Regaining Lost Ground

Pastor Shane Idleman: There's no other well you want. I'm not seeking anything else, are you? I'm not seeking this or that or hope. I found the Messiah, I found the one who says, "Come to me all who are weak and heavy-laden and I will give you rest, I will give you comfort. You are mine and I will in no way cast you away."

What can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus? Neither height nor depth, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present or things to come. Nothing can separate me from the love of God. Because I know Him. Know Him, know Him, know Him. Some of you need to fully surrender your lives.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear the third and final part of this suffusing message titled, "Staying Focused When God Is Silent."

Charles Spurgeon once said, "The power of prayer can never be overrated. They who cannot serve God by preaching need not regret. If a man can but pray, he can do anything. He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal."

Today, Pastor Shane tells us not to give up, but keep going no matter the pressure or doubt, that God is working on our behalf right now and is about to speak encouragement to the depth of your soul. Here on Regaining Lost Ground.

You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the Idleman Unplugged weekly podcast. And now, from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idleman.

Pastor Shane Idleman: For most of us, 99% of the time our prayers don't happen that quick. So how do we remain strong when God is silent? I think I prayed with somebody with diabetes and I just said, "Yeah, you've got to trust the Lord and you've got to do this, but as of today, you're stopping McDonald's."

"You're going to start getting 5,000 steps in. You're going to lose this weight. You're going to get off the sugar. You're going to start eating whole God-given food." See, that's wise. God will honor that. Because if the diabetes is being caused by lifestyle choices, then lifestyle choices can reverse it. See, you're still trusting God, but you're not continuing to harm the body.

It is a balance that you have to try to find. Doctor says my arteries are getting clogged and I need to go into heart surgery and okay, we'll trust the Lord and let make sure He guides you. But have you tried a whole plant-based food diet for a while and fasting and losing that weight and seeing if you can? I don't know, I'm just saying. Because how many people have reversed it by that? Many, many, many people have reversed it.

That means you're using wisdom when you're trusting the Lord. Does that make sense? I think the church just, "Lord, we're just going to trust you," and I think that pleases Him. Then any fixers out there? Like, "I'm going to fix this." That's why it's always hard, they say, for men to just listen to their wives because men will tell them, "Okay, I'll fix it. How can I fix it? What's there to be fixed?" No, no, no, just listen. Just listen. Don't fix anything. There's nothing to be fixed.

The same thing with God. We often want to fix it. And God says, "Just trust me." And so that's what I would do with a thorn. I would contend to have it removed until you hear otherwise. That's biblical. How do we keep pressing forward when God is silent? Well, one thing we have to consider is there are things that hinder your prayer life. Did you know that?

God's not always obligated to answer every prayer. Sometimes conditions must be met. Let me go through. Number one, of course, is internal besetting sin. Besetting sin. Look at Isaiah: "Your sins, your iniquities have separated you from your God and He has hidden His face from you so that He will not hear you." Now, I put this in here for some of you because you might have heard this or maybe you say this. Some people say, "Well, that doesn't apply anymore because it's the Old Testament."

Well, that's a little risky. I understand they're not Christians and prove it, because all you have to do is look at point number two. God says your prayers will not be answered, men, if you treat your wife like garbage. So there's your point that that doesn't apply anymore because sin separates. When there's besetting, unrepentant—I'm not talking about you struggle now and then, welcome to the club. Who doesn't struggle now and then with pride or anger or something?

You get a flat tire, somebody cuts you off. I avoid that mountain road when it's busy NASCAR time because I'll pull over and let people because I'm like, why do you have to be right there? You have to be right there. And I'll just slow down on purpose. And by the time I'm at the bottom of that hill, I'm going to put this thing in park and go have a talk with them. And with my luck, they probably go to the church. So that's not going to work.

But doesn't that happen? It's besetting sin, unrepentant. If you've got a very critical heart and you don't repent, you come in critical, judgmental, arrogant—other sins of course, sexual sin and addictions, and you're just unrepentant. Unrepentant. God's like, you've got to deal with that first. Yes, He'll hear the prayer of repentance, "Lord help me." He hears. But if you're continuing in sin, unrepentant, it's like, "Hey, you've got to fix this line of communication."

You've got to repent. That's what the Word says. It's an internal, it's a besetting sin. And then again, number two, you see that. This is attitude. Not treating people right will prevent prayers, trust me. You've got some renegade spirit of rebellion, some gossiping, slandering spirit, and you think you're walking closely with the Lord and He's hearing your prayers? Be careful there.

Look at this: "Husbands must dwell with wives kindly and graciously, giving honor to the wife as the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered." Men, are your prayers being hindered? You think you're a mighty man of God, but you're treating your wife like a second-class citizen, demeaning, even little things? This week actually, I told my wife I'm going to work on something because sometimes they ask you a question, you're like, "Obviously."

Like, that's a little... I got to work, I'm not going to say that. Because women, they don't understand things the same, right? Men, you're different. You're like, "My obviously, hello." Just listen and don't do that because you pass it down to your kids too. And so just treating people with dignity and respect and listening, it really hinders your prayer life if you've got an attitude. You know those people who have got an attitude?

Maybe some of you here, maybe I should stay here for a minute. You've got that little chip on your shoulder, you've got an attitude, you're critical, you like to post critical things all the time. Your prayers will be hindered. Absolutely. Because the spirit of prayer is the spirit of humility. When you're a praying person, the fruit of the Spirit is more present than the fruit of the flesh.

And when you're not walking in that, your prayers are actually hindered. So consider that this morning. Are you not treating people nicely? Are you gossiping and slandering? Do you know that will damage your prayer life? Number one, do you know something is true before you start talking about it? Are you sure? Also, if it is true, does the person need to know? Hindrances to prayers, our attitude.

And of course, the third point, there's many more. I could list a whole list here, maybe I will during "Run the Heavens," but arrogance, I think these are the top three, wrong prayer focus. "You ask and you do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures." Anybody pray for things because, again, comfort, convenience, or you pray for things because you want the limelight? You want the Instagram to blow up or the Twitter to blow up or the followers? "I want, if I could be that worship leader, if I could do..." and it's about, "Lord, if you just put me up there, I'll give you all the glory." He knows your heart. You're not humble yet.

And that prevents answered prayer very, very often because we pray and it's according to what we think is best. Delusions of grandeur, have you heard that term before? They are often not the calling of God. What that is, it's a false fixed belief that a person is far more powerful, famous, or wealthy than is true in reality. So many Christians, they have these delusions of grandeur that they're going to be the next Phil Wickham or the next pastor I mentioned earlier, or the next teacher or reality—"If I get into Hollywood, I'll bring the gospel, if I could be the next Kirk Cameron."

And there's nothing wrong with dreaming big. I think God wants to do big things. Because the more you lower yourself, the more He'll elevate. Size is not always, though, a mark of faithfulness. God often buries His men and women in the midst of paltry things, Oswald Chambers would say. No monuments are erected, they are in a place where they cannot be seen, but they are being used, used by God. And I've seen a lot of prayers not being answered because our focus is wrong.

And there's so many others I want to share. Another big hindrance, especially now, is busy, busyness. If you're too busy to seek God, you're too busy. Something's got to go because there'll always be things being poured into your life to try to take you away from Him. More opportunities, more relationships, more this, more that, more responsibility, more studies. Sometimes we tell people, "Hey, less studies, more seeking God."

Because if you become a worker and it hurts your worship, it will do a very harmful thing to our heart. As with any other relationship, no time together equals no communication. That's what happens, guys. If we have no time for God, there's no communication. That relationship falls apart. Just like when spouses grow distant, the same thing happens. No time, no communication. The relationship is hindered greatly. So many things have access to our minds, we must starve them to death.

So in a nutshell, prevailing prayer encourages you back to God. I'm not just talking about just quick little prayers. Those are great, we do them all the time, but there needs to be a season of prevailing prayer where you lay hold of the promises of God. Prevailing prayer is the catalyst to revival. It's the way to stay strong even when you're waiting on God. It's the foundation of faith. It's the sustainer of hope. It's the wellspring of wisdom. Prevailing prayer strengthens, it replenishes, it nourishes our soul.

I saw a quote and I couldn't find who wrote it, said, "They prayed in the wilderness, in the dungeon, the arena, and at the stake." The early church. John Huss before he was killed, he said, "Have mercy on me, O God. O Lord, do not—I put my trust in You. O Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me." Polycarp: "May I be received among the martyrs in Your presence today as a rich and pleasing sacrifice." Tyndale: "Lord, open the king's eyes. Lord, open the king's eyes." Why was William Tyndale killed? Well, he decided to print the Bible so people could read it.

What it does, guys, if we get back into that season of prayer and Wednesdays and you come expecting and you go into the prayer room and you turn off some of the social media and you begin to press in like never before, prevailing prayer, what it does, it rips the veil open and the Shekinah glory of God's presence pours into your heart. That's what it does. The more you press in, the more the power and presence of Christ is in your heart because you're building that relationship, you're seeking Him, you're sustaining that. And when you don't do that, you drift off course.

Again, stay focused on the prize and the promises. The prize is Christ. You stay focused on the prize and the promises: "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find. Come to me all you who are weak and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Those who keep—God will keep them in perfect peace who keeps his heart steadfast." You focus on those promises and you press in and it builds you up and it strengthens you.

That's for the believer, but I do want to close with one verse for unbelievers. I'm actually talking about this Wednesday, but I know the vast majority of you usually don't come on Wednesdays, so you didn't get out of it. I'm going to share now. I don't know if we have it up there, it's on John 4. Look at this verse. I love this. The whole passage is incredible. Speaking again on Wednesday where it's the woman who's at the well and those famous words, "Woman, if you knew the water that I have, you would ask of me for a drink and you would never thirst again."

Jesus the Messiah sitting, can you just—a well sitting on a well. "If you knew what I could give you, you would ask of me and you would never thirst again." I'm tempted to preach that message now, but we don't have time. It's funny, let me tell you how that message came about. Two weeks ago, I preached up in the mountains, in the High Sierra mountains. Small church. It was a blessing. At 10:00 AM. And then I committed to—our family drove down to Bishop and I preached at their 4:00 PM service.

That living water, "If you drink of this, you'll never..." You know when you just can't get something out of—and you're just, oh my, the power of that, "You'll never thirst again." Living water. And so I sat down, I opened John 4, I was at the park across from that famous Schat's Bakery that's crowded, so I knew my family would be over there an hour. And I didn't eat anything. I put this message together for Bishop.

And I was excited to share it with you, and of all days, the livestream was not working. And so the pastor said, "Now you have to preach it in Lancaster." I said, "That's a good idea. I'm going to do that on Wednesday." So that's what's coming up. I'm excited about it. Such a powerful verse. Long story short, towards the end, the woman said, "I know that the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ, and when He comes, He will tell us all things." And Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

But I realized, "know" versus "know." And I've talked about this before, but somebody needs to hear this. Many of you could say, "Oh, I know Jesus, my mom talked about Him." "Oh, I know Jesus, He's the guy that died for our sins, right?" "Oh, I was raised in the church. I come to church now and then with my mom and dad, or I come to church and I go to this church and I know all about the Bible, I know about Jesus." Oh, I know—like she knew, she didn't have a relationship with Him yet.

Maybe we don't know where she's at, but she knew about Him. "Oh, I know, I know intellectually." Let me tell you, your intellect will not get you into heaven. It doesn't matter what you know here, it matters what you know here. And if I had time, I could actually break down the different "knows." One is an intellectual knowledge, the other is a complete trust and hope and faith in. Even the demons know, believe in Jesus, knowledge, and they tremble.

So make sure you have the right "know." Make sure. Are you trusting in what you know? "Oh, I know about God, of course there's a God." But have you repented of your sin and said, "I need the cross. I need the cross. I am lost without the cross. I am lost without Christ. I need to know You intimately." And then now the Holy Spirit resides in you as a believer and there's something, that's a—you are born again. A supernatural act of God where He puts the Holy Spirit inside of you and you are born again. And now the Spirit within cries Abba, Father.

It cries, "Abba, Father, I want to worship. I need to worship. I need to seek Him like never before." There's a desire, there's a hunger, there's some type of fruit. If there's no fruit, what "know" have you embraced? And that's the problem with many people. "Of course I know Jesus." And I'll talk to—Shane, here's the famous lines: "Shane, I've been going to church for 30 years." Okay, or, "I was born knowing God." I hear what you're saying.

Or I get this a lot: "Oh yeah, I'm a Baptist." Many of you have heard this one too: "Oh, I'm Catholic." Why do you have to—and many who say that aren't Christian. They're identifying, "I know, I was raised in this, I went through the protocol, I know about it intellectually," but they've never repented and believed and embraced Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Because when you know Him personally, you can say absolutely He's correct. Because when you drink of that water, you will never thirst again. There's no other well I want. There's no other well you want. Nothing else is going to capture. I'm not seeking anything else, are you? I'm not seeking this or that or hope.

I found the Messiah, I found the one who says, "Come to me all who are weak and heavy-laden and I will give you rest, I will give you comfort. You are mine and I will in no way cast you away." What can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus? Neither height nor depth, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present or things to come. Nothing can separate me from the love of God. Because I know Him. Know Him, know Him, know Him.

Some of you need to fully surrender your lives. You're believers, but you haven't fully surrendered. You've got God in the garage. You're worried that He'll get into the house and start cleaning house. But it's time to say, "Lord, have everything. My marriage, my parenting, my finances, my life is Yours. Wherever You send me, whatever You want to do." And many people fear that because they think they'll end up in the outskirts of Africa and the faraway desert. And you may, if that's God's desire and you'll love that desire. He gives you the desires of your heart.

Actually, when you fully surrender, you're allowed to fulfill the desires of your heart because He puts them there and you want to do the things that He wants you to do. So maybe make that step this morning, say, "Lord, I fully surrender. I haven't been following you. I haven't been leading my family." Many men are not leading their family spiritually, they're allowing their spouse to do that. They're not leading their kids. They're just kind of getting God in when they can. Everything else comes before Him: travel, sports, this, their work, employment, corporate, vacation. Everything comes before Him. You need to put Him first and foremost.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Regaining Lost Ground with Pastor Shane Idleman. You can find more information at westsidechristianfellowship.org. That's westsidechristianfellowship.org. And for all the latest on what God is doing with His ministry here, please be sure to follow us on most social media platforms. Westside Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of Regaining Lost Ground, where we are reminded daily: Times change, truth does not.