I heard a sermon this morning from Pastor Bill Johnson. If I hear a good one I like to recap it generally. Christians pray very well from a defensive position when trouble strikes. The better approach is to stay prayed up in advance. Jesus prayed 40 days in the wilderness after his anointing, and this enabled him to deal with the demons the apostles could not remove. Also to pray effectively it is best to pray the things on Gods heart. How do you discern the things that are on Gods heart? You do so by staying close to Him in prayer at all times. Become His friend. John 15:15 (KJV) Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. In this verse Jesus tells us that His friends know what He is up to and can pray in collaboration with Him to bring these things to pass. This is the best way to pray. Stay prayed up. Stay close to God by living a holy life and being often in prayer. Then you can pray most effectively.
Before The Victory Comes The Revelation
The Bible says to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and the other things you seek will be added to you (Matt 6:33). Sometimes we seek His hand far more diligently than we seek His face. This is sad and we should correct whenever it becomes apparent to us. The breakthrough we seek, and maybe so desperately need, must never be preeminent over the total satisfaction and thankfulness that comes from being part of the family of God. There is no greater gift than to belong to God the Father because of the incredible sacrifice of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are struggling with the potential outcome of a critical issue in your life, take a moment and go back to first principles. The Book of Hebrews tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Go back to the Word, go back to praise and worship. Remember you belong to Him. Heaven is your home. Pray then for your needs from love and peace. Pray from that glorious assurance that God has your back and He is never late. He is The Waymaker.
****Trusting God in the Way Things ARE****
Its been a while since I posted anything here. At this time the election drama is coming to a close to the delight of many, and the chagrin of many others. Assuming things go the way they are heading, many Christians will ask how this could have happened and why it happened the way it did. I imagine many will be tempted to lose their faith over something like this. But we must not let that happen. God has many ways of accomplishing His purposes. ONCE AGAIN we wed ourselves to a certain course of action we think will or should occur, and when it does not occur we are deeply disappointed. No matter how convincing it looks to us that God will do a certain thing, God shows us time and time again that His purposes will be accomplished in His way only.
The Christians who seem the happiest right now are the ones who are letting God do His thing in His way. The saddest are the ones that believe He let us down because He did not do what we thought He should. In the case of the election many prophets decreed that a certain thing would happen. While God may still do it, it is going to require quite a miracle at this point. When we heard the modern day prophets we believed what they heard. If it does not happen, we then become confused and disoriented. This is not good.
In the Book of Hebrews God tells us that in the former days God spoke to us through His prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us in His son. So maybe modern day prophets are not always reliable. Maybe the only thing we can be sure of is exactly what scripture says. Scripture tells us how to live and what to expect. It tells us God is sovereign and that good and bad happen to all and that God will win in the end. It tells us that hard times have a purpose in our lives. They occur in order to grow us and to teach and mature us. It tells us God chastises believers who sin and that judgement will come for the persistently unrighteous. The bottom line is that if God says it, it will come to pass, and that God acts to accomplish His purposes alone. Finally I would say we must not seek God only for what we want, but for the full experience of Him.
Do you want to know what He is up to? He is up to saving souls. He is up to the establishment and protection of Israel and Jerusalem as His eventual resting place. He is up to the protection of innocent lives. He is up to the ability of His children of ALL races and countries to be able to live for Him and to spread the gospel. He is up to answering the prayers of all His children for their welfare and joy as much as possible. If you want to know more about specific events keep an open mind and don’t wed yourself to any preconceptions. The more invested you are in a specific outcome, the more likely you are to miss Him. He never fails and He knows all things. Trust Him in the way things ARE, not only in the way you want them.
So, What About Revival and the End Times
Borrowing some wisdom from Mario Murillo’s book “Vessels of Fire and Glory” we see an incredible need – especially after the election – for a revival in our country. Many in the pews did not vote for the candidate that stood against abortion and supported Israel, law and order, and religious freedoms. It appears that the American church has taken a nap.
Murillo basically asserts that this is in part because many of the churches have adopted a watered-down version of the gospel from pulpits in order to gain and maintain membership. As a result, many professing Christians do not feel strongly about the biblical positions on these issues.
Another factor adding to the malaise in some churches is the notion of the end times. Some churches take the “therapeutic approach” that everything is going to be alright. We are not in a spiritual war, lets just use the power of God to make our lives more pleasant. Another approach is the “doom and gloom” approach which says we cannot win the spiritual war – might as well hang it up.
In sum, Murillo asserts that both terrible evil and tremendous blessing will come from the end time scenario as laid out in the prophets and the Revelation. There will be disasters, favor and protection.
The message in this post from me is that the fields are ripe for a good spiritual fight. Its time to war for the souls of men and women inside and outside of the church. Preachers should unashamedly preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the enormous importance of righteousness and holiness.
We know that we are clothed in Christs righteousness and are justified before God because of what HE did. We also know we are holy, even though we still make mistakes. But we are called, insofar as we are able, to live a sanctified, set apart life of power and truth telling.
If this is not our inclination, we need to reassess our standing before God.
Whosoever Will May Come
The story of God’s people the Israelites is laden with tales of those seeking their destruction. Of course, they failed to destroy God’s people whose mission it was to bring the Messiah in to the world.
No one ever said life would be easy. The Israelites of old had to fight for their existence, just as modern-day Israel has often had to defend itself. We as Christians in the U.S. have been blessed and have not had to face death or great persecution so far. I pray it stays that way, although there are plenty of enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is difficult to understand what motivates people to want to hurt others. As Christians we sometimes must fight – through prayer and fasting and speaking the word of God – to offer resistance to the forces of darkness that seek the destruction of the word of God.
What a wonderful world it would be if we all followed the teaching of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who tells us to love God and love others – even our enemies. Let’s pray, intercede and leave the fighting to God.
Below are two Psalms of King David that describe a time that sounds oddly like today in some cases. I guess some things never change.
Psalm 64 (KJV) Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: 4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, who shall see them? 6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. 7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. 8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. 9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. 10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.
Psalm 83 (KJV) Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: 6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. 9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: 10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: 12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. 13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; 15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. 16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. 17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: 18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth. Of course, as Christians we pray for those who persecute the church, and those who seek a very different country where religious freedom may not be celebrated. We should pray for their salvation and repentance and that they will come to faith in Christ.
WHOSOEVER WILL MAY COME. No one is excluded. Why not come?
