A Four Fold Salvation — Part 10

A Four Fold Salvation 

Without the Holy Spirit revealing God’s word to us, we will always look at things in the Bible from one side only. But once, we have light, even though it is a paradox, but things make sense so much that we do not need to ask God to explain further.  In our training for this life we ought to look at the spiritual life like a coin with two sides. Failing to look at God’s word in the light of the Spirit, we will always have a group of Christian who feels there is nothing to be done the Spirit will take care of things. So they remain in the Church in a baby stage even after decades. But because they read the Bible and they have intellect, they have no idea they are in a baby stage when it comes to the spiritual life. In the same way, if we go on doing too much on our own, we are back to being once again babies with no light of the Spirit.

There is a balance and we find it solely in the Spirit, by living life in oneness with Him with an attitude adjustment. I vividly remember when I read Andrew’s book about Christ’s obedience two things were made clear to me. First God is not asking for me to leave my throne in Heaven and be insulted and beaten up by man on earth, nor was He asking me to die an excruciating pain on the cross. (Actually the work He does in your soul is almost as painful. But I did not know that then) Secondly, I kept thinking, if Christ is subjected to this obedient life to the Father, how can I say I am Christian and try to escape it? I knew right then and there if I try to escape Christ’s attitude and obedience, it would mean that in my actions I put myself above the Master.  This attitude of the mind, I found out that it was more important to acquire it, than trying hard on my own not to sin.

When you have the right attitude, oneness and obedience are your constant daily doses,  Christianity looks more like you are going down the hill, even though life is hard. But with the wrong attitude, meaning avoiding total obedience and not wanting to surrender, Christianity is so hard. Especially when you are reading about other people’s spiritual life and all the graces that God pours out on them, you kind of wonder what happen to you. Doing things on our own make Christianity as hard as if you were pushing a car by yourself, up an endless hill. While these things I am talking about do not save you, but they allow the Holy Spirit to move freely in your life, take the unnecessary yoke off your shoulders and carry some with you.  And here comes the paradox, the willingness to submit and let him move freely to carry you through, comes also from Him, simply because Salvation has entered your heart and soul.

What Pink talked about in this post, in regard to knowing the contrast of light and sin in our mortal bodies, it is a painful stage that we have to go through. It is real, not just words that Paul said to fill up pages. When this happened to me it was not because I was sinning, but it was so painful within me, the depravity within vs the light. There is a fight between the light and darkness within, at the same time it feels like the light is pushing forward to take hold of every inch in your mortal body and does not care that the darkness is resisting. I remember while in my pain saying “the Holy Spirit is bullying the darkness, because both of them are real and alive within and both want to reign. It was kind of like a hostile takeover on the part of Christ. Sometimes I laugh at the way I live out things with God, but I have a very simple mind. What can I say? The point I am making here is that we need to take heed to what Pink is saying. It is not something reserved for the few, rather one of seasons we have to go through before He finally declares us holy.

Please do yourself a favour and download this little book from my site THE 

SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE BY ANDREW MURRAY.  I do not 

want your name or email address, you simply go on the site, Apprehended

scroll to the middle of the page and click “download.” 

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Above, we have dealt only with the human side of the problem as to how to obtain deliverance from the dominion of sin. Necessarily there is a Divine side, too. It is only by God's grace that we are enabled to use the means which He has provided for us, as it is only by the power of His Spirit who dwells within us, that we can "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us, and run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1). These two aspects (the Divine and human) are brought together in a number of Scriptures. We are bid to, "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," but the Apostle immediately added, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12, 13). Thus, we are to work out that which God has wrought within us—in other words, if we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16).

It has now been shown that salvation from the power of sin is a process which goes on throughout the believer's life. It is to this Solomon referred when he said, "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18).

As our salvation from the pleasure of sin is the consequence of our regeneration, and as salvation from the penalty of sin respects our justification, so salvation from the power of sin has to do with the practical side of our sanctification. The word "sanctification" signifies "separation" —separation from sin. We need hardly say that the word "holiness" is strictly synonymous with "sanctification," being an alternative rendering of the same Greek word.

As the practical side of sanctification has to do with our separation from sin, we are told, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). That practical sanctification or holiness is a process, a progressive experience, is clear from this, "Follow . . . holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). The fact that we are exhorted to "follow" holiness clearly intimates that we have not yet attained unto the Divine standard which God requires of us. This is further seen in the passage just quoted above, "perfecting holiness" or completing it.

We must now enter into a little fuller detail upon the Divine side of our salvation from the power and pollution of sin. When a sinner truly receives Christ as his Lord and Savior, God does not then and there take him to Heaven—on the contrary, he is likely to be left down here for many years and this world is a place of danger, for it lies in the Wicked one (1 John 5:19) and all pertaining to it is opposed to the Father (1 John 2:16).

Therefore the believer needs daily salvation from this hostile system. Accordingly we read that Christ, "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Gal. 1:4). Not only is the sinner not taken to Heaven when he first savingly believes—but, as we have seen, the evil nature is not taken out of him—nevertheless God does not leave him completely under its dominion—but graciously delivers him from its regal power. He uses a great variety of means in accomplishing this.

First, by granting us a clearer view of our inward depravity, so that we are made to abhor ourselves. By nature we are thoroughly in love with ourselves—but as the Divine work of grace is carried forward in our souls we come to loathe ourselves; and that, my reader, is a very distressing experience—one which is conveniently shelved by most of our modern preachers. The concept which many young Christians form from preachers, is that the experience of a genuine believer is a smooth, peaceful, and joyous one; but he soon discovers that this is not verified in his personal experience—but rather is it completely false. And this staggers him—supposing the preacher to know more about such matters than himself, he is now filled with disturbing doubts about his very salvation, and the Devil promptly tells him he is only a hypocrite, and never was saved at all.

Only those who have actually passed through, or are passing through this painful experience, have any real conception thereof. There is as much difference between an actual acquaintance with it and the mere reading a description of the same—as there is between personally visiting a country and simply studying a map of it.

But how are we to account for one who has been saved from the pleasure and penalty of sin, now being made increasingly conscious not only of its polluting presence but of its tyrannizing power? How can we explain the fact that the Christian now finds himself growing worse and worse, and the more closely he endeavors to walk with God, the more he finds the flesh bringing forth its horrible works in ways it had not done previously? The answer is because of increased light from God, by which he now discovers filth of which he was previously unaware—the sun shining into a neglected room does not create the dust and cobwebs—but simply reveals them.

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 9

A Four Fold Salvation 

I tried to resist not tagging any information on my own in this post. Oh! Well, I failed big time.

As I was reading the post, I realized if you pay close attention to what Pink is saying and if you put it all together you’ll find there are so many steps in between that we are to bring them together to become a whole Christian like A. W.Tozer said.  Amongst those steps, we can see prayer is a major part of it. But this is not the reason why I could not resist adding those comments. The real reason is that when we read Romans 7 a lot of us Christians get stuck there, we reason, if Paul was having a hard time to get the flesh under control we are fine. But it is a lie. This has caused somewhat a division in the Church since the 1950’s or so, because some pastors believe that believers have two natures and some like pastor Charles Stanley believes, believers has one nature.

God showed me how important it was to remain in the Spirit so that I do not feed the flesh. As He revealed this portion of Scriptures to me, it was simply phenomenal. While in words there seems to be a difference in their disagreements over having one or two natures, but in what we are experiencing in our bodies and the way we are called to live out the Christian life, both groups are right. I do not want to go on more about this because it would take a post by itself to explain why? But know this, while it is true we have two natures, God expects us to constantly walk in the Spirit which means we walk in the nature He provided for us in the new birth. Walking in the spirit is not something you conjure up by magic. It is not “feelings” and it is not imaginary. It is about taking this Christian life in the same way Christ lived it out on earth. Which mean we have to first acquire His attitude.

We also need total obedience to God and a life given to prayers. You cannot separate them.  And if we do not walk in the Spirit to remain in constant union with Him, well the life of obedience is shaky as well as  our prayers will be shaky too. This does not mean you are not going to make mistakes and disobey sometimes, but your attitude is right vis a vis God. When I first started walking seriously with God, He made it clear to me that I needed to cultivate the same attitude of obedience that Jesus had with His Father. I found what I needed in Andrew Murray book, THE SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE BY ANDREW MURRAY. When I was reading it, I knew that the Holy Spirit was with me every step of the way and the book was like food to my soul. I was convicted, I was changed, I was motivated, I was equipped, and I acquired a new attitude to move forward with Him.  

The reason a lot of us are stuck and content to be the type of Christians in Romans chapter 7, is because we are not truly practicing these steps that Pink mentioned in this paragraph (But not only must the new nature be fed….) If we have been practicing them for years and we know that the flesh has not been subdued, then that means, we are doing things with the Pharisee’s mindset, this is why it is not working. Remember, the Pharisees spent hours in God’s word on a daily basis, but their mindset was wrong.  – Christ’s attitude was “how can I glorify God” --- The Pharisee’s attitude was “self concerned, self-preservation and avoiding disgrace” these are two worlds apart. This is why they missed out on God.

As we feed the new nature according to God’s standards, not the Pharisee’s standards, we set out to obey with motivation solely to please the Father, and we are given to prayer, we find out all those steps fall into place in our lives. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is carrying it all for us. Not only that, we find that what seemed to be a lot to do, is really a piece of cake because we jump from the life in chapter 7 of Romans to the life in chapter 8. Paul did not remain the man in chapter 7 and he found freedom by becoming the man in chapter 8. He lived in Christ. And as we keep walking with Him, He tells us when we have something we are not relinquishing properly.

I am going to stop myself here. But, please do yourself a favour and download this little book from my site. I do not want your name or email address, you simply go on the site, http://apprehended.ca/ scroll to the middle of the page and click “download.” Read it with the right attitude in your heart. I am saying that because I know people who read this book and felt there was nothing there.

Even though we have the Holy Spirit today, a lot of us are still in this state with God for whatever reason see Luke 24: 16. In comparison read Luke 24: 45. What happened to the apostles in verse 45 should be happening to all of us, all the time as we read the word of God. This is also one of the ways we end up with so much light and knowledge of spiritual things to the point where we do not need to ask nothing anymore. 

Arthur Pink, 1938 

The believer still has the carnal nature within him, and he has no strength in himself to check its evil propensities, nor to overcome its sinful solicitations. But the believer in Christ also has another nature within him, which is received at the new birth, "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The believer, then, has two natures within him—one which is sinful, the other spiritual. These two natures being totally different in character, are antagonistic to each other. To this antagonism, or conflict, the Apostle referred when he said, "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh." 

Now which of these two natures is to regulate the believer's life? It is manifest that both cannot, for they are contrary to each other. It is equally evident that the stronger of the two will exert the more controlling power. It is also clear that in the young Christian, the carnal nature is the stronger, because he was born with it, and hence it has many years head start over the spiritual nature—which he did not receive until he was born again.

Further, it is unnecessary to argue at length, that the only way by which we can strengthen and develop the new nature, is by feeding it. In every realm, growth is dependent upon food, suitable food, daily food. The nourishment which God has provided for our spiritual nature is found in His own Word, for "Man shall not live by bread alone—but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). It is to this that Peter has reference when he says, "As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word—that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). In proportion as we feed upon the heavenly Manna, such will be our spiritual growth.

Of course, there are other things beside food needful to growth—we must breathe, and live in a pure atmosphere. This, translated into spiritual terms, signifies prayer. It is when we approach the Throne of Grace and meet our Lord face to face—that our spiritual lungs are filled with the breath of Heaven.

Exercise is another essential to growth, and this finds its accomplishment in walking with the Lord. If, then, we heed these primary laws of spiritual health—the new nature will flourish.

But not only must the new nature be fed. It is equally necessary for our spiritual well-being, that the old nature should be starved. This is what the Apostle had in mind when he said, "Make no provision for the flesh—to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14). To starve the old nature—to make not provision for the flesh—means that we abstain from everything that would stimulate our carnality—that we avoid, as we would a plague—all that is calculated to prove injurious to our spiritual welfare. 

Not only must we deny ourselves the "pleasures of sin," shun such things as the saloon, theater, dance, card table, etc.—but we must separate ourselves from worldly companions, cease to read worldly literature, abstain from everything upon which we cannot ask God's blessing. Our affections are to be set upon things above—and not upon things on the earth (Col. 3:2). Does this seem a high standard and sound impractical? Holiness in all things is that at which we are to aim—and failure so to do explains the leanness of so many Christians. Let the young believer realize that whatever does not help his spiritual life—hinders it.

Here then, in brief, is the answer to our question, what is the young Christian to do in order for deliverance from indwelling sin? It is true that we are still in this world—but we are not "of" it (John 17:14). It is true that we are forced to associate with godless people—but this is ordained of God in order that we may "let our light so shine before men—that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in Heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

There is a wide difference between associating with sinners as we go about our daily tasks, and making them our intimate companions and friends. 

Only as we feed upon the Word—can we "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Only as we starve the old nature—can we expect deliverance from its power and pollution.

Then let us earnestly heed that exhortation, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24).

I went from someone who knows nothing about prayer, embarrass to open my mouth in front of people to a life of total commitment to prayer where when I am addressing my father, I do not care if my English is right, I do not care about my grammar, and basically do not care at all about who is standing next to me. Your rank, status, style, education or what have you do not matter to me because when I am praying, even if the room if full with people, it is personal and it is about me and my dad. This is not something you develop overnight. Through practice it took me almost a decade. It is a life where God takes us gradually by the hand and teach us in the way we should go. Psalm 109:4 says “….But I am a man of prayer." Some versions say: “…but I give myself unto prayer” -- or “…But I continue to pray.” The Psalmist did not mean by that he prayed when he had a problem or when they attacked him.  It is a life totally committed and given up to Him

While God expects all of us to be given up to prayer exactly like Jesus Christ did when He walked the earth, but it is not a life for everyone. This does not mean you are off the hook because it is not for everyone. It does not mean that you are not going to have to answer to God for not having cultivated this life. It does not mean you will be off the hook for all the people that could have been blessed through your prayers. You will not be off the hook for having trodden the sacrifice He made on the Cross to bring us the freedom to approach Him at any time. While this life is not for everyone, but it is certainly for those who love Him with reverence, fear and gratefulness in their heart, so, in this sense, yes you will have to answer for your lack of love and fear. The prerequisite for this life of prayer is: love and gratitude in the soul.

The frequency we turn our eyes and heart to Him is very important. You might say well, I do not have the time. Well, I say to you, if you have time to surf the internet for your own entertainment you made a choice between God, eternal things and wasting fifteen minutes of your life that you will never get back. I am not being harsh, but it is about prioritizing. While you are walking toward the washroom, pay attention to what occupy your mind. While you are washing dishes, cooking etc., the time you spent thinking about the cares of this world could have been given to God.

I know I like mentioning the washrooms and there is a reason behind it. I was working for a Bank where I used to give them at least twelve hours per day, plus about three hours travel time to and from fighting the traffic. Plus most of the time I had to go in on Saturday just so I could catch up. I was constantly tired. One day, I knew I had to make a decision to learn to cultivate a prayer life at least something that seemingly resemble to Christ’s.  Until then my prayer time was like a duty. My problem was the fact that there was not enough time in the day for me to pray. I also felt I needed every waking moment at work to keep in mind what needed to be done. I started my prayer life by accepting the fact that my job needed all my attention, yes, but the time that I was taking to walk toward the washroom was mine. So at least three times a day, I would go to the washrooms just to turn my mind to Jesus. All of it was done in my heart. It was hard at first but before I know it I started going to the washrooms just to be with Him. As time went by, I learned to take away from my sleeping time and shared it with Him. That too was extremely hard but God knows when we make sacrifices just to be with Him, and He does uphold and blesses us. The point is, you need to do whatever it takes to acquire this prayer life.

Suffice to say this verse that Oswald Chambers expounded in today’s devotional, is a deep verse. It is one of those verses where it will take God years to develop it in your life. Even after He develops it in your life, there will still be a bigger part of it that He can only show you on the last day. But, for Him to develop it in your life, it requires a life of abandonment at His feet. It is a life that takes your all, yet you do not have to worry about how to get there, but just start where you are and with the little time you have to offer. While you might be constrained by time and it is understandable to some extend, but do not be stingy in your attitude toward Him. Do not be stingy in your yieldedness either. God really makes provision for us to reach the point where we need nothing else because we have such great spiritual light and knowledge of Him. This does not mean that we know everything, but it will certainly mean that we know everything we need to know to rest secure in His bosom in this life. It is not a fake rest where we muster in our own strength, but one that comes directly from the oneness we share with Him.

When His Salvation touches your soul, you can never go back to the meagre and useless life you knew before. When you truly know Him, it is actually depressive to live your ordinary life on this earth, yet you are propelled forward because you know too much to settle for what you can see today. In a way, there is no rest for you until you see Him again. Make no mistake, the more you experience God, the more difficult it is to live out this life on earth, because you have tasted the sweet nectar of the heavenly life. Life down here is depressive because there is nothing that could ever satisfy what your soul is longing for which is living an uninterrupted, passionate, majestic and all around a wonder of heaven kind of oneness with Him. Yet, while you are longing for the life to come, in a paradox, you find rest in Him. This rest comes from an attitude of the heart. 

This attitude of the heart comes from having been led up to the heart of God the Father Himself. The journey of finding the heart of the Father starts with Salvation yes, but if there is one lesson I learned in the wilderness with God, Oswald says it best in the May 27 devotion “…Our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness. It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ— it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.” The evidence of the ascended Christ in us is never invisible to us or people around us.

Being able to submit and start a prayer life right now with God that after a while become bigger than life, is the evidence of the ascended Christ in you. Cultivating a life of prayer is not a life apart from your Salvation, it is Salvation in your soul being worked out with fear and trembling. Sure, there will be pruning through it and the vinedresser will appear to be harsh sometimes. But, it is a path that only you can take and you have to meet with Him alone. I guarantee you that you will stumble and fall and He will help you get right back on your feet, you dust your bottom and continue. He will break you and you will carry the invisible scars, but through the pain you will find daddy’s heart. If you think knowing Christ bring joy to your heart and soul, wait till you find the heart of God the Father, it is a joy simply out of this world. Would you submit to it? Would you let Him show you? Or, are you too busy finding your thrills for this life in the care of this world?  Make the right decision!

Unquestioned Revelation

05

28

2013

In that day you will ask Me nothing —John 16:23

When is “that day”? It is when the ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. “In that day” you will be one with the Father just as Jesus is, and He said, “In that day you will ask Me nothing.” Until the resurrection life of Jesus is fully exhibited in you, you have questions about many things. Then after a while you find that all your questions are gone— you don’t seem to have any left to ask. You have come to the point of total reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, which brings you into complete oneness with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why aren’t you?

“In that day” there may be any number of things still hidden to your understanding, but they will not come between your heart and God. “In that day you will ask Me nothing”— you will not need to ask, because you will be certain that God will reveal things in accordance with His will. The faith and peace of John 14:1 has become the real attitude of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and is coming between you and God, never look for the explanation in your mind, but look for it in your spirit, your true inner nature— that is where the problem is. Once your inner spiritual nature is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will come to the place where there is no distance between the Father and you, His child, because the Lord has made you one. “In that day you will ask Me nothing.”

Courtesy of: http://utmost.org/

Thinking Of Prayer As Jesus Taught Part 2

Those words A.C.T. S. meaning ADORE – CONFESS – THANKSGIVING & - SUPPLICATION truly describe prayer to a tee. As I learned to pray, I made sure I followed the script, because it worked for me. But, as God got hold of me and lead me to the wilderness so that I could be tested, unlearned things, be taught etc, within three years my prayer life had changed and I no longer needed the script because my life was becoming “the script”.

God knows what we have to offer is faulty, but He also wants to take us to a place where He gives us His best. One example of that is “love” When we first respond to God’s love, we do it with our own love and our own love is selfish because it is based on give and take. (Philos love) The first time God showed me how He needed to exchange my Philos love so that I can learn to love Him with His own Agape love which is unconditional love. I cried like a child because it was a period of intense love between me and the father and I found that I had nothing to offer back to Him. He had to take my faulty love, (Philos), and exchanged it for His agape love, which I use to love Him back. To me that was a sad thing because I wanted to have something that was mine that I could offer to Him. I found out we truly go into this relationship with empty hands.   

Like Oswald Chambers said “our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it.”  It is true when we first start with prayer for a while our thinking process is not where it should be with God and yet He is okay with it because He knows only the triune God can get us to where we need to be with Him.

So, where do we need to be with Him? First of all, it is a life of abiding and John 15:7 gave us a tall order of where He wants us to be with Him “if you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Prayer is like food to our spiritual life and if you go too long without food you will die of starvation, prayer does the same thing in our spiritual life. This life of abiding in Him, while Oswald Chambers is right, often times you feel there is nothing different about you, and you wonder if you are abiding. I know by now that I do not need to worry about it because it is not about feeling. Abiding in oneness in Him becomes so much a natural thing, and it is so unconsciously done that you do not even notice anything different.

While we do not have to worry about abiding because it is His job to keep us there, but we do have to worry about NOT abiding. The Scriptures tell us with a strong warning not to grieve the Holy Spirit. When there is a disconnect in the abiding process we know it because the Holy Spirit let us know of the danger we are in, through this little voice within and our job is to heed and make things right with Him. This little voice acts like a sensor in a car that let you know when we are in danger of being out of oil. Hence why John 15:7 says “if you abide” the “if” is there for a reason. Oswald Chambers also said in his devotion below “if we are obeying Him….Be aware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer.” He also said something in this devotion that applied to all of us Christians “The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense” This is one of the reasons it is important to walk in the Spirit. Only, Him can reveal the proper way we ought to use God’s word according to His standards.

When you read James 5:13-16 you find that prayer is truly powerful and effective. But, he made sure to end it this way “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Obviously it would be nice to have more and more Christians praying, but, throughout the Bible, God tells us that at the end of the day there are some conditions to prayers and He spelled them out of us. God is a good God and He takes care of even the worse unbelievers and they too have a certain amount of His grace. I mean by that, they are breathing, they get jobs, and they can put food on their tables etc., so of course He would take care of us in the body of Christ even when our prayers are not correct. But, He expects us to grow, obey more, trust Him more, and believe in Him more. In the end, what pleases Him most is the prayer of a righteous person. The one that obeys, the one that abide even when life is at its worse, the one that trust and believe in Him etc., those people, their prayers are powerful and effective.

As we grow spiritually, each one of us is changing into an offering that constantly live at His feet. The life we live now, take shape and slowly become an act of ADORATION & THANKSGIVING. We become inwardly bi-product of those words. We adore Him though our reverence for Him, abiding in Him and our obedience to His word. We are thankful for whom He is and who He made us to be, and since we trust and believe Him we can give Him our all to have His way with us.  As you pray, you realize you no longer say Lord I adore you through “just words”, but as you are saying those words, your soul is gazing into His face and you can see yourself like a child at His feet because that’s where your spirit lives. Thus, pray without ceasing is not only an act of the will that we do to obey and honour the father, but it changes each one of us slowly as we become “the offering.” Your life becomes a constant prayer to Him! As you fulfill the adoration and thanksgiving part the rest of the acronym supplication and confession they are a given because it takes humility to be truly thankful. Through being thankful you give Him the praise and honour due to Him, etc. As for the confession part, if is a given that you are taking confession of sins very seriously, hence why you can sit at His feet and live there. It is because you confess, with a repentant heart that you are cleansed of all unrighteousness and abide constantly in oneness.

In the same way Christ needed to be in constant prayer so the life of God could be manifested in Him, we need to be in constant prayer so the life of Christ could grow stronger and be manifested in us. So, in this sense, prayer is a tool at our disposal to enable us to become an act of worship to Him as we become intimate with Him.

Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught By Oswald Chambers

05

26

2013

Pray without ceasing . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:17

Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing . . .”— maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, “. . . everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But . . . , but . . . .” God answers prayer in the best way— not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer?

The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us.

Courtesy of: http://utmost.org/thinking-of-prayer-as-jesus-taught/

The Spirit Of Supplication

By Andrew Murray

"I will pour upon the house of David… the Spirit of grace and of supplications" (Zech. 12:10).

"The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: But the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26-27).

The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of prayer. He was promised as a "Spirit of grace and supplication," the grace for supplication. Prayer is the breathing of the Spirit in us; power in prayer comes from the power of the Spirit in us, waited on and trusted in. Failure in prayer comes from feebleness of the Spirit’s work in us. Our prayer is the index of the measure of the Spirit’s work in us. To pray aright, the life of the Spirit must be right in us. For praying the effectual, much-availing prayer of the righteous man, everything depends on being full of the Spirit.

Three Lessons in Being Taught to Pray by the Spirit

1. Believe that the Spirit dwells in you (Eph. 1:13). Deep in the inmost recesses of his being, hidden and unfelt, every child of God has the holy, mighty Spirit of God dwelling in him. He knows it by faith, the faith that accepts God’s Word and realizes that of which he sees as yet no sign.

When we quietly believe that in the midst of all our conscious weakness, the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of supplication is dwelling within us for the very purpose of enabling us to pray in such manner and measure as God would have us, our hearts will be filled with hope. We shall be strengthened in the assurance which lies at the very root of a happy and fruitful Christian life, that God has made an abundant provision for our being what He wants us to be. We shall begin to lose our sense of burden and fear and discouragement about our ever praying sufficiently because we see that the Holy Spirit Himself will pray and is praying in us.

2. Beware above everything of grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). If you do, how can He work in you the quiet, trustful, and blessed sense of that union with Christ which makes your prayers well pleasing to the Father? Beware of grieving Him by sin, by unbelief, by selfishness, by unfaithfulness to His voice in conscience, etc. Do not consider it impossible to obey the command, "Grieve not the Spirit." He Himself is the very power of God to make you obedient. The sin that comes up in you against your will, the tendency to sloth or pride or self-will or passion that rises in the flesh, your will can at once reject in the power of the Spirit. Cast your sin upon Christ and His blood, and your communion with God is immediately restored.

Accept each day the Holy Spirit as your leader and life and strength. You can count upon Him to do in your heart all that ought to be done there. The unseen and unfelt One, but known by faith, gives there the love and the faith and the power of obedience you need. He reveals Christ unseen within you as actually your life and strength. Grieve not the Holy Spirit by distrusting Him because you do not feel His presence in you.

3. "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). While some rest content with a small measure of the Spirit’s working, it is God’s will that we should be filled with the Spirit. Our whole being ought to be entirely yielded up to the Holy Spirit to be possessed and controlled by Him alone. We may count upon and expect the Holy Spirit to take possession and fill us. If we have seen that prayer is the great need of our work and of the Church, if we have desired or resolved to pray more, let us turn to the very source of all power and blessing – let us believe that the Spirit of prayer, even in His fullness is for us.

It is to the Father we pray, and from whom we expect the answer. It is in the merit and name and life of the Son as we abide in Him and He in us, that we trust to be heard. But have we understood that in the Holy Trinity all the Three Persons have an equal place in prayer and that the faith in the Holy Spirit of intercession as praying in us is as indispensable as the faith in the Father and the Son? As much as prayer must be to the Father and through the Son, it must be by the Spirit. It is only as we give ourselves to the Spirit living and praying in us that the glory of the prayer-hearing God and the ever-blessed and most effectual mediation of the Son can be known by us in their power. 

Thinking Of Prayer As Jesus Taught Part 1

As I meditated today I realized that my heart was overflowing with the need to share about cultivating the habit of a prayer life. Why? Because I know how hard it is to get there. I know how difficult it is to keep the momentum going and I also know that sadly, most of us in the Church do not have a true prayer life according to the will of God for us. Yet, prayer is what’s sustaining us. Prayer is as needed to live out the Christian life as we need air to breathe.

When I first became a Christian I started going to a mixed (men & women) Bible Study group. When we were asked to take turn to pray outloud, I remember panicking because I did not know how to pray, let alone praying in front of other people. Being me, (without a mask) before the prayer started, I boldly said, but…..uh! I don't know how to pray!  One lady who was facing me in the circle quickly answered “think of prayer as A.C.T. S. meaning ADORE – CONFESS – THANKSGIVING & - SUPPLICATION and that truly helped me to learn to pray

I left this Bible study group and went to a different one, as such I lost contact with this lady, even though we attended the same Church. Few years down the road I approached her before service time, just to say hi, to my surprise she was backsliding really bad, I could see that, even though I was still in the baby stage of my own Christianity. Not knowing how to handle it, I cut the conversation short.  Note that she was the perfect picture of God’s definition of backsliding in Jeremiah’s book.  She kept up with church attendance, functions, and kept up with all the outside appearances while following after false gods.

A few years down the road, I saw this lady in a shopping mall. I enquired about her walk with God. I sadly found out that she departed from God’s Word and distanced herself so much that she was comfortably resting in her backsliding mode. Yet, she was proud that she never missed a Sunday service. What was more sad, she had an attitude that she has been Christian a lot longer than I, as such I had no comments to make about the fact that she had chosen not to pray anymore because she did not have time since she had decided to build a business. (The cares of this world had first place) Worse, she was not worried about her state because she said; I quote “God knows my needs and my wants even before I utter them.” She was so proud to quote Scriptures to show me that there was no need to be concerned and that she was still following God’s will and God’s Word and there was nothing wrong.  

Sadly, there are several sermons that have been written on the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Yet, we ignore the true lost son in all that. I cannot help wondering why? The truth is a lack of striving to develop a prayer life in oneness with God, always bring us to a state where we are like the older son of this parable who was always with the father. Even though he did not disobey outwardly like the one who took his inheritance and left, the elder son’s attitude on the inside was as disobedient, disrespectful and lacked love for the father. (In this case love for God). The first son, who left, did not love his father and wished he would die already so he could get his hands on his own inheritance. The second son served his father with no love and respect but in self-righteousness. His words denoted lack of love and complete indifference toward the father, even though he appeared obedient on the outside.

This is why you see me insisting over and over in most of my posts, about the attitude of our hearts and our motives in all that we do as Christians. I keep insisting on the fact that we must keep examining ourselves, because if our attitude and motives are not right, then it does not matter how beautiful the outside works appear it will also be wrong in God’s eyes. The first son, who squandered the father’s fortune, was brought to conversion but the second son never got there. I have to confess until God got hold of my heart where I became a bondservant of His with so much pleasure in my heart, I too was like the older son. This change did not happen for me until after He showed me I was regenerated while in the wilderness with Him. Until then I was angry toward God even though it was not a big kind of anger, nevertheless it was there and often times I questioned God’s judgement. My attitude was messed up.

One of my problems was the fact that I could not understand why Solomon was allowed to have all the women in the world and enjoyed so much debauchery, yet be saved and be so big in the eyes of God. I even remember saying to God as I questioned His judgement that “Solomon had the best of both worlds.”  However, mine was such a measly life that it was not even worth mentioning, yet, He set the bar so high for me and told me to remain celibate after my divorce. Until He opened my eyes, I found out there was resentment for a while there in my heart against God. But, what I did not know was that I was comparing myself to Solomon’s life because I was blinded by self-righteousness. When my heart changed, I found out all that time I should have been comparing my righteousness to His not to Solomon’s.  If I had done that, I would have known that I did not measure up.

As my heart got right with God, I learned to cultivate compassion toward the lost. I learned the meaning of reconciliation ministry and learned to rejoice with the father when a lost one is found or come back to Him. This attitude brings two things in one’s life, first, it means you have come to a point in your walk with Him that you truly understand the meaning of true redemption from His standards. It means that you understand like me, you, Solomon, Paul, Peter, etc., none of us got what we deserved which is His full wrath. (We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.) It means you have come to a place of humility, and repentance has entered your heart and you have come face to face with true Salvation BY GRACE. Until then, you are just playing games with the religious life like the Pharisees, or you are still in the field like the eldest son who refused to participate in the festivities for his brother’s return. The Father extended His love to the older son, but left it up to him to come and partake with Him. The story did not tell us what decision he made. The Pharisees on the other hand, in their insistence to remain on the outside, they opposed Christ so much that the next step for them was to kill Him.

Secondly, when your heart is right with Him your compassion for the lost and the sweetness of redemption in your soul compel you to see the necessity of prayer as you are overwhelmed with a need to join the father in seeking for the lost whether in or outside the Church. While it will be hard to keep a prayer life exactly like Christ did when He was on earth, but your heart will strive with Him. If you still cultivate a meagre prayer life, and you do not find joy in praying for the lost with heart bleeding in unison with the father, then there is a need to act NOW! No matter how busy your life is, there is no excuse. Start by joining the weekly Church prayer. If a weekly prayer group is too much for now, then try joining a monthly prayer group, because almost every Church has a once a month ministry often on Saturday morning.

Then amend your own personal prayer life until you cultivate a heart of prayer where you feel disconnected in your oneness when you are not praying. Then go to a dollar store and get yourself a notebook for a dollar and write down the names of those you need to pray for. Write down the overwhelming needs out there, from injustice, to children dying of hunger daily. Stop looking at Salvation from a standpoint of “what’s in it for you.” Your prayer life reflects how much of God you have, how big He is in your sight and what Salvation means to your soul. Do not make the mistake of thinking that it is okay with God. This lady I spoke of in this post has never past the point of seeing Salvation further than what is in it for her. Start praying where you are; don't put it off for tomorrow. Go to Him just as you are, like the prodigal son who voluntarily humbled himself and returned to his father with willingness to be become his servant (verse 19.) Lastly never stop praying God to fill your heart with the spirit of supplication so you too, can remain faithful in doing your part alongside of Him in His quest on behalf of the world.

Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught By Oswald Chambers

05

26

2013

Pray without ceasing . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:17

Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing . . .”— maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, “. . . everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But . . . , but . . . .” God answers prayer in the best way— not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer?

The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us.

Courtesy of: http://utmost.org/thinking-of-prayer-as-jesus-taught/

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 8

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

But to be without condemnation is only the negative side—justification means to declare or pronounce righteous, up to the Law's requirements. Justification implies that the Law has been fulfilled, obeyed, and magnified—for nothing short of this would meet the just demands of God. Hence, as His people, fallen in Adam, were unable to measure up to the Divine standard, God appointed that His own Son should become incarnate, be the Surety of His people, and answer the demands of the Law in their stead.

Here, then, is the sufficient answer which may be made to the two objections which unbelief is ready to raise—How can God acquit the guilty?

How can God declare righteous—one who is devoid of righteousness? Bring in the Lord Jesus and all difficulty disappears! The guilt of our sins was imputed or legally transferred to Him, so that He suffered the full penalty of what was due them; the merits of His obedience is imputed or legally transferred to us—so that we stand before God in all the acceptableness of our Sponsor, Romans 5:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 5:21, etc. Not only has the Law nothing against us—but we are entitled to its reward.

3. Salvation from the POWER of Sin.

This is a present and protracted process, and is as yet incomplete. It is the most difficult part of our subject, and upon it the greatest confusion of thought prevails, especially among young Christians. Many there are who, having learned that the Lord Jesus is the Savior of sinners, have jumped to the erroneous conclusion that if they but exercise faith in Him, surrender to His Lordship, commit their souls into His keeping—He will remove their corrupt nature and destroy their evil propensities. But after they have really trusted in Him, they discover that evil is still present with them, that their hearts are still deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that no matter how they strive to resist temptation, pray for overcoming grace and use the means of God's appointing, they seem to grow worse and worse instead of better, until they seriously doubt if they are saved at all. They are now being sanctified!

Even when a person has been regenerated and justified, the flesh or corrupt nature, remains within him, and ceaselessly harasses him. Yet this ought not to perplex him. To the saints at Rome, Paul said, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body" (6:12), which would be entirely meaningless had sin been eradicated from them. Writing to the Corinthian saints he said, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). Obviously such an exhortation is needless if sin has been purged from our beings.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). What need have Christians for such a word as this—except pride still lurks and works within them? But all room for controversy on this point is excluded if we bow to that inspired declaration, "If we say we have no sin—we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). The old carnal nature remains in the believer—he is still a sinner, though a saved one.

What, then, is the young Christian to do? Is he powerless? Must he resort to stoicism, and make up his mind that there is nothing but a life of defeat before him? Certainly not! The first thing for him to do is to learn thoroughly the humiliating truth that in himself he is "without strength." It was here that Israel failed—when Moses made known to them the Law, they boastfully declared, "all that the Lord has said—we will do and be obedient" (Exo. 24:7). 

Ah! how little did they realize that "in the flesh there dwells no good thing." It was here, too, that Peter failed—he was self-confident and boasted that, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will! Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!" (Matt. 26:33, 35). How little he knew his own heart! This complacent spirit lurks within each of us. While we cherish the belief we can "do better next time," it is evident that we still have confidence in our own powers. Not until we heed the Savior's word, "without Me you can do nothing," do we take the first step toward victory. Only when we are weak (in ourselves) —are we strong.

A Call To Prayer

by J. C. Ryle
"Men ought always to pray." Luke 18:1 

"I will that men pray everywhere." 1 Timothy 2:1 

These words are from J. C. Ryle so they are not mine. However I used his words because I could not say them better. The practice of prayers that he penned there, I apply them in my life on a daily basis. Is it easy? Not at all. In fact it is a daily striving to constantly be in prayer. But, I know one thing for sure is that if we do not force ourselves to pray and learn to intercede, we are in major trouble and if Christ felt the need to pray without ceasing, I think we need it more.  While those words belong to Ryle, I mean them with all the Agape love that I feel for you in my heart.

Learn to pray everywhere, even in the bathroom, during bath time, while I wash my face, while in the car, while shopping, walking etc. All it takes is a few seconds to talk to God. You purposely turn your face to Him constantly and daily. This doe not mean you need to neglect your morning quiet time with Him though. But, daily you put into practice what you find in this post, I promise you before you know it, you will become a prayer warrior.

I love you all and I am grateful He found us, so let’s pray for those in darkness and bondage as a way to say thank you to our big, merciful, loving and generous God. Let’s not horde Salvation all to ourselves and understand that a lot are in darkness because Satan has them in its grasps. Let’s help them through our prayers.

Let me speak TO THOSE WHO HAVE REAL DESIRES FOR SALVATION, but know not what steps to take, or where to begin.

I cannot but hope that some readers may be in this state of mind, and if there be but one such I must offer them affectionate counsel.

In a journey there must be a first step. There must be a change from sitting to moving forward…….If you desire salvation, and want to know what to do, I advise you to go this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the first private place you can find, and earnestly and heartily entreat him in prayer to save your soul.

Tell him that you have heard that he receives sinners, and he has said, "Him that comes unto me I will in nowise cast out." Tell him that you are a poor vile sinner, and that you come to him on the faith of his own invitation. Tell him you put yourself wholly and entirely in his hands: that you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in yourself: and that except he saves you, you have no hope of being saved at all. Beseech him to deliver you from guilt, the power, and the consequences of sin. Beseech him to pardon you, and wash you in his own blood. Beseech him to give you a new heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in your soul. Beseech him to give you grace and faith and will and power to be his disciple and servant from this day forever. Oh, readers, go this very day, and tell these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you are really in earnest about your soul.

Tell him in your own way, and your own words. If a doctor came to see you when you were sick you could tell him where you felt pain. If your soul feels its disease indeed, you can surely find something to tell Christ. Doubt not his willingness to save you, because you are a sinner. It is Christ's office to save sinners. He says himself, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:32.

Wait not because you fell unworthy. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody. Waiting comes from the devil. Just as you are, go to Christ. The worse you are, the more need you have to apply to him. You will never mend yourself by staying away.

Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands the first lispings of her infant, so does the blessed Savior understand sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan.

Despair not because you do not get an answer immediately. While you are speaking, Jesus is listening. If he delays an answer, it is only for wise reasons, and to try if you are in earnest. The answer will surely come. Though it tarry, wait for it. It will surely come.

Oh, reader, if you have any desire to be saved, remember the advice I have given to you this day. Act upon it honestly and heartily, and you shall be saved.


Let me speak, lastly, TO THOSE WHO DO PRAY.

I trust that some who read this tract know well what prayer is, and have the Spirit of adoption. To all such, I offer a few words of brotherly counsel and exhortation. The incense offered in the tabernacle was ordered to be made in a particular way. Not every kind of incense would do. Let us remember this, and be careful about the matter and manner of our prayers.

I commend to you the importance of perseverance in prayer. Once having begun the habit, never give it up. Your heart will sometimes say, "You will have had family prayers: what mighty harm if you leave private prayer undone?" Your body will sometimes say, "You are unwell, or sleepy, or weary; you need not pray." Your mind will sometimes say, "You have important business to attend to to-day; cut short your prayers." Look on all such suggestions as coming direct from Satan. They are all as good as saying, "Neglect your soul." I do not maintain that prayers should always be of the same length; but I do say, let no excuse make you give up prayer. Paul said, "Continue in prayer and, "Pray without ceasing."

He did not mean that people should be always on their knees, but he did mean that our prayers should be like the continual burned-offering steadily preserved in every day; that it should be like seed-time and harvest, and summer and winter, unceasingly coming round at regular seasons; that it should be like the fire on the altar, not always consuming sacrifices, but never completely going out. Never forget that you may tie together morning and evening devotions, by an endless chain of short ejaculatory prayers throughout the day. Even in company, or business, or in the very streets, you may be silently sending up little winged messengers to God, as Nehemiah did in the very presence of Artaxerxes. And never think that time is wasted which is given to God. A nation does not become poorer because it looses one year of working days in seven, by keeping the Sabbath. A Christian never finds he is a loser, in the long run, by persevering in prayer.

 I commend to you the importance of intercession in our prayers. We are all selfish by nature, and our selfishness is very apt to stick to us, even when we are converted. There is a tendency in us to think only of our own souls, our own spiritual conflicts, our own progress in religion, and to forget others. Against this tendency we all have need to watch and strive, and not the least in our prayers. We should study to be of a public spirit. We should stir ourselves up to name other names besides our own before the throne of grace. We should try to bear in our hearts the whole world, the heathen, the Jews, the Roman Catholics, the body of true believers, the professing Protestant churches, the country in which we live, the congregation to which we belong, the household in which we sojourn, the friends and relations we are connected with. For each and all of these we should plead. This is the highest charity. They love me best who loves me in their prayers. This is for our soul's health. It enlarges our sympathies and expands our hearts. This is for the benefit of the church. The wheels of all machinery for extending the gospel are moved by prayer. They do as much for the Lord's cause who intercede like Moses on the mount, as they who fight like Joshua in the thick of the battle. This is to be like Christ. He bears the names of his people, as their High Priest, before the Father. Oh, the privilege of being like Jesus! This is to be a true helper to ministers. If I must choose a congregation, give me a people that pray.

I offer these points for your private consideration. I do it in all humility. I know no one who needs to be reminded of them more than I do myself. But I believe them to be God's own truth, and I desire myself and all I love to feel them more.

I want the times we live in to be praying times. I want the Christians of our day to be praying Christians. I want the church to be a praying church. My Heart's desire and prayer in sending forth this tract is to promote a spirit of prayerfulness. I want those who never prayed yet, to arise and call upon God, and I want those who do pray, to see that they are not praying amiss

Prayer for the Dark Places

After I read today’s headlines in the HUFFINGTON POST at first I was so sad, I wanted to cry but for some reasons I had no tears. Five minutes after I posted on Facebook, the sadness I felt was overwhelming and out of the blue tears were running down my face uncontrollably. I wanted to pray for the darkness that surround us, the darkness that some of us even though we have the Bible in our hands, yet we cannot see, so we too give in to the darkness and walk in it. I wanted to pray simply because way too many are ignorant of the true God.  Another reason why my heart is heavy is because Satan has so many disguise as angels of light right in the leadership of the Church to lead thousands, millions and billions astray.

Through His Grace, I will follow the true path, not matter what it takes! 

While I am dying for His return so that I do not have to witness the mess the Church has become, but it is not about me. Not only that, there are so many that are not ready for His return yet.  

Can I please ask those of you who are willing to let God break your heart with what breaks His heart, to pray with me?  Today’s Huffington’s posts demand that we stop looking at Salvation from our standpoint alone and let God move our hearts to reach out to others.

How can you reach out? You do not have to go around the world, on a mission to reach out. In fact, those who are given to prayers can actually reach more people than the missionaries that are constrained in one place at the time.  We can pray for God mercy to reach those that are ignorant and also pray for Him to open the eyes of people so that they could see Him. Pray for people who are going to read those posts and buy into them. Please pray without ceasing

We owe it to God to go forward with our Salvation through surrender, walking in the Spirit and abide in Him. We need to stop messing around while we take our Salvation for granted and stop being self-centered and ungrateful. Every time I read or see so many that are ignorant of the true God, especially when they are in the Church, I am grateful that He found me and opened my eyes, because it could have been me amongst those who do not know better, in the darkness.

I love you all, and keep up the faith you have received from Him!

Prayer for the Dark Places

James Smith, 1861

What mischief has SIN done in our world! What misery it has introduced! Sin is indeed a fearful evil — full of deadly poison! Wherever we look — we see the terrible effects of sin; and the further we look — the more fearful those effects appear. It is no wonder therefore, if we are often led to cry out with the Psalmist, "Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of cruelty fill the dark places of the land!" Psalm 74:20
 

 

We desperately need you Holy Spirit
Please feel free to share this picture!

The People's Condition. They are in the dark, therefore their dwellings are called the dark places of the land. They are in a state of ignorance, represented by darkness, gross darkness.

They are ignorant of God — of his nature, which is spiritual.

They are ignorant of his law — which is holy, just, and good.

They are ignorant of his gospel — which is a glorious proclamation of salvation — salvation for the vilest, salvation for all who need it, for whoever will — salvation without money and without price.

They are ignorant of themselves —
of their immortality,
of their sinful and condemned state before God,
of their danger as rebels against God, and
of their need of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus.

They are ignorant of the church of God — it's privileges, happiness, employments, and prospects.

They are ignorant of the nature of the eternal state of the sinner and the saint; they know nothing of a dreadful Hell, nor of a glorious Heaven.

O distressing condition in which to be found!
 

Their Conduct. Cruelty. Ignorance leads to cruelty; the ignorant are generally cruel. It makes men cruel to themselves — inflicting tortures, and putting themselves to terrible pain. It makes them cruel to their relatives — the husband to his wife, the parents to their children, the children to their parents, neighbor to neighbor, rulers to their subjects, subjects to their rulers, tribes to tribes, and nations to nations. What is the history of a heathen country — but the history of cruelty! O the cruel customs, the cruel ceremonies, and the cruel wars, which are still so common! Well may Asaph say, "haunts of cruelty fill the dark places of the land!" Nor is cruelty confined to them — but just in proportion as sinners are in a state of spiritual ignorance — are they unkind and cruel. Let us then join in,
 

The Prayer. "Have regard for your covenant." In God's covenant with Abraham he promised, saying, "In you and in your seed, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." And in the covenant of grace he has said, speaking to his beloved Son, "I the Lord have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles." Just the very thing they need, therefore it is repeated in another place. "I will also give you for a light of the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation unto the ends of the earth." Well then may we plead, "Have regard for your covenant," and do as you have said. Fulfill your word where it is written, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." Then there will be no longer any dark places of the earth, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

This covenant was ratified, sealed, and confirmed with the blood of Jesus, called "the blood of the everlasting covenant." Of this covenant Jesus is the Surety, the Mediator, and Intercessor — we may therefore pray, "Have regard for the promise of the covenant — to the blood of the covenant, and to Jesus in whom the covenant stands, and who fulfills all its glorious offices."
 

What Is Our Duty? It is to sympathize, and to sympathize deeply with those who reside in the dark places of the earth, and who dwell in the haunts of cruelty. Nor is sympathy enough, we should pray and plead for them with God. Nor is prayer enough, we should use every means in our power to send the gospel to them. Nor is it enough to send them the gospel, we should so live as to stimulate by our example all around us, to engage in this important work.

The knowledge of God, which they need, and we should send them — will civilize them, and teach them industry, civility, mercy, and love. The covenant rightly understood, encourages missionary effort, as it awakens sympathy, reveals God's provision, makes known his gracious promises, and sets before us the glorious end. Be sure then, the man does not understand God's covenant of grace — who shuts up his compassion from the heathen world, neglecting to pray for, and send the gospel to the dark places of the earth. O my brethren, can we read the accounts sent us from time to time of the cruelties practiced in heathen lands, remembering that those who do so, are our brethren and sisters in the flesh. Or can we think of the dreadful consequences of dying in sin, and in ignorance of God — and not from the deepest depths of our souls cry out, "Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of cruelty fill the dark places of the land!"