Sermon Central
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No Expiration Date On Prayers
Contributed by John Gaston on Aug 9, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: Food items, liquids, baked goods, drugs and other products have expiration dates which show the product is no longer good. Someday, even the sun, moon & stars will. The only thing that has no expiration date is PRAYER!
NO EXPIRATION DATE ON PRAYERS
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: HOW TO GET THE PROOF
1. A man went to his lawyer and told him, "My neighbor owes me $500 and he won’t pay up. What should I do?"
2. "Do you have any proof he owes you the money?" asked the lawyer. "Nope," replied the man.
3. "OK, then write him a letter asking him for the $5,000 he owes you," said the lawyer.
4. "But it's only $500," replied the man. "Precisely. That’s what he will reply and then you’ll have your proof!"
B. DEFINED: “Expiration Dates”
1. the date after which something (such as a credit card) is no longer in effect
2. the date after which a product’s (such as food) quality declines (spoils) or its effectiveness declines (like medicines, etc.).
3. Usually it’s a previously determined date after which something should no longer be used, either by law or by exceeding its shelf life.
C. DOES EVERYTHING EXPIRE?
1. All kinds of food items are subject to spoilage and should be thrown away if past their use by date or if their smell or color changes. Breads and other baked goods can spoil, but are less likely to become dangerous.
2. Almost all manufactured goods, prescription drugs, even wood & plastic decompose over a lengthy period of time. The sun’s radiation, heat, water, wear & tear take their toll as time marches on.
3. Humans too are good for up to 120 or so years, and we wear out. Eventually the sun, moon, and stars will all wear out.
4. EVERYTHING HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE ON IT – WITH ONE EXCEPTION – PRAYER! The title of this message is “No Expiration Date on Prayers.” Prayers don’t have a time limit on them; why not?
I. BECAUSE GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES NO MATTER WHAT!
A. HE PROMISES TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS
1. Ps. 91:15; “He will call on me, and I will answer him...”
2. Zech. 13:9; “They will call on my name and I will answer them.”
3. Lk. 11:9; “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
4. Jn. 15:7; “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
B. GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS WORD
1. God teaches that we must “keep [our] oath, even if it hurts” (Ps. 15:4; NIV 1984). God teaches this because that’s what He does.
2. Josh. 21:45 “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
3. “For You have magnified Your Word above all Your name” Ps. 138:2. God is a promise-Keeper!
4. GOD ISN’T LIMITED BY TIME. Whether He answers in our lifetime or not, God will be faithful to answer our prayers, Acts 16:31. Often prayers are answered after the death of the pray-ers.
C. ILLUS.: ATHEIST SAVED AFTER DEATH
1. Howard Storm was a University professor at N. Kentucky U, an atheist, who believed that religion was a fantasy. He was touring Paris, France, when he had a perforated stomach and was rushed to a hospital, barely alive.
2. It was a weekend, and because they have social medicine, there were no surgeons on call at the hospital. He was put on life-support. He died and angels took him to hell, where he had violent encounters with hordes of demon spirits.
3. In a moment of relief, he remembered his former life. One scene came back to him, when he was a boy sitting on his grandmother’s lap. He remembered what she was saying to him, “If you ever get in trouble, call upon the name of Jesus.”
4. He looked up into the darkness of hell and began to whisper, “Jesus!” The demon hordes drew near, but when he said “Jesus” louder, they drew back. He continued until he was yelling with all his might, “Jeeesssuuusss!”
5. Suddenly a point of light appeared above him in the darkness. It grew into a beam of light shining on him, brighter & brighter until it blazed all around him. Jesus had come for him! Suddenly he woke up and found himself in the surgery suite being prepared for surgery. Storm became a great witness for Christ. [An Atheist Who Found Christ, Bettie Welch]
6. His grandmother’s prayer was answered long after she was dead! God is faithful!
II. BECAUSE OUR TIMING ISN’T ALWAYS GOD’S TIMING
Sometimes prayers aren’t answered quickly.
A. AT TIMES, CIRCUMSTANCES MUST DEVELOP
1. God promised Abraham that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan/ Palestine. The answer to this promise, God said, would be delayed for 400 years. Why? Because “the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure,” Gen. 15:16.
