WHY PRAY? Part 6 - UNDER JUDGMENT?

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit....James 5:17-18

If there ever was a time - if you are called by His Name (a real live born-again authentic Christian) to pray - now is that time. James, the Lord's half-brother, did not just insert the Name of the Great Prophet Elijah here for academic reasons. Elijah was ministering unto the Lord, and prophesying against the pagan Northern Kingdom of Israel when this incident happened. Because of the evil idolatrous conduct and their worship of pagan "gods" for over two hundred years, God brought His Judgment down on what was the country ruled by the corrupt Ahab and Jezebel. It was in this context that Elijah "a man with a nature like ours" called out to the Lord, Who, recognizing His faithful servant - responded.

Now, "a nature like ours" simply means the great prophet who never died, had the same feelings of insecurities, fear and even passion for Godly living, as most Christians possess.  This man was literally scared for his life as Jezebel promised to kill him, and ran...and literally ran and hid in a cave. "Prayed earnestly" implies that he was devoted, in life and ministry, to prayer. 

We are not prophets, as defined by Scripture, but in once sense we are to do what they did magnificently - proclaim the Word of the Lord...such as "thus sayeth the Lord". There have been men with prophetic-like gifts like David Wilkerson, who could read the signs of the times and proclaim "such and such" will occur to America and world, if we do not repent. This remains true. America and the West are completely under the Judgment of God right now, and not even the religious leaders are seeing it or if they did, even worse - they refuse to acknowledge the times!

There are a couple noteworthy things about Elijah and his prayers both to stop the rain, and then to restart it. The lesson therein for us, is that here was a man who is just like you and I in physical person-hood. However, in the spiritual realm, he was completely sold out, committed and obedient to the Lord.  Even when he feared for his life, he always did the right thing. His prayer, unlike the faithful Jew in the Southern Kingdom of Judah who had to go to the Temple, had to be made on the fly! He had no God-honoring synagogue or temple to worship in, where he was sent to minister unto the Lord.

So the following lessons are for us from these two verses:
- Even if our churches, church leaders and others are not devoting themselves to prayer in these troubled and evil times - YOU AND I SHOULD.  Elijah was a forerunner of one who was indwelled by the Holy Spirit therefore making himself a living temple of the Lord. He was thus, empowered to pray anywhere he was at the time and the Lord (Yahweh, Jesus) would listen.

- Earnest prayer and devotion to the Lord are required of one who is sent out to the home first, and then the community, such as we are. The faith of a mustard seed which can say to this mountain, be thou removed from here to there, is the same faith which each Christian and true believer in Christ possesses. We do have the authority (John 1:12) to approach the Throne of Grace and seek His intervention in the affairs of man.  How He responds may not be the way we expect. He may not stop the heavy snowfall in Niagara Falls or Boston, but He will give you and I the capacity to survive it with grace and good humor and good health, because we cannot see the purpose of His plans. We cannot also see the purpose of His thinking. His Ways are NOT our ways. There is currently a group of so-called clergy in the north east who said they are getting together to pray for God to stop the snow. They are from the liberal protestant, liberal reform Jewish community and some muslims - all 13 of them. They all got together to "pray" for God to stop the snow. Sure there has been over 107 inches of snow so far this year in Boston, but can you imagine Elijah praying with the "prophets of Baal" for the rain to either stop or go away? This can never happen....and brings us to the third and final point.

- Elijah prayed AGAIN (after earnestly praying for the rain to stop) and the Lord answered and sent the rain back. First, if we belong to a prayer group, or pray chain or call into one of those increasingly popular prayer conference calls, you and I have to be careful with whom we pray. Since before we had the destruction of 9/11, there has been a growing interfaith movement which is completely lacking in spiritual discernment. A few misinformed Christians as well as those who profess to be, have been promoting the idea that all religions believe in the same "God", just "by a different name". If this were so, God would have to apologize to Himself and rewrite the Scriptures because this is the exact opposite of what His Pure and Precious Word says. There are an host of Bible verses who teach us that God does not hear the prayer of the unrighteous and for this church age, the unrighteous are those who do not believe or, or have accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives.

Here are some of them:
John 9:31 - Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Proverbs 28:9 - He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination.
Proverbs 15:29 - The LORD [is] far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Psalms 66:18 - If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]:
1 Peter 3:12 - For the eyes of the Lord [are] over the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord [is] against them that do evil.
Isaiah 59:2 - But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear.

None of these Bible verses give Christians permission to pray with other religions with expectation that the Real God of Heaven will even pay attention. The introduction of Elijah by James the Just (or "Old Camel Knees") at the end of his epistle accomplishes much. It shows both the power of a praying man, as well as the power of THAT praying man, who is exclusively a committed, submitted and faithful servant of the Holy One of Israel, our Father, Who rules the Heavens.

NEW PARADIGM; NEW YEAR; SAME MISSION

Reflecting on the Faith Walk in 2012,  there have been so many small victories with  eternal consequences to so many people, that it boggles the mind. There are some things I can't really talk about, because only the Lord should know these things: from the saintly brother who works hands on with the persecuted church worldwide to praying for the lost spouse of a close friend...the work of the Lord MUST pick up in 2013! 

We are in a new phase of the battle for souls...the battle which demands us to lead others to realize there is more. 
There is more to life than selling your birthright for a bowl of stew....or a fake disability SSI check.
There is more to life than expecting some incompetent politician in a far away city to pay for...(you name it) with borrowed Communist chinese money.
There is more to life than chasing your own tail in pursuit of somebody's definition of success or happiness.
There is a whole lot more than that, my friends!

There is peace
There is joy
There is happiness
There is contentment
There is an oasis in this rathole called the world. No matter how they dress it up, they cain't put lipstick on a pig. This is one corrupt, evil world. No amount of gun confiscation will stop a sicko who saw the same movie stars now campaigning against guns, or playing those video games like Halo etc, no amount of laws; no amount of this or that hand-wringing will stop that natural impulse of men who are out of control - SIN!

So what are we to do? Do we go over the Spiritual, Moral, Societal Cliffs along with the rest of the country and world? Do we participate in their debauchery? Do we get depressed with them at the latest NYSE crash or NASDAQ plunge....or big ticket items plunge? NO NO NO and NO! Amen! As we always tell folks: THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS FOR THE WORLD...AND AS BAD AS IT GETS FOR THE BELIEVER (IN CHRIST)!! That's true! 

What does the world have but its systems, through and with which, they have to perform contortions, black magic and sleight of hand to create illusions! They have to lie, cheat, deceive and they have their loudspeakers in the media - news and Hollywood, whose god is their celebrity culture, to assist in that!

WE ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE A 3500 YEAR OLD DOCUMENT, WITH 66 BOOKS, WRITTEN BY 40 MEN OVER 1500 YEARS. WE HAVE THAT, AND AN INVISIBLE SPIRIT CALLED GOD LIVING INSIDE OF US! ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS SAY JUST ONE SIMPLE WORD - AND FOR THAT - THEY HATE US!!!!! 

Why? Because that ONE SIMPLE WORD IS - JESUS!!! Ha! They will never understand the Iranian pastors who are beaten and tortured daily by moslem leaders or the teenage girl in Pakistan or the children in this school in Kenya who were protected by huge beings in White with flashing swords.....they will never get it, because we have the HOPE. they DO NOT!  THAT HOPE is within - the Peace that passeth ALL their understanding!

So the new Paradigm for 2013 is the same Mission from the Apostle Peter 1960 plus years ago. The only thing "New" about it is the NEW and RENEWED push for Excellence and Evangelism with Energy! Those things were woefully lacking in the past few years across the west! It is flourishing big time in the Persecuted Lands!  Here is the Word from the Lord through Peter: "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect...(1 Peter 3:14-15 ESV)


Let's briefly break this down with the KEY WORDS in BOLD BLUE:
SUFFER: Unlike those in other lands who actually physically suffer for our simple Faith in Christ, we suffer from being continually being marginalized, maligned and now mandated by government to give in to unbiblical concepts (gay 'marriage'; free abortion pills etc). But as we know from all through Scripture, suffering is required for the saint's sanctification! This life is the testing ground as well as the training ground, for eternity!
BUT, we see in the next phrase: "we ARE blessed"!
Next: 
HAVE NO FEAR - A true believer in Christ, powered by faith, prayer and sometimes fasting, is actually fearless in sharping the Hope of all Hopes - Jesus and Eternal Life in heaven! Scripture explains scripture right here "...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control....(2 Timothy 1:7 ESV). That means - the Holy Spirit, Who is both God AND lives in us, knows no fear! How could He? He is God too!!
NOR BE TROUBLED - When we step out fearlessly in faith and get shot down...or we see even so-called Christians falling by the wayside or when our efforts bear no apparent fruit....then, press on....don't even look back; wallow in self-pity or debate it....press on and move on. Leave it alone!
HONOR CHRIST THE LORD AS HOLY - What He is saying here is...if you do all of this (have no fear and even so, when things look bad, move ahead)...and more, it remains imperative to remember ALL we do is not about us, but Christ and the Holiness of God!
ALWAYS BE PREPARED - That means ALWAYS!! We may be called upon at any time to take a stand! They tell Christian pastors and chaplains all the time, in all levels of American government that they cannot pray in the Name of Jesus, if they wish to be part of this or that "Official" prayer service, government oriented breakfast or opening some session of a government meeting etc. Do we sign that death warrant for our souls OR walk away and tell them to file it wherever they wish? A co-worker or distressed cashier or waitress may ask you why you look so happy all the time when we owe $16 Trillion in debt or society is going down the sewer...be prepared - pull out Jesus and give them Heaven...in less than 4-5 minutes!  Both sharing the good news of salvation and Jesus and being prepared to take a stand, requires us to be as sharp as a tack and able to give your testimony and how that other person can have one even better, in less than 5 minutes! Any true Christian can tell what Jesus has done for him or her in an instant!
MAKE A DEFENSE - This one requires us to know what we are talking about! Just as we don't run a marathon just from running from our car to the house daily, we don't go into Satan's temporary playground (the World) unarmed; unprepared; unread and under the same sin that they are suffering from. Be knowledgeable on the basics of Christianity and especially the EXCLUSIVITY OF CHRIST! This is the big one which the world - the pluralistic world - wants to hit us with constantly, in order to discredit us! So stay in prayer and the study of the Word...and in fellowship with men of God who are more knowledgeable than you or I!

The rest of the verse rounds off these present tense phrases so we can comprehend WHY we are doing these things. People are going to ask us WHY (should I....); WHERE ( was God when....): WHAT (do I need to do to be saved when I am already a "good" person)....WHO (or WHOM, do I say His Name is?) If we are ready to answer all of this when they ask, about the HOPE which they can see, feel, touch and which is ALL over our faces, we just might be waking again in the Exhortation which this verse has for us for 2014!

Finally, knowing and doing all of this will not work, if we don't do it in love...the same Love that Jesus showed when He would walk up to, or call anyone over. It is that same Love (agape) which led Him down from Heaven to a dirty cold manger/stable. It was the same Love which took him from the Throne of Heaven to the Cross of Calvary. So we are to love and care for people like He did and still does. People don't care to know how much we know, until they know how much we care!

Let's therefore, get back on point in 2013. Let's step into our calling with the fresh oil of a new year and let's do it with verve, passion and energy!

(LISTEN TO CHRISTIAN RADIO HERE FROM TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA HERE. GRAPHIC ABOVE COURTESY THIS WONDERFUL STATION!
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EXPLORATION OF JEREMIAH'S VISION OF CREATION

Truth is relative to an individual’s maturity level. While God is the Truth, his children are all in a process of learning and growing in Him. Some of God’s children are breastfed while some are milk drinkers, and others have graduated to meat.  We are all in a different level of learning so to one person truth may be at the milk level while to another person truth is at a meat level.  With that understanding in mind it takes a willingness to love people where they are in this process.  

Some people can be quite intolerant but that is not how we are to walk in love.  God is calling his people and we are all in a process of learning about Him, therefore we should endeavor, personally, to study, as the word tells us, to show ourselves approved of God as workmen, needing not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  We all are required to push ourselves to learn, rather than be spoon fed. 

by Lori Clayton

As we explore other scriptures relating to our creation story, we find a section in Jeremiah that is quite interesting.  In the context of this section, Jeremiah is prophesying to the Israelites that watchers, or gentiles would come and raise their voices against Israel because they have been rebellious toward God. Jeremiah 4:16-ff. God through Jeremiah says that destruction is coming because they did not know God. Then Jeremiah gives us a vision of the entire earth.  What he sees is the destruction that happened in Genesis 1:2.  Some might say that this is a future event but there are flaws in that argument which we will see later.  After the vision, Jeremiah prophesy’s again that the Lord says the whole land shall be desolate.  The first thing we have to take note of is the tense changing. 

First Jeremiah prophesy’s in present tense, then tells us a vision in past tense (saw, was, were) then Jeremiah prophecies again in the future tense (shall, will).  If we keep our tenses straight we can understand what he is saying.  For our purposes we will look at Jeremiah’s past tense vision, which is not a prophecy, just the explanation of a vision. This is an example of understanding scripture in light of the context.

Jer 4:23-31 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.

Remembering Genesis1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.KJV The same Hebrew words for without form and void are used in Jeremiah’s vision.

Jeremiah sees the earth, not a city, not Israel, he sees earth formless and void, without light. There were mountains that moved and hills that moved which speaks of earthquakes.  Then he says he sees no man, and birds fled, and the gardens and the ranchlands became a wilderness, and the cities were broken down.  This means there were cities, that someone made, but there were no men anymore.  The earth became empty, wasteland, and dark because the Lord was angry. 

Let’s look at this section of scripture from two other translations

Jeremiah 4:23 I looked at the land - it was unformed and void - and at the sky - it had no light. 24 I looked at the mountains, and they shook - all the hills moved back and forth. 25I looked, and there was no human being; all the birds in the air had fled. 26 I looked, and the fertile fields were a desert, all the land's cities were razed to the ground at the presence of ADONAI, before his burning anger. (Complete Jewish Bible http://www.biblestudytools.com/cjb/)

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