3 Facets of Answered Prayer (part 3)

The final facet of prayer revealed in Matthew 7:7-11 is ‘knocking’. The original language offers no clues to the meaning of ‘knocking’ beyond what we commonly understand it to be. It has a singular purpose that should be easy for us to understand. It isn’t therapeutic nor is it something we do just for the sake of doing it. Knocking communicates a simple message that requires a simple response.

What did Jesus mean by ‘Knock’?

When you knock on a door you are drawing attention to yourself. You don’t just walk up to a door and quietly stand there hoping that someone will notice you. You knock to bring attention to the fact that you are there and that you are expecting someone to open the door. Knocking in prayer involves doing something that draws the Lord’s attention to your request. We ‘knock’ in prayer by DOING SOMETHING to get God’s attention. There are at least four biblical ways we can get God’s attention.

1. Fasting – When we are desperate enough to go without food for a period of time it draws God’s attention to our situation. We have to be pretty serious about something in order to do such a thing. Queen Esther called on all the Jews to neither eat nor drink anything for three days. At the end of their fast she would risk her life to seek the King’s protection. The nation was at stake so they knocked on Heaven’s door by fasting and God delivered them from death!
2. Intense Prayer – There’s praying and then there’s ‘intense praying’ the latter being a form of getting God’s attention. Upon leaving the city of Jericho Jesus was stopped by the intense cries of two blind men. These men were desperate for Jesus to heal them and they didn’t care who knew it. They lifted their voices and refused to be silenced though many tried to hush them. They were determined to gain Jesus’ attention and they did. They banged loudly on the door with intense prayer and God opened their eyes!
3. Sacrificial Giving – Tithing is our baseline financial commitment to God. Everything above the tithe is an offering and in the area of offerings we can sacrificially give to get God’s attention. Cornelius was a devout Gentile who sought God with prayer, fasting, and ‘many’ alms or charitable gifts given to the people of God. An angel was sent to him with this message, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” God noticed Cornelius’ sacrificial giving and arranged for him to make contact with Peter who brought the gospel to his household. He knocked on God’s door and the Kingdom of Heaven was opened to him!
4. Radical Faith – Sometimes we need to go out on a limb to get God’s attention. We need to do something radical to show our faith in Him. Jesus ministry offers some examples of radical faith being rewarded. A young paralytic had his friends break through a roof and lower him down just so he could gain Jesus’ attention. His radical faith was rewarded and he walked out of the house a new man! A woman with a twelve-year blood hemorrhage risked being stoned to death by moving through a crowd to touch the hem of His garment. Her radical faith resulted in an instant healing! When people knocked through radical faith Jesus always answered.

All three facets of prayer are in the present active imperative tense in Greek, which means that we are to keep on doing them until God answers.  As we keep knocking on God’s door through fasting, intense prayer, sacrificial giving, and radical faith He will open to us. So let’s ask, seek, and knock because as Jesus promised, “everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:8

3 Facets of Answered Prayer (part 2)

The second facet of prayer taught by Jesus in Matthew 7:7-11 is ‘Seeking’. I think it is important to understand that each of these facets are not stand alone activities but are in fact integral parts of the whole process of prayer. Jesus is giving us a ‘prayer progression’, which moves us forward to obtain the results we need. As crucial as the asking is, it is insufficient without seeking.

What does Jesus mean by ‘SEEK’?

1. SEE IT – The root of the word seek is ‘see’. Seeking something involves seeing it. When you seek out your car keys you know what they look like, you see them in your mind before you see them with your eye. If on the other hand you can’t visualize what you’re looking for you probably won’t recognize it when you see it. To seek requires vision and imagination. You have to imagine what you’re looking for before you set out to find it. By faith we envision God answering our prayer in a specific way. We know what we are seeking because we already see it in our hearts.
2. SEARCH FOR IT – In the words of Vance Havner, “The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.” Once we get a clear vision we must set out to find its realization. We must be engaged in the search for God’s answer. Prayer isn’t a cop out and a faith filled prayer will do more than just ask, it will actively search for the answer. The Greek word translated ‘seek’ is also used for God’s seeking of lost humanity through the coming of Jesus Christ. He demonstrated that seeking requires both the vision and the venture in order to obtain the desired results.
3. STICK WITH IT – Robert Cushman was one of the twenty Pilgrims who decide to abandon the Mayflower expedition before it was even fully under way. He concluded that their early difficulties were a sign that God was not with them. He said, “Friend, if ever we make a plantation, God works a miracle”. God did work a miracle and used the Pilgrims to shape the destiny of a nation but only because they stuck with the vision through difficulty and hardship. All three actions, asking, seeking, & knocking are in the present active imperative tense in Greek. Jesus is saying that if you keep on seeking, i.e. ‘stick with it’ no matter what, you will find.

This second facet of prayer involves a strong vision and an even stronger commitment to see the vision come to pass. If you can see in your imagination God moving in a specific way, actively search for the fulfillment of that vision, and with dogged determination stick with it as long as it takes you will find what you seek.

3 Facets of Answered Prayer (part 1)

The first facet of prayer that Jesus teaches us in Matthew 7:7-11 is that of ‘Asking’. In fact the word ‘pray’ literally means ‘to ask’. The word ‘ask’ can be used as an acrostic to embody all three facets of prayer. A.S.K. can remind us that we must engage in Asking, Seeking, and Knocking in order to obtain what we desire from the Lord.

*Matthew uses the present active imperative tense in Greek revealing that they are all to be done over and over again. We must A.S.K. until God answers.

What does Jesus mean by ‘Ask’?

The Greek word ‘ask’ is defined by at least three words. The words; request; crave; and demand, explain the biblical idea of asking. These words help to clarify what Jesus meant when He told us to ask.

1. Request – If you want God to do something in your life you have to make a request. Thinking He will just automatically do what needs to be done is wrong. James 4:2 makes it clear that sometimes we don’t get what we need from God simply because we fail to offer our requests. The prayers God is guaranteed never to answer are the ones we fail to pray. The more we make our requests known to God The more He will do on our behalf.
2. Crave – a craving is more than just a whim or a wish, it’s a ‘strong desire’. A craving nags and pushes us to get satisfaction. If we don’t really crave what we’re asking for, if we aren’t moved by strong desire, then we can hardly expect God to move Heaven and Earth for us. Additionally He will only satisfy cravings that are godly. James 4:3 teaches that ungodly cravings render our prayers useless. If we entertain godly cravings and pray from a strong desire to see them satisfied, God will answer.
3. Demand – Demanding is not to saying that we have some sort of power over God and are forcing Him to comply with our wishes. If we had power over Him then He would not be God, the ‘Almighty One’, we would be. The opposite is in fact true; we desperately need Him to help us in our lives. Through prayer we demand or require God’s help because only He can meet our needs. Our prayers should reveal our desperation for Him. As we bring the necessities of our lives before Him, recognizing our utter dependence upon Him, He will intervene.

Jesus tells us that ‘EVERYONE’ who asks ‘RECEIVES’. If we actually make our requests known; if they are strong godly cravings that we desire; if we cry out to God in utter desperation and total dependence upon Him, then we will certainly receive. God answers this kind of continual asking.

Greatest Miracle of Christmas

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. John 1:18

 The miracle of Christmas goes beyond the virgin birth, the star of Bethlehem, and even the incarnation. It is the miracle of God’s revelation of Himself to His creation that makes Christmas so wonderful. The only begotten had come to show us the Father!

Moses saw the glory of God pass him in the rock. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up in the temple. Why does John say that, “No one has seen God”? Perhaps it is that there is more to seeing than meets the eye.

The Greek word translated ‘seen’ here is horao and in a literal sense means to see or stare at. Figuratively it also carries the idea of ‘perception’ or ‘understanding’. We speak of how we ‘once were blind but, now we see’ meaning that we now understand what we formally did not. No one has, nor could, ever come to a true understanding of the nature of God apart from His revelation in the person of Jesus Christ. Even the Old Testament prophets were limited in their understanding of Who God is.

Jesus’ Identity

Jesus is called the ‘only begotten God’, in Greek the ‘monogenēs’. A good way to understand what this word monogenēs means is to break it down as follows; mono = sole or the only one of its kind / genes = relates to offspring or birth, we should think of genes passed from parent to child. Therefore the word monogenēs can be understood to mean that Jesus is absolutely the only one having God’s genes.

Jesus is the unique, one and only, Son of God Who has proceeded from the Father. We are not now, nor will we ever be sons of God in the same sense. We are adopted but He is God by nature. He is eternal, we have a beginning. He is all powerful, we are limited. He is all-knowing, we will always be learning. He is the self existent Creator; we are His creation dependant upon Him for everything. The lie that we would become gods and goddesses began with the serpent in Genesis and is still being perpetrated by his ministers today. Jesus is the one and only begotten God.

Jesus’ Proximity

Jesus is said to be ‘in the bosom of the Father’. This is as close to the Father as you can get without actually being the Father. Unlike us, Jesus was with the Father, and was God, before He became a man. We all had our beginning, not in Heaven, but at conception. We didn’t come from God but Jesus did.

Jesus is not the Father but as God the Son, second person of the eternal Trinity, He is close to His side. This shows their intimacy and their individuality or separate personalities. This is restating the assertion John made in verse 1 that “the Word was with God” and that “the Word was God”.

It is based upon this close relationship of the Son to the Father that Jesus is able to do what no one else could ever do. He is able to reveal to us what God is really like. Jesus shows us the Father as we look upon Him. The word ‘explained’ in verse 18 is the Greek word ‘exēgeomai’ from which we get our word exegete. It means that Jesus has fully revealed the nature of God in detail. When we’ve seen Jesus, we’ve seen the Father’s essence and character.

The greatest miracle of Christmas is that God has done what no one else could do. No intellectual genius, spiritual guru or wise sage could do it. Only Jesus, the Father’s only begotten Son, has come to show us Who God really is. Immanuel!

How to Identify False Gospels

In I Corinthians 15:1-8 we see five fundamental parts of the true Gospel which can save our souls. By examining the true we will learn how to identify and avoid the false.

1. “Christ” –There is no gospel without Jesus Christ, but He must be the biblical Jesus or else the gospel is false. The Jesus of the Bible is God the Son, second person of the Trinity, the one and only eternal Creator. The biblical Jesus is fully God and always has been. He took the form of a man two thousand years ago through the virgin birth and becoming fully man lived a sinless life. Any gospel containing a non-biblical Jesus such as is found in Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and New Age teachings is a false gospel which cannot save.

2. “died for our sins” –If the gospel doesn’t deal with the issue of sin and it’s consequences then it’s false. It was our sinfulness that sent Jesus to the cross. His grueling tortures death is the result of our self-willed rebellion against God. If we weren’t sinners on our way to eternal judgment then Jesus death was unnecessary. A gospel that ignores, or denies, our deserved condemnation before a Holy God and Christ’s atoning death on our behalf is false.

3.  “according to the Scriptures” –Any gospel rejecting the authority of the Bible is false. God has spoken to us through this one book. It is His holy word, His Scripture. Through it He informed us of Jesus’ coming and work centuries before He appeared. The Gospel is authenticated by God’s word and if His word is rejected, replaced, added to, or taken away from then the gospel is false.

4. “He was buried” –A gospel which denies the literal physical death and subsequent burial of Jesus is false. Burial involved extensive preparation of the body and the fact that he was buried indicates that Jesus was actually dead. He didn’t just pass out or ‘swoon’ on the cross later to be revived. Nor was His death spiritual or symbolic. Any gospel which doesn’t place Jesus dead in the tomb makes the resurrection a hoax and is false.

5. “He was raised on the third day” –If a gospel leaves Jesus in the tomb it is false. Jesus rose from the dead! His lifeless corpse was reanimated and the stone was rolled away to reveal an empty tomb. Bearing the scars of the cross He appeared to hundreds of eye witnesses and showed Himself to be alive and well. His resurrection is the most documented event in human history and it is the cornerstone of our faith. A gospel not proclaiming Jesus victory over death is false.

The true Gospel centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. Anything other than this message has no power to save and can only offer false hope. Don’t settle for anything other than the real deal!

10/40 Window Update

We just completed our annual twenty one day fast. This year’s focus included the 10/40 window missions initiative. We have been seeking God for specific connections within the window and He has answered!

In December I sent a message requesting assistance to pastor Jimmy Siebart of the Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas. In response he forwarded my message to a church planter ‘on the steppes’ in Mongolia. I received his contact on the final day of our fast and was overjoyed to hear of his work among unreached people groups all throughout the 10/40 window.

Additionally I sought contact with another 10/40 ministry which I had happened upon earlier in the week. This one is right here in Chattanooga! To my amazement, they responded to my inquiry on the same day as the Mongolian! In fact, I got up for prayer Saturday morning without knowing of any progress on this front, then to my surprise discovered their e-mails simultaneously. God is so awesome!

Melanie and I had dinner with these precious people tonight and as they shared their stories we knew we had been lead together by Divine appointment. Only God knows the connections for His Kingdom that are yet to emerge from this meeting. We look forward with great anticipation to an expansion of His reign through our humble efforts. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Fight The Good Fight

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:11-12

We are at war with the demonic forces of this world. They are not as obscure and unimpressive as many would choose to believe, but are in fact more prevalent than we may realize. Their influence provides us with a constant struggle in life and they are relentless in their assault on our hearts and minds.

The devil has ‘schemes‘ he employs in this warfare. The Greek word ‘scheme’ is methodeia from which we get our word ‘method’. It can be defined as cunning arts of deception. Satan is a master at the art of deception and the methods he employs are varied and effective.

For centuries he has used the artistic expressions of worldly people to capture the imaginations of countless millions. Overt forms of blatant rebellion and blasphemy against God have been effective to draw many away, but his most successful arts are more subtle. The real power of deception lies in the cunningness of his craft.

There will often be elements of good. A pinch of morality, references to God, or even quotes of scripture. These he will throw in to appease our religious inclinations towards the truth and lull us into a false sense of security. The seed sown however will grow deep roots eventually revealing rebellion against God’s truth.

Below is a link to a great website that has taken a look at some of today’s most popular media money makers. From bands to movies it will expose a small sampling of satan’s cunning arts of deception. As you check it out, I hope you will realize that it is only a fraction of his work. It is not merely to alert you to the specific examples, but to help you realize that the world forces of this darkness are at work in ALL secular media and that they are using the arts to capture souls for destruction.

FOLLOW LINK

http://theater.goodfight.org/

Three Tips For Succesful Fasting

As I write this post, believers all over the world are beginning the New Year by participating in corporate fasts with their local congregations. Fasting is a powerful Christian discipline that the church seems to be rediscovering these days. It has become rather more acceptable and less unconventional than even just a few years ago. I have personally had many wonderful experiences with fasting over the last two and half decades and I would like to share three tips that can help you succeed on your fast.

#1 Know What You’re Fasting

People often ask me what they should fast. We talk about the different kinds of fasts such as Daniel, Total etc., yet there is much room for personalization. The concern many have is that they will inadvertently compromise their fast and subsequently waist the whole effort.

I think it is important to remember that fasting is about getting desperate with God. Only you know what that means in your particular situation, but I promise you that you will only get out of it what you put into it. If you are looking for loopholes to see how much you can have then you are already missing the mark.

I recommend that you determine what you are going to fast prior to beginning. You don’t want to try to figure it out as you go along because you will inevitably be drawn to choose the path of least resistance. The flesh will be kicking and screaming for it’s own way and you will only be able to command it when you already know what you need to do.

#2 Know How Long You’re Fasting

When talking with people about fasting, one thing I tend to inquire about is the length of time they intend to fast. More often than not they have no definite stopping point. When this occurs they generally are waiting to feel released from the fast.

The problem with doing it this way, as with knowing what you will fast, is that the flesh will be begging to stop from day one. There is an internal battle for control of your life and if you don’t know how to measure victory then you may easily be discouraged.

Remember that fasting is a short term exercise that yields long term results. Every runner knows what the finish line looks like, they recognize how far they have come and how much farther they have to go in order to win the race. You need to know where the finish line is on your fast so while your flesh is screaming, ‘We can stop now!’ you will know that you haven’t broken the tape yet.

#3 Know Why You’re Fasting

Fasting and prayer go hand in hand and just like prayer, fasting should be done for a specific reason. I encourage people to know what they are fasting for so they will be able to see how effective their efforts have been.

Keep in mind that fasting is about desperation and if you are desperate for God to do something in your life then you need to know what it is that you are desperate for him to do. If you aren’t aware of the ‘why’ then you will be unaware of the answer when it comes.

There are many good reasons to fast. You may be seeking God for career direction, marital help, a wayward child, a lost neighbor, a physical healing, etc., but if you don’t pinpoint your focus you may find yourself loosing steam as the fast gets tougher. God always seems to move in unexpected ways when we fast, but I’ve learned that it helps me stay on track when I focus my heart on a specific target.

You will not regret any effort or any sacrifice you make to seek God. As you recognize your desperate need for divine intervention, fasting can become an invaluable discipline that can help you draw even closer to Him. Determining what you will fast, how long you will fast, and what you are specifically fasting for will help you succeed in your quest for more.

4 Reasons For Using A Bible Reading Schedule

Someone who is reading the Bible on our 2010 church schedule said “I want to keep reading beyond the passage you are telling us to stop at. Why are you instructing us to stop at certain passages everyday, and is it okay to keep reading?”. This is a good question and really has to do with the whole idea of using a Bible reading schedule. In response to this question I would like to share what I think are four practical reasons for using a Bible reading schedule with your church.

First of all let me just say that God’s Word is open to us at all times and no one should ever feel hesitant about picking it up and reading it as you want to. The Bible is His Word, any schedule I or anyone else produces is only a tool to help you get and stay in it. Reading His word according to a daily schedule however, can certainly have some powerful benefits.

1. It can keep you from getting overwhelmed. The New American Standard Bible that I read and preach from has 1,969 pages! In those pages there are 2 testaments, 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,095 verses, and in the Authorized 1611 version, 772,333 words! The question of ‘Where do I begin?’ is not uncommon among people who are interested, but have little or no guidance. A schedule can give you a good starting point while providing a manageable solution for Bible reading.

2. It can provide you with a balanced perspective. The Word of God is to be viewed as a whole not simply a part. It is tempting to take one part of the Word and hold it as the whole thing when in fact it is ALL God’s Word and one part explains and expounds upon the others. Twisting or misinterpreting the scriptures is possible when we fail to get a good overview of them. A schedule helps you move from one place to another covering the whole of the book, not just your favorite places.

3. It can help you develop a reading discipline. Most people float through life guided by their emotions and will only read the Bible if they ‘feel’ like it. This is unacceptable when you consider the fact that Jesus has called us to be His disciples and the root and essence of discipleship is ‘discipline.’ It isn’t about doing what we feel like doing, but doing what what He wants us to do. A reading schedule encourages you to make the consumption of God’s Word a daily discipline.

4. It can confirm His Word for your life and situation. When we read the Bible consistently it will speak both to our individual and corporate situations. There is nothing like opening the Bible on any given day and reading a rhema word from God that fits your situation perfectly. Additionally, when we are reading ‘on the same page’ so to speak with our church, or other believers, and read a specific word that is so obviously speaking to the timing and events in our corporate life, it is truly amazing!

A Bible reading schedule is a great tool to keep you from getting overwhelmed, provide you with a balanced overview, help you develop discipline in God’s word, and facilitate a confirmation of what God may be saying to you and other believers who are reading along with you.