The Most Liberating Discovery

 

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippians 3:1)

No one had ever taught me that God is glorified by our joy in him — that joy in God is the very thing that makes our praise an honor to God, and not hypocrisy.

But Jonathan Edwards said it so clearly and powerfully:

God glorifies himself towards the creatures also [in] two ways: (1) by appearing to . . . their understanding; (2) in communicating himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which he makes of himself. . . . God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. . . .

[W]hen those that see it delight in it: God is more glorified than if they only see it. . . . He that testifies his idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it.

This was a stunning discovery for me. I must pursue joy in God if I am to glorify him as the surpassingly valuable Reality in the universe. Joy is not a mere option alongside worship. It is an essential component of worship. Indeed the very essence of worship — being glad in the glories of God.

We have a name for those who speak their praises of God when they have no pleasure in what they praise. We call them hypocrites. Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’” (Matthew 15:7–8). This fact — that authentic praise means consummate pleasure and that the highest end of man is to drink deeply of this pleasure for God’s glory — was perhaps the most liberating discovery I have ever made.

BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2022.

SUBJECT : BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Pray without ceasing.” (First Thessalonians 5 vs 17.)

READ: Luke 18 vs 1 - 8:

18:1: Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray, and not to lose heart,

18:2: saying, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

18:3: Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’

18:4: And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 

18:5: yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

18:6: Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.

18:7: And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, though He bear long with them?

18:8: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?”

INTIMATION:

Praying brings us before God in communion with Him. Humbly being at all times in the presence of God is the secret to continual triumph of the believer, hence the reason to pray at all times. Though we cannot spend all our times on our knees, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. Emphasis here is not on a continued action of prayer, but on a continued attitude of prayer. This attitude is built upon acknowledging our dependence on God, realizing His presence within us, and determining to obey Him fully. Then, we will find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous, and short prayers. In other words, the Christian should be in a state of mind that he can at all times take part in the action of praying to the Father. 

It is the desire of the Father that His children approach Him in prayer. Prayer is the natural response of those who recognize their need for the help of God in their lives. To persist in prayer does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Jesus’ lesson in the passage we read today is that if an unrighteous and unconcerned judge would act upon the persistent requests of a pleading woman, then certainly the persistent pleas of the righteous to a concerned, loving, and merciful God would attract His response to the pleas of the righteous. Consistent prayer means keeping our requests continually before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. 

Faith is essential to prayer. Faith is the recognition of the faithfulness of God, and it engenders our committing ourselves and our matters to Him. Sometimes you think that God will not hear you because you have fallen short of His high standards for holy living, but if you have faith, and have trusted Him for salvation, you should know that God has forgiven us and He will listen to us. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have good reasons. Faith shouldn't die if the answers come slowly, for delay is not denial, and it may be God's way of working His Will. As we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope.

God not only welcomes us in prayer, He is waiting for us to pray. The godly—those who are faithful and devoted to God—should know that God is waiting for them to approach Him in prayer and should be confident that God listens to their prayers and answers at His own time (which is the best timing). Some other times you grow tired of praying because it seems God is not answering you, but a Christian's persistence in prayer is an expression of faith that God answers prayer. Always be confident, and know that God is present, always listening, and always answers in the best ways known to Him, and unknown to us.

A praying attitude is not a substitute to regular times of prayer, but should be an outgrowth of those times. Too often we pray glibly and superficially. Serious prayer, by contrast, requires concentration. It puts us in touch with God’s will and can really change us. Without serious prayer, we reduce God to a quick-service pharmacist with painkillers for your every ailment. However, the Holy Spirit, being the sole interpreter of the needs of the human heart, makes His intercession therein. Inasmuch as prayer is impossible to man apart from His help (Romans 8 vs 26), believers are exhorted to pray at all seasons in the Spirit (Ephesians 6 vs 18; Jude 20). 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace for persistent prayer, as a demonstration of my absolute faith, and dependence on You in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Make War with Unbelief

 

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16–17)

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Join me in this battle! Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. Unbelief in the promises of God is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, Paul said in Ephesians 6:17. The shield by which we quench Satan’s fiery deceits is faith (verse 16) — faith in that very word of God. So take up the shield in your left hand and the sword in your right hand, and let us fight the good fight of faith.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

PRAYERLESSNESS LIMITS GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2022.

SUBJECT : PRAYERLESSNESS LIMITS GOD!

Memory verse: "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." (Ezekiel 22 vs 30.)

READ: John 15 vs 5 - 7:

15:5: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

15:6: If anyone does not abide in Me, He is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

INTIMATION:

Prayer has diverse benefits to the believer. As the issues and circumstances of life vary, so also does prayer address the various needs of man. The statement that John Wesley made years ago has stayed with me, and impacted greatly on my prayer life. Wesley said, "It seems God is limited by our prayer life—that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him." 

You may ask why would God wait for someone to ask? The Bible tells us in the Book of Genesis. God made the world and the fullness thereof. He made His man, Adam. Then He said, "Adam, I give you dominion over all the work of My hands" (Genesis 1 vs 26 - 27; Ps 8 vs 6). God didn't say, "I am going to dominate through you." Therefore, Adam had dominion upon the earth and in this world. He was originally, in a sense, God of this world.

But Satan came and deceived Adam through his helpmeet Eve. Adam committed high treason and sold out to Satan, and then Satan became “the god of this world” as he is referred to in Second Corinthians 4 vs 4. As such he has dominion in this world. He will have that dominion—he will be god of this world, until Adam's lease runs out. 

God, being “just,” cannot legally and justly move in and take away that dominion from the devil. The devil has a legal right because he has Adam's lease. And God cannot do anything unless somebody down here asks Him.

To prepare a ground for legally handing the lease back to us, He sent His Son Jesus as a propitiation for our sin (First John 2 vs 2). Jesus paid the legal wage (Romans 6 vs 23), by dying on the cross. And whoever believes in Him, accepts His sacrifice, and confesses Him as Lord and Savior reclaims the legal right. Once the legal right is reclaimed, the enforcement of the powers in prayer becomes your inheritance in Christ. Therefore, the believer can prevail against every circumstances in life, being assured of God’s help when we ask in prayer.

As the circumstances are different so is our prayers ought to be different for any circumstances. The Scripture in Ephesians 6 vs 18 says, "Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people)." (Amplified Version.)

This implies that there are different kinds of prayer, and they accomplish different things in a believer's life, by provoking help from above in every circumstances. Without help from above, we are helpless on the earth. The enemy is fierce. He knows his time is short, so he is out against the children of God with full force. 

The wickedness of the earth is intense, but we have access to help from heaven to overcome them all through prayers. This help from above is freely available to the believer. The Scripture says in Hebrews 4 vs 16, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Prayer is our approach to God in fellowship, and we are to come "boldly" to our Father. Some Christians approach God meekly with heads hung low, afraid to ask Him to meet their needs. Others pray flippantly, giving little thought to what they say. We are to come with reverence because He is our King. But also come with bold assurance because He is our Loving Father, Friend and Counselor.

Every blessing and accomplishment in life comes as a result of the help of God. The apostle Paul said in Acts 26 vs 22, "Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come."

Paul was preaching the same message as other apostles in his time, but he got better results because he had the help of God. King David who was a great man of war, and never lost a battle, knew this secret. In Psalm 60 vs 11 - 12, he prayed, "Give us help from trouble: for the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies."

Prayer is not just telling God your needs, because He already knows them (Matthew 6 vs 32). It is getting Him to intervene in your situation on the basis of His Word. God is your Heavenly Father and He knows your needs, but you require His help to overcome the enemy. God is ever committed to sending help from above for all His children who call upon Him. He gives us this assurance:

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them  - Those who contend with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'" (Isaiah 41 vs 10 - 13.)

Prayer: Abba Father, what can I do without You? Absolutely nothing! In You I live, and move, and have my being. Give me the grace, O Lord, with divine strength, to remain prayerful—in fellowship with You at all times, in Jesus Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Our Good Is His Glory

 

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

One common objection to Christian Hedonism is that it puts the interests of man above the glory of God — that it puts my happiness above God’s honor. But Christian Hedonism most emphatically does not do this.

To be sure, we Christian Hedonists endeavor to pursue our interest and our happiness with all our might. We endorse the resolution of the young Jonathan Edwards: “Resolved: To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”

But we have learned from the Bible (and from Edwards!) that God’s interest is to magnify the fullness of his glory by spilling over in mercy to us — to us sinners, who desperately need him.

Therefore, the pursuit of our interest and our happiness, even if it costs us our lives, is never above God’s interest and God’s happiness and God’s glory, but always in God’s. One of the most precious truths in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him — in him!

When we humble ourselves like little children and put on no airs of self-sufficiency, but run happily into the joy of our Father’s embrace, the glory of his grace is magnified and the longing of our soul is satisfied. Our interest and his glory become one.

When Jesus promises in Matthew 6:6, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” this is a reward he wants us to seek. He does not lure us with joy we shouldn’t have! But this reward — this joy — is the overflow of turning away from human praise, and going into our closet to seek God.

Therefore, Christian Hedonists do not put their happiness above God’s glory. They put their happiness in God himself and discover the glorious truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

THE EFFICACY OF NIGHT PRAYERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE EFFICACY OF NIGHT PRAYERS! 

Memory verse: "Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the face of the LORD. Lift up your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” (Lamentations 2 vs 19.)

READ: Matthew 13 vs 24 - 25:

13:24: Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 

13:25: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away.

INTIMATION:

Praying in the night hours is considered the best timing since our prayers are usually interrupted during the day by the pressures of our daily schedules. In the night our concentration is highest, and our fellowship most effective. Night prayers arm us most effectively to overcome the overwhelming evils in the world. The evil doers usually perpetrate their evils in the night hours when most Christians are resting in their beds. They are like the father the devil—the Prince of Darkness, moving around in the night looking for who to devour.

In the passage we read today, Jesus told His followers a parable saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away......" (Matthew 13 vs 24 - 25.) "While men slept" the evil doers—men of the underworld—are up in their covens, in their shrines, to perpetrate evil under the cover of darkness. 

When you fellowship with the Lord in prayers in the night hours, you are in His presence; the place of maximum protection, and the glory of God expelling any form of darkness around you. The prince of this world and his cohorts cannot operate in His presence; ‘He disappoints their devices so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.’ (Job 5 vs 12.)

Jesus Christ, in His ministry on earth, has always gone up to the mountains in the night hours to pray—communing with the Father, and obtaining all the powers required for His exploits; charged up fully in the night hours of prayers in readiness for daily exploits. Then, in the day time, He only gives thanks to the Father that had always heard Him in their communion in the night: "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6 vs 12.)

Jesus has always chosen the night to isolate Himself to pray to the Father. His concentration in His fellowship with the Father in the night hours is at its max. No distractions of any sorts. This practice of fellowshipping with the Father and our Messiah Jesus, in the night hours, is very essential for every Christian to win our battles against the devil and his cohorts. Our battles with them are not physical, but spiritual; "For though we walk in the flesh! we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds," (Second Corinthians 10 vs 3 - 4.) 

The night, especially at midnight, people are most vulnerable to spiritual attacks. It is the hour when enemies lay siege and render people defenseless. It is also the time that you can launch a deadly, surprise attack on your enemies’ camp. From 12am-4am Christians should be vigilant in prayer. During this period the body immune system is at its lowest. Demonic creatures roam about with much anger during this time, making their patrols, and witchcraft is at its peak. 

Midnight is a time of transition, from one day to another. God can bring a transition in your life as you pray at midnight. It is a time of great spiritual activity, both good and evil. Destinies of men are shaped and interrupted at midnight. If you are not shaping your destiny at midnight, then somebody may interrupt your life at midnight. 

David, the man who never lost a single battle all his life, has this to say, “At midnight, I will rise and give thanks to You, because of your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119 vs 62). The great king knew when to win his battles in prayer, and engaged effectively at midnight amidst his daily busy schedule as a king. What excuse do you have? Do you say, “I wish I arise but I’ll be tired”? Do you have a busier schedule than that of King David (president of the nation of Israel)? I doubt you do. 

Praying at night is a sacrifice that will not go unrewarded. God sees your desperation through the sacrifices of your night’s rest that you make to in order to commune with Him in prayers. However, midnight is the best time to make serious intercessions, and expect results. Jesus emphasized this in a parable when He taught His disciples about prayer: 

“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;’ And he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give it to you’L.’ I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” (Luke 11 vs 5 - 8)

Prayer: Abba Father, deliver me from spiritual laziness so that I may rise up at night to engage in prayer warfare against the devices of the devil and his cohorts. In the night hours I will come to You in prayer with my whole heart and being, and I am persuaded that my petitions will receive Your attention, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Power of a Superior Promise

 

I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts. (Psalm 119:45, my translation)

An essential element of joy is freedom. None of us would be happy if we were not free from what we hate and free for what we love.

And where do we find true freedom? Psalm 119:45 says, “I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts.”

The picture is one of open spaces. The word frees us from smallness of mind. “God gave Solomon . . . breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). The word frees us from threatening confinements. “He brought me out into a broad place” (Psalm 18:19).

Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The freedom he has in mind is freedom from the slavery of sin (John 8:34). Or, to put it positively, it is freedom for holiness.

The promises of God’s grace provide the power that makes the demands of God’s holiness an experience of freedom rather than fear and confinement. Peter described the freeing power of God’s promises like this: “Through [his precious and very great promises] you become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:4).

In other words, when we trust the promises of God, we sever the root of corruption and sinful desire by the power of a superior promise.

How crucial is the word that breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures! And how vigilant we should be to light our paths and load our hearts with the word of God!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).