The Signs of Answered Prayer
Summary
Pastor Matt discusses the signs of answered prayer. Are you confident that God is the God over your circumstance? The greatest strength, that greatest thing that you can believe for, is that the purpose of God in your situation right now, it is the thing that will stand the test of time.
Transcript
Welcome to everyone on our live streams. All of our churches are gathering to watch live today so we want to welcome you. Hope you're having a great day and we're excited for what's to come because we have, I've invited Pastor Matt Hines to come and speak. Now we're very blessed today actually because Pastor Matt has also graced us with his wonderful wife's presence. Pastor Franca Hines is with us today as well so thank you Franca. So I want to say this about Pastor Matt and Franca. I've known them for many, many years. Pastor Franca is also Italian and so she understands my passionate fiery ways sometimes and she just, she's like, there there Adrian, it's all right mate. And but I've known Pastor Matt and Franca since I was about 17 years old back in Adelaide and they've just been an amazing servant-hearted man and woman of God and you know we need, we need examples in our nation don't we? We need people who say you know what I'm going to serve, I'm going to lead and Pastor Matt and Franca have done that. They've led, they've come over to Melbourne about 14, 15 years ago and ended up taking over Faith Christian Church, one of the great churches in our nation and have led that with integrity. Pastor Matt is a man of God with a word. Pastor Franca is a woman of, if she gets up the front she starts crying because her heart is for people and you, I've seen that lived and so I invited them to come and speak into the life of our church and our lives because I think you're going to be so blessed and Pastor Matt, they're the Senior Pastors of Faith, he's also our State President but as I said they're a beautiful, humble man and woman of God and it's an honour for us to have you with us guys so why don't we give Matt a great hand as he comes on up to preach the word this morning.
Yeah Adrian, fantastic, great to be with you this morning. Who enjoyed last night? What a wonderful sense of the Holy Spirit and so great to have Franca with me this morning and we've been married for 30 years, had a 30-year wedding anniversary this year. I still remember what she wore the first day that I met her and I'm going to be speaking about prayer today and I actually met my wife in a prayer meeting and it was a Wednesday night prayer meeting and we were praying in the church back at Paradise Church many, many years ago and as we were praying I opened up my eyes, I turned around and I thought an angel had walked in the room and an Italian angel, an Italian angel and you know, all you single blokes out there, you know, I wasn't great with the women, I didn't know how to connect really that great and so, you know, I just bought myself an Alfa Romeo. It was an old Alfa Romeo but as a single guy I thought I was pretty cool, pretty hot and I thought she was Italian. I was trying to make the move to connect with her and so at church the following week I walked up to Franca and I said hi, my name is Matt, do you want to look up my Alfa? And it wasn't very smooth but I got the girl, hallelujah, I got the girl.
So, there you go, great to have all of the campuses online this morning and absolutely wonderful and last night I spoke about faith, this morning I want to speak about prayer, I want to speak about prayer. If you want to be a church or if you want to be individuals that really access the presence of God, you have to be people that understand the power of prayer and the power of the Word of God and understanding what it is to actually break through in prayer and so I want to stir your faith today for answered prayer. I've titled my message today, what are the signs of answered prayer? You know, often when it comes to prayer we talk about the faithfulness of prayer, we talk about the commitment to prayer, we kind of have this thing that as Christians we have to have a disciplined prayer life but we never talk about the expectation that God actually wants to answer our prayers. If we just come with a faithfulness of prayer and the discipline of prayer, then let's be honest, we are no different from any other religion that is out there because there are many other religions that are out there that people understand the discipline of prayer but because, come on, who knows this morning we are not a religion but we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ and so because of that, because of this living breathing relationship with the Lord, we can expect that God answers our prayers. Come on if you believe it this morning, say Amen. And so I want to talk to you today about the expectation of answered prayer and lifting our expectation of what God can do.
Let me just tell you a story, last year my parents live in Adelaide, my dad is 96, my mum is 86 and you know my dad is sharp as a tack, he's doing really well, I think he's going to hit 100, hallelujah, and it just shows you just what a life of just loving Jesus and it's amazing. And anyway, so he rings me and he says, hey son, we're just talking away and in Adelaide it gets very hot and there are days, especially in summer, you can have 40 degree days for a whole week and then especially at night as well, sometimes it doesn't drop below 30 degrees at night. So my dad rings me, he goes, hey we're just talking, our air conditioner's broken down and he said, so you know, we've got to get the guy out. I said, when's he coming out? He goes, well it's hot at the moment and so he won't be able to come out for the next few days. And I said, well dad, at your age you really shouldn't be in a hot house. He said, I'm going to put you in a hotel and he goes, oh no, you don't need to do that. I said, no dad, let me put you in a hotel, you and mum just chill out for a few days in the city. So I give him the address, they don't drive off into the city, it takes them a while to get there and they arrive at this hotel. Now, my parents lived in a generation where they stayed in motels, not hotels. Right, so single level motels and I remember growing up, there are many days that we'd go out, you know, as a family and if we go on holidays, we'd stay in a motel, all four of us crammed into this one little unit. And so they arrive at this hotel and my mum rings me, they're at the door checking and so I ring the hotel, give them my credit card and I said, listen, my parents, they don't normally stay in a hotel, just help them navigate and whatever they need, just put it on the tab, no problem. And so they drive in and they walk up to the front receptionist and my mum rings me and she goes, hey son. I said, yeah. I said, you're at the hotel? Yeah, thank you. She goes, they put us on the eighth floor. I said, how cool is that? She goes, is it safe? I go, what do you mean is it safe? What is it safe up there? I said, mum, it's safe. It's pretty high. I said, you'll be fine. Just get up there. If you don't like it, they'll put you on the ground floor. So I can just imagine getting up to the eighth floor, she's stomping up and down, making sure that she rings me about 20 minutes later. Man, it's as solid as the first floor. That's right, mum. I don't want to take you out early and take your inheritance. It's all cool. I want you to enjoy what you're doing. And so I said to my parents, I go, now listen, I go, just order whatever you want, right? So go to the restaurant, order room service, raid the mini bar, it's all on the tab, just order whatever you want. Now, I said that because I know that every time I visit my parents in Adelaide, I open up the fridge, there's nothing in the fridge. There's nothing in the fridge, right? So they don't eat a lot. Boy, was I wrong. Was I wrong. When I got the bill a few days later, their room service bill was bigger than the hotel bill. Not just one dessert. I think they looked at the menu and thought we have to order everything on the menu. Look, the menu is there for choice. Not one dessert, three desserts, steak, chicken, fish, the mini bar. My mum sends me a photo of a packet of chips all over her front top as she's lying on the bed. They went for it. They went for it.
What's that got to do with prayer? We got to go for it. We got to go for it. We got to believe in the best that God has for our lives. There's got to be an expectation that when we pray, that God answers our prayer. Come on, who believes that this morning? I think sometimes we can become religious in our prayer, or we can just become kind of mundane in our prayer, or routine in our prayer. There's another side to our prayer, that God wants to answer our prayers.
' “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! ' Matthew 6:7-8 (NLT)
Matthew chapter 6 verse 7 to 8, James says this, he says, we have not because we ask not. Matthew 6 verse 7 and 8, Jesus is talking to his disciples about prayer. And I really like this. He says, when you pray, don't babble on as the pagans do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, for your father knows exactly what you need, even before you ask him. We need less babbling and more faith in our prayers. I think the older that you become in the Lord, the more you like to babble. We like to pray long prayers. And what Jesus is really saying to his disciples, hey, don't find all the right eloquent words. Be a person of great faith when it comes to your heavenly father. Be a person that understands that when you pray, it's not necessarily in the words that come out of your mouth, but it's in the faith and the expectation of your heart, of what the Holy Spirit can actually do.
'And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. ' 1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)
First John chapter 5 verse 14 to 15, says, this is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
Now, there's this passage in first Kings chapter 18, where Elijah is praying for rain. And God answers his prayer. And it's not a personal prayer that Elijah's praying, but it's a prayer for a whole nation. It's a significant prayer. It's a monumental prayer. It is a prayer that is shifting things in the nation of Israel. And as Elijah's praying for rain, God answers his prayer. It's such a powerful moment in Israel's history that the Bible refers to it again in the New Testament.
So I want to talk to you today about what are the signs of answered prayer. And I want to stir your faith this morning. Come on, who's been praying for things in the Holy Ghost? Who's believing God for some things this year? I believe that 2024, let me prophesy this over your own life, that it will be the year of answered prayer. It will be the year that you won't go around the same mountain. It's the year of answered prayer in the life of his church. It's the year of answered prayer in the life of the campuses of this house. We can believe for answered prayer today.
'Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.' 1 Kings 18:41-46 (NLT)
So first Kings chapter 18, verse 41 to 46, we've heard this many times before, this particular passage. And Elijah's dealing with the prophets of Baal. He destroys them. He goes after Jezebel. He breaks this demonic stronghold over this nation. And then he begins to pray for rain, verse 41. And Elijah said to Ahab, go eat and drink, for there is the sound of heavy rain. So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees, verse 43. Go and look towards the sea, he told his servant. And he went up and looked. There is nothing there, he said. Seven times, Elijah said, go back. The seventh time, the servant reported, a cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea. So Elijah said, go and tell Ahab, hitch up your chariot, go down before the rain stops you, verse 45. Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds. The wind rose, the heavy rain started falling, and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah, and tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Let me give you a couple of points here, and then we're going to pray.
The Seasons Are Changing
Number one, what are the signs of answered prayer? The seasons are changing. The seasons are changing. You can see in the way things move, the atmosphere, what was hard is now easy. What had no momentum has now got momentum. There is a shift, you feel different, there is something significantly changing in the atmosphere. You know, after a drought, when the rain comes, it is the soil that gets recharged to sustain the growth that is about to be poured out upon the nation. One of the biggest signs that the seasons are changing is that there is a shift in the soil of your heart. What made you weary before, that season is gone. There's a faith and expectation of what the Holy Spirit can do again.
There is a seasonal change that is happening in the life of Israel. Think about it. Elijah is praying, and a cool change is coming. What was dry and hard and difficult, had now become soft and pliable. And I'll be going to think about that. When it came to answered prayer in terms of a seasonal change, what was the change in Israel's life? Well, it was a storm, wasn't it? The nation of Israel needed a storm. After years of drought, they began to pray for a storm. A storm was an answer to pray. And I began to think about that, church. You know, storms have different purposes in the Bible. You know, when you and I think of storms, we think of storms in a bad light, right? Many times I talk to believers in my church, they go, I'm going through a storm, pastor, pray for me. I'm going through a difficult season, I'm going through a storm, right? In the New Testament, there's a couple of examples where the disciples, where with Jesus, they're in the middle of the lake, and the Bible says that a storm arose. And for Elijah, the storm was a massive downpour, right? The answered prayer was a storm. The answered prayer was a shift in the atmosphere.
And yet there are other examples in the Bible where a storm was a bad thing. Think about the disciples, as Jesus is sleeping in the boat, the Bible says that storm began to arose. They're freaking out. They think they're going to die. You think about those times when Jesus is praying on the mountain, and they're in the lake again, and a storm comes up. He walks on water. They think that they are all going to drown. Many times we hear that God calms the storm. Not this time. Not this time. This time, the nation needed a storm. They needed rain. And I began to think about the elements, the outside elements that you and I put judgment calls on to say, that's a bad thing, versus God saying, I can use any element to fulfill my purpose in your life. You know, think about this. I'm no chemist, but I saw this great example the other day, right? Oxygen. Some of the elements that fire needs to create, right? To start up. Oxygen that promotes combustion. Hydrogen that is an explosive gas. Put them together, it creates water that puts out fire. All the elements God created are used in one way or another.
This is the point today. The question is not whether it's the fire that you go through, or the storm that you go through, or the water that you're dealing with, but the confidence that God uses circumstances in our lives to fulfill His purpose and to fulfill His plan. Are you confident that God is the God over your circumstance? That God is the God that is over your situation? You know, without getting caught up in the detail, sometimes I don't know what to pray, but I just need to know that I need change. You know, sometimes we think that we're smarter than God. We want to tell God the way it should happen. We want to tell God the way that we think the breakthrough should take place, rather than trusting that no matter what you go through, God is the God over every circumstance, over every mountain, over every valley, and God can do it in the way that He sees fit in our lives.
You know, Church, there are things that I've prayed for that I've come out on the other side of that, and I go, thank God that God didn't answer that prayer. Come on, let's not all be holy today. Let's be honest and open today. We pray for certain things. God doesn't answer that prayer. We come out on the other side. God has a different plan. God has a different purpose, and I say, thank God for that, that God never answered that stupid, immature prayer that I prayed five years ago. Oh, maybe it doesn't happen in Frankston, but it happens in Dandenong.
So, I've realised now that when I'm going through something that I find is a difficult season in my life, I don't pray, God, remove the storm. I say, God, just bring change. God, change me. Change my perspective. Change the things that are broken within me. Change the stuff that I need changing, if I want to step up to a whole new level. There are times that I don't even know what needs to be changed. Come on, who knows what I'm talking about this morning?
'“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! Remember this, you guilty ones. Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east— a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it. ' Isaiah 46:8-11 (NLT)
One of the great scriptures that I love is on Isaiah 46, verse 8 to 11. Right, let me leave you this. It's so cool, right? It says this, it says, remember this, keep it to mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago. I am the God, there is no other. I'm God, there is no one like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. I love this, verse 11, right? From the east, I summon a bird of prey, and from a far off land, a man to fulfil my purpose. What I've said, I will bring about, and what I've planned, that I will do. Right?
Israel's head was getting messed with because God was using a godless king to fulfil his purpose in Israel's life. And what God was saying, I will use whatever I want to use, because I'm the Lord of the heavens and earth. I will take a bird of prey from a far off land, an insignificant bird, and I will use that bird for my purpose. I will take a man that you don't rate, that you think is there to harm you and destroy you, and I will use him for my purpose, because I'm God over the circumstance. And this is my point today. We make it about the people in our lives. We make it about the circumstances. We make it about the hard things that we're going through. God never makes it about those things. He always makes it about his purpose in our lives. And I want to say this to you today. The greatest strength, that greatest thing that you can believe for, is that the purpose of God in your situation right now, is the thing that will stand the test of time. People may come and go. Circumstances may come. Seasons may come. You may go through valleys. You may go through mountain tops. It doesn't matter. The purpose of God will stand in your life. Do you believe that this morning? That when you pray, when you ask God to change things, so now these days, I just say, God, I know that we need change. Just change it. I may not like the change, but just change it, because I know that your purpose will stand in my life.
2.The Victories Are Small But Are Still Victories
The second thing is this, is that the, what are the signs of answered prayers? That the victories are small, but they are still victories. Victories are small, but they're still victories. We want to go for the big victory. The big breakthrough.It's in the small victory that God begins to grow big victories. The Bible says that Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down to the ground, put his face between his knees. Go and look towards the sea, he told his servant. He went up and looked. There is nothing there. How many times have we prayed, there's nothing there, and we stop. The Bible says to his servant, keep going back. He went back, and the seventh time, the servant reported, a cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea. The small cloud became the big cloud. The small speck in the sky was the very thing that brought breakthrough through a nation, and I began to think about this. It's that first small result. It's that first small opportunity. It's that first small breakthrough. I often say to young ministers that come up through our ranks, I said, take every opportunity. Take the small opportunity. The big opportunities will come, but grab hold of the small ones, and do the best that you can. You want to see God break through? Don't despise the days of small beginnings. Every great breakthrough had a small breakthrough that turned into a big breakthrough. You're looking for a job. You're looking for opportunity. God gives you a little opportunity to develop your character, develop who you are. Take hold of that small opportunity. You'll be surprised at what God would take in the small areas, where they become big areas in your life. Come on, if you believe it, say Amen this morning.
You know, a couple of years ago, we had one of our guys in our church, and he just serves well. He's a retired tradie. This guy can do everything. I mean, he can do everything. You know, it probably takes me five days to put together an Ikea box. This guy can do it in half an hour. He's like the ninja of all type of trades people. He just does amazing things in our church, praise God. Anyway, so I wanted to encourage him one day, and I said, hey, why don't you come around to our house? I want to cook you some good steak. Come on, who loves some good steak? Yeah, I'm in the right church. I said, why don't you come around? You know, let's just hang out. It'd be great to connect. Excuse me. He rings me a couple of days before. He said, hey, we're looking at coming around. I just want to let you know that he said my wife had to go for a scan at one of the specialists. She had cancer a few years ago. She's in remission now. She went for a scan. They rang her, and they said, hey, there's an abnormality in the scan. You need to come back again. And so he goes, we've got another checkup booked in a couple of days' time, so she's going to be a little bit quiet. I said, all right, no problem. I said, well, can I pray for her since you're at the pastor's house? Can I pray for you? He said, yeah, that'd be great. I said, can you tell her that I know just so she's not embarrassed? He said, sure, I'll do that. And so they came over. We had steak, and between steak and dessert, this was a good time to pray in the Holy Ghost. Amen. You're all ironed up. You're ready to go. And so I said, oh, you know, your husband was telling me that he had a scan, and there's some things that have come up in that scan. And she looked at him straight away. Well, he didn't tell her that. He told me, right, typical husband, right? And so I said, well, I don't want to embarrass you, but, you know, we're here. We'd love to pray with you. She said, oh, that'd be really good. She starts crying. So I said, can I anoint you with oil? She said, yeah, that'd be great. And so, you know, these days people get this oil from Jerusalem, right? I didn't get that. I pulled out Coles oil. Who would have ever thought that God anoints Coles oil? So I don't have their Jerusalem oil with the fragrance. Actually, it irritates me because I have sensitivity to smells, but Coles oil is okay for me, right? It's okay for my allergies. So I anointed her with oil, put some coal's oil on her forehead. Now, it wasn't like all of a sudden the keyboard player came out of the woodwork, started playing. It was like the trumpet sounded. It was a very small moment that was filled with faith, right? We just sensed the presence of God coming to that, coming to our house. Started crying. We all started crying. Finished with that. After the Spirit of God came, we were ready for dessert. Hallelujah. Didn't go for five hours, probably went for five minutes at the most. And three days later, he rings me. He's crying on the phone. He goes, hey, she went for the other scans, just got the scans back. They can't work out, but the abnormalities that she had four days ago are completely gone, completely gone, completely gone. Just that small breakthrough, that small moment, it's more significant. We think we have to create big moments, right? Those small moments filled with faith, God can do something incredibly profound and incredibly powerful.
And I would say this to you today, just don't discard the small moments of your life. Don't discard those small things, those small clouds. But if you believe in faith, God can do incredible things.
3. Pray and Look
The third one is this, is that what we see with Elijah is that Elijah not only prays, but Elijah prays and then he looks. He says to his servant, pray and then go look to the skies. And seven times he went backwards and forwards until he saw the cloud as small as a man's hand. This is the encouragement that I feel for you as a church today. Many times we pray, but we don't look. We get so locked into our prayer. We get so internally consumed. We get so obsessed with the thing that we're dealing with that we forget to open our eyes and actually look for breakthrough, look for the seasonal change, look for the moments of what God is doing.
Bible says that he looked and he prayed. It is such a powerful idea of prayer filled with faith together can do something powerful in the kingdom of God. Right? You're praying for things right now. I sense the Holy Ghost to start us to your faith. Open your eyes, start looking. God says to Abraham, look at the stars in the sky. He says, look at the sands on the seashore. Can you count them? You can't. God was always challenging Abraham to open his eyes and look for opportunity.
I am convinced I've seen this many times in my life. When I pray for something, 5am, I'm going after something in the Holy Ghost. Then during the day, I'm looking for breakthrough. I'm looking for opportunity. I'm looking for those moments that I can say God is doing something in that person's heart. God is shifting something in that atmosphere. There's a slight attitude change in the thing that I'm believing for. We have to pray, but we have to look at the same time.
I love this. Bible says that Elijah put his head between his knees and just this picture of being just locked into a certain thing. Yes, we need the power of intercession, but then we have to get up and start looking. My encouragement to you today, and I can say this because I'm not your senior pastor, get your head out of your own circumstance stop being so self-consumed with your own problems. Get your head out and start looking what the Holy Spirit is going to do in your life. You still love me this morning? Doesn't matter, I'm out after today.
We get so, we've got to pop a vein. I pray and then I look. I pray, then I have an expectation. I lift myself out of my circumstance because I know that I serve the God of the heavens and the earth.
4. There Is Always A Formation Of Something Before We See It
Number four, there's always a formation of something before we see it. Right, so did a little bit of research, not a lot, a little bit, but it's obvious. What looks like a small cloud from our perspective can actually be things that can be hundreds of meters, if not one kilometer long. So what looks small from our perspective is something that can be much larger than what we actually realize. I was talking to, I was preaching this sermon at a particular church and a guy comes up to me, he's a glider, professional glider, you know, flies glider planes and he says, you know mate, he said, it's the small clouds that we look for that have the most potential to actually have the greatest uplift. Yeah, he goes, it's not the bigger clouds, it's actually the small clouds. He said, we aim our gliders towards the small clouds because they have got the greatest potential to do something great in terms of uplift. And I began to think about that, the small things that we go for that look small in our perspective have the greatest ability to bring change into our personal world.
I began to think about the lady, the widow with the unjust judge as she began to pray and she was praying and she was praying and she was praying and the Bible says that the judge said to himself, I better start responding to this widow's need. She did not know the attitude change until the judge had, until she physically saw it. Sometimes we don't know the attitude change of the people that we're praying for behind the scenes. We may not see it but do you have a faith expectation that God is doing it even though that you can't see it?
The Bible says, we walk by faith and not by sight. That right now the things that you're praying for, God is changing attitude. God is changing expectation. There is a shift that is happening in the atmosphere.
5. The 7th Time
The fifth one is this, if I can have the musicians to come. Seventh time, Elijah went back again and again and again and again. It was on the seventh time that he knew that his prayer was answered. Seven is the number of completion. The goal is to complete a work in your life when it comes to prayer. We start things in prayer, we see a little breakthrough, we stop. But they often say when it comes to antibiotics, finish the whole course even when you're feeling better halfway through. There's a thing that we have to finish in prayer. Many times we want God finishing seasons in our life and birthing new seasons but we don't finish those things in prayer. We don't grab hold of the things of the Holy Ghost and so we're going to keep praying, we're going to keep believing, we're going to keep going. We're not going to break halfway through, we're not going to have a partial victory or quarter of a victory but we're going to go for a complete victory. God wants to give you complete victory today, hallelujah. God wants to give you complete victory.
You know I would say this in our own life, frank goodness, our life had many testimonies of prayer but I would say in the key moments of our life they've always been filled with significant moments of prayer and fasting. I love about your senior pastor, he carries that same spirit. Adrian's known for his desire to pray and to fast. There are just some things that you can't break on your own will and your own ability, your own character, your own strength. There are things that only God can do and what I've realized is that when it comes to the big things in life, they don't change by one prayer but they change over multiple prayers because who knows that there's a power of intercession where you go after things again and again and again and again.
I remember many years ago when we first came into Melbourne prior to that season in Melbourne, we felt that our season in Adelaide was finished and so I remember you know in the early days going to my senior pastor saying I really feel it's our time to lead our own church and God began to stir my heart and faith and we started to have different interviews as you do when in our movement when you're looking to take on a church and met with different boards, nothing opened up, nothing opened up at all. We went to Queensland, we went we're looking in Perth, we went everywhere, nothing opened up and I came out of that season for about three months feeling incredibly discouraged thinking you know I've been 10 years in ministry and what we've done is pretty cool and there are no opportunities at all. I must be a complete loser. Who knows that God often closes the wrong doors to open the right doors. For the Holy Spirit so I want you to go on a 40-day fast when you begin to fast and pray. Seek me. Get your breakthrough from me and so I began to fast and pray and halfway through my fasting and praying I had a dream. I had a dream that I was working with a white head man and we're doing up a heritage house. Wake up that day and I go who's this white head man? So the next day I had another dream, same white head man, this time it was a heritage hotel. We were painting the fret work and we were changing the window sills. I woke up and I thought different dreams, same white head man, right? Third night I had another dream, this time I was doing up another house, same white head man, different house. So I'm thinking who's this white head man? So I'm driving through Adelaide looking for the white head man. About six months later we had a state conference in Adelaide and someone asked me to pick up Alan Davies who was the preacher at the conference. Picked him up as he jumped in my car, looked at him and I thought you're the white head man in my dream. Now when God does something profound we can often get stupid and weird. I didn't say to him I've been dreaming about you. He would have smacked me in the head. After one of the meetings he said let's go out for coffee. We're sitting for coffee. It was during that time of prayer and fasting when I came out of that I felt to resign from my current position. Life was good in Adelaide and God was blessing it. I just felt the Lord say I want you to surrender that. God spoke to me out of Abraham and Isaac how Abraham climbed the mountain of faith. It was only that when he got to the top of the mountain that he saw the ram caught in the thicket. God spoke to me and said hey you want to see the provision before you walk the journey of faith. You have to walk the journey of faith first. Many times we want to see the provision and we don't want to step out in faith. God said you preach about faith it's time for you to step out in faith. So I handed in my resignation. I was done. I was finishing up. I sat with Al and we had coffee. He said I heard that you resigned and I said that's right. He said what made you resign and I told him I said I just felt the Lord say it was time for a new season. I had to step out in faith. He said well I want to let you know from my perspective even though this is the first time we've communicated that about a year and a half ago God spoke to me that you'd be a guy that would take over my church but I said to the Lord I would never take another man's man. This guy needs to resign first before we have that conversation and I would say there's that foundational understanding that I'm in the right place in the season of God. Letting a church is not easy. Seasons come, season go. People come, people go but there's a foundational conviction that we are right in the will of God because in the early days understanding that God will answer our prayers.
Today I want to stir your faith. Maybe some of you here today you've been faithful in prayer, you've been consistent in prayer. There's a routine of prayer. Praise God. I want to stir your faith today that God wants to answer your prayer but just maybe 24, 25 is the year of answered prayer over your life, over your family, over your finances, over your business, of the life of the church, the things that you have been praying for for many years. I declare in the name of Jesus it is the season of answered prayer. It is the season of answered prayer and I want to pray for you today. I want to pray that God will lift your faith when it comes to the things that He wants to do in your life today. Maybe today you've been so faithful in prayer you forgot to look and God is stirring your faith. Come on, I want you to begin to look. Look to the stars in the sky. Look to the sand on the seashore. Look out of your own circumstance. Understand that God wants to do something profound in your life today.
We've got a few minutes left. I want you to stand your feet today. Thank you, Holy Spirit. We worship you. We thank you, God. Come on, I want you to begin to position yourself all over this place today. If you've been watching one of the campuses, no matter where you are, the presence of God wants to touch you this morning. I want you to begin to position yourself today as we begin to just close our eyes and lift our hands to heaven. What have we got? What song are we doing? Holy, come on, we're going to sing hallelujah just for a few moments and then we're going to pray. Come on, I want you to begin to enter in today.
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