Prayer’s Empowerment

Prayer is not about insurance, but assurance. Prayer is not about figuring things out, but about getting God’s mind on a subject.

But how does the faith to believe for that assurance, and the faith to capture God’s discernment come to us? It comes through the Third Person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us; He’s the central part of our prayer life.

Check out what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit’s role in your prayer life (see John 14:15-27).

EmpowermentAssurancethe Counselor [will] be with you forever (v. 16). The Holy Spirit doesn’t come and go, but He abides constantly. Jesus said I will not leave you as orphans (v. 18), but you will be loved by My Father (vv. 21-23). The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in bringing you into this intimate relationship (Romans 8:15).

Discernment—Jesus said a key component of your prayer life was if you remain in Me and My words remain in you (John 15:7). The Holy Spirit helps teach you what the Word says, and He will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). The more you can be reminded of God’s Word, the more you can pray and live with God’s discernment.

PeaceMy peace I give you … do not be afraid (v. 27). One of the names given to the Holy Spirit is Comforter. The Amplified Bible defines this title as, “Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.”

Boldness—when you have greater assurance of God’s Word, deeper discernment into the mind of the Lord, and a more tranquil peace because of prayer, you can pray and live boldly! Want to see boldness in action? Check out how the followers of Jesus lived and prayed after they were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; 2:14; 4:8; 4:31).

Make no mistake about it:

How we pray is how we will live! 

Our prayers and our lives will be more assured, more discerning, more peace-producing and more bold when we let the Holy Spirit empower every aspect!

We will be continuing our series on prayer—If You Will Asknext Sunday. I would love to have you join us!

Sunday Recap

In remembering Sanctity of Human Life Sunday we looked at some sobering, heart-breaking stats—

Planned Parenthood reported:

  • They performed 327,166 abortions in the course of one year and only 2,197 adoption referrals.
  • That’s 149 abortions for each adoption referral (149:1).
  • In order to hit this astronomical number they had to perform approximately one abortion every 96 seconds.
  • That means they killed more than the population of Grand Rapids AND Lansing. Combined!
  • They did all of this while receiving over $540 million in government grants and reimbursements.

But we also learned some happier stats from Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs

  • Alpha has been providing pro-life, pro-family services in Cedar Springs for 22 years.
  • 11,300 baby and toddler related items were given out in 2013. That includes 1000+ packs of diapers, 214 cans of formula, 900 jars of baby food & baby cereal, and nearly 5200 articles of clothing for babies, toddlers and pregnant women.
  • Alpha’s counselors provided over 1000 peer counseling sessions, taught 850 parenting classes, and gave 70 free pregnancy tests.
  • And they did all of this without one cent of government aid! 

Please support Alpha with your prayers and financial support.

In our series on prayer, I shared this great quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“Why do I not call on God’s Name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans? Why not at once roll my self and my burden on the Lord?”

Great questions! In answering those we learned this great truth: How we pray is how we will live!

Pray = Live

8 Quotes From “Promotion”

PromotionPromotion by Rick Renner is a book to help both ministry and for-profit business organizations make better personnel decisions. You can read my full book review by clicking here. The following are a few quotes I highlighted.

“When choosing people for promotion, it’s important to understand that nothing is more important to God in the life of a leader then his heart. The heart takes first place over gifts, talents, education, and everything else.” 

“A person who is satisfied with little will never achieve much. On the other hand, a person who has a desire for excellence will never be satisfied with a low level performance in his or her life.”

“Any person who does just the required minimum should never be considered for leadership. … So be very careful not to over-spiritualize the selection process when choosing leaders. Don’t ignore telltale signs in a candidates natural life that alert you to a lack of desire.” 

“It’s normal for people to occasionally misunderstand. But when staff members misunderstand their leader’s instructions 99% of the time, something is wrong with the way that leader is communicating with those under his authority. His followers cannot be wrong all the time.”

“You should not look for a candidate free of problems, but for one who knows how to turn to God and manage life’s challenges according to Scripture.”

“Never forget that when you’re a leader, the most important pulpit you’ll ever possess is the testimony of your own personal life.”

“You’re never going to find a perfect person. … So never forget to let mercy triumphs over judgment. But if your peace is disturbed because of things you see occurring in a potential leader’s life, don’t ignore what is bothering you. Pay attention to what your spirit is telling you. Perhaps he or she is the right leader, but it isn’t the right time yet. It’s better to be slow and sure then to move forward without the inner conviction that you’re on the right track.”

“You may have a more visible position than others do during this earthly life, but your value to God for eternity is no different than anyone else in His Body.”

Be The Sermon

Gregory The GreatIt’s not enough to just preach a sermon, my pastor friend, we must be the sermon, too.

Heed these challenging words from Gregory The Great (ca. 540-604)—

“There are some who investigate spiritual precepts with cunning care, but what they penetrate with their understanding they trample on in their lives: all at once they teaching the things which not by practice but by study they have learnt; and what in words they preach by their manners they impugn. …

“The ruler should always be chief in action, that by his living he may point out the way to those that are put under him, and that the flock, which follows the voice and manners of the shepherd, may learn how to walk better through example than through words. For he who is required by the necessity of his position to speak the highest things is required by the same necessity to exhibit the highest things. …

Every preacher should give forth a sound more by his deeds than by his words, and rather by good living imprint footsteps for men to follow than by speaking show them the way to walk in.” 

Thursdays With Oswald—Consecration Isn’t Just For Ministers

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

Consecration Isn’t Just For Pastors 

     Consecration is not the giving over of the calling in life to God, but the separation from all other callings and the giving over of ourselves to God, letting His providence place us where He will—in business, or law, or science; in workshop, in politics…. We are to be there working according to the laws and principles of the Kingdom of God…. 

     “Business is business” is not true for the Christian. Business is a sphere of labor in the world where a man exhibits the laws and principles of the Kingdom, otherwise he is a coward, a deserter, and a traitor to that Kingdom. 

From Christian Disciplines 

Jesus calls all Christians to be salt and light; to season and shine wherever God has placed us. We are consecrated for service to God is we are working by biblical principles, no matter what job we happen to be doing.

17 Quotes From “Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles”

Prayer, Power & MiraclesI highlighted more quotes from Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles than I can possibly share here. But I hope these few quotes will help whet your appetite to buy this book. If you’d like to read my review of this book, please click here.

“God can so fill a man with His Spirit that he can laugh and believe in the face of a thousand difficulties.” 

“Real faith has perfect peace and joy and a shout at any time. It always sees the victory.”

“If you knew the value of it, you would praise God for trial more than for anything. It is the trial that is used to purify you; it is in the fiery furnace of affliction that God gets you in the place where He can use you. The person that has no trials and no difficulties is the person whom God dare not allow satan to touch, because he could not stand temptation; but Jesus will not allow any man to be tempted more than he is able to bear.” 

“God will do great things for us if we are prepared to receive them from Him. We are dull of comprehension because we let the cares of this world blind our eyes, but if we keep open to God, He has a greater plan for us in the future than we have seen or ever have dreamed about in the past. It is God’s delight to fulfill to us impossibilities because of His omnipotence, and when we reach the place where He alone has the right of way in all things, then all mists and misunderstandings will clear away.”

“The Bible is the Word of God: supernatural in origin, eternal in duration, inexpressible in valor, infinite in scope, regenerative in power, infallible in authority, universal in interest, personal in application, inspired in totality. Read it through, write it down, pray it in, work it out, and then pass it on. Truly it is the Word of God. It brings into man the personality of God; it changes the man until he becomes the epistle of God. It transforms his mind, changes his character, takes him on from grace to grace, and gives him an inheritance in the Spirit. God comes in, dwells in, walks in, talks through, and sups with him.”

“Beloved, if you read the Scriptures you will never find anything about the easy time. All the glories come out of hard times. And if you are really reconstructed it will be in a hard time, it won’t be in a singing meeting, but at a time when you think all things are dried up, when you think there is no hope for you, and you have passed everything, then that is the time that God makes the man, when tried by fire, that God purges you, takes the dross away, and brings forth the pure gold. Only melted gold is minted. Only moistened clay receives the mold. Only softened wax receives the seal. Only broken, contrite hearts receive the mark as the Potter turns us on His wheel, shaped and burnt to take and keep the heavenly mold, the stamp of God’s pure gold.”

“We must be taken out of the ordinary. We must be brought into the extraordinary. We must live in a glorious position, over the flesh and the devil, and everything of the world. God has ordained us, clothed us within, and manifested upon us His glory that we may be the sons with promise, of Son-likeness to Him.”

“Oh, this baptism of the Holy Spirit is an inward presence of the personality of God, which lifts, prays, takes hold, lives in, with a tranquility of peace and power that rests and says, ‘It is all right.’ God answers prayer because the Holy Spirit prays and your advocate is Jesus, and the Father the Judge of all. There He is. Is it possible for any prayer to be missed on those lines?”

“God has something better for you than you have ever had in the past. Come out into all the fullness of faith and power and life and victory that He is willing to provide, as you forget the things of the past, and press right on for the prize of His calling in Christ Jesus.” 

“There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief.”

“It is as we feed on the Word and meditate on the message it contains, that the Spirit of God can vitalize that which we have received, and bring forth through us the word of knowledge that will be as full of power and life as when He, the Spirit of God, moved upon holy men of old and gave them these inspired Scriptures.”

“The trouble is that we do not have the power of God in a full manifestation because of our finite thoughts, but as we go on and let God have His way, there is no limit to what our limitless God will do in response to a limitless faith. But you will never get anywhere except you are in constant pursuit of all the power of God.”

“Jesus said, ‘Be not afraid, only believe’ (Mark 5:36). He speaks the word just in time! Jesus is never behind time. When the tumult is the worst, the pain the most severe, the cancer gripping the body, then the word comes, ‘Only believe.’ When everything seems as though it will fail, and is practically hopeless, the Word of God comes to us, ‘Only believe.’”

“Faith is a divine act, faith is God in the soul. God operates by His Son, and transforms the natural into the supernatural. Faith is active, never dormant; faith lays hold, faith is the hand of God, faith is the power of God, faith never fears, faith lives amid the greatest conflict, faith is always active, faith moves even things that cannot be moved. God fills us with His divine power, and sin is dethroned.”

“There is nothing small about our God, and when we understand God we will find out that there ought not to be anything small about us. We must have an enlargement of our conception of God, then we will know that we have come to a place where all things are possible, for our God is an omnipotent God for impossible positions.”

“We have a big God. We have a wonderful Jesus. We have a glorious Comforter. God’s canopy is over you and will cover you at all times, preserving you from evil. Under His wings shalt thou trust. The Word of God is living and powerful and in its treasures you will find eternal life. If you dare trust this wonderful Lord, the Lord of life, you will find in Him everything you need.”

“There are evil powers, but Jesus is greater than all evil powers. There are tremendous diseases, but Jesus is healer. There is no case too hard for Him. The Lion of Judah shall break every chain. He came to relieve the oppressed and to set the captive free. He came to bring redemption, to make us as perfect as man was before the fall.”

Valuing Life

SOHL“As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.” —David, in 1 Samuel 26:24

This is as strong of a pro-life statement as any in the Bible! 

The Hebrew word for value in this verse means…

  • to grow up
  • to become great or important
  • to do great things

Throughout the Old Testament this word is used to describe people growing from a small, infantile state to a place of maturity and prominence.

David held King Saul’s life in his hand. Since Saul was hell-bent on messing up David’s life (even killing him, if he could), we could say that David had plenty of rationale to justify ending Saul’s life. But David would not touch Saul because he recognized Saul’s God-given human dignity.

David asked God to value his life in the same way that David valued Saul’s life. Even Saul himself affirmed this when he said, “May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph” (v. 25).

What if God only valued your life as much as you valued others’ lives? 

What if God only spoke up for you as much as you spoke up for the not-yet-born? 

What if God only blessed you as much as you blessed the aged and disabled? 

How much would your life be blessed by God?

Something to think about as we celebrate Sanctity of Human Life month. We will be honoring Sanctity of Human Life Sunday this week by bringing our donations for Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs. I would love for you to join us!

Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles (book review)

Prayer, Power & MiraclesWhenever I need a booster shot of faith, or a challenge to believe God for even greater things, or just a unabashed reminder of the power of the Scriptures, I pick up a book by Smith Wigglesworth. By the time I got done reading Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles compiled by Roberts Liardon I was totally fired up!

This book is a collection of sermons delivered by Wigglesworth and articles he authored for various Pentecostal publications. Every one of the chapters is simply saturated in Scripture and the anointing of the Holy Spirit! Each of the articles made we want to dig into the Bible more, believe God for more, and crave the empowerment of the Spirit more!

If you are tired of humdrum church-as-usual, or if you are ready for your faith to be stretched like it’s never been stretched before, pick up a copy of this book and strap yourself in. I promise that you will not think about the things of God the same after these messages have worked their way into your heart.

Promotion (book review)

PromotionFinding the right person to promote in your organization can be one of the most crucial decisions a leader has to make. It’s hard enough when the organization is a profit-driven one, but the stakes get elevated when a faith-based ministry is considering the eternal ramifications of its success. A book chock-full of helpful advice for making the right personnel decisions is Promotion by Rick Renner.

Rick is a successful pastor and ministry leader. He shares through his personal examples—both successful and not so successful—the principles he has learned. He is quick to point out that these principles are not because some people are more valuable than others, but because some people are ready for more responsibility and others are not. His list of promotion principles will help you, regardless of the type of organization you lead.

I found the scriptural principles Rick shared to be right on target, though I thought he tried to put too fine of a point on a few of them. In other words, some of his ideals are so high that hardly anyone may quality for promotion. I also found some of his personal stories to be a bit too much personal back-patting for my taste. Despite those two personal observations, I still found the material helpful.

A big thanks to my brother-in-love for putting this book in my hands.

The Prophet Almost Blew It

Jeremiah 33-3Samuel had anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, but Saul’s disobedience led to God’s rejection of him as the king. God dispatched Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel, and that’s when Samuel almost blew it.

God knows what He’s doing. He has a purpose and a plan, and He invites us to be a part of it. So when God sent Samuel on his mission, He gave him very specific instructions, “I have chosen one of Jesse’s sons to be king. I will show you the one I have chosen” (1 Samuel 16:1-4).

That seems clear enough, but Samuel’s mistake is often our mistake: we think we can figure out what God is doing, and then we rush ahead of Him.

When Jesse’s oldest son Eliab appeared, he was a tall, handsome man. Samuel knew that the next king would be one of Jesse’s sons, and when he saw Eliab he thought to himself, “Surely this is the one” (v. 6). One problem: Eliab wasn’t the one.

God told Samuel, “You are looking with your eyes and can only see the things on the surface. I don’t look like you look; I see the way things really are” (v. 7). In other words, God has a discernment that we don’t have.

Here’s great news: God wants to give us His discernment! But we need to ask Him for it—

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3, emphasis added)

One thing that stands out to me in this story is how many times it says, “The Lord said.” God is always speaking to us, but are we listening? If not, we’re missing out on His vital discernment.

There is an important link between reading the Bible and getting God’s discernment. That’s why the Bible is more than a Book to read, it’s a Book to pray! A.W. Tozer said it this way—

“To think God’s thoughts requires much prayer. If you do not pray much, you are not thinking God’s thoughts. If you do not read your Bible much and often and reverently, you are not thinking God’s thoughts.”

Don’t make the mistake that Samuel almost made. Read the Bible, pray the Bible, and you will be amazed at how much discernment God gives to you.

I will be continuing our series on prayer—If You Will Ask—this Sunday, and I hope you can join us!