Father, I have so much for which to be thankful to You.  I have more to be thankful for than I have words to speak.  Our church has so much for which we are thankful to You.  You have been so gracious to us.  When we stop to ponder the wondrous works that You have done, we are overwhelmed with Your kindness, and Your generosity towards us.  That kindness and that generosity which culminated on a cross over 2000 years ago, when You did not withhold Your Son, Jesus Christ, but gave Him up for us, that we may today be called Your “chosen ones!”.  That kindness and generosity that even today is at work, as we see Your gospel being proclaimed not just from the pulpit on Sunday mornings, but each and everyday by men and women who make up this church, who proclaim Your gospel in their homes, at their jobs, and all over the streets of Bellingham and beyond.  That kindness and that generosity that even today is transforming vessels of wrath into vessels of mercy.  That kindness and that generosity that has called us into adoption as Your sons and daughters.

Gracious Father, let us never cease to celebrate Your deeds among the peoples.  As we see people saved, let us celebrate, and drop to our knees and give thanks to You, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  Let us never stop saying thank You.  Let those words be the first words to come out of my mouth as I rise in the morning, and my last words as I lay my head down to sleep at night.  Thank You, thank You, thank You.

Amen

These monthly blog posts were inspired by a daily prayer post that is written by Scotty Smith on the Gospel Coalition website at: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/.  I have found them to be an excellent daily reminder for me of the gift that time in prayer is for us, and I encourage you all to read these each and everyday.

I would also like to post some prayer requests for Redeemer Church, as we see God moving greatly in so many ways, and as we celebrate all the evidences of grace.  Please be in prayer for the following:

1. Our facility – we need prayer for wisdom, discernment, and unity as a church in making the decision whether or not to purchase the building we are meeting in.  If we decide to purchase it, we will need to raise around $50,000 for upfront costs.
2. Church planting team members – we are wanting to see at least 6 people for the Boston team and 6 more for an unreached people group to commit to between 1-2 years to planting the Gospel in these locations.
3. More conversion, more baptisms, more church planters raised up, and more multiplication of gospel communities.

The Glory of Christ is, in essence, a devotional exposition of 2 Corinthians 3:18:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

This text shows that by beholding (or reflecting on) the glory of Christ believers are gradually transformed into the image of Christ through the process of sanctification. Practically, this means the key to growth in the Christian life is not about focusing on us as much as it’s about focusing on Jesus and his life, death on the cross, resurrection, and coming return.

The Glory of Christ

Owen defines the glory of God as “both the holy properties of his natures and the things he has purposed to do,” noting that the only way we can know the glory of God is by faith in and through the person of Christ, who is the image of God and the radiance of His glory (2 Cor. 4:4; Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15). We cannot behold the glory of Christ apart from faith in Christ.

Owen works through the various and endless aspects of Christ’s glory which the Christian is privileged to behold:

• Christ’s Glory as God’s Representative and Revelation (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15; John 1:1;1:18;14:10; 1 John 4:10)
• The Glory of Christ in His Person as Fully God and Fully Man (Gen. 3:15; Ps. 2:7-9; John 1:1-3; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:6-8)
• The Glory of Christ’s Humbling Himself  (Phil. 2:6-8; John 8:58; Heb. 2:14-17)
• The Glory of Christ’s Work as Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5-6; Romans 5:19-21)
• The Glory of Christ’s Exaltation (Luke 24:26; Heb. 1:3-4; Rev. 5:8-14)
• The Glory of Christ in the Old Testament (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 50:5-9; John 5:39; 1 Peter 1:11-12; Hebrews 3:3-6)
• The Glory of Christ’s Union with the Church (1 Peter 2:24; Isa. 53:4-6; Eph. 5:25-32)
• The Glory of Christ in Restoring All Things (Eph. 1:18-20; Col. 1:18-20; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21:1-5)

In this layout of his text, Owen gives us a great diverse list for mediating on the glory of Jesus.

The Benefits of Beholding the Glory of Christ

Why make the effort to behold the glory of Christ by faith? If you desire stronger faith, rest, peace, and joy in Christ, then beholding the glory of Christ is your answer.

Concerning the great benefits of beholding Christ, Owen declares:

It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are spiritually edified and built up in this world, for as we behold his glory, the life and power of faith grow stronger and stronger. It is by faith that we grow to love Christ. So if we desire strong faith and powerful love, which give us rest, peace and satisfaction, we must seek them by diligently beholding the glory of Christ by faith (7).

Beholding the glory of Christ in this life is preparation—small “dawnings of eternal glory”—for the joys of heaven, where we will see Christ in His glory fully.

How We Behold the Glory of Christ

How do we actually do the work of beholding Christ’s glory? Owen sheds much light on the “how-to” of this glorious duty and below are some of his most central insights.

1. Make Up Your Mind that to Behold the Glory of God by Beholding the Glory of Christ is the Greatest Privilege for Believers in This Life

Savoring the glory of Christ here and now is a taste of eternal blessedness!

Owen notes that this is a glorious but hard work in which we as believers are often “lazy and ignorant” and as a result “we do not experience more and more in our souls the visits of grace and the dawnings of eternal glory (10).” This is precisely why we need point number two, prayer.

2. Pray to God Asking for the Spirit’s Help to Behold the Glory of Christ

Because we are weak and frail, we need God’s help by His Spirit to behold the glory of His Son (John 16:13-14). The entire Godhead is at work in this and Jesus prays this for us (John 17:24). Amazing!

Christ’s glory cannot be seen or understood apart from faith fixed on divine revelation, the Word of God. Memorize and mediate on passages of Christ’s glory (see the chapter references above for some ideas).

3. Fill Your Mind with Scriptural Thoughts of Christ

Owen encourages believes to “learn how to behold the glory of Christ by remembering how you once set your mind on world things” (23). This means take the concentrated effort in which you once anticipated and imagined partaking of your past favorite sins and use an even greater focus to behold and mediate on the glory of Christ in God’s Word.

A Prayer to Behold Christ’s Glory

Blessed Jesus! We can add nothing to you, nothing to your glory. But it is a joy to us that you are what you are—that you are so gloriously exalted at the right hand of God. We long to behold that glory more and more according to your prayer and promise. Amen (68).

God, as I read these words, I am brought low.  I am humbled beneath your power and your glory.  I, like the psalmist, have looked upon you in the sanctuary, and truly there is nothing more beautiful, more captivating, and more awe-inspiring, than a vision of who You are.

God, I have been thinking a lot recently about Your steadfast love, and it astounds me.  I am astounded at the depth of Your love, a love so deep and so wide, that my puny feeble mind can only see a fraction of it.  I am astounded that You would love me with a steadfast love, when my love for You has been anything but steadfast.  I am astounded that YOU, the creator of the universe, would even consider loving ME!  I am astounded that even when my heart is far from You, and I fail You, and I disobey You, You still love me.  There is absolutely nothing more astonishing to me than this.  And then I remember how that love was made manifest … by the death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:8).  God, today, I thank you with all my heart, for Your steadfast love.

Father, as I go through this day, and I am distracted by the cares and the busyness of this world, I ask that You would give me a thirst for You.  I ask that You would give me a hunger for Your presence.  I ask that you would remind me of Your presence, and that You would bring to my mind, a vision of who You are.  I long for this thirst that the psalmist speaks of.  I want to be so parched, that I will do ANYTHING to be near You, and to drink from the living water that flows from Your Son Jesus.  I want to feast upon You.  Let not a day go by when I do not remember Your steadfast love, and praise You in response to this love, with joyful lips.

Amen.

The bible is filled with descriptions of the attributes of God.  Last month I discussed the importance of using our prayer time to adore Him.  One way to do this is to pray through a list of the attributes of God, both the incommunicable attributes (those which God alone possesses), and the communicable attributes (those which God shares with us).  Although you can likely find slightly different lists in different theology textbooks, we at Redeemer often refer to the list in Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem.  I hope you will print this list out, have it next to your bible, and pray through some or all of these attributes of God, each and every day as you adore Him, who alone is perfect in all His ways (Matthew 5:48).

Incommunicable attributes

1. Independence – Acts 17:24-25
2. Unchangeableness – Psalm 102:25-27
3. Eternity – Psalm 90:2
4. Omnipresence – Jeremiah 23:23-24
5. Unity – Deuteronomy 6:4

Communicable attributes

Attributes describing God’s being

1. Spirituality – John 4:2
2.  Invisibility – John 1:18

Mental attributes

       1. Knowledge (Omniscience) – Job 37:16

2.  Wisdom – Job 12:13

3. Truthfulness (and Faithfulness) – John 17:3

Moral attributes

1. Love – 1 John 4:8
2. Mercy, Grace, Patience – Exodus 34:6
3. Holiness – Psalm 99:9
4. Peace (or order) – 1 Corinthians 14:33
5. Righteousness/Justice – Deuteronomy 32:4
6. Jealousy – Exodus 20:5
7. Wrath – Romans 1:18

Attributes of purpose

1. Will – Ephesians 1:11
2. Freedom – Psalm 115:3
3. Omnipotence (Power, Sovereignty) – Luke 1:37

Summary attributes

1. Perfection – Matthew 5:48
2. Blessedness – 1 Timothy 6:15
3. Beauty – Psalm 27:4

God gave me a very special gift last year.  It came in the mail in late summer.  It was a small booklet, maybe 40 pages long.  It was a booklet that would change the lives of 400,000 people forever.  And I could not read a single word of it.

At the end of 2010, my wife Stephanie was praying, and asking God in what particular ways He wanted us to follow Him in the coming year.  She heard from Him, and believed that He was encouraging her (and I) to give away a greater percentage of our income that we normally do.  She did not share with me what God had told her, but instead asked me to spend some time in prayer over this as well.  God told me the exact same percentage.  When I told Steph what I believed God was calling us to for 2011, her eyes filled with tears of joy.

As part of our giving, and as we prayed about how to steward this money well, I felt called to start investing in bible translation work.  I have always had a great interest in language, and since becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, that interest was transformed into a desire to see God’s word translated for those who do not have it.  I had heard of Wycliffe and the Seed company, and after time on the internet, as well as time in prayer, Stephanie and I decided to begin monthly financial and prayer support for a bible translation project in Mozambique for a people group of 400,000 who had never experienced God’s word in their own tongue.

Through the Seed company, we would get quarterly updates on how our project was doing.  But then, one day in late summer, a package came in the mail.  It was sent to us from the Seed company, and it was the first ever translation of the Gospel of Mark for this particular people group in Mozambique.  It is impossible for me to convey to you the inexpressible joy that opening this package filled me with.  Everyday for weeks afterward, the first thing that I would think about every morning, was this huge population of people, who would now get to read God’s word in their own language.  It was one of the greatest encouragements to my faith I have ever received.

There is a massive need for missionaries to GO to the ends of the earth and share the gospel with people who have never heard It before.  Clearly Jesus has called all of us, as His disciples to now “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).  We believe that many at Redeemer are called to GO, and indeed we have people within our church family, who are preparing even now to GO, to some very far off and very dangerous places, because their hearts are breaking for those who have never heard the Gospel.

Not all of us are called to go to foreign lands, but we can all be a part of the work that these international missionaries are doing by sending them, by praying fervently for them, by encouraging them, and by supporting them financially in this work.  This work comes at a great cost, and without the support of the church body, this work will not get done.  Some of us are called to fulfill the great commission by quitting our jobs, boarding an airplane, and living among a people group in a distant land.  And the rest of us are called to fulfill the great commission by sending them with our time, our prayers and our money.

We will be posting on the City periodic letters from members of Redeemer who have been involved in short term or long term international missions work, or who are preparing to GO.  If you are interested in learning more about how you can support international missions, please contact one of the elders or deacons of Redeemer.  If you are interested in supporting the Seed company, you can learn more at: www.theseedcompany.org/

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. – Psalm 29:1-2

O God, You are holy, and You are glorious, and You are strong.  You are a mighty God, and You are mighty to save.  Forgive me Father for how much time I have spent petitioning You in prayer, and how little time I have spent simply adoring You for who You are.  I could spend eternity praising You, and it would not be enough time.  I could spend eternity, pondering the depth of Your holiness, and it would not be enough.  You alone are worthy to be worshipped and praised and glorified.

Father, I thank you for the gift of scripture, not just because of how much it reveals about You, but because of how much it reveals how we are to approach You, and how we are to pray.  Teach me Lord, how to pray through scripture.  Teach me how to worship You through scripture.  Teach me how to ascribe to You the glory due Your name.  Please create in me a pure heart, a heart that has You at it’s center, and a heart that has You as it’s focus.

Father, teach me what it means to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and to gaze upon Your beauty” (Psalm 27:4)).  Teach us, as a church what it means to adore You in prayer.

Amen.

As we continue to learn what it means to be a praying church, we want to give you some tools to aid you in this, as well as to offer suggestions of specific things you can be praying for.  Many of us (including myself) spend far too much time “asking” God for things, and far too little time praising Him in prayer.  There is nothing wrong with petitioning God, and clearly Jesus Himself, taught us to ask God for “anything” (John 15:7).  However, to be rightly oriented to God, we would be well served by spending significant amounts of our prayer time simply adoring Him.  One pneumonic that may be helpful to you is A.C.T.S.

Adoration – spending time praising and worshipping Him for who He is and what He has accomplished on the cross, praying through His attributes, praying through Psalms of adoration such as Psalm 29.

Confession – confessing our sins to God and repenting before His throne of grace.

Thanksgiving – thanking God for His daily provision and for His immeasurable grace, as evidenced by the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ.

Supplication – asking God ….. for anything, as you strive to abide in Him, living in light of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus.

I hope you will spend time this week using ACTS to guide your prayers.  And I hope this week your prayer time is richly blessed by Him.

In the upcoming weeks, the elders of Redeemer would ask that you be in prayer specifically for Good Friday and Easter, that many people who need to hear the Gospel would be invited to Redeemer, and that we would get to witness many salvations and baptisms, as those who hear the Gospel accept it and are saved by Him.

As I am writing this our church is 12 days away from launching a 7pm service in a new location somewhere in our city but as of now we don’t know exactly where. We made the decision to launch this new service two days ago, so while we may not be procrastinating we sure could have done some better planning. But as we look at some immediate strategic opportunities to introduce a whole new group of people to Jesus we feel like this is what God wants us to pursue.

On top of not having a facility, we don’t have a core group, we don’t have a budget, we don’t have a band. However, we do have a good and generous God who has more than enough to supply every need, and we have a church asking Him to do just that. While I wouldn’t recommend what we are doing as a good strategy for other churches to follow, I will say it is a practical reminder that we need to pray. Because of the short time frame and the incredible lack of resources we are conscious of our dependence and need. Truthfully, we are always completely dependent but so often we don’t realize it because at the end of the day we think we are pretty capable to build the church on our own and without much prayer. We come up with vision and strategy and ideas about how to multiply churches and reach our cities and then we get to work on putting those initiatives into action, often without much prayer, if any.

As we look at Nehemiah in chapter 2 we see a telling, encouraging, and convicting narrative of how God provided resources for the rebuilding of a city. Nehemiah is standing before Artaxerxes and after some brief interaction the king asks; “What are you requesting?” Think about the question and who is asking it. The Persian King is asking his cupbearer what he wants. The one asking has the resources to supply just about anything requested as well as the authority and power to bestow it. But Nehemiah knows something that we so often forget as we labor in the church, God owns everything and can provide anything through anyone at anytime He wants. Before Nehemiah responds to the king’s question he “prayed to the God of heaven.” In that moment, most likely silent and standing before the king, he prays. And this isn’t just a feeble half hearted hope, Nehemiah prays to the God of Heaven. He knows who holds the check-book and so Nehemiah prays and asks God and then he asks the king.

Are you lacking musicians? Do you have potential elders? Are you seeing conversions? Well, are you asking? Now, I don’t embrace a prosperity theology that attempts to turn God into a giant vending machine pumping out treats if you only hit the right buttons. That’s offensive. But it is clear throughout Scripture that God is generous and does provide what’s needed to bring glory to His Name.

God often connects the resources needed for the mission with prayer. For example, Jesus tells us “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9.37-38). I’ll often read a text like this, spend three minutes in prayer, and then go spend four weeks recruiting people. Sadly, I do this with just about everything in the church. I don’t know what to preach so I’ll look at commentaries or check out other church websites for what they’re doing. If we aren’t seeing conversions I’ll read a book on evangelism. When our kid’s ministry doesn’t have enough volunteers I’ll do a passionate appeal to the church telling them that Jesus would serve the kids. Now, to be clear, these are all good and right things to do, but there not sufficient. Where’s the prayer? Jesus sees need and says ‘pray,’ we see the need and plan. Now, don’t drop planning, but perhaps it’s time to fall on our knees and really start asking.

You Don’t Have Because Of Why You Ask

I am grateful for the way James pulls together prayer and provision in his letter in chapter 4 with a right desire in the asking. In James 4.2-3 we read; “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.” Here we see both the call to ask but to do some with right motives. In other words, God is inviting us to ask Him for whatever it is we believe is going to result in His glory. When we ask for things wrongly to spend on our passion, James means asking for selfish, adulterous, ungodly, self-exalting, God-cheapening reasons. Meaning, you can ask for good things with wrong motives, and by doing so, not receive what you ask for. For example, you plead with God for more people to meet Jesus. Great prayer. But why are you asking? Is this about God’s glory or yours? You ask God to fill every seat in the church building. Good prayer. But why are you asking? Is this for your reputation or for the fame of Jesus?

What we see in Nehemiah is a man asking the God of Heaven to provide resources ultimately for God’s own glory. One of the ways we know this is the refrain in Nehemiah “the good hand of my God was upon me.” Nehemiah isn’t looking to rebuild a city for his name. He isn’t asking for himself. Nehemiah, standing before the King of Persia appeals to the power God for the glory of God. Let us be people who ask, and who ask rightly and when we receive what we have asked for, with Nehemiah say it’s because “the good hand of my God was upon me.”

Jesus Asks On Our Behalf

James tells us to ask rightly, but if we are honest, not matter what we ask for we know our motives are mixed. I imagine this was true for Nehemiah to some extent, and I know is true of me way too often. I honestly don’t believe I have ever asked God for anything without the temptation to spend it on my own passions. This may be true for you as well. But amazingly, what we see in Nehemiah, a God-glorifying prayer-dependent leader, is a precursor to a perfect Leader who would give Himself to prayer for the good of others and the glory of God. Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus asking the Father, the God of Heaven, for the good of His Church who are so needy. As the previous post emphasized, Nehemiah must not firstly be an example for us to follow but a pointer to our Perfect Substitute who prays for us and gives good gifts to us, even when we forget to ask, or even ask wrongly. Think about the comfort that comes from having Jesus pray for the good of the church you serve knowing that He never asks wrongly. Jesus loves the church. Jesus sees the needs of your church. Jesus asks the Father and the Father gives good gifts. Knowing we have such a strong and generous and kind God who sees us through Christ and who over time conforms even our selfish requests to be about His glory and not our own, let’s pray. Ask knowing that God’s good hand is upon us because of the pierced hands of Christ. I am sure there is so much in your church that you need or would like for the mission. You see lots of needs and lots of lack. God may be giving you big dreams for His glory in your city and in this world. Praises Jesus for the dreams He is giving, now pray in the name of Jesus for the resources needed. Go to the God of Heaven and ask Him to supply every need. Ask Him for His glory and where your motives are mixed ask Him to purify those as well. Who knows what would really happen in our cities if the church just started asking.

Ask

God of Heaven, I must first confess that so often I see needs in the church and spend way too much time working to fill them and far too little time praying for you to supply for them. I know it is right to labor hard in planning but it is glorious and good and practical to labor hard in prayer. Make me, make us, a people that love to pray. Not only, or even primarily to get things from you, but because we love to commune with you. And yet as the most generous Father, you love to give good gifts for us to enjoy and you provide all the resources needed for your church to thrive. In the church I serve there have been far too many times where we limited what we do by what resources we had. Instead of asking you for more we just did less.  We look out at our cities and see how ripe it is for harvest, we see thousands in every neighborhood that don’t know you, and then we look at our church rosters and realize we don’t have the numbers to go get them. We are asking for more laborers. We want our churches to grow and multiply and preach and reach to the end of your creation that billions who don’t know Jesus will fall in love with Him. And as we receive resources may you make us remember that it is only because your good hand is upon us, because of the pierced hand of Christ. All of this we pray for your glory, asking for the good of your people and the fame of your Son.

My wife was giving birth to our first child and things didn’t go as planned. Emma got stuck and both my daughter and my wife were in trouble. It was a frightening time for all of us. But one of the things I remember most about those hours of uncertainty was seeing my wife struggle in pain and fear. I watched a strong courageous woman keep fighting while her body was breaking. At one point I just started weeping. I couldn’t control it and I didn’t want to. I adore my bride and I ache when she hurts. I wasn’t as concerned with what would happen but what was happening. In that moment I saw one I love with deep passion in great trouble and crumbling, so I wept. What I felt was natural. When you love someone, really love someone, if they ache you weep.

This is how Nehemiah must have felt as he received the news that God’s church, and His city, was in shambles. Nehemiah wept because the church was broken (Neh 1.3-4). The report had come in and it wasn’t good. What once was glorious had fallen greatly. There had been many attempts to rebuild the broken city but they weren’t successful. On top of broken walls, the city was full of broken lives and spirits. Imagine a hundred years of rubble. Day in, day out, living with the visible and constant reminders of brokenness. It was like that for God’s church during the days of Nehemiah and it is like that for many today. I have friends laboring in places where Jesus used to be adored. In fact, there are a lot of those “used to” places. Far too many. So we weep.

But even more than a broken city, Nehemiah wept for the glory of God. In Nehemiah 1.11 we see his prayer conclude with a word of delight in the fear of God’s name. Compelled by fear, reverence, and awe for God is a constant theme for Nehemiah. What is true for Nehemiah is also true for others. Those who delight to fear God’s name are moved to tears as His name is maligned, cheapened, or ignored.  Throughout the book of Nehemiah we see that the central motivation must have been the glory of God. He continually made clear that any advances in the mission were due to God’s good hand. He rallied people for the mission by grounding people in God’s promises and power. Nehemiah even stopped oppression for the reputation of God and His church among their enemies. Nehemiah cared what people thought of God and so he wanted to see the church rebuilt, renewed, and thriving. Think about it this way, how gloriously will God be displayed as He revives the UK? How ignored is Jesus in Boston where He is seemingly forgotten? Imagine the kind of praise that would resound if New York City experienced revival. And we could go on. Just think, what would happen if the church in your area came to life and everyone could perceive “that the work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Neh 6.16).

Tears Produce Prayer

Nehemiah is passionate for God’s people and God’s glory so when his eyes are opened to the condition of the church he weeps and mourns and fasts and prays, for months. When was the last time you cried that your crucified King isn’t adored in your city? Or walked by a church that now preaches a different gospel and fell down and prayed? If you love the church and you love the glory of God you will weep. Like Nehemiah you will cry out for help. And this kind of prayer isn’t something you get to do, it’s something you have to do. When I saw Kati hurting, I hurt, because I love her. When I see the Church hurting, I hurt, because I love Her. This isn’t something you work up but something that spills out. Passion produces tears, and tears produce prayer.

It is helpful to note that Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter 1 is not helpless or hopeless sobbing. If you read the entire prayer you will see a man greatly moved but through those tears he is confident that God can do something. God invites us to mourn with the promise and hope the He hears and He can heal. He invites us to confess sin, corporate and private. He listens to the cries of His people and He cares. He invites us to weep and pray. So let’s do just that. Let your passion for the church and the glory of God produce weeping prayer.

Jesus Wept

One of the dangers in looking at the prayer life of Nehemiah is we would see him as the hero and make every effort to be like him. That isn’t all bad. God uses men and women to inspire us through their lives and model for us ways to live. Their passion and pursuit of God can help us and we should imitate others as they imitate Jesus. But that’s just it. No matter how godly someone appears, they are at best, imperfect imitations of Jesus. The goal in looking at how Nehemiah prayed isn’t to make ‘every effort’ to be like Nehemiah, but directed to the One who prayed with more passion and tears than Nehemiah could possibly imagine. As we weep on behalf of the broken church we have to see the One who first wept for us, a broken people. In fact, throughout the story of Nehemiah we aren’t first or foremost like Nehemiah. We are the shamed, busted, scared, vulnerable, rebellious, apathetic, needy, poor, stained people in need of intercession, in need of a weeping Savior. In Jesus, that’s what we have.

Jesus cried in compassion for Mary and Martha and others (John 11.35) even though He knew the situation would emerge in life and glory. Jesus grieves over the rebellious city, Jerusalem, in a touching lament for His people to be brought near (Matthew 23.37-38). And on the Cross, Jesus cries out while spilling blood. There are many churches in shame and dishonor waiting for renewal. But because Jesus is the Hero, our shameful indifference toward the church is forgiven and as we see the infinite price Jesus paid for His church and how He much loves His bride, our sometimes cold-hearts are stirred to love God’s glory and pray for His church. In other words, as we hear Jesus weep we cry out. We hurt for the church but do so with hope because of the One who can heal the church. Passion produces tears. The more you love the church the more you’ll mourn and fast and pray. Weeping produces prayer. The less people adore God and dishonor His name the more you will fall down and cry out. Because Jesus is the Hero, we can weep and pray knowing that Jesus can wipe away tears as He renews the church.

Jesus Wept, So We Cry Out

O LORD God of Heaven,

We look out at the church and we can see so much to be hopeful about. People are meeting Jesus. People are hearing the Gospel. There seem to be whole nations turning to you. And yet, there are so many others that are running from you. The church, in places like France and Germany, have experienced some great revivals, and yet now appear as if they never knew you. In the Unites States, in regions like New England, we see Universities that began with the mission to train men to preach Jesus, now turned into institutions that ignore and even hate Him. Church building after building flipped into someone’s home leaving a steeple-sized reminder that there used to be a church there. We long for the church to live. We ache over every loss of every congregation, every fracture, every split, every weakening of your people. And above our sadness over the state of your church in far too many places is our great pain that the value of your Name is not esteemed.

So, like Daniel we cry out that you would hear and forgive, and pay attention and act. We do not come in our righteousness, for we deserve open shame. True, the church has enemies but so often Her brokenness and disrepair is the product of our neglect and abuse. And so we come before you God of Heaven, our great and awesome God, and ask that you would incline your ear and hear, that you would open your eyes and see our desolations and the churches that are called by your name. We come to you not according to our merit but your mercy and ask, for your name’s sake, for the glory of your Son, for the fame of Him among all people, that you would revive, renew, and rebuild and restore. All for the glory of your beautiful name, which we delight to fear, and the good of your church, that we know Jesus will make beautiful. And it is in the good and mighty name of our weeping Savior we pray, Amen.

Great Trouble And Shame

The condition wasn’t good. The city was burnt. The walls destroyed. The worship anemic. The people discouraged. The enemy strong. These were some of the challenges Nehemiah faced as he considered leaving Susa and traveling 1,000 miles to Jerusalem to labor for revival. The first few verses of Nehemiah 1 give us a glimpse into the desperate situation of the people of God and books like Ezra and the rest of Nehemiah provide even more background as to how fierce the opposition was and how God’s church was in “great trouble and shame.”

What Can You Do?

As you look at the condition of your local church or the church in your city or region what do you see? Do you see a Spirit-filled people proclaiming with boldness the penal substitution of Jesus? Is the church passionately engaged and actively laboring for the fame of Jesus among all people? Are churches being multiplied? Are people being saved? Is there aching and weeping because God’s glory is dismissed and His value ignored? Is worship fervent and powerful? Or, is the church lukewarm, puttering along in complacency with Jesus more of a mascot than a King? In far too many places the church is in “great trouble and shame.” What can you do?

Or, perhaps you’re part of a church planting or replanting team facing stone heart resistance, and rock hard ground, laboring and toiling for the glory of Jesus among people who are not just uninterested but hostile. You have almost no resources, a handful of discouraged people, a rusted legacy, and an oppressive and strong enemy. For example, “one study suggests that Christianity will be statistically irrelevant in countries like the Netherlands & Switzerland within a few decades. In a recent British poll of people claiming to be ‘Christian’, less than half believed that Jesus rose from the dead. Germany has seen a year-on-year decline in Christianity over the last 25 years yet Islam has grown. In France mediums, faith healers and fortune-tellers earn as much money as medical doctors” (Steve Timmis). This is the context and condition many finds themselves in. So, what can you do?

The First Answer, The Last Answer

When confronted with the condition of the church in Jerusalem Nehemiah’s first response was to pray. In fact, as you read the book of Nehemiah, you realize that he never stopped praying. In 13 chapters we see at least 11 different occurrences of prayer. Nehemiah prays in private and public. He prayed by himself and with the church. He prayed at planned times and on the spot. Some of the prayers are short and some long. Nehemiah prayed for himself and others. There are prayers of praise and confession and repentance and commitment. He has prayers saturated with Scripture and others a humble collection of just a few simple words. There is no set pattern to all of Nehemiah’s prayers but the ever-present reality that he prayed.

We see from Nehemiah 1.5-6 precious truths that drove Nehemiah to pray, and can help motivate us to do the same. God is strong and for us. We pray, in part, because God is completely capable of answering. He is the “LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God.” But that’s not all. He actually wants to answer prayer as the “God who keeps covenant and steadfast love.” So often what keeps us from praying is a functional disbelief that God is God and God is good. The other thing Nehemiah understood, and far too often we don’t, is that we are weak and needy and so much less impressive than we think (you’re welcome). In fact, often our prayerlessness is arrogance. Pride is one of the greatest obstacles to prayer. We believe if we plan more, work harder, keep pushing, cast vision, make good decisions, the church will live. But what we see in Nehemiah is a man who did all those things but consistently in the atmosphere of prayer. Can that be said of you? To my shame, I know it can’t for me.

Jesus Prays The Church To Life

So where do we go from here? The great and good news for prayerless people who long for revival, is that there is only One who prayed without ceasing as He labored so the Church would live. Nehemiah is a precursor, an echo, to the One who would fast and pray and die for revival as the Savior who would crush Satan, cover sin, kill death, and promise resurrection. In places like John 17 we see Jesus intercede for the Church. We hear the strong words of this righteous man lifted on our behalf. Even on the Cross as Jesus died in our place we hear Him pray. Prayers of intercession, promise, praise, of completion. Jesus is the one who prays the church to life. Let me state that again, Jesus is THE ONE who prays the Church to life. He cares infinitely more about Her ‘trouble and shame’ then we ever do or ever will. The sure and certain hope is that even in our prayerlessness He is still interceding for us. And as Jesus prays the church to life the church will start to pray.

As we labor as church planters, Gospel leaders, blood bought sons and daughters, may we start praying like the One who never stops. As Marin Lloyd-Jones wrote, “Let us lay hold upon Him and plead with Him to vindicate His own truth and the doctrines which are so dear to our hearts, that the church may be revived and masses of people may be saved.”

Jesus taught us much about how to pray, and He never tells us to learn how to pray, and then start praying.  Instead He tells us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28).  That is ME!  I am weary and tired and distracted and heavy laden, and Jesus invites me to come to Him anyway!  He invites me to come to Him with my distractions, with my apathy, and HE will give me rest.  Jesus instructs us to come to Him as children.  “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16).  Those of you who are blessed to get to spend time with children know how they come to you.  They come messy.  They are often selfish, and distracted.  And they are honest …. brutally honest.  This is how we are invited to start praying!

God has been doing a work in me, and has been stirring in me, through the work of His Holy Spirit, an increasing desire to pray and to grow in prayerfulness.  And as I grow in prayer, I also desire to see our church grow in prayer.  When I look at Redeemer, I see a church filled with men and women who love to read their bibles, and are strong in theology, and I praise God for that.  It seems to me that now we are entering a season when God is calling us to immerse ourselves in prayer.  We need to again be reminded of the incredible privilege it is to communicate with and listen to and speak with our heavenly Father, and we need to be reminded of the incredible power that prayer wields.  We need to remember that entire revivals through which hundreds of thousands of people have been saved, were started by a handful of people, on their knees, crying out for God to save.

We will be posting periodic prayer requests, as well as resources for you to grow in your prayer life.  This week, I am asking all of you who are reading this, to please pray that we would become a praying church.

Father, we love and adore you.  You are entirely worthy of unceasing prayer and worship.  I repent today, that I have spent far too little time pursuing You in prayer, when You spent the life of Your son, pursuing me.  I ask you now, today, Father to send Your Holy Spirit, to fill the saints of Redeemer, to give them hearts and minds that long to speak to you, to listen to you, and to worship you, in the splendor of Your Holiness.  And I ask you today, to make us a praying church.  Amen.

We will have more info on how to apply for the 2012-2013 Gospel Leader Residency in the coming weeks if you are interested.

What Does it Mean to Live an Ordinary Life with Gospel Intentionality?

Sometimes, every day seems the same.

Boring, even.

We wake up at the same time. We go through the same morning routine before heading off to work, or school, or whatever God has placed before us in His (sometimes non-obvious) providence.

Many approach these events as just that—events. They are things we do that take up time and resources, only to require doing again the next day. But along with these events and routines, we’ve, as Christians, been given the Great Commission—a joyous call to make disciples in response to the saving work of our risen Lord and King, Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20).

Sometimes we think we have to free up our schedules in order to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples. But here’s the good part—whatever routines or events God has placed you in, He’s placed you there, in part, to make disciples of Jesus for His glory. This means we get to do things that are already in our schedule, with a new intentionality—a gospel intentionality.

This means that mission –a reference to the Great Commission- is not an event.

Mission is a lifestyle.

This idea can be expressed more tangibly as “living ordinary life with Gospel intentionality”. Steve Timmis and Tim Chester describe gospel intentionality as going through ordinary life with the intentionality or purpose of a gospel ambassador.

All of us have some sort of routine, something we ordinarily do.

You will still (by God’s grace) wake up at the same time. You will probably eat breakfast. You will go to work, school, or wherever God has placed before you in His providence.

But, as an ambassador of Christ and minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5), redeemed by the blood of Christ, you get to go through your routine with the prayerful intent and desire of pointing people to Christ in hopes that they will come to a saving relationship with him. Our new gospel identity makes this mission our lifestyle.

And that means gospel-driven intentionality affects everything we do—especially the ordinary stuff.

Gospel intentionality affects the way you talk to the barista when you order coffee. Be gracious and kind with them, just as Christ has been so gracious with us, and get to know them with the hope that you can build relationships with them and get an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

Gospel intentionality affects your interactions with others around the water cooler at work. Use the times people are gossiping to speak positive truth about the victims, because even though Christ has all the “dirt” on us, He still approaches His Father in our favor.

Gospel Intentionality affects your interactions with your neighbors. Know your neighbors to the point that you can ask for their help, and they can ask for yours. When they thank you for your help give a simple, authentic, gospel reason as to why you served, in hopes that this would create an opportunity for a gospel conversation later on.

Gospel Intentionality affects how you use your meal times. Use a couple of your 21 meals each week to invite your neighbors and non-Christian friends over for food. Use this time over a meal to get to know your neighbors and non-Christian friends better, looking for opportunities to share the gospel.

Gospel Intentionality affects how you interact with your kiddos. As you raise them, you get the opportunity to help grow them in the gospel and lead them to Jesus—that’s working to fulfill the Great Commission right inside of your home!

Gospel Intentionality affects how you study for school. Instead of studying alone, you can work with other students to develop friendships and create opportunities to share the gospel.

When you go on your weekly play-date with another parent and your kids are running around playing and you get a few moments to converse with a fellow adult, pray for opportunities to speak about Jesus. By God’s grace and the help of the Spirit, you can even use the ordinary event of a play-date with gospel intentionality by asking your friend what they think about Jesus, religion, or the gospel.

When there’s a game or show on T.V. that you were planning to watch, invite people who don’t know Jesus to watch with you. (Here’s a tip: start with your neighbors!) Let them grub on your nachos and as you work to develop genuine friendships that will hopefully lead to their new life in Christ.

Every step of your routine is a chance to reflect on the gospel, and how while you were a sinner, Christ died for you.  Praise God that our salvation is not based on how well we have represented Jesus, or how well we represent Jesus in the future. Let this grace God has shown drive us to point others to him in gospel conversations through our ordinary routines, in hopes that Jesus would save them as well.

Additional Resources

30 Ways to Engage in Your Workplace

8 Ways To Engage Missionally