JPs Prayer Blog

As a Pastor, the first wedding I ever officiated was of a good friend.  Waiting for our time to enter into the sanctuary, I asked the groom, “Why are you convinced you should get married?”  His deadpan answer broke up the whole wedding party, “Fear can be a powerful motivator!” We can joke about the fear of a spouse but real, gut wrenching fear is no laughing matter.  In fact, it’s the stuff that causes a person to retreat into isolation; engage in an addiction and hide in the darkness of guilt and shame.  Fear is a Goliath we must defeat in the Lord’s strength.

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How do you look at the world?  The big picture of what we believe is called a “worldview.”  A worldview is a life philosophy, a belief system, a larger picture of reality that helps us explain and answer the significant questions of life.  Worldviews are like glasses we put on that help us understand and interpret reality.  Worldviews are based on basic assumptions about life, truth, God, right and wrong, meaning, etc. One’s worldview provides the matrix for understanding reality.  Everyone has a worldview.  The native tribesman in the Amazon jungle and the Philosophy Professor at Harvard; the evangelical Christian and the avowed atheist; the car mechanic and the stay at home mom; every individual has a personal belief system that provides a larger context for viewing the world.

The Bible gives us the only true, coherent and ultimately satisfying worldview.  Every other life philosophy is skewed because of man’s finiteness and sin.  Colossians 2:8-10 warns of this when it asserts:

 8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ⁹For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

When we interpret and explain reality based upon any presupposition or assumption that does not acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, then we are on the road to being “taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy” Because Jesus Christ is the unique God-Man, He should have authority over every area of our lives including our thoughts and interpretations of reality.  Our worldviews need to be based on Jesus, who is the Truth and upon His word which is True.

1 Peter 1:13 admonishes us,

¹³ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Our minds need to be surrendered to Jesus Christ.  Our thoughts need to be renewed by the truth of Christ.  Our emotions and actions need to be influenced by our love for Christ.  Embracing a Biblical worldview is committing yourself, on every issue, to think like a Christian.  Let’s love God with all our heat, soul, mind and strength!

Some things must be remembered.   On this Memorial Day, we remember the sacrifice of men and women who gave their lives for our liberty.  Jesus said, “Greater love has no man, than to lay down his life for his friends”.

The Bible records the importance of memorials.  They stand to remind us of timeless truths that change our lives.  One such memorial is mentioned in Joshua 4,

 1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”

 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”…

 19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea  when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”

The Lord and His miracles are to be remembered.  Our God can part the Jordan.  He is the Almighty and nothing is too difficult for Him.  What Jordan’s are you facing your life today?  What miracle do you need?  Remember the Lord.  Look to His memorials.  Let the reality of God’s work in the past be the evidence for your faith in the present.  Remember God, trust in the Lord…He can do miracles!

The ultimate struggle that  faces every person is between fear and faith.  Almost 3,000 years ago, the armies of Israel encountered this age old battle as they heard the taunts of the adversary,

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” ¹⁰ Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” ¹¹ on hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

“…Dismayed and terrified.”  Fear is the most debilitating emotion to any man’s masculinity.  It robs us of what we feel it means to be a man. 

     When I was a senior in high school, our football team was made up of mostly juniors and sophomores.  Good athletes, but lacking in varsity game experience.  Halfway through the season we played the eventual league champs.  We played above our usual ability that game and were tied 7-7 going into halftime.  Ordinarily, after the coach’s pep talk, players come out of the locker room, stretch and get ready for the second half.  That’s what our team did.  The opposing team however, lined up in two lines about ten yards apart and did a full tackling drill.  “Pop, pop, pop!” you could hear the hitting echo throughout the whole stadium.  I looked around at my young teammates and I could literally see the hope of victory drain from their faces.  It was as if every one of them were thinking the same thing, “They are going to kill us!”  Psychologically we had already lost the game.  Before the whistle blew for the second half to start, we were already defeated by intimidation.

     The men of Israel felt exactly that; intimidation.  They were afraid.  They encountered Goliath and he scared them to death.  Everyone has a Goliath.  Everyone faces their giant.  Everyone stares down into the Elah Valley and what they see staring back, is sometimes terrifying. 

     Is fear your Goliath?  Are you paralyzed to move out of your comfort zone and trust God?  Proverbs 3:5-6 exhorts us,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.  Acknowledge God in all that you do and He will make your paths straight.”

     Faith is looking at God not at Goliath.  Faith is trusting in God’s promises rather than our feelings.  Faith is believing that what God says is true, is truer than anything we feel.  David heard the taunts of Goliath and saw the enormity of his size.  Armed only with a slingshot, David stepped down into the Valley of Elah and shouted, “The battle belongs to the Lord!”  David versus Goliath, as they say, “The rest is history”.

     The question before each of us is this, “Are we going to look to God or look to Goliath?”  The battle belongs to the Lord!

Every believer is in a spiritual battle.  Our battle is against the world, the flesh and devil.  1 John 4:4 states, “⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  In the context of this passage, the One who is in us is the Holy Spirit.  The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer gives us hope for victory in the spiritual battle. 

The book of Ephesians reveals four positional truths with reference to the Holy Spirit: we are sealed with the Spirit (1:13-14), we have access to God through the Spirit (2:18), we are indwelt by the Spirit (2:22) and we are united with other believers through the Spirit (4:3-4). These resources from the Spirit are ours by virtue of being born again (John 3:1-8). They guarantee our security in Christ, our eternal inheritance, our access to God and our unity with other Christians. This spiritual foundation gives the believer hope for victory in the Christian life.

Ephesians also exhorts the believer to deeper obedience to the Holy Spirit’s empowering and sanctifying ministry. There are resources, through the Holy Spirit, for the believer to grow spiritually and to experience victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:16, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” Available to the believer is the power of the Holy Spirit. When appropriated, this power enables the believer to say no to sin, to witness for Christ, to experience intimacy with the Father and to rebuke Satan (Rom 8:12-14, Eph 1:16-20, Acts 13:9-11). In Eph 5:18-21 the believer is commanded to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. This filling of the Holy Spirit results in “…speaking to one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord and always giving thanks for all things…” The filling of the Holy Spirit produces spiritual renewal within our lives. We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith, as we obey His Word and His leading. Eph 6:17 commands us “…and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” God’s Word is the Spirit’s sword, defending us against false doctrine and satanic temptation (2 Tim 4:1-5, Luke 4:1-13). As the believer takes up the Word of God, he is able to win the battle for the mind because the truth of Scripture exposes and defeats the lies of the enemy. Concluding Paul’s explanation of the Spirit’s resources in Ephesians, chapter 6 verse 18 says, “…prays at all times in the Spirit…” Available to the believer is the Spirit’s empowering and guidance in prayer. In particular this prayer is in the context of the spiritual battle. As we depend upon the Spirit, He guides us and empowers us to pray so that we win against the temptations, accusations and deceptions of the enemy.

Living moment by moment in the power of the Holy Spirit is a divinely powerful weapon that God has provided to help us win the spiritual battle.  God promises victory to the believer who trusts in and depends upon the Spirit:

Gal. 5:16-18

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Rom. 8:12-14

12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Why don’t you surrender your life to the Holy Spirit’s control right now?  Ask Him to help you, to empower you and to give you victory over the world, the flesh and the devil.  Jesus gave us this great promise in Luke 11:13,

¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Our birthright, as believers in Jesus Christ, is spiritual authority! In Ephesians 2:1-6, the Bible states that we have been saved by grace, made alive, raised up and seated with Jesus Christ. In Eph 2:1-3, Paul describes that we were dead in trespasses and sins. Out of this spiritual condition God saved us. Eph 2:5-6 says:

Even when we were dead in our transgressions (He) made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ.

Three compound verbs are used to describe God’s saving act: made alive together with, raised up with and seated with. The compound nature of the verbs links the action done for Christ with the action done for the believer. As Christ was made alive, we were made alive with Him. As Christ was raised up, we were also raised up with Him. As Christ was seated in the heavenly places, we were seated with Him. This passage looks at the believer’s salvation as a future completed action that is positionally true in the present. We have been fully united with Jesus Christ in His resurrection, ascension and seating. This doesn’t become true at some point in the future or when certain conditions are met, but it is true already by virtue of our identification with Jesus. The believer’s position in Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand.

 By virtue of our spiritual position we have Christ’s spiritual authority. Eph 1:20-22 says:

Which he brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church.

Christ’s seating was to a position of absolute spiritual authority. His position is one far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and name. His authority extends over all men and angels; over all seen and unseen powers.  This list: rule, authority, power, dominion and name, refers to a demonic hierarchy; it is a list describing fallen angels or demons.  Jesus Christ has spiritual authority over Satan and his demons. In Christ, the believer has been seated into this same position of spiritual authority. We have been given Christ’s authority over the demonic host, because we are co-crucified, co-resurrected, and co-seated with Christ.

Rom. 6:6-7

6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Ephesians 2:5-6

5He made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

It is in Christ’s authority that we resist the devil and his onslaught of accusation, temptation and deception.  Our position in Christ gives us the hope of victory in the spiritual battle.

David stepped into the Valley of Elah and fought Goliath.  Satan is the archetype of all Goliaths.

Every Christian steps into the Elah Valley of the world system and comes face to face with the spiritual battle.

In our minds spiritual conflict can rage 24/7.

Satan’s strategy is to capture our minds, influence our emotions and control our actions.

Like the men of Israel, who quaked in fear when they looked at Goliath, Satan seeks to capture our minds with fear.  He seeks to accuse, deceive and tempt us.  But like David, “The battle belongs to the Lord”!

Our victory is in yielding our minds to the Spirit and renewing them with the Word of God.

As we claim the truth of the Word of God and surrender our thoughts to the Holy Spirit, He sets us free and gives us victory in the battle for our minds.

Romans 8:5-6  5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

Hebrews 2:14 14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son of God, Jesus Christ, also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

James 4:6-7 ⁶ But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Corinthians 15:57 ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have a choice; believe the lie of Satan or believe the truth of God’s Word.  God’s Word affirms that the devil is a defeated foe; that by yielding to the Spirit, we can think the Sprit’s thoughts and that by submitting to God, Christ will give us the victory and Satan must flee from us.  If we believe lies, we will be in bondage.

But if we believe the truth, the truth will set us free.

The spiritual battle is real!  It’s as real as David’s battle with Goliath.  Our spiritual battle is against Satan and his demons.  Peter warns us in 1Peter 5:8, “Be on the alert, your adversary, the devil porwls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  Just as David fought Goliath in the Elah Valley, our battleground is the fallen world system. Plagued by sin, our very culture is antagonistic to God and His Kingdom. I John 2:15-17 warns:

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Our culture is like an unchecked virus on a computer’s operating system. Every key stroke and entry furthers the infection. Temptation, deception and accusation attack and challenge every person. Like the scene from Animal House, where Pinto, the Delta House pledge is faced with a sexual temptation and on one shoulder an angel exhorts him to purity, while on the other shoulder a devil urges him to sin; every day we live in a world that is filled with temptation and spiritual conflict.

Our enemy is Satan and his demonic forces.  The battle ground is this world system and the point of attack is our flesh or sinful nature.  The Greek word sarx is translated in the King James and New American Standard Version as “flesh”. The New International Version translates this word as the “sinful nature”.  Sarx refers to that part of our humanity that is vulnerable to and consumed with sin.  Galatians 5:16-18 says:

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

There is a real battle between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh.  Paul, arguably the greatest Christian who ever lived, described his own battle in Romans 7:20-25:

20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Paul says that there is a sin principle within us that wages war with our new identity in Christ.  Our true self rejoices in God’s law.  But there is a different law in our sinful nature and it is at war with the law of our mind. 

Every Christian is in a three front war with the world, the flesh and the devil.  With this much spiritual opposition and conflict is there any hope?  Stay tuned!

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Matthew 9:35-39 gives us a brief sketch of Jesus’ earthly ministry;

“35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

He taught God’s Word, He preached the gospel, He healed people who were sick, He felt compassion on the crowds and He commissioned disciples to be laborers in the harvest.

This is the ministry Jesus wants to reproduce through His church.

Disciples of Jesus gathered in believing communities (churches) are to:

• • teach God’s Word
  • preach the gospel
  • pray for healing in Jesus name
  • show compassion to their community
  • send out equipped disciples who are laborers in the harvest

Would you commit yourself to Jesus’ ministry in the world through His church?

Join us at Crossline as we seek to follow Jesus and champion His agenda!

• Pray that God’s Word transforms people’s lives
• Pray that Crossline preaches the gospel and that many are saved
• Pray that sick people are healed and that God does His miracles
• Pray that Crossline equips believers to become reproducing disciples and that we send out laborers into the harvest
• Pray for yourself to be transformed by the Word, bold in preaching the gospel, an agent of Christ’s healing and a laborer in the harvest God leads you into

I’ll be leading our Bible Study and Prayer Meeting tonight, 7:00-8:00 PM. Our study is on “God’s Weapons to Fight the Spiritual Battle”.

Praying with you and for you,
JP