESTY BE CLEANSED WITH THE WORD WORSHIP GOD

#6 - SEPARATE YOURSELF

Lev. 16:17 Nobody is to be in the Tent of Meeting when Aaron enters to make atonement in the holy place until he goes out, and he has made atonement on his behalf, on behalf of his household, and on behalf of the whole assembly of Israel.

The 6th Requirement in preparation for entering GOD's Presence, is to SEPARATE YOURSELF. When Aaron entered the Most Holy Place to pray he had to be alone, and no one was

allowed to conduct activity or be in the Holy Place until he came out.

When we come to commune with Him, GOD must not have to share our attention with anything else.

You need to get away from distractions that pull your attention from the Lord. That includes...

• people talking
• the TV
• your cell phone
• even listening to music (if you’re getting into it)

Jer. 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with ALL your heart.

Seeking AND Finding GOD when praying requires ALL your heart...

ALL = Mental Attention, not emotional intensity

Lack of Attention is the #1 reason for failing to FIND the answers GOD has set before us.

The greatest threat to prayer for the modern Christian is the inability to give GOD your Undivided Attention...with ALL your heart.

In the modern Culture of Connectivity people are addicted to information. We can barely break away from the digital stream to think independently.

Satan doesn’t have to attack our faith or theology. He simply uses our addiction to the digital stream of the world to enslave our attention, so that we can’t seek and find when we pray.

THE TENT OF MEETING

Nobody is to be in the Tent of Meeting when Aaron enters...

Even when we gather for corporate worship, the term, Tent of Meeting promotes the concept that Prayer is turning aside from your regular activities in order to MEET with GOD.

Sometimes we mistake our faith in GOD’s omnipresence for fellowship. Prayer isn’t based on GOD being with us, but rather us being with Him.

The reason that GOD taught Prayer through the MODEL of The Tent of Meeting, was not to promote the idea that Prayer only works in special holy places. But rather to a safeguard against human spiritualism.

The MODEL of The Tent of Meeting, was meant to instill the reality that Prayer brings US into a Meeting with GOD.

Matt. 11:28 COME to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

COME = Come apart and follow

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him COME to me and drink.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever COMES to me shall not hunger,

The PLACE where GOD meets us isn’t in a special building. It isn’t even a place in you. But prayer is a Place in GOD.

John 16:33 I have told you these things so that IN ME you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage–I have conquered the world.”

Lev. 10:1-2 NADAB and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange and unholy fire before the Lord, as He had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before the Lord and killed them, and they died before the Lord.
Lev. 16:1 AFTER THE death of Aaron’s two sons, when they drew near before the Lord [offered false fire] and died,

Lev. 16:2 The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother he must not come at all times into the Holy of Holies within the veil before the mercy seat upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.
Lev. 16:3 But Aaron shall come into the holy Place in this way...(read the whole chapter)

PREPARATION TO PRAY

Connection w/ GOD is based on being ACCOUNTABILE to Him for our lives. Therefore GOD has laid out a WAY for us to Prepare to enter His Presence. Because if we pray based on our convenience rather than GOD’s requirements, we risk disrespecting His honor. Both Casualness and Religiosity toward GOD kill prayer.

Therefore GOD laid out 10 Steps of Preparation for Aaron to enter His Presence and receive His blessing.

Since GOD’s requirement for Holiness has not ended, these 10 Preparations remain in place today.

Only, we no longer perform these symbolic rituals, as Aaron did, but we practice their actual fulfillment through our relationship with Jesus.

#5 - WORSHIP & PRAISE

The 5th preparation for entering GOD's Presence, is WORSHIP & PRAISE. This was symbolized as a censor full of GOD’s fire from the Brazen Altar and 2 handfuls of finely ground sweet incense.

Lev. 16:12-13 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten (very) small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die.

Aaron entered the Holy of Holies with the censor in one hand the incense, piled on a plate, in the other. Laying the burning coals out on the floor between him and The Ark of the Covenant (GOD) and poured the incense on the coals, which would create a thin smokey vail between him and GOD, through which they would commune. Selah!

Aaron represented Jesus, our Eternal High Priest, entering the Holy of Holies in Heaven as our Redeemer. And the Fire & Incense represents His Intercession for us.

Heb. 9:11-12, 24 But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption... For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands—the representation of the true sanctuary–but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us.

Simultaneously, the Incense and Fire also represents Our Worship AGREEING with the INTERCESSION Jesus is Offering for us!

Truth-based sincere Worship is what overlays our prayers with His Intercession. In 4:23-24

The Incense — two handfuls of sweet incense...His Hands are filled with our needs as He enters Heaven for us. Jesus' Worship is filled with His intercession for us!

And so correspondingly, we must come filled with worship, carrying nothing else, as we enter His Presence!

...beaten small...Jesus’ intercession for us is not in chunks of generality, but is finely beaten into minute specificity, addressing the smallest details of our lives.

The Fire Of GOD — a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD... This fire (which fell from Heaven) signifies GOD’s total acceptance of Jesus’ suffering on our behalf.

Our worship is Accepted when it’s Praising the Acceptance of His atoning sacrifice!

So our Worship must CORRESPOND with Jesus’ Sacrifice for us in order to bring us into the Presence of GOD.

Faith & Praise

The difference between Worship and Song-singing.  Your Beliefs become Faith, and an Act of Communion between you and the Father, when you Praise Him for Jesus’ Atonement, directly out loud.

A Practical Example: (Ask the congregation)

Do love the person next to you? Yes. Then turn to them now and say so.

Notice the hesitation? The tension? That’s because you’re moving from Private Feelings to the Courage of Confrontation. From Believing to Giving.

Don’t come Empty Handed!
By GIVING your Worship you are CONNECTING with Jesus, YOUR Savior, and positioning yourself to receive exactly what you’re Praising Him for!!
To come into GOD’s Presence when you pray, begin by Worshipping the Atoning Lamb of GOD.
Our Father in Heaven, holy is your name...

WHY Must I Worship OUT LOUD?
Why isn’t correct thinking and a clean heart of affection for GOD enough to bring me into His Presence? If He knows my mind and heart, why must I be vocal about it?

GOD’s Presence isn’t a place of CORRECTNESS but COMMUNION.

GOD is relational and has designed us the same way...

• Having correct Belief and Affection is communing with yourself.

• Expressing it in Worship is communing with GOD.

For the same reason that you must express your Love and not just harbor private sentiments in order for your marriage to prosper.

Rev. 8:1-5 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Rev. 8:1-5 reveals a Heavenly vision of the miraculous synergy between our Worship and Prayer and Jesus’ intercession. When your Worship is in heartfelt agreement with Jesus Atoning Intercession, they blend in Divine Acceptance and Response!

“HOLINESS, LOVE, & OFFENSE”

Ex. 3:5 God said, Do not come near; put your shoes off your feet, for the place on which you stand is Holy Ground.

HOLINESS IS ABOUT CONTACT WITH GOD

Removing Moses shoes was GOD saying:

Remove all your self protection.

You’re entering the Holy Ground of My LOVE.

So come forward in honesty, no holding back.

 

GOD was revealing through Moses that Direct Contact with the Father causes Holiness.

HOLINESS AS INTEGRITY

1Pe 1:16 You shall be holy, for I am holy.

It may seem odd to think of yourself as “holy”, when you look at your faults. But Holy means Separated to GOD, not Moral Superiority or Better than _________.

Lands and things, which have no moral value, were made “holy” because they were dedicated to GOD.

Therefore I’d like to offer INTEGRITY as more accurate definition of holiness than “betterness”.

GOD’s Thoughts, Words, and Deeds are perfectly Integrated. And that is the kind of Holiness we are able to share with Him.

Because His Will, Words, and Ways, are in perfect alignment GOD’s Love can be trusted.

So when He says, Be holy for I am holy, He’s saying, our Thoughts, Words, and Deeds should be Integrated when we come before Him.

James 1:5-8 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he

should ask God, who gives to all generously and

without reprimand, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.

Prayer without Integrity cannot receive an answer from GOD because GOD cannot integrate with double-mindedness or dishonesty.

So Holiness is not the heavy burden of moral perfection. But it's aligning your Will, Words, and Ways, to have Honest Faith: i.e. INTEGRITY.  (“I do believe; help my unbelief!”)

Because Satan cannot stop many of you from Believing in Jesus and His Word, he attacks your ability to use your faith in prayer, by undermining your holiness, or integrity, so that you can’t receive from the LORD.

Here is one of his most effective strategies...

PARALYZE LOVE & CRIPPLE FAITH

Consider how essential and powerful it is, that by Holiness in Prayer, we are able to not only STAY in the Love of GOD, but exercise Mountain-moving faith, in the Love of GOD...consider these verses

Rom. 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame,

because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Gal. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Matt. 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

The Love the Spirit deposits in our hearts is so essential to the operation of faith that Satan uses the faults of the world to:

• Lure us into offense,

• Drain our Love, and

• Strip us of Holiness.

At the moment Love is need to generate the Prayer of Faith, it’s been paralyzed by offense and Faith is crippled.

Then Satan enters the scene, as we stand by ineffective, having his way with those we might had been able to help.

A husband’s Love for his wife is paralyzed by something she does that offends him.

But Satan has plotted a trial of affliction against her.

And once her husband’s Love is paralyzed, his Faith is crippled at the moment he needed it most, as the devil enters his house and attacks his wife.

Heb. 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

When people, for whom you are called to keep Love & Faith at the ready, are the very ones baiting you into offense...

WAKE UP! and realize it’s a trap, to lure you off of Holy Ground, because a TRIAL IS COMING!

THE ALTAR CALL...

Prov. 4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life.

You guard your heart with the Integrity of Holiness. The Integrity of Holiness is simply PURSUING what

GOD has MADE you.

“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Your decision today is to PURSUE HOLINESS...

To keep your Thoughts, Words, and Deeds in the Love of GOD, so that He can manifest His glory through YOU as you successfully pray!

"The Goal"

John 16:21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

John 16:22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

John 16:23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

John 16:25 I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.

John 16:26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;

John 16:27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

(I’ll Preach…YOU Teach!)

It is clear, by Jesus own words, that when He ascended into Heaven, the Father’s intention was for us to live upon the earth until His return, through something He calls, THE FULNESS OF JOY. 

And this Joy doesn't come from the world we live in, but from our Heavenly Father through Prayer. 

And not just through saying prayers, but through Connecting with the Father when we pray.

And ultimately, it isn’t just from connecting with the Father, but Asking and Receiving when we pray!

If we’re not making solid Connection with the Father in prayer, we’re lacking in the Joy necessary to live in, and overcome, the world.

And furthermore, if when we make that Connection, we’re not taking advantage of the opportunity, by Asking and Receiving from our Father, then our Joy will be limited and temporary.

So the next few weeks I will share insights from GOD’s Word about how to experience the Connection with your Heavenly Father that He wants you to have through your prayer life.

The Goal

As Jesus walked the towns and roads of Galilee and Judea it is clearly evident that GOD wanted anyone who wanted a healing or deliverance, or answer to a difficult question, to be able to receive it from Jesus simply by approaching Him in sincerity and faith.  Anyone. 

Matt. 8:16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

And as Jesus prepared for Calvary, and His return to Heaven, He laid out the simple means by which Anyone could continue to receive from Him.

It is clearly the LORD’s intention that the level of access to the Father, through  Jesus, that they experienced in the Gospels was to remain the same.

If people with determination, and sincerity of faith, were able to press through obstacles to get an audience with Jesus and receive their petitions, during His earthly ministry, the Father was going to honor the exact same process, without any additional restraints.  GOD would remain 100% accessible to Anyone who connects with Jesus in prayer, just as they did in the Gospels.  

John 16:23-24 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. ASK, and you will RECEIVE, that your JOY may be FULL.

The Father’s Goal in prayer is for you to attain Full Joy through Receiving the petitions you ask of Him, so that He may demonstrate His Love for us. 

Tell Kathy’s vision of Jesus in the midst of our worship service, reaching out to us as we celebrated His Presence.  But no one reached back to receive from Him.

Repeat Terry Burchard’s prophecy from Aug. 20, 2017, in which the LORD pleaded with us…”You know who I Am, and celebrate my lordship as your Deliverer, Healer, and Provider.  Why then are you not coming to Me in prayer to Receive?”

It was a stunning moment that seems to signal a shift in the LORD’S “tone”, as He’s intensifying His call into the Harvest.  The ripe harvest fields today need laborers who are connecting with the Father, getting answers, and full of Joy.

Consider those who connected with Jesus in the Gospel and received what they asked for…

The Woman With The Issue of Blood (Mk 5:25-34)

She pressed against the currents of resistance that were against her—ignored 12 years of hopelessness, social restriction, and her own weakness against a strong crowd—in order to create her own opportunity with Jesus, instead of waiting for an invitation.

No doubt, others in that crowd prayed for a healing from Jesus…but without pressing in to get it.

Blind Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52)

Likewise, ignores resistance in order to get Jesus’ attention.  This time from His disciples, who admonish him to quiet down, and conform to the order of service.  But Bartimaeus persistently cries out until he creates his own private session with Jesus. 

Perhaps other lining the processional route that day, prayed that Jesus would stop and call them out.  But without crying out, their prayers remained internal and unanswered.

The Syro-Phoenician Woman (Mk 7:25-30)

This non-Jewish woman goes even farther, refusing to accept what appears to be a decline from Jesus Himself. 

When He denies her on the basis of her  lack of relation to GOD, she compels Jesus with faith-rooted reason, citing His mercy.  And Jesus answer her request. 

There were surely others, whose lack of relationship with GOD, kept them from seeing Jesus’ mercy as greater than their religious disqualification.  And so they wouldn’t approach Him.  But Jesus could not ignore this woman’s faith in the Truth…

Mark 7:29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”

Jacob (Gen 32:24-30)

Jacob wrestles with an angel (representing Jesus) one night until dawn.  When the angel dislocates Jacob’s hip, in an effort to get away, Jacob intensifies his hold, saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  And the LORD greatly blessed him.

How often will we allow a session of prayer, that seems like a struggle, to end, relieved it’s over, without insisting upon GOD’s blessing?

How often have we happily worshipped in the LORD’s Presence (like Kathy’s vision), and then gone home without Connecting with Him to receive what we need?

The Woman w/ the Issue of Blood, Blind Bartimaeus, The Syro-Phoenician Woman, and Jacob, would never have blown such an opportunity!

They all pressed in to make their own opportunity with Jesus, rather than waiting to be singled out.  And Jesus was very pleased to grant their requests.

Two thousand years of church history reveals that our denominations, movements, and churches, have formed around our methods of worship and approaching the Father’s Presence. 

Today, worship and entering the Presence of the LORD is becoming the central practice in many churches.  And that’s a good thing! 

But practicing worship without Connection— without Asking and Receiving—is NOT a good thing. 

It’s a blown opportunity.

It’s approaching GOD’s Presence but stopping short of His goal

It’s settling for temporary happiness instead of Fulness of Joy.

It’s the emotional fulfillment of worship for us, while robbing GOD of the opportunity to glorify Himself by meeting our needs.

The Altar Call…

Jesus told us to, Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  The LORD came so you might have a prayer life that Connects with the Father.  Where you have the confidence to Ask & Receive. 

As you walk through this treacherous world, Jesus wants you to know where to go to have Joy that is Full.

Come today to this altar with a renewed determination to sincerely and boldly ask and receive what the Father has for you.

Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom as you learn how to have an effective prayer connection with the LORD.