Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. You can visit the very place where Jesus spent a night praying so hard to his Father that sweat, like great drops of blood, fell from his face. No one knew more about unanswered prayer than the Son of God.

Today, seeing the cup we are asked to drink as coming from God himself. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. In a series on The Triumph of Unanswered Prayer, Erwin Lutzer talks further about earnest prayer and an accepting no as God's answer.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: There's a third question and that is this: What was the request? Well, obviously the request was three times, remove this cup. Father, all things are possible to you. Remove this cup. So Jesus makes the request. Isn't there some other way? Maybe the blood of a human being, maybe the blood of animals? Maybe God, Father, why don't you just let bygones be bygones?

Get me out of this predicament. You can do everything, Lord. And of course, we know that there was no other way. Your students, your university students that you send to university, if they take a class in religion, will be taught things like this. They will be taught that all religions have a sacrifice. Virtually all religions demand some blood. Yeah, but only in Christianity does God become the sacrifice. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

God demanded a tremendous payment for our sin and then God supplied what he demanded. And because of the Trinity, he's the only God who can do that and says, "I demand absolute perfection for you to go to heaven, and I will supply the perfection and the forgiveness that you need." And so we find in scripture that the request was, remove this cup.

Now, the fourth question is: What was the response? Jesus is kneeling there and saying, "Father, if it is possible, let there be some other way, Lord. But nevertheless, it's not up to me. It is thy will, O God. I will drink the cup. I'll drink the cup. I wish there were a different way, but there isn't. I'll drink the cup."

O Christ, what burdens bowed thy head. Our load was laid on thee. Thou stoodest in the sinner's stead, didst bear all ill for me. Death and the curse were in our cup. O Christ, it was full for thee. But thou hast drained the last dark drop. It is empty now for me.

I want to ask now some questions. What does this have to do with our prayer life? What should this change about us? Why should we look at prayer differently? How should we handle circumstances? And so I'm going to give you lessons and these are going to be in the order that I have here in my notes.

First of all, simply this: That today's prayerless, sleeping Christians become tomorrow's backsliders. Can you imagine that? Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. They were there when he preached the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus is saying, "Look, you've always needed me, but I'd really like to have your support in this hour of need." And what are they doing? They are sleeping.

Jesus said, "Watch and pray." This, of course, is in verse 38. Watch. What are you watching for? You're watching for the enemy. That's what you're watching for. Because if we do not watch for the enemy, we will walk into Satan's territory and feel comfortable about it and won't even know about it.

Because Satan has a wonderful act of comfort for us that makes us avoid watching and praying. And in our homes today, oftentimes parents are not watching. They're not watching what their kids are watching. They have no idea how satanic influences are influencing the home and they go along with the culture, whether or not it has to do with the media or other ways in our school systems.

Jesus said, "Watch and pray." Now many people use prayer like the oxygen masks on an airplane. You're glad that they're there. But as long as the flight is smooth, life is going reasonably well, everybody seems to be healthy, it's not needed. But oh, when tragedy comes, oh God, now please help. God, here's my list of requests now. And some Christians never get beyond the requests to God himself.

When they have given all of their requests to God, their prayer is over, thank you very much. So they say, "Well, how can I watch and pray? I mean, watching and praying for an hour? What in the world would I have to say?" They've never entered into the mystery, the beauty, and the satisfaction of worshipping God. And to know that the real purpose of prayer ultimately is to get us beyond our requests, although it's perfectly fine and scriptural to ask those requests, but the real issue of prayer is to get us to the Father. The enjoyment of God, fellowship with the Father.

But we are so distracted in this world. I wouldn't doubt but that some of you are on your cellphones now, not because you have the passage of scripture before you, but you're just waiting for some tweet, some message because you can multitask. And we're living in a world, and I find this in my own life, so distracted we can't even concentrate on God and honor him in our worship and in our devotion.

And so what happens to these disciples? Big surprise. Peter, Jesus speaks directly to him. A few verses before the passage I just read, Peter said, "Oh you know," Jesus said, "All of you are going to leave me." "Oh no. Though all men forsake you, I will never forsake you. You can count on me." Later on, he denies Jesus three times and by the time you get into verse 50 in this chapter, all the disciples have left him and fled.

Prayerless, watchless disciples become backsliders who have no witness for Christ. They never think of talking to their neighbor or anyone else. They don't want to be identified with Jesus. What a lesson, because Christians today are sleeping through a tremendous revolution and they are fast asleep, comfortable sleeping.

Well, that's the first lesson. Let's go to a second and that is this: Our cup, our cup also, and we take it from Jesus here, our cup has to be received from the hand of God, not the hand of the evil people who have given it to us. Let me ask you, do you have somebody in your life who wants to crucify you? They're making life hard, they're making it miserable, they are socking it to you, so to speak, and they think that you're still not getting what you deserve because they'd like to give you more of that.

Are you experiencing that? I'll tell you what'll happen if that's your experience. You are going to be so angry at them, you will not be able to forgive them. Why? You think it has come from them. What if you were to say, "Father, this is the cup that you have given me. You have dealt me this cup, and I receive it from you."

A number of years ago, I was preaching somewhere and somebody gave me a poem because it delivered him from bitterness. He could not forgive people who had wronged him. There was a certain situation and this poem delivered him. Wow, here's some really good theology.

I will not take that bitter thrust which rent my heart today as coming from an earthly soul, though it was meant that way. But I will look beyond the tool because my life is planned. I take the cup my Father gives; I take it from his hand. He knows and even allows those terrible things that irk. I trust his wisdom and his love; let patience have her work.

Though human means have brought the sting, I firmly take this stand: My loving Father holds the cup; I take it from his hand. Now those who watch me wonder why these things do not disturb. I look right past the instrument and see my Lord superb. The trials which would lay me low must pass through his command. He holds the outstretched cup to me; I take it from his hand.

I cannot tell you how revolutionary this is. I cannot even explain to you how that it gives you a different perspective of your trials, your health issues, if you stop taking it from the medium that God is using, the instruments that God is using, and you take it from his hand and say, "Father, this would really upset me except that this is your will, and I take it from your hand." It changes everything.

My friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. I hope you understand how deeply committed we here at Running To Win are to help you run the race of life successfully. And if you've been blessed because of this ministry, it's because people just like you have contributed. By the way, I'm holding in my hands a letter from someone who says, "Thank you so much for your encouragement during some of the most difficult times in my life. Thank you for your godly teaching during these hard times. May God protect and bless you every day until our Lord Jesus Christ returns."

Now, the reason that we receive reports like that are because of people just like you who are committed to this ministry. Would you consider becoming what we call an endurance partner? That's someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Would you investigate what an endurance partner is? Here's what you can do: Go to offerrtw.com.

That's offerrtw.com, of course, offerRTW is all one word. When you are there, click on the endurance partner button or if you prefer call us at 1-800-215-5001. Thanks for joining with us as we run toward the finish line.

Dave McAllister: Erwin Lutzer with more of Jesus and the Agony of Unanswered Prayer, the final message in a series on the triumph of unanswered prayer. Next time, the conclusion. Running To Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. To help you work through some tough issues, this series will be sent on CD as our thank you when you give a gift of any amount to support Running To Win.

Just call us at 1-800-215-5001. That's 1-800-215-5001. Ask about the Triumph of Unanswered Prayer. Online, go to offerrtw.com. That's offerrtw.com or write to Running To Win, Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running To Win is a ministry of the Moody Church.