How Hungry Are You for God?

On March 7, our church will launch its annual Week of Prayer. The Elders and Deacons are encouraging the congregation to fast the final three days of this week-long prayer watch.

Why? Because fasting is a biblical way of reminding ourselves that God is the center of the universe, not man. If God is truly our number-one love, then we will exalt and desire the Giver above His gifts. Consider the following Scriptures:

• Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. - Psalm 73:25
• As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. - Psalm 42:1
• I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. - Job 23:12
• Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. - Matthew 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4; Deut. 8:3

That final statement was made by Jesus at the end of a forty-day fast in the wilderness. Jesus did not command His followers to fast; He simply assumed they would. (In giving them instructions He said, "When you fast..." not "If you fast...." - see Matthew 6:16-18).

There is a danger in fasting. The Word of God warns us about people who "require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth" (1 Tim. 4:3). The fact is, "food will not commend us to God' we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat" (1 Cor. 8:8). God accepts us on account of His own mercy and grace, on the merits of His Son Jesus Christ. Whatever we do in relation to food or drink is done to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). It is an act of worship, God accepts us solely on the merits of His Son, Jesus Christ. In his outstanding book, A Hunger for God, John Piper points out,

In the heart of the saint, both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ. Both send the heart - grateful and yearning - to the Giver. Each has its appointed place, and each has its danger. The danger of eating is that we fall in love with the gift; the danger of fasting is that we belittle the gift and glory in our willpower.

Earlier in this same book (on the very first page, actually) Piper notes, "The discipline of self-denial is fraught with dangers - perhaps only surpassed by the dangers of indulgence."

Frankly, I believe that's the extremity toward which most of us gravitate ... by far. We are slaves to our appetites. Paul warns us about those "whose god is their belly" (Phil. 3:19). As Piper quips, "The stomach is sovereign."

I understand that the point of fasting is not to diet; it's to die - to self! Food itself is not the issue per se; it's our fleshly appetite. An idol is anything that becomes a substitute for God. An idol can range anywhere from sexual pleasure to a T.V. show to a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship to making money to seeking the praise and approval of others.

There is such a thing as true and false fasting. Read Isaiah 58. If you abstain from food while clinging to the other idols of your heart, then forget it. You might as well go ahead and gorge yourself; your fasting isn't acceptable to God anyway. But if you abstain from food as an expression of your hunger for God, desiring His righteousness, His presence, His power in your life - if you "take delight in the Lord," He will "make you ride on the heights of the earth" (Isa. 58:14). He will prove Himself to be the greatest pleasure that you can possibly experience.

So while it may be appropriate to abstain from sex, or a certain T.V. show, or your favorite hobby for the sake of seeking the Lord, there's nothing like abstaining from food that brings our fleshly cravings to the surface. This is a point that Arthur Wallis stresses strongly in his classic book, God's Chosen Fast. Without mincing words, Wallis writes:

When people do not like the plain, literal meaning of something in the Bible they are tempted to spiritualize it and so rob it of its potency. Once the truth becomes nebulous it ceases to have any practical implication. They have blunted its edge; it can no longer cut. In the main this is what the professing Church, and evangelicals in particular, have tended to do with the biblical teaching on fasting.

"To fast," we are told, "is not simply nor necessarily to abstain from food, but from anything that hinders our communion with God." Or they say, "Fasting means to do without, to practice self-denial." We have only to widen the meaning enough and the cutting edge has gone.

It is true that there are many things besides food that may hinder our communion with God. It is also true that we need to practice self-denial in general. The fact still remains that "to fast" means primarily "not to eat."

John Wesley declared, "Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have disregarded it." As was stated earlier, the prevalent error of our day is not self-denial but self-indulgence. We tend to feast and play rather than to fast and pray.

But I also believe that God in His grace brings us to the place where we get "fed up" (pun intended) with the junk food of this world and long to feast in fellowship with Him. As Wallis states so eloquently,

... God be praised, a new day is dawning, and a new thirst for the Spirit is beginning to awake the slumbering Church. It is a day of spiritual renewal. There are searchings and inquirings, burdens and longings on every hand. The heart-cry of the Church is ascending to heaven. The Spirit of God is stirring.

Is He stirring in your heart? I hope so. I pray that you will be so hungry for God that you will say to Him, through fasting, "God, this is how badly I want You; this is how badly I need You! I do desire You more than my necessary food! Come to me, Lord, and fill Me with the fullness of Yourself!"

"Big P, little p" (by Pastor Nick Jones)

Big P, little p - what begins with P?

Parents Patiently Practice Persistent Pedagogical Prayer

Parents, the greatest influence in your child's life right now is: you. It may not feel this way, your kids may argue differently, but the fact remains that you do the primary molding in your child’s life.

The reason for this is simple: no other influence in their life is like the parent-child relationship, which is an educational relationship in which everything you do teaches your kids something. You may not sit down for a formal “lecture” time, there may be no “family meetings” to discuss important matters, but this does not mean your kids are not learning from you. Your words, actions, interactions, attitudes, presuppositions, and thought processes all shape your child’s view of the world around them and teach them how they are to live in it. God designed it this way.

Next month here at First Baptist Church, we’ll be having our annual Prayer Week, and as preparation for that I’d like each family to take a close look at how you are teaching your children about prayer.

You teach your children about prayer when you react to life’s situations.

In many bad situations we teach our kids that prayer comes only after we’re done grumbling, complaining, or gossiping (if at all). Likewise, when good things happen, prayer is relegated to a quick “praise God!” and nothing more is said. When these occasions come, we teach that prayer is secondary to our emotions and situations. Instead our actions and reactions should teach that prayer is a necessary part of our emotions and situations.

You teach your children about prayer in your attitude toward prayer.

Your kids also learn about prayer when it is regularly absent, forgotten, or approached out of a sense of “ought.” If your attitude is: “let’s get this done with so we get to the stuff we really want to do,” then you are setting your kids up to see prayer as something to check off of a list, but not really necessary for daily life. Conversely, if you love to pray your kids will see, remember, and learn (even if they don’t like it or agree!).

You teach your children about prayer when you pray without them.

Do your kids see you pray by yourself? Do they see that you have a personal relationship with God that is worth your time and energy? Many kids only see their parents praying in public times (meals, church services, etc.), which is the quickest way to enroll them in the Pharisees School of Prayer and teaches them that prayer is merely a way to make people look good and holy, regardless of what their life really looks like.

You teach your children about prayer when you pray with them.

The simple act of praying regularly with your kids teaches them several, massively important lessons. You teach them that your family submits itself to a higher authority and that you are under his banner, you teach that you recognize God as the giver of every good and perfect gift, you show that fellowship with God is sweeter than the gifts he gives, and it shows that God himself is the binding force for your family – the source and glue of all that you are.

You teach your children about prayer in what you pray.

There are two issues at hand here. First, do your prayers teach your kids that prayer is just a tool to get what you want? Are they filled with phrases such as, “help me, give me, help me, give me, help me give me”? There, of course, is nothing wrong with praying, “help me” or “give me,” but are you the center of your prayers? We must be careful not to be selfish in our prayers.

A second caution would be against having dishonest prayers. If you humbly approach God in prayer, acknowledging out loud that you’re a dirty, rotten sinner who can only come to the Father through the blood of Jesus, then you teach your kids that prayer isn’t a performance. Pray what you mean; mean what you pray. Don’t pray, “God, we’re happy and thankful” in a boring tone. Do your words match your attitude? If you’ve royally messed things up, don’t pray a generic, “blah” prayer – be honest with God. This is especially important when your kids see you sin. It shows that you don’t have a casual disregard for your failures, instead it teaches them to go to the only One who has dealt with your sins through the work of his Son.

Prayer is a wonderful gift from God – we can talk to him! Love God and love to pray, and in doing so you teach your kids how, when, why, and what to pray. Remember, they will learn about prayer from you. The question is: what will they learn?

Jesus: Our Superior, All-Sufficient Savior

Last Sunday I preached on Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." I mentioned that mourning is not a dead-end street, it's the road of redemption that leads us straight to Jesus Christ. He is the One who has come "to heal the brokenhearted" and "to comfort all who mourn" (Isa. 61:1-2). In Christ we have all the comfort - and everything else - we need. Jesus is the all-sufficient Savior who meets the deepest needs and longings of the human soul.

Several days ago we received a mailing from our former church in Richmond, Virginia, that included the pastor's summary of a recent article by Revive magazine (Winter 2010, Volume 40, Issue 4), which offered a significant look at the superiority and sufficiency of Christ:

• Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.
• Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
• Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void to create a new people of God.
• Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by His Father on the mount, but was truly sacrificed for us.
• Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the King, forgives those who betrayed and sold Him, and uses His new power to save them.
• Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and God, and who mediates a new covenant.
• Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert.
• Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves His foolish friends.
• Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes His people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
• Jesus is the true and better Esther who left His ultimate and heavenly palace, and who didn't just risk His life but gave it to save His people.
• Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
• Jesus is the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us.
• Jesus is the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

All these marvelous identities and realities we find in our Lord. Can you think of some others? Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Strengthening Relationships

What's the most important commandment? We don't have to guess, because Jesus already answered that question when it was put to Him.

Jesus replied, "the most important commandment is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."

- Mark 12:29-31

A lot could be said about these two commandments; indeed, a lot has been said about them! So much so that perhaps you didn't read the above text carefully. Maybe you just glanced over it or skipped it altogether because it is so familiar to you.

But despite our familiarity with this text, we still don't "get" it. Marriages are still in turmoil; teens are alienating their parents; siblings continue to quarrel; congregations are rife with contention. - And all this among professing Christians!

What's the problem? One well-known pastor put the answer in a nutshell when he was asked "What's the number one need of the evangelical church today?" His response: "Spiritual growth."

Sounds simple, but that really is the truth. Grow in your relationship with God, and you will most certainly improve your relationships with others.

One way that you can do this as a Christian is to be committed to corporate worship. In his helpful book, Basics for Believers, William Thrasher writes:

Each Sunday brings with it the wonderful opportunity for ever believer to celebrate and deepen his relationship with God and other believers through the act of worship in a corporate setting. It is in participating in this important act that we learn to fulfill the two greatest commandments as spoken by our Lord....

Proper worship should usher the believer into a special time in the presence of God and guide him in direction of thanksgiving, repentance, and holy living. It is a time to listen to God and what He has said to us through His Word. It is a time to look at ourselves in light of that Word and to confront and confess our sins. This is a time when we can sing praises to Him and thank Him for what He has done for us. And it is this vital time that marks just how we will live and conduct ourselves in the coming week.

Another blessing of strengthening our intimacy with God is the effect it has on the entire family. As husband and wife become closer to the Lord, they become closer to each other. as families worship together, they are nourished by the experience and their foundation as a unit is made firm. Their relationship to each other is fortified and they learn how to live godly lives together in acceptance and love. They hear God's commandments and seek to apply these truths with one another.

As we grow in the Lord and mature in our understanding of his Word, we become better neighbors to those around us. And as we become better neighbors, people God has placed in our lives are drawn to Christ. This is one of the main channels God has been pleased to use to expand His kingdom.

... It's one's proper relationship with God that has the greatest impact on all other relationships in life. Failure at this juncture is where many believers begin the gradual decline that affects every other area of their lives. This is why many Christian marriages end in divorce and why their families sometimes mirror the troubled and unsaved families around them. The Bible makes it clear: Apart from Christ, we can do nothing positive for the kingdom. But through Christ, we can have relationships with our mates that glorify and bring pleasure to God. We can have solid relationships with our children, and we can effectively reach out to our neighbors and serve those around us.

Don't underestimate the importance of corporate worship and your involvement in the life of the local church. It is a lifeline to your relationship with God and others.

The 9/11 Terror Trials

It appears the 9/11 terror trials won't be held in NYC after all. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he would be "very happy" if the White House held conducted them at another location. Rep. Peter King of New York, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, has introduced legislation to block funds for a 9/11 trial in NYC. The fact is, a large number of both Democrats and Republicans believe strongly that the 9/11 hijackers should be tried, not in a civilian court, but a military tribunal. Not in NYC, but in Guantamano Bay or some other military base.

As I thought of all this debate and opinions regarding what is sure to be "the trial of the century" - how it's going to be conducted, where it's going to take place, who's going to prosecute, what's going to be the outcome, etc. - I couldn't help but think of the Great White Throne Judgment described by the apostle John in sobering detail in Revelation 20:11-15:

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The Judge: God Almighty

The Prosecutor: Jesus Christ

The Accused: Unrepentant Man

The Verdict: Guilty

The Sentence: The Lake of Fire

There will be no debate, no change of plans, no lapse in the prosecution, no negotiation, no leniency, no possibility of parole. "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

Are you prepared to meet your God? Have you made peace with Him through faith in Jesus Christ? He bore God's wrath on the cross so that you wouldn't have to bear it for all eternity in the lake of fire. Having been raised from the dead, Jesus now sits enthroned at God's right hand. He is the righteous Advocate of all who turn from their sin and trust Him to save them. He will be the righteous Judge of those who don't.

"Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" (Psalm 2:12).

Rock-Solid Faith Beneath the Rubble

Late Sunday night, a friend shared a link to CNN, which featured a video of a woman being interviewed in a hospital after she had spent five days in the rubble of a crumbled building in Haiti on her knees! Watch and be blessed by her testimony.

Because of His sanctifying love, often times our Lord will bring about various crises, the purpose of which is to drive us to our knees - maybe not literally as was the case with this precious believer, but nevertheless just as important. May our own faith in the Lord be strengthened as we continue to hear testimonies of our brothers and sisters in Christ looking to the Lord in the aftermath of the quake.

On a side note, I praise God for the prayers and financial contributions offered by our congregation this past Sunday for evangelical churches in Haiti. The initial offering was quite generous, and more is sure to come in. Some in our fellowship may even go on site to help. However and wherever our Lord may lead us to help, let us do so with all our hearts. For Jesus Himself said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).

10 Ways to Encourage a Missionary

Last week a colleague sent me some helpful suggestions on how to encourage missionaries, written by Mark Rogers, a Ph.D. student in historical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. I thought they were worth passing on.

In an effort to learn how we can best encourage missionaries, I emailed some and asked how they would most like to be served and encouraged. This list is drawn from their responses, including many direct quotes.

1. Pray for them and let them know that you are doing so frequently.

“One of the most encouraging/inspiring things we receive from people is a quick note via email to say that they are ‘thinking’ of us.”

2. Send “real mail.”

“Send a small care package. Some little fun food items that we can’t get where we serve is a good idea.”

“One idea is to send a special package before an American holiday (like Thanksgiving) filled with things that we can use to decorate for that holiday.”

“Send us a birthday card. This doesn’t have to be some long handwritten note, just a little card – maybe even printed at home.”

“Real mail is always special. Really, the thing with real mail is more than just getting some nice stuff from home (which is nice), but it seems a more tangible reminder that the people I love and miss love and miss me too and are thinking of me.”

3. Pray for the people the missionaries serve and not only for the missionaries and their families.

4. Recruit others to pray for the missionary’s area of service (city, people group, etc.) or for the missionaries themselves.

“This can be an amazing thing to have a person or group of people actively supporting the work that we are doing overseas – becoming an advocate for our city/work. It really encourages us to know that there are people going to bat for us and raising more prayer support for the work.”

“Become an arm of our work in the United States. Some ideas include handling our newsletter distribution, website hosting (i.e., hosting a virtual website for the city), logistical arrangements, or short term team orientation.”

5. Go visit them with the purpose of serving and encouraging them in their work.

“Have a group of your people come to minister to us as we are seeking to pour out our lives to others. This could be hosting a small retreat in country for our team or something similar, or coming to prayer walk the city we live in.”

6. Send them updates and pictures of you and your family (by mail or email).

“It would especially be nice to receive end of the year updates or Christmas card pics. We want to stay connected to you! We love hearing from friends and family and enjoy keeping up to date on what’s happening in your life!”

“If you have a friend overseas, stay in touch with them. Don’t let cautions about being careful with spiritual language keep you from talking about the day to day “un-spiritual” things you would talk about if you met up for lunch one day. Sometimes the least spiritual emails are the most helpful, because somehow I feel less distant when friends talk to me like they always did before I left. Share updates on family, school, work, life, sports—whatever it is that you used to talk about with them.”

7. Ask questions about their work.

“Ask not only how we are doing, but ask about our work and try to learn all you can about the people or city where we are serving.”

“I know that this has been said, but truly CARING about the work is the best way to encourage us.”

8. Continue to be a Christian friend and continue to minister to them.

“Don’t stop being the church to us when we leave. Whenever security allows, spiritual conversations are good for our hearts. Missionaries struggle with the same sinful attitudes that plague Christians everywhere. Leaving home to live among unreached peoples, may be a step of faith in the process of sanctification, but it is not a step that roots out all sin. It is likely to lead to and expose all kinds of previously unnoticed and unexpected sin. Having friends that know me, are patient with me, and expect me to be the same struggling sinner I was when I left helps me stay humble when tempted toward arrogance, and hopeful when tempted toward despair.”

“Even for us with strong member care, it is helpful to receive pastoral care from the stateside church’s pastor who many times will know the missionary personally and have the history with them to be able to invest and mentor them and their family and marriage.”

“Ask us those hard questions. Do a little pastoral counseling with us.”

“Please don’t elevate us onto some false pedestal. We are normal people too who have been forgiven much and for some reason God called to live and minister overseas.”

9. Support them financially.

“Finding out if we have any specific needs and meeting those needs is great.”

10. Seek to encourage them when they are on stateside assignment.

“Let us talk to you and your congregations, and small groups. We want to share what God has been doing and would love the opportunity to talk about it, raise awareness and hopefully gain more prayer support.”

“Invite us out to lunch or dinner. Nothing fancy is needed. Remember we’ve just been in places where we may not have been able to even enjoy a little Mexican food.”

No missionary mentioned this to me in emails, but I know it is a blessing when someone shares their summer home or cabin for a missionary family to get away and relax for a few days.

“Let us know about any good books that are must reads. Tell us about any good resources that may benefit our personal growth or ministry work: things like conferences, training for ministry/leadership, and so forth.”