Dr. Tom Doubt, Senior Pastor
Four Mile Creek Baptist Church
February 29, 2004
BACKGROUND:
A. Illustration: Johnny Carson & his late night TV show had a routine where he would play Carnac the Great. He would give an answer & Ed McMann would read the question. “Gatorade” – “What does an alligator get on welfare?” “Bible Belt” – “What holds up Oral Roberts pants?” People actually sent mail to Carson, hoping that Carnac would provide an answer to their problems. Carnac the Great went off the air with Johnny Carson, but has been replaced by Psychic Network & Dial-a-Psychic. None of these gimmicks are any help for the real trials & storms of life.
B. We have been looking at the 5 F’s of flying & what to do when the engine fails.
1. FLY the plane – allow Jesus to be your pilot.
2. FIND a safe place to land – God provides suitable rest.
3. FIX the problem – ask the Lord for wisdom in midst trials.
4. This week – select the emergency FREQUENCY
a. In aviation: turn your transponder to 7700 – locator frequency.
b. Tune your radio to 121.5 MHz, the emergency frequency.
5. As Christians we have access to the emergency frequency that answers concerns. Prayer.
a. To turn your radio on, dialing in the emergency frequency, is going to God in prayer.
b. The prophet Jeremiah shows us that God gives incredible answers when we call upon Him.
Read: JEREMIAH 33:1-3
INTRODUCTION:
A. Jeremiah wrote those words while a prisoner in the courtyard of the guard (v 1).
1. The Babylonian army was laying siege to Jerusalem.
2. So much wickedness existed among the people that God said destruction was inevitable.
3. Neither Jeremiah nor the kingdom of Judah could do anything to stop the Babylonian army.
4. Yet God says to call on Him, He will answer, and do incredible things. It was His promise in the midst of trouble & despair.
B. Scripture abounds with promises of prayer.
1. Call on the Lord in your day of trouble & He will deliver you (Ps 50:15).
2. If you believe, you receive whatever you ask in prayer (Matt 21:22).
3. In Jericho, blind Bartimaeus cried out, “Jesus, Son David, have mercy” (Mark 10:46).
4. Ask & you will receive, then your joy will be complete (John 16:24).
C. So why have so many given up on praying?
1. A child who did not get the bike for Christmas that they prayed for.
2. A teenage whose prayer for a boyfriend went unanswered.
3. The man who prayed for healing for his wife, only to see her die of cancer.
4. The woman who prays to have a child, only to have a miscarriage.
D. Maybe we need to better understand how to use the emergency Frequency before we give up on prayer.
1. If one does not know how to dial in the frequency – nothing happens.
2. If one does not know how to talk on the radio – result may not be satisfying.
THESIS: Jer. 33:3 provides a kneeboard synopsis of prayer:
Call to Him
He will answer
He will tell us of things we do not know
MESSAGE:
A. “CALL” TO THE LORD SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH.
1. Hebrew root for “call” means to call out after you encounter someone.
a. Prayer always involves a personal encounter with God.
b. Not shouting to the back of the plane, not calling out across rooms, and not calling on some alternate frequency.
c. Being on God’s frequency is not just about location, but also about attitude. The right frequency, but wrong attitude, gains nothing.
2. To call is to admit you have a problem & need help.
a. When using 121.5 MHz on the radio, the pilot is expected to state the nature of the problem.
b. The pilot will also be asked if he wants to declare an emergency.
c. The declaration ranges from stating you have a “problem”, not too serious, to “mayday-mayday-mayday”, which is life threatening.
3. The Lord wants us to call, regardless of how serious the need.
a. When lacking something – call on Jehova-Jireh – the Lord provides (Gen 22:13).
b. When hurting – call Jehovah-Rapha – the Lord our healer (Ex 15:26).
c. When in the valley of the shadow of death – call Jehovah-Rohi – the Lord is our shepherd (Ps 23:1).
d. When troubled – call Jehovah-Shalom – the Lord is peace (Judge 6:24).
4. Disciples never asked Jesus to teach them to sing, to preach, or how to witness.
5. Rather, they asked Him: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
6. When we call to the Lord, we must be genuine in our requests – not as a hypocrite.
a. We cannot pray “Hallowed be Thy Name” – then cuss at our neighbor.
b. Nor can we say “Thy will be done” – then continue to live as we please.
c. “Give us daily bread” – cannot be followed by hoarding & seeking selfish gain.
d. “Forgive our sins” – will not work if we then we carry grudges against others.
e. The hypocrite prays “Lead us not into temptation” – but not until the party is over.
5. Do not call on God’s emergency frequency unless you expect an answer.
6. Illustration: A tavern was being built in previously dry town. Christians began an all-night prayer vigil, asking God to intervene. A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the tavern – it was burned to ground. The tavern owner sued the local church for destruction of his tavern. The church hired a lawyer & claimed they were not responsible. Judge said, “It appears the tavern owner believes in prayer & Christians do not.”
B. GOD DOES INDEED “ANSWER” PRAYER
1. Is our problem that we not pray expectantly?
a. Use pious escape clause in prayer: “if it be Your will”
b. Covers our expectation that God probably not answer
c. At least with an answer that meets our expectation
2. “Answer me when I call, O righteous God, give me relief from my distress” (Ps 4:1).
3. Yet what we ask for is often not as reasonable as we think.
4. Illustration: A young school boy was saying his nightly prayers. “Please make Boulder the capitol of Colorado.” His mother asked, “Why did you ask that?” The boy replied, “Because that’s what I put down on my test today.”
5. When we ask & then do not receive, perhaps we have asked with the wrong motive (James 4:3). Deep inside we may spend what we would get on our own pleasures.
6. The Lord is far from the wicked, but hears the prayers of the righteous (Prov 15:29). It is faulty logic to conclude that when the Lord hears our prayers it means He will answer according to our expectations. We do not make requests because we are righteous, but because of the Lord’s mercy (Dan 9:18). We can be assured that God answers every prayer in a merciful manner.
9. The answer comes in one of four ways: No, Slow, Grow, Go.
10. Illustration: Your daughter asks you if she can have some candy. You might say “No” because there is a reason you do not want her to have the candy. A “Slow” may be the response to have only 1 piece. A “Grow” answer may involve allowing a piece of candy after she cleans her room. The “Go” reply means help yourself, you are ready to eat the candy.
11. Ask & you will receive, and your joy will be complete (John 16:24). Joy comes when we see God’s hand in the answer, when we realize how incredible His answer really is.
C. GOD WILL “TELL” US OF THINGS WE DO NOT KNOW.
1. All the widow wanted was a few sticks to make a small fire (1 King 17:12). The stranger at the town gate asked for water & a piece bread. How could she know there would be enough oil & flour to go around, except that the prophet Elijah told her what the Lord God said.
2. Phillip asked if 8 months wages would feed 5,000 folks (Mark 6:37). The only answer the disciples saw was 5 barley loaves & 2 small fish. Then Jesus showed them a great & unsearchable thing: 5,000 were fed.
3. Time & again, the Word of the Lord reveals great & unsearchable things. The Jordan River ceased flowing so Israel could cross (Josh 3:15). Walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in 52 days (Neh 6:15). Peter cried out to be saved as he was sinking in water (Matt 14:30). Three days after being beaten & nailed to a cross – the tomb was empty (Luke 24:2). Thomas called out to see a sign – Jesus showed His hands (John 20:25).
4. Illustration: In 1945, a young associate pastor named Cliff married his sweetheart Billie [When God Doesn’t Make Sense, James Dobson, 1993, 135-6]. They left for a honeymoon only find that the hotel they were supposed to stay in was now a rehab center, it took no overnight guests. With little money, Cliff & his bride hitchhiked to a grocery store down the road; the owner felt compassion and let them stay in a room over the store. The owner referred them to a friend who had a nicer place. The friend invited the young couple to a youth rally. The song leader was ill that night, so Cliff asked if he might lead the music. He did so until a young evangelist named Billy stepped up to preach. That is how Cliff Barrows met Billy Graham; and formed a ministry team that has spread the Gospel for more than 50 years.
5. When God’s answer does not seem what you need, let Him tell you.
6. Likely He has something better in mind than what you wanted.
ALTAR CALL:
A. How many believe God still answers prayers?
1. The Lord can answer in bigger & better ways than you can pray.
2. But you need to use the emergency frequency in times of spiritual failure.
B. How will you use God’s frequency today?
1. If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, call now.
2. If you need direction & purpose for your life – He will answer your call.
3. If you’re feeling more burdens than you can bear – let Him tell you the answer.
4. Our awesome, omnipotent, loving God will answer prayers, if you call.
