Jack Deere -- The Power of Prayer

No Compromise With The Spirit Of Antichrist

 “Bloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” – (I John 4:1-3 ESV)

An alarming number of Christians have aligned themselves with the spirit of the antichrist. They teach universalism (that you can find salvation apart from Jesus). Many religions acknowledge Jesus as a great prophet, but unless they confess that he is LORD, they cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus is God. And trusting Him is the only way to Heaven. For me to teach anything else would be to give into the spirit of the antichrist, which is the prevailing spirit of the age in which we live. Christians must see this as spiritual warfare. We wage war when we proclaim the truth of the Gospel and by prayer, without fear of those who oppose the message.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me.” – John 14:6 ESV

If you are a Christian, don’t allow yourself to fall under the spell of religious pluralism (the view that all sincere people of other religions will go to Heaven) is growing stronger in our culture. Spending time praying and studying biblical doctrine are ways to protect yourself from deception.

We must seek to live in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or we will begin to comprise the truth and go astray. We must remain spiritually diligent and stay alert.

Believers are to live counter to the culture they live in without being obnoxious. We should be known for our love, yet without compromise.

Prayer And Integrity

 

“Fret not yourself( heat yourself in anger/vexation) because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart. – (Psalm 37: 1-4 ESV)

There are lots of reasons for unanswered prayer. God often delays answers, or he answers differently than we would like. Delays can be for building character in our lives. If it’s a loved one we are praying for, God could be dealing with them in ways we can’t discern. Some of our requests are not in alignment with God’s will. But we must remain consistent in asking and knocking on heaven’s door until He says yes or no.

A lack of integrity can be a hindrance to answered prayer. The NET Bible translates the word faithfulness as integrity:

Trust in the Lord and do what is right.
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity. (1)
Then you will take delight in the Lord,
and he will answer your prayers. (2) – (NET Psalm 37: 3-4)

What “land” have you received from God? Your home and family, your city, and your Church are places God has planted you. King David sought to walk in integrity in his home.

I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.” – Psalm 101: 1-4 ESV

We know of David’s colossal failure with Bathsheba. His sin was costly, but he repented. He was a man after God’s heart because he sought to honor God’s word by keeping the covenant.

It takes discipline to live a life of integrity while being bombarded by media – allured by the pied pipers of Hollywood and big tech. Evil people are not a reason to fret. I believe the Bible teaches an acceleration of wickedness in the last days (2 Timothy 3:1.) Our response to evil is to share the gospel and prayer. And to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21.)

We must learn to carve out time to be alone with God and our thoughts. Learning to pray short prayers throughout our busy days will help us maintain our focus on God.

(1) Integrity – “Tend, Shepard, watch over, guard, faithfulness, honesty, and integrity. Or [feed] security, if the audience is likened to sheep.” – NET Bible (with notes)

(2) Answer your prayers – “or “and he will give you what you desire most.” Heb “and he will grant to you the request of your heart.” – Net Bible (with notes)

Jesus Is Yahweh: The Deity of Christ

Strangers In A Foreign Land Of Digital Delights

I must admit that I’m happy in what author Mark Sayers calls “Non-Places.”(1) These are places where I have access to my digital world. Music downloads, podcasts, and my favorite T.V. dramas. Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook (even though Facebook can be stressful!) are ways to escape the harsh realities of the real world. A good book and a coffee shop is my idea of contentment. I like to escape reality and retreat to my comfortable world. In this world, we do not have to interact with people face to face.

While these things can be good in moderation, they can also dry out our souls and distract us from God. 

The early Christians had to face the stark reality of death daily. The early Church, for the most part, was fearless. While I’m in no hurry to die and leave all my comforts – they lived like pilgrims, just passing through.

The Church Father John Chrysostom wrote, “We are strangers and sojourners. Let us not grieve over any of the world’s painful things. For if you come from a renowned country and from illustrious ancestors, and find yourself in a distant land, known to no one, having neither servants nor wealth, and then someone insults you, would you grieve as though these things had taken place at home? The knowledge that you were in a strange and foreign land would persuade you to bear all easily and to despise hunger, thirst, and any suffering. So consider that you are a stranger and a pilgrim, and do not let anything bother you in foreign territory. You have a city whose builder and creator is God, and the journey is but for a short and little time. Let whoever wishes strike, insult, revile. We are in foreign territory, and live there in difficulty.“(2)

So instead of losing ourselves in this digital utopia we have created – maybe we need to let go of it – just a little. It might be a good idea to consider ourselves foreigners in a strange land. And seek God for a heavenly and eternal perspective on life.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” – Philippians 3:20 (NKJV)

(1) I recommend Mark Sayers book, Strange Days: Life In The Spirit In A Time Of Upheaval.

(2.) Learning Theology With The Church Fathers, Christopher A. Hall, page 198.

The Destructive Nature Of Sin

 

The Word:

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” – 1 Peter 4:17 ESV

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” – Colossians 2:15 ESV

Reflection:

Until we realize the destructive nature of sin, the cross WILL NOT make sense to us. Those who see the cross of Christ as unnecessary or see God as a divine child abuser have no concept of the power of sin. The death of Jesus on the cross disarmed demonic powers and freed us from total enslavement to sin. Jesus’ final sacrifice of himself ended the need for any more bloodshed to atone for sin forever. He gave himself freely out of his love for humanity. Christ paid the sin debt that we could not pay. The cross was a demonstration of God’s self-giving love for humanity.

Yet, much of the Church has neglected the power available to us to live an overcoming life. We all sin, but we do not have to live in complete slavery to it.

As the Church goes, so goes our society.

Cover-ups and scandals plague the Church in America. Disobedient Church leaders and members have re-armed dark principalities and powers through destructive sin patterns. Satan only has power over a believer if we give it to him through unrepentant sin.

The Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, I ask that you would grant repentance to the American Church. You have many faithful gospel witnesses, still standing for and living the truth. But, much of Your Church in America has compromised with sin. Forgive us for not speaking the truth in love to those who do not know You yet. Revive Your Church. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Reflection On Revival

 

The Word:

“Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?” – Psalm 85:6 ESV

Reflection:

We live in a day similar to the time just before the first great awakening in America. In the 1700s the Church in New England was declining morally and spiritually. God used men like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, and John Wesley to help as instruments for revival. But, unlike present-day America, even during their spiritual decline, the colonies had a much stronger biblical foundation than we do today.

In recent decades the Church in America has been guilty of excessive materialism and prayerlessness. And we have become biblically illiterate and resistant to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Sadly, much of the western world is considered post-Christian. It seems (looking at it through natural eyes) irreversible. Europe has only its great cathedrals to point to their past Christian heritage. We in America can look back to the past when Christianity was acceptable in our society. Despite slavery and other obvious sins, the general population embraced a biblical worldview.

I believe the spiritual renewal of Churches in the west will precede revival. God is calling his people to repentance, to return to the faith of the early apostolic Church. This calling is to a radical commitment to Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus will have no rivals. This is a message to the Church.

It puzzles me that we expect non-believers to act like believers. Maybe it’s time we (the Church) start living the truth we proclaim. The world won’t agree with us, but at least they can’t accuse us of hypocrisy.

God still has a remnant in the western world who has not bowed their knees to cultural idols. We must resist cultural Christianity and return to the faith of the early disciples.

Pray for renewal in our churches so that we might see a spiritual revival in America and the rest of the western world. God uses ordinary people to pray and intercede on behalf of the Nations. It’s time to pray for the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in world history.

Watch and Pray: 

Father, would you open our eyes to see what you are doing on the earth. Open the hearts of your people to embrace the gospel that the early disciples both lived and preached. We ask you for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Your Church. Revive us again so that the world will see the truth of the gospel in our lives. And they will be drawn to the same Jesus that the early Church proclaimed. In Jesus’ name.