Thoughts on Faith and Prayer

Carter, from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. It's easy to come to Jesus but it's a lot more difficult to actually go with Jesus and there's so many people like that in every generation. I pray to God that you and I are not found among them.

We must go where he is leading us. We must become the people that is calling us to be. This is a call to the nation with Carter Conlin for many people.

They believe they have their lives all planned out, envisioning what they want out of their life and what they can get but for some of us, God has a different path to follow instead of going and getting God wants you to go and give becoming a completely different person than you thought you were going to be living a different life than you thought you were going to live true Christianity is looking for the benefit of others.

We must go where he is leaving us. We must be the people he wants us to be years Carter to explain more. I want prayer request that I'd like to talk about side open this part of the permitting call thoughts on faith and prayer, and it's it's it's a thought that I want to bring to you about the difference between coming to Christ and going with Christ. Okay so you gonna draw that line between the two.

There's a lot of people come to Christ and some of those who come to Christ are willing to go with Christ, if you turn with me to the book of John chapter 6 this is were going to go for going to read a passage of Scripture, there together and God to pray before we undertake this other.

I thank you God for the anointing of your Holy Spirit Lord without your Holy Spirit and we don't understand the word of God without your Holy Spirit wheat we can't live in the word of God. We can't door the word of God is leading us. So father in Jesus name that pray God give me the ability to speak these words and held by us as your people as the people of God to move in the direction Lord that you want us to move into and we thank you for it.

In Jesus name, amen. Somebody sent me this today I want to read it tears from API missions organization that I know is credible and that leadership is not given to any exaggeration and they speak the truth, but they sent me this is so is a few years ago I Western style evangelistic crusade was held in a major city of India. At the meeting approximately 200,000 people attended one evening there was provided for them. Some limited food and refreshments for the crowd at the back of the gathering for the end of the a gathering with the evangelist asked for the people wanted to accept Christ to raise their hands. Everyone day all 200,000 people raise their hands to receive Jesus as Savior. Two years later, a meticulous survey was conducted in that city. Of all the Bible believing churches as to how many people became solid believers from this crusade event and developed into growing disciples of Jesus and were embedded in a church congregation. It was a meticulous study that went through almost all if not all, of the Bible believing churches in the city and they found that out of 200,000 people would raise their hands at night to people had joined local churches and gone into becoming disciples of Jesus Christ is easy to come to Jesus is more difficult to go where Jesus is leading us to go and so quite often and in the Christian context where we pray for revival, but we think of revival is is God making us feel good in our present place. Our present condition.

Our present understanding of Christian life or service or Scripture we just want to feel good where we are. That's what we think revival is or will want to bring in more people somehow we think that's also revival but even the Scripture itself that it talks about the crowds that Preston coming to Jesus in a sense, when they were coming for for bread remember one time he said in the Scriptures, you're only seeking the for the bread the free bread and the sensors you got yesterday. Now you're you're pressing in, because you feel that proximity to me is going to give you a lot of free for free stuff for free food in your life. Things that you want to happen and the crowds they Preston from every side to the point where it at certain times it was difficult for him to even mover. They had to put them out until boat into the sea is worse or he did speak to the people because there were such a multitude coming to Jesus but you and I know the story that one when things got tough one when one coming to Jesus meant a little more than just free bread than an healing and and wonderful things like that. Thank God.

When we initially come to him, he does provide. He does heal. He does give a new heart and a new song but there is something in the Christian life that we are called to that is beyond that, I do not we all know the story that went wanted one times got tough. There was only a few left in the vicinity of the garden of Gethsemane and ultimately from the crowds of the thousands thousands that were thronging and that the 10,000 on the hillside one day at least 10,000 that were fed by the multiplying of the loaves and the fishes. By the time it was all said and done, there was 120 people left in the upper room. I want you to really think about that. It's easy to come to Jesus but it's a lot more difficult to actually go with Jesus where he's leaving now in John chapter 6 verse 53.

Not Jesus is speaking to those that are are following him. There's a lot of disciples at this point that are following them, but it's assumed he had about at dinner this thousands following him. But there's about 70 intimate disciples. At this point that are being taught of him.

Then Jesus said to the most assuredly verse 53 of John six I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is food. Indeed, in my blood is drink indeed. So is saying I am going to provide something for you through my life then you will need to partake of to be my disciples, if you're going to follow me you're going to need his strength that is more than your own is medevac, not just the strength you're going to need God to give you the will to actually live outside of our own comforts and live in a sense, as as he was about to show for the sake of others to be yielded so that others may find Christ as Lord and Savior.

Verse 56 is that he reads my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him, in other words, I'm going to provide for you a sacrifice of a banquet and it's going to be a banquet of the victory that I'm going to win for you on across it's it's something you don't fully understand yet but one day you will is. It is the living Father has sent me, and I live because of the father so he who feeds on me will live because of me. I have a life that is given to me of my father is said in the same way after I have prepared this banquet for you.

You also will live and be taken out of the confines of your own thinking in your own weakness and brought into something of God. This is the bread verse 58 which came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate banana in her dad he will eats this bread will live for ever. Now these things he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Therefore, many of his disciples when they heard this said, this is a hard saying who can under stand it when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained about this he said to them, does this offend you. Does it offend you that I'm calling you to something deeper than you've considered before. Does it offend you when I tell you that you don't have the strength to do what was going to be required of you were to follow me where I'm leading a visit if send you that you don't have it in yourself and he said to them in verse 62.

What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where he was before. It is the spirit gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to, they are spirit and they are life. In other words he said will it make a difference to you if you see that by the spirit of God, I'm going to be raised from the dead, and I'm going to be drawn back into heaven. I came from my father and go to go back to my father and I'm telling you, unless you have the spirit of God in you, you don't have life in the words that I give to you.

They are life and they will guide you, they would lead you they will make you into the person that you could never ever hope to be in your own strength that they're going to give you the power to go where you can't go in your own strength and to become what you Become with any amount of human effort in the going to even produce a new a new heart and a new mind and a new spirit. Verse 64, he said, but there are some of you who do not believe the song said the saved in our generation who just don't believe the Christian life is is anything more than just what can I get for myself how much bread can I get out moments healing can I get almost freedom. Can I get in that the whole coming to Christ is like the crowd in India.

It's for what I can get at the end of the service since it is for what's here and what's available for me, but when there's a call to go deeper with us are called to be a disciple when there's a call to be given for the sake of others or for the kingdom of God is so difficult for them to go beyond just coming to Jesus and going beyond actually following where he is leading us to go and he said therefore I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it's been granted to him by my father know if you go to pray for something pray for hard to live for God, pray for God's heart to be made manifest inside your earthly body you can come to God unless the father gives it to you. Cannot you and I can understand who God is, unless God opens that to our hearts. We can even have a desire to actually live for the sake of others unless God planted in us in the first place. In verse 66 one the most pathetic verses in all of the Bible says.

From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more than just that this is too hard. This is not what we signed up for wheat we were following you a we all have our agenda, and a sense of you using to be the one who can fulfill our agenda and you can give us peace and you can give us provision and you can heal us, and we know the things you can do but now you're talking about taking us somewhere deeper than we've ever gone before talking about making us into a people that that are are given in a sense for the work of God is as you will be for us and we can sign up for this and the Scripture says that they just walked away.

Now I five. Read commentaries on it. It's assumed that about 58 of the 70 just pick up the pack sex and the left is either willing to come to Jesus, but there were not willing to go with Jesus and there's so many people like that in every generation. I pray to God that you and are not found among them in this time we we must go where he is leading us. We must become the people that is calling us to be. I find it strange that in all of of this passage of Scripture. There's no mention of even one person saying can you explain this to me please could could you tell me what it is that you're actually talking about what did they just assumed they knew what he meant and everybody kind of filter through their own experience and maybe their own expectations and it seemed too outlandish that they had to partake of the sacrifice of the son of God was going to provide this banquet for them to take them into a place where they couldn't go in their own strength and then looked at it and I said this is hard. This is difficult and it's hard not I been speaking here for example the young people and say listen.

We need you the kingdom of God needs you to so many young people listening online to give you got your you got your your life all planned.

You thought at least you had it all planned, and then suddenly God's calling you into something that's that's deeper than anything you ever considered for your life.

Instead of going and getting God's now talking you about going and giving becoming a completely different person than the person you thought you were going to be and following a different path than the one you had outplayed for your feet, and he speaks to you and says you can't do this in your own strength of God to be a partaker of the sacrifices going to be made for you. The banquet that's going to be made available through the cross of Jesus Christ, God's Holy Spirit will give you this new heart. God's Holy Spirit will give you this new mind in this new spirit that gives you and I the power to break out on the selfishness of our own desires and the ways we want to live and will bring us into that place where we are willing to be given for the sake of others.

That's what we teach at our Bible school. The true Christianity is living for the benefit of others, and nobody wants to go. There's a few people as postwar, compassionate, and they do a lot for people like upon them. I thank God for that, but essentially speaking, almost nobody wants to go in that direction. 200,000 will raise their hands because there's a free meal of chicken and rice at the end of the service, but who will actually become disciples of Jesus Christ.

Join the local church and start reaching out to the lost around the nod.

Pray with all my heart that the statistics are not that varied tonight to the people that I'm speaking to.

But young people you hear me you are needed and the kingdom of God.

Now you are needed in the future. This is a very, very difficult season that this world is going to go into and it's time for you and either rise up and become everything the gods called us to be and we will only do it in the strength of our Christ. We will not do it by human effort or by human power or by human reasoning.

We will do it by the spirit of God, our strength will come from the sacrifice that Christ paid for us on the cross of Calvary. We are truly born again of the spirit of God the Word of God will begin to lead us in the passion of God, will become the passion of my heart and the passion of your heart. It will all become about other people. Your whole life will be live for the sake of others like little David in Texas who came to Jesus Christ. I found out just a moment ago I was named after David Wilkerson, by the way, and that eight years old the same age that Jesus Christ that saved David Wilkerson. He also saved this little boy David in Austin, Texas, and I thank God that the Lord has enabled us to be out online and to be reaching little Davidson young people like him in this time when we could all be staying home but yet here we are fighting for you fighting for your souls fighting for your families were not doing it is because we have a desire to be on the camera some work were doing it because we been given a new heart, a new mind and a new spirit by the spirit of Almighty God were doing it because we decided to follow Jesus at some point in our lives.

It was not about saving ourselves. It was about you coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is a great great privilege to live life for the sake of other people is a great privilege to see you never retire. You can't possibly retire from that it's a great privilege to be given for the sake of others who need to know Christ as Savior and so I'm I'm challenging you with all my heart to move away from easy believers in I'm challenging him to move away from being kept in search because there's a meal at the end of the service on Sunday. I'm challenging to move into something that only God can begin to do in your life and begin to live for him with all of your heart go beyond coming to Jesus and start going with Jesus.

He has a plan for you. Everyone is listening to be denied is a plan for your life is get a plan for your future and his plan always involves other people. It always involves being given for the needs and for the sake of others around them will never know they can have an eternity in heaven with God without you being there to be the extended hand of God's goodness to them and so this is my prayer. This is what I'm asking God for a spiritual awakening in America, but it starts with you and it starts with me. It starts with one of us at a time. Realizing God, we are we are called to go past the crowd that are just there for what they can get where we are called to go past the people who just live to doctrinally debate everything that they can possibly debate were called to move past all of the crowd and the move into a place where the spirit of God is now leading us the heart of God has become our heart, the mind of God is his guiding us in the will and the plan of God becomes the will and the plan of God for each of our lives is my prayer for you is and you would have a genuine spiritual awakening.

They would be lifted up out of whatever place that you are in the distance you always asking questions and never getting an answer always focused on weakness in your next need. If you give it a listen to me if we just focus on our needs. You're always going to have one to focus on every day to get through this with his dominion once more, a new one next week a new one next week and no one next week and you spend your whole Christian life. Just traveling the road looking for free bread as opposed to somebody who's got this incredible banquet of God going on inside their lives. They have been made a partaker of the sacrifice of Christ, cleansed by his blood, empowered by his spirit guided by his word. The new heart's new value systems and moving beyond the selfishness that Christianity can produce in the human heart. If it's unchecked and moving into that which really represents Christ in our generation. So I want to challenge many people it's time to roll up your mat and put it under your arm and start to walk with Jesus.

It's time to open your mouth and start sharing him with other people. If you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. My Bible tells me that all these things will be added to the promises that but on our part is to seek first his kingdom to seek his life to seek his will to begin to walk with him in the pathway that God has for us.

This is where you will going up you will find freedom. This is where Christ will begin to flow through your life in a bran new way that you've never known before, and so on would ask for those that are home with me to just pray with me. Pray for God take me beyond seeking you for what I can get take me into that place. Lord were I am willing to be given for the sake of others. Take me to the banquet at the cross where you said if illicit partake of your flesh and drink of your blood. I have no life in me. God take me to that place that took you to across and give me the power to be used of the Lord to reach my generation. This is the cry of my heart. Father God in Jesus name. In Jesus name, heart, God forgive us for the ignorance of asking for revival and not even knowing what it looks like not understanding there's a cost to this old God, but the cost is to others.

If we don't go it's to those who don't ever find you as Lord and Savior as the families are never going to be healed. If we don't bring the healing of the cross to them give us the grace Lord to live outside of our own fears and struggles and trials and frustrations. My God and give us the grace to truly live lives that will bring glory to your name by bringing men, women and children to you as Lord and Savior.

I prayed Lord Jesus Christ, that he would raise the subject took the hundred and 20 that made the choice to go with you, and you gave them your Holy Spirit and they stepped up and out of that room deciding to go with you, Lord Jesus Christ, and they change the whole known world intercut 120 and you change the world through the mug. God give us the grace Lord give us the grace to not be among the the hundred and 99,098.

The just go their own way.

Give us the grace to join the to the decide to join you and become a vibrant part of the testimony of your church in the art help was my God in this generation raise us up, Lord, by the power of your Holy Spirit, I am not offended at your challenge to my heart. I'm not offended when you tell me that I don't have the strength to do this. I fully know what Lord I'm not offended old God, Lord, I reach out and I am hungry for more. I'm hungry for what you have. I'm hungry. God, for the word that can change a nation. I'm hungry, my God, to be used, to the fullest Lord of whatever it is that you have for my life and not to fall short of what you would have me to do Lord so God I thank you for every person that sluicing online.

It's time for all of us to get up it's time for us to roll up our match we bleed beside the pool of self-loathing long enough and so focus my God, give us the grace Lord to be a true testimony of who you are in our generational God and father, we thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We think you want. I'm just asking you right now right now for the Holy Spirit to invade every house of every person, it's listing every room, every apartment, every hospital room. Every situation, every hungry heart old spirit of the living God invade us Lord as you did. Those early Christians in that upper room by God invade us. We are tired of darkness having the last say in our generation Lord.

We are tired of the powerlessness and the potlucks in your house, my God, we are tired, Lord, we are tired of God of easy believers and that has no cost to it. Old Jesus Christ, son of God, son of God, revive your church more. There's no hope for this world.

You don't revive your church and take us Lord where we need to go and make us into the people we need to be.

I place my own life at the foot of the cross, my God, and I'm asking you for a fresh baptism of your Holy Spirit. I'm asking you Lord for fresh vision for a strength for his rigor by God for what it is that you called me to do with me out of the weakness Lord of the human body and human mind and take me back to that banquet table of your flesh in your blood nor cross my God, I know those were my strength is I don't have any strength apart from that Lord, I have no vision. Lord, I'm no future apart from you, God, I pray with all my heart old Jesus Christ raise up your church Lord raised up your church. Raise up your church by God, my God raise up your church father, thank you, thank you for invading every heart and home, and every mind.

Help us to go with you. We come to you now help us to go with you and father, we thank you with everything in our heart in Jesus mighty name.

Thank you for joining us this week for a call to the nation with Carter come from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information log onto TSC.NYC that's TSC.NYC you can count on a powerful message of each week on a call to the nation with Carter,