Prayer and Fasting Message 2014 – A Preoccupation with Scripture December 29, 2013
Chuck Brooks, Pastor-Teacher, GraceWay Church
In 2014 we are going to increase our emphasis on Scripture, the Word of God.
• We will do this through our preaching and teaching messages
• We will do this through all of our ministry environments
• We will do this through LIFEGroups
• We will accomplish this through our worship and praise ministry
And most importantly, we will do this through personal application as we…
• Read, meditate and memorize more of the Scripture
• Talk to one another and encourage one another with the Scripture
• Study more of the Scripture
• Evangelize using more of the Scripture (romans 10:17)
• Sing more of the Scripture, and of course,
• Increase our obedience to the Scripture.
George Guthrie, the author of one of the books I recently read called, Read the Bible for Life, tells the story of traveling to China and teaching the New Testament books of Hebrews and James to a group of ministers from across the country.
While there, his wife, who was at home in the U.S., got sick and was struggling spiritually. Her thyroid had been radiated weeks earlier (essentially killing it), and she had gone "hypothyroid" while he was half a world away. With hypothyroidism, the body does not get the hormones it needs, and the condition wreaks havoc on various systems of the body.
He calls his wife Pat on a Tuesday evening, and she tells him about her illness, but she was also experiencing a deep sense of spiritual oppression, a dark cloud of anxiety and disorientation. Brother Guthrie says although such emotions could have been due to her physical condition, he and his wife both felt spiritual dynamics were involved, possibly related to his ministry in China.
He went the next morning to the twenty-five or so brothers and sisters in his class, most of whom were from western China. He asked them if they would pray for his wife. Immediately they all stood up, and one after another, for the next thirty-five minutes, they prayed powerful, passionate prayers for Pat. The professor said it sounded like they were bombarding the gates of heaven! Since he doesn’t speak Chinese, he asked the interpreter what they were praying, and she said their prayers were almost pure Scripture. Within twenty-four hours both the physical effects of Dr. Guthrie’s wife’s illness, which could not have been corrected that quickly by medication, and the sense of horrible spiritual pressure lifted from her.
Dr. Guthrie noted: “Our brothers and sisters in China are saturated with God's Word, and the Word is brought to bear on a wide variety of situations in life via powerful, Scripture-infused prayer. The house churches in China do not have buildings or resources or training like we have in the West. Yet they know God, they know how to pray, and they know and live God's Word.
Dr. Guthrie came back from China longing to be a person who knows the Scriptures more deeply and talks to God in prayer more faithfully. This is the kind of church I pray that God grows us to be through our fasting and praying and over the course of the up and coming year:
• A church who members whose hearts are saturated with God’s Word
• A church where the people apply the Scriptures to situations in their lives
• A church that practices powerful, Scripture-infused praying
• A church that knows and lives out God’s Word…no matter what the cost!
In the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Old Testament, we learn that God calls out a people for Himself from among the nations of the world. They were to maintain a distinctiveness—a uniqueness from the other nations. They were to be different.
Deu 6:1 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
God’s Word was actually given to the people of God to set them apart from the people of other nations. Deuteronomy 6:2 tells us that they were not only to keep God’s Word but were to pass His commandments, statutes and judgments down to their children and children’s children.
The Bible tells us that as they kept the commandments of God, they would be blessed.
(There is a blessing to keeping God’s Word!)…Deuteronomy 6:2-3 says, "that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. "Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you; 'a land flowing with milk and honey.'”
In verse four, we come to what is known as the Shema. This verse was and still is the very first verse in the Torah that each Jewish boy and girl is taught by their God-fearing parents. This is the verse that every devout Jew recites each day. The God-fearing Jew is even taught to utter the Shema when dying.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”
The Shema was Israel’s distinguishing mark. It separated them from the surrounding nations that practiced polytheism, or the worship of many gods.
God had called Israel His people out from among the pagan nations. He called Abram out of a pagan nation (Ur of the Chaldees) so that He might become the father of the Hebrew nation.
Through His Word:
• God gave them their own way to dress.
• He gave them their own dietary law.
• They were to observe certain days that would set them apart from other peoples
• He gave them a special place to live.
• He gave them a moral code—His Law.
Deuteronomy 6:5-6 says, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.”
Love - The verb “to love” אָהַב (’ahav) is referring to an emotional idea but a covenantal commitment and complete devotion—in other words, to “love the Lord” is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to Him in every respect.
Heart - In OT physiology the heart (לֵב, לֵבָב; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could “think with” one’s heart.
The Hebrew was to be totally committed, devoted and loyal to God in every respect. They were to embrace the commands of God with their whole mind.
The commandments, statutes and ordinances of God were to infiltrate every aspect of their lives and community. The knowledge of God was to permeate every fiber of their being.
In Matthew 22:37-38, when Jesus was asked “What was the greatest commandment of all,” He quoted this text.
In order to insure that this wasn’t just a one-generational obedience to the command of God. In Deuteronomy 6:7 we find that the Children of Israel were to pass down the knowledge of God to their children:
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
Teach - The word “teach” in verse 7 is the Hebrew word that literally means to, “point;” “prick.” It means to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively.” In other words, the parent was to “drill the words of God into their children.”
Talk - Not only was the parent to teach the knowledge of God to their children; they were to talk or discuss the words of God—while they sat in their houses…when they got up in the morning, when they lay down for bed and when they traveled. In other words, whether home or traveling, they were to impart the words of God to their children.
God instructed the parents to impart the knowledge of God to their children—this was their primary responsibility. Notice there is no command for the parents to put food in their child’s stomach, clothes on their back and a roof over their head. It doesn’t say anything about this is because it presupposes that God will take care of those things.
Jesus says to the same to us in Matthew 6:
Mat 6:31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?'
Mat 6:32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Mat 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
So what is my point? My point is that just as God called Abraham out from among the heathen nations, setting them apart by His Word, so He has called the church out of the world, setting us apart by His Word.
(1 Pet 2:9 NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
(1 Pet 2:10 NKJV) who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
In 1st Corinthians 10:11 Paul writes that the things the Children of Israel went through were written for our admonition or as a warning to us, who live in the closing days of history.
And so, as God gave Israel His Law, He gives the church a strict code of ethics in both the Old and the New Testament Scriptures.
As God gave Israel a dietary law that would distinguish them from the pagan nations He gathers us in fellowship with one another around the Lord’s Table in remembrance of Him—this communion sets us apart from the world.
God sent judges and prophets to teach Israel His ways and to the church He raises up men who prophetically preach and teach the Word and by His command convince, rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2)
God instructed the Jewish parent to instill His ways in their children while they were young. Today, He commands Christian parents to pass on the knowledge of God to their children and grandchildren.
God has also called godly men to pass on the knowledge of God to other faithful men:
2 Tim 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Tim 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
God has called the mature Christian woman to impart His knowledge to young women:
Titus 2:3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Titus 2:4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2:5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
So we see that embracing right and proper knowledge is important to God. In the book of Hosea God says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)
God had called Israel out from among the nations of the world to be His own people.
• The world was to look at Israel and find out what God was like.
• Israel was to reflect the love and character of God.
• She was to declare the holiness of God.
• Israel was to be God’s priest that would usher the inhabitants of the world into the presence of God.
God called Abram out from the pagan Chaldean people so that through His seed all the nations of the world would be blessed (Genesis 12). Israel was to be the vehicle through which God would bring forth His Son, the Messiah—the Savior of the World.
But Israel had drifted away from the call of God on them as a people. They drifted and were being destroyed. Carnality had set in. Idolatry was being practiced. The people of God had begun to sacrifice their own children to the pagan god Molech (Lev 20:2; Jer. 32:35).
They were being destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. So in Hosea 4:1, Hosea says to them, “Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land.”
Today, God’s people are once again being destroyed because a lack of knowledge.
• Marriages are disintegrating
• Families are falling apart
• Preachers are failing to preach the Word
• Churches are closing
Hollywood mocks God and His church with their reality shows that expose the mess going on in the church. Cults and false religions are preying on people who have become disillusioned with the church or who have been hurt emotionally and spiritually.
We are living in a time when church folk know more about the actors starring in the top ten TV shows than can recite God's Top Ten Commandments.
Parents know where to find their favorite show in the cable lineup but cannot find the Scriptural proof texts to the fundamentals of the faith.
Our kids can rap the latest Hip-Hop songs but can’t get them to recite five Bible verses.
Because the average Christian adult spends so much time watching TV and on the Internet, the entertainment industry exercises a powerful influence over the way they think and feel about the world. The average Christian watches 26 hours of movies and/or television per week—about fifty times the amount we spend listening to sermons.
Ephesians 4:14 describes what happens when there is a lack of the knowledge of God in the church. Paul writes that we become "children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting..."
Paul goes on to say we can keep this from happening by "speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;"
In 2 Timothy chapter three (16-17)we learn why the Bible was given to us:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…
• for doctrine - What God expects; what we should be doing; how we should be living; how we should be thinking, processing ideas, interacting with people; Who Christ is—Christology; Who God is—what is He like (theology); missiology ; soteriology - the doctrine of salvation.
• for reproof - When we are not meeting God’s expectation; when we are sinning—transgressing God’s laws. When we are not being “Christ-like.”
• for correction - How to repent; How to turn back to the Lord and His Word
• for instruction in righteousness - Habits we must develop and practice; things we need to do like prayer, memorizing Scripture—hiding it in our hearts; putting on the whole armor of God; resisting the devil; how to think right
…that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We've got to get back to the days when the church is preoccupied with the Scriptures.
Today church folk are more concerned with their individual experiences—“What I'm going through”--rather than “Who I should be patterning my life after” as found in the Word of God. Their walk with God is more experienced based as they operate by their feelings rather than the objective and clear teaching of Scripture.
We hear preaching, singing and testifying about "my pain, my suffering, my trial, my loneliness, my needs…" But our brothers and sisters of earlier days, though they suffered and sang about their suffering…preached, sang and testified about the glory of Christ, His finished work on Calvary, sin's redemption, heaven's longing and hope!
Soon-a will be done a-with the troubles of the world
Troubles of the world, troubles of the world
Soon-a will be done a-with the troubles of the world
Goin' home to live with God
Deep river, my home is over Jordan
Deep river,
Lord, I want to cross over into campground
Lord, I want to cross over into campground
Oh, chillum; Oh, don’t you want to go, to that gospel feast
That promised land, that land where all is
peace?
Walk into heaven, and take a seat
And cast my crown at Jesus feet
There has been a marked transition from “Scripture” to “self” and from the “Majesty of God” to the “misery of me.” This transition has occurred over the recent decades and can be seen in the preaching and teaching coming out of the church. It can be found in Christian literature and the theater.
For example, a song that is at the top of the Gospel charts has these words:
This is my season for grace for favor; This is my season to reap what I have sown
This is my season for grace for favor... yeah; This is my season to reap what I have sown
See....I haven't been perfect, but I sure been faithful
See....God's got a purpose yes and I know He's able
I've got a seed in the ground, that He's blessing…no more stressing
I've got a seed in the ground, now I know Him I can show Him
This is my season for grace for favor
This is my season to reap what I have sown
A question I have for this song-writer is, What in Scripture is your song based on?
Compare the lyrics of that song to one that was popular in the church at an earlier time:
1. And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
3. He left his Father's throne above
(so free, so infinite his grace!),
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me!
4. Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
5. No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th' eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th' eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
The sad truth of the matter is that if you sing the chart-topping songs in church people get “happy” and scream “Hallelujah!” But if you sing the songs filled with the great doctrines or teachings of the Bible, you may get a few “Amens.” Why? Because people in the church today are drawn more to the music than the Word of truth.
Why do I bring it up in a sermon that should be encouraging us to fast and pray in 2014?
You see today, much of the Christian’s thinking and decision making is based on the senses and not on the Scripture. Many who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ live and move and breathe on the basis of how they feel…their experiences and circumstances and not on the objective and authoritative truths of Scripture.
God and His Word does not change! It is the only thing that is constant in our lives. Just like the magnetic pull of North on a compass doesn’t change, the timeless truths of Scripture do not change.
The church has lost her preoccupation with Scripture. The church has fallen away from a passion and love for the Word of God. We have become content with our clichés and spiritual dribble—
“The Lord told me such and such…”
“I’m entering into a new season…”
“I’m going to fulfill my destiny.”
Not only has the church fallen away from a preoccupation with Scripture, but ignorance of Scripture has led many in the church to fall away from a preoccupation with Jesus Christ.
In Galatians 4:19, the Apostle Paul wrote “My children, with whom I am in labor until CHRIST is formed in you–” The Greek word “morphoō” translated as “formed” means “to fashion, shape, or mold.” The apostles labored among the people of God so that CHRIST and not THEIR OWN IMAGE would be fashioned, shaped, and molded in them.
Be aware of “pastors” and “ministries” that claim to have a “prophetic mandate to birth you into your destiny, season, harvest, purpose, calling, anointing, ministry,” etc. Whether they realize it or not, they are being used by the enemy to clone themselves in you, instead of laboring until CHRIST is formed in you.
Much of this is just religious cloning being carried out through the twisting of the Scripture. Religious leaders are replicating and proliferating themselves among the masses, rather than making disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20).
Let me end with an encouragement, for those who are participating in our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting…an encouragement to fast and pray this year for a deeper commitment to God’s Word.
Many of the problems you and I experience in life can be traced to a loose and lackadaisical commitment to the Scriptures. And when the trials and tribulations come, much of our poor response to these difficult circumstances can be traced to a feeble appropriation of Scripture to the problem.
Years ago Wendy fast food restaurant had an old lady in their hamburger commercial who would say, “Where’s the beef?” Today believers are starving for the meat of the Word!
Someone once said to somebody who was going through hard times: “He is more than enough!” Ok. That’s like eating Chinese food—you are hungry an hour later—give me something that will stick to my ribs—you and I need the Word of God!
“He is more than enough???” I need to know who you are talking about. I need to know why He is more than enough. I need to know what sets him apart from others who claim they are more than enough. I need to know how long does it last. I need to know if there is anything I need to do to qualify for “more than enough.”
This January as we commit to fast and pray let's fast and pray for a deeper commitment to God’s Word.
Like the psalmist, let's fast and pray that the Word of God is our true treasure:
Psa 119:11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee.
Like the psalmist, let's fast and pray that the Commandments of God are the love of our life:
Psa 119:47 And I shall delight in Thy commandments, Which I love.
Psa 119:48 And I shall lift up my hands to Thy commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Thy statutes.
Psa 119:97 O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
Like the psalmist, let's fast and pray that the Word of God is our soul’s security:
Psa 119:23 Even though princes sit and talk against me, Thy servant meditates on Thy statutes.
Like the psalmist, let's fast and pray that the Word of God is our protection:
Psa 119:61 The cords of the wicked have encircled me, But I have not forgotten Thy law.
Like the psalmist, let's fast and pray that the Word of God is comfort in our affliction:
Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Thy statutes.
God’s Word is light. Before we knew the Lord, our lives were in spiritual darkness. But God’s Word shines on areas of our lives that He is working to transform. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (read also verse 130; 19:8; 2 Peter 1:3-9).
God’s Word is like water. The word of God cleanses us (Eph.5:25-27). We start life in the Kingdom of God totally "washed clean" by the Spirit of God through His Word (John 15:3). And as we continue to read and absorb God's word, it enables us to live a life that pleases God. In John 17:17 Jesus says, "Sanctify them by the Truth; your word is truth".
God’s Word is like seed. It says, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Pet.1:23).
God’s Word is like food. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus says, "...Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." The word of God causes us to grow spiritually. When we received Christ, we were "born of the Spirit" by the word of God (John 3:3,6; 1 Peter 1:3,23). For us to grow in the Spirit, we need to continue to feed on God's Word.
God’s Word is like a sword. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (see also Ephesians 6:17). The word of God can cut right to our hearts, making us aware of sin (Acts 2:36-37). God's word, stored in our hearts, can also be used as a weapon against the attacks of Satan (Luke 4:1-14).
God’s Word is like fire and like a hammer. Jeremiah_23:29 says, “Is not my word like fire? says the Lord and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” It can burn and break through the hardest and the most stubborn of hearts to bring about salvation or a change of one’s behavior.
God’s Word is like a mirror. James 1:23 says. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror.” We can look in God’s Word and see ourselves as we really are and it isn’t a very pretty picture. This Mirror shows deeper than just the blemishes on our faces. It shows what is in our hearts.
Use your Prayer Journal:
• Learn about fasting
• Journal your discovery
• Pray for yourself and others
• Take our corporate prayer requests to God
Like the psalmist, let's fast and pray that the Word of God becomes better to us than food
Psa 119:103 How sweet the taste of your promise is! It tastes sweeter than honey.
Job said, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:13)
