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Pray & Take Heart

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The reason we pray is to bring glory to God (Jn 14:13) and obtain joy in God (Jn 17:13). That to pray by His will, this, in turn, brings us joy. Not by repetitive words, platitudes or complicated requests, but in simplicity, because the LORD knows what it is we need before we ask (Mt. 6:7-8).

When we end our prayers by “In Jesus’s name, Amen” that is an acknowledgment and affirmation that it is possible to pray to the Father because of the access we are given by the LORD’s sacrifice and resurrection. Since we have this gift of access, we are to pray continually, in private and with perseverance in a manner by which He taught us (Mt 6:9-13). Our persistence in prayer and pleas to Him is to meet our needs and carry out His will.

It is also by Jesus’s instruction that we are to pray by faith (Mk 11:22, 24). That is simply one condition by which we pray. Another is given in John 15:7 where He says, ” If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” To mean, we are to remain in Him, in fellowship, and in His words. To know Him where there is a relationship there to underlie our prayers to Him and the Father.


Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart. – Lk 18:1

In his guidance, He further explains how to pray and how not to pray. For whom we are to pray and for what we are to pray. Moreover, he gives us specifics and examples to learn from and apply.

Pray in truth without hypocrisy and with full confession (Matt 6:5-6). The LORD had some of the strongest words of condemnation for hypocritical people. So we are to pray for ourselves. Pray for everyone without exception. Even for our enemies and for those who insult and curse us (Lk 6:28).

And so finally, the LORD’S prayer is modeled for us to remember and put into practice. In the words of John Piper, here is the breakdown of how it goes.

Our Father in heaven,

1. Hallowed be your name.
This is to pray that all people would pursue the glory of God. The first function of prayer.

2. Your kingdom come.
That in our lives, His kingdom would reign in our hearts and minds.

3. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
That we put into effect His will here on Earth just as it is done in heaven. Without hesitation, in full zeal, and by exceptional effort.

4. Give us this day our daily bread.
To meet our daily physical needs for body and mind.

5. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
The continued requests for forgiveness of our daily failure to honor Him.

6. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
A request for the protection against the evil one and from temptations.

In Spirit & Truth

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It is written that Christ demands we treasure God above all (Matt 6:24). Our whole lives are supposed to be centered upon service to the Father through Christ. In addition to praise, gratitude, and affection, our rational service of worship rests in our efforts for Him (Rom 12:1 NASB).

In contrast to where we would worship, we would begin to worship God in our spirit and in truth in His presence. Not solely in a dedicated location as it is written (Jn 4:20), but specifically in spirit and truth (Jn 4:23-24). Through Jesus, having access to God to worship Him by our spirit, His Holy Spirit, and in truth.

The people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Matt 15:8-9

Whereas the LORD Himself makes alive our spirit, we are engaged and sensitive to cast our affections upon Him. To glorify, praise, and worship Him. For who and what He is. For what he has done and is going to do. For all His attributes and everything revealed.

It is in this spirit, by His Spirit, that we are able to recognize, serve, and overflow with the truth of our Lord Jesus. The truth by which to see and worship God for His glory through Christ.

Fear of God

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But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.

Luke 19:27

To echo the words of Jesus, He said, “Fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell (Mt 10:28).” This is eternal punishment for sin and unbelief. More than anyone throughout the entire Bible, Jesus spoke of this place of torment. He referred to it as a fiery furnace and outer darkness, depending upon a given point of reference. It is an eternal fire.

Where this place is not a natural outcome or consequence of bad choices or rejecting God, it is not merely self-imposed; it is the penalty of God’s wrath. It is a place of infinite rage imposed by a holy God for legitimate reasons.

If God, who is infinitely worthy, honorable, and desirable, holds infinite authority and value is rejected, that rejection becomes an infinitely outrageous offense. Where is a situation to, therefore, requires appropriate punishment. Moreover, to quote John Piper:

Hell is not an overreaction to small offenses. It is a witness to the infinite worth of God and to the outrageous dishonor of human sin. – John Piper, “What Jesus Demands of the World” Pg 98.

The urgency of Jesus’ words is, therefore, great mercy. It is a warning that God, our Father’s wrath, is infinite toward those who distrust the one who loved us and gave His Son to die in our place.

This warning to live in a holy fear is an abundant gift and great mercy.


Joy Made Full

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The love of Christ for us is so profound that it is the very joy that the Father has in the Son.

Rejoicing in the Father and the Son is essential in glorifying God. Rejoicing in God is glorifying God. And Jesus is committed to making that happen within us. Through our suffering. Through our sacrifice. Through self-denial. Through worship, admiration, and fellowship.

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. ” – Lk 6:22-23

To delight in creation more than the Creator is treason. Jesus’ demand for us to hope in Him with great joy is not unaided by His Spirit within us. We are given his continual presence by the Spirit placed within us. To experience the fullness of his presence and the joy it brings to glorify God the Father and the Son.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Mt 13:44

It is in this joy of the believer that the trauma of sin is removed.


Shema

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Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mk 12:29-31

To reject Jesus is to reject God. Jesus demands that we love God with all that we are for all that He is. Love for God and loving God are two separate things. That is, loving the person, being God. His identity, who and what He is.

In so doing, God’s glory becomes our supreme pleasure. That in our practice of loving God, our preference above all else is to know Him. This love is mostly an expression of affections, not solely behavior.

A natural outcome of this love of God is a love for people. Loving people is a byproduct of loving God. What happens in the heart is essential. Where outward behaviors will become pleasing to God when those behaviors stem from delight, admiration, and love for God.

Love leads to expression through the soul (life), mind (thought), and strength (effort). So that any other thing we love or treasure through occupation, hobbies, or interests is themselves means of treasuring God.

We will love God to the degree we know him.

Fighter’s Resolve

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“Most mysterious of all the stories of Jacob is that of his wrestling with the angel, and many different explanations of it have been offered, religious, symbolical, metaphorical. As told in the Bible, the tale is simply this. Jacob, returning with all his garnered wealth toward Palestine, must have followed much the same route as did his grandfather Abraham, before him. From Syria, he passed southward through Damascus and then by one of the eastern tributaries of the Jordan came down into its valley. Here he sent all of his people before him across the ford of a little stream called the Jabbok, while he remained alone all night upon the bank of the stream.

‎During the night an angel, or perhaps the Lord Himself, came as a man and wrestled with him. Jacob put forth all his bodily strength, but in the end, his spiritual opponent paused and, merely touching Jacob’s thigh, made him lame and helpless. Yet with his arms, Jacob clung resolutely to his antagonist and refused to let him go unless he would bless Jacob. Then the vision blessed him, and changed his name, as Abram’s had been changed, saying “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

-The Bible and its Story, Volume 1: The Law, Genesis to Leviticus

Take Up Your Cross

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“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – Matt 16:24-25

Here is what it means to follow Jesus. It is to join Him in what He came to do as it is to gather with Him (Lk 11:23). That is, to gather followers for the glory of his Father. Furthermore, following the LORD Yeshua also means that those who are His share in his suffering. He knew that His pain would also spill over onto those who follow Him (Jn 15:20).

As John Piper puts it, His followers will also experience ruptures in their relationships with people, possessions, and vocation. There will be a loss of friends and family, setting aside treasure, objects, and belongings. And, at times, an abandonment of career pursuits and what others view as worldly aspirations. It is the overall decrease of self-interest in exchange for His interests and what He came to do.

Abide in Me

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While thinking through what it means to abide in Christ, here His words come through.

So Jesus was saying to those […] who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  – Jn 8:31

That is to say, to abide in Him is to abide in His word. That in doing so, the fruit of that is to live without pervasive sin. That is the bearing fruit He speaks of further along in His teaching.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” – Jn 15:5

That is we are unable to do anything good or of benefit to ourselves and the kingdom if we were to no longer abide. To dwell in Him is to be free from sin. Able to serve and honor Him with fruit by being of good use to the Lord and others. 

Another really incredible point to carefully think through is that God Himself keeps us dwelling. We are responsible for whether or not we abide, but it is Jesus that causes our faith to remain (Jn 17:11-12). Once we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, it is He who causes us to turn back if we might doubt, neglect, or deny Christ. Moreover, in John Piper‘s words, it is Jesus’ demand that we abide in him so that we keep trusting the one who keeps us trusting.

We remain attached to Jesus by abiding in Him through His word.

1 John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006), 67.

Listen to Me

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“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”  – Matt 17:5

Remember the horrific words in Matthew 7? Those particular words, “I never knew you? Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness?” To understand those who He would never know, it is therefore critical to recognize and understand what it is to know Him. And what it means to not be known by Jesus.

According to Him and to the Father, the whole point of being a stranger is to those who do not listen to Him. Who don’t know His voice, His words, or what He has said. More specifically, in John 10:27, He says that His sheep hear His voice. And that He knows them. And they follow Him.  

The non-listeners are those who He does not know. For they “are not of God” (Jn 8:47), “are not of the truth” (Jn 18:37), and “His words find no place in you” (Jn 8:37). 

So it stands to understand, to be known by Him is to listen to Him. To know His voice and to follow Him.

  • Pray to Him
  • Worship Him
  • Obey Him
  • Serve Him
  • Honor Him
  • Love Him

So when you stand before Him face to face, the LORD God’s purpose within us shall be made complete. With overflowing joy at His glory and being.

 

Christ Above All

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I have often thought that to know Christ is to love Him. When I suppose it is possible to know about Him or of Him. To understand what He has done or to His status and preeminence. Yet I have come to learn that to love Jesus is more than doing what He says, but also it is about having a deep affection for who He is. We do what He says because we love Him.

Christ Above All

Continuing in John Piper’s book, “What Jesus Demands from the World,” a new nature is required to produce the kind of love that is recognized by Him as authentic, meaningful, and deeper than anything for anyone or anything else. As He said in John 8:42, “If God were your Father, you would love me.” To say, in Piper’s words, “The reason you do not love me is that you are not in the family of God. You don’t have the family nature – the family spirit, the family heart, preferences, tendencies, inclinations. God is not your Father.”

Because of who He is and what He means to those who are His, the measure of love is infinite. His Spirit reveals to us that His glory, His presence, and His power make the all-surpassing desire to love Him overwhelmingly beyond anything or anyone.

Believe In Me

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“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26

What does it mean to believe in Jesus, the son of the living God? Believing in Jesus is more than believing about him. It is trusting him. For our own sake, He demands that we trust in Him. Because of who He is, He is able to rescue us from condemnation, judgment, and the wrath of God. He calls us to believe in Him to get us out from the desperate situation each one of us is in.

How Jesus rescues us from condemnation and God’s wrath is by taking our punishment for sin onto Himself. Whereas he suffered and died as a penalty paid on our behalf.

As it is written in Isaiah 53:4-6:

“Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;”

Since there is nothing we can do to add to the redemptive work of Christ, He simply demands that we believe in Him. To keep us from God’s wrath.  To believe in Jesus is not only about knowing and accepting who He historically is, but it’s also trusting Him for who He really is. Believing in Jesus is trusting Him. As we thirst for nourishment, we drink for life-sustaining energy. To believe in Jesus is to thirst for the life He gives to those who trust Him. It is receiving Him. As our thirst becomes quenched by Him as our living water. 

Come to Me

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Those who God the Father has given to Jesus will become His. A chosen people who are given faith to believe will hear His voice and will come to Him. From a state of spiritual death, His people are called by his power and irresistible grace. To glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever. Belief and repentance are granted as a gift to those who are His. 

People are called to the Lord by the Father. Out of a state of slavery and spiritual death, they are called. People are recipients of God’s power to bring people to life spiritually to draw them to Him. As a people given to the Lord Jesus as His possession.

Furthermore, wherefrom repentance is given to those who believe and are drawn to Him; ultimately, they see Jesus as having a supreme value above all things. 

So once called, Jesus becomes our treasure. A holy treasure as we enter the narrow gate and walk a hard way of life. A hard way of life because, in this world, it is very difficult to value Jesus above all things (Matt 5:29-30).

Jesus demands that we come to Him. It is to accept Him and God’s gift of repentance to enjoy Jesus and God the Father above all for our eternal security. For His glory and the Father’s good pleasure.