(somber music) - Oh yeah, now this is what I'm talking about. They finally let- (somber music) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) (somber music continues) - All right, good morning and happy New Year's, church family.

I hope you had a good week in the Lord. Whether you had a good or challenging 2024, we know our God is faithful and we trust that he is working in all things. So with that, let's begin our service this morning with a song of worship to our God, who is worthy of praise.

(gentle music) ♪ When my hair was cold and lifeless ♪ ♪ And I wandered in my blindness ♪ ♪ You pursued me ♪ ♪ And before the world was breathing ♪ ♪ You had chosen to redeem me ♪ ♪ Oh, you loved me ♪ ♪ Lord, you loved me ♪ ♪ I know you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy in all things ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ Lord, you are the cause ♪ ♪ Everything you promise ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ Oh, the earth ♪ ♪ Oh, the earth beneath your spine ♪ ♪ And the clouds before your sight ♪ ♪ Will defend me ♪ ♪ When the wilderness seems at last ♪ ♪ And I feel the weight of darkness ♪ ♪ You are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy ♪ ♪ I know you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy in all things ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ Lord, you are the cause ♪ ♪ Everything you promise ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ Lord, you are the conqueror ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ So I can take your coming power ♪ ♪ Where I reach my final hour ♪ ♪ I will claim you ♪ ♪ You're the answer to my story ♪ ♪ You are faithful, you are your own ♪ ♪ I will praise you ♪ ♪ I will praise you ♪ ♪ I know you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy in all things ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ Lord, you are the cause ♪ ♪ Everything you promise ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ ♪ All things for your glory and my good ♪ - All right, good morning.

Welcome to Bering Community Church. Hope you guys had a restful week. I know that this season at the end of the year and beginning of the year is always hectic. But as we face a new year, I mean, there's a lot of things going on. We wanna make sure that we prepare our hearts, that we don't just spend another year just kind of coasting along, but that we're intentional with everything that we're doing.

And so, as you can see, our banner back here, "Devote Yourself to Prayer," that is our new theme that we are pursuing. And I'll explain 'cause for the next couple times that I'm up here, I'm gonna be going over the text and how we're gonna be focused on this in the new year.

But a few announcements. First of all, Jubilee Fellowship Lunch. If you are over 50, the Jubilee Fellowship Lunch is happening next Sunday after the third service at 1 p.m. in the Youth Chapel. The cost of lunch will be $10. And if you happen to have a child, most Jubilee members don't have children this young, but if you do, for 10 years and older, it'll be $5, okay?

And today is the last day to sign up. So if you go outside, there'll be a table there. So go there and please sign up today. Today is the last day you can sign up for that. Bring in membership class. If you are applying to take the membership class, our next class is starting on January 26th at 9.30 at the Youth Chapel, and this is an eight-week course.

Please sign up for that. Again, it's starting on January 26th at 9.30 a.m. Members meeting happening at the end of the month, January 26th. Again, this is every beginning of the year. We go over, you know, the finances and various things. So it is a quarterly mandatory meeting. So if you can't make it, please let us know ahead of time.

And along with that, our college department will be having a fundraiser lunch right before it. BAM Retreat, Run to Win. It's happening at the end of the month, January 31st to the 2nd. This week is the last week to sign up. So if you are applying to go and you haven't signed up, please sign up.

Last time they did this, they reached the maximum. And so after a while, they weren't able to add more people. So please sign up as soon as possible. And this week is the last week to sign up if you are applying to go. And then lastly, there is a big change that's happening at church with the planning center.

If you are aware of it, it's the way that we're conducting all the logistics and various things. And the way that it will most likely affect you is the -- first and foremost is the offering. I know that we switched to Subsplash last year and found out that through various channels in our church that this center is actually much more effective and it's actually more cost effective.

So remember, you had to pay a 2% or 2.3% or something like that if you paid with credit card or through the bank. This center is a little bit cheaper. If you're going directly from the bank, it's actually only 30 cents instead of a percentage. So it's going to be much cheaper and it's much easier to keep track.

So we have a short video that we want you to watch. Those of you who learn better visually, like I do, there's a short video that was made by our media team. So if you can watch that, and then afterwards I'll pray. And then it's starting today, right? Yeah, starting today.

So we're going to give you maybe a little bit longer for offering time because they're going to have to figure this out. And then if you can't figure out today and you need help like I do, there is a table outside that you can go. So if you're part of the Jubilee ministry and you need a step-by-step guide like I do, you can go visit that table after service and they'll give you the instructions that you need to help you set it up on your app, I think.

Okay? Let's watch the video. Here's how to set up a new payment method on the BCC app. Click give on the bottom right-hand corner and then click on the three lines in the top right-hand corner. Select login. This will prompt you to enter in your phone number. You will then receive a six-digit code for verification.

Once you are logged in, scroll down and then select add payment method. A new window will open where you can add and select your form of payment. Can we play that one more time? Here's how to set up a new payment method on the BCC app. Click give on the bottom right-hand corner and then click on the three lines in the top right-hand corner.

Select login. This will prompt you to enter in your phone number. You will then receive a six-digit code for verification. Once you are logged in, scroll down and then select add payment method. A new window will open where you can add and select your form of payment. Alright, so we're going to give you a little bit extra time to be able to fill this out and do this.

If you are a member in the church, your membership information is already logged in. So as soon as you put in, I think your phone number, right? Put in your phone number, your information will pop up. If you're not a member, it's not listed. You're going to have to manually put those things in.

Okay, so let me pray for the offering and then we'll give you a little bit extra time to do this on your app. Gracious Father, we thank you so much for your continued grace. Help us, Lord God, to see how desperately we are in need of you every day.

That our worship to you would be a necessity in our life. It would be an overflow of joy. Help us to seek you with all our hearts and not just casually attend worship. We pray that even in this giving, this new year, Lord God, help us to be intentional with all parts of our lives and we ask Lord that you would help us that even with our finances that we would glorify you this morning and may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom.

In Jesus name we pray, amen. Church family, would you please stand with us and take a moment to say hello and greet those around you. ♪ So we can sing ♪ ♪ You are the glorious Christ ♪ ♪ The greatest of all delights ♪ ♪ Your power is unyielding ♪ ♪ Your blood beyond all heights ♪ ♪ No greater sacrifice ♪ ♪ When you lay down your life ♪ ♪ Rejoice, all you angels ♪ ♪ And praise your divine glorious Christ ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord ♪ ♪ Back to heaven ♪ ♪ To breathe the dust of death ♪ ♪ And all the money I've cast out ♪ ♪ Oh, Lord ♪ ♪ Victory ♪ ♪ You came to be forsaken ♪ ♪ And died to take my place ♪ ♪ To keep my truth forevermore ♪ ♪ Forevermore ♪ ♪ You are the glorious Christ ♪ ♪ The greatest of all delights ♪ ♪ Your power is unyielding ♪ ♪ Your blood beyond all heights ♪ ♪ No greater sacrifice ♪ ♪ When you lay down your life ♪ ♪ Rejoice, all you angels ♪ ♪ And praise your divine glorious Christ ♪ ♪ You see me now in black ♪ ♪ With the blood of God's blood ♪ ♪ You shine your death and bring us no more tears ♪ ♪ And though we cannot see you ♪ ♪ You fill me with light ♪ ♪ And all will be made bright ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ And all will be made bright ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ You are the glorious Christ ♪ ♪ The greatest of all delights ♪ ♪ Your power is unyielding ♪ ♪ Your blood beyond all heights ♪ ♪ You are the glorious Christ ♪ ♪ The greatest of all delights ♪ ♪ Your power is unyielding ♪ ♪ Your blood beyond all heights ♪ ♪ No greater sacrifice ♪ ♪ When you lay down your life ♪ ♪ Rejoice, all you angels ♪ ♪ And praise your divine glorious Christ ♪ (upbeat music) (gentle music) ♪ The love of God is greater far ♪ ♪ Than tongue or path can ever tell ♪ ♪ It goes beyond the highest star ♪ ♪ And reaches to the lowest hell ♪ ♪ The guilty path ♪ ♪ Bound down with care ♪ ♪ God gave his all ♪ ♪ To win ♪ ♪ His daring child ♪ ♪ He reconciled ♪ ♪ And pardoned from ♪ ♪ His sin ♪ (gentle music) ♪ When years of time ♪ ♪ When years of time ♪ ♪ Shall pass away ♪ ♪ And earthly thrones ♪ ♪ And kingdoms fall ♪ ♪ When man who healed ♪ ♪ Refused to fail ♪ ♪ On rocks and hills ♪ ♪ And mountains tall ♪ ♪ God's love so strong ♪ ♪ Shall still endure ♪ ♪ All measureless ♪ ♪ And strong ♪ ♪ Redeeming grace ♪ ♪ To man who strays ♪ ♪ The saints and angels sing ♪ ♪ O love of God ♪ ♪ How rich and pure ♪ ♪ How measureless ♪ ♪ And strong ♪ ♪ You shall forever ♪ ♪ Evermore endure ♪ ♪ The saints and angels sing ♪ (gentle music) ♪ When you will meet ♪ ♪ The ocean fair ♪ ♪ And where the skies ♪ ♪ Of parchment bare ♪ ♪ Where every star ♪ ♪ On earth a prayer ♪ ♪ And every man ♪ ♪ Has stride by you ♪ ♪ To evermore ♪ ♪ Of God our God ♪ ♪ We'll drink it all ♪ ♪ The ocean dry ♪ ♪ We'll drink the scroll ♪ ♪ Contained of God ♪ ♪ We'll stretch the sky ♪ ♪ To smile ♪ ♪ O love of God ♪ ♪ How rich and pure ♪ ♪ How measureless ♪ ♪ And strong ♪ ♪ You shall forever ♪ ♪ Evermore endure ♪ ♪ The saints and angels sing ♪ ♪ O love of God ♪ ♪ How rich and pure ♪ ♪ How measureless ♪ ♪ And strong ♪ ♪ You shall forever ♪ ♪ Evermore endure ♪ ♪ The saints and angels sing ♪ ♪ You shall forever ♪ ♪ Evermore endure ♪ ♪ The saints and angels sing ♪ - Amen, please be seated.

Amen, please be seated. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Colossians chapter four. We'll be reading from verse two to four. Colossians chapter four, verse two to four. "Masters, grant us," verse two, "devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it, "with an attitude of thanksgiving, "praying at the same time for us as well "that God will open up to us a door for the word, "so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, "for which I have also been imprisoned, "that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." Let's pray.

Father, we seek your wisdom. We seek your guidance. We seek your spirit, Lord God, to lead us, to soften our hearts, to open our ears, and a willingness, Lord God, to obey. I pray, Father God, that your word and only your word would go forth from here. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

As you guys know, every year, as we have our meetings and our leadership, and we kind of evaluate where we are as a church, and we focus on areas of the church that we need to strengthen. It says in Hebrews chapter 12, 12, "Considering the cloud of witnesses "that have gone before us," and 11 chapters of teaching us about who Christ is and what he means to us, he says, "Strengthen what is weak.

"Strengthen the hands that are weak "and the knees that are feeble, "and make straight paths for your feet." And so every year we evaluate where are we as a church, where we need to go, and as you guys already know, you're probably asking, again, we're going to be focused on prayer again, right?

This is many years that we have done that. Obviously we're doing this because this is what we see, and we have made some progress, but we're nowhere near where we would want to be or where we should be when it comes to prayer. I wanted to make it very clear that prayer is not just important.

It's critical. I would say fellowship is important. Gathering of the church is important. Right doctrine, obviously, we would say it's critical. Prayer is right there with the Word of God. Just as a church cannot be a biblical church without the Word of God being taught and without the people understanding what the Word of God says, prayer is just as critical as the Word of God.

And so we can't feel comfortable if we are lacking in prayer. Just like if you're at a church where the Bible's never opened or rarely opened and people don't understand what the Word of God says, you shouldn't feel comfortable. There should be a sense of anxiousness that we're not following what the Scripture says because how can we follow what the Scripture says if the Scripture's not being opened?

It's the same way if we're not praying. When we say we're not praying, we're not just talking about leadership. We're talking about the church as a whole and as you individually. We are just as much in danger of deception and scheming of the devil as if the Word of God has never been opened if you're not praying.

In fact, the devil has a way of twisting Scripture and uses our own prejudice and our own weaknesses, and our own coveting, and our own biases, and twists the Word of God in the church and individually when we are not praying. Our intellect is just as corrupted as every other part of our body.

And so to rely on our intellect, if we use our mind and we give ourselves to study that somehow we are safer, that's a deception. Read the Word of God, and we're going to go through it. It's just as important. And so when we evaluate our church, this is an area that we need to grow in.

We are in the years, I think, our church, that we're getting into our 28th year of our church, and I would say many parts of our church has improved drastically because we've been at it for 28 years. So membership has been tweaked, retweaked. Covenants have been tweaked, retweaked. Bible study, how we're going to do this.

The roles of the pastors, the organization, the small groups, the home groups. These are things that we're constantly working on to improve. So I would say when it comes to certain aspects of the church, we are far better off than we were when we first started the church. But when it comes to prayer, I would say that we are weaker than we are when we first started.

There was a period in our church when we had prayer meeting every Friday night, morning prayer, and prayer was emphasized and practiced much more effectively than we do now today. And I think as the church got bigger and various other things have been emphasized, that for whatever the reason, the prayer has become weaker.

And this cannot be. We need to emphasize this. Even if we only take a few steps toward the right direction, this is important enough that we keep focusing on this. So I want all of you to know, again, as we are emphasizing, to be devoted to prayer. Not just to be casually praying, not just to sprinkle things with prayer, but to be devoted to prayer.

Just as we are devoted to know the Word of God and the practice of the Word of God, we need to be devoted to prayer. There's four things that are taught in this text about prayer. Two I'm going to get to today, and two I'm going to get to when I get back.

First is, it tells us to be devoted to prayer. Secondly, it teaches us to be devoted through prayer. And then it says to keep alert in prayer. And to be thankful in prayer. So those are the four things that these four verses are going to be, we're going to be emphasizing, particularly in verse two.

So I'm going to jump to it today. To be devoted to prayer. Year this year, that we want to go toward the direction of being, not just praying, not just a praying church, but to be devoted to prayer. And I could just probably spend the next 20 minutes just reading passage after passage after passage the emphasis on prayer in the New Testament.

But I just wanted to highlight two verses. Romans 12, 12. Rejoice in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. Devoted to prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5, 16, 18. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Pray without ceasing. Now does he actually mean that?

Of course he means that. This is how important it is. That we rejoice, that we give thanks, and that we pray unceasingly. So, the natural question is, where are you in your prayer life? Do you pray? Right? That's the first question. And typically, in the Western church, if you pray, in any amount of prayer, it's like, you know, I'm praying.

But the question isn't, are you praying? The question is, are you praying unceasingly? Are you devoted to praying? As much as you are devoted to know the Word of God, are you devoted to praying? Because the Word of God emphasizes prayer just as much as right doctrine and study of the Word of God is emphasized.

We need to be people who are devoted to prayer. So naturally, the question we have to ask is, what does it mean to be devoted to prayer? The word "devoted" in other translations is translated to continue earnestly, or to persevere, to be faithful, to be devoted. If you are a husband, say, and somebody says, you know, "That guy is a really devoted husband." What does that mean?

What do we mean when we say he's a devoted husband? He loves his wife, right? He is single-mindedly focused on taking care of his family. He provides for them. He is committed to his family. That's what it means he's a devoted husband, right? He's not just a husband. He didn't just become a husband because he went through the ceremony.

They love each other, and legally they're married, and people see them. They say, "No, he's a devoted husband." He is focused on taking care of his wife and his children. That's what it means to be devoted. What does it mean to be a devoted employee? If somebody says, "Oh, he's a really devoted employee," it means that this person is loyal to this company, that they work above and beyond what is expected of them.

They don't just clock in and clock out. They say, "No, he's a devoted employee. "He cares about this company. "He is loyal to this company." What does it mean to be a devoted student? A devoted student is not somebody who's just coming in and getting the degree and leaving.

A devoted student is who's committed to learning, maybe staying after hours to ask the professor, do an extra credit. He's trying to get as much as he can while he is learning. That's what it means when we say somebody is devoted. Now, what does it mean to be devoted in prayer?

In every other aspect, when we say we're devoted, we're talking about somebody who is not just a husband, not just an employee, not just a student, but above and beyond. He's committed to this. This is who he is. To be devoted to prayer, obviously, just by the meaning of itself, is the one who is constantly given to prayer, in season and out of season, just like somebody who is preaching the Word of God, that he's committed to this, the sufficiency of the Word of God, the power of the Word of God, that he will preach the Word in season and out of season.

In the same way, someone who is devoted to prayer is not somebody who is only praying because it's prayer time, only praying when there's an urgency, only praying in certain circumstances, only when they have plenty of time, when you don't have to wake up early to go to work in the morning.

Your circumstances don't dictate whether you pray or not. You pray unceasingly. Whether it's a time of peace, turmoil, leisure, busy, or you have plenty of time, day and night, there is a sense of urgency to pray. In 2 Chronicles 7, 13-15, this was a verse that we had as a theme, I think, probably over 15 years ago.

This is after Solomon builds the temple and he dedicates to the Lord, in the dedication of the temple, says this, "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, and if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among the people," let me stop right there, right?

He said, "If I put you in a circumstance where you are desperate," maybe prior to this you didn't know. You're living casually because your bills are paid and everything's going well. He said, "Deliberately," he says, "God brings turmoil into your life to force you to pray." He says, "And my people who are called by my name, they humble themselves and pray." Humble themselves.

Humility and prayer go hand in hand. You can be filled with the Word of God and be filled with pride and never pray and feel like you are closer to God. And you are deceived. Whenever there is pride in an individual, he is not close to God. And sometimes a deep study of the Word of God without prayer causes a man to be very, very proud.

That's why prayer is so important because a prayer is an active, willful giving to humility. "If my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face," right? Prayer isn't just an act of praying. It isn't just getting on our knees and saying the right words. It's seeking God. You can study the Word of God to gain knowledge.

You can study the Word of God just to know what is right and wrong, what is right theology, what is wrong theology. But he says if you want to seek God, you have to pray. You have to pray. If God causes you and calls you to humble yourself and pray and seek my face and turn from my wicked ways, then I will turn from heaven.

Then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and will heal the land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. When things go wrong, we naturally think that if we do A, B, C, D, not realizing, could God have done that to cause us to pray?

Could whatever that may be going wrong in my life, could God have ordained that to bring you to him, to recognize that the answer is him? Not our organization, not our might, not our power, but him. He says he will forgive us. He will heal the land. He will make it right if we humble ourselves and pray.

But the natural question that comes with that is when there's an emergency, when things are urgent, when God puts you in a certain place where you need to pray, most people pray. If you're sick and desperate, somebody that you love is in a dire situation, we ask for prayer.

We seek prayer. We want to pray. You wake up praying. But what if that's not the situation you're in? There's a lot of people in our church who are in this situation where they are in desperate need of prayer, a lot of choice, especially in the last two, three weeks.

We've been getting so many phone calls and e-mails of people who are suffering with various things and sudden deaths in our churches, in our church. But what if you're not in that situation? What if there is no desperation? What if your bills are paid, your children are healthy, your job is secure, you live in a nice, comfortable home?

How do you pray when there's nothing urgent that's happening in our life? The only reason why we don't feel a sense of urgency is because we're not sober. A sense of urgency doesn't--if you only feel a sense of urgency when your own personal life, your own children, and your own health is at stake, then we are living self-centered lives.

We're living in a world where condemnation and judgment is awaiting for everybody who dies. And we have been called to be a light to this world. And so to say that there is nothing urgent for us to pray for is because we are not sober. Because we're not thinking about anybody else but me.

As long as my children are taken care of, as long as I'm healthy, and my closest friends are healthy, I don't have anything urgent. It's because we have been entangled and been deceived. If comfort will keep you from praying, Satan will make sure that you live in comfort. If comfort and ease is what's going to keep you away from seeking the Lord with a sense of urgency, it is not the Lord that gives you comfort.

The Lord will do whatever, because the greatest thing that a child of God would actively participate in is to seek him with all our might. So whatever keeps you from seeking him with all your might may not be from God. That your bills may be paid, and you may stay healthy, and everything in your life is at ease, and that may not be God doing that.

Satan is scheming, if comfort, ease, and safety is what is keeping you from desperately seeking the Lord, Satan will make sure that that's exactly where you stay. The early church was devoted to prayer. Now we didn't see that before Christ went to the cross. We didn't see that right as he was going to the cross, Gethsemane.

But as soon as Jesus is crucified, and he's resurrected, and he ascends, we see them constantly devoted to prayer. By human standard, the early church should have died. Their main leader, Jesus, is crucified. A few men who were trained just for a few years, who failed miserably right before their leader leaves.

The most powerful nation of that time, the Roman government, was actively trying to squash them. Their own countrymen, everywhere they turned, was abandoning them and forbidding them to preach. And according to Apostle Paul, not many of them were influential or wise or smart. So the early church, according to human standard, should have been squashed and should have never made it out of the first century.

And yet we see that they thrived. Not only did they thrive after 2,000 years, even if you're not a Christian, there's no other influence was greater than Jesus Christ. We see in Acts 1.14, as soon as Jesus ascends, what is the first thing that that book of Acts tells us?

They were meeting together devoted to prayer. Acts 2.42, after the Pentecost, they get together. It said the whole church devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. Acts 3.1, when the first miracles reported, John and James were going to the temple because it was our to pray, and they were devoted to praying.

In Acts 6.4, the first issue comes into the church. It said we cannot be distracted because the apostles needed to be devoted to the word and to prayer. When Apostle Paul was selected with Barnabas to go on his missionary journey, the Bible says that they were praying and fasting to confirm them, to ordain them.

So over and over again, we see that the early church was devoted to prayer. Now, in our Bibles, the title of the book of Acts, obviously it's Acts, or if you go some other translations or somebody to say Acts of the Apostles, I've seen some Bibles put that as a title.

I think that's misleading because that's not inspired. That was something that the men who divided up the chapters and they put titles on there. But I think the right understanding of the book of Acts is not the Acts of the Apostles. It's really the act of the Holy Spirit through prayer.

So if there's a central theme going through all of the book of Acts, it's not Apostle Peter and then Apostle Paul and chapter 13 and on. You have the main central figure as Apostle Peter, main central figure to Apostle Paul. No. The central figure throughout the whole 28 chapters is the work of the Holy Spirit through prayer.

He says, "You will be my witnesses," in Acts 1:8, "when the Holy Spirit comes upon you in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the remotest part of the world." So if you look at the book of Acts, it's Acts 1:8 being fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit when his people pray.

That's a theme that you will see all throughout the 28 chapters of the book of Acts. As they prayed, the Holy Spirit worked. As they prayed, the Holy Spirit worked. That's why they were devoted to praying because they realized that the power was not in them. It was not in their organization.

It was in God. So they were constantly seeking God. Constantly seeking God. They were constantly desperate to seek God. So I can't emphasize enough, we must be devoted to prayer. Not just pray, but be devoted to prayer. Secondly, same phrase, it says, "But be devoted through prayer." Now, I'm not just playing word games here because the word "prayer" here is in the instrumental dative, which means nothing for most of you.

Basically, in Greek grammar, what it means is the imperative in this verse is to be devoted. The commandment is to be devoted. To prayer is the dative, but it's an instrumental dative, meaning that the way that you will be devoted is through prayer. Hopefully it's not too early that I didn't lose you.

If you were to understand this text properly, it means to be devoted through prayer. Prayer is the avenue in which you will be devoted. Prayer is the avenue in which you will continue, in which you will persevere. See, Colossians 3, 1-4, in summary of Christology, about Jesus Christ being the head of all things, and everything was made by him and for him, and all things are held through him.

So basically, if you want to study Christology, about who Christ is, Colossians is the book that you want to go to. It's one of the books that you want to go to, or book of Hebrews. But at the end of that, he says, "Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, "keep seeking the things above, "where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

"Set your mind on the things above, "not on the things that are on earth, "for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, "then you also will be revealed with him in glory." What he means by this, when he says, "Devote yourself to prayer," is that this is the calling for every Christian, that our life now is hidden with Christ, to keep our mind and our thought and our life eagerly waiting for the coming of Christ.

Because we're dead now, we're hidden with Christ. So the question is like, "Oh, where do I fit? "What is my calling?" So much attention is given to my life. What should I do? But he says, "No, your life is hidden. "You've been crucified with Christ. "It doesn't matter what you're calling.

"It doesn't matter what you're-- "Oh, am I supposed to do this? Am I supposed to do that?" He said, "No, you're dead." The question is, what brings the most glory to him? To seek his kingdom first. Now, our Lord knows how difficult of a challenge this is because we naturally are concerned about our bills being paid.

What mother and father is not concerned about the well-being of their children? And so naturally, living on this earth, we're going to be constantly entangled with the life of this world. So when he says after giving that commandment, in chapter 4, he's given us the tool to remain focused, to be devoted, to persevere, to continue through prayer.

Part of the reason why we are not sober is because we're not praying, that our flesh is reacting just like any other flesh. You've got to pay your bills. You've got to know who you're going to marry. Is it a good time to buy a house? Is it a bad time to buy a house?

What should I invest in? Do I have enough money for retirement, or is my children going to be taken care of? These are concerns of every human being, naturally. So in the midst of this, how do we remain sober? How do we constantly get reminded of where we're at, the spiritual battle that we're in?

He says to continue through prayer. Prayer is what's going to cause us to be sober. Prayer is what's going to cause us to look to Christ's coming and not to be so entangled with what's right in front of us that we continually forget that all this is going to end.

In 1 Peter 4:7, it says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." So that we can pray. He doesn't simply say pray so that you can stay sober, but prayer in and of itself is what we need to engage in to be more sober.

1 Peter 3:7, "You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way as with someone weaker, since she is a woman, and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered." In other words, be a good husband so that you can be effective in prayer.

I mean, just even logically think about that. Even logically think about that. That we devote ourselves to hard work, to be disciplined, to get right theology, to scream, to march, to organize, versus God showing up. Versus God and his spirit being engaged. Which is more powerful? Which is more effective?

Which should get more attention? Whatever causes God to be more engaged is where we need to put our priority. Whichever causes God to hear us and respond to us and answer us should get the greater priority. But our natural instinct is, "What can I do? What do I need to do?" And we focus our attention on that, and we do all this, and then we get frustrated when we don't see fruit.

And the Bible says, "If you don't abide in me, you cannot bear fruit." The central thing about abiding in Christ is prayer. To live according to the word of God and to pray, to bring us to him. It is not the activity of prayer that makes the prayer so effective.

It is who we are praying to. "If my people humble themselves and seek my face." Prayer is the avenue that God has given us to seek his face. The purpose of salvation is that the barrier between us and God has been taken away, and so we have a free access to the throne of grace.

So theology points to the fact that the throne has been opened. And we celebrate the open door to Christ. So when we study the word of God, we celebrate. Look at that awesome door that's been opened to us. Look how glorious God is. That's what theology does. But if that's all we do, all you're doing is celebrating the open door and never using it.

All we are doing is highlighting how glorious God seems because now we can see him without going to him. You see why prayer is so important? Theology tells us, instructs us, empowers us, but prayer is what takes us to him. We have to pray. We have to be devoted through prayer.

Jesus says repeatedly in the book of John, "I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the gate. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way and the truth and the life." And then he ends the seven "I am" statements by saying, "I am the true vine." "I am the true vine." Vine basically was illustrating that you have to be continued with me.

You have to be connected with me. If you're going to bear any fruit, James says you're frustrated because you do not ask. You're frustrated because you're not praying. Whatever frustration that you feel, our natural inclination is seek counsel to change our circumstance, to change the people around us, change the people around us, change all this around us.

Then I can accomplish what we want. He says no, your frustration comes directly from the fact that you don't pray, that you don't realize that God is the answer, that you somehow think you're the answer and God's going to empower you to be the answer. No, God is the answer.

There's a reason why he chose uneducated men, why he humbled these people, why he chose people who weren't powerful, because it's much easier to teach people who are already humble to be humble so that they would recognize who he is, so that they would come to him. So if you're frustrated, if something's going wrong, or even when things seem to be going right, a humble man is a man who is constantly seeking the Lord in prayer.

In John 15, 7, he says, "If you want to bear fruit because I am the true vine, you need to abide," and the word "abide" is used just in nine verses, 11 times. The last of the seven "I am" statements, "I am, I am, I am." But he said, "You need to abide, abide, abide, abide, abide, abide," 11 times he says.

And the word means to remain, to continue. Now, if you weren't sleeping, you probably remember from the beginning of the sermon, the word "devote" means to persevere, to continue. He said if you want to persevere, if you want to continue, you need to what? Abide. And that's basically what this text is saying.

To devote yourself, to continue, to persevere, through what? Through prayer. So John 15, 7 says, "Abide in me," in my words, "Abide in you, and ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Do you see the connection? Colossians 4, 2 and John 15, 7 is saying the same thing.

If you want to bear fruit, you need to pray. You need to be devoted to prayer. 1 John 5, 14 through 15. "This is the confidence which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us; and if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from him." If you're going to devote any of your energy into anything, first and foremost, not only, but first and foremost, we must be devoted to prayer.

Pray before you read the word of God, so that your heart will not be twisted, so that you do not twist the word of God like Satan does. And you think, "No, but, you know, not me. I'm not deceived." You're already deceived. To think that you're not going to be deceived, you're already deceived.

Because our mind, our hearts, our covenant can easily be twisted by Satan, we have to pray. We have to cling to him. He says, James 4:2, "You do not have because you do not ask." I pray that that verse will ring heavily in the hearts of our church. "You do not have because you do not ask." So before you seek counsel, before you want to change, before you express your frustration, ask yourself, "Did you pray?" Before you demand things of other people, before you labor to get things done, ask yourself, "Are you devoted to prayer?" If you say you have been devoted to prayer and the word of God, then you can go to step two.

"What should I do?" But don't go to step two until you've done step one. Spurgeon was asked the question, "Which is more important, the word of God or prayer?" And Spurgeon answered, "You tell me. When we breathe, which is more important, breathing out or breathing in?" It's equally important.

When we are not praying, the word of God actually damages us because it fills us with pride and confidence that we can only have when God is engaged. We must pray. So the natural question is, as we're going to New Year, the practical application, I want to put up some of the things that we already have that we want to encourage you.

If you can put up the next slide. Yeah, can you put it all up, A, B, C? No, no, no, the other one. Can you put it up? Oh, is it all separated? Can you go--okay. So first of all, what are we planning for prayer? First, corporately, there's already various prayer meetings going on at church, right?

There's college prayer meetings. There's BAM prayer meetings. There's also family prayer meetings. So we encourage you to take advantage of things that are already here. Instead of seeking like, "Oh, we're going to do more things. Are we going to do morning prayer? Are we going to do Friday night prayer?" We'll get to that in a minute.

First and foremost, take advantage of what's already here. So if you're not taking advantage of what's already here and say you're looking for something new to add to the calendar, you're just going to be filling your--our church is going to be filled with schedules and people aren't coming, right?

So I encourage you to what's already here to commit to that. So if you want to devote yourself to prayer, you know, I want to pray corporately, there's corporate prayers going on, family ministry, BAM ministry, college ministry. So ask whatever ministry you're a part of. Say, "Hey, how can I participate in that?" And I know that because I'm overseeing the family ministry, every once a month, Saturday morning, we have a group of people that gather together, pray for the issues of the church, and to join that meeting to pray corporately, to be devoted to prayer.

There's monthly prayer meetings that's going on. So right now, if you're not in the habit of coming and praying together with that, that we encourage you to commit to that. And if you are coming to that, to come to it more deliberately. Pray before you come. Pray when you come, make a list of things that you need to pray for.

Maybe even fast that day, before you come, so that we can pray more effectively, so that we can make the most of what we already have. There's weekly gatherings that are happening, right? Find out what's happening around there. There are other people who are organically getting together for prayer, and I'm very encouraged to hear that there are small groups happening where they're praying just two people or four people throughout the week.

Find out what's going on and see if you can join them. These are things that are already happening. One of the things that we implemented was before church begins, we said we wanted to dedicate this time. That's why 10, 15 minutes before church starts, we said, you know, try to keep the noise in this room down, so that you can take some time to pray.

So there are already things that we have implemented asking you to participate in. So instead of looking for new things, first and foremost, commit to the things that are already here, corporately. Come early. Pray. If you're in the habit of showing up five minutes late or ten minutes late to service, or you come right on time, maybe this is a way to come early and to be devoted to praying.

Individually, make time in the morning to pray. Now, I know some of you guys are not morning people, but why I say morning prayer is more important is because you spend the rest of the day not sober, and you fill the day with memories of things that have happened that day, and at the end of the day you try to pray, your mind is not alert.

It's always most effective when you pray in the morning, even if it is harder. The first thing that you do is to seek the Lord and depend on Him and to pray. Now, I'm not saying what time, I'm not saying where you need to go, but to be committed to pray in the morning.

Start the day saying, "I need you." Start the day by saying, "I need you. I don't want my mind to wander and be entangled with things that I don't want to be entangled with. I need you." So commit to morning prayer. Make a list of things to pray for.

A lot of times you close your eyes and your mind starts to wander of all the things that need to be getting done, and it's hard to focus. So if that's you, make a list of things to pray for. And after a while, when it becomes a habit, it's much easier.

But in the beginning, if that's you, make a list. Keep a prayer journal. Sometimes we pray for things and we forget that we prayed about it, and when God answers, it's just like, "Oh, it just happened." But learn to praise God. So keep a journal of prayer. If you have a hard time praying by yourself, make an appointment with somebody else.

Hey, you want to pray together? There was a time when people would get together for morning coffee somewhere, just to get together and drink coffee, do devotions, and pray together. Define people. If you say, "You know, the leaders didn't contact me." "Didn't contact me" is like, "There's three pastors." If you're waiting for the leaders to somehow take you step by step, obviously it's not going to happen in this size of a church.

Get people around you that want to pray together. Whoever you're complaining with, pray with that person. Turn the negative into positive. Whoever you're grumbling with, that's the person that's closest to you. Turn that into prayer. Grumble to God. "Why are you--" See what God says. So get together with that person.

Make an appointment with that person. And maybe, if it's not every week, get in the habit of fellowshipping in prayer. And then read a book on prayer. There's so many good books out there on prayer, but the book that I recommend above all the other books is E.M. Bounds.

E.M. Bounds on prayer. It's so thorough. There's so many chapters in there that I would highly recommend to pray. Going forward, there are certain things that we want to establish. We want to bring fasting back into the church. There was a period when we used to fast for every mission group, every event, everything that was happening.

And so we want to bring fasting back. And we'll probably explain a little bit more at the next members' meeting. Possible open Zoom prayer meetings so that people can't physically come. Maybe when your children are sleeping that we can have time to pray together online. There's possibly that we may open some Friday nights outside of our monthly prayer meetings so that we can pray together at night on Friday nights.

There was a time in our church when every Friday night, after Bible study, we would get together, and the whole church would be there praying together at some point when our church was smaller. And so we're thinking of implementing some of these things. But more than the newer stuff, to implement prayer, what's already here, to be devoted to prayer.

So I want to finish today, because our Korea team is leaving this Thursday, to take some time to pray over 3/4. It says, "Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned, that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak." So while our team is out in Korea, we are running an English camp with the local students there, and hopefully through these relationships, to be able to share the gospel with them.

And as I shared before, what's happening in Korea spiritually, basically it's just that Christianity is falling apart in the younger generation. And so for whatever the reason, the foreigners who are able to speak English have an easier time connecting with the students than the local Christians there. And so we're using that opportunity to get in there, connect with the students and hopefully share the gospel.

So if you can pray for open doors for the gospel, that the connections that we're making will help us to see a clear path that we can go and labor there. Pray that we would make the most of the opportunity. We're only there for about six days, six, seven days.

It is very cold, right? But we're hoping that the short time that we have, that we would make the most of the opportunity, and that we would be joyful and thankful in heart with whatever the Lord provides. So if you could take some time to pray for that, and again, for the sake of time for the service, we're going to have to end it, but let me pray.

And we're going to post this somewhere on our website or Facebook page, and if you guys can keep the team in prayer. And then there is another team leaving to India next week, and hopefully Pastor Mark will be able to share that next week. Okay? Let's pray. Father, help us to be a church devoted to prayer, not just to know that in theology or in theory.

Help us, Lord God, to be known not just to be a church that loves the Word, but people who are humbled and constantly seeking your face. We know, Father, we are helpless against the schemes of the devil. So help us to lift our eyes towards you, people who are dependent on you.

We pray, Father God, for our Korea team, that you would open the door for the gospel, that we may find work, Lord God, that we can engage in that will bear fruit. Help us, Lord God, to make meaningful contact, and with the students that we will have opportunity to talk to and to share with, that we would make the most of the time that we have in this short period.

And help us, Lord God, as a team to be joyful, to be thankful, that even in this, that we would do it for the sake of your glory. So may your name and your name alone be magnified through all of this. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's all stand up for the closing praise.

I love the voice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. He declares His work is finished. He has spoken this all to me. Though the sun has ceased its shining, Though the war appeared as lust, Christ hath triumphed over me. It was finished upon the cross. Now the curse, it has been broken.

Jesus paid the price for me. All the pardon He has offered, Great the welcome that I receive. Lonely I approach my Father, Clothed in Jesus' righteousness. There is no more guilt. It was finished upon the cross. Death was once my great opponent. Fear once had a hold on me.

But the Son who died to save us Knows that we would be free indeed. Death was once my great opponent. Fear once had a hold on me. But the Son who died to save us Knows that we would be free indeed. Free from every plan of darkness. Free to live and free to die.

Death is dead and Christ is risen. It was finished upon the cross. Onward to eternal glory To my Savior and my God. I rejoice in Jesus' face. It was finished upon the cross. It was finished upon the cross. It was finished upon the cross. Let's pray. Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and eternal love of God the Father, strengthen, restore, and build the Church, that Christ and Christ alone may be magnified.

Amen. It's said to some, they called Him Jesus. He came to love. He went forth again. He lived and died. Two by my heart. An empty grave is there to save your days. Because He lived, I can face tomorrow. Because He lived, all fear is gone. Because I've known, He holds the future.

And life is worth the living, just because we live it. Amen. Amen.