Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Time, Do You Have Time, Time To Pray?
Time, I need more time, I never seem to have enough of it. Too many things to do, and too little time to do them. So what we do? Well we set up our schedule, we draw up how we will manage our time, we plan our day, each task having its appointed slot and time. When we do this we are typically asking ourselves what is the most important task I have to do today, is it my sermon prep, visiting the sick, Bible Study prep or having a elders meeting? That which is most important to us, to our job and our day gets the prime slot and the largest amount of time, the rest is placed here and there around that which we perceive to be the most important.
I believe, sadly because I know it is true of myself, that we often neglect the most important disciplines and tasks of our calling as pastors, and that is the reading of the Scriptures and prayer. It is this second discipline that I wish to discuss with you today.
When we plan our week and our day, are we planning and putting time aside for prayer? How do we regard that time, as a time and practice that can be moved around, possibly neglected for a day or two due to other pressing demands. Where does prayer rank on our list of pastoral priorities?
It appears that we don't hold prayer in very high regard, due to the fact that many of us are so ill-disciplined in regards to prayer. We seldom feel guilty for neglecting it, and few us regard it as a task of primary importance, occupying the best time of the day, and giving it more than just 5 to 10 minutes of our time.
The reality should be that we have such a high regard and desire for prayer that we count it not only as of primary importance, but should ensure that every day we engage in prayer, at an appointed time which is never moved, shortened, or neglected.
You reaction may be, your being legalistic, why must it be so strict, so black and white?
Surely prayer should be something prompted by the Holy Spirit, spontaneous, never fixed?
Yes prayer should be prompted by the Holy Spirit, but the truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is prompting us to pray throughout the day, every waking moment. But we have become experts at neglecting, turning a deaf ear and ignoring that prompting.
The reason why we need to be so strict on ourselves, why we should not allow ourselves any room for leniency in area is for the following reason. If up until now we have been simply saying to ourselves, I will pray later, I am busy now, or I will wake up early tomorrow and start then, I haven't time to pray, so I will pray double tomorrow. If all these false promises, and in some cases good intentions have failed to motivate us to pray, then we mustn't fool ourselves into thinking that in a sudden moment one day the discipline and desire for prayer will come and we shall struggle no more. No, prayer is a discipline that needs to practiced and nurtured until it becomes a natural part of our day, as natural and necessary to us as breathing.
The only way we shall become men that pray is if we start to discipline ourselves now, and so I challenge both you and myself to make every concerted effort to have a scheduled time for prayer every day, that is not moved or shortened under any circumstances. Surely if we plan our time well and wisely, we shall know when the best slot for that time in our day is. But let us no longer allow ourselves to make pithy and pathetic excuses.
Prayer is the lifeline and lifeblood of our calling, to neglect it will leave us in poor spiritual health and our hearers in worse health. Let us become men of prayer, men who love prayer, who live by prayer, and who are able to stand in the pulpit knowing we have spent much time on our knees before God, pleading with Him to grant us the salvation of souls and the sanctifying of believers.
May the Lord be gracious to us for have neglected prayer for so long, and may He, through the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit, grant us the resolve, determination, desire and strength to make prayer a priority and a passion for us all.
I have been reading through Charles Spurgeon's "Lectures to My Students", and in his chapter on prayer I was particularly convicted, below are some quotes from that chapter, and I would whole-heartedly recommend the book, a must read for every pastor in the ministry.
"Prayer will singularly assist you in the delivery of your sermon: in fact nothing can so gloriously fit you to preach as descending fresh from the mount of communion with God to speak with men. None are so able to plead with men as those who have been wrestling with God on their behalf." Pg 50
"But how dare we pray in the battle if we never cried to the Lord while buckling on the harness! The remembrance of his wrestlings at home comforts the fettered preacher when in the pulpit: God will not desert us unless we have deserted him. You, brethren, will find that prayer will ensure you strength equal to your day." Pg 51
"My brethren, let me beseech you to be men of prayer. Great talents you may never have, but you will do well enough without them if you abound in intercession. If you do not pray over what you have sown, God's sovereignty may possibly determine to give a blessing, but you have no right to expect it, and if it comes it will bring no comfort to your own heart." Pg 52
"The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must surely be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God. Yet what baseless pride to conceive that our preaching can ever be in itself so powerful that it can turn men from their sins, and bring them to God without the working of the Holy Ghost. If we are truly humble-minded we shall not venture down to the fight until the Lord of hosts has clothed us with all power, and said to us, 'Go in this thy might.' The preacher who neglects to pray much must be very careless about his ministry. He cannot have comprehended his calling. He cannot have computed the value of a soul, or estimated the meaning of eternity. He must be a mere official, tempted into the pulpit because of the piece of bread which belongs to the priest's office is very necessary to him, or a detestable hypocrite who loves the praise of men, and cares not for the praise of God. He will surely become a mere superficial talker, best approved where grace is least valued and a vain show most admired. He cannot be one of those who plough deep and reap abundant harvets. He is a mere loiterer, not a labourer. As a preacher he has a name to live and is dead. He limps in his life like the lame man the Proverbs, whose legs were not, for his praying is shorter than his preaching." Pg 54
(All quotes taken from Lectures to My Students, by Charles Spurgeon. Pbulished by Christian Focus Publications. 2008)
Please feel free to share ways and means that you have of ensuring that you remain disciplined in your prayer life.
I believe, sadly because I know it is true of myself, that we often neglect the most important disciplines and tasks of our calling as pastors, and that is the reading of the Scriptures and prayer. It is this second discipline that I wish to discuss with you today.
When we plan our week and our day, are we planning and putting time aside for prayer? How do we regard that time, as a time and practice that can be moved around, possibly neglected for a day or two due to other pressing demands. Where does prayer rank on our list of pastoral priorities?
It appears that we don't hold prayer in very high regard, due to the fact that many of us are so ill-disciplined in regards to prayer. We seldom feel guilty for neglecting it, and few us regard it as a task of primary importance, occupying the best time of the day, and giving it more than just 5 to 10 minutes of our time.
The reality should be that we have such a high regard and desire for prayer that we count it not only as of primary importance, but should ensure that every day we engage in prayer, at an appointed time which is never moved, shortened, or neglected.
You reaction may be, your being legalistic, why must it be so strict, so black and white?
Surely prayer should be something prompted by the Holy Spirit, spontaneous, never fixed?
Yes prayer should be prompted by the Holy Spirit, but the truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is prompting us to pray throughout the day, every waking moment. But we have become experts at neglecting, turning a deaf ear and ignoring that prompting.
The reason why we need to be so strict on ourselves, why we should not allow ourselves any room for leniency in area is for the following reason. If up until now we have been simply saying to ourselves, I will pray later, I am busy now, or I will wake up early tomorrow and start then, I haven't time to pray, so I will pray double tomorrow. If all these false promises, and in some cases good intentions have failed to motivate us to pray, then we mustn't fool ourselves into thinking that in a sudden moment one day the discipline and desire for prayer will come and we shall struggle no more. No, prayer is a discipline that needs to practiced and nurtured until it becomes a natural part of our day, as natural and necessary to us as breathing.
The only way we shall become men that pray is if we start to discipline ourselves now, and so I challenge both you and myself to make every concerted effort to have a scheduled time for prayer every day, that is not moved or shortened under any circumstances. Surely if we plan our time well and wisely, we shall know when the best slot for that time in our day is. But let us no longer allow ourselves to make pithy and pathetic excuses.
Prayer is the lifeline and lifeblood of our calling, to neglect it will leave us in poor spiritual health and our hearers in worse health. Let us become men of prayer, men who love prayer, who live by prayer, and who are able to stand in the pulpit knowing we have spent much time on our knees before God, pleading with Him to grant us the salvation of souls and the sanctifying of believers.
May the Lord be gracious to us for have neglected prayer for so long, and may He, through the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit, grant us the resolve, determination, desire and strength to make prayer a priority and a passion for us all.
I have been reading through Charles Spurgeon's "Lectures to My Students", and in his chapter on prayer I was particularly convicted, below are some quotes from that chapter, and I would whole-heartedly recommend the book, a must read for every pastor in the ministry.
"Prayer will singularly assist you in the delivery of your sermon: in fact nothing can so gloriously fit you to preach as descending fresh from the mount of communion with God to speak with men. None are so able to plead with men as those who have been wrestling with God on their behalf." Pg 50
"But how dare we pray in the battle if we never cried to the Lord while buckling on the harness! The remembrance of his wrestlings at home comforts the fettered preacher when in the pulpit: God will not desert us unless we have deserted him. You, brethren, will find that prayer will ensure you strength equal to your day." Pg 51
"My brethren, let me beseech you to be men of prayer. Great talents you may never have, but you will do well enough without them if you abound in intercession. If you do not pray over what you have sown, God's sovereignty may possibly determine to give a blessing, but you have no right to expect it, and if it comes it will bring no comfort to your own heart." Pg 52
"The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must surely be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God. Yet what baseless pride to conceive that our preaching can ever be in itself so powerful that it can turn men from their sins, and bring them to God without the working of the Holy Ghost. If we are truly humble-minded we shall not venture down to the fight until the Lord of hosts has clothed us with all power, and said to us, 'Go in this thy might.' The preacher who neglects to pray much must be very careless about his ministry. He cannot have comprehended his calling. He cannot have computed the value of a soul, or estimated the meaning of eternity. He must be a mere official, tempted into the pulpit because of the piece of bread which belongs to the priest's office is very necessary to him, or a detestable hypocrite who loves the praise of men, and cares not for the praise of God. He will surely become a mere superficial talker, best approved where grace is least valued and a vain show most admired. He cannot be one of those who plough deep and reap abundant harvets. He is a mere loiterer, not a labourer. As a preacher he has a name to live and is dead. He limps in his life like the lame man the Proverbs, whose legs were not, for his praying is shorter than his preaching." Pg 54
(All quotes taken from Lectures to My Students, by Charles Spurgeon. Pbulished by Christian Focus Publications. 2008)
Please feel free to share ways and means that you have of ensuring that you remain disciplined in your prayer life.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Justin Peters, A Call For Discernment
During last year I had the privilege of preaching through the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. Those of you familiar with the Sermon on the Mount know, that not only is it rich in its theology, but it also contains some very controversial issues.
Towards the end of last year I came to the portion in the Sermon on the Mount that calls on us to look out for false teachers, Matthew 7: 15-23. I knew long before I came to this passage, that I had to very careful and wise as to how I handled it. Sadly we live in a time where there are a vast multitude of false teachers, who have their programs beamed around the world day and night. Added to this, it appears that discernment has become a lost art among Christians, we don't know our Bibles, nor are we in close fellowship with the Lord, which leaves us open to being led astray.
I am grateful to the Lord that in His sovereign providence I was able to attend a conference hosted by Christ Baptist Church in Polokwane, two weeks before I was due to preach on that Matthew 7:15-23 passage. The conference speaker was Justin Peters, and he was addressing this subject of false teaching. I enjoyed the conference tremendously, and was given much insight, which in turn helped me to prepare for my upcoming sermon on false teaching.
To be honest I approached the subject with fear and trepidation, wondering how the church would respond to the sermon, especially to the names named, as sadly some were following the teaching of these false teachers and sympathetic towards them. Well as we all know, God works when we are at our weakest, I could have never in my wildest dreams imagined just what a huge positive response was generated. As a result of the this response and interest, the church eldership agreed that we would show the Justin Peters DVD series on false teaching. For the next six weeks we worked our way through the DVD, the conversations, questions, responses and changes was truly remarkable. I am grateful to the Lord that the church members have now taken that which they heard, seen and learnt to others.
Well enough introduction! What about this DVD series, why do I think all pastors should have a copy of it, what are its strengths and weaknesses?
The DVD series is titled A Call For Discernment, and sub-titled A Biblical Critique of the Word of Faith Movement.
Who is Justin Peters?
Justin Peters is the Staff Evangelist at First Baptist Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He has put this DVD series together from his first hand personal experiences and encounters with these false teachers, having attended numerous Benny Hinn crusades. These personal experiences have been combined with in depth academic and theological research in this area of false teaching and the Word of Faith Movement.
What are some of the subjects covered in this series?
The series consists of three DVDs, each one covering a different area of the Word of Faith Movement.
Disc 1: Why Discernment? (In this session, Justin Peters, teaches us what true discernment is, and why we should be discerning as Christians.)
Dangerous Doctrines: In this session the various unbiblical doctrines of the Word of Faith movement are highlighted and exposed. Doctrines such as positive confession, the spiritual death of Jesus and so forth.
Disc 2: Mangled Manifestations. This portion of the DVD deals with some of the behaviour, practices and beliefs of these false teachers.
Disc 3: The Hurt of Healing. In this the final session, Justin Peter's speaks of the many who travel great distances to be healed by these false teachers, and the hurt that results, when they are not healed. He concludes the series with a very fitting contrast, of the Word of Faith's veiw of suffering and genuine Christianity's view of suffering.
Strengths:
I have watch several other presentations on false teachers, and heard numerous sermons on the subject, but they all seemed to be plagued by the same two problems: lack of personal experience and an arrogance on the part of the preacher. This is not the case with Justin Peters.
He has personal experience, in fact he has been physically disabled most of his life, and has been to numerous miracle crusades. He has spoken to many others who are in a worst state than himself, who are present at these crusades in the hope of being healed. He has personally experienced and seen the pain, disappointment and grief when the promises of healing prove to be empty.
More than that, Justin Peters presents his sessions with grace and gentleness, his arguments do not come from his own thoughts or the writings of others, he argues only from the Bible, the standard of truth. His arguments are clear, logical, easy to follow and to understand, even for the least theologically "educated" Christian. At no point does he ridicule, or make foolish remarks about the beliefs and behaviour of these false teachers. It is clear to see that his intention is for these men and women to come to a genuine saving knowledge of Christ, and abandon their ways of falsehood.
Justin Peters simply desires to present the truth of God's Word, and expose all that which would seek to undermine, contradict, manipulate or deny it. He seeks to warn us against any thing, or anyone that seeks to detract from the glory of God, cause people to be turned away from Christianity and or bring God's name, salvation, people and church into disrepute. He does this with a grace, gentleness, maturity and wisdom.
Weaknesses:
I can at this point in time only think of one weakness, and that is in the area of practical application. The content of his sessions is excellent, but I believe that he could add another session to this series, wherein he could give teaching on how we can protect ourselves from false teaching, how we can speak to those who follow these false teachers and movements, and finally how we can best help those who have been hurt by these false teachers and movements.
I whole-heartedly recommend this DVD series to you all, and believe that just as God has used it powerfully here in our church, so He will use it in yours. In saying this, you need to be prepared for the fact that it may cause offense among those who are sympathetic towards the Word of Faith movement.
I cannot think of a more comprehensive, or better presented series on the Word of Faith Movement, it is a truly excellent series and a wise investment of R 100!
If you would like a copy of this DVD set, please contact me and I will arrange for a copy to be sent to you, for a mere R 100 (excluding postage) (Christ Baptist Church in Polokwane have the distribution rights for this DVD series, I will place your order with them and then pass it on to you.)
Let us pray that the Lord may continue to protect our churches from false teaching, and that we along with those in the churches we pastor or attend will become more discerning.
1 comments:
- Matthew10.28` said...
- This is very interesting. I have not heard of the DVD and was wondering if you could advice how one could get hold of it. Would it available in Australia? Also, have you had any discussions on "Spiritual Formation"? How would you view this?
- April 1, 2009 12:59 AM
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