My eybard is dying s I w't write much. I gt a jb at sears 7 hrs after I gt int Regina. Praise Gd! Here are sme pwerful qutes.
Smith Wigglesworth said "Fear looks but Faith jumps."
But they could not endure to hear of purity, and of victory over sin and the devil. They said they could not believe any could be free from sin on this side of the grave. I bade them give over babbling about the Scriptures, which were holy men's words, whilst they pleaded for unholiness. Then I bade them forbear talking of the Scriptures, which were the holy men's words; "for," said I, "the holy men that wrote the Scriptures pleaded for holiness in heart, life, and conversation here; but since you plead for impurity and sin, which is of the devil, what have you to do with the holy men's words?"
-George Fox
It is time that we all understood this subject fully, and appreciated all its bearings. It is no doubt true, that however moral our children may be, they are more guilty than any other sinners under heaven, if they live in sin, and will not yield to the light under which they live. We may be perhaps congratulating ourselves on their fair morality; but if we saw their case in all its real bearings, our souls would groan with agony -- our bowels would be all liquid with anguish -- our very hearts within us would heave as if volcanic fires were kindled there -- so deep a sense should we have of their fearful guilt and of the awful doom they incur in denying the Lord that bought them and setting at naught a known salvation. Oh! if we ever pray, we should pour out our prayers for our offspring as if nothing could ever satisfy us or stay our importunity, but the blessings of a full salvation realised in their souls."
-Charles G. Finney
George Kulp.
Faith makes a man an optimist. The man who believes God cannot be discouraged. He hears the Master talking to him and, as he listens to Him, there comes the comforting words, "I am with thee even to the end." Now, the devil can launch his brigades and his divisions and his legions, but this man sees the other side and shouts the victory.
One day a smart little boy -- and you know there is nothing so smart as a little boy, unless it is a little girl -- said to his sister, "Can you spell water with three letters?" Of course she could not. Then he spelled it for her, i-c-e. When one gets where he can see God, he will find that every promise in the Bible is spelled v-i-c-t-o-r-y, -- victory over sin, over the world, the flesh, and the devil. "Oh, Brother Kulp, I have tried everything and I am defeated." Quit "trying everything," and believe God. Faith is the victory.
The God who promised that He would take you through, no matter what may befall, is the same today, He will see you through until your soul shall be gladdened one day in the city where the sun never goes down. If I had my choice, I would rather he the son of a poor Christian man, rich with the promises of God, than to be the son of any millionaire on earth who did not know God. I would rather lean on God's Word than on any man' s money.
"I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul; but I found something within me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus to do something for me, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart and took out all that would not be patient, all that would that would be kind, and then He shut the door." - George Fox
"I am so weak. I can't read my Bible. I can't even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child and trust."
-Hudson Taylor
"I cannot agree with those who say that they have 'new truth' to teach. The two words seem to me to contradict each other; that which is new is not true. It is the old that is true, for truth is as old as God himself" - Charles Spurgeon
David Brainerd
'Farewell, vain world; my soul can bid Adieu. My Savior taught me to abandon you. Your charms may gratify a sensual mind. But cannot please a soul wholly for God's Design
Michael Phillips
'if you want to overcome the fear of man, turn your fear into pity.. suppose the day of judgment has come and they are before God'
If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.
~ C. T. Studd
"The wicked of today hate to hear the word 'repent!'. The wicked of the past wish they could hear it just once more.
I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"
-John Falconer
Would that God would make hell so real to us that we cannot rest; heaven so real that we must have men go there."
- Hudson Taylor
then comes one of my favourite quotes ever. Every time I think about what I believe God is calling me to and I doubt, God sometimes reminds me of this intense quote. I think every youth pastor and maybe even church should have this somewhere visible for people to think about every week.
"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entrat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face whose mercy you have professed to obey and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world."
-William Booth
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe. ~Smith Wigglesworth
Any objection to the carryings on of our present gold-calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, ”But we are winning them!” And winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To a despising of the world’s treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total committal to Christ? Of course the answer to all these questions is no.
-A.W.Tozer
“O conscience! Do your duty. In the name of the living God, I command you, discharge your office. Lay hold upon this sinner, fall upon him, arrest him, apprehend him, undeceive him. What! Will you flatter and soothe him while he lives in his sins> Awake, O conscience! What meanest thou, O sleeper? What! Have you no reproof in your mouth? What! Shall this soul die in his careless neglect of God and of eternity, and you altogether hold your peace? What! Shall he go on still in his trespasses, and yet have peace? Oh, rouse yourself, and do your work. Now let the preacher in your bosom speak. Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet. Let not the blood of his soul be required at your hands.”
-Joseph Alleine
We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power.
— R. A. Torrey
A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively, restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is doing something for Jesus Christ.
—George Whitefield
"Anything that cools my love for Christ is the world."
-John Wesley that's intense
Vance Havner - "The first step towards the evangelizing of the world is the christianizing of the church"
When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words, than thy words without thy heart."
"Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer."
"Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan."
-John Bunyan
"Radical Christians are not people who wear Christian t shirts. Radical Christians are those who bear fruit of the Holy Spirit...A little boy, Andrew, a Muslim shot him five times through the stomach and left him on a sidewalk simply because he said, "I am so afraid, but I can not deny Jesus Christ! Please don't kill me! But I will not deny Him!" He died in a pool of blood, and you talk about being a radical Christian because you wear a t shirt!" -Paul Washer
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Just pull the f---ing trigger!!! I don't care
I hope I haven't offended anyone with this title, that's one of the things I saw yelled this week. One of the most interesting and crazy weeks of my life. This was the week were I went from Concord, North Carolina all the way up to Regina, Saskatchewan by Greyhound bus.
The adventure started on Monday, all my roommates but one had left and so I was left with my bike to get around Concord. I had to go to the court offices and Wal-mart and the Canadian's house twice and so I ended up riding my bike for almost three hours that day. I succesfully got my court date moved until january for my ticket for driving as a Canadian. That was really good but I was kind of dissapointed because there was a DA there but they said that they couldn't waive it because I had given the officer my North Carolina address and so I had to show up for the court date. I don't quite see the logical connective in those two things, but I'm sure it's there. Anyways so that's still good news. Then at about 5:00 I left for the Bus Depot we accidentally took a couple wrong turns and so Jordan my friend from New Zealand was pulling some crazy U-turns and whatever it took to get there on time. Thanks Jordan! The bus ended up being an hour and a half or so late and then we went like an hour or two north but that bus was too full so I had to take a bus down to Charlotte. I never left Charlotte until 3:00 AM in the morning so that was kind of ridiculous because it's only like half an hour from Concord.
Nonetheless I made friends with a really tall black guy named Kenneth, a girl named Heidi and Tim and Jim. Jim asked me "Are you going to Heaven when you die?" and then "How do you know for sure?". Just trying to make sure I was a christian. I appreciated that, he actually lived in Regina for several years so we talked a bit about that. I was going to try and finish reading the New Testament on my trip up but I got distracted a lot and only finished Matthew, Acts Romans and 1 Corinthians. But it was cool because that started a few conversations about the bible.
The craziest part of my journey happened when I finally made it to Fargo, North Dakota. Unbeknownst to me but I had purchased a return ticket back in August and since then they had totally changed the schedule so there was a lot of really long 5-6 hour waits between buses. Throughout it all I kept thinking "taking a plane would be $30 more" it's not much consolation and in hindsight it would have been actually way easier and smarter to have taken a plane. In the end taking the bus actually cost me about $75 more than taking a plane would have cost and it took me a week longer to get home than a plane would have. But anyways, I arrive in Fargo at about 10 at night. I find the next Winnipeg bus doesn't leave until 3:30 in the afternoon the next day. So I have to find a hotel. I call a cab and basically he tells me there is a really expensive hotel nearby and a really cheap one really far away. But with taxi fares included they probably both work out to the same price. So I decided to go to the one nearby. Unfortunately because it was American Thanksgiving all the prices were way higher than normal and just to go those 5 blocks to get to the hotel was $4 by taxi so I got directions from the taxi driver to the other hotel and started walking.
He said that it was about 3 miles away. Being a Canadian I kind of forgot for awhile how long a mile is. So I start walking alone in this cold windy dark city. I see a drunk guy across the street and he sees me and starts walking right towards me. He walks over five lanes of the street right at me. I know that I'm in good shape but I was still pretty scared because you never know what a drunk person is going to do. I say a quick prayer, and the funniest thing happens he just walks up to me and says "hi" and keeps on walking down the street. At this point I'm trying to look really tough so I am wearing my baggiest blue jeans and my hoodie with the hood on. Then out of nowwhere I get a nosebleed so I have blood all over my hands and face. Only really tough guys get nosebleeds. Hahaha I leave it on until I get near the hotel because I have an irrational fear of cold dark streets late at night. I pass a few more drunk people and after walking a bit more than half an hour I talk with a lady for directions and she says that the hotel I'm going to is really really far away and I should check out the radisson. So I walk all the way back to right near where I was and check the prices at the Radisson and it is even more expensive than the Howard Johnson but by this time it is like 1:00 in the morning.
So I give up and walk to the Howard Johnson and this one guy is trying to get in the bar but another guy won't let him and and they are both swearing at each other. Then the guy on the inside comes outside and starts yelling "I'm saving your f-ing life there's five guys in there who want to beat the "snot" out of you and I'm not letting you in there". Then the other guy gets backed against a wall and they're still grappling each other and he yells "Just pull the f---ing trigger!!! I don't care, just do it!!". I'm not even really looking at them because I really don't want to get involved but they yell something at me as I walk into the hotel. In the morning as I walked out of the hotel there was no blood or anything so hopefully things got resolved peacefully. But yeah it was a pretty intense night. The next day at the bus depot Bethel Free church in Fargo brought everyone in the bus depot a free thanksgiving dinner so that was really nice and thoughtful of them. But yeah the whole trip was an adventure. Have a happy thanksgiving all you americans!
The adventure started on Monday, all my roommates but one had left and so I was left with my bike to get around Concord. I had to go to the court offices and Wal-mart and the Canadian's house twice and so I ended up riding my bike for almost three hours that day. I succesfully got my court date moved until january for my ticket for driving as a Canadian. That was really good but I was kind of dissapointed because there was a DA there but they said that they couldn't waive it because I had given the officer my North Carolina address and so I had to show up for the court date. I don't quite see the logical connective in those two things, but I'm sure it's there. Anyways so that's still good news. Then at about 5:00 I left for the Bus Depot we accidentally took a couple wrong turns and so Jordan my friend from New Zealand was pulling some crazy U-turns and whatever it took to get there on time. Thanks Jordan! The bus ended up being an hour and a half or so late and then we went like an hour or two north but that bus was too full so I had to take a bus down to Charlotte. I never left Charlotte until 3:00 AM in the morning so that was kind of ridiculous because it's only like half an hour from Concord.
Nonetheless I made friends with a really tall black guy named Kenneth, a girl named Heidi and Tim and Jim. Jim asked me "Are you going to Heaven when you die?" and then "How do you know for sure?". Just trying to make sure I was a christian. I appreciated that, he actually lived in Regina for several years so we talked a bit about that. I was going to try and finish reading the New Testament on my trip up but I got distracted a lot and only finished Matthew, Acts Romans and 1 Corinthians. But it was cool because that started a few conversations about the bible.
The craziest part of my journey happened when I finally made it to Fargo, North Dakota. Unbeknownst to me but I had purchased a return ticket back in August and since then they had totally changed the schedule so there was a lot of really long 5-6 hour waits between buses. Throughout it all I kept thinking "taking a plane would be $30 more" it's not much consolation and in hindsight it would have been actually way easier and smarter to have taken a plane. In the end taking the bus actually cost me about $75 more than taking a plane would have cost and it took me a week longer to get home than a plane would have. But anyways, I arrive in Fargo at about 10 at night. I find the next Winnipeg bus doesn't leave until 3:30 in the afternoon the next day. So I have to find a hotel. I call a cab and basically he tells me there is a really expensive hotel nearby and a really cheap one really far away. But with taxi fares included they probably both work out to the same price. So I decided to go to the one nearby. Unfortunately because it was American Thanksgiving all the prices were way higher than normal and just to go those 5 blocks to get to the hotel was $4 by taxi so I got directions from the taxi driver to the other hotel and started walking.
He said that it was about 3 miles away. Being a Canadian I kind of forgot for awhile how long a mile is. So I start walking alone in this cold windy dark city. I see a drunk guy across the street and he sees me and starts walking right towards me. He walks over five lanes of the street right at me. I know that I'm in good shape but I was still pretty scared because you never know what a drunk person is going to do. I say a quick prayer, and the funniest thing happens he just walks up to me and says "hi" and keeps on walking down the street. At this point I'm trying to look really tough so I am wearing my baggiest blue jeans and my hoodie with the hood on. Then out of nowwhere I get a nosebleed so I have blood all over my hands and face. Only really tough guys get nosebleeds. Hahaha I leave it on until I get near the hotel because I have an irrational fear of cold dark streets late at night. I pass a few more drunk people and after walking a bit more than half an hour I talk with a lady for directions and she says that the hotel I'm going to is really really far away and I should check out the radisson. So I walk all the way back to right near where I was and check the prices at the Radisson and it is even more expensive than the Howard Johnson but by this time it is like 1:00 in the morning.
So I give up and walk to the Howard Johnson and this one guy is trying to get in the bar but another guy won't let him and and they are both swearing at each other. Then the guy on the inside comes outside and starts yelling "I'm saving your f-ing life there's five guys in there who want to beat the "snot" out of you and I'm not letting you in there". Then the other guy gets backed against a wall and they're still grappling each other and he yells "Just pull the f---ing trigger!!! I don't care, just do it!!". I'm not even really looking at them because I really don't want to get involved but they yell something at me as I walk into the hotel. In the morning as I walked out of the hotel there was no blood or anything so hopefully things got resolved peacefully. But yeah it was a pretty intense night. The next day at the bus depot Bethel Free church in Fargo brought everyone in the bus depot a free thanksgiving dinner so that was really nice and thoughtful of them. But yeah the whole trip was an adventure. Have a happy thanksgiving all you americans!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Moments Like These
Only one life,
twill soon be past,
Only what's done
for Christ will last.
These last few days here in North Carolina have been amazing and a blur of events. On Thursday I spent ten hours at a Wal-Mart waiting for a PS3. It wasn't for myself but a crazy money-making scheme by some fire students, they bought the machines for $600 and then sell them for $2000-4000 on Ebay. It was pretty crazy and really cold but a neat environment where all the people in line got to know each other pretty well. Then on Friday was the last day of school, we had pizza for lunch and then I had a Hebrew final which was tough but really really enjoyable for some reason. When I finished I just felt so happy, this could be because of all the workload being done for the trimester, or maybe it was the joy of the Lord from studying his "Favourite" language ;).
Yesterday Tony and David Lyons and Chad and I all helped some girls move to a new house. It was really good to test my limits of strength and get some free pizza for lunch, they were really appreciative. Helping people out is one of the best feelings in the world. Leading someone to the Lord where you know it's genuine is even more powerful and exhilirating. After that there was a thanksgiving meal in Charlotte at a house of some FIRE grads. So that was cool because I missed Canadian thanksgiving down here and I will be in Canada for American Thanksgiving so I got a chance to have one in between.
Today was really amazing, Ashley and her parents came down from Virginia to visit today. We went to a mexican restaurant for lunch and then looked around Concord and for ice cream. They are incredible people and it was really good to see Ashley again. They came to the FIRE church service and liked it a lot, I was kind of wondering how "pentecostal" they were, but they fit right in. Her parents gave me a book to read on the bus back up to Canada tommorow. They're really nice.
I really don't want to waste my life. I remember a quote I heard once it was "Whoever prays most, helps most". Depending on what you think of that quote will change your life. Another quote is "Prayer humbles"
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
Isaiah 66;2
That is definitely the verse that i attain to, my highest priorities need to be those two things. Anyways i better get to bed soon. Have a great night everyone!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Regret and Joy
There is one week of school left and so things have been getting pretty busy. Last night I slept over at the Canadian's house and we had a big wrestling match. It was a blast, I really love just getting thrown around and chop-blocking people. But I landed really hard on my wrist at one point. This is the same wrist that I broke last summer trying to do a backflip off of a horse. Funny story. Anyways I heard something shift or pop and it's hurt a lot ever since and I haven't had as much movement in my hand. So that's not too cool. Also I found out some more bad news, apparently whenever there is a murder case in Charlotte all of the District Attorney's get completely busy for at least a week and justice comes to a halt. This is not at all to slander or bash the North Carolina justice. There are many great things that they do, but dealing with driving tickets perhaps is not one of their strengths. I went today and even though they agreed that I didn't deserve the ticket and it should be waived because they were'nt a district attorney they did not have that power. Because all the district attorneys are busy with a murder case I basically have two terrible options either pay $160 for a ticket that is not lawful, or miss my court date and get arrested when i come back to North Carolina. There is a slight chance that one will be in next monday, so I will delay my coming back by a day in this off-chance that I will recieve justice. Really though, this whole matter is in God's hands and I am sure everything will work out.
This trimester has been a really great. But it will really great to be back home again. God bless you all, abide in his love.
This trimester has been a really great. But it will really great to be back home again. God bless you all, abide in his love.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Prayer
For a long time I have wondered about how to pray. It's amazing in my mind that the disciples saw all the miracles and all the powerful preaching of Jesus but they all realized that it was his prayer life that brought Jesus his power and so they asked him "Lord teach us to pray". But anyways, all of that just to kind of segway into copying and pasting an amazing article that I just read. There is some teaching here that I have never heard of before and it seems really biblical. Like if you read the Moses account of when God wants to destroy the Israelites and he gives God a few reasons not to and then he doesn't.
Prayer and the Sovereignty of God
by Dr. Peter Hammond
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests . . . Be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18
“God gives us the Spirit as our teacher in prayer, to tell us what is right and to temper our emotions. We should seek such aid of the Spirit.” — John Calvin
“Prayer is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“There is no man, nor church in the world, that can come to God in prayer, but by the assistance of the Holy Spirit.” — John Bunyan
“It must be acknowledged by the spiritual mind that all true prayer is of the leading of the Spirit; that He is the author of all real approach of the soul to God. All true prayer is put into words by the Spirit. He is the Author of prayer in the soul.” — Octavius Winslow
“Pray for prayer - pray till you can pray, pray to be helped to pray and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Pray in the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20
“If the grace of God be in him, it will be as natural for him to groan out his condition as it is for a sucking child to cry for the breast. Prayer is one of the first things that discovers a man to be a Christian.” — John Bunyan
“A prayerless man is, of necessity and thoroughly, irreligious: There can be no life without activity. As the body is dead when it ceases to act, so the soul that goes not forth in its actions toward God, that lives as though there were no God, is spiritually dead.” — Charles Hodge
Are you living a life of prayer?
Do you find yourself constantly at prayer throughout the day?
Is prayer something natural for you or is it something forced?
Why do you pray?
Do you pray because you are supposed to?
Is it merely a habit with you?
Do you pray because you cannot do otherwise?
Do you love to pray?
Does the love of Christ constrain you to pray?
“Prayer is a pouring out of the heart to God, through Christ, in the strength of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised. Prayer must be within the compass of God’s Word; it is blasphemy or at best babbling, when the petition is beside the Book. David therefore in his prayers kept his eye on the Word of God: ‘My soul cleaves to the dust; quicken me according to Your Word.’
“‘Remember Your Word to Your servant, on which you have caused me to hope.’ Indeed the Holy Spirit does not immediately quicken and stir up the heart of the Christian without, but by, in and through the Word. The Spirit, by the Word, directs the manner as well as the matter of praying.” John Bunyan
“What is it to pray according to God’s will? When we pray for things which are agreeable to God’s will, i.e. His revealed will; we should ask for nothing but what He commands us . . . for those things we have warrant to pray.” John Cotton
1. Since the Christian is to do whatever the Bible commands him, he must pray because he is commanded to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Since God commands us to pray, it is obviously of great profit and effective in procuring the blessings of God. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16
2. All prayer is to be exercised in an attitude of submissiveness to God, in which you really desire God’s will as to what is best and good: “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). We want His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
3. Prayer plays a part of the outworking of God’s decree. God has decreed that we have not if we ask not. He has predetermined to hear our prayers and answer them. He has decreed that His eternal plan of salvation be worked out through the effectual, fervent prayers of righteous men, women and children.
4. The doctrines of grace should strengthen and provoke believing prayer because they point us to the absolutely sovereign God who can do what we ask. The God addressed in prayer is mighty to save, mighty to deliver and mighty to sanctify. Pray for God to save sinners and to revive saints. It is actually the Arminian who should give up prayer, for his god is too small, too weak and too soft to answer prayer.
If God is not sovereign and man has a “free will” which even God cannot tamper with, why pray for the lost or for protection from enemies, either human or demonic? What comfort can be derived from a Deity who is biting his fingernails over whether or not men will “let” him do something?
5. Historically, the doctrines of grace have always produced men of prayer.
6. If your theology has led you to abandon prayer and to sneer at the concept that prayer is vital and necessary, then your theology is not Biblical.
7. A close examination of the prayers recorded in Scripture reveals that the saints of old filled their mouths with arguments when presenting their petitions to God. They buttressed their requests with Biblical arguments. They pleaded with God in terms of His Word, His glorious Names, His covenants of promise, and His plan of redemption. They presented their prayer requests like a lawyer who skilfully presents his arguments to judge and jury. Pleading with God in prayer and presenting reasons to God why He should grant our requests is a lost art today.
George Mueller, as his biographer pointed out:
“At this time of need . . . this man who had determined to risk everything upon God’s Word of promise, turned from doubtful devices and questionable methods of relief to pleading with God . . . “He used arguments in prayer and at this time he piles up eleven reasons why God should and would send help . . . He was one of the elect few to whom it had been given to revive and restore this lost art of pleading with God.”
“Of course, God does not need to be convinced; no argument can make any plainer to Him the claims of trusting souls to His intervention, claims based upon His own Word, confirmed by His oath. And yet He will be inquired of and argued with. That is His way of blessing . . . We are to argue our case with God, not indeed to convince Him, but to convince ourselves.”
To this Eziekel Hopkins adds:
“Now, although it be true that all the arguments that we can urge and all the reasons we can allege, cannot alter the purposes and determinations of God, as to any event that He has ordained, yet there is this twofold use and necessity of pleading them.
“First, because by considering the reasons we have to pray for such mercies, our desires will be the more earnest and fervent in the obtaining of them.
“Secondly, because reasons in prayer do mightily conduce to the strengthening of our faith and give us great encouragement to believe that we shall certainly obtain what we have so much reason to ask.”
Or as C.H. Spurgeon put it:
“Why are arguments to be used at all? The reply is, certainly not because God is slow to give, not because we can change the Divine purpose, not because God needs to be informed of any circumstance with regard to ourselves . . .
“The arguments to be used are for our own benefit, not for His. Our use of arguments teaches us the ground upon which we obtain the blessing . . . Besides, the use of arguments is intended to stir up our fervency . . .”
From what shall we construct our arguments? Where can we find weighty reasons to lay before God? Where can we derive arguments from which we can present weighty reasons along with our petitions?
1. God’s attributes. Spurgeon put it like this: “You and I may hold anytime upon the justice, the mercy, the faithfulness, the wisdom, the long-suffering, the tenderness of God and we shall find every attribute of the Most High to be, as it were, a great battering-ram with which we may open the gates of Heaven.”
For example, we can argue from 1 John 1:9 that God’s faithfulness and justice are grounds for forgiveness (cf. Psalm 51:1-3).
2. The promises of God. Spurgeon observes: “If you have a Divine promise, you need not plead that with an “if” in it; you may plead with a certainty.” (cf. 1 Kings 8:56; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
3. The Names of God. When in need of strength, should we not cry out to Elohim, the God of power and strength? When seeking a blessing from the New Covenant, should we not argue from the name “Yahweh,” which is God’s covenantal name? When appealing to God’s sovereignty, “Adonai” should be upon our lips. When confronting satanic forces, the Lord of Hosts should be our shield and high tower.
4. The sorrows of God’s people. The present condition of the church is a weighty argument for our need of revival (cf. Psalm 80:4-7; Psalm 12:1). We should also plead our own unworthiness, weakness and poverty of spirit (cf. Psalm 25:16; Luke 15:18-19). The history of redemption, God’s mighty acts in past history provides a foundation for our trust in God (cf. Psalm 30:11; 143:1-6).
5. The atoning life, death and intercession of Christ. Spurgeon observes: “When you plead that which shakes the gates of hell and which the hosts of Heaven obey and God feels the sacred power of that Divine plea. You would do better if you sometimes thought more in your prayers of Christ’s griefs and groans . . .”
The end result of using argument in prayer shall be a strengthened and energised prayer life. Faith will be emboldened to go to God’s throne and secure the petitions inquired of God. Thus, we will rejoice in seeing our prayers avail much. Spurgeon says:
“If the Holy Spirit shall teach us how to order our cause and how to fill our mouth with arguments, the result shall be that we shall have our mouth filled with praises. The man who has his mouth full of arguments in prayer shall soon have his mouth full of benedictions in answer to prayer.”
6. A study of the prayers in the Bible reveals that the saints of old - and even our Lord - set apart whole days or nights dedicated to prayer and fasting.
When something great was requested from God or whenever the situation was desperate and important decisions were soon to be made, the saints of old would give themselves to fasting and prayer. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Prayer and the Sovereignty of God
by Dr. Peter Hammond
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests . . . Be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18
“God gives us the Spirit as our teacher in prayer, to tell us what is right and to temper our emotions. We should seek such aid of the Spirit.” — John Calvin
“Prayer is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“There is no man, nor church in the world, that can come to God in prayer, but by the assistance of the Holy Spirit.” — John Bunyan
“It must be acknowledged by the spiritual mind that all true prayer is of the leading of the Spirit; that He is the author of all real approach of the soul to God. All true prayer is put into words by the Spirit. He is the Author of prayer in the soul.” — Octavius Winslow
“Pray for prayer - pray till you can pray, pray to be helped to pray and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Pray in the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20
“If the grace of God be in him, it will be as natural for him to groan out his condition as it is for a sucking child to cry for the breast. Prayer is one of the first things that discovers a man to be a Christian.” — John Bunyan
“A prayerless man is, of necessity and thoroughly, irreligious: There can be no life without activity. As the body is dead when it ceases to act, so the soul that goes not forth in its actions toward God, that lives as though there were no God, is spiritually dead.” — Charles Hodge
Are you living a life of prayer?
Do you find yourself constantly at prayer throughout the day?
Is prayer something natural for you or is it something forced?
Why do you pray?
Do you pray because you are supposed to?
Is it merely a habit with you?
Do you pray because you cannot do otherwise?
Do you love to pray?
Does the love of Christ constrain you to pray?
“Prayer is a pouring out of the heart to God, through Christ, in the strength of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised. Prayer must be within the compass of God’s Word; it is blasphemy or at best babbling, when the petition is beside the Book. David therefore in his prayers kept his eye on the Word of God: ‘My soul cleaves to the dust; quicken me according to Your Word.’
“‘Remember Your Word to Your servant, on which you have caused me to hope.’ Indeed the Holy Spirit does not immediately quicken and stir up the heart of the Christian without, but by, in and through the Word. The Spirit, by the Word, directs the manner as well as the matter of praying.” John Bunyan
“What is it to pray according to God’s will? When we pray for things which are agreeable to God’s will, i.e. His revealed will; we should ask for nothing but what He commands us . . . for those things we have warrant to pray.” John Cotton
1. Since the Christian is to do whatever the Bible commands him, he must pray because he is commanded to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Since God commands us to pray, it is obviously of great profit and effective in procuring the blessings of God. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16
2. All prayer is to be exercised in an attitude of submissiveness to God, in which you really desire God’s will as to what is best and good: “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). We want His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
3. Prayer plays a part of the outworking of God’s decree. God has decreed that we have not if we ask not. He has predetermined to hear our prayers and answer them. He has decreed that His eternal plan of salvation be worked out through the effectual, fervent prayers of righteous men, women and children.
4. The doctrines of grace should strengthen and provoke believing prayer because they point us to the absolutely sovereign God who can do what we ask. The God addressed in prayer is mighty to save, mighty to deliver and mighty to sanctify. Pray for God to save sinners and to revive saints. It is actually the Arminian who should give up prayer, for his god is too small, too weak and too soft to answer prayer.
If God is not sovereign and man has a “free will” which even God cannot tamper with, why pray for the lost or for protection from enemies, either human or demonic? What comfort can be derived from a Deity who is biting his fingernails over whether or not men will “let” him do something?
5. Historically, the doctrines of grace have always produced men of prayer.
6. If your theology has led you to abandon prayer and to sneer at the concept that prayer is vital and necessary, then your theology is not Biblical.
7. A close examination of the prayers recorded in Scripture reveals that the saints of old filled their mouths with arguments when presenting their petitions to God. They buttressed their requests with Biblical arguments. They pleaded with God in terms of His Word, His glorious Names, His covenants of promise, and His plan of redemption. They presented their prayer requests like a lawyer who skilfully presents his arguments to judge and jury. Pleading with God in prayer and presenting reasons to God why He should grant our requests is a lost art today.
George Mueller, as his biographer pointed out:
“At this time of need . . . this man who had determined to risk everything upon God’s Word of promise, turned from doubtful devices and questionable methods of relief to pleading with God . . . “He used arguments in prayer and at this time he piles up eleven reasons why God should and would send help . . . He was one of the elect few to whom it had been given to revive and restore this lost art of pleading with God.”
“Of course, God does not need to be convinced; no argument can make any plainer to Him the claims of trusting souls to His intervention, claims based upon His own Word, confirmed by His oath. And yet He will be inquired of and argued with. That is His way of blessing . . . We are to argue our case with God, not indeed to convince Him, but to convince ourselves.”
To this Eziekel Hopkins adds:
“Now, although it be true that all the arguments that we can urge and all the reasons we can allege, cannot alter the purposes and determinations of God, as to any event that He has ordained, yet there is this twofold use and necessity of pleading them.
“First, because by considering the reasons we have to pray for such mercies, our desires will be the more earnest and fervent in the obtaining of them.
“Secondly, because reasons in prayer do mightily conduce to the strengthening of our faith and give us great encouragement to believe that we shall certainly obtain what we have so much reason to ask.”
Or as C.H. Spurgeon put it:
“Why are arguments to be used at all? The reply is, certainly not because God is slow to give, not because we can change the Divine purpose, not because God needs to be informed of any circumstance with regard to ourselves . . .
“The arguments to be used are for our own benefit, not for His. Our use of arguments teaches us the ground upon which we obtain the blessing . . . Besides, the use of arguments is intended to stir up our fervency . . .”
From what shall we construct our arguments? Where can we find weighty reasons to lay before God? Where can we derive arguments from which we can present weighty reasons along with our petitions?
1. God’s attributes. Spurgeon put it like this: “You and I may hold anytime upon the justice, the mercy, the faithfulness, the wisdom, the long-suffering, the tenderness of God and we shall find every attribute of the Most High to be, as it were, a great battering-ram with which we may open the gates of Heaven.”
For example, we can argue from 1 John 1:9 that God’s faithfulness and justice are grounds for forgiveness (cf. Psalm 51:1-3).
2. The promises of God. Spurgeon observes: “If you have a Divine promise, you need not plead that with an “if” in it; you may plead with a certainty.” (cf. 1 Kings 8:56; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
3. The Names of God. When in need of strength, should we not cry out to Elohim, the God of power and strength? When seeking a blessing from the New Covenant, should we not argue from the name “Yahweh,” which is God’s covenantal name? When appealing to God’s sovereignty, “Adonai” should be upon our lips. When confronting satanic forces, the Lord of Hosts should be our shield and high tower.
4. The sorrows of God’s people. The present condition of the church is a weighty argument for our need of revival (cf. Psalm 80:4-7; Psalm 12:1). We should also plead our own unworthiness, weakness and poverty of spirit (cf. Psalm 25:16; Luke 15:18-19). The history of redemption, God’s mighty acts in past history provides a foundation for our trust in God (cf. Psalm 30:11; 143:1-6).
5. The atoning life, death and intercession of Christ. Spurgeon observes: “When you plead that which shakes the gates of hell and which the hosts of Heaven obey and God feels the sacred power of that Divine plea. You would do better if you sometimes thought more in your prayers of Christ’s griefs and groans . . .”
The end result of using argument in prayer shall be a strengthened and energised prayer life. Faith will be emboldened to go to God’s throne and secure the petitions inquired of God. Thus, we will rejoice in seeing our prayers avail much. Spurgeon says:
“If the Holy Spirit shall teach us how to order our cause and how to fill our mouth with arguments, the result shall be that we shall have our mouth filled with praises. The man who has his mouth full of arguments in prayer shall soon have his mouth full of benedictions in answer to prayer.”
6. A study of the prayers in the Bible reveals that the saints of old - and even our Lord - set apart whole days or nights dedicated to prayer and fasting.
When something great was requested from God or whenever the situation was desperate and important decisions were soon to be made, the saints of old would give themselves to fasting and prayer. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
24-7 prayer
Hey, I've barely taken any pictures at all these last three months. Here is one my friend Mike took. One night we went into Charlotte to check out a 24-7 boiler room a place where people are constantly praying and worshipping. But unfortunately it was close for like two weeks until they had enough full time staff. But it was neat because we realized that we don't need to be in a certain building to pray so we spent a couple hours on the sidewalk praying. We talked with some of the neighbours and just had a really good time. It's neat how no-one would be up for it if I said "Hey let's drive forty minutes to a random sidewalk to pray for a couple hours." But God just brings things about in his own timing.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Keepin it real
Haha, I just googled that title and added that image. Lately I've been thinking a lot about how important honesty is. If you've ever heard of the book "blue like jazz" one of the things people most appreciate about it is how honest he is. I heard that donald miller gets comments all the time that they love his honesty and he's like "Why is that such a rare thing in the christian world". Don't you just love it when somebody is totally honest? I watched the movie phone booth once, I would never recommend it but it is one of my favourite movies ever. Just because there is this one scene where the main character breaks down and is totally beautifully honest with everyone no matter what the cost.
Randy, I love your blog and how honest you are. I really like Jeremy Sawatzky's blog almost entirely because he is just real and honest. Most of my life I have been a people-pleaser, some people call it friendly but I am constantly finding myself changing the way that I say things so that people don't get offended. I am always watching people's facial expressions as I talk to see if they are bored annoyed or confused. Sometimes when I stop wearing glasses and I feel like I can't hear anything. But a few weeks ago we had a missions conference at FIRE and it was so exciting because they were just ridiculously real with us. They shared their dissapointments and their joys and it shook me to the core how passionate they were for God and how God was using them. These are people that graduated from the same school that I'm going to now.
One time I went to the Moose Jaw mineral spa with my small group in high school when Chris Senger was the leader. We were in the pool part and we went outside and when a couple girls saw me they started giggling. I was kind of silly back then and I thought they liked me or something. hahaha but anyways maybe 10-15 minutes later Chris says to me "David, you have a giant booger hanging off your nose". I looked, and to my horror he was right. Haha and ever since then I subconsciously brush my nose a few times a day in the fear that it will happen again. But I loved so much the fact that he would say that.
Last year me and my friends Jearim and Curtis from Millar came into Regina one weekend to do some witnessing. We ended up going to the scarth street mall and had a good time, I went out of my comfort zone a lot but it was good. Anyways, after the weekend we were driving back to Millar. Curtis had been a missionary in the Czech republic for a year and so we were talking for a while about being a missionary and the conversation shifted to money and how some missionaries are really greedy and don't really do much. Anyways, I felt like it was a kind of edifying and good conversation. We didn't want to be like that when we became missionaries someday. But Jearim was sitting in the back with his head down totally quiet. When after about 15-20 minutes he says "So what? So what are you going to do about it? I've sat here listening to you guys for twenty minutes talking about missionaries being selfish, what are you going to do about it now?" It just blew me away when he said that. I had been fairly good and generous with money but definitely most of my money just went to my own selfish desires. It was a sobering wake up call and since then I've done a lot better. When christians aren't afraid to be honest and penetrating and say what needs to be said, true community will develop and accountablility.
And why do we lie to God?
Think about it, I know I've done it so often. Why do we say "Lord I surrender all to you" and then within a few minutes we say something we regret or are selfish. Why do we say all these prayers that we don't really mean just because we think they sound good. Why aren't we just honest with God? I know how much I love honesty in my friends, how much more does God want us to be real with him? David cried out to God "How long O lord will you forget me?" think about that. Moses flat out told God that he disagreed with his plan to destroy the Israelites and make his children the promise. And God changed his mind!! The bible is so full of examples of people being real with God and him using them in dramatic earth-changing ways.
Think about our worship, how much of it is just a verse or two from the bible made to sound nice? How much of it is fluff that we don't really mean? Do we really come back to the heart of worship every time we sing that song? What is the heart of worship? When will we begin to honestly bring our heart to God, and say Take me as I am? I don't even know the answer to all of these questions. I for one love the worship music today, but I actually find myself get closer to God through christian rap sometimes. Not the flaky pop stuff, but those who came out of the gangster or drug lifestyle and are radically saved by God.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
A joke
Jokes are some of my favourite things in the world, here are a few gooders
An Irishman walks out of a bar.
A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces: "I'm lookin' for the man who shot my paw."
How much did the pirate pay for his peg leg and hook? An arm and a leg!
How can you tell if an elephant has been in your kitchen? There are footprints in your peanut butter.
How can you t
An Irishman walks out of a bar.
A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces: "I'm lookin' for the man who shot my paw."
How much did the pirate pay for his peg leg and hook? An arm and a leg!
How can you tell if an elephant has been in your kitchen? There are footprints in your peanut butter.
How can you t
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
These few days
These last few days have had a whirlwind of events. Probably the most interesting was Saturday night. Chase (my roommate) just got a truck but it's standard and so he can't drive it yet. His brother couldn't drive because of a knee injury and so I was quite sure that it was legal for me to drive because Canadians drive through the states all the time on Holidays and stuff. So I drove Chase and his brother in his truck. anyways we went to this FIRE party and it was great, I played Chess with my brazillian friend André. He won once and then i won the second time. And I also learned how to play Euchre and Ratrace, two really fun card games. But we finally decide to go home and it's a cold night and Chase's truck is basically a two seat truck but we squeeze three people in usually it's really tough to shift though. Anyways that night we took Roella home, she's from Holland but I think originally from Suriname perhaps. But that's irrelevant, Chase and his brother sit in the bed of the truck and she sits up front. As we are going a police car follows us for awhile but then turns away. We were kind of scared because there is only two seat belts and four people, two of them in the back of the truck (I later on learned today that apparently that is perfectly legal in North Carolina).
So we are driving back and another cop starts following us and then he turns his lights on and pulls us over. This is my first time being pulled over so I was pretty nervous. Haha I totally misunderstoof almost everything he said, at first he got me to come out and he said "sit there" kind of pointing ambiguously in a certain direction so I sat on the curb then he said "no there" and so i tried to open the back of the cop car to sit down then he said "no up here" so I finally figured it out. We ended up talking about the Toronto Blue Jays, which is his favourite baseball team. I've never seen a single baseball game in my life but I am pretty good at picking up random facts and remembering them so I said "Yeah, didn't they win the world cup in 1996?" and he smiled and said "The world series you mean? yeah they actually won it two years in a row" Hahaha so even in my trying to be knowledgeable and impress him I totally failed. But I ended up with a $160 ticket for driving with a canadian license. I will hopefully be able to get it waved though, because it is legal for me to drive.
Anyways we have two weeks and two days of classes until school is officially done. In some ways it seemed to go by really fast but in other ways it has probably been the longest three months of my life. I have learned a lot and seen a lot of things happen. Last night for halloween we went out and instead of trick or treating we gave bags of Candy and christian tracts to houses and invited them to our home group and church and prayed for them. The reception was amazing people were really encouraged for the most part. I have a lot of homework that I want to do today though so i should probably get off. God bless!
to the extent that we are touched by God is the extent that we can go out and touch the world.
So we are driving back and another cop starts following us and then he turns his lights on and pulls us over. This is my first time being pulled over so I was pretty nervous. Haha I totally misunderstoof almost everything he said, at first he got me to come out and he said "sit there" kind of pointing ambiguously in a certain direction so I sat on the curb then he said "no there" and so i tried to open the back of the cop car to sit down then he said "no up here" so I finally figured it out. We ended up talking about the Toronto Blue Jays, which is his favourite baseball team. I've never seen a single baseball game in my life but I am pretty good at picking up random facts and remembering them so I said "Yeah, didn't they win the world cup in 1996?" and he smiled and said "The world series you mean? yeah they actually won it two years in a row" Hahaha so even in my trying to be knowledgeable and impress him I totally failed. But I ended up with a $160 ticket for driving with a canadian license. I will hopefully be able to get it waved though, because it is legal for me to drive.
Anyways we have two weeks and two days of classes until school is officially done. In some ways it seemed to go by really fast but in other ways it has probably been the longest three months of my life. I have learned a lot and seen a lot of things happen. Last night for halloween we went out and instead of trick or treating we gave bags of Candy and christian tracts to houses and invited them to our home group and church and prayed for them. The reception was amazing people were really encouraged for the most part. I have a lot of homework that I want to do today though so i should probably get off. God bless!
to the extent that we are touched by God is the extent that we can go out and touch the world.
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