My Sports Woes

It's been a tough season for me. My Cardinals did not make the postseason for the first time in years. They have been "my team" since 1964.

My Alabama Crimson Tide, which I deemed invincible this year, lost the national championship game. Former staff members at Second caused me to fall in love with Alabama.

My sports hopes for this season now rest on my Cowboys. Anyone who knows football knows this is an iffy peg to hang your hat on. We'll see. Go Dallas.

Ephesians 6:18d-g

Ephesians 6:18d-g

Pray. Request. Stay Alert. Persevere.

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Eph. 6:18d   (Holman) . . .with every prayer. . .

 

"Every prayer" is prayer in all its many facets. We pray "at all times," in all circumstances, and must pray "with every prayer," in many different ways. Variety in situations requires variety in prayer. As our interaction with people has variety–it is not all asking, all telling, all laughing, all crying, all verbal–thus it is with God.

Since prayer is effective in many forms, we should use every method and approach in prayer. Some prayers are spoken or sung, others are silent, being desires or thoughts of love directed to God. Solomon offered a long prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 6:12-42). Nehemiah offered a short prayer before the king (Nehemiah 2:4). We can cry in panic, as in Peter's, "Lord, save me!" We can talk solely for pleasure, as in, "Lord, I love you. I enjoy you."

Be versatile, learn to use "every prayer." Thanksgivings have to be offered; pray often, "Thank you, Lord." Confessions need to be made; say often, "I have sinned." Make requests for ourselves, and present intercessions on behalf of others.

"Every prayer" covers all settings. Public prayers in corporate worship teach and inspire others to pray. We pray in our social lives, enhancing the fellowship we enjoy with other Christians. We pray in our home lives at the family altar and at meals. We have private prayer, prayers of the closet, when we are alone with God.

These times of secret prayer will make or break our over-all prayer life. My own private prayer time, having often vacillated between the extremes of joyful ups and painful downs, has evolved over the years. Daily Bible reading eventually became easy for me, but daily private prayer time continues to be difficult.

I did it for years first thing in the morning, but often found myself groggy or too preoccupied with the day's upcoming schedule to give God my best. I have tried doing it at night, before falling asleep, in preparation for the next day. I now do daily Bible reading in my insomnia hours of the night, and do prayer usually before heading to work. I urge us, find what works best for you, when your mind is its sharpest, and then stay with it. God deserves our best.

Hudson Taylor, one of Christian history's greatest missionaries, was always pressed about with people wanting to have access to him. It was hard for him to have private time with God in prayer and Bible reading, but he knew it was vital.

People who worked with him told of how they would hear a match struck at 2 a.m. and then long see the flicker of candlelight. However weary he was, Hudson Taylor's time with God was from 2 to 4 a.m., for only then could he be undisturbed before God. E. M. Bounds, famous prayer champion and Methodist Pastor, prayed from 4 to 7 AM every day. George Mueller, considered by many to be the most powerful pray-er of the modern era, would spend 15 to 30 minutes on his knees reading the Bible; he said after this he "only then began really to pray."

With God's help, give yourself to developing an effective private prayer and Bible reading time. Without it, all else in preparation for Christian living is vain. Private prayer is vital. I remind us, in the private place of prayer, in the garden, Christ prayed while Peter slept. Later, in the palace, Christ was faithful and Peter fell. Let secret prayer be the reservoir from which "every prayer" flows.

 

Eph. 6:18e   . . .and request, . . .

 

Whereas "every prayer" is more general, denoting prayer in its many varied forms and methods, "request" is specific, referring to definite petitions. In light of our context, Christian warfare, we are probably safe to assume Paul was thinking primarily of specific requests made in times of temptation.

We believers must display outward godliness, for if we fail in behavior, our wit­ness dwindles in effectiveness. Be unselfish. For the sake of Christ, be­lievers, and the lost, strive for holiness. In every conflict of our spiritual warfare, since we need the victory only God can provide, never be afraid or timid to make specific requests for yourself. Note my emphasis on "specific" requests. Pray in such a way that we can know whether or not God has granted our "request." Specific requests allow God to answer specifically, and thus gain appropriate glory.

 

Eph. 6:18f   . . .and stay alert in this. . .

 

All armor in the world cannot protect a soldier who is asleep. "Stay alert." Being attentive and vigilant bespeaks prayer by intent, the result of effort and inconvenience to self, "the sort of prayer about which trouble is taken" (Gore). "Stay alert", even to the loss of sleep if necessary. Our conflict with temptation is lifelong. The necessity for constant vig­ilance in prayer never ceases. Never be careless. "Stay alert", take every opportunity, and im­prove every chance, to pray.

Watch not only for occasions to pray, but also for the answer, as we do when we send a text, email, or letter to someone we love. If we lose interest in the response to our prayer, do not expect God to be overly concerned about it.

In Gethsemane, Jesus warned the disciples, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (Matthew 26:41a). Failure to "stay alert" leads to disaster, "for the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41b). Like Peter, James, and John, we, too, often sleep when we should be staying alert and pray­ing.

 

Eph. 6:18g   (Holman) . . .with all perseverance. . .

 

God delights in persistence. It shows we are serious, mean business; earnest, not dabbling. God always answers our requests. He says yes, no, or wait.

The lat­ter brings "per­­severance" into play. "Yes" excites and encourages us. As God grants spe­ci­fic requests, we are uplifted. "No" develops in us a sub­­mis­sive spirit. Often, the greatest miracles in prayer are those wrought in the hearts of the ones praying. Prayer usually changes not only things, but also the one who prays.

"Wait" spurs "perseverance," keeps us de­pending on, and thus focused on, Him. In "wait," God conveys­ a priceless blessing, His very self, to His children.

Let me illustrate. If I asked everyone in this room who had been praying for a particular matter for over 20 years to stand, I would quickly have to tell them to sit. If they stood very long, thus forced to dwell on their prayer request, their eyes would fill with tears.

Why? Because if they have prayed for a matter that long, it is obviously the apple of their eye, the yearning of their essence. One thing that has helped keep them faithful in prayer so long is the burden of their desire. Yes, it is painful, and grief is never fun, but can we not also see God has used this very pain to keep our minds focused on Him, thereby keeping our hearts riveted to His?

This does not mean He caused the pain or problem because of us. No, God does not play cat and mouse games with us. He rather uses our pains to help us.

God often denies us the burning desire of our heart because He knows this is one way He can keep us close to Himself, thereby sparing us much worse pain. The thing that keeps us focused on God may actually be sparing us from much greater pains and burdens that would come if we ever did backslide.

If we truly desire to know God in all His full­ness, expect to hear "wait" often and long. Live "with all per­severance." It encourages regularity in prayer and turns it into a habit. Desire delayed helps us stay faithful in prayer a long time.

Whether the answer is ultimately yes or no, we must persist, notwith­standing any discouragement. We are not to give up or be depressed when answers are long in coming. Only God knows when the time is right to answer a prayer.  Our duty is to keep on praying, trusting God to answer in His own time and way.

A lady once handed me a written prayer request, asking me to join her in praying her children would return to God. She wrote at the end of her request, "I will never give up." This perfectly illustrates praying "with all perseverance."

A mother in our church recently asked me to pray for her wayward son. When I replied that this breaks my heart, she replied, "It is indeed heart breaking, but I will always have hope." This is what it takes to pray "with all perseverance."

 

Pray at all times

EPHESIANS 6:18a-c

Pray at All Times in the Spirit

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Eph. 6:18a (Holman)   Pray. . .

 

Paul is discussing how Christians can stand fast in our war against Satan. Success will require prayer. We must learn what it means to fight on our knees.

If I had my life to live over, I would spend more time in my younger years trying to master the discipline of prayer. I wish I had read more biographies of prayer warriors, and more books about prayer. I am overwhelmingly conscious of a need for more power in my prayers, but find myself a 65-year-old possessing what I feel to be a 10-year-old's grasp of prayer. I should be approaching matur­ity in prayer, but am instead just beginning. I am playing "catch up" and I do not like it.

Dear fellow believers, we must give ourselves to prayer. These are desperate times in our nation, churches, and families. The battle is engaged. In times of spiritual warfare like ours, we must sound an alarm in the ears of Heaven. God waits to be taken. Lay hold on Him. When Sa­tan attacks, we have the privilege and responsibility to send distress signals, specific requests for help, to Heaven. The devil cannot sever our communication line with God, but we can fail to use it.

The Knights of Charlemagne once unnecessarily suffered a terrible defeat. Reinforcements were waiting nearby, but Roland, the commander, was too proud to ask for help. All he had to do was blow his horn, but he refused to; as a result, his men were massacred. Warriors, blow the horn of heaven. Call God to our aid.

 

Eph. 6:18b   . . .at all times. . .

 

Pray on every occasion, in every incident of life. To assure we make the best of every situation, let everything, including our "to do" list, be a matter of prayer. Pray not only in crises, but habitually, in all types of circumstances.

Every Christian should have a prayerful spirit "at all times", even in the busy-ness of life. Prayer is not a substitute for action or an encouragement to laziness. We pray while suited for battle, but even as we go forth to tend to the day's affairs, we keep our hearts sitting at God's gate.

We must learn to practice the presence of God, having a never-ending sense of communion with Him. A continually sensed consciousness of God is the foundation of all true spirituality.

This fosters a mindset that offers up prayers frequently. As soldiers, Christians are obligated to maintain constant contact with their heavenly Commander‑in‑chief. Every true soldier fights under the consciously realized direction of a commanding officer, and stays in touch.

Scripture is the soldier's battleground Word from the Commander‑in‑chief; prayer is the Christian soldier's reply to the Commander‑in‑chief at headquarters. This communication line must remain open and ready for use at all times.

In battle, few things more terrify a soldier than broken communication with headquarters. In WWI, a regiment went into the Argonne Forest and was lost. For days they were out of touch with headquarters. They were finally located, but in the meantime, their ranks had been terribly decimated.

Christian soldiers, fight, always recognizing we have a directing Superior. Prayer is our life‑line in battle. Offer up prayers as often as possible. Our Master prayed. If He sought strength by prayer, how can we His followers think we can live without it? Jesus prayed "at all times", long before dawn, in the evening hours, all night, before meals, etc. We, too, need to pray frequently, at dawn, noon, dusk, day and night. On coffee break, pray. Before breakfast, dinner, and supper, pray. Before we put our feet on the floor in the morning, and after we put them in the bed at night, pray. If suffering insomnia, turn sleepless hours into prayer times.

Praying "at all times" is what makes one a "prayer warrior", and without exception, every conquering Christian has been a "prayer warrior". The term itself is a wonderful paradox. It combines a word implying weakness (prayer) with one denoting strength (warrior). In prayer we are weak toward Christ, standing before Him in our frailty and dependence; a stark contrast with God's strength.

By kneeling in weakness before Christ in prayer, the believer is enabled to stand strong as a warrior before Satan. Be assured, Satan looks for prayerless saints. Nonpraying Christians tempt Lucifer to tempt them, but Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saints on their knees. When our prayers fetch Christ into the battle, we assure Satan's defeat. Chrysostom said prayer was a whip to torment the devil, and to put him into another Hell. Amen. "Pray at all times."

 

Eph. 6:18c   . . .in the Spirit. . .

 

To be effective, prayers must be neither formal nor mechan­ical, but offered depending on the Holy Spirit's direction and influence. Prayer, in its truest form, from beginning to end, is all of God--offered to the Father through the Son by the Spirit. To the Father--do not make the too common mistake of taking our difficulties to people instead of to God. Through the Son--pray in Jesus' name; His blood makes prayer possible. By the Spirit--He prompts true prayer.

The Holy Spirit helps us pray accurately. "We know not what we should pray for as we ought" (Romans 8:26). Only the Spirit can make our prayers precise. He sees the battle­field better than we do. Thus, we need to commit our prayers unto His guidance and editing. When kneeling to pray, do not always rush into the mat­ter at hand. Pray to be enabled to pray. We do not want our own words and thoughts to predominate. We want to be taught how to pray, what to say.

The Holy Spirit helps us pray with fervent conviction. Prayer is a duty first, but should by the Spirit's help turn into a delight, an unquenchable flaming desire. We need the Spirit to melt our formality into consuming fire, to set us ablaze, to burn away our lethargy. If our prayers do not stir our own hearts, what right do we have to expect them to move God's heart? A half-hearted prayer can bring no blessing from Heaven because it does not have enough energy to reach Heaven.

Pray, not in our strength, but "in the Spirit," consciously aware an assisting Power is available to help us pray accurately and fervently. The Father entrusted the Bible, His words for us, to the Holy Spirit (6:17). We should reciprocate in kind, entrusting our words for the Father to the Holy Spirit. Pray "in the Spirit."

 

The Word Became Flesh

JESUS: GOD IN FLESH

John 1:1-4,14

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

The Gospel of John is for many their favorite Bible book. It contains the Bible's most famous verse, my favorite, John 3:16. John's Gospel is said to be shallow enough for a child to wade in, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim in. The latter fact reminds us John wrote Revelation, another book with deep content.

The biographers who wrote of Jesus had to confront a challenging question. When talking of Jesus, where do we start? Matthew began with Abraham, Mark with the preaching of John the Baptist, Luke with the birth of John the Baptist. John the Beloved began in the bosom of the Father. John went before time and talked about the everlasting relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

 

John 1:1 (Holman) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

God the Son is God the Father speaking. When God speaks, things happen. His spoken will, once verbalized, always occurs. At creation God said, let there be light, let dry land appear, etc. At least 10 times God "said"; each time, it occurred.

In Jesus, God the Father spoke in a new, unique way, with ultimate authority. Instead of vibrating elements with His breath, as He did at Creation, His power combined elements to form Jesus. God has "Son-spoken" (Hebrews 1:2).

 

John 1:2   He was with God in the beginning.

 

            Jesus was "in the beginning," not "from the beginning." Jesus always has existed. He never was created. He was "with God" and "was God." Jesus is God, but not all of God. He and the Father are One, yet separate. John placed Jesus the Son on the same level as God the Father. The Bible never tries to prove there is a God and never tries to prove Jesus is God. It assumed both were obvious.

 

John 1:3   All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.

 

The disciples first saw Jesus as a man, but came to see Him as more than a man. John came to see Jesus as Creator. All life sprang from God through Jesus. All of nature throbs with prolific life because it passed through Jesus, who is life.

 

John 1:4   Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.

 

Human life grants us the capacity to know God in a personal way, to receive God-life, and thereby understand spiritual light. The only hope for people to come out of spiritual darkness is God's light, a light received only by receiving His life.

Believers, since spiritual light is transmitted via spiritual life, the only way His light can reach others is for it to shine on them through the life He lives in us.

Light can be stopped only if it is shut out or shut in. Let's not be guilty of the latter. We spread God's light by overflowing with the fullness of His life.

If we've shown little light to the world, it's because our spiritual life is low. The more we enjoy His life, our union with Him, the more we spread His light to others. Though God's light is often rejected, let it always continue to shine through us. Never stop shining, no matter how discouraged we become.

How do we enter into this light? Spiritual life owes its beginning to a birth from above. We have to become a child of God. His power is necessary. Massive obstacles have to be removed, including the wrath of God and the guilt of sin.

Salvation is as much God's work as was creation. A person in a dark room does not put darkness out first and then let in light. Similarly, we cannot put sin out of our heart to prepare for Christ's entering. We take Him in and then sin flees.

 

John 1:14a   The Word became flesh. . .

 

This text, John 1:14, is one of the richest and most strongly stated verses in the Bible. It teaches us six remarkable facts regarding Jesus, the Word of God.

One, God the Son became flesh. "Flesh" bespeaks weak creatures who are mortal and dying. John could not have emphasized his point more bluntly. Jesus did not merely "appear" to be a man. He was a real human being. Spirit became skin. God became human. The Ancient of Days became an infant.

Augustine, before his conversion, explored and studied the world's major religions. He said this phrase, "The Word became flesh", was the unique teaching of Christianity. Other religions said people could become gods; for instance, Pharaoh in Egypt, and Caesar in Rome. But it was scandalous to think the reverse. Greeks and Roman Stoics believed the body was too evil for deity to indwell. Hebrews saw God as the Totally Other. Even some believers have denied the Incarnation in one way or another, refusing to acknowledge Christ's full deity.

Problems often rise in our thinking when we try to explain how the Incarnation happened—for instance, how a zygote was formed, how the Holy Spirit intermingled with Mary's DNA—rather than leaving it in the realm of faith.

The Bible writers never attempted a detailed explanation, or tried to appeal to human intellect when dealing with the Incarnation. Their emphasis was angled to the heart. We will never fully understand the Incarnation, but we know by faith that God became like us to make us like Him. He who made all things became the one thing that failed Him, the only thing that needed help (Hebrews 2:14-15).

 

John 1:14b   . . .and took up residence among us.

 

Two, Jesus "took up residence among us." He who transcends time entered time. He who was with God chose to be with us. Jesus could have become flesh and lived among angels. He drew nearest to what He was farthest separated from.

Though we were not the best or most enjoyable company, Jesus chose to stay a while with us. He did not appear to a few people on a few occasions and then leave. He stayed long enough for many of us to get a good look at Him. At least 500 saw Him after He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:6).

 

John 1:14c   We observed His glory. . .

 

Three, we observed Jesus' glory. "Glory" refers to God's manifest presence, to God using a physical means to make His presence obviously known. He used a pillar of cloud by day, fire by night, to let Israel know He was with them in the Wilderness. The Tabernacle and Temple, when dedicated, were filled with a cloud.

In our text, John was saying God was visible, obviously present, in Jesus. People didn't have to be super spiritual to see God's glory in Jesus; they only had to be willing to look and see. The more John and the other disciples watched Jesus, the more they knew He was God's glory in human form. The miracles showed a part of the glory of Christ, but something deeper than this caught John's eye. True glory was seen in the loving way Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for people. We too have observed His glory, and continue to revel in it more and more.

The longer and more closely John watched Jesus, the more the Apostle saw of God. This is not true of most of us. We all know the old phrase, familiarity breeds contempt. Usually the more we learn of others, the more "human" they become. But the more we know of Jesus, the more "like God" He becomes.

 

John 1:14d   . . . the glory as of the One and Only Son from the Father,. . .

 

Four, Jesus is "the One and Only Son from the Father." All believers are adopted children of God. The Sonship of Jesus is unique. His relationship to God the Father is without parallel. He is begotten, of the same essence with the Father; not a lesser God, a secondary God, or demi-God. He is true God of true God.

When Christian work began in Japan, and the Bible was being translated, a Japanese translating the Gospel of John, blurted out, "Who is this Man about whom I am reading, this Jesus?  You call Him a man, but He must be a God."

 

John 1:14e   . . .full of grace. . .

 

Five, Jesus is "full of grace." "Grace" conveys two basic ideas. It refers to something completely undeserved and unmerited. It always designates God loving just because He is love. We did not deserve for the Christmas Baby to come.

"Grace" also contains the idea of beauty. In modern Greek the word means "charm." We sometimes use it this way ourselves, describing a person as having the beautiful trait of grace. In Jesus we see the sheer winsomeness of God. People tend to think of God primarily in terms of power, majesty, and judgment. These assessments are valid, but in Jesus we are also confronted with sheer loveliness.

Many who reject Christianity are not as much saying no to God as they are expressing their repulsion at our methods of representing God. When the world can see God as He really is, charming and winsome, many respond positively.

Jesus said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32). The Lord's death and resurrection show Him as the One altogether kind and beautiful. Let's discover it ourselves, rejoice in it, and tell the world.

 

John 1:14f   . . .and truth.

 

Six, Jesus is full of truth. Truth refers to what is genuine, the real thing. In Christ, nothing is counterfeit. As the Rock, the Dependable One, He never fails us.

Grace and truth are the two things we need most from God. We need grace, a lovely friend in heaven who wants to help the helpless though they do not deserve it. We need truth, a friend powerful enough to help the helpless.

Jesus is total love and total dependability. Anything or anyone else claiming the ability to bring true happiness, and give the best life possible, is counterfeit.

 

 

Growing in the Mission

Ephesians 6:19

Growing in the Mission

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Eph. 6:19a (Holman) Pray also for me,. . .

 

For a brief moment, Paul now called attention to himself and his own needs.  From a dark, dank, dungeon-cell in Rome, he called to his comrades in far-off Asia, "Pray for me." Paul made this request often. He prayed for the church­es, and regularly asked them to pray for him (RM 15:30; CL 4:3; 1 TH 5:25; 2 TH 3:1).

It is amazing that this extremely gifted man asked ordinary people like us to pray for him. Neither cocky nor self-assured, he knew he needed help from Hea­ven. Jesus cannot use self-sufficient people, for they feel no need for His power.

Paul bore the heavy load all Christian leaders are forced to carry. Pastors, staff members, deacons, Sunday School workers, and other lay-leaders can be most effective only if people--especially the ones they serve--are interceding for them.

Church leaders need extraordinary prayer. Heat is intense at the fore­front of a battle. Leaders in the conflict are special targets of Satan. He knows if he can discredit a leader, he discredits all of Christianity in the minds of many peo­ple.

Failure of any believer neg­a­tively affects our Kingdom mission. The fall of a leader especially dis­hon­ors Christ, embarras­ses His name, and brings humili­ation on our churches, creating heavy baggage for all Christians to carry in the mission.

America's churches have suffered scandals enough. Too many lead­ers have fallen. This blood-let­ting must stop. Pray our leaders will live above reproach.

Christian leadership entails being faithful in inner virtue and outer holiness. However gifted you are, if you are not willing to live a cut above the rest, ­do not accept a leadership position. I have lived under a double standard all my life, as a preacher's kid and as a preacher. It has never bothered me a bit. I ask our lead­ers to accept the challenge of a higher walk, and I ask the rest of us to pray for them.

 

Eph. 6:19b  . . .that the message may be given to me,. . .

 

In verse 19, Paul asked the Ephesians to pray three requests for him; all dealt with speech. First, he wants his words to be appropriate. One of life's precious gifts is the ability do the mission well, to identify the mood of an unbeliever, and to be able to say exactly what needs to be said. Paul knew this trait was "given". It was received, not inh­­er­ent. Paul was a master of words, yet he knew he needed God's help to talk right. Even the mighty Apostle depended on God for "the message".

Though he had pursued the mission for years, Paul was still as dependent on heavenly em­powerment as the day his work be­gan. We never grow too big, too strong, too smart, or too old to need God's help in knowing exactly what to say. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in this matter. As we talk with others, do not rush into a mono­logue, inwardly pray first. Ask God to give us exact words we need to say.

God wants to use our lips to bless others. Our lips ask God for answers to our own prayers. Why not ask God to make our lips the answer to some­­one else's prayer, to make our talk a blessing to others? This is not a gift of blarney or the gift of blab. Many talk a lot, but say nothing. The issue is, with God's help, speak­ing ap­propriately. One Sunday I was leaving my home church in Cape Girar­deau to re­turn to St. Louis for college. I was sad, think­ing no one was noticing my depar­ture.  Then Grandma Mar­shall walked out of the crowd toward me and said, "We love you, John­ny, and we miss you." The memory of those words refreshes me to this day. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver" (PR 25:11).

 

Eph. 6:19c  . . .when I open my mouth to make known with boldness,. . .

 

Paul's second request is that his words would be bold. Note his humility. He was a man of courage, yet knew he could fall into cowardice any instant. For the mission, Paul had de­fied mobs, debated kings, confronted storms at sea, faced death in pris­on. He had looked undaunted, but now we see the truth. He con­fessed ­he came to Corinth "in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3).

Outwardly Paul usually seemed bold as a lion, but inwardly he often shook­. A per­­son can look strong and self-composed on the outside while trembl­ing inside.

Life's victories aren't necessarily to the strong, but to the fearful who refuse to give in to their fear. Are we afraid? Yes. Do we let our fear paralyze us? No.

Paul desired victory over his own fears. He wanted to utter the truth of the mission without hesitation and without fear of personal inconven­ience. He yearned to hold nothing back, wheth­er to earn people's praise, or to es­cape their scorn. Paul would soon stand be­fore Caesar's tribunal, and wanted to speak "with boldness". He feared he might falter by yielding to his fear. Thus he asked for prayers for him.

Today many of us who want to be sold out to the mission struggle against our own fears. Just when believers most need to be heard from, we fear to speak. We are to speak truth in love: to be diplomatic, and bold in our witness for Jesus.

This hour of need demands of us boldness. Be true to our legacy. Our brave Captain, who pursued the mission with undaunted courage when the arrows flew thickest, does not expect us to be cowardly soldiers. Isaac Watts' challenges us:

Must I be carried to the skies on flow'ry beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas?

 

Eph. 6:19d   . . .the mystery of the gospel.

 

Paul's third request is that his words would be focused on the mission. He wanted to avoid being distracted, diverted from his appointed course. Paul wanted to keep the main thing the main thing, to remember his main purpose, his primary priority, to make known "the mystery of the gospel." He desired to tell people how to be saved, to let everyone know the secrets God had revealed about salvation.

Every Christian has three basic spheres of responsibility: holiness unto God, exercising a spiritual gift in the local church, witnessing to the lost. Holiness, spi­ritual gifts, and soul-winning constitute three basic ingredients of Christian living.

Some wrongly excuse themselves from their mission-obligation to win souls by saying they do not have the gift of evangelism. Evangelism is not a spiritual gift. The Bible refers to the gift of evangelist, an office filled by people who preach effectively to the lost (e.g. Billy Graham, Billy Sunday), but the act of evangelism is not a spiritual gift. God commands all Christians to be a witness, to evangelize.

Since God requires soul-winning of all believers, it is an activ­ity God will empower all Christians to do. What God commands, God will enable. Thus, when we have opportunity to witness, but sense our will withering under Sa­tan's assault, we must hide ourselves with­in the power and promise of God for help. When it comes to the mission, Satan always tempts us to be quiet. When we face this trap, we need to retreat into prayer rather than into our pat excuses for not witnessing.

We can become so skillful at reciting excuses that they keep us not only from witnessing, but also from prayer. Often, we are not only not witnessing, but also not praying about witnessing, our excuses having salved and callused our con­sciences. As we pray for the lost, include in our mission praying, "Lord, use me."

Unfortunately, I know the excuses well. I have mas­tered them all. Some ex­cuse themselves from the mission, saying they fear they will drive the lost farther away. Where can we drive them to? Hell number two, or Hell number three?

Many claim they don't know what to say in a soul-winning situation. We'll train you. Some do not feel worthy to share. While we soothe our consciences with a false piety and bogus humility, our loved ones are going to a Christ-less eternity.

We sometimes use as an excuse our natural timidity; we are too bashful.  Our text waylays this rationalization. Our natural temperament has nothing to do with whether or not we can witness. It hangs only on supernatural empowerment. Failure in the mission is never a failure in personality, but rather a failure in prayer.

The mission of spreading the Gospel was Paul's greatest accomplishment. Our text reminds us where the power came from--from God. Mission-success was not inherent in Paul. He was not self-confident. Prayer was his key to suc­cess.

Effective witnessing has to come from God. No matter how eloquently we speak, or how good our presentation is, only God can make the message effec­tive.  We speak to the ear, only God can take the message from the ear to the heart.

 

 

Growing in Strength

Ephesians 6:10-17

Growing in Strength

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Eph. 6:10a   (Holman)  Finally. . .

 

Our text begins the third major division of Ephesians, as Watchman Nee outlined: sit (1-3), walk (4:1-6:9), stand (6:10-24). The order is significant. We first exercise our privileges; we sit with Christ in heavenly places (2:6). Second, we walk worthy of our calling (4:1); we lead an exemplary life. Until we do these two things, our Christian life is only talk. Satan can afford to ignore such a person.

However, if we commit to use our heavenly seat and to display Godly conduct, then watch out, there will be trouble. Thus "finally" Paul will make us scrutinize the opposition we face. We must learn how to stand before the foe.

Our text starts the most famous part of Ephesians, the passages about putting on the armor of God (6:11-17). We need all the armor we can muster.

The loving Apostle could see the intense storm looming before the Ephesian Christians. He had weathered its relentless fury often. He knew whereof he spoke. His words rose from a battle-scarred soul. Paul had been in the furnace, and felt the flames. He could smell smoke in the Ephesian Christians' future, and in ours.

Having no illu­sions about the obstacles the Ephesian Christians would face, he felt he must hide nothing from them. They must not be given an unrealistic view of life. Paul refused to sugarcoat the news or mislead them. He sounded the alarm.

 

Eph. 6:10b   . . .be strengthened. . .

 

            This verb is passive voice. This means the subject is acted on. In other words, God must provide for us the strengthening required of us. Left unaided, we are power­less, doomed to defeat (John 15:5). We are insufficient in ourselves.

Giving us His strength is God's way of enabling us to live as He commands. Our goal is not only to be a Christian, but to behave as a Christian should, at church, at home, and on the job. These high God-ordained standards of conduct are fixed, non-negotiable, and, as we quickly learn, unattainable in our own strength.

Unfortunately, many Christians, due to repeated failures, give up the effort to live by God's standards, complaining they are humanly impossible. The tragedy is, these people quit trying one short step shy of victory. They are halfway to the goal, and halfway is good if still making the journey, but not okay as a destination.

Acknowledging our weakness is not to be a stumbling block over which we trip, but a steppingstone on which we rise to appropriate God's strength. We never have the right to say we cannot accomplish a certain duty. To say God's standards are unrealistic or too high is irreverence. Everything God requires of us He enables us to do. Thus, all His commands are promises. Weakness is not merely a calamity to be endured and grieved, but a sin to repent of. To be strengthened is our duty.

Our reliance on God must be ceaseless, unbroken, never ending. We must be empowered, not once for all, but constantly for each given situation. The drain on our spiritual resources is never-ending. Our supply must be replenished often.

The Christian's struggle is relentless, life-long, constant to the end. Failure to accept this fact helps explain the widespread downfalls among believers. Many believers deem defeat normal, and take no thought of the relentless ongoing war waged against them. Defeated before they begin, they consider no other option.

Victory requires constant vigilance. We err if we think after conversion we can put our lives on automatic pilot and use Cruise Control to be holy. Spiritual growth is never a given. Even after years of being a believer, we have no more power in us against the foe than when first saved (Rom. 7:18). We ought to leave this life in a blaze of glory, but many fizzle. Due to carelessness, their spiritual pilgrimage ends in a spiritual zero. Remain on guard. Always seek God's power.

 

Eph. 6:10c   . . .by the Lord and by His vast strength.

 

Paul knew human weakness. He told the Cor­inthians, "I was with you in weakness" (1 Cor. 2:3). A winning Christian is ever humble, knowing strength is never inherent in us. Paul knew God's strength. God had told Paul, "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). Human weakness and God's strength intermingle. Strength in weakness sounds like a paradox, but Paul acquiesced to God's plan, saying, "When I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).

Paul won the victory due to his humbly admitting personal emptiness and to his letting this emptiness become saturated with divine fullness. We claim to agree with Paul; this raises a serious question. If we know what needs to be done, why do we not do it more? We often lack three critical triggers: intimacy, time, and focus.

One, God's strength is triggered in human weakness by intimacy with God. Our union with Jesus is the channel that conveys strength to us. People forgetting this fact explains why many believers fall by the wayside after their aged parents die or their last child leaves home. These are dangerous times because many slip into the habit of practicing religion by proxy, doing it only for the sake of parents or children. Somewhere along the way, vital, personal intimacy with Jesus waned.

Power is not extracted from Jesus, as much as it is a by-product of our life in Him. God's power flows into human weak­ness via bonding between Jesus and us. In­­timacy with God is a conduit whereby His strength flows into our weak­ness.

The power is available, readily accessible. How well and how much we acti­vate it at a given moment depends on the condition of our intimacy with Jesus.

In prayer, commune. We do not believe words have mystical powers. Our faith is in God, not magic. In prayer, words matter, but atmosphere is more vital. Do not begin private prayer by speaking immediately. Before talking, meditate.

Even after the prayer is begun, our words must continue to rise from a sensed consciousness of God's presence. Prayer thrives best when its primary focus is kept away from our pressing problem, and turned instead toward the Lord.

Two, God's strength is triggered in human weakness by time. The hymn well says, "Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord, Spend much time in secret." Take time--there's no other way--to be holy. Chadwick said, "Hurry is the death of prayer." We cannot have our eyes on God and the clock at the same time.

Since our success depends on a sustained, ongoing relationship, we must be willing to commit ourselves to the long haul, and to investing time in the effort for a lifetime. No shortcuts lead to personal godliness. It is a lifelong, every day, all day, quest. No believer grows strong by willing on the whim of a moment to be so.

Our bodies gain strength by daily dis­ciplines such as exercise and a good diet; our spiritual vitality hangs on daily disciplines like private Bible time and prayer, and discipling. Quick fixes won't do; prayer-ettes produce Christian-ettes.

Three, God's strength is triggered in human weakness by focus. Believ­ers are often too scattered, trying to live the Christian life in a hectic, helter-skelter, take it or leave it, way. To succeed, we must focus on the particular difficulty or situation at hand, and apply to it what we know. Believers must concentrate.

We must mentally converge our resources onto our circumstances. We cannot think of spiritual empowerment only in general terms or from time to time.

The housefly helps illustrate this. A fly is able to walk on a ceiling due to the vacuum its webbed feet produce when pushed hard against the sur­face. The insect does not merely flit against the ceiling and accidentally stick. It must consciously press its weight against the surface and push out the air un­der ­its feet, thereby creating an emptiness which results in the needed vacuum.

Similarly, our power lies in consciously pressing the weight of our thoughts on the great principles we know. We cannot casually flit about. Let­ our troubles force us to concent­rate. We lean, as it were, on our weakness, tru­ly expecting the result to be a vacuum drawing God's power into our emptiness.

Spiritual success hinges on our determination to concentrate in the time of need. Having done our homework, having been faithful in the daily, lifelong disci­plines, whenever a need arises, we are ready. The habit is formed. We focus on the difficulty at hand, concentrate on our weakness, and rivet our pray­ers on God, calling for His strength. This concentration causes us to turn often throughout the day toward the Master's face for fresh supplies. We re­fuse to let go, to turn aside, to break concentration, until we are blessed. Power cen­ters in unrelenting focus.

 

Children and Parents

Ephesians 6:1-4

Growing in Parenting

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Eph. 6:1-3  (Holman) Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.

 

We are learning what it means to be submissive to each other when we are Spirit-filled. Wives submit to husbands as the Church submits to Christ (EP 5:22-24). Husbands submit to their wives as Christ serves the Church (EP 5:25-33). Now we will consider how children and parents are to submit to each other.

Considering their lowly standing in society at the time, it is amazing to see children addressed directly. Jesus broke sunshine into their dismal existence.

The ancients by and large dishonored the young. If a father tired of caring for his chil­dren, he could set them loose to fend for themselves, sell them into slavery, or execute them. If not pleasing to its father, a newborn was aban­doned.

It was common for as many as 30 babies to be deserted daily in the Roman Forum. They died of exposure or became the property of anyone who took them. Healthy babies were often collected by people who raised them to make them laborers, sell them as slaves, or stock the brothels of Rome. Unhealthy babies were forsaken. Seneca said with pride, "Children born weakly and deformed we drown."

Christianity fought against this dehumanization of young human life.  Children were not a burden to Jesus. He called them to Himself, "took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them" (Matthew 19:14).

The young must realize they live with ones who have a right to command. Knowing obedience would be difficult for us, God graciously ordained the ones assigned to pun­ish us are the ones who­­, until our own marriages, love us most.

Parent, your wild child will eventually be tamed and corralled by some­one--a school official, a policeman, a warden, a military officer. God, though, wants the disciplining done by those who love the children the most. I am glad my parents, people who loved me, disciplined me. If spanked at school, I was spanked again at home. One day, in the second grade, I skipped school. A church member saw me walk­ing the streets and called my parents. Dad came to find me. He laid me down on my stomach in the back seat of the car, knelt in the front seat, and spanked me. (I still don't like 1957 Chevrolets.) At school, he told my teacher to spank me, too. Thank God for a merciful teacher who could tell I had suffered enough that day.

The young who claim to be followers of Jesus must act like Jesus. He is our role model. Christ lived with His parents, "and was subject unto them" (LK 2:51).  The Creator of the Universe took the place of submission. Follow His example.

In addition to obeying parents, we must honor them. We grow too old to obey, but never too old to honor, parents. Even if our parents are dead, honor them.  Cherish their memory, though they are gone. Youth and adults, honor your parents.

Honor parents by providing for them. Scripture mandates believers to care for their parents as long as they live. We are obligated to our own parents and, after we marry, our spouse's par­ents. Never leave them needy or lonely. Be good to them always, and provide for them when they can no longer care for themselves.

Honor parents by making them proud. Never cause them pain or embarrassment. Most parents deem their children the pride of their life. Suc­cess­­ful children make parents proud. We owe our parents the best we have to give.

Do not hurt your mom and dad. To hurt parents scars them, and haunts our memory­. Dr. Samuel Johnson, as a lad, was often asked by his dad to help him sell books in the marketplace. Samuel, too proud, would not lower his dignity. Fifty years later, Dr. Johnson's con­science haunt­ed him. Unable to forget what he did to his dad, he one day put on com­mon clothes, and went to the spot where his dad stood to sell books. Boys laughed, adults made fun, but Samuel did not care. He was doing an act of penance to soothe his conscience. Honor your parents. Now!

 

Eph. 6:4 Fathers, don't stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

 

Paul, turning to the proper discipline of children, aims directly at men, God's ordained family leaders. Christian men cannot abdicate child-­rear­ing to women, for God holds fathers primarily responsible for the training of children.

Un­for­tu­nately, America has moved toward being a matriarchal society with regard to child-rearing. We too often let men abdicate their rightful role.

This absence of dads spells serious trouble in America. Father­less­ness ­is the piston, the driving force, impelling most of our social problems.

Some 70% of juveniles in long-term cor­rec­tional facilities, 80% of drug dealers, and 80% of convicted felons, grew up apart from fathers. Chil­dren in single-parent fam­ilies are six times as likely to be poor, three times as likely to have emo­tional and behavioral problems, more likely to drop out of school, be expelled from school, get preg­nant as teens, or be in trouble with the law.

Dads, be present and be careful. "Don't stir up anger in your children." Avoid harsh, cruel punishment that drives a child to inner bitterness and outer hostility. Our text is a safeguard. Parents do not have the right to act as they please toward a child. Scripture always handles author­ity/submis­sion relationships with balance and fairness. God protects the submissive by for­bidding harshness in those to whom He gives authority. Do discipline children, but not excessively.

"Don't stir up anger in your children" with anger. Angry parents produce angry children. Chil­dren tend to imitate parents who lose control, throw temper fits, and punish too harshly. It is hard for children to learn self-control from parents not self-controlled. Disciplining during a temper fit does more harm than good.

It is better for our children to see us sad rather than mad. A parent's broken heart has more effect than a raging fit. When I was about twelve, I helped a group of boys steal sodas from church one day after VBS. Stealing from a church was more than one of our saintly ladies could abide. She told Dad, with me standing close by, "I couldn't steal from a church. I'm afraid God would strike me dead." Dad agreed. I piously did, too, knowing I was as guilty as sin itself. Weeks later, Dad learned I was in on the heist. He brought me into the living room and had me sit on the couch. He told Mom to leave the house and to take with her my sister and brother. Once they left, Dad locked all the doors, closed all the blinds, pulled out his belt, and walked straight toward his sobbing son. I truly be­lieved my life was ending. Dad wrapped his belt in a circle, laid it on the coffee table in front of me, leaned over me, and said, "Son, I am sorry you stole the sodas from church, but what hurts me most is that all these weeks you have lied to me about it." He then turned and walked away, leav­­­­ing me alone in the living room. It is the only time in my life I can remember wishing I had received a spanking. That was the most effective use of disci­pline I ever saw from my dad. He punished me with his grief rather than his anger. I have never forgotten it, and was made much better by it.

"Don't stir up anger in your children" through manipulation. Do not bulldoze your children toward what you want them to be. It is not our job as parents to determine what our children should be in life. We are to love them and help them prepare for whatever role they decide God has selected for them.

Some fathers try to make a son into the ballplayer they once were or always dreamed of being. Some mothers try to make a daughter into the debutante or social success they were, are, or always wanted to be. Let's not try to live out our own fantasies through our children. They have their own set of dreams to fulfill.

Parents must focus on raising our children for the Lord. A lady once said she would not prejudice her children with religious in­struc­tion. Archbishop Sharpe replied, "If you do not teach them, the devil will!" If we do not guide our children Christward, we will be the only one that's neutral, not influencing them (Criswell).

We are seriously fooled and naive beyond credulity, if we think the world, the flesh, and the devil are not using elements in our secular society to seek to subvert the moral values of our children, and to win their hearts, minds, and souls. Our culture offers no diplomas, and confers no degrees, but does educate with terrible precision (Criswell).  Parents must counter­act the flow of evil being flooded on our children.