How Prayer is Like a Key
Our church is beginning 2017 with 21 days of prayer and fasting. It’s something that was actually initiated by our denomination, The Foursquare Church, which has provided an app to help guide us through the 21 days. (Search “Foursquare prayer” in the App Store.)
In my devotion times I have been especially sensitive to passages of Scripture that mention prayer or fasting. Today, when I read Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River, I noticed this phrase:
“…when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,” Luke 3:21 ESV
The literal truth of that phrase is that the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit filled and empowered Jesus to begin His ministry, and the Father’s voice resonated His acknowledgement and approval of His Son. There is also a powerful spiritual application in these words – Prayer opens the heavens to the earth!
When Jesus taught His followers to pray, He taught them that prayer is the process of inviting the will of God to be manifest “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6)
Prayer is not a last resort of desparation, but a daily discipline which allows God’s will to be realized in one’s life. If prayer allows the will of God to be manifest, then neglecting to pray almost certainly prevents one from experiencing God’s greatest desires for his or her life.
Prayer is the key to heaven’s door. With it we can open/loose the will of God and lock/bind the will of the enemy, satan.
Prayer is what will sustain your health.
Prayer is what will save your children.
Prayer is what will provide for your every need.
Prayer is what will bring you joy, victory, and peace, no matter the battles you may face.
Take some time today and tomorrow to pray. Pray out loud. Pray for whatever is on your mind. Pray until you see breakthrough. Whatever you do, never stop praying!
Why Jesus’ Divinity is as Important as His Humanity
Almost no one denies that Jesus existed as a man. Even those who stand in opposition to His teachings and His church acknowledge that He lived. Jesus was a man.
What sets believers apart is that we recognize Jesus’ humanity, as well as His divinity. Jesus is both the Son of Man and the Son of God.
In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul reiterated the truth of Jesus’ divinity.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15 ESV
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”
Colossians 2:9 ESV
The Christmas season provides us with the reminder that the Word (Jesus) became flesh. Deity put on humanity.
Why is it so important that Jesus is the Son of God?
- It speaks to Jesus’ trustworthiness. He claimed to be the Son of God. If He wasn’t, then He would be a liar.
- It speaks to Jesus’ sufficiency. Only a perfect, sinless sacrifice would atone for the sins of humanity. Had Jesus been merely a man, he would not have been eligible to bear our sins.
- It speaks to Jesus’ authority. In order for Jesus to establish a new covenant with mankind, He had to be an authorized representative of both parties in that covenant – man and God.
The litmus test of whether or not a person is a believer is not that he or she believes that Jesus was a good man, a powerful prophet, a philosophical teacher, or a compassionate miracle worker.
The defining characteristic of a true believer is that a person believes that Jesus is God, the second Person in the Trinity – that He became one of us, that He lived the sinless life we didn’t live, that His death atoned for all sin, that His resurrection defeated death entirely and proved again that He was, is, and always will be God!
Yes, Jesus’ humanity is an essential and fundamental truth to embrace; but His divinity is what makes all the difference. The words of Charles Wesley beautifully express this truth.
Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark, the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King.”
Turning Up the Radio Won’t Fix the Engine
Remembering my own sin keeps me from judging other people bound by sin.
Sin is a touchy subject because it is attached to the deepest parts of our lives.
I recently heard a minister point out that the middle letter of the English word “sin” is what best defines it – “I”. Sin is always about me, my wants, my selfishness, my way, me over anyone else, including God.
With sin comes guilt and shame – these things are built in. However, we often create workarounds. We find someone who will justify our sin, we leave certain parts of the Bible out, we contemporize our theology to be more tolerant and politically correct – all to make us feel better about sin.
Instead of paying attention to the rattling in the engine, we turn up the radio. Instead of dealing with sin, we ignore it.
But when we finally face it, admit it, acknowledge its evil and destruction, and cry out for Jesus to save us from it, we realize that sin is forgiveable, redeemable, and conquer-able. (Not good grammar, but great theology!)
Sadly, there are times when saved people become critical and judgmental of other people who are bound by sin. Forgetting their own past, they launch personal attacks on others. Although I believe that most believers do not INTEND to judge the person, but, rather, confront the sin itself; it is nearly impossible to separate the sin from the sinner or prevent the judgment from being a personal attack. Often people’s identities are intertwined with their sins, so when someone points out a sin, they perceive that as an assault on their identity.
The believers in the Greek city of Corinth had a reputation of sin – the really bad kind, like “what happens in Corinth stays in Corinth” kind of stuff. In one of his letters to the believers in Corinth, Paul warns against sin, even listing several kinds of sin to be avoided and not tolerated. He included sexual sins in that list. But then Paul followed up by reminding them that they, too, had battled with those same sins, but God had set them free and given them victory!
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV
Paul’s words give hope to all sinners and wisdom to all believers:
- Sin is sin; it cannot be redefined, ignored, or self-justified.
- Sin is paid for. Jesus carried ALL sin to the cross and made full payment, offering salvation to everyone who will receive it.
- Sin must be confessed before forgiveness can be received or inner healing can begin.
- Sin distorts a person’s identity, causing them to feel personally attacked when it is pointed out.
- Sincere love and long-term commitment can break through the lies of the enemy, allowing a person to distinguish sin from their God-given identity, allowing them to accept forgiveness and walk in freedom.
- Remembering my own sin keeps me from judging other people bound by sin.
- Remembering what Jesus did for me gives me hope for what He can do in anyone who calls in His name.
Father-
Be merciful to me, a sinner.
- May I always remember that I was a sinner.
- May I always remember that I still struggle with sin.
- May I always remember that you redeemed me and gave me a new identity – the “righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”
- May I always remember that it is not my responsibility to point out people’s sins and make them feel guilty; but, rather, to sympathize with their bondage and point them to the Savior.
In Jesus’ name, and by His grace, amen.
Why Does Jesus Confront Me With Sin and Make Me Feel Guilty?
The persecutor had become the persecuted.
Saul, a vehement enemy of the “Way” (as early believers in Christ were called), was defending the very cause he once opposed. Saul had changed – his life, his words, even his name! What prompted such a turnaround?
Paul’s conversion story is told more than once in Luke’s detailed, historical account of the early church (the book of Acts). Back then, he was known as Saul. He was a respected, educated, and cultured man, whose zealous desire to defend the Law of God compelled him to persecute anyone who made claims of Jesus having raised from the dead, and being the promised Messiah.
One day, while traveling, Saul and his companions were struck by a piercing light and a thunderous voice. Blinded by the light, Saul heard the voice ask, “Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Saul, not able to see who was speaking, asked, “Who are You?” The voice replied, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting.”
Jesus had blinded Saul in order to open his eyes. Then Jesus called Him to the task of opening the eyes of others to the truth. Jesus said:
“…I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” Acts 26:18 ESV
Before his conversion to Christ, Saul was convinced that his disciplined life of learning and applying the laws of God had made him righteous. What he failed to understand is that the Law does not have the power to save people, but only to make them aware of their sin, and their need for salvation.
Religious pride, however, compares one’s works with someone else’s, convincing them that they are (self-) righteous. That’s what happened with Saul.
Comparing myself with other people will result in either pride (“I’m better than them.”) or inferiority (“They’re better than me.”). But God does not grade you on how well you measure against others, He measures you against the standard of perfection, found only in His Son, Jesus.
Saul was filled with self-righteousness until He encountered true righteousness. Then he realized that he was nothing but a sinner. In fact, he later refered to himself as “the chief of sinners.”
You might wonder, “Why does Jesus confront me with my sin? Why does He want me to feel guilty?”
The answer is pretty simple. Jesus came to save sinners. Once you are convinced that you are one, you are eligible to receive mercy, grace, and absolute forgiveness!
To be convinced that you’re a sinner is the beginning of your search for a Savior. And you won’t have to look very far – the same Holy Spirit who convinces you of sin introduces you to Jesus, who willingly paid the price for your sin and freely offers you salvation through faith.
With all of it’s good intentions, religion, outside of a relationship with Jesus, is, at best, a pursuit toward self-righteousness. But when Jesus is at the center of it all, even “chiefs of sinners” are transformed.
Pastor Dale Jenkins 