It’s easy to think your prayers have failed when you don’t see things change. But one of the secret treasures of prayer is the strength it gives you right in the middle of your situation. Have you wondered why the Psalmist likens our prayers to incense? Because it’s the sweet, sweet aroma that changes the atmosphere and helps you bear the unbearable.
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the following program is sponsored by friends and partners of Kingdom connection hello I’m Jenson Franklin thank you so much for joining us today on Kingdom connection I believe today’s program is really going to bless you as you know if you’ve watched this program we have been on a 21-day fast as a ministry so many of you have joined us and we’re thrilled about that you know when people’s hearts turn to God when people just clean the slate and say God you are the priority of my life there’s nothing but good that comes out of that for our families our life our spiritual want with God and we’re certainly seeing that the worship has been amazing at our church and I pray wherever you are you’re experiencing the presence of God in a powerful way today’s message is called God’s secret remedy of fasting in prayer specifically we’re going to Center in on the subject of prayer and its power in our life when it’s combined with fasting listen to this message let it speak to your heart and I’m going to come back and pray for you in just a moment you have your Bibles I want you to open them with me for a few moments this morning to the Book of Psalms 141 verse 1 Lord I cry out to you make haste to me give ear to my voice when I cry out to you let my prayer be set before you as incense the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice verse 2 let my prayer be set before you as incense I’m preaching today on God’s secret remedy of fasting and prayer and specifically I want to focus in on that word incense it’s one that we really don’t relate to a lot in our time but it had profound implications in the scripture Old Testament and new it’s found the word incense what is that about well he said in this writing that let my prayers be like incense before your throne in the old testament in the book of Exodus chapter 30 when God gave instructions to Moses for the Old Testament tabernacle where his presence would dwell he said you’re going to have to build several pieces of furniture if you want my presence and he said one of them is going to be placed right in front of the big curtain that separated the people from the Holy of Holies and you will place this altar called the altar of incense right in front of this massive curtain and behind the curtain was the Ark of the Covenant where God’s mercy seat in God’s residence on planet earth as much as he can be contained in one place was there and he said you are to always have the priests burning incense on days of sacrifice as sacrifice in the morning a sacrifice in the evening and on special days like the day of atonement every person is to bring a lamb for their house or an ox according to how they had prospered or a Turtledove but everybody was to bring an offering and it would be slaughtered on the altar of sacrifice and then the priests would take hot coals from off of the altar of sacrifice put them in a sensor and we we actually have one but perhaps something like they would use which a sensor is just like a container and they would put these hot coals in it and they would go to the altar of incense and in Exodus chapter 30 there were four ingredients it could only be made with these four ingredients and it gives those four ingredients such as frankincense and myrrh and there were several others but four and all and they would take this perfume once they had those hot coals and they would pour it on to the hot coals and that would cause the curling smoke to come up not only off of the altar of incense as the priest could not go into the presence of God without the incense of prayer and praise going up he could not enter in unless there was the incense curling smoke going up but it was not confined the the incense were not confined to the tabernacle because they would then take them and run through the camp and walk out into the outer court sometimes I saw pitchers this week a priest who would carry as many as six of these three in one hand and they would walk through the camp and many of the priests would walk through the camp and the smell of those incense as the curling smoke would go up would feel the whole camp of Israel and that doesn’t make a lot of sense to us and we really we don’t see why that was a big deal because we don’t really comprehend what it was like and I promise I’m going somewhere with this so just just come in here with me or just a few moments because we don’t really come we almost make it like when when the priest was slaughtering the animals and you know all of this stuff that it was like a holy hush over the camp it was real quiet and reverent and it was a slaughterhouse you have to understand on the day of atonement there would be tens of thousands of animals ox and Bullock’s goats lammed and I could see six priests as they are wrestling to the ground a cow or a bullock and they’re holding it down and they screamed for two other priests to run over and hold it down and it’s kicking and it’s bellowing and it’s and it’s crying and it’s leg is kicking and they sit and and this is a little graphic but they would slit the throat of that animal in the blood and they would try to capture as much as they could and it’s a gruesome thing and the priest would get up the priest wasn’t walking around with a necktie and a suit on he he wouldn’t do this one time but I’m talking about imagine ten thousand animals and this blood is all over his clothes and it’s all over his feet and it’s all over have you have you if you’re hunter many of you men or a hunter and you’ve seen someone or you’ve done it yourself you’ve had to fix and and clean an animal in the field it’s it’s gruesome it’s the everything has to be cleaned out and blood is everywhere and there are smells there smells and aromas the smell of blood the smell of all of the gore it and not just one animal but thousands and thousands of animals and blood is everywhere and then the priest is sprinkling the blood seven times on every piece of furniture and it’s all over him from head to toe it would be it would be nauseating and then on top of that you have something in your in your nose called the old Factory Oh l fa ctor why olfactory nerve and the olfactory nerve is a sensor that God put into her nose that can trigger things and some things when it when that sensor picks up it triggers nausea it makes you sick certain smells just turn your stomach other things would cause hunger you know if you smell a delicious smelling food cooking it would it would trigger hunger in you so all through the count imagine on the Day of Atonement and the reason is so gruesome is it’s a picture of Calvary the gore the blood it was horrible and it’s a picture of Calvary and what our Savior would do for you and do for me – to cleanse us of our sins but on that day of atonement can you imagine the blood the gore the stench it was just stench everywhere there was there was the smell there was this horrible rich it smell and it was all over the camp of Israel and all of the sudden there comes this God inspired substance that is like a perfume it’s very strong smelling they were forbidden to ever use it anywhere only the priests could could could put it together the apothecary would would make it and here comes the priest just when you couldn’t stand it anymore just when you couldn’t take it anymore just when you were about to just I can’t handle can you imagine those priests and the people and the smell and the gore and everywhere you look and I can’t take it anymore and just when you couldn’t take it anymore here comes a priest and he has this smell and suddenly it changes the whole atmosphere there’s this sweet smell that comes in the middle of all that suffering and all of that blood and all of that pain and all of that gore and all of the bellowing of the cows and the screams of the lambs and the end and the blood and in the middle of all of that comes the incense that brings a sweetness to a horrible wretched situation the priest is swinging the censor and everything smells sweeter and suddenly that you see people so thank God for that oh it’s it’s temporary relief but I’ll take it and I can almost see the priest probably having hours of doing this and he even goes to the altar of incense and just stands there and says I can’t take it anymore it’s so it’s so it’s it’s my nerves are going off and I’m about to throw up I’m about to lose it so let me stand here and let me be in a sweeter smell and a sweeter atmosphere it made it bearable something sweet was mixed into a horrible situation the incense the writer says is a type of our prayers that goes to God there is a power in prayer there there is a sweetness in prayer life can begin distinct things can happen in your life that are so horrible listen I’m a faith preacher I believe in miracles I believe in signs and wonders and healings and a massive God can do it oh I don’t I don’t not believe I believe in it and yet I’ve been pastoring 25 years long enough to say that I have seen God not answer my prayer like I wanted him to pray and I wanted him to answer and I prayed and I prayed and I prayed in the situation notice when they’re swinging the sensor it didn’t change the reality it didn’t change the situation but it made them able to deal with it in a sweeter better atmosphere and sometimes we think the only way that prayer is effective if it changes the horrible situation we’re praying about into a complete transformation right before our eyes and we want it instantly when in reality one of the greatest things that prayer does is right in the middle of it it helps you to stand it I know I’m not out of it but if I’ll pray I can bear the unbearable if I pray it brings a sweetness right in the middle of my gore and my mess and my gas cemani that’s the power of prayer that’s the power of calling on God talking to God I may not solve the problem but it’s sure to sweeten up your life let’s get real I may not be able to bring your dead child back I know I can’t but if you will pray it was sweeten up the atmosphere of your life you may not be able to change some things you go to that rest home and your mother who raised you has Alzheimer’s and she doesn’t even know your name nothing’s unless a miracle nothing’s gonna change that so why pray you go in there and you start praying and it turns that ugly thing suddenly there’s a sweetness to the way that you deal with it because prayer makes a difference in our lives things come but God says the way that you tolerate it the way that you bear the unbearable how do you bear the unbearable you take the sensor a prayer and you walk through that house where the hell may be trying to take one of your children and their own drugs and alcohol and it’s not a quick fix but sometimes it’s years that people struggle with stuff but what you do is you just that stinkier the house gets you just get the sensor out and you want to our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done in these children as it is in heaven get this day our daily bread in the workplace I know money’s running tight and we need some big give us this day our daily bread forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us have you ever fasted and prayed God would kill somebody you ever had you you know okay let me preach this is it have you ever had somebody get on your nerves and you convince yourself that it’s probably God’s will for them to go on home anybody been that deceived like your pastor has maybe once or twice in his life just just take them Lord you know what just fast and pray about it and you get in about the third day of that fast and it’s just like what Jesus said he said pray for those who despitefully use you and you know what here’s the big deal they may never as a matter fact they might get worse but what prayer does is it changes you it changes your atmosphere it changes your spirit it changes your ugliness to a beautiful sweet spirit all you got to do is pray for those in and this all you got to do is swing the sense or a prayer and it’ll sweeten you up and they may keep on despising you and doing you wrong and talking about you but you just pray for them some of you oughta those people you are hating you ought to just start doing like this prayer doesn’t always get rid of everything let me preach this right here the father they were from the altar of incense the more things dunk and the further you stay away from prayer the stinkier your life will get the less you pray the more things sting the less you pray the harder it is to stand it to bear it to take it but if you will pray I believe God there’s a scripture in Ecclesiastes 3 that’s I love it it said he makes oh this is gonna bless somebody it said he makes everything beautiful in its time not your time but if you keep praying about it it may be stinky and ugly and stinky and what a mess and it’s easy to boat and give up and say forget it but if you keep praying about it he makes all things beautiful even the tragedies even the losses even the terrible things that that that are were gorian and if you’ve ever walked with someone who was sick and ill and they kept getting worse and worse and worse it just breaks your heart and you pray and you pray and they’re not getting better but what it does is it sweetens the atmosphere enough for you to bear it for you to stand it and then you begin to trust you’ll make all things beautiful all things are working together for the good I don’t understand this right now but I’m just gonna make the best out of it and gonna turn it into beautiful worship and beautiful prayers of God I trust you even when you don’t answer my prayers like I thought you would Jesus used this prayer when he said father if it’s possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but thine be done the cup was not removed the cup was not taken the cup was not removed but something came when Jesus prayed that sweetened the atmosphere of what he was about to go through enough that he could bear the unbearable and the angels came and ministered to him that’s what prayer does prayer may not solve every problem in your life instantly but prayer sweetens up your life it brings joy to your soul it brings strength to your life let’s sweeten up the air in the atmosphere of our families and our homes you may have trouble everywhere but if you will pray about it that’s why what what what what we’ve been doing during this fast is we’ve been saying to this church pray the Lord’s Prayer at least four times every day at least four times out loud verbally utter the Lord’s Prayer I’ve been doing it and the bad thing is I have been doing more than four I’ve been doing more like 40 or 50 it just it’s consumed me and I get up and the first thing on my brain is my Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name what are you doing I don’t know what this day is gonna bring that I’ll be prepared for it because I have created the incense of a sweetness that whatever comes so be it he’s never failed me yet my God is a faithful God he doesn’t require perfection in our life he just says lean on me and call on me and trust me everybody sweeten up the air with the incense of praise right now let’s just take a moment nothing may change while you’re fasting and praying except the atmosphere of your own life but he’ll make all things beautiful in his time the Apostle Paul said I have this stone in the flesh and he said I pray three times take this take this take this he fasted and prayed take it take it take it and gods strip God said listen is my strength is made perfect in your weakness one translation said God’s strength is not perfect until it finds human weakness to apply to I qualify for your greatest strength Paul my strength is made perfect in your weakness and then God gave him the second part I will not remove it I will not take it away you keep praying about it and you keep creating a sweetness about it’ll give you enough to bear it and my grace is sufficient for thee not taking it I’m going to give you faith to bear it now that didn’t make you shout desert that didn’t make you you’re not you’re not engaged right now you’re just kind of it’s not one of what I want up we’re a microwave generation but we serve a crock-pot God and he says I’m going to let you walk through some stuff and you’re going to learn how to pray and the only reason you’re gonna pray is to get relief because nothing on the natural seems to be changing but when you pray you change that must feel like I got the burden off and you go back and the stench gets on you and you run back and that’s how you develop a prayer life there’s a sweetness that comes drifting across the atmosphere and it’s bearable I can’t change it but I can live with it that’s what prayer does prayer says I some things I can’t change but if I pray I can live with it and that in then what they did it was awful the smell was awful but the incense was just enough to make it bearable tolerable never get bitter at God well how do you not get bitter at God he took my child he took my my wife my husband he tooks how do you not get bitter at God prayers are like incense perfume that sweeten you up instead of making you bitter don’t get bitter in God because you lost a child or something happen he may not fix everything but like you want it right when you want it but he makes all things here’s a word from the Lord right in the middle of the fast he will make all things in your life that are so ugly and so jacked up and so messed up and so they stink it just stinks he will make those stinky ugly things beautiful in his own time you watch what I tell you everybody take a praise break just praise God just from I believe today’s message is speaking to your heart your life you may have situations that you know in the natural they can’t be changed but prayer can sweeten your life up and that’s what I’m going to do for you today and I want to say to somebody watching this program you just needed a clean slate you needed a new beginning you don’t want to live another year like you’ve been living it and it’s still early in a brand new year turn everything over to Jesus your life can be sweetened up with salvation today in a way you’ve never experienced life before I want to invite you to pray this prayer invite Jesus to be Lord of your life just say Lord Jesus I give you my life I surrender to you take control wash me cleanse me and fill me with your Holy Spirit in Jesus name I pray amen and amen i hope you’ll find you a good church and i hope that you will just follow through and get baptized in water do all that the bible teaches and tells us that if we do the blessing of god just magnifies in our life and in our closing moments together i want to say thank you to all of our friends and partners that have responded this month and fasting and prayer we’re agreeing with you remember as you have done this 21-day fast you don’t just see results during the fast but i think way over into March and April and June and August and September November God is scheduling your blessings he’s going to do things that are going to bless your life and you know just just see the faithfulness of God you’re going to see it this year in amazing ways and remember our gift this week is this beautiful book that our ministry has put together called the gift is in u.s. incredible it’s full of one-liners and things that we’ve you know shared through the years and beautiful conversation piece that you can place on the coffee table or maybe out in the office if you have a business and it’s just a beautiful reminder of the promises of God we want to sew that back end your life as you help us in Haiti and all over the world with the gospel being preached this is going to be our greatest year and I’m agreeing with you for that and lord I ask you to heal the sick today I ask you to encourage the discouraged to ask you to bless families and homes in Jesus name I pray we love you thank you so much for watching and we’ll see you next time right here on Kingdom connection start through Huron on the right path seeking God’s best in 2014 this month we’ve prepared a brand new resource of encouragement and inspiration in this vibrant gift book this beautiful work of art is a daily reminder of encouraging thoughts life lessons and Scripture that gift is in you is available for your best gift of $35 or more this month and when you order this month we’ll also include the clean slate confession cards for 21 days of God’s promises to build your faith and expectation ask for the gift is in you kit today a great marriage is more than a sweet melody of love it can be a beautiful symphony when two hearts are joined as one husband and wife join Jensen and Charisse Franklin for the one marriage conference February 21st and 22nd at free chapel in Gainesville Georgia and discover how to live in rhythm and grow in grace with the one you love one husband one wife one Accord whether you’re newlyweds or a seasoned couple the one marriage conference will give you the tools to create the marriage of your dream I’m gonna go home with a new whole perspective of my marriage with special guest dr. mark and Alison Rutland this weekend will be filled with music fun laughter and best of all your marriage will be stronger than ever go online for registration and more information and see how you can have a marriage that’s whole fulfilling exciting and strong as one husband one wife one Accord this program has been brought to you by the friends and partners of Jensen franklin media ministries for more information on this broadcast or for additional resources go online and Jensen Franklin dot o-r-g
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