Pray Network Forum

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Blessings,

Mark

I preached Sunday for the first time in over a year. I have some serious health problems and I was exhausted, really before I finished the sermon. When we got home I was thinking with a critical mind about my sermon when my wife asked me if I thought God was pleased with the service. It took me some time to bring my mind into the right perspective. To be honest I needed to sleep like Elijah in the cave before I could properly answer the question. Later in the evening, still very tired although I had slept, I remembered something I said as I began to preach. “God loves us. He has our picture on His refrigerator.” Some of you, like much of the gathered worshippers, are too young to know what I was talking about. But those of you who have grandchildren, knew immediately.

God was thrilled with the service. He loved the music. Most of the people were blessed as well. Our Lord was present in the fellowship. And He spoke through the Scriptures and preaching, despite the weakness of the preacher. He is God, and He still loves His church.

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I first met Jim Essian when he played 3rd base for the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team and I worked with the team Chaplain. I next met him years later as he was starting a church in downtown Fort Worth. Many church plants don’t make it seven years, but many are not started by guys who hustle on every play, don’t mind getting their uniform dirty, and play every game to win. In seven years, Jim’s church plant has baptized over 200 people, planted another church down the road, entered the hard fight of racial reconciliation, all this gathering in 9 different Sunday venues, 6 different office spaces, using 5 different trailers to set up and tear down over 350 times. Jim’s key to planting/pastoring a church? “Read your Bible, pray, repent, worship, and plead with the Lord to send you good people filled with the Spirit.” I know that not all church planters begin on the same playing field, and it’s not fair to measure all by one, but when Jim Essian got on base, God hit a Home Run. The Apostle Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Would you join me this week praying for those like Paul and Jim, who answered the call to “plant.”

Give praise that a new, local believer was able to share with a couple of family members in a celebration of Christ's birth, even though they are not yet aware of her decision to follow Jesus. Pray that the many who have heard the gospel story will receive and accept confirmation of its truth by revelation, signs, wonders, dreams or visions.

A young woman told her believing friend, "I need a new life." Please pray that she and many others will open their hearts to the Lord and be able to experience Him for who He truly is, and will find new life in Him.

As two men continue in study of the the Word, pray that their eyes will be open to its truth and they will desire to know more of Him. May they accept His gift of salvation and be witnesses for Him in their community.

Continue to pray for those lone believers who have no opportunity for communal worship, study, and fellowship. Pray that they will grow stronger in faith and trust in the Lord. Pray that they will find ways to safely share their faith with others and become His church where it is not yet established.

A couple of university students are on a spiritual journey together seeking to know more about Jesus. Pray that nothing will prevent them from continuing this journey and surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior.

Please pray for "Jennifer" whom we have prayed for in the past.  She is the local woman who is suffering from the effects of black magic.  The good news is that her believing friends continue to love her and share the gospel with her.  The bad news is that she has been moving away from them recently.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to work in her life, bringing her back to her friends so that the light of Christ would continue to shine in her dark life.  Pray that the Father would speak to her through the Bible which she has access to and also through dreams of Christ which she has had in the past.  Let's continue to pray for her salvation!

Also pray for a local man in the same country who is also hearing a lot of the gospel from a believer.  Both of these locals need the Holy Spirit to break through and change their hearts and minds completely.  Pray that God would do so.

How often do you pray for your children or grandchildren? I once heard Dee Duke say he was committed to pray for his daughter, and each of his children, everyday of their lives. Most of us come pretty close to this without making a commitment. How do you pray for your offspring? Are you asking God for insight on what and how to pray for them?

Many years ago now, I witnessed a clandestined baptism in a bathtub in small apartment in a city in China. Several of us crowded in to see the joyful event. As the candidate stood up, water pouring from his clothes someone said, “Stop! Does anyone have a prophetic word about our new brother at his baptism?” Although no one seemed to have a word from God concerning the new convert, I thought the question was appropriate. God certainly has great plans to work in the life of every new believer. And simply asking the question ignited a spirit of expectancy in the crowded room. Who knew what God was planning to do through the life of His new child?

Hebrews 11:23 God tells us something very interesting about one of the greatest people who ever lived.

“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”

This always strikes me as funny. Can you imagine the parents of Moses peering at their newborn child? Suddenly his mother says, “He is red and wrinkled. Throw him in the river!”

I remember waiting through the night in the nervous father's waiting room in a hospital. It was after 3:00 A.M. when a nurse stepped into the room and told me I was a father, but I could not see my wife and daughter until they had moved them back to the hospital room.

But as a pastor I knew my way around the hospital. I made my way to a place where they would have to pass on their way to the room. When the bed came rolling round the corner I had our daughter in my arms before the nurse was able to speak. And she was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

But I don't believe the scripture refers to physical or sentimental beauty here. Stephen clarifies this in his sermon in Acts 7 where he says the child was beautiful in God's sight. It seems his parents got a glimpse of what God saw in the life of Moses.

My children are all grown now with careers and families of their own. But I still pray for them. And I ask God to show me what He is seeing in their futures so I can be part of what He plans for them in my prayers.

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“Humble yourself!”
He shouted it a second time.
“Humble yourself!”

It happened just after the end of the college football playoff game between Georgia and Oklahoma. As the two teams exited the field, after Georgia defeated Oklahoma in a thrilling double-overtime victory, one of the Georgia players spotted the Oklahoma quarterback and shouted those two words at him:

“Humble yourself!”

It was unique enough that the video clip spread across the internet. You can hear lots of things after a football game, but you’ll rarely hear anyone shout, “Humble yourself!”

It remains good advice for all of us. If pride is the first sin, then humility is the first virtue. Years ago I learned the First Rule of the Spiritual Life: He’s God and we’re not. All spiritual growth starts with this truth. Until you grasp what it means, you are still in spiritual kindergarten.

James 4:6-10 fleshes out what it means to humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord. In this passage we discover six steps that unlock the path of God’s blessing for his children.

Would you like to know God better? Humble yourself!
Would you like to receive God’s approval? Humble yourself!

Would you like to break through to victory? Humble yourself!

Would you like a closer walk with God in 2018? Pay attention to this passage because it will help you jumpstart your spiritual life.

# 1: Take a Knee

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God” (vv. 6-7a).

Humility doesn’t come naturally to most of us. It’s the virtue which, if you think you have it, you probably don’t. D. L. Moody used to pray, “Lord, make me humble, but don’t let me know it.” 

No one likes being told what to do. We would rather be in charge of our own affairs, and that’s why the whole notion of surrendering our pride to the Lord sounds strange at first. But there is no other way to get better. There is no other way to be healed. There is no other way to be forgiven. There is no other way to find a new life.

We can fight the Lord, or we can surrender everything to his control.

When we fight, we lose.
When we surrender in faith, we win.

Some friends saw this sign painted on the side of a bus in Nigeria: “Man no be God.” That sums it up, doesn’t it? You aren’t God, you never were, and you never will be. Start there, and you’ll be on the right path.

Humility grows best in the rich soil of God’s grace. Don’t pray for more humility; pray for more grace. Pray that God will pour out his grace in your heart so that you will only boast in the Lord.

The proud man must constantly remind you how great he is. He brags because he wants you to praise him. But if you have to tell me how great you are, how great could you possibly be? The braggart brags because he’s trying to convince you (and himself) of how great he is. The humble man doesn’t brag because the truth speaks for itself. He leaves his reputation in the Lord’s hands because it doesn’t matter to him what others think. He wants God’s reputation to become great in the land. What happens to him doesn’t matter as long as the Lord’s cause goes forward.

Walking in humility means you confess your sins, you forgive your enemies, you admit your mistakes, and you don’t brag about how great you are. It also means you serve others with a smile, not with a frown.

“God opposes the proud.” Don’t let that happen to you!

“But gives grace to the humble.” So pray for the grace you need.

Take a knee.
You’ll be glad you did.

# 2: Fight Back

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (v. 7b).

This is both a command and a promise. If we submit to God, we may be sure that when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. We have no power in ourselves against the devil, but he has no power to use against us when we fight with God’s power. By ourselves, we can’t win; with God’s help, we can’t lose.

The word “resist” is a military term. It means you stand and fight. You don’t run away. We are to flee temptation, but we are to fight the devil. That means taking up the armor of God and standing in the evil day (Ephesians 6:10-17). 

Satan is like a football coach studying the opposing team. He has “game film” on us, he knows our weaknesses and our strengths, and he uses what he knows against us. If he can get you discouraged, he’s already won the battle. He knows when you lose your temper. Satan isn’t equal to God, but he’s a lot smarter than you or me.

Don’t be surprised when he hits you out of the blue. Fight back!
Don’t be surprised when he comes to you with a seductive temptation. Fight back!

Don’t be surprised when he whispers in your ear in a moment of weakness. Fight back!

The devil is a murderer by nature (John 8:44). He will destroy your career, your marriage, your family, and your ministry if you let him. You’ve got to stand and fight.

Fight back with the Word of God.
Fight back by singing great hymns.

Fight back by praying to Jesus.
Fight back by leaning on your brothers and sisters.

Fight back by confessing Christ openly.

Fight back by coming to the Lord’s Table.

Fight back by fleeing every temptation.

Stand and fight, child of God!

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

# 3: Draw Near

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (v. 8a).

The question is not, how near is God to us, but rather how near are we to him? Every married couple understands that proximity is one thing, but intimacy is something else. A couple may be seated on the same couch but be miles apart from each other. They may sleep together but not share the same bed spiritually. It is quite possible to be married and live entirely separate lives.

Drawing near to God starts in the heart. Take another married couple and watch them for a moment. She may be knitting or playing the piano. He may be reading a book or listening to her play the piano. Minutes may pass without a word being spoken, but they are happy together. He has drawn near to her, and she has drawn near to him.

If we come to God with that same desire to know him, he will draw near to us. You do not need to be an advanced Christian or a super-saint or a deep Bible student. The newest saint and the weakest believer may know God’s presence.

Years ago I heard the question put this way, “If God feels far away from you, who moved?” It’s never the Lord. We may know his presence and feel his pleasure if we truly want it. He will draw near to you if you draw near to him.

# 4: Clean Up

“Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (v. 8b).

We must cleanse our hands because they are dirty with sin.

We must purify our hearts because they are divided, and we are distracted.

This means we stop making excuses for bad attitudes, for casual unkindness, for clever put-downs, for dabbling in pornography, for bragging about our accomplishments, for envy of others, for bitterness, for a critical spirit, for our prayerlessness, for our need to be in control, for giving in to despair, for hating our enemies instead of loving them, and for our failure to do what we ought to do.

Here’s a useful way to apply this truth. Take some time to get alone with God. Pray this simple prayer: “Lord, show me the truth about myself.” Then write down what the Lord shows you. In my experience, you can’t do this in ten minutes, and you can’t do this when you are busy. It takes time to open your heart to the Holy Spirit. When I have done this, I have been appalled at what the Lord reveals to me about my own heart, but then I have been glad for the cleansing that comes from confession and repentance.

Hosea 10:12 offers us a wonderful promise:

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you” (NLT).

Plowing is hard work because it means digging up the rocks and pulling the weeds that keep the good fruit from growing. But if we by God’s grace do the hard thing, the Lord promises to send the rain that produces a new life with new joy and fresh fruit from heaven.

# 5: Get Serious

“Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” (v. 9).

This isn’t exactly “your best life now,” and it doesn’t sound like the “abundant life” or the “life that wins.” In fact, this verse runs counter to the “I want to be happy all the time” version of Christianity that is very popular in the West.

Be wretched—Who wants to be wretched?

Mourn—Don’t worry, be happy.

Weep—That’s a real downer.

If we laugh, we should stop it and start mourning.

If we have joy, turn it into gloom.

I’ll be the first to agree that this verse, stated this way, seems like a downer. But let’s step back and ask ourselves what James means by all this.

Is he a killjoy? No, that can’t be right.
Is he a Nattering Nabob of Negativism? Whatever that is, that’s not who he is.

Is he a frowning Puritan? That’s not fair because the Puritans were supremely happy in God.

James wants us to get serious about our relationship with God. When theologian R. C. Sproul died in December 2017, Russell Pulliam wrote an assessment of his life in the Washington Post. He located Sproul’s huge influence in the fact that he believed in the theology of John Calvin. That led to this sentence:

"Sproul believed that we are more sinful than we usually think we are."

That’s spot-on accurate, both as a statement of what Sproul believed and of the true American self-assessment. Most people, even those who don’t go to church, would agree they are sinners. That is, no one’s perfect, we all make mistakes, and so on. It’s not hard to get people to agree with that concept. But the Bible goes much further. It tells us that sin has infected every part of human life, that we are spiritually dead, spiritually blind, lost, separated from God, and without hope in the world. The Bible reveals the solemn truth that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). We have all missed the mark. The whole human race is lost, broken, dead, blind, deaf to God’s truth, in a state of perpetual rebellion, and so separated from God that we are under his wrath, and bound for eternal punishment in hell.

That’s what God says about the whole human race.

That’s God’s verdict on you and me.

If you don’t believe that, or if you think that’s too harsh, or if you can’t handle the truth, then this verse will make no sense to you.

It all depends on how messed up you think you are.

Small sinners need a small Savior.
Moderate sinners need a moderate Savior.
Bigtime sinners need a bigtime Savior.

We are all bigtime sinners!

Once we see our sin as it really is, we will be wretched and mourn and weep. We’ll stop laughing and start crying. We’ll let our joy be turned to mourning. And that opens the door to the abundant life we all seek.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

This promise comes true whenever we decide to take God seriously.

# 6: Stay Low

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (v. 10).

When my friend Don Lough became the Executive Director of Word of Life a few years ago, he asked his mentor Howard Hendricks for his advice. His reply was simple: “Lie low and exalt Christ.” That’s a good word for all of us. We can brag on ourselves, or we can exalt Christ, but we can’t do both at the same time. That sentence stands as a powerful admonition for every Christian. It is great advice because it describes two choices. You can exalt yourself, or you can exalt Christ, but you can’t do both. When we decide to lie low and exalt Christ, there is no limit to what the Lord may choose to do through us.

I began this sermon by talking about one football player who shouted at another football player, “Humble yourself!” What he said to his rival, God says to us. His message is crystal clear.

We can be blessed, but we must humble ourselves.

We can change, but we must humble ourselves.
We can experience the abundant life, but we must humble ourselves.

In the early days of 2018, many of us are thinking about how we can get a fresh start and make a new beginning. James 4:6-10 shows us the path that will jumpstart your spiritual life:

Take a Knee.

Fight Back.

Draw Near.

Clean Up.

Get Serious.

Stay Low.

In the Kingdom of God, the way up is down. If you humble yourself, the Lord will raise you up.

One final thought keeps ringing in my head. Verse 6 reminds us that God “opposes” the proud. Ponder that for a moment.

Could a Christian be an enemy of God? Yes. If that is not true, then these words of James have no application to most of us.

Could God be “opposed” to one of his own children, even though he loves them with an everlasting love? The answer is yes because God loves us so much that he will not leave us the way we are. His love leads him to “oppose” our pride, our anger, our loose tongue, our lust, our unkind spirit, and all the excuses we make for our sin.

It’s like those old Fram oil filter commercials where the mechanic says, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.” If you humble yourself now, God won’t have to do it later. A wise pastor friend told me “the first price you pay is always the cheapest.” He’s right. The price for dealing with our problems never goes down; it always goes up. That’s true personally, and it’s true for our relationships. We put off dealing with our issues because we think it will cost too much to deal with them now. But that’s a huge mistake. Sin left untouched always grows. It’s like a deadly cancer you leave untreated. Sin always spreads because it is the cancer of the soul.

We can humble ourselves in the eyes the Lord, or we can go on living the way we want until the time God decides to humble us. The choice is ours.

Every blessing awaits those who will humble themselves before the Lord.

This is the promise of God, and it is good news indeed. May God help us to take these words to heart.

O Lord, grant us grace that we might humble ourselves in your sight. Show us where pride has taken root. Shine the light of your Word on the hidden parts of the heart. Where we have sinned, have mercy. Restore us, O Lord, that we may rejoice in you once again. Amen.

This prayer from Billy Graham, written for The Saturday Evening Post in 2008, is just as relevant 10 years later.

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.

In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: “Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33).

We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially for Your protection on all those who serve in our armed forces, and we thank You for their commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives. Be with their families also, and assure them of Your love and concern for them.

Bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).

As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year.

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.

Amen.

© 2008 Saturday Evening Post Society. 

Here is my latest post: http://wp.me/p1Mbsb-yf Hope you enjoy. 

I am embarrassed to admit how spiritually insensitive I was in what I'm preparing to tell you. I did a great deal of research over several years and in fact completed the first drafts of an entire book on spiritual intelligence before I was convicted that what I had to say was not from God.

First God convicted me that my motives were not pure. I said some things in the book that were true, and possibly helpful to some. But I also secretly wanted to insinuate that I was smart too. God forgive me.

But the broader problem was the focus on intelligence itself. We have seen this, possibly to a lesser extent, in the focus on natural intelligence in education. In the early part of the last century Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman, who developed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, was obsessed with identifying children with exceptional intelligence. However, it turned out that a majority of the children Turman identified did not do well in life.

Scripture tells us that God is not as interested in bright minds as He is with tight thinking. Few things are as dangerous spiritually as loose thinking. 1 Peter 1:13 has a marvelous picture for this. King James Version translated this fairly literally calling us to gird up the loins of our minds. In the English Standard Version this verse reads,

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Here is the picture. In the ancient near East men wore flowing robes. There were a number of good things about this, but robes became a major problem if one had to run. If a man ran any distance at all he would soon be hopelessly tangled in the cloth. So if someone  knew he was going to have to run, he would gather sheets his robe up and tuck them into the belt around his waist.

Peter uses this as a vivid picture for preparing our minds for action. He links this word picture with being sober minded. Tightening the belt of your mind does not appear anywhere else in Scripture. However Peter uses being sober-minded twice more in this letter. 1 Peter 5:8 calls us to be sober-minded because our adversary the devil is stalking us. In 1 Peter 4:7 Peter says because the end of all things is near, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Peter calls us to sinch our minds up on things of Ultimate Importance. What do you think about? Is your mind fixed on earthly success, earthly comfort, earthly satisfaction? Sober minded believers set their minds on what God will ultimately do in our lives.
This requires us to tighten our minds on Ultimate Truth. I was once talked with a close friend about errors in The DaVinci Code. He liked the book, and did not think most of my objections  were important. Then I mentioned Jesus being married. He object to this. I told him there is absolutely no ancient reference to any such thing. The notion only rose from speculations in modern times. He answered that he wasn't getting into the history, he  just meant that was how he thought it should be. I suppose he assumed truth and history would adapt.

If we want meaning in this life we must direct the motivation of our minds to Ultimate Hope. I was just trying to think of a C.S. Lewis quote that said something like, If you aim at truth you will get comfort as well. If you aim at comfort, you will get neither. Some of you Lewis aficionados know I was thinking wrong. What Lewis said was, “Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim and Earth, and you will get neither.” I am not sure the related thought would not be true as well. “Aim at truth and you will get intellect thrown in. Aim at intellect and you will get neither.

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http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/