0:00:00.000,0:00:10.640 When we pray from our heart with sincere motives, there is always an answer spiritually. 0:00:10.640,0:00:16.760 A prayer from the heart will [br]never go unanswered. 0:00:16.760,0:00:22.320 God does not leave His children [br]without direction. 0:00:23.280,0:00:28.040 Grace and peace to you all in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 0:00:28.040,0:00:33.680 It's time for us to listen to the Word of God, 0:00:33.680,0:00:40.480 to open our hearts to the Word of God, [br]to be inspired by the Word of God. 0:00:40.480,0:00:47.800 Because as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, 0:00:47.800,0:00:57.440 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 0:00:57.440,0:01:09.800 for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God 0:01:09.800,0:01:18.040 may be complete, thoroughly [br]equipped for every good work.” 0:01:18.040,0:01:26.600 But remember that hearing the Word of God is not merely with these physical ears. 0:01:26.600,0:01:37.280 It must be heard with the ears of our heart in order for it to come alive in us. 0:01:37.280,0:01:44.480 So I want us now, people of God, [br]to ask the Holy Spirit for His help. 0:01:44.480,0:01:47.480 I want us right now to pray. 0:01:47.480,0:01:55.240 Oh Holy Spirit, arrest our [br]hearts in Jesus’ name. 0:01:55.240,0:02:05.040 Oh Holy Spirit, capture our attention right now in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 0:02:05.040,0:02:09.480 We surrender to You every distraction - 0:02:09.480,0:02:15.360 distraction from that pain, from that difficulty, from that problem. 0:02:15.360,0:02:19.640 We surrender it all to You. 0:02:19.640,0:02:26.240 We approach Your throne of grace with confidence and boldness, 0:02:26.240,0:02:36.000 for we know that we will find mercy and grace to help us in time of need. 0:02:36.000,0:02:43.640 Oh Holy Spirit, open the ears of our hearts. 0:02:43.640,0:02:53.720 Oh Holy Spirit, give us a hearing and obedient heart in Jesus’ mighty name. 0:02:53.720,0:02:55.480 Glory be to God. 0:02:55.480,0:03:06.600 I want you to go with me to Luke 11 and we are going to read from verses 9 to 13. 0:03:06.600,0:03:13.400 This is a very well known Bible portion and these are the words of Jesus Christ. 0:03:13.400,0:03:22.680 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; 0:03:22.680,0:03:26.800 knock, and it will be opened to you. 0:03:26.800,0:03:31.400 For everyone who asks receives, [br]and he who seeks finds, 0:03:31.400,0:03:36.000 and to him who knocks it will be opened. 0:03:36.000,0:03:43.880 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? 0:03:43.880,0:03:50.600 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give [br]him a serpent instead of a fish? 0:03:50.600,0:03:56.560 Or if he asks for an egg, [br]will he offer him a scorpion? 0:03:56.560,0:04:04.360 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 0:04:04.360,0:04:14.080 how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” 0:04:14.080,0:04:18.800 Wow, what a wonderful promise! 0:04:18.800,0:04:25.720 What a call from Jesus Christ [br]to persevere in prayer. 0:04:25.720,0:04:31.640 I know many of us have heard this promise countless times at church, 0:04:31.640,0:04:37.920 and we even quote it as we turn [br]to God and claim His promises. 0:04:37.920,0:04:41.640 But I want to ask you a question. 0:04:41.640,0:04:46.360 What happens when we persist in prayer 0:04:46.360,0:04:54.280 but apparently what we are [br]asking for is still not given, 0:04:54.280,0:04:59.240 what we seek is still not found, 0:04:59.240,0:05:06.480 the door we are knocking at [br]is still not open to us? 0:05:06.480,0:05:08.680 What happens? 0:05:08.680,0:05:20.680 The winds of frustration, discouragement, fear and doubt will start blowing at us. 0:05:20.680,0:05:31.040 These winds may cause many of us to stagger in our faith or even fall in our faith. 0:05:31.040,0:05:38.680 We start asking ourselves, [br]‘Does God really hear my prayers? 0:05:38.680,0:05:41.360 Do I have enough faith? 0:05:41.360,0:05:49.160 Why does it seem the more I pray, [br]the worse my situation becomes? 0:05:49.160,0:05:55.280 Why should I pray? Why should I read the Bible if nothing is changing?’ 0:05:55.280,0:05:59.600 We may even think, [br]‘Oh, look at my neighbour. 0:05:59.600,0:06:07.240 He's not even a Christian and he's doing very well. He's doing better than me.’ 0:06:07.240,0:06:13.280 As I said, these winds of frustration, discouragement, doubt 0:06:13.280,0:06:20.360 can cause us to stagger in our faith [br]or even to fall in our faith. 0:06:20.360,0:06:26.240 But I'm here today to encourage [br]you with a truth, 0:06:26.240,0:06:35.600 a simple but very powerful truth that is found in the Bible portion we just read, 0:06:35.600,0:06:43.440 a truth that will serve as a shield [br]to help us to stand firm 0:06:43.440,0:06:50.000 despite these winds of frustration, disappointment and discouragement. 0:06:50.000,0:06:59.000 And that truth is - the Holy Spirit[br]is all you need. 0:06:59.000,0:07:06.160 Yes, people of God, the Holy Spirit [br]is all you need. 0:07:06.160,0:07:11.360 And to understand this further, [br]let us look in more detail 0:07:11.360,0:07:15.040 at what Jesus is saying in this Scripture. 0:07:15.040,0:07:24.960 Firstly, Jesus is giving us an encouragement to persevere in prayer. 0:07:24.960,0:07:33.800 Why? Because God is pleased when we ask Him, when we seek Him, 0:07:33.800,0:07:36.720 when we knock at His door. 0:07:36.720,0:07:44.280 Prayer is one of the keys to build our relationship - Father and child - 0:07:44.280,0:07:48.600 with God, with our Creator. 0:07:48.600,0:07:55.200 No matter the situation, no matter the pain, no matter the need, 0:07:55.200,0:08:00.640 Jesus is urging us to persevere in prayer. 0:08:00.640,0:08:06.560 Because prayer is an expression of faith. 0:08:06.560,0:08:18.080 Galatians 3:26 says that we - you, wherever you are connected from and I - 0:08:18.080,0:08:24.480 are children of God through [br]faith in Jesus Christ. 0:08:24.480,0:08:31.600 So if you are a child of God, if you are a man of faith, if you are a woman of faith - 0:08:31.600,0:08:40.080 don't stop praying, don’t stop seeking, don’t stop asking, don’t stop knocking. 0:08:40.080,0:08:43.400 But take note, people of God. 0:08:43.400,0:08:51.880 Faith does not set its eyes on the immediate result after prayer, 0:08:51.880,0:08:57.360 but on the relationship built [br]with God through prayer. 0:08:57.360,0:09:04.160 In other words, people of God, [br]prayer is a relationship builder. 0:09:04.160,0:09:08.960 Prayer builds our relationship with God. 0:09:08.960,0:09:14.600 In this Bible portion, [br]Jesus is also emphasising 0:09:14.600,0:09:19.520 the goodness of our Father, [br]the goodness of God. 0:09:19.520,0:09:30.720 He said in Luke 11:13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 0:09:30.720,0:09:38.840 how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” 0:09:38.840,0:09:47.200 How much more your heavenly Father - [br]as good as He is, as perfect as He is - 0:09:47.200,0:09:51.920 will give good things to His children. 0:09:51.920,0:09:58.440 God is not going to give you [br]something that is bad for you. 0:09:58.440,0:10:06.720 In 1 Peter 5, the Bible encourages [br]us to pour all our burdens, 0:10:06.720,0:10:14.720 all our cares upon God [br]because He cares for us, 0:10:14.720,0:10:20.840 because He's good and His [br]mercies endure forever. 0:10:20.840,0:10:31.640 So don't fall into that trap of satan, [br]that lie trying to paint God in a bad light - 0:10:31.640,0:10:36.320 that the more you pray, [br]the worse things become, 0:10:36.320,0:10:45.840 that the more you pray, ask, seek, [br]the more attacks you receive. No! 0:10:45.840,0:10:52.760 Don't allow that lie from satan in your life. 0:10:52.760,0:10:58.520 Because God is good and He cares for you. 0:10:58.520,0:11:07.040 And at this point, I want to highlight a very important thing in this Bible portion. 0:11:07.040,0:11:12.840 And I want you to pay close attention to it. 0:11:12.840,0:11:18.320 At the end of Luke 11:13, Jesus said, 0:11:18.320,0:11:26.840 “...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” 0:11:26.840,0:11:32.360 The Bible is not saying that [br]your heavenly Father 0:11:32.360,0:11:37.160 will give you necessarily [br]what you are asking for. 0:11:37.160,0:11:44.240 It’s not saying that your heavenly Father will give you necessarily what you want. 0:11:44.240,0:11:55.160 The Bible is saying that your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. 0:11:55.160,0:12:00.960 So the promise of Jesus Christ [br]is the Holy Spirit. 0:12:00.960,0:12:05.080 He is not offering you a blank cheque. 0:12:05.080,0:12:10.400 And here I'm going to that truth I was talking to you about at the beginning, 0:12:10.400,0:12:18.080 the truth that all we need is the Holy Spirit. 0:12:18.080,0:12:26.280 Jesus Christ is shifting our [br]expectation after prayer 0:12:26.280,0:12:30.320 from the material to the spiritual. 0:12:30.320,0:12:37.640 When our expectation after prayer is [br]based on the things we can see, 0:12:37.640,0:12:44.680 we can feel, or we can measure [br]with our intellect or our senses. 0:12:44.680,0:12:51.160 we are blind to the truth that [br]the Holy Spirit is all we need. 0:12:51.160,0:12:57.320 I really want you, people of God, [br]to hold onto this truth. 0:12:57.320,0:13:02.520 If you are with someone there sitting down, [br]I want you to tell that person, 0:13:02.520,0:13:06.680 “The Holy Spirit is all you need.” 0:13:06.680,0:13:15.560 And now, say it to yourself, [br]“The Holy Spirit is all I need.” 0:13:15.560,0:13:27.200 In John 14:26, the Bible says, and these [br]are also the words of Jesus Christ, 0:13:27.200,0:13:34.520 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, 0:13:34.520,0:13:43.280 He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” 0:13:43.280,0:13:47.360 And what things has Jesus said to us? 0:13:47.360,0:13:55.840 He has spoken promises of salvation, healing, deliverance, breakthrough, 0:13:55.840,0:13:59.240 the promise of eternal life. 0:13:59.240,0:14:03.120 And the Bible says that [br]the Helper, the Holy Spirit, 0:14:03.120,0:14:08.480 is sent to remind us of those promises. 0:14:08.480,0:14:11.520 Can you see, people of God? 0:14:11.520,0:14:15.200 The Holy Spirit is all we need. 0:14:15.200,0:14:22.520 I also want you to remember[br]what Acts 1 says. 0:14:22.520,0:14:32.840 Here Jesus asks His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 0:14:32.840,0:14:39.680 And in Acts 1:8, Jesus told them[br]when the Holy Spirit comes, 0:14:39.680,0:14:44.840 they would receive power, and they [br]would be witnesses to Him 0:14:44.840,0:14:51.880 in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, [br]and to all the earth. 0:14:51.880,0:14:57.880 Oh, what a promise, people of God. 0:14:57.880,0:15:07.120 Take note that the disciples were not asked to wait for miracles and wonders. 0:15:07.120,0:15:13.160 They were asked to wait for the Holy Spirit. 0:15:13.160,0:15:16.640 And when the Holy Spirit came, 0:15:16.640,0:15:25.760 after His coming, then miracles, [br]signs and wonders followed. 0:15:25.760,0:15:34.160 So why are we basing our expectations [br]on material provision 0:15:34.160,0:15:39.960 when what is promised to [br]us is something spiritual? 0:15:39.960,0:15:49.560 The proof that God hears us when we pray is the presence of the Holy Spirit. 0:15:49.560,0:15:57.200 What makes us children of God [br]is not the blessings we receive, 0:15:57.200,0:16:02.840 but to know that God hears us when we pray. 0:16:02.840,0:16:12.760 Remember what Prophet T.B. Joshua said,[br]“Knowing that God hears us when we pray 0:16:12.760,0:16:19.840 is an even greater blessing [br]than the blessing itself.” 0:16:19.840,0:16:24.120 That is the proof that we [br]are children of God. 0:16:24.120,0:16:29.120 It’s the presence of the Holy Spirit. 0:16:29.120,0:16:40.800 I want to encourage you to not base your faith on the improvement after prayer. 0:16:40.800,0:16:51.200 It’s not appropriate to base your faith on the improvement of your situation after prayer. 0:16:51.200,0:16:57.280 Don't believe that God’s [br]answer can only come 0:16:57.280,0:17:02.000 when we are granted what [br]we are asking for. 0:17:02.000,0:17:05.680 By doing so, we will be limiting [br]Him and His answers. 0:17:05.680,0:17:09.040 By doing so, we will be limiting [br]Him and His answers. 0:17:09.040,0:17:16.560 All we need is the presence of [br]the Holy Spirit, people of God. 0:17:16.560,0:17:19.640 I want to encourage you today. 0:17:19.640,0:17:29.400 If we have not received or if we have not seen the answer to our prayers materially, 0:17:29.400,0:17:32.000 let us see beyond that. 0:17:32.000,0:17:41.040 God may have been already [br]answering our prayers in a way 0:17:41.040,0:17:45.240 that this flesh may not comprehend. 0:17:45.240,0:17:53.320 God sometimes uses foolish things [br]to strengthen us spiritually. 0:17:53.320,0:17:59.800 When we pray from our heart [br]with sincere motives, 0:17:59.800,0:18:03.960 there is always an answer spiritually. 0:18:03.960,0:18:12.560 I'm telling you today, people of God, a prayer from the heart will never go unanswered. 0:18:12.560,0:18:18.360 God does not leave His [br]children without an answer. 0:18:18.360,0:18:23.960 God does not leave His [br]children without direction. 0:18:23.960,0:18:31.840 If you have been praying for something and you are yet to see the answer you expect, 0:18:31.840,0:18:38.360 perhaps it’s time for you to change [br]your expectation after prayer. 0:18:38.360,0:18:42.200 Look unto the Holy Spirit. 0:18:42.200,0:18:57.720 Look unto His strength, comfort, direction and guidance because He is all we need. 0:18:57.720,0:19:02.720 What situation are you [br]passing through this day? 0:19:02.720,0:19:10.880 You may have been praying constantly and persistently for that pain to be removed, 0:19:10.880,0:19:13.640 for that sickness to be removed, 0:19:13.640,0:19:17.920 or for that job you need, [br]that provision you need, 0:19:17.920,0:19:24.080 that relationship with your husband, [br]with your wife to be restored. 0:19:24.080,0:19:26.520 And you are still waiting for an answer. 0:19:26.520,0:19:31.640 You are still waiting to see [br]those changes in your life. 0:19:31.640,0:19:35.080 But I want to encourage you. 0:19:35.080,0:19:44.880 The fact that you are connected here today is already an answered prayer. 0:19:44.880,0:19:49.840 Why? Because you have [br]received the strength. 0:19:49.840,0:19:59.000 You have been strengthened all the [br]way up to this point, up to today. 0:19:59.000,0:20:02.480 You have endured that difficult situation. 0:20:02.480,0:20:12.440 You have endured that pain, sickness, difficulty, tribulation up to this day. 0:20:12.440,0:20:21.960 It honours God to believe Him even while every sense contradicts Him 0:20:21.960,0:20:27.240 and God honours those who honour Him. 0:20:27.240,0:20:35.840 Remember, the first place we are to prosper is in our spiritual life. 0:20:35.840,0:20:42.120 That is the first place, the priority. 0:20:42.120,0:20:51.320 If we take care of our souls, if we take [br]care of our relationship with God, 0:20:51.320,0:21:03.800 we may leave it for God to provide for our flesh in His time, in His way, for His glory. 0:21:03.800,0:21:10.320 And as Brother Chris said recently[br]in one of his messages, 0:21:10.320,0:21:21.200 “Look after your relationship with God and leave Him to look after the results.” 0:21:21.200,0:21:29.480 Don't be surprised, people of God, that when you change your expectation after prayer 0:21:29.480,0:21:34.440 from the material to the spiritual, 0:21:34.440,0:21:41.760 what you are asking for will come and that miracle will manifest in Jesus’ name. 0:21:41.760,0:21:52.760 So in conclusion, people of God, as Jesus taught us, let us persevere in prayer. 0:21:52.760,0:21:58.080 Keep asking. Keep seeking.[br]Keep knocking. 0:21:58.080,0:22:05.120 Because that situation, challenge, tribulation 0:22:05.120,0:22:10.160 is an instrument to maintain [br]your union with God. 0:22:10.160,0:22:15.320 And it's time to shift our [br]expectation after prayer 0:22:15.320,0:22:21.320 from the material to the spiritual, [br]and hold onto the truth 0:22:21.320,0:22:26.120 that the Holy Spirit is all we need. 0:22:26.120,0:22:31.240 Instead of being more focused [br]on that material provision, 0:22:31.240,0:22:34.240 on the improvement after the prayer, 0:22:34.240,0:22:41.240 we should be focused on - how do [br]we receive the Holy Spirit? 0:22:41.240,0:22:43.760 How do we welcome Him? 0:22:43.760,0:22:48.560 How do we let Him remain in our hearts? 0:22:48.560,0:22:54.680 That should be our only concern right now. 0:22:54.680,0:23:04.760 Not that pain, debt, difficult situation [br]or the need you are passing through. 0:23:04.760,0:23:12.320 Your only concern should be - [br]how can I welcome the Holy Spirit? 0:23:12.320,0:23:17.720 And that's why I want to ask [br]you this question right now. 0:23:17.720,0:23:23.760 Is your heart ready to [br]receive the Holy Spirit? 0:23:23.760,0:23:29.240 Is your heart ready to [br]welcome the Holy Spirit? 0:23:29.240,0:23:37.640 And as you think about this question, and if you realise that there are some hindrances 0:23:37.640,0:23:42.920 to the Holy Spirit, start freeing [br]your heart from them - 0:23:42.920,0:23:54.120 from offence, pain of the past, bitterness, bad feelings against others, jealousy, envy. 0:23:54.120,0:24:07.280 I want to leave you with these encouraging words from David in Psalm 62:5-8. 0:24:07.280,0:24:20.480 David said, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. 0:24:20.480,0:24:29.440 He only is my rock and my salvation;[br]He is my defence; I shall not be moved. 0:24:29.440,0:24:39.200 In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 0:24:39.200,0:24:49.000 Trust in Him at all times, you people; 0:24:49.000,0:24:56.480 pour out your heart before Him;[br]God is a refuge for us.” 0:24:56.480,0:24:58.680 God bless you, people of God.