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So the title of the sermon this morning is Jesus Would Have Passed By. Jesus would have passed by. Look down at your Bible at Mark chapter 6 verse 46. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch of the night, he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed that it had been a spirit, and cried out. For they all saw him, and were troubled, and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And the point I really want to focus in on there in verse 48 is a little phrase that some people may have just overlooked, where it says that Jesus would have passed by them. I remember one time when I was a teenager, there was a guy at the pizza place that I worked at, and I wanted him to Christ, and I was bringing him to church with me, and he went to church with me many times, but then his family started to recruit him to their church, which was a Presbyterian church, okay? And this will often happen, you know, the Presbyterians didn't get him saved, you know, it took the Independent Fundamental Baptist to get him saved, but then after he saved, all of a sudden they want him over in their flock, you know, even though they couldn't get him saved, right? But anyway, so he was going with me to church a lot, but then he was also going to that Presbyterian church, so one time he said to me, he said, you know, I've come to your church so many times, I want you to come to one of the Bible studies from my church, you know, I want you to come to one of these small group Bible studies. So I was like, okay, you know, he's come to church with me a ton of times, he's my convert and everything, you know, let's just see what his Bible study is like, let's check it out, and whatever. So we go up to this in-home Bible study of my buddy from work, and we sit there, and this was the passage that they were going over in their Bible study, and the way these Bible studies work is like, everybody just kind of sits around and just everybody talks, like there's no teacher, there's nobody there who knows the material and is able to, you know, expound God's word, it's just kind of this free-for-all open mic type thing, and a lot of people just kind of like to hear themselves talk, and they don't necessarily know much about the Bible or any of these things, but it's just everybody's talking. And what they'll do, they'll always take like a tiny passage of scripture and just go over it and over it and over it and over it, like they don't really get the major context all the time, it's always just really honed in on this one part. And what was so funny, I went to this Bible study and I listened to them talk about what I just read you, that section I just read you, just those like four verses I read you, I listened to them talk about those verses for like two hours. I just sat there and for two hours they're just talking, and they're telling all these personal stories and just going off on all these tangents that have nothing to do with anything, and I remember just sitting there thinking that no one in two hours of just talking about these verses, talking about these verses, no one brought up the fact that Jesus would have passed by them. And then I thought about it and I thought, you know, maybe part of the reason why they didn't bring up the fact that Jesus would have passed by them is that it kind of flies in the face of their Presbyterian Calvinist theology that Jesus would have passed by, but then they called out to him and then he came over to the ship. That doesn't really jive with their belief, and I wondered if that's why it wasn't being brought up. And so this is a profound truth when the Bible says that Jesus would have passed by them. Don't tell me it's incidental, coincidental, or accidental. Everything is in the Bible for a reason, and the Bible is telling us that on his trajectory walking on the sea, he would have passed by them, except for the fact, what does it say? In verse 48 he would have passed by them, verse 49, but when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed they had been a spirit and cried out, for they all saw him and were troubled and immediately talked with him. So him talking with them is a direct result of them crying out, and then that's when he heads over to the ship, and of course the rest of the story is there. The wind sees, they're amazed at the miracle, and so forth. Now what is the significance of the fact that Jesus would have passed by them? Flip over to Mark chapter 7, you're in Mark chapter 6, Mark chapter 7. The significance is that we have the power to influence God, okay? Now the Bible clearly says in James, you have not because you ask not. He said, you ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lust. You have not because you ask not. That goes to show you that if you don't pray, if you don't ask God for things, he's not going to give them to you necessarily, but if you would have prayed, you would have had those things. I mean there's no other way to interpret that when he says you have not because you ask, why don't I have? Well you don't have because it just wasn't God's will for you to have. No, you have not because you ask not. That's what the Bible actually states, and this concept of man having free will is all throughout the Bible, and this concept of God changing his course of action as a result of man's action is just all the way through the Bible, constantly. I mean you think about the famous example of Moses interceding for Israel where God is angry and he's going to punish and destroy Israel, and then Moses intercedes, and then what does the Bible say? It says God repented of the evil that he was going to do unto the children of Israel, and you look at Jonah in the book of Jonah, God says that Nineveh is going to be overthrown in 40 days, but yet when the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and turned from their works and turned from their evil ways, the Bible says God saw that they turned from their evil way, God saw their works that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that he said that he would do unto them and he did not. Why did God repent? Because they turned from their evil ways. Why do you not have? Because you don't ask. And you shall receive. So the fact that people turn from their sins has an influence on what God is going to do in their life. The fact that you pray has an influence on what God does in your life. It's not that God is just on this set course and he doesn't even listen to what we're saying. He's just going to do what he's going to do. Folks, that is not true. God gives us choices. God gives us decisions. And let me just give you the clearest summary of the sermon in one statement. If you want God to be active in your life, you must invite him to be active in your life. And look, just because you're saved doesn't mean that God is just taking this super active role in your life. You have to ask him. You have to call upon him. You have to invite him to take care of things in your life. Look, if I go through life just not praying and I'm not asking God to guide my steps, I'm not asking God to work out situations in my life according to his will, guess what? He's not going to. He'll just pass by. If you want Jesus in your ship, you've got to cry out. If you want God to answer your prayer, you have to pray. And I don't believe that praying is just this meaningless exercise where we just pray for stuff and if God was going to do it anyway, he does it. And if he wasn't going to do it anyway, then he's not. You know, no, I believe that prayer changes things. And if prayer doesn't change things, what's the point of praying? But prayer does change things and that's what all the scripture clearly indicates. You have not because you ask not. You know, I want God to take an active role in my life. You know, as I'm in the ship going through the storms of life, I don't want to just be on my own scrambling to set the sail and looking at the compass and looking at the charts and messing with the rudder trying to be on the right course. Hey, I'd rather have Jesus in the ship basically saying, peace be still and guiding the ship and bringing me safely across to the other side. But listen, Jesus is not going to be in your ship if you don't call out to him. He can pass by. You don't want him to pass by you. You want him in the ship. Man makes decisions that influence the outcome with God. Folks, all the way back at the beginning of the Bible, when Adam is in the Garden of Eden and the animals are brought to him, God allows Adam to name the animals. And the Bible says whatever Adam called them, that was the name thereof. Look, God gives man choices, and they're not just these empty choices. Like I remember when I used to teach a Sunday school class when I was in Bible college out near Chicago, and I would give the kids this false choice because I would go to the store and I would buy this pack of cookies that were tan on one side. They were like an Oreo, but they were tan on one side and chocolate on the other side. And I would literally walk through the class when I'm giving every kid a cookie in the Sunday school class, and I would say, chocolate or vanilla? And they'd say, chocolate, I handed it to them with the chocolate side up. If they said vanilla, I handed it to them with the vanilla side up. And I would do that for like eight, nine, ten, finally like the tenth kid would be like, hey, wait a minute. But the first would be like, oh, cool, thanks, yes, you know, they didn't even know the difference. Then it's the same exact cookie. And you know what, that's how a lot of people think prayer is, or they think the choices that we make in life. This is the Calvinist view of how choices work, right? Like we think we're making a choice. God gives us this illusion of choice. But then at the end of the day, he was the one who actually made all the decisions anyway. No, you know, I believe that when God says to us, chocolate or vanilla, he actually has two different cookies. And if we say chocolate, he gives us the chocolate. If we say vanilla, he gives us the vanilla. He's not just giving us the illusion of choice, like when I was messing with those kids. No, the choices that we have in life are real choices, okay? The choice where God says, I set before you this day life and death, and he says, choose life. Hey, that's a real choice, friend. People who go to hell have chosen death. People who go to heaven have chosen life by believing on Jesus Christ. And that is not an illusion. You know, I've heard Calvinists try to say, well, salvation's sort of like a doorway. And on one side of the door, it says, whosoever will may come. And then when you walk through the door, you turn around and look back at the door, and it says, oh, you were elect from the foundation of the world, and it was totally God's choice. No, folks, because if that's what it says on either side of the door, then you didn't really have a choice, okay? So it doesn't matter which side of the door you write that on. It's not on the door, because God did elect us before the foundation of the world, but it was according to his foreknowledge. And it had to do with our personal responsibility to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. It had to do with the fact that we chose life and didn't choose death. Otherwise, God is just like that Sunday school teacher who hands the cookie and says, here, do you want chocolate or vanilla? Oh, just kidding, I already made the decision, and I'm just messing with you. That's ridiculous, okay? Jesus would have passed by them, but they called out, and that's what that symbolizes. Go to Mark chapter 7, this is a theme that you'll find in other places in the book of Mark as well. Look at Mark chapter 7, verse 24, and from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyron's Idon, and entered into a house, and would have no man know it, but he could not be hid. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation, and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not meat to take the children's bread and cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying, Go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. Now what if she would have been less persistent? What if she would have just said, Hey, can you heal my daughter? He's like, No, because I'm not going to take the children's meat and give it to the dogs. Sorry. And she's just like, she just went away. You know, other people walked away from Jesus before they got what they wanted. How about the rich young ruler? You know, he went away sorrowing. He did not get what he wanted. And here's the thing, this woman was persistent. Now you don't really get a full picture of her persistence here in Mark, but flip back to Matthew 15, and in Matthew 15, we have a more detailed account of this, and you can really see how persistent this woman was. It says in verse number 21 of Matthew 15, then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coast of Tyre and Sidon, and behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. Notice how she's crying out to him, just like they cried out to him in the ship. Look, he would have passed by, but they cried out. Here Jesus, you know what Jesus' plan was? What did the Bible say his plan was in Mark 6? You stay there in Matthew 15, but listen to this from Mark 6, or I'm sorry, Mark 7. It says that Jesus would have no man know it. He went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, but he didn't want anyone to know it. That's what it says in Mark 7 24, but he could not be hid. You know, he's too well known. He couldn't be hid. But folks, don't miss this, okay? He did not want anyone to know that he's in Tyre and Sidon. He basically is just trying to go there low key. He's doing it quietly, because you know, sometimes everybody needs a break. Even there were times when Jesus had to go into a desert apart and go up in the mountain just to get a break from people, okay? Jesus didn't want anybody to know that he was there, but yet this woman comes and screaming and calling to him. Folks, that's the only reason she got anything done, was by calling out to him. His plan was that nobody would know about it. His plan was to pass by, but yet she influences him by calling out to him, crying out. Let's go back to Matthew 15 there. Verse 23, but he answered her not a word. So get the story here. He goes to Tyre and Sidon. He wants to keep it quiet. He doesn't want anybody to know he's there. He's just trying to do his own thing for a little bit. And then this woman just starts calling out to him. So just imagine this woman yelling, have mercy on me, son of David. My daughter's grievously vexed with the devil. What is it? What is his response? No response. He answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, send her away, for she crieth after us. So this woman's dealing with an uphill battle here. I mean, she cries out to him. He ignores her. Are the disciples going to go to bat for her? No, the disciples are telling him, hey, can you send this woman away? I'm sick of her yelling. She's crying after us. We can't catch a break here. OK. Verse 24. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So he went from saying nothing. Then the disciples are trying to get her to leave. Then he turns around and just gives her a negative answer by telling her, I'm not sent unto the lost sheep but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She's a Syrophoenician. She's a Greek. So he turns her away with that. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. It's like the third time, right? Lord, help me. But he answered and said, he gives her another negative answer. But he answered and said, it's not me to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs. And she said, truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. So she cries out, no response. The disciples give her a negative response. Jesus gives a negative response. Jesus gives a second negative response. And then finally, Jesus says, you know what? Great is your faith. And he does what she wants. He grants her petition. Folks, these stories are not just, oh, look at this cool story, or oh, look, Jesus has the power to heal people. These stories are meant to illustrate spiritual truths. And the spiritual truth that's being illustrated here is that if we ask, we shall receive. But sometimes we need to be persistent or we need to realize that it's not just already going to happen anyway but that we need to plead with God many times to get him to act on our behalf and not just have this attitude, well, whatever's going to happen is going to happen. You know what? Calling out to God for help causes God to be more likely to help you. And if you call out twice, he's more likely to help you than if you called out once. Now this is not to condone a chanting or repeating a prayer for five hours like monks do and all these strange mystical practices because obviously the Bible says you're not going to be heard for your much speaking. But sincerely going to the Lord and pouring out your heart to him as many times as is necessary has merit, okay? When we're praying to God and asking him to intercede and getting him involved in our life, that's what gets things done. So we see here that this is the same truth that's taught over in the book of Luke with the parable about the woman and the unjust judge. If you remember, there's the unjust judge and he's not giving this woman justice. So she keeps on bugging him and bugging him and bugging him. And then the unjust judge, what does he say? He says, look, I don't fear God, I don't fear man, but just because this woman is bugging me so much, I'm just going to give her what she wants anyway because she's just bugging me. Okay? And I'm paraphrasing obviously. And basically the Bible says if the unjust judge is going to give this woman justice just because she bugged him so much, how much more is your Father in heaven who loves you and cares about you, how much more is he going to avenge his elect that call unto him day and night? So don't tell me that prayer doesn't change things. Don't tell me that we have no influence over the course of our lives. Don't tell me that, well, you know, God's got it all planned out and, you know, we're just kind of along for the ride. Folks, I don't believe that for one second. Look, if your life is messed up, look in the mirror to find the reason for that. Okay? Because God can fix your life. God can help you. God can take you places and show you amazing things and allow you to succeed and do great things for him. But you know what? You've got to invite him into the process and not just say, well, if he's going to help me, he's going to help me, and if he's not, he's not, you know, and what can I do about it? You know, let's say there's something about your life that you don't like. Well, did you pray about that? No. Did you pray that it would change? No. Oh, well, boy, I wonder why things aren't happening for you. You've got to invite Jesus into the boat if you want him in the boat. You can't just expect, oh, there's Jesus. If he wants to come, he'll come. If he wants to come over, he'll come over. No, he would have passed by. You've got to call out. I mean, what if this Syrophoenician woman would have just said, well, you know, I mean, if Jesus wants to head over to where I live, he'll do it. You know, if he wants to come, guess what? He's not leaving Israel. He was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He's not leaving Israel in his earthly ministry. He's going to send the apostles later, but you've got to come to him. And not only that, she had to really be persistent, which really comes through in Matthew chapter 15. Flip over to Mark chapter 10. Here's another great Bible story where Jesus is passing by, and someone calls out to Jesus and influences him. And a lot of people, you know, have this attitude that's somehow downgrading God, like, oh, how dare you think that God is influenced by us measly mortal men. Let me tell you something. This actually glorifies God more when you actually understand that God created us in his image, and that God created us with free will, and that God interacts with us in that way, rather than us just being all God's robots and pawns. No, we actually can influence him, and yet he has his overarching plan at the same time that's going to go forward no matter what. So look, on the macro scale, God's plan is going to go forward no matter what. Like, we've already read the book of Revelation. We already know what's going to happen. And nothing that we say or do is going to change what happens in the book of Revelation. It's not like, hey, guys, let's do so much soul winning and preach so well that God will just cancel the tribulation. He might just cancel, folks. We know that it's not going to be canceled. So on a macro scale, yeah, there's nothing we can do about God's big giant master plan. It's going to happen. There's going to be a tribulation. There's going to be God's wrath. There's going to be a millennium. All those things are going to happen. But here's the thing. On the micro scale, we can change a lot, because within God's great big plan, there's all kinds of room for people to be saved, for you to live a successful, prosperous, godly life, or for you to live a screwed up, messed up, backslidden failure of a life. Folks, did you know that you could either live a godly, righteous life and have joy and success, or you could live a miserable, messed up life, and it's not going to change the book of Revelation? But it sure changes your book, doesn't it? It sure changes your life. So don't get this attitude that because obviously certain things are set in stone, don't get this attitude that you can't, you know, influence your own life. Because you can. Because God is listening to you, and God is influenced by you. Don't forget that. Mark chapter 10 verse 46, and they came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. That's funny because that's kind of redundant because bar means son. So Bartimaeus means son of Timaeus. So Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus is kind of like just defining that name for you. Sat by the highway side begging, and when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he had to hear that because he's blind, he can't see. He began to cry out and to say, Jesus, the son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace. But he, and look, you know what that pictures? People basically trying to turn you away from the things of God. Now if we look at this from a salvation perspective, because obviously you could interpret this story to mean a lot of different things. The Bible is so deep. But if you look at it from a salvation perspective, you could say, hey, when you're in a, you're in a blind, unsaved condition, there are going to be a lot of people in this world who are going to try to influence you away from being saved, influence you away from Jesus Christ. They're telling you not to call on Jesus Christ. They're telling you to be quiet, hold your peace, right? Don't get saved. And folks, there are all kinds of influences out there to stop people from getting saved, whether it's the school system teaching atheism, whether it's just false religion teaching them Buddhism or Hinduism or Islam or some other way of salvation. You know, that's represented by these people that are telling him, don't call to Jesus. Don't pray. But then if you also interpret this instead of from a salvation perspective, you can think of it as the Christian life. You know, you're trying to get God involved. You're trying to get God to help you in your life. You're praying to God. And then you have people basically telling you, hey, look, God can't help you. You got to do this yourself. You know, you got to take things into your own hands and you know, oh, well, your marriage is messed up. Well, maybe you should just get a divorce then. You know, you got to just fix things. You know, what good is prayer going to do for your marriage? What good is prayer going to do for your job situation? What good is prayer going to do for your health or prayer? Hey, prayer is going to help you in all of those areas. Prayer can help your health. It can help your finances. It can help your marriage. It can help your child rearing. And look, obviously there are things that we need to actually physically do in life. But you know what? We need to work like it depends on us and pray like it depends on God. Pray like it depends on God because it does depend on God. And so these people that are telling them not to cry out are basically people telling you, hey, prayer doesn't matter. Prayer can't change anything. Or hey, God's going to do what he's going to do. You need to take things into your own hands. And the reality is that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all things will be added unto us. So our walk with God is what's actually paramount when it comes to our success or failure in life. But when people charged him that he should hold his peace, verse 48, he cried the more a great deal. Look at that. He cried more. And he cried a great deal more. He cried a lot more. Thou son of David, have mercy on me. Verse 49, and Jesus stood still. Notice that phrase. Jesus stood still. So Jesus is walking by, passing by, passing by, passing by. He cries out. People tell him to stop. He doesn't stop. He keeps crying out. A great deal more. Look, he didn't cry out once. He didn't cry out twice. He didn't cry out three times. He kept on crying out a great deal more. That's a lot. I don't know how much that is, but that's a lot. A great deal more. And that is what caused Jesus to stand still. And by the way, what about the great story where Joshua commands the son to stand still? Now look, folks. And you know what the Bible says? And you say, well, you know, you're misunderstanding. No, folks, because the Bible's clear in that story. It says that that was the most significant time, and again, I'm paraphrasing, when God hearkened unto the voice of man, the Bible. In fact, let's turn there. That's such an important point. It's not in my notes, but we need to turn there because this is so powerful of a truth. Joshua chapter 10. And look, you bunch of flat earth bozos on YouTube, don't even bother commenting on this part of the sermon because, sorry, the earth revolves around the sun, but that's another sermon in itself. Anyway, obviously, the sun stood still from the perspective of earth. But it says in verse 13 of Joshua chapter 10, and the sun stood still and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. But look at verse 14. Look how powerful this truth is. Joshua 10, 14. And there was no day like that before it or after it that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. Folks, how can there be any doubt to what I've been preaching in the sermon that God hearkens to the voice of man? I mean, think about the forces behind the rotation of the sun and the rotation of the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun and all of these forces that are just moving inexorably day after day, night after night. I mean, everything is moving in a set pattern and everything's in its orbit and everything's on its rotation and it's on this tilt and this axis. And everything is just unstoppable, inexorable, and yet Joshua, Joshua is the one who called for the sun to stand still. And God hearkened to the voice of man and just did this major dramatic, I mean, nothing could be more supernaturally, I mean, just what could be more supernatural than something so astronomical as just stopping these gigantic forces of the earth and the sun, just everything's stopping because man said so. That's what the Bible says. And I think what the Bible is trying to show us in that story is that, look, if man can pray for the sun to stand still and God makes the sun stand still, I mean, how can you doubt that God could open up a job opportunity for you or that God could help you in your marriage or that God could heal sickness or that God, how could you even doubt that for one second? All of that stuff is just child's play. It's a joke compared to Joshua commanding the sun to stand still, okay? And so this should show you the fact that, and let me just say it again, I want to keep repeating this because I don't want you to miss it. God hearkened to man. What does that mean? God listened to man. God took heed unto what man said. God did what man asked him to do. Even when man asked for something so ridiculous as for the sun to stand still, that's the most extreme prayer request. But you know what? I think part of the reason why God answered that prayer is because he liked it. I think God liked that. He said, man, I like your attitude. You have the faith. I mean, what kind of faith? He could have just prayed, oh God, let us win the battle. Oh God, help us to defeat more enemy. Oh God, help us to fight just as well tomorrow and finish this tomorrow or something. What kind of faith did he have in God to be able to just call out and say, son, stand still and actually believe that it would happen. You know, and you hear about Jesus talking about, you know, saying to a mountain, be thou removed and be cast into the sea. And you think to yourself, man, you know, Jesus is really just kind of exaggerating using hyperbole there, which obviously he's using an extreme example to make the point. But folks, something more dramatic than that already happened back in the Old Testament when Joshua made the sun stand still. So back, back if you would to Mark chapter 10, Mark chapter 10. Of course, the sun represents Jesus, by the way, because in Malachi chapter 4, it talks about the son of righteousness, S-U-N, the son of righteousness arising with healing in his wings. And so Jesus Christ represents the sun. So just as Joshua made the sun stand still, blind Bartimaeus made the sun, S-O-N, stand still, right? Just like Joshua made the sun, S-U-N, stand still. And by the way, geocentristic and flat earth bozos, the sun is moving as well as the earth is moving. They're both moving. So it's not a contradiction to believe in the normal heliocentric model with the sun standing still because the sun's rotating right now. But anyway, I don't want to go off on that because we're all, none of us are flat earthers here this morning. And today I know that for a fact that nobody here is a flat earther. Other times I can't make that guarantee. So anyway, I love the fact in Mark 1049 that blind Bartimaeus made the sun, S-U-N, stand still, just like Joshua made the sun, S-O-N, or did I get that backwards? Yeah. They both made the sun stand still, okay? And so Jesus stood still in verse 49 and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man saying unto him, be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee. Isn't it funny how these people's attitude changed? These are the same people saying, hey, quit calling him, quit bugging him, quit troubling him. And then they're like, hey, good news, man, he's answered you. Where were you guys a minute ago when you were telling him to shut up? And he casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? What do you want me to do? And you know what, folks? This is the question that God is asking you right now. How would you like the God of the universe to ask you this question? What would you like me to do to you? What would you like me to do? You know, people have all these fairy tales about a genie in a bottle and they fantasize about what would they do if they had their three wishes, if they could rub that Aladdin's lamp and the genie comes out and answer. But you know what, we have something better than a genie. We have the God of the universe. And you know, have you ever noticed how those genie stories, the genie usually tricks the guy and ruins his life? Like with some weird play on words or something, like he didn't ask the question properly. And the genie usually ends up gypping him and messing him up because the genie will take him too literally or something. Well here's the thing about that. God is better than a genie because God doesn't just give you exactly what you ask for if you ask for something stupid. He actually, the Bible says, will answer us according to his will and he does what's best for us. So we don't know how to pray as we ought. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us according to the will of God. So basically if we pray something stupid, God will translate it into something that makes sense. Like think about this. If Jesus were a genie from the Arabian Nights, when the thief on the cross said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, he would have just been like, okay, granted. And then he would have just left the guy, die, go to hell. And then, you know, thousands of years later in his kingdom, he's just like, remember that guy on the cross? That's the way genies are in those Arabic fairy tales. Well, you know what? God is better than that because God knew what he meant. God knew what he meant. He said, you know what? I'll do better than that. I'll give you better than what you asked for. Today you'll be with me in paradise. And you know what? When we pray, God will often give us something better than what we wanted. We'll ask for something because we don't know what we need. We'll ask for something. He gives us something better. And listen to me. Just as Jesus said to Bartimaeus, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? God is saying that to you from heaven right now this morning. He's literally saying to you, Christian, what do you want me to do to you? Christian, what would you like me to do for you? That's what prayer is. Prayer is you answering that question and telling God what it is that you want him to do for you. What a privilege. And of course, the blind man said unto him in verse 51, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. Here's how you get your prayers answered. Number one, pray. You can't, you're not going to have if you don't ask. Number two, you pray believing that prayer works. If you go to prayer like, well, I don't think it's going to work, but, you know, the pastor said I should pray, mom and dad said I should pray about it, so I guess I'll give it a shot. Folks, let not man, let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. The Bible says, let him ask in faith nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed, for let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. You got to pray believing that prayer works. When you pray, you should believe like, okay, that's taken care of, okay. It doesn't mean God's going to give you exactly what you want, but it means that God's going to take care of whatever you're asking him to take care of. He's going to get in the boat. He might not necessarily take you to the destination that you had in mind. He might take you to a better destination. But at least he's in the boat now because you invited him in the boat. Now he said unto him, thy faith hath made thee whole. So this guy's faith was instrumental in him being healed. You know, the fact that he asked was important. The fact that he cried out was important. The fact that he didn't listen to the people who told him not to, didn't listen to the people who said it wasn't going to work, that all mattered, but ultimately it was his faith. He had to believe in the process. He had to believe that prayer worked. And Jesus said unto him, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. We don't have to turn there, but another example of this is Exodus chapter 3 where the burning bush, you know, Moses turns aside and when God saw that he turned aside, then God spoke to him out of the bush. You know, we need to take some steps toward God, folks. We need to draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to us. And so I want to close on this verse, here's the verse I want to close on, excuse me, Jeremiah chapter 33 verse 3 is where I want to close. Jeremiah 33 3 is the thought I want to close on. Call unto me, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. I don't want Jesus to pass me by. I don't want Jesus to just cruise on by while I'm so busy trying to get my life straight and so busy trying to keep the ship afloat and so busy with the sails and the rudder and fighting the storm. You know what? I'm going to call out to Jesus. Get him in the boat. Get him involved. And I believe that he will answer me and that he will show me great and mighty things that I don't know. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the fact that you do hearken to the voice of man. We thank you so much for the privilege of prayer. Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not take everything to you in prayer. Lord, help us to pray to you and call out to you and believe in you. And Lord, help us no matter where life takes us to have you in the boat with us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.