Were all familiar with the adage Murphy's law which says, " Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Scripture makes it clear that whether we are saved and in fellowship with God or not problems and life crises will come our way. Job said, " man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble." Job 14:16 Some of us are on more of a first name basis with troubles than others. Rest assured that no matter how healthy or successful one may be we can never fend off the natural crisis moments of life. It does seem as though problems occur more often for Christian people. This is because Satan's priority is to destroy lives, and if He cannot take you to Hell with him, his next best option is to destroy your testimony in the world so that at least the others around you will stumble, and not come to saving faith. Jesus knew we would face the attacks of Satan and persecution. He knew that we would stumble and create problems for ourselves. He knew that the lost world would hate us. He gave us instructions on how to have peace through all circumstances. In John 16:33 He said, " These things i have spoken to you that you may have peace, in the world you will have tribulation; be of good cheer, i have overcome the world." John 16 while filled with hope for the future is pretty dark in their present, and for ours. He prepares His disciples for His crucifixion and departure from this world, and the struggles which come from being Christian. Saved and lost face struggles in this world but only Christians have a real hope and have the key to real peace. What then are we to do when the trials of life arise.
Understanding Why Things Went Wrong
Albert Einstein said, " we cannot solve the problem with the same thinking we used when we created the problem. We cannot avoid all of life's problems, nor can we solve them all. We could solve many of life's problems if we make the effort to discover what caused them in the first place.
All of life's problems and crisis are in one way or another caused by sin. We need to remember what we have been taught about Adam, Eve, and the Garden. They lived in a state of perfection in a perfect place. Life did not get hard and death did not come until sin entered the picture. When we face particular struggles, problems, or heart breaks it is for sure one of three things.
1.) Many things which go wrong in our lives are the natural course of life in a world cursed by sin.
There can be no greater hurtful life changing event that happens to us than the loss of a loved one. This is the result of our sin but because of particular sin. It is not the consequence or punishment for our bad behavior in most cases. Losing mom, dad, the spouse, or a child etc. is simply due to the fact that we are all cursed with a sin nature and live in a sin cursed world. Physical death came upon all mankind when Adam took the fruit from eve and ate. "Wherefore as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, for all have sinned...." Romans 5:12 We have to lose our loved ones to death because its the natural course of this life. It is also why faith in Jesus Christ and a life lived for him is so vitally important. This life is not the end of life, for we shall all live eternally either in Heaven or in Hell. Because we are sinners by nature and live in a sinful world, life is just naturally painful. The command to work came before sin entered the picture. God put them in the garden and told them to dress and keep it. In the curse levied against man we see that work became hard. God then added by the sweat of your brow. Sin makes what we are naturally supposed to do become difficult. Roses are beautiful and the fragrance wonderful but if not dealt with carefully will cause great pain.
2.) Some of our struggles, troubles and pains are the result of the sins of others. We do not live in a bubble and our actions do affect the lives of others. There are thousands of people's lives who have forever been changed by drunk drivers. The innocent guy who just lost his life savings to the thief who broke in has a serious problem which he himself did not cause. We do others wrong and they do us wrong and one thing we know for sure. There are times in our lives when we suffer for things which we did not do. After we have done everything we can think of right to do, loved ones will still mistreat us, and do us wrong. When we've been walking along our life's path there will be times when people will commit evil against us. Be assured that when we are doing the best we can to follow Christ and do His will for our lives Satan will attack with everything He can. He will tell us every lie He has to. He will offer any false blessing He thinks we might want. He will bring any enemy He can find to damage our relationship with Christ and His children.
We must understand that the attacks of Satan and the evil perpetrated on us by others is never an excuse for bad behavior. I Corinthians 10:13 makes it clear that all temptation that comes to us is common and that God has and will make a way for us to bear it and to overcome it.
3.) Most of our problems in this life are the result of our own sin.
Let's face it we a human beings are dumb. We do dumb things. One of the most famous passages of Scripture is the twenty third psalm. He begins by referring to God as our shepherd. Scripture calls us His sheep. Sheep are quite possibly the dumbest animal on planet earth. It's frail. It can't take care of itself. It is rebellious and does tend to wander off. They had the constant watch of a shepherd, now we build fences but the principle is the same. Just like sheep when we fail to live in the confines of the shepherd's watch we get into trouble. If we interpret scripture correctly we see the results of this in the psalm. The staff of the shepherd has two parts. The curve, the part that looks like a cane, is to pull the sheep back and remove it from harms way. The staff was often used as punishment. When the sheep would run off and the shepherd would bring the sheep back He would break their legs so they could not run off again, and so that when they healed they would learn not to run off again. Make no mistake God does discipline His Children. Hebrews 12:6-11 says this, " for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son He receives. If you endure chastening then God deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom the father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening of which we are all partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore we have all had fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems joyful for the present, but painful, nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Sin carries with it certain consequences. Occultists sometimes refer to it as Karma, which simply says you get what you deserve, or what goes around comes around. Karma should never be believed of taught among Christians. With true repentance Christianity teaches that we get much better than we deserve. What we must deal with in our lives is the natural law of sowing and reaping. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7 If you plant corn you will reap corn. If you plant peas you will reap peas. If you sow a sinful lifestyle you will reap the fruits of your own sin. I have certainly never been much to take care of my health and so i often refer to parts of my health problems as self inflicted injuries. After the laughter is over the sad fact is that, it's true, and there would be no point denying it. I know a person right now who for many months now has been reaping the effects of a really bad decision and continued open resistance to God's word and principles. The sad state is that with so many; they have neither the desire or the faith and courage to change their situations.
How To Achieve Peace
Remember that Jesus said He said what He did that we might have peace. He said we would have tribulation but to be of good cheer. He overcame the world. The letter to the Hebrews said that we could have the peaceful fruit of righteousness if we learn from his discipline. It may seem cliche' but the best formula given in Scripture for the peace of God which Scripture says passes all understanding, (Phil. 4:7) can be found in putting into action the famous serenity prayer.
We must first have the serenity (peaceful faith) to accept the things we cannot change. We cannot bring loved ones back, but we can honor their memories with the way we live our own lives. We cannot always regain certain things that we've lost or that have been taken from us, but we can learn to forgive without exception. We cannot always change the actions of others but we can lovingly change the way we view and respond to them. We cannot always repair damage we may have done by past mistakes and sins, but we can accept the responsibility and live peacefully learning from the consequences of them. We cannot always get the things we want in life or even the things we think we need, but we can learn to do without them until God chooses to provide. Probably most important is learning to live in peace with our lives as they are. What is the famous cliche'? The grass is always greener on the other side. Some people are so discontented that no matter how good they have it they will always be looking for the better deal. Most of the time they would be throwing away what was best for them and reaping a harvest of destruction. Satan does give blessings for a moment, but they are always designed for our destruction. Proverbs 16:25 tells us that there is a way which seems to be right to us but the end result is death. Paul declared in Phil. 4:11-13 that he had learned that whatever state he was in to be contented. God can and certainly does change things in our lives, but it is always according to His will and in keeping with the integrity of His word. If what you desire is in contradiction with His word, He is not going to help you. When you learn to deal honestly and right with what God has already given you then He may bless you with better.
We must have the Courage to change the things we can.
Our lives get to be a mess sometimes because we are out of the will of God and we have not only blocked His blessings, but in many cases invoked his wrath. When we are in direct contradiction to God's word we harm ourselves and all those around us. Repentance means to change our minds. Confession means to see things the way the other sees it. When we confess our sin we admit to God that He is right and that the charges are true. Repentance is when we change what we are doing according to our confession. I knew a man many years ago who left His wife, and moved in with His girlfriend. In a moment of emotionalism and regret for the consequences He apologized to His church, His wife, and to His children. The problem is that after it was over He went back to His girlfriends house. That is not true confession, and is certainly not repentance. Matthew 3:8 says to do works worthy of repentance. When we repent if we have the ability at all we immediately start trying to fix the problem. It's also worthy to note that as Christians when a person repents we have no right not to forgive. Let's get it straight though; there is no forgiveness until there is true repentance. We cannot change the sins of the past but we can stop doing them. If we are to have peace in our hearts and a right relationship with God it is a given. Some things in our lives we do not have to pray about. If we can find anything in Scripture we should be doing; Just do it. If we find anything in the scripture we should not do; Just don't do it. If we are committing sins; Just stop doing them. In Philippians chapter 3 Paul deals with staying away from evil doers, and discussing the change that takes place when we follow Christ. All this leads in to chapter 4 where He says to let your moderation be known to all men, and gives us the way in which we seek God without worry, and with a heart of gratitude. He then tells us that the peace of God which passes understanding will guard our hearts. Our lives are a mess because we do not have the faith and courage to do what it takes to be in tune with God. We may not be able to fix every problem we have created but many we can. Even with the law of sowing and reaping He gives us opportunity. If you planted corn but changed and now know you need peas, simply plow up the corn and begin planting the seed for which crop you will be pleased. Begin planting the seed for which harvest God will be pleased. If you've lost trust, start being honest, and eventually the harvest will come in and you'll be trusted. If you didn't raise your children right and they are grown, you can't change the past, but you can repent and let them see you now following the Lord. The bottom line here is that we cannot have true peace while we are in opposition to what God wants for us.
We must exercise the wisdom to know what can be changed and what cannot. Solomon said that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The same way children have a reverent fear of daddy's belt, we must also have a reverent fear of what God is capable of. No matter what state our lives are in Scripture gives us a formula for peace in our hearts. Rest assured though that there is no real peace for us when we know the will and the word of God and refuse to follow. Proverbs 28:1 says that the wicked run away when no one is chasing them. You can live a life of delusion, lies, and paranoia, or you can embrace the wonderful peace that God has for you. He gives us the choice, and warns us of the consequences.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Monday, November 20, 2017
Do you know for sure You will go to Heaven when you die / Would you like to ?
Anyone who has even the vaguest concept of God has a desire to go to heaven. Heaven is the place where we experience perfect eternal peace. Where there is no more pain, sickness, or heartache. It's the place where we long to see are relatives who have gone on. Who wouldn't want that. The problem is that we have watered down the gospel to the point that very few will go there. Hear the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 7. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." This even applies to those who claim to be believers. Jesus said in verse 21 that not all who cry out Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven. James 2:19 tell us that that even the demons believe and they tremble. We see it everyday in the lives of people whose actions betray what they claim to believe. We cannot judge the heart of another but we are certainly allowed to and required to examine their behavior. We all sin but we live in a culture that glorifies sin to the degree that no one can tell Christians from the rest of the world. I saw one man on facebook declaring his undying love and loyalty to Christ. The same day he was posting His party pictures in the bar. I will give Him credit for either bravery or stupidity, because it takes courage to mock God in such a way. A Christian can find himself in a situation like this,or some sin even worse, But God will not allow His children to experience happiness or joy in our sin. God's children certainly cannot be proud of sin. Sadly it is because a large part of these folks simply have never had a legitimate relationship with Christ. So what does it mean to be saved by God's grace and know that your eternal home is in heaven.
What you must do to be saved
In Acts 16:30 the Jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs what must i do to be saved." In John 3 Nicodemus desired to know how this new birth works. Jesus began in verse 14 and explained. Like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up, referring to the cross. In verse 15,16, and 18 He says to believe and and we shall not perish, we shall not be condemned. Remember though that the demons believe but they are not saved. He says to believe but it is not an intellectual, easy belief. There is more to it. He begins in verse 19 turning the conversation to light and darkness and good deeds and evil. He says that the condemnation is that light is here and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Have you ever considered why bars, nightclubs, strip clubs, and other places of the so called adult entertainment places are dark. It's because when the light is shined on man's deeds he feels convicted and ashamed. So then there is something to the belief Jesus talked about which is more than just believing. It translates into new behavior. So are we suggesting that we must work to earn our salvation? That is not the case at all. When we mean business with God something amazing begins to happen. When we belong to a new family, and move to the new place, the new family has an all new set of rules. We begin striving for a whole new set of standards. Romans 10:9-10 says if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts we shall be saved. He goes on to say that this results in righteousness. To confess is to admit the truth. If an officer brings a charge against you and you confess you are admitting that it is true. Confession is admitting to God that He is right. We see ourselves the way God sees us, and are willing to confess it. We see God for who He is and willingly admit it. Also he begins working in our lives. and causes a desire to turn away from sin. Jesus said that unless you repent you will perish. Repentance simply means to change your mind. It means to completely turn around from the direction you were going. Now lets take this and get it to a level that we can grasp. What kind of belief is it that requires confession and repentance. It is simply taking God seriously enough that we are serious in what we say. Remember when your daddy would say, " if you don't stop that i'm gonna whip you." You straightened up didn't you. You took daddy seriously. You believed He would do what He said He would do. When we take God seriously our outlook on things begin to change. When we are serious in what we believe, and we take Him seriously about what He promised then we can accept Him as Romans 10:9-10 tell us to and He comes into our lives and as time progresses each day that we live it results in righteousness. This doesn't mean we won't sin. It means we will not want to sin, and when we do we will not have peace until we get right with Him. Just like a wayward child comes back to mom and dad, apologizing and trying daily to not do that again.
If you have never had this type of genuine relationship with Christ, would you invite Him into your heart. Simply where you and the way you are simply pray and ask Him to save you. There is no true sinners prayer or magic words. Simply admit that you are lost, confess that your a sinner, repent (change your mind about Him) confess, be serious with Him, and take what He has said seriously.. something like this. God i know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself I cannot live right and please you by myself, I do believe that you died for me, come into my life and save me, and direct my life.
If you have accepted Christ I would love to know about it. I also want you to seek out your new family in a Bible Believing church. Submit yourself to believers baptism and begin following our Lord with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Salvation is a new birth into a new family. John 3
Jesus told Nicodemus that unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God. He made a distinction between the physical birth (being born of water) and that of the new birth which is to be born of the Spirit. When we were born we became part of an earthly family. The same thing happens spiritually when we are saved. We become children of God. John had said in chapter 1 verse 12 that as many as did receive him to them he gave the power to become the Son's of God. The apostle Paul said in Romans 8:15 that He has not given us a spirit of bondage to fear the the spirit of adoption where by we cry "abba" father. When we accept Jesus Christ God becomes our father. No child who has any kind of heart at all does not enjoy doing things to embarrass our parents. We do from time to time, but it hurts our hearts. One of the easiest and best ways to determine if our salvation experience is genuine is to look at our own reaction to our sin. I am a sinful human, and let God down every day and that hurts me. Some things I just cannot bring myself to do because of the shear heartache and shame of letting God down. If your sin does not bring a sense of shame the chances are God is not your father. When we are children of God we will never put our sin out in the public and act like it's ok. Who you seek to please says a lot about whose family you are in. You are either a child of God or you are a child of the devil. Jesus said in John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." When you accept Christ you are rescued from Satan and He is no longer your father, God adopts you into His family.
What you must do to be saved
In Acts 16:30 the Jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs what must i do to be saved." In John 3 Nicodemus desired to know how this new birth works. Jesus began in verse 14 and explained. Like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up, referring to the cross. In verse 15,16, and 18 He says to believe and and we shall not perish, we shall not be condemned. Remember though that the demons believe but they are not saved. He says to believe but it is not an intellectual, easy belief. There is more to it. He begins in verse 19 turning the conversation to light and darkness and good deeds and evil. He says that the condemnation is that light is here and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Have you ever considered why bars, nightclubs, strip clubs, and other places of the so called adult entertainment places are dark. It's because when the light is shined on man's deeds he feels convicted and ashamed. So then there is something to the belief Jesus talked about which is more than just believing. It translates into new behavior. So are we suggesting that we must work to earn our salvation? That is not the case at all. When we mean business with God something amazing begins to happen. When we belong to a new family, and move to the new place, the new family has an all new set of rules. We begin striving for a whole new set of standards. Romans 10:9-10 says if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts we shall be saved. He goes on to say that this results in righteousness. To confess is to admit the truth. If an officer brings a charge against you and you confess you are admitting that it is true. Confession is admitting to God that He is right. We see ourselves the way God sees us, and are willing to confess it. We see God for who He is and willingly admit it. Also he begins working in our lives. and causes a desire to turn away from sin. Jesus said that unless you repent you will perish. Repentance simply means to change your mind. It means to completely turn around from the direction you were going. Now lets take this and get it to a level that we can grasp. What kind of belief is it that requires confession and repentance. It is simply taking God seriously enough that we are serious in what we say. Remember when your daddy would say, " if you don't stop that i'm gonna whip you." You straightened up didn't you. You took daddy seriously. You believed He would do what He said He would do. When we take God seriously our outlook on things begin to change. When we are serious in what we believe, and we take Him seriously about what He promised then we can accept Him as Romans 10:9-10 tell us to and He comes into our lives and as time progresses each day that we live it results in righteousness. This doesn't mean we won't sin. It means we will not want to sin, and when we do we will not have peace until we get right with Him. Just like a wayward child comes back to mom and dad, apologizing and trying daily to not do that again.
If you have never had this type of genuine relationship with Christ, would you invite Him into your heart. Simply where you and the way you are simply pray and ask Him to save you. There is no true sinners prayer or magic words. Simply admit that you are lost, confess that your a sinner, repent (change your mind about Him) confess, be serious with Him, and take what He has said seriously.. something like this. God i know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself I cannot live right and please you by myself, I do believe that you died for me, come into my life and save me, and direct my life.
If you have accepted Christ I would love to know about it. I also want you to seek out your new family in a Bible Believing church. Submit yourself to believers baptism and begin following our Lord with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Are you sure you want to pray ?
I recently reached out for prayer on a Facebook prayer group of which I am a member. I normally would not have put things out there quite that public, but I am going through some pretty dark times right now. God is navigating me through a very low point in my life. Although I trust Him, i also am apprehensive about where He is leading. My experience brought back a memory from a few months ago. A young man called me and had been injured and was uncertain what the eventual outcome would be. He asked, " will you pray for me?" The answer is obvious, of course I will. There was one problem, and admittedly It may have hindered my praying. My first thought and the one that lingered with me even as I prayed was, " Is this guy serious?" He has, and outwardly displays a complete disdain for the truth of Scripture, and anything moral and Godly. He flaunts a deplorably sinful lifestyle and hates anyone who attempts right living. He is so blinded by Satan that He honestly believes He is ok in the sight of God. He thinks God will work in His life while He has no sense of repentance in His heart. I found myself wondering, " is this guy for real ?" Apparently He has no concept of what Prayer is all about or the power of it. As I prayed, and found a generic and gentle way to also pray about His spiritual condition, I found myself wondering, " Does He know what He is getting into." A thousand page book could not teach us everything we could learn about prayer. There are a few principles though that we need to understand when we pray and especially when we ask another to pray for us.
PRAYER REQUIRES BEING SERIOUS WITH GOD.
God has in no Scripture promised to answer any prayer of a lost person, except the prayer of confession and repentance, for salvation. In fact He has not promised He will hear and answer every prayer of a Christian. David said, " if I had cherished sin in my heart, The Lord would not have listened." Psalm 66:18 Jesus said that if we abide in Him and His word abides in us we shall ask what we will, and it would be done for us. John 15:7 Make no mistake about it we are all sinful people and none pf us really deserve God's blessing and answered prayers. Daniel said, " We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy." Dan. 9.18 Jesus's story of the Pharisee and the tax collector probably tells the story best. The Pharisee in His pompous arrogance, was not heard, but because of His humble submissive heart the tax collector was justified. Make no mistake about it We will not achieve perfection in this life, and we all sin daily. At the same time we understand that God is under no obligation to answer the prayers of a rebellious child. When we come to Christ in prayer we must come with a humble repentant spirit. We must be willing to get serious with God.
PRAYER CHANGES US NOT GOD
We are told to ask in His name. John said that we have confidence that if we ask according to His will He will hear us. I John 5:14-15 It has always been in God's will to bless us, but He has to maneuver our lives into a position where blessing is possible. God, like a good parent can never reward bad behavior, so the young man of which I spoke cannot expect much if his prayers stand alone. Prayer is an intimate communication with God wherein He changes our hearts to be in line with His will. He is not doing anything for us that He did want to do before we prayed. What He is able to do in our prayers is to change our hearts so that what we want falls into line with what He wants to do anyway.
When the Disciples said, "Lord teach us to pray." the model prayer that followed has a certain human psychology built into it. It deals with our human need both physically and spiritually. It deals with our relationship to God. It then deals with our relationship to others. Prayer covers every facet of our lives. We use the cliche' Prayer changes things, and it is true, however Prayer never changes things until it first changes us.
PRAYER UNLEASHES THE POWER OF GOD
We need to understand first, that the very act of prayer whether serious or not, whether personal or requested of others is an acknowledgement that there is a God that can be talked to. The young man of which I spoke may not be interested in God enough to be repentant of Sin, but had enough faith in God to realize that He exists and answers prayers. That is a very dangerously wonderful position to be in. He does not realize that by allowing enough light to shine into His life to reach out for prayer He has opened the door for God to begin to speak on matters of His life. As an old preacher I grew up under used to say, "He's on saving ground." There is a power that exists in prayer by numbers. In Matthew 19:18 Jesus said that if two of us agree as touching, He said that anything we ask would be done for us. This is why we reach out to other believers for prayer support. This is primarily why no one, no matter how hard the heart, or vile the life, is out of the reach of God. The hardest most shielded armor, if a crack exists gives way for the light to shine in. If the smallest of lights can get in then the door is open for God's light to flood in. Light is always more powerful than darkness. Remember that Saul of Tarsus was so far from God that He persecuted and Killed Christians. He to thought that His life was great, until God blinded Him on the Damascus road. I have many times from the pulpit in jest, said "if you want to get even with your enemy, pray for them." It sounds funny and sometimes get a laugh, but it is true. Paul in Romans quoted and affirmed Solomon's statement that it heaps coals of fire on their heads. Some would say that this is praying punishment down on them, but nothing could be further from the truth. What is happening is that when God begins opening Himself up to and revealing Himself to the hard of heart, He turns up the heat in their lives until they pay attention. I served with a wonderful gentleman who had been paralyzed by a motorcycle wreck. He was not in any way bitter but He went to His grave believing that God had allowed the wreck and His paralysis in order to get His attention. I don't know about His case but i do know that the man I knew in the wheel chair was one heck of a great Christian man. Using Saul of Tarsus as an example one preacher i heard said, " How dramatic God gets in your life depends on how deep you've sunk. pretty good words of wisdom. For all the stories and talk the message is this. Prayer especially when joined to the agreed prayers of others unleashes the power of God, in amazing ways.
There is a cliche' that says, " be careful what you ask for you just might get it." The truth is that you may even get more than you asked for. You may be asking prayer for a physical, financial, relationship, or whatever need, but when you open yourself up to the working of God in your life, you may well be in for a radical life changing experience. The good news is that the sinful life you that you think you enjoy and have no intention of leaving, will not even be a second thought when God brings you out of it. What God does in our lives is always intended to bring us joy. He changes us, not the other way around.
PRAYER REQUIRES BEING SERIOUS WITH GOD.
God has in no Scripture promised to answer any prayer of a lost person, except the prayer of confession and repentance, for salvation. In fact He has not promised He will hear and answer every prayer of a Christian. David said, " if I had cherished sin in my heart, The Lord would not have listened." Psalm 66:18 Jesus said that if we abide in Him and His word abides in us we shall ask what we will, and it would be done for us. John 15:7 Make no mistake about it we are all sinful people and none pf us really deserve God's blessing and answered prayers. Daniel said, " We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy." Dan. 9.18 Jesus's story of the Pharisee and the tax collector probably tells the story best. The Pharisee in His pompous arrogance, was not heard, but because of His humble submissive heart the tax collector was justified. Make no mistake about it We will not achieve perfection in this life, and we all sin daily. At the same time we understand that God is under no obligation to answer the prayers of a rebellious child. When we come to Christ in prayer we must come with a humble repentant spirit. We must be willing to get serious with God.
PRAYER CHANGES US NOT GOD
We are told to ask in His name. John said that we have confidence that if we ask according to His will He will hear us. I John 5:14-15 It has always been in God's will to bless us, but He has to maneuver our lives into a position where blessing is possible. God, like a good parent can never reward bad behavior, so the young man of which I spoke cannot expect much if his prayers stand alone. Prayer is an intimate communication with God wherein He changes our hearts to be in line with His will. He is not doing anything for us that He did want to do before we prayed. What He is able to do in our prayers is to change our hearts so that what we want falls into line with what He wants to do anyway.
When the Disciples said, "Lord teach us to pray." the model prayer that followed has a certain human psychology built into it. It deals with our human need both physically and spiritually. It deals with our relationship to God. It then deals with our relationship to others. Prayer covers every facet of our lives. We use the cliche' Prayer changes things, and it is true, however Prayer never changes things until it first changes us.
PRAYER UNLEASHES THE POWER OF GOD
We need to understand first, that the very act of prayer whether serious or not, whether personal or requested of others is an acknowledgement that there is a God that can be talked to. The young man of which I spoke may not be interested in God enough to be repentant of Sin, but had enough faith in God to realize that He exists and answers prayers. That is a very dangerously wonderful position to be in. He does not realize that by allowing enough light to shine into His life to reach out for prayer He has opened the door for God to begin to speak on matters of His life. As an old preacher I grew up under used to say, "He's on saving ground." There is a power that exists in prayer by numbers. In Matthew 19:18 Jesus said that if two of us agree as touching, He said that anything we ask would be done for us. This is why we reach out to other believers for prayer support. This is primarily why no one, no matter how hard the heart, or vile the life, is out of the reach of God. The hardest most shielded armor, if a crack exists gives way for the light to shine in. If the smallest of lights can get in then the door is open for God's light to flood in. Light is always more powerful than darkness. Remember that Saul of Tarsus was so far from God that He persecuted and Killed Christians. He to thought that His life was great, until God blinded Him on the Damascus road. I have many times from the pulpit in jest, said "if you want to get even with your enemy, pray for them." It sounds funny and sometimes get a laugh, but it is true. Paul in Romans quoted and affirmed Solomon's statement that it heaps coals of fire on their heads. Some would say that this is praying punishment down on them, but nothing could be further from the truth. What is happening is that when God begins opening Himself up to and revealing Himself to the hard of heart, He turns up the heat in their lives until they pay attention. I served with a wonderful gentleman who had been paralyzed by a motorcycle wreck. He was not in any way bitter but He went to His grave believing that God had allowed the wreck and His paralysis in order to get His attention. I don't know about His case but i do know that the man I knew in the wheel chair was one heck of a great Christian man. Using Saul of Tarsus as an example one preacher i heard said, " How dramatic God gets in your life depends on how deep you've sunk. pretty good words of wisdom. For all the stories and talk the message is this. Prayer especially when joined to the agreed prayers of others unleashes the power of God, in amazing ways.
There is a cliche' that says, " be careful what you ask for you just might get it." The truth is that you may even get more than you asked for. You may be asking prayer for a physical, financial, relationship, or whatever need, but when you open yourself up to the working of God in your life, you may well be in for a radical life changing experience. The good news is that the sinful life you that you think you enjoy and have no intention of leaving, will not even be a second thought when God brings you out of it. What God does in our lives is always intended to bring us joy. He changes us, not the other way around.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)