Prevailing Prayer Begins with Desperate Thirst - Santosh Poonen - October 21, 2018
http://rlcfchurch.org/prevailing-prayer-begins-desperate-thirst River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
The sermon emphasizes that true spiritual life, like a river, is found not in times of ease but in the wilderness through desperate thirst and reliance on God. The speaker urges the congregation to press forward in faith, taking up their cross, and to live in constant dependence on the Holy Spirit. He concludes by referencing Jesus cleansing the temple, highlighting that even in righteous confrontation, profound humility is required.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Finding rivers in the desertGod promises to make our lives a river of life right in the middle of the wilderness, not only when everything around us is green and easy.
Going deeper than emotional tearsCrying or feeling emotional at the cross is not enough; true spiritual life comes from actually taking up your cross and dying with Jesus.
The reality of dying to selfThe speaker testifies that true life only began for him when he finally died to the approval of people and learned to wake up daily crying out for God.
Living in complete dependence on the SpiritBeing baptized with the Holy Spirit means moving to a state of absolute dependence where you know you can do nothing without Him.
Jesus cleanses the templeJesus drove out those buying and selling in the temple because they made His Father's house a robbers den instead of a house of prayer.
The unpopular humility of JesusJesus' righteous zeal against self-centered religion looked harsh to carnal people, but it was the ultimate expression of humility and obedience to God.
How gatherings become a den of robbersChurch gatherings and religious activities easily become a den when believers lose their desperate focus on prayer and personal need for God.
A desperate hunger for GodJust as a starving and thirsty person cares only for basic survival, true believers must come to God with an intense, desperate hunger rather than pampering themselves with superficial presentations.
Having the attitude of ChristChristians must have the same attitude as Jesus, who existed in the form of God but emptied Himself and humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross.Philippians 2:5–8
Jesus lived by dependence on the FatherJesus did His earthly miracles and lived His life not by relying on His independent divine power, but through constant dependence on the Father.
Moving from water to wineReading the Bible, attending church, and doing good things are just water; we must cry out for God to turn that water into the living wine of the New Covenant.
Leaving behind religious pretenseWe must stop covering up unrealities with pretense, be honest with God and each other, and refuse to settle for a powerless religious routine.
Beyond the ritual of prayer meetingsHolding endless prayer meetings or gatherings will not bring Christ's life if they simply become empty rituals without real spiritual hunger.
What true corporate agreement looks likeJesus explains how true believers handle sin and gather together in His name to bind and loose things in agreement with heaven.Matthew 18:15–20
Prayer must start at homeA true house of prayer cannot be manufactured at church alone; it must begin in the secret prayer closet, in our cars, and in our relationships with our spouses and children.
