What does Prayer accomplish?
11.29.09
Does prayer accomplish anything?
Does prayer change anything?
What difference does it make?
When we pray for big things (like healing)
We usually don’t get the things we pray for.
Even when we pray for small things
we don’t always get what we pray for.
Children pray for protection at night,
and sometimes to our shame we lie to them and tell them if they pray they will be safe
or it is “more likely” they will be safe
but is this true?
So why even do it?
why teach our children to do it?
God’s going to do what he is going to do.
You will often hear Christians saying that we must pray.
they will say that all these good things will only happen if we do pray
but is that really true?
we ask for things that do not happen
so our prayer made no difference
Would it really make any difference if we did not pray?
wouldn’t things have been the same even
if we had not prayed
God did what he was going to do anyway
Does God really need our permission in prayer to do anything?
Does he really wait upon our prayer to do what he is going to do?
do you think that?
when God does something we like
we often say God is so good
and what we mean by that is God did what we liked so we call him good
but what if he didn’t do what we liked?
is he still good then?
how is God good to some prayers but not to others?
I prayed for Jack, my son, to get out of ICU and live and he did?
but what about the parents who also prayed and whose child died in the ICU ?
is God good to me but not to them?
the fact that he does seem to answer some prayers just makes it more unbearable for all the people he did not answer
Why him? why not the rest of us?
and did God really answer the prayers
or did the prayer just correspond with what he was going to do?
There is the rub
Give another example
we often ask for wisdom and insight
and don’t get it
and then do something stupid anyway
big question: when we ask for things
do we think we can change God’s will?
isn’t he going to do what he is going to do?
can you by prayer change God’s will and his plan?
Do you think so?
Are we not supposed to pray
“your will be done”?
and yet our prayers are “God: you do my will”
are we really submitting to his will if we are praying these kind of prayers?
what is the difference between praying “your will be done”
and praying nothing at all?
his will is going to be done anyway.
why do we have to ask it to be done when it is already going to be done?
why not simply say
“the lord will do what the Lord is going to do. so be it.”
I now want to turn to the book of Romans
you may be expecting me to now tell you how prayers do cause things to happen
and change things
and accomplish great things
but that is not what I am going to say
let me say this:
Nothing depends upon your prayer
or another way of saying it:
Prayer Accomplishes Nothing
Romans 8.34
this is the gospel: Christ prays for you
all the good will be done to us because Christ now prays for us
the grace is already there (before prayer)
the love is already pouring down
nothing depends upon your prayer
everything depends upon Jesus Christ
prayer accomplishes nothing
Christ accomplishes everything
Christ has been praying for us even when we did not pray
nothing depends upon our prayers
Romans 8.35
no matter what comes
it is not our prayers that save us from trouble
trouble will still come
what matters is that we are not separate from the love of Christ
Christ is still praying for us
8.26-27
We do not know what to pray
what is in accordance with God’s will
often we pray things that are against his will but we pray them because we want them
but the Spirit prays for us
according to God’s will
what the Spirit prays is always answered and always for our good
a wordless prayer, a groan of pain to God
8.28
this is not conditional: if you pray
this is God’s grace
not a silver lining in every cloud
but the good is “according to his purpose”
what purpose?
8.29-30
“conformed to the likeness of his son”
All this is God’s work done out of his love
*
so knowing this beautiful gospel truth
how does this change your future?
should we give up on prayer? stop praying?
no, the Jesus and Apostles told us to pray
but we should pray in a new way
pray with joy and thanksgiving knowing Christ and the Spirit pray for you
even when you did not pray, he prayed for you
knowing that your good and blessing does not depend upon your prayers
pray without anxiety
God will do good to you
it is not up to you and your prayer
think about the petitions in the Lord’s prayer
all of them are things God promised to do
when you pray you don’t cause them to happen
you recognize that this good comes from God, you rejoice and give thanks and honor God
God’s name will be hallowed, his kingdom will come, his will will be done
people will be fed, sins will be forgiven, the spirit will help us in facing temptation
Why do we pray for forgiveness?
Are we not justified already?
all of our sins are forgiven and we are right with God, righteous in his sight, no sin interferes with our standing with God.
so why are we praying for forgiveness?
will not God forgive us anyway?
but still Jesus told us to pray for them
so that we recognize that all comes from God
and pray in a way that does not demand God do our will,
but demands that we center on his will
our prayers that say
“God: you do my will”
such prayers should be rejected
rather we should pray
the name of you be hallowed
the kingdom of you come
the will of you be done
Success
11.22.09
ALL OF US are driven by a desire to achieve success
although we all define success in different ways:
promotion, better job, degree, more money, house, car, marriage, children, comfortable situation, respect, reputation, certain accomplishment, to be remembered
how do you define success?
what are you trying to get?
or what do you have that you are trying hard not to lose?
but there is no guarantee of success
You may not succeed at the things you have made so important.
you may never reach the goals you have worked so hard to reach.
you may reach success temporarily only to lose it again.
you may reach success only to find it does not really make you happy
you are sure that it will make you happy
but once you get there it does not
it is never enough, you must reach more success
and then you look around for something else
or you have to worry over losing what we have achieved
Philippians 3.4-6
in Paul’s earlier life
he sought success and status in keeping the Law and being a strong Pharisee
He was a great success in his culture.
And he had high status.
he had prestige and power
he was a big dog among his people
a man to be watched
and he had worked hard for this status
studied, obeyed, been zealous and tenacious
he reached religious success
3.18-19
“their god is their stomach”
stomach is what you want for yourself
the desires you have for yourself
for your own success
this is your god
3.7
“Whatever was to my profit”
this is Paul’s list of achievements
what was in the profit column
he now puts in the loss column
this is not what he really wants
what had been so important and so central to his life
was now not important at all
not even something he sought anymore
What did he want now?
3.8
to know Christ Jesus
“for whose (Christ’s) sake I have lost all things”
he is willing to lose all other success and all status in order to know Jesus
is this the desire of your heart?
is this the success that drives you?
to know Jesus
is this more important to you than all other success?
8b
the success that he seeks
is gaining Christ
he considers everything else in comparison
rubbish
this is not saying that things of the life are trash
but in comparison, in contrast they are trash
I want to make three points
1. Success in gaining Christ comes not with our efforts to succeed but is given to us by God
a. a new status now
verse 9
the status is being right with God
greater than any fame or power or wealth or pleasure
because it is a status with God not men
there is no greater status than to be right with God
there is no greater status to achieve
b. Transformation when Christ returns
verse 11, 20-21
This is God’s work, not a thing we can do to accomplish this success
2. Success in gaining Christ is not a physical success but a spiritual power
verse 10
what is spiritual power?
the fruit of the Spirit
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
it is the work of God in you
3. Success in gaining Christ is not pleasure and gain but suffering and loss
verse 10
The Christian life of obedience to Christ comes with suffering and loss
3.12-14
Is this your definition of success?
Paul has not yet achieved it yet
it is the work of God’s grace when Christ returns
these are not things that he achieves by his own strength and efforts
they are gifts:
“Christ Jesus took hold of me” vs. 12
“God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” vs 14
this is the central pursuit of his life
he works hard to serve Christ
“I press on to take hold of it”
“I strain toward what is ahead”
“I press on toward the goal”
does this describe your life?
or is it the pursuit of something else?
Sabbath Rest
11.15.09
In church we hear many sermons
preaching at us to do this or that
every preacher has a new list
every sermon has something new to do
and it piles up
how many of you have heard these sermons?
(I know you have because I have preached them)
Pray More
Give More
Help the Poor More
Be a Better Parent
Evangelize More
Love one another more
Volunteer more
What many of you hear when you hear such sermon is “you are getting a failing grade, try harder, work harder”
“you will not be happy until you do these things”
some people get inspired by a sermon
and try and fail
and then hear another one and try again and fail again and get worn out and tired
they want to do what the preacher says, but keep falling short
become demoralized, disillusioned
they become so tired and sermons only ask for more, beating them up, kicking them when they are down
So I want to speak to those of you who are tired and worn out with trying to obey.
I want you to love each other and the needy but it is no use for me to give you commands. It will not help you.
What is the solution to this problem?
Exodus 31:12-18
Israel was commanded to rest on Sabbath.
How is this an answer to the problem?
Another commandment?
The apostle Paul said that the “Sabbath day”
was “a shadow of the things that were to come; but the reality is found in Christ.”
(Colossians 2:17)
Christians find our Sabbath rest not on Saturday or Sunday but in Jesus every day.
Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John Calvin’s Geneva Catechism
on the fourth commandment
“174. What do you mean by spiritual rest? When we keep holiday from our own works, that God may perform his own works in us.”
Think about physical sleep for a minute.
When you don’t get enough sleep what happens?
impairs your ability to think, deal with stress, maintain a healthy immune system and moderate your emotions
your concentration levels drop, memory becomes impaired, causes depression, heart disease, hypertension, irritability, slower reaction times, slurred speech, tremors, even hallucinations
Even with one night’s bad sleep you can’t think clearly, you can’t work to the best of your ability and you are irritable and cranky
Many of you can’t do good because you are not experiencing the grace of Sabbath rest.
Jesus is calling you today to take Sabbath rest.
He is offering you a big bed with a pillow and blanket and telling you “get in and get some rest.”
Get a full night’s sleep.
Doesn’t that sound good?
He doesn’t expect you to be able to do anything in the shape you are in.
He asks nothing of you until you rest in him.
And been strengthened by resting in him.
You body is changed by sleep. Your heart is changed by resting in Jesus.
And I am not talking about the beginning of the Christian life.
You must be resting in Jesus every day.
What do I mean by resting?
doing nothing for Jesus but coming to him as a terrible sinner, and sinking down into the joy of his love and forgiveness
If you are tired and worn out and see only your failure:
tell Jesus about everything, tell him the whole mess you are, tell him your sin.
He already knows.
Rest in Jesus. Take a Sabbath and be refreshed. You are welcome in his house as a sinner.
Stop focusing on your obedience as the source of life
this is not what gives you life, brings you close to God and gives you rest
Jesus Christ
with all of your sin and failure
loves you and brings you to God
Exodus 31.13
I sanctify you. You belong to me.
You are holy (which doesn’t mean you are good) but that you belong to God.
He loves you and you are at peace with God.
On Sabbath a Jew did nothing.
It is God’s work to care for you.
Rest so he can work in you.
Only this resting and delighting in the Sabbath of Jesus, will refresh your heart so you can serve him.
You can’t love others and love God when you are not resting in his grace for you a sinner.
I am not talking about physically resting on Sunday.
I am talking about resting in Jesus Christ every day.
Just as every day you need sleep.
There is a great difference between a heart laboring under commandments to do good
and sermons exhorting you to do something
and a heart that has been refreshed by rest in Jesus.
Colossians 2.6-7
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
*
If you just arrived off a plane from Africa and you had been sleepless for thirty hours, we would say sleep before you do anything.
I don’t want to ask any of you to do anything until you are resting and sleeping and taking Sabbath in Jesus Christ.
I want a healthy church.
A rested church.
A rejoicing church.
So for yourself and for all of us
take a Sabbath rest in Jesus.
Creation Love
11.8.09
Genesis 1
Creation shows us the love and generosity of God.
He did all this for us. He gave all this to us.
His great power for our good.
He worked all this out of love for us.
verse 2
“formless and empty”
“darkness” symbolizes death and evil
“deep” symbolizes chaos and destruction
he drives back the chaos
the flood and the plagues in Egypt are reversals of creation
Spirit of God
“hovering” ready to act and transform the deep
Day one.
He gave us light. We could not live without light.
In the Bible light stands for everything good: life, joy, truth, salvation.
Day two.
At this point in history they thought there was a source of rain in the sky.
We know that source is the clouds. So God gave us the sky and the rain in the clouds.
Day three.
He gave us dry land on which to live. He pushed back the oceans.
He gave us vegetation which means he gave us food.
at this point the plants are given to man and the animals to eat, but neither man nor animals are to eat flesh (this happens later)
Day four.
He gave us the sun and moon to mark our days, months, seasons, years.
The Jewish calendar is based on the sun and moon
When the sun goes down the day ends
when the first sliver of moon becomes visible after the dark of the moon the month begins
the seasons determine the year and the feasts like Passover in the Spring
Day five and six.
He gave us the breath of life.
He gave us animals for us to rule.
He gave us sexuality and the ability to procreate.
He gave men and women each other.
All of this shows the love and generosity of God. Before man was made or we were born he loved us and helped us.
Where is Jesus?
John 1:1-5
God created the world by speaking.
1. Jesus is the Word of God
John 8.12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The light is a picture of Jesus and the salvation that comes though him.
2. Jesus is the Light of the World.
Gen 1.26
“in our image, in our likeness”
often said of a king, in the image of a god
this is man’s rule over creation
but Adam and man failed to act as the image of God
failed to act in righteousness
and failed to rule the world
2 Cor 4.4
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Col 1.15
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
Christ has been given dominion where Adam and all of us failed
Eph 1.20-22
“he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.”
3. Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the ruler of creation
Eph 4.24
“the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
4. Through Jesus we have been recreated in the image of God
Heb 4.9-10
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”
5. Jesus will return and bring our Sabbath rest when our work of this life has ceased
Application
How do we preach this God and this Christ to the world?
Jesus said: “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
We are to show the love of the God who gave us all this and recreated us in Jesus Christ
by acting with love and generosity to others
God spoke the light
and Jesus is the light
and we are to show his light to the world
by love and generosity
*Let us imagine you lived in a country where following Jesus Christ was illegal and you were arrested and investigated and dragged into court.
The prosecutor shows the judge evidence that you have attended church services.
He also put before the judge some Bibles and Christian books that were found in your house.
They even had recordings of phone conversations where you said something that sounded like you believed in Christ.
They also had a few scraps of paper and emails where you had written things that sounded Christian.
But the judge is not convinced. None of this is hard evidence that this man is a follower of Christ.
He demands that the prosecution show him something that would show that you are trying to obey Jesus’ call to serve the poor and love enemies and deny your self for others and give everything for love.
The court cares nothing for Bible reading or church attendance. Where is his obedience to Jesus?
Would they be able to gather any evidence to convict you?
Would there be any evidence? Acts of sacrificial love.
Or would they send you home as a safe person who has simply gone to church and bought some Christian books and made a few pious statements.
*
Here is a sad episode repeated endlessly:
A man comes to a church who is a mess,
he grew up outside the church and had no help or training, does not know the Bible, does not keep it, has problems, does many wrong things every day
What to do we do? We turn up our nose at him. We don’t like him. We talk about him behind his back. Because of things he does.
Because of our rules, we don’t like him and we don’t love him.
He senses all this and leaves.
Christians come down hard on people who do not fit in.
The people who are farthest away from being able to do good, those with the most obvious problems and weaknesses, bad backgrounds, etc. these are the ones who need help.
it takes a long time to change and it takes a lot of help to change
they very ones who most need our help are the ones we turn away.
They need the same grace that we found in Jesus Christ.
Revelation III
11.1.09
Revelation is a Symbolic Vision
John saw this vision (52x “saw”)
seeing things not as they appear to the naked eye
but the reality behind appearances
presented in a Symbolic form
The vision is not a physical vision of the future
shows symbolically their true identities
the opposite of their appearance in the world
does not predict a sequence of events as though it were history written in advance
Even the numbers are not literal
they are symbolic
4, 7, 10, 12
*
Revelation is the climax of Old Testament prophecy
the last great prophecy
prophecy in OT and Revelation
does 3 things
1. prophecy addresses the original context of those addressed by the prophet
Revelation addresses the first century church and what would soon take place to them
relevant to immediate context
what it means to first hearers
Revelation is written to the first century to a church under attack
under the great Roman Empire
tempted by its wealth and pleasures
persecuted by its power
“what must soon take place”
1.1-3
22.6-7, 10
The Beast is the Roman power and religion and wealth
period of conflict between the church and the beast
great persecution from the first to third century
Roman empire eventually conquered by church
2. Prophecy establishes principles that repeat throughout history
(relevant to Christians at whatever time they live in the last 2000 years)
beast comes in many forms during history
to contest God’s rule
whatever empire the hat fits should wear it
more than just the original reference
the assault on the church comes in different forms in different times and places
3. Prophecy reaches complete fulfillment only on the last day when Christ returns
Isaiah predicts the
restoration of Israel after exile in Babylon
but some of the great hyperbolic things he says do not happen at that time
but will only happen when Christ returns
much of what is said in Revelation only reaches complete fulfillment in the future when Christ returns
did not happen in the first or second century in the fullest sense
*
What should Revelation do to us?
Help us to See in a new way
(see things from the true perspective)
1. See the powers from the true perspective
nations and institutions are not what they appear to the eye
they seem great and powerful
but this is what they are
13.1b-10
the Beast is any powerful government
that does not worship and obey God
that persecutes and hinders God’s people
we should not look to the powers for deliverance
we should not be surprised when the powers turn against us
the wealth and pleasures of the great nations and powers are attractive to us
but this is what they are
17.1-18
as the Lamb has a Bride
so does the Beast- the prostitute
the great city that rules over all the earth
(Rome) is a whore
18.1-17
the Powers will fall and all their wealth will be taken away
We are to come out of her (vs. 4)
which does not mean to physically leave her
but to not assimilate and be like her
2. See the Christ from the true perspective
we can’t see Jesus so we forget about him
and don’t live in confidence of his power
1:12-18
19.11-21
This is Jesus the Victor, the Conqueror
Is this the Jesus you worship and serve?
Do you see him? Do you live every day with this Jesus before you?
3. See the Church from the true perspective
we often think of the church as small and insignificant
as weak and sinful
19:1-10
21:9-27
