A Brick in the Valley

If you are a Brick, would you come by my study for prayer at 8:30 tomorrow?

I often plead with people in our church to come pray with me before the morning services.  The reason is that in my own strength I might as well seek to part the Red Sea or raise the dead as preach successfully.  Unless the Holy Spirit illuminates the Word when I preach, then it is nothing more than a human production.

Arturo Azurdia summarizes:

People are brought to faith in Jesus Christ not because a preacher happens to be exceptionally dynamic one Sunday morning, or because he finishes his sermon with a spell-binding story.  Rather, in a mysterious work that is both sovereign in expression and divine in origin the power of God unites with the proclamation of the word of God and produces effects that are in keeping with the purposes of God.  It is the effectual teaching ministry of the Spirit of truth, without which the Bible will never be anything more than a book in a drawer in a room at a hotel.

Pray for me, whenever I open my mouth to preach, that words would be given to me that I might, “boldly proclaim they mystery of the gospel.”  Ephesians 6:19-20.

Pastor Jeremy Carr reflects on our Lord’s example in prayer.

Early in Jesus’ ministry, he is experiencing great success. His fame is spreading through Galilee as he casts out demons and heals many sick people. After one particularly busy day of healing, Mark’s Gospel tells us this:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." Mark 1 :35-38 (ESV)

Three observations from this account of Jesus’ ministry.

• Jesus prioritized prayer as the way to effectively minister to people. He didn’t use busyness or success with people as an excuse for neglecting prayer and solitude with God the Father. He realized that in order to meet people’s needs he needed time alone with God. If we neglect prayer for the sake of ministering to people a breakdown will eventually come. We will get burnt out, or become proud of our "successes," or lack the strength to continue on, or lack the true power of transformation that God provides. Somewhere a breakdown will happen when we neglect prayer and solitude.

More here.

A good quote for pastors to consider on Sunday and every other day of the week.

A preacher whose chief power is not in studious prayer is, to that extent, a man who does not know his business.  A stringent ethic would say he is in danger of becoming a quack.

I am having the right kind of fast food for lunch today, meaning I’m having no food at all.  Rather than allowing my stomach to always pound out marching orders, I am using the extra time to focus on prayer (1 Cor 9:27).  Every time my stomach protests, I am going to be reminded to pray.

In Matthew 6, Jesus said that WHEN we fast . . . The Lord assumed that his people would fast.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.(Mt 6:16-18)."

So, today I am skipping my noon meal in order to focus on prayer.  One of my primary goals today is to follow the model of Jesus in Luke 6:12 when we are told that the Lord prayed all night before choosing the Apostles.  A goal for our church in the next 5 years is to see men grow in a special way as leaders.  And, that won’t happen apart from prayer.

You might chide me a bit for telling everyone on the world wide web that I am fasting.  Isn’t it supposed to be done in secret (Matt 6:1).  But, this is a matter of motivation.  And, there is a place to give leadership in prayer and to challenge God’s people.

Why not fast for at least one meal and really pray?

One of the most important ways you can serve your local church is by praying for the preaching of the Word.  Here is a note I recently sent to a number of men in our church.

Guys:
I wanted to share with you a special item of praise.

If you had asked me to rate yesterday’s sermon relative to my other sermons (I never try and compare myself to others per se), I would have said it was solid.  I thought I preached the point that flowed out of the text – - that sin gives way to sin and that we need to know we not only reap what we sow, but we also sow what we reap.

I was in know way tempted to think, that was some incredible sermon.  Far from it.

But, what has been interesting to see is how God has used it in the lives of our church.  I received feedback from multiple people that it was a real encouragement.  I was in a home last night praying with a couple and they commented.  Jamie received an email today from someone who was encouraged and is making some important decisions.

Of course, God only knows why some sermons are especially blessed, but I believe a key part of what sermon was your prayer support. I believe several of you were praying in a special way.  Shawn came by and prayed before church with me and I was conscious of how the Spirit was working.  Even while we were there praying together, I was aware of it.

Let’s keep praying.  If we are really on our knees (either literally or figuratively), and we preach and teach the Word, then we can COUNT on God to do a powerful work.
Titus 2:11-14,
Chris.

How much are you really praying about the challenges you face in life?

Going through my Scripture memory system today (see these posts), I came across this verse that I started memorizing on September 3, 1993.

So, he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbebel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”  Zechariah 4:6

I have repeated this verse hundreds of times – - maybe even getting close to a thousand – - but, I still have problems remembering that ultimately my preaching or efforts in any other area of life will not succeed apart from God’s help.

So, consider the biggest struggle you currently face. 

1. Are you consistently praying about this area?  I recommend that you start a prayer journal in which you journal your prayers.  Also, be sure and pray with other believers.  When was the last time you were on your knees praying with others?  It is not enough to “go it alone.”
2. Are you memorizing relevant Scripture? God works powerfully through His Word.  When God speaks, the Red Sea parts.  Wear a rut in your mind with the truth of God’s Word and you will be amazed at the results.

Make a point to quote this truth one way or another 3 times in the next 24 hours.  Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit  . . .

Justin Taylor gives a concise overview of how Luther encouraged people to pray through the 10 Commandments (See Exodus 20:3-17).  Justin then points to another link.

In A Simple Way to Pray, Martin Luther described how he uses the Ten Commandments as a guide in his prayer life:

I divide each commandment into four parts, thereby fashioning a garland of four strands.

That is, I think of each commandment as . . .

Read the rest here.

Cornelius Plantinga:

In one of his books, John Baillie tells of a time he attended a religious service conducted by a humanist.  The service included a sort of prayer of thanksgiving, in which the humanist avoided saying, “We thank you, O God,” and substituted the words, “We are thankful.”

It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular.  Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day.  Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful “in general.”  It’s very strange.  It’s a little like being married in general.

Christians are thankful to God, and especially because they have been raised with Christ.  Prayer is the most important way of saying so.  Thanksgiving is the healthy, upbeat response from people who know God’s goodness.”

Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, be thankful, in particular, to the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

My friend Lamonte preaches in a different cultural context than I do. His congregation is more vocally interactive than mine. Way more interactive.  For example, in his tradition if the pastor pauses while preaching, often someone will cry out, “Help him Lord,” even as others echo, “Uh huh,” and “Amen.”

Now, I am not suggesting that we begin the practice per se at our church in the rural Midwest. If someone yelled, “Help him Lord,” during one of our services, the congregation would probably assume that a child was about to be drug out for a spanking and that his grandmother was interceding on the defendant’s behalf. Or, that a wife was very upset with her husband and that there was a question as to whether or not the husband would survive.  Either way, everyone’s attention (including the pastor’s) would be irretrievably lost.

Still, there is something to learn from people in the pew crying out, “Help him Lord.”  Such prayers reflect a good theology of preaching.  They remind us that when the Word is preached, we are looking for a fresh event of the Word of God.  Confidence is not in the pastor. Rather, it is assumed that ,apart from the Holy Spirit, the pastor won’t survive in any meaningful way.

Reflecting this same dependence on the Holy Spirit during preaching, Spurgeon insisted:

If there is to be a divine result from God’s Word, the Holy Ghost must go forth with it.  As surely as God went before the children of Israel when He divided the Red Sea, as surely as He led them through the wilderness by the pillar of cloud and fire, so surely must the Lord’s powerful presence go with His Word if there is to be any blessing from it.  (Quoted in Rediscovering Expository Preaching, page 102).

Pray for your pastor with the urgency that you would have prayed for Moses and his rod if the armed Egyptians were backing your family into the surf of the Red Sea.  Indeed, consider how little ability any pastor has to meet the needs of a congregation, and at whatever volume is appropriate to your cultural setting, earnestly cry out, “Help him Lord.”

John Piper:

Part of saving faith is the assurance that you will have faith tomorrow.  Trusting Christ today includes trusting him to give you tomorrow’s trust when tomorrow comes.  Often we feel today like our reservoir of strength is not going to last for another day.  The fact is, it won’t.  Today’s resources are for today, and part of those resources is the confidence that new resources will be given tomorrow.  (In “Meditation on Matthew 6:34,” in A Godward Life, page 25.