N.T. Wright got interviewed by Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central!! Hillarious

Book: With Christ in the School of Prayer
Chapter 10: What Wilt Thou; OR Prayer Must be Definite

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” (Mark 10:51; Luke 18:41).

Our prayers must be a distinct expression of definite need, not a vague appeal to His mercy or an indefinite cry for blessing. … Our expressions of need, sin, love, faith, and consecration must be accompained by an explicit statement of what we are asking for and what we expect to receive.

I have probably prayed tens of thousands of vague prayers.

But the word of the Master teaches us more. He does not say, “What do you wish?” but, “What do you will?” One often wishes for a thing without willing it. I wish to have a certain article but the price is too high, so I decide not take it. I wish, but do not will to have it.

This quote struck me as interesting. Today we frequently contrast WANTS vs. NEEDS. In this case, Andrew Murray polarizes WILL vs. WISH. In a sense, both are WANTS, but the WISH isn’t a serious request. The WILL requires us to excerise something beyond a WISH.

The will rules the whole heart and life. If I really will to have something that is within my reach, I do not rest until I have it. When Jesus asks us, “What do you will?” He asks whether it is our intention to get what we ask for at any price, however great the sacrifice. Do you really will to have it enough to pray continuously until He hears you, no matter how long it takes? How many prayers are wishes sent up for a short time and then forgotten! And how many are sent up year after year as a matter of duty, while we complacently wait without the answer.

So guilty!

The prayer of faith which Jesus sought to teach His disciples does not simply proclaim its desire and then leave the decision to God. But [rather] the prayer of faith, finding God’s will in some promise of the Word, pleads for that promise until it comes.

I love the idea of staking my faith on one of God’s promises and praying for it until I see an answer.

It is often spiritual sloth that, under the appearance of humility, professes to have no will. It fears the trouble of searching for the will of God, or, when found, the struggle of claiming it in faith.

Ouch!

True humility is always accompanied by strong faith. Seeking to know only the will of God, that faith then boldly claims the fulfillment of the promise, “Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

Amen.

A humorous look at excuses as to why we don’t tell people about Jesus. What’s your excuse? Everyone has an excuse.

Book: With Christ in the School of Prayer
Chapter 9: Pray the Lord of the Harvest; OR Prayer Provides Laborers

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is ‘plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

Why does He ask His disciples to pray for this? Could He not pray Himself? Would not one prayer of His achieve more than a thousand of theirs? Is God, the Lord of the harvest, not aware of the need? And would He not, in His own good time, send laborers without the disciples’ prayers? Such questions lead us into the deepest mysteries of prayer and its power in the Kingdom of God. The answer to such questions will convince us that prayer is indeed a power on which the gathering of the harvest and the coming of the Kingdom do in very truth depend.

This paragraph, and especially the last sentence, really hit me hard. Somehow, the coming of God’s Kingdom (His reign & rule) depends on my prayer. The words that I release from my mouth wield a supernatural power. In the name of Jesus, I have authority to release the powers of heaven to do the work of the Kingdom on earth. In many ways, I cannot comprehend this mystery!

But since He entrusted them with the work and made it to a large extent dependent on them, He gives them authority to apply to Him for laborers and makes the supply dependent on their prayer.

In every church I have been to, one of the greatest complaints I have heard from leadership is that “20% of the people do 80% of the work”. And it’s true! This problem has several contributing factors, not least of which is a kind of Consumeristic Christianity that has emerged over the past 50 years. I won’t get on that soapbox now!

The point that I do want to make, though, is that Jesus makes a promise. Did you know that God has never broken a promise? He is completely faithful to the covenant that he made with his people; and, he is faithful to all promises that are bound to that covenant. In this passage, Jesus is telling us that we can rightfully invoke this covenantal promise! And, he WILL DO what he says. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be a faithful God. Is it possible that the problem isn’t on God’s end, but on ours?

Why don’t we obey the Master’s instruction more heartily and cry more earnestly for laborers? There are two reasons.

1) We miss the compassion of Jesus which gave rise to this request for prayer. Believers must learn to love their neighbors as themselves and to live entirely for God’s glory in their relationships with fellow-men.

2) We believe too little in the power of prayer to bring about definite results. We do not live close enough to God to be capable of the confidence that He will answer. We have not surrendered entirely to His service and Kingdom. But our lack of faith will be overcome as we plead for help.

Yes, the problem isn’t on God’s end. Two key elements that we, his disciples, are lacking: 1) The compassion of Jesus; and 2) Thinking too little of the power of our prayer.

Let us pray for a life in union with Christ, so that His compassion streams into us and His Spirit assures us that our prayer is heard.

Amen!

Let us set apart time and give all of ourselves to this part of our intercessory work. It will lead us into the fellowship of that compassionate heart of His that led Him to call for our prayers. It will give us the insight of our royal position as children of the King whose will counts for something with the great God in the advancement of His Kingdom.

He’s Up!
By Pastor Tom

Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11.25, 26)

He’s up! He’s alive! Friday, He was dead and Sunday, He was alive. The fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the one truth that sets the Christian faith apart from all other religions of the world. Every other religion on earth entombs and often enshrines the remains of its dead founders. We can’t. We can’t because we didn’t have a dead founder to entomb. We tried, but it seems He would have no part of it – Jesus had other plans.

Some time before His own resurrection, Jesus took advantage of a teaching moment with His followers. A friend named Lazarus had died and his sisters were sick with grief. They knew that Jesus could have healed their brother of his terminal illness. But He didn’t come in time, and now it was too late – Lazarus was dead. So Jesus (always doing what He saw the Father doing) made his way to Bethany, having already missed the funeral by several days. Jesus silenced the family’s complaint about His poor timing with an announcement followed by a question. The announcement was simply “I am the resurrection and the life.” Resurrection, said Jesus, was not something that He could do; it was something that He is. It was not simply something in his arsenal of amazing abilities, resurrection and life flowed from His very character and being.

Being around Jesus means being around resurrection and being around life, because that is what Jesus is. As you celebrate the Risen Jesus today, be sure to enjoy the incredible power of His company. Some people have such strong personalities that you are affected by merely being in their presence. Jesus is resurrection and Jesus is life. Be sure to invite Him to have His own personal impact on the dead or dying parts of your life today.

Jesus followed up His amazing statement with a simple question: “Do you believe this?” As we end our 40 Days of Faith today, the abiding question is whether or not we believe (have faith for) the words of Jesus over the words of the world. The world says that once you’re dead, you’re always dead, etc., etc., etc. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” This is not just a question for today as we celebrate Easter, this is a question for every day we wake up and walk out a day as a follower of Jesus Christ. Do you believe this?

Oh by the way, in case you don’t know how the story ends – Jesus went ahead and actually raised Lazarus from the dead. Why? Because you can’t be around Jesus and stay dead. Have a great Easter!