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ABC Prayer Crusade

Youth Week of Prayer

Glenn Coon

1 - Youth’s Thrilling ABC Prayers

I want to ask a special interest in your prayers that I may present to you what you feel will help you to solve your problems.

There'll be no scolding, no belittling, no condemning.

I have in my hand lots and lots of questions.

A few days ago, you were invited to put in your questions, And they're wonderful.

And Nancy Newharth typed them out so to be a little easier for me to read them quickly, as needed.

And these questions, everyone is sincere.

Everyone has to do with a personal problem and there might be scores more added.

I'm confident that young people are looking for answers.

You're not looking for platitudes or deep theology.

And there are lots of older people looking for answers too.

Many older people are afraid to come to us, personally, you know, and let us know they have a problem.

There are so many, many questions here on religion.

There are just a lot of questions here on sex.

And young people aren't the only ones that have problems with sex.

This very week, Since you have no idea who they are I can state.

A couple came to us, they've been married for years, they have never had sex in marriage.

A minister came to me just the other day.

And so we want to deal with some answers.

And I would like to challenge those who are here and those who view this program to try out some of the secrets that we share with you for just 1 month to satisfy yourself to see whether these secrets really work.

And then you will know at the end of that month whether you want to follow the program farther or whether it doesn't work.

Dear Lord, just make me a nail upon the wall, fastened securely in its place, then from this thing so common and so small, hang a bright picture of thy face.

What are the secrets to the problems that we have?

The problems in religion, the problems when daddy and mommy are divorced and with whom we should stay, the problems of rock music, the problems of persistence in prayer, whether God answers because we've been pestering Him, or whether He likes to have us continue in prayer.

How can we get interested in sermons on the Sabbath?

Will retarded people automatically go to heaven?

All of these are very sincere questions, pages of them, whole pages.

And I'm going to share with you this morning and with those who are viewing this program a completely different kind of prayer to use in solving down to earth problems.

And I would like to invite you to try this kind of prayer and to study it until you are conversant with it and see whether it works in your life.

It's a kind of prayer that's not used by many of our people.

I don't suppose there's 1 person in a thousand that is using this kind of prayer.

But I'd like to share with you about 3 personal problems that were solved, 2 of them by young people of your age through this kind of prayer and 1 by an older person who happened to slip into a young person's meeting.

She wasn't supposed to be there, but she was there, a little old lady.

And first I want to share with you the kind of prayer.

But the philosophy behind the word ask is this.

When I ask, it means that I'm telling the Lord I'm helpless.

I have a solution that's impossible for me to solve.

I'm asking you Lord because I don't have the answer.

I'm reaching up and I'm beseeching you because I'm helpless.

This situation, this particular situation is hopeless.

So that's the first step in the new kind of prayer.

It's a hopeless situation and I'm helpless, so I'm reaching out to you.

The B of prayer, Mark 11, 24, is believe that you receive.

The philosophy behind that is to trust the Lord to keep his promise.

The Bible contains more than 3, 573 promises or clusters of promises.

And this special kind of prayer always takes a Bible promise.

And so it says, Lord, I believe you're fulfilling this specific promise for my specific problem.

And when it says, I believe, we are very careful to realize that this word, belief, is based on the philosophy of trust.

It means I'm not telling you how to do it.

I'm trusting you to keep your word, because I've always been told that God can't lie.

And since you can't lie, I trust you to keep the promise.

I not really trust you to keep it, but I trust you to do it your way, not my way.

The sea of prayer is to thank God that we have received.

If that isn't a new kind of prayer, as I may place my hand on a Bible promise, and there's nothing magic about placing my hand on a Bible promise, as I do it, I'm recognizing that Jesus said that every promise in the Bible is a seed.

Every apple seed, for instance, every apple seed contains an apple tree.

An apple tree trunk, 2 apple tree leaves, and apple tree roots.

Every acorn contains an oak tree, tiny, tiny, tiny, of course.

But a tiny oak trunk, 2 oak leaves, tiny, tiny, tiny, and oak roots.

Every persimmon seed contains a persimmon tree, leaves, trunk, roots.

Every promise of God contains the gift that it promises.

So in this new kind of prayer, we not merely ask, telling God we're helpless, We not merely believe and tell him we trust him to keep his word, but as we look at this promise we say, Lord, since the gift is in the promise, as I put this promise In my heart, and it takes a little while to get into the program, as I put this promise in my heart, the promise contains the gift.

It doesn't mean that I shall immediately realize the full gift, because when I realize there's an apple tree in an apple seed, I don't see the apple tree at once, right?

It takes a while for that seed to germinate and press through the surface and it takes a while longer for it to produce apples, you see.

So as I'm saying, Lord, thank you, I receive, then I bear in mind that there's a development.

And I may not see the answer at all to start with.

It may take a minute or it may take months to fully get the whole picture.

For instance, when I'm claiming a promise for the salvation of some loved 1.

When I'm claiming the promise for some loved 1, It may take weeks, it may take months for it to be fulfilled, but I'm saying now the A of prayer is what?

The situation in this particular area is hopeless, except as I look up to Him who is the source of my solutions.

2 - Jesus Delivered Dorothy

Dear Lord, just make me a nail upon the wall, fastened securely in its place.

Then from this thing so common and so small, Reveal the beauty of thy face.

Going to tell you about the little old lady, Dorothy.

But before that, I want to answer a few of your questions.

Here are some questions that have come in from the students right here, and it'll pertain to you young people who are viewing this program.

How do you relate to your parents divorcing, especially in, and I'm not going to read the name of the town, the town where we are, where all the church members stare and talk about you and your quote terrible home life.

In the first place, isn't it tragic that any professed Christian would belittle a home that's going through all the trauma of divorce.

Those that are divorcing already find their hearts are cut.

They don't need to have somebody condemning them.

The Bible says in John 3, 17, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

Any church members that will carry on like that about a home that's divorcing, these people who are criticizing need to be pitted because they don't know the Lord Jesus Christ.

To know the Lord Jesus Christ means that we're not participating in belittling people, right?

God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world.

God doesn't want his people looking down their nose at somebody else that's having a rough time, you see.

So, as I understand the Bible, our relation to these people, who are talking about your terrible home, would be, Lord help me to pity them.

Because Jesus, when he talked to the woman of Samaria, she'd had 5 husbands.

Instead of condemning her and belittling her, he revealed to her that he was her Savior.

So we need to pray for people that are going around with the thoughts of criticism and condemnation.

Number 2, when your parents are divorced and 1 talks about getting remarried and the other is dating again.

Should I show, should they show their true feelings?

Or consider the parents sensitivity and hide their feeling.

I think that's beautifully written don't you think so?

Whoever wrote this recognizes that the Parents do have a sensitivity.

It's a very difficult situation now, but it's also extremely difficult for the children.

Now shall the child, shall the son or the daughter show their real feelings, or shall they hide?

They'll claim a Bible promise under this new kind of prayer, like James 1.5.

You've said, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

I have some very sensitive feelings myself.

But you said if I like wisdom, I may ask.

Lord, I believe you're gonna help me to know how to react in such a way that I'll not further deepen the pain of daddy and mommy, right?

So Lord, I'm thanking you now for giving me wisdom.

I know you're having a lot of pain and we're having a lot of pain with you.

And how about daddy and mommy are praying together?

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Company did a poll, they tell me, on marriage and divorce.

They said that they found that where daddy and mommy pray together and fellowship in Jesus together, there's not 1 divorce in 500.

So if the Lord could help you to say, Mom and Daddy, couldn't we pray together?

I'm not belittling you, but couldn't we go to Jesus and use this new kind of prayer.

I'm thinking of a couple who had already been divorced and they had a lovely daughter and this daughter would never belittle daddy to mother or mother to daddy in any way.

But she asked God to help her to be the Cupid.

And might she be used to help mommy to turn to Jesus for help.

But you've promised to supply my need, Philippians 419.

And when I talk with Daddy, not to condemn him, But to help him to turn to Jesus in a new kind of prayer, you see, you know what happened that couple that had been divorced Thoughts began to come into their mind, you know Really?

I've made a mistake and Then the man told me he said the girl that I was going to marry now, the Lord revealed to me that whatever weakness my wife had that I divorced, this girl I was going to marry had twice as many.

Here I was getting out of the frying pan into the fire.

Their daughter was praying for them, do you see?

The daughter was claiming Bible promises and the Holy Spirit was working on daddy's mind.

Well, I'm going to get a girl that's much worse than the 1 I've divorced.

And the mother of the girl said, I'm having a rough time all alone.

And I want to tell you, it was just like heaven.

We learned how to appreciate each other through that daughter's prayer.

All right, maybe we better stop right here, otherwise I may not be able to get through with Dorothy.

This little old lady, Dorothy, She was sitting there as the young people were relating their experiences.

And this is the solution that the Lord gave me.

1 after another would get up, they would share, they could tell it all as a rule in about 3 or 4 minutes, and every time a young person would get up, they'd always give the credit to the Lord.

None got up as though they were boasting, look at what I did, no, no, no.

This problem put me in a hopeless situation.

And then I claimed God's promise and I believed, I trusted Him.

And Dorothy was the daughter of a medical doctor.

3 - Positive Assurance in Christ

This little prayer that I offer was done by a lady by the name of Mildred Hill.

And we have tried to contact her for years to get permission to use it.

Dear Lord, just make each 1 of us a nail on the wall to hold your picture in its place.

As I speak this morning, Brother Newhart, you're gonna be my timer.

Or else somebody else is, I don't know where he is.

That's perfectly all right to be on tape.

Everywhere we go, The biggest problem that we have found among older people and young people is this problem.

I'm not sure that I can make it through to the kingdom of God.

A whole page, question after question after question, has come in from this student group right here on religion.

And I have found, and those who were present last night remember that I mentioned, I have found everywhere we go, the biggest deal that Satan has is to get somebody to do something that's a little wrong, and then to say to that person, It's impossible to do right.

So the big suit of the devil is, you just can't make it.

Since you can't make it to heaven anyway, you might as well be happy here.

So the devil tries to make us miserable, claiming to make us happy.

I want to share with you something this morning.

And I believe that every 1 of us can make it through to the kingdom.

I think some of us have a little different concept of religion than some others do.

My concept of religion is that God wants us to be happy.

I don't believe God wants his children to go around with their heads bowed down like a bulrush.

I believe that the religion of Jesus Christ, when properly understood, can give us some assurance.

It does not mean that we'll have no problems.

It does not mean that there will not be days of agony.

I've had many Gethsemanes, but it means out of that we'll have an assurance that'll see us through so we can make it through to the kingdom.

I mentioned last night that I was holding a series, a little week of prayer series, with the little people in the elementary school.

And as they were coming in, I was sitting in front.

And she came up to where I was sitting, and she looked this way and that.

And then she modulated her voice, indicating that this was something very Confidential.

She said, Elder Kuhn, do you think I have committed the unpardonable sin?

Who in the world indicated to that precious little innocent sweet girl that she couldn't make the grade.

A little innocent girl has been told by Satan, you can't make the grade.

And then I shared with him last night, an 80-year-old man, a medical doctor, neighbor of mine, who had worked for God and loved the Lord for decades.

Elder Kuhn, something has told me that there's no hope for me.

By God's grace, you're going right through those gates to the new Jerusalem.

It was very, very difficult for him to accept it because that voice had been saying, really, really, no hope, no hope, no hope, no hope, no hope for you, no hope for you, no hope for you.

So the devil that tries to discourage a ten-year-old is the same devil that tries to discourage academy students, college students, their parents, and 80-year-old people.

It is his business to cause people to think you can't make it.

Many times I've spoke to little people and I knew that this is what the devil is trying to do.

So I thought, first of all, I want to stop the old devil dead in his tracks.

So I'd say to these little people, if you commit a sin today, will Jesus forgive you?

And then I'd take on a very serious look And I'd say, but listen here, if you commit the same sin again today, can you then expect God to forgive you?

And I don't have a great difficulty in looking ugly.

I say, if you do that thing 7 times today, the same thing after you've asked the Lord to forgive you.

And then I'll go on and I'll say, but suppose, suppose you do that thing 70 times today.

After you've asked the Lord and asked the Lord and he's forgiven you and He's forgiven you, and He's forgiven you, and He's forgiven you, and you do it 70 times.

Can you then expect...?" And the little heads go...

And that's where I'm praying that those of us will find ourselves.

You see, when I repeat the same sin many times the same day, it's important, It does not change Jesus Christ.

It gives the devil a loophole to say there's no hope, you see, and it sounds logical, but it does not change the heart of Christ.

It crucifies him, and it hurts me, but it does not change his attitude.

He's just as willing to forgive at the end of the 490th time as he was the first.

And this is the promise that He hath promised us even eternal life.

And you can put your name right in there.

4 - Sex, Sins and Other Stuff

Dear Lord, make each 1 of us a nail, a humble nail on the wall, fastened securely in our place.

Then from these things so common and so small, hang bright pictures of thy face.

Before we have a couple of our young people read some of the questions that have come in, in fact, they're going to read a lot of them, 1 of the students came to me this morning and said he wasn't able to be here yesterday.

So I thought maybe I'd just share 1 experience of my own regarding studies and how God answers prayer.

I was 16 years of age and I was taking algebra.

My teacher was taking algebra 2 and teaching Algebra 1, but he didn't know Algebra 1.

At the end of the 6 weeks, we had an exam.

2 of my brothers were taking the same algebra that I was taking.

And when our 6 weeks exam papers came back with a grade, 1 of my brothers had the grade of 0.

I invited the teacher to come up to my dormitory room and help me with algebra.

He worked the 2 hours on 1 problem and didn't solve it.

I fell on my knees and I used the principle of the A of prayer.

If the teacher didn't even know the solution, how in the world could I?

If the teacher couldn't get the answer, how could I?

And then I think in the background was this promise, ask and it shall be given you.

And I rose from my knees believing, though I was trembling, believing that the Lord was somehow going to give me an answer.

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Youth Week of Prayer

3 - Positive Assurance in Christ

Transcript

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