If You Abide in Me and My Words Abide in You...

Saints,

John 15:7 (NASB)
⁷ "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Brothers and sisters, prayer is not a thing to do or an activity. Prayer is knowing God—it is intimacy with God. Please don’t let that word, intimacy bother you. This is the concept Jesus points to when He defines eternal life in John 17:3. Jesus prays for us in John 17:21, again using this concept of intimacy with the Father—face it. God wants to be very close to you. He made this possible through Jesus Christ' death and resurrection.

So today, we want to approach this Scripture passage with a fresh yearning to know these Words more deeply. Ask the Father to reveal more clearly what Jesus’ words mean.

We will briefly look at three ideas. First, that it is through words that we know one another. Second, that it is through God’s Word that we know God. Third, through prayer we reflect God back to Himself.

In his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray describes how we connect with each other through our words…“It is through our words that spirit holds fellowship with spirit, that the spirit of one man passes over and transfers itself to another.” (Murray, p138) We know one another through our words. This first point is evident; let’s move on to How God uses His Word to connect with us.

The Scripture is clear that it is through hearing that we come to a faith in God.

Romans 10:17 (NASB)
¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

John also declares that Jesus is the Word in chapter 1.

John 1:1 (NIV)
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

  Andrew Murray shares concerning this point, “But when God, the infinite Being, in whom everything is life and power, spirit, and truth, and the very deepest meaning of the words—when God speaks forth Himself in His words, He does indeed give Himself, His Love and His Life, His Will and His Power, to those who receive these words, in reality passing comprehension.” (p138)

Ask yourself:

How much do I desire God’s Word? How much do I desire to know God better?

It is through God’s Word that we know God better. Andrew Murray said, “What God’s words are to me, is the test of what He Himself is to me...” With Christ in the School of Prayer, p138.

Again, Andrew Murray,

“To offer a prayer—to give utterance to certain wishes and certain promises—is an easy thing, and can be learned of man by human wisdom. But to pray in the Spirit, to speak words that reach and touch God, that affect and influence the powers of the unseen world—such praying, such speaking, depends entirely upon our learning God’s voice.” (p139)

I believe that these words of Jesus as John records them in our focus passage teach us there is a deeper level of prayer. Prayer is not merely asking the Father for comfort, health, protection, or a good day. As Daniel Henderson explains, “Prayer is intimacy with God that accomplishes His purposes, by His power and for His glory.”

One more quote from Andrew Murray,

“This hearing the voice of God is something more than the thoughtful study of the Word. There may be a study and knowledge of the Word, in which there is little real fellowship with the living God. But there is also a reading of the Word, in the very presence of the Father, and under the leading of the Spirit, in which the Word comes to us in living power from God Himself; it is to us the very voice of the Father, a real personal fellowship with Himself. It is the living voice of God that enters the heart, that brings blessing and strength, and awakens the response of a living faith that reaches the heart of God again.” 

You may have noticed a theme so far--you are right. Prayer is not about us. Life is not about us. Eternal life is about God. He paid our sin penalty. He clothed us in righteousness. He adopted us. He teaches us and empowers us to pray. He draws the sinner to Himself. God is the focus. All of creation points to Him! So, for us to embrace the idea that prayer is about us or for us or in some way primarily for our benefit, is a mistake. Yes, prayer is a tremendous blessing, but ultimately prayer is for God. Father, teach us how life is about You—life is You!

John 15:7 (NASB)
⁷ "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do most of my prayers seem to focus on me or my needs?

How much do I pray letting God lead my prayers?

Are my prayers steeped in God’s Word? Are my prayers based on God’s Word? Do my prayers reflect a deep intimacy with God? 

O Father, please help us to deeply abide in you—to deeply know Your Word, to know you. May each of us drink deeply of your Word and reflect Your living Word back to you in prayer. Make us your intercessors. Teach us to pray. God, please raise up intercessors in Your church. Make us like Daniel who chose prayer over breathing. Please use us to deepen, awaken, and revive Your church. Make us the fire! Amen.

For further reading on this subject, please see Andrew Murray’s book, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Lesson 22 entitled “The Word and Prayer.”

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Limiting God?

Saints, 

Can we limit God?

Mark 6:4-6 (NIV)
⁴ Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."
⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
⁶ And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

I realize to even ask this question is venturing out into deep theological waters. Even so, let’s consider this question today. I realize that many of you have worked through questions like this and have solid convictions—I am not trying to change your convictions. Today, we are merely looking a level of living which we can all agree on regardless of our denominational or theological bent. I want to speak to our daily moment by moment world in which we gravitate toward one outlook or another. What are these two attitudes or orientations?

For our discussion let’s agree that as Christ-followers we can have two different attitudes about life. Obviously, this is an oversimplification, but it helps to consider this question of limiting God.

Let’s start with an assumption to ensure we are all on the same page. Let’s assume that as Christ-followers our purpose is to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. You may be thinking, “Well obviously, yes, that is our purpose.” Just to clarify, then, let’s articulate what is not our purpose. Our purpose, then as Christ-followers is not to have a good marriage. Our purpose is not to be healthy. It is not even to be spiritually healthy. It is not to attend church. Our purpose is not to have a good family.

You may be thinking, “These are very important things.” Yes, I agree. But they are less important than our purpose as Christ-followers, which is to reach people with the gospel. If we are not careful, we can mix these up.

Let’s pause right here. If you are stuck here--if you can’t get your mind around this, then please stop reading right now and pray. Father, I ask that you would grant grace to every Christ-follower to allow You to clarify what Your gospel is and what Your gospel is not. Lord, please help us here, we are easily distracted. We can be a lot like sheep, just like Jesus said. Amen.

One attitude: We have a black and white outlook on life; we clearly see what will burn and what will last eternally. We see this eternal difference more clearly than the stuff we see with our physical eyes. Our thought life is consumed with reaching people with the gospel, whether we are used by God to bring someone one inch closer to knowing Christ or whether God uses us to bring someone to the feet of Jesus. We are convinced our thoughts, prayers, words, and actions have eternal value. Jesus died for me so that I can share His life changing love with others. Our lives are driven for the purpose that God will use us to build His kingdom no matter the cost to us.

Second attitude: We see life in one way. We can’t expect too much, just too make it through life and hopefully help a few souls to consider God. What will be, will be—my lot in life is to just accept that. I can’t really have much impact on this lost world. Thankfully, Jesus died so that I can go to heaven.

I believe that at times we think that following Christ is like a beehive. You have your queen bee and your worker bees. The queen bee is like the pastor. The worker bee is the normal Christian in the pews. The job of the worker bee is to work and provide for the hive so that the hive flourishes and the queen bee has enough. This can be a picture of the church. I disagree with this inward-focused model. This is what man has made out of God’s design. The church is not so much an institution—it is an organism--designed and empowered by God to powerfully impact the world.

The question is, “Is the church being used to powerfully impact the world or not?” (Obviously, the answer is both yes and no, depending on where you focus on the church) If not, why not? Is God tired? Is God out of power? No, we have lost our first love—Jesus Christ. We want other things. We have wavered from a powerful God-centered faith which caused Hudson Taylor to spend his life in Asia powerfully witnessing to hundreds. This same God-centered faith drove Stephen to preach powerfully which led to his murder. Stephen’s murder caused the church to scatter—the gospel to spread. In short, we really don’t fully believe God’s Word. Remember our scripture passage from Mark. What amazed Jesus? Their lack of faith amazed Jesus. Jesus was not amazed at their lack of knowledge—He was amazed at their lack of faith. We can be just like the folks Jesus encountered in chapter six of the Gospel of Mark. We may know much, but we believe little. Remember the father, who exclaimed to Jesus,

Mark 9:24 (NIV)
²⁴ Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Let me ask, which of the two attitudes rings true for you? Maybe you are somewhere in the middle? The Bible is clear. The only option is the first option for a true Christ-follower! We do not live for the here and now, we live for eternity. It has been said that the men and women who have the most impact on this world are the men and women who live for the next world.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Yes, brothers and sisters we can limit how God uses us. When we don’t think truth, we limit how God uses us. When we don’t pray, we limit how God uses us. When we don’t see the purpose of our lives is to reach the world for Christ, we limit how God uses us—its lack of faith.

So what do we do? We love God more than anything or anyone else! We read, meditate, believe, and live God’s Word. We pray--not just requests for our comfortable lives. No, we pray Bible-based, Spirit-led, kingdom-focused prayers which are immersed in faith.

Are we being the church?

Father, forgive us for what we have made your church—something other than what you designed. Please help us to truly be your hands and your feet, Please give us eyes to see as Jesus does. Please give us Your heart to have compassion on the multitudes. Lord, teach us to pray! Compel us to pray and be Your witnesses. Help us adjust our lives so that we can truly say our life purpose is to share Jesus with the world.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Are You on fire?

                                                                                                                                                  14 Apr 11

Saints, 

Oh how beautiful it is to see God’s fingerprint on other people—especially Christ-followers throughout history. Often, God’s compelling passion leaves a tell-tale sign for people like you and me to discover and be encouraged. This is a quote from JC Ryle, a pastor/theologian from 19 century England.

Please think about this quote. Does it describe you? Brothers and sisters, it can describe us—let’s ask God to make this quote true of us.

“A zealous man in religion is preeminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, wholehearted, or fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing. He cares for one thing. He lives for one thing. He is swallowed up in one thing and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies; whether he has health or whether he has sickness; whether he is rich or whether he is poor; whether he pleases man or whether he gives offense; whether he is thought wise or whether he is thought foolish; whether he gets blame or whether he gets praise; whether he gets honor or whether he gets shame; for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing and that one thing is to please God; and to advance God’s glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it, he is content. He feels that like a lamp, he is made to burn, and if consumed in burning he has done the work for which God appointed him.”

I see the following verses in Ryle’s quote:

Psalms 86:11-12 (NASB)
¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.
¹² I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.

Acts 6:8 (NIV)
⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

Acts 6:10 (NIV)
¹⁰ but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

Acts chapter, seven

Acts 2:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

Mark 12:29-31 (NASB)
²⁹ Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God is one Lord ;
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."

Luke 12:49 (NASB)
⁴⁹ "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!

Father, yes, make us like the zealous man in Ryle’s quote. Please, do not hold back, whatever the cost—glorify Your name in our lives, in our families, in our churches! We ask in Jesus name. Amen

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Wake Up Church! Arise!

Wake Up Church! Arise!                                                                                             6 Apr 11

Saints, 

What does the Father think about the church? She is lukewarm. She is too distracted with busyness and business. She has lost her first Love. Friends, we desperately need more of God. Most of us would admit that as we read the scriptures with honesty and humility we see a difference between the Christianity in God’s Word and the Christianity we find ourselves immersed in.

You may be thinking, “Well, Steve that is a bold thought. What do you mean?”

Before you read on, today, please take a moment to pray a specific prayer. This is not an easy prayer for even as I write this the tears are flowing. Dear brothers and sisters I am so convicted about this—it hurts. It hurts because the father has graciously shown me more clearly what some Christ-followers have meant when they say, “Following Christ can cost you.” I am beginning to see this more clearly now. Even so, I am sure that there remains much more to learn. Yes, Lord Jesus, bring it on! “Father, if it means others might come to you and drink of Your living water…bring it on.”

Let me explain a little better. Many of you know about Babak, our Iranian friend who suffered persecution for choosing faith in Christ. Also, I am sure that many of you have heard of Brother Yun, our Chinese brother who suffered much persecution to follow Christ. The Father has shown me that these two men and men and women like them are not the rare exception in Christianity as I once thought. No, friends, truly, following Christ will cost us. Many of us shy away from going deeper with God, because we are afraid. Yes, even as I write this, I sense within me a twinge of fear about what following our dear Savior might mean for me and my family. So, we come to the main point today. I want you to pray with complete humility and honesty the following prayer,

“Father, I am Your servant. Please use me as You see fit to impact Your kingdom and glorify your name!”

Why does this prayer seem difficult to truly pray? I submit to you that we don’t like the idea that our comfortable life-style or “steady-state” might be disrupted. Isn’t this true? Yes, it is. As we look at Christ followers whom God has graciously used both in the Scriptures and throughout history, we see this common thread—humble and complete submission to God.  Let’s take Mary, the Mother of Jesus for example.

Yes, this prayer is a lot like what Mary said to Gabriel, after Gabriel explained that she would become pregnant. As we look at the Christmas story every year, at least in the American culture, we tend to picture a nice comfortable warm glow around the manger scene. Everyone is smiling and a sense of amazing peace abounds. Let’s take a moment, however, to go back to the night Gabriel appeared to Mary.

Brother Yun explains this well on page 55 of his book Living Water, 

“When Mary said, ““May it be to me as you said,”” do you think she expected her submission to God’s will would be easy? I don’t think so. She knew that becoming pregnant outside of marriage would result in being misunderstood and rejected by society. Mary was undoubtedly aware that she might be accused of adultery and stoned to death, as the Jewish law demanded. She knew people would mock and despise her.”

This is the point that we don’t want to grapple with. We are comfortable. We like our lives the way they are. We feel in control. We sense (though often a false sense) peace and well-being. I submit to you that for many of us, we aggressively pursue our own comfort and do whatever we must to maintain it even if we must resist God’s will to follow Him in change.  So, what am I saying?

I am saying that many of us in American culture Christianity have somehow allowed ourselves to be duped by the enemy. Yes, I mean duped. We, like the church at Sardis, sleep. We embrace a form of Christianity which is not Christianity at all—a comfortable, easy, share-your-faith-once-a-year, pray-once-a-week, imitation of what God designed. Dear brothers and sisters, these thoughts hurt, I know. But we must face them. We must right now, nail down a stake in our lives. No more--no more watered down, fluffy, soft, comfortable, easy Christianity—it is not real. It does not exist.

Let’s look at this issue from another angle. If you are like me, you have thought that the “kind” of Christianity we see in India, Pakistan, Iran or Asia is rare and unfortunate. I mean, that it is unfortunate that those poor Christians have to live with such harsh persecution. We envision a scale of Christianity with the style of faith we have as the goal. We envision comfortable buildings, many programs, and a comfortable amount of baptisms per year and think, “This is where those “poor” believers need to be—like us.” Dear friends, no, if that is how we think, we are thinking backwards. We desperately need our minds to be further transformed by the renewing of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. We need to see clearly the Christianity that God designed, not our comfortable revision of it. The fact of the matter is that we do not live for now. If we are truly Christ-followers, we live for eternity. Now is a moment--eternity is forever. Mary knew this! Babak knows this! Brother Yun knows this! We must know this!

Let’s look at a description of our Asian brothers and sisters as Brother Yun compares the Asian believers to some other believers. Don’t look at these and think, “Those poor believers.” No friends, we need to see them as the true example of Christ-followers. In reality, we are the ones who need missionaries such as these to come to us and wake us up! 

Brother Yun describes His Asian brothers and sisters on page 232,

“Many Christians today are deceived. Somehow they think that being saved means they can sit back and enjoy the Lord and do nothing else while they wait for Him to come again. This attitude is so strange to me that I find it astonishing. In Asia, all the Christians I know are busy working for the Lord, preaching the gospel to people nearby and those far away, teaching and encouraging the saints and generally doing all they can to advance the kingdom. In Asia, every believer is an evangelist.”

Brother Yun continues on pg 56,

“Our loving heavenly Father is looking for people who are willing to become pregnant with His presence, vision, and power. Don’t make any more excuses. Don’t say you are too young or too old, for God wants to work in you and through you in a mighty way.”

Friends, we need the Father to renew our minds—to reconstruct our Christian DNA. We are not what we should be!

Church, Awake! Chase after the Father! Drop everything that is not given you from God. We do not have time to play church. We must engage in the battle roaring all around us. If someone must call you out—may God call you out! Arise! Storm the gates of hell as you were designed and as you are empowered. Pray! Pray! Pray! Jesus promised to answer prayer in His name-pray! Paul made it clear after you have donned all of the spiritual armor…PRAY! (Ephesians 6: 10-19) Our enemy is not flesh and blood. We must stand firm--we must pray. Church, wake up. Our primary objective is not to merely affect the United States—our primary objective is to spread the gospel to the world, make disciples, and be Jesus’ witnesses. If you are a pastor, please do not open your mouth without a fresh Word from God for your flock, empowered by the Holy Spirit—don’t presume to use a “canned” sermon from years ago because it is simpler that way. No, pastor, fall to your knees. Pray over your flock. Receive the message from the Father. Boldly proclaim God’s word, not yours! Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit like He filled Peter at Pentecost.

If you are a hearer of the Word, Arise, hear God’s message—live it. Become it. Don’t hear God’s Word and walk away unchanged. Wake up church! Now! We don’t have time to sleep in a lukewarm comma.

I am writing this as carefully and as graciously as possible. I write these words first and foremost to me!

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve