The Sleepy Church and One Answer

Saints,

Like you, I am overwhelmed with thanks today. As Christ-followers we all have so much to thank the Father for.

We have been awakened out of a sin induced stupor—death. We have been made alive to walk in intimacy with the most-high God of the universe—we can enter into His presence because He has clothed us with righteousness. We are saints, children of God, true worshipers, eternal worshipers of the one true God both here on earth temporarily and with Him eternally. He has filled us with His Spirit. We are completely transformed. He has made us capable of deep, intense connection with Him in prayer—thank you, God! God is so good.

Thank you, God for giving us every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Thank you for granting us love, forgiveness, peace, joy, and your presence.

Additionally, we each can list dear family members, friends, experiences, and more to be thankful for. Today, our family will share a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner complete with Bible readings, hymn singing, and then each in-turn sharing what we are thankful for with a young couple from India and a young lady from Nepal. International folks seem to really enjoy our Thanksgiving tradition. I hope that they will see Jesus more clearly through this day.

As we turn our attention to the church, I admit that this devotional is biased. I am writing this and so it comes from my bias, my perspective. You may have a different bias or perspective—that is okay. Even so, I have to communicate what I believe is a message to the church today. Maybe I am wrong. I don’t think so, but I might be.

Let us consider the problem. The problem we will look at today is that the church seems to be asleep. She has far too little impact on her communities, her children, her culture—even her members.

Not too long ago, a friend handed me a copy of Andrew Murray’s book, The State of the Church. This book was written 100 years ago. From my perspective, it could have been written today.

Murray speaks of a startling statistic, p33.

“Another statistic tells that out of seven million Sunday school students only about one-fifth ultimately connect themselves with the church. What a thought! That millions of Sunday school students should be entrusted to the church for three or four years of their life, and yet the church is powerless to influence them to become its members!”

Remember this was written 100 years ago. It seems we still have the same problem today, at least in the western church. I realize there can be a number of answers to help this problem. Frankly I believe what Murray suggests is right on target.

I believe the problem is that we do work in the church with far too much reliance on ourselves and far too little empowering of the Holy Spirit. You may reply, “That is very obvious. How do we change that?”

As we saw last week, read again Daniel Henderson’s definition of prayer one more time—read slowly.

 “Prayer is intimacy with God that leads to the fulfillment of His purposes, accomplished by His power, for His glory."

I believe that we do not know how to pray in a manner that results in deeper intimacy with God. This has to do with our desire to maintain control—our lack of willingness to completely surrender to God—our reluctance to turn away from our sin.

Saints, may we run after God in true repentance and in complete surrender. If you do not agree with me on this consider the state of the church as evidence.

Murray continues,

“The chief suggestion in regard to the whole difficulty is contained in one word: work. “There have been too many conferences and meetings to discuss work—it is better to do the work. The minister is to be pitied who does not yet know what he ought to do in his sphere of labor. He is most deeply to be pitied if he does not know the source of true strength.” And yet this last is just the crucial question. Judging by what is written and spoken; it is the lack of that intense prayer, that loving faith, which is the cause of all evil.  God’s promise is too sure; the lack of conversions, the decline in membership and the lack of Sunday school students all indicate that the power of God is little known. And nothing can be more dangerous than to tell men to work if their method of work is not what it should be!”

I know these are hard words. Please don’t misunderstand my intention. I am in no way blaming anyone—especially not pastors, not leaders, not teachers. I agree with Murray in that some how we have drifted away from a deep connection and reliance on God, on His power. More programs are not the answer. Better marketing is not the answer. The one thing you and me can do right now--even this Thanksgiving is to connect with the Father in deeper prayer which is Bible-based, Spirit-led, kingdom-focused, prayer in Jesus name which results in “intimacy with God that leads to the fulfillment of His purposes, accomplished by His power, for His glory."

Father, teach us to pray. Fill us—your church with Your Holy Spirit power. Use Your church to impact her neighbors, her communities, her culture for Your glory and that Your name would be honored. Amen.

Jesus prayed for this very thing in His prayer recorded in John chapter 17.

John 17:20-23 (ESV)
²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve 

Prayer, Faith, and Your View of God

Saints,

In my opinion, our prayer tends to be too little, too infrequent, and based on a faith which is much too small.

Maybe, some of you would agree with these qualifying words concerning your own prayer. Today, we will consider that one reason for a lack and littleness of our own prayer is our little view of God and our view of how God designed prayer to be a part of His kingdom.

To start off, let’s review our life circumstance before God somehow affected our lives. Paul explains this in Ephesians, dear brothers and sisters, before God did something in our lives--we were dead in our sin.

Ephesians 2:1-2 (NIV)

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

Sometimes we can forget that we did not save ourselves. We did not conjure up enough faith to somehow please God. We did not do enough works to make the most-high God smile on us. We did not educate ourselves enough about God until God approved of our wonderful godly knowledge. God saves us. He does it all. He provides the way to Himself. As I understand the scriptures, for those of you who have received Christ, we were dead in our sin. Then, God somehow reached into our deadness and caused the light of God’s truth in our lives that we received this truth. The truth is that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead to pay the penalty of our sins and to purchase a place in heaven for us.

So, God did it all. Please embrace the reality of whom we are and who God is. We are utterly dependent on God. Don’t let yourself think otherwise.

The second issue for us today centers around our view of God. Let me ask you, “How big is our God?” Is our God big enough to save your neighbor? Is our God big enough to revive a faltering church which seems bent toward splitting up? Is our God big enough to keep us from habitually sinning? Is our God big enough to save a demon-possessed man? Is our God big enough to cause churches which are very inward-focused to become more outward-focused? Is our God big enough to cause discipleship to happen in a tribal people on an island off Malaysia in which there are only brand new Christians? Is our God big enough to awaken a spiritually sleepy and seemingly unresponsive country to His gospel? Please know that the answer to these questions in reality is yes—regardless of what we may think!

So, how does this relate to prayer? I remember the first time I prayed for every pastor in the world. I stopped praying. The thought caused me to falter. Would God answer a prayer like that? How would I know if He answered a prayer like that? Was He big enough for that kind of prayer?

Saints, please remember our God has things in his mind far beyond what we may ask or think or imagine. Again Paul in his letter to the Ephesians,

Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”

I was struggling with my small view of God in prayer. Of course God is big enough to answer prayer for every pastor in the world. The question is, “Is our faith based on a God who is big enough to hear us utter a prayer like that?” Is our understanding of God rooted in the truth of His Word or our own lack of understanding of His truth?

God is big. He is at work. He has designed prayer to be part of His kingdom work—incessant, persevering, faithful, Scripture-based, in Jesus name, heart-felt, sacrificial, not a merely as-you-drive or brush-your-teeth kind of prayer.

May God convict us of our weak understanding of Him. May God show us how to pray Bible-based, Holy-Spirit led, kingdom-centered, prayer in Jesus name for His glory.  

I know we have looked at this before, even so, please consider Daniel Henderson’s definition of prayer,

“Prayer is intimacy with God that leads to the fulfillment of His purposes, accomplished by His power, for His glory."

Father, we implore you as Jesus taught us to pray in Luke 10—cause your church to be a praying church. Cause her to embrace the truth of who you truly are—how powerful you really are. Father, convict us of our little and lacking prayers. Fill us with your Holy Spirit to empower effective prayer which impacts your kingdom!  We ask this for your glory and in Jesus name, Amen. 

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve 

Prayer and Faith

Saints,

As a reminder, please know the purpose of the Power House Prayer devotionals  is to encourage Christ-followers toward deeper intimacy with Jesus and spur them on to deeper, resolute Bible-based, Holy Spirit-led, kingdom-focused, prayer in Jesus name for His glory.

This message is as much for me as it might be for you. I have a heart-ache to see the church of Jesus Christ flourish and burn white-hot for her Savior in complete obedience, witnessing, prayer, and surrender. If you are a believer then you probably have this same desire.  I am convinced that we can not conjure up this kind of desire by ourselves. Even so, after three years of praying for revival and awakening, I am growing weary—even doubtful that God will do what I believe He has placed in my heart to ask Him to do. That is to ask Him for deepening and awakening and revival in the American church.

You may be wondering at why I might be so spiritually weak to falter after only three years. I wonder too. So today, to deepen our resolve, let’s look at what true faith looks like in true prayer.

What is faith and how does it relate to prayer?

The writer of Hebrews says,

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Matthew Henry states,

It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye.       (Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary)

E. M. Bounds shares in his book, The Essentials of Prayer, chapter two,

“Faith is not an abstract belief in the Word of God, nor a mere mental credence, nor a simple assent to the understanding and will; nor is it a passive acceptance of facts, however sacred or thorough. Faith is an operation of God. A divine illumination, a holy energy implanted by the Word of God and the Spirit in the human soul—a spiritual, divine principle which takes of the supernatural and makes it a thing apprehendable by the faculties of time and sense.”

As we have seen before, it is very easy for us to depend on training, marketing, technology, personal know-how and savvy to get things done. Unfortunately, we can approach doing ministry with this kind of self-reliance as well. It’s almost as if we have a spiritual amnesia--forgetting the Old Testament and how it clearly relays God’s people thriving when they utterly depend on God and getting into trouble when they do things on their own.

I think Jesus summed this principle up well when He said,

John 15:5 (ESV)
⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Maybe you are like me in that I sometimes focus on circumstances and then get discouraged. I’m talking about circumstances like pastors being murdered in Iran, churches which drift away from the God’s purpose of the church—disciple making and witnessing, churches struggling with disunity, and pastors falling. These circumstances can lead us to want to quit.

It can almost make us want to stop trying, to stop praying, to stop believing that God could revive. May we never falter--God is faithful!

Maybe you can relate? If so, be encouraged. Quitting is not of faith—you have been given faith by the most high creator God. Do you realize that your faith in God is not as a result of your own doing? I know we are to “work out our faith in fear and trembling.” Even so, this refers to the faith we have already been given by the Father. If you have received Christ, then thank the Father for He is the one who drew you to Christ! (John 6:44) God gives us faith…

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Did you notice that not only does God give the faith, but He also gives the faith for a purpose—to work the works He prepared beforehand?

Let’s look at how faith and prayer come together. E.M. Bounds says this well,

“Faith gives birth to prayer, and grows stronger, strikes deep, rises higher, in the struggles and wrestling of mighty petitioning. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance and realization of the inheritance of the saints. Faith, too, is humble and persevering. It can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees, or like in the dust. It is the one great condition of prayer; the lack of it lies at the root of all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, unanswered praying.”

May our faith be strong and our praying reflect this.

E. M. Bounds continues,

“What an era of glorious achievements would dawn for the church and the world, if only there could be reproduced a race of saints of like mighty faith and of like mighty praying! It is not the intellectually great that the church needs; nor is it men of wealth that the times demand. It is not people of great social influence that this day requires. Above everybody and everything else, it is men of faith, men of mighty prayer, men and women after the fashion of the saints and heroes enumerated in Hebrews, who “obtain a good report through faith,” that the church and the whole wide world of humanity needs.”

To be clear, we know that it is only through God and His love, power, grace and blessing that we can be men and women of faithful prayer and effective obedience.

If you are at point of doubting or faltering, let me encourage you--let’s agree to do two things…

1) Like the sick boy’s father asked Jesus (Mark 9:24) to help him with his unbelief, we can ask God for more and stronger faith.

2) Decide to stand on God’s Word, not circumstances! Like Daniel (Dan. 1:8) who determined in his heart he would not eat the king’s food—let’s determine in our hearts that we will through strong faith, resolutely pray as God leads His kingdom-focused prayers without doubt.

Father, raise up your church to glorify your name. Make us your fully obedient, surrendered, and on-fire followers. Make our children like that too. Father, deepen up in You, Awaken us to You and revive us for You. Father, save those who do not know you—those the enemy has blinded eyes and deafened ears. We ask this in faith! We ask this in Jesus’ name. We ask this for Your purposes—for Your name to be glorified on the earth!  We ask this for Your glory and in Jesus name, Amen.  

What do You Believe About Prayer?

Saints,

I recently heard Dr. Wayne Grudem speak at a local conference. He talked about the power of God’s Word and how doctrine changes life—he spoke of communism in world history as an example. He asserted that what we think about God directs how we lead our life. Let’s apply this to the church. Does the church believe true doctrine? If she does, she will serve the Lord with passion and fruitfulness—and at the same time, diligently seek the Lord in prayer—having real impact in the world.

This makes me wonder what we think about prayer. What do you believe about prayer? Do you believe that prayer is necessary? Do you believe that prayer is effective? What kind of prayer is effective? If you pray for salvation or revival will God hear? How does sin affect prayer? What is prayer?

Let’s look at four truths about prayer. My hope is that as we look at these truths we will commit to more and deeper prayer, all for God’s glory and for His purposes. 

First, as followers of Jesus Christ we must notice and accept the truth that Jesus modeled prayer and instructed His followers to pray.

·         Jesus prayed at the beginning of His ministry (Lk 3:21-22)

·         Jesus prayed all night before choosing His disciples (Lk 6:12-13)

·         Jesus agonized in prayer as He faced the cross (Mk 14:33-35)

·         Jesus repeatedly promised to answer prayer in His name (John chapters 14:13-14, 15:7, 15:16, 16:23-24)

Second, Paul teaches that the enemy is not flesh and blood. The enemy consists of rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers over this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (ESV). Paul then shares to put on spiritual armor. After we have done that, our first activity is to pray.

Ephesians 6:12-20 (ESV)
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Third, we see James promising that the prayers of righteous people cause change.

James 5:16-17 (ESV)
¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

Fourth, we see in God’s Word that Jesus’ disciples noticed something about Jesus. They lived with Him and observed Him speaking, teaching, healing, correcting, rebuking, and praying. Which of these activities did the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to do? Yes, they said to Jesus, “Teach us to pray.” Let’s not read too much into this, even so, let’s realize that Jesus’ disciples noticed that prayer was special to Jesus—somehow Jesus prayer-life impacted all He did. They naturally wanted to know how Jesus prayed.

Do you believe these truths about prayer? I submit to you that if we truly believe that Jesus modeled and instructed us to pray—if we truly believe that God will answer prayer in Jesus’ name—if we truly believe that our prayers could impact the salvation of others—if we truly believe that renewal in the church will not happen until we have renewal in our prayer-lives…then guess what? Yes, we will pray. We will pray with fervor Bible-based, kingdom-focused, Holy Spirit led prayers in Jesus name. 

Yes, Dr. Grudem, we agree that doctrine changes life. May God’s truth about prayer change us.

Father, please cause your truth to change us. May we be given to prayer. Father, use us as your intercessors to keep watch and pray that Your church would press ahead in Your power and people would know, trust, follow, love, and serve You. We ask this for Your glory and in Jesus name, Amen. 

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

More Intercessors

Saints,

We know that the Father designed His church to impact and influence the world—one life at a time. And as we have looked at before we know Jesus emphasized and modeled prayer for His followers and for us. Remember Jesus praying in the garden—He cried out with vehement groans. Remember how Jesus repeatedly promised to answer prayer in His name in John chapters 14-16. He promised six times to answer prayer in these chapters which scholars refer to as Jesus’ “farewell discourse.” It’s as if Jesus explained to His followers, “Guys, you are entering the church age and you will need to pray.”

Even right now Jesus is praying for His church. He embodies the Spirit of prayer—the Spirit of intercession. Would it be too much to ask God to somehow lead us, guide us, and compel us to pray more like Jesus prays? Can you imagine the Father answering this request by stating, “No, I already have enough intercessors?” No, brothers and sisters, the Father desires for us to pray. He designed His kingdom this way.

So, today I want to submit to you that at least two things will happen as you ask God to lead you to pray like Jesus. First, you will have more and more Christ’s heart for people—people who don’t know Him. Remember Jesus shared that eternal life is to know the Father and the Son,

John 17:3 (ESV)
³ And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Second, you will more and more have a heart for the church—any church which serves as a witness of Jesus Christ and engages in making disciples. The purpose in this devotional today is to challenge you to ask the Father to pray like Jesus—like Daniel. Ask God to fill you with the same hurt, the same love, the same concern, the same passion, the same desire, the same perseverance Jesus has in prayer for His church and people who do not know Him yet.

I love reading and learning about folks who lived (or live) lives of prayer—real prayer-lives. People like Daniel, Andrew Murray, Hudson Taylor, John Hyde, George Mueller, David Brainerd and so many more.

Please read this excerpt about John Hyde’s prayer-life as written by Francis A. McGaw from the book, Praying Hyde, p21-22.

“Let me introduce here a gem from the pen of Paterson: “What was the secret of the prayer-life of John Hyde’s?” he asks. “This, that it was a life of prayer. Who was the source of all life? The glorified Jesus. How do I get this life from Him? Just as I receive His righteousness to begin with. I own that I have no righteousness of my own—only filthy rags, and I in faith claim His righteousness. Now, a twofold result follows: As to our Father in heaven, He sees Christ’s righteousness—not my unrighteousness. A second result as to ourselves: Christ’s righteousness not merely clothes us outwardly, but enters into our very being, by His Spirit, received in faith as with the disciples (see John 20:22), and works out sanctification in us.”

McGaw continues,

“Why not the same with our prayer life? Let us remember the word “for.” “Christ died for us,” and “He ever liveth to make intercession ‘for’ us,” that is, in our room and stead. So, I confess my ever-failing prayers (it dare not be called a life), and plead His never failing intercession. Then it affects our Father, for He looks upon Christ’s prayer-life in us, and answers accordingly. So that the answer is far “above all we can ask or think.” Another great result follows: it affects us. Christ’s prayer life enters into us, and He prays in us. This is prayer in the Holy Spirit. Only thus can we pray without ceasing. This is the life more abundant which our Lord gives. Oh, what peace, what comfort? No more working up a life of prayer and failing constantly. Jesus enters the boat, and the toiling ceases, and we are at land whither we would be. Now, we need to be still before Him, so as to hear His voice and allow Him to pray in us—nay, to allow Him to pour into our souls His overflowing life of intercession, which means literally: Face to face meeting with God—real union and communion.”

Father, please fill us with Your Spirit of intercession. Forgive us for our weak prayer-lives. May we pray more like Daniel and like Jesus. Father, use us as your intercessors ordained by You to keep watch and pray that Your church would thrive and people would know You. We ask this for Your glory and in Jesus name, Amen.  

Prayer is Abiding in Christ

Saints,

True prayer which connects with the Most High God is more about God than us. Prayer is about our identity in God. Think of this. Let’s say you desperately wanted to speak with President Obama, would that conversation likely take place? No, he is running a country and does not have time to speak with 350 million people individually. However, if you wanted to speak with and listen to the Most High Creator God, you can. In fact, God promises to hear you. In fact, Jesus Christ promises to answer your requests.

Today, we want to look at the promise to answer prayer Jesus’ gives us in John 15. This is an amazing promise. It also speaks to who we are. There is a deep connection with Jesus described by these words. In fact, I submit that the depth of connection described here is so deep that it is transformational—the person described here as abiding in Jesus and as having Jesus’ words abiding in him is no longer the same person he used to be. As we look at this abiding a little more closely, let’s ask the Father to help us truly abide in Jesus and have His words abide in us, just as Jesus meant it when He spoke these words 2,000 years ago. 

Jesus said,

John 15:7 (ESV)
⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Spiros Zhodiates explains that this passage is portraying a connection with Jesus in which we “remain united with Him, one with Him in heart, mind, and will.”

I want us to think about and pray about this idea today. Do we understand the depth of connection with our Savior which is described here? Do we desire this kind of deep connection? Are we willing to “let go” of our own agenda, will, plans, and desires to allow Jesus to fill us up with His will, plans and desires?

I am reminded of the passage in Mark 12 when Jesus is asked by the scribe about which commandment is the foremost commandment.

Mark 12:29-31 (ESV)
²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Paul understood the depth of oneness with Christ that is described in John 15:7. Let’s look at Paul’s words in Galatians,

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Abiding in Christ is not about us and our desires. But then again, it is about our desires after they have been re-made into Christ’s desires. This is the depth of abiding that Jesus speaks of in these passages. We are not talking about asking for anything we want, hoping that if we have enough faith--we get what we want. Neither is it about our lives getting “better and better” as we add a little Jesus to our lives like we would add pepper to our steak.

In reality, Jesus is the steak. He is the pepper and the plates and the table and the utensils—He is the air, the house, the room, and the gravity, which holds it all down. What I'm trying to communicate is that Jesus is everything.

So, we are to abide in Him.

Please read what Andrew Murray says about this depth of abiding in Christ in His book, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Lesson 21,

“This is the true abiding, the occupying of the position in which Christ can come and abide; so abiding with Him that the soul has come away from self to find that He has taken the place to become our life. It is the becoming as little children who have no care, and find their happiness in trusting and obeying the love that has done all for them.”

What we are trying see here is that in Christ we are changed. We are no longer what we were. Look at the people in the New Testament who had the deepest connection with Jesus—take Paul for example. Paul had direct revelation given him by Christ through visions, as a result he spoke God’s truth—he was a God-ordained instrument to relay God’s Word to others, to us. Another characteristic about Paul was that his life was no longer his—he completely belonged to God. This is what Jesus is talking about. I’m not sure that I/we get this depth of abiding that Jesus describes here. In fact, we might have a tough time overcoming our own cultural baggage or pre-understanding in order to fully understand this truth. Here again, we must ask God to help us understand this.

D. A. Carson speaks about identity in his book, The God Who is There, in chapter Eight, The God Who Grants New Birth, p 133. He discusses the interchange between Nicodemus and Jesus in John 3:11-13. He describes how Jesus teaches about being born again with authority, Carson says,

“The reason why Jesus could speak about being born again with the authority and confidence he displayed is bound up in his identity. To dismiss what he says is to dismiss who he is.”

Yes, Jesus is God. Jesus is man. He paid the penalty of our sin. He purchased a place for us in heaven. Eternal life is knowing Him—it is knowing the Father. We like Paul are to live in Him, abide in Him. Jesus words are to remain in us and live and become our will.

We are not talking about a position we hold in Christ—we are talking about how we actually live—who we actually are.

Is the abiding Jesus speaks of merely adding a little Jesus, His truth, His wisdom to our lives? No, I don’t believe this. Jesus is clear. He is speaking of a whole-hearted deep connection in which we are led by His Spirit. We are immersed in His word. As a result, when we pray, we reflect back to the Father His very heart—his truth. Then God surely answers this kind of prayer. It starts with who we are.

Father, please help us to know Jesus as He described in this passage for us to know Him. May we know Him and be known by Him. God help us to grow in faith, obedience, love and abiding—may our prayers flow out of deep abiding with Jesus Christ. We ask this for Your glory and in Jesus name, Amen.  

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Your Toil in the Lord is Not in Vain

Saints,

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NASB)
⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

We all feel the world’s tug to be results oriented--How many? How much? This outlook is not limited to America. It really is the world’s way. I recently spoke with a middle aged man from India. We talked about education and how it can help us make more money. He seemed to be troubled with the fact that I was going to seminary. He could not understand why I would want to get an education that very possibly would not help me financially. I told him this study will help me serve others. That explanation did not seem to satisfy his confusion.

I want us to honestly consider a couple questions today. First, who is doing the work? This is very important. Are we doing the work? Are you, pastor, Sunday school teacher, missionary, church worker—are you doing the work? Or, is God doing the work? Our answer to this question reveals much about our relationship with God—it reveals what we think of the Holy Spirit. Our orientation on this point is very important.

The second question is, “Do you know that your toil is not in vain in the Lord?” Paul used the word “know,” not believe or hope—know. Do you know? What if only three come to the prayer meeting? What if no one shows up for training? What if no one memorized their assigned verse?

A pastor recently reminded me about Daniel. Daniel had a burden for his nation. His burden caused him to seek God in prayer and fasting for 21 days. Although God sent an angel to minister to and speak with him, his deep heart burden for the nation of Israel was not granted in his lifetime.

Think through this with me. I am convinced that when we know our toil is not in vain--when we know God is at work, then we resolutely continue in God’s work, regardless of the results. This kind of mindset is true. This kind of thinking is humble and dependent on God.

But, the other kind of mindset is that somehow we think it is our work—our skill—our know-how that matters. Then we can get very discouraged when the results are less than we hoped. We are failing. We are not measuring up. The truth is we will never measure up. It is only through Jesus that we are given every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Only through Christ are we clothed in righteousness.

You may be thinking, “How convenient…all failure is God’s fault.” No, let’s think this through. Exactly how much can we accomplish separated from the Father? Yes, you know the verse John 15:5—nothing.

John 15:5 (NASB)
⁵ "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

So, how much change will happen in peoples’ lives if the Holy Spirit does not convict them of their need for Christ? No change—nothing. They will remain dead in their sin.

Ephesians 2:1 (NASB)
¹ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

What is our part? We do as God says, “share the good news--the gospel and make disciples. We pray. We surrender. We walk in the Spirit. We humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from sin. We love God and people.

If you only remember one point from this devotional today, remember that your toil in the Lord is not in vain. Even if you, like Daniel don’t see change or results. Even so, your toil in the Lord is not in vain because Paul said we can KNOW this. He did not say hope or wonder if our toil is in vain.

The best way to think of this is like a friend of mine shared. We are the glove and the Holy Spirit is the hand that moves the glove. Yes, God does the work. We are his instruments—His tools. 

Father, we surrender absolutely to you. Please use us as your tools to impact your kingdom for eternity. We cannot do this on our own. We are utterly dependent on you. Glorify your name in our lives. In Jesus name, we ask this, Amen.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Do They See That You Have Been With Jesus?

Saints,                                                                                                             25 July 2011

Have you been with Jesus?

Acts 4:8-13 (NIV)
⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!
⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,
¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
¹¹ He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone'.
¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

In a perfect world every church would be filled with Christ-followers who look, act, think, feel, obey, pray, and serve God exactly like Jesus. However, I’m sure you will agree, that most churches are not like that. It seems that instead of completely emulating our Savior, often we find folks emulating the church leaders or other church members. If every member of your church were to copy you and how you live your life, what would your church look like?

Let’s explore this a little. This would mean that the church would follow your example of the following:

-Your passion and devotion to prayer

-Your passion and devotion to God’s Word

-Your life habit of sharing the gospel

-Your life habit of disciple making

-Your heart ache for spending your life while here on earth for God’s kingdom/eternal purposes

I submit that the most important aspect of our lives is how we connect with our God.

Peter and John displayed clearly that “they had been with Jesus.” Jesus demonstrated a desire and need to connect with the Father often. At times, He spent the whole night in prayer.

So, how does our “being” with the Savior impact our church. Please consider this statement.

“The best thing we can do to eternally impact others in our lives is to be with Jesus.”

You may say, “Isn’t preaching more important?” Well, I agree preaching is vital and critical to the church. In fact, one seminary professor pointed out that the act of preaching and listening to a sermon soaks up more “man-hours” than any other single activity in the church. Consider this question, what if our blessed and called out pastor happens to be caught in a trap of busyness like Martha? What if he somehow has forgotten to set his heart to seek God? This can happen as the demands of administration, counseling, family, lesson preparation, and ministry pressures mount. The pastor is not only to speak out information—he lives or becomes the sermon which he prepares. This “living-out” happens best as he spends time with Jesus. Remember, we must be the follower of Christ we want others to be.  The most effective followers of Christ, as far as I can tell spend significant time at the feet of Jesus.

A suggested prayer,

Father, please help me to resolutely seek after you like King David did. Help me to live in such a way that others can see that I have been with Jesus, like Peter and John. Help me to live as an example of how You desire Your Christ-followers to live. I ask all this for your kingdom benefit, and in order to glorify Your name. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.          

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

A Sleepy Church? (From November 29, 2010)

Saints,

Let me share a little of my heart.

My perspective today is on the American culture church as I know it. I realize some of you may have a different cultural background--you may even live in a different country. Even so, let me try to communicate my heart.

I am really hurting. It is hard for me to fully explain. Maybe you can help me? I hurt for the church. (I am speaking of the church as a formalized group of believers.) It seems that so often in the church we are content to come to God and really enjoy His presence in corporate worship, even enjoy a wonderful Bible class time with hearty discussion. But, where does all this lead? Are we really content to continuously learn and go over Scriptures with this apparent minimal effect on our lives and consequently the lives of others? What is wrong? Where is God’s power? Where is the amazing unity and oneness in The Church? Where is the supernatural response to God for cooperation, even interdenominational cooperation to reach a world for Christ?

We can feel so utterly helpless to do anything about our situation—even now you may be saying, “What situation? Steve, I don’t see the problem.” David Platt in his book Radical, Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, might help us to better understand “the problem,”

“As the American dream goes, we can do anything we set our minds to accomplish. There is no limit to what we can accomplish when we combine ingenuity, imagination, and innovation with skill and hard work. We can earn any degree, start any business, climb any ladder, attain any prize, and achieve any goal. James Tudrow Adams, who is credited with coining the phrase “American dream” in 1931, spoke of it as “a dream…in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”

David continues…

“The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American Dream is that our greatest asset is our ability. The American dream prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves and trust in themselves, and we are drawn toward such thinking. But the gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe in God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

I recently had the amazing privilege to pray with a pastor from Africa (via Skype). As we talked and prayed, he shared that he thought the American church was asleep. Yes, this is a good descriptor. This is what I am trying to share. We are asleep. Somehow we have become unaware of the (spiritual) battle raging all around us. Somehow we have drifted into learning about God, but not passionately living in God. We focus on financial challenges and political debates. It is hard for us to see the much-more-real spiritual battle.

Some of you may resonate with what I am saying. Some may think I am crazy. All I can say is that I believe we can be so much more. Please note the verb BE. As Jesus stated, we must abide and remain in Him, not merely do for Him.

In my last seminary course I learned of John 14-17 as Jesus’ “farewell discourse.” This is a common part of Hebrew literature in which a famous hero would explain how to continue on without him as he departs. As I am sure you have read many times, Jesus, shares in John 15,

John 15:5 (NASB)
⁵ "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Jesus prays in John 17,

John 17:20-23 (NASB)
²⁰ "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
²² "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

So where do we go from here? Please, let’s passionately join Jesus in His prayer for unity. Let’s make our priority abiding in Him. Let’s truly live like Jesus is Lord of our lives, not we ourselves.

In short, let’s live so a world would come to know Jesus.   

Father, yes, please help us abide in Christ. Help us live totally for you. Help us to be united in the love you supply that the world would know you sent Jesus and come to know Him. Lord, please remove any cultural hindrances we might have to this mission.

May God daily teach us to pray. May God compell us to pray for the church.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Let's Pray Big Prayers (from 29 December 2010)

Saints,

I came across a passage in Philemon the other day which caused me to ask God to use me just as he used Philemon. Has that happened to you? Have you ever read a bible passage that seemed to cause your heart to resonate? Here is the verse which arrested my attention,

Philemon 1:7 (NASB)
⁷ For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Yes, I unashamedly admit it—I desire that God would use me to refresh the hearts of believers. And not just stop there, but that God would ignite a fresh fire in every believer to be compelled to chase after God in prayer—real intercessory, prevailing, Holy Spirit power prayer! I pray that God would literally remove any addiction or besetting sin from every believer. I ask God that He would remove all divorce from the life of every believer—yes, I am very serious! I implore God to cause every gospel-preaching church whether 10 people strong or 10,000 people strong to be completely united in purpose to reach this world for Christ, to make disciples who make disciples, and to actively and regularly witness. I ask God that every church would be compelled to pray because they see the magnitude of their task and know-that-they-know they cannot do anything apart from Christ.  

Dear brother and sister, as we look to 2011, please do not be deterred from your primary mission by political, financial, or societal happenings. Remember your primary task—to chase after God’s heart. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Ask him to clarify your heart on His purposes. Ask Him to grant you a passion for those things that He desires. Ask Him for His heart. May we move forward in a fresh passion—even a strong compelling to pray (real spiritual warfare—eternal consequence prayer), to witness, and to chase after knowing God more. All of this is to God’s glory, not our own! This is a believer’s purpose! Let us embrace it.

You may say, “Steve, to ask God to remove all divorce is too big a prayer.” Or, “To expect God to take away every believer’s addiction to sin is not practical.” Dear saint, I disagree. We have been given every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

 Ephesians 1:3 (NASB)
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

We all must pray like this is true—the stakes are too high. I challenge you to pray God’s Word. Don’t falter on this. As intercessors we have a great responsibility, but how much greater is the God we pray to. Is He mighty to save or not? Can He remove sin or not? Can he reconcile broken marriages or not? Can He save this world or not? Yes, He can! This is the fight. Right at this point is the rub. Will we have the faith to believe that God can? If we will have this faith, then we will pray. Faith and prayer go hand in hand!

These are big prayers, I admit it. So, pray them with me! Let us not only pray with power but be used by God to ignite the hearts of other intercessors.

Yes, God awaken your church. She adores You. She worships You. She calls out to You for revival.  Please use her whether in Asia, Africa, Iran, Canada, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Ireland, Uganda, or in Sterling, Wiggins, Denver, Colorado Springs, Karval, Norwood, Security, Fountain, Manitou Springs Colorado to impact this world for Christ, to witness and to make disciples, to set the captives free, to deter enemy efforts to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus, may You be honored as the way the way, the truth, and the life in every person’s heart!     

May God grant us a compelling passion to know Him more—to go deeper with God in prayer.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

How is the relationship between your church and God?

Saints,                                                                                                             17 July 2011

I know that is a strange question. How can we answer that question? Do we get the financial record books out? Should we cross-check attendance with a year ago, or two years ago? Maybe the most significant indicator of our church health is the number of baptisms. Actually dear brothers and sisters, I would like to suggest another way for us to examine how our churches are doing. We must ask ourselves, “How intimate with God is each individual church member?”

Is the Father every church member’s greatest desire?

Does the Psalmist’s describe your heart in the following passage?

Psalms 73:25 (ESV)
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Yes, this is a good way to measure the church. We see men and women alike in the Bible who walked in a deep relationship with God. They sought after God. They were more interested in God’s kingdom than their own. There are many examples of men and women throughout church history like that.

The missionary to China, Hudson Taylor’s story fascinates me. We see Hudson Taylor who was used mightily by God and who found what we all desire, a soul-rest. He strove in his faith to be sure. Even so, he finally discovered true resting in Christ. Don’t you want that? I do. At times I am so overcome with a sense of God’s truth and power and reality, that I am compelled to action—compelled to pray. We desire every moment to be like that—completely surrendered and led by the Spirit.

But here is exactly where we need to see the good news. Where we are weak—He is strong. Dear pastor, if you are struggling right now, let it go. Rest--truly rest in the Father. This means stop striving. I know it sounds funny. It is “counter-cultural” To truly rest in Christ and His power. This is against the world’s wisdom. The point of true surrender is the point of victory in Christ. Let us live right there. Let us live in surrender. This is the point of real fruit bearing. Yes, God we believe, help our unbelief. Remember Christ—His power, Spirit, mercy and grace is the foundation and sustenance of our faith.

Let’s turn back to the church. We are the church. So it makes sense that if we want to know how the church is doing, we need to look at the people who make up the church. Are we like David (by God’s perspective) after God’s own heart? Be careful here. It is easy to reduce our walk with Christ to merely the three D’s: Duty, Determination, and Discipline without real connection to the Father. If we do this we begin to resemble the Pharisees—a hollow determination to follow rules instead of true heart surrender to our heavenly Father.

To help us answer this question about the church a little better, please read this quote from the Heart Transformation workbook by Keith and Karen Peterson page, 59.

“It is critical to realize that blessings are not the objective. They are the fruit of intimacy with God. Blessings are who God is. We want to know God so well, be intimate with Him by knowing His thoughts, His emotions, and His desires and reflect them back to Him. We do not want to just know and obey His commands and discipline ourselves to live them. True intimacy with God reflects a man/woman “after God’s own heart.” My life becomes defined by wanting to please Him, and not disappoint Him, and, thus. As my Father, He desires to bless me. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with everything we are—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Pilgrimage is the journey of the heart to the sacred destination, His presence.” 

So, what is the point? Why does this matter? I submit to you that our intimacy with Jesus is the very essence of life—out of this intimacy flows everything God desires for this world. Out of intimacy with Christ, flows the obedience of the Christ-follower. Out of this intimacy with Christ flows witnessing, prayer, a passion for God’s Word, disciple making, repentance, and holiness. In other words, intimacy with Christ is life. Jesus said this Himself,

John 14:6 (NIV)
⁶ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Father, forgive us for being satisfied with spiritual numbness--even apathy. We need You to awaken, deepen and revive Your church. Yes, even each one of us. Please grant each of us an intimate relationship with You. May we be men and women after your own heart. Father, use us to change this world. May our total surrender result in lives healed, people rescued from oppression, salvation to men and women who need you, both in our culture and in every culture. In the name in which we receive every spiritual blessing—Jesus. Amen. 

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

How is Your Relationship with God?

Saints,                                                                                                             4 July 2011

How do we evaluate our relationship with God? Do we list certain characteristics or qualities we can measure ourselves against? In the military, every member is evaluated annually against certain qualities like how well they accomplish their primary duties, how well they lead people, how well they maintain training requirements, and so on. Maybe you have a list which you periodically measure yourself against to find out how well you are doing in regards to your relationship with the Father.

Scripture says to evaluate ourselves, even so, let’s ask God how our relationship with Him is according to His viewpoint. After all, our life is defined by the one true almighty creator God. Brothers and sisters, let’s ask God today to answer this question,

“Father, how are we doing? How is my relationship with You from Your perspective?”

Be careful here, as seasoned believers you may be tempted to answer this question quickly yourself. Don’t quickly blurt out an answer. Wait. Wait for His answer. Don’t conjure up your answer—supporting it with Scripture. No, let’s go deeper here than our own understanding, or our own knowledge base. We must do this. We must be connected to the Father as He desires—this is the only way to truly please Him. We were made for deep connection with God. It is out of this deep connection with Him that life itself—Jesus Christ flows from us to others.

The best life we can ever live is a life in which our heart is consumed with a deep love for Jesus Christ. Often, however, we settle for less—we settle for a Christian religion. We can fill pages with things to do in our Christian life. We can list many ways to be obedient—many activities to avoid. The danger is that we can reduce Christianity to a list of things to do and to avoid. Then Christianity becomes just like every other world religion. No, our faith, brothers and sisters is about a person. We need Jesus, not a list. Jesus Christ is the only way to God. He is the only truth. He is the only life. He said this Himself,

John 14:6 (ESV)
⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

As you wait for God’s answer about the condition of your relationship with Him, I suggest you read the following passage from E. M. Bounds regarding a danger in the church and ardor in our devotion to the Father. This passage is found in his book, The Essentials of Prayer, chapter three entitled, Prayer and Devotion,

“The very essence of prayer is the spirit of devotion. Without devotion, prayer is an empty form, a vain round of words. Sad to say, much of this kind of prayer prevails, today, in the church. This is a busy age, bustling and active, and this bustling spirit has invaded the church of God. Its religious performances are many. The church works at religion with the order, precision and force of real machinery. But too often it works with the heartlessness of the machine. There is much of the treadmill movement of our ceaseless round and routine of religious doings. We pray without praying. We sing without singing with the spirit and the understanding. We have music without the praise of God being in it, or near it. We go the church by habit, and come home all too gladly when the benediction is pronounced. We read our accustomed chapter in the Bible, and feel quite relieved when the task is done. We say our prayers by rote, as a schoolboy recites his lesson, and are not sorry when the amen is uttered.”

“The ardor of devotion is in prayer. In the fourth chapter of Revelation, verse eight, we read: “And they rest not day nor night, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” The inspiration and center of their rapturous devotion is the holiness of God. That holiness is of claims their attention, inflames their devotion. There is nothing cold, nothing dull, nothing wearisome about them or their heavenly worship. “They rest not day nor night.” What zeal! What unfainting ardor and ceaseless rapture! The ministry of prayer, if it be anything worthy of the name, is a ministry of ardor, a ministry of unwearied and intense longing after God and after holiness.”

You might say, “What does the condition of the church have to do with my own relationship with the Father?” The church is greatly impacted by its individual members. If we as individuals are cold and distant from the Father—the church will be cold and distant.

We were created for intimate connection with God. Out of this connection flows a compelling desire to please Him, a passion to impact this world for Him, and the power to do so. Our individual relationship with the Father, made possible by the blood of Christ is the heart of our faith.

Let’s let God answer the question about our relationship with Him.

Father, forgive us for being satisfied with religious to-dos. They are not enough. Only You truly satisfy. Please grant each of us an intimate relationship with You. May we, like the angels around Your throne be raptured with You always. May our lives then, be spent for Your kingdom’s benefit. Amen.