Monthly Archives: January 2016

WHAT TO PRAY FOR AND WHAT NOT

Posted on 30/01/2016 | 7 comments

What and who to pray for is often the question.

In Romans 8 we read that “the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.”

Admit it—you mostly don’t know how to pray! So you need a helper. And if you have received the Helper that Jesus promised, you have that Helper living in your spirit! Learn to pray “in the spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:14; Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20).

It may come as a surprise to some that the emphasis in the New Testament writings is not in praying for the unsaved. Jesus taught his disciples “the Lord’s prayer” and that did not include the world. So what did Jesus pray for?

Jesus asked his disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest, not for the unsaved, but for labourers engaged in the harvest and especially to pray for the Lord to send more labourers!

Did he ever pray for his family?

He certainly prayed for his disciples—let me mention John 17 where we read how Jesus prays . . . .

I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.  . . . . . . these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. . . . . . I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. . . . . . . . Sanctify them in your truth. . . . . As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. . . . . . . . . . . . Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word . . . .

What a wonderful blessing it is to know that Jesus is praying, interceding for us–not for the world– as we go about doing his will and announcing the good news. We are being empowered!

Paul the apostle assures his Ephesian readers (Eph 6:18) that he prays constantly for them (but not for their salvation or healing!) He never seems to ask anyone to pray for any specific unsaved person—but to pray “. . . at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints”.

Paul also asks the same readers to pray for him that he will speak boldly: “ . . . . on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Eph 6:18-20.

The original Jerusalem believers asked for boldness and authority among themselves (Acts 4:29-30) “. . . . . grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,  while you stretch out your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”

We can never use our prayers to manipulate the Lord. He can never be controlled by us in any way. Prayer is all about relationship—He is your Father and you are His daughter or His son.

And it’s not how much time you put in, or your sincerity, or your passion and energy and zeal that somehow get’s God’s attention. No. It’s asking according to his will and walking, living, praying in the Spirit.

So we do not have to ask God to save someone (or to heal someone either) because we know that it is His gracious will that none should perish but come to eternal life (John 3:14-17; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim 3:2-7). And so He has committed the message of reconciliation to us, Jesus’ disciples (2 Cor 5:18-20). We do not pray for the harvest but for the harvesters!

People own their lives by choice—God does not barge in on anyone. He waits for the invitation. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He does not act as an intruder. He asks for our love, our willing obedience. It seems obvious that the Lord seeks and uses those who want to do His will and not their own. Like Jesus. Even like Paul.

We are all volunteers! The Lord never coerces us into doing his will. We always have the terrifying freedom to ignore him or refuse to obey. It is so amazing how we are created with sovereignty, after His image, with choice, a will. Awesome.

7 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged ,

What can stop us from reaching out to the sick

Posted on 21/01/2016 | 2 comments

How much faith is enough faith for the Lord to use you to set the oppressed free?

You may be tempted to wait or hold back action until you are free of any sickness or medical dependence before stepping out or until you think you have enough faith.

Or you may not feel like doing the stuff. Or you haven’t had a “special word” from the Lord to do it.

The devil will try every trick learned over 1000s of years to stop disciples being obedient and prevent the sharing of the good news of the kingdom.

But nothing must stop our obedience to the words of Jesus. The extraordinary English healing evangelist Smith Wigglesworth—whose miracle accounts and sermons make wonderful encouraging reading—kept up his healing ministry while in severe pain and even haemorrhaging (he visited Australia twice in the 1930’s accompanied by his deaf daughter).

Jesus was often recorded as being moved with compassion in deliverance and healing. Love for neighbour is paramount: “you shall love your neighbour as yourself”. So it is not about us and our success, our testimony, our stories, but it’s about the lost, the poor, the suffering.

How much faith is enough faith? Jesus said effective faith could be “as small as a grain of mustard seed”! That’s how intent is the Lord about showing mercy, even though He well knows that many who experience His mercy do not choose to follow Him. Fabulous love! Wonderful mercy! Amazing grace.

Does the Lord hold back from us His wonderful power and authority which He longs to show to the lost, the fallen and the sick? The good news of the kingdom and the works of Jesus are all about his mercy and his love. Such great love that He is pleased to use us imperfect people—He looks for willingness, for humans whom He may use to show His glory. In fact the biblical evidence available to us seems to show that He does nothing without the readiness, even the permission, of His human, clay pots—you and me. Wow.

“The harvest is huge but labourers are few”.

Go for it, and in the only name that counts.

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

A SOUND AND FULL GOSPEL

Posted on 19/01/2016 | 2 comments

Sound doctrine must be encouraged right from the start for the newly baptised. That means the teaching of Jesus and the apostles recorded for us in the New Testament documents. An intensive approach is necessary until a foundation and unity in Christ is experienced to bring maturity and stops the person being tossed around by every wind of doctrine. Ephesians 4:1-16 says it all.

The Gospel is enough if it is the full message and based on sound apostolic teaching.

Paul’s letters are packed with warnings to people about losing what has been given at the start. It’s a constant theme. also Peter’s and James and John. The lot.

Sound doctrine in Jesus must replace everything else. Must replace all the additions and sacred cows that have gathered momentum and weight and accumulation by teachers in Christendom and away from the simplicity of Jesus and life, oneness and love centred only in him.

But what tends to happen amounts to adding to what people have already learned.

No. We must start from scratch—from Jesus only. That’s what the first disciples had to do. That’s what we must teach— the New Covenant and what that means, and stress its importance—the simple teaching of who we are in Christ—new men and women—who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Cant serve two masters.

You cannot live the New Covenant life in Jesus’ blood while remaining in some other covenant, like a covenant of Churchianity or of a man-made organisation, or of a denomination—or one of your own choice.

The whole understanding of doctrine in current historic Churchianity is sick, stuck in a kind of poor renovation of Old Covenant shadows, yet fraught with splits, competitiveness, unbelief, envy, lust for power, desire to make a name for ourselves  . . . . . .

For example, what did Jesus teach about “the church”? Nothing. Just 2 passages in Mathew alone which today do not have the meaning anywhere near what he meant.

Instead Christendom is all about this imported c….. word.

Most people have no idea what the original Greek word (ekklesia) means because its translation to c….. in all English bibles is religious, Romish, worldly, even pagan.  Jesus gave NO command about forming churches. Instead he told us to love one another and sure, that means togetherness, yes. It means caring, service, sacrifice for others, being servants and above all, loving one another. Gathering like they did originally.

He told us to make disciples, heal the sick, set the oppressed free, love one another, lead a holy life, receive the Holy Spirit, walk in the Spirit . . . . . . . . . .

Christendom and its micro offshoots continue to do what he did not command and ignore what He DID command.

Christendom is in most places, a mere shadow of the Old Covenant—and without even the wonderful glory of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is a shadow of the New Covenant. But we have made the Old Covenant look by comparison far more glorious than what we see today—at least it had a supernatural glory.

The apostles declared that the glory of the New Covenant makes the old look a mere shadow. New Covenant life makes the old seem to have no glory at all says Paul (see 2 Corinthians 3).

You and I must start obeying the sound doctrine of the new covenant! Today.

No time to lose.

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , ,

Quote

One thing that never fails

Here follows a wonderful encouragement penned to me by my friend Carol . . . .

There has been much focus on healing among us for a while now. We have benefited much from attending seminars and putting it into practice, discussing, praying and experimenting with healing. Some have seen wonderful results, others have not. Some have been healed, others have not and some have even died.

What should be our attitude in the face of seemingly “unanswered prayer”?

We read “do not throw away our confidence; it will be richly rewarded. We need to persevere so that when we have done the will of God, we will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while: “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Heb 10:35-39

Therefore:

We do not throw away our confidence. We do not despair. We do not listen to the Liar and give in to discouragement. God is faithful. God is good. He will reward our obedience.

We stand firm in the faith. We help each other to stand firm and faithful. We encourage one another to stand firm and faithful.

We live by faith and not by sight. We are not carnal people living according to sensuality. We are seated in heavenly places, believing the Word, obeying Him, being alive in the spirit and dead to the flesh and sin.

We love. We love. We love. We love Him. We love one another. We pray for each other to be healed because we love one another and because we obey His Word to do so. When we are healed, it is wonderful. When we are not healed, we do not lose faith or give in to despair or discouragement, because we have loved and obeyed and we will be rewarded.

We remember that love trumps faith and hope:

Reading from 1 Cor 12:31: And now I will show you the most excellent way: LOVE…    If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  . . . . .  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

We remember that Jesus said (John 13:34-35):

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We don’t let ourselves be persuaded that everyone will know we are disciples of Jesus by the performance of miracles. We do not forget that in spite of the thousands of miracles that Jesus performed, most abandoned Him.

We meditate on our reward of eternal life that comes by faith and not by performance: Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.'”

We build one another up and exhort each other to know Jesus before all else and to persevere in the face of disappointment. Everything we do must hinge on love and LOVE NEVER FAILS!

Eagerly desire the gifts! Yes!

Pray for people to be healed! Yes!

Cast out demons! Yes!

Prophesy! Speak in tongues! Move mountains with a word! Yes! Yes! Yes!

And more than anything else: LOVE! Yes!

Thank you Carol

 

2 Comments

Posted on 13/01/2016 in Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,