Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): Today on Love Worth Finding, Adrian Rogers addresses prayer and God's will.

Adrian Rogers: Do you want to know the will of God? Would you like to pray and know that you're in the will of God? Have you ever totally, honestly, sincerely, with all of your heart, with every inch, with every ounce, with every nerve, every fiber, as much as in you is, said thy will be done? Have you? Then if you have not, don't complain that you don't know the will of God.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding. Dynamic Bible teacher and insightful pastor Adrian Rogers said effective prayer is finding the will of God and getting in on it. And according to Matthew chapter 6 verse 10, there will come a day when God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. There are four things to know about the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ and how to pray for his will to be done in us. And if you have your Bible, find Matthew chapter 6. We'll begin in verse 9 as Adrian Rogers reveals the coming kingdom of Christ.

Adrian Rogers: Now, is there anyone here who would dare say that today God's will is being done on earth and in earth as it is in heaven? Do you think that the rape, the pillage, the arson, the murder, the blasphemy, the pornography, the debauchery that takes place on earth today is God's will? No, it is not. But there is coming a day, and our Lord taught us to pray for it, that God's will will be done in earth as it is in heaven. But right now, man has enshrined himself in his nuclear glory, and his effort has been to dethrone God and enthrone himself.

It's almost as if you can hear them praying, our brothers which are upon the earth, hallowed be our name, our kingdom come, our will be done. For there is no God in heaven. But friend, there is a God in heaven, and his kingdom is coming. And the title of the message is the coming kingdom of Christ. Now, that brings a question. What is the kingdom of God? What is the kingdom that we're praying for? May I tell you that it is four things? Number one, the kingdom is the kingdom of God's government. Do you have it?

It is the kingdom where God rules. It is the kingdom where God reigns. The kingdom of God is the place of God's sovereign authority. And therefore, what is the purpose of all prayer? What is the purpose of prayer? Well, you have it in verse 10, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Would you like to be effective in your prayer life? Would you like to pray so as to get your prayers answered? Verse 10 is the absolute key. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. What is effective prayer? Effective prayer is not talking God into doing something he doesn't want to do.

Effective prayer is not bending God's will to fit our will. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. And so friend, there's nothing that lies outside the reach of prayer, but that that lies outside the will of God. Now, put in your margin this verse. 1 John 5 verses 14 and 15. And here's the key to answered prayer. Listen to it. The apostle John picks up on what the Lord Jesus Christ said here in Matthew 6 verse 10. And here's what the apostle John had to say. 1 John chapter 4 verses 14 and 15. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask him anything according to his what?

His will. He heareth us. And if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know we know that we have the petition we've desired of him. You say, do you mean Pastor Rogers that the only prayer that I can pray is the prayer that is in the will of God? Well, that leaves out so many things. No, friend. Praying in the will of God does not mean fewer blessings for you. Praying in the will of God means more blessings for you. You see, God wants for you what you would want for yourself if you had enough sense to want it.

God loves us. God loves us. And so therefore, the kingdom of God is the kingdom of God's government where we pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Now, that brings us to another question. The apostle John said if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And Jesus said we're to pray for his will to be done. How do we know his will? Do we just guess at it? Does God say, well, you may hit it lucky? Maybe it's my will and maybe it's not. No, God has given us principles whereby we can know his will and know that we're praying in his will.

May I tell you what they are? Three. Here are the principles so you can know that you're praying in the will of God. Number one is the surrender principle. The surrender principle. Now, you'll never know God's will until you're willing to know God's will until you're willing to say thy will be done, not my will, but thine be done. There is the surrender principle. Have you completely, totally surrendered to him? The apostle James says, you ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you might consume it upon your lust. I told you about being in Romania and talking with Pastor Joseph Son, a true intellectual.

He was my translator. After a while, after I felt comfortable with him and he with me, I said, Joseph, would you just tell me something? He said, what, Adrian? I said, you've been to America many times. Tell me about American Christianity. He said, well, you ask me to and I'll tell you. He said, Adrian, the key word in American Christianity is the word commitment. I said, well, that's good, isn't it, Joseph? He said, no, that is not good. He said, commitment is a relatively new word in the United States. He said, oh, it can be found in some dictionaries, but he said it came into usage in the '60s.

And Americans have gotten stronger and stronger and stronger in using the word commitment, American Christians. I said, well, what's wrong with commitment? He said, I'll tell you what's wrong. He said, when a new word comes in, it always moves out an old word. It replaces an old word. He said, I searched to find out what was the old word that commitment has replaced. And he said, the old word is surrender. Now, pay attention. The new word commitment, the old word surrender. Now, when you commit, you are in control. The thing that you commit to may be good and fine and noble and wonderful.

You may commit yourself to soul winning. You may commit yourself to prayer. You may commit yourself to sacrifice. That's all well and good, but who decides? You do. I am committing myself to this. You may commit yourself to lose weight. You may commit yourself to do many things. You decide to do something, and therefore you commit yourself to it. But he said in surrender, there is a difference. In commitment, you decide what you're going to do and commit yourself to it. When you surrender, you lift both hands and say, I'm under your control. Do you see the difference?

Do you see the difference? In commitment, you're in control. In surrender, he is in control. He is the king, and he is supreme. And what we do is to say, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. I am under your control. Why does anybody do anything? Why does anyone serve another, a son? Because he wants to. A servant because he needs to. But a subject because he must. God is sovereign. God is absolutely sovereign. Do you want to know the will of God? Do you? I mean, do you? Would you like to pray and know that you're in the will of God?

Well, God does not reveal his will to rebels. Have you ever totally, honestly, sincerely, with all of your heart, with every inch, with every ounce, with every nerve, every fiber, as much as in you is, said thy will be done? Have you? Then if you have not, don't complain that you don't know the will of God. Don't you think that it is an absurdity and don't you think it is a contradiction? And really, don't you think it's an insult to say, I want to know the will of God, but I'm not willing to do the will of God?

You see, step number one in knowing the will of God is the surrender principle. Another principle. The surrender principle and the scripture principle. Now, let me give you another verse of scripture. Here the Bible says in John chapter 15 verse 7, Jesus said, if ye abide in me and my words abide in you, then ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you. You abide in me, that's surrender. My words abide in you, that's scripture. You take the word of God. This print is God's revelation to you. It is God's word to you.

Do you want to know God's will? Do you? You say, oh, I'd like to know the will of God. Test. How much time do you spend in this book? Do you think God really believes you when you say, I want to know the will of God, and yet you don't read the one book above all books that God has specifically written to show you his will, to reveal his will to you, to unfold his will to you? Don't you think that there's a little bit of hypocrisy in a person who says, God, I want more than anything else to do your will, and yet he does not study the word of God to find out what the will of God is?

Third principle. First one, the surrender principle. Second one, the scripture principle. The third one, the spirit principle. Now, listen. Let me give you another verse of scripture. Romans chapter 8 verses 26 and 27. Likewise, the spirit also help with our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we are, but the spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit. Now, here's the key. Romans 8 27 because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

There it is. Surrender principle. I want to know your will. Scripture principle. It's found in the word of God. Spirit principle. The Holy Spirit of God helps you to understand the word of God and helps you to articulate your prayer in the will of God. That's the way to pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done. You see, this is the confidence that we have in him. If we ask him anything according to his will, he heareth us. Thy will be done. Thy will be done. Answered prayer is not for rebels. The prayer that gets to heaven is the prayer that starts in heaven.

We just closed the circuit. You see, you can be absolutely certain when you're praying in the spirit, any prayer that the Holy Spirit lays upon your heart will be answered because the prayer that originates in heaven certainly is not going to be rejected there. That's the reason it's so important over and over and over again. The Bible tells us to pray in the spirit, to pray in the spirit. And to pray in the spirit, you must be filled with the spirit. And you're not going to be filled with the spirit until you surrender. It all is linked together.

I heard a beautiful definition of prayer. I love it. It's my favorite definition of prayer. May I give it to you? Prayer is the Holy Spirit finding a desire in the heart of the Father and putting that desire into our hearts and then sending it back to heaven in the power of the cross. Did you get it? Prayer is the Holy Spirit finding a desire in the heart of the Father, putting that desire into our hearts, and then sending it back to heaven in the power of the cross. So what is the kingdom of God?

It is the kingdom of God's government. Thy will be done. Second thing I want you to notice as we talk about the kingdom of God, not only is it the kingdom of God 's government, but it is the kingdom of God's grace. Look in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. Don't you love that, a throne? It speaks of his kingdom. It speaks of his rule. Where does he rule from? What kind of a kingdom is it? What kind of a throne is it? Is it a throne of law?

Is it a throne of judgment? No. It is a throne of grace. Two more wonderful words cannot be put together, a throne and grace. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of God's government, but it is also the kingdom of God's grace. Because if it were only the kingdom of God's government, all we can think about is the awesome majesty and glory and splendor and unapproachableness of the thrice holy God. How could we ever dare come? But the Bible says we can come right on. We come right to a throne of grace, one that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

You say, do my faults keep me from coming to a throne of grace? No, my dear friend. It's your faults that bring you to the throne of grace. It's your need that brings you. Don't stay away because you have faults. Come and find mercy. Don't stay away because you're weak. Come and find help. When you're praying for his kingdom to come, not only is it a kingdom of God's government, it is the kingdom of God's grace. It's not a throne for receiving tribute. It is a throne for dispensing grace. And you see, the grace of God does not do away with the sovereignty of God, God's government.

It only magnifies it. Years and years ago, I heard of a woman who lived in a foreign country where they had a monarchy. And this woman was a very poor woman. And she had a daughter, and the daughter had had gotten sick. The daughter was at home, and this poor woman had to go out to do her work. But somehow, the sick daughter had said to her mother, mother, do you know what I think would make me feel better? If I just had some fresh fruit to eat. Fruit was very expensive, almost unattainable. If I just had some sweet, luscious grapes, Mama, I just think they make me feel so much better.

That mother had that in her mind as she went down the cobblestone streets. And as she was passing a very impressive building, a mansion-like palace, she looked, and there was an iron fence. And behind it was a garden. And in that garden was a trellis. And from that trellis, there was suspended a gorgeous grape vine. And on that grape vine, there were just coming down big clusters of beautiful grapes. And she thought, oh, I have a few shillings. Maybe maybe they would sell me a cluster of grapes. And she noticed that the gate was open.

And almost fearfully, she she pushed the gate open. And she went into this most gorgeous, beautiful garden. And she's looking at those grapes, and someone says to her, what are you doing in here? She turned around and there was the gardener. He said, did someone leave the gate open? You must get out of here in a hurry. You have no right. You have no business in this place. You must leave. She said, I I was only wanting to know if if perhaps I could buy a bunch of grapes for my daughter who's sick. He said, I'm sorry, these grapes are not for sale.

You must leave. This is the king's garden. And as she turned in her