Theme and Central Message The sermon emphasizes prayer as the believer’s lifeline, urging a return to deep, personal communion with God. The pastor underscores that prayer is not a ritual to get things from God, but a relationship that transforms us into His likeness. The core progression is Purification → Prayer → Power → Perfected Praise, reflecting how God moves in a believer’s life.

• Urgency of Prayer in Perilous Times We live in spiritually dangerous days, yet believers have direct access to God’s power. The church must be a praying remnant, seeking God daily.

• Jesus’ Instructions in Matthew 6

  • When you give, pray, and fast: These are expectations, not options.

  • Pray privately, not for public show.

  • Avoid empty repetition; God knows needs before we ask.

  • The Lord’s Prayer is a model: praise God’s name, align with His will, seek daily spiritual and physical sustenance, forgive others, and ask for deliverance from evil.

• Purpose of Prayer

  • Aligning our will with God’s, not convincing Him to act.

  • Daily intake of Scripture is “daily bread,” feeding the spirit and strengthening faith.

  • Forgiveness is essential; unforgiveness blocks prayer.

• Personal Illustrations

  • Healing of an ulcer after embracing his calling and trusting God’s “layaway” provision.

  • Learning forgiveness through prayer for a hostile co-worker, sensing God’s compassion for the man’s hidden pain.

• Power of God’s Presence

  • Difference between God’s omnipresence and His manifested presence experienced in prayer.

  • Prayer invites God’s manifest power, greater than any earthly force.

• Dedicated Time: Give God uninterrupted time daily—free from phone, TV, and distractions.

• Purification First: Like Jesus cleansing the temple (Matthew 21), we must allow God to purify our hearts to pray effectively.

• Restored Worship: God desires to restore “the tabernacle of David”—deep praise and worship following purified prayer.

The sermon concludes with an invitation:

• Begin or renew a consistent personal prayer life.

• Intercede for family, church, nation, and the world.

• Seek God’s kingdom and will above personal requests.

Key Takeaway: Prayer is the doorway to God’s power and presence. As believers purify their hearts and devote themselves to prayer, they will experience God’s power and enter into perfected praise.

Key Verse: “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 1:3)

• Zechariah’s Background

  • Name means “He whom Jehovah remembers.”

  • Of priestly descent, called as a youth.

  • Ministry followed Haggai, encouraging Israel to rebuild the temple.

• God’s Call to Repentance

  • Renewal begins with turning back to God.

  • Example: Prodigal Son — the father waited for his return.

  • God’s promise: Return to Me, and I will return to you.

• Visions of Hope

  • Horses among the Myrtle Trees: angels patrol the earth, reporting it is at rest.

  • God reassures: He is zealous for Zion and will restore Jerusalem.

• God’s Word Stands Forever

  • Prophets and fathers pass away, but God’s word never fails.

  • All will give account: believers at the Bema Seat, unbelievers at the Great White Throne.

• Jerusalem at the Center of Prophecy

  • 1967: Jerusalem returned to Jewish control — a key prophetic marker.

  • Jerusalem is God’s chosen city, the hinge of end-time prophecy, and the place of Christ’s return.

• Christ Foreshadowed

  • Joseph’s story parallels Jesus: rejected, exalted, recognized first by Gentiles.

  • At Christ’s return, Israel will “look upon Him whom they pierced.”

• Return to God daily. Repentance is the doorway to renewal.

• Steward what God entrusts. Children, blessings, and gifts all belong to Him.

• Stay watchful. God’s plan is unfolding precisely; Jerusalem is the prophetic focal point.

• Live with gratitude. Gentiles have been grafted in by God’s mercy.

Application: Be ready, live repentant, and keep your eyes on God’s Word and His plan.

“He whom Jehovah remembers” — and He remembers you.

The 7 Feasts – Session 1: God’s Appointed Times

Key Verse: “These are the feasts of the Lord…my feasts” (Leviticus 23)

Main Points

• God has a plan – nothing is random. Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world.
• The Feasts of the Lord are God’s calendar:
  • Spring Feasts (fulfilled by Christ’s first coming):
    • Passover – Jesus, the spotless Lamb, sacrificed.
    • Unleavened Bread – His burial, sinless and pure.
    • Firstfruits – His resurrection, the first of eternal life.
    • Pentecost – Spirit poured out, 3,000 saved.
  • Fall Feasts (awaiting fulfillment):
    • Trumpets – points to resurrection/rapture.
    • Day of Atonement – Israel’s redemption.
    • Tabernacles – Christ dwelling with His people.

Takeaways

• Sin is choosing our way over God’s way. The Feasts remind us of His authority.
• Legacy: Pass down faith, not just possessions.
• Hope: Like children at the window, we eagerly await Christ’s return.
• Jesus fulfilled the first 4 feasts exactly—He will fulfill the last 3 in the same way.

Application: Live ready. Hand down faith. Long for His coming.

“Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”

• Resurrection of Christ

  • Central to the gospel; without it, faith is empty and we remain in sin.

  • Christ is the “first fruits” of resurrection; believers will follow in order.

  • Death is the last enemy, but it will be destroyed.

• Resurrection & New Bodies

  • Our current bodies are sown in weakness, raised in glory.

  • Natural body vs. spiritual body: the first Adam (earthly) vs. the last Adam, Christ (life-giving spirit).

  • Believers will receive incorruptible, immortal bodies.

• The Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51–52)

  • “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

  • Transformation will happen instantly, at the last trumpet.

  • Linked to the Feast of Trumpets imagery — readiness is essential.

• Practical Warnings & Encouragements

  • “Evil company corrupts good habits” — guard your associations.

  • Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

  • Your labor in the Lord is not in vain — eternal reward outweighs earthly trials.

• Closing Exhortations

  • Watch, stand firm in faith, be brave and strong.

  • Let everything be done in love.

  • Live with expectancy: Maranatha — “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Main Scripture:

• 1 Timothy 2:8 – “I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

• Matthew 21:13 – “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”

• Prayer reveals who we depend on. Without prayer, we live by our own dictates.

• Prayer is relationship. It is hanging out with God, being real with Him.

• Prayer is power. We have access to more authority than any army through prayer.

• Prayer must be first. Don’t treat it as the last resort—make it your first response.

• Barriers to prayer: wrath (unforgiveness) and doubt will block effective prayer.

• Jesus is still praying. Of all His works on earth, intercession continues in heaven (Hebrews 7:25).

• Set aside uninterrupted time daily (not just while driving or drifting off at night).

• Be real with God—He already knows your struggles.

• Pray for others—family, friends, leaders, even enemies.

• Guard against substituting reaction for prayer—Peter’s mistake in Gethsemane (Matthew 26).

• Watch and pray, so you don’t fall into temptation.

1. Do I treat prayer as a last resort or as my first response?

2. What distractions keep me from “hanging out” with God?

3. Who in my life needs me to intercede for them right now?

Prayer is not a ritual—it is a refuge. Jesus invites us behind the veil, into the presence of the Father. Let’s not wait until everything else fails—pray first.