Tag: prayer

Spiritual Opposition

Here we take a look at how we walk through deep spiritual waters. I last wrote about how Yahweh hides things for us rather than from us. An aspect of that is how the spiritual realm affects the natural realm. There is more in the spirit realm than simply the Father, Son, Spirit and a few angels. The heavenlies are filled with various spiritual creatures and not all of them are good. When it comes to how spiritual opposition functions Paul lays some of it out for us in Ephesians 6.

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10–13 (NKJV)

While Paul tells us in some detail how living in and out of Ephesians 6 brings victory, in Thessalonians he also addresses the impact of this spiritual opposition.

18 Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us. 1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NKJV)

We know from these two passages that as believers we are in a spiritual battle and that this battle can derail what He has called us to do. Paul also warned the Corinthians about spiritual deception.

3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 (NKJV)

We see here that Satan’s tactics can not only hinder our activity for the kingdom, they can also raise up opposition against us through people who seek to lead God’s people astray. Which means we need to learn how to walk in both natural and spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9). wisdom

From a purely spiritual perspective, I don’t know if you have experienced this. Some decades ago, I was the interim pastor of a small country church. I lived about twenty minutes away in another county. I would be in the church office trying to prepare a sermon, nothing would come, the scriptures didn’t make a lot of sense. Yet more than once when driving home, around where I crossed the border into the county where I lived, I would receive a download of information for my sermon. At times I would pull over on the highway and write down notes as ideas came flooding in. The sermons themselves were generally easy to deliver but there was a spiritual battle in the area of preparation. Satan sought to hinder me.

In a similar vein when I worked in the social services field and would drive from our country acreage to the city for work, at times I would feel the weight of spiritual oppression as I reached the outskirts of the city. For me these issues highlight the need for spiritual awareness on our part as we seek to walk in obedience and extend the kingdom.

Another example from my life is at times feeling a generalized spiritual heaviness and a sense of malaise. To deal with these issues I learned to engage in worship and as I did so the heaviness would lift over time. Isaiah referred to this as the ‘garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’

3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV)

Now we look at what to do with these examples. The commonality in them is the need to first discern the problem, recognize that it is spiritual opposition, then engage in prayer/spiritual warfare/worship to achieve a breakthrough. Part of the battle is understanding what took place at our conversion. In Colossians 1 when Paul lets the believers in Colosse know he is praying for them to know and be filled with the Father’s will in all ‘wisdom and spiritual understanding’ he then talks about how they have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. To achieve victory, we need to know who He, who we are, and what took place at our conversion. Applying these truths helps you to walk in victory over spiritual opposition, so apply them!

Hidden for Us

An idea that has become popular in recent years is that God doesn’t hide things from us, He hides things for us. It comes from Proverbs.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2 (NKJV)

In light of this idea, I am going to talk about something hidden in plain sight. Some of us likely grew up singing the song ‘We are Climbing Jacob’s ladder.’ Though I am sure Calvinists would have avoided it as it promotes a works-based salvation! That aside, let’s look at the various ways we encounter and understand Jacob’s Ladder in scripture. Our first and only explicit reference is in Genesis 28. After Jacob deceived Esau, he was sent away by Isaac to seek a wife from among the extended family in Haran. Verses 10-19 of Genesis 28 describe Jacob’s dream encounter with Yahweh. Jacob lays down to sleep and has a dream of a ladder from earth to heaven and sees angels ascending and descending on it. Yahweh is standing above it and speaks to Jacob and reaffirms the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac. In the dream Jacob sees the following.

12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Genesis 28:12-13

            In the morning Jacob realizes that He had slept in a place where Yahweh could be encountered, a place of access to, and encounter with, heaven. Following this realization Jacob names the place Bethel (House of God). As we move forward to the Gospels, we find this place of access and encounter described again by none other than Jesus! This takes place as Jesus calls his first few disciples.

49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” John 1:49–51 (NKJV)

Jesus is saying to Nathaniel, I am the living Bethel, the living house of God, the place of access and encounter. I doubt that Nathaniel received the full import of what Jesus said at the time, though he was the first of the disciples to recognize Jesus as the Son of God and promised Messiah king.  

Now, other than being an interesting insight into scripture, how does this apply to you and me? We need to recognize that not only is Jesus our way of access to bridge the gap between heaven and earth, we need to look at how we do this. Scripture does tell us. We begin in Romans then move to Hebrews.

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1–2 (NKJV)

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14–16 (NKJV)

The point of these two passages is that as the true ladder to heaven, Jesus is our point of entry and we access the throne of grace through placing our faith in what He has done and continue to trust in the efficacy of what He accomplished through the cross and His resurrection.   

The writer of Hebrews makes another important point about our access to the throne of grace.

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, Hebrews 10:19–20 (NKJV)

The contrast here is between the old way of animal sacrifices and rituals and the new way, the once for all efficacy of Jesus sacrifice.

Now, I am confident that most of you reading this know how to use Jacob’s ladder, how to come to the throne of grace through confidence in Jesus’ sacrifice. However, the issue isn’t whether we know how, it is whether through Jesus we are daily coming boldly to the throne of grace in agreement with His heart to see things change here – “Your king come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!”

The Spirit of Prophecy

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the idea of prophecy as a spiritual gift. I will provide a brief overview for you as to how it is used and taught in the New Testament. It is something we see practiced in Acts and taught on in 1 Corinthians. In Acts 13 where the Spirit speaks through one or more the those ministering to the Lord and fasting Paul and Barnabas are commissioned into their apostolic ministries (Acts 13:1-3). In Acts 21:9 we are told that Phillip had four daughters who prophesied. Paul lists prophecy as gift of the Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:10) and in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 he highlights the importance of the gift then in 14:31 says we can ‘all prophesy.’ In Acts 11:27-30 Agabus via the spirit of prophecy predicts a famine which leads the church to practical action. In Acts 21:10-11 Agabus prophetically warns of what will happen to Paul if he continues his journey to Jerusalem. 

The above examples show you how prophecy is used to release and commission as well as warn and prepare. In these examples prophecy is used to build up the body of Christ. Prophecy has been described as ‘God’s mind for the moment.’ It is a good definition of how He speaks to prepare or direct us as needed in differing circumstances (He also uses dreams and visions). In general, prophetic words from the Spirit are given for the following purposes.

3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NKJV)

Prophecy is given to strengthen, guide and encourage the body.

As it relates to popular modern practices you may be familiar with the numerous internet prophets and those who provide a ‘word from the Lord’ at the beginning on each new year. On the surface a good thing. Yet upon examination, the majority of those who release these prophecies, are mostly wrong and much of what they release can be discerned by following the news. This is not what the scriptures focus on in terms of the gift of prophecy. The gifts are to be exercised in the context of the body of Christ and subject to examination by other members of the body, not used as a platform to draw people and resources to the ‘prophet.’

I am not saying this to discount prophecy, I deeply value and appreciate the gift and think we need it in every season of the church. However, I think when exercising the gift you need guidelines. Not surprisingly scripture does provide sound guidelines for the exercise of spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul presents love as the motivation for the exercise of any spiritual gift, then in 1 Corinthians 14 he moves from highlighting motivation to looking at the actual exercise of the gifts in general and prophesy in particular.

26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:26–33 (NKJV)

In the passage above Paul shows how the exercise of prophesy is for the edification of the body, is to be exercised with restraint, and subject to discernment by the rest of the body. You may be wondering why I am writing about this. First because I believe He placed it on my heart. Secondly the Spirit gives these gifts because we need them. I am aware that sadly many in the church today reject these gifts and focus on scripture alone. I am all for scripture as anyone who knows me can attest. Yet the scriptures don’t tell me what vehicle to buy, where to live, what job to accept or numerous other things. The scriptures don’t say whether a given congregation should go to two services or plant a daughter church.

In my experience many fellow believers allow circumstances to dictate their choices, yet scripture says we are to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). Which means we need to hear His voice. The scriptures provide guidelines for discernment and counsel but those things are meant as aids not replacements for hearing His voice, whether by ourselves or through something He speaks to someone else for you or I.

Importantly, the ultimate purpose of prophecy is to make us like Jesus. After all the closing words of Revelation 19:10 (NKJV) tell us, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” One way you and I exemplify this is walking like Jesus, listening to and obeying the Spirit, whether individually or corporately.

Apologetics Part 2

The Cosmological Argument

Have you ever wondered why there is something rather than nothing? While I cannot pretend to provide a complete answer to that question, we can answer the question in relation to why the cosmos and we as humanity are here. The Cosmological Argument, or as it is also known, the Kalam Cosmological Argument (Kalam is an Arabic word meaning eternal), is generally stated as a logical syllogism.

  1. Everything that began to exist had a cause.
  2. The Universe began to exist.
  3. Therefore, the universe had a cause.

The obvious implication is that the source of the universe was uncaused and since space, time and matter came into being with the creation of the universe the cause must be timeless, spaceless and non-material. Another word for this description is of course God. We see this in the following scriptures.

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 (NKJV)

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 1:3 (NKJV)

We have in the first four words of scripture an anchor point for everything else we believe. Scripture doesn’t try to prove Yahweh’s existence, it assumes it. While the Cosmological Argument doesn’t get us to Yahweh, it does get us to a supernatural being creating the universe. Scripturally we know that Being is Yahweh.

Currently there are various ideas that seek to avoid the beginning of the universe and the resulting implications. The Steady State theory (an eternal universe) was believed by many scientists in the 20th century, including Einstein. He built a fudge factor into his theory of relativity to accommodate his belief and when it was scientifically established that the universe was expanding, and thus had a beginning, he acknowledged it as his greatest scientific blunder.

We also have the non-scientific idea of a continually expanding and contracting universe that ignores science. The Second Law of Thermodynamics notes that things tend to move toward a disordered state. Entropy is scientifically well established and our universe is using up energy and heading toward heat death without outside intervention (taking us back to God). Thus, it cannot have been forever expanding and contracting. This idea also has inherent in it the idea of infinite regress. The problem of course is that if we have no starting point it is impossible to ever arrive at today! Another idea is the multiverse theory that posits multiple universes, in spite of the fact that the only one we know of is our current one and ignores the science that any universe that came into existence would be subject to the same fine-tuning parameters as the one we do know exists.

Perhaps Einstein was right when he said, “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.” More pointedly, James Tour, one of the top chemists in the world and a believer, said, “Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith. If you really study science, it will bring you closer to God.”

Thus, in coming closer to God we come back to an uncaused first cause, a being not measured in terms of infinite regress but one who has always been, eternal. In their book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Geisler and Turek provide the characteristics of this uncaused first cause. They say it must be,

self-existent, timeless, non-spatial, and immaterial (since the First Cause created time, space, and matter, the First Cause must be outside of time, space, and matter). In other words, he is without limits, or infinite; unimaginably powerful, to create the entire universe out of nothing; supremely intelligent, to design the universe with such incredible precision (we’ll see more of this in the next chapter); personal, in order to choose to convert a state of nothingness into the time-space-material universe (an impersonal force has no ability to make choices). These characteristics of the First Cause are exactly the characteristics theists ascribe to God.

A scientist who was an agnostic, but who recognized the implications of his research was astrophysicist Robert Jastrow. A famous quote from his book God and the Astronomers, is below and provides a fitting conclusion to our look at the Cosmological Argument.

At this moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.

Let’s join them on this highest of peaks.

With Thanksgiving

            A note to start. I don’t write my posts in advance. I generally compose them during the week and do my final edits in the morning before I post them. However, I had been working on a post for awhile and set it aside and planned to complete it for this week. However, last Sunday I was reading the following passage and the phrase the Spirit impressed upon my heart was “with thanksgiving.” It never occurred to me at that time that I was writing and this post that I was preparing it for the time of our Canadian Thanksgiving. For me that means this Thanksgiving is significant to the Lord. Now back to scripture.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4–7 (NKJV)

For me personally not being anxious and praying are easy things to walk out. Where I need to grow is in thanksgiving. Verse 6 basically says that we are to let our needs be known to the Father, but in the process we are to include thanksgiving. The reason for that is what we will now look at.

            There are a couple of things to reflect on. The first is that thanksgiving changes us not God. It brings our hearts to a place of rest in Him. In fact, that is Paul’s main point, when we bathe our prayer needs in thanksgiving His peace will guard our hearts and minds. Interestingly Paul says nothing about answers to our prayers, his focus is on the effect that pairing thanksgiving with our prayers makes. Now it is easy to say that but it is helpful to know how it works.

            I remember lines from a childhood church song. “Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what God has done.” The whole refrain is below, published by Johnson Oatman Jr. in 1897.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

This is another part of pairing thanksgiving and prayer, a recounting of our blessings.

            Practically here are some simple examples.

Father;

  • I thank You that You have given me life and breath,
  • I thank You for access to Your word and freedom to worship You in spirit and truth in this land where I live,
  • I thank You that You supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:10),
  • I thank You that you have placed X and Y in my life.

Obviously, you can generate your own list. I simply know from both scripture and experience that when thanksgiving is part of our prayer life our perspective shifts and hearts come to a place of rest in Him. We are then left confidently expecting Him to do what is best for our lives in our service of Him.

As a closing note, the theme of Philippians is rejoicing and thanksgiving, something Paul practiced and taught. Philippians is one of Paul’s prison letters and I am sure as he wrote from prison in Rome he reflected back on his prison experience in Philippi, where we see that after he and Silas had been beaten and put in stocks they were praying and worshipping in the prison (Acts 16:25). Let’s emulate his heart and as another song says, “Give thanks with a grateful heart.”

Seeds

            In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 Jesus says the harvest from the seeds depends on the condition of the soil. We see that in Jesus own ministry. He spent His earthly ministry sowing seeds and changing lives but the degree of change was commensurate with the commitment to Jesus’ message. What prepared the soil of Israel was John the Baptist’s forerunner ministry warning and exhorting people and calling the nation to repentance and baptism. Though we don’t have much recorded about it in the scripture we know that prayer also paved the way for Jesus’ ministry. One example is Anna.

36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Luke 2:36–38 (NKJV)

This pattern of prayer and proclamation is evident in scripture and in every move of the Spirit I have studied in church history. We see it in the history of the Moravians and their 100-year prayer meeting that birthed modern missions. We see it in the life of Evan Roberts and others in the Welsh Revival, we see it in the intense travail of Frank Barlteman and others in the Azusa Street outpouring that birthed the worldwide Pentecostal Movement. I don’t know of a significant movement that arose without it

Now back to scripture regarding sowing. Like Jesus, Paul also addressed the issue of sowing. Below are a couple of examples, the first from 1 Corinthians.  

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:5–8 (NKJV)

Paul’s primary point to the Corinthians was that they were not to elevate one leader over another and choose to follow one over another as God is the source of fruitfulness. His other point is that the sowing or planting is our job, God gives the increase or harvest.

            We also see Paul addressing sowing and reaping in Galatians.

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Galatians 6:7–8 (NKJV)

Once more we see that the sowing is our responsibility and the fruit comes from the Spirit.

            We see this principle of sowing and reaping on a broader scale in another place in scripture. Keep in mind Jesus’ seed sowing in His earthly ministry was His teaching along with the demonstration of the kingdom. Look at The Great Commission.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

This is Jesus’ command for us to sow and see a harvest from all nations. An important piece here is we can view this as a command to make disciples from all nations, which is reflected in Matthew 24:14, Jesus’ message about the gospel of the kingdom. We could also look at Matthew 25:31-34 where Jesus refers to sheep and goat nations. In that some see a call for the church to disciple nations. Lastly, we could see The Great Commission as a call to do both. You decide.

            I share all of this to lead to a point. I believe when we teach, we can sow seeds of righteousness in the lives of individuals, cultures and nations. I am Canadian and I know seeds of righteousness were sown in the founding of our nation. We were originally known as the Dominion of Canada based on Psalm 72:8, which is inscribed on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:8 (KJV)

We can thus pray that this will be fulfilled and His dominion realized in our nation. This is but one example.

As I post this I have just returned from a vacation in Portugal. While there, as we traveled, I sought to discern what the Spirit wanted me to intercede for. I know that while historically there was a religious mixture in Portugal there were many seeds of the gospel and truth sown in the nation. At the beginning of our trip I was led to pray that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and intercessors would be raised up from among the people. Later while traveling through the countryside on more than one occasion He led me to pray that the spiritual seeds sown in this land would sprout and a harvest would come forth.

If we look at the pattern the Spirit led me to in prayer the main focus was on raising up proclaimers and intercessors. The latter part was for these seeds to come to life. I only saw this pattern upon reflection as I was led to write this, not while I was engaged in it. There were other things He led me to do but this example is sufficient.

This now comes back to each of us. In our lives let’s seek to follow Him each day and look for what He is leading us to pray and proclaim so that we see the fruit Jesus desires in our lives, cities and communities. 

Holiness

            Depending on our church background and experience you may have different views or understandings of what constitutes holiness. Thus, it seems we should begin with defining the term holiness before relating it to prayer.

            In my experience holiness was generally presented as related to behaviour, a list of do’s and don’ts. While there are do’s and don’ts in scripture, our behaviour is to flow from our heart attitudes. Jesus put it this way.

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

What we carry in our heart is reflected in our words and actions that flow from our heart.

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

When we see that holiness is more about our heart attitude, we can begin to make sense of a phrase in Psalm 96:9, “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” This was highlighted for me over thirty years ago through a song. I attended a church where one of the pastors, Gordon Dyck, wrote a song about holiness based on part of Psalm 96 (I don’t know if others contributed to the writing). I do remember the words.

I will worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

Unto His throne room I now come

With my voice lifted up, hands raised on high

I will render the praise due unto His name

Worship the Lord!

Over my years of involvement in the church I haven’t regularly heard holiness linked to beauty, but there it is in scripture, “The beauty of holiness.” The concept of holiness is a reference to something set aside for a sacred purpose. This setting aside is a separation from darkness to reflect light. The word ‘beauty’ in Hebrew refers to an adornment, glory or attire. In essence the beauty of holiness is to be adorned with or attired in holiness! Holiness is the garment we are to wear as we worship!   

            While holiness in Psalm 96 is connected to wearing something. When we come over to prayer it is also connected to fragrance. The majority of people in the worldwide prayer movement are familiar with the harp and bowl model, the connection between worship and prayer.

8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NKJV)

Incense has a fragrance. The point here is that our prayers have a fragrance.

If we reflect back on the tabernacle and temple the priest offering the incense had to wear specific garments and a label on the turban on his forehead that said, Holiness unto the LORD.

36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD 37 And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. Exodus 28:36–38 (NKJV)

            Now if you are still with me, we need to put all of the pieces together. The high priest carried a fragrance (the incense), wore special garments and had holiness engraved on His forehead. His calling was to walk in a heart of holiness. Jesus was the ultimate representation of all of these symbols. Thus, Jesus could walk into dark places and not be tainted by them, He brought light to darkness because He was adorned with the beauty of holiness and carried the fragrance of heaven.

            The more our hearts fully walk in and with Him the more fully we have the same effect on the environment around us and the more effective our prayer life. We are called to both be with Him and like Him. Let’s carry that awareness into the prayer closet and our daily interactions and live in the ‘beauty of holiness.’  

Our Father

There are two passages in scripture that are more well known than all others. The 23 Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, so named because Jesus our Lord gave it to us, more specifically Jesus gave it to His early disciples, and by extension us. We have it in Luke 11 and Matthew 6 with minor variations. The Matthew one is the commonly taught one but I have included the version Luke shared because there we see Jesus originally gave it in response to a request. We have more than one version because Jesus traveled around the country teaching and taught regularly on the same subjects but wasn’t reading them word for word off of a tablet – tablets where heavy in those days!

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” Luke 11:1–4 (NKJV)

9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9–13 (NKJV)

A couple of important elements. When one of the disciples requested a prayer Jesus provided a model one that covered key areas, which was the practice of rabbis in that time period, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” I am going to focus on the version Matthew provided from the Sermon on the Mount as it is the longer and more commonly used version.

The prayer in Matthew begins and ends with the Father, starting with His location and ending with His kingdom. A bit more detail may help as we engage our hearts.

Our Father: Jesus instructs us to begin with an acknowledgement to/of our Fathers. A recognition that we are part of a larger family with the Father as the head.

In heaven: A recognition for us of where He resides. The spiritual eternal realm. Our prayers are rising before the throne, the throne of grace we later learn (Hebrews 4:16).

Your kingdom, Your will be done: These are not pleas or requests. The tense in Greek tells us that they are decrees/declarations. We are agreeing with His agenda and expressing our desire to see that His kingdom and will are established. There is submission to His will in this declaration.  

On earth as it is in heaven: A decree and declaration stating that earth is ultimately to come into alignment with heaven.  

Our daily bread: Expressing our dependence on the Father for our sustenance.

Forgive us: Requesting forgiveness in the context of our commitment to walk in forgiveness toward others. This is also a recognition that we all need it at some point (1 John 1:8-9).

Request for protection: We are praying for protection from ourselves and the evil one. He will lead us in right paths. We need to follow.

Yours is the kingdom and power: The Father is king in this eternal kingdom, the glorious one who sits on the throne. He is the one to whom our prayers ascend and the one we are agreeing with as we pray and declare.  

In a brief summary here is the pattern.

  • Acknowledgement and recognition,
  • Declaration,
  • Recognition of dependence for sustenance,
  • Request for forgiveness and a commitment to walk in forgiveness,
  • Request for protection, and
  • Worship.

Now go pray.

Presence

Of the many interesting and important things Jesus said, the following two are relevant to introduce our subject, Presence.

8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. Luke 16:8 (NKJV)

16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 (NKJV)

Here Jesus encourages us to be as wise as the world around us. He doesn’t tell us to function as them, hence His exhortation to be ‘wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’ We are to exercise godly wisdom in the world, not behave like the world in our daily interactions.

As we look at Presence, first some background that relates to the scripture references above. While Christmas shopping, I saw an ad prominently displayed on a large screen in a store, “Here for the Presence.” Now, as a public service announcement, I don’t recommend going to a mall in the afternoon in mid December! However, as I had done that, I had plenty of time to reflect on the ad while waiting in line. That aside, the ad caught my attention and stirred my heart. Some clever marketer hit on promoting the idea that people came to this store not merely to shop but to experience a certain atmosphere, a presence in that place. Which meant there had to be something beyond the merchandise drawing them. That could have been being part of a certain subculture, a sense of identity and belonging.

In my brief interactions with the staff, I also sensed that they also were attempting to create a presence. The ad and behaviour were aligned and it was reflected in the long line up at the sales counter. There was congruence between the stated goal of the ad, ‘presence,’ and the behaviour of the staff. Thus, while still in line I put a note in my phone as I wanted to write about what I had encountered.

In my reflections I began to think about our gatherings as His body and wondered what drew us and whether we intentionally sought to create an atmosphere that would draw His Presence. My qualifier here is that there is a difference between the Lord’s omnipresence and the degrees of His manifest presence. I am focused on the latter. In my experience, with some notable exceptions, most events I have attended over the decades have focused more on gathering people than drawing presence. While we need people, we need them to encounter Jesus when we draw them. I deeply believe we should focus more on aligning all we do to draw His presence. I think we need to spend more time in corporate worship and prayer, seeking to bless the Father’s heart. I believe we need to create space for more to share their hearts and learn how to minster to one another as a body.

I believe that if we think and practice along these lines, we will draw His Presence and His Presence will draw us. Why not build our gatherings around Jesus’ agenda and engage in a wholehearted pursuit of His Presence the way it is reflected in scripture.

4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)

8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

Here is a song reflecting a heart desire for His Presence.

 Lord Let Your Glory Fall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGdpMbZey4Y

The Church Part 1

If you are happy and content with church as you experience it, perhaps stop now. I want to look at church as we practice it here in the West and look at whether what we are in engaged in is actually what Jesus had in mind. As you walk through this with me consider how you think the average 1st Century Christian would view our practices in light of what they knew and understood.  

The obvious starting point in understanding what we are to be as the church is looking at what Jesus taught us. In His preaching and teaching Jesus talked about both the church and the kingdom. A simple way of understanding the relationship between the two is that the church is called to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom. A kingdom is simply a place where the king rules or has dominion. In this case we are to extend Jesus’ authority in the earth, we are to bring heaven to earth (see Matt. 6:9-10, 28:18-20). We do that by being the church, or more accurately the ekklesia. Ekklesia refers to an assembly or congregation. You may be familiar with the term ‘called out ones’ as that is literally what ekklesia means. In the Greek culture from where we draw the word, the ekklesia is both called out from something and to something. In ancient Athens all adult male citizens were considered part of the ekklesia, the assembly, and could participate in governmental decisions for their city. It seems that this is what Jesus had in mind when He instituted the church. Not a secular or human government but an assembly of those who could proclaim and demonstrate His kingdom in the earth. Below are some key passages from Matthew that will inform our study.  

9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9–10 (NKJV)

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18–19 (NKJV)

18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:18–20 (NKJV)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

There are some key phrases in these verses such as, ‘on earth as it is in heaven,’ ‘the gospel of the kingdom’ and the concept of ‘binding and loosing.’ We will look at those and more as we continue. For now, I invite you to mediate on the above passages. For example, the idea of ‘agreeing’ in Matthew is generally used of prayer. Have a look at the context. It isn’t about prayer.  

More to come.