The Mystery of Prayer

Greetings All,

     After two weeks away I am back from a relaxing vacation! Time spent in nature, in the woods and mountains of New England, has its benefits in refreshing the soul!
     This morning a friend asked a question about prayer.  It was a question many ask, since prayer is something that takes time to understand, even though we will never fully comprehend the mystery of it. After all, there are so  many different views and opinions and approaches people have toward praying.  Therefore, I decided I would send out this "thought" on prayer by Gary Thomas, entitled: "The Mystery of Prayer."  It is found in his book, "Sacred Pathways."  It does not address the question asked this morning, but given the fact that most all people struggle at one time or another in their prayer life, I thought some might find it helpful and encouraging -- especially those who have encountered the often confusing dilemma called "unanswered prayer."  Enjoy.

The Mystery of Prayer

     "Is there anything more mysterious than prayer? Prayer moves us to call on a Being we cannot see and ask him to altar that which we can see.  Formulas do not work; rituals cannot guarantee success. Neither the length nor the form of prayer makes the prayer potent. This is why we need to create pockets of prayer in our lives, learning to trust God to come through in unexpected ways. There is an element of mystery, however, against which we sometimes rebel -- the mystery of unanswered prayer, or, perhaps more appropriately stated, prayers that receive the answer "no." 

     Because God sometimes answers our prayers with a yes, it can become intoxicating, and this intoxication can become so addicting that we begin to demand that God answer every prayer with a yes When a prayer doesn't get answered in the way we want it to be, we may mistakenly assume there must be hidden sin, lack of faith, or some other buried obstruction, which then sends us into hours of fruitless introspection.  But to demand that God answer all our prayers with a yes is to ask for his omnipotence (power) without having the benefit of his omniscience (knowledge).

     Looking back, I'm thankful that God said no to some of my prayers. The mystery of faith calls us to love and serve a God whom we can't always understand. We love this when the result satisfies us and God answers in ways that make our knees weak. It is much less exciting, however, when the mystery leads us to believe that God is silent, indifferent, or even cruel. Mystery is mystery. It has its exhilarating elements as well as frustrating ones, and we can't expect one without the other.

     The pursuit if maturity will lead virtually every one of us through this canyon of unanswered prayer, where expectancy runs dry and the only mystery seems to be where God is hiding. Understand that this is a necessary avenue on the destination to holiness and that it usually has an end -- in God's timing however."

     Some thoroughly enjoy prayer.  Some struggle with snags and disappointments in prayer.  And some have dispensed with prayer -- at least in the more formal sense -- though I do not believe it's possible for the true believer to dispense completely with conversational interaction with God. Few will go an entire lifetime without the "why's" of both answered and unanswered prayer, yet there is blessing in persevering. Just as a child passes through phases of equilibrium and disequilibrium in their trek to maturity, so also the person maturing in prayer goes through such phases. The key, in the famous words of Winston Churchill, is to, "Never, never, never give up." 

     With you in what is often the struggle to find God, and the pathway to the throne of His grace, in prayer, Pastor Jeff

Lord, Fill Me With Your Spirit

Greetings Friends!

     Today's thought comes to you from a gentlemen named Jon Bloom, co-founder and staff-writer for desiringGod.org, a ministry most closely associated with John Piper (whose thoughts I have passed on to you before). This article was found on the desiringGod.org website.  I pass it on to you for your serious and prayerful consideration. To simply read it is one thing, but to read it and then pray in the manner he advises is another thing altogether -- and surely the author's hoped for response on any readers part.  Read. Pray.  Enjoy.

Lord, Fill Me With Your Spirit

     “The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (I Corinthians 4:20).  If we are not disillusioned with how much we have allowed our talk to pass for our walk, discontented with the sparse amount of spiritual fruit we are truly bearing, and disappointed by the impotence of our own efforts, we will never be distressed enough to really plead with God to fill us with the Holy Spirit.  If we’re not disturbed by how little we can do in our own power, we’ll never be desperate enough to ask God for his.

What Is the Filling of the Holy Spirit?

       But when we pray for this, what are we asking God for? In the words of Wayne Grudem, we are asking God for “an event subsequent to conversion in which a believer experiences a fresh infilling with the Holy Spirit that may result in a variety of consequences, including greater love for God, greater victory over sin, greater power for ministry, and sometimes the receiving of new spiritual gifts.” (Grudem 1242)  Now, of course every Christian receives the Holy Spirit upon conversion. Being born again is the greatest miracle any human being can possibly experience, and it only happens by the omnipotent power of Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8, I Corinthians 12:13).

       But the reason we talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit as “an event subsequent to conversion” is because that’s how the New Testament usually talks about it. Paul was exhorting born-again Christians when he wrote, “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). And almost all of Luke’s description of Spirit-fillings occurred to people who were already born again (see Acts 2:4, 4:8, 4:31, 9:17, 13:9, 13:52). And we’re actually talking about events (plural) because, just like the same people received repeated fillings of the Spirit in the book of Acts, we also need to be filled repeatedly. According to the New Testament, we need to be repeatedly filled with the Holy Spirit for two primary purposes: empowered worship and witness.

Intoxicated with God

     When Paul told the Ephesians Christians to “be filled with the Spirit,” he was talking about Spirit-empowered worship: "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:18-20).  Be careful as you read these verses. Don’t let your familiarity with it or your experience-based preconceptions about worship styles or other things cause you to dodge the punch the Holy Spirit intends to land here.  Paul is saying, don’t be intoxicated with alcohol, but be intoxicated with God! 

      His words confront each of us with the penetrating question, “Are you intoxicated with God?” Does our heart so overflow with love for God that our heart, whether light or heavy, can’t help but sing, both to God and to one another? No matter what our circumstances, are we overflowing with thanks to God?  If not, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit because we are not worshipfully enjoying God according to the grace available to us. That means we are not glorifying God as we ought, and are we not experiencing satisfaction in God like we might.

Empowered by God

     When Luke described this experience of Spirit-filling among Christians, its purpose was for Spirit-empowered witness: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:29-31).  Those early Christians were feeling fear from the threats of the religious authorities, the same ones who had crucified Jesus. But their response was to ask God for boldness to preach the gospel and supernatural power to minister to people. And God answered their prayer.

     Don’t let yourself be immediately distracted by popular controversies, like whether all the miraculous gifts in the New Testament continue, or some have ceased. Those questions are important in their place. But there are more fundamental questions for us here. “Are you responding to your fears of real physical threats, disapproval, or scorn with desperate prayer for God to empower you to overcome?” Are we laying hold of God until he answers? If not, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit because we are allowing fear and unbelief to gag or mute our witness to the reality and gospel of Jesus Christ. And because we are silent, people who need the gospel aren’t hearing it.

Whatever It Takes, Lord

     Here’s wonderful news: our heavenly Father loves to give his Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13)! “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).  Do you feel dry? Are you weary? Are you tired of talking so much about glorious theology, but not experiencing the reality of it? Does your worship feel distracted and hollow? Are you lacking in gratitude to God? Do you long for more fruit, both the internal fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:28-29) and the external fruit of empowered ministry?  Then you are a good candidate for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Your dryness and discouragement may, in fact, be invitations from God to press in to him. The desperation that comes from living with low-ebbing affections and spiritual impotence can itself be a gift from the Holy Spirit, because it's when we become disillusioned enough with our mere talk, our anemic worship, and our weak selves that we really become prepared to pray:  Whatever it takes, Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit and any gifting you would be pleased to give me."

     As one who has been preaching and sharing the Gospel for 37 years in various capacities now, I must confess his opening words rung true.  It is because I have frequently been, "disillusioned with how much [I] have allowed [my] talk to pass for [my] walk," and have indeed been,"discontented with the sparse amount of spiritual fruit [I am] truly bearing," and have been deeply, "disappointed by the impotence of [my] own efforts," that I habitually, "plead with God to fill [me] with the Holy Spirit."  I find it impossible to think there is even one person involved in Christian ministry of any sort who does not do this. For ministering in merely human strength, and nothing else (and I know when I am), cannot help but bring bring about fruit that will not last. That's what we must eventually ask ourselves: Do we yearn for fruit that bears the stamp of a power that is not from us?  For only if we do will we confess our inability to produce it in our own strength and plead for the power of the Spirit to do through us what only he can do.  Lord show us our weakness that we may plead for your strength.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

The Glory of God's Sovereignty

Greetings All!

I trust you are well and encouraged through your time spent in communion with the Lord.  Today I would like to help facilitate deeper communion by offering a "thought" from Matt Papa, found in his book on worship entitled, "Look and Live."
It is helpful because it reminds us of truths about God that we can sometimes forget. It comes from a section entitled, "The Glory of God's Sovereignty."  A significant part of worship is allowing the soul to see, relish, and adore God for who He is and all He is. And when it comes to attributes or characteristics of God, one of the attributes mentioned most frequently in the Bible (especially in the Old Testament) is His Sovereignty.  I pray the truth of what Matt Papa shares will not only lead you into deeper communion, but greater adoration of our awesome God. Enjoy.

The Glory of God's Sovereignty

     "God's rule presides over every mega-star and every human cell. As R.C. Sproul says, there is not one maverick molecule in the universe. Since all things are "from Him" and are sustained "through Him," all things owe a debt of allegiance "to Him" (Romans 11:36). That which God makes God owns. As Abraham Kuyper famously said, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!"   Amen.  God reigns.  Most would give a hearty "Amen" to that. The problem comes (for me included) when we see that God's reigning, according to the Bible, is not merely an overarching general control. Rather, God plans and determines every single thing that happens in His universe. I should repeat that. God plans and determines every single thing that happens in His universe -- just as a composer (putting together a symphony) strategically places every single note for every single measure for every single instrument for its designated duration.

     Not a meteor, molecule, or mouth moves without God's command. He is sovereign. Amen.  God reigns. Amen? The sovereignty of God is the happy, unchallenged, free exercise of His will. It is: God does what God wants. Period.  This doctrine is difficult. Its glory makes us squint, but I hope you'll look with me. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, "I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes." Every particle of dust?

     Have you considered this before? Well consider it again. God's sovereignty is a matchless sovereignty...  Consider the following verses. Sit with them. Read them. Pray them. Write about them if you like, and worship the great God they describe.

Job 42:2: "I know (LORD) that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted."

Psalm 135:6: "I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths."

Proverbs 16:9: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." 

Isaiah 46:9-10: "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please." 

Jeremiah 32:27: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

Daniel 4:34-35: "Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand, or say to Him: "What have you done." 

Matthew 10:29: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father." 

John 10:28: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Ephesians 1:11: "In Him we also were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will..."

Ephesians 2:1 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

Colossians 2:9: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." 

Revelation 19:6: "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns!" 

May the knowledge of His sovereignty lead you into deeper communion and greater adoration, Pastor Jeff

The Knowledge of the Holy

Greetings All,

     Today's 'thought' goes along with a sermon I preached from Revelation 4:1 this past Sunday, entitled: "The Script Has Already Been Written."  For that verse speaks of God's plan for the future and how it "must" come to pass.

     In this thought A. W. Tozer elaborates on that same topic with his typical clarity. This selection is found in his superb book, "The Knowledge of the Holy."

     Given the world situation at this present time (which seems like a pressure cooker about to explode!) such biblical truths can ease many of our fears, and give us the encouragement we need to look to the future with hope.  Enjoy.

     "God's Sovereignty is the attribute by which He rules His entire creation, and to be sovereign God must be all-knowing, all-powerful, and absolutely free... Only God is free. God is said to be absolutely free because no one and no thing can hinder Him or compel Him or stop Him. He is able to do as He pleases always, everywhere, forever.  To be thus free means also that He must possess universal authority...

     Even to discuss the authority of Almighty God seems a bit meaningless, and to question it would be absurd.  Can we imagine the Lord God of Hosts having to request permission of anyone or to apply for anything to a higher body?  To whom would God go for permission? Who is higher than the Highest?  Who is mightier than the Almighty?  Whose position antedates that of the Eternal?  At whose throne would God kneel?  Where is the greater one to whom He must appeal? (Is. 45:5, 20-21 / 46:5, 8-10)...

     [Yet] if God rules his universe by His sovereign decrees, how is it possible for man to exercise freedom of choice? And if he cannot exercise freedom of choice, how can he be held responsible for his conduct? Is he not a mere puppet whose actions are determined by a behind-the-scenes God who pulls the strings as it pleases Him?

     The attempt to answer these questions has divided the Christian church neatly into two camps [one denying God's sovereignty, the other man's will to choose]...

     Here is my view: God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make, but that he should be free to make it.  If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, "What doest Thou?"  Man's will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.

     Perhaps an illustration might help us to understand. An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool. Its destination has been determined by proper authorities. Nothing can change it. This is at least a faint picture of sovereignty.

     On board the liner are several scores of passengers. These are not in chains, neither are their activities determined for them by decree. They are completely free to move about as they will. They eat, sleep, play, lounge about on the deck, read, talk, altogether as they please. But all the while the great liner is carrying them steadily onward toward a predetermined port. Both freedom and sovereignty are present here and they do not contradict each other. So it is, I believe, with man's freedom and the sovereignty of God. The mighty liner of God's sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history. God moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal purposes which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began.

     Toward [the fulfillment of all God has decreed and promised] God is moving with infinite wisdom and perfect precision. No one can dissuade Him from His purposes; nothing can turn Him aside from His plans. Since He is omniscient, there can be no unforeseen circumstances, no accidents. As He is sovereign, there can be no countermanded orders, no breakdown in authority; and as He is omnipotent, there can be no want of power to achieve His chosen ends... Within the broad field of God's sovereign, permissive will, the deadly conflict of good and evil continues with increasing fury. God will yet have His way in the whirlwind and the storm, but the storm and the whirlwind are here, and as responsible beings we must make our choice in the present moral situation."

     There are certain things I might phrase a bit differently than Tozer, but his points are well taken. God is sovereign, man is responsible. God decrees and ordains all that happens, yet without ever violating our liberty to choose. His plan will unalterably come to pass -- the ship is going to Liverpool! (to use his illustration) -- but we still have the liberty to make choices for which we will be held responsible (Westminster Confession, Chapter 3, section 1 -- On God's Eternal Decrees).

     To use the words of Revelation 4:1, "Come up here and I will show you what MUST take place after this."  In the end it will all unfold just as God has decreed. This means that when things look out of control (from our perspective) we can be thankful God still occupies the throne of His sovereign rule, and is, "moving with infinite wisdom and perfect precision" to carry out His plan for the ages.

Under the shadow of His wings, Pastor Jeff

Do Not Fear

Greetings All,
This weeks thought comes once again from Charles H. Spurgeon, and is found in the devotional book, "Beside Still Waters - Words of Comfort for the Soul." And once again I will repeat that this is my favorite devotional book and well worth the cost to pick up a copy.
     This selection has to do with fear.  Rather, it has to do with the remedy for fear. In a world filled with news that can sometimes make us shudder, and circumstances that can often spawn fear, Spurgeon's words offer some fear-quenching truth we should all consider. Enjoy.

Do Not Fear

Luke 12:32

     "Do you believe that anything is left to chance? Is there any event outside the circle of divine predestination? No, my friend, with God there are no contingencies. The mighty Charioteer of Providence has gathered the reigns of His horses, and He guides them according to His infallible wisdom.

     Foreknowledge and predestination are in everything, from the motion of a grain of dust to a flaming comet blazing across the sky. Nothing can happen unless God ordains it; nothing happens without divine power. The Lord said, 'Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire... and I have created the spoiler to destroy' (Isaiah 54:16 / Isaiah 45:5-7). The most violent people could not move a finger if strength were not lent them by the Lord.

     As for nature's catastrophes, the Lord is distinctly in them. 'He shakes the earth out of its place' (Job 9:5).  Our Father works all things! Why then should His children be afraid?

     Regardless of how tremendous events may be, we know that nothing can happen to shake the kingdom of God. Even the gates of Hell shall not prevail against that kingdom (Matthew 16:18).  Our chief possession lies there, and if that is secure then all is safe. Our highest, best, and most vital interests are beyond even the shadow of harm. Therefore, 'Do not fear.'

     Suppose an accident should take our lives? I smile as I think that the worst thing that could happen would be the best thing that could happen (Phil. 1:21-24). If we should die, we shall be with the Lord (I Thess. 4:17). So, if the worst that can befall is the best that can come, why should we fear? This is good reasoning -- if you are a believer, and if God is your refuge, there is no logical reason to fear."

     It is so true. To believe that our loving, just, and all-powerful God is in control of "everything," as Spurgeon puts it, "from the motion of a grain of dust, to a flaming comet blazing across the sky," puts the heart at ease. It not only subdues our fears, it enables the soul to be at rest even in difficult circumstances. For knowing that God is in control means things can't possibly be out of control even when they seem to be, and it means I no longer need to try and control the outcome of things! The one who believes God is in control no longer has to be controlling.

     The Bible assures us that God is not just, "in charge like the president" (as one person put it, which would not relieve anyone's fears!), He is in control. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing catches Him off guard. There is nothing He does not know (He's omniscient) and nothing He cannot do (He's omnipotent) -- which means that if it happens, He has a reason for allowing, permitting, or ordaining it.

     It's a truth that does require us to trust that our God has a good/redemptive purpose in all things (even the worst), yet it should also work to remove our fears -- for if our Father ordains it (everything that happens to us must pass through the filter of His love for us) there is hope, divine purpose, and holy love expressed in everything that could ever come our way.

     My prayer is that you would live each day in the soul-liberating and fear-quenching effects of such truth, Pastor Jeff