Address—Jim Hyland
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I'd like to start the meeting this afternoon with 275 Our God is Light, and though we go across a trackless wild Our Jesus footsteps ever show the path for every child? 275 If someone could please start it.
By way of introduction to what I have on my heart this afternoon, I'd like to read 2 portions of scripture. The first one is in First Peter Chapter 2.
First Peter, Chapter 2.
And verse 21.
Or even hereunto where ye called, because Christ also suffered for us.
Leaving us an example that you should follow his steps and then in Luke's Gospel chapter 18.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 18 and verse one.
And he spake A parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. I have it on my heart this afternoon to take up some instances in Luke's gospel where we have the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man in prayer. As we read in First Peter, we find that he's left us an example that we should follow in his steps.
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Now, I realize that on our schedule, this is scheduled as a young people's meeting, and I have a particular burden for those who are younger. But it's not because those of us who old are older don't need these exhortations. And I would just say at the outset of this meeting, you young people, if you think life is tough now, I'm not going to stand here and tell you it gets any easier as we get older. There's more and more that comes into our lives more, more pressure of life.
The enemy doesn't give up, and there's always those things that affect us in one way or another and things that are unique according to where we find ourselves as to physical age.
And so it doesn't get any easier. And I used to be a young person sitting in meetings like this and wondering how I would get along in life if the Lord left us here. And life has been a struggle. But I've learned one thing. At least the Lord is sufficient. He's able for every situation. And we sometimes sing that hymn through every period of my life. Thy goodness, I'll pursue whatever period of life we're in here this afternoon.
Whether it's you young people, whether it's those of you who are raising families, those of us who are a little further along in the path of faith and service, I want to tell you the Lord is sufficient. He's able, and He's able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. And I want to encourage you again, you young people, especially that as you take up the word of God and read it, Go back to the Gospels again and again.
As we've heard in these meetings, we need every segment, every part of the word of God. We need the Old Testament. We need Pauls ministry, the other New Testament writers. We need the prophetic scriptures. All these are important. But we also need the Gospels, because there we have, as Peter has told us, the example that we should follow in in his steps, the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man.
He hasted through this world in the path of faith and service, and he is the only one.
Who began and completed the path of faith and perfection. That's really what it means in Hebrews 12, where we're exhorted. Looking unto Jesus. The author and finisher is not so much of our faith. The hour in our King James Bibles is in italics, but he's the author and finisher of faith. He's the beginner and completer of faith. In other words, he began and completed the path of faith.
Imperfection. And now he's seated at the right hand of God as the object for you and for me. And we certainly need that object, the heavenly man, there at God's right hand. But I say it's important to go back to the Gospels and to read them. I like to read something in the Gospels at least several times a week so that I have that perfect example. And as I say, we're going to go to Luke's Gospel.
Where the Lord Jesus said to his own men ought always to pray and not faint, and we're going to follow one aspect of the Lord's life, and that is the aspect of him as the perfect, perfect, dependent man in prayer. Before we do that, I'll just say reiterate what I know has often been said and perhaps even alluded to already in these meetings, and that is when you go back to the four gospels.
You have the Lord Jesus presented in four different aspects of his person and work. I'll just give you a very brief summary. In Matthew's Gospel is the Lord Jesus is presented as the Jewish King or Messiah. Matthew is the gospel that is most Jewish in its character. There we find things that are unique to Matthew's Gospel, such as the wise men coming from the east to worship him, the only gospel where you get the wise men coming.
To worship him, we find it's the most it's the gospel that has the most Old Testament quotes.
Interestingly enough, as Jewish as it is in its character, it's the only gospel where the Lord introduces the truth of the Church.
In the 16th chapter and the 18th chapter, he introduces the subject of the Church not developed, of course. Interestingly enough too, it's the Gospel that is most dispensational in its character. We find then, in Mark's Gospel the Lord Jesus is presented as the perfect servant. That's why there's no genealogy in Mark's Gospel, because back in those times it was not important for a slave or a servant to be able to declare their genealogy.
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And Mark's Gospel starts with his public ministry, with his service, and it goes from one busy service to another, so much as it says they had no time even to eat. And you have words in Mark like a nun and forthwith and straightway he's there, the perfect servant. Interestingly enough, too, Mark is the gospel that's most chronological in its in its presentation, if you want to see the chronology of the activities of the Lord.
Go to Mark's Gospel. That's where you have that Luke then where we and we will speak of this in a few moments. As I say, we have the perfect dependent man, and Luke is the least chronological in his presentation of the person and work of Christ. Because in Luke's gospel, the Spirit of God is not concerned with chronology as much as he is concerned with a moral order of things. And so if you sometimes people are confused when they read Luke's Gospel because they say, well, I didn't think this event followed this or came before that.
Never mind that. See the moral order that's presented there. John presents the Son of God and it's the most doctrinal of the four Gospels, chapters taken up with with truth. As to the introduction of Christianity, for instance, the upper room ministry, it's only in John's Gospel where you have thir the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th chapters where the Lord Jesus sows the seed.
Of the truth that is later developed in the Epistles preparing the disciples for his departure and as I say, the introduction of Christianity. But coming back to Luke's gospel, where we have the Lord Jesus as the dependent man time and time again, as we are going to see we will that we have the Lord Jesus in prayer. We're going to look at seven times in Luke's Gospel where we have the Lord Jesus.
In this way, before we make some more comments, let's go to the first incident and it's in the third chapter.
Chapter 3 of Luke's Gospel.
And verse 21.
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying that heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son in thee I am well pleased. Before I comment specifically on this first occasion here, I would just say that.
Prayer is the very breath of the divine life. In fact, I believe that it is a proof that there has been a work of God in the soul.
We find that with Saul of Tarsus, when he was converted on the Damascus Rd. you remember the story how that he saw that light shone down. There was a voice from heaven. And Saul of Tarsus answered and said, What wilt thou have me to do? And he was blinded, LED into the city and to a certain address, And Ananias was told to go and see Saul of Tarsus. And I can just picture Ananias saying, but Lord.
This man has come to persecute us. He's got a reputation for taking Christians in chains back to Jerusalem. He's got a reputation for really persecuting the Church of God. And now you want me to go and make myself known to him? But what was the confirmation that was given to Ananias? The Lord said to Ananias, You'll find him at a certain address, and behold, he prayeth. Seems to me that was all the confirmation Ananias needed.
Because as soon as Saul of Tarsus was saved, as soon as he was converted, he was in the attitude of prayer. I say prayer is the very breath of the divine life, and prayer is the expression of two things. It's the expression of dependence and confidence. And before we go on, I just want to say to you, young people, cultivate the habit of not only reading the word of God, but the habit of prayer in your life.
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We've had many exhortations in these meetings already as to the importance of cultivating the habit of orderly, consistently reading of the Holy Scriptures and in when it comes to the word of God. That's how God speaks to us. But then we can come and we can speak to the Lord. It's a two way thing. So as Brother Tim brought before us in the Sunday School, he had that speaking tube and.
His daughter could speak to him. He could speak to his daughter, but his daughter could speak to him as well. And so he wants us to listen. That's true. It's vital. But he wants us to come and speak to him as well. Prayer, I say, is speaking to the Lord. It's freely addressing God. Isn't it a tremendous thing that you and I can come into the very throne room of the universe and we can freely address God?
We can freely speak to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of life and glory. If we were to show up on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, or Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where I come from, would we be allowed access to the greats of this world, those who are in high places politically? Absolutely not. Why? They'd arrest us and take us away if we tried to get in to the Oval Office or we tried to get into the office of the Prime Minister of Canada.
If we tried to get into Buckingham Palace and we've heard stories of people who've tried to break in, sneak in and they've been stopped and they've been arrested and charged. But we can come, I say into the very throne room of the of the universe. And we sometimes sing that hymn. Did you think to pray this morning? Did you did you come before the Lord this morning? I'm not asking you to answer me. You answering your own heart. Did you spend a few moments in prayer?
Because the habits we develop in our youth are what are going to stand us in good stead as we get older. For some of us, it's almost too late to try to form good habits if we haven't formed them already. Why was Daniel found three times a day in prayer as an old man in the 6th of Daniel? It didn't start in the 6th of Daniel. No. Daniel was characterized, I believe, as a man of prayer because it says he prayed three times a day.
And I love this little expression as he did a four time. It wasn't something he just started to do when he was promoted under the King Darius or something he did just because he was facing the difficulty in connection with the lion's den. No, it was the habit of his life. And so we'll see this as we go through these examples that the Lord has laid out for us, for you and for me in our day-to-day life.
And so we find here the Lord Jesus in prayer at his baptism.
Now, it's very interesting that in three of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, we have this incident. But Luke is the only gospel that tells us that the Lord Jesus was praying at this time before I comment against specifically on that. This is a very beautiful incident in the life of the Lord Jesus, and there are three things that are very remarkable to notice in connection with his baptism. And that is first of all.
The Son of God had become tangible. He had come in incarnation. Even a secular dictionary will tell us that incarnation means Christ coming human form. What else could it be? It's the only the Lord Jesus who has ever come in this way. In incarnation. Here was the Son of God tangible. We find too that the Father becomes audible because those who stood on the banks of Jordan that day, they heard that voice from heaven declaring who this one was.
And for a moment the Spirit of God becomes visible. I can only think of two instances in Scripture where the Spirit of God became visible. One is here in the bodily form of a dove. The other is on the day of Pentecost when it came on those that were in the upper room in obedience to the Word of the Lord, there in the form of cloven tongues of fire. And so the sun becomes tangible, the Father becomes audible, and the Spirit becomes visible.
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This might be just a little bit of side, but I've enjoyed this in connection with the bodily form of a dove. In connection with the dove that Noah let out of the ark. You remember that after the flood, Noah let a dove out of the ark. But the ark, the dove found no place for the soul of its foot. It came back to the ark, but finally the dove found a place that it could rest in this world. There was an object in this world, a perfect object, as one of the writers said, an object that might commend the place.
And finally the dove finds rest for the sole of her foot, and it's really the God the Father giving confirmation as to who this was before his public ministry, lest there was any doubt in the minds of those that looked on as to who this was that came to John for baptism. The Spirit of God comes in a bodily form, and the Father confirms that this was his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased.
But we find, as I say, that the Lord Jesus was praying here, And as I say, I believe there are practical lessons that we can learn.
As to this example that we have, and I believe here the one of the lessons at least is that as we are independent on the on, before and prayer before God, we're going to enter in more to the fullness of who this person is. Do you want to know who the Lord Jesus is? Do you want to get to know the real essence of His being? There's no other way than spending time in in prayer.
And so we find here the Lord Jesus.
Uh was was in prayer? Umm And I say it's the only gospel of where he is. I might just make this comment too about heaven being opened and that is that when the Lord Jesus was here, heaven opened up because heaven was was occupied with the perfect object. And here the Lord heaven opened up because the Lord Jesus was praying. But for us heaven is open so that we can look up in prayer.
To God the Father and God the Son. So not so much that heaven can look down on that perfect object. He's not here in this world anymore. He's gone. He's with the Father. He's there at the right hand of God. And now heaven is open so that we can look up and be occupied with the one that God would always occupy his people with, with that perfect object. The one who began as we said and completed the path of faith is seated as the object for you and for me.
And we can come to him. And I say the more we're occupied with with him and the more we're in prayer, independence, the more we're going to enter in to the fullness of the place that we have to through grace. You know, we'll never, we'll never take the place of the Lord Jesus. He's the only begotten of the Father. But you know, we are the sons of God. We are the children of God. And I say if we want to really appreciate that and understand the position we've been brought into.
Then we're going to have to spend that time in prayer. But now let's go on. We're only going to look at these quickly for the sake of time, but let's go on to the fifth chapter now.
Chapter 5.
And verse 16.
And he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed.
If we were to back up in these chapters, between the incident we just looked at and this expression that we just read, we would find that three times it is recorded that as the Lord Jesus had performed His, begun His ministry and performed some miracles, his fame had gone out. In fact, in the 15th verse of this chapter we read that again, there was there a fame, there was a but so much the more went there of fame abroad of Him.
We find that he had ministered in the temple. He had cleansed the leper he'd given.
He he healed a man who who was possessed of a demon, I believe. But there are a number of incidents, and each time his fame goes out. And what does the Lord Jesus do now? He withdraws himself from his public ministry to pray. Because I believe there are several things we learn from this, and one is that if we're going to have power in our service for the Lord.
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We must spend time in prayer. It's often been pointed out in young people. I can't stress this enough. Prayer is the powerhouse of the Christian life. It's the powerhouse of our lives individually. It's the powerhouse of our lives as families. And it's the powerhouse of our lives collectively as gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. You know, when I was younger, I read a lot of the biographies of men and women of a past era who served the Lord who went off to other lands.
Or who ran orphanages and served the Lord in tremendous ways.
And I used to marvel at the faith and the power they had in their ministry and how the Lord provided at a moment's notice when all it seemed like all human health had failed. And the Lord came in. And I used to marvel at that. And then I realized the reason they had such power and fruit and testimony in their Christian lives and service was they were men and women of prayer. Martin Luther said, I dare not spend 3 less than three hours a day in prayer.
No wonder. He was a man used mightily of God in connection with the Reformation. He understood where the power came from. You want to have power in your Christian life. You want to have fruit in your Christian life. Service for the Lord is wonderful, but you need to withdraw yourself. When you've done something for the Lord, spend time in prayer. I believe too, Prayer is a safeguard against pride in our service for the Lord. Now, don't misunderstand me.
The Lord had nothing in him that would be would equate with pride. He was wholly harmless, undefiled and separate from sin, from sinners. But remember, again, we're looking at this as an example for you and me. He's left us an example that we should follow in in His steps. And if you've done something for the Lord, and you've got a pat on the back from your brethren, and there's nothing wrong with encouragement from our brethren, let another man praise thee and not thine own lips.
Not flattery, but praise. And I want to encourage us. If someone has done something from the Lord and you appreciate it, there is there is praise that we we can give but young person and those of us who are older too. Because as we often hear, pride is the last thing to die in a person. And perhaps even as we get older, the pride of life is perhaps more of a snare than than when we're young. But.
If you've done something for the Lord and you've been appreciated and thanked, get into the presence of the Lord.
That'll take care of any pride that there might be in your service. The other thing too is remember, the more prayer, the more blessing. I remember some years ago we were visiting in an area and there was a sister who very kindly drove my wife and I from 1 busy activity to the other. We were in another country and there were many opportunities for the gospel and for visiting our brethren and so on, and little Bible studies and meetings.
And this sister kept reminding us. Remember Jim, remember Faye, the more prayer, the more blessing. And so when we are are given a little service to do for the Lord, we need to spend time in prayer. Why is it so often we labor for the Lord and we don't see the results that we should? Well, there may be a number of reasons, but I believe perhaps one reason is we haven't watered the good seed enough with prayer. We haven't been before the Lord.
Beseeching His blessing on what has transpired in prayer, Now remember everyone of us, young and old here today, who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior. We have a little service to perform for Him. It may not always be a public service, but that we, each one of us, have a service, be exercised as to what that service is, and then be exercised to take it up in the spirit and attitude of dependence and confidence.
Now let's go to the 6th chapter.
Chapter 6.
And verse 12. And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray.
And continued all night in prayer. And when it was day he called unto his disciple, called unto him his disciples.
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And of them he chose 12 whom also he named apostles. Well, here we find the Lord Jesus praying on the mountain. If we were to go to some of the other gospels, like Matthew chapter 14, we would find that on more than one occasion the Lord Jesus went to a mountain to pray. A mountain in Scripture often speaks to us of separation, and I want to make this practical remark in that connection.
Again, this does not personally apply to the Lord Jesus, but we need, I believe, exhortations in connection.
With separation as to answers to prayer. Because if you and I are going to have the answers to prayer that he wants to give us, we need to walk in a path of separation from this world.
One reason that we don't have the answers to prayer always, that perhaps we should, is because we're not walking in practical separation. In fact, sometimes we're harboring something inwardly. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Scripture says the Lord will not hear me. And so, as our perfect example here, the Lord Jesus often resorted to a mountain along with his God.
In separation from all that was around him.
Prayer. And here we find he prays all night. I have to confess I have never spent all night in prayer. There are only two examples in scripture that I can think of of those who spent all night in prayer. One is the Lord Jesus here, and the other with Samuel. You remember when Samuel realized the condition of things in Israel as a result of the people having chose King Saul for their king.
It says. He cried unto the Lord all night. You know, that really humbles me, brother.
I have never been so concerned or burdened or exercised as to the condition of things amongst the people of God that I've spent all night in prayer. But Samuel was so exercised and so burdened about the moral condition of things in Israel that he cried to the Lord all night. But here we find the Lord Jesus himself in prayer all night. Why? Well, it was just before he chose.
Those that were going to be closest to him during his public ministry. Now did the Lord Jesus know who he was going to choose? Of course he did. And he knew that Judas was going to be the betrayer, that he would remain an unregenerate man for those three years plus and do his awful deed at the end. He knew what the disciples were going to be like, that Peter would deny him that eventually, in the hour of his greatest need, they would all forsake him and flee and so on.
But he spends all night in prayer as an example for you and for me.
Before he chooses, I say those who were to be closest to him.
During his public ministry, how much time do you and I spend in prayer before we choose those who are closest to us in the various spheres of life? What about our partner for life? I know there are some relationships forming here, and there's some weddings in the offing. How much time do we spend in prayer before we choose a partner for life?
The partner young people that you have for life is either going to make or break your life. They'll make or break your life. You know, I remember officiating at a wedding many miles from here and some years ago, and there was a there were a number of young men on the front row at that wedding. They had been specially invited and they were specially given a prominent place on the front row in front of those guests as the wedding, the wedding took place.
And someone said after.
In connection with the groom, they were special friends of the groom and someone said that young man chose his friends well. They were godly young men that sat there as special honored guests of the groom.
I thought that was very interesting. And the girl that he married was AI believe, a God, a godly girl. He chose his friends well, not just his partner for life, but those he had associated with up until that point. What about our closest friends, those that we go out with on Friday night, those that we spend extra time with? Are they those that are a help to us in our Christian pathway? Have we really prayed about them?
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David said, I am a companion of all them that fear thee and that keep thy precepts. We mentioned yesterday in one of the meetings in connection with Daniel and his three friends. You know those three friends chose Daniel. They were they were blessed because of their choice. And Daniel, I believe was blessed because he chose his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego very carefully. And so our partner in life.
Our friends in life are going to going to affect us in a very real way. What about those we associate with? Perhaps in business do we pray about where we work? I I realize in the in the business world, in the work a day world, we have to associate with the ungodly and so on. But do we really pray about it and ask the Lord to guide us and direct us and perhaps make us a testimony to those that we work with or we go go to school with?
What about other believers? What about the believers we meet with from week to week? You know, it says of the of Peter and John when they were released from the council in the book of the Acts and being let go, they went to their own company. What is our own company? This morning we were able to sit down at the Lord's table in fellowship with the Lord Jesus, Yes, but in fellowship with with one another. You know when the Lord Jesus and told the disciples to go and prepare the Passover?
It must have thrilled the heart of the Lord Jesus when he said, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
They understood very clearly that in the Old Testament it was not left up to them.
Where to prepare or to choose their own company? And they were able to sit down in company with the Lord Jesus and in company and fellowship with one another. I know it was the Passover that was particularly in view there, but the Lord Jesus knew that was going to be the very spot where after the Passover supper, he would take a loaf in a cup and institute the feast of Remembrance. So I say again as we go through life and the choices don't get any easier and the choices never end, let's be in in prayer as to those that we are.
Uh, Who are our associates in, uh, each of the spheres of life in which God has placed us?
Now let's go over to the UH 9th chapter.
Chapter.
19.
And verse 18.
And it came to pass as he was alone, praying his disciples were with him.
And he asked them saying whom say the people that I am? They answered and said John the Baptist. But some say Elias and others say one of the.
Of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Peter answering said the Christ of God. Now again we have this same incident in Matthew and Mark. But again, it's only in Luke's gospel where the Lord Jesus is presented as the perfect dependent man that the Spirit of God has inserted that at that time he was praying. There's a very interesting expression here. It says as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him. Not an interesting expression.
You ever been alone in a crowd? You know, sometimes I felt alone in a crowd. I'm with a lot of people, but I felt alone, perhaps alone, in a certain exercise that I've had before. The Lord, you know, the Lord Jesus, even in the presence of his disciples, he sometimes felt alone alone before his God. You know, the disciples were those, as we said, who were chosen to be closest to him during his public ministry.
But even sometimes the disciples didn't fully enter into what the Lord Jesus was telling them.
Or what he was doing or what he was going through. And it's OK to feel alone sometimes, as long as you're alone with the Lord or as long as you're alone with God the Father, You know, those are wonderful times. Maybe sometimes even amongst the people of God. Maybe you come to a conference and you say none of the young people really, really understand what I'm going through. Nobody really gets it. I'm going through some struggle and I just can't share it with anybody else.
I just can't go out after this thing like I used to. And I feel alone. Never mind, as long as you're alone with the Lord, as long as that draws you into the presence of the Lord, then you'll find that there will be blessing and comfort in your in your Christian pathway. But we find here he was alone praying. And then he asked this question of the disciples, and there's different answers. And finally Peters says, the Christ of God. Again, we learn a very practical lesson from what we have here.
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I believe that in the measure in which you and I spend time in prayer, we are going to be able to give testimony as to who again who the Lord Jesus really is, and we are going to be able to own His claims in our lives. I want to just pause for a moment and ask my own heart, and perhaps it will exercise your heart as well. How much do the claims of Christ?
Mean to me? How much do I really own them in my life? I'm not asking you now. If you know that Jesus says you're savior, that's wonderful. That's vital, of course. But do you know Jesus as your Lord now? I trust there's no thought, even in corners of our hearts as to the Lord Jesus being the outwardly reigning. Now I believe we had read to us this morning in the breaking of bread. We see not yet all things put under him.
But he does want that place in your life and mine. We sometimes sing a hymn, rain thou within our hearts alone. When we were young people, we used to sing that hymn. Lord of my life, I crown thee now Thine shall the glory be. How much is he Lord of our lives? Do we spend time in His presence and as a result give testimony to the fact that we recognize His claims in our lives?
This is just a little parenthesis, but I feel burdened because I find sometimes there are those who are truly saved, young people and sad to say, sometimes those who are not so young who have never been baptized. You know, I I feel rebuked when I meet a person who I know has been a believer for sometimes some time. And you ask them, have you ever been baptized? No, they've never taken that step of baptism. You know, God gives us a way.
That we can express what's in our hearts. This morning we have the institution of the remembrance, and that was to give expression to what was in I trust was in our hearts. That we might give expression to worship and praise and Thanksgiving. And to give testimony to this world that we recognize this one who the world still despises and hates. But there's another institution that has been given to us in Christianity where we can give expression.
To the fact that we want to own the claims of God and the claims of Christ in our heart, and that's baptism, you say, Well, I want to follow the Lord. The Lord knows what's in my heart. That's true, but he's given you a way to express it in the truth of baptism. There's many facets of baptism, but for our purposes this afternoon, I would simply say, if the recognition, it's the testimony that I want to own the lordship of Christ.
In my In my life again, I say too that these incidents of prayer show how important it is because we only get to know the person of Christ in the measure in which we are in prayer. You know, the Apostle Paul makes a very interesting statement in the book of Philippians. He says that I may know him. I find that a remarkable statement because you might say, well, didn't.
The Apostle Paul as Saul of Tarsus.
Get to know the Lord on the Damascus Rd. Yes, he did. He got to know him as savior. But the whole exercise and desire of Paul's life was that he might know him in a better acquaintance. And you never get to know someone until you spend time in their presence, until you walk with them, until you sit down with them, you never really get to know that person. A point Now thyself with him, one of the prophets tells us.
I'm gonna repeat a little illustration. I know I've used this illustration before, but I'll repeat it. You know, in Canada, where I come from, we're still part of the British Commonwealth and we're very interested in the British royal family. If you, in fact, if you were to come to my home and look on our coffee table, you would find some books there in connection with the British royal family and the new little Prince and Princess that we have in in California, in in.
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In England and and so on. And I know a lot of things about Queen Elizabeth and her family, but I don't know Queen Elizabeth personally. I know about her. But there's a great difference between knowing about someone and knowing the person. Now, this will never happen, I'm sure, but let's suppose for the sake of the illustration, I get an invitation in the mail and I'm invited to come to Buckingham Palace and everything's provided. There's a plane ticket. I landed Heathrow in London.
The Queen's uh, limousine is there to pick me up and chauffeur me through the gates of Buckingham Palace. And for one month I walk in the royal gardens with Queen Elizabeth. We sit at tea together. We have dinner in the official dining room together. Now I leave Buckingham Palace. I say, oh, I don't just know about the Queen. I know the queen personally. And that's the kind of relationship that God wants us to have with himself and with his son. But again, you'll never have it if you don't spend time.
Reading his word, listening to what he says to you and time speaking to him in prayer. But let's notice another incident here in this same chapter, verse 28.
And it came to pass about an 8 days after these sayings he took Peter and John and James.
And went up into the mouth to a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening, and and behold, they're talked with him two men, which were Moses.
And Elias, well, this is the account we refer to as the mount of Transfiguration. It's really a little preview of the coming glory and what a wonderful privilege it was for Peter and John. Peter Uh James and John to uh witness this, the Lord Jesus. There a little flash of his his glory, the glory to come, uh speaking with uh Peter with uh Moses and and uh Elijah, Elijah.
I know that Peter got his eyes off the Lord and so on, and he needed a rebuke and so on. But here we find again the Lord Jesus in Mark's Gospel is found in prayer.
As this incident unfolds, and I believe again, what we have here is the ability to represent the Lord Jesus here in this world, to reflect something of Christ in our lives.
Only as we spend time in prayer again, I realize there's a prophetic character to what we have here.
But that's not so much what is occupying us as to our subject today.
You know in the measure in which you spend time, in the presence of the Lord Jesus, in that measure, and only in that measure will there be a reflection of Christ in your life. It's a very serious thing to think about. If there's going to be some reflection of Christ in your life and mine as we go about this world, it is only going to be in the measure in which we have come from His presence. You remember when Moses in the Old Testament.
Went up on the mount to commune with God and he came down from the mount. He had to cover his face. The children of Israel couldn't look on him because his face shone. But there's an interesting comment made about that. It says he wished not that his face shone. It wasn't that he tried to make his face shine. It was the unconscious reflection of being in the presence of God in in on the mount. And so for you and for me it's says in Second Corinthians chapter three. I think it's verse 18.
It says we all, with open face beholding in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory. To put it in very simple language, what that verse is telling us is, and the measure in which we're occupied with a glorified Christ, we will reflect something of those glories in our lives now, now, young people, brethren, there's a day coming when we're going to reflect the glories of Christ and the world is going to look up and see.
The glories of Christ perfectly reflected in each of His Saints. It tells us in Second Thessalonians He's coming to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them that are about Him in that day. I marvel at that because when the Lord Jesus comes back and heaven opens to reveal Him coming, coming with the heavenly host, and wherever the world looks, when they look up, they're going to see Christ perfectly reflected in every believer.
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Tremendous to think about. But brethren, is there something of that in your life and mine now?
He wants there to be a reflection of Christ in your life and mind so that others will see something of that man. And it's serious to realize that all this world is going to see of Christ is what's reflected in your life and mind. And especially when they close the pages of God's word. They've rejected the light of God's word. What is this world gonna see of Christ? We're epistles known in red of all men. Go over to the 11Th chapter.
Chapter 11 And verse one. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.
As in heaven, so in earth, give us day by day Our Daily Bread, and forgive us our sins.
For we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us, and lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil? Well, here we have the Lord Jesus, and I want to notice what it says here as he was praying in a certain place.
I want to encourage you to not only have a stated time for prayer. That's helpful.
And not let anything interrupt it if you can help it, but have a stated place for prayer. You know, it's been helpful in my own life to have a little place where I can slip away and be alone with the Lord to be uninterrupted by anybody else. And so have a stated time, yes, but have a stated place for prayer. And so as He's praying, the disciples say to him, teach us to pray. Now I believe what we have here is not so much what we pray, but how we pray.
It's a pattern prayer that the Lord gave the disciples, and it was a prayer suited to their position at that time.
They were still on Jewish ground and so I don't believe what we're taught here is to just recite this.
And remember, it's not the Lord's prayer as so often it is dubbed. It's really the disciples prayer. It was the Lord Jesus teaching the disciples giving them a pattern for prayer. And while we find it, that which is connected with Judaism, yet there are some good things to consider. He teaches them to pray our Father. And if you notice in Mr. Darby's translation, the words which art in heaven are left out. They're not in the best manuscripts because to pray to the Father in heaven or thou art that art in heaven, that puts God at a distance. But in Christianity we don't put God our Father at a distance, no.
He's right there and so we need to address him and we have the privilege of addressing him as our father.
We don't. We're looking for the Lord to come at any moment. But you know, the Kingdom is part of our hope as well. We're looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing. We're going to speak about this in the reading meetings as we go on. Lord willing to the 4th chapter of Second Timothy. It's really part of our hope. We're gonna notice that we're to love His appearing that day when he reigns supreme and has His rightful place. Give us this day Our Daily Bread. Good to look to him for the daily needs that we have.
We don't pray for the forgiveness of sins in Christianity, but when we do sin, it says.
If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and so on. It's good to pray that we won't be LED away off the path of faith and into temptation and that will be delivered from evil and so on. We don't have time to go into this, but I say it's a pattern prayer. Go over it and consider it in the light of Christianity. And what a wonderful, what a wonderful thing it is to be able to come.
In in this way, I'll just say this too before we pass on.
You never find the Lord praying with his disciples. He prayed for his disciples. He never prayed with his disciples. There was always that difference. And he never asked his disciples to pray for him. He prayed for them. So we We look to the Lord for our needs. We pray to him. But.
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We we never pray. We pray to him, but we never pray for him as a divine person. So just a little, a little word of caution there.
Let's go now to the last one in closing to the 22nd chapter.
Chapter 22 and verse 41. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast and kneeled down and prayed. Before I comment on this, I just say just make the comments very interesting that the Spirit of God records here. He was removed from them about a stone's cast. Why? Well, I suggest this reason. The Jewish way of execution was by stoning, but the Lord Jesus was not to die by stoning.
No, he was to be taken by Roman soldiers and nailed to a cross. And so as the hour of Calvary approaches, he's removed from the Jewish order of things, so to speak, and God's timetable being perfect. The Romans are in power, and as was prophesied, he is to be taken out and nailed to a Roman cross, and to die a death of shame in that way. But we find here as the hour of his greatest trial approaches.
We we find he comes and he kneeled down and he prayed. I think it's in Matthew where it tells us he prayed three times and each time became a little more intense. This was very intense prayer. Are you going through some real trial in your life today? Oh, kneel down and pray now. It's true. We can pray in any situation, anywhere. We don't have to be in a specific, uh.
Position to pray. Jonah prayed in the belly of the fish. Nehemiah prayed standing in the presence of the king. But kneeling down, I believe shows there's a moral side of it. It's the submission of the heart to kneel down. And that's why it often speaks about kneeling in scripture, because kneeling down shows submission of heart and will. And here we find the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man.
He kneels down, and yes, he prays in his agony. But is there any hesitation on his point to go forth and accomplish the Father's will? Not for one moment he vows in the presence of the Father. It's true.
He's in an agony. He prays more earnestly. But all I say that he kneels down here because there's no hesitation to rise from the garden and go forth and accomplish His Father's will. Well, we've looked at these scriptures very, very quickly. As I say, I've taken them up with the burden on my heart, that they've been left to us as an example that we should follow in His steps. And I would just conclude my remarks this afternoon by saying this if the Lord Jesus.
As the perfect dependent man felt the need for prayer so many times in his pathway, here how much more you and I I say we need prayer. The day is coming when we won't need prayer. In the same way, we're going to be filled with praise for all eternity. But as long as we're here in the path of faith and service, there needs to be that exercise of dependence and confidence. Listen to him speak through the Word.
And then come to and speak to him in prayer.