Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?
Matt 9:5 (NASB)
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, annointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has commited sins, they will be forgiven him.
James 5:14,15 (NASB)
Jesus did the hard thing in Matthew 9 to show that He had the authority to forgive sin. He had just told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. It is easy to say your sins are forgiven, because there is no immediate visual evidence. It is quite another thing to say get up and walk, because an impossible action is then expected. When the crippled man got up and walked, it proved to everyone present that Jesus indeed had authority to forgive sin.
I think that for most of us it is easy to believe that if we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful to forgive them. We have no problem accepting that by faith. Many of us have grown up in church hearing this truth all of our lives. Faith for healing is quite a different matter. It is easy to believe that God can heal, but when it comes to the crisis point it is hard to believe that God will actually heal. We may pray, or even be annointed and prayed for, as in James 5, all the while expecting nothing to really happen.
Faith is not a lever that somehow budges God. We cannot drum up faith in the attempt to impress Him into action. Faith is not something that we use to get whatever we want from God. Faith is taking God at His word. It is hearing what He says in His word and believing Him. God does not and cannot lie. It is up to us to simply believe what He says.
Although I have seen people healed, far too often nothing happens. I think this is a common thing, but it should not be so. We tend to explain it away with a variety of reasons and biblical interpretations, and as a result do much damage to the doctrine of divine healing. The word of God is clear on this subject. God is willing to heal. People were healed consistently throughout the bible, as they came to Him in faith.
In Mark 9: 17-29 the disciples fail to cast a demon out of a boy. We can learn several things from this passage. In Jesus' own words this was an unbelieving generation. In Matthew 13:58 we see that unbelief prevented Jesus from performing miracles. The people of that day were religious, but failed to take God seriously. They were too familiar with Jesus. He had grown up among them, where did His power come from? How can He claim to be the Messiah? They took offense at Him. Is it possible that we today can become so comfortable with our theology, and so familiar with the Jesus that we see in our churches, that we too become filled with unbelief?
Jesus also told the disciples that prayer was necessary (Mark 9:39). Jesus gave us an example to follow. He often got up early and got away from everbody to spend long times in prayer. We tend to wait until a need arises and then spend time in prayer for that need. Instead we should be already spending time in prayer to God, just seeking Him. When a need arises, we would be prayed up and ready.
The subject of miracles and healings is difficult. As I said we often see no miraculous results to our prayers. There are a variety of biblical reasons for the lack of healing, but I still think that we are not experiencing all that God intends for us to have in Christ. This can be a subject to pursue in future posts.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
How to have a personal revival
Here is a link to an interesting article on repentance and personal revival. http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/2010/04/18/how-to-have-a-personal-revival/
Friday, October 14, 2011
Hindrances to prayer.
Our fellowship with God, and our fellowship with one another, are all tied together. a right relationship with God will produce right relationships with those around us, and wrong treatment of our fellow man will adversely effect our relationship with God.
Prayer is a vital link to God. It is our communication with Him. It is the channel through which we bring Him our needs, cares and burdens. Through prayer we advance His interests and kingdom. Through prayer we enter into His very presence to receive grace and mercy in time of need. It is of utmost importance that we keep this line of communication open.
The New Testament warns us in many places that our prayer can be hindered through the mistreatment of others. When someone wrongs us it is up to us to forgive that individual. Jesus said " When you stand praying, forgive". When we have wronged someone it is up to us to go and be reconciled to that individual, then come and offer our gift on the altar. To approach God while holding enmity in our heart, is offensive to Him.
Husbands have the responsibility to care for their wives, and are to treat them with love and respect. To fail to do this will hinder prayer as well. We often joke about arguments we have on the way to church as if they really don't matter. We feel better about ourselves because it happens to the sunday school teacher, or the worship leader, or the pastor as well, but it really does matter! These things will hinder our walk with God until they have been dealt with. We are to lift up holy hands without anger or quarrelling.
The bible urges us to submit to one another. In other words we are to look out for each other, put others first, seeking to maintain peace for the sake of Christ and His gospel. It is in this context that Peter states "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble". It is pride that is at the core of our arguments, and resentment, unforgiveness and anger. This is what is offensive to God, and will shut out our prayers from His ear. Instead, let us live and work along side of each other in love, seeking the common goal of living for the Glory of Christ our king.
Prayer is a vital link to God. It is our communication with Him. It is the channel through which we bring Him our needs, cares and burdens. Through prayer we advance His interests and kingdom. Through prayer we enter into His very presence to receive grace and mercy in time of need. It is of utmost importance that we keep this line of communication open.
The New Testament warns us in many places that our prayer can be hindered through the mistreatment of others. When someone wrongs us it is up to us to forgive that individual. Jesus said " When you stand praying, forgive". When we have wronged someone it is up to us to go and be reconciled to that individual, then come and offer our gift on the altar. To approach God while holding enmity in our heart, is offensive to Him.
Husbands have the responsibility to care for their wives, and are to treat them with love and respect. To fail to do this will hinder prayer as well. We often joke about arguments we have on the way to church as if they really don't matter. We feel better about ourselves because it happens to the sunday school teacher, or the worship leader, or the pastor as well, but it really does matter! These things will hinder our walk with God until they have been dealt with. We are to lift up holy hands without anger or quarrelling.
The bible urges us to submit to one another. In other words we are to look out for each other, put others first, seeking to maintain peace for the sake of Christ and His gospel. It is in this context that Peter states "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble". It is pride that is at the core of our arguments, and resentment, unforgiveness and anger. This is what is offensive to God, and will shut out our prayers from His ear. Instead, let us live and work along side of each other in love, seeking the common goal of living for the Glory of Christ our king.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Be true to your convictions.
The example of Daniel, and his three Hebrew companions, put many to shame in this age when having firm convictions does not seem to matter very much.
They were deported from Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, to be servants in the king's palace. They were immersed in the culture and religion of Babylon. Their names were changed in an attempt to wipe out any remnant of their godly heritage, the names given them were in honor of the gods of Babylon. They were chosen to be wise men, enchanters, and trained accordingly in occult practices.
One would think that they would soon forget their God, and be conformed to the religious practices of everyone else around them. Instead they stood firm, refusing to eat food in violation of the Hebrew law, refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's statue, choosing to be thrown into the fiery furnace instead. what is so amazing about this is the fact that they were still young boys! They were around twelve to fifteen or so, when they were taken captive.
Sadly many adults in the church today have no solid convictions, or fail to hold to the ones they do. We see our youth go the way of the world instead of the way of the cross, and wonder why. Television, movies, entertainment, the choice of friends etc. are all geared up to drag them into the world. In the small town that I live in, I see so many kids from Christian homes fall prey to drugs, alcohol, sex, and the occult. To be sure, many parents have done their best to raise them in a godly home, but I also see many that "waffle" raising up their children. They seem to just let them go without any discipline, let them run with whomever, whenever, and all of a sudden they wonder what went wrong.
It is vital that we as parents do our very best to raise the children that God has given us. We have a grave responsibility to see that they grow up to serve our Lord. We need to have our walk with God right if we expect them to walk with Him as well.
The great men of faith in the bible stood firm in their convictions, and their God stood by them. Let as do so as well!
They were deported from Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, to be servants in the king's palace. They were immersed in the culture and religion of Babylon. Their names were changed in an attempt to wipe out any remnant of their godly heritage, the names given them were in honor of the gods of Babylon. They were chosen to be wise men, enchanters, and trained accordingly in occult practices.
One would think that they would soon forget their God, and be conformed to the religious practices of everyone else around them. Instead they stood firm, refusing to eat food in violation of the Hebrew law, refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's statue, choosing to be thrown into the fiery furnace instead. what is so amazing about this is the fact that they were still young boys! They were around twelve to fifteen or so, when they were taken captive.
Sadly many adults in the church today have no solid convictions, or fail to hold to the ones they do. We see our youth go the way of the world instead of the way of the cross, and wonder why. Television, movies, entertainment, the choice of friends etc. are all geared up to drag them into the world. In the small town that I live in, I see so many kids from Christian homes fall prey to drugs, alcohol, sex, and the occult. To be sure, many parents have done their best to raise them in a godly home, but I also see many that "waffle" raising up their children. They seem to just let them go without any discipline, let them run with whomever, whenever, and all of a sudden they wonder what went wrong.
It is vital that we as parents do our very best to raise the children that God has given us. We have a grave responsibility to see that they grow up to serve our Lord. We need to have our walk with God right if we expect them to walk with Him as well.
The great men of faith in the bible stood firm in their convictions, and their God stood by them. Let as do so as well!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
What does the Lord require?
He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 (RSV)
The people of Micah's day took advantage of one another, used dishonest business practices, perverted justice. The prophets and priests of his day relaxed the law of God, and yet prophesied that all was well with the nation. People worshipped idols of everykind.
As a result of this, God sent Micah to confront the people, and warn them of impending judgement. God,'s message is set forth as an indictment against His people, showing them the charges against them, and the resulting consequences that they faced. God invited the people to show, if they could, any instances in which He may have treated them unfairly, or wronged them (6:3-5).
The response of the people was the typical response of all generations of people when confronted with sin and judgement. They thought if they could offer more sacrifices,go through rituals, that they would be ok. Somehow we think that God will be pleased with external shows of religion, church attendance, prayer. reading the Bible or devotion books, taking part in religious rituals, all the while ignoring the heart of the matter. God desires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6), There can be no fellowship with Him as long as we persist in living for ourselves, not caring how we treat God or one another.
The people needed to repent. A change of heart was needed. God had shown them what was good. The Apostle Paul said that the law was holy and good (Romans 7:12). The whole of the law can be summed up as loving God with all the heart soul mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Instead, the law had been perverted. Justice had been perverted. The teachers twisted the law to suit themselves, judges turned a blind eye to it, and the prophets prophesied for good to those with money, and bad to those without. They needed to return to justice, to show mercy, to walk humbly with God. All their sacrifices, festivals, assemblies, songs and worship meant nothing to God while they lived for themselves. He desired justice, and righteousness (Amos 5:21-24).
The message is timeless. We can learn from it today as well. All the religious activities that we can do are abhorant in the eyes of God as long as our hearts are not right. We can participate in worship, pray, sing, read our bibles and call ourselves Christians, but if within our hearts we have not cast off pride and humbly submitted ourselves to Christ, we are only deceived. To walk humbly with God is a lifesyle that involves laying down our lives for the interests of His kingdom. God is a God of love, a love that includes justice and mercy, and as such, he demands that we show the same kind of love to those around us.
Jesus gave us a very simple interpretation of the law in the golden rule, to treat others as we would have them treat us. We all desire to be treated fairly, and honestly. We all desire to be loved. That is how we are called to treat others.
Micah 6:8 (RSV)
The people of Micah's day took advantage of one another, used dishonest business practices, perverted justice. The prophets and priests of his day relaxed the law of God, and yet prophesied that all was well with the nation. People worshipped idols of everykind.
As a result of this, God sent Micah to confront the people, and warn them of impending judgement. God,'s message is set forth as an indictment against His people, showing them the charges against them, and the resulting consequences that they faced. God invited the people to show, if they could, any instances in which He may have treated them unfairly, or wronged them (6:3-5).
The response of the people was the typical response of all generations of people when confronted with sin and judgement. They thought if they could offer more sacrifices,go through rituals, that they would be ok. Somehow we think that God will be pleased with external shows of religion, church attendance, prayer. reading the Bible or devotion books, taking part in religious rituals, all the while ignoring the heart of the matter. God desires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6), There can be no fellowship with Him as long as we persist in living for ourselves, not caring how we treat God or one another.
The people needed to repent. A change of heart was needed. God had shown them what was good. The Apostle Paul said that the law was holy and good (Romans 7:12). The whole of the law can be summed up as loving God with all the heart soul mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Instead, the law had been perverted. Justice had been perverted. The teachers twisted the law to suit themselves, judges turned a blind eye to it, and the prophets prophesied for good to those with money, and bad to those without. They needed to return to justice, to show mercy, to walk humbly with God. All their sacrifices, festivals, assemblies, songs and worship meant nothing to God while they lived for themselves. He desired justice, and righteousness (Amos 5:21-24).
The message is timeless. We can learn from it today as well. All the religious activities that we can do are abhorant in the eyes of God as long as our hearts are not right. We can participate in worship, pray, sing, read our bibles and call ourselves Christians, but if within our hearts we have not cast off pride and humbly submitted ourselves to Christ, we are only deceived. To walk humbly with God is a lifesyle that involves laying down our lives for the interests of His kingdom. God is a God of love, a love that includes justice and mercy, and as such, he demands that we show the same kind of love to those around us.
Jesus gave us a very simple interpretation of the law in the golden rule, to treat others as we would have them treat us. We all desire to be treated fairly, and honestly. We all desire to be loved. That is how we are called to treat others.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Old time religion.
I love to read the accounts of mighty moves of God in times past. I have read about men such as Jonathan Edwards, David Brainard, John Wesley, Charles Finney, Dwight Moody, Evan Roberts, and the list goes on. I read the accounts of the great awakenings in America, that took place in the days of Edwards, and later in the days of Finney. I read about John Wesley, and how he would preach outside, attracting crowds of thousands without advertising. It is exciting to read about the Welsh revival, and the Azuza street revival that occured around the same time in America. I mention all this because these things stir something within me. I long to see God move in a similar way today. I long to see churches filled with people who are not just there for a service, but who are there to actually encounter the living God! People prayed down the Holy Ghost. There was a deep, very real conviction of sin. People experienced true repentance, and were very soundly converted. There was a public confession of sin, and restitution was made for past wrongs. All of these things come about when God is present, and working. Many of these preachers did not prepare sermons, they followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, letting Him do the work. They emphasised repentance, submission to Christ, obedience in everything, holiness of heart and life, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of prayer. I desire to see these things happen again. I don't want to be content with how we so often do church in the same old regular way. God has so much more to offer, if only we will earnestly seek Him. We tend to allow things to grow stale without realizing it. That is the lesson of the wineskins, doing things the same way, letting tradition dictate, rather than the Spirit of God. Instead we need to abandon ourselves for His sake, letting Him have His way in everything. We are in desperate need of a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. We need His presence and power. We need life breathed back into our churches once again. Jesus must be all! Saturday, September 10, 2011
True repentance is thorough.
O Ephraim what shall I do unto thee? O Judah what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away.
-Hosea 6:4 (ASV)
Throughout their history, God's chosen people Israel, have experienced seasons of backsliding, times of judgement and conviction followed by repentance, only to plunge back into sin once again. The Prophet Hosea called the nation to return to the Lord, to come to Him for healing and reviving, so that they could live before Him once again (vs 1-3).
God desired to revive them. He desired to bless and prosper them spiritually. He did not desire to punish them. God desired that they would turn back to Him with a whole hearted repentance. He also knew their hearts, that their repentance was shallow and insincere, it was not of the kind that would last. He asks "what shall I do to you?" He desired to restore them but could not.
Far to often people make half hearted commitments to Christ. They feel some conviction, or get into trouble and come to Him with half hearted confessions, and empty promises. What God desires is a thorough repentance. A deep breaking up of the hard packed soil of the heart. A broken and contrite heart is a heart that grieves for the hurt caused to God by sin. It grieves that God has been offended. It is ashamed of its sinful actions. There is no making of excuses. A heart broken over sin will turn from sin. It will seek to avoid sin at all costs. It cannot bear the thought of grieving God any longer. This takes deep conviction by the Holy Spirit. It also involves a deep soul searching, and rooting out of sin in the heart. This is what is meant by breaking up the fallow ground (Hosea 10:12). Sinful actions have a root that must be removed. The hardened soil of the heart must be plowed up so that the word of God can be planted and allowed to bear fruit. True evangelical repentance is one that lasts. The life is changed. There is no turning back. It is true that the possibility of sin remains, but one who slips gets up quickly and continues to follow Christ whole heartedly.
Sadly many modern day evangelists admit that out of every conversion, only about two percent remain faithful. What went wrong with the rest? Most blame lack of follow up, which might account for some. I think we live in a microwave society, where everything is done quickly. We settle for hasty prayers and slipping up embarrassed hands while every head is bowed and all eyes are closed, without allowing the Holy Spirit to do a complete work deep within the hearts of lost or backslidden individuals. Decisions are made based on emotion, decisions that will never last. When the feeling is over, the old life is returned to. We live in an age when nobody wants to confront sin. We are afraid to hurt others, or appear judgemental. What good will our silence, in the name of tolerance be, on the day of judgement, as our friends and families slip into an eternal hell. It is through conviction of sin that God leads an individual to repentance. The Prophets of old confronted Israel. Nathan the Prophet confronted David. John the Baptist confronted the people of his day, Jesus confronted individuals with their sin, Peter confronted three thousand souls on the day of pentecost, and urged them to repent. If we desire to see souls saved we can do no less.
-Hosea 6:4 (ASV)
Throughout their history, God's chosen people Israel, have experienced seasons of backsliding, times of judgement and conviction followed by repentance, only to plunge back into sin once again. The Prophet Hosea called the nation to return to the Lord, to come to Him for healing and reviving, so that they could live before Him once again (vs 1-3).
God desired to revive them. He desired to bless and prosper them spiritually. He did not desire to punish them. God desired that they would turn back to Him with a whole hearted repentance. He also knew their hearts, that their repentance was shallow and insincere, it was not of the kind that would last. He asks "what shall I do to you?" He desired to restore them but could not.
Far to often people make half hearted commitments to Christ. They feel some conviction, or get into trouble and come to Him with half hearted confessions, and empty promises. What God desires is a thorough repentance. A deep breaking up of the hard packed soil of the heart. A broken and contrite heart is a heart that grieves for the hurt caused to God by sin. It grieves that God has been offended. It is ashamed of its sinful actions. There is no making of excuses. A heart broken over sin will turn from sin. It will seek to avoid sin at all costs. It cannot bear the thought of grieving God any longer. This takes deep conviction by the Holy Spirit. It also involves a deep soul searching, and rooting out of sin in the heart. This is what is meant by breaking up the fallow ground (Hosea 10:12). Sinful actions have a root that must be removed. The hardened soil of the heart must be plowed up so that the word of God can be planted and allowed to bear fruit. True evangelical repentance is one that lasts. The life is changed. There is no turning back. It is true that the possibility of sin remains, but one who slips gets up quickly and continues to follow Christ whole heartedly.
Sadly many modern day evangelists admit that out of every conversion, only about two percent remain faithful. What went wrong with the rest? Most blame lack of follow up, which might account for some. I think we live in a microwave society, where everything is done quickly. We settle for hasty prayers and slipping up embarrassed hands while every head is bowed and all eyes are closed, without allowing the Holy Spirit to do a complete work deep within the hearts of lost or backslidden individuals. Decisions are made based on emotion, decisions that will never last. When the feeling is over, the old life is returned to. We live in an age when nobody wants to confront sin. We are afraid to hurt others, or appear judgemental. What good will our silence, in the name of tolerance be, on the day of judgement, as our friends and families slip into an eternal hell. It is through conviction of sin that God leads an individual to repentance. The Prophets of old confronted Israel. Nathan the Prophet confronted David. John the Baptist confronted the people of his day, Jesus confronted individuals with their sin, Peter confronted three thousand souls on the day of pentecost, and urged them to repent. If we desire to see souls saved we can do no less.
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