(The Sermon on the Mount and Prayer - Session 1) - Part 7

I wonder if I can ask you, brother and sister, this fragrance, is it real? Some of us, many of us here this evening, we are fathers, you know. We've got wives, and we've got children. God did not give us children to populate hell, gentlemen.

So as the father, my children, I need the presence of God as the husband of my wife. You see, no ministry is going further than the family. See, what does it mean, brother Gerard? It means that when they wake up in the morning, and when those little children wake up in the morning, and they come by, past the place where you meet with God, there from the place where you meet with God, there needs to come a fragrance of the presence of God.

What does it cost? Cost absolutely everything. Absolutely everything. So you see, what is it about the life of Christ? People reacted, you know.

You know what I always pray for churches? Often people say to me, oh, you pray that our church will grow. I said, I will not do that. They say, what will you pray, brother Gerard? I say, I pray that God regulate the traffic.

Ah, you say, what do you mean? I said, I pray that God will keep the wrong people away, and that God will send the right people. And so yeah, people were reacting, you see. You see, what happened in Matthew chapter 8 to Matthew chapter 10? Ah, brother and sister, you know what happened? It was the miracles of Christ.

He did 10 wonderful miracles. And may I say to you this evening, you know, the God that we are serving is still the God that can do miracles, brother and sister. I mean, the greatest miracle is when we see someone coming out of the darkness of sin into the glorious light of the gospel, but we can't limit him just to that.

I sat this morning and yesterday with a man and his wife outside of the city of Cincinnati and preaching at church last night that they go to, but I sat with him and three months ago, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. And yesterday we sat and we have been friends for many years. And we sat and I said to them, listen, God has given me a burden.

And I said, talk to me. And for a long time, all they did was just pouring out their hearts. And you know, it's wonderful when God has called us to take care of one another, because, you know, we become like a sponge and you go and sit next to someone and you say to that person, just talk to me.

And they just unload the burden of their hearts upon you. And you just take it in. And brother and sister, when that burden comes and it wash through our lives, God created a little place for that burden.

And when you get into the place of prayer, suddenly that little burden comes back and you climb underneath it and you systematically pray it through to God. And this morning when I prayed with him before I left for the airport, I just took both this dear man and his wife and I just brought him close to me and we prayed. And I looked at that at the end and I said, I know you've got Parkinson's.

I said, but I want to tell you, I'm asking God to give me a word that he's going to touch you and heal you. He's still the God that can do it, you know. Ah, there's something else, you know.

You see what he said? It was the teachings of Christ. You see, brother Gerard, where do we find it? Matthew chapter 5 to Matthew chapter 7. Now, brother and sister, listen to this. I love it.

You know what happened in Matthew chapter 5? The Bible says when Jesus saw the multitudes, what did he do? He went and he went up and sat in a mountain and he called his disciples unto him. And so what did he do? He began to teach his disciples. You say now, can you explain to me what happened? You see, my brother and sister, this is the picture.

Jesus saw the multitudes of people and he realized that the only way that he was going to reach these multitudes of people is going to be through the lives of his own disciples. You see, someone once said that God has got no other hands than our hands. He's got no other feet than our feet.

He's got no other lips than our lips. And the Lord Jesus, you remember in John chapter 14 to 16, he turned to those early disciples and what did he say to them? He said, it is expedient for you that I go away.