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Home , John 7, John 8

“How is the Grass on Your Prayer Path?” :53-8:1 Sunday, June 24, 2018

Introduction: God inspired the Holy Scriptures, but God did not inspire the chapters and verses that we have in our . In the 16th century people added chapter and verse divisions to help in public reading. The Holy Scriptures are perfect, but the chapter and verse divisions are helpful, but they are not perfect. Our text this morning is an example of this. The division between John chapter 7 and John chapter 8 is regrettable. John 7:53 should be :1. The two verses conclude what precedes them.

Background: On the night before John 7:53 and John 8:1, there was a meeting of the (the Jewish Supreme Court) to decide whether was the or not. They were very divided in their opinion. defended Jesus (7:50). At the end of this meeting, the says that everyone went home and Jesus went to the Mount of .

Text: John 7:53-8:1

• The priest and the went home.

• The captain of the temple went home.

• The officers went home.

• The people went home.

• Nicodemus went home.

The contrast: The people went home and Jesus went to the (8:1). This is what I want us to consider this morning. These seven words deserve our consideration.

In Jesus’ earthly life, different places would have been special to Jesus.

1. —where He was born

2. —where He was raised

3. Tiberius—Sea of

4. —His headquarters

5. —home of Mary, , and Lazarus

6. Mount of Olives—A special prayer place

Mount of Olives:

1. The Bible mentions the Mount of Olives in the . In 2 Samuel 15:30, we read that went up on the Mount of Olives.

2. In :12 and Luke 21:37 it is called Mount of Olivet.

3. The Mount of Olives is the most conspicuous landmark in .

4. It is a mile-long ridge of the east side of Jerusalem with an elevation of 2,723 feet above sea level at its highest peak.

5. Bethany, which cannot be seen from Jerusalem, is on the east side of the Mount of Olives.

6. The Garden of Gethsemane is on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus often prayed there.

7. The Bible tells us that Jesus often went to the Mount of Olives to pray.

T.S. There are some great lessons to learn from our text.

1. The key to the Christian life is prayer.

• Jesus taught that the key to the Christian life is prayer. In Matthew chapter six, Jesus said three times “when you pray” not if “you” pray. In Matthew 17:21, Jesus told His disciples that they could not cast the demon out of the child without prayer and fasting.

• Jesus taught that prayer is the key to the Christian life by example.

Examples:

• “He sent the multitudes away, and went up on the mountain by Himself to pray” (Matthew 14:23).

• “In the morning, having risen long before daylight, Jesus went out to a solitary place, and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).

• “He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness to pray” (Luke 5:16).

• “He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).

The Bible makes clear that prayer is the key to the Christian life. In Jeremiah 33:3, 2 Chronicles 7:14, and 1 Thess. 5:17 we see that prayer is to be a priority part of our Christian life.

Illustration: Think for a moment about your physical life. What is the key to a healthy physical life? Any doctor will tell you that diet, exercise, and rest are important for a healthy body. What about your spiritual life? What is the key to a healthy spiritual life? Bible reading, prayer, worship, and meditation are all important to a heathy spiritual life, but prayer is the key.

Application: Your blood pressure, your weight, and your cholesterol are indicators of the health of your physical life. Your prayer life is a measure of the health of your spiritual life.

T.S. Your prayer life is the key to your spiritual life because it is how you experience God’s counsel.

2. Prayer is how we experience God’s counsel.

• In our Scripture text, Christ’s enemies met to talk about how to trap Him.

• No doubt when they got home they talked to their family about how to trap Jesus.

Illustration: We go home and talk to our family about some matter and ask them what they think we should do. Sometimes we ask friends what they think we should do. Family and friends love us and gladly want to tell us what they think, but they are human and no matter how sincere they are will not always tell us what is right. Jesus consulted with the Eternal whose wisdom is always right.

Application: Your family and friends love you and will give you their best counsel. When you seek God’s counsel in prayer, there will be no mistake.

T.S. Prayer is not only how we experience God’s counsel, but prayer is how we experience God’s power.

3. Prayer is how we experience God’s power.

• In Acts 1:12-14, we see the 120 who devoted ten days waiting and praying experience God’s power.

• For ten days they waited and prayed, and then the power of God came down (Acts 2:1-4).

Application: God’s power and prayer are like railroad tracks. They parallel each other. The more you pray the more of God’s power you experience.

Illustration: I read a story about a missionary in Africa who became discouraged in his missionary work. He lost the awareness of God’s presence and power. For years he had walked through some high grass to get to his favorite prayer spot. Day after day as he walked to his prayer spot, had made a path through the high grass. He knew something had happened to him because he no longer had the excitement he once had about his missionary work. An older missionary realized his “spiritual burnout” and went to talk with him. The older missionary told him that he thought he knew the problem. He took him to the path leading to his prayer spot and pointed out that the grass was not bent like it used to be. His “prayer path” had grown-up. He said to him, “I think this is your problem.

Conclusion: When I read the story, I thought about my “prayer path.” Let me ask you a question. How is the grass on your prayer path?