I found myself at a different church this last Sunday. My car had "died" and I had to walk. My church is 13 miles away and so I walked to a closer place. I've been going through a hard time, financially. Now, with my added car problems, I owe on at least 5 large bills. I'm a month behind on most of them and have deadlines, at which point the service will end.
I believe I've been doing all the "right" things. Yesterday God encouraged me with the pastor's message, essentially saying, "Here are some areas you can improve in that will make your prayers more effective."
In James 5:16 we learn that "the effectual prayers of a righteous man availeth much." What I will share here are some simple, yet powerful things that will actually make your prayers more effective. They could be called mighty works - they are powerful, transforming things that will both move God's hand and His heart.
The first of these activities is to spend time before the Lord worshiping Him. In chapter 4 of John we read of Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well. He said that "the Father is seeking" people to worship Him"in spirit and in truth." There are many examples in the Bible that show the power of true worship. I'll share two. In 2 Chron. 20 we read of a "great multitude" of people that were coming against Jehoshaphat and Judah. They were overwhelmed and things looked hopeless [Hmm, sort of like my situation now].
Jehoshaphat sought God, and with him, all of Judah. The Lord's answer, "Be not afraid ... for the battle is not yours, but God's. ... You shall not need to fight ..; take your positions [look like you are going to war/fight], stand still, and see the delverance of the Lord." (v. 15-17)
They followed God's instructions and received the victory. Jehoshaphat appointed singers to worship in front of the army as they went out. In verse 22 we see that when they began to sing ... the Lord "caused the multitude to be self-slaughtered." Their very act of obedience moved the hand of God.
Another powerful example of worship is found in Acts 16. Here we see Paul and Silas, their hads and feet in shackles and locked in the innermost place in the prison. They had bee severely beaten. Surely, they had every legitimate reason to be unhappy and complain. "But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise (not complaints) to God ... all the doors were opened and everyone's shackles were unfastened." (v. 25-26) They didn't complain - they worshiped! It was their worsip that moved God's hand to shake the entire prison and free them all.
I won't share details of the other "things" listed, things we can do to walk in a way that makes our prayer life most effective. I will tell you what they are, however. Praying in the spirit, declaring the gospel, and exercising great faith.
By working on these areas and doing these things, we are in fact, living as Jesus Himself. When we received Jesus into our hearts the seed of God was planted in us. It is God's intent that we should look like and, in truth, be like Jesus. Didn't Jesus promise us that "the things that He did we would do also?"
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
More On Jesus' Teachings
In Matthew 22 a lawyer had asked Jesus about which commandment was the greatest. His reply is found in verses 37-40. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you sould and with all your mind. This is the great (most important principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets." In his book, Baptized By Fire, Tom Girod says "The sum of a believer's obedience is to love God and to love his neighbor."
On one hand we have the way of obedience, which is love. To not love is disobedince, and its result will always cloud our perception. It causes darkness to set in and this eventually makes our love grow cold and our hearts harden.
Many of Jesus' teachings are contained in what we call the Sermon on the Mount. It is through our obedience to these teachings that we can live a radiant, vibrant and triumphant life. Jesus said that He came to give us "life more abundantly."
As mighty and powerful as these teachings are they aren't able to be lived by human power alone. They require the energizing power of God Himself. "The only way we will be able to successfully live out the Sermon on the Mount is by allowing the Holy Spirit to work this heavenly sermon deep within our soul and spirit through the regeneration of the heart." Paul states, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." This statement shows that it is God's power working in us. Here the word 'Christ' means 'anointing.' It is the anointing of Jesus in us which enables us to successfully live as He taught.
Ben Girod has stated it this way. "This is the doctrine of Christ: 1)to keep His commandments, 2)to discern His voice, and 3)to overflow with love for God and our fellow man."
On one hand we have the way of obedience, which is love. To not love is disobedince, and its result will always cloud our perception. It causes darkness to set in and this eventually makes our love grow cold and our hearts harden.
Many of Jesus' teachings are contained in what we call the Sermon on the Mount. It is through our obedience to these teachings that we can live a radiant, vibrant and triumphant life. Jesus said that He came to give us "life more abundantly."
As mighty and powerful as these teachings are they aren't able to be lived by human power alone. They require the energizing power of God Himself. "The only way we will be able to successfully live out the Sermon on the Mount is by allowing the Holy Spirit to work this heavenly sermon deep within our soul and spirit through the regeneration of the heart." Paul states, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." This statement shows that it is God's power working in us. Here the word 'Christ' means 'anointing.' It is the anointing of Jesus in us which enables us to successfully live as He taught.
Ben Girod has stated it this way. "This is the doctrine of Christ: 1)to keep His commandments, 2)to discern His voice, and 3)to overflow with love for God and our fellow man."
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Obey His Teachings
There are some key truths I would like to discuss that are found in John 14:15-24. In verse 15, Jesus states, "If you [really] love Me, you will keep [obey] My commands." Jesus' commandments [or commands] are His teachings. They are life principles, which describe the nature of Christ's life manifesting itself in us. It is God's plan that the very life of Jesus is manifested in and through each of us, His children. He even promised earlier in this chapter that we would "be able to do the things" that He did, and "even greater things." We should both look and act like Him!
Our obedience to His commands [teachings] is what proves our love for the Father. Our obedience does not buy or earn us His love. He already loves you much more than you even know! We obey Him simply because we love Him. This idea is expressed three tims in our passage of scripture. "If you love Me ... will obey ..." [v 15] "The one ... who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me ..." [v 21] "If a person [really] loves Me, He will keep My word [obey My teaching]." [v 23]
Jesus told us that He would give us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and He would remain with us forever. The world does not see or know Him. But we do, "for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you." [v 17] We must come to know the Spirit of Truth. Without the Spirit dwelling in us, we are incapable of hearing the words He speaks to us.
Remember that the initial ingredient of obedience is to hear. By hearing, knowledge and understanding comes so that w know what to obey. But if we don't love God we won't wish to hear. All born-again Christians possess that still small voice within them. But with the progression of time, if we ignore it, we often hear this voice less and less. In his book, Baptized By Fire, Ben Girod says that "Since we do not like to hear ... we just disregard Him. Each time we do this,our capacity to hear His voice becomes weaker and our path more obscure."
Our obedience to His commands [teachings] is what proves our love for the Father. Our obedience does not buy or earn us His love. He already loves you much more than you even know! We obey Him simply because we love Him. This idea is expressed three tims in our passage of scripture. "If you love Me ... will obey ..." [v 15] "The one ... who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me ..." [v 21] "If a person [really] loves Me, He will keep My word [obey My teaching]." [v 23]
Jesus told us that He would give us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and He would remain with us forever. The world does not see or know Him. But we do, "for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you." [v 17] We must come to know the Spirit of Truth. Without the Spirit dwelling in us, we are incapable of hearing the words He speaks to us.
Remember that the initial ingredient of obedience is to hear. By hearing, knowledge and understanding comes so that w know what to obey. But if we don't love God we won't wish to hear. All born-again Christians possess that still small voice within them. But with the progression of time, if we ignore it, we often hear this voice less and less. In his book, Baptized By Fire, Ben Girod says that "Since we do not like to hear ... we just disregard Him. Each time we do this,our capacity to hear His voice becomes weaker and our path more obscure."
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