I had turned down a major record deal in 1997 because the words of the music I recorded did not go in line with my new found faith. Now 14 years later, though I am convinced that what I did was the biblical thing to do, I still can’t help wondering why the music I hear in church does not excite me as much as secular music did before I was saved.

Sure, there are amazing worship songs, but no matter how I play them and how deep the presence of God is, it is rare that I feel I am not playing second rate music.  Shaving with a dull razor comes to mind, or chopping with a dull axe, you know, no edge! Perhaps it is my musical taste or heritage, call it whatever you want, but I can’t deny this anymore. Besides, secular muscicians seem to have more fun; no, I am not talking about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, but about having fun with the music they play.

So I started hunting the web for Christian musicians that I can respect, not just skill, but soul. Mike Farris is one, and I was blessed when I was even able to buy two of his CDs. He is rare, and I am still looking for more.

This search has now lead me back to my roots; blues based soul, but it has been a long long time since I even dared to walk that way. To make sure that I got my perspective right, I went back to my spiritual roots as well. Way back in 1997, around the time I got saved, I was given a copy of “Hell’s Bells: The Dangers of Rock n Roll”. This film is what made me search for backward masking in the recording I made before I met Jesus; which I found (more on that here: http://reconcenter.com/index.php/about/mmusic/backward-masking/) and played a major role in my turning the record deal down.

Something Eric Holmberg said about in the Hells Bells video’s introduction got me thinking. I thought I’d share that with you.

Throughout the ages, wise men have noted music’s profound impact on its listeners. For example, over 2,000 years before the birth of Christ, the musical systems of China were both highly developed and central to its society. It was to this that the philosophers directed much of their attention. Understanding its intrinsic power, they carefully checked their music to make sure that it conveyed eternal truths and could thus influence man’s character for the better

To this end, tradition states that one emperor, by the name of Shun, would monitor the health of each of the provinces of this vast kingdom by simply examining the music they produced. Course and sensual sounds indicated a sick society, one in need of his intervention and assistance.

Two thousand years later the Greek philosopher, Plato, echoed the sentiments of Emperor Shun when he said, “When modes of music change the fundamental laws of the state change with them.”

David Tame, The Secret Power of Music (Destiny Books, 1984) p.34

Here is what some ‘other’  people thought about music.

Plato – ” Through foolishness, they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong in music, that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave”
Aristotle – Music has the power to form character
Lenin – One quick way to destroy a society is through its music
Bach – The end of all music should be the glory of God and the refreshment of the human spirit.

I agree with Johann Sebastian Bach. The end of all music should be the glory of God and the refreshment of the human spirit.

To that end I have taken my harp down. I’m excited. Please keep me in prayer.

A. INTERCESSION FOR THE NATIONS

“Ask and I will give you the nations for your inheritance [birth right], and the farthest parts of the earth for your possession” (Ps 2:8).

The Lord has given us a great promise. He has promised us the nations.

I recently purchased a map of the world. I’ve found it to be a great help in my intercession for the nations. Here is how it works. I follow a weekly prayer chart for my daily prayers, so I felt I should do the same for the nations of the world.

On a certain day I will pray for Germany. “Lord, today I want to pray for Germany.” How do you pray for Germany? Our prayers are for the needs in Germany today.

As I look at the map of Germany I see a note that reminds me there are about 80 million people in Germany. That thought hits me hard. But, the Lord has said in His Word, “Ask of me and I will give you the nations…” such a great promise is almost beyond my understanding, but I choose to believe it.

Now I begin to pray for the multitudes in Germany. I see many places on my map like this: Lower Saxony, Wurtenburg, Bavaria, Westphalia. These are regions.

As I look at these different regions I see names of various cities and towns: Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Cologne, Hanover, Brunswick, Hamburg.

When I put my hands on the map and pray, something begins to happen in me. It will happen in you too. Germany becomes more than just a name; it is a real place with real people and real problems. And I sense that God has a purpose for that place and that people.

“How long do you go on doing that?” you say. Not a long time. May be a couple of minutes. Then I say something like this, “Lord, I pray for the people who live in Hamburg. In the Name of Jesus I ask You to send the Spirit of grace and salvation upon them, Lord, I now pray for the whole region of Westphalia.”

Why do I do it that way? Because it keep me from just praying in a vague, general way for Germany. I begin to really identify with the people and their needs.

The Holy Spirit puts His passion in my heart for them, and I am moved to intercede on their behalf. I am now praying with meaning and power; not just reciting a list of names.

If I know nothing about the needs, I use the Gift of Tongues in prayer. The spirit knows what is needed and makes intercession through me in a language I do not understand.

It is not necessary to cover a big list every day. You may only cover one nation or even a part of one nation, but you have a feeling of fulfillment.

B. INTERCESSION BY AND FOR OUR MISSIONARIES

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you, I am filled with joy…” (Phil 1:3-6).

The missionary Paul wrote to the believers at Philippi. To win them for Christ, he had suffered beatings and imprisonment (Acts 16). He loved them and constantly prayed for them.

This is what Paul was doing from his prison in Rome when he wrote to the church at Philippi. He was reaching out to those who were an extension of his own life. He kept in touch with them and supported them with his love and prayers. Their fruitful lives were a source of great joy to him.

But Paul also counted on the churches he birthed to pray for him. “Ye also helping together by prayer for us…” (2 Cor 1:11).

This biblical pattern is one we should follow.

We are to pray faithfully for our missionaries – our “sent out” ones. I pray by name for all the missionaries we have sent out to establish churches. I start on the East Coast and pray my way across the nation for each church leader and his family and the churches which they shepherd.

May I suggest you pray for your missionaries the same way. They depend upon your prayers, that all God has purposed through their lives and ministry might be joyfully completed in Christ Jesus.

C. SPIRITUAL WARFARE FOR EVANGELISM

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and in all ways. Be always alert and ever intercede for all of the saints everywhere. Pray also for me that I may freely and boldly proclaim the hidden truths of the gospel” (Eph 6:18,19).

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that we are to take up our arms and armor for spiritual warfare and then pray for open doors of ministry.

We are to come against the powers and forces of darkness that are at work in the world. As Paul was supported by the intercession of fellow believers, we are to pray for men who are called of God to proclaim His gospel.

Miracles of God’s grace don’t come just because an evangelist appears on the scene. Any true man or woman of God knows that real revivals are born out of prayer and intercession.

Jesus called Satan the “strong man,” “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mark 3:27).

Before we see victories down here on earth, there must be a battle won in the heavenly realm.

Satan is the prince of the power of the air. The “strong man” must be bound before he will surrender his territory to Christ’s claim. That is the reason Paul concludes his words on spiritual warfare with a plea for intercessory prayer. Can we settle for anything less?

D. INTERCESSION FOR NATIONAL LEADERS AND PEACE

“…I urge you that prayers and intercession… be made for… kings and all others who are in authority that we might live peaceful and quiet lives…” (1Tim 2:1,2).

We need to pray in a very responsible way for our national leaders.

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD. As the rivers of water: he turns it whithersoever he will” (Prov 21:1). So we need not be timid or fearful, but boldly pray for those in positions of authority. God can turn their hearts as He wills when we pray.

E. CONCLUSION

Remember, intercession is not just for a small group of people who are super-spiritual or extra-holy. There are indeed some who have a special calling to intercessory prayer, but the privilege is for all.

Even those whom we recognize as veteran prayer warriors had to start somewhere. There is a first time for everything, and most of you are much further along than that. So, start praying and keep praying.

You may say, “Well, I started and then I missed a couple of days and now I feel defeated. ” If I were the devil, I would try to make you feel defeated too. I would do anything to keep you from going on with your prayer life.

God doesn’t have a big score board where He adds and subtracts your days of heavy prayer. If that were true, most of us would be so far behind we couldn’t catch up.

Your heavenly Father is waiting for you to come to Him just as you are. If you have some failures to confess, do it and receive His forgiveness. Then get on with your prayer life. This is the way to respond to His ministry of grace.

Jesus said that if we “ask and keep on asking,” we will receive (Luke 11:10 amp). He seems to be saying our prayers add up, and therefore we should keep on with our praying.

It is good to know that when we are praying in the Spirit and in faith, God hears our prayers regardless of how we may feel. Prayer brings results; much prayer brings much results!

Some problems and issues may seem to be bigger than our prayers. This may be so, but they are not bigger than the One to whom we pray! So keep on growing and praying, and keep on praying and growing. God is going to have His army of prayer warriors, and you can be one of them!

START NOW AND GOD WILL BLESS!

Since February 28, 2009, I’ve posted The Lamp and The Light Post every Saturday. Times are changing, and as a reflection of that, the next issue will be on Sunday March 01, 2011, and God willing, will continue weekly every Sunday instead of Saturday.

with love in Jesus
John S. Kodiyil

Part 2

C. INTERCESSION DEFINED

I now want to give a simple definition of intercession. Later on we will discuss the concept of intercessory prayer in greater detail.

Intercession may be defined as: “praying on behalf of others, under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit, knowing there will be divine results.”

The above statement can be divided into three parts. We shall consider them one at a time.

1. Praying On Behalf Of Others.

Intercession means praying for somebody besides yourself. Now the “somebody” may be someone who is near and dear to you. You care very much about his (or her present welfare, and his eternal well-being. so you earnestly and urgently pray for him.

The “somebody” nay be someone you don’t even know personally – someone who lives in a far, foreign country. May be the “somebody” is a missionary in that country. It could even be the “country” itself. The basic idea in intercession is that it is prayer on behalf of someone else.

2. With The Power and Direction Of The Holy Spirit

Intercession is prayer with the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul tells us the Holy Spirit is ready to help us when we don’t know exactly how or for what to pray (Rom 8:26,27).

Many matters are far beyond our understanding. At such times it is a comfort to know we have a Helper Who will direct our prayers according to God’s will.

The Holy Spirit will not only direct our prayers, but will also “prompt” our prayers. There are times when God will bring certain people to our mind. We should take such thoughts and impressions seriously. It is the voice of the Spirit saying, “Pray for this person, and pray for him now!” This is your divine call to intercession. Don’t put it off.

We see, therefore, that in intercession the Holy spirit tells when, how and for whom to pray. That is God’s part. Our part is to obey and pray.

3. Knowing There Will Be Divine Results

Intercession makes a difference.

Prayer changes things. Intercessory prayer is the cause that produces the effects. There is a divine result to prayer that can come in no other way.

The idea that prayer can really make a difference in our lives and in our world is totally against the natural mind of man. Many pagan religions teach that we are helpless, hopeless victims of our circumstances.

This idea carries over to the world at large with even deeper and darker feelings. Fate is fixed, the future is set and there is nothing we can do about it. We can only submit to world affairs as they are, for they cannot be changed. One cannot fight against a destiny that has already been determined.

Jesus taught exactly the opposite. His life, death and resurrection proved that this world can be redeemed. It can be brought back into God’s original plan and purpose. All is not lost. We are not doomed to die, but destined to live. When Christ came to this earth, He exposed the lie of the devil, and called us to a life of faith, hope and love.

Furthermore, He gave to us the right to pray as He did. His prayers were life-changing and earth-shaking in their effect. This world will never be the same.

But first, Jesus had to step in, Jesus had to take a stand and expose the Man of Darkness, and the darkness that was in man. Jesus took that step and made that stand. And so must we!

D. INTERCESSION AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE

1. The Spiritual Forces Involved

When we oppose the devil, we will be involved in a spiritual battle. For us to win, it is necessary for us to know what spiritual forces are at work. There are three:

a. The Spirit Of Darkness
b. The Spirit Of Man
c. The Spirit Of God

2. Man’s Relation to Spiritual Forces

a. Man Subject To The Power Of Satan. The Spirit of darkness is headed up by Satan, the devil. We are not dealing with a funny little idea. We are dealing with a cruel and clever personality who is opposed to God and God’s purpose.

Since God created man with holy purpose in mind, it is not surprising that man would become the object of Satan’s attack. Satan hates everything that reveals anything of God’s divine image or plan.

For that reason, the devil deceived Eve and caused Adam to fall from the position of godly character and authority which had been given them

Since that time, not only has man been subject to the power of Satan, but also to the rule of his own fallen nature.

b. Man Subject To The Power Of Flesh. The soulish-sensual part of man – the will, mind, emotions and senses of man apart from God’s Spirit – is referred to in Scriptures as “the flesh.” There is enough ungodly energy in “the flesh” to spoil our lives even without the direct help of the devil. We can do it all on our own!

Man at his best is doomed for decay apart from God. Even his finest earthly achievements finally crumble into dust. Both the spirit of darkness and man’s own sinful nature are driving him in but one direction -death and decay.

It is rather dark and dismal picture if it were not for one bright beam of glorious light – the Lord Jesus Christ.

c. Man Rules Through The Power Of The Holy Spirit. Into this dark world He came, and introduced the gracious gift of God’s Holy Spirit. In the power of that life-giving Spirit, man is once again able to rule over the dark forces of death and decay.

When we submit to Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, we come under His authority. In the power of that authority we can oppose the evil forces of the world, the flesh and the devil.

Jesus Christ has set us free, that we might act as His agents and bring that same freedom to the lives of others. He has redeemed us – bought and brought us back into God’s divine purpose – that we might become ministers of His redeeming grace throughout the whole world.

3. Intercession: a Powerful Weapon

We fulfill this divine calling in two ways – through prayer and ministry – and in that order. Intercessory prayer prepares the way and clears the air for effective ministry. It breaks the power of the devil’s lies which darken the hearts and minds of men.

Prayer also supports the missionaries – God’s sent ones – who will carry the good news of the gospel throughout the world. They can then touch, love, serve, give, help and minister the life of the living God in the full power and authority of His Holy Spirit.

A successful church is a fellowship of believers who are given to prayer and committed to ministry. And so it was in the church at Antioch.

They had been taught in the ways of God and sought to obey His word and wait upon Him. As they did, God said, “I am going to change the world around you, and I am going to use you to do it.”

They realized that change would involve fasting and prayer and the sending forth of missionaries. They obeyed. And the world was changed.

The course of history turned on the basis of that prayer meeting in Antioch of Syria, 2000 years go. The flow of the gospel westward, which lifted Europe out of pagan darkness, plague, poverty and despair can be traced to that time of intercessory prayer.

People of prayer can actually change the course of human history as they seek the mind of God and become obedient to His will.

So often our salvation is only seen as an escape from a wicked world which is doomed for destruction. God wants to reach the world with His love and grace just as He has reached us. He can only do it, however, through believers who will pray and obey – and by this, make room for Him to work.

E. THREE IMPORTANT CONCEPTS IN INTERCESSION

I would now like to enlarge our definition of intercession with three different words which the Lord gave me. The three words have a very special meaning. They are as following: intervention, intersection and interception. We will take them one at a time.

1. Intervention

To “intervene” means to step into a situation with divine purpose in view.

Jesus stepped into our world that we might know and experience God’s redemptive purpose for mankind. He had the power and authority to do that. And by doing it, He put the powers of darkness under His feet (Matt 28:18).

He now sends us into the very same world with the very same authority:

“As the Father has sent me, so send I you… Behold, I have given you authority and power to step upon the serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you in any way” (John 20:21; Luke 10:19).

Jesus is saying, “you are members of my Body. If these evil things are to be kept under foot, you need to step in. When you see the evil forces of the world, the flesh and the devil at work, you have the authority to intervene. Don’t just let it go.”

You say, “But what can we do?” PRAY! Many might respond. “We have prayed, but what can we do now?” Pray! – then OBEY! Intercession is the ground from which divine direction comes.

At Antioch, you recall, they fasted, prayed, heard the voice of the spirit, and obeyed. After they spoke to God, He spoke to them. People who keep asking what to do may need to check the quality and depth of their prayer life.

2. Intersection

An intersection is the place where two roads meet and cross each other. Sometimes we call it a crossroads. God will bring all kinds of people, places, and events with their needs and problems “across” our paths.

When we bring the victory and power of Christ’s cross into such meeting places, they truly become divine “crossroads.” On the cross, Jesus Christ broke all the powers of the world, the flesh and the devil. It was a total triumph – a complete victory!

However, the power of the cross must be personally focused on the crossroads of world need. Prayer is what focuses the power of Christ’s cross on to the problem places of our earth.

Christ has done all that is needed for the world to be saved. Now we must do our part. The principle is clearly seen in the plan of salvation. God so loved the world that He sent His son to die on the cross for our sins.

That was His part.

Our part is to come to God in prayer and confess both our sin and the saving work of God’s Son.

The power of the cross will never touch our lives or our world until we bring our lives and the needs of our world to God in prayer. That is our part – to pray, then go and tell others.

There are many in the daily world of our lives who know little of God’s love or His power. They do not know how to come to Him in prayer. They need someone who can pray on their behalf. The needs begin in our own neighborhood and reach on out to the whole world.

Perhaps there is a friend that is facing a divorce; someone is in prison for preaching the gospel, the crises which occur in our local and national governments; the loss of personal and religious freedom in whole blocks of nations; world-wide hunger and disease… and the list goes on, almost without end.

These are all cross roads in human experience where your prayer might determine the outcome.

God is raising up a mighty army of prayer warriors throughout the nation and around the world. They are joining ranks by the thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands as true soldiers of the cross.

Any time you pray, you become a part of a prayer meeting which is growing in size, and will never end until Jesus comes. This is no small thing, for it is the key to God’s end-time revival which is to sweep across the entire globe.

One of the keys of the kingdom is intercessory prayer. The very gates of Hell cannot prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ when She is upon Her knees.

There may be some who still want to say, “But you have to do more than just pray.” That’s right. But I have never seen people who “just” prayed and that’s all – not if they really prayed.

As at Antioch, prayer and evangelism will always go together.

I must add, however, that I have seen a lot of people who tried to do many “busy things” without prayer. Busy things and busy people without prayer are never very productive. All they do is wear themselves and everybody else out, with little to show for their much effort.

Yes, prayer and missionary-evangelism must always go together.

3. Interception

To “intercept” means to stop, take over and even reverse the direction of something. We see this in certain types of soccer-ball games. The ball is being taken towards one goal. An opposing player stops the ball, takes it over and moves it towards the other goal. What begins as a victory play for one team is changed and – because of the “interception” – the other team wins.

Intercessory prayer does just that. The enemy is coming in as a flood. The situation looks hopeless. Then somebody steps in (intervention); applies the power of the cross through prayer (intersection); the situation is taken over for God, and the tide is completely reversed (interception). What looked like a victory for the devil becomes a triumph for the Lord. This is Kingdom power in action.

When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from their missionary trip to Cyprus and Asia Minor, they had many such “interceptions” (victories) to share with those who had faithfully supported them with their prayers.

It must have been a time of joyful celebration (Acts 14:26-28).

The three principles of intercession worked well for them, and they will for us as well.

Part 1

A. MODEL CHURCH FOR PRAYER AND MISSIONS

We find an outstanding church in the Book of Acts. It was both a praying church and a mission-minded church, and therefore is of special interest to us.

It was located in the city of Antioch on the northern coast of Syria. It was the first Gentile church, and some noted leaders in early Christianity were among its members. Luke tells us something about its special character and ministry: ‘There were prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas.. Simeon… Lucius… Manaen and Saul. While they were praying, fasting and worshiping the Lord, the Holy spirit said: ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ After they fasted and prayed , they laid hands on them and sent them away” (Act 13:1-3).

These three verses hold six ideas which will help us understand the kind of people God uses in reaching out to the world:

1. They Were A People Of The Word

From the list of prophets and teachers given in verse 1, we know they were a people who were taught and grounded in the Word of God.

2. They Were A People Of Worship

It was their practice to “minister unto the Lord.” By their worship they welcomed God into their everyday world. His holy presence in their midst was the source of their spiritual life.

3. They Were A People Who Knew The Discipline Of Fasting

In this they brought the soulish-sensual part of their beings under the control of the Holy Spirit. Fasting is one way of saying, “I am a spirit-being before I am a physical being.”

4. They Were A People Who Heard And Obeyed the Voice Of The Holy Spirit

They were in tune with His presence, and sought His direction for their lives and that of the Church.

5. They Were A People Of Prayer

The second reference to prayer and fasting shows that they knew spiritual warfare would be an important part of their missionary ministry. Their missionaries would be backed up with the battle- power of a praying people.

6, They Were A People Committed To Their Missionaries

When they laid hands on them, they linked their lives to those who were being sent out. They would continue to support them in every way possible. Their missionaries would not be forgotten.

This description of the church at Antioch gives us a practical introduction from Scripture to the whole subject of intercessory prayer.

We will develop the theme of intercession by considering a number of its different aspects.

We will also learn how to break down our responsibility for world-wide prayer into parts which we can manage without being overwhelmed. If we feel a task is too great, there is always the danger we won’t even begin.

God wants us to share in the same excitement and joy which the church at Antioch felt when Paul and Barnabas returned and told of the many ways in which their prayers had been answered. Answered prayer is a rich reward for faith and obedience.

B. PRAYER PROBLEMS

Praying for the nations is different from the kinds of prayer we have discussed thus far in our series.

The number of countries and extent of their needs requires an approach which is beyond the scope of our daily prayer routine.

1. Wrong Ideas About Prayer

Many Christians find it hard to believe that their “little” prayers could really make a difference in the course of international affairs. It is almost beyond their range of reason.

Much of this kind of thinking comes from weak and wrong ideas about the nature and practice of prayer.

Prayer is not just a good feeling or noble attitude. It is not some vague kind of influence that floats around and hopefully somewhere might do somebody some good.

Prayer is the part we play in focusing God’s purpose and power upon a specific point of need. God has given us the privilege and responsibility of working out His will on earth as it is in Heaven. He promises to back up our prayers of faith with His power and authority.

2. Doubt And Discouragement

Without Him we cannot; but without us, He will not

Because prayer releases God’s power, the devil doesn’t want us to pray, and will discourage us in any way he can. He wants us to feel our prayers are too short, too weak or too little to have any real effect upon matters so large and far away as foreign affairs.

Furthermore, many people have a fatalistic view about the actions and reactions of foreign nations.

They believe nothing can be said or done that will make any difference. What will be, will be.

this lying doubt of the devil may be hard to lay aside because we don’t always have quick and ready answers as we pray for the nations.

When we pray about daily matters close at hand we often see answers rather rapidly. This builds and encourages our faith.

However, the mixed-up matters of the world may require longer periods of time before evidence of God’s divine purpose is forthcoming.

Even then, much can happen without our notice because we are so far away from the scene.

Furthermore, God’s ways are not always our ways. Divine process and plan are often beyond our limited scope of understanding.

Paul tells us that even the Old Testament prophets didn’t fully foresee the mystery of the Church. the idea that Jews and Gentiles were to become one Body in Christ Jesus was totally outside their circle of thought.

Some events in Jewish history must have been very difficult to understand without that revelation. Only in God’s time did His purpose become clear.

The principle still applies to us today. God answers our prayers in His way and in His time. Sometimes we know, but sometimes we don’t. What we do know is that He has promised to answer our prayers when we pray in faith and obedience.

3. Wrong Motives

Wrong motives can be another source of difficulty in intercessory prayer. If we are praying only out of a legalistic sense of duty, our effort will soon become a lifeless burden. True intercession must come from a heart and mind which is motivated and directed by the Holy spirit.

Wrong methods can also defeat our desires for prayer. Our enemy would push us to one extreme or another. If he can’t keep us from praying, he wants our prayers to be so vague and general we wouldn’t know if God answered them or not.

“God bless our family, our nation, the world” isn’t really very satisfying to us or to God. That is because faith always seeks to find a focus. With specific prayer comes a sense of definite expectation.

In the other extreme, long lists of specific needs without divine direction or even practical order can become tiresome and boring. Jesus warned against the practice of “vain repetitions” in prayer – many words with little purpose or power (Matt 6:7).

When our motives or methods are wrong, we quickly become discouraged and give up. We are then left feeling both guilty and helpless. We just don’t know what to do.

For these reasons we will want to spend some time on both the purpose and practice of intercessory prayer. We need to know what real intercession is, and how it works in a personal and practical way.

A. NAME YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS DAILY

In the land of Uz there lived a man by the name of Job. He had a large family of seven sons and three daughters… His children enjoyed giving birthday parties to one another…

“Afterwards, Job would call his children to him and sanctify or purify them before the Lord. He would get up early in the morning and make a trespass [burnt] offering for each of them.

“For Job said, ‘Perhaps my sons have sinned and turned away from God in their hearts. ‘This was Job’s regular practice” (Job 1:1-5).

We have talked about offering yourself, your heart and your day to the Lord. Now we want to talk about offering to the Lord those people who are close to you those who are near and dear.

I am referring to the people who are within our “circle of touch.” They include our families, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we are personally acquainted.

Of the different areas of prayer in our outlines, this is the one which stirs my emotions the most. I have very tender and loving feelings for those who are close to my heart. I know you do too.

We need to pray for those in our immediate or near family by name every day. this is what Job did. It was his practice to bring his children before the Lord in prayer. He was deeply concerned about their relationship with God.

You should be concerned about your grandparents, parents, spouse, children and grandchildren if you have such members as a part of your family.

Even if you are living alone, there is a small circle of people whose lives are close to yours. They may not be blood relatives, but you think of them as your “family” of friends. That is where we start. Name them in prayer every day.

I would like to share two personal things with your about family prayer.

1. My Daddy’s Prayers

The first has to do with my daddy. I have always called my father “Daddy,” and I guess I always will. Daddy died in 1979, but I have many wonderful memories of life.

We have a custom. One day each year, we celebrate a day of thanksgiving to god for His blessings on us. This has always been a very special day for our family.

My wife and I usually have everyone over to our house for a special meal. We set up a very large table for the food and our guests. The whole place is crowded with family and friends. It is a time of joy, fellowship and thanksgiving to God.

Daddy always sat at one end of the table, and I at the other end. Then everyone would tell of some of the lovely things that God had done for them over the last year.

None of us knew in 1979 this was going to be the last Thanksgiving dinner we would have with Daddy. He shared with us how thankful he was that all of his children were serving the Lord, and that our families were blessed. It was a tender time, and we all were moved to the point of tears.

Then Daddy said something I will never forget: “I pray for all of you children seven times a day!” Now I knew my daddy prayed. He was a good man and a godly man. But I never knew he prayed seven times a day.

I don’t think he meant that he got on his knees each time to pray, but he had his prayer routine firmly fixed in his mind. I think I know some of the things he would say because I have heard him pray for us out loud many times.

I don’t know when he started his daily prayers for our family. He received Jesus when I was a year and half old. I am sure he prayed for me since the day I was born and probably before – even while I was in the womb of my mother. In the latter years of his life he prayed for me seven times a day.

There is a reason our church has been so richly blessed. It is this. My mamma and daddy were people of prayer, and we all are reaping the benefits of their faithfulness. May they serve as an example for the rest of us.

Pray for your children all the time. They could not receive a better heritage.

2. Praying for My Family.

The second thing I want to share with you is the way I pray for my family. I begin by praying for my wife: “Lord, I ask you to bless my dear wife.” Then I will pray about some problems and ministry opportunities I know she will be facing during the day. It doesn’t take a long time, but I faithfully pray for her every day.

I believe prayer is one of the reasons our marriage of thirty years has been so blessed I don’t mean to say we have never had any problems of difficult times together. We have. But we have learned to grow in the Lord through such times.

Daily prayer strengthens the marriage relationship before God in a beautiful but powerful way. Pray for your spouse.

Then I pray for my oldest daughter and her husband. She loves me very much. She and her husband are part of the leadership team in the church.

About two weeks ago, she opened her heart and shared with me some of the hard things they were going through. Then she came over and hugged me and cried some.

I was glad to be able to pray with her. I have been praying for her longer than any of the other children because she is the oldest. She clearly loves the Lord, her husband and their children. she is very dear to me, and I pray for them a lot – every day – by name.

They are a lovely family, and I am a very proud father. However, good things like that don’t just happen. God does it when we as parents faithfully pray.

The Lord has led one of my sons into teaching. The training of young people is a high calling. Public schools offer many opportunities to tell other about Jesus, and I also pray for him and his spouse everyday.

Our other son and his wife are preparing for church leadership ministry. Their desire is to help a little church that almost died away for lack of leadership. I admire their zeal and faith and warmly support them with my love and prayers.

Our fourth child (a daughter) is sixteen years old. About once a week we take a walk and she tells me about her interests and problems at school. One thing for sure, she has a daddy who will pray daily for her personal needs and school activities.

Then I pray for my mother, my grandmother and others in our family who are close to my heart.

What a privilege and responsibility we all have to pray for our loved ones whom God has set within our family circles!

B. OPEN TO YOUR LARGER FAMILY

“Don’t hide yourself from your own flesh” (Isa 58:7).

I didn’t understand what this verse meant when the Lord first put it upon my heart some fifteen years ago. He simply told me the whole fifty-eight chapter of Isaiah was going to come alive in my future ministry for Him.

I came to understand that “your own flesh” means our blood relatives beyond our immediate family. It is a much larger circle by far. For me it involves my “aunties” and their children. I had not been praying for them. I didn’t even think of them. Only recently have they become part of my circle of prayer.

My wife is one of nine children. Through her I have over twenty-five nieces and nephews. Many of their names I didn’t even know. Never were they part of my prayers.

I believed that I had married my wife, not her family. They were nice to see once in a while, but apart from that I was happy to be left alone. I didn’t dislike them; I just didn’t want to be bothered by them. Our relationship was polite, but cool and distant.

In the early years of our marriage God began to deal with me about my attitudes toward my larger family. I was not to “hide from my own flesh.”

Love will gladly assume the greater responsibility for family prayer that comes with marriage. The Lord changed my heart, and now I am not only learning the names of my nieces and nephews, but praying for them as well.

Now, I can’t pray for them all every day as I do for my immediate family, but I do on a weekly basis. This way I don’t get tired or burned out with a burden God has not given. I don’t know the details of their needs, so specific prayer is not always possible.

However, I can remember them before the throne of God, by name. The Holy Spirit can then pray through me on their behalf. Should one of them need urgent and special prayer, I am sensitive and ready to take on that burden as the Spirit leads.

In this way my prayer life can stay fresh and alive, and can be a powerful force for our larger family circle.

C. REMEMBER THE FATHER’S FAMILY

I bow my knee before the Father of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named” (Eph 3:14,15).

The Father’s family is the Church. How do we pray for the Church? First of all, we pray for the people that make up the church congregation.

This is different than praying fot the people that make up the church congregation.

This is different than praying for the “programs” or activities of the church. They are important and should be supported by our prayers.

But without our people we wouldn’t have any programs. So it is important to pray for the church family.

I encourage and tell our people that every time they bless their food they should also say: “And Lord, bless our church.” This is not a selfish prayer. It is just saying that we are a part of a church family and together we want God’s blessing.

We are aware that as we are blessing others, they are blessing us also. We are all seeking God’s favour and blessing, that we might better serve Him.

There is another way to pray for the Father’s family. It involves close friends within the congregation. These may be people in your home group, or those with whom you work in some other function of the church.

I want to share something with you that I learned from an elder brother in our church. He was in a prayer circle where each one shared a prayer-need.

He was so moved by the Lord about a need that had been shared by someone that he told the person. “I am going to pray for you every day this week.” And he did. God answered his prayer and a great victory was won. And he has prayed for many others in the same way since that day.

It is very important to support one another with our love and prayers. Truly this is what it means to “remember the Father’s family.”

D. INCLUDE THE SINGLE

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of the widows, is God in his holy dwelling. He sets the single – the lonely one – in families…” (Ps 68: 5,6).

We live in a very lonely world. It is possible to feel all alone even in the midst of a large crowd. Some of you know exactly what I am talking about, for the basic emotion of your life is loneliness.

There are lonely people all around us. Some of them may be our neighbors next door. They may seem to be doing just fine, but in their hearts they feel unwanted, unneeded and unloved. There are people in this world who have never had anyone who has ever prayed for them.

Can you think what it would be like to live all of your life and never have had anybody bring your name to God in prayer? I was always prayed for. But I know there are those who grew up and nobody ever prayed for them.

If this is true for you, then God wants to make it up to you in two ways. First, He wants you to know what it is like to be loved, cared and prayed for by your family in the Lord. Then He wants to give you a special ministry in prayer for the many lonely, left-out ones whom He will bring across your path.

In fact, God wants all of us to be on the watch for those whom He would have us adopt in prayer. All of us know persons in our neighborhood, church, school or work who seem to be lonely.

Sometimes they may appear to be a little strange or different. They don’t seem to fit in well with the people around them. for that reason they are just left alone or pushed to one side. They may want to relate to others and be warmly accepted, but they don’t know how to act or respond with social grace.

They need someone who will love and support them. This may or may not mean God wants you to become a special friend. But you can always adopt such a one as a lonely single whom God would set into His family through your prayers.

I can tell you what may happen next. You will find that you begin to love and care for these lonely ones. God will put in your heart the love that is in His heart for that person.

And love has a way of wanting to reach out and encourage people who are lonely and hurting.

This was clearly seen in the life of Jesus when He was here on earth. Now, through the grace and power of His Spirit, our hands can become His hands. We become the family into which the Father sets His “single ones.”

From Establishing a Devotional Habit by Jack Hayford as printed in the Shepherd’s Staff

A brief look at Psalm 86.
From the Ooty Bible study on March 24

A. SURRENDER YOUR DAY TO GOD

“Commit your way unto the Lord Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass… Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (Ps 37, 5,7).

The two little words, “commit” and “rest”, are of great importance. They form the divine door way through which you pass into your daily walk with the Lord.

By “committing” the things to God which we are powerless to change and “resting” in the sure knowledge that “..He will work all things together for our good” (Rom 8:28), we bring divine order to each day.

We do not shout orders to God.

Come before the Lord each day and say, “Jesus, I want to talk to You about today.”

Then you tell Him what you are concerned about. Describe your day to Him point by point – people, places, events, decisions. etc.

There are always things that come our way that we don’t expect. That is why we never seem to get everything done that we have planned.

Some days, nothing we planned to accomplish gets done. Then we can feel very frustrated or defeated and upset. Fruitless days can be very discouraging.

I have discovered that with the passage of time, what I thought were “fruitless” days have turned out to be more “fruitful” than I first thought.

It is encouraging to remember that God is never caught off guard by the “unexpected.”

Our plans and purposes may fail, but never His. Nothing will ever be a total waste or loss if we give our life and day back to the Lord every morning.

There are days when I have missed my early morning devotional time with God. I failed to order my day before Him. I have been in such a hurry to get going in my work for the Lord that I didn’t take the time to wait upon the Lord of the work.

Usually on such days, by about 10.30 or 11.00 a.m., my day has become very confused. My head feels and sounds like a busy hive of bees with all

kinds of things buzzing in and out. Have you had days like that?

I can run into some very thorny and difficult things by 11.00 o’clock in the morning, whether I have prayed or not. To have been prepared by prayer provides real spiritual strength.

To have ordered the day before God gives one the faith that He will wisely guide us in the unexpected problems that arise. It makes a great difference in the day arise. It makes a great difference in the day – a very great difference!

I am grateful that God’s Throne of Grace is truly one of grace and not of judgment. I am so glad we can readily come to Him even in our failures, and He is ready to forgive and restore.

There are times in the rush and confusion of a prayer-less and unordered day that I have dropped to my knees and cried out for God’s help and wisdom. To my joy I discovered that although I had failed to wait upon Him, He was still waiting upon me.

It is never too late to pray, but we can spare ourselves and others a lot of grief by doing it early in the morning. that is the time to “commit” our day unto the Lord – then we can “rest” in Him.

B. SHOW CHILD-LIKE NEED

“In all your ways look to him, and he will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil” (Prov 3:6,7).

I want you to know how important it is to maintain a childlike dependence on God. As a child needs a father, so we need God. We are totally depended upon Him. We need Him very much every day.

I have preached the gospel over forty years. But I want to tell you something. Sunday morning when I was praying, I earnestly said:

“Father God, this is your boy, Jack. I am coming to You as your child because I need Your help today. I don’t want to just follow a familiar religious form in our Sunday service at church. I want to lead Your people into true spiritual worship. Father, I refuse, to be ‘wise in my own eyes.”‘

To be “wise in your own eyes” means to be proud and arrogant – to feel confident in ourselves – that we can do things without God’s help.

And, as far as the form or pattern of the church service is concerned, that may be true. However, one can conduct a church service without the people meeting or encountering God.

The success of a meeting is dependent upon the power of God’s Spirit. We must ever and in all ways rely upon Him. This is the simple child-like dependence which we must maintain. Let us join David in his prayer: “Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy” (Ps 86:1).

C. ASK FOR SPECIFIC GUIDANCE.

“Show me your ways, Oh Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. On you do I wait all the day long” (Ps 25:4,5).

I order my day before the Lord by saying, “Father, all through out this day I will be looking to You. Show me Your ways. Teach me Your paths.” I specifically ask God to guide me on many different matters.

Then as I come to these points during the course of the day, I again turn to Him and say, “Help me here, Lord.” In this way I establish a reference point in the morning to which I can relate throughout the day.

Recently, I was just about to say something when I felt a little check or brake in my spirit as if God’s Spirit were saying, “Don’t say that!” My remark was not ugly or untrue; it was just unnecessary.

I felt like arguing with God: “I know it is not necessary, but I want to say it any way. It is not going to hurt anything. ” God simply replied, “Don’t say it. Just don’t!”

Sometimes we overlook or fail to obey God’s little stop-sign, and speak any way. What we thought was a harmless word becomes a very painful experience for someone. Then we are so sorry we didn’t heed the warning signal the Holy spirit set in our heart.

Even if it seems that our remark caused no harm, we feel a little sad that we went ahead any way just to satisfy your compulsion to talk.

In this case, I did keep my words to myself, and felt the approval of the Holy Spirit. It is a good feeling to know that our attitude and action was pleasing to the Lord.

The point I want you to get is this: my ability to exercise self-control came from my morning prayer time. I had ordered my day before the Lord, and had prayed, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight” (Ps 19:14).

If we ask the Lord for specific guidance at the beginning of the day, He will faithfully direct us in all the details that will come our way all day long.

D. OBEY INSTRUCTIONS

Jesus clearly tells us that our heavenly Father will supply our needs:

“Look at the birds of the air , they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them… Look at the lilies in the field, they do not labor or spin, yet even Solomon in all of his glory was not dressed like one of them…

“If God clothes the grass of the field…shall he not clothe you?

“…for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things” (Matt 6:26-32).

We don’t need to worry about what we will eat or wear. Just as our heavenly Father cares and provides for the little birds and the lilies of the field, even more, He cares and will provide for us.

But do we just sit and passively wait for His provision? Or is there something we are required to do in order to enjoy His supply? The Scripture answers these questions. God is not going to fulfill these promises without our doing what He requires.

The Bible says, “Ask and it will be given to you… Pray therefore … Give us this day our daily bread [food]…” (Luke 11:9; Matt 6:9,11).

This is the simple thing God requires.

“Ask and you will receive. “Don’t worry, but do ask!

Is God saying that if we don’t pray we won’t receive? Yes!

James says, “.. you have not because you ask not” (Jas 4:2).

Salvation is a good example. It is for all, and it is forever – but only those who ask, receive it.

We receive the gift of eternal life when we ask Jesus to come into our hearts and become our Lord and Savior. But we must ask.

The same truth applies to our daily affairs and needs. We must ask God for our “daily bread.” This refers to our material or bodily needs and our spiritual needs as well.

Jesus said, “….My meat [food] is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34).

What does this mean?

Just as the hunger of the body can only be met by eating a meal, the hunger of the heart and soul an only be met by doing the will of God. We can only do God’s will by knowing His will.

Our Father has a daily plan and purpose for our lives which we discover each day in our devotions. His will is to become the “daily bread” for which we pray.

The key to knowing God’s will is to ask for it – and ask for it every day. That doesn’t mean He will reveal every detail of your day before it happens. It does mean that when the day comes to a close, His purpose for your life will have been completed for that day – IF you ask for His will before the day’s activities began.

It may not have been your will, but it will have been His. God will work everything together for His good purpose in Christ Jesus. His will for us is to become like His son. Nothing will be lost, nothing will be wasted (Rom 8:28,29).

You may not even realize what details of God’s good purpose were fulfilled in a given day. It may have looked like one of those “fruitless” days that we talked about earlier.

But give God some time to bring forth the harvest. It may take a week, or a year – or even half a life time. However, there will come a day when we all can say, “Jesus led me all the way.”

Give each day back to God with your life. Order each day before Him. Joyfully ask God for the daily bread of His will for you – and be at peace!

A. INVITE A SEARCH

Along with our bodies we also need to offer our hearts to God. We should ask and invite the Lord to search our hearts. The Psalmist says it with these words: “Lord, search me and know my heart. Try [test] me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any evil way in me. Lead me in the way that lasts forever” (Ps 139:23-24).

This is not the prayer of a man who at the time was in deep sin or great failure. David experienced such times. Psalm 51 is his prayer of repentance for adultery and murder (sometimes called “the sinner’s Psalm). But this was not the case when David wrote Psalm 139).

In the earlier verses of this Psalm, David speaks of God’s loving hand upon his life. He knows that the Lord is with him everywhere, and all the time. He knows that God made him in a wonderful way, and has a wonderful plan for his life.

He goes on to say that the Lord’s promises of blessing to him are like the sands of the sea in number. He is aware of God’s great love, which is very precious to him in every way.

This Psalm is a picture of a man who is living in fellowship with God. Yet, he is asking God to search his heart, and try his thoughts for some inner evil that he might not know about.

This Psalm tells us in the opening verses that God knows us better than we know ourselves. How wise it is to invite His search; to let Him point out any danger areas in our lives that might bring hurt or harm to ourselves or others.

when I was a boy, my dad would give me a list of things that I was to do every Saturday. It was hard work, and usually took four hours or more to finish. Then I could spend the rest of the day playing.

When Dad would come home in the evening, he would take the list and look around to see if everything had been done right. Sometimes he would point out some hidden corner which had not been swept perfectly clean. I would take a little hand brush and finish the job properly right then and there.

Now my dad was not putting me down in some unkind way. He was just helping me to learn how to do a job right the first time. When I would get the job done, he was always ready to say: “That’s good work, Son.” As you might know, next week when I would sweep the floor I would remember all the “hidden corners” – places I had not even seen before.

It is possible for all of us to have “hidden corners” in our hearts that need to be swept clean.

I don’t say this unkindly, but there are many people who are caught up in sinful habits that they have little awareness of. They will eventually reap what they sow. The results of their sin will bring the harvest of pain and punishment in time. Then they will wonder, “Why did this happen to me?”

Church leaders spend many hours trying to help people with personal problems resulting from hidden sins. They are thinking, saying and doing wrong things and don’t even know it.

Very few people come and say, “I just decided I was going to turn my back on God, and live a sinful life.” Most of the time they come hurt and wounded on the inside because they don’t know how to walk with Jesus, or hear His voice.

If we ask the Lord to show us our hidden sins, He will speak to us, and help us to sweep every little corner of our lives bright and clean.

As we listen for His voice, and seek to obey His Word, we will learn to walk close by His side everyday. Then as the night draws near, we too can hear Him say: “That was a good job, Son. I am really proud of you” And that is worth it all!

B. DON’T BE DECEIVED

Deception is believing something is right when it is wrong. 1 John 1:7-10 tells us that as long as we walk in the light of God’s love and truth, the blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing us from all sin. It also says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. “This same beautiful scripture goes on to say, “But if we confess [tell God] our sin, he is faithful to forgive and cleanse us.”

1. Three Area For Deception

From this we see there are three possible area for deception:

a. We Have No sin. Thinking we have no sin for which to be forgiven.
b. We Don’t Need To Confess. Thinking if we do sin, God will either overlook it, or forgive us even if we don’t face it or tell Him about it.
c. We Won’t Be Forgiven. Thinking we cannot, or will not be forgiven even when we do confess our sin.

2. Deception Spoils Fellowship

If we are deceived in any one of the three areas, our fellowship (walk and talk with God) will be spoiled. We will find it hard to pray, praise or worship the Lord.

God’s Word won’t bring the joy and peace it once did. It will be hard for us to look full into the face of our Lord. We may try to act like everything is all right, but deep on the inside we know something is wrong.

a. Hurting Hearts. Those who believe they never sin at all, keep having problems caused by their sin. But they don’t know why they have them – or why their heart still hurts.

b. Hardened Hearts. Those who sin but feel they don’t have to tell God, because He forgives them anyway, can become hard of heart. After a while they don’t even hear the Lord trying to warn them. To walk so far away from God is very dangerous.

Was this the problem of the Pharisees? “and [some] of the Pharisees.. said unto him. Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye [falsely] say, We see; therefore your sin remains” (John 9:40,41). the Pharisees were deceived and did not know it. Therefore their sin remained.

c. Heavy Hearts. Those who feel that even though they tell God their sins, He will not really forgive and forget, will always have a heavy heart. They ever walk under a dark cloud of guilt and condemnation.

How good it is to be open and honest and say that sometimes we do fall or fail. God is ever ready, however, to forgive, restore and strengthen us. He also wants to teach us how to walk above the call and fall of sin.

The way to live beyond sin is to come to Him before we sin. It is easier to come to Him before hand rather than afterwards.

3. Be Sensitive To the Spirit

In our morning devotion we can tell the Lord hat we have no desire to be deceived during the day. We really want to walk in the light of His love and truth. We want to know and feel His presence with us all the time. In this way we can serve and obey Him with gladness of heart.

We should ask God daily to make us very sensitive to His Holy spirit. For He can warn us when we are in danger. He will also let us know very quickly if we sin against His love or truth.

I think we all understand that if we fail God during the day, we don’t lose our salvation. The littlest sin, however, can quickly spoil our fellowship (our walk and talk with God).

We then want to be always ready to ask Him for His forgiveness, because we do not want our fellowship with Him to be broken. We want to please the Lord Jesus in all things, and grieve Him in none!

C. SET A GUARD OVER YOUR MIND AND MOUTH

David wrote, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation [thoughts] of my heart be pleasing in your eyes, Oh Lord, my strength and Redeemer” (Ps 19:14).

Someone has said that while we can’t keep the birds from flying overhead, we can keep them from building a nest in our hair!

1. Guarding Your Mind

a. Three Main Sources Of Thoughts.

Thoughts and temptations can come to our minds from many different places. In fact, there are three main sources:

1) The World - from what we see and hear.
2) The Flesh – from our old sin nature.
3) the Devil – from the spirit world.

However, just because a thought comes to our mind doesn’t mean we have to dwell on it. Unholy thoughts unchallenged – will lead to unholy words and deeds. We need therefore to cut them off short, and replace them with holy thoughts.

b. Make Jesus Lord Of Your Mind.

We can begin the day by asking God to keep our minds.

When a wrong thought arises, He will then quickly let us know. One easy way to stop it short is to say, “Lord Jesus, you see that thought too, and we are not going to give it any more time or attention, are we?”

Talking to Jesus has great stopping power. Our flesh hears it. The spirit world hears it. This keeps us from carrying the thought on, or coming under a false sense of guilt or condemnation.

Every Christian will have wrong thoughts at one time or another, but Jesus can be the Lord of our minds as well as our hearts.

2. Guarding Your Mouth

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue..” (Prov 18:21).

a. Words Are Powerful. We also want to watch our words. Words have feeling and meaning, and are very powerful for good or evil. They can hurt or heal. They can bring joy or sadness. They can build up or tear down. They can minister love or fear – life or death!

Some times words may have little effect other than to waste time. “But I say unto you. That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt 12:36). Time is life, and to waste one is to waste the other.

b. Know When To Speak. We have all had the Lord warn us about our words at one time or another. Maybe we were about to speak, but the Lord said, “Don’t say it; it is not needed right now.” Maybe we didn’t know at the time how important it was to keep the words to ourselves. But God did!

Other times the Lord might tell us to speak out. He has set something in our hearts from His heart, and He wants His people to hear the word. That is the time to speak out in faith. Words from the Lord will always bring life!

Beginning each day by talking with God will help us to hear His voice throughout the rest of the day. This is an important reason for developing the habit of daily devotions.

D. KEEP THE GOAL IN VIEW

The Apostle Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3:13-14: “No, dear brothers, I am not all that I should be yet. But I do one thing. I forget everything that is behind me, and look forward to that which is ahead of me.

My eyes are on the goal. I press on to win the race and get the prize. That is the purpose for which God is calling us to heaven in Christ Jesus.”

This is a very special verse to me. In fact, I have taken it as my life verse. There is a reason this part of God’s Word is so important to me. Let me tell you the story which is behind it.

When I was 14 years old, I was listening to a woman preacher. Her name was Esther. She was an evangelist who had come to preach in our church.

One night when she was preaching, she told how she had come very close to death’s door. She and some other people were in a dry river bed when an unexpected flood of water came rushing down upon them.

They joined their hands together in prayer and stood against the force of the oncoming water. By “pressing against” the power of the rushing river, they were able to stand together, and finally move on to a place of safety.

She told the story to help us understand the words Paul used in “pressing on” to reach God’s goal for our lives.

I was deeply moved in my heart that night. I told the Lord: “That is the kind of person I want to be. I want to always ‘press on’ and win the very best that you have for my life in Christ” That still is my long range goal and life purpose in the Lord.

Long range goals are reached by completing a series of daily short range-goals. Every day in God’s plan for our lives there is a number of little goals to be reached. these are little “jobs” He wants us to do.

During our morning prayers God will bring several things to our mind that will be a part of His plan for the day. (We will discuss this in more detail in our next section.) These are little jobs he wants us to do. When we complete these little tasks in faith and obedience, we will have “pressed on” toward God’s greater, long-range goal for our lives.

Every morning during our devotional time, we should give both our lives and the day back to God. We should pray that we “press on” no matter what may come against us. We will not give up in our effort to do God’s will.

We can reach our goals in God. We will win our heavenly prize. Come, therefore, let us greet the day with faith, hope and courage in Christ Jesus!

A. DAILY PURPOSE IN PRAISE

The Bible says in Psalm 100:4, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.”

There are two basic reasons for which we can praise God:

• For who He is – truth about God’s nature and character.
• For what He has done - gifts, blessings, protection, answers to prayer, etc.

1. Praise Him for Who He Is

I can tell you something right now, dear one. Praising God every day for Who He is will change your life!

You might begin by simply saying: “Lord, I praise You today because You are my Savior. You have not only saved me from my sins of the past, but You are also my Savior right now. I know You will save me from many things even today – from fears, doubts and angry words. I really thank You for being such a strong and faithful Savior.”

On the next day you can take another side of God’s character and think about that, “Lord I praise You because You are almighty. You are stronger than anything that might come my way today. I can be sure that You will protect and strengthen me no matter what may happen.”

Then again you might want to thank the Lord for being the Truth: “Lord I praise You for being so faithful and true. I can always trust the truth of Your Word – it will never fail. In Your truth is freedom, and I can walk in that wonderful liberty today.”

In this way you can continue to praise God for a different part or aspect of His nature every day. I have seen books which give a special name for Jesus for each day of the year. You could make up your own list for a week at a time. I can assure you your praise and worship will become very fresh and meaningful.

2. Praise Him for What He Has Done

Also, praise the Lord for what He has done. There are some past blessings for which we just can’t thank the Lord enough. We keep thanking Him over and over again. That is wonderful to do, but also keep up to date. Pick out something special that God did in your life yesterday for which to praise Him. That will keep our prayers and praise life bright and fresh.

B. OFFER UP YOUR BODY TO THE LORD

Romans 12:1 tells us to do that. “Christian brothers, I ask you from my heart to give your bodies to God because of his loving-kindness to us. Let your bodies be a living and holy gift offered to him.

“He is pleased with this kind of gift. When you think of what God has done for you, is this too much to ask? This is the true and spiritual worship which he desires.”

It is spiritual worship to offer our bodies to God. How do we offer your bodies? One way is to kneel down. If you can’t kneel, sit before the Lord with a humble heart. (They were all sitting, when the Spirit first came on the Day of Pentecost.)

It is good, however, to kneel when we can. In this way we show our desire to humbly submit and offer ourselves to God. It is more than just a religious form or ritual. It means we are bowing our hearts before the Lord.

There are many ways to offer our body to the Lord.

This morning I danced before the Lord. It was only for a short time, but I did it with a heart filled with praise and joy. The Scriptures also tell us to lift up our heads and our hands unto the Lord. “Clap your hands all you people, and shout to the Lord with a voice of victory” (Ps 47:1).

It does not have to be the same act of praise every day. But do offer your body in some way to the Lord at the beginning of the day.

You will find it much easier to resist the claims of the world for your body if you do. Hands lifted to God in holy praise early in the morning will not so quickly give way to unholy acts of disobedience.

When our bodies are not offered and submitted to God, we can suffer from all kinds of problems. Overeating, laziness and unholy sex are all body sins. Body praise is one way we can become strong in resisting the “world the flesh and the devil.” Let us offer our bodies to God in praise every day!

C. SING A NEW SONG

Psalm 96:1 says: “Sing unto the Lord a new song. ” How is this possible? From whom do we receive these new songs? it is from the Holy Spirit and His gifts.

1. Three Ways Of Singing

Paul describes this. “…I will sing with the spirit…” (1 Cor 14:15). Paul used the Gifts of the Spirit to help him sing new songs. The following verses refer to three ways of singing to the Lord.

“Speaking to yourselves in a) psalms and b) hymns and c) spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph 5:19).

“…teaching and admonishing one another in a) psalms and b) hymns and c) spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Col 3:16).

Most of us sing Psalms and hymns. What are “spiritual songs?” these are “new-songs” the Holy Spirit gives us. They are available to all Spirit-filled believers who will use the enablements provided by the Spirit.

2. Singing The Psalms

Great leaders throughout the history of the Church have taught us to praise by singing the Scriptures. I was reading a book recently. It was named, “A Serious Call To A Devout And Holy Life,” This book was written in the early part of the 1700s. The author said Christians ought to sing something from the Psalms every morning.

The Psalms are a rich source for songs to sing to the Lord. They also give us an example to follow.

King David was the sweet singer of Israel. How did he begin each day? The answer can be found in the Psalms themselves:

“Morning by morning I lay my needs and desires before you and wait with great hope and expectation” (Ps 5:3).

“I will sing of your strength; in the morning I will sing of your love” (Ps 59:16).

“My heart is set, O God. My heart is set, therefore I will sing and give praise. Wake up, my soul! Wake up harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn” (Ps 57:7,8).

How long will all of this take? May be three or four minutes at the beginning. But as our spirit is joined with His Spirit in joyful song, we will forget all about the time, and wonder how it could have passed so quickly.

Besides the Psalms, other Scripture-passages can be sung as well. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will give us our own tunes.

This is what Paul and Silas experienced in prison. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God… and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s hands were loosed” (Acts 16:25, 26). What power there is in singing TO THE LORD.

We can be sure of one thing. Whatever effort we make in singing praise to our God will be a sweet sound to His ear.

D. WORSHIP IN THE SPIRIT

“But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).

Ephesians 5:18-19 says. “Be ever filled with the Spirit… sing and make music in your heart to the Lord”.

Our prayer and singing may be “in the Spirit” (1 Cor 14:14-16). Singing and praying in the Spirit has a special meaning. it means to sing and pray in a tongue or language which comes from the Holy Spirit.

The song or prayer is made up of sounds or speech which has not been learned. This language is not understood by the mind of the one praying or singing. Nor is it usually understood by someone nearby who may be listening. It is, however, understood by God because it is by His Spirit. “For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God..” (1 Cor 14:2).

The Apostle Paul tells us (Rom 8:26,27) that sometimes we don’t know how to pray or what to pray for as we should. However, the Holy Spirit can pray to God through us with sounds or a language we don’t understand. Paul assures us that such praying is always in line with the will of God.

Often after praying “in the Spirit.” we will begin to pray with our native or learned language in great power and wisdom. In 1 Corinthians 14:14-16, Paul refers to this as praying with the “understanding” (or the interpretation of what we prayed in other tongues).

Praying “in the Spirit” can be followed with “praying with the understanding”
(referred to as Interpretation of Tongues). “Wherefore let him that speaks in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret” (1 Cor 14:13).

Praying in tongues is a powerful tool and gracious gift of God’s Holy Spirit. It should be an important part of our daily devotional life.

Singing in the Spirit can have a like purpose. Sometimes we just can’t put into words how much we love the Lord Jesus. Again the Holy Spirit helps us by giving sounds and songs of praise in a language we don’t understand with our minds.

We do know in our hearts that it is an overflow of love, joy and praise to God, and that we are being strengthened in our spirit (1 Cor 14:2,4,17,18).

The above teaching explains how we can use the gifts of the Spirit in our private devotions. In our private devotions we can take great freedom. We will be built up, and the Lord will be pleased. See Section A5.4 for further teaching on this.

Paul is thankful to God that in his private devotions he prays in tongues (languages given by the Spirit) more than any one else (1 Cor 14:18). What a powerful example for us to follow in our own daily life of devotion!

A look at our position in Christ, our mission here, and the benefits of being present in the throne room of God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxYwUiwckPA

A study on our position in Christ and our attendance in the throne room of God.

C. A SIX-FOLD PROGRAM FOR DAILY PRAYER

There are six important areas which I feel should be a part of our daily morning devotion. They are the basis for the following outline on prayer.

I. THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE – OFFERING UP YOURSELF.

A. Daily purpose in praise.
B. Present your body.
C. Sing a new song.
D. Worship in the Spirit.

II. CONFESSION AND CLEANSING – OFFERING OF YOUR HEART.

A. Invite a search.
B. Don’t be deceived.
C. Set a guard.
D. Keep the goal in view.

III. ORDER AND OBEDIENCE – OFFERING UP YOUR DAY.

A. Surrender your day to God.
B. Show childlike need.
C. Ask for specific guidance.
D. Obey instructions.

IV. FAMILY AND CHURCH – OFFERING UP THOSE NEAR AND DEAR.

A. Name immediate family daily.
B. Open to your extended family.
C. Remember the Father’s family.
D. Include “the single.”

V. THE ROLE OF INTERCESSION IN REACHING THE WORLD FOR JESUS.

A. A model church for prayer and missions.
B. Prayer problems: wrong attitudes, motives and methods.
C. Intercession defined.
D. Three forces which are at work in spiritual warfare.
E. three important concepts in intercession.

VI. FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND NATIONS – OFFERING UP THE WHOLE WORLD.

A. Intercession for the nations.
B. Intercession for evangelists.
C. spiritual warfare for evangelism.
d. Intercession for national leaders and peace.

For the rest of this Bible lesson we will follow the above outline in our study together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ddhKe3CSWE

Answering the question of whom to worship, our heavenly Father or our Lord Jesus.
Bible Study in Ooty. February 18, 2011

B. DEVOTIONAL PRAYER – A DAILY HABIT

Now, it is this daily habit of devotional prayer that God was dealing with me about. He spoke directly and told me I had forgotten the discipline (regular practice) of daily devotions. I had allowed other things to crowd out my daily quiet times alone with Him.

I don’t mean to say that I didn’t pray at all. In fact, I pray at lot. I was taught to pray as a small boy. It started with a little child’s prayer which so many people know: “Now I lay me down in sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.”

After that I would pray, “Bless Mommy and Daddy and Loann and Jimmie and me. And Lord, help us to be ready when You come. If I’ve done anything bad today I ask You to forgive me and make my heart clean. And bless all our friends and loved ones and help me not to have any bad dreams. In Jesus’ Name.”

Sometimes there were a few other things, but mostly that too the prayer that I grew up on.

Even today that remains the structure of my prayer when I go to sleep. I do not consider myself above such child-like simplicity. I still pray. “Lord, I’m laying down to sleep now. I thank You for Your word that says that those who are at peace with You will sleep safely. Bless Anna, my wife. Bless my children, Beeky and Scott, and Jack and his wife. Bless Mark and Dede, and Brian and Kyle, my grand-kids, and my daughter Christie.” Then I’ll name a few other people just quickly and go to sleep.

I think of myself as a prayer and worship person. I know you do too.

As a church leader, I will often lead in prayer in our church meetings. I frequently pray with my people in small groups. I pray with individuals who come to me for spiritual help. There are times when God will move me into special sessions of intercessory prayer for people around the world and others. Through out the day I often turn to God for counsel as needs arise.

Furthermore, I have taught on prayer. I have written and preached much on the subject. So, I am not a stranger to prayer in either understanding or practice. However, I did have a problem: My morning devotional prayer time was no longer a daily habit!

It wasn’t something that I suddenly stopped doing. Other things – even good things – just seemed to take over my time for daily private prayer.

As an example, for me it is much easier to read the Bible everyday than it is to pray everyday. I think most people find that true. Of course, the study of God’s word is important, but the direction and correction I was receiving had to do with my prayer life.) People who pray more, also read more of God’s Word).

The Lord made it very clear that I needed to start a daily habit of personal prayer once again. It was a practice which I first began back in my early school days. Somehow, it had slipped to a lesser place of importance in my day with God.

Now He was saying that I needed to learn it all over again. And I did! I went back to school with Jesus. I learned some precious lessons that I want to share with you – from my heart to yours.

As a church leader, the Lord first required that I share my failure with my people. I told them that probably many, if not most, of them didn’t have a time of daily devotions either. For some of them their fault could be traced back to their church leader – who had not provided the example.

Then I told them how God had lovingly and wisely instructed me to renew my daily practice of morning prayer. I had willingly listened to God and obeyed.

Because I had renewed my own prayer life, I was ready to teach them truth that was fresh from God’s heart to mine. And that is the purpose of our teaching time in our services at our churches as well!

1. How Long should I Pray?

The first question that comes to most people’s minds is how much time they should spend in morning prayer. I am going to tell you a rule right now. Don’t set a specific time limit. You will defeat yourself right from the start. Prayer will become a task or heavy burden rather than a door into a loving relationship with your heavenly Father.

a. Set Aside A Time For Prayer. We need to set aside a time to pray. If we are going to spend more time in prayer, it means we will spend less time doing something else.

Therefore, we must decide what must be removed so that prayer can take its place.

Most of us waste a certain amount of time in the evening with unnecessary things. For instance, I had formed the habit of listening to a late evening news and weather report on the radio before going to bed. I decided to give that up.

Everyone most likely has something they could cut back on in the evening to allow an earlier bedtime. Twenty-five to thirty minutes less at night means we can arise that much earlier in the morning. That is just the time that could be needed to start our practice of daily devotions.

2. Prayer: Fellowship With Jesus

It takes a certain amount of will power to get a habit started. Once the pattern is formed, it becomes a natural part of our life.

We know of course that to miss a time of daily devotion with the Lord does not mean the rest of the day is doomed for failure. Our basic trust is in the One to Whom we pray, not just our prayers. God is faithful to help us any time we turn to Him.

It is true, however, that some things might be avoided, and others more easily overcome when we have been fully prepared through our morning prayers.

We also need to know that while our time of personal devotion are a blessing to us, they also bring great pleasure to the Lord. He really wants to be with us, and cares for us very much.

What a privilege is ours to greet the Lord at the beginning of each new day, and to know He desires to be a part of every detail of our lives. May we daily honor His presence by our prayers.

From Establishing a Devotional Habit by Jack Hayford as printed in the Shepherd’s Staff

Introduction

Recently the Lord dealt very forcefully with me about a most important part of our daily walk with God. Three times within one week the Lord awakened me in the night and spoke to me concerning a very serious failure in my life. As a Father with His son, he was very gracious and plain in His counsel to me.

I am always grateful for the Lord’s loving correction and discipline. I have a desire to hear and obey His voice. I carefully recorded everything that He brought to my mind, for I realized it was not only important for me as a church leader, but for our church fellowship as well.

Spiritual leaders have a great responsibility before God for their people, since the people look to them for guidance. Our lives speak as loudly as our words, and the flock of God will look, listen and follow in the footsteps of their shepherds.

We who are church leaders can lead our people no further than we ourselves have walked with God. More than this, when we fall and fail, others sadly and badly will be held back or even crippled in their walk with the Lord. This is true even when our failures may not be planned or even known.

This was certainly true in my own life, for I would never have knowingly done anything that would weaken the spiritual life of the believers.

Therefore I want to share with you the lessons that I learned from the Lord during this special time in my life.

A. PRAYER AND THE EARLY CHURCH

I would like to begin by looking at the early chapters in the Book of Acts. Here we find what the church of Jesus Christ was like as it was first formed. It began in this way.

1. Prayer Birthed The Early Church.

After Jesus’ resurrection, He left special instructions for the disciples. They were to wait (pray) in Jerusalem until they were endued (clothed) with power from on high as the Father had promised (Luke 24:49).

Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, tells us what happened next: “It was not long afterwards that Jesus rose into the sky and a cloud carried him away so the disciples could not see him any more” (Acts 1:9).

The disciples were on the Mountain of Olives when this happened. They then walked the one kilometer back to Jerusalem, and met together in a second-floor room. Here they held a prayer meeting that lasted for ten days. Some 120 people were there.

The Festival Day of Pentecost came ten days later. They were still praying together, when all at once there was a sound from Heaven like a powerful wind. It filled the house where they were seated.. and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Following a powerful sermon by Peter, some 3,000 people were saved. They joyfully joined with the other believers. Daily they were taught by the apostles and met together in each other’s homes for fellowship, breaking bread and prayer (taken from Acts 1:1 – 2:42).

The Church was birthed from the womb of prayer. Ten days of prayer produced the Pentecostal out pouring of the Holy Spirit -and most miraculously, 3,000 new converts. The people of Pentecost were a people of daily prayer!

2. Prayer – A Powerful Force

Not only did the daily prayer life of the early Church produce their Pentecost, but it went on as a powerful force in the unusual days that followed: “Now Peter and John went into the Temple one afternoon for the three O’clock daily prayer meeting” (Act 3:1).

You know the story – that’s when the lame man who sat at the Gate called Beautiful was healed! Through that miracle, the number of believers grew to 5,000.

The rulers were unhappy, however, and jailed both Peter and John. The next day they let them go, but warned them not to do anymore preaching about Jesus.

How did Peter and John respond to that threat? “They returned to their own group, and told them everything that had happened. When they heard their report, they all began to pray.

“When they had finished praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and went on boldly speaking the Word of God” (Acts 4:23,24,31).

Again in Acts 5:12 we read, “And the apostles did many wonderful miracles among the people regularly met in the Temple area known as Solomon’s Hall.” This was to have their times of prayer together.

Another interesting story is told in Acts 6:1-4. The leaders are facing a problem in their fellowship and they need a solution. Their answer is a wise and practical one. It allows the apostles the time they need to continue in “prayer and ministry the Word.”

In Acts 7:55-60 we learn about Stephen, who was the first Christian to die for his faith. As he is brought to his knees by the stones of his enemies, he cries out in prayer. Heaven hears that prayer, and the Lord Jesus is seen standing at the right hand of God ready to receive his spirit.

And in Acts 9:10,11 we read: “In Damascus there was a believer by the name of Ananias. The Lord showed him in a vision [dream] what he wanted him to see. He said, ‘Ananias!’

“And Ananias answered, ‘Yes, Lord: I am here.’

“The Lord said, ‘Get up! Go over to Straight Street to Juda’s house and ask for a man from the city of Tarsus. His name is Saul. You will find him praying there.”

You will recall that Saul had just met Jesus on the road to Damascus. he had been brought to the ground, and blinded by the bright glory of God. His spiritual eyes, however had been opened and he was wonderfully born again. Completely changed!

It is likely that Ananias was at prayer when he received his vision. At the same time Saul was also at prayer, because he didn’t know what to do. Those prayers were to have an effect that would reach down through history to our very day!

Yes, the people of Pentecost are a people of prayer. When they pray, the Holy Spirit moves in power. There is forgiveness, healing, miracles and guidance! They pray all the time, and every where and God is there to do His will.

You might say the Book of Acts is a report of a very special prayer meeting. It began at Pentecost by God’s Spirit and never did stop.

For the believers in the early Church, prayer was a daily practice. it was a habit as natural and important as breathing. In deed, it was the breath of their new life in the Spirit!

From Establishing a Devotional Habit by Jack Hayford as printed in the Shepherd’s Staff

Nicolaitanes:

Revelation 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

Revelation2: 14 … So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth

The root of the word Nicolaitanes comes from Greek nikos, to conquer or overcome, and laos, which means people and which the word laity comes from.  The laity comprises all persons who are not in the clergy. A good translation of Nicolaitanes would be “those who prevail over the people”.

Priests acting as a separate spiritually elite class, who have special supernatural powers given only to them by God, who alone are His authorized representatives before man, is not biblical. The abuse of this position to rule over people is detested by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Biblical Leadership

1 Peter 5:1- 7

1. The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2. Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3. nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
4. and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
5. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
6. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Peter exhorted us to

1. Shepherd the flock of God,
2. Serve as overseers,
   1. Not because we have to but willingly
   2. Not for any gain, money or popularity for example, but eagerly
   3. Not be Lords over those entrusted to us but being examples to the flock.
      1. Not being controlling, but revealing.
      2. Submitting ourselves to our elders
      3. Being submissive to one another, and being  clothed with humility.

This comes with a warning: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The Lord Jesus was very clear in His Word about how He wishes His church on earth to be organized and managed.

• First, Christ is the head of the church and its supreme authority (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18).
• Second, the local church is to be autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of Spirit filled-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (Titus 1:5).
• Third, the church is to be governed by spiritual leadership, meaning the leaders are led by the Holy Spirit.

What went wrong?

The first three centuries of Christianity were years of persecution by the succession of Roman Emperors – from Nero to Diocletian – that drove it underground. After facing nearly three centuries of hostility by Roman emperors, the persecution and martyrdom of Christians in Rome ended with the reforms of the Emperor Constantine (r. 306-337). Constantine was responsible for legalizing Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

Constantine’s Edict of Toleration (313 A.D.) granted to “Christians and to all others full liberty of following that religion which each may choose,” thus legalizing Christianity.

And Constantine went even further, favoring Christians in the filling of the chief offices, exempting Christian ministers from taxes and military service, and making Christianity the de facto religion of the court. Thus began the migration from the rags of the caves and catacombs to the silks of the Imperial Court.

On March 7, 321, Constantine introduced the first civil legislation concerning Sunday: “Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun.”17 In 325 A.D., Constantine issued a general exhortation to all his subjects to embrace Christianity.

Under Constantine, Sunday was declared a day of rest; slavery, gladiatorial fights, killing of unwelcome children (abortion), and crucifixion as a form of execution were also abolished.

It was Constantine’s second successor, Theodosius II (378-398 A.D.) that would declare Christianity the single state religion of the Empire.

In 378 A.D., Damasus, the Bishop of Rome, took on the office of  Pontifex Maximus, (high priest) of the Babylonian religion, which  had previously been the prerogative of the Roman emperor, thus combining the “Christian” church with pagan religion.  The ceremonies, rites, titles, vestments…celibate priests, Mariolatry, image and crucifix worship, veneration of saints, adoration of the host…papal infallibility, transubstantiation, etc…all idolatry thinly veneered by Christian nomenclature.

In 380, the Flavius Theodosius (r. 379-395) made Christianity the official religion of Rome.  His legislation in 380 affirmed the dogmas of the Council of Nicaea and made church membership compulsory.

This is the worst calamity that has ever befallen the church because thus began the great apostasy as the church began its pursuit of temporal power.

Theodosius undertook the forcible suppression of all other religions, and in 392 he prohibited paganism. (It was through this fusing of extant paganism with the new Christianity that the December 25 of Sol Invictus became the Christmas of the Christians, etc.)

At the close of the fourth century, the majority of Roman citizens had converted to Christianity. The separation between Church and state was all but extinguished. When the political power of the emperors collapsed with the fall of the Roman Empire, in 410, the Church and its leaders endured as the dominant influence in Roman culture and politics.

From that we see the current form of clergy develop. Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership. The term ultimately comes from the Greekklēros, “a lot”, “that which is assigned by lot” (allotment) or metaphorically, “inheritance”.

The Biblical concept of the five-fold ministry from Ephesians 4:11, “It was he who gave some to be (1) apostles, some to be (2) prophets, some to be (3) evangelists, and some to be (4) pastors and (5) teachers” were all but extinct because  those who were in leadership of the Church were not born again and Holy Spirit filled.

The clergy were rulers over the people, often there for their own political ambitions.This clerical system later developed into the papal hierarchy of priests and clergy lording over the flock.

Pope Leo I (440-461), declared himself Lord of the Whole Church, advocated exclusive universal papacy, resistance to his authority was a sure path to Hell, and he advocated the death penalty for heresy.  Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) declared himself to be “Vicar of Christ,” “Vicar of God,” “Supreme Sovereign over the Church and the World.” “All things on earth and in heaven and in hell are subject to the Vicar of Christ.” He forbade the reading of the Bible in the vernacular. Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303), in his famous Bul, Unam Sanctam, he said, “We declare, affirm, define, and pronounce that it is altogether necessary forsalvation that every creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

The Council of Trent, the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church stated, “If anyone shall say that there is not in the Catholic Church a hierarchy established by the divine ordination, consisting of bishops, presbyters and ministers, let him be anathema.” banished, exiled, excommunicated.”

Priests or clergy to represent the people before God is wrong. The wrong separation of the clergy from the laity is a great evil in God’s sight and He hates the lust for religious power over others. The Church of Ephesus was commended for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans Rev 2:6. The deeds had become doctrines in the Pergamos Church Rev 2:15.

There is an ungodly spiritual authority in the Church today, which is nothing more than the prideful spirit of control, manipulation, domination and intimidation and a rebellion of the rightful authority of God.

Shepherds serve the sheep but the wolves that clothe themselves with so-called leadership and spiritual authority serve themselves, thinking that they serve God, in essence, this makes them false christs.

Under the plan God has ordained for the church, leadership is a position of humble, loving service. Church leadership is ministry, not management. Those whom God designates as leaders are called not to be governing monarchs, but humble slaves; not slick celebrities, but laboring servants. Those who would lead God’s people must above all exemplify sacrifice, devotion, submission, and lowliness.

Jesus Himself gave us the pattern when He stooped to wash His disciples’ feet, a task that was customarily done by the lowest of slaves (John 13). If the Lord of the universe would do that, no church leader has a right to think of himself as “Lord over his people”

Early church leaders were established as overseers, not a ruling hierarchy.

Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the Church, and the believers the body. We all have direct access to Christ, the Head of the Church.

I personally believe that the Protestant Reformation did not go far enough to demonstrate a New Testament belief in the “priesthood” of all believers who imparts to faithful men what they have learned so that these men shall be able to train others.

SUMMARY

From the day of the Pentecost, till the time that Christianity was made the official religion, a Christian had to pay a price to be identified as one. It was not about power, but about sacrificial service, about hospitality, about Jesus. It was living, vivid and life changing.

Making Christianity official and attendance compulsory had the exact opposite effect. It moved from houses to large independent buildings. As unsaved leadership established Satanic models of leadership, it became something “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” In 2 Timothy 3:5, Paul tells Timothy to “Have nothing to do with them”.

This corrupt idea of leadership was taken over by the Protestants with their own corruption of leadership roles and coverings.

I believe the next move of God in our midst will be to move away from the “Nicolaitanes” style leadership and the resurrection of  home churches to spread the message of Jesus Christ at a grass roots level.

Next week, God willing, we will study about what a “church’ was when the New Testament was written.

The Areopagus, or “Hill of Ares” or “Mars Hill” in Athens was the site of a council that served as an important legal institution under the Athenian democracy. In acts chapter 17, we read that Paul spoke to The Council of the Areopagus thus: “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.” (Acts 17:22,23 – Message)

To be introduced to, to know and love the creator of all heavens and Earth; to call him Father, to be constantly introduced to new aspects of His love to me, to express my love and constant awe of such a relationship is what worship is to me.

A. BLESSING GOD

“Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Ps 103:1 – nasb). It is awesome to consider that we have the ability to bless our Creator, but time after time in the Scripture we are exhorted to do just that. We bless Him through our praise and worship of Him. See Psalm 34:1-3.

B. PRAISE

Praise is an expression of admiration and appreciation. When we praise some one, we tell them how wonderful we think they are, or how great their accomplishments are. It is the same with the Lord. Praise has to do with acknowledging God’s character and power.
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands” (Ps 63:3,4).

1. Why do We Praise God?

1. Because Of who He Is. “Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise” (Ps 47,6,7).
2. Because Of what He Does. “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps 103:1-5).

2. Who Is To Praise God?

1. Those Who Seek God. “…they who seek the Lord will praise him …” (Ps 22:26).
2. Everything That Has Breath. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord” (Ps 150:6).

3. When Do We Praise God?

1. At All Times. “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips” (Ps 34.1).
2. In Every Circumstance. “Be joyful always; pray continually give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (Ths 5:16-18).

4. Where Are We To Praise God?

1. Surrounded By God’s People. “He [Jesus] says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of congregation I will sing your praises:’”
2. Among The Nations. “I will praise you, O lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples” (Ps 57:9).
3. On Our Beds. ” I will praise you as long as I live .. with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Ps 63:4-6).

C. WORSHIP

Whereas praise is an expression of admiration and appreciation, worship is an expression of love and adoration. It is possible to admire someone and appreciate what they without being in love with them. In the same way, worship has to do with our love of the Lord. It can be expressed only with the giving of our whole heart and life to Him.

“To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33).

The religious rituals and ceremonies of Israel in the Old Testament became detestable to the Lord because their heart was far from Him (Isa 1:10-15; 29:13. Today, also, God is only interested in the genuine and sincere worship that comes from the heart.

“Yet a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in SPIRIT and TRUTH” (John 4:23,24). Read also verses 4-25.

1. In Spirit
Our spirit is called the “inner man” (Eph 3:16). True worship takes place when the inner man, in response to the promptings of God’s Spirit, expresses love and adoration to God. This can take the form of spoken words, a love-song to the Lord, or silent adoration.

True worship requires the action of the Holy Spirit on our spirit. So, only those who have been “born again of the Spirit” through faith in Jesus Christ can truly worship God (John 3:5-8).

2. In Truth
To worship God in truth is to worship Him as the Bible says we should. Nadab and Abihu (the sons of the high priest) offered strange fire before the Lord and died (Num 3:4; 26:61). This sober warning illustrates the need to study God’s plan (the Tabernacle of Moses) for priestly ministry.

There was sacrifice, cleansing, anointing and clothing before worship (Exo 30:17-38).

You will note in Revelation 1:5,6 that we are “… washed from our sins in his own blood” before being made “…priests unto God”.

There was much preparation of the priests before they could go into the Holy Place to worship the Lord. To ignore the steps outlined was perilous. We must worship in truth – in the Bible way.

D. EXPRESSIONS OF PRAISE & WORSHIP IN SCRIPTURE

1. With The Mouth
a. Singing (Ps 9:2,11)
b. Praising (Ps 103:1)
a. Shouting (Ps 47:1)

2. With The Hands
a. Lifting (Ps 63:4)
b. Clapping (Ps 47:1)
a. Musical instruments (Ps 150)

3. With the Body
a. Standing (Ps 134:1)
b. Kneeling, bowing (Ps 96:6)
c. Dancing and leaping for joy (Ps 30:11)

“Who among the gods is like you. O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? … Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted…” (Exo 15:11,21).
“Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord … for you are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God… I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever” (Ps 86:8, 10, 12).

MY COMMITMENT

The greatest thing I will ever do in this life or in eternity is to worship God. I determine today to be a true worshipper and to make this my supreme goal in life.