Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us.
[00:00:06] If you have a bible, you can go to Galatians chapter five. Today. Galatians chapter five. We're going to spend the next 30 days talking about our posture of prayer. Our posture of prayer.
[00:00:18] You know, there's a way to tell if your faith is working.
[00:00:22] I know sometimes we like things that are really measurable. Oftentimes we want to know, like, is my performance in this area of my life, whether that be my career or my athleticism. And I understand that for me, maybe those metrics are rough. But anyway, we look for things that we can measure really well. And sometimes we come to our faith and we come to our spirituality and our following Jesus, and it feels very nebulous. Right? Like, how do we measure if my faith is really taking root in my heart? How do I measure if I'm becoming more like Jesus? And I believe that there is actually a fairly clear way to discover if your faith in Jesus is working. And it's the same way that we can tell if a church community is healthy and following after the way of Jesus. And it's found in Galatians chapter five, where Paul outlines the markers of those who are living in the Holy Spirit. Galatians 522, it says, but the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no law against these things.
[00:01:40] You know, the Holy Spirit doesn't sometimes produce this kind of work and this kind of fruit in our lives any more than my pear tree in my yard doesn't sometimes produce pears and sometimes produce lemons, right? I don't have to go out each fall and say, I wonder what kind of fruit this tree is going to produce this year, because it always produces the kind of fruit that it produces. And in a like manner, the Holy Spirit always produces these kinds of fruits in our lives.
[00:02:14] Josh Butler, the author, was with us this past week. A great conversation around our hearts and our posture as we head into yet another cycle of elections and divisiveness in the larger society and how our hearts matter. Our posture matters in this time and out of his book the Party Crasher, he wrote, if you say you're an oak of righteousness planted in God's lovely garden, but you're bursting with animosity, bitterness, cynicism and pride, people will rightly say, I didn't think that grew on Jesus trees, exactly.
[00:02:50] That sometimes the fruit of our lives is actually a better tell a better revealer of what is in our hearts than anything that we say or the stances that we have or the opinions that we profess. It is actually the fruit of our lives that will prove and will be a marker of how we are following after the way of Jesus.
[00:03:10] And if the spirit of Jesus is at work in our lives, the fruit will follow. And there's no exception for tense times in our lives, right? It's not that the Holy Spirit produces this fruit, except if you're having a rough day. Right? Then you have an exception, and then. No, no. It says, if the holy spirit is in our lives, these are the kinds of fruits that your life will produce. No exceptions for difficulty, no exceptions for those moments when we enter into hard conversations with family members that disagree. No exceptions. The fruit of our lives should line up with what the Holy Spirit produces. And I would say this as we get into this morning's talk, that you can have all the correct stances on all the issues, but that is no substitute for a life marked by the fruit of the spirit. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you are at work in our lives. You're at work in our community. You're at work in our church. And, lord, we pray to, would your grace just rest on us? That out of our conversations and out of our lives lived together, out of our relationships and our friendships and our families, would come not anger and fear and resentment and bitterness, but would come the fruit of the spirit, that you would work that deeply into the fabric of this community. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. I. You know, we can all feel it. There is, of course, tension that exists in the world when we look at the news and see the Middle east. Now, I was going to, in my notes, I said, marching towards war, where they're in war, an election that's a month away, war in Europe.
[00:04:54] Trouble seems like everywhere we turn.
[00:04:58] And as we approach these moments and as we maybe dare to look at what's going on in the world, oftentimes the response that we have is one of exhaustion, that we want to look away, maybe.
[00:05:11] Oftentimes we find our own camps, ideological camps of people that agree with us or think the same way we do.
[00:05:19] And oftentimes the places where we find relationships that become tense are those relationships that we can't avoid. Right. It's those family gatherings and moments where. Where we are stuck to these people and they will never agree with us. And it becomes so frustrating.
[00:05:36] And so we know the tension is real.
[00:05:39] And I wonder if Jesus would have anything to say to our moment. I think oftentimes we think that this is, the tension that we face is unprecedented, like no one has ever experienced this kind of trouble in the world. Of course not.
[00:05:53] And what I have great hope in is that when we look in the gospels, we find Jesus in a setting, in a moment in history that is fraught, that is full of tension, that is full of trouble and difficulty. And so we take hope that if we walk in the way of Jesus as he did, that we can experience the kind of peace of God that he professed, even in the middle of trouble.
[00:06:19] And I am convinced that there's really only one good way for this kind of fruit of the Holy Spirit to be produced in our lives. There's only one way to get close into the presence of the Holy Spirit in such a way that it begins to produce good fruit in our lives. And that's through prayer.
[00:06:38] That's through prayer that we as a christian people, as a people of faith, we are a praying people all the way to the beginning when Jesus turned to Peter and he said, I'm going to build my church on this foundation, this rock that is you, Peter, and from your leadership and moving forward into all the rest of human history, there's going to be something here. What was at the center of the practices of that church was always prayer.
[00:07:08] And so if we want to experience the closeness of the Holy Spirit, we will be a people of prayer.
[00:07:16] We'll be a people of prayer.
[00:07:19] This is probably no secret, but often we find that most christians have no practice of prayer to speak of. If you don't pray, raise your hand. No, I'm not going to ask you to do that. Right.
[00:07:30] I know that oftentimes it can be a difficult thing to commit ourselves to prayer. And if you have struggled in finding any kind of regular rhythm in prayer, if you feel like, I tried that and it doesn't click, and I find myself distracted and I don't have time and all that, I want to extend a lot of grace to you. And actually today's message is for those of us who have struggled with a prayer life.
[00:07:55] But also, if you are regular and committed and faithful in a practice of prayer, I hope this encourages you today to not give up and to continue leaning into prayer.
[00:08:08] And oftentimes we think that prayer at its heart is the attempt to get God to do what we want him to do. If we could just convince God to do this or give me this or accomplish this or change this, then prayer has done what prayer was designed to do. But honestly, I think the primary function of prayer is not to convince God to do something for us, but it is to shape and form us on the inside.
[00:08:38] And certainly there are moments where we go to God and we ask for him to intervene and to interact and to change things that matter to us. I remember even as a kid, I was trying to go to sleep one night, and right outside my bedroom window, the neighbor's house was very close, and they had a porch light that had been on for weeks. And of course, I wouldn't actually go over there and ask them to turn it off. I just suffered, right? So I remember one night and I couldn't get to sleep because my whole room is just filled with this porch light that's facing just a couple feet or a few feet away from my. My bedroom window. And so I'm like, well, maybe I should pray about this. And so I'm probably, I don't know, ten years old. And I say, you know, dear Jesus, just help me sleep and somehow turn off that light. And no sooner had I stopped praying that the light doesn't just turn off, but it's an incandescent light right back in the day, and it explodes with a pop.
[00:09:37] And immediately I'm like, oh, God is in the house. You know, like, I just. You felt it.
[00:09:43] And, you know, I don't know if that was a coincidence or that was actually the spirit of God being like, I will say yes to your prayer, young Evan. I don't know. But I do know this, that there are moments where we go to God and we pray in the way that he asked us to pray, where he said, you know, you do not have, because you do not ask. And so if you ask that God is a good father who gives good gifts to his children, I believe that we pray for God to intervene, and he does. I believe we pray for healing, and in his wisdom and in his grace, he shows up and he intervenes.
[00:10:16] But if all we ever think about prayer is this function where we come into a space and we ask God for things and then he gives. And that's a very transactional view of our relationship with the father.
[00:10:28] And I think the more holistic and expansive view of prayer is that we come into this constant interaction with the presence of God. And as we do that, as that becomes our default posture in the world around us, it shapes us as individuals and as a people.
[00:10:43] That prayer becomes the posture by which we face the tensions of the world around us. And what it creates in us is this fruit of the spirit, this peace and patience and love and joy and kindness and goodness and faithfulness, gentleness and self control. And this is the stuff that is so missing, I think, from the world that we live in.
[00:11:13] I want to give an example of how Jesus modeled this in maybe the most tense and difficult moment of his earthly ministry in his life. This is out of Luke, chapter 22. It's the story of the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus, who has spent most mornings in a practice of getting alone with God for prayer, is now facing his arrest, his betrayal by Judas, one of his followers, and eventually through this weekend, his death on the cross, it says in Luke 22, verse 39. And he came out and went, as was his habit, to the mount of olives. And the disciples also followed him. Notice that it was his habit to go to this place to pray. This was part of his rhythm.
[00:12:04] Now, when he arrived at the place, he said to them, pray that you do not come into temptation. And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and began to pray, saying, father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.
[00:12:19] And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples, and he found them sleeping from sorrow. If you've been there, you're like, it's just. I just don't want to face any. I'm just going to go to sleep, okay? That is a very normal human reaction to times of trouble.
[00:12:36] Verse 46. But Jesus said to them, why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you do not come into temptation. And while he was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading the way for them. And he approached Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said, Judas, are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?
[00:12:54] And when those who were around him saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? Verse 51 of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
[00:13:05] But Jesus responded and said, stop.
[00:13:07] No more of this. And he touched his ear and he healed him.
[00:13:12] I wanted to share this passage in regards to a posture of prayer, because here we have Jesus and we have his disciples, and they're both on the same team, right? They both have the same eventual goal in mind, that God's kingdom would come to the place where they lived. They both have the same heart, that God's will would be done.
[00:13:36] And yet, in this moment, Jesus goes to his habit of prayer. In a moment, of incredible sorrow and tension. And the disciples go to their habit of sleep, and from these two places, they react, and they respond to what is a very intense situation. As Jesus is approached by these guards and he is taken away and he's arrested, Jesus responds in mercy, whereas the disciples, likely Peter, because he's the kind of guy that was going to draw a sword, right?
[00:14:06] The disciples respond with anger, violence, and fear. And Tyler Staton, he writes on prayer, and he says, in times of chaos, we do not rise to the occasion. Instead, we fall to the level of our training.
[00:14:22] And I want to encourage us that if our training looks like a habit of prayer, when the most intense moments of our lives come, when we would naturally and normally react in anger, in resentment, in fear, instead, we're going to fall back to a place where we react in mercy, compassion, and the peace of God.
[00:14:47] We have this dog. And I started out not liking the dog. I really like the dog. Now we're buddies, but she's not a smart dog, okay? She's a poodle mix like they all are. And we were told that poodles have this high intelligence, you know, and so we had high expectations coming into owning this dog, that we're going to have one of those dogs that can respond to everything you say, and just a look, and they'll know exactly what you're thinking. I've seen these dogs that have these little buttons they push to say things like, I'm interested in what time dad will come home.
[00:15:26] This is not our dog.
[00:15:28] Our dog is on the lower end of the intelligence level, and so we'll take the dog for a walk. And I noticed this, that if I'm walking the dog alone, Sadie does not know what to do.
[00:15:40] She knows I'm behind her. And so she'll react to everything that comes her way, you know, so it's stop and sniff and pull on the leash, and then come back and see and react and sniff and stop and bark. And there's a real frantic, chaotic nature to walking her when I'm alone. But if Alyssa is with us, and Alyssa will walk just a few steps in front of me, that dog will hone in on Alyssa's heel and not stray at all, right? And to the point where her nose will get clipped by the back of Alyssa's heel. Again, not a smart dog, but it's like she has someone to follow. And when she has someone to follow, she is on it, right?
[00:16:21] And I think oftentimes about how we exist in the world, and we have this opportunity to follow after Jesus. But oftentimes we want to go out on our own and just like, say to you, man, we are. We're reacting, and we're sniffing and barking and stopping and pulling. And Jesus is like, if you just follow me, I know the way, I know the path.
[00:16:46] Are we letting the anxieties of the world dictate our responses? Or are we aligning ourselves with God's will through prayer in moments of tension in our relationships and in our world? I think there are three common responses to these tensions. Number one, anger at those who don't agree with us or the brokenness we see.
[00:17:08] We get angry, we get frustrated, we see loss or trouble in our own lives, and we want to pin that blame on somebody else. Number two, arrogance, thinking we're always right and failing to listen to others or God. And number three, a reaction we have is anxiety about the uncertainty of the future and the state of our world. I think these are the three A's. I used A's so you'd remember them. These are the three A's that are our natural responses to tensions in relationships. And I want to propose that a practice of prayer responds to each of these reactions in a different way. Number one, the prayer response to anger. Psalms 37 seven says, be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry. Turn from your rage. Do not lose your temper. It only leads to harm.
[00:18:11] Through prayer, we are releasing our anger to God, and we allow him to shape us into something that is not so reactive.
[00:18:21] I think the companionship of the Holy Spirit in prayer is something that can overcome that reaction of anger that rises up. Number two, the prayer response to arrogance.
[00:18:32] Walter Brigham wrote this. He said, prayer is a great antidote to the illusion that we are self made.
[00:18:39] I think it was James who wrote, if we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, he will lift us up.
[00:18:44] Oftentimes our arrogance is to say that we have the right way, we know the right way. We are always correct in our thinking and our actions. And when we come to God before him in humility, we realize we've got a lot of distance to still yet go.
[00:19:01] And as we humble ourselves in his presence, he takes away our arrogance and replaces it with his humility and his strength.
[00:19:09] And then finally, a prayer response to anxiety.
[00:19:12] Paul wrote this in Philippians four six. He said, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition. With thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God which transcends understanding will guard you.
[00:19:36] Jesus was born in the middle of the roman empire, at the early stages of what would later be known in history as the pax Romano or the roman peace.
[00:19:49] Under these, Augustus ushered in this season that would last about 200 years of relative peace throughout the known world and throughout the roman empire.
[00:20:01] And a huge part of the ability of Rome to maintain relative peace in the known world was through their roads, many of which are still with us today. And you can walk on those.
[00:20:13] And through their engineering and inventions and their ability to create these roads all throughout the empire. What it created was prosperity through trade, safety through the ability to control and guard these roads. And so it ushered in this long season of relative peace.
[00:20:35] And it's in this moment that Jesus is born. And what is prophesied about Jesus, going back to Isaiah and Isaiah 40, is that someone would come to prepare a road for the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 40, Isaiah speaks prophetically about John the Baptist, who would come before Jesus to prepare the way for Jesus arrival. And he says, you know, someone's gonna come, and they're gonna lower the high places, and they're gonna raise up the low places to create a path in the desert, a highway for our God.
[00:21:09] And so the imagery in light of Jesus coming is that this way of the empire that has created relative peace is gonna be replaced by the peace of the prince of peace, who is Jesus. And there is a new road that's gonna be laid out the way of Jesus that would bring peace to the world.
[00:21:32] And we're about to enter into pothole season here in Bend. Have you. You know, the seasons in Bend is a lovely spring followed by smoke, followed by potholes. And then we're back. Okay, so that's. Again, I don't know why people keep moving here. It's just smoke and potholes.
[00:21:51] But if you have the misfortune of hitting a pothole at full speed speed, your vehicle might be out of alignment. Right. And have you had a vehicle or car, your suv, with really bad alignment where it feels like you're trying to wrestle it to stay straight on the road, you know, and what it wants to do, it wants to pull one way or the other and take you off the road? Here's what I think prayer does. It is the alignment of our souls to the way of Jesus.
[00:22:19] And so oftentimes we become frustrated because it's like, I just. I want to worship Jesus. I want to follow after. I want. I want to live a life of faith. But it feels like it just takes all our strength to wrestle our souls onto his way. Can I tell you that prayer is the mechanism by which we are aligned to the way of Jesus?
[00:22:39] And if you've ever felt yourself pulling one way or the other, I want to encourage us. Can we go back to the place of prayer and say, jesus, align our hearts to your peace?
[00:22:54] What is our posture in this season?
[00:22:58] I want to commend you as a church.
[00:23:03] So many conversations I have each and every week with so many of you. And I know we all have opinions, we all have things we're passionate about. But there is such a heart in this church and in this community where we are submitting those passions and those desires to see change in the world or people to change their minds or opinions. There is a submission to the way of Jesus that I think is really beautiful.
[00:23:29] And I want to encourage us that it is our job in this season to be a non anxious presence in the world around us, one that exudes this idea that when Jesus shows up, he makes all things right.
[00:23:45] And regardless of the outcome of elections, regardless of who's in the White House or who's not in the White House, regardless of the way that society begins to view hot button issues, come on, all those things are secondary to this. If we, as the people of God, are filled with the Holy Spirit and living out the way of Jesus, that's what matters.
[00:24:11] And I said this, it was coming into, I don't know, probably the 2020 election. I said, it doesn't matter who's in the White House. If God's in your house, that's what he's looking for.
[00:24:23] Some of you, I can tell, disagree with that. But I'm telling you that our posture and our hearts matter.
[00:24:31] Empires will rise and fall. Elections will come and go. Nations will take the center stage and others will replace them eventually. And yet, the Bible tells us, the word of the Lord endures forever. And so we're going to tether ourselves to things that matter. And last, and please understand me. I know all of these things in our moment. They do have weight. And we should prayerfully consider our engagement with the world around us. And yet we have to remember that psalms 23 tells us, because the Lord is my shepherd. That's why I don't want, he is our shepherd.
[00:25:10] And so prayer today for us looks like turning our hearts back to this alignment with the way of Jesus. The empire provides one kind of peace, but King Jesus provides one that will never fail.
[00:25:27] So imagine what the world might come to. But imagine us as a community of faith in every conversation, in every tense moment, in every uncertainty, becoming a non anxious presence in the world, saturated by a heart that is aligned with the Holy Spirit through prayer.
