Sermon Central
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Carnal Motives Series
Contributed by J. Brad Campbell on Jun 15, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: this is the sixth sermon in this series dealing with things that will keep our prayers from being answered
HINDRANCES TO PRAYER
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LESSON #6 CARNAL MOTIVES
TEXT: JAMES 4:3
REVIEW:
What was our lesson last week?
Neglect of mercy.
What is the biblical definition of poor?
Those that are too young, too old, or too crippled to help themselves.
What poor is Pro. 21:13 referring to?
Both the physically and spiritually poor in and out of the church.
What are two good rules to remember when it comes to loaning money?
Never loan more than you are willing to give away.
If you cannot afford to lose it, do not lend it.
If we show mercy and listen to the cry of others what will God do?
He will show us mercy and hear our cries.
READ TEXT:
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
(KJV)
Many times the reason our prayers are not answered is because we ask with the wrong
- Attitude
- Spirit
- Motive
We may be praying for the right thing, it may even be the will of God, but because we pray with the wrong motives our prayers are not answered.
“We ask amiss”
This word amiss has two meanings in the word of God
One
Improper
- Not fit
- Incorrect
- Inaccurate
- Not in accord with good manners or modesty
Two
Evil
- Wrong attitude
- Wrong spirit
- Wrong motive
ASK YOURSELF
WHY DO I PRAY FOR THE THINGS I PRAY FOR?
If you are praying for financial blessing in your life
Why do you want that blessing?
Is it so that you can
- Give more to God
- Be a blessing to others
- Meet someone else’s need
- So you can tithe more
- Give more to missions
Or is so that you can get
- More things for yourself
- A new car
- A better home
- More respect
- A higher position or social standing
- Or power
God wants to bless you but He will not bless you at the cost of your soul.
1 Tim 6:9
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
(KJV)
Example:
I have seen over the year’s men and women give their hearts to the Lord.
Begin to follow His way /laws
I have seen the blessing begin to flow into their lives
but instead of that blessing drawing them closer to God
it takes them farther away.
- They spend more and more time on the job
- Less and less time on the things of God
- They begin to buy all the toys
- And now they can’t find time to serve God because they are to busy playing / working
It would have been better if they had never been blessed at all!
It would have been better if they had gotten a job that would have kept them humble
- Because now they are in danger of losing their very soul
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
(KJV)
Why do you pray for the things that you pray for?
God may not be blessing you the way you want to be blessed because He is trying to save you from a bunch of future problems.
He is trying to keep the things of this world from choking the very
- Word of God
- Life of God
- Salvation of God
From you
As a child of God we need to be aspiring to higher motives
not leaning to the old lust of this world.
Eph 4:22
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(KJV)
We have a new way of doing things
A new way of praying
New reasons and motives
Example:
Many pray for revival
Many pray for church growth
These are not bad things God wants our church to grow
- He wants us to have revival
- He wants to pour his spirit out upon us
But ask yourself
Why do we pray for these things?
Do we pray for revival out of selfish motives?
- So we can boast of a greater attendance
- Or a greater membership
- So we can have greater influence in our community
- So that we can give a good report at conference
Or do we pray for revival because
- We can’t bear to see lost souls going to hell
- We hear the cry of the lost
- The hopelessness of this generation
- We hunger for others to know the love of God