The theological and foundational basis for the New Testament believer's ministry of prayer and intercession is his calling as a priest unto God. The Bible clearly declares that believers are:
A holy priesthood:
"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices accptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV, emphasis added).
A royal priesthood:
"But you are a chosen generatio, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His Marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis added).
A kingdom of priests:
"And (Jesus) has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 1:6).
"And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10).
The nature of the priest's ministry is essentially intercessory - a ministry on behalf of others.
The background of believers' calling
The background of believers' call to priestly intercession is found in the Old Testament example of the Levitical priesthood. Among the twelve tribes of Israel, the Levites were called to function as priests. They were the designated priestly tribe. However, the will of God was for the entire nation, whom God had chosen in Abraham and redeemed through Moses, to function as priests. The Lord said to Moses and to the Israelites:
"And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6).
It is therefore God's will that all Israelites in the Old Testament and all Christians (the redeemed people) in the New Testament should be serving as priests
The simplest terms possible to describe the priestly function is to say that the priest's responsibility was two-fold- to stand before and to stand between.
The priest stood before God
He was to stand before God to minister to Him with sacrifices and offerings. This was aptly illustrated when the high priest (Aaron) went beyond the Inner Veil of the Tabernacle of Moses to make atonement for his own sins and for the sins of the people.
The priest stood between God and the people
The priest stood between the Lord God and the rest of the people so as to bring together a Holy God and sinful men at the place of the blood sacrifice.
The Melchizedek priesthood
In the New Testament the Levitical priesthood is changed to the Melchizedek priesthood (please read Hebrews 7:11 - 19). The Levitical priesthood was passed on from generation to generation through the descendants of Levi was based upon a physical requirement and lineage. But the Melchizedek priesthood, in which the Lord Jesus is the High Priest, is based upon the power of an endless, indestructible life. It is a "Resurrection Priesthood"! The Lord Jesus, then, is the High Priest (from the tribe of Judah, not Levi) and the Church is the priesthood that functions under His direction. We, the Church, as New Testament believers, are to stand before the Lord, as a holy priesthood and minister to Him. At the same time we are to stand between the Lord and others (believers or non-believers), as royal priesthood, in the ministry of intercession.
A picture of the Inner Veil
In the tabernacle of Moses, the Inner Veil is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ before His crucifixion. There would be no access into God's Presence, beyond the Veil, until sin had been dealt with.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, shedding His Blood, as both Sin Sacrifice and High Priest, as both Offering and Offerer, God, by a miraculous act, rent the Veil in twain (Matt. 27:51; Luke 23:45). This was a Divine act of God, for the Veil was rent from top to bottom. This signifies the grace of God - God approaching man and not man approaching God. The rent Veil symbolizes the broken Body of the Son of God at Calvary. The Veil must be rent and Christ must die. The rent Veil points to His rent flesh through which the Way to the Father is restored. It was lost since Adam and Eve sinned.
Jesus said to Thomas, one of His disciples: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
So, as New Testament believers we have the privilege to come to the Throne of grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and stand in the presence of God in our ministry of prayer and intercession.
Believers' priority in prayer and intercession
Here are some areas of concern we need to focus in on, as a royal priesthood exercising our God-given ministry of prayer and intercession.
Intercede for all men
Paul sid, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:1 - 4, NKJV).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. Paul mentioned "first of all" which suggests that the first duty of Christians meeting together in a prayer meeting is to pray for all men.
2. The phrase, "Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks" covers all forms of prayer.
3. We are to pray and intercede for all men. it is the will of God for all men to come to salvation through Jesus Christ. While Scripture teaches elsewhere that not all men will be saved; it is nevertheless the will of God that all come to the knowledge of the truth. Praying for all men would include, of course, all the nations of the world. We need to pray for the fear of the Lord and a consciousness of God to become more evident and manifest among men.
4. The Chuch is to pray and intercede for rulers (kings, if any) and all those who ar in authority. This includes political, judicial, legislative, and local leaders. Good government is the will of God because good government provides a conducive environment for the spread of the Gospel. When the Church fulfills its priestly function of praying for the government, then we will see the release of righteousness in our land and the availability of divine wisdom for the problems we are facing now.
Intercede for spiritual leaders
Paul asked the Churches (Ephesians, Thessalonians) to pray for him:
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints - and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel" (Eph. 6:18, 19, emphasis added).
Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him so that he would have a mouth of utterance to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel.
"Finally, brethren, pray for us (Paul, Silvanus and Timothy), that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and they we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith" (2 Thess. 3:1, 2, emphasis added).
Paul beseeched the Thessalonians to pray that the Word of the Lord through him would have a free course.
The writer of Hebrews (probably Paul) was deterred from visiting the Jewish believers by some adverse circumstances over which he had no control. This might be either imprisonment, sickness or the want of a convenient opportunity of visiting them.
One of the greatest areas of neglect in the Church today has been intercession for spiritual leaders. As a result of our prayerlessness, we havs seen a number of God's servants become morally and/or doctrinally disqualified to serve as leaders. it is imperative we pray for our leaders. They must function in their God-appointed ministries if the Church is to come to unity and maturity.
Paul said, "And He (Jesus) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:11 - 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
The ministries concerned are those of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher - the so-called five-fold ministries of the Church.
Christians who are called to these ministries are constantly on the battlefront lines where the enemy's attacks are the most severe and damaging. They must be lifted up in intercession so that the Word of the Lord may come forth with power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. One of the common tactics the enemy uses to make a person's ministry ineffective is tho attack him, directly, physically, mentally, spiritually or through the members of his family. We need to cover our spiritual leaders with prayer and intercession - especially to intercede for their ministries, their families, and for their vision.
Pray for unity in the Body of Christ
In John 17, the Lord Jesus interceded for His disciples and prayed that they would be one as He and the Father are one. In our praying, we need to do likewise. As royal priests, believers at all times must continue to pray that the prayer of Jesus would soon be fulfilled. We must understand that the brokenness and fragmentation of the Church, the Body of Christ, being divided by denomination differences, not only grieves the heart of the Father but also seriously hinders our appeal and outreach to a lost world!
Pray for the suffering and persecuted Church
We need to intercede for our brothers and sisters who are living and serving the Lord in countries that are hostile to the Gospel. We must pray that they will be strengthened and encouraged to stand for their faith in the midst of persecution.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them - those who are mistreated - since you yourselves are in the body also" (Heb. 13:3).
We are admonished to remember, in prayer, those who are imprisoned because of their faith. They are our fellow believers in the same Body of Christ.
In the Book of Acts, when Herod imprisoned Peter, the Church prayed for him:
"Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the Church" (Acts 12:5).
The verses following describe how Peter was set free by an angel.
Intercede for the cause of world missions
Jesus said, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2, KJV).
Not all of us are called to world missions but all of us are called by Jesus Himself to pray to the "Lord of the harvest" to send forth laborers into the harvest. The laborers are so few that some of the harvest is spoiling! In harvest time you do not sow seed, you thrust in the sickle! While there is, of course, a continual need to sow the seed of God's Word, the great need of this end time hour is to teach, train, equip, and inspire the laborers to reap the harvest. Pray especially for missionaries and workers and leaders as they lead the way in harvesting. Pray for the release of more funds to finance the Great Commission in every nation.
Jesus said that the field is the world and the havest is the end of the age (Matt. 13:38, 39)
Conclusion
Let us praise God for calling us to salvation and for calling us to participate in the redemptive process of those around us by serving as New Testament priests.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Prayer, Meditation and Waiting
Since the beginning of creation, men have sought to find a solution, through various forms of meditation (transcendental meditation, yoga practices, New Age involvement and the like), to find answers for their human dilemmas - worry, lack of mental peace, strife, war and ill health. But they will not find lasting answers or solutions through these secular forms of meditation. Only those who know God, take time to come before Him in prayer and meditation and waiting upon Him, can find and know these answers.
In God's heart nothing supersedes His longing to restore fellowship with the human race and to have actual communication with them. Thus it ought to also be the deepest longing of those who know God to likewise want communication, dialogue, and times of being in His presence, and meditation on the many attributes of God. All the prominant Old Testament saints (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and especially David) sought the face of God, walked and communed with Him.
Jesus Christ makes it all possible
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in all full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:19 - 22, NKJV).
We can boldly come to God and have communion with Him through the blood of Jesus. In other words, the blood of Jesus opens the door for us to draw near to God to praise Him, worship Him, pray to Him, to appreciate Him, meditate on His attributes, wait upon Him, and thank Him and to develop an intimate relationship with Him.
The meditations of David
David was a person who truly knew His God and therefore he was a great man of prayer, meditation and waiting upon the Lord. Here are some examples of his meditation:
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him" (Ps. 8:3, 4, NKJV).
"My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue" (Ps. 39:3, KJV, emphasis added).
Notice that "musing" is a state of deep thought or dreaming abstraction, to become absorbed in thought; to turn something over in the mind meditatively; to wonder of marvel. In short, it is the same as "meditation".
"When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches, because thou hast been my help, ..." (Ps. 63:6, 7, KJV).
You can see clearly that David spent night watches (or nighttimes) in giving place to meditating; his mind and spirit swelling, or musing, with great contrmplation upon the Lord.
"I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings" (Ps. 77:12, KJV).
David, in his meditation, dwelt upon all God's work. He also said, "My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord" (Ps. 104:34, NKJV). In other words, to David it was a time of sweetness, a time of preciousness when he would shut himself away, or while alone in the fields give time to meditate upon the Lord.
Meditation is certainly sweetness to the heart and gentleness to the soul; and affects nearly every aspect of us, both spiritually and physiologically. David further said, "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways" (Ps. 119:15, KJV).
I believe more of us would have greater respect of God if we spent more time, as David did, in meditating upon His laws, upon His precepts, on His judgments, and the many aspects of God's divine order.
David also said, "I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation" (Ps. 119:99, KJV).
David said that he had more understanding than all of his teachers simply because he had meditated (given deep thought) upon God's testimonies. Therefore by meditating upon the testimonies of God, he was able to have an increased knowledge and wisdom that supperseded all of his instructors. We can do likewise. For all God's people, meditation and musing upon God's great works leads to increased knowledge and wisdom.
Meditation and thought life
Meditation and the thought life of a believer are closely related - in fact almost synonymous. I believe the thought life plays a very important part in successful Christian living. A mind cut loose to run every direction, undisciplined, will cause continued unrest and leave one unstable, insecure, and actually void of receiving anything much from God. This is precisely what James said:
"... he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8, NKJV).
So it is imperative that we understand something about the thought life of the Christain.
Peter offered a suggestion: "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, ..." (1 Peter 1:13, NKJV).
In other words, we need to tuck in the loose ends of our minds (thoughts). Don't let thoughts run wild; gird them up; concentrate on proper, essential, productive, eternal, heavenly things.
Paul also said something about our thoughts: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praisworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8, emphasis added).
In given us these guidelines for our thought life, he mentioned 8 categories of things we should meditate on.
Paul also taught us how to control our thoughts:
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought (including wild thoughts and imaginations) into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4, 5).
We control our thoughts by being obedient to Christ, and by bringing every wild thought and wild imagination under captivity. The evil one wants us to think wild thoughts, but the Holy Spirit in us keeps them under captivity.
Meditation and thoughts of a believer is so important that Paul admonished Timothy: "Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all" (1 Tim. 4:15, emphasis added).
The things that Timothy should meditate upon can be found in Timothy 1 - 4. In general these are the things of God.
I believe that discipline of the whole life begins first with the control of the thought life. Whatever you license in your mind, whether evil or good, you will perform when the opportunity affords itself. In other words, if you license in your secret thoughts, lust or evil desires, when the opportunity comes Satan will see to it that you will perform those acts. Satan knows that he can only attack you mind (part of your soul), but not your spirit. And through your mind he attacks your body.
James said, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14, 15).
Only through prayer and meditation, the mind is trained and exercised into discipline and control by the Spirit of God.
Musing and meditation
How shall I spend my time of musing and meditation? The psalmists showed us many ways:
Musing on the Word of God
"Blessing is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:1, NKJV).
Musing upon God
"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches" (Ps. 63:5, 6).
Musing and meditating upon past blessings
"I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of your hands" (Ps. 143:5).
Waiting
Through Isaiah, God said, "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount upon with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV, emphasis added).
The statement: "Wait on the Lord" means to wait upon Him like a waitress or a servant. But the Scripture says that believers are sons and not servants (John 15:15; Gal. 4:7).
So, upon this premise, this waiting upon the Lord reminds me of a loving son who sits at the table with his father to cummunicate, listen, and learn; he refuses to run off to other sources for wisdom and knowledge, but waits to learn from his father. Waiting is sweet tarrying before the Lord, in quiet times, often to learn and be strengthened from this tremendous fellowship and communication with God, the Father.
The word, "waiting" implies a time of conquering, controlling, disciplining the restless spirit, quieting ourselves, being silent with a holy, spiritual silence and just being in His presence.
Here, Isaiah was told that to wait upon the Lord was the source of strngth, with the ability to rise above this present world of conflct and problems, like an eagle taking flight.
The benefits of waiting upon the Lord
The psalmist said, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).
I believe, "being still" simply means, "Stop, be quiet, wait in His presence and upon God, not mere daydreaming, but in total concentration and quietness".
Jeremiah said, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" (Lamentations 3:25, 26, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word "salvation", in this context, comes from the Hebrew word "teshuwah" which means, "Rescue, deliverance or help".
David, the psalmist said, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him" (Ps. 62:5).
David's expectation was of the Lord. By waiting upon God, we can expect many miracles wrought by Him, both for our own emotional and spiritual life inwardly and outwardly, and also for His leading and provision.
The result of failing to wait upon the Lord
David said, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass" (Ps. 37:7).
What David is literally saying is, don't do anything until you have heard from God; be patient and wait upon the Lord; don't be motivated by others. We could have saved ourselves many a heartbreaking moment and difficult trial if we had not moved ahead of the Lord, doing our own things instead of waiting for our Heavenly Father to give us direction. This is an important truth that needs to be learned by all Christians. It is part of the meditating and waiting process that, when learned and when practiced, can make for a better and more successful Christian life of faith.
Conclusion
God spoke to Joshua when He commisioned him to take over the duties of Moses:
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous. and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8, emphasis added).
God made it clear that if Joshua (or any man) would constantly meditating upon the Word of God then he would have prosperity and good success.
The same thought pattern is reiterated in Psalm 1 where the psalmist said that any man who delights himself in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night, shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. In other words, the blessings of the Lord, the fruitfulness, the productiveness and the prosperous way rest upon the man who will take time to meditate, muse, contemplate, and wait upon the Lord!
In God's heart nothing supersedes His longing to restore fellowship with the human race and to have actual communication with them. Thus it ought to also be the deepest longing of those who know God to likewise want communication, dialogue, and times of being in His presence, and meditation on the many attributes of God. All the prominant Old Testament saints (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and especially David) sought the face of God, walked and communed with Him.
Jesus Christ makes it all possible
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in all full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:19 - 22, NKJV).
We can boldly come to God and have communion with Him through the blood of Jesus. In other words, the blood of Jesus opens the door for us to draw near to God to praise Him, worship Him, pray to Him, to appreciate Him, meditate on His attributes, wait upon Him, and thank Him and to develop an intimate relationship with Him.
The meditations of David
David was a person who truly knew His God and therefore he was a great man of prayer, meditation and waiting upon the Lord. Here are some examples of his meditation:
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him" (Ps. 8:3, 4, NKJV).
"My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue" (Ps. 39:3, KJV, emphasis added).
Notice that "musing" is a state of deep thought or dreaming abstraction, to become absorbed in thought; to turn something over in the mind meditatively; to wonder of marvel. In short, it is the same as "meditation".
"When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches, because thou hast been my help, ..." (Ps. 63:6, 7, KJV).
You can see clearly that David spent night watches (or nighttimes) in giving place to meditating; his mind and spirit swelling, or musing, with great contrmplation upon the Lord.
"I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings" (Ps. 77:12, KJV).
David, in his meditation, dwelt upon all God's work. He also said, "My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord" (Ps. 104:34, NKJV). In other words, to David it was a time of sweetness, a time of preciousness when he would shut himself away, or while alone in the fields give time to meditate upon the Lord.
Meditation is certainly sweetness to the heart and gentleness to the soul; and affects nearly every aspect of us, both spiritually and physiologically. David further said, "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways" (Ps. 119:15, KJV).
I believe more of us would have greater respect of God if we spent more time, as David did, in meditating upon His laws, upon His precepts, on His judgments, and the many aspects of God's divine order.
David also said, "I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation" (Ps. 119:99, KJV).
David said that he had more understanding than all of his teachers simply because he had meditated (given deep thought) upon God's testimonies. Therefore by meditating upon the testimonies of God, he was able to have an increased knowledge and wisdom that supperseded all of his instructors. We can do likewise. For all God's people, meditation and musing upon God's great works leads to increased knowledge and wisdom.
Meditation and thought life
Meditation and the thought life of a believer are closely related - in fact almost synonymous. I believe the thought life plays a very important part in successful Christian living. A mind cut loose to run every direction, undisciplined, will cause continued unrest and leave one unstable, insecure, and actually void of receiving anything much from God. This is precisely what James said:
"... he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8, NKJV).
So it is imperative that we understand something about the thought life of the Christain.
Peter offered a suggestion: "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, ..." (1 Peter 1:13, NKJV).
In other words, we need to tuck in the loose ends of our minds (thoughts). Don't let thoughts run wild; gird them up; concentrate on proper, essential, productive, eternal, heavenly things.
Paul also said something about our thoughts: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praisworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8, emphasis added).
In given us these guidelines for our thought life, he mentioned 8 categories of things we should meditate on.
Paul also taught us how to control our thoughts:
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought (including wild thoughts and imaginations) into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4, 5).
We control our thoughts by being obedient to Christ, and by bringing every wild thought and wild imagination under captivity. The evil one wants us to think wild thoughts, but the Holy Spirit in us keeps them under captivity.
Meditation and thoughts of a believer is so important that Paul admonished Timothy: "Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all" (1 Tim. 4:15, emphasis added).
The things that Timothy should meditate upon can be found in Timothy 1 - 4. In general these are the things of God.
I believe that discipline of the whole life begins first with the control of the thought life. Whatever you license in your mind, whether evil or good, you will perform when the opportunity affords itself. In other words, if you license in your secret thoughts, lust or evil desires, when the opportunity comes Satan will see to it that you will perform those acts. Satan knows that he can only attack you mind (part of your soul), but not your spirit. And through your mind he attacks your body.
James said, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14, 15).
Only through prayer and meditation, the mind is trained and exercised into discipline and control by the Spirit of God.
Musing and meditation
How shall I spend my time of musing and meditation? The psalmists showed us many ways:
Musing on the Word of God
"Blessing is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:1, NKJV).
Musing upon God
"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches" (Ps. 63:5, 6).
Musing and meditating upon past blessings
"I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of your hands" (Ps. 143:5).
Waiting
Through Isaiah, God said, "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount upon with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV, emphasis added).
The statement: "Wait on the Lord" means to wait upon Him like a waitress or a servant. But the Scripture says that believers are sons and not servants (John 15:15; Gal. 4:7).
So, upon this premise, this waiting upon the Lord reminds me of a loving son who sits at the table with his father to cummunicate, listen, and learn; he refuses to run off to other sources for wisdom and knowledge, but waits to learn from his father. Waiting is sweet tarrying before the Lord, in quiet times, often to learn and be strengthened from this tremendous fellowship and communication with God, the Father.
The word, "waiting" implies a time of conquering, controlling, disciplining the restless spirit, quieting ourselves, being silent with a holy, spiritual silence and just being in His presence.
Here, Isaiah was told that to wait upon the Lord was the source of strngth, with the ability to rise above this present world of conflct and problems, like an eagle taking flight.
The benefits of waiting upon the Lord
The psalmist said, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).
I believe, "being still" simply means, "Stop, be quiet, wait in His presence and upon God, not mere daydreaming, but in total concentration and quietness".
Jeremiah said, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" (Lamentations 3:25, 26, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word "salvation", in this context, comes from the Hebrew word "teshuwah" which means, "Rescue, deliverance or help".
David, the psalmist said, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him" (Ps. 62:5).
David's expectation was of the Lord. By waiting upon God, we can expect many miracles wrought by Him, both for our own emotional and spiritual life inwardly and outwardly, and also for His leading and provision.
The result of failing to wait upon the Lord
David said, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass" (Ps. 37:7).
What David is literally saying is, don't do anything until you have heard from God; be patient and wait upon the Lord; don't be motivated by others. We could have saved ourselves many a heartbreaking moment and difficult trial if we had not moved ahead of the Lord, doing our own things instead of waiting for our Heavenly Father to give us direction. This is an important truth that needs to be learned by all Christians. It is part of the meditating and waiting process that, when learned and when practiced, can make for a better and more successful Christian life of faith.
Conclusion
God spoke to Joshua when He commisioned him to take over the duties of Moses:
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous. and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8, emphasis added).
God made it clear that if Joshua (or any man) would constantly meditating upon the Word of God then he would have prosperity and good success.
The same thought pattern is reiterated in Psalm 1 where the psalmist said that any man who delights himself in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night, shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. In other words, the blessings of the Lord, the fruitfulness, the productiveness and the prosperous way rest upon the man who will take time to meditate, muse, contemplate, and wait upon the Lord!
Monday, May 04, 2009
End-time Pestilences
One of the clearest signs of the beginning of sorrow is frequent occurrences of pestilences mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:
Jesus said, "take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in My name, saying 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24: 4 - 8, NKJV, emphasis added).
Bible teachers point to these verses as prophetic in that they as well as the rest of Matthew 24 will take place during the Great Tribulation. I tend to agree with them on that interpretation. But we can certainly see all these things currently approaching, similarly to a woman in travail. Birth pangs are growing very intense in these end-tim hours.
The recent outbreak of the Swine Flu or more correctly, the Global Flu or Influenza A(H1N1) is one of the pestilenses. Other earlier pestilences are HIV/AIDS, Bird Flu, Spanish Flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and the Nipah Encephalitis Epidemic, etc.
A question we are tempted to ask is - are we in the Great Tribulation yet? The answer is, NO. And the reason can be found in my earlier posting/message - "Some Biblical Facts about the Future". Toward the end of that message I mentioned that Paul, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit said something about the timeline of the events of the future:
Paul said, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sit as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, ...." (2 Thess. 2:3 - 4, 6 -8, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Antichrist is known by many names - the man of sin, the son of perdition and the lawless one. The word 'Antichrist' simply means 'instead of Christ' rather than 'against Christ'.
2. The word 'He' in "He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way" refers to the Holy Spirit. The true Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also lives in individual true believers. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, the true Church is also taken out of the way. This event is obviously the rapture of the true Church - a future event.
3. This is the timeline of future events - the falling away (the great apostasy); rapture of the true Church; the revelation of the Antichrist and followed immediately by the Great Tribulation.
The above clearly says that the true Church will not go through the Great Tribulation.
Prophecies concerning more severe pestilences
If you think the present Global Flu A (H1N1) Epidemic is hard to control and hard to bear, you should read read what other more severe pestilences are waiting for the people of this world during the Great Tribulation period. We need to thank God that true believers will be with Jesus just before the Great Tribulation.
The four seals and the four horses and their riders (Rev. 6:1 - 8)
The apostle John, in the Book of Revelation, saw visions of four horses - the white horse, the red horse, the black horse and the pale horse.
If you are familiar with Bible prophecies you will realize that the man who rides the white horse is the Antichrist, disguising himself as Jesus Christ, falsely claiming he is the messiah who will bring peace and prosperity to the world. He uses a bow whereas Jesus fights with a sword (Rev. 19:15). He wears only a crown whereas Jesus, the Word of God, the King of kings wears many crowns (Rev. 19:12, 13).
The red horse symbolizes war and blood. And "it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another and there was given to him a great sword" (Rev. 6:4). I believe the red horse also signifies communism, which is symbolized by the color red.
The black horse symbolizes famine. The rider has a pair of scales in his hand (Rev. 6:5). This is a time of great famine. Famine and economic ruin always the aftermath of war. During the war, resources are consumed by the war effort, as are available workers. Many industrial and business/commercial facilities are also destroyed.
The pale horse and its significance
John wrote: "So I looked, and behold, and ashy pale horse (black and blue as if made so by bruising), and its rider's name was Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead) followed him closely; and they were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and with wild beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:8, The Amplified Bible, emphasis added).
It is interesting to note that the estimated world population as of May, 2009 is 6.77 billion - Google search result. One-fourth of which is about 1.69 billion. That means during the first three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation, nearly 1.7 billion will die on account of war, famine, religious deception and pestilence. If again one-fourth will perish on account of pestilence and disease, the figure is 425 million! We must also understand that by the time of the Great Tribulation all these figures will be much higher. At the time of writing this message the number of death due to Swine Flu A(H1N1) is only 160. There are hundreds of confirmed cases but not all lead to death. This figure is considered negligible in comparison with the number of deaths, due to pestilences, in the Great Tribulation!
The key to the identity of the last horseman is the word 'pale', which often makes us think of someone who is feeling sick, having an anemic-looking appearance. 'Pale' is translated from the Greek word 'chloros', which we would normally take to mean the color of chlorophyll, the property that gives plants their healthy green appearance. When used Biblically, however, 'chloros' means the sickly pale green color of sickness and disease.
All the four horsemen represent the end-time culmination of the most traumatic problems endured by a rebellious mankind. They picture one of the most ominous scenarios ever. The man on the pale horse symbolizes climatic, globe-encircling plagues and pandemics occurring now (pre-Great Tribulation period) and soon to occur in an uncontrollable scale in the days to come.
Old Testament Prophecies
I believe the only reason for this type of extreme punishment is man's unabated rebellion toward his Creator God.
According to Moses
Let us examine Deuteronomy 28 (part of the Law of Moses) and add modern-day expressions to see more clearly how this warning applies to our time now:
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee; .... The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption (chronic, degenerate disease such as AIDS), and with a fever, and with an inflammation (malaria or communicative diseases such as influenzas), and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. ... The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt (elephantiasis), and with the emerods (tumors, cancer, etc), and with scab, and with the itch (agravated psoriasis and other nutrient-deficiency diseases such as scurvy, rickets, etc.), whereof thou canst not be healed (incurable or drug-resistant diseases). The Lord shall smite thee with madness (mental illness, insanity), and blindness, and astonishment of heart (emotional distresses such as depression)" (Deut. 28:15; 21, 22; 27, 28, KJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Lord shall let curses come upon His people (Israel and the Church) if they refuse to obey His commandments, His statutes, His laws, His Word, etc. Most incurable sicknesses, diseases and pestilences are the result of curses.
2. In the eyes of God, compromised teaching is also considered disobedience toward God. Please read my previous posting/message - "Hidden Danger of Compromised Teaching". A compromised teacher or preacher will never teach or preach the full counsel of God. He changes the meaning of the Holy Word of God to please men and to make his teaching more acceptable to men. This is the outworking of what Paul wrote to Timothy:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth ..." (2 Tim. 4:3, 4, NIV, emphasis added).
In my opinion, preachers/Pastors who are in the habit of preaching compromised sermons are very proud persons. They knowingly or unknowingly judge God's Word - add or take away as situation arises.
3. Compromised teaching is a recipe for sickness, disease and pestilence. Please read my earlier messages on healing and health. God's Word is His recipe for health:
"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh" (Prov. 4:20 - 22, NKJV, emphasis added).
When you keep His Word and His sayings in the midst of your heart, you will have health in all your flesh. And if you ignore His Word and His saying, you will not have good health. Instead sickness, disease and pestilence will come upon you.
According to Daniel
Referring to the Law of Moses, Daniel wrote:
"As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice" (Daniel 9:13, 14, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Book of Daniel is an end-time prophecy (Daniel 12:4, 9).
2. God's people failed to call upon the Lord for forgiveness when they sinned. They failed to confess their sins; implore His mercy; and to deprecate His wrath. It would have been easy to turn aside His judgments if they had been penitent, and had sought His mercy, but they had not done it.
3. God will heal our land of disease and pestilence if we just cry out to Him:
The Lord said to Solomon: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14, NKJV).
The above verse says that God requires us to do four things - humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and trun from our wicked ways. Then He will do three things - hear our prayer, forgive our sins and heal our land.
Conclusion
Millions are prophesied to die (especially through disease and pestilence) because they fail to heed God's warning to turn to Him with the type of contrite attitude necessary to please Him.
"This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2, NIV).
God wants true repentance - a turning away from the carnal "human nature" (the old nature of the old man) that we possess to the spiritual nature God originally intended us to develop.
Jesus said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41).
We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times so that we can overcome the weakness of our flesh.
Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16, 25).
Above all, God wants us to "tremble at His Word" - to fear Him and revere His commands.
Jesus said, "take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in My name, saying 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24: 4 - 8, NKJV, emphasis added).
Bible teachers point to these verses as prophetic in that they as well as the rest of Matthew 24 will take place during the Great Tribulation. I tend to agree with them on that interpretation. But we can certainly see all these things currently approaching, similarly to a woman in travail. Birth pangs are growing very intense in these end-tim hours.
The recent outbreak of the Swine Flu or more correctly, the Global Flu or Influenza A(H1N1) is one of the pestilenses. Other earlier pestilences are HIV/AIDS, Bird Flu, Spanish Flu, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and the Nipah Encephalitis Epidemic, etc.
A question we are tempted to ask is - are we in the Great Tribulation yet? The answer is, NO. And the reason can be found in my earlier posting/message - "Some Biblical Facts about the Future". Toward the end of that message I mentioned that Paul, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit said something about the timeline of the events of the future:
Paul said, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sit as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, ...." (2 Thess. 2:3 - 4, 6 -8, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Antichrist is known by many names - the man of sin, the son of perdition and the lawless one. The word 'Antichrist' simply means 'instead of Christ' rather than 'against Christ'.
2. The word 'He' in "He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way" refers to the Holy Spirit. The true Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also lives in individual true believers. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, the true Church is also taken out of the way. This event is obviously the rapture of the true Church - a future event.
3. This is the timeline of future events - the falling away (the great apostasy); rapture of the true Church; the revelation of the Antichrist and followed immediately by the Great Tribulation.
The above clearly says that the true Church will not go through the Great Tribulation.
Prophecies concerning more severe pestilences
If you think the present Global Flu A (H1N1) Epidemic is hard to control and hard to bear, you should read read what other more severe pestilences are waiting for the people of this world during the Great Tribulation period. We need to thank God that true believers will be with Jesus just before the Great Tribulation.
The four seals and the four horses and their riders (Rev. 6:1 - 8)
The apostle John, in the Book of Revelation, saw visions of four horses - the white horse, the red horse, the black horse and the pale horse.
If you are familiar with Bible prophecies you will realize that the man who rides the white horse is the Antichrist, disguising himself as Jesus Christ, falsely claiming he is the messiah who will bring peace and prosperity to the world. He uses a bow whereas Jesus fights with a sword (Rev. 19:15). He wears only a crown whereas Jesus, the Word of God, the King of kings wears many crowns (Rev. 19:12, 13).
The red horse symbolizes war and blood. And "it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another and there was given to him a great sword" (Rev. 6:4). I believe the red horse also signifies communism, which is symbolized by the color red.
The black horse symbolizes famine. The rider has a pair of scales in his hand (Rev. 6:5). This is a time of great famine. Famine and economic ruin always the aftermath of war. During the war, resources are consumed by the war effort, as are available workers. Many industrial and business/commercial facilities are also destroyed.
The pale horse and its significance
John wrote: "So I looked, and behold, and ashy pale horse (black and blue as if made so by bruising), and its rider's name was Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead) followed him closely; and they were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and with wild beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:8, The Amplified Bible, emphasis added).
It is interesting to note that the estimated world population as of May, 2009 is 6.77 billion - Google search result. One-fourth of which is about 1.69 billion. That means during the first three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation, nearly 1.7 billion will die on account of war, famine, religious deception and pestilence. If again one-fourth will perish on account of pestilence and disease, the figure is 425 million! We must also understand that by the time of the Great Tribulation all these figures will be much higher. At the time of writing this message the number of death due to Swine Flu A(H1N1) is only 160. There are hundreds of confirmed cases but not all lead to death. This figure is considered negligible in comparison with the number of deaths, due to pestilences, in the Great Tribulation!
The key to the identity of the last horseman is the word 'pale', which often makes us think of someone who is feeling sick, having an anemic-looking appearance. 'Pale' is translated from the Greek word 'chloros', which we would normally take to mean the color of chlorophyll, the property that gives plants their healthy green appearance. When used Biblically, however, 'chloros' means the sickly pale green color of sickness and disease.
All the four horsemen represent the end-time culmination of the most traumatic problems endured by a rebellious mankind. They picture one of the most ominous scenarios ever. The man on the pale horse symbolizes climatic, globe-encircling plagues and pandemics occurring now (pre-Great Tribulation period) and soon to occur in an uncontrollable scale in the days to come.
Old Testament Prophecies
I believe the only reason for this type of extreme punishment is man's unabated rebellion toward his Creator God.
According to Moses
Let us examine Deuteronomy 28 (part of the Law of Moses) and add modern-day expressions to see more clearly how this warning applies to our time now:
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee; .... The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption (chronic, degenerate disease such as AIDS), and with a fever, and with an inflammation (malaria or communicative diseases such as influenzas), and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. ... The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt (elephantiasis), and with the emerods (tumors, cancer, etc), and with scab, and with the itch (agravated psoriasis and other nutrient-deficiency diseases such as scurvy, rickets, etc.), whereof thou canst not be healed (incurable or drug-resistant diseases). The Lord shall smite thee with madness (mental illness, insanity), and blindness, and astonishment of heart (emotional distresses such as depression)" (Deut. 28:15; 21, 22; 27, 28, KJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Lord shall let curses come upon His people (Israel and the Church) if they refuse to obey His commandments, His statutes, His laws, His Word, etc. Most incurable sicknesses, diseases and pestilences are the result of curses.
2. In the eyes of God, compromised teaching is also considered disobedience toward God. Please read my previous posting/message - "Hidden Danger of Compromised Teaching". A compromised teacher or preacher will never teach or preach the full counsel of God. He changes the meaning of the Holy Word of God to please men and to make his teaching more acceptable to men. This is the outworking of what Paul wrote to Timothy:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth ..." (2 Tim. 4:3, 4, NIV, emphasis added).
In my opinion, preachers/Pastors who are in the habit of preaching compromised sermons are very proud persons. They knowingly or unknowingly judge God's Word - add or take away as situation arises.
3. Compromised teaching is a recipe for sickness, disease and pestilence. Please read my earlier messages on healing and health. God's Word is His recipe for health:
"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh" (Prov. 4:20 - 22, NKJV, emphasis added).
When you keep His Word and His sayings in the midst of your heart, you will have health in all your flesh. And if you ignore His Word and His saying, you will not have good health. Instead sickness, disease and pestilence will come upon you.
According to Daniel
Referring to the Law of Moses, Daniel wrote:
"As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice" (Daniel 9:13, 14, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Book of Daniel is an end-time prophecy (Daniel 12:4, 9).
2. God's people failed to call upon the Lord for forgiveness when they sinned. They failed to confess their sins; implore His mercy; and to deprecate His wrath. It would have been easy to turn aside His judgments if they had been penitent, and had sought His mercy, but they had not done it.
3. God will heal our land of disease and pestilence if we just cry out to Him:
The Lord said to Solomon: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14, NKJV).
The above verse says that God requires us to do four things - humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and trun from our wicked ways. Then He will do three things - hear our prayer, forgive our sins and heal our land.
Conclusion
Millions are prophesied to die (especially through disease and pestilence) because they fail to heed God's warning to turn to Him with the type of contrite attitude necessary to please Him.
"This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2, NIV).
God wants true repentance - a turning away from the carnal "human nature" (the old nature of the old man) that we possess to the spiritual nature God originally intended us to develop.
Jesus said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41).
We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times so that we can overcome the weakness of our flesh.
Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16, 25).
Above all, God wants us to "tremble at His Word" - to fear Him and revere His commands.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Understanding the Power in Praise
Paul said, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ for you" (1 Thess. 5:16 - 18, NKJV, emphasis added).
A Bible-believing Christian is expected to do three things in his Christian walk - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks. It also implies that if a believer who fails to do that is not walking in the will of God.
Please refer to my previous message - "Pray without Ceasing". This message concerns the other two things - "Rejoice always" and "In everything give thanks".
What does it mean to rejoice always and in everything give thanks? Paul said that we can always find something to be thankful to God. In fact God wants us to praise Him and thank Him and rejoice in all circumstances, even in hardship, suffering and affliction; in bad times or in good times.
According to Paul to "give thanks always for all things" is expected of all Spirit-filled Christians:
"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Eph. 5:18 - 21, emphasis added).
The things that a Spirit filled believer does are:
1. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - praising God.
2. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord - rejoicing.
3. Giving thanks always for all things - in all circumstances, all situations, sicknesses and pain etc.
4. Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Any believer who does not have these experiences might not be Spirit filled. He could have been baptized in the Holy Spirit at one time, but at this particular moment he might not be Spirit filled.
Praise is a sacrifice
It is just as important to praise God in the midst of your problems and difficulties as in any other time. You need to praise God even on those days when it seems impossible to find anything good to say to God or to anyone else.
Praising God is not always easy. When things are rough, when you are sick, when yours friends and family members ridicule you for your faith, when you don't know where to turn to, then it takes real effort and determination to praise God. Also, in the midst of difficult trials, it is hard not to indulge in self-pity and feel sorry for yourself!
God wants us to praise Him even when circumstances are at their worst.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Heb. 13:15, emphasis added).
Notice that the Bible calls praise a sacrifice! Any time you exert special effort at the expense of your own comfort or enjoyment, for the sake of please or obeying God, He will honor that sacrifice. God honors a sacrifice because a sacrifice honors God.
Not only does a sacrifice of praise bring honor to God, but it is also your most effective response to a situation that could bring on fear, doubt, discouragement, and depression. Difficult situations can beat your faith down until it is almost impossible to believe that God will answer your prayer. More than anything else, the sacrifice of praise can build up your faith to receive the victory from God.
The psalmis said, "Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing" (Ps. 107:22).
"I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord (Ps. 116:17).
The Power in Praise
David, the psalmist said, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Ps. 22:3, KJV).
No wonder God's power and pressence is near when we praise Him. he actually dwells, inhabits, and resides, in our praises!
Jehoshaphat's victory
A remarkable example of how God works while His children praise Him is found in 2 Chron. 20.
Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, and one day he discovered that his little kingdom was surrounded by the powerful armies of his enemies - the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others. Jehoshaphat knew that little Judah didn't have a chance in its own might, and so he cried out to God:
"O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" (2 Chron. 20:12, NKJV, emphasis added).
An important step in the act of praising God is to take our eyes off the threatening circumstance and look to God instead. Notice that Jehoshaphat was not just closing his eyes to the threat against his kingdom or pretending the enemies were not there. But he took careful stock of the situation, recognized his own helplessness, and turned to God for help.
We are not to be blind to the very real threats of evil in our lives. Seeing them for what they are only gives us greater cause to praise and thank God for working in them with perfect control and authority. But we are to be preoccupied with the appearance of evil evil around us. See it, admit our helplessness to cope with it in our own strength, then turn to God.
God then said to Jehoshaphat, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chron. 20:15).
To me, that is a tremendous statement. We don't have the power to deal with the circumstance of our lives, so obviously, the battle isn't ours, but God's!
The Lord said further, "You will not need to fight in the battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, ..." (Verse 17).
What a promise! All they needed to do was to appoint singers to praise and sing to the Lord. When they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against their enemies (Verse 22).
Many of us are constantly defeated by the cicumstances around us because we are not ready accept that the battle is God's, not ours. God's Word makes it clear that the only way out of that dilemma is the step of faith on our part. We must believe that God's promises are valid, then accepting them, and daring to trust in them whether we understand God's way or not.
Solomon said, "Trust in the Lord will all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6, NKJV).
The above is a Biblical principle: "Acceptance comes before understand" - a step of faith in God.
Jehoshaphat would never have dared follow God's plan for the battle if he had insisted on understanding it. God's proposal and promise undoubtedly staggered and went beyond Jehoshaphat's understanding. But he was a man who believed and trusted God. And we should do likewise.
Joshua's victory
Joshua was another leader who received battle orders from God that must have staggered his understanding and challenged his willingness to accept what must have seemed absurd to many who watched. Read Joshua 6:1 - 20 for the account of Joshua's victory. All they needed to do was to march around Jericho, seven times, with seven priest, marched before the Ark of the Covenant, blowing the trumpets of rams' horn (symbolic of praising the Lord). Joshua believed and trusted God and He delivered the enemies of Israel into their hands. Once again, the battle wasn't their but God's.
The examples of Jehoshaphat and Joshua clearly demonstrate that God wins our victories by means and principles that look utterly foolish and contradictory to our human wisdom and strategies. We are told to trust Him, praise Him, and watch Him work.
The danger of grumbling and complaining
Grumbling and complaining come so easy to all of us that we oftern don't realize what we are doing. Notice that, in the eyes of the Lord, grumbling is the very opposite of thanksgiving; a complaint is the opposite of trust; and murmuring is the opposite of acceptance.
The dictionary defines a complaint as an accusation. By complaining and grumbling you are actually accusing God of mismanaging the details of your day. The attitude of praise releases the power of God into your life, but the attitude of murmuring and complaining blocks the power.
Paul said, "And don't grumble as some of them did, for that is why God sent his angel of death to destroy them. All thses events happedned to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close" (1 Cor. 10:10, 11, NLT).
Paul was speaking about the behavior of the children of Israel on their wanderings from Egypt to the Promised Land. One of the terrible consequences is recorded in Numbers:
"Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and conseumed some in the outskirts of the camp" (Numbers 11:1, NKJV).
Forty years the children of Israel wandered, and every time something went wrong, they complained bitterly and wanted to go back to the fleshpots of Egypt. How the Lord dealt with them is recorded in Number 11 - 14.
Paul wrote to the believers at Philippi: "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:14 - 16, NKJV).
It is our lack of complaining and our joy in Christ that enables us to shine like beacons, holding out the Word of Life in a dark world. It was true in Philippi, and it is true today. Let us stop our grumblings and praise the Lord for every dark and crooked thing we see around us. Do it, and watch God's light penetrate the darkness!
Count it all joy
James said, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect amd complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2 - 4, NKJV).
Peter said almost the same thing: "In this (your salvation) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6, 7).
The method God uses to make our faith grow is to put trials (difficulties, temptations and problems) in our everyday experiences. Through this, our patience, endurance and steadfastness grow. God wants us to trust Him and rely more and more on His promises as we go through these trials.
God showed prophet Jeremiah that he would have to go with the Jews into Babylonian captivity for a lifetime. He said to him, "For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jer. 29:11, NLT).
The years of suffering in Babylon were part of God's plan for Jeremiah and the Jews. It was a good plan, the best plan, designed to give them a future and a hope.
God's plan for you and me is also a good plan. But we have to learn to trust Him and rely more and more on His promises. The purifying, the testing of our faith, have to come through circumstances that are a challenge to our determiantion to believe, trust, rely on God's Word, in spite of what our senses tell us. That is why Paul said we should walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7) because "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Conclusion
The main benefit of praise is that it lifts you above circumstances. Meditating on the problems you are facing will not build your faith to solve those problems. You must rise above the circumstances which are defeating you, by reaching up and catching hold of the Hand of God who is higher than you. As you begin to praise God and rejoice in Him, He will lift you up above your sorrows and into an environment of victory.
Praise centers our attention on the Lord rather than on our problems. When the storm of life were coming in on David, threatening to destroy him, he cried out to God:
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Ps. 61:2).
Praise lifts us up to stand on the Rock, Christ Jesus, who is much greater than any problem we might face!
A Bible-believing Christian is expected to do three things in his Christian walk - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks. It also implies that if a believer who fails to do that is not walking in the will of God.
Please refer to my previous message - "Pray without Ceasing". This message concerns the other two things - "Rejoice always" and "In everything give thanks".
What does it mean to rejoice always and in everything give thanks? Paul said that we can always find something to be thankful to God. In fact God wants us to praise Him and thank Him and rejoice in all circumstances, even in hardship, suffering and affliction; in bad times or in good times.
According to Paul to "give thanks always for all things" is expected of all Spirit-filled Christians:
"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Eph. 5:18 - 21, emphasis added).
The things that a Spirit filled believer does are:
1. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - praising God.
2. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord - rejoicing.
3. Giving thanks always for all things - in all circumstances, all situations, sicknesses and pain etc.
4. Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Any believer who does not have these experiences might not be Spirit filled. He could have been baptized in the Holy Spirit at one time, but at this particular moment he might not be Spirit filled.
Praise is a sacrifice
It is just as important to praise God in the midst of your problems and difficulties as in any other time. You need to praise God even on those days when it seems impossible to find anything good to say to God or to anyone else.
Praising God is not always easy. When things are rough, when you are sick, when yours friends and family members ridicule you for your faith, when you don't know where to turn to, then it takes real effort and determination to praise God. Also, in the midst of difficult trials, it is hard not to indulge in self-pity and feel sorry for yourself!
God wants us to praise Him even when circumstances are at their worst.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Heb. 13:15, emphasis added).
Notice that the Bible calls praise a sacrifice! Any time you exert special effort at the expense of your own comfort or enjoyment, for the sake of please or obeying God, He will honor that sacrifice. God honors a sacrifice because a sacrifice honors God.
Not only does a sacrifice of praise bring honor to God, but it is also your most effective response to a situation that could bring on fear, doubt, discouragement, and depression. Difficult situations can beat your faith down until it is almost impossible to believe that God will answer your prayer. More than anything else, the sacrifice of praise can build up your faith to receive the victory from God.
The psalmis said, "Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing" (Ps. 107:22).
"I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord (Ps. 116:17).
The Power in Praise
David, the psalmist said, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Ps. 22:3, KJV).
No wonder God's power and pressence is near when we praise Him. he actually dwells, inhabits, and resides, in our praises!
Jehoshaphat's victory
A remarkable example of how God works while His children praise Him is found in 2 Chron. 20.
Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, and one day he discovered that his little kingdom was surrounded by the powerful armies of his enemies - the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others. Jehoshaphat knew that little Judah didn't have a chance in its own might, and so he cried out to God:
"O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" (2 Chron. 20:12, NKJV, emphasis added).
An important step in the act of praising God is to take our eyes off the threatening circumstance and look to God instead. Notice that Jehoshaphat was not just closing his eyes to the threat against his kingdom or pretending the enemies were not there. But he took careful stock of the situation, recognized his own helplessness, and turned to God for help.
We are not to be blind to the very real threats of evil in our lives. Seeing them for what they are only gives us greater cause to praise and thank God for working in them with perfect control and authority. But we are to be preoccupied with the appearance of evil evil around us. See it, admit our helplessness to cope with it in our own strength, then turn to God.
God then said to Jehoshaphat, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chron. 20:15).
To me, that is a tremendous statement. We don't have the power to deal with the circumstance of our lives, so obviously, the battle isn't ours, but God's!
The Lord said further, "You will not need to fight in the battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, ..." (Verse 17).
What a promise! All they needed to do was to appoint singers to praise and sing to the Lord. When they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against their enemies (Verse 22).
Many of us are constantly defeated by the cicumstances around us because we are not ready accept that the battle is God's, not ours. God's Word makes it clear that the only way out of that dilemma is the step of faith on our part. We must believe that God's promises are valid, then accepting them, and daring to trust in them whether we understand God's way or not.
Solomon said, "Trust in the Lord will all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6, NKJV).
The above is a Biblical principle: "Acceptance comes before understand" - a step of faith in God.
Jehoshaphat would never have dared follow God's plan for the battle if he had insisted on understanding it. God's proposal and promise undoubtedly staggered and went beyond Jehoshaphat's understanding. But he was a man who believed and trusted God. And we should do likewise.
Joshua's victory
Joshua was another leader who received battle orders from God that must have staggered his understanding and challenged his willingness to accept what must have seemed absurd to many who watched. Read Joshua 6:1 - 20 for the account of Joshua's victory. All they needed to do was to march around Jericho, seven times, with seven priest, marched before the Ark of the Covenant, blowing the trumpets of rams' horn (symbolic of praising the Lord). Joshua believed and trusted God and He delivered the enemies of Israel into their hands. Once again, the battle wasn't their but God's.
The examples of Jehoshaphat and Joshua clearly demonstrate that God wins our victories by means and principles that look utterly foolish and contradictory to our human wisdom and strategies. We are told to trust Him, praise Him, and watch Him work.
The danger of grumbling and complaining
Grumbling and complaining come so easy to all of us that we oftern don't realize what we are doing. Notice that, in the eyes of the Lord, grumbling is the very opposite of thanksgiving; a complaint is the opposite of trust; and murmuring is the opposite of acceptance.
The dictionary defines a complaint as an accusation. By complaining and grumbling you are actually accusing God of mismanaging the details of your day. The attitude of praise releases the power of God into your life, but the attitude of murmuring and complaining blocks the power.
Paul said, "And don't grumble as some of them did, for that is why God sent his angel of death to destroy them. All thses events happedned to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close" (1 Cor. 10:10, 11, NLT).
Paul was speaking about the behavior of the children of Israel on their wanderings from Egypt to the Promised Land. One of the terrible consequences is recorded in Numbers:
"Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and conseumed some in the outskirts of the camp" (Numbers 11:1, NKJV).
Forty years the children of Israel wandered, and every time something went wrong, they complained bitterly and wanted to go back to the fleshpots of Egypt. How the Lord dealt with them is recorded in Number 11 - 14.
Paul wrote to the believers at Philippi: "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:14 - 16, NKJV).
It is our lack of complaining and our joy in Christ that enables us to shine like beacons, holding out the Word of Life in a dark world. It was true in Philippi, and it is true today. Let us stop our grumblings and praise the Lord for every dark and crooked thing we see around us. Do it, and watch God's light penetrate the darkness!
Count it all joy
James said, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect amd complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2 - 4, NKJV).
Peter said almost the same thing: "In this (your salvation) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6, 7).
The method God uses to make our faith grow is to put trials (difficulties, temptations and problems) in our everyday experiences. Through this, our patience, endurance and steadfastness grow. God wants us to trust Him and rely more and more on His promises as we go through these trials.
God showed prophet Jeremiah that he would have to go with the Jews into Babylonian captivity for a lifetime. He said to him, "For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jer. 29:11, NLT).
The years of suffering in Babylon were part of God's plan for Jeremiah and the Jews. It was a good plan, the best plan, designed to give them a future and a hope.
God's plan for you and me is also a good plan. But we have to learn to trust Him and rely more and more on His promises. The purifying, the testing of our faith, have to come through circumstances that are a challenge to our determiantion to believe, trust, rely on God's Word, in spite of what our senses tell us. That is why Paul said we should walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7) because "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Conclusion
The main benefit of praise is that it lifts you above circumstances. Meditating on the problems you are facing will not build your faith to solve those problems. You must rise above the circumstances which are defeating you, by reaching up and catching hold of the Hand of God who is higher than you. As you begin to praise God and rejoice in Him, He will lift you up above your sorrows and into an environment of victory.
Praise centers our attention on the Lord rather than on our problems. When the storm of life were coming in on David, threatening to destroy him, he cried out to God:
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Ps. 61:2).
Praise lifts us up to stand on the Rock, Christ Jesus, who is much greater than any problem we might face!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Pray without Ceasing
Luke, a gospel writer recorded: "Then He (Jesus) spoke a parable to them, that man always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1, NKJV, emphasis added).
Paul said, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess. 5:16 - 18, emphasis added).
Other versions of the Bible say, "pray continually" (NIV) and "keep on praying" (NLT).
To pray without ceasing is the will of God for all Bible-believing Christians. The above Verses of Scripture also imply that if a believer in Christ does not pray without ceasing, he is not walking in the will of God!
Paul also said, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ...." (Eph. 6:18, emphasis added).
Paul also said, "We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (Col. 1:3, emphasis added).
All these terms, "praying always", "pray without ceasing", "Pray continually" and "keep on praying" came from the mouth of Jesus and Paul with the highest authority. Therefore, I believe, the Holy Spirit is endeavoring to teach us that prayer is the most important exercise in a Christian's experience. The Holy Spirit wants us to believe that prayer is the most powerful weapon, the most priceless treasure, the greatest ministry in heaven and on earth, and best of all, prayer, with its potential, is available to us all.
Christians can learn how pray without ceasing, for otherwise why would Jesus and Paul wanted us to pray without ceasing? Why would they want believers to do something which they are not able to do?
The meaning of "Pray without ceasing"
Now, what does it mean to "pray without ceasing" or to "pray continually"?
Does it mean to give up our jobs, leave the responsibility of our families to others, and to go and live in a cave hign in the mountain, away from all people and all civilizations? Does it mean we should become fanatics in the the eyes of non-Christians? And, instead of doing our work properly, pleasing our bosses, and satisfying the needs of our families, freak out in front of them with our apparent supper-spirituality? The answer to all these questions is of couse "No".
By studying the prayer life of many Bible characters, and to see how the Scripture describe their walk with God, we can learn something of "pray without ceasing".
The psalmist said, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted" (Ps. 77:2, emphasis added).
David, the psalmist said, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall contnually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1, emphasis added).
Psalmist Solomon said, "Prayer also will be made for Him continually, and daily He shall be praised" (Ps. 72:15, emphasis added).
The apostles said, "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Heb. 13:15, emphasis added).
Paul said, "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers" (Romans 1:9, emphasis added).
Paul said, "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my fore-fathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day" (2 Tim. 1:3, emphasis added).
By studying the prayer life of other great men of God like Moses, Samuel, Elijah and Daniel we will not fail to realize that they had learned the art of praying without ceasing that comes by praying habitually. And we have been able to see mighty accomplishments through their prayers. We, as Christians, too, can do the same and accomplish much through praying habitually.
To pray habitually
From morning until night, hour by hour, minute by minute, the Christians's heart should be so close to the heart of God that that he can learn the art of praying habitually.
Like every other art, prayer needs preparation and preparation and practice for effectiveness. Before you can pray habitually, first, however, you must believe in the importance of prayer; you must believe in the privilege of prayer; you must believe in the purpose of prayer; and you must believe in the power of prayer. We have discussed some of these benefits of prayer in some of my other messages. Therefore we shall just mention some of these benefits here.
The privilege of prayer
James said, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8, NKJV).
What a glorious condescension of God's part! What an exiting invitation from God Himself. What a privilege to be children of God! When the children of Israel stood before Mt. Sinai, they were told to stay back, to keep from God's presence lest they should die. But here, through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are brought right up close to our Heavenly Father; so close that we are urged, even implored, to "draw near to God". We can get as close to God as we want. We get close to God through prayer.
When God invites us to come close to Him, He wants us to open our hearts and to commune with Him, to learn more about Him, and to enjoy Him. Then His glory will radiate from us. His abundance of power will flow through us, and His blessed presence will keep us at all times in perfect peace. Then by standing on His many promises we will see how bountifully He provides for us. All of heaven and earth are ours because we are in Him and we are His. We must believe in the privelege of prayer, because that is the only way for any of us to draw near to Him.
The purpose and importance of prayer
Prayer is not only communion with God but is also a part of the Christians's growing process. The Word of God is our spiritual nourishment. The method by which we make use of this nourishment is to pray habitually. You can tell who are the praying Christians because they look like it, and they act like it. They love prayer! We eat (habitually) to produce a strong healthy body. In the same way, spiritually, prayer uses the the Word of God to change us into Christians with strong characters, effective in faith and victorious in service.
Our physical growth is a process "without ceasing"; it never stops, even though age will catch us up. Similarly, our spiritual growth is a "growth without ceasing". The true Christian is continually growing. How? By praying and studying the Word of God without ceasing!
There is nothing you and I will ever do that is as important as prayer. We need to cultivate the desire to pray. When we call upon the Name of the Lord, we will see great changes.
David, the psalmist said, "The poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" (Ps. 34:6).
The psalmist said, "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses" (Ps. 107:19).
Read also Ps. 40:2, 3. You can find many more similar passeges in the Book of Psalms.
The power of prayer
All the power seen in nature, from the first day of creation until now, cannot be compared to the power cantained in one sentence of prayer offered by a penitent soul before the Throne of Grace.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9 - 14), Jesus told us about a tax collector who, under deep conviction of his guilt and wrong, went to the temple to seek cleansing and forgiveness. How many years it had taken for the wretched sinner to reach this state Jesus did not say, but we soon learn how long it took for him to receive a brand new heart from God. It took just long enough (only few seconds) to pray this - "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" A lifetime of sin is gone and forgiven and a whole man made righteous and holy in a instant!
Jesus said, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified" (Verse 14).
That is the power of prayer! Moses used the power of prayer. He used the power of prayer to move the children of Israel out of Pharaoh's slavery, and He used the power of prayer to get them into the Promised Land. Israel was backslidden; Moses' brother had failed him, his leaders had defied him, his sister had dispised him. But Moses prayed on! Moses knew the power of prayer, and he knew the art of praying without ceasing.
Samuel knew and used the power of prayer. He prayed until wicked king Saul was deposed from his throne by God's declaration, and the shepherd boy, David, was promoted into Saul's place. Samuel wanted either his total conversion or his total collapse; he wanted the right man on the throne of Israel, and he put him there through the power of prayer. Sameil knew the art of praying without ceacing.
Elijah used the power of prayer when he prayed to hold back the rain from Israel for three and one-half years. Prayer made wicked Ahab tremble and brought down fire from heaven to consume a water-soak sacrifice. Yet Elijah was not a spiritual giant nor was him a person with special spiritual gifts. But he was a man with "a nature like ours" (James 5:17). What made him different is, he knew the art of praying without ceasing.
Daniel used the power of prayer. In my opinion, next to our Lord Jesus, Daniel may be recognized as the most powerful praying person in the Bible. Daniel prayed in order to obtain what seemed to be absolutely impossible thing. He received the revelation of Nebuchadnezzar's strange dreams (Daniel 2:1 - 45; 4:20 - 27), he stopped the mouths of roaring lions after being thrown into a pit alongside them (Daniel 6:16 - 23). Daniel did these things, and many more, by the power of prayer. He had learned the art of praying without ceasing. He knelt three times a day!
It is beyond the scope of this message to give more examples. But we must not forget to mention our Lord Jesus, the Master and Teacher of prayer. He raised the dead with authoritative prayer. His life was a life of continual prayer. He was up early in the morning to pray, sometimes praying all night, fasting and praying, continually praying. Let us not forget that there were great women of God in the Bible, like Hannah and Esther, who were great in prayer.
The one thing we notice about these prayer warriors is this - they walked with God (like Enoch before them). They wanted to be with God more than they wanted to be with anyone else. God was their reason for being here, living here, working here; and, when the time would come, their reason for going to be with Him forever. Nothing meant more to them than being in the presence of God and always pleasong God, just like Jesus did.
Jesus said, "The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29, NKJV).
The act of pleasing God, the Father, is a continual act and, therefore, needs the art of praying without ceasing.
A good lesson from the psalmist
David, the psalmist said, "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me" (Ps 55:17, 18).
For David, his battle was physical but for us it can be spiritual. The important thing is, what time we pray is not important, but it is important to learn that we can pray at any time. If we have started the day with God in prayer, we can walk with Him all through the day. We can talk to Him as we walk with Him. We can pray audibly or we can pray with the inner woice of the heart (our spirit). God enjoys them. Any time is prayer time:
The psalmist said, "He who keeps you will not slumber, Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:3, 4, NKJV).
The day and the night are the same with God, so that as we may want to, and as we need to, we can talk to God in prayer. He hears us anytime and He delights in hearing our prayer offered up to Him without ceasing!
Paul said, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess. 5:16 - 18, emphasis added).
Other versions of the Bible say, "pray continually" (NIV) and "keep on praying" (NLT).
To pray without ceasing is the will of God for all Bible-believing Christians. The above Verses of Scripture also imply that if a believer in Christ does not pray without ceasing, he is not walking in the will of God!
Paul also said, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ...." (Eph. 6:18, emphasis added).
Paul also said, "We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (Col. 1:3, emphasis added).
All these terms, "praying always", "pray without ceasing", "Pray continually" and "keep on praying" came from the mouth of Jesus and Paul with the highest authority. Therefore, I believe, the Holy Spirit is endeavoring to teach us that prayer is the most important exercise in a Christian's experience. The Holy Spirit wants us to believe that prayer is the most powerful weapon, the most priceless treasure, the greatest ministry in heaven and on earth, and best of all, prayer, with its potential, is available to us all.
Christians can learn how pray without ceasing, for otherwise why would Jesus and Paul wanted us to pray without ceasing? Why would they want believers to do something which they are not able to do?
The meaning of "Pray without ceasing"
Now, what does it mean to "pray without ceasing" or to "pray continually"?
Does it mean to give up our jobs, leave the responsibility of our families to others, and to go and live in a cave hign in the mountain, away from all people and all civilizations? Does it mean we should become fanatics in the the eyes of non-Christians? And, instead of doing our work properly, pleasing our bosses, and satisfying the needs of our families, freak out in front of them with our apparent supper-spirituality? The answer to all these questions is of couse "No".
By studying the prayer life of many Bible characters, and to see how the Scripture describe their walk with God, we can learn something of "pray without ceasing".
The psalmist said, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted" (Ps. 77:2, emphasis added).
David, the psalmist said, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall contnually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1, emphasis added).
Psalmist Solomon said, "Prayer also will be made for Him continually, and daily He shall be praised" (Ps. 72:15, emphasis added).
The apostles said, "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Heb. 13:15, emphasis added).
Paul said, "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers" (Romans 1:9, emphasis added).
Paul said, "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my fore-fathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day" (2 Tim. 1:3, emphasis added).
By studying the prayer life of other great men of God like Moses, Samuel, Elijah and Daniel we will not fail to realize that they had learned the art of praying without ceasing that comes by praying habitually. And we have been able to see mighty accomplishments through their prayers. We, as Christians, too, can do the same and accomplish much through praying habitually.
To pray habitually
From morning until night, hour by hour, minute by minute, the Christians's heart should be so close to the heart of God that that he can learn the art of praying habitually.
Like every other art, prayer needs preparation and preparation and practice for effectiveness. Before you can pray habitually, first, however, you must believe in the importance of prayer; you must believe in the privilege of prayer; you must believe in the purpose of prayer; and you must believe in the power of prayer. We have discussed some of these benefits of prayer in some of my other messages. Therefore we shall just mention some of these benefits here.
The privilege of prayer
James said, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8, NKJV).
What a glorious condescension of God's part! What an exiting invitation from God Himself. What a privilege to be children of God! When the children of Israel stood before Mt. Sinai, they were told to stay back, to keep from God's presence lest they should die. But here, through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are brought right up close to our Heavenly Father; so close that we are urged, even implored, to "draw near to God". We can get as close to God as we want. We get close to God through prayer.
When God invites us to come close to Him, He wants us to open our hearts and to commune with Him, to learn more about Him, and to enjoy Him. Then His glory will radiate from us. His abundance of power will flow through us, and His blessed presence will keep us at all times in perfect peace. Then by standing on His many promises we will see how bountifully He provides for us. All of heaven and earth are ours because we are in Him and we are His. We must believe in the privelege of prayer, because that is the only way for any of us to draw near to Him.
The purpose and importance of prayer
Prayer is not only communion with God but is also a part of the Christians's growing process. The Word of God is our spiritual nourishment. The method by which we make use of this nourishment is to pray habitually. You can tell who are the praying Christians because they look like it, and they act like it. They love prayer! We eat (habitually) to produce a strong healthy body. In the same way, spiritually, prayer uses the the Word of God to change us into Christians with strong characters, effective in faith and victorious in service.
Our physical growth is a process "without ceasing"; it never stops, even though age will catch us up. Similarly, our spiritual growth is a "growth without ceasing". The true Christian is continually growing. How? By praying and studying the Word of God without ceasing!
There is nothing you and I will ever do that is as important as prayer. We need to cultivate the desire to pray. When we call upon the Name of the Lord, we will see great changes.
David, the psalmist said, "The poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" (Ps. 34:6).
The psalmist said, "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses" (Ps. 107:19).
Read also Ps. 40:2, 3. You can find many more similar passeges in the Book of Psalms.
The power of prayer
All the power seen in nature, from the first day of creation until now, cannot be compared to the power cantained in one sentence of prayer offered by a penitent soul before the Throne of Grace.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9 - 14), Jesus told us about a tax collector who, under deep conviction of his guilt and wrong, went to the temple to seek cleansing and forgiveness. How many years it had taken for the wretched sinner to reach this state Jesus did not say, but we soon learn how long it took for him to receive a brand new heart from God. It took just long enough (only few seconds) to pray this - "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" A lifetime of sin is gone and forgiven and a whole man made righteous and holy in a instant!
Jesus said, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified" (Verse 14).
That is the power of prayer! Moses used the power of prayer. He used the power of prayer to move the children of Israel out of Pharaoh's slavery, and He used the power of prayer to get them into the Promised Land. Israel was backslidden; Moses' brother had failed him, his leaders had defied him, his sister had dispised him. But Moses prayed on! Moses knew the power of prayer, and he knew the art of praying without ceasing.
Samuel knew and used the power of prayer. He prayed until wicked king Saul was deposed from his throne by God's declaration, and the shepherd boy, David, was promoted into Saul's place. Samuel wanted either his total conversion or his total collapse; he wanted the right man on the throne of Israel, and he put him there through the power of prayer. Sameil knew the art of praying without ceacing.
Elijah used the power of prayer when he prayed to hold back the rain from Israel for three and one-half years. Prayer made wicked Ahab tremble and brought down fire from heaven to consume a water-soak sacrifice. Yet Elijah was not a spiritual giant nor was him a person with special spiritual gifts. But he was a man with "a nature like ours" (James 5:17). What made him different is, he knew the art of praying without ceasing.
Daniel used the power of prayer. In my opinion, next to our Lord Jesus, Daniel may be recognized as the most powerful praying person in the Bible. Daniel prayed in order to obtain what seemed to be absolutely impossible thing. He received the revelation of Nebuchadnezzar's strange dreams (Daniel 2:1 - 45; 4:20 - 27), he stopped the mouths of roaring lions after being thrown into a pit alongside them (Daniel 6:16 - 23). Daniel did these things, and many more, by the power of prayer. He had learned the art of praying without ceasing. He knelt three times a day!
It is beyond the scope of this message to give more examples. But we must not forget to mention our Lord Jesus, the Master and Teacher of prayer. He raised the dead with authoritative prayer. His life was a life of continual prayer. He was up early in the morning to pray, sometimes praying all night, fasting and praying, continually praying. Let us not forget that there were great women of God in the Bible, like Hannah and Esther, who were great in prayer.
The one thing we notice about these prayer warriors is this - they walked with God (like Enoch before them). They wanted to be with God more than they wanted to be with anyone else. God was their reason for being here, living here, working here; and, when the time would come, their reason for going to be with Him forever. Nothing meant more to them than being in the presence of God and always pleasong God, just like Jesus did.
Jesus said, "The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29, NKJV).
The act of pleasing God, the Father, is a continual act and, therefore, needs the art of praying without ceasing.
A good lesson from the psalmist
David, the psalmist said, "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me" (Ps 55:17, 18).
For David, his battle was physical but for us it can be spiritual. The important thing is, what time we pray is not important, but it is important to learn that we can pray at any time. If we have started the day with God in prayer, we can walk with Him all through the day. We can talk to Him as we walk with Him. We can pray audibly or we can pray with the inner woice of the heart (our spirit). God enjoys them. Any time is prayer time:
The psalmist said, "He who keeps you will not slumber, Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:3, 4, NKJV).
The day and the night are the same with God, so that as we may want to, and as we need to, we can talk to God in prayer. He hears us anytime and He delights in hearing our prayer offered up to Him without ceasing!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Reasons of Unanswered Prayer
This message is an extension of my earlier message, "The Problem of Unanswered Prayer".
There are many promises of God regarding answered prayer. Here are some of them:
Jesus said, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23, NKJV),
Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Matt. 18:18, 19).
Jesus said, "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:22).
Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).
The above are not only just some statements of promises in the Bible, but they are the promises of our Lord Jesus Himself. Many believers might argue that they have fulfilled all the conditions for answered prayers and yet, not many of their prayers are answered. They believed; they agreed concerning what they asked for; they obeyed His Words, but they went on their way disappointed! Why?
The reason is, we cannot take Jesus' sayings out of context. We have to look elsewhere in the Gospels other conditions for answered prayer. It is extremely dangerous to take phrases or statements, albeit the sayings of Jesus, out of context, and set up doctrines around them. I am confident, when we all meet in heaven, there will be no need for contradictory doctrines. For there we will finally see truth, not doctrine. At this time, living on earth, let us look at the inherent danger in restricting God to the confines of our doctrines. Many believers, by demanding that the above promises be absolute and universal, make a sham and mockery of the logic with which God always works. Let us discuss the reasons why many of our prayers are left unanswered.
The question of Christian maturity
God is never unreasonable. He is never irrational. And above all, He is never illogical. The problem is with us. Look at it this way - If God gave every individual believer, young or old, every answer to every prayer that might pop up in his head, the world would be filled almost immediately with anarchy, chaos, and confusion. Therefore even though we stand on every one of the promises of God, God must, in our best interest, see to it that some of our prayers are not answered.
The age, maturity in Christ, basic intelligence, and wisdom of the believer making a request of God are important factors in whether or not God can honor a petition. Some make the statement that God can do anything. Certainly this is true within the context of God's being all-powerful. But He cannot and will not always do anything, because anything can sometimes be harmful to the children He loves and wants to protect. His ability to answer prayer not only hinges on His abilities, but also on our abilities, situations, and relationship with Him.
Without elaborating, a moment of thought will produce a broad collection of ridiculous prayers that God would find impossible to answer. You can see, therefore, where maturity and rationality of desire enter most powerfully into the question of whether or not we are leaving God room in which to answer our prayers.
The question of selfishness
There are times when we go before God in fits of resentment, stamping our feet and demanding God to do something about this or that situation. It never enters our minds that if He did answer those prayers, it might cause harm to someone else. All too often our only thought is, "How does this factor influence my particular situation?" God, on the other hand, must always take the broad view. He can never, in His concern with one individual, lose sight of mankind as a whole. If God were bound to answer every prayer brought before Him, He would not remain the Supreme Being for very long, because we all have the tendency of dictatorship.
The question of pride
The next factor entering into our relationship with God in the area of prayer is pride. The thought of the Almighty God could listen to us and actually hand over to us the things that we asked for can make us feel proud. How easy it is to feel there is something deserving and inherently moral with ourselves. How simple to begin to see answered prayer as an indication of worthiness within us!
The Scripture says that God hears us when we humble ourselves (2 Chron. 7:14). Furthermore, Solomon said, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Therefore we must be particularly watchful that we never allow a blessing from God to become the sourse of our downfall. If there is a danger of this, God has no other choice but to deny us our petition.
In my opinion, many believers do not have their prayers answered simply because God has answered prayers for them in the past and they allowed these prayer answers to swell them up spiritually to where they thought it was some inherent merit within themselves. We must always remember that it is by God's grace our prayers are answered.
The question of time factor
Every living person is confined to a time factor. There are twenty-four hours and not twenty-five; twelve months and not thirteen. And God has to consider the time factor He created to determine whether a specific prayer request will be honored or not.
For instance, if a person should come late to salvation and then when feeble and infirm in body, feel a burden to go and serve in the foreign missions. At the same time his fellow Church members also keep on encouraging and persuading him to go because they feel it is a good thing for him to do. And so they commit their prayers to the Lord. Chances are that God would dissuade this party from his cherished goal by denying the honest, well-motivated prayers of the dedicated individual and his friends.
Some might argue with me on this point. They might point out some elderly and feeble missionary who is still doing an effective job for the Lord. I agree with them. The difference is, though, this individual has been in the mission field for years! He is not a novice confronted with all the normal trials and problems, plus the added burden of too advanced in years.
The question of mountain-moving faith
Jesus said, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says" (Mark 11:23, NKJV).
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (Mark 11:24).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. In the context of the above two verses of Scripture Jesus was speaking to His disciples concerning their need to have "faith in God" (Verse 22). He used the removing of the mountain before them as an illustration of exercising the "faith in God". Therefore the mountain He referred to was not the physical mountain.
2. The "mountain" that Jesus referred to is a mountain of doubt, bitterness, fear, unbelief, wrath, lust, envy, jealousy and the like.
3. Before we can aspire to the great promise of Verse 24, we must first remove the negative mountains within our lives!
4. In Verse 23 Jesus did not say, "If I speak to this mountain," or "If an angel speaks to this mountain," He said, "Whoever says to this mountain". It is our responsibility and initiative to remove the mountain hindering our Christian walk.
Very often we only want the promise of Mark 11:24. Unfortunately, in our mad scramble to get to Mark 11:24, we completely ignore Mark 11:23. And the two verses go together. Jesus gave them both as one thought. It was the Bible translators who broke them into two separate verses.
So next time you pray and claim the promises (healing, miracles, financial blessing etc.) in Mark 11:24 and your prayer is not answered the problem does not lie at the focal point of your thinking. It lies back at the point where you are standing. The frustration of God's desire to answer our prayer is not created at God's end. It is created at our end! Only after we start moving the mountains hindering the fulfillment of Mark 11:24 can the Lord start doing His part and giving us a real mountain-moving demonstration of active faith.
The question of principle versus formula
The Christian Church is full of faith teachers who preach the promises of God in answering all the prayers of the congregation of believers. Thrilling and exciting as all this is, Pastors and Church leaders must be aware that many believers are being led astray by being taught a formula before they understand the principle underlying that formula. And a formula without a principle can be as dangerous as a loaded gun in the hands of a child!
A common faith message goes like this - "It is really very simple. If you have faith, the Lord will give you exactly what you profess with your mouth." Now, in all honesty there is a grain of truth in this statement, but a "grain" of truth misused can be a dangerous as an outright lie.
The truth of the matter is, we can open the door to errors by carelessly repeating something over and over again. To them this is confession of God's Word and by confession, things they want are going to be hatched into reality. This is the "faith" formula many believers learned and used. You will hear common statements like - "By faith, I will be a millionaire", "By faith, I am going to get a better job", "By faith, I am going to be healed". This faith formula is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Believers need to understand that God is not a Santa Claus. And there are no spiritual slot machines. And finally, going around blindly repeating some wish is not going to bring it about. What these misguided faith teachers are really doing is setting the stage for a chronic case of frustration.
There is a story about a divored man wanted God to change the heart of his estranged wife and force her to do exactly what he wanted her to do. Obviously, this is a clear case of spiritual manipulation and God will not answer his prayer. God will never violate a person's free will. And God's whole relationship with man is built on the principle of man's right to do whatever he chooses to do.
The question of indiscriminate testimonies
It is a common practice in Charismatic Churches to invite members to come forward to give testimonies on what God has blessed them recently. I believe testifying is a good, moral, spiritually uplifting practice. And we should give God the glory and the credit when He goes out of His way to bless us with answered prayer.
Sound good? It certainly seems to be a moral position and one cannot be faulted. But what does Scripture say about it? If we search the Scripture, we will find that there are many times (e.g. Matt. 8:4; 9:30; 17:9) when Jesus specifically admonished the disciples and others not to give testimony regarding something that happened. Therefore it would appear that once again we are confronted with a situation in which timing is as important as action.
How can witnessing and testimonies be harmful? In many ways. For example, we do not know the status of our neighbor's spiritual temperature on any given moment. We know we have our mountaintops and our valleys. But we do not know the situation of the one sitting next to us in a Church meeting. The very day the Lord has brought us out of the wilderness may be the day when he is being refined by the trials of life. Therefore, when we stand up, indiscriminately and launch into a glowing account of how much God loves us and demonstrates it by showering us with gifts and blessings, we could be plunging our neighbor into the depths of despondency.
Certainly the right thing to do is to be ready to give your testimony. But wait until the Holy Spirit leads you to give that testimony. Indisciminate testifying can be as wrong in the sight of the Lord as refusing to testify. As we are told in Ecclesiastes, there is a time, a season, and a place for almost everything - time to testify God's goodness included. That is why it is so important to attune our spiritual ear to the promptings of God's Spirit.
Conclusion
The subject of unanswered prayer is so vast and so wide-range that it is beyond the scope of this message to write more. In fact what I have shared is only a little more than scratching the surface. I do hope, though, this discussion will yield some food for thought and give some solace perhaps to those who might think they have ingrained qualities that make them unacceptable to God when they come before Him in prayer.
Why do we sometimes pray and see amazing, miraculous healings? And then another time we pray just as fervently, just as honestly, just as much faith, and nothing happens? I don't know and I don't think anyone knows. Only God knows.
James said, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, ..." (James 4:3).
Ultimately, I believe, if we could see things with the wisdom of God's eyes, the above verse would cover every case of unanswered prayer.
There are many promises of God regarding answered prayer. Here are some of them:
Jesus said, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23, NKJV),
Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Matt. 18:18, 19).
Jesus said, "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:22).
Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).
The above are not only just some statements of promises in the Bible, but they are the promises of our Lord Jesus Himself. Many believers might argue that they have fulfilled all the conditions for answered prayers and yet, not many of their prayers are answered. They believed; they agreed concerning what they asked for; they obeyed His Words, but they went on their way disappointed! Why?
The reason is, we cannot take Jesus' sayings out of context. We have to look elsewhere in the Gospels other conditions for answered prayer. It is extremely dangerous to take phrases or statements, albeit the sayings of Jesus, out of context, and set up doctrines around them. I am confident, when we all meet in heaven, there will be no need for contradictory doctrines. For there we will finally see truth, not doctrine. At this time, living on earth, let us look at the inherent danger in restricting God to the confines of our doctrines. Many believers, by demanding that the above promises be absolute and universal, make a sham and mockery of the logic with which God always works. Let us discuss the reasons why many of our prayers are left unanswered.
The question of Christian maturity
God is never unreasonable. He is never irrational. And above all, He is never illogical. The problem is with us. Look at it this way - If God gave every individual believer, young or old, every answer to every prayer that might pop up in his head, the world would be filled almost immediately with anarchy, chaos, and confusion. Therefore even though we stand on every one of the promises of God, God must, in our best interest, see to it that some of our prayers are not answered.
The age, maturity in Christ, basic intelligence, and wisdom of the believer making a request of God are important factors in whether or not God can honor a petition. Some make the statement that God can do anything. Certainly this is true within the context of God's being all-powerful. But He cannot and will not always do anything, because anything can sometimes be harmful to the children He loves and wants to protect. His ability to answer prayer not only hinges on His abilities, but also on our abilities, situations, and relationship with Him.
Without elaborating, a moment of thought will produce a broad collection of ridiculous prayers that God would find impossible to answer. You can see, therefore, where maturity and rationality of desire enter most powerfully into the question of whether or not we are leaving God room in which to answer our prayers.
The question of selfishness
There are times when we go before God in fits of resentment, stamping our feet and demanding God to do something about this or that situation. It never enters our minds that if He did answer those prayers, it might cause harm to someone else. All too often our only thought is, "How does this factor influence my particular situation?" God, on the other hand, must always take the broad view. He can never, in His concern with one individual, lose sight of mankind as a whole. If God were bound to answer every prayer brought before Him, He would not remain the Supreme Being for very long, because we all have the tendency of dictatorship.
The question of pride
The next factor entering into our relationship with God in the area of prayer is pride. The thought of the Almighty God could listen to us and actually hand over to us the things that we asked for can make us feel proud. How easy it is to feel there is something deserving and inherently moral with ourselves. How simple to begin to see answered prayer as an indication of worthiness within us!
The Scripture says that God hears us when we humble ourselves (2 Chron. 7:14). Furthermore, Solomon said, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Therefore we must be particularly watchful that we never allow a blessing from God to become the sourse of our downfall. If there is a danger of this, God has no other choice but to deny us our petition.
In my opinion, many believers do not have their prayers answered simply because God has answered prayers for them in the past and they allowed these prayer answers to swell them up spiritually to where they thought it was some inherent merit within themselves. We must always remember that it is by God's grace our prayers are answered.
The question of time factor
Every living person is confined to a time factor. There are twenty-four hours and not twenty-five; twelve months and not thirteen. And God has to consider the time factor He created to determine whether a specific prayer request will be honored or not.
For instance, if a person should come late to salvation and then when feeble and infirm in body, feel a burden to go and serve in the foreign missions. At the same time his fellow Church members also keep on encouraging and persuading him to go because they feel it is a good thing for him to do. And so they commit their prayers to the Lord. Chances are that God would dissuade this party from his cherished goal by denying the honest, well-motivated prayers of the dedicated individual and his friends.
Some might argue with me on this point. They might point out some elderly and feeble missionary who is still doing an effective job for the Lord. I agree with them. The difference is, though, this individual has been in the mission field for years! He is not a novice confronted with all the normal trials and problems, plus the added burden of too advanced in years.
The question of mountain-moving faith
Jesus said, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says" (Mark 11:23, NKJV).
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (Mark 11:24).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. In the context of the above two verses of Scripture Jesus was speaking to His disciples concerning their need to have "faith in God" (Verse 22). He used the removing of the mountain before them as an illustration of exercising the "faith in God". Therefore the mountain He referred to was not the physical mountain.
2. The "mountain" that Jesus referred to is a mountain of doubt, bitterness, fear, unbelief, wrath, lust, envy, jealousy and the like.
3. Before we can aspire to the great promise of Verse 24, we must first remove the negative mountains within our lives!
4. In Verse 23 Jesus did not say, "If I speak to this mountain," or "If an angel speaks to this mountain," He said, "Whoever says to this mountain". It is our responsibility and initiative to remove the mountain hindering our Christian walk.
Very often we only want the promise of Mark 11:24. Unfortunately, in our mad scramble to get to Mark 11:24, we completely ignore Mark 11:23. And the two verses go together. Jesus gave them both as one thought. It was the Bible translators who broke them into two separate verses.
So next time you pray and claim the promises (healing, miracles, financial blessing etc.) in Mark 11:24 and your prayer is not answered the problem does not lie at the focal point of your thinking. It lies back at the point where you are standing. The frustration of God's desire to answer our prayer is not created at God's end. It is created at our end! Only after we start moving the mountains hindering the fulfillment of Mark 11:24 can the Lord start doing His part and giving us a real mountain-moving demonstration of active faith.
The question of principle versus formula
The Christian Church is full of faith teachers who preach the promises of God in answering all the prayers of the congregation of believers. Thrilling and exciting as all this is, Pastors and Church leaders must be aware that many believers are being led astray by being taught a formula before they understand the principle underlying that formula. And a formula without a principle can be as dangerous as a loaded gun in the hands of a child!
A common faith message goes like this - "It is really very simple. If you have faith, the Lord will give you exactly what you profess with your mouth." Now, in all honesty there is a grain of truth in this statement, but a "grain" of truth misused can be a dangerous as an outright lie.
The truth of the matter is, we can open the door to errors by carelessly repeating something over and over again. To them this is confession of God's Word and by confession, things they want are going to be hatched into reality. This is the "faith" formula many believers learned and used. You will hear common statements like - "By faith, I will be a millionaire", "By faith, I am going to get a better job", "By faith, I am going to be healed". This faith formula is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Believers need to understand that God is not a Santa Claus. And there are no spiritual slot machines. And finally, going around blindly repeating some wish is not going to bring it about. What these misguided faith teachers are really doing is setting the stage for a chronic case of frustration.
There is a story about a divored man wanted God to change the heart of his estranged wife and force her to do exactly what he wanted her to do. Obviously, this is a clear case of spiritual manipulation and God will not answer his prayer. God will never violate a person's free will. And God's whole relationship with man is built on the principle of man's right to do whatever he chooses to do.
The question of indiscriminate testimonies
It is a common practice in Charismatic Churches to invite members to come forward to give testimonies on what God has blessed them recently. I believe testifying is a good, moral, spiritually uplifting practice. And we should give God the glory and the credit when He goes out of His way to bless us with answered prayer.
Sound good? It certainly seems to be a moral position and one cannot be faulted. But what does Scripture say about it? If we search the Scripture, we will find that there are many times (e.g. Matt. 8:4; 9:30; 17:9) when Jesus specifically admonished the disciples and others not to give testimony regarding something that happened. Therefore it would appear that once again we are confronted with a situation in which timing is as important as action.
How can witnessing and testimonies be harmful? In many ways. For example, we do not know the status of our neighbor's spiritual temperature on any given moment. We know we have our mountaintops and our valleys. But we do not know the situation of the one sitting next to us in a Church meeting. The very day the Lord has brought us out of the wilderness may be the day when he is being refined by the trials of life. Therefore, when we stand up, indiscriminately and launch into a glowing account of how much God loves us and demonstrates it by showering us with gifts and blessings, we could be plunging our neighbor into the depths of despondency.
Certainly the right thing to do is to be ready to give your testimony. But wait until the Holy Spirit leads you to give that testimony. Indisciminate testifying can be as wrong in the sight of the Lord as refusing to testify. As we are told in Ecclesiastes, there is a time, a season, and a place for almost everything - time to testify God's goodness included. That is why it is so important to attune our spiritual ear to the promptings of God's Spirit.
Conclusion
The subject of unanswered prayer is so vast and so wide-range that it is beyond the scope of this message to write more. In fact what I have shared is only a little more than scratching the surface. I do hope, though, this discussion will yield some food for thought and give some solace perhaps to those who might think they have ingrained qualities that make them unacceptable to God when they come before Him in prayer.
Why do we sometimes pray and see amazing, miraculous healings? And then another time we pray just as fervently, just as honestly, just as much faith, and nothing happens? I don't know and I don't think anyone knows. Only God knows.
James said, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, ..." (James 4:3).
Ultimately, I believe, if we could see things with the wisdom of God's eyes, the above verse would cover every case of unanswered prayer.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is part of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. He was teaching His disciples how not to pray like the hypocrites (Matt. 6:6) or like the heathen (Matt. 6:7) did. The reason why they should not pray like them is because "the Father knows the things they have need of before they ask Him" (Matt. 6:8). And so He gave them a Model Prayer in the form of worship and petition.
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" (Matt. 6:9 - 13, KJV, emphasis added).
The Lord's Prayer is meant to be Christians' "model" prayer. It was given to us as an example to express the way or manner in which we are to pray. It was not some "flowery" prayer for God to hear to impress Him. It is a simple prayer from the heart of those who fear God. This prayer shows us the way God would have us approach Him when we come before the Throne of grace seeking answers to our petitions. Let us study the contents of the Lord's Prayer.
We should always approach God in Praise and Worship
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name"
If the entire "Lord's Prayer" is to serve as an example for us, then we should take particular notice of this most important first lesson offered. That is, whenever we approach the throne of the all-powerful and Almighty God, we should approach it with words of praise and worship on our lips.
"Our Father" is a very intimate term. It means we can know this God personally and intimately enough to address Him as Father (or Abba Father). That means we can have an intimate relationship with the God of the Bible. And we have the assurance that He wants us to know Him in this personal and intimate way.
The phrase, "which art in heaven" indicates His location. The presence of His glory is manifested in heaven. One day, His glory is going to manifest throughout the whole earth:
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14, NKJV).
Notice that there is a mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5) and the mediator is Jesus Christ. We can come boldly into God's presence becaus of Jesus Christ.
The phrase, "Hallowed be thy name" means "Let thy name be holy". The word "hallowed" means to render or to pronounce holy. God's name needs to be held in reverence, and treated as absolutely holy. If we can only catch a glimpse of God's holiness and awesomeness we are going to fall flat on our face to worship Him!
Let God's will be done
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"
After we have come before God with praise and worship, the next step in our praying should be determining the will of God. And this is tremendously important. How many times we get into trouble because we don't first seek God's will before we go ahead and do what we like.
The phrase, "Thy kingdom come" means "Thy reign be everywhere". The word "kingdom", comes from the Greek word, "basileia" which means "reign" or "rule". This petition is the expression of the wish that God may reign everywhere, that His laws may be obeyed; and especially that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be advanced everywhere, until the world shall be filled with His glory.
I believe every Christian should pray for God's will be done in his life, in his family and in his ministry, knowing that every believer has a ministry given by God. God's will be done in earth, as it is in heaven because in heaven God's perfect will is being accomplished.
Far too often, because of our carnal nature, our desire and wants are not in line with God's will for us. The only thing that fills our consciousness is our desire for the object or result. It really does not matter if it is what God wants or not. We want it and that's all that matters. It may not be good for us at the time, or it may be something diametrically contrary to God's plan for our life. As long as we want it, nothing else matters. But God knows that in our hearts we are not really committed to the thought that we do not want it if He does not want it.
A classic example comes to mind concerning Israel's demand for a king. It was outside God's will and plan for His people. But they were not to be put off. They demanded a king so they could be like the other nations surrounding them. And God gave them a king (Saul), to their eternal hurt. Saul was not God's choice for them as their king and He forewarned them through Samuel (1 Samuel 8:11 - 18). But they would not listen and they would not be deterred from their self-appointed path of folly.
How much trouble would we avoid if we would honestly seek the face of the Lord before we go before Him with a request? How much better in many cases if we would merely take our problems before Him ask for a solution to them, rather than going before Him with the solution we have determined as the proper one, and ask for His "rubber-stamp" approval?
Our daily bread
"Give us this day our daily bread"
At first glance this appears to be a petition for food, or for the money to buy the food. We should be ever aware that we are dependent upon the Lord's generosity for everything we need to survive in this world. Without air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, a roof over out heads, and clothes for our back, life would not last long. In short, we should petition this ("Give us this day our daily bread") before God, on a daily basis, to give us life's provision to meet our need. But not our greed!
Jesus Himself said that He is the "bread of life" (John 6:35, 48). Everything we seek and search for in life can be found only through Him. He is to be our model, our guide, our provider, our strength, our hope and our life. And we need Him (the Bread of Life) daily and that is the reason we must seek His face daily - in prayer.
Forgiveness
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"
Note the qualification (the condition attached) of the above statement - God forgives us on the condition that we forgive others. "Forgiveness" is in the heart of God for Jesus continued with His Sermon on the Mount on "forgiveness" immediately after teaching His disciples the Lord's Prayer:
Jesus said, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14, 15, NKJV).
Unforgiveness can be found in everyday life: A husband will refuse to forgive his wife. The wife will "hold it against" her husband. Children and parents keep a screen of unforgiveness between them. The Pastor will not forgive a Church member or one of the elders or leaders. The list is endless and there are very few people (including Christians) walking around who do not carry some area of resentment in their hearts.
I believe the two most destructive human emotions are guilt and resentment (revenge). They will eat up your physical health; they will upset your mental stability and you will lose the Lord's presence in you life. Your family life, your working life and your ministry will be severely affected.
Deliverance
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
At first glance, it would seem the Lord sometimes leads us into temptation. Actually, though, this statement has a double meaning. It means first, help us to avoid wandering into temptation, and then protect us from being overcome by evil by delivering us from the evil one.
A petition similar to this is offered by the psalmist, David:
"Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies" (Psalm 141:4, NKJV).
It is important to realize that the Lord can never tempt us to evil. He will test us and sometimes allow temptation to come but He will give us the spiritual strength to overcome temptation.
James said, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" (James 1:13, 14).
The world is full of vast array of demon spirits who are committed to hinder our walk with God. They use myraid tricks to bring about our destruction. Paul confirms this when he said:
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, emphasis added).
Notice the word "against" appears 5 times in just one verse of Scripture and out of which 4 times are against demon spirits of various hierarchy. And we are not against people (flesh and blood) because they are not our problem - but the demons in them or behind them are!
John said our faith in the Lord Jesus overcomes the world: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4, 5)?
John was talking about believers who are "born of God" can, by faith, overcome the world - world system influenced by the evil one.
His Kingdom
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen"
This is what theologians said, a doxology.
Here ar some statements of facts:
1. The Kingdom is His - reign or dominion is His. He alone controls everything in His Kingdom.
2. The Power is His - He has the power to accomplish what we ask if what we asked is according to His will for us. We are weak and we cannot do many things. But He is the Almighty and all things are possible with Him.
3. The Glory is His - All Glory and Praise belongs to Him and He will not give His Glory to another (Isaiah 48:11). The Lord wants us to behold His Glory (John 17:24).
We should all praise and glorify God just as David did:
"Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all" (1 Chron. 29:10 - 12, NKJV).
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" (Matt. 6:9 - 13, KJV, emphasis added).
The Lord's Prayer is meant to be Christians' "model" prayer. It was given to us as an example to express the way or manner in which we are to pray. It was not some "flowery" prayer for God to hear to impress Him. It is a simple prayer from the heart of those who fear God. This prayer shows us the way God would have us approach Him when we come before the Throne of grace seeking answers to our petitions. Let us study the contents of the Lord's Prayer.
We should always approach God in Praise and Worship
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name"
If the entire "Lord's Prayer" is to serve as an example for us, then we should take particular notice of this most important first lesson offered. That is, whenever we approach the throne of the all-powerful and Almighty God, we should approach it with words of praise and worship on our lips.
"Our Father" is a very intimate term. It means we can know this God personally and intimately enough to address Him as Father (or Abba Father). That means we can have an intimate relationship with the God of the Bible. And we have the assurance that He wants us to know Him in this personal and intimate way.
The phrase, "which art in heaven" indicates His location. The presence of His glory is manifested in heaven. One day, His glory is going to manifest throughout the whole earth:
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14, NKJV).
Notice that there is a mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5) and the mediator is Jesus Christ. We can come boldly into God's presence becaus of Jesus Christ.
The phrase, "Hallowed be thy name" means "Let thy name be holy". The word "hallowed" means to render or to pronounce holy. God's name needs to be held in reverence, and treated as absolutely holy. If we can only catch a glimpse of God's holiness and awesomeness we are going to fall flat on our face to worship Him!
Let God's will be done
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"
After we have come before God with praise and worship, the next step in our praying should be determining the will of God. And this is tremendously important. How many times we get into trouble because we don't first seek God's will before we go ahead and do what we like.
The phrase, "Thy kingdom come" means "Thy reign be everywhere". The word "kingdom", comes from the Greek word, "basileia" which means "reign" or "rule". This petition is the expression of the wish that God may reign everywhere, that His laws may be obeyed; and especially that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be advanced everywhere, until the world shall be filled with His glory.
I believe every Christian should pray for God's will be done in his life, in his family and in his ministry, knowing that every believer has a ministry given by God. God's will be done in earth, as it is in heaven because in heaven God's perfect will is being accomplished.
Far too often, because of our carnal nature, our desire and wants are not in line with God's will for us. The only thing that fills our consciousness is our desire for the object or result. It really does not matter if it is what God wants or not. We want it and that's all that matters. It may not be good for us at the time, or it may be something diametrically contrary to God's plan for our life. As long as we want it, nothing else matters. But God knows that in our hearts we are not really committed to the thought that we do not want it if He does not want it.
A classic example comes to mind concerning Israel's demand for a king. It was outside God's will and plan for His people. But they were not to be put off. They demanded a king so they could be like the other nations surrounding them. And God gave them a king (Saul), to their eternal hurt. Saul was not God's choice for them as their king and He forewarned them through Samuel (1 Samuel 8:11 - 18). But they would not listen and they would not be deterred from their self-appointed path of folly.
How much trouble would we avoid if we would honestly seek the face of the Lord before we go before Him with a request? How much better in many cases if we would merely take our problems before Him ask for a solution to them, rather than going before Him with the solution we have determined as the proper one, and ask for His "rubber-stamp" approval?
Our daily bread
"Give us this day our daily bread"
At first glance this appears to be a petition for food, or for the money to buy the food. We should be ever aware that we are dependent upon the Lord's generosity for everything we need to survive in this world. Without air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, a roof over out heads, and clothes for our back, life would not last long. In short, we should petition this ("Give us this day our daily bread") before God, on a daily basis, to give us life's provision to meet our need. But not our greed!
Jesus Himself said that He is the "bread of life" (John 6:35, 48). Everything we seek and search for in life can be found only through Him. He is to be our model, our guide, our provider, our strength, our hope and our life. And we need Him (the Bread of Life) daily and that is the reason we must seek His face daily - in prayer.
Forgiveness
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"
Note the qualification (the condition attached) of the above statement - God forgives us on the condition that we forgive others. "Forgiveness" is in the heart of God for Jesus continued with His Sermon on the Mount on "forgiveness" immediately after teaching His disciples the Lord's Prayer:
Jesus said, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14, 15, NKJV).
Unforgiveness can be found in everyday life: A husband will refuse to forgive his wife. The wife will "hold it against" her husband. Children and parents keep a screen of unforgiveness between them. The Pastor will not forgive a Church member or one of the elders or leaders. The list is endless and there are very few people (including Christians) walking around who do not carry some area of resentment in their hearts.
I believe the two most destructive human emotions are guilt and resentment (revenge). They will eat up your physical health; they will upset your mental stability and you will lose the Lord's presence in you life. Your family life, your working life and your ministry will be severely affected.
Deliverance
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
At first glance, it would seem the Lord sometimes leads us into temptation. Actually, though, this statement has a double meaning. It means first, help us to avoid wandering into temptation, and then protect us from being overcome by evil by delivering us from the evil one.
A petition similar to this is offered by the psalmist, David:
"Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies" (Psalm 141:4, NKJV).
It is important to realize that the Lord can never tempt us to evil. He will test us and sometimes allow temptation to come but He will give us the spiritual strength to overcome temptation.
James said, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" (James 1:13, 14).
The world is full of vast array of demon spirits who are committed to hinder our walk with God. They use myraid tricks to bring about our destruction. Paul confirms this when he said:
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, emphasis added).
Notice the word "against" appears 5 times in just one verse of Scripture and out of which 4 times are against demon spirits of various hierarchy. And we are not against people (flesh and blood) because they are not our problem - but the demons in them or behind them are!
John said our faith in the Lord Jesus overcomes the world: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4, 5)?
John was talking about believers who are "born of God" can, by faith, overcome the world - world system influenced by the evil one.
His Kingdom
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen"
This is what theologians said, a doxology.
Here ar some statements of facts:
1. The Kingdom is His - reign or dominion is His. He alone controls everything in His Kingdom.
2. The Power is His - He has the power to accomplish what we ask if what we asked is according to His will for us. We are weak and we cannot do many things. But He is the Almighty and all things are possible with Him.
3. The Glory is His - All Glory and Praise belongs to Him and He will not give His Glory to another (Isaiah 48:11). The Lord wants us to behold His Glory (John 17:24).
We should all praise and glorify God just as David did:
"Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all" (1 Chron. 29:10 - 12, NKJV).
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Judgment of the Gentile Nations
In order to understand the "Judgment of the Gentile Nations" we need first to understand some basic Biblical facts concerning the total Judgment of God which consists of two stages - Judgment in time (present time and in history) and God's eternal judgment (Please refer to my earlier posting entitled - "Total Judgments of God).
This message is about eternal judgment with emphasis on the Judgment of the Gentile nations. The writer of Hebrews says this is one of the 6 foundation doctrines of Christ (Hebrews 6:1, 2).
Here are some statements of truth concerning the human race and God's eternal judgment:
1. The human race is divided into three different categories.
Paul said, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Cor. 10:32, KJV).
The 3 categories are:
The Jews - a special nation, separated by God for purpose of His own, from all other nations.
The Gentiles (Greek) - all other nations of the world, except Israel.
The Church of God - all true believers (Jews and Gentile) who have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ.
2. The eternal judgments of God will be carried out in four sucessive scenes:
Notice that the eternal judgments of God, with the exception of the Jews, will be carried out before Christ at different judgment seat or throne.
Judgment of true Christians - this will be carried out before the judgment seat of Christ.
Judgment of the Jews - this will be carried out during the Great Tribulation. In fact the Great Tribulation is their judgment.
Judgment of the Gentile nations - this will be carried out before the throne of Christ's glory.
Judgment of the remaining dead - this will be carried out before a great white throne.
Judgment of true Christians
I will just mention it briefly because I have already posted the full message earlier - "Judgment of true Christians"
1. Only true Christians will be judged first (1 Peter 4:17, 18).
2. The Lord will take vengeance on those who do not know God (unbelievers) and those who do not obey the Gospel (disobedient believers) (2 Thess. 1:7, 8).
3. The so-called Christians who failed to enter the Narrow Gate (Luke 13:24 - 17) will not be judged as true Christians. Consequently they will not be judged first.
4. True Christians are not condemned. The Lord Himself gave us the assurance (John 3:18; 5:24). Paul gave the same assurance of freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1).
5. God's judgment is without partiality (1 Peter 1:17).
6. The things which will be brought up for judgment will be "the things done in the body". These are the acts, service, attitude and behavior of every Christians during his life here on earth (2 Cor. 5:10).
7. The same Verse (2 Cor. 5:10) also indicates that the judgment of Christians will be to assess their rewards. Every act or service performed by a Christian during his earthly life must fall into one of two categories - either good or bad. Every act that is not performed in faith and obedience, for the glory of God, is unacceptable to God and therefore bad. There is no neutrality or grey area.
8. The main purpose of our salvation is to bear fruit for Christ (John 15:16). Read the two parables - the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14 - 30) and the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11 - 17).
Judgment of the Jews
In considering the special judgment of Israel, it is observed that there are two principles God uses to deal with the human race:
1. In blessing - God normally blesses the Gentiles through the Jews, but He blesses the Jews directly.
2. In punishment - God normally punishes the Jew through the Gentiles, but He punishes the Gentiles directly.
These two principles will direct God's dealings with the human race at the close of the present age.
In the closing stages of the Great Tribulations, God will judge and punish Israel for the last time as a nation, through the instrumentality of the Gentiles. When this final judgment of Israel is complete, God Himself will intervene directly in judgment upon the Gentiles.
Jeremiah 30:3 - 9 describes this final judgment upon Israel after they have return as a nation to their own land. Here is the order of events foretold by Jeremiah:
1. God will bring Israel back to their own land.
2. There will be for Israel a time of national peril and distress, more terrible than any that they have previously passed through.
3. The Lord Himself will eventually intervene against the foreigners - the Gentile enermies of Israel - and will save Israel from them.
4. The national kingdom of Israel will again be restored upon the throne of David, under the supreme government of the Lord Himself. The period of the restored kingdom will be the millennium.
Zechariah's prophecy
The end-time gatherings of the Gentile nations against Israel, and the direct intervention of the Lord on behalf of Israel, are further described in Zechariah:
"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations gathered against it. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn" (Zechariah 12:3; 12:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
The phrase: "They will look on Me whom they have pierced ...." indicates how accurate is the prophecy concerning Israel's rejection and crucifixion of Christ. At this point Israel will at last acknowledge their terrible error, and in great mourning and repentance they will be reconciled with their Messiah, whom they have long rejected.
Paul, in describing the final reconciliation of Israel to God, said: "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob'" (Romans 11:16).
After Israel has thus passed through the fires of the Great Tribulation and been reconciled again to God through Jesus Christ, there will be no further need for God to judge them. Thereafter, when Christ sets up His earthly Kingdom and takes His seat upon the throne of His glory, He will need only to judge the Gentile nations remaining alive on earth at the close of the Great Tribulation.
Judgment of Gentile Nations
In order to understand Matt. 25:31 - 46, it is helpsul to look at the following parallel passage of Scripture:
The Lord spoke through Joel: "For behold, in those days and at that time, whin I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land" (Joel 3:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
God declares that He will first bring back the scattered Jewish people in their own land. Then He will gather all the Gentile nations and bring judgment upon them in Person "on account to His people". This is after the Second coming Jesus Christ. This is not the rapture of the true Church, the Bride of Christ. The Second coming is for the Judgment of the Gentile Nations.
The basis of the judgment is the same as that described by Jesus in Matthew 25. God said He is going to enter into judgment with the Gentile nations "on accout of My people Israel".
The purpose of the judgment that follows is to separate the sheep (those whom God accepts) from the goats (those whom God rejects). The sheep will be received into the Kingdom God has prepared for them - Christ's Millennial Kingdom. The goats will have final, irrevocable judgment pronounced upon them, by which they will be banished into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Unlike the rich man (Luke 16:22, 23) these rejected Gentiles (goats) will be sent forth, not to Hades, but directly to the place of final punishment of all rebels - the lake of fire. Into this lake the Antichrist (the beast) and his false prophet already will have been cast.
The separation between the sheep and goats is based upon one decisive issue - the way in which those being judged have treated the brothers of Jesus, the Jewish people (Matt. 25:34 - 46).
Even at the present moment anti- Semitism is becoming continually more widespread and more aggressive and all nations will be judged by God on the basis of their treatment of the Jewish people. Once the sheep have been separated from the goats, the judgment of the Gentile nations will be complete.
In this so-called parable (actually there is no suggestion that it is a parable) of the sheep and goats Jesus meant individual persons in all Gentile nations. This is completely logical. Each person is responsible to his own sins and the "soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:29) and therefore God will judge each individual person in all Gentile nations. The Lord will decide whether his is a sheep or a goat.
What follows?
After the completion of the judgment of the Gentile Nations those who are accounted worthy to enter into the period of Christ Millennial Kingdom will have passed through the refining judgemt of God. First, Israel will be purged in the fires of the Great Tribulation. Then at the close of the Tribulation, the Gentiles will be purged by Christ own direct intervention and judgment.
After these purging judgments upon both Jews and Gentiles, Satan will be bound for 1000 years (Rev. 20:2) and there will be a thounsand years of peace and prosperity, with Christ ruling as King over all the earth.
When the 1000 years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison (Rev. 20:7) and he will make one final attempt to organize the Gentile nations in rebellion against Christ and His Kingdom, but this rebellion will be brought to nought by the direct intervention of God.
At this time Satan himself will at last be banished forever from earth and will be cast into the lake of fire, to join the Antichrist and the false prophet who will already be there.
The Great White Throne Judgment
With the defeat of Satan's final uprising, all the rebellious among those living at that time upon the earth will be purged out, and it will then remain to judge the dead of all previous ages. For this purpose, all the dead who have not previously been resurrected will at this time be called for judgment. In this way the stage will be set for the final scene of God's eternal judgment called the Great White Throne Judgment:
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:11 - 15).
Here is the ultimate end of all sins and rebellion against the Almight God (all unbelievers) - to be cast forever into the lake of everlasting fire. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will escape this final judgment.
Names recorded in the Book of Life
The names recorded in the Book of Life are of those who during their life on earth availed themselves, through faith, of God's mercy and grace.
The Scripture reveals two categories:
1. All true Christians (the Bride of Christ) - all those who put their faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice on behave of mankind. They will already have been resurrected (rapture) just before the commencement of the Millennium. They will have passed through their Judgment (Judgment of true Christians) before the judgment seat of Christ, not for condemnation, but to assess their reward.
2. All those who died in faith during the Millennium.
Conclusion
Will there be others to whom God will extend mercy from His Great White Throne? The answer to this is locked up within the omniscience of God. For us, with our limited knowledge and narrow perspective, it is therefore foolish to speculate. One thing we do know is that the Judge of all the earth is always right (Gen 18:25)!
Paul, who fully understood the unsearchable wisdom and knowledge of God, said:
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out" (Romans 11:33, NKJV)!
This message is about eternal judgment with emphasis on the Judgment of the Gentile nations. The writer of Hebrews says this is one of the 6 foundation doctrines of Christ (Hebrews 6:1, 2).
Here are some statements of truth concerning the human race and God's eternal judgment:
1. The human race is divided into three different categories.
Paul said, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Cor. 10:32, KJV).
The 3 categories are:
The Jews - a special nation, separated by God for purpose of His own, from all other nations.
The Gentiles (Greek) - all other nations of the world, except Israel.
The Church of God - all true believers (Jews and Gentile) who have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ.
2. The eternal judgments of God will be carried out in four sucessive scenes:
Notice that the eternal judgments of God, with the exception of the Jews, will be carried out before Christ at different judgment seat or throne.
Judgment of true Christians - this will be carried out before the judgment seat of Christ.
Judgment of the Jews - this will be carried out during the Great Tribulation. In fact the Great Tribulation is their judgment.
Judgment of the Gentile nations - this will be carried out before the throne of Christ's glory.
Judgment of the remaining dead - this will be carried out before a great white throne.
Judgment of true Christians
I will just mention it briefly because I have already posted the full message earlier - "Judgment of true Christians"
1. Only true Christians will be judged first (1 Peter 4:17, 18).
2. The Lord will take vengeance on those who do not know God (unbelievers) and those who do not obey the Gospel (disobedient believers) (2 Thess. 1:7, 8).
3. The so-called Christians who failed to enter the Narrow Gate (Luke 13:24 - 17) will not be judged as true Christians. Consequently they will not be judged first.
4. True Christians are not condemned. The Lord Himself gave us the assurance (John 3:18; 5:24). Paul gave the same assurance of freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1).
5. God's judgment is without partiality (1 Peter 1:17).
6. The things which will be brought up for judgment will be "the things done in the body". These are the acts, service, attitude and behavior of every Christians during his life here on earth (2 Cor. 5:10).
7. The same Verse (2 Cor. 5:10) also indicates that the judgment of Christians will be to assess their rewards. Every act or service performed by a Christian during his earthly life must fall into one of two categories - either good or bad. Every act that is not performed in faith and obedience, for the glory of God, is unacceptable to God and therefore bad. There is no neutrality or grey area.
8. The main purpose of our salvation is to bear fruit for Christ (John 15:16). Read the two parables - the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14 - 30) and the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11 - 17).
Judgment of the Jews
In considering the special judgment of Israel, it is observed that there are two principles God uses to deal with the human race:
1. In blessing - God normally blesses the Gentiles through the Jews, but He blesses the Jews directly.
2. In punishment - God normally punishes the Jew through the Gentiles, but He punishes the Gentiles directly.
These two principles will direct God's dealings with the human race at the close of the present age.
In the closing stages of the Great Tribulations, God will judge and punish Israel for the last time as a nation, through the instrumentality of the Gentiles. When this final judgment of Israel is complete, God Himself will intervene directly in judgment upon the Gentiles.
Jeremiah 30:3 - 9 describes this final judgment upon Israel after they have return as a nation to their own land. Here is the order of events foretold by Jeremiah:
1. God will bring Israel back to their own land.
2. There will be for Israel a time of national peril and distress, more terrible than any that they have previously passed through.
3. The Lord Himself will eventually intervene against the foreigners - the Gentile enermies of Israel - and will save Israel from them.
4. The national kingdom of Israel will again be restored upon the throne of David, under the supreme government of the Lord Himself. The period of the restored kingdom will be the millennium.
Zechariah's prophecy
The end-time gatherings of the Gentile nations against Israel, and the direct intervention of the Lord on behalf of Israel, are further described in Zechariah:
"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations gathered against it. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn" (Zechariah 12:3; 12:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
The phrase: "They will look on Me whom they have pierced ...." indicates how accurate is the prophecy concerning Israel's rejection and crucifixion of Christ. At this point Israel will at last acknowledge their terrible error, and in great mourning and repentance they will be reconciled with their Messiah, whom they have long rejected.
Paul, in describing the final reconciliation of Israel to God, said: "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob'" (Romans 11:16).
After Israel has thus passed through the fires of the Great Tribulation and been reconciled again to God through Jesus Christ, there will be no further need for God to judge them. Thereafter, when Christ sets up His earthly Kingdom and takes His seat upon the throne of His glory, He will need only to judge the Gentile nations remaining alive on earth at the close of the Great Tribulation.
Judgment of Gentile Nations
In order to understand Matt. 25:31 - 46, it is helpsul to look at the following parallel passage of Scripture:
The Lord spoke through Joel: "For behold, in those days and at that time, whin I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land" (Joel 3:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
God declares that He will first bring back the scattered Jewish people in their own land. Then He will gather all the Gentile nations and bring judgment upon them in Person "on account to His people". This is after the Second coming Jesus Christ. This is not the rapture of the true Church, the Bride of Christ. The Second coming is for the Judgment of the Gentile Nations.
The basis of the judgment is the same as that described by Jesus in Matthew 25. God said He is going to enter into judgment with the Gentile nations "on accout of My people Israel".
The purpose of the judgment that follows is to separate the sheep (those whom God accepts) from the goats (those whom God rejects). The sheep will be received into the Kingdom God has prepared for them - Christ's Millennial Kingdom. The goats will have final, irrevocable judgment pronounced upon them, by which they will be banished into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Unlike the rich man (Luke 16:22, 23) these rejected Gentiles (goats) will be sent forth, not to Hades, but directly to the place of final punishment of all rebels - the lake of fire. Into this lake the Antichrist (the beast) and his false prophet already will have been cast.
The separation between the sheep and goats is based upon one decisive issue - the way in which those being judged have treated the brothers of Jesus, the Jewish people (Matt. 25:34 - 46).
Even at the present moment anti- Semitism is becoming continually more widespread and more aggressive and all nations will be judged by God on the basis of their treatment of the Jewish people. Once the sheep have been separated from the goats, the judgment of the Gentile nations will be complete.
In this so-called parable (actually there is no suggestion that it is a parable) of the sheep and goats Jesus meant individual persons in all Gentile nations. This is completely logical. Each person is responsible to his own sins and the "soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:29) and therefore God will judge each individual person in all Gentile nations. The Lord will decide whether his is a sheep or a goat.
What follows?
After the completion of the judgment of the Gentile Nations those who are accounted worthy to enter into the period of Christ Millennial Kingdom will have passed through the refining judgemt of God. First, Israel will be purged in the fires of the Great Tribulation. Then at the close of the Tribulation, the Gentiles will be purged by Christ own direct intervention and judgment.
After these purging judgments upon both Jews and Gentiles, Satan will be bound for 1000 years (Rev. 20:2) and there will be a thounsand years of peace and prosperity, with Christ ruling as King over all the earth.
When the 1000 years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison (Rev. 20:7) and he will make one final attempt to organize the Gentile nations in rebellion against Christ and His Kingdom, but this rebellion will be brought to nought by the direct intervention of God.
At this time Satan himself will at last be banished forever from earth and will be cast into the lake of fire, to join the Antichrist and the false prophet who will already be there.
The Great White Throne Judgment
With the defeat of Satan's final uprising, all the rebellious among those living at that time upon the earth will be purged out, and it will then remain to judge the dead of all previous ages. For this purpose, all the dead who have not previously been resurrected will at this time be called for judgment. In this way the stage will be set for the final scene of God's eternal judgment called the Great White Throne Judgment:
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:11 - 15).
Here is the ultimate end of all sins and rebellion against the Almight God (all unbelievers) - to be cast forever into the lake of everlasting fire. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will escape this final judgment.
Names recorded in the Book of Life
The names recorded in the Book of Life are of those who during their life on earth availed themselves, through faith, of God's mercy and grace.
The Scripture reveals two categories:
1. All true Christians (the Bride of Christ) - all those who put their faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice on behave of mankind. They will already have been resurrected (rapture) just before the commencement of the Millennium. They will have passed through their Judgment (Judgment of true Christians) before the judgment seat of Christ, not for condemnation, but to assess their reward.
2. All those who died in faith during the Millennium.
Conclusion
Will there be others to whom God will extend mercy from His Great White Throne? The answer to this is locked up within the omniscience of God. For us, with our limited knowledge and narrow perspective, it is therefore foolish to speculate. One thing we do know is that the Judge of all the earth is always right (Gen 18:25)!
Paul, who fully understood the unsearchable wisdom and knowledge of God, said:
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out" (Romans 11:33, NKJV)!
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