LIVING IN A DYING WORLD
I am impressed to share the insightful teaching of Hannah Hurnard, whose writings have been like a friend to me on my own spiritual journey. Her best known book, Hind’s Feet On High Places, has blessed untold numbers of souls over the years. It challenged me early on in my journey. The teachings that I will share in these pages over the next few months are from her book, Walking Among The Unseen, which is really a compilation of several shorter published booklets. Please read them prayerfully, and invite the Holy Spirit to give you “ears to hear what the Spirit is saying” to all those who will receive Spiritual insight through them.
“Stop sitting on the fence – do something to help alter all the evil in the world around you – change the terrible conditions under which the majority of people live!”
This cry of young people today, concerned about the evil and unjust conditions in this suffering world, expresses their impatient reactions to the older generation. And, of course, they are absolutely right- thank God for their challenge. Certainly, we are not to ignore the fact that terrible injustices, poverty, homelessness, ignorance, crime and suffering abound everywhere, and that multitudes of appallingly unfortunate people are suffering in the self-created dream world of fallen, self-centered mankind. Are we just to leave them in their suffering, hoping they will learn through such nightmare conditions to hate the evil which causes these hells on earth, while we live blissfully and uncaringly, fortunate enough to know how to create wonderful and safe little heavens of our own, oases of spiritual security?
No, indeed, God forbid! There can be no peace of conscience for any of us as long as we deliberately leave any soul, let alone, multitudes of them, to suffer in self-made hells. Because that kind of neglect is, in itself, a mighty wrong and evil. It helps to create the very hells which we ignore and to which we shall, in some way, have to gravitate and share if we continue such neglect. No, we must realize with unutterable joy that heaven is one great rescue mission. The highest joy is the joy of being able to rescue others from their hells as Jesus did.
However, it is tremendously important not only to ask, “why aren’t we helping to change the evil condition in the world?” but also the still more important question, “How are we to change them”? What is the successfully method?” Indeed, is it really possible to destroy evil conditions in a self-centered world where every nation is intent on guarding its own rights and prosperity and feels that that is more important than anything else? We choose for our leaders and politicians those men who will put our own nation first and then see if perhaps there is something left over that can be spared to help the less fortunate ones, always provided that those who are helped will gratefully support their benefactors against rival powers.
How can a world governed and controlled by a spirit of selfishness be rescued from the evils and sufferings which are the inescapable results of selfishness? [Selfishness is, of course, the foundation of all sins.] This is the problem which none of the world’s leaders and politicians have been able to solve. And what unfortunate people such leaders are – to be involved in the ghastly horror of war, and not to know how to bring it to an end or to extricate one’s nation as year after year the cost in armaments, suffering and destruction grow eve greater. Or to be the leader of a backward nation, perhaps ravaged by famine or earthquake or poverty or economic troubles, and not to know how to set things right and alleviate the suffering and distress. Can there be anything more unfortunate than now know how to escape such evil?
The only method which the world has depended upon for trying to control evil has been the use of superior strength and destructive force: imprisoning criminals by force, piling up more and more destructive armaments than those possessed by other nations threatening our own, so that if possible they may be deterred by fear from attacking us, or if they do attack they may be completely destroyed. If your enemies are planning to do something against you, discover it and do it to them first! If they use devilish inventions which cause appalling suffering to countless innocent people, then grudge no cost in inventing and acquiring and using even more devilish ones, even though countless more innocent people will have to suffer as a result of it. That is the only answer to the problem which the world has known and used.
But long, heartbreaking millennia of depending on destructive force as a deterrent to evil and a means of preventing it have shown not only that it is a complete failure, but, far worse, that it has actually increased evil. But such measures alone, with wrong motivation, merely increase the problem.
*************
[Let this rather depressing appraisal of the “way of the world” from which we are called to “come out and be separate” move us to prayerful pursuit of a better way. A repentant heart must lead us to confess that we have been, too long, a part of the problem, being “overcome by evil” rather than a part of the solution of “overcoming evil with good” [Rom. 12:21]. The continuation of these thoughts next month will speak of “The Way, The Truth, and the Life” to which Jesus calls us for “Living in a Dying World.”]
Bob Yarbrough
Showing posts with label Bob Yarbrough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Yarbrough. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Bob Yarbrough | March Newsletter | Part 1 of 2
Dear “Citizens of heaven,"
What joy to continue the journey to our Father’s House, surrounded by pilgrims on the journey to our heavenly home!
Already, I catch the sound of festivities being prepared for our arrival. I look ahead and I see some already entering the “… Beautiful gate… walking, jumping and praising God…” Like the once “…crippled from birth man…” who could only watch and beg from those going by, they have come under the power of “…the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth… and have “…jumped to their feet and begun to walk….”[Acts 3: 1-10]. I follow them with joyful heart!
I look behind me on the road home, and I see children, born of God and growing up into Christ. They have left all to follow Him. They are alive unto God, filled with songs and excitement. Their zeal to entice others to go with them grows more intense as the darkness of this present world increases. They remind me of my forebears who sang their song:
I am bound for the promised land…O, who will come and go with me..
My frame cannot always catch the beat and cadence of their version of the old song, but I’m cheered by the sound of their enthusiasm to join the journey!
This leg of the journey for me is sweet. It was so long ago in earth years that I “…came to myself…” by the Holy Spirit and began my journey back to Father’s house. Thinking only of serving Him, being so unworthy of ever being His “Son,” I have labored and carried heavy burdens in my desire to please Him.
But now, while “…still a long way off…,” Our Father has looked on me with compassion. In His loving embrace, His kisses cascading over my being like cooling water on a thirsty soul, He has become my Home while still away from home!
His grace has bestowed a robe that covers the signs of my past shame. Instead of just a servant’s ring in my ear, He has put the Son’s ring on my hand. Now, I am finding the final lap of the journey, hand in hand with Father, is full of comfort and peace because of the sandals He commanded for my feet!
Please indulge my exuberance as these truths recorded in Jesus’ best known story of our redemption has been quickened to my soul! [Read it again for yourself in the Spirit, for it is the Life Story of all God’s Resurrection Children. [Luke 15:11-31].
Neither the darkness of this present age which grips our world, nor the fading “shadow of the valley of our death” should overcome the “sons of Light,” who live in God’s Now-Day. Instead:
“Since we belong to the day let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” [1 Thess. 5:8; Prayerfully read vv.1-11].
The wrath that is now coming on those in the sleep of spiritual darkness worldwide is real. And though we may “…now for a little while…have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, … these… come so that your faith…may be found genuine and result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” [1 Peter 1:6,7].
Although this “…wrath of God [that is] being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…[Rom. 1:18], those who put their trust in Christ are being “…shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”[1 Pet. 1:5] How comforting to know in our souls that wrath is not aimed at us, rather salvation is our portion now and forever! “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as in fact you are doing” [1Th.5:10]
When we’ve gone the last mile of the way
We shall rest at the end of the day
And the trials of the road will seem nothing
When we’ve gone the last mile of the way.
It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus
It will be worth it all when we see Christ
One look at His dear face all sorrow will erase
So bravely run the race, till we see Christ.
Your fellow pilgrim on the way,
Bob Yarbrough
What joy to continue the journey to our Father’s House, surrounded by pilgrims on the journey to our heavenly home!
Already, I catch the sound of festivities being prepared for our arrival. I look ahead and I see some already entering the “… Beautiful gate… walking, jumping and praising God…” Like the once “…crippled from birth man…” who could only watch and beg from those going by, they have come under the power of “…the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth… and have “…jumped to their feet and begun to walk….”[Acts 3: 1-10]. I follow them with joyful heart!
I look behind me on the road home, and I see children, born of God and growing up into Christ. They have left all to follow Him. They are alive unto God, filled with songs and excitement. Their zeal to entice others to go with them grows more intense as the darkness of this present world increases. They remind me of my forebears who sang their song:
I am bound for the promised land…O, who will come and go with me..
My frame cannot always catch the beat and cadence of their version of the old song, but I’m cheered by the sound of their enthusiasm to join the journey!
This leg of the journey for me is sweet. It was so long ago in earth years that I “…came to myself…” by the Holy Spirit and began my journey back to Father’s house. Thinking only of serving Him, being so unworthy of ever being His “Son,” I have labored and carried heavy burdens in my desire to please Him.
But now, while “…still a long way off…,” Our Father has looked on me with compassion. In His loving embrace, His kisses cascading over my being like cooling water on a thirsty soul, He has become my Home while still away from home!
His grace has bestowed a robe that covers the signs of my past shame. Instead of just a servant’s ring in my ear, He has put the Son’s ring on my hand. Now, I am finding the final lap of the journey, hand in hand with Father, is full of comfort and peace because of the sandals He commanded for my feet!
Please indulge my exuberance as these truths recorded in Jesus’ best known story of our redemption has been quickened to my soul! [Read it again for yourself in the Spirit, for it is the Life Story of all God’s Resurrection Children. [Luke 15:11-31].
Neither the darkness of this present age which grips our world, nor the fading “shadow of the valley of our death” should overcome the “sons of Light,” who live in God’s Now-Day. Instead:
“Since we belong to the day let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” [1 Thess. 5:8; Prayerfully read vv.1-11].
The wrath that is now coming on those in the sleep of spiritual darkness worldwide is real. And though we may “…now for a little while…have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, … these… come so that your faith…may be found genuine and result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” [1 Peter 1:6,7].
Although this “…wrath of God [that is] being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…[Rom. 1:18], those who put their trust in Christ are being “…shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”[1 Pet. 1:5] How comforting to know in our souls that wrath is not aimed at us, rather salvation is our portion now and forever! “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as in fact you are doing” [1Th.5:10]
When we’ve gone the last mile of the way
We shall rest at the end of the day
And the trials of the road will seem nothing
When we’ve gone the last mile of the way.
It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus
It will be worth it all when we see Christ
One look at His dear face all sorrow will erase
So bravely run the race, till we see Christ.
Your fellow pilgrim on the way,
Bob Yarbrough
Sunday, May 23, 2010
MAY LETTER BY BOB YARBROUGH: "WATCH AND PRAY"
“But thanks be to God! He give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” ~1 Corinthians 15:57
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ . . . ” ~2 Corinthians 2:14
Dear Followers of the Victorious Christ,
Several of my friends have recently asked my opinion of the rash of prophetic “words” that circulate in Christian circles. I am very reluctant to enter that debate, since I sought to surrender all “opinions,” that are part of my carnal mind, to Christ and to “live by every word that comes from the mouth of God” [Matt. 4:4].
Still, there are, I believe, some general principles that guide my thinking on these matters, that I will share for your consideration.
First, Scripture says “…not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy…” [2 Thess. 2:2]. Also, we are taught, “… do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything…” [1 Thess. 5:20-21].
In our evangelical/charismatic subculture, there are those who portend to bring “prophetic words” to God’s people. After sifting out the larger culture’s “profit” mentality we may test them by the witness of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus Christ to “guide us into all truth.”
Many popular “words” warn of eminent hardships and judgments on our culture’s departure from righteous principles. I don’t think it takes a prophet to know that we should be prepared for such things. We are encouraged “not to be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be over-joyed when his glory is revealed” [1 Peter 4:12,13].
In the normal course of our walk with Christ, we are to have a mindset that accepts as fact that “in the world you will have trouble.” Jesus told us this, He said, “so that in me you may have peace.” Instead of being “unsettled” and “alarmed” by threats of trouble, His word to us is “Take heart! I have overcome the world” [Jn. 16: 33].
It seems to me that those who are, in fact, attuned to heavenly realities are mostly hidden by the Lord, lest their publicized proclamations become the plagiarized corruptions of ego driven performers.
It occurs to me that the Master has put these “hidden ones” in a sort of heavenly “witness protection plan” to come forth at the appointed time when He passes judgment on this present evil. Hiding their true identities, they walk among us as carpenters, farmers and other lowly positions on the world’s scale of importance.
They do not preface their “hearings” with “thus saith the Lord.” They are restful in the authority of knowing that ‘those who know God, hear them.’ They only speak what the anointed of the Lord already know and the Spirit of truth in them bears witness.
These who have ‘not bowed the knee to Baal’ (Cultural gods of pleasure and ease) refuse to play the part of “ticklers of itching ears.” They speak a wisdom that none of the “princes of the world” have known. But among those maturing, “growing up into Christ” followers of the Lamb, the Word of God is alive and active and accomplishing that for which He has sent it.
Finally, we are to concentrate our attention on a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” [2 Cor. 11:3]. Instead of filling our thoughts with speculations about the “times and dates the Father has set by his own authority…” our calling is to seek the power that comes on us by the Holy Spirit to witness Christ’s presence in our world. [Acts 1:7,8].
You may rest in the assurance that if you are awake and alert to His Presence, the “day of the Lord” will not “surprise you” and slip up on you “like a thief.” The reason for this is not that we know all the theories or the latest fad “words” of prophecy. It will be because “you are all sons of the light and sons of the day [and] since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…" [1 Thess. 5:4-11].
“Watch and Pray So That You Will Not Fall Into Temptation” Mark 14:38
What are the deeper, spiritual implications of this exhortation given to Jesus’ “sleeping” disciples on the dark night of his betrayal? The common-sense interpretation deals with keeping an alert mind to “what is happening” in the world of what “meets the eye.” That is, we deal with this on the surface level of the apparent. Jesus warned us to “stop judging by mere appearance and to make a right judgment.” He was speaking of getting the “mind of the Spirit” in order to interpret what simply appears to our natural sight.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” [Romans 12:21]. Everything that God creates is good. Evil is the lie of the carnal mind that something apart from God has power. When we allow that “illusion” to prevail in our outlook, we are overcome by it and fall into the grasp of the tempter. Instead of being part of the Answer, we become part of the problem – we are overcome by evil. It is for this that we must “watch and pray.” We must practice letting our spiritual “eyes of the heart” pierce through the darkness of the lie and behold our Father’s face. Only as His Light shines on us can we “see” how we are to respond to what appears as evil.
Instead of entering the silence to see and hear God, we often walk in our own thoughts and according to our acquired human wisdom. We simply react out of habit to what is suggested by the appearance of evil. We become part of the illusion or dream state that evil operates in. The call to us is, “awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead slumber of illusion, and Christ will shine on us.” Walking in His Light we will not stumble into Satan’s snare.
Instead of praying from the horrible pit of problem perception, we are called to wait on the Lord to lift us on to the Rock of revealed Truth. [Review previous teaching on Psalm 40:1&2.] Standing there, we overcome in prayer by agreeing with the Lord and speaking heaven’s Word over what appears. “It is good” is the only Word God speaks over His creation! Everything that appears as evil has no foundation in truth and is therefore temporary and passing. It has no power over the Truth of God. To every threatening appearance we may say, as Jesus did to the proud, presumed authority of worldly government, “You have no power over me, except it were given to you from above.”
So the first step in prayer may be stated in the conclusion of the prophet Habakkuk when faced with the awful appearance of evil in His day. After God reveals to him that He was doing a work that could not be taken into the belief system of his time, even if God himself should try to explain it, the prophet concludes, “I will watch to see what the Lord will say to me.” He is saying, “I must get to a higher point of perception where I can see clearly and my heart can receive the Word of God in this situation!”
This is the “prayer of faith.” This is “praying in the Holy Spirit.” This occurs only after we have heeded the call of the Spirit to “come up here and I will show you the things that must come to pass after this” [Rev. 4:1].
Instead of focusing on “former things” or things that have appeared to our carnal senses, we are to “behold” the “new things” or the things of the New Creation that God has prepared to manifest in our day. Instead of focusing on problems in prayer, we are called to “see” answers and declare them. The “answer” is always there before we call. In fact, the “answer” is eternal and is reality. The “problem” is a temporary appearance that we encounter on the way to the “new heavens and the new earth” that is coming down from God out of heaven.
What a relief this can be to our praying! Instead of trying to meet “evil” on its “home field,” we play the game on our ground! Instead of “resisting evil” in the way it dictates, we declare that Satan has forfeited his control and we are starting a new game based on the “rules of heaven.” When Satan protests, we “resist him steadfastly in the faith.” And after a while, having resisted his attack, he runs away [flees] revealing himself to be the imposter he really is!
Jesus set the example in facing temptation in the wilderness of his human experience. He overcame Satan by the Word of his testimony even in the face of apparent destruction. After his victory, Angels ministered to him, and he “returned in the power of the Holy Spirit” to reap the spoils of his victory.
This is the victory that overcomes the world – this faith in our Father’s authority over every false claim.
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ . . . ” ~2 Corinthians 2:14
Dear Followers of the Victorious Christ,
Several of my friends have recently asked my opinion of the rash of prophetic “words” that circulate in Christian circles. I am very reluctant to enter that debate, since I sought to surrender all “opinions,” that are part of my carnal mind, to Christ and to “live by every word that comes from the mouth of God” [Matt. 4:4].
Still, there are, I believe, some general principles that guide my thinking on these matters, that I will share for your consideration.
First, Scripture says “…not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy…” [2 Thess. 2:2]. Also, we are taught, “… do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything…” [1 Thess. 5:20-21].
In our evangelical/charismatic subculture, there are those who portend to bring “prophetic words” to God’s people. After sifting out the larger culture’s “profit” mentality we may test them by the witness of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus Christ to “guide us into all truth.”
Many popular “words” warn of eminent hardships and judgments on our culture’s departure from righteous principles. I don’t think it takes a prophet to know that we should be prepared for such things. We are encouraged “not to be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be over-joyed when his glory is revealed” [1 Peter 4:12,13].
In the normal course of our walk with Christ, we are to have a mindset that accepts as fact that “in the world you will have trouble.” Jesus told us this, He said, “so that in me you may have peace.” Instead of being “unsettled” and “alarmed” by threats of trouble, His word to us is “Take heart! I have overcome the world” [Jn. 16: 33].
It seems to me that those who are, in fact, attuned to heavenly realities are mostly hidden by the Lord, lest their publicized proclamations become the plagiarized corruptions of ego driven performers.
It occurs to me that the Master has put these “hidden ones” in a sort of heavenly “witness protection plan” to come forth at the appointed time when He passes judgment on this present evil. Hiding their true identities, they walk among us as carpenters, farmers and other lowly positions on the world’s scale of importance.
They do not preface their “hearings” with “thus saith the Lord.” They are restful in the authority of knowing that ‘those who know God, hear them.’ They only speak what the anointed of the Lord already know and the Spirit of truth in them bears witness.
These who have ‘not bowed the knee to Baal’ (Cultural gods of pleasure and ease) refuse to play the part of “ticklers of itching ears.” They speak a wisdom that none of the “princes of the world” have known. But among those maturing, “growing up into Christ” followers of the Lamb, the Word of God is alive and active and accomplishing that for which He has sent it.
Finally, we are to concentrate our attention on a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” [2 Cor. 11:3]. Instead of filling our thoughts with speculations about the “times and dates the Father has set by his own authority…” our calling is to seek the power that comes on us by the Holy Spirit to witness Christ’s presence in our world. [Acts 1:7,8].
You may rest in the assurance that if you are awake and alert to His Presence, the “day of the Lord” will not “surprise you” and slip up on you “like a thief.” The reason for this is not that we know all the theories or the latest fad “words” of prophecy. It will be because “you are all sons of the light and sons of the day [and] since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…" [1 Thess. 5:4-11].
“Watch and Pray So That You Will Not Fall Into Temptation” Mark 14:38
What are the deeper, spiritual implications of this exhortation given to Jesus’ “sleeping” disciples on the dark night of his betrayal? The common-sense interpretation deals with keeping an alert mind to “what is happening” in the world of what “meets the eye.” That is, we deal with this on the surface level of the apparent. Jesus warned us to “stop judging by mere appearance and to make a right judgment.” He was speaking of getting the “mind of the Spirit” in order to interpret what simply appears to our natural sight.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” [Romans 12:21]. Everything that God creates is good. Evil is the lie of the carnal mind that something apart from God has power. When we allow that “illusion” to prevail in our outlook, we are overcome by it and fall into the grasp of the tempter. Instead of being part of the Answer, we become part of the problem – we are overcome by evil. It is for this that we must “watch and pray.” We must practice letting our spiritual “eyes of the heart” pierce through the darkness of the lie and behold our Father’s face. Only as His Light shines on us can we “see” how we are to respond to what appears as evil.
Instead of entering the silence to see and hear God, we often walk in our own thoughts and according to our acquired human wisdom. We simply react out of habit to what is suggested by the appearance of evil. We become part of the illusion or dream state that evil operates in. The call to us is, “awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead slumber of illusion, and Christ will shine on us.” Walking in His Light we will not stumble into Satan’s snare.
Instead of praying from the horrible pit of problem perception, we are called to wait on the Lord to lift us on to the Rock of revealed Truth. [Review previous teaching on Psalm 40:1&2.] Standing there, we overcome in prayer by agreeing with the Lord and speaking heaven’s Word over what appears. “It is good” is the only Word God speaks over His creation! Everything that appears as evil has no foundation in truth and is therefore temporary and passing. It has no power over the Truth of God. To every threatening appearance we may say, as Jesus did to the proud, presumed authority of worldly government, “You have no power over me, except it were given to you from above.”
So the first step in prayer may be stated in the conclusion of the prophet Habakkuk when faced with the awful appearance of evil in His day. After God reveals to him that He was doing a work that could not be taken into the belief system of his time, even if God himself should try to explain it, the prophet concludes, “I will watch to see what the Lord will say to me.” He is saying, “I must get to a higher point of perception where I can see clearly and my heart can receive the Word of God in this situation!”
This is the “prayer of faith.” This is “praying in the Holy Spirit.” This occurs only after we have heeded the call of the Spirit to “come up here and I will show you the things that must come to pass after this” [Rev. 4:1].
Instead of focusing on “former things” or things that have appeared to our carnal senses, we are to “behold” the “new things” or the things of the New Creation that God has prepared to manifest in our day. Instead of focusing on problems in prayer, we are called to “see” answers and declare them. The “answer” is always there before we call. In fact, the “answer” is eternal and is reality. The “problem” is a temporary appearance that we encounter on the way to the “new heavens and the new earth” that is coming down from God out of heaven.
What a relief this can be to our praying! Instead of trying to meet “evil” on its “home field,” we play the game on our ground! Instead of “resisting evil” in the way it dictates, we declare that Satan has forfeited his control and we are starting a new game based on the “rules of heaven.” When Satan protests, we “resist him steadfastly in the faith.” And after a while, having resisted his attack, he runs away [flees] revealing himself to be the imposter he really is!
Jesus set the example in facing temptation in the wilderness of his human experience. He overcame Satan by the Word of his testimony even in the face of apparent destruction. After his victory, Angels ministered to him, and he “returned in the power of the Holy Spirit” to reap the spoils of his victory.
This is the victory that overcomes the world – this faith in our Father’s authority over every false claim.
Monday, March 8, 2010
An Excellent Article on Prayer by Bob Yarbrough
MARCH 2010 NEWSLETTER
Dear “Awakening Child” of God,
Luke records the “awakening” of the daughter of Jairus. After telling him “she is not dead, but asleep” Jesus speaks life to her, saying “My child, get up!” (Mark preserves his literal Aramaic words, “Talitha koum!,” for the tenderness of expression [Mk. 5:41]). The result? “Her spirit returned,” writes Luke, “and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat” [Lk 9:52-55]. Since all the actions of Jesus are “signs,” recorded to teach us spiritual truth by the Holy Spirit, what is the lesson for our hearts in this miracle? We may see this event as a teaching metaphor to help us live in the Spirit and develop a greater consciousness of God’s kingdom. Before Christ touched us we were “dead in …transgressions and sins,” though we were physically alive in the grave of this world, held captive by the ruler of a kingdom of illusions [The meaning of Eph. 2:1, 2]. Christ’s voice spoke Spirit life in us and we were born into the kingdom of God. It was morning in our hearts as the Light of Christ dawned in us!
But our old captor, Satan, the great deceiver, still seeks to lull us to sleep, to relax back into the darkness that shrouds the world about us. Enticed by the subtle drugs of carnal pleasures, many drift away from their new creation consciousness and their spiritual awareness fades.
But Christ is faithful! He knows that we are no longer “dead” but sees that we are “sleeping.” Lovingly, he speaks to our slumbering spirits, saying: “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. You do not belong to the night or to the darkness [1 Thess. 5:5],” and again, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, my morning Light is shining on you!” [Eph. 5:14].
Jesus taught that the key to staying awake was to live by prayer: “…men ought always to pray and not to faint…” [Lk. 18:1 KJV]. True prayer is living in conscious spiritual awareness. Otherwise we “faint” or lapse into spiritual unconsciousness. To those who followed him into the garden to pray, Jesus said “are you asleep? ... Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the body is weak” [Mk. 14:37]. Jesus wasn’t asking them to act as “look-outs” to save him from what the Father had ordained. Rather he was calling them to be alert as was He to spiritual reality. It means to open the eyes of the heart and look beyond appearances to see heaven hovering and ready to break through.
Jesus taught us how to respond in times when darkness closes in and we feel threatened in the natural: “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” [Lk. 21:28]. Instead of studying “times and seasons” with our carnal intellect, we are called to watch for the appearing of our Lord who already sits enthroned in the kingdom of our Father. Our basic concern is not to “fix” this broken world, but to allow the kingdom of the New Creation to come in us, who are the first fruits of it [James 1:18]. Under His authority, whatever we put our hands to do will prosper as we listen and obey from our hearts for the eyes of the Lord. [Ps. 1:3; 122:6; Is. 55:11; Col. 3:23].
By shaking our culture, God is giving “wake up calls” to the children of the day. Some hear His voice but harden their hearts and choose the comfort of “cultural beds.” But those who have their spiritual lamps ready are going out to meet the Bridegroom. They are even now on their journey to the Father’s house where their Beloved and the great Wedding awaits.
It is time to grow up into Christ and leave behind our childhood prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” Now, as awakened ones, let us confess, “I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep!”
Be blessed to know that “He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” [Ps. 121:3,4]. Let us watch with our faithful Lord in this hour!
NEW COVENANT PRAYER: STANDING IN CHRIST
“He lifted me out of the…pit… and gave me a firm place to stand.” Ps. 40:1, 2
We continue our witness concerning the contrast between the natural [pagan] prayer consciousness and that of those ‘who have been raised with Christ and seated in Him at the right hand of God” [Col 3:1]. We have said that the prayer of the carnal mind based in ego motivations is well described by the metaphor of being in “…the slimy... pit of mud and mire” [Ps. 40:2]. We stated that the first step out of that pit is to stop digging, to confess our need to “repent” - that is, to have a new mind about prayer. We know about God with the carnal mind but we can only personally know Him through spiritual union with the mind that was in Christ Jesus. Jesus declared “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” [Matt. 4:17]. He meant that we are to turn in our minds from the natural view of reality in preparation for receiving the heavenly perspective. For God to raise our consciousness to the kingdom level, there must first be a choice to go beyond the natural mind. To use Paul’s metaphor based on Christ’s work for us on the cross, I must be “crucified with Christ” to the “old” consciousness so that “the new [consciousness] comes” as “Christ lives in me.” I am “raised to walk in newness of life,” as part of the New Creation Body of Christ. Richard Rohr writes:
“…Jesus primary metaphor for this new consciousness was ‘the kingdom of God.’ He is not talking about a place, or an afterlife, but a way of seeing and thinking now.” [The Naked Now, pp. 100,101]
When we are willing to cease our praying from the perspective of the carnal mind, what do we do? Again, Psalm 40 instructs us. The “pit” we are in is the result of our “fall” into the carnal mind created by believing the lie of Satan that we should be our own “god.” Now we repent of this mindset and believe that by the death and resurrection of Christ for us we are now one with Him in God! In that faith, “I wait patiently for the Lord…He lifts me out of the slimy pit…’ He sets my feet on a rock and gives me a firm place to stand.”
Perhaps the greatest barrier to coming to that place is our inability to “be still” and “to wait patiently on the Lord.” We are so use to our anxious thoughts and fears that we keep on rehearsing them in the religious terms taught to us as ”prayer.” I want you to hear and believe the truth I have learned through long and bitter experience: True prayer in the Spirit begins only when my false prayers in the flesh cease! In Paul’s teaching, “do not be anxious about anything” precedes prayer that brings the “peace of God that transcends all understanding.” [Phil 4:6,7]. Jesus’ word, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” precedes “trust in God; trust also in me.” [Jn. 14:1] The angelic “Do not be afraid!” precedes the “good news of great joy.” [Lk. 2:10] In each instance, something must end before something else can come. This is “repentance.”
This repentance requires persistent discipline to “ demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and … take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” [2 Cor. 10:5]. Unlessl we tune out of the static of what once, in our carnal minds, we assumed was prayer, we will not be able to find the clear channel that carries His voice. For a time we may continue to “fret” in our old pre-prayer routines. But as we grow in grace we will learn to “Be still and know God as Christ in me, the hope of glory” In this “waiting upon the Lord,” we will rise up on eagle’s wings.
Finding our Sabbath-rest in Him, we will begin to see with the eyes of our heart “…a door standing open in heaven” [Rev. 4:1]. In our renewed consciousness, “Christ in us” lifts us and we find “our feet standing in the gates of Jerusalem.” [Ps. 122:2]. Now, in His Name, “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body,” and in union with our “great priest over the house of God we draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith” [Heb.10:19-22]. And in the Spirit we “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” [Heb. 4:16]. In His authority we then turn to do His will on earth as He works in us to will and do His good pleasure!
The true prayer of which I speak is not offered from Rome, or Mecca or Old Jerusalem. It is only made in that true “Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God [where we] come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven….to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant…”[Heb. 12:22-24].
Do you know that place? Would you offer true prayer there? “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you” {Matt. 7:7,8]. I exhort you, “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession…”[1 Tim. 6:12]. And rest in this blessed assurance: “He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” [Rev. 21:7].
Amen
Dear “Awakening Child” of God,
Luke records the “awakening” of the daughter of Jairus. After telling him “she is not dead, but asleep” Jesus speaks life to her, saying “My child, get up!” (Mark preserves his literal Aramaic words, “Talitha koum!,” for the tenderness of expression [Mk. 5:41]). The result? “Her spirit returned,” writes Luke, “and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat” [Lk 9:52-55]. Since all the actions of Jesus are “signs,” recorded to teach us spiritual truth by the Holy Spirit, what is the lesson for our hearts in this miracle? We may see this event as a teaching metaphor to help us live in the Spirit and develop a greater consciousness of God’s kingdom. Before Christ touched us we were “dead in …transgressions and sins,” though we were physically alive in the grave of this world, held captive by the ruler of a kingdom of illusions [The meaning of Eph. 2:1, 2]. Christ’s voice spoke Spirit life in us and we were born into the kingdom of God. It was morning in our hearts as the Light of Christ dawned in us!
But our old captor, Satan, the great deceiver, still seeks to lull us to sleep, to relax back into the darkness that shrouds the world about us. Enticed by the subtle drugs of carnal pleasures, many drift away from their new creation consciousness and their spiritual awareness fades.
But Christ is faithful! He knows that we are no longer “dead” but sees that we are “sleeping.” Lovingly, he speaks to our slumbering spirits, saying: “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. You do not belong to the night or to the darkness [1 Thess. 5:5],” and again, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, my morning Light is shining on you!” [Eph. 5:14].
Jesus taught that the key to staying awake was to live by prayer: “…men ought always to pray and not to faint…” [Lk. 18:1 KJV]. True prayer is living in conscious spiritual awareness. Otherwise we “faint” or lapse into spiritual unconsciousness. To those who followed him into the garden to pray, Jesus said “are you asleep? ... Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the body is weak” [Mk. 14:37]. Jesus wasn’t asking them to act as “look-outs” to save him from what the Father had ordained. Rather he was calling them to be alert as was He to spiritual reality. It means to open the eyes of the heart and look beyond appearances to see heaven hovering and ready to break through.
Jesus taught us how to respond in times when darkness closes in and we feel threatened in the natural: “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” [Lk. 21:28]. Instead of studying “times and seasons” with our carnal intellect, we are called to watch for the appearing of our Lord who already sits enthroned in the kingdom of our Father. Our basic concern is not to “fix” this broken world, but to allow the kingdom of the New Creation to come in us, who are the first fruits of it [James 1:18]. Under His authority, whatever we put our hands to do will prosper as we listen and obey from our hearts for the eyes of the Lord. [Ps. 1:3; 122:6; Is. 55:11; Col. 3:23].
By shaking our culture, God is giving “wake up calls” to the children of the day. Some hear His voice but harden their hearts and choose the comfort of “cultural beds.” But those who have their spiritual lamps ready are going out to meet the Bridegroom. They are even now on their journey to the Father’s house where their Beloved and the great Wedding awaits.
It is time to grow up into Christ and leave behind our childhood prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” Now, as awakened ones, let us confess, “I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep!”
Be blessed to know that “He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” [Ps. 121:3,4]. Let us watch with our faithful Lord in this hour!
NEW COVENANT PRAYER: STANDING IN CHRIST
“He lifted me out of the…pit… and gave me a firm place to stand.” Ps. 40:1, 2
We continue our witness concerning the contrast between the natural [pagan] prayer consciousness and that of those ‘who have been raised with Christ and seated in Him at the right hand of God” [Col 3:1]. We have said that the prayer of the carnal mind based in ego motivations is well described by the metaphor of being in “…the slimy... pit of mud and mire” [Ps. 40:2]. We stated that the first step out of that pit is to stop digging, to confess our need to “repent” - that is, to have a new mind about prayer. We know about God with the carnal mind but we can only personally know Him through spiritual union with the mind that was in Christ Jesus. Jesus declared “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” [Matt. 4:17]. He meant that we are to turn in our minds from the natural view of reality in preparation for receiving the heavenly perspective. For God to raise our consciousness to the kingdom level, there must first be a choice to go beyond the natural mind. To use Paul’s metaphor based on Christ’s work for us on the cross, I must be “crucified with Christ” to the “old” consciousness so that “the new [consciousness] comes” as “Christ lives in me.” I am “raised to walk in newness of life,” as part of the New Creation Body of Christ. Richard Rohr writes:
“…Jesus primary metaphor for this new consciousness was ‘the kingdom of God.’ He is not talking about a place, or an afterlife, but a way of seeing and thinking now.” [The Naked Now, pp. 100,101]
When we are willing to cease our praying from the perspective of the carnal mind, what do we do? Again, Psalm 40 instructs us. The “pit” we are in is the result of our “fall” into the carnal mind created by believing the lie of Satan that we should be our own “god.” Now we repent of this mindset and believe that by the death and resurrection of Christ for us we are now one with Him in God! In that faith, “I wait patiently for the Lord…He lifts me out of the slimy pit…’ He sets my feet on a rock and gives me a firm place to stand.”
Perhaps the greatest barrier to coming to that place is our inability to “be still” and “to wait patiently on the Lord.” We are so use to our anxious thoughts and fears that we keep on rehearsing them in the religious terms taught to us as ”prayer.” I want you to hear and believe the truth I have learned through long and bitter experience: True prayer in the Spirit begins only when my false prayers in the flesh cease! In Paul’s teaching, “do not be anxious about anything” precedes prayer that brings the “peace of God that transcends all understanding.” [Phil 4:6,7]. Jesus’ word, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” precedes “trust in God; trust also in me.” [Jn. 14:1] The angelic “Do not be afraid!” precedes the “good news of great joy.” [Lk. 2:10] In each instance, something must end before something else can come. This is “repentance.”
This repentance requires persistent discipline to “ demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and … take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” [2 Cor. 10:5]. Unlessl we tune out of the static of what once, in our carnal minds, we assumed was prayer, we will not be able to find the clear channel that carries His voice. For a time we may continue to “fret” in our old pre-prayer routines. But as we grow in grace we will learn to “Be still and know God as Christ in me, the hope of glory” In this “waiting upon the Lord,” we will rise up on eagle’s wings.
Finding our Sabbath-rest in Him, we will begin to see with the eyes of our heart “…a door standing open in heaven” [Rev. 4:1]. In our renewed consciousness, “Christ in us” lifts us and we find “our feet standing in the gates of Jerusalem.” [Ps. 122:2]. Now, in His Name, “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body,” and in union with our “great priest over the house of God we draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith” [Heb.10:19-22]. And in the Spirit we “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” [Heb. 4:16]. In His authority we then turn to do His will on earth as He works in us to will and do His good pleasure!
The true prayer of which I speak is not offered from Rome, or Mecca or Old Jerusalem. It is only made in that true “Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God [where we] come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven….to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant…”[Heb. 12:22-24].
Do you know that place? Would you offer true prayer there? “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you” {Matt. 7:7,8]. I exhort you, “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession…”[1 Tim. 6:12]. And rest in this blessed assurance: “He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” [Rev. 21:7].
Amen
Monday, November 30, 2009
December '09 Newsletter Bob Yarbrough
Citiprayer For December, 2009
Dear “listeners” in prayer,
Those who receive my teaching letters will not be surprised when I say that I am moving into new areas of under-standing as it relates to prayer. My own life experience has moved me to a place where I am free to explore the meaning of prayer outside the regular venues of traditional prayer. What I am discovering has been liberating and fulfilling. I am trying to share some of my discoveries with you in the teaching articles each month.
It is not my intention to offend or upset anyone by relating my personal growth in a more satisfying approach to prayer. But if you desire to go higher in your experience of prayer, I hope that my insights may be an encouraging help to your progress.
I am blessed to report that those who are helped financially by your gifts through Citiprayer are seeing growth in the vision of united, believing prayer. As the year closes, it is a good time to say that I appreciate those who do give to this vision. I also want to restate my position that no one should give for any motive other than a sense that you are being obedient to what the Lord is leading you to do. If your giving is in any way a burden and not a blessing, then I want to release you to enjoy the freedom that is ours in Christ.
May you know special joys in this season of the celebration of the coming of our Savior.
One with you in the Life of Christ,
Bob
Beyond Prayer Requests
By Wayne Jacobsen
“I don’t think I can pray that way for you.”
You’d thought I’d just cussed by the way the mouths around the table soundlessly fell open. The woman who had just asked us to pray that God would keep her teenage daughter from moving in with her boyfriend was perhaps the most shocked of all.
My home group had just finished dinner together and sharing about our lives from the past week. With obvious distress, Kris had told of her daughter’s plan to move in with her boyfriend that weekend.
I’ve got to warn you now that I have a low tolerance for prayer requests I don’t think God will answer. They breed a fatalistic attitude about prayer: Let’s hurl up a request and hope for the best. Mostly I’ve kept that to myself at times like this, but had grown increasingly uncomfortable with my silence.
Once they all caught their breath, I explained. “I think all of us here can understand why you want God to stop her from doing that, and if anyone here feels that’s what God wants, you’re free to pray that way. I’m wondering, however, that if we do so we will be asking God violate someone’s will and I think that is more to do with witchcraft than prayer.”
I could see Kris was about to lose it in frustration or anger so I hurried on. “What I would pray is that God would reveal himself to your daughter and let her see clearly the choice she is making. And I would pray that God will show you how to trust him and love your daughter even if she makes the stupidest mistake of her young life.”
I had hardly finished when Kris blurted out through her tears, “That’s exactly what I need.” We gathered around her and what could have been an innocuous exercise in prayer became a marvelous discovery of how God works in difficult situations.
How am I deceiving myself if I believe that whenever I get what I want it is an answer to prayer? -Oswald Chambers
THE NEW COVENANT PARADIGM OF PRAYER
[Continuation of NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH, November, 2009].
Everybody prays. Whether it is a formalized religious petition or a simple “O, God” escaping the lips of a professed atheist in a moment of crisis, instinctively, human beings feel weakness and dependency that cry out for help. This “prayer instinct” is timeless and universal. It is a residual unconscious memory of the time our first parents communed with God in the paradise of their innocence as children with their Father. But the further man wandered from that garden following his choice to “go it alone” and be his own “god” by knowing “good and evil” in his alienated mind, the deeper he fell into the pit of superstitious fear of the God he once knew. Pagan rituals replaced intimate communion.
Into this perverted religious context, God in His mercy sent the corrective blessing of the Law that came through Moses. Instead of a capricious God made in the image of fallen man, “I AM” revealed Himself as ONE who could be trusted to manifest Himself in ways consistent with His Nature as the Source of all reality: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord Our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” [Deut. 6:4] The commandments laid down by Moses were meant to reform the behavior of the people and deliver them from the superstitious fears of the pagans who “…suppressed the truth by their wickedness, so that “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” [Rom. 1:18,21].
The Law was God’s preparatory school for the coming of Christ to the consciousness of mankind. “What then was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” [Rom. 3:19]. After generations the law developed the consciousness of the “chosen people” to a new level that should have been ready to receive the Word made flesh in Jesus. Sadly, only a small remnant of the favored nation responded as God desired. As John, the Lord’s beloved disciple observed:
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –
Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth” [Jn. 1]
Those who have received him and entered into the “New Covenant that is in his blood” experience again the communion God desires for His sons. We no longer “pray” to the false god of our mind’s own making, but pass through the “veil” of flesh into the Holy place of union with God in Christ. Paul’s instruction in the way of faith has everything to do with the new paradigm of prayer. Meditate with understanding on the significance of his words recorded in Romans 10:5-10 concerning the “righteousness” [the right way] of relating to God by faith:
…the righteousness that is by faith says: ‘Do not say in your heart, ‘who will ascend into heaven,’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘who will descend into the deep?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead”).
New Covenant faith prayer is not bounded by laws of physical limitations – space and time, but operates in the Spirit realm.
But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Those who pray “in the Spirit” by faith, do not make up their own prayers! Rather, as we wait upon the Lord in the Silence, the Word of God “planted in you” [Js. 1:21] by “the anointing you have from the Holy One” [1 Jn. 2:20] releases you to enter into the intercession being continually made within us by the Holy Spirit [Rom 8:26]. Knowing by faith that Christ is alive in our very own consciousness (heart), we “confess” with our mouth that Living Word which is proceeding from the Mouth of God. This “saves us” from the futile way of pagan prayer so prevalent around us.
May we begin to realize our union with Christ [Jn. 14:20] in heavenly places! If we really believe that “God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” [Eph. 1:4], and if we trust that “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” [Ps. 84:11] , we can stop asking as the pagans do for “things” God promised to “add to us.” Instead, we can seek that Kingdom where God reigns within us [See Matt. 6:32,33]. Then with all God’s children we may pray that His “kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven” and in our hearts! [See Matt. 6:9 and Colossians 3:15-17].
Dear “listeners” in prayer,
Those who receive my teaching letters will not be surprised when I say that I am moving into new areas of under-standing as it relates to prayer. My own life experience has moved me to a place where I am free to explore the meaning of prayer outside the regular venues of traditional prayer. What I am discovering has been liberating and fulfilling. I am trying to share some of my discoveries with you in the teaching articles each month.
It is not my intention to offend or upset anyone by relating my personal growth in a more satisfying approach to prayer. But if you desire to go higher in your experience of prayer, I hope that my insights may be an encouraging help to your progress.
I am blessed to report that those who are helped financially by your gifts through Citiprayer are seeing growth in the vision of united, believing prayer. As the year closes, it is a good time to say that I appreciate those who do give to this vision. I also want to restate my position that no one should give for any motive other than a sense that you are being obedient to what the Lord is leading you to do. If your giving is in any way a burden and not a blessing, then I want to release you to enjoy the freedom that is ours in Christ.
May you know special joys in this season of the celebration of the coming of our Savior.
One with you in the Life of Christ,
Bob
Beyond Prayer Requests
By Wayne Jacobsen
“I don’t think I can pray that way for you.”
You’d thought I’d just cussed by the way the mouths around the table soundlessly fell open. The woman who had just asked us to pray that God would keep her teenage daughter from moving in with her boyfriend was perhaps the most shocked of all.
My home group had just finished dinner together and sharing about our lives from the past week. With obvious distress, Kris had told of her daughter’s plan to move in with her boyfriend that weekend.
I’ve got to warn you now that I have a low tolerance for prayer requests I don’t think God will answer. They breed a fatalistic attitude about prayer: Let’s hurl up a request and hope for the best. Mostly I’ve kept that to myself at times like this, but had grown increasingly uncomfortable with my silence.
Once they all caught their breath, I explained. “I think all of us here can understand why you want God to stop her from doing that, and if anyone here feels that’s what God wants, you’re free to pray that way. I’m wondering, however, that if we do so we will be asking God violate someone’s will and I think that is more to do with witchcraft than prayer.”
I could see Kris was about to lose it in frustration or anger so I hurried on. “What I would pray is that God would reveal himself to your daughter and let her see clearly the choice she is making. And I would pray that God will show you how to trust him and love your daughter even if she makes the stupidest mistake of her young life.”
I had hardly finished when Kris blurted out through her tears, “That’s exactly what I need.” We gathered around her and what could have been an innocuous exercise in prayer became a marvelous discovery of how God works in difficult situations.
How am I deceiving myself if I believe that whenever I get what I want it is an answer to prayer? -Oswald Chambers
THE NEW COVENANT PARADIGM OF PRAYER
[Continuation of NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH, November, 2009].
Everybody prays. Whether it is a formalized religious petition or a simple “O, God” escaping the lips of a professed atheist in a moment of crisis, instinctively, human beings feel weakness and dependency that cry out for help. This “prayer instinct” is timeless and universal. It is a residual unconscious memory of the time our first parents communed with God in the paradise of their innocence as children with their Father. But the further man wandered from that garden following his choice to “go it alone” and be his own “god” by knowing “good and evil” in his alienated mind, the deeper he fell into the pit of superstitious fear of the God he once knew. Pagan rituals replaced intimate communion.
Into this perverted religious context, God in His mercy sent the corrective blessing of the Law that came through Moses. Instead of a capricious God made in the image of fallen man, “I AM” revealed Himself as ONE who could be trusted to manifest Himself in ways consistent with His Nature as the Source of all reality: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord Our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” [Deut. 6:4] The commandments laid down by Moses were meant to reform the behavior of the people and deliver them from the superstitious fears of the pagans who “…suppressed the truth by their wickedness, so that “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” [Rom. 1:18,21].
The Law was God’s preparatory school for the coming of Christ to the consciousness of mankind. “What then was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” [Rom. 3:19]. After generations the law developed the consciousness of the “chosen people” to a new level that should have been ready to receive the Word made flesh in Jesus. Sadly, only a small remnant of the favored nation responded as God desired. As John, the Lord’s beloved disciple observed:
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –
Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth” [Jn. 1]
Those who have received him and entered into the “New Covenant that is in his blood” experience again the communion God desires for His sons. We no longer “pray” to the false god of our mind’s own making, but pass through the “veil” of flesh into the Holy place of union with God in Christ. Paul’s instruction in the way of faith has everything to do with the new paradigm of prayer. Meditate with understanding on the significance of his words recorded in Romans 10:5-10 concerning the “righteousness” [the right way] of relating to God by faith:
…the righteousness that is by faith says: ‘Do not say in your heart, ‘who will ascend into heaven,’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘who will descend into the deep?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead”).
New Covenant faith prayer is not bounded by laws of physical limitations – space and time, but operates in the Spirit realm.
But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Those who pray “in the Spirit” by faith, do not make up their own prayers! Rather, as we wait upon the Lord in the Silence, the Word of God “planted in you” [Js. 1:21] by “the anointing you have from the Holy One” [1 Jn. 2:20] releases you to enter into the intercession being continually made within us by the Holy Spirit [Rom 8:26]. Knowing by faith that Christ is alive in our very own consciousness (heart), we “confess” with our mouth that Living Word which is proceeding from the Mouth of God. This “saves us” from the futile way of pagan prayer so prevalent around us.
May we begin to realize our union with Christ [Jn. 14:20] in heavenly places! If we really believe that “God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” [Eph. 1:4], and if we trust that “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” [Ps. 84:11] , we can stop asking as the pagans do for “things” God promised to “add to us.” Instead, we can seek that Kingdom where God reigns within us [See Matt. 6:32,33]. Then with all God’s children we may pray that His “kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven” and in our hearts! [See Matt. 6:9 and Colossians 3:15-17].
November '09 Newsletter by Bob Yarbrough
Dear “Light-points” of Christ,
You may recall President Bush, ’41 calling for “a thousand “points of light” to serve the common good. The Lord has called and appointed many thousands to be “the light of the world,” to pierce the night of each generation until the dawning of the Day when His Bright Appearing dispels the present darkness.
To early Christians Paul spoke of God at work in them as they lived in “a crooked and depraved generation.” He assured them that they were shining like “stars in the universe” as they focused the “word of life” through the prism of their individual persons. [Phil. 2:14-16].
Part of the privilege of our high calling in this generation is be points in which the Light of Christ radiates from us through the spiritual frequency of prayer. In the Old Covenant era, they saw Christ’s Light from afar. Yet of them, like John the Baptist [even though Jesus called him the greatest prophet of that time], it was written: “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light – the true light that gives light…” [John 1:8,9]
In glorious contrast, consider the revelation of our state recorded in Ephesians 5:8-20: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Note that through our union with Christ we don’t just witness light, but we are Light! This spiritual revelation is the basis for the kind of life God means for us to manifest. “Live as children of Light!” is God’s command. If we do, the “fruit of Light” will be produced by the Spirit who is in us: “goodness, righteousness and truth.”
What follows in these verses describes the prayerful life under the New Covenant: By transparent lives that focus on “Christ in us”, we “…find out what pleases the Lord.” This causes us to break fellowship “with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” Our very lives expose the lie of evil. By conscious awareness of the Living Christ in us we reflect heaven.
The constant admonition to our soul is this:
“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” [v. 14]
If we live in this continual awareness of our union with Christ we will be “wise” as we “understand what the Lord’s will is.” The community of such “Spirit-filled” hearts will be joyful, thankful and mutually submissive to Christ in one another [based on verses 15-21].
The deepest desire of my ministry is to help everyone understand that under the New Covenant, prayer is abiding in the conscious awareness of our present union with Christ in the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of Truth that is in you quicken this to your hearts as you meditate on the two lessons on prayer of last month and this month. As the Lord’s face “shines on you” I believe three things will happen in your life:
You will become who you are.
I trust you have believed all that the Word tells us about our standing “in Christ.” We are what He says we are: We are “Light in the Lord.” As we resist the Father of Lies who tells us we are “only poor lost sinners” and begin to “put on Christ” you will begin to see a wonderful transformation as you “put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and be made new in the attitude of your minds, and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness [Ephesians 4:22-24]. You really are a “new creation” – let it be!
You will understand what you know.
As a New Covenant person you have truth in you by the Holy Spirit. John insists, “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” Let the Word become flesh in you!
You will “do what you do.”
This phrase is often spoken by gifted athletes. You are gifted by the Spirit to do whatever Christ has called you to do. Just “stop stopping it.” Let it flow! He guides, He oversees, and He rewards!
Shine, Jesus, Shine - in all your servants!
Bob Yarbrough
NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH
“…What counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule…”
In our last lesson we wrote of the contrast of New Covenant prayer with previous understandings of prayer. We sought to show how our prayer flows out of an intimate relationship of Father and Son as we realize our union with Christ in the Spiritual realm – “heavenly places.” In this present teaching we want to encourage our hearts to understand how this prayer proceeds from heaven to affect the earth in a redemptive way. Isaiah prophesied about earth-changing prayer when he wrote:
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth…. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice in what I will create…” Isaiah 65:16-18.
The striking contrast of New Creation prayer centers around forgetting “the former things” and beholding what God promises “I will create…” The “former things” are things that appear to be real in the natural dimension. Most “praying” is absorbed with these things so that we are often overcome by what we see with the natural eye and believe with the natural mind. So, our “prayers” are about sin, sickness and strife, and we languish “under the circumstances,” ever ‘burdened with a load of care.”
In preparing our hearts to pray New Creation prayers we must first “…humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand,…cast all our anxiety on him who cares for us,…be self-controlled and alert…, and resist our enemy, the devil, by standing firm in the faith…” [1 Peter 5: 6-9]. Then, as we wait patiently on the Lord, the “veil” of the illusion of mere appearances is taken away, and we begin to “…reflect the Lord’s glory…being transformed into his likeness…” [2 Cor. 3:18]. And Then, a door in our consciousness opens and “the voice…[says] “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” In that Spiritual dimension, beholding “the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world” [Matt. 25:14], and praying in the Spirit, we call forth the will of God to be done on earth as we have seen it in heaven!
Having prayed in this way, we turn again to the earthly scene empowered “…to live holy and godly lives, as we look forward to the day of God …[and] in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” [2 Peter 3:11-13]. Though in the natural realm “…at present we do not see everything subject of to him…we do see Jesus” [Heb. 2:8,9], Having become “heavenly minded” we are used by the Lord for “earthly good” as we let the Light of Christ shine through us to the darkness of our world.
Meditate upon the spiritual implication of the prophetic call found in Isaiah 42:8,9 and 43:18,19:
“See, the former thing have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Can you perceive it? Do you know that this New Creation has come? You are the first-fruits and the promise of what is to come. The kingdom of God is within you now and will come forth in the fullness of time! Receive my witness of the Word that comes out of the Silence to encourage our souls:
From the barren desert, the blossoming Rose - the new thing- springs up. Such “offspring” are about their Father’s business, released from earthly ties to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Though the Dragon seeks to devour them as soon as they are born, they will be hidden in the secret place of the Most High for their appointed destiny. Because they call no man ‘father,’ and their Mother is the Jerusalem that is above, they are in the world but not of it, spiritual but not religious.
Because they are begotten by and for the Eternal One, the Father gives himself freely to them. They are becoming springs in the desert and the thirsty are finding refreshing for their souls.
The God of the kingdom of “Was” is gone, forgotten. The Holy Presence of Christ in the eternal “Now” has come. Awake, sleeping ones, rise from your grave, for the light of Christ’s new day shines on you.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” [2 Cor. 5:16-18]
[Rejoice, Blessed ones in the New Covenant as you pray New Creation prayers; more to follow, God willing. BRY]
You may recall President Bush, ’41 calling for “a thousand “points of light” to serve the common good. The Lord has called and appointed many thousands to be “the light of the world,” to pierce the night of each generation until the dawning of the Day when His Bright Appearing dispels the present darkness.
To early Christians Paul spoke of God at work in them as they lived in “a crooked and depraved generation.” He assured them that they were shining like “stars in the universe” as they focused the “word of life” through the prism of their individual persons. [Phil. 2:14-16].
Part of the privilege of our high calling in this generation is be points in which the Light of Christ radiates from us through the spiritual frequency of prayer. In the Old Covenant era, they saw Christ’s Light from afar. Yet of them, like John the Baptist [even though Jesus called him the greatest prophet of that time], it was written: “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light – the true light that gives light…” [John 1:8,9]
In glorious contrast, consider the revelation of our state recorded in Ephesians 5:8-20: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Note that through our union with Christ we don’t just witness light, but we are Light! This spiritual revelation is the basis for the kind of life God means for us to manifest. “Live as children of Light!” is God’s command. If we do, the “fruit of Light” will be produced by the Spirit who is in us: “goodness, righteousness and truth.”
What follows in these verses describes the prayerful life under the New Covenant: By transparent lives that focus on “Christ in us”, we “…find out what pleases the Lord.” This causes us to break fellowship “with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” Our very lives expose the lie of evil. By conscious awareness of the Living Christ in us we reflect heaven.
The constant admonition to our soul is this:
“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” [v. 14]
If we live in this continual awareness of our union with Christ we will be “wise” as we “understand what the Lord’s will is.” The community of such “Spirit-filled” hearts will be joyful, thankful and mutually submissive to Christ in one another [based on verses 15-21].
The deepest desire of my ministry is to help everyone understand that under the New Covenant, prayer is abiding in the conscious awareness of our present union with Christ in the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of Truth that is in you quicken this to your hearts as you meditate on the two lessons on prayer of last month and this month. As the Lord’s face “shines on you” I believe three things will happen in your life:
You will become who you are.
I trust you have believed all that the Word tells us about our standing “in Christ.” We are what He says we are: We are “Light in the Lord.” As we resist the Father of Lies who tells us we are “only poor lost sinners” and begin to “put on Christ” you will begin to see a wonderful transformation as you “put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and be made new in the attitude of your minds, and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness [Ephesians 4:22-24]. You really are a “new creation” – let it be!
You will understand what you know.
As a New Covenant person you have truth in you by the Holy Spirit. John insists, “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” Let the Word become flesh in you!
You will “do what you do.”
This phrase is often spoken by gifted athletes. You are gifted by the Spirit to do whatever Christ has called you to do. Just “stop stopping it.” Let it flow! He guides, He oversees, and He rewards!
Shine, Jesus, Shine - in all your servants!
Bob Yarbrough
NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH
“…What counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule…”
In our last lesson we wrote of the contrast of New Covenant prayer with previous understandings of prayer. We sought to show how our prayer flows out of an intimate relationship of Father and Son as we realize our union with Christ in the Spiritual realm – “heavenly places.” In this present teaching we want to encourage our hearts to understand how this prayer proceeds from heaven to affect the earth in a redemptive way. Isaiah prophesied about earth-changing prayer when he wrote:
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth…. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice in what I will create…” Isaiah 65:16-18.
The striking contrast of New Creation prayer centers around forgetting “the former things” and beholding what God promises “I will create…” The “former things” are things that appear to be real in the natural dimension. Most “praying” is absorbed with these things so that we are often overcome by what we see with the natural eye and believe with the natural mind. So, our “prayers” are about sin, sickness and strife, and we languish “under the circumstances,” ever ‘burdened with a load of care.”
In preparing our hearts to pray New Creation prayers we must first “…humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand,…cast all our anxiety on him who cares for us,…be self-controlled and alert…, and resist our enemy, the devil, by standing firm in the faith…” [1 Peter 5: 6-9]. Then, as we wait patiently on the Lord, the “veil” of the illusion of mere appearances is taken away, and we begin to “…reflect the Lord’s glory…being transformed into his likeness…” [2 Cor. 3:18]. And Then, a door in our consciousness opens and “the voice…[says] “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” In that Spiritual dimension, beholding “the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world” [Matt. 25:14], and praying in the Spirit, we call forth the will of God to be done on earth as we have seen it in heaven!
Having prayed in this way, we turn again to the earthly scene empowered “…to live holy and godly lives, as we look forward to the day of God …[and] in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” [2 Peter 3:11-13]. Though in the natural realm “…at present we do not see everything subject of to him…we do see Jesus” [Heb. 2:8,9], Having become “heavenly minded” we are used by the Lord for “earthly good” as we let the Light of Christ shine through us to the darkness of our world.
Meditate upon the spiritual implication of the prophetic call found in Isaiah 42:8,9 and 43:18,19:
“See, the former thing have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Can you perceive it? Do you know that this New Creation has come? You are the first-fruits and the promise of what is to come. The kingdom of God is within you now and will come forth in the fullness of time! Receive my witness of the Word that comes out of the Silence to encourage our souls:
From the barren desert, the blossoming Rose - the new thing- springs up. Such “offspring” are about their Father’s business, released from earthly ties to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Though the Dragon seeks to devour them as soon as they are born, they will be hidden in the secret place of the Most High for their appointed destiny. Because they call no man ‘father,’ and their Mother is the Jerusalem that is above, they are in the world but not of it, spiritual but not religious.
Because they are begotten by and for the Eternal One, the Father gives himself freely to them. They are becoming springs in the desert and the thirsty are finding refreshing for their souls.
The God of the kingdom of “Was” is gone, forgotten. The Holy Presence of Christ in the eternal “Now” has come. Awake, sleeping ones, rise from your grave, for the light of Christ’s new day shines on you.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” [2 Cor. 5:16-18]
[Rejoice, Blessed ones in the New Covenant as you pray New Creation prayers; more to follow, God willing. BRY]
Saturday, August 1, 2009
August 2009 Newsletter by Bob Yarbrough
Dear praying friends,
We live in a time when the sensual focus of our culture works to anesthetize our hearts so that we are insensitive to the presence of God in our world. As in the days of Paul, when the pagan culture lulled many into a spiritual sleep, the word comes to us anew: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” [Eph.5:14]. We must constantly guard against the dulling of our spiritual insight and our ability to “hear” the Lord’s “still small voice” that guides us. Many, who have come to the light of Christ in salvation, still walk in darkness. Though they “have eyes, they fail to see” the things of God. And having ears to hear, we have become dull of hearing so that we do not receive the things of God revealed to us by His Spirit [cf. Mark 8:18, 1 Cor. 2:9]. Read, hear and be instructed by the following parable from modern life:
“…ears to hear…”
[A musician is playing a violin in a Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.]
He played six Bach pieces for about 60 minutes. During that time approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After:
3 minutes
A middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes
A three year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
45 minutes
The musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.
1 hour
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
This is a real story. The Washington Post, as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities, arranged the entire scenario. Playing incognito, no one knew the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days prior to this, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the tickets averaged $100 per seat.
The questions raised: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty; do we stop to appreciate it; do we recognize talent in such an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ....... How many other things are we missing?
And for the awakened heart the question comes: “If I do not have a moment to listen to the Lord of the universe who invites me to know His heart and hear His voice, what am I missing?”
Jesus reminded us that, we, His disciples “… should always pray and not faint…” [Lk. 18:1]. Still many of us “sleep-walk” though the world, unconscious of the presence of the Lord of life! Only by prayerful alertness can we escape the darkness of this present “evil day” through which we are called to walk. As Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” [Mark14:38].
In grateful awareness of God’s love and care,
Bob Yarbrough
ON KNOWING CHRIST AS MY LIFE
“God has chosen to make known…this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” [Col. 1:27].
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” [Col. 3:4].
“But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [1 Jn. 3:2]
As we continue the teaching of “knowing Christ” as the heart of our gospel [See last month’s letter], we want to emphasize the revelation of the mystery aspect of this truth – that of knowing “Christ in you” as your very life. To state it more dramatically” knowing Christ in you as you! [Your true identity found in your union with Christ by faith]. It was this deeper “knowing” that Paul longed for when he testified: “I want to know Christ… becoming like him…and so, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” [Phil. 3:10,11]. He was longing for Christ to manifest his resurrection life in his earthly body in his lifetime! This is the earnest desire that “groans” in each one of us who have “the firstfruits of the Spirit” [Rom. 8:23].
In the two scriptures above that link our likeness to Him and “when He appears,” the Greek word used by both Paul and John means, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words, “to be brought to the light.” It connotes something that is hidden to the natural mind and perception, but “shines forth” when Christ is revealed to the receptive heart. Though it is true that the ultimate “appearing” of Christ is related to the second coming in glory [cf. 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 5:4; Hebrews 9:28], it seems clear that believers are to long for and expect “the appearing” of Christ in spiritual encounters of His Manifest Presence. Such a “spiritual experience” was granted to the disciples gathered at the “breaking of the bread” [Lk. 24:30,31] and to John in his lonely exile on the Isle of Patmos. His record of that experience is preserved for us in the book he wrote – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”- the last book in our inspired scriptures.
Because such experiences of His appearing have been counterfeited and abused by “false prophets,” down through the centuries, spiritual leaders have rightly warned believers to be wary of them. But, as everyone knows, the reason that counterfeits exist is because there is something real and valuable that presupposes the “fake” distortion. There are “false apostles,” operating in fleshly deception, who have robbed the Household of God of the great “treasure” to be found in beholding the face of Christ. James warns that “…where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice” [Js. 3:16]. Still, there remains the promise that we may indeed discover this true “…treasure in jars of clay,” our earthly bodies.
It is for those who patiently “…get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in us” [Js. 1:21] that the Holy Spirit comes to reveal the Son in us! The Lord still today, “…makes his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” [2 Cor. 4:6]. For those who earnestly seek Him it is written, that “…we with unveiled faces all contemplate and reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed in his likeness with ever-increasing glory” [2 Cor. 3:18].
In coming to “know” Christ, not simply “according to the flesh,” but revealed in us [cf. 2 Cor. 5:16-17; Gal. 1:15,16] , we come to know our true self, “…created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” [Eph. 4:24]. After that we “…glory in Christ Jesus and …put no confidence in the flesh” [Phil. 3:3]. Having come to “know” ourselves as “…a man in Christ…” we confess with Paul: “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses" [2 Cor. 12:2,5].
True spiritual humility consists in knowing that apart from Him, we are nothing and can do nothing, while at the same time knowing that “…he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” [1 Cor. 6:17]. As boldly as Jesus Christ confessed, “I and the Father are one” [Jn. 10 30], so may we boldly declare what Jesus said of us: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” [Jn. 14:20]. Fixing my mind on Him, seeing Him as He is in me, I come to know in spiritual reality: “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me!” [Gal. 2:20]. Continued….
We live in a time when the sensual focus of our culture works to anesthetize our hearts so that we are insensitive to the presence of God in our world. As in the days of Paul, when the pagan culture lulled many into a spiritual sleep, the word comes to us anew: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” [Eph.5:14]. We must constantly guard against the dulling of our spiritual insight and our ability to “hear” the Lord’s “still small voice” that guides us. Many, who have come to the light of Christ in salvation, still walk in darkness. Though they “have eyes, they fail to see” the things of God. And having ears to hear, we have become dull of hearing so that we do not receive the things of God revealed to us by His Spirit [cf. Mark 8:18, 1 Cor. 2:9]. Read, hear and be instructed by the following parable from modern life:
“…ears to hear…”
[A musician is playing a violin in a Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.]
He played six Bach pieces for about 60 minutes. During that time approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After:
3 minutes
A middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes
A three year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
45 minutes
The musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.
1 hour
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
This is a real story. The Washington Post, as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities, arranged the entire scenario. Playing incognito, no one knew the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days prior to this, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the tickets averaged $100 per seat.
The questions raised: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty; do we stop to appreciate it; do we recognize talent in such an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ....... How many other things are we missing?
And for the awakened heart the question comes: “If I do not have a moment to listen to the Lord of the universe who invites me to know His heart and hear His voice, what am I missing?”
Jesus reminded us that, we, His disciples “… should always pray and not faint…” [Lk. 18:1]. Still many of us “sleep-walk” though the world, unconscious of the presence of the Lord of life! Only by prayerful alertness can we escape the darkness of this present “evil day” through which we are called to walk. As Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” [Mark14:38].
In grateful awareness of God’s love and care,
Bob Yarbrough
ON KNOWING CHRIST AS MY LIFE
“God has chosen to make known…this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” [Col. 1:27].
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” [Col. 3:4].
“But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” [1 Jn. 3:2]
As we continue the teaching of “knowing Christ” as the heart of our gospel [See last month’s letter], we want to emphasize the revelation of the mystery aspect of this truth – that of knowing “Christ in you” as your very life. To state it more dramatically” knowing Christ in you as you! [Your true identity found in your union with Christ by faith]. It was this deeper “knowing” that Paul longed for when he testified: “I want to know Christ… becoming like him…and so, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” [Phil. 3:10,11]. He was longing for Christ to manifest his resurrection life in his earthly body in his lifetime! This is the earnest desire that “groans” in each one of us who have “the firstfruits of the Spirit” [Rom. 8:23].
In the two scriptures above that link our likeness to Him and “when He appears,” the Greek word used by both Paul and John means, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words, “to be brought to the light.” It connotes something that is hidden to the natural mind and perception, but “shines forth” when Christ is revealed to the receptive heart. Though it is true that the ultimate “appearing” of Christ is related to the second coming in glory [cf. 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 5:4; Hebrews 9:28], it seems clear that believers are to long for and expect “the appearing” of Christ in spiritual encounters of His Manifest Presence. Such a “spiritual experience” was granted to the disciples gathered at the “breaking of the bread” [Lk. 24:30,31] and to John in his lonely exile on the Isle of Patmos. His record of that experience is preserved for us in the book he wrote – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”- the last book in our inspired scriptures.
Because such experiences of His appearing have been counterfeited and abused by “false prophets,” down through the centuries, spiritual leaders have rightly warned believers to be wary of them. But, as everyone knows, the reason that counterfeits exist is because there is something real and valuable that presupposes the “fake” distortion. There are “false apostles,” operating in fleshly deception, who have robbed the Household of God of the great “treasure” to be found in beholding the face of Christ. James warns that “…where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice” [Js. 3:16]. Still, there remains the promise that we may indeed discover this true “…treasure in jars of clay,” our earthly bodies.
It is for those who patiently “…get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in us” [Js. 1:21] that the Holy Spirit comes to reveal the Son in us! The Lord still today, “…makes his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” [2 Cor. 4:6]. For those who earnestly seek Him it is written, that “…we with unveiled faces all contemplate and reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed in his likeness with ever-increasing glory” [2 Cor. 3:18].
In coming to “know” Christ, not simply “according to the flesh,” but revealed in us [cf. 2 Cor. 5:16-17; Gal. 1:15,16] , we come to know our true self, “…created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” [Eph. 4:24]. After that we “…glory in Christ Jesus and …put no confidence in the flesh” [Phil. 3:3]. Having come to “know” ourselves as “…a man in Christ…” we confess with Paul: “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses" [2 Cor. 12:2,5].
True spiritual humility consists in knowing that apart from Him, we are nothing and can do nothing, while at the same time knowing that “…he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” [1 Cor. 6:17]. As boldly as Jesus Christ confessed, “I and the Father are one” [Jn. 10 30], so may we boldly declare what Jesus said of us: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” [Jn. 14:20]. Fixing my mind on Him, seeing Him as He is in me, I come to know in spiritual reality: “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me!” [Gal. 2:20]. Continued….
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Prophetic Prayer by Bob Yarbrough
Recently I posted an excellent article by Bob Yarbrough on the prophetic. Here is another one worth reading. Enjoy!
PROPHETIC PRAYER
The lessons taught in previous studies on prayer have laid a foundation for what we believe is the call of God upon the intercessors in this hour. We desire to be a group abiding in the unity of Christ, hearing the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, and speaking what we hear - praying in the Holy Spirit. This form of prayer is best described by the term “prophetic prayer.”
Glen Foster’s excellent book, The Purpose and Use of Prophecy, has several statements defining prophecy. He writes on this subject from the usually understood perspective of utterances directed toward people given by the Spirit. If we take these same definitions but apply them to utterances directed toward God given by the Spirit, we are describing prophetic prayer:
"To prophesy is to speak for God….True prophecy is the voice of Jesus revealed in the spirit of a believer….Prophecy, whether in word, deed or attitude, is one of the most powerful forces for revealing Jesus Christ."
Prophetic prayer is calling forth from the spiritual realm (in heaven) into the earthly realm (on earth) by the words of our mouths those things revealed by the Spirit of Truth through communion with Jesus Christ. It is by its very nature the prayer of faith (Js. 5:15); it is praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 20); it is praying in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:13); it is powerful and effective (Js. 5:16); and it accomplishes what God desires in the earth (Is. 55:11).
Contemplate carefully these words of wisdom:
"True prophecy is God’s words breathed into our hearts and minds. These words then take charge to keep us in perfect peace….David said that God’s thoughts toward us are more than can be numbered (Ps 40:5)…Prophecy verbalizes God’s good thoughts. Any prophecy that is not a revelation of God’s good thought is either wrong or incomplete.
Many times we accept the good thoughts that come to mind without realizing that they are the word of the Lord to us. So instead of responding in full faith we take sort of a wishful attitude such as, ‘Those are nice thoughts. Wouldn’t it be great if it were true about me.’ But Hebrews 3 says that if we will hear His voice and do not harden our hearts, God will not only give us words of promise, He will bring us into the land of promise.” (Glen Foster, p. 36).
Prophetic prayer or “prayer in the Spirit” is the great need of the hour: Yielded intercessors who don’t pray for what they can get out of it, but who seek the glory of God by establishing His Word by faith. This requires “seeing” God’s Word with the eyes of faith, followed by “saying” God’s Word with the voice of faith. Then, like Mary who received the ‘implanted Word’ in her womb, they yield and say “be it unto me according to your Word!” In God’s time, it will come forth in the way He chooses as they persevere and refuse to give up their hope.
One of the best aids to developing our sensitivity to the Spirit in prayer is to keep a journal – a record of what we hear in our hearts and commit to the Lord in prayer. The example of Habakkuk comes to mind. He was told to write what he has seen prophetically on tablets. This was to help him to “wait for it” when it “tarried” or was incubating in the Spirit realm (See Hab. 2:1,-3). In its appointed time it would manifest. This is the privilege of the sons of God. Be faithful to your calling and standing! God has ordained that He will work through prayer (See James 5:16b).
LEARNING TO PRAY “OUTSIDE THE BOX”
Whether or not we are aware of it, each of us to some degree brings to prayer a mindset that has been conditioned by our culture – the world in which we have developed. As one psychologist writes: "Everyone lives within, and responds to, life from a certain psycho-spiritual conditioning where they see life through their ideas about it." This is the “box” that limits what we see when we kneel to pray. It “feels” right to us to think in these parameters even though the prophets tell us that God says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts…” (Is. 55:8)
If we desire to “pray in the Spirit” we must begin by acknowledging our cultural “box.” The world around us seeks to brings us into “conformity” with its norms. As spiritual beings “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” we are admonished by Scripture to “put off [our] old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires," and “to be made new in the attitude of [our] minds, which is in keeping with our new self.” [See Eph. 4:22-24)
Spiritual disciplines are tools by which we “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” in acts of spiritual worship.” By these deliberate actions we learn to “not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but [to] be transformed by the renewing of our mind.” Only then will we “be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” [Romans 12:1-2]
Sadly, many modern believers are looking for “short-cuts” on the narrow path that leads to life. Books abound on “easy steps” to spiritual power. Concerning these popular approaches, Eugene H. Peterson puts the words of Jesus found in Matthew 7 in stark paraphrase:
“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life – to God! – is vigorous and requires total attention.”
The purpose of spiritual exercises is to bring us to a place in prayer where we escape the conditioning of our culture and are able to hear the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit given to guide us into all truth. To escape the voices in our conditioned thoughts and hear the voice of our Shepherd is our quest [See John 10]. Only then can we cease to be echoes of a noisy world and become “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” who prepares the way of the Lord to come to our needy world [See Isaiah 40:3].
That there is a crying need for the recovery of the devotional life cannot be denied. If anything characterizes modern Protestantism, it is the absence of spiritual disciplines. Yet such disciplines form the core of the life of devotion. It is not an exaggeration to state that this is the lost dimension of modern Protestantism. Donald Bloesch
Six Practical Affirmations for Spiritual Freedom
If your heart agrees that the world continually forces you into its mold and limits your ability to stand by what the Word of God reveals as your position in Christ, I offer you some specific inward commitments that will help to lead you in the path of Life:
I choose to accept the process of discipline as an absolute necessity for my life.
…anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple – Luke 14:27
I choose to learn obedience beginning with the small things of life.
…whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much – Luke 16:10
I choose to recognize the value of developing regular habits in the formation of my life.
…train yourself to be godly… Be diligent in these matters…persevere in them. - 1 Tim. 4:7,15,16
I choose to give priority time to conscious fellowship with God in prayer and meditation on the Scriptures.
…I urge…requests, prayers, intercession, thanksgiving... - 1 Tim 2:1
…do your best to present yourself to God… a workman…who correctly handles the Word of God - 2 Tim. 2:15
I choose to respond positively to perceived need for change in my life.
He who ignores discipline despises himself,but whoever heeds correction gains understanding-Pr. 15:32.
I choose to continually acknowledge my dependence on God and give Him the glory for all progress in my life.
It is written: “Let him that boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 1:31
Remember, please, that inward spiritual vows are only offered to the Lord under the guidance of the Spirit. In the coming teachings I propose to outline some inward dispositions that have helped me to a new freedom in intercessory prayer. These disciplines of the soul include:
Silence, stillness, serenity, solitude, submission, servitude, suspended judgment, and secrecy.
I pray that you will consider this matter for the sake of the Body of Christ and a world that has lost touch with the realities of the Spirit. The Scriptures promise a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. In the same breath it encourages us to “make every effort to enter that rest." [See Heb. 4:9-11] Will you heed the call?
PROPHETIC PRAYER
The lessons taught in previous studies on prayer have laid a foundation for what we believe is the call of God upon the intercessors in this hour. We desire to be a group abiding in the unity of Christ, hearing the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, and speaking what we hear - praying in the Holy Spirit. This form of prayer is best described by the term “prophetic prayer.”
Glen Foster’s excellent book, The Purpose and Use of Prophecy, has several statements defining prophecy. He writes on this subject from the usually understood perspective of utterances directed toward people given by the Spirit. If we take these same definitions but apply them to utterances directed toward God given by the Spirit, we are describing prophetic prayer:
"To prophesy is to speak for God….True prophecy is the voice of Jesus revealed in the spirit of a believer….Prophecy, whether in word, deed or attitude, is one of the most powerful forces for revealing Jesus Christ."
Prophetic prayer is calling forth from the spiritual realm (in heaven) into the earthly realm (on earth) by the words of our mouths those things revealed by the Spirit of Truth through communion with Jesus Christ. It is by its very nature the prayer of faith (Js. 5:15); it is praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 20); it is praying in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:13); it is powerful and effective (Js. 5:16); and it accomplishes what God desires in the earth (Is. 55:11).
Contemplate carefully these words of wisdom:
"True prophecy is God’s words breathed into our hearts and minds. These words then take charge to keep us in perfect peace….David said that God’s thoughts toward us are more than can be numbered (Ps 40:5)…Prophecy verbalizes God’s good thoughts. Any prophecy that is not a revelation of God’s good thought is either wrong or incomplete.
Many times we accept the good thoughts that come to mind without realizing that they are the word of the Lord to us. So instead of responding in full faith we take sort of a wishful attitude such as, ‘Those are nice thoughts. Wouldn’t it be great if it were true about me.’ But Hebrews 3 says that if we will hear His voice and do not harden our hearts, God will not only give us words of promise, He will bring us into the land of promise.” (Glen Foster, p. 36).
Prophetic prayer or “prayer in the Spirit” is the great need of the hour: Yielded intercessors who don’t pray for what they can get out of it, but who seek the glory of God by establishing His Word by faith. This requires “seeing” God’s Word with the eyes of faith, followed by “saying” God’s Word with the voice of faith. Then, like Mary who received the ‘implanted Word’ in her womb, they yield and say “be it unto me according to your Word!” In God’s time, it will come forth in the way He chooses as they persevere and refuse to give up their hope.
One of the best aids to developing our sensitivity to the Spirit in prayer is to keep a journal – a record of what we hear in our hearts and commit to the Lord in prayer. The example of Habakkuk comes to mind. He was told to write what he has seen prophetically on tablets. This was to help him to “wait for it” when it “tarried” or was incubating in the Spirit realm (See Hab. 2:1,-3). In its appointed time it would manifest. This is the privilege of the sons of God. Be faithful to your calling and standing! God has ordained that He will work through prayer (See James 5:16b).
LEARNING TO PRAY “OUTSIDE THE BOX”
Whether or not we are aware of it, each of us to some degree brings to prayer a mindset that has been conditioned by our culture – the world in which we have developed. As one psychologist writes: "Everyone lives within, and responds to, life from a certain psycho-spiritual conditioning where they see life through their ideas about it." This is the “box” that limits what we see when we kneel to pray. It “feels” right to us to think in these parameters even though the prophets tell us that God says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts…” (Is. 55:8)
If we desire to “pray in the Spirit” we must begin by acknowledging our cultural “box.” The world around us seeks to brings us into “conformity” with its norms. As spiritual beings “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” we are admonished by Scripture to “put off [our] old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires," and “to be made new in the attitude of [our] minds, which is in keeping with our new self.” [See Eph. 4:22-24)
Spiritual disciplines are tools by which we “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” in acts of spiritual worship.” By these deliberate actions we learn to “not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but [to] be transformed by the renewing of our mind.” Only then will we “be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” [Romans 12:1-2]
Sadly, many modern believers are looking for “short-cuts” on the narrow path that leads to life. Books abound on “easy steps” to spiritual power. Concerning these popular approaches, Eugene H. Peterson puts the words of Jesus found in Matthew 7 in stark paraphrase:
“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life – to God! – is vigorous and requires total attention.”
The purpose of spiritual exercises is to bring us to a place in prayer where we escape the conditioning of our culture and are able to hear the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit given to guide us into all truth. To escape the voices in our conditioned thoughts and hear the voice of our Shepherd is our quest [See John 10]. Only then can we cease to be echoes of a noisy world and become “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” who prepares the way of the Lord to come to our needy world [See Isaiah 40:3].
That there is a crying need for the recovery of the devotional life cannot be denied. If anything characterizes modern Protestantism, it is the absence of spiritual disciplines. Yet such disciplines form the core of the life of devotion. It is not an exaggeration to state that this is the lost dimension of modern Protestantism. Donald Bloesch
Six Practical Affirmations for Spiritual Freedom
If your heart agrees that the world continually forces you into its mold and limits your ability to stand by what the Word of God reveals as your position in Christ, I offer you some specific inward commitments that will help to lead you in the path of Life:
I choose to accept the process of discipline as an absolute necessity for my life.
…anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple – Luke 14:27
I choose to learn obedience beginning with the small things of life.
…whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much – Luke 16:10
I choose to recognize the value of developing regular habits in the formation of my life.
…train yourself to be godly… Be diligent in these matters…persevere in them. - 1 Tim. 4:7,15,16
I choose to give priority time to conscious fellowship with God in prayer and meditation on the Scriptures.
…I urge…requests, prayers, intercession, thanksgiving... - 1 Tim 2:1
…do your best to present yourself to God… a workman…who correctly handles the Word of God - 2 Tim. 2:15
I choose to respond positively to perceived need for change in my life.
He who ignores discipline despises himself,but whoever heeds correction gains understanding-Pr. 15:32.
I choose to continually acknowledge my dependence on God and give Him the glory for all progress in my life.
It is written: “Let him that boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 1:31
Remember, please, that inward spiritual vows are only offered to the Lord under the guidance of the Spirit. In the coming teachings I propose to outline some inward dispositions that have helped me to a new freedom in intercessory prayer. These disciplines of the soul include:
Silence, stillness, serenity, solitude, submission, servitude, suspended judgment, and secrecy.
I pray that you will consider this matter for the sake of the Body of Christ and a world that has lost touch with the realities of the Spirit. The Scriptures promise a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. In the same breath it encourages us to “make every effort to enter that rest." [See Heb. 4:9-11] Will you heed the call?
Monday, October 29, 2007
Hearing His Voice by Bob Yarbrough
The following is from Bob Yarbrough—a man who has "dug down deep" (Luke 6:48) concerning the inner life of intimacy with the Lord. He served many years as a missionary and pastor. He is the founding pastor of New Covenant Fellowship in Manassas, Virginia and is deeply respected by those who know him. He no longer the pastor, but is still lovingly referred to as Pastor Bob—and he has much to offer the body of Christ through his writings. If you are a pastor in the body of Christ, I highly recommend that you prayerfully invite Pastor Bob to minister to your congregation.
As I write this, I am lost for words to adequately capture or express the depth and quality of this man's life and ministry. In fact, I'll let Bob's words speak of his heart for the Lord.
This is part one of two part series.
HEARING HIS VOICE AND KNOWING HIS MIND
“The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:15,16)
“The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’” (Acts 8:29)
A few books from my shelf deal with a subject of universal interest:
Does God Still Guide? By J. Sidlow Baxter: “Countless hearts today keep asking, “Which is the right way? What’s at the end? Is there a sure guide? Does God still guide? How may I know? The Bible answer is : Yes, there is guidance. God offers it to godly men and godly nations: and they may live safely in it.”
You Can Hear the Voice of God by Steve Sampson: "Countless Christians are tired of fleshly hype and hoopla, and desire to hear the Master’s voice. Sincere Christian leaders involve . . . baby Christians in church activities, quickly giving them a job title, doing special projects, and have them immersed in all manner of religious busyness. Yet Nothing is being done to train those spiritual babes to exercise their spirit by listening to the Lord…The simple truth has been forgotten. It is the most basic New Covenant principle."
“None shall teach his brother, saying, ‘know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest” (Hebrews 8;11).
The Sound of His Voice by Kim Clement: “The Bible says, ‘Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying’ (Rev. 2:17). Our great concern should not be how the Spirit has directed us in the past, but what the Lord is saying now.”
How to Recognize God’s Voice by Graham Fitzpatrick: “When you are born again, your human spirit and the Holy Spirit become one with one another. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says: ‘But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one Spirit with Him.” Therefore, since your spirit becomes one with the Holy Spirit, your human spirit can very easily find God’s will.”
I seek to bear witness to the rising revolution of the manifestation of sons of God who are led by the Spirit of God. I have been assured that before it is over a purified Bride will gladly hear the voice of her Lover and obey His heart. For now, there must be those willing to be “heavenly misfits” who are an affront to culture’s religious ideas because they are living a life suited for “a new heaven and a new earth”—the suitable home of righteousness. Listening to heaven’s drumbeat, they walk “out of step” with the multitudes who live surface lives.
Thus we escape “the degrading slavery of being a child of this age” (Chesterton).
Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.”
Bargain conscious Christians will buy cheap imitations at cut-rate prices. There are many slick salesmen ready to offer short-cuts to the palace of wisdom. Discipline is the expensive element missing in all such imitations.
Philip is our example of a normal believer hearing the voice of the Spirit. Look at Acts 8:29
THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT
He speaks. (“The Spirit told Philip...") The Book was not intended to replace the Voice.
Hebrews 12:25 “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.” (Acts 13:1,2 corporate guidance)
He speaks specifically. ("Go to that Chariot and stay near it." See also v. 27 “so he started out…”) Guidance is personal and progressive.
He speaks specifically to obedient servant spirits. (Philip ran…)
Jesus indicated that this would be the assignment given to the “Counselor” (John 16:13). Why are such incidents of guidance rare? Not because the Spirit is not speaking, but for lack of listening ears and intimacy with the “Counselor.”
THE EAR OF THE DISCIPLE
Isaiah 50: 4-4,5 “The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious.”
There is a mysterious balance between a “Sovereign Lord” who alone opens ears and a listening heart willing to be “wakened morning by morning” and “not be rebellious” but “putting the Word into practice” (James 1:25). Listen, hear, obey!
As I write this, I am lost for words to adequately capture or express the depth and quality of this man's life and ministry. In fact, I'll let Bob's words speak of his heart for the Lord.
This is part one of two part series.
HEARING HIS VOICE AND KNOWING HIS MIND
“The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:15,16)
“The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’” (Acts 8:29)
A few books from my shelf deal with a subject of universal interest:
Does God Still Guide? By J. Sidlow Baxter: “Countless hearts today keep asking, “Which is the right way? What’s at the end? Is there a sure guide? Does God still guide? How may I know? The Bible answer is : Yes, there is guidance. God offers it to godly men and godly nations: and they may live safely in it.”
You Can Hear the Voice of God by Steve Sampson: "Countless Christians are tired of fleshly hype and hoopla, and desire to hear the Master’s voice. Sincere Christian leaders involve . . . baby Christians in church activities, quickly giving them a job title, doing special projects, and have them immersed in all manner of religious busyness. Yet Nothing is being done to train those spiritual babes to exercise their spirit by listening to the Lord…The simple truth has been forgotten. It is the most basic New Covenant principle."
“None shall teach his brother, saying, ‘know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest” (Hebrews 8;11).
The Sound of His Voice by Kim Clement: “The Bible says, ‘Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying’ (Rev. 2:17). Our great concern should not be how the Spirit has directed us in the past, but what the Lord is saying now.”
How to Recognize God’s Voice by Graham Fitzpatrick: “When you are born again, your human spirit and the Holy Spirit become one with one another. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says: ‘But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one Spirit with Him.” Therefore, since your spirit becomes one with the Holy Spirit, your human spirit can very easily find God’s will.”
I seek to bear witness to the rising revolution of the manifestation of sons of God who are led by the Spirit of God. I have been assured that before it is over a purified Bride will gladly hear the voice of her Lover and obey His heart. For now, there must be those willing to be “heavenly misfits” who are an affront to culture’s religious ideas because they are living a life suited for “a new heaven and a new earth”—the suitable home of righteousness. Listening to heaven’s drumbeat, they walk “out of step” with the multitudes who live surface lives.
Thus we escape “the degrading slavery of being a child of this age” (Chesterton).
Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.”
Bargain conscious Christians will buy cheap imitations at cut-rate prices. There are many slick salesmen ready to offer short-cuts to the palace of wisdom. Discipline is the expensive element missing in all such imitations.
Philip is our example of a normal believer hearing the voice of the Spirit. Look at Acts 8:29
THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT
He speaks. (“The Spirit told Philip...") The Book was not intended to replace the Voice.
Hebrews 12:25 “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.” (Acts 13:1,2 corporate guidance)
He speaks specifically. ("Go to that Chariot and stay near it." See also v. 27 “so he started out…”) Guidance is personal and progressive.
He speaks specifically to obedient servant spirits. (Philip ran…)
Jesus indicated that this would be the assignment given to the “Counselor” (John 16:13). Why are such incidents of guidance rare? Not because the Spirit is not speaking, but for lack of listening ears and intimacy with the “Counselor.”
THE EAR OF THE DISCIPLE
Isaiah 50: 4-4,5 “The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious.”
There is a mysterious balance between a “Sovereign Lord” who alone opens ears and a listening heart willing to be “wakened morning by morning” and “not be rebellious” but “putting the Word into practice” (James 1:25). Listen, hear, obey!
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